A Memorial to my Precious Hammy :)

Me and Hammy :)
Hammy was a very special hamster who I adopted in February of 2010 and who was with me until he passed away with an untimely death in April of 2011. He was one of my most favorite pets. This is a memorial to him.


Hammy

Why I loved Hammy so:

- the very first moment I saw him I fell in love: they took his little house away and went to pick him up and he flipped over on his back, feet in the air, and squinting
- he was so apathetic about everything: he wouldn't ever care what you did for the most part, he had no safety awareness whatsoever (wasn't afraid of the cats, or of potentially falling from great heights) -- he just "didn't care"
- his squinty eyes, esp. when eating
- his nose sticking out of his Ham Hut
- his crunching sounds while eating
- how he would rest in his favorite spot
- how he would push me away with his little hands when I went to kiss him
- how fastidious he was with his bathing, even up 'til the last few hours of his life
- how cute he looked when he washed his little nose and ears
- how he looked like a little mouse
- how he would slide down his slide
- how he would dig through his seeds and make a big mess
- how he was moody (at times) if I cleaned his cage or moved something (like when we moved the wheel and he threw a tantrum and buried himself under the shavings)
- the way he would jump if you breathed on him
- the way he would "type" on the keyboard
- how he was so sweet, he never bit me even though I handled him all the time and he hated it
- how he was so soft
- his unusual coloring, such a handsome Ham
- his "extraordinary testicles!!!" (according to one vet)
- the way he would pack out his little house
- how he would ride in his "ride" (toy hamster car) when we went in the car
- how he started off running only one-way in his wheel, and then when we tried to get him to run the other way he at first resisted it, then finally would only run THAT way
- how he "ran stupidly" in the wheel with his head peering out the side
- how he would continue to run in his wheel no matter what was going on
- he was an internet- and real-life-sensation -- everyone loved the Ham
- how he would climb into things like the paper towel roll and my balls of crochet cotton
- how he would "sniff holes" in his new cage
- they way his little whiskers moved
- the way he would shake while sitting at his food dish
- all of his many nicknames: Hambot, Little Ham, Baby Ham, Hamolot
- the way he would freeze in his Habitrail's tubes when I tapped on them
- the little sounds he would make: sneezes, hiccups, "reeeeeees"
- how he would yell at me if I was too loud
- how he would burrow in his travel cage and you could see the bottom of little feet and body through the bottom of it
- the things he would scarf down
- the way he would stuff his jowls with seeds and nuts -- he would pack them out and look like a copperhead
- the songs we made up about him ("everyone's wild about Hammy, but Ham's indifferent to yooooou...")
- how he could (and did) go everywhere with me: upstate, hiking, to the beach, to my knitting groups, shopping, to my bf's every weekend
- how he was such a trooper: he got sick many times but always was a tough little Ham, even outliving his one-month prognosis by yet another full month


Hammy

I miss you so much Hammy. I love you and always will. You touched my heart from the very first moment I saw you. I am just glad that you are not suffering anymore. I wish I had had so much more time with you though. There will always be a huge part of my heart devoted to you. xoxoxo


Me and Hammy again


Hammy at Bard College


Hammy at Bard College


Hammy at Bard College

Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair

Hi all!

I just got back a little while ago from vending at the first annual Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair held at the Hallockville Museum Farm in Riverhead, NY! In addition to having fiber artists sell their wares, there were also many demonstrations and workshops, including sheep herding, sheep and alpaca shearing, carding, dyeing, spinning, felting, knitting, and weaving! There were also angora rabbits, sheep and lambs, and llamas and alpacas that you could pet. Below are some pictures I took throughout the day of some of the beautiful work I saw as well as some of the lovely creatures without whom none of these fiber arts would be possible! Enjoy!


My table


My favorite item of the day, a lovely felted handbag from the Hallockville Knitters




Beautiful table decor and pin cushion from Mojo's Place


Gorgeous hand-dyed and hand-spun yarns from Hampton Artistic Yarns


Brilliant hand-dyed rovings from Color Craze Fiber


Beautiful hand-spun yarns from Temptress Yarn


Me meeting my first darling llama!!!


Amazing art from award-winning needle felter Irene Heckel


Freshly sheared llamas and alpacas


Me petting some baby Romney sheep! "Baaaah!!!"


Mommy angora bunny and baby angora bunnies (2.5 weeks old!) :)


Another angora bunny -- I challenge you to find its face!! (Hint: only the nose and mouth are visible)


Adorable retractable tape measures I bought from Mojo's Place


"Weave-it" miniature handmade loom I bought from Bumblebee Primitives


Finished woven square!

It was great meeting everyone and I look forward to seeing some of you again at the next fair!

Hippest Handbag EVER!!!

I just wanted to show off this amazing gift I got from my sister Jeanne on Easter (the green you see in the bottom of it is Easter grass -- she had filled it with chocolate also) -- it is too gorgeous and cool and unique to not be shown off!!!



She found it in a thrift shop in NYC!



It is made entirely of wire, different-colored glass beads, iridescent amber-colored acrylic beads, and a sheer fabric that pulls closed with a beaded ribbon drawstring.



HOW COOL IS THIS??!?

Evening Clutch!

Hi all!

Oh it feels so good to finish things!!! I just finished yet another clutch, this one made out of a lovely new (to me) yarn that a customer told me about: Lion Brand's Sasha yarn. It is 96% wool and 4% nylon and is incredibly soft and not itchy at all. It has a remarkable property to it: once you knit it up, the purl side resembles fleece! I thought this was so cool!

So the first one I made is in the first two photos below, and that one I'm going to keep -- it has a beautiful sparkly vintage button with black rhinestones on it:





And the photo below shows the version I am offering in my shop -- it has a beautiful Swarovski bead adorning it instead of the vintage button (I only had two of those and I'm keeping the other one for something else):



If you're interested in buying it you can find it here. I also can make it in off-white!

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Kitteh Loves the Yarns

Just wanted to share a few pics showing how one of my cats shares the same love of yarn that I do! He makes little yarn "nests" and will then sleep in them for upwards of five hours at a time!

Knitted and Felted Clutch Purse!

So I just finished adding the final touches onto a clutch purse that I knit and then felted using some yarn that I didn't like. I was planning all along on selling the thing because I hated the colors of the yarn. Well after being very pleased with the felted result of a purse knit entirely in a simple garter stitch, I have to say my heart was warming up towards the little piece of fabric. I just now added some snaps and also a gorgeous sparkly vintage crystal button to the front of it. Once it all came together, I realized something: I love it. And I cannot bear to part with it. Here it is in all its glory:









Want one like it? Contact me through my shop!

New Obsession: Granny Squares!!!

So yesterday I got my first crocheting lesson from my mom in oh, probably 18 or so years! I used to crochet, knit, and sew as a kid, but once I hit my teen years I dropped it all. I picked up knitting again this past winter with a vengeance, and just lately I've been craving crocheting as well. So yesterday my mom re-taught me how to make the infamous granny square, and I haven't been able to stop since.


Everything I've made since last night.


Three granny squares and a circle -- I'm thinking of making a scarf
and soap sacks out of the squares, and facial scrub pads out of the
circles.


I love how these came out -- I used 100% organic and mercerized
cotton to make these, and they have a beautiful sheen to them. I'm
thinking of making a place mat out of the full squares, and I'm also
thinking of making a headband using only the green yarn and only
the two inner "squares".



I love how this one came out, but the photo doesn't do it justice. I used
3 different-colored glittery yarns for this one. I'm thinking of making
these into a place mat as well, and am also thinking of making a head-
band out of only the off-white yarn and using only the two innermost
"squares".


My newest squares!!! These are available as a set of 4 coasters in my
Etsy shop! I'm also planning on making a scarf out of these!

See anything you like? If you have any ideas of something I could make for you, please contact me through my Etsy shop! Thanks!

Inspiration at the Beach

One of my all-time favorite places to go and rejuvenate my soul is at the beach by my house. As soon as I pull my car into the park I feel the old familiar feeling of relaxation and a melting away of cares. As soon as I step out of the car and head toward the beach I feel the joy of being able to breathe in fresh air and feeling a nice breeze on my skin. And as soon as I step into the sand I feel any remaining cares slip away as I become entranced in a state of utter relaxation and bliss.


Ring-Billed Gull

While I am at the beach I not only slip into a meditative state, but I also am collecting shells, rocks, driftwood, and other tidbits; I am birdwatching; I am getting exercise; and I am becoming filled with ideas and motivation of positive things that I want to do once I leave the beach. I try to make going here a regular practice, but sometimes (like in the winter) I don't keep up with it, and I suffer in very obvious ways.

Great Black-backed Gull

Each and every one of us needs a place like this to retreat to. If you don't have a place like this you should make it an active goal to find a place where you can go and sink into a state of utter relaxation. Sometimes you don't even need to leave the house -- the bathtub or the garden are other places where I can achieve this state as well (although they're not quite as good as the beach). Without a place like this, we can become easily irritated, worn out, depressed, and stagnant with our creativity. Life's too short to let that happen.


Herring Gull coming in for a landing


Ring-billed Gull, Two Herring Gulls eating a crab, and a Great Black-backed Gull yelling in the distance

I Sold a Pair of Earrings!!!!!

I am so excited!!! One of the goals I had for my Etsy shop was met this morning: to sell a pair of earrings. It was a goal for me simply for the reason that it is very hard to sell jewelry on there due to the massive amount of competition. PLUS, the ones I sold were ones that included my very own needle felted beads! :D

I sold my "Earth Day" earrings to a fellow chat room member!!!:


Yaaayyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol

First Robin of the Year!!!

Just wanted to stop in quick to mention what a lovely day I had outside today! It was in the 60s, the sun was out even though it wasn't supposed to be, I saw 24 different species of birds today, and the most important one was the American Robin, a symbol of the arrival of springtime weather!

Mah First Blog... well, not really

But this is my first blog on here, and I intend on taking this blog a bit more seriously than the other one I have. My mission here is to document my progress (or lack thereof) through the world of handmade arts & crafts. I am in the process of making items that I have made for a long time for my etsy shop -- www.notsoshabbychic.etsy.com -- , but I am also in the more interesting process of learning some new crafts (needle felting) and re-learning some old ones (knitting). I wanted someplace to post notes and photos as to my progress so that I can [hopefully] see that with time and practice that I am improving.

I am also an avid birdwatcher, gardener, and lover of all things nature, so I also wanted someplace in which I could share with the world (or just the one or two of you who will be following this) what it is that fills me with joy and what inspires me. :)