Bohemian Mermaid Palace

I was inspired by my friend Mary, who held a flower making workshop, to play with this organza flower. I wanted to try painting the fabric first and it worked out nicely! It was really fun to do, I'll be posting the instructions shortly...

Oh I've been busy alright. You know it... First off, my studio is now clean and organized. Somehow it had devolved into a barely workable pile of junk. Then a completely unworkable pile. NOW a beauuuutiful and functional work space.Oh it makes me feel so good to be in there! During the cleanup, I came across these old test fabrics and teaching projects. My man put me on artistic orders one day, and it was weirdly just the push I needed. I so often forget to play and just enjoy art... it was great. I goofed around with some printing ideas. A granny square and a plastic doily.      Then I worked on making these little silk scarves I sell (or don't sell, very often) into pretty rose pins.  For my next trick, I'm going to play with this poor man's silk screening method... if you hit youtube, you'll find lots of tutorials. Woohoo! Ready to play!!

Ohhhh it's getting close... spring is right around the corner. And you know what that means. Craft show season begins. Can't wait! So, I have my first confirmed show of the season, which is the Sebastopol Apple Blossom Festival, April 24-25. This is my first time at this show... well except once when I was working in that kid's booth in college. As I recall, it's a beautiful park setting. There's a parade and wine/beer tasting. Plus I have a couple friends I can visit in town. Should be fun! I'm sending out applications for may and june as well... I'll be adding them to my cool little google calendar (>>>) as they are confirmed. Woot!

Just thought I'd check in here, between all the crochet pattern stuff... about how real life is going here in The Palace. Still slow and wintery, but whiffs of spring are here and there. The daffodils & beach visits are up. That's certainly a sign. I have sent out 2 show applications already, and I'm filling out my calendar for the season. Yay! Have I mentioned how much I love traveling to craft shows? Probably. Anyway, I do. Love it. This season I am seriously considering at least one extended festival trip, ending in ND where my mom lives. I'd be gone over a month... starting in Eugene the 4th of July, hitting a show each weekend as I work my way up to the Seattle area. Then, cruising across the north to Bismarck for their big show in Aug. How fun would that be?! We'll see how it pans out... View Mermaid Tour 1 in a larger map I've also been working hard to get my etsy store (look over there>>>) stocked up... while working to promote t...

Well I did it. I set out to make myself a Rockstar Tiara for my birthday and I succeeded. I had plenty of fun figuring it out... but it was by no means a simple little project. I did take plenty of photos and notes and will do my best to pass on my tiara knowledge in some understandable way. I'll apologize right now for using black yarn again. Not the easiest to see, but it really was the best color for the project. Materials: 3 tall Rockstar cans (I used the one above for my sample) 3 oz worsted weight yarn H or I crochet hook  utility scissors paper hole punch 60 Large pony beads yarn needle Cut out each star as shown, leaving a bout 1/2" border and rounding the tips. You'll notice one corner of the star hits the edge of the can, so you can't add a border there. We'll address this later to make the stars look symmetrical, for now just round the corner as shown in the photo. Cut out the vertical Rockstar word from 2 of the cans as shown. Le...

  Another free Bohemian Mermaid crochet pattern for you, the Erica hat. This one truly is very fast and easy to make. The 'tweed' doubled yarn makes it thick and soft. See my Crochet Basics for stitches and abbreviations. Woo!   Erica's Tweed Cloche Hat   Description : Loose-fitting hat with small angled brim worked in a tweed stitch. Looks great on men and women. Materials : Worsted weight yarn in 2 colors (2 oz each), K hook.   Pattern: Instructions are for average/large adult size. Work with both colors together throughout .   Start: (Both threads on hook) Make the Base as written in the Basic Hat Pattern BUT start rows with ch2 (not ch3)  AND use hdc in place of dc. Work until the underlined number is 4. Rnd 7: Ch 2. Hdc into next st and into each st around (60 sts total). Sl st into 2 nd ch of ch2. Rnd 8 - 13: Repeat Rnd 7 , 6 times . Rnd 14: Ch 2. Hdc into same st, hdc into each of next 5 sts. *Work 2 hdc into next st, hdc ...

Alrighty... now that my basic Beer Can Hat pattern is being circulated, I'm inspired. I just picked up some PBR and I'm ready to get started on the PBR Pimp Daddy Hat, which I made for my brother's 21st birthday lo those many years ago. Back then, as college students, we all drank it so the cans were easy to come by. These days I tend toward bottles... not sure I'll be able to stomach actually drinking the Pabst. But the cans still hold some party magic, rest assured. I'm also working on an idea for a Rock Star Can Tiara for my birthday next week. Oh, and a granny square hat. It's way too much fun...  Hoping to have a new pattern ready by the end of this weekend. Rock on.

  **Update! April 2022** My first ALL NEW Beer Can Hat Tutorial and video is up!! Woohoo! Many more tutorials coming, this is just the beginning! *New* 3-in-1 Beer Can Party Hat Tutorial - Part 1: The Crown   !!More details and a preview video:  Coming Soon! NEW *Creative* Beer Can Hat Tutorials   *The Best* Beer Can Party Hat Crochet Tutorial     (continued from Part 2 )  See Crochet Basics for stitch descriptions and abbreviations.   5. Make the Base (Top):   I call this part of the hat the Base because that's where a hat usually begins. Crochet the Base of the hat from the Basic Hat Pattern . Work in the dc stitches as described until the underlined number is 4. You should end up with a nice circle that has 60 sts around the outer edge. Do not tie off. 6. Join the Base to the Crown: Hold the Crown and the Base wrong sides together with the labels facing you and matching up the stitches as you work. Sl st into any st at to...

My girl Panda likes to sleep outside. In the summer, she likes sleeping on the dirt and grass... but now that it's winter and rainy, she can't really sleep in the mud. So she lays on the cement, which is not very easy on her old bones. I wanted to make her a dog bed that would be soft and weather resistant. I looked around the net for instructions and found nothing, so I thought I'd post my own How To Make an Outdoor Dog Bed project. Here you go... Honestly, I wasn't sure what to make it out of... I went to the fabric store to see what I could find. Here's what I bought: 1 yd Vinyl upholstery fabric (54" wide) 1 yd wool/polyester twill fabric (54" wide) 1 22" zipper Heavy duty sewing machine needles Starting with the vinyl, fold the fabric in half short-ways, to make the widest rectangle you can and measure it. Mine came out to 27" across by 36" long. Fold it right sides together so the edges match all around. On one short end...

(From my stash of little articles written about 10 yrs ago... I've not changed my mind. In fact the 70s styles are even more popular today. Woot.) Let's not forget those awesome days of yore...when crafting and needlework were having a real heyday.  No, not the Renaissance, nor the Victorian era, classic though they may be. I am referring to the colorful and creative 1970s.  I am a child of that period, and as such took part in nearly every creative whim of my parents...latch hook, crochet, needlepoint, crewel. And do I recall some of those cellophane dipped flowers and some sort of toxic resin plaques? Yes, those were the days. Funk was the norm and looking through my mom's craft book collection was so much rainy day fun.    "Granny Square Vest Family" painted from a 70s crochet pattern booklet I have now amassed my own impressive collection of craft books, also of the 70s variety.  Most of these (surprise) relate to working with fibers in so...