Zombie swap revealed!

Wow.. this was such a surprise! A little back story..
I have been corresponding with swamps42 for a few months now on Ravelry. Well before the swap.
Well, I found out that she was my spoiler.. and boy, did she spoil me! I was so surprised and delighted by what she sent, I was almost in tears.
Here's why....

I openned my front door and there were two packages. One for me and one for Reble! She knit this fabulous sweater for Rebel! Isn't is lovely!!!  You can't get to me more than by loving on my dog!  It fits him perfectly, as you can see. She also sent the bed he is in!! The blanket you see behind him is one of the things she sent me. And it is mega soft!

Here is a close up of the yarn she hand-dyed for me! It is called Punk Entrails.  I am currently knitting a shoulder wrap with it!

She also sent the little zombie pin and bat lollipop!

This plastic brain, roaches and large sticker were also in the package. Let me say the brain looks so real in person!

The twinkies, ala Zombieland, are for energy, and of course I will need a zombie survival guide and something else to read in my spare time. The little ducky is soap.

Here is a photo of most of the stuff. The postcard is of  a park she used to live near. Beautiful!

I was so totally spoiled by swamps42 that I am still giggling.  She also told me she sent away to get me.. OMG... an autographed picture of David Tennant... Doctor Who! Who better than the Doctor to get you thru an apocalypse!

It takes months to arrive, so it hasn't arrived yet, but we are crossing our fingers it arrives!

Oh, Rebel reallllly wanted the brain. It smells like a doggy toy..so...

but he isn't getting it. It is in one of my Halloween displays.

Thanks again swamps42!! Such an epic spoiler!

Halloween crafts

If you know me, you know I crochet a lot of amigurumi. You also know I don't ever crochet from a pattern, as I just get lost and can't really read them. So, I tried something new. I found this cute skull that is a crocheted pattern, and decided to try it. Although I found out later I did some of the stitches wrong, I am really happy it turned out this good! Now little Yorick has a home in my Halloween decor.

Wanananananaaaa...

Bat Shawl!!!
I finally finished it! Really, it only took me two months, which seems to be the going 'rate' of time... so I am ecstatic that I finished that soon! Yes.. the edging has problems..but that can be fixed later, if I do choose.
I am just pleased as punch to have it ready for Halloween! EEEE!

The second photo shows it face on.. but the sun made a little light swirl on the bottom..

that is not a hole! I used worsted weight instead of the sport weight.. and it turned out 80"x 40". Good thing, as I am evidently much larger than the original creator!

I also wanted to show how much yarn was left from three skeins..

Here...kitty kitty kitty...

I have had a thing for vintage Halloween cats for a long time.(though I am not a big cat fan in real life)
 I decided to make myself one. Here is my kitty... Halle Ween. She is all crocheted, except her facial features are felt. I got the idea for her cute little smile from somewhere online. I just love her! After making her candy corn, I realized I had make the middle part yellow and it should be orange. Oh well, make another.  I am going to make her a dress or something from some of the Halloween fabric I have in my stash.
Today, I started making a similar Halloween bat. So far, he is adorable! I need to make his wings and legs and he will be finished too. Maybe a cape or little vest from Halloween fabric for him.
His name will be Sam Hain. Which is the Gaelic term for summer's end. It isn't really pronounced Sam Hain.. more like Sow-in, but..that is going to be his name.

Zombie/Apocalypse Swap September 2010

Here are all the things my spoilee vestasahla got from me! I was so excited by this swap, I got finished early and sent it all out already. Ok..here we go..

the brain bag

I LOVE THIS! I even made myself one, but with bats inside!

The Armadillo of Darkness.

She said she liked armadillos, so, now she has a zombie one!

Stone throwing scarf.

The end of this scarf has a little pocket in it to hold stones to sling at zombies, or

in a more normal time, hold some money, credit card or snack!

In one of her fav color combos.

Zombie project bag.

 I got the bag at the $1 store, made these stencils and voila! She is a dancer

that is why it says what it does on the front.

This other picture is the back.

Candies, toys, pins, and such for the zombie-phile. Zombie duck, name tag, Skully ice cube tray, tattoos, project bag. Brain candies, and brain flavored mints. yuck! The awesome shirt came with the half mask! Yarns for milady..

Finally, a zombie related toy for her kitty. Notice the "fur brainz!"

She doesn't post much, so I hope she liked everything!

The newest swap.. Zombies!!

Well, ok, Zombies or Apocalypse. But since my spoilee likes the zombie scenario.. let's go with that. Here is one of the things I made her. It is called a Brainbag. I made it up myself! You can carry your essentials in it, but if a zombie attacks, you can throw it on the ground as a decoy brain and get away!

I also had this idea for a project bag, and made a stencil from transparency paper, and ta-dah, a zombie project bag is born. Made myself one, too!

Here is another thing I made, and since she probably won't look here, it shouldn't give it away.

I made a zombie armadillo! Complete with brain coming out of his little head, and a rib showing on his side.

My Disney swap received!

I got my Disney swap from my spoiler Studioloo! Check it out. My favorite movie was Fantasia, and she had a hard time finding Fantasia themed items. Here is what I got. The hat she made with all types of yarns the front being alpaca and oh, so soft! And it fits great.
She sent me a Pookaloo Mickey Mouse, which Rebel wanted, a tree to grow, and the little jar she handmade with the mushrooms. It is now a ring holder.

The necklace has all dog pictures on it, as she knows I love me some dogs! A pretty stitch marker, and an antique Mickey skiing pin. Also, a needle tatting booklet I didn't have. The yarns.. I love both for different reasons. She hand dyed them both, and they are both so different, but lovely!

Thanks again Studioloo!

Disney swap sent

Ok, here is what I sent to my spoilee in the Odd Ducks Disney swap. You have already seen Lady.. well.. how could I not send Tramp, too? I also made the little bowl of spaghetti.. it is a pincushion.

A funny side note..several months ago I found this odd looking brush thing in a box I got at a yardsale. Me being me, I didn't throw it away even though I didn't know what it was for. I thought maybe it was a cat brush, as the bristles were very short and dense. Well, turns out, it is a brush used to 'fluff' up yarn, which is exactly what I did to Tramp's face, chest and so on. It made him look especially trampy!

All of my Fair entries with ribbons

Here is a photo of everything I did for the fair. As you can see.. little Lady won a 2nd place ribbon! yeah! Now I can tell her new Mom (she was made for a swap, remember?) that she is a ribbon winner!

Click on it to see a larger version.

Anyway.. 10 out of 14 entries won, and I received 13 ribbons total. I think that is the best I have ever done ... ratio wise. Ok, on to more knitting.. I started a pair of cuffs, finished one, and half way finished with the other. I will post a picture when they are finished. Also, working on another crochet amigurumi item.. also will post when finished.

Big hand for a little "Lady"

Here is what I have been working on. Not officially knitting, except her collar will be. I crocheted this little "Lady" from Lady and the Tramp for a swap in Odd Ducks on Ravelry. I just finished her last night, and I do like her. She is bigger than I thought she would turn out, but that's what happens when you crochet on the fly! Anyway, I am secretly entering her in the fair before I send her to her forever home. Wouldn't it be COOL if she won a ribbon I could tell her new Mom about?

Video Game swap goodies!

Here is what I received from PoisonedPeach in the Videogame swap. I told her I liked Resident Evil, Silent Hill, (zombie games) and Final Fantasy (there are 13 of them!~)

Here is what she came up with.. such awesomeness!
First.. number one comics of the aforementioned games! yay!

Stitch Bow floss holders and organizer for my tatting,  Dpns in the Umbrella Corps (Resident Evil) colors of red and white, and sooo cool, brain shaped ice cube trays!!,...wait there's more...

Check out the goodies to eat! There is gamers grub, made especially so as not to get goo on your controller, Nintendo tin of candy, soo cute, Mana Potion enerygy drink, for when my hp gets low fighting monsters in Final Fantasy, and the Blood Bag! So funny! It is also an energy drink, and oh so zombieness fun!!

Finally....

Here I am in my very own Moogle (Final Fantasy) hat! Isn't it adorable? She wasn't sure if I would want the face on it, so she sent me the nose in case I did.. and I do. I think it will add to the cuteness of it, as if it isn't cute enough already! Thanks so much PoisonedPeach!!

Lord of the Rings swap "Received"

                                                  Ready to be jealous?

I got this awesome box from my spoiler's boyfriend. And it was his idea to send this little note and key ahead of the package to intrigue me! Rebel was very interested in this lambas bread package.. it had doggie treats in it!  Here is the box with everything.. lots of my favorite treats, but none I could get here in the US, as this package came from Canada.  Awesome yarn in my favorite color, the little wooden box filled with rock salt,  the needle roll of purple and green ( my fav color combo), the oh, so cute origami  Fell Beast and Mumakil, the hand made Elven brooch, and OH the socks! They are my first pair of hand knit socks, they have an cool Celtic cable on them, Elvish writing, and they fit perfectly!  They are meant to reflect the Rohan.. and they do beautifully! I was so totally spoiled in this swap.. thanks soo much again to LessiaS and her boyfriend!

Video Game swap

Here is what I made for my spoilee, battlegirlai. It is a Cornet doll, from the game Rhapsody. (her fave game) She is all crocheted, except for her knitted scarf. I am so glad she liked her!

Here is the picture I used as a guide.

Also, I designed this Yar's Revenge Cloth. (another fave). I had to learn intarsia and duplicate stitch to make it.. yeah! Anyone interested and contact me about the pattern.

What to make?

I have been learning to knit and doing these exchanges so much recently, that I have literally NOTHING to put in the fair. I am thinking of some knitting I can put in next year, you know, things I want to get finished, but, I don't think my knitting is good enough to enter this year. So, I will be probably only post swap things here for a bit, while I do some tatting for the fair... in JULY!!!
I am making some dishcloth patterns in Halloween motifs to put together to make myself an afghan, though. I will post each as I do it.

What I sent as the Lord of the Rings swap

My spoilee, RainbowConnection, finally got her package, so I can show what I made her here now. I went a little crazy this time.. she liked this scarf, and since it was leafy..and elvish-y, I made it. I need to make myself one now, I thought it was so cool.

I made these Hobbit ears. I saw some online somewhere on Etsy, I think, and made her a pair. I also made the earcuff on the ear you see.

This is meant to be a headband, or, if you pull it down to your neck, a collar to wear over a t-shirt. It has little leaves on it.. see?

These mushrooms, and bookmarks were just for fun.

Here is also another handmade item.. the little wooden box thing in the center. It is like a little wooden sachel, and I wood burned her real name in Elvish on one side, and her computer name, RainbowConnection, in Elvish on the other side. I bought enough yarn for her to make a shawl, as she said she wanted to try that. She also received the other things here.

I haven't received my package yet, nor do I know who it is coming from. I will post here when I get it! Should be pretty soon!

Alice swap gifts arrive!

I received my Alice in Wonderland swap gifts and they are awesome! Here is a photo of my most fav thing.. the Cheshire Cat! Isn't he adorable?  He is sitting next to my handpainted (by me) Alice in Wonderland teapot. People who really know me, know I don't really like cats, but I have always loved the Cheshire Cat for some reason. Loopiedoo (her online name) did a great job of making him for me. And look what else I got... This oooooh so soft yarn. Baby Alpaca..chunky. 105 yds. I don't know what I will make from it, but it will be fab!

And, all of these other great things! Alice mints, tea in the tin, music from the movie, notepads galore, napkins, bookmark of the cat, baby mock turtle, and a book on how to knit socks!! What a great swap partner!!!