Another Hat

Hello!  I made another cute hat!  Wanna see?

It started out as a hat for my friend's baby Bella, who turns 2 this December.  However, it came out way tiny.  And, since that same friend is expecting another girl, this can be for her!  I will make Bella one as well, but I'll use different colors.  It was supposed to be a beret style but that didn't work out.  

The ears were hard at first, but when I picked up how to do them, they're super easy.  Yes, they're a little crooked, but I think it kinda gives the hat character!  I can't wait to do more of these!  I want to make them for everyone!  YAY!!

Oh, and here's another small embroidery! 

I'll be putting it up for sale at Moxie tomorrow.  In fact, I REALLY need to restock there! 

Knifty Knitter

I cannot knit.  I just can't keep up with what I'm doing.  And I don't have a lot of patience.  So, I started looking at these last year.  I had a look, and then looked at the instructions, and, for some reason, decided it was way too complicated for me. 

Recently, while at Joann Fabrics, I saw a single loom for a baby hat.  I picked it up, deciding that if I couldn't do it, it was cheap, and just one, and I could give it to someone.  I brought it home, and waited a couple of days.  It was intimidating me from its new home in my cute little avocado green vintage Samsonite vanity case.  I finally took it out, grabbed some yarn, took a deep breath, and dove in.

It's actually incredibly easy to use a round loom.  I can't speak for the longer ones, but I'd like to try them.  I decided to make a hat, and make a tiny hat, I did.  Yes, admittedly, after starting over, seriously, three times.  But, I just tried to look at it as practice, and not failure, and I finally came up with this cute little thing!

The ONLY thing I'm worried about now is, will it fit the baby for which I made it????  I just don't know, and that's what scares me.  I may dampen it and stretch it.  But I used the loom for baby hats, so maybe it will work.  Or maybe the yarn isn't stretchy enough.  I dunno.  I'm gonna give it to the Mommy tomorrow, and tell her if it doesn't fit, I'm sorry. 

I am now working on a bright blue beret type hat for someone, but I dunno who yet.  I highly recommend these looms, especially if you can't seem to pick up knitting!

Embroidery, Zombies, and GOMA!

I promise this post will be more than just more mini embroideries.  I just love them so much.  They're so much fun!  Quick and easy and so cute.  I dunno what I'm gonna do with all of them, though!! 

Sublime Stitching Brain from the Vital Organs pattern set

Mixer from the Sublime Stitching Crazy Kitchen pattern set.

Camper inspired by Red Velvet Art

I got in my books, the Zombie Cross Stitch and the Nautical Pattern ones, yesterday.  I scanned in all the zombie patterns, because they're TINY!!  So, I scanned them in and increased the size by 150%, and it's much better.  The patterns, I guess are for smaller cross stitch pieces, because the specifications for finished pieces are like 2 inches by 3 or in that area, and the largest is like 4 inches by 7.  I picked out one to do and started last night.  I did lose my place in one area, and it's a little off, but you can't even tell, so I didn't bother going back and redoing it.  It's a zombie, for cryin out loud! 

 
Anyhow, the patterns, for a beginner, anyway, are a tad more difficult to follow than the ones in the Subversive Cross Stitch book.  But, once you get going, it's okay.  I think it's going to turn out really well, and, of course, you can count on pictures when it's done!!  I haven't tried any of the patterns in the Nautical book, but they look pretty easy, although, some look VERY involved.  I always love a challenge, though. 

I'm off today, and I was watching Cats 101 on Animal Planet, when they featured this ADORABLE blog!!

http://mycatgoma.com/

A girl named Sachie is responsible for this cavalcade of ridiculous cute.  She's just as cute as Goma!  She moved here from Japan, and wanted a cat to keep her company, so she found Goma, and fell in love with Goma.  She's a woman OBSESSED!  And her blog is just the cutest thing ever.  You should totally check it out.  And you can become a fan on Facebook- Friends of Goma.  

Okay, I'm off to clean the bathroom, finish laundry, and go try a new Chinese place for lunch that Allen's work does labels for.  Byeeee!

In Homage to Flo...

"Kiss my grits!"

Pattern from Subversive Cross Stitch by Julie Jackson.

Cross Stitch Madness!

So, my friend's bday is coming up, and his sister wanted to put together a book for him, with everyone doing a special page.  I thought about it, and wanted to do a cross stitch page.

This friend loves horror movies and Japanese cartoons and zombies.  So, I was sort of looking around online, trying to get some inspiration, when I came across a book called Nautical Charted Designs. 

It's a cross stitch book full of nautical designs!  I love it.  So, I went to BarnesandNoble.com to find it.  I found it, and added it to my cart.  Then I decided to see what other sorts of cross stitch books they have, since I'm really getting into cross stitch and enjoying it.  Then, I found the perfect book. 

I HAD to order it.  I even paid the extra for expedited shipping, so it should arrive by Thursday at the latest.  I can't wait!! It will definitely be the biggest cross stitch thing I've done.  I've only done three very simple ones, so we'll see how it turns out!

Right now, I'm working on this from Subversive Cross Stitch:

I can't wait to finish it! 

Custom Piece

My boyfriend's friend Patrick thinks he's a werewolf.

So, he drew himself as a werewolf, and when he found out I do embroidery, asked me, over a year ago, to embroider a version of his werewolf self-portrait.

I FINALLY got off my ass and did it.  It was something I was dreading, because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do his drawing justice.

But I think I did an alright job.  I think he will be pleased.

He gets a vintage hoop with it too.

Mini Embroideries

Here are some more small embroideries!  I drew all of these.  

Weekend Goodness

I was so busy this weekend that I didn't take fun pics.  

I got to Coldspring about 3 in the afternoon on Friday.  .  I visited with my grandparents and mom until my dad came home from work.  Then he mowed the yard (because that's how he unwinds from a hard day at work- more work) and we got ready to go to dinner and karaoke.  Now, I WISH I had gotten a photo of my super cute outfit and hair, but I did not.  Just suffice it to say that it was really cute.  We had dinner at Pueblo Viejo.  I had two of the best strawberry margaritas and one of the best cheese enchiladas ever!  Then we went to karaoke, where I had two more margaritas.  They were pretty tasty as well.  We all sang, I danced with my dad and with an older gentleman, and a great time was had by all! 

Saturday, we went shopping.  I got some super cute stuff, as well as some of these babies!

They're measuring cups!  How cute is that??? We had dinner on Saturday and then Sunday, we just chilled out and Mom made really good chili dogs.  Yummmm.  I came home Sunday.  I always really love visiting my family, but it's always nice to come home.  Plus, Allen didn't go this time, and I really missed him. 

Now, back to real life...

More Minis

I am obsessed with making these little guys!  Is the button from Sublime Stitching, or did I draw it?  I really can't remember. 

This car was inspired by 1960s VW beetles.  I used to call them "suns" when I was little.  

And here is another one of those weird fat helicopters that haunt my dreams. 

Cupcake Dreams

I'm thinking a lot about making cupcakes today.  I used to bake a lot, but sort of got out of it when I moved out of the house I shared with my roommate.  I could always count on him and his girlfriend to eat whatever I baked, but my boyfriend really isn't so much into sweets, so I cut down on baking.  I just didn't want goodies sitting around the house tempting us.  But today, I decided that there are many, many things that I want to get better at, and making cupcakes, not just regular ones, but interesting flavors, is one of those many things.

My dream, like if I came in to a gigantic sum of money, is to move my friend Brandi down here and start a shop.  She loves to bake, cook, and make art, and I do, too.  We have talked and dreamed and talked about this forever.  We want sell handmade items and have a bakery as well.  And I added that we could have a bar, too, where we only sold sweet drinks and sweet beer.  We'd also have vegan stuff.    That would be the ultimate job for me!  Brandi is so much fun, and I really think it would be a successful shop here in Austin, especially the cupcake/girly bar part.  I know it's unrealistic- she's still in school and lives in NY, and I don't even know where I'd come up with the money to even think about starting this up-but it's always fun to dream!

In the meantime,  in addition to dreaming of a fun business and making any kind of cupcake you can imagine, I've been working on embroideries.  I don't know why I love doing these small ones, I just do.  They're so cute.  I may sell them at Moxie, or maybe on Etsy, or maybe I'll finally get motivated to make my own website to sell from.  Maybe people will find them on their doorsteps randomly.  Maybe I'll keep them and make a wall collage.  Who knows these things?

The anchor, sailboat, umbrella, and word bubble I drew myself and the sushi is from Urban Threads.  

Pillow Talk

Sooooo I finally got around to finishing some pillows!!!

These are from Cate Anevski illustrations.  I did them for a friend.  I hope she likes them!  I really wanted to put some blue and purple pompom trim on them, but I couldn't find any.  

Also, I made these cozies for my high school friend Emily.  It's our sports team mascot in our school colors- Red, white, and black!  I just have to sew them so that they will fit around a cup!  I 'm pretty proud of them! 

I'm also working on some more mini embroideries, so stay tuned.