Pumpkins!

As every one that knows me all ready knows, I don't do anything normal!  This years pumpkins are keeping with my abnormal lifestyle and people want to see them, so here they are!

Blue pumpkin!

White pumpkin!

Apple pumpkin!

My somewhat normal baby pumpkins!

All of them together.

This is a T-shirt I made years ago.  It's held up quite well throughout the years!  At this time of the year, I tend to wear it until it stands on its own!  It's cross stitched using waste canvas and if you notice, the eyes, nose and mouth are cats!

Here are a few of my favorite pumpkins from Etsy!  Please click on the link below the photos to see the listings at Etsy.

LuRuUniques

This is from Mary at LuRuUniques!  She sells the parts that you put into a pumpkin of your own.  She says you can use the parts with one of those fake pumpkins that you can carve, so it's perfect for an indoor centerpiece at Thanksgiving!

hawthornehill

Isn't this great!!!??!!!  This comes from hawthornehill and I can think of SO many things you could write on it, like KEEP OUT!  LOL!

mmwolters

And this felted pumpkin made from a sweater comes from Michele at mmwolters!  I can't think of a better way to re-purpose old sweaters!

Happy Halloween!

MeCation

Yep, you read that right, MeCation.  I'm taking a MeCation.  It's all about me.  Me, Me, Me.  No schedules, no worries, do what I want, when I want.  It's fun, I highly recommend it to everyone!

Here's a few things I've been doing while on mecation:  

I started out by cutting some covers for notepads.

Then, I cut out some more covers for notepads.

Then, I made, um, a few um, hundred tags.

Next, I cut and rolled some paper beads.

Made two more garlands.

I'm fond of the cork garland, I used old crazy lace agate!

I found this bracelet that I made about a year ago, but it was just a bit too small.

Such a simple fix, I don't know why I let it sit so long.  I love these colors!

Here's where I got a tad bit sidetracked!

Yes, I played with a sharp needle!

This is where the fun began!

I did NOT make these felted orbs, I purchased them this way.

I'm in love with that clasp!

Now I have felted orb bracelets for every color outfit!

That's it for now!  I'm only on day four of my mecation and I'm thinking about making it a month long thing!

Troll dolls!

Most people know how much I LOVE troll dolls! I had a collection of them but sold my collection many years ago. I did keep a few and still stop to look at any I see when out antique shopping, but so far, I've resisted buying any more of them (except for a pair of pumpkin earrings I bought last year). Someone pointed out the Snuggie for trolls by Rebecca at beckynot on Etsy. I fell in love with it, way too funny!

Rebecca has a wonderful sense of humor and loves her girls. She provides them with anything they need. She sent me her photo album on Flickr, go look at what she has done for her girls and make sure you read the captions, you are in for a good laugh! http://www.flickr.com/photos/beckynot/sets/72157621567865860/ Also, stop by her shop for any provisions you want for your own dolls! Tell her I sent you! She's located at beckynot on Etsy.

Here's another one of Rebecca's listings, how can you NOT like someone who is this honest? LOLOL, it's a great listing, Rebecca!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/12950075/scary-ghost-felt-entity-overpriced

Felting!

My friend, Glenna from http://www.vintageembellishment.etsy.com/ got me interested in felted beads. I have so much roving, I decided to give it a try. After several failed attempts, I finally got the hang of it! Some are better than others, but that's okay, I'm not using these for beads but wanted to fill some felted bowls I have.I got to thinking, it's going to take thousands of these to fill my bowls! Solution? Make bigger balls!What I'm finding out is, not all roving is created equal. I absolutely love how the alpaca worked up! Buffalo roving doesn't cut it for these larger ones. Wool yarn can be used and I can't stop making them now! Thanks Glenna! LOL!The two felted bowls and the flowers are made by Valerie at http://www.valeriesgallery.etsy.com/. She does amazing work! Stop by her shop and check out what she can do with yarn! There's still one more item I must have in her shop, so make sure you check with me before you purchase. LOL!This is my favorite, the balls match the bowl so nicely and this is the alpaca I was talking about, just love these balls!Here's another bowl, my loopy bowl made by Jennie at http://www.sosorosey.etsy.com/. Another amazing artist! What she can do with fabrics is not to be believed!

Just what I need, another project! But these sure are fun to make!

Finally!!

After three attempts, I finally got a bag/purse that I'm happy with the results! Remember the market tote? That was just okay, but I made a major mistake that I couldn't fix because I didn't realize it until after it was felted and the seams gave me grief.

Then, there was the purse I attempted that I won't even show anyone. Again, the seams were hideous. But the yarn didn't felt like I had hoped.

FINALLY! I did yet another purse and got advice on how to do the seams. Success! It's a bit on the small size, but I still love it!

These are the before photos above. Just about 12 inches wide! Now, let's see it after it was felted:

Now, it's about 8 inches wide! Here's where I need some advice. I received these beautiful felted flowers from Valerie at http://www.valeriesgallery.etsy.com/ I'd like to add these to the purse but am not sure where or how many to add. Any suggestions?

There's four flowers to pick from, two purples, a yellow and deep yellow. Give me some thoughts!

And, this was strange, when I went to get the flowers that I keep in the bowl that Valerie sent me, I realized the bowl and purse are just about identical in color! Wonder if we used the same yarn!

Attempted knitting project

I really like to knit but I'm not very good at it. Anything I do must be EASY! So, I think this felted tote looks easy enough! I love felting, too but again, nothing ever comes out looking like "their" finished photos do!

Here's the tote before I felted it. It measures 24 x 28 inches.

I used Lion Brand Wool in the colors of Midnight Blue and Sage. It takes 3 skeins of each color.

Here's what it looks like after I felted it:

It now measures 16 x 12 inches! It really is nice and sturdy and will be great as a market tote!

I think if I make another one, I will do it in a solid color so there's no need to switch colors a lot! In this one, you change colors every five rows. I am SO tempted to make another one and use dyeable wool and dye it with Kool-Aid. I've dyed the wool before and really liked doing it.