I'm Back!

One of the 3 blankets I crocheted as wedding gifts for my wedding. Design by Dorothy Warrell.

YAY! I'm back and boy have I missed everyone in the blogosphere! On September 10, Brennan and I finally got married in a teeny tiny (8 person) ceremony in Kemptville, Ontario. We were so blessed to have nice weather and our immediate family around us. I was doubly blessed - September 10 is my birthday, so I got to get the man I love to be officially mine on my birthday :)

The photos here are of a project I've worked on for a year (I'm still working on one for Brennan and I now, but I managed to get the others ready by the wedding, phew!). I purchased 4 blanket kits from Herrschners.ca a year ago and got them all the same to give to our parents and my friend who was taking our photos. It is an Aran Nosegay pattern and WOW! was it time consuming (about 70 hours per blanket), but SO worth it. Everyone loves them, and I can't wait to finish mine. They are about 4 feet by 5feet 7 inches and so incredibly toasty warm.

Here's a closeup of one of the panels

Each blanket takes 12 panels, and I had never done a blanket before, so it took me a while to figure out the stitches (thank God it was crochet and not knitting, I'm so slow at knitting, I'd probably still be on the first panel of the first blanket!), but I did, and now I have to say I am HOOKED (no pun intended, well, ok, a teensy pun intended!). I LOVE making blankets and I have already ordered a different kit for when I am done my current one. You can never have enough blankets, and I figure, if the next one goes well, I'll order another kit of that one and give it as a Christmas or birthday gift next year :)

The blanket kits came with labels for me to personalize the blankets. I put our initials and the year.

I've also started to crochet washcloths and some fingerless gloves for myself, and a friend of mine is going to help me knit my first pair of socks - how addictive yarn is! I'll try to keep you updated as I go. I'm really slow though, so be prepared for sporadic updates on those!

Additionally, I am starting to (finally) write my gluten free, low allergy cookbook. It will be slow going for a while - I have to have people to test the recipes in their kitchens and that takes time - but I am excited to be finally working on it!

My jewellery stores on Etsy and Artfire are still going strong, and I have updated and relisted a few items over the last couple of days, keep checking back for more great items!

Thank you for all of your patience with my absence, I was really worried that I would lose all of my followers. I will be posting more regularly now, I promise :)

Have a fantastic day, full of happiness and blessings,

Tuesday's Treasures: Arwen's High 5's

Arwen loves to play Cheshire Cat, er, Dog, by sitting in the living room window to keep an eye out on things. Any time anyone tries to come onto her territory, she'll let everyone know with a little bark, a little growl, or a shake of her fluffy tail. A few days ago she spotted something lovely in the garden:
Raspberries! I had only planted the bush this year and had thought that I might have to wait a year or two, but here they are! I had 3 of the most delicious raspberries I'd ever tasted, and there are more on the little plant trying to grow! How spectacular!
Arwen was so happy she wanted to give me a high 5 to celebrate - with her lasers of course!

I haven't done much jewellery lately, but I crocheted myself a scarf and hat (the hat is a little small, but maybe I'll give it to someone with a smaller head and make another one) and I have plans to do some hand warmers and a few other things, as well as jewelry tutorials and a couple of pieces I'm really excited about. Stay tuned, there's always something happening here!

and Arwen

Thankful Thursday - I Have a New Friend to Show You!

~Octothello, the Amigurumi Octopus~

Well hello there, my name is Octothello the octopus, I am happy to make your acquaintance! I enjoy playing with cats, when I don't have my tentacles wrapped around my favorite books. I love the classics - The Iliad, Pride and Prejudice, and of course, anything by Shakespeare!
I am hand crocheted in dark blue acrylic yarn with synthetic polyfil and safety eyes so that I am gently washable.
I am about 4 inches tall when my legs are flat against the floor, but my legs give me an extra 4 inches of fun to play with. 4 of my legs are stuffed and 4 are left hollow for extra fun, and they are all bendable and moldable to whatever shape you (or your cat!) would like to put me in.
I, personally, am going to be a gift to a wonderful cat named Raff, but I will soon have brothers for sale on Meghann's store, Little Studio Jewels on Etsy, so be sure to check back for that!
It was very nice to meet you, but I am getting the evil-eye from Arwen and I need to make a hasty escape, lest I end up in her jaws of iron! I hope to see you later though, thanks for meeting me :)

Fabulous Friday, Part 2 - The First of the Monkeys!

~From the front, what long arms you have!~

~From the side, what a cute, curly tail you have!~

This is the first of (hopefully) a few monkeys I have made. I crocheted him using grey and red yarns to make him look like a sock monkey. Although he does have a bit of a squint, my glass safety eyes arrived in the mail today so from now on I will be using those instead of sewing them with more yarn. This one is a gift to my friend Louise of Fireseed, and I am currently starting an octopus for her wonderful orange tabby Raff. I'll keep you posted!
I am still listing new items in my Etsy shop every day, and my SUPER 50% OFF SALE is still on - for a limited time! Check it out for some wonderful Valentine's gifts.
Meghann

Thankful Thursday - Hobbies are Wonderful Blessings!

So the last few weeks I have been pretty much incapacitated by pain and exhaustion due to my Fibromyalgia. However, I am not complaining as I have learned to take these times and teach myself various lessons: how to relax even if I don't think I can or should, how to find interesting, educational programming on television or the Internet, how to learn new hobbies like knitting and crocheting that don't require much more than my hands, brain, and a couch for me to stretch out on. It is times like these that, although I still get frustrated, are teaching me a lot about myself, and how much I am able to learn from my own living room. What a blessing in disguise!
I have just started learning amigurumi - the Japanese art of miniature crochet. All I need is a crochet hook, some yarn, and a great little book called, "Amigurumi World - Seriously Cute Crochet" by Ana Paula Rimoli. It is seriously cute, and seriously easy! I picked up some yarns on sale and have been experimenting for a few days now. I have made 2 bears (the first is now being chewed on by my mom's cat after I sprayed it with some catnip spray - pics to follow when my mom sends me some), and I am starting a pink elephant, lol. I am hoping to make these and sell them as cat toys with the proceeds going to animal shelters. I may also turn the smaller ones into key chains and zipper pulls, again, to sell for charity. I have some safety eyes on order so that they look a little cuter (not that sewn eyes aren't cute, but safety eyes stop me from poking myself with a sharp needle!), and each animal I make is getting better and better!
I'm not stopping the jewellery or photography, never fear, but having a new hobby is always a great way to return to your work with a fresh perspective. "A change is as good as a rest", as the saying goes, and that will certainly turn out to be true when I am able to get back to my jewellery table!
I am listing new jewellery items daily, as I had a bunch of pieces photographed at the same time, so please keep checking my Etsy store for new jewellery suitable for every budget and taste!
Meghann

Fabulous Friday....Almost

I promised you all a picture of Brennan wearing the scarf that I spent 4 days knitting, but he didn't like the picture I took as he was running out the door. As such, I had to promise (!) to blur out his face, roflol.
It would have been much more fabulous had I been able to show his face as the colour of the scarf is so wonderful with his skin tone. However, you can see a bit of the scarf, which I am happy about!
As the cold snap shows no signs of stopping I am now starting a little crocheted amigurumi bear. I'll let you know how that turns out!
Meghann