craft making

Howdy!

Well, winter has set in and regular routine has taken it's hold again.

There's been less screen time in this house to make some of these instead.

 It comes from the book The Cuter Book by Aranzi Aronzo

The kids love this book because 1. the felt friends are cute, 2. the instructions are amazingly illustrated.

I get them to trace the pattern and cut it out, then I cut it from felt. 

They don't want to mess up the felt cutting so they leave that to the pro. :} 

Their stitching has improved.

 I even made the bunnies. (sorry sucky cell phone picture)

 Here are a few other feltie books we've enjoyed looking through and pondering over which to do next.

 I was so happy when Mollie Makes had an American edition and so sad when they canceled it.

But, to their credit, Mollie Makes UK are honouring their North American subscriptions by substituting with the UK version. A great win. (I regret that I didn't sign up for a 2 year subscription).

The UK version usually comes with a gift. And yes, they sent it over here too.

Cool beans.

 Even though the Christmas Mitten rush is over, I still get calls for mittens. I really need to stock up for such calls, as sometimes, people are just passing through and are not able to wait for a few days while I make them. There are some though, that live just close enough to put in an order.

Thank you. I've been busy.

 And then, this happened!

 My lovely sailor boy turned 11!!!

But now, in this winter season, he's skating boy!

And that makes me so happy.

 This is not our pond, but the neighbour's field that floods. Perfect. It's a long one too.

Now our sailing and scooter boy can enjoy the outdoors in the winter. And that he does!

It's been a white winter wonderland in these parts.

Even the birds look good.

Have a good one,

Amanda

Bunnies!

Last year, I made this guy

Check him out here

And this past month, I made a girl.

(please excuse these photos. 

New cell phone camera, pressed for time and space and no chance for retake)

I did enjoy making her and her reversible dress.

So much so, I made another boy too! For a wee baby and his bigger sister.

 It was so lovely to sew for me! Something that wasn't mittens. 

I spent the day adding details, revelling in the hand stitching because I had the time to do it.

Do you like them? You can make your own.

Bunny pattern can be found in Abby Glassenberg's book

Stuffed Animals

Ciao,

Amanda

The week in between

Howdy.

How goes?

It's the week in between Christmas and New Year's. 

I love this week. 

We visit family and come home to enjoy our quiet with new toys and joys all over again.

It's the time of year where my "Mitten making blinders" are off and I can see what state my house is in! Messy!

And now, now I have time to attend to it. See, it waited. Nothing exploded. No need to worry about it.

I started with the upstairs today, 

the kid's room, (not the toy closet, gosh that needs it's own day/week/month).

But the den and the nook. 

When we walk by to get tot he bathroom or the kids room, it's a nice breath of fresh air. ahhhh.

Enough of that, Here's something nice to look at...

A new bird feeder. More like a condo. 

It took awhile for the birds to come. I don't think they're used to the perch idea yet, but come they did.

And I've been knitting. See how big those pegs are? That's because those socks are bitty! For 1 yr olds.

Now that my baby gift requirements are fulfilled, I must make a pair for newborns.

I need to see how bitty they will be. :}

Oh, and that mitten making frenzy?

There were a lot of mittens.

And some more

And more...

And many, many more.

Here is this year's obligatory picture of the tree getting...

And the tree decorating....

The kids decorate it. 

We bring out the boxes and they go to town. 

We choose to put all the hand mades out with a few of the fuzzy balls we got when Rafael was a baby.

It was frosty today. First time in some time to actually feel the cold of winter. 

Christmas day was 14 degrees celcius. Crazy.

I can't wait for the pond to freeze over so we can skate on it. 

As a kid, we used to skate ont he pond behind the mall.

The ice was always different, depending on if it was windy when the water froze, how much snow was on it , if it melted and froze again.

The kids have never skated on a pond before. They are looking forward to it. Me too.

And tomorrow, a new day. 

the beginning of a new year.

I wonder what it will bring to us?

I'm ready.

Cheers,

Amanda

a little craft fair

Although this craft fair sponsored by the Firehall Ladies Aux. was in November,

 I thought I'd better post it for future reference.

These stocking were fun to make and were scooped up with orders for more.

 And forever... another basket of mittens. I really should take a picture every time I make a batch. 

 This year, I added fingerless mittens. They were also popular.

 And here's a look at my table. I've changed my display up this year. I got rid of the wicker /woven baskets and traded them with the wire/burlap ones. 

I also used some little chalk board signs from Target. 

I streamlined my products to mostly woollen goodies instead of little toy bits. 

 I really do need to get a little sign with my logo for the table.

And here are the last instalment of mittens. 

They are available at the Flying Fox Bake Shop. Well, 2 pairs aren't. Apparently, they've been sold. 

But I don't know which ones. :}

Have a good one! Merry Merry.

Amanda

Mittens available

For my customers who were disappointed with my sell out at the last craft sale....

I have 9 pairs of cashmere lined, felted sweater mittens at the Whirligig Book Shop on Water Street. 

Mostly black/grey with pink, red or lilac accents.

$25 pair.

Picture below is not a representation of those mittens. I dropped them off before I took a picture, so these are from last year. 

 I'm hoping to make more mittens soon....Working on custom orders next.

ciao

well hello!

Yes, it's been some time.

Ya know, life!

Here's a little tale of life in pictures. 

I haven't been taking many of those either.

Went for a walk on the beach this weekend.

My uncle noticed these crop circles.

 Aren't they interesting? I would have missed those for sure.

 this kind of seaweed reminds me of my youthful days climbing the cliffs and sliding down rocks. 

We lived by the ocean, but in a bit of a protected cove. We would pop the seaweed by stepping on it.

 Just one hour in unseasonable weather realigns moods and spirit.

 hmm, I sang in an Oktoberfest kabaret with the pit band. That was fun. 

As you can see, the angel of saurkraut and pretzels hovered nearby.

 The battery ran out on the electric fence. For many days, the deer and hens got along. 

 We had a bit of a rainstorm. And a flood in the coop area.

 I let them roam all day while the water receded. They have since been relocated.

Oh, they are moulting now. yuck. UGLY. 

 My little nerds on Halloween.

Rafael went off with some friends on his own. He's growing up. Boo

 I was in the mood for some dancing, so we met some friends. At the last minute, I decided to dress up.

 And made hubby dress up in Rafael's costume from last year.

 And these days... I am lost in a sweater mountain and piles of mitten innards and outers.

The accumulation of sweater dust is incredible.

I'll be at the Ingomar Craft sale on Sat. Nov. 15 and at the Shelburne Community hall on Sat. Nov. 22

And in Dec... no place or dates, but I could come to your workplace at lunch with a basket of mittens and other woolen goodies for sale!

Back to the studio.. see you on the other side... of the mountain. I hope.

Ciao

happenings

Well, where did all that time go? 

I'll show you.

Warning, very heavy photo laden. Short sentences. 

Much has been happening.

This is just what I took pictures of. 

I'm glad I did. 

I forgot I did so much.

Caldo verde soup. Collards and kale from my garden. 

So good, so good for you.

 My boy just got back from a week away at Baddeck Race week. His first week away from home.

He enjoyed it immensely, as seen from this photo. 

He just came back from a capsize and speedy recovery to continue the race.

 He made it to the Gold fleet and came in 6th overall.

Look nanny, he's in a boat all by himself... in that big blue ocean! (wink)

 While big brother was away, Neve and I got to hold some babies,

 Make some mittens. ( choosing a lining. I chose grey)

 We went to Lunenburg and ate ice cream as we wandered.

Ever try to take a selfie with an old android? 

You can't flip the screen, so you don't know what you're getting a picture of... or where the button is!

We had a crafty day with our friend, Martha. Felted soap it was!

a little hamster imitation at the Exhibition.

Imagine my surprise when I turned the corner of my street to see this!

Earlier in the month, we went to Roseway Beach. 

The kids had fun floating down the river. It took 6 minutes to do it. Then they would run back to do it again. I got the most stupid burn on this day!

Beach girl!

We ran into a pirate!!

The chickens have found a new place for a dust bath!

We celebrated 11 years!!

 

This girl turned 8!! We took all the cake pictures with her new iPod and we don't have her set up to email them to me yet. So the pics are stuck in limbo.

And it's harvest time!!

Beautiful veg!

 

Turning in to pickles!

And this batch was apple sauce and 2 apple pie fixings in the freezer.

Tonight, a Remax Hot Air Balloon was in town!

Of course, I took a little ride!

So.. you're still here?! 

Had to get it all down for memory sake.

My sister in law and her son are visiting this week. 

I have lots of touristy plans.

This is a beautiful place to share.

Have a good one.

Amanda