Yesterday, I posted about the wooden doll that I made for my mom for Valentines Day: Link.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

As I looked at the doll,

I thought that I couldn’t

send her off without

some kind of cosy wrap.

It made sense to me

that she should have

a little shawl made of

hearts , to symbolize

being kept warm

by love and loving thoughts.

That makes sense,

doesn’t it?  

So….

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

With a size ‘G’ hook

and Patons Lucette

in ‘Hint of Rose’,

I crocheted 3 hearts,

using the

Crocheted Love Hearts

pattern:

Link

I left a few inches

at the last stitch

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

of each heart,

for stitching them together.

I used the

baseball stitch

Link to tutorial

to stitch them

together

to make the

doll shawl.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

There!

Now she looks like

she can step out

and get ready for

her big trip to

go live with

my mom.

I hope they’ll

be very happy together!

This has been such a fun

Valentines Day project!

Hmmm…. what to make for my mom for Valentines Day?
What would she get a kick out of?
Why not a portrait dolly of her as a child?
I don’t have many photos of my
mom from when she was
a little girl.
One of my most
favorites is of her
posing after
a dance concert,
wearing a silk
costume and pink
dancing shoes.
I  scanned the photo
and then
set to work
with photoshop.
I flipped the image
180 degrees, and
then used my clone
tool to paint
a back view of her
over the flipped
front view.
Then I printed them both.
Next, I cut out
the photos out.
I drew a pair of
interlocking stands
and cut them out, too.
I glued the front view
to a piece …read more

This week has been a challenging one, and one of the things that I have noticed is how much I really appreciate small comforting rituals and aspects and elements of ‘normal’ life.
For me, the Artsy Bloggers links are one of the little pleasures of my week, and so I take pleasure in sharing them with you.
Beading Arts
A beautiful glass bead becomes the focal point of a Valentine’s Day necklace!
love-is-rose
Creative Dreamer
Here’s a fabric ATC swap…Everyone is welcome…come join in and be a part of the fun!
whos-up-for-atc-swap
Faint Heart Art
Vicki has a different take on inchies
another-birthday-and-inchies
Gadabout Media
Chloe has found some sweet Valentines …read more

Yesterday, I posted the instructions for my design for crocheted love hearts . The photos were bad- taken late at night… so…
I re-photographed the hearts today
and have edited yesterday’s post
with better photos
that weren’t taken late at night.
Sometimes you can get
away with a flash shot, and sometimes, you can’t!
So, now you’ll actually be able to
see what the hearts look like!
Yesterday, I also promised to
show you some ideas for
Valentines Day projects
for the Crocheted Love Hearts.
So, here we go….
Why not make
a little card
or postcard
and glue
or stitch
one of the
Crocheted Love Hearts
to it to embellish it?
The Crocheted Love Hearts
would also be beautiful
on a scrapbook page
that …read more

Yesterday, I posted the instructions for my design for crocheted love hearts . The photos were bad- taken late at night… so…
I re-photographed the hearts today
and have edited yesterday’s post
with better photos
that weren’t taken late at night.
Sometimes you can get
away with a flash shot, and sometimes, you can’t!
So, now you’ll actually be able to
see what the hearts look like!
Yesterday, I also promised to
show you some ideas for
Valentines Day projects
for the Crocheted Love Hearts.
So, here we go….
Why not make
a little card
or postcard
and glue
or stitch
one of the
Crocheted Love Hearts
to it to embellish it?
The Crocheted Love Hearts
would also be beautiful
on a scrapbook page
that …read more

Yesterday, I was sitting at my daughter’s bedside in the hospital, with my crochet hook going like mad.
When in distress, making that hook fly is one of the best ways to calm myself down.
We were hoping that she’d be home, and were disappointed that they weren’t ready to part with her yet.
She’s so lovable that it doesn’t surprise me that they want to hold onto her, but hey, we want her back, thank you very much!
Anyhow, we were talking about projects that we were designing for Valentines Day.
I said that I had been mulling over some ideas
and I said that …read more

The last few weeks have been really rough for our family. Our daughter has been very sick and it’s been challenging as all get out.
Her gallbladder and
she parted company yesterday…
and the surgery went well.
On Sunday, she had a
scope procedure to get a nasty
stinker of a stuck stone
out of wherever it wasn’t supposed
to be. She  came through that with flying colors,
and that was the beginning of
a process of getting relief.
For a young mum to have to endure
separation from her brand new baby
is really hard, and so we have been
doing our best to be the best possible support for our wee grandson, …read more

I absolutely love love love doing interviews with other designers. It’s always such a fascinating process to be given a glimpse into their lives. Today’s designer profile is with editor extraordinaire, feisty workshop presenter and designer delight, Susan Huxley.
My questions are in GREEN and Susan’s wonderful answers are in black. She’s got some sage advice for anyone who would like to enter the world of designing… read on….
1. How did you create your life in the fiber arts?
I’ve stitched all my life. So when I decided to pursue a degree in my early 20s it was only natural that …read more

Last night, my husband and I stepped into an elevator at the hospital, after an exhausting day, an exhausting week…  and we both slumped against the wall for a moment.
The door opened again, and a man stepped into the elevator, and with huge brown eyes, scanned us and then said in the gentlest voice:
“It’s difficult sometimes, isn’t it?”
He was holding take out food and was
obviously in the same boat as us,
caring with every molecule of our being
about a sick beloved one, and also
looked worn and  weary.
The thing was, that just filled us with awe,
was that, despite  his obvious weariness,
he was …read more

Last week, when I wrote about ‘Hearts for Haiti’ (link), a lady sent me a note suggesting that the knitted heart bookmark would make a great soft bracelet/wrist wrap.
Bracelets are one of
my most favorite pieces
of jewelry, so I had an
immediate- YES!
response to her suggestion.
I decided to use the pattern
for the knitted heart bookmark
but to work with it on
a larger scale, by knitting
it with thicker yarn.
For a bracelet, you need
a yarn or cord that is going
to feel soft and pleasant
but still be really sturdy
and able to stand up to
being hauled in and out
of sleeves, and getting water
sloshed on it, along with
whatever …read more