Oh, Canada!

Alright.  I finally have time to recount our escapades in Canada- it was quite an amazing adventure!  Are you ready?  Come on, eh?

I'll buy a vowel, Pat. An "eh" please.

We began our little trip by driving ~7.5 hours and crossed the border into Niagara, Ontario.  We arrived around 2pm thinking that we would have all afternoon to spend touring the falls and then leave at a decent time in the morning to Listowel where The Yarn Factory Outlet is located.  Yeah......planning and I don't really get along all that well and, well, you know what they say about birds of a feather.  Birds of a feather drive-all-day-into-another-country-just-to-spend-the-afternoon-crocheting-in-the-hotel-room-and-end-up-taking-a-nap together.  (Well, not "together", but....oh you know.)

Yep.  We spent our first afternoon in another country- one where thousands of people flock each year to view the majestic sights and wonders- napping.  In all honesty, it was AWESOME.  I was exhausted from the drive and, well, it was the first vacation I've been on where it was totally ok to just....chill.  No stress.  No plans. No schedules.  Just....relax.  What a concept for a vacation, eh?

We ended up waking up around 7pm and realized, Hey! We're in a different country! Let's explore!  After getting some pizza delivery, of course.  So, we ordered in the Niagara, Ontario world famous pizza- Little Caesars.  Hmmmm.....not quite getting the whole "exploration" thing yet, but we were still fighting the groggies from the epic nap.  (BTW- the pizza was gross.  No offense to our Canadian neighbors, but it truly is ok to use salt in the sauce.  A little hypertension never hurt anyone.)

We then decided to take a little walk outside of our hotel.  We were right off the water and (as we found on Sunday) about a minute from the Niagara Whirlpool.  But, it was getting dark, so we didn't have much hope of seeing anything all that spectacular.  It was ok- we were driving back on Sunday and had nothing planned, so we could do our touring of Niagara then.  Since we were right by the water, and since it is still summer, and since my blood must be mosquito's crack, I debated on whether or not to use my OFF.

Me: Do you think they have mosquitoes out here?
Lyteyz: *pause*  Well, it is still planet earth, right?
Me: *blink*  Shut up.

America and mosquitoes across the water...and a wondrous Canadian tree blocking the view

Since we were no longer tired, we had all night to spend however we wanted to- no dinner to cook. No babies to change. No husbands to appease.  So, we did something we haven't done in forever- went out to a 10:30pm movie.  (!!)  We saw The Other Guys and I think my abs are still sore from all the laughing.  It was HYSTERICAL!  As an aside, Lyteyz is the best person you can watch a funny movie with- her laugh is so infectious and her reactions just slay me.  I love her!!

The next morning, we spent some time at Souvenir City and bought gifts for our family.  I hope they like their post cards.  (What?  More gifts for them = less yarn for me.  Der.)  We also took this awesome pic for my mom.

(Actual conversation the weekend before we left.)
Mom: So...you're going to Canada without your Mister?
Me: Yes! My friend and I are going on a yarn binge! It's going to be awesome!
Mom: You girls be careful.  They have grizzlies out there and you don't have your men to protect you.
Me: *stifling laugh* We'll be careful, mom.
Mom:  I hate bears.  They eat people.

 Run lyteyz, run! Once he's done with that fish, you're next!

And then we were finally off to Listowel.  It was about a 2.5 hour drive from Niagara through some beautiful Mennonite farming communities.

Not a Mennonite farm, but pretty none-the-less.

We have quite a few pictures of the farming communities on the drive there.  Listowel was in the middle of nowhere and I was really wondering if the mill would be connected to a farm.  Listowel truly was a very cute little town and the mill may very well have been connected to a farm; however, I wouldn't know since I had complete tunnel vision once I saw the tent with all the woolly goodness inside.  Apparently, Lyteyz was very tunnel visioned, as well, since this is the only picture we have of my yarn Mecca.

Can you see the awesomeness?!?

Yeah.  Well, you're just going to have to take my word for it.  Once you walked in to the tent, there was a lovely lady who offered us a "shopping bag" - a black, 30-gallon trash bag.  I about died laughing!  And then I about knocked the lovely lady over as I attacked the bins of yarn like a grizzly attacks people.  It was filled with all types of Patons, Lily, and Bernat yarns.  I went specifically for some Patons Wool and SWS.  (No seriously- I drove all the way to Canada specifically for those yarns- this whole trip was for some Patons.  I'm nothing if not loyal.)

This is my haul:

Upon getting home, my mister immediately saw the huge garbage bag.

(Actual reactions)
Me: Hi Mister!  Did you miss me?
Mister: Yes! How did......what is that big bag?
Me:  That would be my shopping bag.
Mister: *pause* *squints eyes*  I hate you.

Whatever- he'll forgive me.  One of these days....

*in total wool coma*

Yes. I know.  Be jealous.  Do you know how many felted bags are in there???  Actually, if you can see in the middle right, there are 2 skeins of yarn on top of a bag.  That is because I busted open that bag in the car ride home and started on a bag.  And then I finished it yesterday.

Patons SWS Turtle Handbag

I know I've shown my Traveling Turtle bag, but I don't think I've shown its little sister- the Turtle Handbag.

Turtle Power!

I've been working on this pattern for a while and was able to finish writing it with this bag. However, I need to finish the second Traveling Bag just to have wool yardage.  I LOVE how this bag came out!!  I was hoping to find this specific SWS colorway (Natural Crimson) on my trip.  I think I would have been very sad had I not found it, but instead, I've got a beautiful handbag!

From Listowel, we headed out to Toronto where we stayed two nights.  The whole purpose of going to Toronto was to visit the yarn store we hit on Saturday- Romni Wools.  Oh.My.Lanta.  I have NEVER seen so much yarn in one place!!  It was simply amazing!!!!!

1/4 of the store....not including the basement

Hyperventilating....

1/4 of the basement- the Cone Portion

The Spinning portion of the basement

Debra and Jacqueline worked in the basement of the store and were sooo nice!  I saw the spinning tools and started asking questions.  They asked me if I wanted to learn.  I LOVE THIS PLACE!  They taught me how to use a drop spindle (I won one as one of my Bobby Awards- more on that at a later date) and I had so much fun!

You spin me right round baby

 If you are ever in Toronto, you MUST stop at Romni.  The basement is filled with clearance yarns, which is awesome.  The yarns on the top floor were truly amazing, but....well....a little pricey.  However, it truly was a sight to behold.  Seriously- wow.  

On Sunday, after we got over our Romni Wool hangover, we left Toronto back to Niagara to finish up our touring.  Lessons learned after an hour and a half of frustrations on the Ontario side: if you visit Niagara Falls, stop in the New York side.  Parking is cheaper ($10 vs. $20); you are a 5 minute walk to the Falls vs. a mile or two, and you are actually very close to the water.  It was amazing!

Canada across the water...and a couple of wondrous Americans blocking the view.

We had an amazing time!  The really awesome thing is that our husbands think it's a good idea to let us have another trip again next year.  See- I told you he'd forgive me. ;)  

So, Lyteyz, where to next year?  TNNA?  Stitches South?  The Crochet Guild of America? The possibilities are endless!  I'll be sure to pack my mosquito and bear repellents and ensure there's plenty of space in the car for our hauls.  Love you girl!

PS: Check out Lyteyz blog where you can get her perspective of our trip. :)  (I wasn't kidding when I said I about knocked the lovely lady over at the Tent Sale....)  

New Year, New Beginnings

Hello to all the peoples in the world(s). Wow. What an insane few months this has been. Heck, what an insane week it has been! I live outside of the DC metro area so I've been basically snowed in since the weekend. Sure, there's a butt load of snow out there now (we got 30 inches on Saturday) and even more coming tonight/tomorrow (another foot in the forecast), but I can't complain. It sure makes for great crafting time!

I know that I've been MIA lately. I'd love to say that I had a fabulous Christmas and New Years and that everything has just been feasting and fun. Unfortunately, that was not the case for me. Unfortunately, we had a loss in our family, so 2009 ended with a lot of dread for the inevitable and 2010 began with the fulfillment of that dread. It's been a really tough few months.

I think one of the ways I coped in these last few months was by letting my creative juices flow. And, man! I have been busy! I have 4 new bags (all new designs) to line. One is my Traveling Turtle Bag.


For the picture, I just pinned on the straps, stuffed it full of yarn to give it some heft, and pinned it close. That's my sis modeling it- she got stuck by the pins- hee! I have a fabulous fabric with which to line it and I'm adding a zipper. I had a few motifs left over from this bag (it was going to be ginormous!) so I made a Turtle Handbag, as well (one of the 4 awaiting to be lined). As soon as I type up this pattern, I'll be offering it on Etsy.





Another bag I've designed is the Not Quite Mitered bag. I have the fabric for this one, but can't locate the perfect handles.....soon, my pretty.....soon. This one was actually done with tunisian crochet. People have asked how I come up with designs- I'll be blogging about that soon with this project as the example. I LOVE this bag.



Another bag is called Purple Haze- it's a great travel bag and is rather large. I actually just felted it today, so I'll have pics of that beauty very soon.

In addition to the bags, I've been working on some hats. I made another cat-eared hat.

This one is called Holy Eartha Kitt Batman! I'll be writing this one up, too.










Next, I have a Pixie hat that I had mentioned a few months ago. I got this beautiful purple yarn as a mill end at AC Moore. I have no idea what it is, but I have 4 pounds of it. It’s absolutely gorgeous! I made it into a scarf from my Pinky LaRue pattern- it was awesome! …..Until I tried it on. It must have wool from a porcupine in it. The most uncomfortable scarf IN THE WORLD! However, when I made it into this hat, it was bearable. I wanted a pixie hat with a scarf/tie on it, but that will be the next one I make with a more comfortable yarn. I really did love how this pattern came out, though.

Now to make a Purple Porcupine purse…….hmmm…..

This one is the Not Quite Mitered Hat. I wore it to AC Moore and a lady would not stop staring at my head. She asked if it was handmade and if so, if someone made it for me.....harumph! She knits and crochets but couldn't figure out how I did it. It was quite creepy, really. Yet, strangely a nice ego boost at the same time....ha!








I made a peppermint hat, too, and will have the pattern's minty goodness up soon.










Also, I'm working on a SMB themed hat, as well. Very fun!! In addition to these projects, I've made my Pinky LaRue scarf 4 more times- one for my sis (she felted the nice pink one I made earlier), one for my friend, one for my mom, and one for me. YAYAYAY!

SO, as you can see, I've been a busy little bee. One of my New Years resolutions has been to actually write down my patterns. I love creating all these loverlies, but it's a pain in the butt to write and test the patterns!! But, Ima gonna do it!!

Ok, that's enough updating for now. Even though 2009 ended quite suckily and 2010 didn't get off to the greatest start for me, I'm a natural optimist, so, here's to an amazing new year and new decade!!

Peace out homies.

Marilyn's Birthday Greetings

Ok- so, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. In between working on some new loverlies, I've been driving back and forth to Philly (3+ hour drive) for a photo shoot. Keep an eye out for the new Sesame Place advertisements- you might just see little ol' me. :) It was fun playing around with the kiddos and meeting the characters, but I do understand why they say to not work with animals or children. :)

My sister's birthday was last month and I had a glorious idea for her birthday present. She has a love for all things 1950's- particularly I Love Lucy, Elvis, and Marilyn. So, I went to the planning board, checked out my wool stash, and voila! This is what I came up with:



Isn't that gorgeous?!? That's not all, my friends- you can't have just one Warhol-esque Marilyn- you need at least two! Here's the other side:



I didn't want to give it to her, quite honestly. I LOVE IT AND I WANT IT! She absolutely adores it and has proudly worn it everywhere- she's a great billboard. :)



I got the inspiration from Becky from beck's blog. If you haven't seen her stuff, you should- she's amazing!

This was the first time I felted Tunisian crochet- worked really well! It was also the first time I put a zipper in a purse:



SQUEE! I had to figure out how to do it all by my lonesome, but I did it. I don't know if it's done the "correct" way, but it does work and actually came out decently. The lining is absolutely beautiful. It has a shiny silver backing to it that makes it shimmer. It also makes it a bear to hand sew!! Seriously- sewing those handles and the lining into the bag was probably the hardest thing I've done- I went through 2 needles! But, it was worth it- so gorgeous. :)

Here is a pre-felting pic so you can see just how big this sucker was:



Yeah. Freakin' huge.

The great thing about felting is that I didn't have to weave in the ends- I HATE doing that. So, the ends felt up, producing a rather disturbing image:



Yowza! I guess she is post menopausal and needs a Tweezy or something.... Possibly a nose hair trimmer, too....



HAHA! What? Moi? Juvenile??? Never!

My cat loves all things crocheted and felted, but was extremely fond of Marilyn:



You can see the material with the silver backing in that pic, too. :)

I took this purse to the vendor party a week and a half ago- everyone loved it! I showcased some of my purses and scarves and made a couple sales! Yay! One lady bought a scarf and an Erin bag.



The original was sold at auction for the Loudon Therapeutic Riding Foundation, so this was the second one I made.

This next project is one that I actually started on this last fall- it's a continuation of my love of watermelons. However, as I've said, when there is something wrong with one of my WIPs, I put it away until I can figure out what the heck it is. It could be because of a color combination that just isn't right or, for a purse, it could be that I haven't quite figured out how to finish it- wrong handles or lining or....something. That's what happened with this little guy....I wanted to finish it soooo bad, but....I just couldn't figure out what to do about the flap! Should I put a silver embellishment? Do I line it so the magnetic clasp doesn't show? WHAT DO I DO?? So, there it sat....for months. Until I had the utterly brilliant idea (or at least something I could live with!) of using a big black button- a ginormous watermelon seed, if you will. Ahhhh. Once I figured it out, I could bring it out of hiding at long last.



A lady who attended the vendor party loved it! She contacted me a few days after the party and ordered it off of Etsy- yay!!! She also ordered one of my scarves on commission in a color scheme I didn't have showcased. All browns- very pretty! Counting the Mom bag I sold to a lady at church, I've sold 4 bags (including the one donated to auction) in the last few weeks. YAYAYAYAY!!

So, there you have it! In between the various trips to Philly (including the one with my church a couple weeks ago), I've been working like a mad woman on my bags. My anniversary is this Friday, so my hubby and I are going on a small 5 day get-a-way- WOO HOO! I'm working on a travel bag design- hopefully it'll turn out well....and hopefully I'll finish it before our trip! It's another reallllly HUGE bag, but it's all pre-felting, so hopefully it'll be the size I'm hoping for once it's felted. Crossing my fingers!

Hilda Bag Redux

I.LOVE.THIS.BAG



If you recall, this is the purse I made for my mother for her birthday present. I have gotten so much positive feedback on this bag, I decided to recreate it. The one I made for my mom was one of the first ones I created and I hadn't decided to line them yet. My mother's actually has felted pockets that are part of the fabric of the bag.

This one...is lined.



I wish you could see this lining in person- there is actually shiny, metalic, sliver stripes in it. It's actually VERY beautiful. I told my mom that she could send her bag back to me and I'd line it for her, but she loves it so much, and uses it all the time, that she doesn't want me to. I wonder if she'd change her mind if she saw this one?



No Netski....this one still isn't for you....though you do look mighty fierce with it!

New Beginnings......

Whew! What a day! I have finally taken pictures of the finished PGP purse, the new Chocolate Strawberry purse, and the Hilda Bag Redux.

First up, it's the newly finished (or shall I say FINALLY finished) Purple, Green, Pink (PGP) purse.

To jog your memory, this is it before in it's unlined, unadorned glory:



This is it now!


Here's a shot of the interior:


I found the flower pin at Walmart- it was like one of those romantic moments in movies where the two lovers eyes meet and time slows down and you hear Romeo and Juliet's Overture playing it's sweet love tune (or Bugs Bunny, dressed as a girl, any time he meets a mustachioed man...). I knew EXACTLY what it was destined to be. The pink and purple flower match the bag perfectly. I've always liked this bag, but it always seemed like something was missing....and not just the lining. The lining- how awesome is that fabric??? I actually bought it at the same time I bought the lining for the Erin Bag. It's from the same company and I bought it at Joanns. So, you can see that I've had the fabric for a while and yet, through no character flaw of my own, proceeded to procrastinate lining this bag for way over a month. (You may see that statement many times throughout this blog....)

Now, it will proudly adorn my arm as a self-advertisment of the Gege Crochet line of bags.


The second bag to present to you is the Chocolate Strawberry bag.



My dear hubby actually named this one since it reminded him of, what else, chocolate covered strawberries. My sister loves this bag, as well. The heart button is almost the same as the one on the Queen of Hearts bag, but this one is actually tinted pink (you can't really tell in the picture.)

Here's the interior- I carried the chocolate/strawberries into the lining, as well.


The pink fabric was left over from a dress I started making (cough*5monthsago*cough) but, through no character flaw of my own, have procrastinated in finishing it. BUT, I did finish this bag and the fabric fits perfectly.

Now, time for the rant....it's too long, so it'll be it's own posting.....see you on the other side....

To be totally awesome, or not to be totally awesome...

....that is the question.



The answer...I AM TOTALLY AWESOME! (Said with the utmost humility.) This is the unveiling of my "Newest Project" from below. I have been so giddy with this purse.

Let me give you a tour of it's awesomeness....

this is the front:


This is the back:


I know you can see the strap, but let me just point it out to you...


ACK! How cool is that??? For those of you out there who may be a little slow, (what? moi? condescending??) THE COINS ARE COMING OUT OF THE QUESTION BLOCK AND THEN LEAVING IT EMPTY!!! *Insert kitty Yzma cackle, yet again*

It took for freakin' EVAH to complete...though it was due to my over thinking of the construction rather than the actual difficulty of the project. I knew how I wanted to do the front, back, and strap, but I couldn't decide how to actually make it into a purse. The answer was absurdly simple, so when I make this again (oh yes, it will be mine), it will go ever so much more smoothly. It is, of course, crocheted and then felted. I was very pleasantly surprised at how large it ended up. You never know with felting. I was so afraid that I put in so much effort into this Koopa Coin purse, just to end up with, well, a coin purse.

I did line this bag...as well as the strap.


It is actually the bag I used for the upcoming video tutorial on how-to-line-felted-bags. Hopefully I'll have that up over the weekend...since my hubby is the editor, we have to wait for his timetable.

Here is my parting shot...I love how the bag fits in with the artistic composition...BIG QUESTION MARK: who is this girl? where is she going? where did she get that TOTALLY AWESOME BAG????

Queen of Hearts

Here is the newest addition to the Gege line. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my supreme honor to present to you Her Royal Highness, The Queen of Hearts.



When I first saw this purse fully felted out of the washer, the first thing that popped into my head was, "Ugh! Wet wool stinks!" The second thing that popped into my head was, "The Queen of Hearts!"

I call this photo, "Off with her head!"

The Queen of Hearts,
She made some tarts
All on a summer's day.

The Knave of Hearts,
He stole the tarts
And took them clean away.

The King of Hearts,
Called for the tarts
And beat the Knave full sore.

The Knave of Hearts,
Brought back the tarts
And vowed he'd steal no more.

Here are the detail shots of the interior:

And the handles:

I must admit, I LOVE this bag. This is another one where I vow I'll make myself the same one just to have for myself. However, until that time, this is now available in my Etsy store here.

Now, be off with ye or just off with your head!!