Just in case...

... you are thinking ahead to the NEXT winter woolly season, here are the colours that are supposedly going to be "big" for Fall 2011....

I'm kinda likin' them.... bamboo, nougat, quarry.... yum.
If you click on the palette you can read more about what one source anticipates for the season. Hey, sorry if you think I am rushing you, but the magazines already have us thinking about Spring 2012.... yikes!

Sometimes...

... I really wonder what rock I live under?!?!?!?!
I just stumbled across the most F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S magazine birthed from an exceptional blog about "design, craft and food"... Sweet Paul!


The fourth issue of the mag will be available on March 1st, but until then you can download pdf's of issues one through three and read at your leisure.


How incredibly generous of dear Sweet Paul.
Now, once again, I have to figure out how to add more days to my hours...

ps...
my retail therapy arrived today!
yippppeeeeeee...

Retail therapy...

... at wholesale prices... yarnie style!
FYI-- elann.com is hosting a great sale on Patons Classic Wool. At half the price you would find elsewhere, I just could not say "no"!
This has got to be my all time favourite go-to-yarn for basic knits-- toasty pullovers, fireside socks, hats and mitts. It is also the most reliable and readily accessible wool that I have found for felted projects.


I have been making little felted bowls out of it to hold "dry goods" as part of my pret-a-porter line and I have been running low on select colours.


Above you can see a litter of them drying and shaping on some bowls. I like the way the little contrast coloured center dot makes them full of whimsy.
I also love to watch the way people pick them up. They cradle them like little kittens or as if they were crafted from fragile porcelain. Hah! Us felters know how tough they are!
Soon, I'll have lots of new colours to play with!
I just love the way the shades look in my shopping cart... come hither pumpkin and wisteria!


And, since I had a teensy-weensy bit of room left in my cart, I tossed in a bag of this for me...


I see something Free People inspired for a cool summer evening made out of this. At less than 17 bucks for a bag of 10 balls... how could I resist?
Oh, and I tossed in 3 skeins of this...

You never know when you need something woolly in Malt Heather. And... at less than $5 for 200 grams? Pleeeeease!

I have been thinking of writing up the simple bowl pattern and making it available as a freebie. Let me know if you are interested. It just might put a match to my butt.... ;-)

Happy...

... Valentine's Day!

Those 80's "hammer pants"...

... had to go!
I know... they have popped up everywhere the past few fashion seasons.


Created from light, light natural Indian cotton, hand printed in black with discreet touches of a metallic silver, they could not be discarded.

A wise soul once said, if you wore the trend the first time around...
don't even think about it the second time around!

I simply could not part with them so they had been salted away--- for years. Some of you may know that I have had this odd form of "separation anxiety" with previous pieces in my fashion archive.
Then one day... this image popped up in my inbox, thanks to Gudrun Sjoden...



Hmmmmmm.... I thought!

I've got my hammer pants....
I've got balls--wooden ones...

I can tie a knot!!!

A bit of cutting, sewing, ball stuffing and knotting and I got me a pair of these...


Yes, I went quite a bit shorter than and did not pile them on as much as Gudrun. My lifestyle isn't quite what is envisioned by Swedish fashion stylists. But I do love them... even more than the original pants!

What to gather:

• wooden balls or beads- the ones I used are 1" in diameter.
  
• fabric strip measuring a minimum of 45"-- the longer the strip the longer the necklace. Piece lengths together until desired length. For width, measure the circumference of your balls and add 1" for a 1/2" seam allowance. My 1" balls have a circumference of 3" so my strips were 4" wide.
• large safety pin to aide in turning the tube right side out.

What to do:

• Fold fabric strip lengthwise with right sides facing.
  
• Stitch into a long tube using a 1/2" seam allowance.
• Turn tube right side out using the safety pin.
• Press, if desired.
• Fill with balls and knot as your heart desires...

Just...

because she looks so lovely sitting and knitting...

Enjoy your Snow Day-- if you are one of the lucky ones! And, Happy Groundhog Day to all!