Loops and fringes

Mittens made by Elza Deklavs

My friend Amanda has a pair of mittens that her grandmother made for her. Her grandmother was born in Riga, Latvia. Unfortunately, she died in 2011. When Amanda showed me the mittens, I was intrigued by the loops at the cast-on edge. I took photos, and I hoped one day I'd figure out how she did it. I didn't have any luck at all trying on my own.  I'm a pretty good Googler, but I came up empty. No references to that technique at all. :(

And then, quite by accident (since most good things happen by accident), I contributed to a Kickstarter campaign for a new knitting book by Donna Druchunas called Lithuanian Mittens. The technique is explained in that book.

It was a little clumsy to do, and took me several tries, but I think I'm close. Mind you, I didn't push my luck with a double row of loops as Amanda's grandmother did. Maybe next time.

Owl mittens

I was asked to make another pair of owl mittens for someone whose first pair of mittens came to an untimely end (of the laundry disaster kind). So sad. This time, she asked for dark purple and any shade of blue.

January Calico Cats

For Cassie. Well....inspired by Cassie. (She doesn't really like sugar cookies. Silly cat.)

The clock is ticking!

I was asked to make a baby hat for a baby named Lucy. She's 10 weeks old, and the hat is going to see her into the spring. Since I know little Lucy is growing, growing, growing, I am anxious to get it to her proud grandmother, before it's too warm for her to need a hat.

I put a butterfly on this one, because Lucy's grandmother and I have a bit of a history. Her grandmother is Toni Ferrara, a Canadian children's author. She wrote a picture book called Butterflies and Birchbark a few years ago, and I had the honour of illustrating it. I thought a butterfly would suit little Lucy perfectly.

Many thanks to Toni for commissioning this little hat. The money will go to the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project, so we thank her for supporting LFCP as well.

Surprise!!

Bet you thought I'd never get this sweater done, didn't you? Well, I have to admit there were moments when I wondered the same thing. But here we are. More proof that slow and steady wins the race! I just hope the intended recipient is happy with it. It's going off in the mail tomorrow. A big, warm hug of a sweater. :)

Cool Cats!

I'm working on a technique for painting with icing. My biggest problem is patience.... or lack of. I was so eager to see how these would turn out, that I didn't really wait as long as I should have between applications. It's a little like watercolour. You paint a little. You wait for it to dry a bit, or a lot. And then, you paint some more. I hope we'll see some improvement as I go along.

Crazy friends, lucky me

I count myself lucky that I have friends who share the same love of whimsy, love of animals, and love of art and creating that I do. It's good to have company. It would be a sad and lonely world without them. It would be an even sadder world without whimsy. Gotta love whimsy.

Occasionally, one of my friends will mention something that just sets off my imagination. I think in pictures. Doesn't everyone? I seriously wouldn't know. My brain could be odd that way. However, when my friend Kate wrote that her dog Doug brought in the mail from his evening walk, I knew she meant her husband had stopped at the mailbox on his late night walk with Doug, but this is what I saw in my mind's eye:

In the Kingdom of Coco, anything is possible.