The shower gifts...

I've been hiding these for a while as I was waiting for the baby shower to pass before I let the crafts out of the bag. They're not great photos, but unfortunately, all I've got.
Some reversible blankies...
White hoodie sweater with frog button and frog Robeez (my new favorite addiction)...
Ladybug sweater with ladybug Robeez...
And another pair of skull bootees, but they were more for the parents amusment than to clothe the child. I also included some actual useful baby items such as wipes etc. Overall, I think a good reception. I believe, though I never thought it possible, that I am experiencing some baby gift burnout. Thank goodness there's a bit of a buffer zone between now and Christmas (for which I've already planned, but yet to craft).
Until later...

Handsome and Handy...a story in pictures

Biff built a box...

for the baby...(she says "Yea!")

then helped her dad fix a screaming faucet...

everyone says "Yea!" for Biff.

She's finally here!

Proud to be seven times an aunt as of July 5th, it is with great pleasure that I introduce baby Kara. It is she that I've been knitting etc. for since November, if you recall here
and here. Such a pretty little thing, although I don't recall authorizing that piece of knitwear to be near her, as it didn't come from my needles.
Blasphemy!! (but of course I kid) Can't wait to meet her and I'll soon be able to reveal yet another pile of stuff I've been working on for the shower later this month.

Birthdays in the bag...

The summer is laden with birthdays in my cirlce of family and friends. It's always an ordeal to come up with unique, original or person-appropriate gifts. Enter crafting ability combined with crafting contest, and all is made the easier for me!

So here are my official Whiplash entries. I came up with only two as this months theme, bags, seemed to fit these two birthdays the best.

The first bag is for my mother, who funny enough, requested a bag as her birthday gift. Her request was unique in that she has emphysema and is on oxygen 24/7. When she goes out, she carries an oxygen canister with her and has yet to find a sufficent tote that isn't overly cumbersome or just the right size. She wanted one specifically designed with the canister in mind, without a whole lot of extra room, as carrying the canister itself is more than enough to handle, let alone wallet etc. So together we sketched out a design with just the right dimensions, agreed on canvas as the material and voila. The design is simple, but it's meant to be more functional than decorative. So Happy Birthday Mom!

(That would be my ever faithful companion and sometimes model, who was rather unco-operative during the photo shoot, but managed to finegle a treat out of me just the same...his name is Maury).

This second entry is totally going to ruin the surprise, as it is intended for my friend Carrie, who's birthday isn't until August actually, but being one of only two confirmed people that I know visit this blog, she's bound to see it sooner or later. But I couldn't resist. She's a big Hello Kitty fan and I've been wracking my brain for a few years trying to come up with something I could make for her, preferably knitted as that is my craft of choice, that was Kitty inspired. This is what I came up with.

I'm entering this under skill I suppose, as it it combining a few skills that I haven't tried before. The bag is felted, a very nifty trick that I haven't test driven before now but I feel will become quite common in my repetoire. It is also my first time charting my own design and incorporating it in my own design. The whole thing is one hundred percent me. No printed pattern for this one. Also, I'm fairly new to colour work as well in knitting, despite the fact that I've been hacking away on the needles for something like ten years now (I just realized like two weeks ago that I've been purling incorrectly all this time...ACK!)I do think that the little felted flower makes it's a little fancy though! So Happy Birthday Carrie! You can look for now, but can't actually touch until the big day.
So with this I enter the world of Whiplash...
Until later...