Second needle felted bear

I needle sculpted another bear; a polar bear cut this time.

Bear Buggy

I made a buggy for my needle felted bear, but it's a bit small for him. I'll just have to make a smaller bear to go with the buggy, and a bigger buggy for the bear, lol.

My first needle felted bear

I finished my first needle felting project; a tiny bear.

My Needle felting kits are in!

Check out these cute needle felting kits; aren't they adorable?  I ordered them from Living Felt, about 2 weeks ago, and have been waiting for them to come in ever since.  I'm so glad they got here!  

I've been interested in learning how to needle felt for a few years now...I'm so looking forward to trying these kits.

I really love the Happy Dog...I wonder if I should start with him, or save him for second, and practice on the bear.

If I enjoy this, I'm going to visit some of the local farms to buy wool so I won't have to wait for the mail.  I've seen some really nice books on needle felting on Amazon and ebay that I'd like to try...but first, i'll try these darling kits.

I'm going to read the instructions and drink coffee now :-).

Mailman and my Dad brought goodies

Today was a fun day!  The dolls that I ordered came in, and my Dad picked them up for me; woohoo. The are so cute; check them out:

Aren't they sweet?  I'm not sure if I'm going to keep both or not; I originally had planned on keeping one and selling one on ebay...but they're so adorable i may just have to keep both, lol.
The dolls were a gift to myself, in honour of ending over 10 years of therapy.

I also got a parcel in the mail today.  I was excited because I've been waiting (and waiting!) for my needle felting kits to come in.  So I thought that was it.  I was surprised to find it was a parcel from the Peel Board...a gift for me, celebrating 20 years of service. I've been on a long term disability for over 10 years (which is one of the reasons I needed therapy), so it was bittersweet to get this gift.  I haven't even opened it yet...i'm just looking at the box.

Well, I'm going to do some stitching now.  I'm making some plastic canvas bunnies.  

I hope my needle felting kit will come in soon.

Photo Album 2011-02-12 #4

Link

I had so much fun making these Barbie items. I really enjoyed making the pool up without a pattern. I'm looking forward to making more Barbie things.

Mom's birthday and plastic canvas gifts

Here's my mom on her 67th birthday.  Doesn't she look great?

She really liked the blue Victorian tissue house that I made her.

Plastic canvas has come in handy a lot since Christmas.  I made several items as Christmas gifts, this house for my Mom, a last minute gift for my cousin, Jane, (it was an adorable memo pad cover in the shape of a purse; unfortunately, I forgot to take photos).

Here's my Mom, with aunt Judy and cousin Linda.  The big red candle is a long time family tradition, lol.

I made this little tissue cover as a goodbye gift for my therapist.  Today is my last session, after over 10 years.

Barbies, and a flashback.

I have a ton of Plastic Canvas Fashion Doll furniture patterns, but I had no fashion dolls, so I went to the Value Village today to get one.  I ended up with these 6 Barbies, for only 6 dollars!  What a deal!

The funniest thing happened when I got home and opened the plastic bag holding the Barbies.
My whole entire body became infused with a sense of childlike wonder.  I was having a flashback...a good one, for a change.

Flashbacks are like instant replays of past events.  They come unbidden, and anything can trigger them...sight, touch, smell, sounds...anything.

When my hand contacted the first Barbie...the pretty one in the blue flowered swimsuit, I was instantly transported back to a day in my childhood when I was a very sick little girl, suffering from extreme asthma and pneumonia.  This was in the days before Ventolin Inhalers, so every asthma attack was potentially life threatening.  I lived with two smokers, a block away from a pollution emitting steel plant, so my little lungs never had a chance.

I know this sounds like a bad flashback, but it wasn't.  I was instantly transported to that sick little girl's body, lying on the couch, being presented with a greatly desired "Quick Curl Barbie", from my Dad. I can still see the love in his eyes as he gave me that doll.  My Dad isn't prone to showing sentimental feelings, but they always came through when I was sick.

I'd forgotten how my Dad used to buy me special gifts whenever I was sick, even though my Mom would tell him that he was "spoiling" me, and that we "can't afford it".  I'd forgotten how my Mom would bring me mug after mug of ginger ale or hot cocoa; how she'd put a cold face cloth on my forehead to help with the headaches that the asthma caused.  I'd forgotten how she coat my chest with Vic's vapour rub and put the vapourizer next to me, along with warnings not to burn myself in the steam.  She used to hold a blanket over me and the vapourizer so I could breath the steam.  My Mom was always super critical of me, but not when I was sick.  I hated being sick, but in a way, I loved it, because my parents were so nice to me.

I'd forgotten how my Dad used to carry me up the stairs to the washroom, or to bed, because I was too weak to climb the stairs.  Now I just sleep on the couch or in the recliner when I can't climb the stairs, but back then, that wasn't necessary.  Dad would lift me off the couch and carry me up the steep flight of stairs, several times a day.  I could actually feel the blue nightgown around me as my Dad carried me up the stairs, in this flashback...or series of flashbacks...I guess.  I could hear my Mom telling him to be careful, my Dad telling her not to be stupid, and I could feel my Dad's arms around me, supporting me.

I've never forgotten how they smoked, and how much I hated the fact that they smoked.  I've never forgotten how I'd bring pamphlets home from school to try to explain that second hand smoke was bad.  I've never forgotten how helpless and angry I felt when they smoked.  It always seemed like their habit was more important than me. My asthma was life threatening, and smoking triggered it.  They just refused to believe that smoke could hurt me, no matter how much I begged them to quit...not just for me, but for them, too.  I was always terrified that smoking would kill my parents, or me.  My Dad quit when I was 14, but my Mom wouldn't give them up.

Smoking almost killed my Mom...she fought stage 4 throat cancer 2 years ago.  She won her battle, thank God, and quit smoking, but she sure paid the price for smoking.  So did I.  I still have severe, chronic asthma, and studies now show that it is more common in children of smokers.  I was exposed to second hand smoke from birth until I left home at the age of 18.

My parents used to have parties and the entire extended family would come over, and smoke.  I used to try to barricade my bedroom door using rolled up towels at the bottom, to try to prevent the smoke from seeping in.  I'd open my bedroom window on even the coldest days of winter, but sometimes the air quality outside was even worse than inside, thanks to the Steel plant.  I remembered all of that, and I had a hard time forgiving that.  To me, smoking around an asthmatic child...heck, around any child...is a form of abuse.  But they didn't believe that.

My parents weren't educated folks; but they were loving parents, and they did their best.

When I held that Barbie, all of those feelings of being loved and cared for came flooding back.  Feelings of joy at having a new Barbie came back, too, lol.  It was like I was a little girl again.

Ironically, I have the Barbies today because my Dad took me shopping.  My truck broke down, and he came to look at it.  Then he took me shopping.  He spent an hour wandering through the Walmart with me...and I'm sure that shopping with me is a different experience than shopping with my Mom.  My Mom is super organized.  I'm...not.  What is the opposite of organized?  It's me.

Before he picked me up, Dad called me and told me to write a list.  I assured him that I had.  Unfortunately, the list disappeared into the black hole I call a purse, and I couldn't find it when we got to the store.
This led to my backtracking to get things i'd forgotten, say...10 times, lol.  My Dad kept saying, "Weren't we just down this aisle 10 minutes ago?"

After Walmart, I asked if we could swing by the Value Village so I could buy a Barbie.  I explained about the plastic canvas, and told him that I didn't want to pay full price for a Barbie when I just needed one to make sure I was making the Barbie stuff in the right size.  He brought me to the Village, but waited in the truck.

So I have Barbies again, thanks to my Dad agreeing to bring me shopping.  And, because of the Barbies, I think I'm finally able to forgive my parents for smoking.

Thank you, Barbie!

Happy New Year!

I love this picture!

Off My Rocker!

Well, here's proof that I am indeed off my rocker, but in a good way, lol:

You can actually see my rocker/recliner right behind me.  I had to push it back to make room to play with my Kinect (which is what I'm doing in the picture, by the way, lol).  Kinect snaps random embarrassing photos and gives them captions, and this one just fit perfectly, lol.

I guess I should wear something other than pajama bottoms and a t shirt to play with my Kinect from now on, but since I already embarrassed myself, here's another shot that caught me leaping up the air, something I haven't done since I was a teenager, lol.

XBOX Kinect

I finally made a decision and bought a Kinect, after over a week of debating whether to get a Sony Move, a Kinect, or a Wii.

I was really attracted to the Move, but I don't have a PS3 console and $399.00 for the whole package was out of my price range.

The Wii had the best price, only $209.00 for either the red Wii with Wii Sports an a Mario title, or a Black Wii with Wii Sports and Wii Sports resort.  It also had the best selection of titles, but only if I stayed with the basic Wii.  I only wanted a motion sensing game in the first place so I can lose weight, so I would have had to add the Wii balance board andWii fit. That brought the price up to over 300 dollars, and for that price, I figured I may as well get the newer product.

The Xbox and Kinect, bundled with Adventures, was $299.00; and I also paid an extra 50 for the Your Shape Fitness Evolved game.  The Xbox only  has 4 GB of storage, though, which sucks, but then again, I plan to only use Kinect games with Xbox...I have so many PC games that it would be silly to switch to a console for my regular gaming.  Not that I'm a hardcore gamer...I like the Sims 2 and the Sims 3, Adventure Games, and Oblivion.

Now, before buying Kinect, I was worried that I may not like playing without a controller.  I mean, I like my mouse; it's very  handy, lol.  So I downloaded some webcam games that seemed similar to Kinect (although without the technology). Webcam Mania is a set of cam games that can be downloaded at this site:   http://mika.tanninen.net/Ohjelmat_Webcam_10_en.shtml
To be honest, I didn't think I'd enjoy them, but they were a lot of fun.  I decide that I would like the fancier version of these games so that cemented my decision to go with Kinect.

I had a workout getting my room ready for the Kinect, before even playing it.  I have a small house, and my livingroom is long and narrow.  It's also very cluttered, and in my research I read somewhere that Kinect doesn't like clutter.  So I had to move a lot of stuff to another room (and can now barely move in my office, but that is another story, lol).

Once the livingroom was ready, I set up the game.  It was soooo simple to do; Xbox explained ever step.
Soon the Xbox was telling me to put the controller down.  I did.  It told me where to stand.  I did.  It ran a series of calibrations (audio, visual), had me wave, showed me how to pause, and then we were ready to play.

Adventures was first, and I, a confirmed couch potato, was soon leaping, laughing, and leaning my way around corners, over ramps, frantically trying to collect rewards and avoid obstacles as I went.

My standard poodle Mac decided to join in the fun, and Kinect "saw" him as a child and gave him a child avatar and named him player two, lol.  Player two, the dog, is more energetic than I am and his antics made the raft jump waaay up, lol.  I laughed so hard that I had to pause the game and take my asthma meds.

The next game was a soccer bop sort of game, where you stand in front of a net and hit balls at a target, which then hurls balls back at you.  You have to keep these balls out of the net...I think.
I was doing well at this game, surprisingly, when Mac came back and again the Kinect saw him as player two.  I stopped moving to laugh, but Mac didn't and Kinect said "Player two now has control of the game".  Tooooo funny!  The Kinect snapped some pictures...I hope it got pics of the dog, lol.

I won a trophy...or maybe Mac did...a fat hamster statue, which I animated with a silly song.

I was hot and sweaty and sore and shocked to find that it was way after midnight...1:30 AM. I'd been moving for over an hour, and hadn't realized.  

I am so glad that I bought this game.  I'm looking forward to trying the fitness game tomorrow.  I can't wait to play this with my friend and my goddaughter.

Crocheted Annie dog

I've been missing my darling girl, Annie, who went to doggy heaven at the age of 19 and a half this past September.
I decided to crochet a little Annie type dog, and I'm really happy with the results.

The Power of Positive Thinking

I've read a lot about the power of positive thinking, the power of prayer, the power of attraction, etc.  They all seem to boil down to something similar; ask, and it shall be given.  Have faith that you will receive what you ask for.
I thought it would be fun to play with pictures, to sort of send out these images to God and the universe as a way to ask that my book sells.

If you want to make your own images like this; it's easy.  Just google "fun picture effects" and tons of free websites will come up.

Have fun!

Free Crochet: Baby Hedgehog Pattern

I made up this cute little pattern because I've been obsessed with baby hedgehogs lately.
It will be free for awhile, so if  you want to try it, feel free!
Let me know if you run into any problems.  I did my best, but it's the first pattern that I've written out to share with others, so there may be mistakes.
I'd love to see your baby hedgehog if you make one.  I named mine " Baby Spike".
--

A Handful of Baby Hedgehog(s)
Pattern by Katharine Schopp

Materials:

Size F and G crochet hook

Worsted weight yarn, pink (Main Colour/MC)  You may use smaller hooks and thinner yarn to get a smaller hedgie.

Eyelash yarn, silver (or colour of  your choice)

Black embroidery thread

Coated elastic band (ponytail holder)

Embroidery needle

Small amount of stuffing, and Scissors

This is an Intermediate pattern.  It may be tricky for beginners.

Stitches used:

Ch/ch - Chain stitch              DC/dc - double crochet   HDC/hdc - half double crochet

SC/sc - single crochet            Sl st -    slip stitch

                                                                   Sk st - skip stitch

Here is a link to videos that explain various crochet stitches:

http://www.google.ca/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=crochet+stitches#q=crochet+stitches&hl=en&prmd=iv&source=univ&tbs=vid:1&tbo=u&ei=-_nZTPXNN5zhnQe549XYCQ&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=10&ved=0CEsQqwQwCQ&fp=e4e626a95f36d5f0

Head
1) With MC (pink) and size F hook, chain 2.  Work 4 sc in second chain from hook. (4)
    Do not join; insert yarn marker (I use a strand of yarn to hold my place).
2) Work two sc in next sc; sc in next sc, around. (6)
3)Work  two sc in  next sc; sc in next sc, around. (9)
4)Work two sc in next sc; sc in next sc around.  (14)

Stuff lightly.

5)Sc in next 2 sc, sl st in next 2 sc, sc in next 4 sc, sl st next 2 sc, sc remaining 4 sc. (14)
6) Working in front loops only for this round, sc next 2 sc together (decrease made), around. (7)  Fasten off; sew closed.

You should now have a little flat bottomed cone shape.  This will form the snout and face.

Body

1) Turn cone so flat bottom is facing you.

Insert F hook into any of the 14 unused back loops from round 5, with hook pointing away from you, and flat part of snout facing you.  Attach pink with slip stitch.

Sc in same space as sl st, sc in next sc. Turn.  (2)

2) Ch 4.  Work sc, HDC, sc in second ch from hook.  Sc in each of next 2 sc of chain (first arm made)  Sc in next 2 sc, turn.  

3) Ch 4.  Work sc, HDC, sc in second ch from hook.  Sc in each of next sc of chain (second arm made), turn.

4) Ch 1, 2 sc in first sc, 1 sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc, turn (5).

5) Ch 1, sc next two sc together (decrease made), sc next sc, decrease over next 2 sc, turn (3).

6) Ch 4, work 2 HDC in second ch from hook, 2 hdc in next ch, 1 sc in final chain.  Sc in eas of next 3 sc.  Turn.  (Leg made).

7) Ch 4, work 2 hdc in second ch from hook, 2 hdc in next ch, 1 sc in final ch, join with sl st to sc of body (second leg made).

You will now have a cone shaped snout/face attached to a small flat body with arms and legs.  Your hook will be at the juncture between the leg and the side of the body. 

Elastic Band Round

You are now ready to attach elastic.  

1) Hold elastic behind hedgehog body, and work 1 sc in same st as last st (juncture between leg and side of body).

You will now have the elastic attached.  

2) Work 1 sc evenly in each st along side of body, making sure to attach elastic as you go. 

3) Skip behind arm, and sc in next body stitch.  Pull tight so there is no gap.  The arm will now be at the front of the body. 

4) Sc along side of neck until you get to the back ring of the cone/face.  There should only be one or two stitches at the side of neck.

5) 1 sc in each of the back loops around head.  The elastic will get taut, and the Hedgehog body will start to curl.  This is what you want.  

6) Continue to sc along other side as you did for first side, being careful to only do 1 sc per stitch, and skipping behind arms and leg. You may need to pull the elastic to ensure that you are catching it as you crochet.

7) Work one sc in each of the sc between the legs, sk last leg, and join with slip stitch at side of body, where we first began to attach the elastic.  Fasten off.

You will now have a little Hedgie front side of body that will want to curl up into the elastic.

Prickles/Needles/outer body

Using silver eyelash yarn and size G crochet hook,  hold hedgie body so the legs/tummy/arms are facing you, and attach yarn in any sc of last round.  My camera batteries died at this point, but the following rows are very straightforward so you shouldn't have any trouble.  (Let me know if you do and I'll photograph this part of the pattern the next time I make one of these cuties.)

1) Work 2 sc in each sc around.  Do not join rounds; mark joining spot as before.  Depending on how many sc you added around the body in the last round, you should now have approx 38 sc.

2 and 3) Sc around.  (approx 38 sc).

4 to end) Sc 2 sc together (decrease made), around.    

It’s OK to stop counting stitches, as you will continue to repeat this row (decrease around) until there is only a finger tip sized hole in the center.  Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.  

Stuff unsewn lengths of yarn (except for last tail) inside, and very lightly stuff with a tiny ball of fibre fill.  You want to leave enough room for the hedgehog to curl up in a ball, and you won’t be able to do this if you put in too much stuffing. 

Sew the hole closed.

Embroider eyes, nose, and mouth onto face.  I made simple sleepy eyes, but you can do awake eyes, or sew on beads for eyes (if this is not a gift for a baby).

Sew in any remaining edges, and admire your baby hedgehog.

That's it!  I hope you enjoyed this pattern.  



Free craft: Make a bird bookmark

These bird bookmarks are cute, and easy to make:

Here's a link to a tutorial  that shows how to make these bookmarks:
http://magicandmakebelievepress.com/bonus-features/bird-bookmark-craft/

Have fun, and if you decide to make them, please share pics.  I'd love to see them.
Thanks,
Kathy

Crocheted Amigurumi Doll

I found this cute pattern for for "Pink Little Lady" on this blog:
http://kandjdolls.blogspot.com/2010/02/pink-little-lady.html
I adapted it a tiny bit; made the arms longer and gave her a neck.  I left off the ears and gave her a full head of hair.
I'd like to try the actual pattern without adapting it when I have some thinner yarn; I didn't have the right yarn this time.
I'm happy with her; I think she's really cute, even though she's not as sweet as the original pattern by Sayjai.
I didn't have any round beads for eyes, so I used diamond shaped beads from a broken necklace, lol.