Paper and Felt Flowers

    I've been creating bit more this past week, snow and all. Lots of flowers, maybe because there aren't any outside and I wanted some to brighten up my studio.

  I've started felting again and made this wet felted flower. I even spun the green yarn on this one!

Then I decided to try my hand at a boutonniere. I had this really cool robot paper from Paper Source and some vintage crepe paper. 

Then I decided that I needed to make a matching wrist corsage. 

Everything is up for sale on Easy!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MinkCouture

design trends

    So there was an article in the Chicago Tribune today where 3 interior designers predicted if last years trends would continue.....

Can you believe that some of them had never heard of Radiant Orchid? And they think mason jars are  not a trend?!

Seriously?!

Mason jars will never die for some reason. I only use mine for canning......

Kauni Yarn

I got this two balls of beautiful Kauni yarn for my birthday! I want to knit a "dragon scale" shawl with the green and try and pick up some more of the orange to knit a cardigan.

Has anyone knit with this yarn before? Its 100% wool, which is fine with me!

Knitted Boot cuffs!

 I made these lovely boot cuffs for my Mom for Christmas, they knit up super fast and I love, love, love this yarn!

For more inför, go to my revelry page here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/CityMink/feather-lace-boot-topper

Little Putz Houses for you and meThis one has

I love these little houses! I will be making some of my own to sell next year on Etsy. Anyone else love these as much as I do?

This one has a tree?

Nice ombre!

This one has fuzzy snow on the roof!

Larger houses

I like the cardboard tiled roof!

Shawl Photos!

Here they are! Finally got around to taking some photos of my "shawl". This is the Confidence pattern from Lost City Knits, the pattern is free on their website. 

  This is more of a shawlette than full shawl. Its a good first pattern to get you into reading charts and easy lace work. I used sock yarn and think I may knit another one for a gift! 

There are some row changes so things don't get to boring. 

Here you can see some of the "lace"

Shawl Done!

I finally finished my Confidence shawl! All I need to do is block it and weave the ends in. I can't believe that I knit a "lacework" shawl!!!

New Items and a Sale

I have some new items up on the Easy store- some new Christmas ornaments and some fabulous new pin back "up cycled" vintage tie buttons.
  I also have sale going through the month- 30% store wide so you can get your holiday shopping done early! 

Safety Warnings

 I just bought a new glue gun and it came with an instruction booklet. This seems quite silly because....its a glue gun. Other than put glue stick in, plug in and don't touch the hot end, what instructions do you need???

Here are some of the warnings/ preventative maintenance tips..


in capital letters: Do not pull glue stick from back of glue gun

Not to be used to replace structural fasteners when heavy loads are involved

Wear long sleeves, long pants, hear resistant gloves and safety goggles

For indoor use only, do not use outdoors or in wet or damp locations. Never immerse glue gun in water or other liquid

Do not carry the tool by the cord



Obviously, someone did all of these things to warrant including these safety measures.....sheesh!

Secret Sale...Shhhhhh!

Dear Gentle Readers.....

You are the first to hear about my "Secret" sale I have up for the pre-holidays. From Nov 4 through Dec 2 everything in the store is 30% off!!!

That means Black Friday starts early and you can shop from the comfort of your home for goodies for the entire family.

No coupon is needed, heck, you can even request a custom item and I will give you the discount!

Mark you calendars! 

Worst Flu EVER

Seriously...this past week had to be my worst bout with the flu ever. Not only the flu, but strep throat on top of that. It started out fine and I got some meds from my doctor and then it went downhill fast.
  A week later and 5 pounds lighter I am finally getting over this thing. I will be getting a flu shot and encourage everyone to do the same!!!

New jewelry for fall

I just added two new bracelets to the Etsy store! 

Bright green wire with "candy" stones, perfect for the Fall!

Blood red coral pairs nicely with a stark black wire background

First attempt at knitting a shawl

Well, I finally decided to dive in and knit a shawl. I am starting with the most basic of ones, the Confidence Shawl from Lost City Knits.
  For something that is supposed to be easy, I'm already confused one row in. I don't really knit with charts and I am getting lost on the yarn overs. :(
  I am going to keep trying and get this thing going! I will not let the chart beat me up. I will post pictures as soon as it looks like something. 

Feature on the Etsy CIJ Blog

I was lucky enough to be featured this month on Etsy's Christmas In July Blog. You can read all about it here:

http://etsychristmasinjuly.wordpress.com/2014/09/08/member-feature-mink-couture/

New Halloween Items!

Just added to the Etsy store.....Halloween treat box ornaments. These are 6" tall and not only do they decorate your trey, but they also can hold some tasty candy or a tiny surprise inside!

Halloween Ghosts

Steampunk Ravens

Creepy, Crawly Spiders

Best summer drink ever!

One of my coworkers told me about this drink he used to make at the Farm he worked at. The would have weddings and he was the bartender. This drink is the easiest thing to make and it tastes refreshing. I have yet to come up with a snappy name in his honor-I think it deserves something classy.

Best Summer Drink Ever

Pour some bourbon in a cocktail shaker (I used 2 ounces of Jim Bean). Add some apricot jam or orange marmalade (to taste- I used 2 tablespoons). Add ice and shake. Pour into a glass filled with ice and top with Gingerale.

You can fiddle with the ingredients to your taste. You get a wonderful jammy, fizzy drink without the punch of bourbon. 

Yarn, Yarn, Everywhere...

    I always tell myself, "I have enough yarn"...as every knitter knows, this is just something we tell ourselves to try and stem the yarn hair. I have three boxes of yarn-quite a small amount in the yarn world. I know people that have entire rooms full of unused yarn.
   But, still I tell myself-"Do not buy any more yarn until you use what you have". Technically all my yarn is earmarked for projects. The sock yarn is going to become a shawl, the worsted a cowl, the other worsted will be a flapper hat (short rows-why the short rows), the mink will be a shawl after I knit the practice shawl, the sparkly mohair with be a lace knit scarf, the kid mohair is a hat for my Mom.
  So, why do I continue to buy wool whenever I see it? Whenever I go to non yarn stores (Jo-Anns, Michaels, Hobby Lobby-your "craft store") they have rows and rows of acrylic and about 1% yarn that is 100% wool. Now, you can do some fun stuff with acrylic and the colors-oh the colors and textures and glittery beads and weirdness of it is overwhelming. But its not real. It doesn't keep you warm and you can't felt and manipulate it like a wool. So, whoever I see wool, I buy it.
   When I was at the Fiber Fair I found Alchemy's silk straw yarn for 1/2 price, so I bought 2 skeins. Then I bought some mohair from Blue Moon that is shades of mossy green. Now I am stuck with what do I knit which them?
   On top of that, I am still in love with the wrap from Catching Fire that Katniss wears-add that to the list. And....watching Outlander last night I fell good and hard for Claire's knit cowl and gloves- pictures here (scroll down to #7). Oh, the chunky yarn!
   Maybe it's because it is currently 90 outside with 100% humidity- it's like the South here, my hair is curling! I want the cool air to come so I can pull out the sweaters and curl up with some tea.....and knitting!

Hanx Writer Type App

   Since I got my iPad last week, I've ben looking at what cool apps I can download and mess around with on it.
   I found one that is designed by Tom Hanks! Its a typewriter and its free. You can upgrade and add two other typewriters or you can "test drive" them. You get a realistic looking typewriter with keys an sound. Yes, this is an app that you probably don't need but sometimes the sound of a typewriter is calming to hear (at least to me). You could even just type nonsense on your page and hear the click of the keys.
  You can send your document in a message or Air Drop it to someone nearby. For $4.99 you can add pictures and change your ribbon. Having used a typewriter for school papers I can only imagine if I could have used this app to stick it yo my teacher (but I *did* use a computer!).
   This app is definitely worth downloading and trying out! 

Winner, Winner, IPad Winner

I always enter the Summer Reading Program at the library. I get to read like I always do and I enter little slips in and get the chance to win prizes!
  I used to go to this HUGE library when I was in Naperville and won all sorts of cool things in the "teen" program: pens, a hotel stay in the city, a handmade wooden box, my height in Turtle sundaes, free lessons....
  Now, I go to a much smaller library and they don't give out a lot of prizes, I've never won anything. I get a free book and a pen when I turn in my first slip, but that's about it. Until yesterday (Saturday). I though the winners were picked and prizes where given out, its been over a week since the program ended. I went in to get some books to read and I had to go to the reference desk.......where they told me I won the grand prize

an I-PAD!!!

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

So exciting!!! I raced home and started playing with it and I tried to find some apps to download. I've got Paper53, Sketches, Moleskin, Rosetta Stone and the Makerbot app.

Any other cool apps for a design oriented person like myself???

I also spent a few hours looking for a cool, artsy case for it. I really likes the BookBook case, but all the negative reviews turned me off. Then I was looking and Paper and Quill and Dodo case. I finally went with Dodo case because I could design my own and it has the book maker feel to it. *fingers crossed* it works and gets here soon!

Midwest Fiber Fair 2014

This weekend was the fiber fair and it was.....small.....Sadly, the fairgrounds pulled the Fiber Fair's normal date and made them take a later one, which lead to not a lot of vendors.
  I missed Nifty, Thrifty Dry Goods; Windy City Knits; the Spinners Guild and many more. I was going to by this a bag that says "I Knit so I don't kill people", but I guess I'll have to get it on Etsy.
  I did meet some lovely people from Lost City Knits and got many "purls" of wisdom from Denise and a "simple" lace pattern for a shawl. We'll see how simple, my brain is already cramping from looking at the chart. I also stopped by The Fold and picked up some silk yarn that was on sale (who knows what it will go to).
  I always promise myself that "I won't buy any new yarn"......umm...yeah, right.....You see, most of my stash yarn is going to a project, I just haven't started the 20 or so projects in my queue....Therefore I need new yarn for projects yet to be. And sock yarn just doesn't count. Cotton doesn't either-that's mindless dishcloth yarn for knitting at the doctor's, on the train or while watching TV......
  I did take a really cool welt felting class and learning the secret is......POWER TOOLS!!!!! Why spend hours with a PVC pipe when you can buzz your roving with a sander? Genius!

This is before the welt felting. Lots of texture and color. This became a felted flower fascinator, which is still drying! So, pictures to come....

   

I was also lucky enough to be a featured artist in the directory given out at the fiber fair. I did feel bad that I didn't enter the Handbag Exhibit this year (I was going to), but tests and doctors visits got in the way of everything! 

  

 It was a fun day up until the end when I started getting phone calls about my insurance company-hard to deal when you are up to your elbows in soapy water. 

I'l leave this on a high note with one of the poems exhibited at the fair!