Finished projects

More knitting, crocheting and Onesies...

The Onesies are hand stencilled first and then hand painted with my original designs...

More needlework too...

Two more knitted hats for children...The multi colored one for babies and the red hat for a bigger child.

The wool scarf was crocheted with some yarn i bought from The Paper Sparrow. Beautiful muted color.... Next project? More sweater practice, some seasonal hats for children, and some hand knit teddy bears!

More Jewelry and Crafts

I've been super busy getting some more jewelry and onesies ready for my daughter's shop, The Paper Sparrow. The first onesie i made was my own design of a bumblebee, and here are the next two. I draw all my own designs and then stencil the main parts on the onesie, and embellish with paint pens. This is so much fun. I don't take enough time to paint, so this gets my crafting and painting urges out all at once!

Here is a closeup of the Ladybug. Next, i have a request for an "aquatic" theme....

I finished another mala and now need to give my fingers time to rest, working so intensely with the wire. This one is made of clear quartz crystal beads and rudruksha beads. The center bead is a clear quartz crystal nugget.

This is a little baby's rosary i made of small moonstone beads. I thought it would be nice as a birth or christening gift... This one is just a prototype, but i like the way it turned out and will go ahead and make some more...

The rosary on the left is made on flexible wire. I also make rosaries (on the right) using the hand made chain too. The rosary on the left is made with chrysocholla and agate. The one on the right is made of turquoise.

And because we got a lot of compliments on the aquamarine mala, i made this strand of aquamarine beads with matching earrings to be worn as jewelry. Now it is time to put the paint brushes down and put the metal smith tools away and clean my house!

A Very Productive Weekend!

Saturday morning Bill and i got up and out early to visit the Farmer's Market in downtown Troy. We love this market...It is well established and oh so full of wonderful things to try, taste and buy! I promise next time we go to remember to take my camera! Anyway, after we packed up the van with our loot, we strolled over to The Paper Sparrow to visit Kate so she could give me a quick lesson on how to use freezer paper to make stencils on fabric. I have been wanting to learn how to do this so i could use my own designs and drawings on Tee shirts and onesies for Seth and Lola...and maybe, if they came out alright, to sell some in the shop! So Saturday was practice day! I started out on an old stained onesie of Lola's, and tried different techniques and ideas out using the fabric paint and pens. Here is the test/practice onesie....

i will reuse that basic pattern and try to get it right on a new onesie

Here is my bumblebee design. I tried to keep it looking a bit like a child's drawing in some respects. I am not sure if it is finished..i think i need to add some veining in the wings, and then heat set the design on the fabric.

While i waited for the paint to dry i got going on a few Lollidollies for the shop. Katie has sold all of them but one and the little basket they were displayed in looks very empty. These little dolls are made out of baby socks. I got the basic idea from this book... Still to come...more Lollidollies, more sock dolls (2 bunny sock dolls sold last week) and more little boy baby hats...all in the works! Then more jewelry to be made...It is good to be busy doing the things you love to do!

Birds in Blue

I have been working with different metal components in my jewelry making

Amazonite beads, hand chained, with a little metal swallow as the centerpiece

Fire polished blue glass beads with a vintage reproduction of a swallow in brass

Turquoise beads hand chained to a little metal branch, holding a sparrow family to be.


(That's a huge egg for those tiny birds! The hen must be the one flapping her wings...OUCH!)

Goin' to the Dogs!

I thought i'd post some pictures of the two dolls i just finished. This is Marley. He ain't nothin' but a hound dog. He's made out of some pretty fancy socks, with a glove finger for a tongue. (Recognize the socks Katie?) The arm and leg seams are machine sewn, but the rest is all hand sewn.

Next, meet Murphy. Murphy is a pit bull mix, and is as sweet as pie! Murphy is made out of a glove. He is totally hand sewn.

I love making dolls using socks and gloves. I started out with instructions from this excellent book called:

Sock and Glove by Miyako Kanamori

After trying some of the basic patterns in the book, i am making my own little creature designs. If you like making sock dolls and sock monkeys, try this book. It has many great ideas to get you started.