Backstory: I went to stitches east about 2 months ago and saw this AWESOME shawl at one of the booths. I asked the woman if she was selling the pattern,  she was! But the catch was you had to buy the yarn to make it from her too. Well the yarn and pattern was $200! Being I dont have that kind of money to shell out. The boyfriend asked me....want me to take a picture of it? I said no, I didnt feel like it would be right. Although, I took a good picture of it in my head. It didnt seem hard to re-create. I went to another booth that was selling bulk yarn. I am so thankful the boyfriend went with me. He was a great help and he knows NOTHING about knitting. He picked out the yarn for me.

I decided to make the shawl for my aunt who adores hand made things. I went to work and here it is! I added the horn bone buttons. It was a big hit when I gave it to her. Its about 4 feet long and almost 1.5 feet wide.  I love the chunky yarn and the large cables. I have done smaller cables, but i LOVE these.

Long story short. My boyfriends parents have been modeling their kitchen. She had no kitchen appliances for over 4 months! Its nearly completed (only some trim to be mounted). I knew she would need some new art for her walls. I was inspired by the color of the new granite and her canister that holds her utensils. It has a rooster.

I found the image online. Transferred it to an ikea placemat (which are great to embroider onto and they are only $1). And only 36 hours or needlework later...an embroidered rooster. I wanted to make it a peice for the wall. But i didnt want to frame it. I bought a dowel rod, cut it to size, drilled some holes, sewed the placemat over it, and threaded the jute through the rod. Wallah! Instant wall hanging. Needless to say she loved it!

I had my boyfriend take pictures. I wish he would have gotten more detail, but they give you the idea. The comb of the rooster is all done in french knots. And its more of a maroon color. I will try to get more pictures that show the true colors.

Card #11:



"If it takes me a few minutes to answer the door...it's because I wasn't wearing any pants when you knocked."

Card #10



"What's all the fuss about? I'm an artist, who doesn't understand 'art'."

Card #9:



"I blow the dandelions in my neighbor's yard."

Card #8



"I have a fetish"

Card #7



"I wish I could tell my mom everything."

i embroidered these two pillowcases for the crazy cat lovers swap 2.

"I love my cats"  - done in satin stitch
"The best kind of alarm clock...is the purring kind" - using variegated thread





i was really happy with how they turned out. my boyfriend thought i took the 'i love my cats' one someone to be machine embroidered!!!

i made these toys for the crazy for cat lovers swap 2

first are the fortune cookies. I got the pattern from my 2008 knitting calendar. i felted them and then stuffed them with polyfiber and catnip



second i made a bunch of these little goldfish. i dont remember where i got the pattern from. they have a small amount of stuffing and catnip. you can see how smal they are compared to the penny.

I received my package from Nicolatte!!! I was super excited about everything. She totally hit everything right on.

The whole package


Love me...love my cats magnet. super cute


A mouse and a fish cat toy. The fabrics are great. I can find them easy! Whatever catnip you used...they really went bonkers over.


another really cute magnet.


von and roxy bracelet. the blues are so perfect. it will match everything i wear. my closet looks like the ocean.


super cute decopaged picture frame! i can't wait to find the purrrrrrrfect picture of them to put in it! its already on top of my TV without a picture. haha


And an AWESOME knitting needle roll. She doesn't even knit and this is made so great. the cat fabric is on the inside and the blues are the outside. I LOVE IT!!! I have always wanted one but not very good at sewing yet.


Action shots of the kitties. Roxy stole the pink mouse as soon as i let them have it.



Thank you for being such a wonderful swap partner! We did make a good match.
 

I am glad you liked everything. I was glad to hear the shirt fit.