Welcome! (and a New Loom)

I have another follower! Welcome Kim from her blog Flowers and Art. I like how she writes - it's very entertaining. I just read that she doesn't seem to be happy unless she has about 100 different projects going on. Hmmm. . . . Who does that sound like? It's so nice to have people actually be interested in something I write!

I don't have anything to show you because I just got home from my son's baseball game and I'm tired. You really have to be a committed parent to do this baseball thing. (Sometimes I think I need to be committed!!) If you read any of my blog from last Summer you'll know what a baseball fan I am, but the kid's sport is taking up all of my time. Four nights a week and almost all weekend is just too much. It really cuts into my mini time. The good news is that it does give me time to knit and crochet, if you don't mind a little baseball dust.

I'm trying to decide what to start on for my next yarn fiber project. My new Kiss Loom has arrived and I have so far just admired it. I'm thinking of making a scarf . Look how pretty the loom is! Its adjustable, so you can make a larger or smaller gauge by adjusting the distance between pins. This is really a neat concept!

I need some rest. I'll talk to you later!

Inching Along

I haven't disappeared, I just had a busy weekend. It's not fair is it? I wait all week for the weekend to come so I can do my mini stuff and when it finally gets here, I have too many other things to do and I can't get to it. It's a vicious circle, I tell you!

If that's not enough, the power supply for my laptop decided to short out so I had to borrow my hubby's computer to check email and work on my blog. I'm trying to convince him to let me have this one- it's much lighter than my old dinosaur!

The good news is that I did finish the baby blanket! It was in the nick of time too because I was getting a touch bored with working on it and you know what happens then!

So here it is. I think I might thread a ribbon through the edges for a final touch. My daughter tested it out with her new Build a Bear Koala and deemed it perfect. What's great about a round blanket is that you can put the baby in the middle and just pull it up around them like you would wrap up a basket.

This isn't bad for my first shot at loom knitting in a long, long time.

As to the San Fran, I took a few minutes tonight to mess with the lights yet again. This time I opted to avoid solder (you can laugh now) and go back to the old fashioned eyelet way. Easier on the fingers- that's for sure. With our busy weekend we didn't get around to that soldering lesson anyway, so it's probably best that I didn't mess with it again right now.

Here's a picture of the new little beaded light lit up. It casts a neat little star shaped shadow on the floor. I just taped it up for now, and I can see in the picture that it definitely needs to be centered in front of the bay window. It's funny how pictures show you things you don't always see with your own eyes.

This is a quick entry. I have to go on over to the HBS site and figure out what I'm going to buy during their April Fool's Sale where one item is 40% off. I'm thinking I'm going to buy a curving staircase for the San Fran. . .but I could change my mind!

See you later.

Crispy Thursday

I gave the beaded light another attempt tonight. I am getting better at attaching the beads to the finding. I bought a little set of jewelry tools and I read about how to wrap and bend wires. Did you know you should take two tools and use one to hold the wire and the other to wrap around? Go ahead, you can laugh. No clue here, but I am learning.

This one is really cute, but I didn't get the beads the same length. It's not terrible, but you know I'm picky. I don't have a picture of it lit because I am giving my poor fingers a break from those nasty eyelet things and MDF, and solder (shudder).

My husband asked me why my fingers looked burned at dinner and I explained how I have managed to drip solder on them during this project. He then said, "I don't think you are doing it right." Ya think? After a lengthy discussion about how I'm doing it all wrong, he then admitted that the soldering iron we have is old and may need a new tip. I've been promised a soldering lesson this weekend, and possibly a new soldering iron. We'll take any excuse to head off the Harbor Freight around here. He did recommend we buy asbestos gloves to practice. Very funny.

My daughter said I was a crispy mommy. At work we use the word crispy to describe something that went well, like a presentation that was very well prepared for. I think my daughter meant more like fried chicken.

So my fingers get a break for a few days then. I'll let you know if I learn anything important after the lesson. I actually do think I'm not doing it right, so hopefully I'll have an ah-ha moment and the wiring will be easy to finish. Hey, a girl can dream, right?

More Lights and a Kitchen Set

Weird titles these days, aren't they? I'm trying to be descriptive, but it doesn't leave much room for creativity. I'm exhausted tonight so I'm going to write a quick entry and show you some pictures.

I tackled the lighting once more tonight only to be burned yet again on my finger and the side of my elbow! The elbow was only because I wasn't paying attention and I set it down on the top of the light I was using to help me see the dollhouse wiring.

You can see I have five little lights (all down the center of the house) shining brightly. The only thing stopping me from tearing it out and starting over with round wire is the fact that these five are lit. And I am still considering it! Lights make a dollhouse so pretty. . . Maybe this house only has lighting down the center. Yes, that's it! Candles in the rest. . . Yeah, whatever. I'll get it done eventually, just like everything else.

So now I'll show you the fabulous kitchen set I bought from my friend Kelly who sent me the fireplace I wanted just because I mentioned it on the Greenleaf forum. This set is huge! I have it stuck in the JA house for now and it might stay there. I think it's a bit too large for the San Fran.

It comes in three sections and a fridge. By the way, the drawer piece on the sink section came loose and I haven't glued it back, but I have it, in case you were wondering.

Here is the section with the oven and the fridge. I love the curved molding on the shelves and the dental molding detail on the top.

And finally the last piece. Look at the little wine rack on this piece. Just terrific detail. I love it!

I told you this would be a short entry. I'll catch up with you later. Mini hugs!

Welcome New Follower!

Welcome Maija to my blog! Dear readers, you really should check out her Maija's blog here. I can't read it because it's in Finnish. I had to research to even get that far! But the artwork is pretty awesome and is fun to look at without words. Babelfish doesn't seem to be able to translate Finnish. Not fair! So welcome, Maija, and enjoy my crazy ramblings. :)

Another Shot at Lighting. . . and Paintings

Tonight I decided to give the hybrid method of lighting a dollhouse a try. This is where you run the tapewire, then solder the lights to the tape rather than push in brads or eyelets and wrap the wires around them. The first light soldered well and lit up, and I was very excited. Then it got a little harder. . .the solder ran off on everything, including my fingers, and a few burns to my left index finger later I'm not feeling so great about the whole adventure. Again, if you are going to light MDF please listen to me and go with hard (round) wire.

OK, since I'm frustrated with the lighting (yet again!) I'll show you my watercolor paintings from class on Sunday. I've never done this before, and it's a completely different technique from acrylics. You start by wetting the entire paper and then laying more wet paint on top of it. You definitely do not have as much control as you do with acrylics.

First up are my giraffes. I drew the giraffes with a sharpie marker and then started painting. While it was wet we experimented with tossing salt on to the paint to get interesting effects. I kind of like how it turned out. It's very abstract around the edges.

Notice the star effects throughout the trees and the rocks on the left. That's what the salt does. And little grains of salt produce tiny stars and big kosher salt grains make larger stars and whirls. You never know what you are going to get and that adds to the uniqueness of the piece.

Then we practiced with a floral piece. This really isn't done yet. Oh, good I can hear you thinking, because it's really crummy!
I know, I know.

In case you are wondering (and rightfully so- don't feel bad!) it is supposed to be a bunch of daffodils in a shoe. I painted them more like tulips, but it was just to practice technique and play with salt. I'll take it back to Randi's another day and get the shoe/vase more defined with some help and advice from her, but I'm not concerned. I'm not planning on making my living painting. Thank heavens for that, right? This was just another learning project.

So now I'm going to go nurse my burned finger and admire my giraffes some more. And then I'm going to think about what I can do to get my San Fran done more quickly so I can actually play with her. Yes, the little girl in me is getting impatient. I believe I mentioned that yesterday. If I didn't have three lights working in the San Fran right now I'd seriously be thinking about tearing all the tape out and redoing it with hard wire. But I'm tired tonight so maybe tomorrow I'll feel more like finishing with the soldering. Or not. I'll let you know.

Another Award!

I got this one three times! Thanks ladies for recognizing me! Casey of Casey's Minis sent it to me a couple of days ago as did Minikat of Little thoughts from an Average Mind and then Ruth Schaller of Sweet But not Sour Creations sent it to me today. Wow- that has to be a record or something for me!

The rules of this award are to list seven things I love and then pass it on to another seven Kreativ Bloggers.

I love these things (in no particular order):

1. My family, including my mini Australian Shepherd named Ninja. Need I say more?
2. Fiber art. How many times will I say this I wonder? :) taking a piece of yarn, thread, floss or ribbon and making it into something beautiful is magic, pure and simple.
3. Dollhouses and miniatures. I hope you know that by now. :)
4. Baking. Flour and water make glue. Add eggs and sugar and you get cake. Where did the glue go? (Thanks, Rita Rudner!) Pulling something handmade and delicious out of the oven to feed to your family is a sure sign of love. Add to this one Good Eats and Alton Brown. The science of food is amazing!
5. Reading. I'd rather read the book than see the movie, without question. I love the movies too, but books rule.
6. History. I should have been a history teacher. I find it absolutely spellbinding- for the most part anyway!
7. Ghost stories, Ghost Hunters, hauntings. I'm fascinated with anything paranormal.

Here is who I am passing it on to:

1. Cathy of California Cathy is all about vintage crafts of the 60's and 70's. Fabulous stuff!
2. The Purling Sprite Isela literally wrote the book on loom knitting. I love her book "The Loom Knitting Primer" and her blog is very informative.
3. Loom Lore Great Patterns for Loom Knitting
4. Crochet Mania This site helped me learn to crochet more than I can say!
5. KathieB's Minis Her Marie Leveau's Creole Cottage is nothing short of Amazing!
6. Looming Laura She talks about so much more than just loom knitting. It's really interesting!

Umm. . . Will I be kicked out if I don't give this to one more blog this very instant? I think I'll leave it at this for now. Thanks for the recognition!

First Attempt at a Beaded Lamp

Where does the time go? My dollhouses called to me on the way home from work. "Please work on us!" they whispered as I drove over the hill and headed home. The problem is partly that there just isn't enough time in the evening to get as much done as I would like. My poor kids and husband got sandwiches for dinner so I could get back at it. Oh well, it won't kill them one night, right?

Anyway, I made my first attempt at a beaded hanging light. It's not too terrible, especially since I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing! I mean it- I have never beaded a single thing in my life. I have no clue how to wrap the wires. This little project took me hours. But it turned out cute for a first attempt. Maybe I need to take a class. . .

It definitely looks better lit up. This was an exercise in "Can I do it?" And it turns out I can. Well sort of. I'd like to make a few of these in different colors and use them in the San Fran. I have some "store bought" lights I'll be using as well, but they don't quite have the same effect as something made from scratch. It will take some practice but I think I can make some of these lights that will be really pretty and something special. Once I figure out how to wrap the wire. . .

Then I started playing around with the interior pieces in the San Fran. When I first started working in miniatures a few years ago I would look at pictures of other people's houses and wonder why they would start playing with furniture in a half built house. Now, a few years later, I get it. It takes me so long to finish anything that if I don't start playing with furniture and such I'd never get to see what it might actually look like. . .someday. . .

So here's a shot of the San Fan with my fabulous dining room set, the dishes I got from Manor House Minis in the grab bag, the Chrysnbon clock (which needs a mahogany finish!) and the Queen Anne sideboard I won on eBay last week. There's a Michael's hutch tossed in there for good measure, and a tin can art chair in the bay window. It's a good start. I don't even know if this room will actually be the dining room, but it looks pretty neat like this.

Now we come to the part where I'm going to whine, so if you are not in the mood, then you can quit reading. I've given you fair warning. :) I really want this house to be done. I want to enjoy looking at it and playing with it. I want it to be proudly displayed in the living room and lit up and welcoming me when I come home. The child in me wants to play with my beautiful house!!! And I have a lot of work to do before I get to that point.

I've always said it's the journey and not the end result, but tonight I'm thinking of the end result. At any rate, at least my light turned out cute.

Welcome Followers

Welcome to Katy and El Juani . I can't really read your blogs because they are in Spanish and I don't read it very well, but you are welcome here in my mini cyber world! :) Katy has some neat mini pictures going on on her site. Check it out when you get a chance!

Some Mini Stuff. . . Really!

I've been sidetracked with knitting yet again. It's so easy to distract me with a really pretty piece of yarn and a cool pattern, isn't it? So let me show you my latest project and then I'll share some mini furniture. Deal? OK.

Here is the blanket I'm working on using the red Knifty Knitter. The center will end up like a pinwheel and then I'm going to crochet the outside. The pattern calls for a sawtooth border, but I think I'll make a ruffle, or something along those lines. This pattern is by Denise Layman and it's a great pattern. Really easy and it comes out really nice. I'll show you more as I get more done. It is working up quickly, and I'm happy about that!

So, I've been a busy girl on ebay. First off, I found these four silver plated chairs and I had to have them. I actually won the first two (on the left) and when they arrived I was so crazy for them I emailed the seller and begged her to sell me the other two! The picture doe not do them justice at all. They are really intricate and beautiful. I have a vision of a silver and ice blue room in the Joseph Angel House.

Next up is this great fireplace. Funny story about this one. It really pays to know your minis. I had never seen another fireplace like this one on ebay before. Apparently I'm not spending enough time browsing ebay.

I learned later it actually is pretty common. I placed a bid and lost it by 50 cents in the last minute. Boy was I mad! I went on a rant on the Greenleaf forum, and my online friend Kelly emailed me to say she had this fireplace and I could have it. Just have it. Who does that kind of thing? Wasn't that nice? I at least sent her some Nutshell News magazines I had in trade and now we are both happy.

I also won this little Queen Anne set. It's a sideboard and two tables. I just love the Queen Anne style, in case you haven't been reading or somehow missed that not so subtle point!

There's a lot more new little goodies I want to share with you, but they'll have to wait until another day. At least I'm collecting some pieces so I'll have something to put in the San Fran and/or the Joseph Angel. Talk to you later!

Happy St Patrick's Day

Between making a red velvet cake and putting on a tea yesterday to organizing our annual St Patrick's Day Lucky Hat contest today, I'm a bit tuckered out. Here's a picture of me in the hat made entirely by my daughter. Maybe I smiled a bit too wide, but at least look happy! :)

Tomorrow I'll show you the baby blanket I'm loom knitting. It's in a pinwheel and it just so neat! And in case you are wondering, I got bored with the one I was crocheting and decided to put it away for a while. My inner child who gets easily bored strikes again!

I also have a bunch of neat miniature furniture I've won from eBay and I want to share my finds with you. So, until then, Happy St Patrick's Day!

Welcome New Follower!

Welcome to Ana of Tiny Delights! She has several blogs. Please check out her blogs- her work with miniature food is amazing and makes me hungry just looking at it!

Thanks for coming along for the ride, Ana!

Tea for . . . Eight

In my department at work each of us plans the birthday celebration for one other person. Today it was my turn. My person did not want a luncheon, but agreed to cake. I couldn't just do cake in a conference room with paper plates and plastic forks. OK, I ended up with plastic forks in the end, but that's not the point, is it? You know I can't leave it simple! Especially since she hadn't asked me to plan a luncheon.

So, I pulled out my tea cups and pots, a couple of tablecloths, and I baked a luscious red velvet cake. There is something magical about cutting into that white cake and seeing the red interior. Plus it tasted fabulous! I highly recommend Paula Dean's Red Velvet cake on the Food Network. Gorgeous and delicious, but follow the recipe exactly or you may end up with - ahem - unexpected results! The frosting is cream cheese and marshmallow cream. How can you go wrong with that?

You can see the cake in this picture. I added sprinkles to help disguise my not so expertly frosted cake. In the end, no one care how the cake looked because everyone at the celebration loved the cake. And the Birthday girl was thrilled with the tea and the pins I made for her over the weekend. And that's a good day!

Looming Flowers

It's kind of been "one of those days." I seemed to find an issue with everything I wanted to work on today. First I couldn't find the yarn to work on a scarf for a friend. I have no idea what happened to that cobalt eyelash yarn, but now I can't make the scarf I was planning on.

Then I decided to loom some flowers and I couldn't find any synthetic raffia that Cathy (Cathy of California) recommends for the flowers. The usual Craft stores don't seem to carry it, and I haven't had a chance to order online. So I opted for ribbon, and some paper raffia I had. Paper raffia is a bad idea. Cathy says this on her blog, when she was on Martha (I think) and on her video tutorial on making the loom flowers. But did I listen? Nope. Of course not. Mainly it's because it is what I had at the time.

Anyway, I played around and made a few flowers tonight. I made these first two on the Boye Bloom Loom, which looks just like the vintage ones Cathy uses. On the bright side, these are easy. You can wrap one in about 10 minutes. The stitching in the center takes a bit longer, but once you've done it a time or two it goes really fast.

These are made with Yarn ribbon, which I love, love, love! So pretty in the variegated colors.

What I don't like about these is the paper raffia on the one on the left (the white part in the center ) doesn't puff up at all. It's stuck and doesn't look fluffy. It looks kinda dead.

On the second one, I used blue ribbon with a white pattern for the center. It's too much blue. I didn't have any other ribbon I thought would work, and for once I opted not to go out to Walmart past 10pm by myself. You meet some interesting sorts there late, don't you?

So then I took wide ribbon and used my Knifty Knitter Flower Loom. The green one is made from green gross grain wired ribbon. The center is that raffia done in french knots. The blue one is wide, sheer organza ribbon done in three layers. I embroidered the center with more yarn ribbon.

I like these two a lot and I'm planning on making them into pins for the friend who isn't getting the scarf for her birthday (since I lost the yarn). I think she'll like them.

Then just before I started this entry my camera cable disappeared. That frustrates me to no end when I can't find the darn thing! My daughter came to the rescue and improved my mood considerably. Thank goodness. And she is going to take the first two sample flowers from the Boye loom and use them with her stuffed animals.

So even though it felt like "one of those days" I guess it turned out pretty good. :)

I think I'm Collecting. . .

I've picked up another tin can art piece of furniture from eBay. It arrived today and it's really cute. It's much lighter than the last one I got. This one appears to be made from a beer can. I think the last one I got was made from a vegetable type can. This one is also more play scale.

Hmm. . . It's getting me to think I may need to make a play scale house to display them! Or at least a room box.

I have a couple more on the way too. I think I'm getting addicted. Wouldn't be the first time with miniatures!

Crafting in Bloom

As I was trying to figure out how to loom knit over the weekend, I came across "vintage" flower looms. Vintage is a funny term. I guess I'm starting to feel a bit. . . um. . .older, I guess. Stuff from the 70's is starting to look neat to me again because it brings back good memories. I'm a child of the 70's and I remember all these crafts. 60's and 70's crafts are apparently vintage now. I wonder what my kids will see as "vintage" 30 years from now. . .

Anyway, these "vintage" looms make these really cool flowers. I'm going to send you over to Cathy of California to see what I mean: Cathy's blog I actually found her blog a few months ago when I was looking for info on tin can doll house furniture. If you like vintage crafts, she's the queen. I guess I'll stop putting vintage in quotes now. Sigh.

Cathy was on Martha today and since I keep up with her blog, I knew she was going to be on and I recorded it. It was neat to see her make the flowers with Martha. If you go to her blog she had a video that shows you how to make them as well. Did I mention I really like her site?

I found this loom at JoAnn last week, quietly waiting for me to pick it up. It looks just like the vintage ones I've seen online and on Cathy's site. Something about working with a loom is calling to me, can you tell? I'll get more into that in a minute.

I also picked up the Flower Loom from Knifty Knitter. It looks like this. I was thinking that the Boye one would make smaller flowers, and I just had to have both. I haven't tried either one yet, but you know you'll see it all once I get going making loomed flowers.

So, I have to share with you something funny. Sometimes I get the feeling that there is something I really want to do or need to do. This happens with crafting too. But what is funny is that if I don't listen to my intuition, I end up getting hit over the head with it until I listen.

If you've been following along, you know the story about me trying to loom knit this weekend and getting frustrated with it. I went to Barnes and Noble and got a book, but I gave up before I really got going on a project. I think I might have given up too early, because when I looked at my sample, it looked pretty good. The pattern on the rake loom is on the inside and it's hard to see. Perhaps I should have done a few more rows to see what I had.

Anyway, I record Knit and Crochet today when it is on. I think the show the thing at 3am here on PBS, so U have no choice but to record it. So Monday night I'm watching it and after the crochet segment, there is Isela Phelps (the author of the Loom Knitting Primer) talking all about it. Coincidence you say? Maybe. I think it's a Higher Power telling me to get moving.

An Experiment. . .or Two

I'm bouncing around tonight from idea to idea. I was going to make a punch needle rug, but then I didn't feel like it. Then I was going to work on adding lights, but I wasn't up for fighting with the MDF.

For experiment number one I decided I would try my hand at making a beaded light for the San Fran. It doesn't matter that I have no experience whatsoever with beading. That's never stopped me before! So I pulled out the bare light and threaded it through a jewelry fitting. Then it dawned on me I have no wire or anything with which I can attach beads to the fitting. That's frustrating when you don't have what you need.

All I could come up with was some green floral wire I use to make glue and tape plants. So I gave it a try. I only wrapped one set of beads and it was OK, but not so great with green wire. I definitely need some work on my wrapping techniques. I love the tutorials on the Fire Mountain site. That should help when I get the right wire to do the project. I didn't even bother to take a picture because it looks pretty bad with the green wire.


Then I decided to experiment with using pin stripe tape to add some colored lines and create a more painted lady look without driving myself crazy with paint. This was an idea by one of the Greenleaf Forum members. It's a really good idea!

I took thin, gold pin stripe tape and added it to this window. I realize it's not all that straight, but that can be fixed. I'm thinking I could get the maroon pin striping and add it to the moulding of the windows. It goes on easy and gives a perfectly straight line (once you stick it on straight!). This experiment I like much better. So tomorrow I will be off to Pep Boys for maroon and navy pin stripe tape and see how that looks.

More later!

Centennial Post!

Actually this is my 101st post, but I just had to celebrate!

There have been times when I haven't written much and times like now when I am writing almost every day, but I so appreciate those of you who read all my crazy ramblings.

Mini happy returns to all of you!

Fit to Be Tied

I wrote a few days ago that I could crank out a hat on a loom in a couple of hours and it was so easy. I can only imagine that I did the Knifty Knitter thing so easily before I knew the proper way to knit. I don't mean to imply that loom knitting is not proper or anything, but I think once you learn how to knit on needles, you forget how the loom works or something. I'm not sure what's gone wrong, but the looms are making me crazy.

On Friday I took my friend from work with me to Joann's (she's the artistic one who drew my caricature) and I got all inspired to buy the long looms. Hey, they were on sale and it was only $13.99 for the whole set. Then I bought this little pamphlet with patterns and I found the perfect blanket to make for a baby shower coming up. I was so inspired!

As I said in an earlier post was too tired to do much on Friday night. I did crochet a couple of flowers at my daughter's request. I found a really cool scarf on another blog made entirely of crocheting flowers together. That's one I want to do, but I'll save that for another post.

Anyway, I read somewhere else that the directions with the Knifty Knitter must have been written by drunk trolls. I thought that was a bit harsh, until I tried to follow them. Sorry, Provo Craft. You missed the boat with these directions. I found a great site with lots of video on it to help called The Purling Sprite. Still, I wasn't happy.

I dragged the kids out at 9 o'clock to Barnes and Noble for a book to help. Hey it was Saturday Night and B&N is open until 11 o'clock at least! Yes, I have no life when I am in creative mode. The hubby told me I was crazy and stayed home. The kids will take any excuse to visit Barnes and Noble- they are like me. I bought this rather expensive book ($24.95 yikes!) but it was well worth it.

It is ironically (or predictably depending on how you look at it) by the same author of the Purling Sprite blog site. She doesn't do her loom knitting the same as the weird instructions from Provo Craft and that is just fine with me. If nothing else, I love some of the projects in this book and it was well worth the purchase price to have them to do later, and the stitch reference is really, really good.

So while Hubby watched Kelly's Heroes (again!) I worked on the afghan. I don't know if I'm using the wrong yarn or just can't follow directions, or what, but two hours into the project it looked nothing like the picture and nothing I would wrap a baby in. I don't see this as a reflection of the author but I just couldn't get it the way I wanted it in the time I had. I have two and a half weeks to finish the project so I don't feel like messing around. I can't stand to be working on an afghan at 2am the night before the shower. And it's happened. More than once. Not this time, I swear.

At 11:30pm I pulled out my crochet hooks and decide to go for the pattern on the label of the baby yarn, which is a pretty shell pattern made up of a single crochet and two double crochets in each loop. Here's what it looks like so far. It's a pale yellow. I'm going to edge it in white and that looks like something a baby could cuddle up in.

On a side note, the time changed last night so I finished crocheting at 3am, which was really 2am, but now I'm tired and confused about what time it is. I like the longer evenings as much as anyone, but this switching back and forth makes me crazy. I wish we could just leave it alone. Maybe I need to move to Arizona, or Indiana, or wherever it is that they don't switch. That won't happen, so I guess I should get used to switching. But I won't, so I'll just whine! :)

As to loom knitting, well, when I have more time to muddle through it I'll give it another shot. For now, my crochet hook it much safer.

Another Welcome!

Welcome to Minikat who has a fascinating blog here: http://minikatslittlethoughts.blogspot.com/ Thanks for coming along!

Her "About Me" says "My main hobbies are 1)building dollhouses and things to go in them and 2)anything related to fiber art. Fiber art includes but is not limited to: spinning, weaving, crocheting, counted cross stitch, and the like. For the record my knitting leaves much to be desired. " Amen, Sista! My knitting is on the disastrous side. My crochet is a bit better.

I love the phrase "Fiber Art." That's what I'm obsessed with besides miniatures. Turning anything string/yarn like into something to wear, use, or look at. Yup, that's it. Anyway, I got sidetracked, but it was such an interesting thought I couldn't let it go. Welcome, Minikat!

Grab Bag Goodies

I ordered two grab bags last week from Manor House Minis (http://www.manorhouseminis.com/) and they arrived yesterday. I had them shipped to my office and it was like Christmas! My coworker had great fun going through all the goodies with me. These bags are on sale for $7.99 right now and are well worth it. I got some stuff that I won't ever use, but a few things totally stand out and are absolutely worth the $7.99 I paid for the whole bag.

The first bag I opened had this fabulous "Blue Willow" looking dish set. It has four plates, bowls, a soup tureen and a ladle, a gravy boat, and a platter. It's going to look awesome on my new dining set I won on eBay last week. This is usually $11.99 on Manor House minis. This week it's on sale for $2.99, which explains why it ended up in my grab bag, but regardless, I absolutely love the set! This is the kind of thing I never remember to get or make when I'm decorating a house, so it's nice to have.

There were also two valance type curtains included, which will be great for looking at when I go to make some more of my own. They look very simple, but it's nice to have them to refer to. Then there was a black dog (like Toto) and a cute wicker basket. There was a bunch more, but those are the highlights.

The second bag had a wonderful, country style bedding set. This will go in my childhood house, which I still need to decorate. There was a little cat playing with a ball of string, a bunch of little plastic bunnies, and some collector plates from Dollhouse Emporium, a rusted watering can, and a couple of woven straw hats. The picture shows all the goodies! I may order another bag or two- they are pretty neat! Go get yours before they are gone. $7.99 is a great price for everything you get. Remember, my picture above shows two sets.

The watering can is a little oversized, but it will look cute on the porch of one of thehouses. I haven't decided which yet.

I was going to post this last night, but I was just exhausted. I'm not sure why I've been so tired this week, except that we are just so busy and I don't get to bed at a decent time because I'm on the creative streak. It's hard to sleep when your mind is going on about the next mini thing or yarn thing you are going to work on! I think I was asleep by 8:30 last night, which is really, really, really early for me!

I'm off to work on my loom knitting. I'm making a baby blanket for a friend. I'll show you how it's coming soon!

Adding a Flower. . .

I know I said I would get back to minis tonight, but instead I crocheted the flower for my daughter's hat. I'm really run down from the week and I needed to do something a little "brainless." This wasn't the best choice because I'd never crocheted flowers before, but it turned out fine.

I used the "magic ring" technique when I started the flower. It works great because you can tighten the circle up and leave almost no hole. I used a button for the center.

Sorry for the blurry picture. I'm still learning the nuances of my new camera, and it doesn't like closeup work. I'll get a better picture tomorrow. The battery died just as I pulled this one off of the camera.

The flower is a "fluffy" one with two layers. My daughter hasn't seen it yet. She's asleep, so I'm looking forward to what she thinks in the morning! Speaking of which, the morning comes much too early around here. I'll see you later.

Un Béret pour une Petite Mademoiselle

I speak German, not French, so hopefully that says a beret for a little girl. I just thought it sounded neat in the title.

Tonight I finished crocheting my daughter's beret. I know I said I was going to loom knit it and I was, but once I started looking at the loom pattern it was slightly more complicated than I had expected, and since this was a rush job I figured I'd better do my easy, double crochet beret pattern I've done many times and always turns out just fine. I will do the loom knitted one, but when I have more time to learn how to do some new techniques.

This pattern goes really quickly. I started it last night and finished it tonight with no rushing or feeling like it was a chore.

And it looks like someone is happy with it! She's decided it needs a couple of crochet flowers to jazz it up. OK, I can do that.

Here's a view from the back. She doesn't wear it quite like a beret, but that's OK. It's her hat. This hat can be worn on the back of your head too in a more slouchy style that is popular right now.

I'm guessing you want the pattern. I'll share. Remember I'm not an expert crocheter and there may be something off with this, but it turns out fine. This easy pattern was given to me by a friend at work who learned to crochet from a nun when she was about 4 years old (my friend, not the nun). She just told me how to do it and I took notes and wrote out the following pattern:

Simple Beret

CH 8, Join
Row 1, 16 DC, Join ch 3 (count as dc) (Do this for every row)
Row 2 DC INC 2 in EA ST
Row 3 DC INC every other ST
Row 4 DC INC every 4th ST
Row 5 DC INC every 8th ST
Row 6 DC INC every 11th ST
Row 7-8 DC INC every 15th ST
Row 9 DC INC every 13th ST
Row 10 DC EA ST
Row 11 DC DEC every 18th ST
Row 12 DC DEC every 11th ST
Row 13 DC DEC every 8th ST
Row 14 DC DEC every 6th ST
Row 15-18 SC EA ST
Fasten off.

For this beret I used a G sized hook and Caron's simply soft yarn. When I make this for an adult, I use a larger hook, but of course you have to adjust for yarn size as well.

Another thing I've found to be really helpful when I do needlework is to have a tray handy with stuff I need on it.

Here's what I was using tonight. My coffee table is too far away to be of any use in a project (don't ask- it's decorative rather than functional) and it's easy to lose things in the cushions of the couch, so my tray is really helpful. I have a light on it so I don't go blind as I crochet (or stitch as the case may be). I have my directions, scissors, extra yarn, pattern, and a glass of iced tea all at my finger tips. It sure looks messy in the picture, but it's not really.

So at least I got a small project completed. Yes, the flowers need to be added, but it feels good to actually have something done! Back to minis tomorrow.

Inspiration from a True Painted Lady

Kate of HeartnSoule agreed that I could post pictures of her San Fran, which has been such an inspiration during my long build. She's been working on hers for a long time too, so I don't feel quite so bad that mine has taken me a couple of years, so far. It's not a race, I keep reminding myself.

Kate used to have a blog, but hasn't had time to keep it up so she is taking a break. I can relate! Blogging takes a lot of time. If you aren't passionate about it it can get very overwhelming. So since she doesn't have a blog right now, I get to showcase her fabulous house. Yeah for me!!

So here is the full shot. Kate's definitely got an eye for color and embellishments. I'm wishing I had decided to do some stained glass on my San Fran, but I didn't, and I am not ripping those windows out one more time!

She modified the porch trim some as well, keeping the curly parts but replacing the bottom with proper posts. And look at the treatment she's given the floor of the porch. Isn't it great?

I love the painting she's done around the windows and the posts of the porch. I am definitely going to ad some color touches to my porch posts. I'm thinking of adding some color around my windows, but Kate is much more a whiz with the paint brush than I am.

Here is the ox eye window on the front. Beautiful work on the stained glass there, and the embellishments around it are really pretty. You can see she's added some trim to the line just above the balcony. That's not part of the original design and really adds to the overall look of the house. You can catch a glimpse of the amazing stained glass of the window on the left as well. And can you see the little corbels are embellished?

Kate has really captured the painted lady feel on this house with her attention to detail. Thank you for letting me share your beautiful work!

I hope you find her work as inspirational as I do.

With a Loom and some Yarn. . .

Please stand by while the miniaturist takes a short, commercial break. . . Well, actually it's not commercial at all. My daughter announced that her school is celebrating Dr Seuss's Birthday this Friday. According to Google, Dr. Seuss's Birthday is today. But that's another story. Can I just say that I'm not a big fan of Dr Suess?

I will not read him on the train

I will not read him in the rain

I will not read him in a boat

I will not read him by the moat

I will not read him Sam I am!

What was I talking about? Oh yes, the Friday thing. So my daughter says they have to dress up in red, white, and black, like the Cat in the Hat. Yuck. Thing One and Thing Two always freaked me out, like creepy clownish little rats. Shudder. Back to the black, white and red thing. Right. Bottom line is that my sweet little girl asked me to crochet her a black beret to wear with her red and white outfit. What crafty mom could say no? Probably one who gets more sleep than I, that's for sure!

So, I decided to pull out my Knifty Knitter Looms and knit her a beret! I may even add a little red pom pom or flower for fun. I really like to use the looms for hats. I am just so much faster on a loom and I can see what I'm doing. In knitting, I drop stitches and muddle along. I do slightly better with crochet, but with loom knitting I can make a hat in a night or two. And that's about what I have for this project.

I bought the pattern from the site Rockin' the Loom. It's hard to tell from the picture but it's got a spiral pattern going on from the center. Really neat! I don't mind paying the small fee. The directions are really detailed.

You'll have to excuse me- Kiefer is on now (Isn't DVR just the best!) and I have a loom to wrap. I'll talk to you soon. Pictures of my progress will be sure to follow.

Hang on San Fran- I'll be back to you very shortly!

Welcome New Followers!

I want to take a moment to welcome my two new followers. First, my friend Kate of HeartnSoule. She's not currently keeping a blog, but she's quite an artist and has a beautiful, truly the most beautiful, San Fran dollhouse I've ever seen. I'll get her permission to post a picture of it, but it is a constant inspiration for my endeavors to create a Painted Lady out of my my San Fran. Hers is a work in progress as is mine, but her artistic talents shine in her work on this house.

And then there is MiniMaker at Creating Dollhouse Miniatures. I haven't had more than a moment to check out her blog, but it looks like she's got some cool YouTube videos on it. Please take a moment to take a look and support her.

Welcome Ladies! I'm glad you are here.

Trying Out New Trim

Last night while the family slept, I painted some trim. If you've been following, you'll know I got frustrated with the trim that came with the San Fran and I ended up tearing it off and trashing it.

To replace it, I ordered some laser cut pieces. Here is the new trim on the front balcony and the top of the porch. Click on the picture if you want a closer look.

Right now they are just taped in place. The center piece on the porch trim is crooked, but it won't be once I glue it in. I was just testing out how I like it. The porch trim has a criss-crossed pattern and where the pieces joined I painted a burgundy dot.

On the balcony I painted the center piece of each flourish burgundy. There is railing trim for the balcony and I'm thinking of painting it navy to match the window sashes. These little touches give the house the painted lady feel more and more. I'm also planning to give some accents to the spindles on the bottom part of the porch.

I think I have decided to paperclay the foundation with bricks. I was going to make it stone like the porch, but I think the red tones of the bricks on the foundation would really bring out the burgundy accents. I have opted out of the magic bricks that came with the house. I just don't like the effect it creates.

The shingles I believe will stain a mahogany or rosewood color. It's so exciting to see this starting to come together. It's only been two years, right? But remember, I work full time and baseball season makes it hard to get anything done, with my son's hectic playing schedule and our Angels' tickets.

On a side note, today was an absolutely beautiful day. It was just about 80 degrees and lovely. My poor son got sunburned at baseball practice. He and I are so fair it's easy to get burned. I got little burned, but I took the sun umbrella with me. I just need to remember to bring a mini project with me to his practice and games, like mini crochet or something similar. A miniaturist shouldn't waste good time sitting around. :)

See you later!