La Pomme

I don't know if you've checked out the La Pomme shop at Etsy yet...

...but what can I say. It's very nice.

just a bit of fun

Ooooh! This is what Jessie looks like vintage style. You can try turning your new photos into old ones like this here.

ahaha!

I've found another uber cute shop

All but the bag are sold items, but aren't they adorable? These are all from mpatrizio

I found something!

Have you checked out this shop?

Its oliviaew at etsy. These dolls are so gorgeous it makes me cry.

Hurrah!

Yesss! I've finished all my exams! Thank the lord. So now there will be a whole lot more time for crafting. Although it is getting quite hot, making it a bit more uncomfortable. Does anyone have any ideas on how to counteract this? As in, how to make your hands less sticky and sweaty? I think moisturiser is supposed to help, but its not foolproof. Oh, and guess what? I now have Ravelry! I'm stil figuring out how to use it, but you can visit me as jessiebear. I'll try and find some pictures to post soon...

Christmas is looming...

I swear that the silly season begins sooner and sooner each year. I think some of you would probably agree with me on that one. Yes, the shops have already brought out their stock and the streets are already lined with Christmas decorations. I'm sure there are plenty of people who plan to get all their shopping done in November, but despite these good intentions I think there's only a slim chance of this actually occuring. And please, if you crafters are planning on making all or some of your gifts, it's probably a good idea to have started already. Last year I made all my friend's presents and there was a mad dash at the end to have them completed on time. I'm sure I'm not the only one who can speak from experience.

I don't know if I'll make any presents this year. I think it's a lovely thought but not always appreciated for the time and effort involved. Also I haven't been struck by inspiration yet. I did consider making a pair of fingerless gloves for one of my girlfriends, but I gave up on that one due to the current 35 degrees celsius weather.

So anyways, if you are stuck for ideas, this may help you out a bit. Etsy is a great place to visit- you can still give a handmade gift but it will take you considerably less time to have it organised. This rabbit and fawn are from alberto's family

A: Don't be silly, a rabbit and a gorilla look nothing alike!

Hahaha.

Just a word of warning that I may not be around a whole lot over the next couple of weeks. It's exam period again when everything goes insane and nothing runs to plan. But I'll try to include some updates.

I was trawling Etsy for ages trying to find something to share but I had difficulty finding anything that really took my fancy. So instead I decided to include this picture of some yo-yos that I made...

They don't have a purpose- I just think they look pretty.

I hope all that makes sense. It's late and I'm tired. More soon!

.....and this is fair isle attempt #2!

Fair isle attempt #2
Originally uploaded by jessie + bear

This one is my favourite- it's a Scandinavian design worked in black and white yarn. I actually inverted the colour order that the pattern specified so that the black was predominant instead of the white. How much do you love this blogging thing on flickr by the way? I love how easy it is to upload your photos and then blog about them too. I've only figured out how to do one at a time though- does anyone know how to blog about more than one photo in the same post?

As well as trying desperately to finish that order of three sets of Babushka dolls before Christmas, (I'm not very good at going fast), I've also been trying out a new pattern. What I have discovered is that if you make a yo-yo and then stuff it, it makes a good circle sort of shape, useful for heads and bodies. I'll share some pictures when my little critter is complete.

And I'll leave you with a joke today just because I think it is hilarious (really, it is)

Q: How do you tell the difference between a rabbit and a gorilla?

I'll let you know next time!

Fair isle attempt- #1

Fair isle attempt- #1
Originally uploaded by jessie + bear

So I've always avoided fair isle like the plague because I thought it was too hard. It didn't help that I also had a pretty bad experience trying to fair isle something that should have been done in intarsia. That made me think that it was impossible to create a smooth, neat piece of knitting in more than one colour. But, thanks to some online tutorials, I was willing to give it another go....

....and here are the results! Still not as neat as it could have been, but definately an improvement. It's just a simple checkered pattern using purple and white yarn.

I can't remember the names of the blogs that I used tutorials from, but just type "fair isle tutorial" into Google if you want to find them too.