My son's holey gloves got the Mario treatment...crochet style

My son loves his gloves, 

to the point where they now have large holes in them.

When I promised to fix them I was thinking

of simply crocheting a brown rectangle as a patch.

Then I realized that I could be more creative so

this is what I did.




He's had his gloves for years

and he is the type of kid 

who would rather get something fixed

than buy something new.

(Takes after his mum :D)  

He still really likes Mario so

he was really happy with them.

Also in this picture is my beagle

who was sick all day today and part

of yesterday.

I was so happy to see her sniffing around,
hopefully she

will be eating again soon.

Marie Claire Idees.....inspiration

I'm always thrilled when I can find this magazine

since it is so difficult to find here.

I love these yarn related projects

especially the chandelier.

This lovely wreath is made with cotton cord, 

buttons, cloth, snaps and other

sewing supplies.

These pots look wonderful decked out in

their knitted covers.

I can only imagine how nice it would

be to sit outside on these chairs 

sipping hot chocolate.

How lucky are the birds that live in this house!

Last but certainly not least

check out this chandelier.

I may have to adapt this idea to 

my bedroom light.

Marie Claire Idees spring 2009

The spring issue is in my hot little hands and, as always, gives me a chance to practice my French.
I particularly love their take on owls.
This lovely was created using a paper mache technique, so simple yet so sweet.


Look at these...a small owl made of felt hitches a ride on the back of a scarf;
smooth pebbles get a lick of paint to form a parliament of owls and
a small loaf of owl bread is cooling off on a kitchen table waiting for the kids to wake up.

My heart is yours!!!

My heart is yours!!!
Originally uploaded by hine

This totally cracks me up (this won the Valentine's Day contest over at Craft Magazine.)
I think the icing on the cake is the guard around it's neck, you don't want any stitches being ripped out!
Congratulations hine!

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!

A new year and new things to try

Every year I make the same resolution.
And every year I keep it.
It's simply to try new things.
Yes I know this doesn't sound
particularly earth shattering.
But I say or type this statement
every year as a type of mantra.
It focuses me, it challenges me.
It forces me to seek,
each and every day,
ways that I can fulfill this
promise to myself.

You'd be surprised how many
little opportunities are out there.
When you are driving home, take
a different route,
talk to the person next to you
when you're in a line-up.
(I found a great new yarn shop
who taught advanced crochet classes).
Read something you normally
wouldn't read, eat something
you have never tried.
The possibilities are endless.

geekcrafts

I've been lucky to have had my works
show up on other craft sites and
just got the nod from geek crafts
for my south park amigurumi.
It's got everything from
Dr. Who to Mario to Star Wars
so check out this great site.

A trio of French bears

Aren't these cute?



At first I thought that these were
needle felted.
They are actually made from
recycled wool sweaters.
The patterns are in the
December 08 Marie Claire Idees.
I really want to make these!

Babette crochet afghan

I've always wanted to make a babette
afghan and decided this would be the
winter to start on it.
But first I looked
through my old craft books
to see some of the 70's versions
of the granny afghan.
This lovely example is from BHG
Crocheting and Knitting 1978



Not quite an afghan but still a
wonderful example of grannys
in this pillow from
McCall's Crochet Treasury 1977


Here is a link to some modern afghans
known as babettes.

It may take me a while to pick
out my colours and also decide
if I will follow the babette pattern or
just do my own thing.
But it is a project which I'm
really looking forward
to starting.

Granny Square jacket

Here's today's vintage image:

It is from a 1980 magazine called
Christmas Ideas
put out by
Better Homes and Gardens Creative Ideas
It is made with 42 granny squares (2 1/2 in)
for the back, 20 for each front,
and 30 for each sleeve,with simple edgings added for
the colour, cuffs and bottom.

Lovely embroidered owls from vintage book

I'm lucky to be able to find a lot
of vintage craft books from our 
library and from second hand stores,
mostly from the 70's and 80's.

This book I own, 
it's called Needleplay by Erica Wilson
printed in 1975.
Most are made using rug yarn.
I'm in love with the owl
at the bottom left!
But also look at those flowers!

Learning to crochet using Japanese charts

I've seen so many cool patterns online

in chart form but I really didn't
know how to read them.
So I decided to sit myself down
and figure it out.
I first picked a pattern that had
both a chart and written instructions.
I chose a pattern that I knew
I would normally be able
to crochet fairly easily.
I then made a photocopy of the
pattern so that I could mark
off each row as I made it.



I also made sure it had a
chart listing each symbol and
it's corresponding stitch.



I then tried to figure out the first row
by ONLY looking at the chart.
I then went to the written instructions
to see if I got it right.
From then on I pretended that
I only had the chart and worked hard
to figure each row out.
The only time I would look at the
written instr. would be if
I was absolutely stuck.
Once you get the hang of it
it is quite easy.
It's wonderful to be able to SEE
which stitch goes where.

Patchwork Comforter

[Originally uploaded by
Heath & the B.L.T boys]

I came across this on flickr
and it brought a flood of memories back to me!


It is from the Better Homes & Gardens Patchwork & Quilting Book of 1977.
I'm pretty sure my sister and I saw this article years earlier published

in their magazine and as soon as we
saw it we knew we had to make one for mum.

Ours was made from crazy shades of green
and,week after week, we secretly worked on it
at my sister's apartment
which was above a small grocery store.

I'm surprised that we even finished ours on time

because of course it took so much longer
than we ever expected but we stuck with it
until it was finished.
I'm not sure how much my mum actually liked the
look of the comforter itself but we thought it
was the coolest thing we had ever done!

I have no idea what happened to it,
I don't even have a picture of it
but the memory of making it with my
sister still remains clear!

Birds of a Feather

#1 www.flickr.com/photos/harthillfarm/2408794822/
#2 www.flickr.com/photos/11878641@N00/149535249/
#3 www.flickr.com/photos/florenceforrest/277299308/
#4 www.flickr.com/photos/23472119@N06/2270626220/
#5 www.flickr.com/photos/lovely_textiles/418687556/
#6 www.flickr.com/photos/mmmfruit/149314422/
#7 www.flickr.com/photos/panash/2436669310/
#8 www.flickr.com/photos/andreasee/155260587/
#9 www.flickr.com/photos/22609510@N03/2510847937/

Birds are on my mind, and in my house.

A few weeks back I had my back door
open, enjoying the warm weather when 2 large robins decided to fly in and visit me.
You have no idea how big robins actually are until you
have them flapping around your room..in a blind panic, tossing themselves against walls and windows.

My two dogs, happy that their master had provided them with a fun new game
started to bark and lunge at them.
That put me into full panic mode!
I did eventually manage to
get my canines out and away from the birds.

I decided to stay in the next room to let the robins settle
down and after a few moments one even perched on the back of my comfy chair.
For a few minutes we each sat perfectly still, content to just look at one another.
It was a perfect moment.
After a while I looked over to see
what robin #2 was up to.
I could see it quietly sitting on the window sill and then I happened to glance
over to see my cat, who I had totally forgotten about,
staring at it, in full hunting mode.

To make a long story short, my high-pitched shriek somehow got my cat to retreat and the robins eventually found their way back out through the door.

No I didn't think to get my camera, but that image of the robin sitting
on the back of my favourite chair watching me is one that I won't ever forget.
I've been thinking of somehow
creating that moment in fabric.
But for now here are some lovely birds from some very talented crafters
...who knows what stories led to their creations!

A little French window shopping

A little French window shopping
Originally uploaded by sukigirl74

Aren't these lovely! So feminine and so French.

I found these in a window of a little shop
in southern France.
Maybe one day I'll actually get the nerve to wear something as beautiful as this.

Inspiration from France

One wonderful thing about traveling is that it slightly shifts your view of the world and inspires all sorts of wonderful ideas!

One of those inspirations has become my new addiction.
French magazines
Today's ideas come courtesy of Mari-Claire Idees June/08 issue.
This was the one magazine I wanted and
as far as I know they are not available in Canada.

The title of the article is "Rouge comme une tomate".
In English "Red like a tomato".
This mosaic watering can makes me want to get my tiles
out and get back into mosaics. Beautiful!

And look at this bag. The variations are endless!
All you need is some beautiful fabric and then add some embroidery.

Next is a beautiful kitchen cupboard made with a combination
of decoupaged and painted images.
You could come up with all sorts of variations on this theme.

And my favourite is a beautiful linen covered binder to hold your recipes.
Most of the details are done in embroidery but what I love most is the tomato.
It looks like it is layered fabric sewn down in strips to
create a three dimensional effect!

The Imposter is surrounded

Fred questions his costume choice for the
New Year's Eve Ball.
It's difficult being a tape measure.

All hail the Queen

Toronto has some very cool neighbourhoods
and Queen St West is one of them.

I first discovered it when I was checking out one of the best yarn stores in the city......Romni Wools. On my first visit there I mention to the woman who is helping me that I am a crocheter. 'Wait for it." I say to myself. Usually this c word elicits a reaction of discomfort from clerks. Think of me as Julia Roberts walking into that posh clothing store in Pretty Women. But no...without skipping a beat she is showing me all sorts of goodies

Walk further down the street, past the ladies dancing in the window in their lingerie (another post), and past the sweet aroma coming from the coffee shop Niche, and you will find the lovely textile store of mac Fab. I have found out that they sell Amy Butler fabric and after seeing all the beautiful things people are making with her fabric I decide to take the plunge and buy some to make pillows.

Next ....... The Paper Place.
What can I say...the papers are incredibly beautiful! I end up choosing some cards and envelopes in greens and greys and I also pick up this cute Japanese kit. It is a small purse in the shape of a domed house. The roof is to be crocheted and the yarn is the so soft and from Japan. The bottom part is wool felt. I can't wait to make it up...I can see myself making up some variations of these!

There were so many other shops to visit: Bakka the sci-fi bookstore (DH's favourite), great places to eat (Rosebud, Terroni's), a heavenly bakery, and lots more. I'm looking forward to going back and checking out their great clothing stores where most of the clothes are reconstructed items made with vintage material. Sweet!