Alpacas and The Doctor

My right index finger hurts.  I'm not sure why other than I've been pushing my needle in and out of some felt.  I finally got around to making some alpacas.  Of course first of all I had to design a pattern, but I had met these gorgeous creatures not so long ago at Amazing Graze Alpacas in Stirling, so I had a good starting place.  

Whilst I was there I bought some roving.

The roving on the left is called Pralines and Cream, and the one of the right is blue/purple/green.  I wasn't ready to go straight into a punk version, so first I used some tan felt and the darker, nutty brown roving and voila, my first alpaca which I am calling Pralines.

Then, as alpacas are communal creatures (just wondering if the plural is alpaca or alpacas?) - (ha, just googled it and the plural can be either!), I thought Pralines needed a buddy.  So I made Cream.

I even tried to do a division on the feet to show how they have two toes on each foot. Here is Cream in a close up.  The eyelashes are killer!

So because alpacas are very affectionate, with each other at least, here they are kissing.  

I hope you like my babies.  They will be available for sale, if you are interested just send me a message.

Finally, The Day of the Doctor!  I enjoyed it.  I liked when they were comparing the size of their sonic screwdrivers, and I loved John Hurt.  I also liked that the marriage of David Tennant's Doctor to Elizabeth I, and his subsequent running off before the honeymoon, explains why she was setting the guard on him in the episode "The Shakespeare Code".  I thought it was very clever the way they tied multiple threads together.  However, I did think it a shame that Billie Piper didn't interact with David Tennant as they have always had such good chemistry on screen.

What did Pete think?  He thought Tom Baker's appearance was the best thing about the show, but then he doesn't appreciate anyone else as the Doctor!

Anyway, enough of this nerdy talk.

We had our first snow yesterday, I can still see a little that remains on  the grass.  It was only a smattering, barely covering the ground, but of course it presages the winter weather to come.  At least it has warmed up a bit, it was minus 10 yesterday.  Ok my lovelies, take care.

Have a happy day!

The Mama Market and Children's TV Puppet Shows

I drove on down to Belleville this afternoon to drop off my creatures for The Mama Market at the Quinte Family Centre on MacDonald Avenue.  I am very excited as it promises to be hugely successful.  I'll let you know how I do afterwards.

I managed to get a new cat finished for the Market, but a new monkey mobile didn't make the cut.  But it will be ready for the next show which is Craft Fushion in Batawa on November 30th.

During the week we drove over the Kingston as I had an hospital appointment.  We had a wonderful lunch at the Mango restaurant on Princess Street (Thai and Pan-fusion) which I heartily recommend.  On the drive home our conversation edged into the absurd.  I think the 1970s must have had a truly ginormous number of children's television shows that used puppets.  We began naming them, indeed it was good fun as we remembered some of these shows.

Of course there were the Muppets, but do you remember Sooty and Sweep:

Basil Brush, whose catchphrase was "Boom, Boom":

 The Magic Roundabout.  I do love Florence's hair!

Rainbow.  Characters from left to right are George, Bungle and Zippy.

Stingray, with the silent mermaid Marina, and of course the dishy Captain Troy Tempest.

The list goes on and on, but I won't bore you to death, but it really did prove to be a very good car game. 

Finally, I'm really looking forward to The Day of the Doctor.  I've loved Doctor Who for years, well love is possibly a bit extreme, but I have memories of watching with my older sister Sarah and both of us would have a pillow to hide our eyes behind when it got scary! So, all in all, this should be a great weekend.  I hope your's will be great too.

Have a happy day!

A Triceratops Commission

I received a commission on Saturday whilst I was at the Craft Fair from a lovely lady called Doreen.  She wanted a Triceratops similar to the one I had already made.  (Remember him?)

But she wanted him to be twice the size and using royal blue.  Also as her daughter is having a baby shower on Friday, she wanted it to be ready by Thursday.  You'd think something that looks relatively simplistic would be a quick sew, but as my creatures are all hand sewn it does take time, especially as I love to embellish them.  

I am happy to tell you that with two hours to go until I meet Joanne for the "hand-over" the new Triceratops is ready.

So first of all, is he twice the size?

Yup, and definitely royal blue.

His spots are of green wool roving.

His ruff is from a felted Shetland wool cardigan, and the band from the bottom of the cardigan gives the ruff even more dimension.

Gentle green eyes.  I think this is definitely a good guardian to ward off any bad dreams for the new babe.  I'm really pleased with how he has turned out.  I hope his new owner will love him too.

Have a happy day!

I had a good time this last weekend.  Didn't sell much, but I met some superior people.  I met Kathleen of Kathleen's Radical Kreations (just outside Picton).  She makes centrepieces, decorating plates with candles and jewellery, and is such a sweetheart. Look what she gave me.

I also bought some salt rock lamps from A Stone's Throw Studio, just outside Picton in Cherry Valley) for the family room.  Here they are in situ on the shelf above the tv.  We lit tea lights in them last night and they look wonderful, giving a lovely glow to the room.

In the corner of the back wall that the tv sits on is our wood stove.  It hasn't been lit yet this season, but Pete worked hard splitting and stacking our wood, and I think on a dull, grey, drizzly day like today we will appreciate the warmth of a fire tonight.  I just realised you can see my slippered feet reflected in the stove's glass door!

I received a commission on Saturday, so I'm stitching away at the moment as it is for a Baby Shower on Friday.

Have a happy day!

Tell them about the Honey, Mummy!

You may remember my recently completed Yeti.  Look at that cute face!  I have a two day craft fair this weekend at the Arena in Picton, and I'm hoping the folk there will love the Yeti as much as I do, so I've made another one.

The Yeti with green eyes looks a bit like a mischevious little boy Yeti to me.  My new Yeti with lavender eyes looks like a helpful girl.

Once she was completed I thought I would use some honey fur I had in my stash.  I did not realise immediately, in fact until Pete pointed it out, that the honey fur made my honey yeti resemble none other than the Honey Monster.  This goes to show how versatile the pattern I created is!

When last I mentioned the steamer trunk I had removed the paper from the interior, the next job was to clean the exterior.  Unfortunately, the glue beneath the canvas had disintegrated to a revolting state, combined with dirt.  Bucket after bucket of filthy water was disposed of and still it looked disgusting, especially where the canvas had been torn and ripped.  In the end I had to remove the canvas from the side panels, it just wasn't salvageable   The canvas on the top, fortunately cleaned up nicely.  The wood actually looks quite nice, so it will get a light sanding and then some restorative Tung Oil. As I want to store, among other things, fabric inside the trunk it would be inappropriate to use oil on the interior in case it got onto the materials.  Therefore the interior is to be sanded and then sealed with a polyurethane.

I'll keep you updated on the progress.

Have a happy day!

More on the Trunk, and a Scary Cat for Halloween

No, don't fall off your chair just because I'm posting again!  I know its only two days since my last post, but I have more to share with you.  It was very cold yesterday, but I managed to get outside to the shed.

Pete was also outside moving supplies from the woodpile to beside the basement door so that it is easily accessible when we want a fire.  All the wood in the shelter was culled from fallen trees from the ice storm back on April 12th, Pete has done a fabulous job of cutting and stacking it all.

Inside the shed the trunk was resting on Pete's workmate bench.

 

I know it looks pretty beaten up, but to me that gives it character.  I love it.  You may be able to see the at the bottom of the front in the middle there has been some damage.  The canvas has been compromised and the wood beneath is broken.  Once I've tidied up the interior I think we'll use some glue and a thin piece of wood to support the broken pieces of wood.  On the front where the canvas is torn we'll try glueing it, but if that is insufficient I have plenty of canvas and may replace the area.   

Here's a picture of the paper pasted to the inside.

Here is a close-up of the interior paper.  It is quite pretty, but it still has to go.

So I'm itching to get going with it, but I still need to make sure I'm stitching away as I have several Craft Fairs coming up.  Here is the latest addition to my menagerie.  I think with it being Halloween tomorrow it is quite appropriate to call him Scary Cat!  In the first picture you can see his fish skeleton tattoo.

The second picture shows his bitten ear and scarred face.

The final picture shows his broken tail, scarred back and again the tattoo.  What a character!

Have a happy day!

Wooden Boxes and Steamer trunks

I was passing by a local antique shop last week, when I noticed two lovely wooden boxes they had outside the shop.  I love wood,  and like to have lots of wooden things around me. This got me to thinking, how could I used a box in my life?  Our house is, for two people, quite large, but there is a lack of space for new objects.  But then it occurred to me, I had been thinking of getting a sewing box to organise my sewing area. I know you can't believe that I would be messy can you - however, below is the evidence. 

There is no space left beneath my chair due to the tins of lambswool thread, buttons and beads, and the roving which has sprawled out of the sewing box which cannot contain it all. Then you can see my pot of scissors, pens, pencils and filling prodders, a bag of filling, a maple leaf bag full to the brim of felt, and a bag of material.  There are also plastic boxes of embroidery thread, and a woven square basket containing sequins, ribbon and other sundries.  It is a mess, and any time someone comes to the house, I am scrabbling to tidy it up so that the room is presentable.

Anyway, back to those boxes I saw, they inspired me to look on Kijiji, an on-line selling forum which I have used previously.  There I espied an old steamer trunk.  It has a green canvas to with wood battens and metal end pieces on the lid.  It is in a sorry state, the interior stinks, so much so that it has been banished to the shed so that it doesn't pollute the air of the house.  So the first job, with a mask on, will be to vacuum the interior, then remove the remainder of the peeling paper.  Then a solution of bleach, dish soap and water will be used to sanitise the interior wood.  Then Pete will take over and he is going to refurbish the exterior so that it looks beautiful.  Pete would have taken over anyway, so getting him to say he will do it from the beginning is a bonus, it means I can sit back and enjoy the process rather than be frustrated because he is pushing me out of the way so that he can do it, so that it is done properly!  Said refurbishment together with the trunk will form part of my Christmas present.

I will take photos of the trunk to show its current state, and how it progresses, but it has gotten much colder and I'm not going out to the shed at the moment, so the photos will have to wait.

I have been busy sewing.  A raccoon:

A skunk: 

Also I bought some material which just spoke to me.  It said Yeti.  Here is the back view:

The front:

And his face, I shaved the material so that the features are more flush to the base:

He is soooo cute!

Have a happy day!