So grateful that my blogging friend Amy has invited to the crochet-along at the yarn shop she works at! :D I don’t think I’ve had that much fun for a long time, chatting about everything from bacon to sweet gum trees and the structure and weight of yarn… laughing and learning (I’ve never heard of sweet gum trees, and have been making sweaters that look odd never realizing that the oddness is caused by a mismatched fiber substitution!) while getting lots done on my project :D Such a wonderful, warm, friendly and funny group of people! And as someone whose main line of work at the moment is to run expressive arts groups, it’s just REALLY nice to be a participant once in a while rather than a facilitator. 

And I even got a tour of the yarn shop, it’s really an AMAZING yarn shop! I wish I live right next to it. I’d just go and hang out there. Amongst the yarn. And feeling blissful. It’s not just the rows and rows of colour-coordinated yarn of all sorts of weight and fiber and brands, but there’s so much love poured into taking care of the yarn and making it a welcoming, creative place for visitors. The staff are so knowledgeable! They even have buttons! Buttons! SO! If you’re ever in St. Louis, be sure to check out Knitorious! :D And if you can’t get to St. Louis for a while, check out Amy’s blog instead, it’s hilarious with lots of crafty goodness, always makes me smile :D

Oh yes, this is what we’re working on…

The swing jacket from the 2013 issue of Vogue crochet! :D 

I think I want to pair it with a green dress and wearing it to a wedding in August. Maybe I’ll have a sewing project coming up next…

Will keep you posted! :D Wishing you a wonderful weekend full of creative goodness! 

Remembering Kathreen Ricketson, whose blog, Whipup, was one of the first blogs I followed, whose creative energy inspired and motivated me to create, whose generosity and desire to increase exposure for fellow crafters contributed so much to growth of individual artisans and the crafting community as a whole. I’ve had the privilege of exchanging a few emails with Kathreen, when I timidly sent her one of my first tutorials, and she agreed to share it on her widely popular blog. I was so excited, so encouraged by her kind words. My heart weeps over the tragic accident that took the lives of Kathreen and her partner, Rob. An account has been set up for their children, Otilija and Orlando. Details are posted here for those who’d like to contribute.

A very stylishly crocheted chevron sweater, on my to-make list :D From Make My Day Creative.

Treasure! A myriad of mushroom knitting patterns, generously shared on Kathryn Ivy.

The most lovely cake boxes, by Ravelry designer CGW Joanita Theron.

Sweet twine-wrapped washer necklaces, on Design Mom.

*squeal* A needle-felted Totoro! Video tutorial by fiber artist Jackie Huang on Make.

I was thinking maybe making a collar like this and sew it to a plain top – wouldn’t it be sweet? Pattern can be adjusted to fit child or adult. From Lulu Loves.

Such neat idea, wine cork pendants! From Fiskars.

Looks like a knitting project I can handle :D Love its simple design. From Kollabora.

Wishing you a lovely week!

Neighbourhood strolling.

Cherry blossom viewing.

Cherry tree hugging.

Double levitation!

Mike’s guest appearance.

Hanging out by the water with the willows.

Have an awesome weekend, everyone!

The weather is especially gorgeous this year over the few days of peak bloom, which attracted a large and merry gathering of people at High Park even on a Monday night when we went.

My sister brought along Wish Bunny, a rabbit with wings from a Japanese comic called Cardcaptor Sakura, I think. I made Wish Bunny in my high school days, nearly 15 years ago. Still in good shape and fit to climb trees :D

I wore my blooming dress for the occasion…

We packed a picnic of onigiri and imitation crab meat salad.

Then we took a stroll by the lake, and a swan came to join the merry gathering! 

And of course we took levitating photos amongst the blooming trees! Will post them in the next few days :D

Happy spring!

It actually started as a bandana top last summer, made with two bandanas, each cut in half, then sewed together in the middle-front, middle-back, and side seams, leaving space for armholes and a v-neck.

But it didn’t look right when I tried it on. It was poufing out in all sorts of strange places. I got discouraged and left it in the closet for the entire fall and winter. Then recently I thought maybe if I extend it into a dress it might drape more nicely. So I went back to Honest Ed’s where I found the bandanas, and was able to find two more in the exact same colour and pattern! Almost couldn’t believe it.

I sewed the two bandanas into a tube to make a skirt, then sewed them to the top at waist line.

This is the back of it…

It clearly needed some waist shaping, so I used the same trick as I did with this top, with buttons and button loops. I really like the blue buttons on the brown/white/orange pattern :D

(Please excuse the out of focus photos :S)

Can’t wait for the weather to be warm enough to wear it outside :D

Happy May! 

When it’s really sunny out even my point and shoot camera works well with the levitation shoots.

Mike and I spent an afternoon in the Distillery. It was a bit cold and rainy so the streets were quite empty, perfect for photo shoots.

When people saw this they commented that it looked like the creature was sucking me into its mouth. But the storyline I had in my mind at the moment involves a tentative encounter with a creature that everyone was afraid of and avoiding, and finding out that there is nothing to be afraid of at all, that the creature really just wants to be understood. Much like an encounter with fear itself.

And for this one I was thinking about Valley of the Wind, involving a character who befriends mutant insects. This creature used to have one giant red eye. Not sure why it doesn’t anymore.

Floating forward and resting by the pond. These were taken with a phone. Not bad huh.

Have a great week, everyone!

… a new dress I made! :D

It’s from a pattern by Doris Chan and made with Mary Maxim Prism in a colour called Still Waters. It’s for going to a wedding in the fall :D The front closure ended up backwards, I don’t know how that happened… but oh well. I really love the yarn! And I love that the colour is called Still Waters. Was trying to do an interpretive levitation of still waters. It’s unfortunate that I don’t have a better background setup for the photo. Maybe when I go to the wedding I can try again, something to do between ceremony and reception :D

I got mother of pearl buttons from my favourite button shop on Queen Street.

More levitation photos to come! Have a great Friday! :D

Alton Brown‘s perfect popcorn, cooked on a stove! Featuring Mike impersonating Kermit the frog, and me impersonating Fozzie Bear.

(we’re far too easily amused.)

Hope your week is filled with simple joys :)

After posting about the perler bead earrings several days ago, I immediately made a pair :D They look so sweet! And so quick to make. Kind of have a lacy look to them.

It was a very small craft project but it made me really happy. There are so many things that I want to make and I post them on this blog, but I rarely make any of them.

The next day Mike and I went to Greg’s Ice Cream :D mmm crunchy malt.

Wishing everyone an awesome start to the week!