Knitted bears and Baby hats: Doing what i love...

The kitchen table is cluttered with projects. I've been busy knitting up some big bears, and making knitted and crocheted apple and pumpkin hats for my Etsy shop and Artcentric in downtown Troy NY. Now that the gardening season is slowing down i can get to work on my indoor projects and am getting ready for the cold winds to blow again !I love making baby hats and bears...

New Teddies

This is Penelope.
(*Penelope was recently sold in my Etsy shop!*)

And this is Tommy. He is for sale in my Etsy shop.

There is nothing more satisfying to me than making toys and dolls. I think that may be because i have never really grown up. I enjoy buying them from other doll and toy makers as much as i enjoy making them and selling them to others!

I especially love it when i hear from their new owners, about how much they are loved....Benny the Bear Cub is waiting for his new family in the Etsy shop too

I love making these sweet, simple old fashioned teddies.

They don't talk, walk, or do tricks. They are definitely "low tech"

But what they are good for is hugging and loving and snuggling and telling secrets to. They don't have any sharp edges so sleeping with them is just fine! All they need is a good home, and someone to love them...These two little bears can be found at Artcentric in downtown Troy NY. There's nothing like having a special bear friend in your life....

Sweet Penelope

This little sweetie is Penelope Bear, and she just moved in to my Etsy shop!
She is hand knit with Love out of a super soft pale pink alpaca blend yarn, which makes her soft as a cloud to hug.

Here is a close up of her face. She has plastic safety eyes and an embroidered nose and mouth.

Her fuzzy red stole and her cute little dress and matching flower are crocheted out of easy care acrylic yarn, and are removable. Penelope stands about 14 inches tall from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

Here is a closer look at her dress....She is all dressed up to go with a new friend no matter where they are headed!

But underneath it all, is a sweet cuddly soft teddy bear for you or your little one to love. Penelope is now ready to go to her new forever home and is waiting for you in my Etsy shop! Make sure you stop by and say HI!

New Critters in the Etsy Shop!

New critters have been added to the Etsy shop, just in time for Christmas!

There's Puddin the bear

and Petal

and Freckles too!
All bears are hand knit with love, in either acrylic or a wool /acrylic blend yarn, and stuffed with polyfil. Their faces are hand embroidered on so that they are safe for children of all ages. All new critters are about 9" tall, and made with Love.

And introducing my "Sweater Scrap" dolls! I purchase old wool sweaters from the Goodwill shops, and wash them so that they are clean,soft and felted just right. Then i cut out the shapes and sew them together without a set pattern, so each doll is one of a kind.

This little Bun is the first of many more to come! AND i just found out he is featured in an Etsy Treasury called "She's Such a Doll" (Thank you Trashy Diva!) I think any of these guys would love to be nestled under a Christmas tree....

Mother Bear Teddy Bears!

These little teddies are hand knit from a pattern i bought from The Mother Bear Knitting Project

This is an organization that sells a teddy bear pattern you can either knit or crochet, and then when the bear is made you can send it back to the organization where they ship out the bears to children in Africa who are suffering from HIV and Aids. My friend Melissa has crocheted many many bears and has sent them out to many children in Africa, and has actually seen pictures of the children hugging the bears she has made!

When i knit the bears i like to deviate from the pattern a bit and add a shaped muzzle and sometimes buttons and beads, and sell them in my daughter's shop, The Paper Sparrow. When i do sell a bear, i donate $10.00 to The Mother Bear Project so they can put that money where they most need it...

It really is a wonderful organization. I hope you take some time to check it out.

And if you'd like to help, these three little bears will be for sale in my Etsy shop just waiting for someone to love them. They have plastic safety eyes, so i would not recommend them for babies, but they are super soft and squishy and would make an older child a really nice friend....

Beary Sweet!

These two little Sister Bears are made with love as a special order for my friend Laura

They are wearing bows around their necks today but are traveling with their warm Winter scarves, just in case they need them. They will also each be wearing a little necklace too... All girls love accessories!

The little bears are headed to my Etsy shop for Laura's approval and off they will go to meet their new friends in California! Enjoy the warm sun girls!

Crochet Away...

One of the things i am planning to accomplish for this new year is to read and follow knit and crochet patterns better..to not be intimidated by more complicated twists and turns type of instructions. One of the ways i am trying to get over my fear of making a mistake is to knit and crochet things i REALLY want to learn how to make. Like more toys and dolls...

Meet Alphonse... or Al for short. He is a little monkey crocheted in the round..No seams, just crochet the parts and stuff him and sew him together.

He is currently looking for work as an actor, following the path his Grandfather took (His Grandfather performed with an organ grinder back in the days...)

Al is waiting for his next gig in my Etsy shop.

And here's Mimi.. She is a flexible, talented little mouse.
She is a figure skater in the Winter and a ballet dancer during the rest of the year...

She is waiting for someone to discover her...

She can be reached in my Etsy shop also, waiting right along side Alphonse for their big break....

And then there are the easier projects, like this cowl...No bells or whistles, just beautiful color and chunky warm wool blend yarn

meant to keep you warm no matter how cold it gets out there...

And if it snows? Just pull it up over your head to keep the snow off your roof!
(And that model? It's me... I just couldn't get a good picture of a cowl unless it was on a body, and Bill just wasn't up to modeling! So i am practicing taking my picture in the mirror...VERY difficult for this little dyslexic brain of mine! ) So! That's what I've been up to! I have several teddies knitted or being knitted and put together~both the regular patterns and a few new, more complicated ones...

And i have a crocheted elephant in the works! So far, so good with the harder patterns. Of course i started with the easier patterns on top of the pile....We'll see how it goes as the going gets tough. If i get stuck i KNOW there are a lot of experts out there that can give me good advice, right?

Off The Hook( and needles and bead table...)

Production is UP around here lately. Between getting things ready for the Holiday shoppers at The Paper Sparrow, doing a couple of fund raisers and craft fairs with my daughter Kate, and stocking my new Etsy shop, we've got a little bit of everything getting done around here!

This is Honey Bear...She's knit with love and wrapped up with a warm fuzzy crocheted scarf of her very own... She's not very fancy, but she is very sweet.... She spent one day in the Etsy shop and went home to her new Family! Thanks Alex!
We've got some soft mossy serpentine earrings with sterling silver ear wires

And some new jade beads with Tibetan silver bead caps and sterling silver ear wires...
Both pair are in the Moon*&*Stars Studio Etsy shop

And here is another sweet little baby sweater, straight off the crochet hook!

It's crocheted in a wool blend yarn , and it is on the rack at The Paper Sparow right now.

It has a sweet little coconut shell button to keep it snug up against your little one. This one is in size 3-6 months...

I like these non traditional colors for babies, don't you???

More to come!

In the Works....

With all that has been going on around here, it is always amazing to me how much crafting i do manage to get done. The floors and the furniture are dusty, and the laundry is piled high, but i make sure that whenever i sit still, i have a bag full of yarn and a crochet hook or knitting needles with me.

Meet my new newborn model, Dorie. Her store bought name was Dora, but i decided to change it a bit so she would be named after the little pup we lost last week. Newborn sized hats fit her perfectly! And the hats are a new style i have been working with. Last Winter i focused on learning to knit, and this year i am teaching myself how to read and execute crochet patterns... I worked on the ear pattern on this hat and am calling them my teddybear beanies! They will be available in newborn and toddler sizes at The Paper Sparrow and in my Etsy shop real soon.

And underneath this pile is my kitchen table! I put my countless unfinished projects on the table this morning so they would be right in my face, and hopefully i will get some of them finished today. (This is just a fraction of the projects that need finishing) I have over a dozen pair of booties to be seamed, ears to sew on hats, scarves to be trimmed out, lovely hats started on looms, baby sweaters to be pieced together and trimmed, teddy bears that need to be stuffed and sewn together.... And that's not all. Time to finish up a few loose ends before starting another project....well....except for the next sweater i started last night and those new hat patterns i am working on........oh well, i am a work in progress!

Teddies, Piggies and Booties! (Oh My!)

This little teddy bear, made using the basic pattern from The Mother Bear Knitting Project, is a first for me. She is the first bear knit out of 100% all natural cotton, and the first to have a skirt added to the design! I hope she will catch some little girl's eye at The Paper Sparrow and go home to live with her...Partial proceeds from the sale of these bears goes right back to

The Mother Bear Project.

Here she is standing with a few of her new friends. They are part of the guinea pig herd that has moved in at The Paper Sparrow...

Here they are in their little cage, just waiting for their new owners to come and bring them home. The sign on the cage says: Note to Parents: These piggies do not poop or shed. A real low maintenance pet!

They are quite the happy herd, all dressed up with their bows and name tags....

And for the little ones there are a few more pair of my Peek a Booties available too!

(I call them Peek a Booties because of the little hole in the toe ;) If you are out and about today, stop by The Paper Sparrow in downtown Troy and say hi! Hug the teddies and pet the piggies and enjoy the festivities at Riverfest 2009!