They're All the Rage

I recently got a request for infinity scarves, so I thought why not?  I've knitted up these cozy, fluffy scarves in various colors.  Each has a great color variation and great color range.  At $25 each, they're also a great less expensive option for a handmade scarf.  I made them 55" in circumference so they're nice and long to go around twice, but stay close to the neck to keep you warm.

When I was done with those, I decided to try something different too.  I had this soft, fuzzy white yarn and some shiny red yarn that I love, so I knitted them together into a loooooooooong infinity scarf (about 84" long... or around, depending on how you look at it), and came up with this scarf that looks, as Eric pointed out, like a boa.  It's so comfy!  And it's really pretty, too.

Fun, right?  They're all in the accessories section of Fabric of my Mind.  I don't know about you, but these scarves kind of cheer me up in the face of all the snow we've been having... and will apparently keep having.  Now... who wants to help me come shovel?

There's Lilac and There's Lilac

And no matter what sort of lilac it is, I adore it.  Seriously, it's my favorite flower and was the one bloom I really wanted to carry in my wedding... and was so happy when the florist told me I could!

(Flowers designed by Angie at the Metropolitan Plant Exchange,

Photography by Sharon Ann Curia of Sharon's Wedding Art)

And so when Eric and I were making our latest batch of candles, I lobbied for Lilac.  In keeping with our new look, we did them two-tone pink and purple, but the scent is gorgeous, springy, unadulterated Lilac, and they're already a hit with customers.

The 15" round pillar has already sold, but you can find the square pillars here, the small round pillars here, and the votives here.  If you're not sure how much you'll love it - or the other spring candles we've made - you can also try one of each votive in our sampler pack!

But back to the lilacs.  I can't forget about them for too long, that's for sure.  The lilacs.  I love lilacs so much that one year my sister and I got a small lilac shrub for our mom for Mother's Day from the NJ Botanical Gardens.  OK, that gift wasn't quite as self-serving as it sounds.  My sister and mom like lilacs too, and mom likes to have nice, flowering plants around the yard.

Well, back in September, Eric and I moved here to Franklin Lakes, where we have a nice little house... with a whole lotta land.  There's a forest in our backyard, for real!  Well, OK, it's a small foresty area but still.  It's foresty enough that we've had not only squirrels and chipmunks but also possum, a bunny, deer on more than one occasion, and at one point... bear tracks in the snow!  And the rest of the back yard and all of the front is a lot of lawn.  Lots and lots of lawn and trees and bushes.  So I was lobbying for a lilac shrub for our own yard.  I was hoping that during their annual plant sale earlier in the month, Eric and I could go to the NJ Botanical Gardens in the hope that they had lilacs again.

Didn't need to.

Just a week or so before, I was getting into my car for work in the morning and I glanced at this big tree that was on the other side of the driveway.  It was budding.  It was budding purple.  I went for a closer look... and quite literally danced around the driveway.  Lilacs!  A whole huge lilac shrub the size of a tree!  All mine!

It's been blooming ever since, and the smell makes me smile every time I pass by.  It makes me so, so happy.  And while we've added Lilac Candles to Reef Botanicals, I've added a new photo to Fabric of my Mind.

That beauty can be found right here, if you want your own print of it.  Can't you just smell them?

Ah, I'm smiling again.  Just can't help it!

Pretty Epic

What I'm about to show you is my biggest knitting undertaking to date, and I personally think it's pretty epic. This is the first knitted thing I've done that's 100% my own design, not taken from any other ideas or inspirations, other than my nephew's love of dinosaurs.

Check this out.

I made a dinosaur scarf for my nephew's birthday!

It was pretty involved and took forever, because although I had the idea, I kind of designed as I went.  I started with graph paper, so I could figure out how to gauge the stitches I'd need to get the shape of the head, rounded in front and then the part that bulges by the eyes.  I used the same method for the legs and the narrowing of the tail.

I knew before I started that I wanted a cable knit pattern down the body to sort of give an idea of a dinosaur's bumpy texture, but that meant that I had to figure out how many stitches across to make it and how wide I wanted the center band to be, plus figure out in narrowing the tail how to also narrow the cable pattern.  From snout to tail is all one piece.  Then I made a bottom jaw so I could add teeth, which I knitted separately and sewed on.

In fact, the teeth, legs, back spines, brow ridges, and bottom jaw were all knitted separately and then sewn on.  For the eyes, I actually had to teach myself to crochet circles, which I then sewed on as well!

And then I "embroidered" on nostrils.  I think he's got some serious personality!

My inspiration..

I took some liberties, of course, adding the points down his back, but I like him that way.

The whole thing is done in 100% washable wool and is about 48-50" long.  I wanted a nice, natural fiber that would be warm for the winter but still washable since he just turned three.

As soon as I'm done treating myself to an alpaca scarf I'm working on, I'll be replicating good ol' Daffy the Dinosaur, as I've dubbed him, for Fabric of my Mind.  I'll keep you posted, especially since there are plans for other animal scarves on the horizon too!

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Artist Spotlight: Parts Eighty-Seven & Eighty-Eight

I have two artists for you this time 'round, both ones you have not met here before.

First, April of Brooklyn Bead Goddess.  As someone who spent some time living in Brooklyn myself, I have an affinity for this chick, can't help it.  Then again, I also have an affinity for her art.

I'm an art glass collector, so lampwork like this just draws and fascinates me.  It did her too; it started when the glass artists along the Coney Island boardwalk intrigued her.

And now, the variety in her work intrigues me!  She makes each bead, and then from those creates her beautiful jewelry.

You can buy her jewelry in her Handmade Artists Shop or her Etsy Shop.

You can follow her blog.

Like her on Facebook

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Or follow her on Twitter.

Don't you want to?

*****

And second only consecutively, here's Sarah of Finding Charm.  Charm is definitely the word for it, too.

A do-it-yourselfer with her own sense of style, Sarah started making jewelry when she couldn't find anything she liked already made to go with her outfits.

She's obviously become an expert since then!

You can find her funky sense of style in her Etsy Shop, Artfire Shop, Zibbet Shop, and Ecrater Shop.

You can like her on Facebook.

And you can follow her blog

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