Things are lookin' up

I'm pretty sure I'm no longer contagious. It was a pretty bad bug, and I'm very glad to have survived it. My world stopped spinning for a few days, but the dust bunnies kept multiplying. I keep thinking I'll feel up to getting everything ship-shape once again (Ha! As if things are ever ship-shape in the Kingdom!), but so far that hasn't happened. I DID manage to complete my current mittens, titled (hopefully....as in, with hope) Things Are Lookin' Up. The kitty in my sketch really did look hopeful and sweet.

In wool, she looks kinda surly. As if she's looking up at something that doesn't please her. Or maybe something that smells bad. That's kitties fer ya. They're a law onto themselves.

The stripes (for those who are technically curious) are mock Latvian braids. They're actually applied as a surface technique after the knitting is done, by crocheting a line of stitches through the knitted fabric. Very fun.

These mittens are currently homeless. They would fit a small lady's hand. Available for a minimum donation of $30. to the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project. (We're coming up to Kitten Season, after all.) Shipping included via Canada Post anywhere in the world.

Happy National Cupcake Day!

My cupcake party has been a rousing success! All 12 cupcakes have disappeared! Mr. Coco kept up his end of the bargain. Unfortunately, that means that today I haven't got a single cupcake to display in my new cupcake wrapper. I guess you'll just have to use your imagination.

This one is TGIF....Thank God It's FISHday!!

It's a .PDF file that you can print on your home printer, and you can make as many copies as you like. As well, the file includes a black and white line drawing that you can print and let your kids or grandkids colour all by themselves.


The TGIF Cupcake Wrapper Template is available on Craftsy for a small donation to the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project. Every penny helps make the world a better place. Thanks for helping.

So exciting!

This morning, I was greeted by this:

Thank you to all of you who donated to The Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project by downloading my Cassie Cupcake Wrapper .PDF from Craftsy. It's still only 2 bucks, and all proceeds go to caring for the homeless and feral cats of Lyndhurst.

Cassie Cupcakes

Remember when we were kids? When we were Brownies and Girl Guides? Every year we had to sell those cookies. Don't get me wrong. They were delicious cookies, but I was shy and selling stuff was really, really hard for me. Still is. So, what did I do, you ask? Well, I 'sold' them all to my parents. My dad had a terrible sweet tooth, so it wasn't as bad as it sounds. He bought a couple of boxes of cookies. My duty was done. All's well that ends well. In fact, as in most good causes, you only really need EVERYONE to do a LITTLE bit. For example, if everyone in Canada donated a dollar to any good cause, it would add up to a big amount, and the world could change in a good way.

Next Monday, February 23, 2015, is National Cupcake Day. On that day, humane societies all over Canada are fundraising with cupcakes. You can visit their website if you'd like to host your own cupcake party.

I thought I'd do things a little differently. Quelle surprise! Since I don't know a lot of people who'd buy my cupcakes (which IS kinda surprising, because I'm a darned good cook!) I decided to revert to my usual childhood MO. I've baked a dozen chocolate cupcakes, and I'm selling them to Mr. Coco. Yup. That's right. You want a cupcake, buster? Where's yer toonie? ($2 per cupcake is the suggested donation, according to the Gananoque Humane Society.) We've decided to support the Gananoque Humane Society and the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project in equal measure.

But isn't there some way that we could all just toss a toonie in the hat? A toonie! It's nothin'. Not even the cost of a Starbucks coffee. So, I had another idea...

I've been seeing those really cute cupcake wrappers around the internet lately. They jazz up even the simplest cupcake. I thought Cassie cupcake wrappers would be fabulous. So, I made some. And here's the thing: If you'd like to make your own Cassie Cupcakes and help a great cause, you don't have to spend much. Just a toonie will make a difference. You'll find the Cassie Cupcake Wrapper template on Craftsy.  Print the .PDF on your home printer on heavy-weight card, and cut on the lines. Just like in kindergarten. Simple. All the proceeds will go to the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project. How else can you feel so good about yourself for only 2 bucks?

The world will be a better place. I promise.

Little Flower Mittens (cont'd)

Sometimes it's hard to know when to stop, but I think this is it. They're done. They're so adorable. Tiny mittens for little, tiny hands.

Kate's pincushion

Here is an extremely cool pincushion van from our very talented friend Kate from the Arts and Socks blog. 

There's still time to enter the Pincushion Design Contest (for the rest of us) 2015.

Deadline is April 1, 2015

Little flower mittens

I've been working on a couple of different ideas for mittens. I've never made any this small before. This pair will fit a child 4 to 6 years of age. They are so cute!! I thought I'd do these in tandem, so they'd be identical when finished. When I finish one, the other will be pretty much done as well. So, here they are in progress:

Happy Groundhog Day!

I don't think there's any chance the poor little groundhog will see his shadow here in the Kingdom. It's a snow day here! A good time to recycle a drawing I did a couple of years ago. Just because I can. After all, who makes the rules around here? :)

Snowed in!

And, here's the Little Red Riding Hood baby sweater all finished. The front bands did spro-i-n-g back a bit, but not enough to worry about. I added 3 buttons with loops just as the designer did. The absolute perfect buttons were just sitting in my stash. They've been there for years waiting for their moment.

I used Patons Canadiana. I tried to interest Cassie in modeling it, but she said she was busy. Diva!

Ay, there's the rub

Thanks, Will. That's exactly what I was thinking. Wool is wonderful. You knit, and then you block it, and it's perfect. It's warm, and babies need warm. If (heaven forbid!) it catches fire, it doesn't melt like acrylic will. BUT, and it's a very big 'but', mothers of babies on this continent want to be able to throw baby's clothes into the washer and dryer. You just can't do that with wool. At least, not more than once. So, those of us who knit for 'modern babies' often choose acrylic.

I was asked to knit a baby sweater. I chose a bright 'tomato red'. It seemed to scream for a hood. On Ravelry, I found this adorable pattern by Mary Scott Huff. The Sweet Pea Cardigan. I love it. However, I think it only makes sense in shades of green. (A bright red Sweet Pea Cardigan would just be silly, don't you think?)

Sweet Pea Cardigan by Mary Scott Huff
Photo courtesy of Ravelry.com

So, I switched out the pea pods for regular cables. When you really look at the pods, they're just fanciful cables anyway. Genius, but cables. Some people on Ravelry were finding that the way the front bands pick up from the front edges, ends in an ugly line, and that's why the designer added the ribbon trim down the front. However, when I got that far, that wasn't my experience, so I didn't try to gild the lily with ribbon.

What I did have to do with this acrylic was block it, and I did it slowly and carefully, and with great trepidation. I know that if I'm not careful, there's a chance that the steam iron can melt acrylic. And that would be awful, after all my knitting. Tragic! So, here's the sweater, resting and cooling after the blocking. Once it's cool and dry, I'll remove the pins and decide if it's done. With any luck, it won't just spro-i-n-g back to its pre-blocked state.