Time for baby

I have some new hats but no model. We're waiting for him to arrive...
Nov. 5th we are scheduled to be at the hospital at the unearthly hour of 5:30a.m.!

I am ready to meet this little guy but of course I have my list of things to worry about while we are gone. Will the dog behave himself with the sitter, will he leave the cat alone? Will the fish tanks go back online if we have electrical outtages? Will the cat use the shelter we made for her (she's an outdoor kitty unfortunately)? Will I make it through one more C-Section?

I have two orders to get out by Monday and I have been given a possible serial set of orders if I can figure out how to get the customer's image onto her shirts. I love a challenge but its just not working how I'd like, her design has small details. She doesn't want embroidery which would be such a cinch for me digitize and stitch out, but I understand these are yoga shirts and you don't want ANYTHING rubbing, you want soft, pliable. Her design is fairly large too. Hmmm....

I have my last dr. appt on Halloween day which just is downright inconvenient. I'll have to bust my tail to get back here (2 hr drive) to help with costumes. I have no idea what the plan is for that day. I used to love the holiday, but for years I've dreaded it. So much work for so little time in costume.

On a happy note, I got my labels in this week from Custom Couture Label Co. at Etsy.com! She did such a great job! Thanks, Dianna! I am going to have some new ones done after the baby is born when I get my other label going, but that's a secret ;o) I have another business in the brainworks but we'll see how much time I have to devote to it. Can't think warm hats will sell that well in summer!

Well, it's light out now and I need to get the house going. There is lots on the agenda today- orders to mail, get a child ready to travel for an out of town tournament, prepare a dish for a company "picnic", go to University's Halloween physics demo...

I've Been Crafty Baby. I've Been a Craftin' Mama!

Joy to the World, All the Boys and Girls! Joy to the Fishes in the Deep Blue SEAAAAAA.

Joy to YOU and ME!!!

Each night I stare at the yarns in all their glory staring back at me. Bouclés, Wools, Loopies, I don't know their names, I just know like to pet them and feel their textures, absorb their colors and dream the dreams they put into my head.

Yes, I am that bad about fabric too.

I've got some roving that I just can't decide what project is worthy of its use too!

I've stopped thinking in my box and have let myself figure it all out as I go. Lots of FROGGING, but I've been more pleased than ever with the end result. (Is that redundant? END RESULT??)
First we began with our local yarn shop going out of business. I am very disappointed but I did completely make a fool out of myself when she threw the 50% off closing party. If I had been able to drink, someone might have needed to drive me home!
One night, the TV wasn't keeping my attention over the screams from the skeins couped up in a bag under the bed. I had chosen a blue, orange and pink set of skeins that I thought were lovely together in the store, then I realized the orange was a different type, same brand. I had never seen its kind before; it was cotton, BUT STRETCHY!! NO lycra or nylon! Yipes, I had to do something! The puffy blue convinced me from its ball that it needed a tango with this stretchy fox. I began with a new method I got from my cheeky book, Happy Hooker, where you do a loop and then make your stitches on that loop rather than a chain. It allows one to suck up that annoying little hole that comes from chaining! SO COOL! Page 52, BTW. Eventually I came around to some ancient Asian looking hat with ear flaps. I actually chuckled out loud, saying, "I've found it! Eureka- Attila's lost baby hat! But secretly I loved it! Was going for a newborn size but I think it rather fits 3-6mths. I really like it and maybe if it doesn't sell, I'll keep it for my own newborn in a couple of months. That's right ya'll heard me, don't buy it! HAH!

After that glee flinging episode I decided to do something a bit more stable minded and ended up with what my son kindly refers to as the Sheep Herder hat. Creamy velour yarn mixed with a darn brown brushed mohair mix yarn. Its more subdued but still different. I love the popcorns with the brown waves! I love the contrast of the velour with the hairyness. (By the way, that hairy model in my Attila hat is indeed the mohair skein, just in case you were wondering.)

I then had a custom request for a hat to match a customer's ready made jacket. It was such a great jacket too! SO, I had to come up with something I felt matched it. For her style and the jacket's I decided a bohemian, pageboy style hair was in order. The jacket was brown knit with fuschia embroidery on back so I tried to mimic the style of embroidery and the result was really cute. I can't wait to see her in it!

The final "hat" turned out to not really be a hat at all! I had a rich, red yarn that I absolutely am smitten with. I hat made a GINORMOUS pompom with it a few weeks ago for another project but it just didn't jive. Anyway, this red skein fell off my bed and into the arms of a loopy autumn-like yarn that was being flirted with by a natural organic wool. I played with some afghan hooking on the red and it curled nicely but I had to put the others in and my brain was fire-ing off faster than that long hook could bust a move. Before the end of the evening I had the beginnings of what looked like a triangular "kerchief" my mother used to wear in cotton. What was I thinking??? BUT I didn't stop. The next day I trimmed it all out and thought will it be floppy in the back?? What will hold it down??? ELEPHANT POM to the rescue! Excellent! It really was the candle on the cake. I took a ton of strands of all three yarns and then made two braided ties on each corner. The whole thing is my absolute favorite, as well as my eldest DD's. She wants this one if it doesn't sell, so she says, "So, really DON'T buy it!" too. What are we to do with ourselves???

Work in Progress- More than what's on the craft table

I know I've been bad about posting, not a good start for a newby, but really I have REASONS...
Last week I received a request for a hat to match a ready made jacket.


"SURE! What fun!" said I. Immediately images of hat designs sketched onto my brain's whiteboard. I was pretty much given generous free reign too, "Feel free to go wild. Make it whimsical." I usually get a bit leary when I read these words from customers. There have been times in the past when I've had more ideas than my customers could handle and they back out after I've already spent much time and effort planning their request. But this customer has been an absolute dream! I can't believe how nice she is! I went ahead , started templates and this is the week I've had.
I made a template out some thinner, lower quality fleece I've been saving for just this purpose. It turned out so cute, I decided to make it into its own project (ya know ya never have enough of those hangin' around.) I then plunged into some white, velourish fleece that was OH! SO SOFT. I mean this stuff was just indescribably plush. I knew she'd have to love this stuff!
Weeeeelllll, I should have realized right then I was going to need to alter the thin fleece's pattern for this "poke-me-in-belly-HeeHee" thick marshmallow fabric.
That dern hat came out like a helmet. I couldn't decide where to go from there. My creative muses left along with our AC. It shook me out of bed in the morning. I just knew one of those black hawk military helicopters we see had landed on the roof. Nope, just an AC fan off its mount. How timely, what with us being in the middle of a heat wave with temps over a 100 each day. My eggs were fried. (Remember, I am just soooo pregnant at the moment??? Not good to have fried egg temps.) My son who is my four year old model for all outfits male or female (the therapy I'll have to pay for later...) was not pleased with me smacking this muffy helmet on his burred head and telling him, "Now don't move or you'll sweat in it!"
He dealt with the hot humiliation by making faces for the camera as I played with various layouts for the "hat." He had to make it clear for all time how much he did not volunteer, in all his boyhood, to go along with this.
I emailed my sister back and forth furiously getting her opinion on various layouts.

I gathered up what female cajones I could muster and cut through the fleecy layers to make the darn thing less appealing to NASA. Two serger needles later, we began to see the light as the cap evolved (no pics, too hot.) But it was happening.

Tassles from the ear flaps and crown, flowers to match those of the jacket and some hand stitched embellishing... we are homeward bound.
I will post a finished picture later, but right now I've got to go find the window unit somewhere in the barn. It's 8:30am and the fridge has decided it needed to joined the AC and complete its dying process; its been working on it for a few months. Its voiding all over the floor again. Guess we'll just have to keep cool with the frozen turnips.
If anyone has any snowballs left in their freezers, could you overnite them this way????
Update: finished photos, think I'll leave the forehead of it blank? I love it as it is!