Peace on Earth... Goodwill to Man (mobile blogging)

THE KING OF COOL (mobile blogging)

As I am trying to learn about mobile blogging, I came across this picture that proves that Jubal is the KING OF COOL!

This is a picture of Jubal in his seat on the back of the motorcycle!

He really does like to ride... Don't worry, he is harnessed in and attached to me... he is safe!

Check out his cool Doggles!

Steve McQueen was NEVER so cool!!!

Look once... Look twice... Motorcycles are everywhere!

RIDE ON!

New Body Ornamentation (mobile blogging)

I got a new nose ring! woo hoo

A Tale of Two Sweaters

Once upon a time I got a set of Knifty Knitter Looms.

I was thinking of projects that would utilize my new toys... and BINGO!

It hit me... why not make a doggie sweater?

The stretchy cylndrical shape seemed PERFECTO for chilly puppies.




After a little trial and error in making the leg openings... I came up with a workable sweater for Jubal.

(I will try to post my "pattern" later)

I made this with two strands of acrylic camo-variegated yarn and then trimmed it with two strands of a bright hunter orange.

I was going for the "hunting-dog-look". Kind of a "tongue-in-cheek" look for a pampered miniature poodle.

Jubal loves his little sweater.

He wears it when hunting for a warm lap to sit on!

<---------- ( here it appears, he has hunted down a "Daddy" )

He also wears it when he is "On Patrol" in the front window!

Then I thought that I should make Gabriel a sweater too.

I thought it would be cute for Gabriel and Jubal to have matching sweaters.

Gabriel looked very handsome in his sweater.

He seemed to like it... so I went inside.

It must have looked tasty to Gabriel, because when checked in on him about an hour later, the sweater appeared to have been ... uh... eaten.


I am guessing... either he ate it... or some sweater-eating Zombie attacked him and he was lucky to escape with his life!!!

We are just glad that he's ok...

Either way, it will probably be a while before I make Gabe a sweater again!

But I won't let it stop me from using my Knifty Knitter Set!


... More to come ...

MY FIRST DOGGIE SWEATER (mobile blogging)

This is the first sweater that I made for Jubal.

It is made of wool-ease yarn.

this was a free form project, which meant a lot of 'fittings'!

Jubal was not happy with the process...

but when cold weather came around, he didn't fight wearing the sweater!

POODLES IN PAJAMAS (mobile blogging)

Here is a picture that is too cute for words! Jubal napping in his new 'jammies'!! sweet dreams!


Edit: I am trying to understand mobile blogging... i am having difficulties in doing this correctly... can't get the token or claim to get in... and so have to email my posts in. So far, I am not too crazy about this... although I think that it will help me to actually post like I want to.

If I dont do it when I am thinking about it, then I may never get around to it! I know, I know... I am a slacker!!!

My pictures look fine on my phone... but when i post to Blogger, the pics look dark. Plus, I am having to go in and edit out the verizon message about pix... I dont know why it bothers me... but it does!

I have an email in to blogger... maybe i can figure this stuff out!

another commissioned piece... w00t w00t w007

I just wanted to show pics of a wallhanging that was commissioned to hang in a little girl's room.

I used a variety of yarns... commercial wools, handcrafted wool, acrylic & cotton yarns. I hung this piece from bamboo, using a rod-sleeve.

The wallhanging is called "Sweet Dreams, Devan".

I utilized my favorite motif, the hand print... in this case, symbolizing the love of GOD... along with star motifs and a moon motif. The colors are mostly purples and greens... with other colors thrown in for variety.... My hope was that this wallhanging evokes peaceful and loving feelings for Devan as she sleeps!

i think the pic came out a little dark... which makes it hard to see the detail... sorry.



<--------- this is a picture that Devan's mom got to go in the room also... she bought it independently of the wallhanging and what a neat suprise: the colors of the dress almost perfectly match the variegated yarn in one of the stars!!!! serendipity, baby!




i hope Devan & her parents enjoy her new wallhanging!

WELCOME OUR TWO NEW FAMILY MEMBERS!

This scurvy little miniature poodle is Jubal.

We adopted him in July from the Greenville Humane Society.

( http://www.greenvillehumane.com )

He was very, very thin and quite shy when we brought him home... but now it's safe to say that he rules the roost!






And this handsome fellow is Gabriel. We adopted him from a rescue shelter called
Hugs for Hounds.

(http://www.hugsforhounds.com )

He is a happy-go-lucky fellow who doesn't really seem to mind that Jubal has hijacked control of the family!



I had never been to an animal shelter before... i was shocked at all of the expensive animals that were there (at the Humane Society)... there were many pure-breed dogs there.

It was so sad to see some of the sweetest animals who have been so mistreated...

Jubal was soooo skinny ( a miniature poodle should weigh 15-17 lbs - he weighed 11 lbs) and his nails had grown so long that his quick was all the way to the end of his nails... he was shaved down and covered with scabs where his hair had become so matted that sores developed.

We literally saved Gabriel from the gallows... we adopted him on a saturday and he was scheduled to be put down the next tuesday... we were just compelled to take him home! He was actually fairly healthy when we got him... physically, that is... he has had some trust issues... you can tell that he was abused... but our son, the Barbarian, has really devoted himself to acclimating Gabe into family life.

And it has really paid off... both doggies have become full-fledged family members!

And even though Gabriel is about 3 times bigger than Jubal... he recognizes that Jubal is in charge!

PLEASE... when you are thinking of enlarging your family with a pet, consider adoption from a shelter or rescue group... and definitely spay or neuter your pets... the shelters are FULL of unwanted pets.

Here is a link to Petfinders: ( www.petfinder.com ) --this links to many shelters and rescue groups nationwide & is a very good place to start when searching for a new family member!

My latest obsession is dog sweaters... i will have pics to post next week!

Have a happy weekend!

WOW! Has it really been that long since I blogged?

It hit me last week that I haven't posted on my blog in a while... (actually, it was my son in georgia who asked me if i was ever going to post on the blog again) ...imagine my suprise when I clicked onto the Fiber Deviant Blog and realized that my last posting was in March!

Am I a slacker or what?!? (Don't answer... it's a rhetorical question)

I would like to think that it's NOT that I am a slacker... but that I have just been busy living. Because actually, lots of things have been going on...

We celebrated our son, The Barbarian's, birthday,

I got addicted to Bollywood movies (Amitabh is the absolutely coolest dude on the planet!!! I also love Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan & Saif Ali Khan! although I don't think that they are related... oh well),

Sugar Daddy & I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary with a wonderful trip to Atlanta... where there is a movie theater that plays Bollywood movies and you can eat samosa chat & kulfi while you watch the flicks. We tried to eat at all of the wonderfully diverse ethnic offerings that Atlanta has... I am sure we missed some... but that means we can do it again next year!,

I found a video game that I can play (and Sugar Daddy too!)... we bought a nintendo wii ... i think it's great! My 82 year-old FIL must have thought so too: he played it at our house and then bought one too! (he really rocks in bowling... none of us can touch him! and his baseball game is not too shabby either!)

We celebrated my mom's 60th birthday,

Our older son, The Accountant, & his wife, The Teacher bought a beautiful new house (CONGRATS!),

We adopted 2 wonderful doggies from local shelters (Gabriel, a 50 lb mixed breed (he's really The Barbarian's dog), and Jubal, a 12 lb miniature poodle (Sugar Daddy & mine's spoiled little darling!) ... welcome to the Family!),

school started again (The Barbarian is a senior this year)...

My nephew, Trumpet, started high school this year and is in the marching band!

My nephew, The Tank, who lives in Georgia, turned 8 and is playing football... and we actually got to see a few games... (do something #71!)

and that is not counting the projects:

I swear that I haven't been sitting on my laurels! I have been doing projects! I have made wall hangings, purses, blankets, and my new passion, dog sweaters!

I will be posting about them later... with pics!

I just wanted to get a "catch-up" post in... and i am going to try...no i AM going to do a better job of posting! (errrr.... hopefully)

but right now, i want to go check up on some blogs out there that i have been missing out on!

see? I have been a slacker on reading blogs too!

oh! before I forget: I want to congratulate Regina (www.monstercrochet.blogspot.com) and Jimbo (www.jimbosfrontporch.blogspot.com): Jimbo was featured in Craft magazine... and well, Regina, it seems that lately, you can't open a crochet magazine and not see a pattern by her in it! so CONGRATS! to two people that I have had the pleasure of "talking" to via blogs and emails!

Fiber Deviant

Assorted Little Bags

i have been busy trying to build up an inventory of bags because i am considering opening up an etsy shop. i am sure most crafters know what etsy is... if you don't, i think you should definitely check it out ( www.etsy.com ).

i have never sold anything on etsy... but have bought a few things... and have spent hours drooling over all of the handmade unique goodies on the site! there are a lot of creative folks out there!

anyway... so here are pics of my bags... i would love to get some feedback on pricing and styling... don't worry, i am not "thin-skinned"... i can take it... so please feel free to comment on the blog or email me... also... any advice on the etsy process would be appreciated!

This first one is a little fulled (felted) bag... it measures about 7" x 5"... it has a little front pocket and the closure is a vintage button. it's just a little bag for when you don't want to carry a big purse.

Here is a view of the back >>>>

Next is a small little acrylic bag...
(sorry about picture quality... i definitely need to practice!) On my monitor, the first pic is close to the actual color... it is a variegated blue colorway... it has a small "granny square" front pocket that is just the right size for a cell phone or an mp3 player; and a slightly larger area for a small purse or wallet. the front pocket closes with a shiny, sparkly vintage button, while the other compartment closes with a vintage button that is kind of an ivory color.

this bag is one of my favorites... the strap is made to sling over your shoulder... it is 100% acrylic... it is a little larger (about 8" long)... it has a buttoned pocket in front and a button closure on the backside for the larger compartment... it's black with a variegated colorway of purples, blues & teals.

this one is probably my absolute favorite of this batch of bags... it is mostly acrylic ... but the pink is woolease yarn which contains a small amount of wool...it is embellished with wooden beads and plastic buttons.

all of these bags are unlined.

what do you think?

Recycling Plastic Grocery Bags

I have been reading alot lately about plastic bags. You know, the little bags they pack your groceries... I probably end up with at least 10 of those in one shopping trip... They really add up!

according to this website (http://www.myownbag.com/activism.html), it takes 20 years for a plastic bag to biodegrade as litter... and 1000 years to biodegrade in a landfill!!!!

We always reuse them as wastebasket liners... and Sugar Daddy carries his lunch in them (I bought him a lunch bag... but someone at his office called it a purse and now he won't use it anymore!)... but I am looking for other ideas to reuse them.

On Crochetville (www.crochetville.org), I found people cutting and crocheting them into reusable shopping bags and purses... what a neat idea...I could combine recycling with my favorite craft... crochet!! woo hoo!

here is another good website, if you are interested: http://www.marloscrochetcorner.com/Plastic%20Bag%20tote.html

it has a pattern... one of these days, i am going to try to follow a pattern... but right now, i am still too busy following my own ideas...

it also gives instructions for cutting and attaching the bags to make "yarn"... this is how i do it... there are other people who do it different ways... i am sure you can find it on the net...

so here is what i have made: (or why i havent been posting...lol)

The first bag that i made was a messenger-type bag... actually, i call it a "farmers' market bag"... i think it would be perfect to sling across your shoulders and fill as you travel through a farmers' market or...flea market...

Here is the cavernous inside of the bag:

this bag is huge!

That's our younger son, the Barbarian, who is modeling...umm... err... showing this bag... let's gve him a hand!

--------------------------------------------

here is the 2nd bag that i made... i would use this as a reusable shopping bag... or it could be a beach tote:

inside view:a closeup of the stitches... i like the little bits of color interspersed by using different bags:

I made the next two bags, as purses... here is the lovely Ms. TM modeling them:

<<--- a close up of the stitching... i think it almost looks like one of those straw purses that are so popular during spring & summer. i also love the variation in all of the brownish... bags.

This purse was made for my sister (who requested a "non-girly" type of bag):

The green button is a kind of "inside funny"... you know, green ... recycling... i know, corny... but that is me... uber dork!

Check out that subliminal message to shop Bi-Lo!

So here is one of my attempts to reduce, recycle, and reuse... and i get to use my favorite craft to do it! woo hoo!

A New "Hand Bag"

Here are pics of a bag that I recently made. It uses my favorite motif (as is you haven't noticed), the hand or handprint.

This bag was made with a variety of wool scraps left over from other projects, some craft rings, some plastic buttons, a vintage plastic button & some large glass beads.