Eddy G - the Place To Be

Panda bears - Done :)

2011-08-09T20:24:00.006+01:00

Hurray, It may have taken me four weeks but here are the finished bears. As you can see; they ended up quite big.

Each one is made from slightly different fibres of yarn but the same fluffy white yarn too. I was really surprised to find that the wool based yarn behaved so differently to the polyester based yarn that I practically had to re-write the pattern for each!

Here is a better picture of the little guys without me in the way.

Little Panda Bears

2011-07-14T11:16:00.007+01:00

Aren't these just the cutest little bears? They belong to a CBBC show called "the same smile"

In the programme they are taken around different playgroups in Britain to see how different kids do different things (different religons or abilities) but how they are also all the same; all kids like to play and have fun. It's a really cool programme.

There is just one problem. Even though loads of kids watch the show and are, of course, in love with the bears, the people at CBBC do not make the toys for sale to the public. This is so sad.

I was asked to have a try at making one. Well, I love a challenge...

The original bears are made from different materials but I was unable to find the right materials in the right colours.

Here is my first attempt. He is knitted all from a toweling effect yarn. His legs are pretty small and there is not much difference between him sitting down and standing up - but he can do both. (his head is not really off to one side I did that for the ahhhh effect lol) He does stand an impressive 14 inches tall though - which is pretty close to the same smile bears.

If I make the others it will be in white toweling yarn and yarn with no special effect. But that will make them more like the ones I'm trying to imitate. I'm quite pleased with him.

Hello ducky

2011-03-10T20:51:00.002Z

If you liked last year's snuggle bunnies, then you are going to love this years snuggle ducks. Little yellow ducky cushion pals with a choice of colours for the beak and feet.

Just like the bunnies, you can put a few on the bed or sofa and tell everyone that they are just "throw cushions" to brighten up the room. But we all know that they are for secret hugs when you feel the need (but we won't tell)

These little cushion pals are bought for baby showers, teen congratulation gifts, going-to-college gifts, housewarming gifts, toy collections, room decor, throw pillows and "just because..." Gotta love that reasoning.

All hand knitted from extremely soft, fluffy yarn with washable fibre filling; they can be machine washed on a cool cycle ('cos we all need a wash sometimes) and are a 10 inch circular artwork.

Of course, I intend to make more, but for now, you can find the blue one here and the purple one by clicking here The bunnies are also still available - they look so happy together.

Pink Mammoths on Parade

2011-01-26T13:53:00.003Z

My latest dinosaur in the collection is Woolhelmina The Woolly Mammoth. She is also in my Artfire shop She is a total snuggle beast and a real hug monster. But nothing scary here.

All hand knitted, she is perfect for any age. I can also make one up in another colour if you like. Just like all Mammoths she has a head bump and lovely long tusks and just look at those manicured finger nails. Her arms and legs are securely attached but can also move (just like a teddy)

More dinos

2011-01-14T23:21:00.005Z

OK this is how Barney the dinosaur should look. Lots of teeth and claws for "rawr, rawr, nom, nom, nom" Well, maybe not so scary. He can do a mean rock and roll dance too as his legs have "teddy bear" joints and he is oh, so soft and fluffy.

Of course he has a cooler name than the "other purple dinosaur" too; He is a tyrannosaurus rex so his name is Tyrone O'Saurus, of course. You can find him with others at my artfire store.

As always you don't have to have him in this colour-way. You can choose your own colours and I will make one up for exactly the same cost.

"Barney the Dinosaur is Lame"

2011-01-05T20:11:00.004Z

Yes, you heard it; and it didn't come from me.

I was once told by a 4 year old, that Barney the Dinosaur is lame because he doesn't have proper teeth and claws and all dinosaurs should have proper teeth and claws.

I've given it some thought and he was right; dinosaurs just look too cute these days. So I'm making a few dinosaurs for my Artfire shop Mine will look right even if, maybe a bit cute and fluffy.

This is Pterry my first dinosaur. He is a Pterodactyl and although he doesn't have sharp teeth, he does have a big yellow beak and proper claws; they may be knitted but they are there. He's as soft as a big blanket and knitted in very fluffy yarn. He's pretty huge too standing at 40cm tall and with a wingspan of the same. I love his long goosey neck and the fact that he will nod in agreement to anything you say. He has to be the perfect companion.

12 days to Christmas

2010-12-12T20:31:00.007Z

Yes, that's right only 12 days. Are you panicking yet?

Here's a quick idea for a gift or decoration.

I made mine in shades of yellow and orange so that it could be "5 gold rings" I can hear you all singing. Hee hee.

You can hang it from the tree or give it as a chunky bracelet.

You can, of course, make yours in any colours - making it as trendy as you can for a youngster.

I knitted mine using DK weight yarn and 3mm double pointed needles. I found that 5 is the perfect number for an adult or teenage wrist. This only took me 2 hours to make. But if you are feeling adventurous you could make a necklace or even wrap the whole tree in a really long one! now that would be something to see.

The instructions can be found on the fibermania webpage.

Autumn festival

2010-10-06T14:38:00.014+01:00

At this time of year; all the vegetables are now safely harvested and the autumn flowers are out. And so we celebrate this time of plenty with wonderful festivals.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go to this years' festival but I helped to set it up a day early and so met some wonderful people.

Here, a sweet guy had brought his entire allotment, and has set it up in boxes under a plastic tunnel in the main street of the town.

I also got to meet "The Melon Man" who carves these wonderful pictures and patterns into melons. I expected him to be using a dremel or another carving tool but no, he uses a six inch knife. He's quite amazing. He was also on the "Britain's got talent" show this year.

and yes, we has typical British festival weather to set up in. But nothing stops us; yes they are pinning pieces of cauliflower to a ten foot tall polystyrene sheep! The idea was to cover the whole thing in cauliflower (yes, the vegetable) but it took more than the day to do it and eventually, the whole thing collapsed under it's own weight. They will try again next year.

Meet my new model "Felicity Potts"

2010-08-26T21:48:00.009+01:00

Yes Felicity Potts has a handsome classic full figure and looks great undressed.

Have I gone X-rated? No Felicity Potts is my new teapot bought solely for the purpose of showing off my latest tea-cosy range (Yes she looks even better dressed)

This is my most popular cosy. It is a fun cooked turkey. Some folks buy it as a teacosy others have bought it as a Thanksgiving table decoration. Either way it adds some fun to your table. Made in 100% wool (not acrylics) so that it has a real insulating quality. Available once again in my Artfire and Dawanda shops.

She also makes a cracking cup of tea.

What's your fantasy car? Keep in mind: money is no object, and it doesn't have to be a family car.

2010-08-23T20:40:00.005+01:00

I've already given this one lots of thought. What I would like is not a real car at all but a submarine. Yes, I could travel to different countries quicker and teach my little kids at the nursery all about the fish under the sea. Here is a picture of it all flattened out.

I know that is a strange way to draw a vehicle; all angles at once, but it is for a reason.

I have created a set of wonderful and fanciful vehicles on mugs at Zazzle.com The vehicles wrap around the mug so that the mug appears to have four wheels. They are very popular. The most popular is the ambulances. People give those instead of get-well cards and for passing medical exams. You can even add a message on the side or a name in the registration plate.

Here are some more. A schoolbus, a fire engine, a 4X4, a dumper truck and a big red bus.

I even have some happy homes - Go have a look at Eddy's Mad Mugs

Wendy's Wednesdays - OK I know it's Thursday now LOL

2010-08-19T10:01:00.002+01:00

Roughly once a fortnight, I draw a cartoon on the Handmade in Europe Blog. I've done 13 so far.

The best way to find them all is to put the word "cartoon" in the blog's search bar. But I find it more fun to scroll thorough all the great blog entries in there.

It documents the life of a crafter, Wendy, and her poor long-suffering husband Steve. It is total fantasy but you may see some of your own Crafting obsessions in there

This week she is trying to do something new that is nothing to do with knitting (her favourite pastime)

Yes, OK, OK, it is based on me and other crafters I know. So be careful what you say around me; it may end up as a toon one day mu-hahahaha (evil laugh)

Creative challenge 52 in 52 - July 2010

2010-08-10T19:50:00.003+01:00

I'm a bit late posting this month's finished objects. I'm still working towards my goal of 52 items in 52 weeks. July was not such a great month but some interesting items were made

So what are they?

A snowman teacozy - I made this for a Marie Curie Cancer Trust raffle.
A nice long scarf in shades of dark pink with celtic knots on it.
An ice cream doily - this was made for a challenge on the Handmade in Europe Blog. Have a look and see what the others made for this challenge.
A tiny donkey made for a swap on Cafemom.com. The theme was summer and the colour was red. So red donkey it was.
A cereise piggy bank - yes he is knitted and yes he is hollow with a slot for money and a plug to get your money out. I'm made a few of these now - they are proving very popular. This one was for my dear friend Catrin who came to Cardiff on holiday all the way from Germany - It was very exciting to meet her and "the tall guy"

So totals?

January = 9 items
February = 7 items
March = 9 items
April = 7 items
May = 8 items
June = 5 items
July = 5 items

That's 50 items in 31 weeks - so near and yet so far.

At the moment I'm working on a long-line jacket for myself and a robot for my shop They should be finished soon. But I think I might keep this calendar idea going just because it keeps me motivated to see the months fill up.

Let's get drawing more often.

2010-07-24T14:22:00.005+01:00

Some people know my drawings as the cartoons I make once a fortnight for the "Handmade In Europe" Blog. Here is poor Steve putting up with Wendy's obsession with crafting.

Still more people know my drawings as t-shirt and card designs on Zazzle.com. This is my Andy Roarhole dinosaur t-shirt.

But I have recently got myself a fun book full of drawing excercises. This took a whole week to get here from Amazon. This is pretty awful when you know that the main warehouse for Amazon is Swansea (less than 30miles from my house) I really wish they would get themselves a drive-thru like McDonalds - I'll bet it's possible

Anyway, drawing excercise 1 was to draw a page full of cats. I wasn't very comfortable using a sharpie pen; my drawings are usually drawn in pencil (lots of rubbing out), gone over in ink, scanned into the computer and then coloured with the graffics download paint.net But it was fun to do

If you look, you should be able to find a pretty lady cat, a scardy cat, a mean cat, a cat made from just straight lines, a circular cat, a triangular cat, a wicked cat, a cat wanting his belly scratched, a cat that looks like a mouse and lots more

Some I did from an abstract line, some I did quick and some I took more time on. I wanted a good mix of realistic, cartoon and abstract - what good fun

How to sort out a rotten month

2010-07-20T20:07:00.003+01:00

This has been a pretty terrible month

But I can only blame myself; I've been putting off all the things I need to do to make my business and home life work well together.

I've had no sales and have made hardly any stock and have done hardly any promotions either -in short, I need to sort myself out a bit.

So from now on, I'm going to give myself a mental kick in the backside and just get on with it.

My first thing to do is to sort out my head;

No more sneaky naps in the afternoon (I don't sleep well in the night when I nap and it means I am wasting time too)

To tell myself that I can make a go of my businesses. Others do the same thing and make money and I have made money this way in the past months so I must stick to the things that work. I'm going to make a few more of the "old favorites" that have sold in the past but I haven't bothered to recreate for the shop.

To not just start lots of projects but to finish them too. - this is a big one - I have lots of items "on the needles" but not much in the shops

Don't forget those that got you here. This has a few points to it. First is that the Greeting Cards sites. These gave me the confidence to see that I could make something that others like and buy, and gave me the venture capital to start the toy shops on Artfire and dawanda. And second is my mates - the friends I've made since I started. I haven't spoken to many of my Zazzle mates in ages and they were always very supportive. and my newer mates I've made at Artfire and Dawanda who really are the greatest.

To talk about my businesses with pride. When you tell folks that you kinda have a hobby and have sold a few - with head held low and mumbling - that's not impressive. So I will hand out my business cards with pride; show them how professional I am - after all, I've made international sales without doing much local marketing at all so I'm sure it can only help. Almost no one around here knows that I am an international best-selling artist in America and Austrailia on the "Print on demand" sites - they may even have my artwork in their houses and not know it (cards, t-shirts, mugs etc)

To promote online sorry, yes, that means more posts on my goodies - but then they are fun goodies ha ha. Must start using my neglected facebook page more -even though I don't really like facebook; it does reach lots of people.

Work to a schedule. some days I work lots, and others I hardly work at all, I'm promising myself a certain amount of time every day to be dedicated to actual artwork, knitting, designing, or promotion every day. They are the times of day I can afford to use up constructively.

Make what the people want As well as making the goodies that have sold well in the past, I must also find out what people want? What categories don't offer enough choice to the customer? what is on at the cinema? what critters are popular? what do people use or need lots of? What would I want as a present? What would the various age groups want as a present?

Don't lose your sense of fun OK so I want this to work, but I also don't want to be stuck with doing "the same old thing" every day either. So lots of variation and you may start to see some new characters appear in the shops and on the cards.

I think that next month is going to be a better one. No I KNOW that next month is going to be a better one.

Creative challenge 52 in 52 - June 2010

2010-07-05T12:32:00.003+01:00

Hurray another month done. Not one of my more productive months but some fun items here to add to my ever-growing list of completed items.

So what do I have for this month?

A sock kittee in candy colours. These are so cute, the arms and legs are actually knitted in place not sewn - making them on of the oddest items I've ever made.
A single pink glove for my daughter. Yes, she is a Hannah Montannah fan and dressed up as her for a charity-day at school.
A tote bag made from daisy granny squares. This was made for a challenge in my "handmade in Europe" group. The challenge being "Summer Flowers" See what the others made at the Handmade in Europe blog.
A little pink wrapover top. Or the "big booby top" as I now call it. Not terribly happy with how it turned out - Maybe that's why I don't tend to make clothes.
Finally another kittee - this one is in Summer Berries colour. The other one sold so quickly I will have to make another of those too.

So totals:-

January = 9 items
February = 7 items
March = 9 items
April = 7 items
May = 8 items
June = 5 items

That makes 45 items in 27 weeks

ooh I'm getting closer - no more big booby tops me thinks ha ha

International Bunny Fever

2010-06-13T22:42:00.004+01:00

Last month I made and sold 2 more Snuggle Bunnies ( a lilac and a pink) - they remain my most popular item.
They are 10 inches across and kinda flat (disc shaped) but so cuddly. That yarn I use is sooo soft with a little fluffy pile to it.

So far they are in the Netherlands, Germany, UK, USA and now Greece too. They really are the little travellers.

These two little guys went off to Greece, where they had been ordered for two young girls.

When they arrived, she said "Hello!!! I just received the bunnies. They are sooooooo snuggly and so adorable. My daughters LOOOOOOOOOVED them. They have not let them off their hand for the last 5 hours. Since they are quite large, they want to use them as pillows as well! Your note was very sweet...i can tell that the creating process is very personal to you, and that is what will drive me to your store every time i want a stuffed animal in the future. Would you consider making any other animals - such as teddy bears - in the same general design? Would you make any smaller bunnies? I hope your business really flourishes"

Well, that gives me some cool ideas a-brewing. Maybe a frog or a turtle? how fun. I just love it when customers leave lovely messages, don't you?

Flappy Flambé

2010-06-10T19:40:00.004+01:00

A while ago I drew a little critter for a contest on another blog that I am a participating member of.

Cute isn't he?

Well, after it was all over and the prizes had been won. We decided to make up a real one and send him around Europe meeting all the members of the Handmade in Europe Blog. showing their crafts and countries off to the world.

So, it was up to me to create a 3D version that we could all play with and take photos of.

Here we are. Not only is he a cute little crocheted critter; he is also a hand puppet with posable wings - this should make for some interesting photos.

The story of how the picture turned into a "real bird" is in the blog here

You can then follow his adventures as they unfold

So far he has met me
and visited South Wales
This week I sent him off to London for his next adventure.
Stay ahead of the action on http://handmade-in-europe.blogspot.com/

Creative challenge 52 in 52 - May 2010

2010-06-04T22:44:00.005+01:00

Wow, this was a mega-busy month. I even made some special items which I will tell you about in another post.

So the goodies I finished in May are as follows:-

Flappy flambe. he is a crocheted hand puppet who will be having adventures on another blog. Check him out on http://handmade-in-europe.blogspot.com/ He's lots of fun.
Two Snuggle bunnies; one pink one purple off to live in Greece. yeay for people who order things off me (easy to do, just email me, tell me what you want and I'll make it - you will see it before you buy and are not obligated to buy unless you love it.
A footballer handpuppet. He already is in a post of his own before this one.
A very strange and magical house elf.
A knitted lace scarf in gray silk yarn -mmm.
A skull bag. Yup, the head opens up and the mouth also has a zip for keeping little items in.
A green leaf scarf. made for "knit something green grass or leafy trees related Swap" It really does look like leaves. I'm going to make one for myself too I think,

So totals again?

January = 9 items
February = 7 items
March = 9 items
April = 7 items
May = 8 items

So we have 40 items in 21 weeks - yippee I'm still ahead of 52 items in 52 weeks. I may do it in half the time (but don't hold me to it LOL)

World Cup 2010 - go Germany!

2010-05-14T19:35:00.008+01:00

OK so Wales did not make it through to the World cup this year - ahh sad.

But never mind; I'm backing Germany this year

Why?

Well, my favorite player is there Michael Ballack.

He is a Chelsea boy you know. Ok he was born in Germany but he plays for Chelsea football club all year but now he is to be the Captain of Germany.

Why do I like him so?

He is more like a rugby player than a football player. You won't see him on the floor pretending his leg hurts like most players. In fact, last year they had to drag him off the pitch as his nose was bleeding and he was still playing! Tough guy.

In fact, I've even made my own puppet version of him to play along (in his German team colours of course) He can kick, score and do a victory slide - yeay.

Here is a rear view. (albeit fuzzy) you cannot see this (because his shorts are black) but they wrap around the glove too. He is knitted as part of the glove not just attatched to it. I made him as a right-handed glove for me. I can make left-handed gloves too and any team that you can think of (but no badges; my embroidery skills are not up to that lol)

Now I just need to make another for him to play against - maybe Brazil - that'd be fun

Creative challenge 52 in 52 - April 2010

2010-05-03T19:06:00.004+01:00

Okay Kokay so here is April in all it's glory.

These are the items I have completed this month. I have a few more on the needles, but we can't count those - only finished items.

first you will find 2 more Zodiac crabs; these are the rest of the "5 crab order" from Germany last month.
Tabbee cat. I was privileged enough to be allowed to test on of Bobbi Padget's patterns for her before she puts it up for sale on Etsy. It's a great pattern
Troll doll for a swap - this was for "a wind- related" swap - how is it wind-related? Well, it is called "the wind in my hair" fun eh?
Next is Sgt Froggee - another Bobbi pattern test. I'm getting addicted to her way of knitting. It's so fun to knit with NO sewing up afterwards
Tea time monkey. He was much harder work - lots and lots of sewing up involved. But he is kinda cute.
Finally an alien in a UFO. Yes I know the alien looks a little like a baby giraffe -that's because the pattern was for a baby giraffe. The UFO is all my own design. I think that the little boy who gets it will use his imagination and it will double as a boat, or a paddling pool - that's fine - I love kids who use their imagination.
I also made 2 cross stitch pictures - but I'm not including them - only knit and crochet.

So totals so far this year?

January = 9 items

February = 7 items

March = 9 items

April = 7 items

So we have 32 items in 17 weeks - yippee I'm still ahead of 52 items in 52 weeks.

Creative challenge 52 in 52 - March 2010

2010-04-01T18:34:00.005+01:00

So March is gone and April starts today.
Here are my finished items for March.

A tea cosy in the shape of a turkey (already sold)
A little green garden gnome made for a "package of green swap"
A crocheted bag (with a sail boat on it and bamboo handles) made for "make something wind related swap"
A knitted black and white cat - made on request and already sold
A colourful nursery tortiose - also made on request and already sold - and another ordered!
My travelling scarf. This was a group effort made by 10 different knitters, but I made a section for each of their scarves too - so although it wasn't entirely made by me, it deserves to be here as it represents the sections I made on each of the 9 other travelling scarves.
A red knitted crab
A red knitted crab
A red knitted crab - yes they are all part of a requested order. She wants 5 - yippee

Oh yes, I can hear you unbelievers saying , "she just used the same crab photographed in different ways.

Well, just for you, here is a picture of 3 completed crabs plus the 4th in a state of wip (incomplete) taken just before the finished 3 were posted yesterday. So at least 2 more will be in next month's chart. I do love requests.

It's been a good month. Both for orders and sales. A big thanks to my customers at http://eddyspressies.artfire.com/

The challenge then?

9 items for January
7 for February
and 9 for March = 25 completed items in 12 weeks

Gosh this 52 items in 52 weeks is easy with a better system of keeping count.

My travelling Scarf returns home

2010-03-25T21:24:00.008Z

Ok so your first question is probably, What is a travelling scarf?

Well, 10 knitters across Europe all got together on Ravelry.com to create a unique scarf for each other.

This is done by each knitter adding a bit to each scarf and sending it on to the next person in the chain.

By the end, each of the 10 knitters has her own scarf back with 9 extra panels worked.

we put some rules in with the package. Mine said, each knitter must do skinny stripes using the yarn before and their own choice of yarn. That way the scarf changes colour one section at a time. for example, the first panel is green and pea, the next is pea and black the next is black and white etc.

Once it came home i crocheted an edging around it to even up the edges ( the tension varies as you can imagion with 10 knitters) and to pull it all together. I think it looks great and will definately wear it about town.

The scarf also came home with it's own little diary to say who worked on it, with what yarn and where in the world they were. So this scarf is very well travelled (hence the name) It went from South Wales to North Wales to Cheshire UK, to Stoke UK, to Wakefield UK then all the way to Austria, Two stops in Germany, Finland and Scotland before finally returning home to me.

I wasn't sure if I should put this scarf on my Finished objects calendar as I only made one section and the edging,

but I decided that I would put it on the calendar as it represents the other 9 sections I've made for the other members of the round robin.

many many thanks to all those who took part. Maybe you could join us next time on the "travelling scarves" group on Ravelry.com It's the best place for all knitters and crocheters and yarn addicts of all kinds.

Hooked on breaking records

2010-03-15T19:30:00.001Z

Not many people know but our little town of Bridgend is in the Guiness book of Records.

We won the world record for the longest line of drinks cans in 1986

and then won it back again last November from the Home Nursing federation of Singapore

All the people of the town saved their cans so now the record stands at 106,000 cans beating the previous record by more than 15,000

Well now that I hold a world record (along with many others but I still helped to both collect and stack them)

I'm hungry for more. I'm now crocheting squares for the world's largest blanket.

Granny squares from all over the world are being collected to be put together to win this title.

Here are some of mine. all 5 inches

across. They are still looking for more. See http://planetblanket.wordpress.com/

But of course, this method of crocheting is not just for squares.

have a look at this little guy. Totally done in the same style.

Fun isn't he?

find him and more at http://eddyspressies.artfire.com/

Creative Challenge February 2010 (52 in 52)

2010-02-28T21:47:00.003Z

Here we are again at the end of another month. So I will now show what I made for the challenge.

If you remember; the challenge is to make 52 items during the 52 weeks of the year. January was a great start with 9 items finished.

So here's February's calendar/chart

So what are all those funny little icons?

A 12" purple pony - made to order - people seem to love the purple
Lilac and cream baby cuddle blanket - made for a swap.
red striped scarf with celtic knots and cables - yes another swap - I got a lovely scarf back
A Walrus crocheted in the "granny square" style - I'm really into those granny squares lately
A baby and her bunny - that's for a givaway on another blog - you can enter and win this and lots more prizes too - more on that later.
Small ladybird wrist purse - yes, for a "make something red" swap
A knitted crab - so cute but already bought and paid for - I'll make another on request though.

That's 7 for February to add to January's 9; making 16 so far.

And next month promises to be better because I have so many items "on the needles" that just need finishing off.

I'm really enjoying this.

Swaps are such fun

2010-02-17T21:22:00.005Z

I'm getting quite addicted to this swapping lark. They are great fun when it all works out properly.

I'm in a group on Ravelry.com ( a site for knitters and crocheters) We decided to make and send a whole scarf to another member picked at random for us from our group - that way we would all receive one each but not necessarily from the person we sent to - make sense? good.

Once I was given the name of the person I would be making for, I started to look at her profiles and blogs to see what she liked. She had lots of black accessories but wanted to put some colour into her life this year. So I chose this lovely Chunky yarn from James C Brett. It is so soft to the touch and great to work with. She received it a few days ago and yeay, she liked it. here's what she said about it,

"I have the most perfect scarf, its long long long and soft and squashy and gorgeous. Its definitely not black but lovely shades of pink and purple and covered from end to end in wonderful cabled Celtic knots which my swap partner realised I had a thing about from checking out the blogs - oops - forgot to add, my lovely partner was EddyG

Isn't that wonderful. I feel fuzzy all over to know I got it right. Actually, as I was working on it, I kinda fell in love with it and wanted to keep it - so I was going to make one like this for myself.

But now I think that all my other scarves can go to the back of the wardrobe as I received, from the swap (and yes a different person) this amazing scarf...

It's in one of my most favorite colours in the world; Navy blue and is knitted to look like a piece of Swiss Cheese - how fabulous is that? It's also over six foot long. You all know how I love anything unusual.

My wonderful partner even sent me some extra yarn so I could make a matching hat if I want to. It's made from lambswool so very soft and warm. And some lovely extras that I wasn't expecting; A postcard for my collection, french chocolate, red fruits tea, Yum.

I love it when a plan comes together.

Hurrah for giraffes

2010-02-10T13:33:00.003Z

My friend Catrin found this adorable site which has a Norwegian guy trying to collect one million giraffes. yes that's right, He's asking people to send in giraffes that they have made

"My friend, Jørgen, doesn't believe I can collect one million giraffes by 2011. I'm gonna prove him wrong, but I need your help. You can create your giraffe(s) in any way you like, but not on a computer and no store bought objects. You must create your giraffe(s) yourself! So far I've got 566 899 giraffes, so I need 433 101 more and I have 324 days left.Let's show Jørgen how amazing the Internet is."

How could I let an opportunity like this go? I love to draw so I'm starting with a drawn giraffe.

This little guy has great sky and clouds markings but his scarf has the correct markings - I thought that would be fun.

It's been a long time since I have coloured something in not using the computer. I'd forgotten how long felt tip pens take to use. (aching arm) But I think he turned out OK

Creative challenge 52 in 52 January 2010

2010-01-31T19:26:00.008Z

OK so last year I tried this creative challenge to

Make 52 items (knitted or crocheted) in 52 weeks.

I got a little bogged down with other things and found that keeping count got really hard - especially since I started partway through the year.

So this year I'm going to try it again.

Each month I will show you what I made, and with my new chart system, keeping count should be easy

Some of these items are for sale in my Artfire shop, others are for swaps or challenges or even myself.
So here we go with the counting;

12" tall Pink sparkly pony
Purple knitted piggy bank
9" tall Pink dragon
orange knitted piggy bank
sheep teacosy
little knitted firebird
snowflake hat
snow princess doll
baby security blanket - polar bear.

Yeay 9 items in the first 4 weeks we are off to a great start - I really hope I can keep this up.

Shouldn't it be love not war?

2010-01-29T21:18:00.004Z

My son (who often sees things differently to other people) was looking at our collection of DVDs deciding what to watch.

He was getting quite frustrated with the way the DVDs were labelled up

In the end he said "Why is violence rated a 12 but love is rated an 18? Does this really teach children the right values?"

I had to laugh but secretly agree.

Reading

2010-01-28T12:51:00.003Z

Well yes I do have many hobbies that sometimes seem to use up all my spare time but I always find time to do a little reading.
I know that it's not the kind of passtime that you can get really excited about but I thought I would share some of my tastes and selections with you.

Clive Cussler. OK so that's not a book. He is a great writer. Lots of adventure, treasure hunting and close shaves for our heros. The stories bounce along at quite a pace. Also very educational as I know quite alot about boats, classic cars, guns and special forces equipment.

Saucer by Stephen Coonts (not koonts; he's a horror writer) This book and it's sequel is really believable so even if you don't read sci fi normally, you should enjoy this. It takes place in modern times and tells of what would happen if an ordinary person found a real UFO.

They are my favorites at the moment. But I've read lots that I really enjoyed.

But do you want to know what I really hated? The Harry Potter novels. That's what. Sorry to those who love the boy wizzard but the books are awful.. The movies are great fun - but the books - ugg. She is such a slow writer; it takes forever for anything to happen. JK spends pages describing things that aren't even relevant to the story.

so lots of adventures and sci-fi and even the odd fantasy but Jk Rowlings - no way.

Snow snow and more snow!

2010-01-13T20:42:00.004Z

Over the last few weeks we have had some major snow - much more than we usually get.

The kids were supposed to go back to school on Wednesday 6th January but didn't get there til Monday 11th. Then on Tuesday (the very next day) on the way home we had a blizzard; I didn't think we were going to GET home, but we did. So kids are back off school again. The sheep have only one thing to say about all this snow - baaa humbug.

I quite liked the little bit of snow we had; it made the mountains look pretty here in Wales.

But after our blizzard, we couldn't even SEE our mountains

Things I want to do in 2010

2010-01-08T20:06:00.003Z

I think if I write them down I may be more inclined to stick to them or at least to work towards them. so here, putting my reputation on the line, is my little list.

I want to make a new knitted/crocheted critter every week. Whether I use it for a swap or put it in my Artfire shop doesn't matter - just that one item gets finished per week
I will plurk every day at least twice. So I had to pick some easy ones otherwise I won't get any done
I will give the whole house a new coat of paint, one room at a time, but by the end of the year all rooms will be re-painted (was going to do this last year - now it REALLY needs it)
I will attend all school teacher meetings - I know it's a yucky one and I usually come up with excuses to avoid it - I always feel like I'M being told off for how my kids are (or are not) doing
I'm going on a holiday by myself no kids, no husband, no responsibilities for at least a weekend. I know that seems mean but last year I had some nasty depressions that a break like this would have worked wonders on.
I'm going to help out at the school more Helping out at fetes and trips is another thing I used to do alot of and now I seem to have got out of the habit.
I'm going on a holiday with the kids - see I haven't left them out. They love Butlins holiday camps and they are not expensive. I enjoy it too - even though I still have to watch them and be with them all the time.
I'm going to put the bin sacks out every Wednesday Seems silly but I quite often forget and then the sacks kinda multiply out the back.
I'm going to stay in contact with my e-friends. I'm already pretty good at staying in touch with my plurky friends (that's a social network site) but the facebook gets neglected.
I'm going to excercise Isn't that a scary thought. I'm always making excuses like "no time" "too tired" but just walking the dog isn't doing it for me. I'm two sizes bigger than I want to be and, well, let's just say that me and diets don't last. I got a special offer on at the council gym so I should take them up on it.

I'm keeping the list short on purpose - if I try for too much they won't get ticked off. I can always add more later anyway. Will I achieve all these this year? hope so.

Happy New 2010 Sale

2009-12-31T15:44:00.002Z

Nothing says Happy New Year like a SALE.

So until 5th January, you will find ALL my products at Eddy's Pressies at Artfire have been reduced in price by 20.10% That's puppets, accessories, toys and homewares. With more lines being added all the time.

I'm stuffed - but the toys are NOT!

2009-12-29T22:05:00.005Z

Now that Christmas is over, and I'm all stuffed full of turkey and everything else, it's time to get back to toy making; I've got a lovely sparkly pink pony all knitted and ready to go but I've run out of toy stuffing!

Yes, no more toy stuffing; I only have a little left and that's not enough to stuff pony's leg!

My local yarn store has recently changed owners and has run out of lots of things (yes, stuffing is one of them) and due to the holidays and snowy weather, I haven't been able to get out to a different town to buy any. What am I to do? I can't make stuffed, knitted toys without stuffing - or can I?

That sounds like a challenge - and I love a challenge.

What can I think of that I can knit but is hollow and will stand stiff without polyfibre filling?

Well, yes, I pondered for a while until I got to experimenting.

A PIGGY BANK.

But not just a stuffed pig made to look like a piggy bank but an actual hollow bank with a slot for the coins and a plug in the bottom to take the coins out of. The knitted plug has a little button on it so you can get hold of it easier.

At first, I thought I would just cover a cardboard tube to get the stiffness. But cardboard does not stand up well to washing (and everything needs washing occasionally) Then I found this stuff called, EVA foam. It's sold in sheets and is usually used by card-makers to cut little shapes out of. But then I could see the brightly coloured foam inside and I didn't like that, so I knitted a lining too.
Hallooo in there! Yes as you can see, Once the plug has been removed, he really is hollow in there (you can see the slot on the other side) and it is quite a big space - Space for lots of savings. Now we are all starting to think about saving whether it be for next Summer Holiday or even Next Christmas.

A cowl just for me.

2009-12-28T14:51:00.004Z

I recently bought some yarns off my plurk friend. Yes that's social networking like Twitter only easier to follow. Her name is Selana and she has a wonderful shop on artfire where she sells knitting patterns, stitch markers and this fab yarn.

She will happily make up any colours you ask for; for this project I asked for a blue/green mix. The yarn is 100% wool and very pretty.

Here is a better picture of how the colours turned out after knitting and blocking. Very nice don't you think?

and this is me trying to look all innocent in my new cowl. I made it a big longer than the actual pattern (by 14 rows) for snuggliness. The pattern itself is available free on ravelry (which is a free site for knitters and crocheters to socialise and get patterns and advice) We now have over 500 000 members worldwide so you're bound to find something you like or discover something you did not know.

Mario/Wario and his Bro

2009-12-27T20:46:00.004Z

OK so for Christmas we got Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic games. We've all had a bit of fun trying to do the various mini-games but we are not quite ready to play against each other yet.

In a typical fit of Christmas Logic. my son says that the name of one of the characters is wrong!

How can that be? It was made by the people who created the charaters in the first place - surely they could not have got a name wrong?

Well you see, there is this pair of brothers (Mario Brothers) called Mario and Luigi. Mario has an evil incarnate called Wario (see what they did there they turned the W upside down for evilness and to show he is opposite)
Luigi also has an evil side called Waluigi. This is where the logic fails for my son. Surely, he says, they should have stuck to the same formula and turned his first letter upside down making him "7uigi" ? But then how would you pronounce that?

"Ugly hat"

2009-12-08T14:35:00.005Z

My daughter has been hounding me to death about getting her one of those peruvian style hats that they sell in gap and places like that. I don't even like these hats; they look ugly to me with their big earflaps and dangly ties (that the local kids don't even tie - drives me nuts - I wanna go tie it for them!!!)

So eventually I gave in, partially because I'd got a new yarn in and wanted to see how it knitted up. It is called Rainbow Multi by"Creative Yarns uk"

It took much botching to ensure that the two earflaps looked the same, using this self-patterning yarn. But after that it didn't much matter what the yarn did.

I even had enough yarn left at the end to make a short scarf too. This was only a 100 gram ball so quite a big surprise to me.

Well, my daughter likes her hat - and even I think it didn't turn out TOO ugly. Quite proud of it in fact.

Merry Christmas Coach cards at Zazzle

2009-12-03T14:48:00.007Z

Do you or your kids play baseball? basketball? netball? rugby? Aussie Rules football? UK football or soccer? Then you can find these handsome "Merry Christmas Coach" cards at Zazzle.

There are even codes for you to use at the checkout to help you with your card-buying spree.

At Zazzle.com you can enter 12DEALSSTUFF for 30% off stocking stuffers; keychains, stickers, magnets etc

and at Zazzle.co.uk you can enter UKWINTERSHIP for free shipping on orders of £25 or 25Euros

Superpowers? More than one please

2009-11-26T11:06:00.004Z

I was just saying to my son that I have so much knitting and sewing to do before the end of this month that I wished I had super-speed to do it all quicker.
"That's no good," he said, "One superpower is never enough on it's own." He then explained that, logically speaking, all of these Superheros really need more than one superpower too.

For example, If I was to have super-speed so that I could knit it quicker, then I would also need super-eyesight; otherwise my eyes would not be able to keep up with what I was doing and I would miss stitches.

Poor old Cyclops with his laser-vision also needs super-skin to stop him from burning through his own eyelids - ewww

Then, of course, the Flash, who can run really fast, also needs super-thighs otherwise when he runs his thighs rubbing together would have friction burns so bad he would catch fire! He also needs invincibility otherwise his feet hitting the ground at such speed would turn his legs into bloody stumps!

Other Superheros who have super-strength would also need this invincibility, otherwise when they punch through a wall - they would break every bone in their hands!

I bet the comic book writers never thought of this before; all their Superheros should be in hospital from lack of extra superpowers.

Just goes to show what a logical thinker my son really is.

So if anyone is handing out Superpowers; I'll take 2 ...or more please.

Custom designed toys

2009-11-25T11:42:00.003Z

My dear and very good friend Tricia is a professional illustrator who lives in Nevada USA. Well a little while ago she contacted me.

Her son, Sean had been worrying so much that he couldn't sleep; so together they designed aliens. Their aliens were just so very cute. They named them the Seansters, of course. If you visit her blog, you can stay up to date with shopping coupons, see all the aliens and get free clip art, colouring pages and organiser pages.

She asked if I could possibly make a toy that looked like the drawings. So I got out my knitting needles and made Green Sean.

I had problems getting eyes big enough as he turned out a little larger than I had planned (I really shouldn't start knitting something from the feet upwards)

Well What do you think? I'm quite pleased with him myself. He will be flying off to Nevada tomorrow. That's a very short trip - for an alien

Working on that list

2009-11-24T12:29:00.006Z

Yesterday, I went to my new "Let's Knit" knitting club; we meet once a fortnight in Starbucks, Bridgend. This was our second meeting (I did say new) The lovely thing was that we had two new members - this brings our total membership up to 6. I think that's a wonderful start.

After coffee all round we showed some of our projects that we are working on and got a decent amount of knitting done while chatting. It's just so nice to get out sometimes and meet up with like minded people. Our Emma, also known as Atomic Knitting brought patterns and yarn samples for us all to drool over - oh yes alpaca and silk - amazing.

She also sells her own hand-made stitch markers, knitting needles and other fab stuff - go check out her site.

Despite having a busy evening planned, i was able to make a bit of a dent in that list I showed you in my last post. This is Maisey the sweetest corn you'll ever meet. I made him specifically for Thanksgiving but he would look just as great on display to celebrate Halloween or Christmas or would make some budding chef a very handsome sidekick for their kitchen.

You can find him in my Artfire shop

Time to slow down...and speed up!

2009-11-19T21:36:00.006Z

SLOW DOWN?
Well yes, I'm absoloutely terrible for seeing a new pattern or having an idea and going "Wow, I want to make one of those."
The problem is that I now have so many projects "on the needles" that I'm running out of places to put them and NOTHING is getting finished.

So speed up?
Yes, I must try my best not to start anything new for a while (but it is sooo hard)
I MUST finish more of my projects
I tried a "WIP Wednesday" which means every Wednesday I must try to finish as many WIPs (Works In Progress) as possible. But it doesn't seem to be working. I think I need to have more days in the week dedicated to finishing items.
How many projects did I finish yesterday (Wednesday)? One. Only one.
I crocheted this dragon from this to this....

Not bad, but not really making a dent in my list. What does my list look like?

Ooh, er, don't ask, Ok here goes...

A blanket for christmas for my daughter - OK so that was a BIG project and was a knit along so I couldn't go faster than 2 squares a week - but I am way behind if it is to be finished by Christmas.
A crochet scarf - another crochet along but not really putting the effort in that it needs.
Psyduck - yes, the Pokemon. He has alot in common with my son and will be holding his copy of "Pokemon Platinum Version" on Christmas morning.
Sean's Alien- This is an incredibly cute illustration drawn by his mother that I am trying to make into a toy. I've knit his feet and hands just fine but I've made his body about 3 times and ripped it out again - can't seem to get it right. Next try will be the last - however it turns out.
Corn cob critter - Yes he is a little man made from a corn cob. I started knitting him for Thanksgiving but he was bigger and had more parts than I thought so he is still in bits with no boots yet.
Scarf in Merino - I got some lovely soft Merino wool in a swap - It's just begging to be made into a scarf; so I'm doing about 4 rows a day on that one - fun pattern though - it looks like waves.
Bright Scarf - In a different swap I got some fun fur yarn with lots of colours in it. I would have loved a scarf in that fur but not enough was there, so I've trawled the yarn shops and found regular yarn in the same colours. I will have a scarf after all. A block of fun fur on each end and then blocks of each colour between until it is done. I've done about 20" so far - so it's going well.

So as you see, I need to concentrate a bit - one at a time huh?

I'll post pictures as I finish each one. That's a promise to you and to me.

Autumn fun

2009-11-11T13:35:00.003Z

I've been doing some swaps with friends on the internet, where you make a little creature on a given theme and then send them to each other with some goodies like chocolate, bath products or something else small and really nice.

So what to make on the theme of Autumn? Why squirrels of course. What else says Autumn like these little guys scampering about collecting nuts and fattening up ready for the Winter?

The lovely lady I sent these to said that her twins loved them so much that I have put them up for sale on my Artfire Site They are just big enough to fit into your pocket to carry around and give a secret cuddle to. Hee hee, yes, they are Secret Squizzles!

Babies feed on your brainwaves!

2009-10-17T21:11:00.006+01:00

For those that don't know; my son Hywel has Asberger's syndrome. This is a form of Autism which means that for him, sounds are louder, colours brighter and feelings much stronger and harder to control.

However, this is not to bring you all down or make you feel sorry for him; on the contrary, he sees the world a little different to most people and as a result has some great thoughts, ideas and inventions that I would like to share with you over the next few weeks.

Hywel's next observation is that babies feed on your brainwaves - that is how they become more intelligent.

Don't believe him? Well, next time you see a sweet little baby watch what happens...

You see a baby and say "oh what an adorable baby, what is his name?"

As you get closer you say "who's a cute baby then? You are!"

Closer still and your IQ begins to drop; you start to mispronounce words, "who's a cutie beebee den?"

Now you're really in trouble; you lose the power to communicate completely. You are now making funny faces, burbling and blowing raspberries. Eeek!

Once you move out of the babies sphere of influence you are OK again.

Actually, this isn't just a human baby thing. All animals do it. See a puppy or kitten and it's all "cutie, puppsy woopsy kitty beebee, mommy's baby, yes, you are, you are, you are, you are" This is worse as we all know the tiny animals don't understand us anyway no matter how much we regress our language.

But you'll all be fine. My son assures me that your brain creates far more brainwaves than you need anyway and recovery is quick; soon you are having adult conversations again. This was pieced together with all his own observations - and he really believes it. Do you?

Hywel's thoughts, ideas and inventions

2009-10-07T21:59:00.007+01:00

However, this is not to bring you all down or make you feel sorry for him; on the contrary, he sees the world a little different to most people and as a result has some great thoughts, ideas and inventions that I would like to share with you over the next few weeks.

My absolute favorite is this one:-

At the beginning of films and TV shows, the producers are required by law in this country to warn you of any flashing images before you begin to watch them. As we all know, these repeated flashing images can cause Epileptic seizures in some children. Very serious and scary stuff and not to be taken lightly.

Well, Hywel's idea is that the local councils (or highway departments) should also be forced, by law, to erect signposts on roads that are lined by trees. These signposts should say

"WARNING! This road may contain sun flashing through the trees that may cause Epileptic seizures"

At first I laughed, but the more I think about it; that flash, flash, flash that you get on a sunny day is just like a strobing light. Hmm maybe I should write to my council member.

Go to your kitchen, open a drawer, any drawer, what are the first 3 things you see?

2009-09-04T10:27:00.003+01:00

This was the question asked on the Cafemom forum today.

Hmm, interesting question, well I rushed to the kitchen to see; my drawers are always in need of a clear out anyway.

Item 1 one of those little plastic circle thingies with legs that they put in the pizza box to stop the topping from touching the lid; why would I have washed and kept that? OK I've officially "outed" myself as a hoarder!

Item 2 Plasters. yes a much used box. Usually MY fingers on tins (amazingly I never cut myself on knives - wierd huh?)

Item 3 A knitting needle. Actually this is a real cooking impliment. I use it to poke cakes with to see if they are done yet. If it comes out sticky they need a little longer; if it comes out clean the cake is done.

Conclusion; Yes it's time to clear out the drawers again.
Among the "also founds" were McDonald's toys, fridge magnets, paper clips and googly eyes.

No wonder I can never find a spoon when I need one!

Now it's your turn; go see what is in your drawers that shouldn't be.

What are you knitting Eddy?

2009-07-30T00:23:00.000+01:00

Well, the year rushes on and my original challenge of making 52 items in 52 weeks is still running. At our last count we had 29
Well I've joined some online knitting groups ,challenges and swaps so that's more excuses to make more goodies.

I'm making a quilt cover (knitted) for my daughter's bed with the help of a ravelry.com group called Welshmille's KAL (That's Knit A Long). We are all sent the same squares every week which we make in our own colours and yarns to make a unique blanket. I can't count this one as done yet as it will go on until just before Christmas. The end blanket will be 7 long squares by 7 squares wide. so far I have 12 squares - so quite a bit to go yet then.

I joined another group in which we will be swapping little amigurumis. Yes another Japanese knitting term. Knitted or crocheted stuffed creatures; usually animals but can be inanimate objects with faces too (like cupcakes or bananas) I made a sweet little dragon with wings. I made a big mistake on him and sewed up the head before adding the safety eyes. as knitters will know safety eyes have a disc at the back to keep them on so I couldn't use them! But no panic, my local yarn shop found me the most beautiful buttons to use instead. Twinkly little jewel eyes. So he counts - Hurray 30 items! I love round numbers.

I also made this sweet little Chihuahua. I thought he would be small as the pattern I used did not give a finished size. But he is 12" tall - that's almost bigger than a real one! = 31 items

For my shop I made some zodiac creatures. Cancer the crab and Leo the Lion were my first ones, I'll be adding more as the year goes on. Leo sold straight away! What fun. I will make another straight away; it wouldn't do to have a gap in my zodiac. I also must make more owl cushion pals as I have sold 3 out of the 5 I made. I do love sales though - they keep me in yarn :) = 33 items

Now for what I'm working on next; I have made this little drawing of a hyena/african wild dog/alsation. Well I haven't quite made up my mind what he will be yet. So I'm going to make a little pattern for a knitted version of him. I've written patterns before, they are available free on itunes.com You will have to tell me if the finished item looks anything like the original sketch when it is done.

I've also got two more swaps coming up for a sea creature. I don't want to do the same one twice so you will have to see how that turns out later too. ah yes better keep those needles clicking; Christmas is coming fast! yes, already over halfway through the year. What a Scary thought

Total so far = 33 items in 28 weeks - better step it up a notch; wouldn't want to get behind!

Happy Birthday Catswire

2009-06-24T01:00:00.000+01:00

Today is the Birthday of one of my dearest online friends; Happy Birthday Catrin!

She lives in Germany with a husband and five truly crazy cats and has a really fun blog as well as superb shops called Catswire at Etsy, Artfire and Dawanda.

Catrin is so clever, she is able to crochet wire of different kinds to create the most wonderful jewelry

She also incorporates precious and semi-precious stones into many of her lovely wares.

Like this beautiful sardonyx in sterling silver with a sterling silver necklace too.

Don't worry if you prefer your jewelry a little more chunky; she can even crochet leather cord with copper wire to create amazing settings for her wonderful collection of super-pretty stones. (I do believe there is onyx in there too)

And do you know what makes it really special?

As a gift to us on her birthday, she has reduced the prices on many of her pieces by 15%.

If I were you, I'd pop over there sharpish before she changes her mind!

Knitting Challenge - Week 24

2009-06-22T20:30:00.006+01:00

Ok so I bet you all thought I'd forgotten about this didn't you? Well here's a recap first;

In January I decided that I would knit one item for each week of the year; making 52 items in 52 weeks.

Last time I blogged about this it was 22nd April - week 16 and I'd done 23 items.
(I know, it's been a while) but I've still been working on it.

The next thing that happened was that I got sent this lovely illustration by my very good friend and very clever illustrator Trisha Rennea. she asked if I could make them a reality. She designs lots of adverts, avatars, logos, free downloads and planner sheets on her blog

I think the answer to that one is yes! so there you have five happy owl cushion pals to add to my tally. My maths is shoddy, but I make that...28

And then, just because sometimes you have GOT to be silly; I made this shark hat designed by the knitting ninja - Allison Mac Alister.

I entered it into an "item made for father's day" contest on the Artfire Cafemom Team's blog - and won! yeay, Now my Artfire rapidcart (a selection of items in my Artfire shop) will be shown on their blog for a whole week. Yippee

OK so that makes the total ...29.

Not bad for week 24.

What became of Squiffy?

2009-06-21T21:41:00.009+01:00

Do you remember Squiffy? my new dinosaur puppet I made for sale on Artfire? and Dawanda

Well, I asked you all to vote on whether she needed ears or not. You can see from the poll opposite that you all voted overwhelmingly NO.

However, I did receive some feedback that her horns were not big enough. Well I couldn't make her nose horn any bigger; she's a little cross-eyed as it is (well so would you be with a horn on your nose) But I did upgrade her back horns. Now you can see them clearly over her eyes.

I also added detatchable arm rods so that you can use her with or without them. These rods have padded bases to make them safe for even young kids to use.

She is now up for sale on Artfire in my studio Eddy's Pressies. For those who prefer to pay in Euros, you can find her on Dawanda. But even though there is only one. Don't worry; You can email me at eddyspressies@gmail.com I will happily make one up for you in the colour of your choice. Maybe white horns? maybe green skin? It's up to you.

Oh dear, oh dear,

2009-06-20T21:49:00.007+01:00

I haven't blogged in a long time. Oh naughty me.
Well, to make it up to you I have some great shopping news

You can go to either zazzle.com or zazzle.co.uk
(They are both running the same promotion - now that's unusual)

order anything - any price - any destination - and get free shipping

All you have to do is enter the code JUNESHIPFREE at the checkout to get your free delivery.

So go get all those things that you love but were put off by the combined shipping fees.

This lasts until June 30th so you still have lots of time to browse and select your favorite items

Breakdance Bunny by Eddy_G

Don't forget to visit my mugs too

School bus by Eddys_Mad_Mugs

My Dino Needs Your Help - vote now (on the left)

2009-06-10T22:43:00.008+01:00

I've just about finished my new puppet. She's a trike dinosaur called Squiffy. She's a very happy, upbeat dino who loves to play word games and listen to children's stories.

I used to use one like this when I was working in a school. It's amazing how many of the shy kids will happily chat to a puppet but not to a teacher! My Squiffy spoke with a "blocked nose" type of voice. (well wouldn't you, if you had a horn on your nose?)

She has her frill and her three horns. But the big question is...Does she need ears too?

As you can see by the photos below, the actual triceratops did not have ears; so if we are going for correctness you should vote no on the poll in the margin on the left.
Also if you think ears will make her head look too crowded vote no now.

However most modern cartoon versions of dinosaur do have ears added for cuteness
If you think a small pair of ears will improve Squiffy's good looks or make her look "more finished" then vote yes in the poll in the margin on the left now

You only have a few days to vote before I declare her finished. so make sure you get your opinion in now.
Also, do visit
Lisa's_cakes on flickr for other unusual and fabulous looking cakes
and see the Repairman's flickr photos for some truly professional shots of amazing places.

how about a new car for dad?

2009-06-09T22:53:00.005+01:00

Still looking for a gift for father's day? How about buying him the car of his dreams? Too expensive?

Then how about these mugs from Eddy's Mad Mugs The design goes all the way around the mug so each mug has four wheels and looks ready to drive.

There are lots to choose from like the family 4X4, to a USA or UK police car, construction vehicles or even fantasy vehicles like a submarine or a monster truck. for the ladies we have soccer mom vans and a graduation pink limo

Mug dance anyone?

Father's day this month

2009-06-03T10:23:00.004+01:00

Ok, Father's day is on the way. So start looking now for that perfect gift for dad.

and bag yourself a bargain at the same time.

Use the code FATHERSDAYUK at the checkout to get 10% off your order at Zazzle.co.uk

Dad Cook by Eddy_G

Choose from a huge selection of cards

Stuck in 70s by Eddy_G

T-shirts in many sizes, colours and styles

Monster Truck by Eddys_Mad_Mugs

Or even give him his own Monster Truck!

(many more vehicles available at Eddys Mad mugs)

KIP - Knit In Public Day 13th June.

2009-05-29T20:47:00.004+01:00

Does everyone know about this?
There is a chance to meet up with other knitters and crocheters for a chance to conspicuously create in public.
These events are going on all around the world.
See this page for more details World Wide Knit in Public Day or the facebook page of the same name.
and of course you will find me at our local one....

There is a contingency plan in case of rain. The poster says it all.
Come and join us.

Apples, stickers and the concept of time

2009-05-22T13:40:00.002+01:00

Ok, so British apples all have to have these silly stickers on them so you know what variety they are and what country they are from. Hwere you have Royal Gala, Braeburns and Golden delicious. Personally, I don't care as long as they taste nice.

My son has one every day in his lunchbox for school. For those that don't know, he has Asberger's Syndrome. this condition makes him do lots of odd and repetitive behaviour; including things that a child much younger than 12 would do.

The teacher caught him one day with three apple stickers on his t-shirt, and asked him what they were for? He was a little embarrased at having to say that he just liked stickers as that is "baby behavour" in his eyes (even though he is compelled to do it) So instead he told her it was to remind him how many apples he had eaten (and therefore how many days) since he last changed his t-shirt!

The passing of time is another concept he has problems with. He has to be told to change his clothes, have a bath and even get out of the bath (I must admit sometimes I forget and leave him in the bath for ages - oops) maybe I need some sticker-reminders too!

Many coloured bunnies

2009-05-17T00:07:00.006+01:00

Everybody loved these snuggle bunnies of mine so much that I have now added a new feature to their listing on Artfire.

YOU CAN NOW CHOOSE ANY OF THE YARN COLOURS FOR YOUR BUNNY

That's right. All you do is e-mail me via the link in the Artfire shop and tell me which of the wonderful cupcake colours you would like to have a bunny in. And within 7 days, I will have the bunny of your colour-choice in my shop for you to buy.

So go to Snuggle Bunnies on Artfire and enlarge the colour chart to see what is your perfect choice for a bunny. Then click on the contact button (or tell me here) how you want your bunny and I will get my needles clicking on a one-of-a-kind snuggle bunny just for you! I will e-mail you when he is ready and you can pick him up from http://eddyspressies.artfire.com/ at the regular price. (no extra charges for customisation or special orders at all)

T-shirts for pups on Zazzle

2009-05-10T18:23:00.007+01:00

oh yes, do tell all your friends. Zazzle now does shirts not just for humans but for your pup pal too! Lots of sizes from the very tiny to huge woofitts. Come and see. At Draw Upon Your Dreams

Amazing Givaway By the ACT

2009-05-07T21:01:00.004+01:00

The wonderful Artfire Cafemom team is having a major givaway this week.

There are 15 prizes to be won including a baby knitted ox made by me! You know you want one!

If you don't love that there are 14 other prizes including gift vouchers to buy whatever you want from any of the Artfire cafemom team's shops. Find us via the link on the blog page or by typing Artfire Cafemom Team (with spaces, no commas) into the Artfire search box.

find out about the givaway and how to enter here; ACT Givaway Quick, You only have a few days!

Artfire Cafemom Team Sale.

2009-05-03T16:55:00.005+01:00

Hey it's not just me having a sale at Artfire this week. As part of their "Open house" promotion; nearly all of the Artfire Cafemom Team is having some sort of sale. Here is the whole list...

Jemz – 20% off , free shipping on orders over $30

http://www.jazzyjemz.artfire.com/

Bows for Baby: 15% off items in store, not on custom orders. Free shipping on orders over $20 before shipping.

http://www.bowsforbaby.artfire.com/

Stitch’N Love : 10% off all orders

http://www.stitchnlove.artfire.com/

Spirit Essence Art: 20% off all items, Free shipping on orders over $30

http://www.spiritessenceart.artfire.com/

Creations with Heart: 15% off all items

http://www.creationswithheart.artfire.com/

JewelrybyJanzia: 15% off all items

http://www.jewelrybyjanzia.artfire.com/

Chantilly Lace: 15% off all items

http://www.chantillylace.artfire.com/

Totally Tyra: 15% off all items

http://www.totallytyra.artfire.com/

Diecutz: 50% off all items

http://www.diecutz.artfire.com/

Bittersweet Design Studio: Free Shipping

http://www.bittersweetdesignstudio.artfire.com/

Francisbel Boutique: Free Shipping

http://www.francisbelboutique.artfire.com/

Waters Girls Crafts: 15% off all items

http://www.watersgirls.artfire.com/

By Coco: 15% off all items

http://www.bycoco.artfire.com/

SW Designs: 20% off all items

http://www.swdesigns.artfire.com/

Eddy’s Pressies: Free shipping on all goods over $25 worldwide

http://www.eddyspressies.artfire.com/

Soft Shell Body Shop: 15% off all items, free shipping on orders over $30.00, after discount

http://www.softshellbodyshop.artfire.com/

DJ Storeroom: Free international shipping, international airmail, delivery confirmation and insurance for all items.

http://www.djstoreroom.artfire.com/

Vestque Creations: 50% off all items

http://www.vestque.artfire.com/

SubEarthan Cottage: 10% off all items

http://www.subearthancottage.artfire.com/

Handmade with Love: 20% off items in her store

http://www.handmadewithlove.artfire.com/

Click this banner to see more of our goods

Free Shipping for the first week of May

2009-05-01T12:21:00.004+01:00

EddysPressies Buy Handmade

My entire Artfire shop is running a sale for the first week of May.

From May 1st to May 7th You can get free shipping worldwide on orders of $25 or more. (US Dollars)That's £16.78 in UK pounds

Never been a better time to come and look around. See you there!

Dawanda Sale Today Only

2009-04-26T12:33:00.000+01:00

11% off All Categories, Tonight from 8pm - 12am CET!

Have you ever been to Dawanda the handmade gift site?

It's well worth a visit; especially tonight from 8PM til Midnight they have a 11% off sale

There's never been a better time to go choose cute items like these. I have quite a few different items there and they are all in the sale so click on my banner and go see for yourself

Go Visit Dawanda:

week 16 - knitting challenge

2009-04-22T23:00:00.011+01:00

'Aint she sweet? hee hee. She's a prototype or a test piece, if you like. I was asked to make a set of little cheerleaders for one of the students at the University of Maryland. Their team is called the terrapins and so the cheerleaders are the "Terps"

I made this little one to test if I could reproduce their contest uniform well enough. The actual ones to be sent will have longer legs, slightly longer skirt and better hair/lettering

I do love a challenge; and this little beauty brings my total of completed goods for this year (since January) to 23

23? Have I missed something out? lets see

20 was the sailor top -which has it's own post

21 was Billy and his crochet bag and goodies - the post before this one

22 is the Terps cheerleader

and 23? Oh yes, I did another test knit. this time for Befriendmantic. It was an Easter bunny all crocheted. He was sweet.

The only thing is, I made a mistake when making him up and so you will see a series of decreases across his chest. They should not be there, they should be under his arm!

Well no one is perfect. He is a twisted bunny but I love him anyway. I'll make another when the corrections come through.

23 for week 16 is pretty good going I think. I'll soon have those 52 items in 52 weeks.

Back in the saddle again

2009-04-19T21:31:00.009+01:00

Big drum roll for me!

hurrah I've finally done it. I've made something new for my Eddy's Pressies shop at Artfire

I've been knitting alot lately but not things that I can sell. I've been stuck in "WIP and RIP". That's a knitters disorder (that I just made up) It means that you have so many things that are "works in progress" that you can't get anything finished and also when you do finish something you hate it so much that you just have to rip it all out!

Well, here's a lovely little something that I've been working on for weeks and have finally finished. It's Billy in his bag. The cute little doll can be stripped right down to his underwear! or you can dress him in his t-shirt and dungarees and take him for a walk in his own crocheted bag (room for teddy too)

Along the way you can stop for a snack; he has his own sippy cup that he can hold by himself and a cookie too.

The bag opens out flat to become a changing mat and you can change him into his fluffy nightsuit for a lovely night's sleep.

I'm so happy to have finished something that I made a new shop banner to celebrate. The pretty purple one. I've also had some orders and ideas to keep me going so I shouldn't suffer from "WIP and RIP" again for some time (I hope)

Boys will be boys

2009-04-14T21:04:00.003+01:00

"I'm no Easter turkey, I'm the Easter bunny!"

The canteen staff at my son's school are so terribly fed up with 8-14 year old boys giggling uncontrollably every time someone asks for chicken breast.

That they have actually changed the menu board!

Now it reads "Chicken belly"!

Personally, I'd rather have turkey!

knitting challenge - week 13 - testing, testing...

2009-04-04T00:11:00.004+01:00

You may remember from last time I wrote about my knitting challenge that my total was running at 19.

So here's the 20th! this sweet little crochet top was designed by my friend, Laura Jarvis. It was really quick to make and is just so cute. again, she will be making the pattern available soon so you non-testers will have to wait a little before you can get your hands on it.

It took quite a while to get my daughter to stand still for this photo too. She loved it so much she just wanted to dance around and around like a ballet dancer!

oh and for those of you waiting for the Katherine Vaughan hat and scarf pattern that I tested last time; it is now available at Ravelry.com I think you may need to sign up to view and buy it.

Well I think it's time I made some more toys next. I have several things in mind (and several things in my "not quite finished" box) I now have a Dawanda as well as an Artfire shop to stock so I'd better get those needles clicking!

Easter egg hunt on Artfire

2009-04-01T12:46:00.005+01:00

Seriously, there are a series of Easter eggs hidden in the studios at Artfire. Either in the banners or the pictures.

Today is the start date so you can start looking now at Artfire.com

Each egg has a letter written on it (some have the word "space" which are vital in making the overall sentance)

the idea of the game is to collect as many of these letters to make the correct sentance.

This will run for 3 weeks so lots of time to find them all.

Entry forms can be found here on the Easter Egg Hunt blog Scoring is also explained on there.

And prizes? oh yes prizes, well they make it well worth it....

highest score : 50$ giftvoucher
second highest : 20$ giftvoucher
third highest : 10$ giftvoucher

These vouchers can be spent in all the participating studio's So give it a try, there are some wonderful things to be found. and good luck to you all

Easter is coming - and we don't want eggs!

2009-03-26T13:50:00.009Z

OK, so Easter is coming fast, but many ladies are on diets or are detoxing or just wouldn't appreaciate a chocolate egg. so what can you get for them?

Well I've had a wander through Artfire's shops to find some lovely presents that would really be happily recieved by any lady.

first how about some Jewlery? It's always a great idea. Here's a wonderful piece by alibalijewellery from Scotland The Red Sun Ray necklace. Made from fine silver and utterly beautiful.

How about something beautiful to hang on the wall?
This 5X7 print by soundslikerain
So wonderful and is actually called "sail away with me, honey" Maybe a little extra message there? Couldn't you just disappear into it?

And now for something really different; handmade clothes from Berlin. the ladies at m.i.p.h.i.a
have the most wonderful selection including this Jersey wool sweater with a collar. Mmm, stylish.

Is she a craft lover? In which case maybe she'd like the supplies and patterns to make something for herself? How about this clever purse making kit put together by U-Handbag from London. Isn't it just the sweetest? and you can never have too many bags!

Or maybe just something so very cute and Springlike. This little felted fairy carries a Snowdrop and is just one of many flower fairies made by Ignisfatuus from Norway. They are just so pretty and would look great on a dresser or on the table at a Springtime dinner party.

If you just take a look at the wonderful artists at Artfire you are bound to find something just perfect for your lady - and it's not chocolate!!!

Where have you been?

2009-03-26T11:32:00.009Z

I know I haven't blogged for a little while, no excuses, I'm just lazy!

My family has had a busy time. My son went on holiday with his new school; without me! It was his first time away from us as even on holidays he is with us constantly. (for those that don't know he is autistic and has many behavour challenges) He had a wonderful time. They went to Llangranog which is an outward bound centre. They did tobagganing, horse riding, go=carts, dry-slope skiing, trampolining, swimming, archery, games contests and a disco every night. (one on roller skates) Not bad for only 3 days! He behaved himself wonderfully, tried everything and even got two credits for outstanding behaviour.

When tobagonning, a younger girl was putting her hands down to slow herself and collided with him! Ordinarily, he would have jumped up and screamed at her for hitting him and not following the rules. But he went over and calmly checked that she was OK . I'm so proud.

His horse was supposed to walk around a track with the others but it smelt a wheelie bin and took off after it. The person pushing the bin ran away when he saw them coming as "Trigger" was moving at quite a clip! When the teacher finally caught up with them, My boy was not worried at all. All he said was, "We really should get some bins with lids on, Miss"

He came home happy and full of stories. I'm definately making sure he goes next year. I haven't seen him that happy in ages.

My daughter too has had a busy few weeks; she is in the Badgers which is the St John's Ambulace Brigade juniour section. She has been in a regonal contest for first aid. So not only do we all now know what to do in an emergency, but we have to suffer her constant binding us up and practicing her first aid. Her team have got through the first two rounds and are now in the final on Sunday. This should be very exciting. Esppecially since it is her first contest of this size.

...And my knitting challenge? well it's all still on track. If you remember the goal was 52 projects in 52 weeks. Well we are now in Week 12 and I have made 19 goodies.

The two new ones are

Mirri Mir the meerkat. This was another crocheted free pattern from Roman Sock. She is so cool for making such great patterns and for making them free too! he has been given to my dad who is in hospital. I thought; who better to look out for him than a Meerkat? He's a bit more unusual than the conventional teddy bear too and should get some double-takes in the hospital.

A peaky hat and scarf. This was a very clever design from Katherine Vaughan Designs. I was one of the first people to make it as she hasn't even published the pattern yet. I was a test knitter. It was great fun to knit something so new. In fact I have even signed up to test crochet another design by another designer. It's all very cool. My name will appear on the pattern as a test knitter and when she publishes it I will give you all the linky so you can get a copy

Knitting Challenge - Week 9 - Monkeys and Daleks

2009-03-05T10:14:00.006Z

OK so I've always loved those little dollies that old ladies tend to have in the bathroom hiding the spare toilet roll. So dainty and pretty and wonderfully "old fashioned" but I always thought of myself as being "too cool" to actually own one!

Well now I do! I knitted this great dalek out of sparkly lustre yarn (the label says it's beige but in real life I think it looks a great copper.) the pattern is for a fully stuffed dalek toy but I never made the bottom so he sits in the bathroom on his spare roll. pattern? well, it was a free one but it's become unavailable at the moment.

Oh I do hope the BBC (who make Dr Who) have not got to her! They've been having a clamp down lately on people selling homemade Dr Who merchandise. They've been doing this by targeting the pattern makers and asking them t0 remove the patterns from the internet. There really is no need to do this. We all know that licenced characters like Daleks and the Antropose mustn't be sold without permission. But this stops us from making them as presents and homewares too! How unfair.

Anyway, I also made this cute monkey. He's a cowboy yee-haa! I made
little yellow boots for him and a vest. This one was made as part of a
challenge on Cafemom. My linky to my Cafemom page is in the margin on the left.

The knitting and crochet group made him as part of a "Knit and crochet along" challenge. Not many of us did it but hopefully more will join in next time.

My monkey is named Monk Mick and he is sheriff of the toy box. I put pipecleaners into his arms legs and tail to make him super-posable. He is going to a teenager so I know they won't poke their eyes out with it! It's also very well stuffed and padded; those wires are not coming out of there no matter how hard he's played with.

Oh yes, patterns, I nearly forgot. The knitted monkey I have here is a clever adaptation of a crochet pattern that is also available for free
Knitted: http://knittedtoybox.blogspot.com/2008/04/monkey-moo.html
crochet: http://quesera.ojaru.jp/ don't be scared off by this crochet pattern; it is not all in Japanese you just click on the size of monkey you want to make and the instructions are all pretty self-explanitary. Clever Chimmu Chimmu made this pattern and keeps all the copyright rights to it - even in it's translated and knitted forms.

I think it is super that we can exchange patterns from different countries without having to learn a new language - it's a real internet world web family.

Knitting Challenge -week 8 - eek!

2009-02-26T12:50:00.005Z

OK so it all began well enough.

I started to knit a fire engine. I thought it would be a very easy task to make a baby block shaped fire engine but it was a total disaster. It looks so horrid I can't bring myself to take a photo of it. I will try again in a few weeks (once i've got over the horror of it)

but for now the only item I made was a single hat It's a lovely fit. Can you see the cable pattern? It goes together to make 7 cute little owls around the hat. I got this pattern from a free download - hurrah - I love free. owls by Kate Davies. This is an entire sweater using the design. So if you have lots of time you can try it. So many clever people out there. I wish I could make my pattern work.

Knitting Challenge - Week 7 - one each.

2009-02-19T01:09:00.009Z

Ok kids are off school so that's why this post is a little late. but I promise that I did all this work in this week.

One for me

So last week I made a sheep; this week she has a Welsh Rugby jersey. Now she is all ready to watch Wales win in the 6 nations rugby tournament! Handy for St David's day toOne for my daughter

So I've just learned to crochet. I can do a single crochet, an increse and a decrease. So armed with just these stitches i made "Ray-Lee the Manta Ray". It's a free download if you want to make one. Brigitte Read is so cool putting it up for free.

One for my son

Ok that's the downside of having two kids. You have to make two to prevent jelousies! With his love of all things tech. This could only be "Blu-ray" LOL

One for my neice

with a 4th birthday coming up, I made this sweet little bag (she will be getting some cute books inside it too and colouring pencils).

The bunny is actually a finger puppet. Clever isn't it? Unfortunately I did not invent it. It's also not a free one (sorry guys) but she offers 7 different variations on this bag in the pattern including some cool halloween ones and how to line them too. So it is worth looking into. You can buy the pattern here

so it's been a busy old week for me. Especially with the kids off school! But they go back soon hurrah. I think they are missing their friends.

Knitting challenge - week 6 - some for the charity box.

2009-02-11T13:32:00.011Z

This week I got out those dredded DPNs again. The double pointed needles. This is only the second project that I have completed using them I think it turned out pretty well.

It was a free pattern from a cafemom challenge (so two challenges in one!) Free pattern for the Chevron Bag

This little sheep was knitted from an Alan Dart pattern. (sorry you'll have to buy your own pattern for this one) called "Simply Sheep." for the Simply Knitting magazine; Feb, 2009.

She is completed but has no clothes yet. The one in the pattern has a stripey dress and a pair of knitting needles. But I think mine, like any self-respecting Welsh sheep will get to wear a rugby jersey which I will make next week.

I also knitted half a dozen of these little guys. Wee knitted chicks in chemo hats.

They are for the Velindre Cancer hospital appeal. The chicks will be filled with chocolate eggs and sold in the hospital shop. Good use for all that leftover yellow yarn.

The pattern for this is free from the hospital too, and was designed by one of the volunteers that works there; Mrs. Joyce Davies. I'll put a copy onto my scibt files so you can get that too. Probably tomorrow.

Knitting Challenge; Week 5 - Still knitting...

2009-02-04T18:54:00.008Z

Well, this week, I found this cute and easy little pattern, called Teddies for Tradgedies. There are no increases or decreases making it perfect for someone learning to knit as a first project.
At first glance I thought it was a charity asking for people to knit and send in the teds. But on closer reading, it seems that it is just a pattern and you have to find the charities that want them yourself. So I've stopped at one. If I find a home for them I will knit more.

One little teddy is just not enough for me; so I made a partner for my daughter's horse. This one is made with some really nice denim-effect yarn in purple with a lilac mane and tail. I think this one turned out even better than the first. My daughter is not that soppy and she says he doesn't need a girlfriend so she will go on sale in my Artfire shop. You can go there to see more pictures and maybe even buy her?

Knitting Challenge: Week 4: O.E.S I did!

2009-01-27T23:21:00.012Z

Rosco the Old English sheepdog cushion / pillow/ toy

Ok so this week was a double whammy.

Not only did I design and make a cute Old English Sheepdog Cushion /pillow/toy,

but I wrote out the pattern for it too!

If you love him and want to make one the link to my pattern is here.

Rosco the sheepdog

You can download it for free as a PDF or a word document. I put in loads of photos to help you put him together. There is only some simple increase and decreasing so it makes a great "first big project" for someone quite new to knitting.

If you haven't the patience or time to make him, he is for sale in my Artfire shop at Eddy's Pressies

I'm feeling very proud of myself so...tickle my belly!

How does this Ebay thing work anyway?

2009-01-26T19:55:00.006Z

Just to give it all a go,

I have put my very fun and famous Spot the huge puppet onto Ebay.

Those who know my Zazzle gallery will already know Spot. He has many cards and shirts with him on.

Well, now it's time for him to find a new home. He loves kids and adults alike and really holds the attention of his audience.

Keep an eye on his ebay progress via this link;

Spot the dog - full-bodied puppet with working mouth.

maybe you would even like to bid on him? I will deliver to other countries apart from the UK. It'll be fun to see how far he goes.

He's also going to be benefiting The Save The Children Fund.

10% of his sale price will go to help kids in need all over the world.

So give him a click and see what you think

A free knitting pattern for you

2009-01-24T22:15:00.004Z

I'm not counting this in the challenge as I made it last year...

I used to have a hat-scarf (hooded scarf) like this when I was a kid (showing my age now).

So I made one last Autumn for my daughter Rhiannon to wear to school. The only problem was that I ended up having to make about 8 of them for all her friends in different colours.

I've been searching the web for a pattern like this but the only ones I can find are for those who can use the dreaded double pointed needles! Ooh scary.

So just for those of us who are only really comfortable with two needles and not four I've written out the pattern just for you.

You can get the pattern free here http://www.scribd.com/doc/9684141/Rhiannons-Hat-Scarf

I love the hairdressers best of all

2009-01-22T18:14:00.004Z

Yup, i really love going in and having my hair washed by someone else. (that has to be the height of luxury right?) They talk to you on any subject and bring you lots of coffee. They really are the greatest. Is that why I love them so?

No. What really makes me laugh is the names hairdressers choose for their shops.

I've decided to make a list of my absolute favorites.
It's bound to make you giggle too.

Curl up and Dye - it has to be a clear winner
The Hairport - who says we drop h's?
The Cutting Crew - 1980 pop band I believe
Fringe Benefits - oh yes, made me laugh
Headmasters - Great name
The Snip - scary name for men
Head junkie - crazy people
The Lunatic Fringe - Not a local one but still funny

But it's not just hairdressers we have

Curtains for you - yes it's a fabric shop not the headquarters of the mafia.
Junk and disorderly - a House clearance and antiques shop
Wok this way - a wonderful chinese takeaway
lazy daisy - not terribly clever name for a flower shop, but I love it.

Take a wee walk down your highstreet and see what names you can find - it may surprise you.

Knitting Challenge: Week 3: DPNs mastered!

2009-01-20T13:35:00.015Z

OK so I told you last week that I was having a go at the long procrastinated DPNs. Wicked needles that are pointed at both ends and are used four at a time to produce a tube shape thereby making hats without seams.

Well, i did it! It took an awfully long time as I found all those needles very cumbersome. I'm rather proud of the resulting hat.

Here I show my hat on one of my daughter's dolls; her head is a bit smaller than a real baby so it is a good fit even though it might not look it.

I also made a few of these this week. I gave one as a present to my local

Chinese Takeaway as a new years gift and so I have been making more of them for all her relatives.

I can't complain, she's giving me £3.50 each for them.

I even made an extra one for my dear friend Tricia. She's an artist friend of mine from Nevada, USA. She's awfully clever. she has her own blog full of printables and sweet piccys at http://triciarennea.blogspot.com/

But she's not getting it for free. Oh no! She has to work for him.

I've told her when I sent him off. Monday, 19th at 11am my time.

She then has to tell me when he gets there and in what condition, so I can work out whether I need to upgrade my packaging or postal rate on my artfire site

Next week I'm hoping to make a doggy cushion/pillow. We'll see how that turns out! or not as the case may be!

Happy knitting

knitting Challenge; week two; oh no!

2009-01-14T11:40:00.005Z

Week Two; Ladybug Mittens.

What a disaster this week's knitting has been.

I made a doll, but she was too small so I unravelled her and started again. The second doll I made, well, the head looks too small to me; so I will be re-making her again!

I got a lovely free pattern for a fluffy heart-shaped cushion with wings. Perfect for Valentines. I have got a ball of fun fur yarn in my stash so I thought I'd give it a go. Guess what? I ran out of yarn so very near the end! Do you think I can find a local shop that still sells that kind of yarn? No. They sold it last Summer but it has gone out of fashion now. Eek!

The one kind of knitting that I've never tried (because I was afraid of failing) is knitting on four double pointed needles. It looks great when it's made because there is no seam; the item is knitted as a tube. So I decided to give it a go. I picked a really simple pattern and got into alsorts of knots! As with anything new, it's slow going, but it is coming. I might have a baby hat knitted by next week. I know, I know, most people can knit up one of those in an evening but remember this is a new skill I'm learning; It's like learning to knit all over again!

Well, I did get something knitted this week, so I'm still in the challenge - hurrah! A pair of child's mittens. Even they did not go to plan, however, they are big enough for me! So much for kid's mittens.

Oh well next week will hopefully be more productive. It was just one of those weeks when you can't get the time to sit and knit. (and when I did, it went wrong)

But on a positive note, my son started a new school this week. It's a school for children with special needs (he has high-functioning Asberger's Syndrome) We have always kept him in mainstream education because he has no problems with the work, in fact, he is further along the curicullum than most as he loves to research for himself History, maths, and science. But his behaviour issues and his lack of self-control when it comes to his feelings have finally become too much for regular school. He is LOVING IT at his new school. And as I result I love it too. He hasn't been this happy in school for years. This new school has it's own swimming pool and lots of support staff so now he can do all the things he couldn't before. Like gym and playing with others at recess. (his last school kept him indoors at recess as they "couldn't guarentee his safety out with the other children" in other words, he got bullied alot and got into trouble whenever he hit back.) I can't wait to see him come home every day with a big grin on his face. He doesn't stop talking when he is happy, so I have a bit of a headache when he comes in but I'm happy to have it.

Knitting Challenge. Week 1; Any hay?

2009-01-06T11:06:00.002Z

Any hay?
Originally uploaded by Eddy_G

Okay I only just managed this in time. Old Neddy here was started on the 1st January and finished yesterday.
So that's week 1 = success.
I'm hoping to make 52 projects in 52 weeks but they won't all be this big or complicated.
I made him entirely from yarn I had left over from last year's projects. He took 100 grams of cream DK and 50 grams of denim. I actually ran out of denim and had to make his mane and tail shorter than I would have liked)
He was actually a free pattern. So if you would like to make one yourself you can find the pattern at Lion Bran Yarn. They have lots of free patterns it's well worth joining just for that (free to join and you get deals on the yarn - if you want to buy it from them)

If I make another (which I probably will 'cos it's cute as a button) I will put it on my Artfire page to sell. But his one has been claimed by my daughter as a steed for her TY beanie baby doll. As you see they look quite good together.

February is one big celebration!

2009-01-05T21:36:00.002Z

Ok, so I know we are not done with January yet but all the celebrations for Jan are done with now. Except for Chinese New Year; which is the year of the Ox, cow or water Buffalo depending on what area you're from. Coming on January 26th I believe
You can upload your family picture into this card...

2009 - year of the Ox by Eddy_G

But in February we have a whole host of my very favorite holidays.

Groundhog Day Feb 2nd

Will the groundhog see his shadow? 6 more weeks of winter if he does!

Groundhog day (no shadow) by Eddy_G

Yippee! No shadow! Spring is on the way. I love Spring don't you?

Valentines Day Feb 14th

When guys go to any lengths (including stilts) to make their lady's day special. Show the guys you appreciate them with this cute card

Life with you is a joyride by Eddy_G

Then lots of fun at Mardi gras on February 24th

What a great excuse to wear all those bright and crazy colours!

Mardi Gras by Eddy_G

New year's resoloution?

2009-01-02T22:21:00.010Z

Well, I've always been a knitter. I love to knit. But I have a terrible habit of starting several projects then leaving them half done to begin new ones!

Some even get thrown away as I get fed-up of looking at them lying there unfinnished. Poor little UFOs (UnFinnished Objects)

So I've made myself a promise

This year I'm going to knit an item per week for all 52 weeks of the year. Yes, 52 out of 52! I've also promised that I will buy no new yarn for these projects whenever possible.

You see I have so many leftover balls of yarn; I could sink a ship! They just sort of mount up. So I'll only buy yarn if I need a certain type or colour otherwise I may have to move into a different bedroom as the yarn stash mounts up!

I'll let you know how I get on. If the patterns are free ones I'll link to where you can get them too. But I must warn you. I'm not so good at keeping resoloutions. Fingers Crossed for me.

New Year = New Beginnings

2008-12-31T20:20:00.003Z

Well, since this will be my last blog of 2008, I'm just taking a quick break from the planned events to write this down.

First we are all (me, hubby and the kids) watching all the Star Wars movies back-to-back.

Then we will go outside at about 11 O'clock for a BBQ and fireworks with all the families from the street.

Then pop back inside for hot chocolate and marshmallows to warm back up before bed.

The dog spends her New Year's Eve in the bath! Yup, I guess she's watched too many World War Two movies or something; she seems to think it is a safe place to hide from the fireworks! Crazy old woof!

I hope your plans work out just as nicely and that you enjoy yourselves whatever you do.

Lots of love and best wishes to all who read this. Have a super new year

New Year = New Beginnings for all of us.

New deals At Zazzle.co.uk

2008-12-26T11:52:00.003Z

Zazzle.co.uk is a seller of t-shirts, greetings cards, mugs, mousemats and many other items - even skakeboards and shoes! All designed by j0lly people like me. You can even design your own if you have a favorite photo, picture, digital design or doodle!

This Weekend only
12.26% off all orders

Just use code BOXDAYZAZZLE at the checkout.

love monkey by Eddy_G

2009 - Year Of The OX by Eddy_G

Find more designs on shirts, cards etc like those above at draw upon your dreams

Find crazy mug designs at Eddy's Mad Mugs like these:-

Ambulance UK by Eddys_Mad_Mugs

US Coast Guard by Eddys_Mad_Mugs

An Interview with Elvis

2008-12-22T19:21:00.005Z

Elvis listens (sometimes)
Originally uploaded by Eddy_G

Elvis is my newest puppet. He's bright red and totally crazy. He's spent too much time near the TV and radio and so answers everything with a song or a well-known TV saying or advert!

So what kind of parrot are you?
"I 'aint nothing but a houndog baby" (song by Elvis presley)
Really? and where are you from?
"Somewhere over the rainbow!" (song from wizzard of Oz)
Do you always sing your answers?
"No, no, no, no; there's no limits!" (song By Cookie crew)
Ok so what do you like to eat then?
"What's for dinner today mom? Beanz,Meanz heinz!" (famous TV advert)
It was lovely speaking to you Elvis. Perhaps I'll interview you again sometime.
"We'll meet again" (song by Vera Lynn WWll)
See you soon Elvis.
"Do you feel lucky, punk?" (Dirty Harry movies)
Cheeky Parrot!

Do you love him?

Do you want him?

He's for sale at my Artfire shop. get there by clicking this link; Eddy's Pressies

My newest puppet

2008-12-22T18:58:00.004Z

Best friends
Originally uploaded by Eddy_G

Elvis loves his operators especially when they are very young. He wouldn't dream of biting. What a star!
Elvis is a lovely red parrot. But his cage was left too close to the TV and radio. Whenever you ask him a question; he will answer with a song or a well-known phrase from a TV show.

He's my newest creation. a red furry parrot with the mouth re-inforced with foam. His wings lie freely by his side; so a quick flick of the wrist will make them flap.

He's now on Sale at my Artfire shop come and see

My tea cosy is a winner!

2008-12-20T18:54:00.007Z

Well, I gave my mother a novelty tea cosy that I'd knitted for her birthday. Yes it's a cooked turkey with holes for the handle and spout of the tea pot and totally cosy in acrylic yarn and washable too. But can you guess what she did with it?

She sewed the holes up and wore it as a Novelty Christmas Hat to her community center christmas party!

Worse than that! She actually won a bottle of whiskey for "silliest hat of the evening"!

What a cheek!

I've never won anything for my knitting!

Available to buy for your favorite tea pot collector (or hat wearer) at Artfire.com

Make something absolutely crazy!

2008-12-19T22:39:00.006Z

Ok so my Mum's birthday is coming up.
she has a huge collection of novelty tea pots.
So I decided to make her a novelty tea cosy to go on them
Thinking of Christmas dinner coming up made me think of a cooked turkey!
So yes, I made a fully functional tea cosy
added wings and legs
and well, you can see the rest.

Special offers at Zazzle

2008-12-17T10:04:00.004Z

At Zazzle.com right now - US Shipping only
To qualify for shipping upgrade from ground shipping to 2-day shipping, one or more Zazzle products must be purchased and 2-day shipping must be selected as the shipping option. The coupon code TWODAYZAZZLE must be entered during checkout to receive the offer. Shipping offer is for ground (or standard if ground is not available) shipping to U.S. addresses only. Shipping charges will apply to orders being shipped on an expedited basis or outside the U.S. Offer is valid from December 17, 2008 through December 21, 2008 at 11:59 am PST. Your order must be placed during that time to qualify for this special offer. This promotional offer may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or discount offers
Go to http://zazzle.com/eddy_g to see a great selection to choose from.

At Zazzle.co.uk right now - UK and EU only
Receive 50% off Express Shipping on orders of £75 or more.
To qualify for this free shipping offer, the coupon code SHIP2UK4LESS must be entered during checkout. This discount shipping offer is for Express Shipping to locations in the UK and EU only. This offer is not valid for orders being shipped to locations beyond the UK and EU, nor to orders shipped on a non-expedited basis. Offer is not valid for Custom Framed Prints and Keds Custom Shoes. Offer is valid from December 13, 2008 through December 18, 2008 at 17:59:59 GMT. Your order must be placed during that time to qualify for this special offer. This promotional offer may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or discount offers.
Check out the goodies at http://zazzle.co.uk/eddy_g and http://zazzle.co.uk/eddys_mad_mugs for some great gift ideas - but hurry!

Order by Thursday to get it by Christmas

I Believe I Can Fly! by Eddy_G
Many more t-shirts online at zazzle

4X4 or ATV by Eddys_Mad_Mugs

Merry Christmas everyone

2008-12-14T21:00:00.004Z

Hope Santa Paws brings you something nice.

Here is a message from my dog Misty Blue

You can sell online!

2008-12-09T12:27:00.006Z

Wondering what you can do during your spare time to make a little money will little or no cash layout?

If you can draw or doodle (and even if you can't) then you could sell online just like me.

I'm NOT Rhudolph! by Eddy_G

1. Draw something cute, funny or just downright odd and scan it into your computer.

2. Upload photos from your digital camera

3 Upload copyright free clipart or public domain pictures.

4 Join a POD site (Print on Demand) such as Zazzle; it's totally free to join and upload as much as you like putting it on as many different products as you like.

5 GET PAID Yes, you heard me, they pay you every time one of your designs gets sold. Not bad for a five minute doodle!To join just click here and enter a few simple details (and no, I don't get a referral fee for sending you)

Well I have put together a list of free sites that you can join.

I've put all the information here in my new Squiddoo lens

http://www.squidoo.com/Selling-goodies-on-the-net

Find information on selling your designs for free or even your handmade goodies like these which are available at EddysPressies on Artfire.com

Give Me A Hand

2008-11-30T20:06:00.007Z

Hands (especially children's hands) are the most perfect shape for making all sorts of fun items.

Here I drew around my daughter's hand and cut it out of different coloured paper.

I then cut out a head, legs and a tail. I then glued it all down

making a Chinese New Year dragon.

You could also make a hedgehog in the same way.

Hello Blogland.

2008-11-21T23:34:00.008Z

I will begin with an apology; I am a lazy blogger and these blogs will probably be far apart.

But never mind that, lets get started with something easy.

A colouring page for you to print out.

A very happy Thanksgiving to all our American Friends.

This crazy Thanksgiving turkeydog was supplied by my good friends at dogster.com

If you get the time, check it out. It is a multinational dog club

where you only need to love dogs to join in.

It gives advice on looking for a dog

looking after a dog

doggy news

and If you have your own dog, you can start their own blog for free!

You can then join groups that interest you like the "UK woofers"
or "talking agility" with lots of doggy fun and games.

Check out my dog's page Misty Blue. Border Collie. Photos stories and lots of fun.

Maybe you could join too! See you there