Phantom Whispers

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas filled with peace, joy and love.
(This picture was from 2007. No snow this year)

A Comparison

Here are the two bunnies next to each other. The larger one is about 6" high so you can see that when you use sock yarn in place of the worsted and a #1 instead of a size H (I think that was the size. I don't have the pattern right here or I'd check) that your little one will come out about half the size of the original. And note the difference in the ears. I shortened them on little bunny. I like the ears both ways.

So, I told you how I wanted to do a little bunny right? I used sock yarn and a #1 hook and here it is.
You think with the size it would work up quicker than the larger one, right? Nope, same number of stitches. It took just about the same amount of time to make, Except I did make its ears shorter than the larger one. This one is just about 3" high.

It was a sunny day today! Nice change from gray. But the gray is due back tomorrow and winds tonight , I think. The rain should be coming soon too. Ah, winter in the great northwest, LOL.

A new character joined the household today. She didn't even have time to get dressed or some hair on. She just wanted to say hi. Meet Willow.

Crocheted Bracelets

 
I have been working on beauties like this for a little while now. I love making them and I love the way they feel.   I've been working with several kinds of yarns to find the ones I like best but I am trying to stay with "natural" fiber.   Natural is such a worthless word to use when it comes to food that I hesitate to use it here.   Truly, when it is on a package of food it means nothing really.   But when I use it in the context of fibers I mean cotton, silk, linen and hemp.  I want fibers that breathe but don't add too much warmth.  

 
The first time I made these I was getting ready for a show in Phoenix.  Believe me, I always take warmth into consideration there.   It is such a different climate for me that look at me wrong and I start sweating (Oh, forgive me, I forgot.  Women glow, they don't sweat...yeah, right.   Sad to say I sweat.   And I get hot flashes too.   What a treat.   Back to the bracelets).   So that was a real factor in the decision of fibers.

 
These are worked in a free form fashion meaning that I don't have a set plan when I start out and I let each bracelet talk to me and let it inform me as to the shape it wants and any embellishments, if any, it needs to be completed.   I work in white or off white natural (there's that word again) colors and sometimes I will coffee or tea dye them to knock back the starkness of the white a bit.   I love building up the differing textures and I don't want too much color to detract from it.

 
I like to add small rusty keys and washers, bits of lace and fabric and the gleam of pearls to them.  And of course the vintage button closures are mainly mother-of-pearl, fitting in nicely with the "natural" feel and flow.  And I love how they can be worn in different ways, depending on the look of feel you want.  And some of them are adjustable in the length just by where you decide to button them.

So within the next few days, I should have these on my etsy store, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5038616 .   They are sweet and comfortable and make me think of gentler times.

Wow, these quick posts are kind of fun. I don't feel the same pressure to be profound (oh, yeah, like that happens much - please forgive my little side trip ramblings).
Anyhow, I wanted to show you a full size picture of the bunny. I find him quite charming and I hope Ylaiza will too. I think a sweet little bow will be his topping and then he should get wrapped up to await Christmas.
But I do really like him. Not that I need a toy bunny, but if it weren't for Ylaiza I'd probably keep him sitting around here for a while just to enjoy the smile it brings to me.
If you'd like to make your own bunny look up the Lion Brand website. He is the Best Bunny pattern #60480A.
I'm trying another one in sock yarn and a #1 hook to make it much smaller. I'll let you know how it goes :-)

When the weather starts cooling and the skies turn grey I find myself turning to yarns and knitting and crochet. With knitting I seem to make only little things, wrist warmers, doll clothes and sweaters for my constant source of sunshine, Ylaiza, my granddaughter. I don't seem to suffer the same constraints when I crochet. I feel a lot more in control when I crochet, changing things as need to match my vison.
Here is close up of little bunny rabbit I've made for Ylaiza (sssh, she hasn't seen it yet).