January Crafts

Sometimes it seem that i am not getting anything done around here

But when i line up all the projects like this

Wow! I've been busy!

Baby Bears...

Two little garter stitch teddy bear friends headed out to a Holiday fundraiser later on today. They are wearing their newly crocheted scarves to keep them warm. They hope to find their new homes with a holiday shopper tonight!

New Crafts....

It just hit me...the holiday season is JUST around the corner! So i have been busy!

I've been frustrated by the fact that my knitting still goes so slow, and by the fact that my wrists and arms seem to hurt more if i try to push for better production. SO i took the simple beginner pattern to make this sweater....

made out of a square panel for the back, two rectangle panels for the front and two more for the sleeves...

and made it in super fast double crochet!

and it came together in no time at all! And for some reason, crochet doesn't bother my wrists and arms at all! So now there is no reason why i cannot fill the Paper Sparrow and my Etsy shop (someday) with these cute little sweaters!

I am also cranking out more Mother Bears, and made my first Humpty Dumpty doll too. Very simple and soft for baby. Humpty has a friend with red pants and one with green pants coming together right now too. As a matter of fact there is a LOT more coming together, just awaiting seaming and embellishments. My kitchen table looks a lot like Santa's Workshop at any given time! Time to get ready for the big Holiday season!

My New Friend Manuel....

See that little guy sitting on Cornelius' lap? His name is Manuel, and he is only about 2 1/2 inches tall! He is handmade out of felted wool by a very talented artist named Stacey Hsu. In addition to making cute little guys like Manuel, she also makes sock dogs, (i LOVE sock dolls) and is an illustrator and writer of children's books. A portion of her sales goes to local animal shelters(this is so important and something i also do. )

Look at that sweet little face!

Manuel came with his little scarf and his own tiny ball to play with. How could you not fall in love!!?? To check out Stacey's blog, click here

To go to Stacey's Etsy shop, click here

To look at Stacey's illustration work, click here

Thanks Stacey for all the good work you do! You are such an inspiration to me! And i'm sure a few more of your creations will find their way home here in the future! ;)