Bird Mobile Finally Finished!

I finally finished the long-promised Christmas present of the bird mobile! I used my blue jay pattern and altered it to make a yellow finch, a black bird and a cardinal, too.
I found the design for hanging them all from the book "Sweet Needle Felts" by Jenn Docherty. I think it really looks better in person!

Let's Start Thinking About a Holiday!

I know it's early, but how about thinking about Valentine's Day? I just needle felted these little guys! The fellow (on the right) is supposed to be kneeling, but you can't tell! I just used two pipe cleaners twisted into hearts with legs. I added pipe-cleaner arms, then needle felted roving all over them. A bit of black roving finishes their faces. It's so much fun! I happened to have some tiny paper flowers to throw in a little extra for this little guy to really give a heartfelt gift ...

Needle Felting Is Fun!

Needle-felted flowers using a cookie cutter for the shaping.

Needle-felted dog ... looks just like the wired-haired fox terrier we had when I was growing up! You can make any kind of dog or cat or fish or anything you want! It's incredible!

I was testing out some needle felting the other day and am pretty happy with the results. I have done lots of needle felting in the past, but I never used these techniques before. I have all sorts of plans now for Easter chicks and ducks! For a great video, take a look here from the Craft Beautiful channel. For the needle-felted dog instructions from Craft Beautiful, look here.

A Big Box of Sunshine!

Look at what arrived today! My wonderful aunt sent these while vacationing in Florida! It's just what we needed! A big, delicious box of fresh, juicy SUNSHINE!

Yesterday's Snow!

Our backyard covered with frosting!

Maggie does not like cold feet!

Yesterday it snowed. I used to love the snow when I was little and I never could understand why my father would grumble at it all the time. (We lived in Virginia when I was a child and every year we got LOTS and lots of snow.)

Anyhow, now that I'm an adult ... and my children have things to do and jobs to work and that sort of thing ... and we can't simply grab our boots and sleds and come in all rosy-cheeked and freezing cold ... waiting for the hot chocolate to bubble and the popcorn to stop popping ... well, since we can't do that, I now fully understand my father's grumblings! It's cold! It's icy! It's inconvenient! But it is pretty, I will say that.

I was too impatient to drag out Maggie's boots, so her little feet were bare. No ice balls stuck to her legs this year, though. She didn't want to take the time to play!

My mail is back and thank you, test knitters!

The Pattern Box email is back up and running ... and all my folders were magically restored today! All my inbox, sent mail, etc.! Yippee!

Meanwhile, a GIANT thank you to all those who have volunteered to be test knitters for my new designs!!! I greatly appreciate your willingness to try out these new patterns.

I hope you all are enjoying a wonderful weekend, despite the weird temperatures across the country! Our pipes actually froze yesterday and we didn't have hot water until late in the afternoon. Thankfully, though, the pipes did not burst or leak after they thawed. *audible sigh of relief!!!

AACKK! Pattern Box email all gone!

Hello! Yesterday, you would know the day I post a request for test knitters and directed everyone to use my Pattern Box email address to let me know if you were interested or not ... well, that very day, my web host had an "issue" with email and although it's back up now, ALL my folders have been emptied! No inbox! No sent mail! No folders at all!!! YIKES!
So, if you were interested in test knitting any of the projects, please email me again. Although everyone's email programs have "issues" from time and again, maybe you'd better use my amwheeless@carolina.rr.com just to be on the safe side. Hate to be a bother, but please email again!!!
Thanks!

New Year, New Projects ... Anyone care to be a test knitter?

As the new year is in full swing, my brain seems to be on overload with new ideas for knitting/felting projects! I can't knit them all fast enough! I have three worked out so far ... two are toys and the third is a party favor.
I am wondering if anyone out there would care to be a test knitter for one of them? Test knitting would require a bit of secrecy, though ... you see, I'm hoping to try to submit one or all of the patterns to either an online knitting publication or perhaps ... even a print one ... so, unfortunately, no photos or descriptions of the projects could be shared publicly ... not on your blog or on Ravelry or anywhere. I know. This is the difficult part. It's super difficult for me, because when I finish something, my natural inclination is to want to show it to people and get their opinions ... good or bad!
So, we could only share our opinions among ourselves. While you would not be paid for your time and trouble, you would get a free pattern from me ... so, if this seems interesting to you, please email me for more details.
I look forward to hearing from you!

Think Spring! Crepe-Paper Covered Nut Cups!

This is my first attempt at covering a little paper nut cup with crepe paper. I think it came out pretty well, save for the not-nearly-twisted-enough paper handle. I actually ordered a book from Amazon.com that supposedly gave instructions, but I'm afraid the descriptions did not include the pleated covering I had envisioned. So, I tried several different things and finally came up with this one. It needs work, but I think I'm on the right track!
There are so many holidays and occasions when a covered nut cup would add so much to the overall festive look of the table! I found my crepe paper folds at AC Moore and Hobby Lobby.
Once I perfect it, I'll post a photo tutorial so everybody can make them! Doesn't the pink paper make you feel like spring? *sigh UPDATE! I figured out how to do it!!! Directions are on my blog for March 2.

Stormy Days

Today's weather report. Believe it or not, these are not black and white photos. These are COLOR photos. Taken today right around noon. Wow, the wind is crazy out there, too! I had to park on the 6th floor of a parking deck when bringing my dad to the doctor today ... and it sounded so forlorn and creepy up there!!! YIKES! After all that, his appointment had been canceled and they called the wrong number yesterday to let us know. AARRGGGG.
This scene is pretty much how it's looked for days... okay, well, sometimes there's rain coming down, too. *sigh How long until Spring again?