Knitted-Look Flowered Headband Pattern (Free)

This post has been removed. (6/23/2019)

Cheshire Cat-o-Lantern

My hubby and I carved pumpkins today. I know, a little last-minute, but, we still managed to do it before the holiday. I usually do the average jack-o-lantern face. This year, I chose a more ambitious design. I printed off a screen shot of the Cheshire cat from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland to use as inspiration, and drew it onto my pumpkin. And, I spent the next couple of hours carving. Now, my pumpkin initially had a bit of lean to it, and, after carving away so much of the front...it tips over backward if it isn't propped up! I didn't think it would be a problem before I started carving - I thought it would be cool to see the Cheshire cat's grin bobbing with the wind. No such luck. My hubby's pumpkin turned out really cool, too - it's the grim reaper. Our front porch is definitely a creepy place tonight!

A Book to Doodle In

Sometimes, I feel the need to mix it up with my journals. I love the clean look of a textured leather cover, but, a pretty floral design is just as welcome. The journal I carry everywhere was the inspiration for this one. The designs on both were inspired by silk embroidery designs from a book I have on 18th century embroidery. Drawing on leather is both a joy and a challenge. There is no room for error and the design has to be properly centered and fill the whole space. I ink the design on the leather before I stitch in the pages to make it easy on myself, and I use a Faber-Castell permanent pen. The design will 'soften' with time and use, giving it more of a tattoo feel.

This journal is filled with mixed-media paper and stitched with waxed Irish linen thread. The signatures are covered with beautiful decorative papers. A leather belt with a brass buckle keeps it closed and the finished measurements are 5.5"x3.75"x1.625" (14cm x 9.5cm x 4cm). No longer available in my Etsy shop.

Another Octopus

I started out making this cutie for my shop. Then, I realized that I liked it too much to let go of it. So, I decided to keep it for my munchkin...for when he or she joins the outside world.

Like the previous octopus, it was all freeform. I can't bring myself to take the time to write down anything as I go, so, still no pattern. The yarn is dyed with Wilton's food coloring...blue and brown. I made the eyes a little differently, so that they didn't look quite so angry. Jacques just looks like he's contemplating something nasty. I didn't want my kid to be scared of his/her toys.

Extreme Crafting

Well, the rumor mill has been churning at full speed. When we told our immediate family that we were expecting, we also told them that we weren't telling everyone until after I was safely through my first trimester. But, the temptation to gossip was apparently too strong for some of them to resist. I found out this afternoon that people I barely know are fully aware of my delicate condition. So, now that the gossips have stolen my ability to make the joyous announcement on my own time, here I am, telling everyone else before I was really ready to. I'm really not happy that strangers got to hear my good news before most of my FAMILY knew. In fact, I'm pissed. Anyway, I'm busy crafting a little one and trying to refrain from throwing things. ETA is in April.

It's such a little cutie! It kind of waved to us during our first ultrasound.