this little guy was waiting for me when i returned from my thanksgiving trip.  he is the first ornament i’ve received from the ornament swap.  i just love him!  thank you, norma!  to see pictures of the whole lot, see norma’s blog.  my camera died JUST as i snapped the two seen above.  (darn!  i really wanted to capture the icy tops of the grass outside of the studio today.)

back in baltimore again!

half of this hat was knit in the car on the way home from upstate new york yesterday. i’ve never knit in the car before and am so happy to learn that i am able to do it without any motion sickness. it helps that the majority of the hat is knit in stockinette stitch, so i’m not required to watch my work so much.

to my surprise, i only used one skein of yarn to complete this project. this means i have a whole skein of yarn leftover to make a second hat now. woohoo! i am really enjoying laura irwin’s patterns. you can view an interview with her right here.

hello again!  i hope everyone is having a wonderful mini-vacation relaxing and reflecting with your loved ones.  i’ve been missing in action for the past few days due to studio madness and travel preparations.  i’m coming to you now from upstate new york- though i’ve spent many a holiday here, the weather and landscape are still a shock to me  (you can take the girl out of florida, but. . . ).

yesterday i cooked up three vegan dishes for thanksgiving dinner- i gave the sheperdess pie (recipe from veganomicon) another go, because i love it so much, but i feel as if the tempeh was a little bitter this time.  i also made roasted brussel sprouts and gingerbread apple crumble pie (recipe from vegan with a vengeance).  i sufficiently  burned the bottom crust of the pie onto the pie pan, but other than that, it was quite tasty!  next time i use a pyrex pie plate i will remember to spray it with oil first- oops!

these photos are of the dishes before went into the oven.  by the time everything was baked, it was just too dark for pictures.  next year, i’d love to host an ALL vegan thanksgiving in good old baltimore.

psssst. . ..

*black friday coupon code HANDMADE2008 at checkout for 15% off of your order.  available immediately in the webshop.  please type in notes to seller upon checkout in the etsy shop for a refund upon shipment

french lessons part 2 (earrings) made the front page! thank you etsy!

there is just nothing as soothing as knitting to unwind from a long day. last night, i finished a hat from my new knitting book. here is the picture from the book.

and here it is on me! one knit gift completed! i had to mattress stitch the seam together and you know what? i didn’t even complain about it. i almost enjoyed it even

are you on ravelry? if so, i’d love to be your friend! my username is imogeneandannie.

participating artists:

imogene
Jaime Zollars
Jon Wye
Kitten Rocks Well
60 Bugs
Woolarina
blugrn design
Fisticuffs Leather
George Ryan
Ruth Bard
this chickadee
Spaghetti Kiss

this here is pearl. i found her on the turkey adoption list over at the adopt-a-turkey project, run by farm sanctuary. please click on the links to find out how you can help turkeys just like her.

vegan with a vengeance finally arrived on my doorstep yesterday. the first recipe i tried out was chocolate chip cookies. as you can see above, joey supervised the baking the whole way through. he thought he would get to do some taste testing for all of his hard work, but this was not the case. i’m sure he would have found them as delicious and crispy as i did. (i wonder if they are meant to be this crispy?)

i also finished the mittens i had to frog the other night. well, they are CLOSE to finished. i still have to sew the seams (my least favorite part) i have no idea why these are not knit in the round. is it possible to tweak the pattern so that i can knit in the round? clues, anyone? - i just thought of that right now.  i also picked up four new skeins of yarn from lovely yarns (two of which are locally dyed) to start my next two projects- hats from my other new book, boutique knits.  yippie! time to make a hot beverage and get to knitting! tomorrow after yoga class, liz and i are getting together for a serious gocco/rubber stamping/card making session in the studio- photos to come!

My line of jewelry for Design and Production is done!  Here it is, all colorful with rubber and with it’s packaging.

The packaging didn’t go over the best but I had kept it pretty basic and wasn’t surprised. I had some really good suggestions for packaging in the future and I’m really excited about that.

Really the most unfortunate part is that I had an allergic reaction while mixing the liquid rubber together for 4 days and have broken out in a rash on my face and arms.  It’s pretty awful.  This has never happened to me before.  I have decently bad allergies but they’re more of the sneeze and cough kind. But I went to the doctor and got medicine and it should clear up soon! Can’t wait for that….

That’s all I’ve got.  Hopefully next time I post, this mess will be gone and I will be in a much better, less rashy mood! Have a good weekend!

i ran out briefly today to pick up some raw materials at my favorite local supply shop, terra firma. while i was there, i happened to see a very reasonably priced alphabet and numbers stamp set. guess what came home with me along with the raw materials? i’ve always wanted one of these. now what to do with them? hmmm.

not only did i pick up materials, clean the studio, and make some jewelry, i also organized my photography area. here are a few fabric samples that i may use in the future in my photographs. i’ve had these forever, but i’m atrocious at sewing and can’t bear to destash!

only a few more hours until the weekend begins! i’m off to update the main shop site with the holiday line.

i’ve said it before. i’ll say it again: I LOVE BALTIMORE. thank you baltimore magazine for dedicating an ENTIRE issue to local craft and shopping.

above you will find an excerpt from the magazine. my favorite part reads, “One of the most charming things about Charm City crafters is the assistance and advice they offer to each other- often traveling together to shows and promoting each other’s work.”

i love you, fellow crafters!

xoxo,

annie

p.s. i think i’ve finally received closure from the SNAG and confessions ordeal through the little interview that runs on page 111. next up for me: i smell a baltimore inspired line in 2009 . . .

the fabulous ez over at creature comforts shows us how to make pom-poms from plastic bags!