Biz Baz Report

Well the Biz Baz was a success! It was loads of fun, lots of work but I so enjoy making things that it hardly seems like work. I do admit I needed a few days of rest without creating ANYTHING but now I am raring to go! I did overwork my hands somewhat so am only knitting a small amount right now. Here is a view of the table...

If you zoom into it you can see the felted cat toys which were hugely popular as well as the sample book scarfs. The scented eye pillow were really well liked and I am sure enjoying mine. There are still items left if you are interested in ordering any thing from the Biz Baz just e-mail me at rocketmom67@yahoo.com

I have a variety of scarves, some fun glass bead necklaces, Dysfunctional Christmas Cards, purses, button jewelry, recycled hand warmers, cat toys and eye pillows. If you have any questions, just contact me and ask!

Here is a close up of the Coffee Lady Coasters:

In the background is a felted purse and in the foregrown is a fabric bowl. The coasters were sold but the purse and bowl are available.

Here is one of the eye pillows. This one is the Restore formula. It does wonders for clogged sinuses. 30 seconds in the mircowave and it does wonders!


Just let me know if you are interested and we can make arrangements before the holidays!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by, took a look, helped out, made a purchase etc. It was all appreciated and definately the first of annual event!

A Sad Day at Our House

Sir Bubo Wilson

2007-2008

Beloved Pet and Furry Friend

R.I.P.

Today our beloved pet rat died. It may sound strange to be so heartbroken over a rat but he was like a member of our family. He was out of his cage most of the time and since we brought him home at 6 weeks old his feet seldom touched the floor. He was even scared of it in the beginning. He would only be on me or Jacob or in his box. He got much braver and would stalk around a bit but never got into much mischief. He was the most loving little critter. Jacob named him Bubo--like Bubonic--and the silliness of the name seemed to suit him. He became ill right before he turned a year old and we went to the vet. He was diagnosed with rat lice (from the wood chips) and chronic respitory problems. He took several rounds of antibiotics but would always get sick again. I started with homeopathic remedies and he has some better days and weeks then others. He got lots and lots of loving but we could tell he was not quite himself anymore. He rarely ventured off the couch or our laps. He was having difficulty breathing--quite a bit the last couple of days and even had difficulty moving around at all. I was feeling like we were in "rat hospice" mode. Last night he was particularly weak and would not take water from me. Today, more of the same. We went out and left him with a heat bag on the sofa. We came home and he was stretched out in a sun beam. I laid down to take a nap with him and he was restless. He couldn't settle and his breathing seemed to slow and he reared his head up a couple of times and then got real still. I was holding him and felt him pass away. We shed a lot of tears tonight. He will be creamated at the humane society where I know they will take good care of him. They were very sweet when we stood in the lobby sobbing saying good bye to our favorite little furry critter. It is very empty in the living room tonight. I keep coming in and looking for Bubo so he can curl up in my lap while I type. Who would have known a family could have grown so attached to a rat! He was by far the coolest pet we have ever had!

Gearing up for the Holidays!

Well is has all been made official and I am a participant in this years Bizare Bizaar in Lawrence, Kansas. Here is a link with all the cool artist and details of the show...

http://www.bizbazart.com

It is always well attended and LOTS of fun. This will be my first time as a seller and I am nervous and excited. I am sharing space with a talented potter--Sharon Moreland. I am sure our table will be fabulous! I am finishing up some very cute cat toys, Sample Book Scarves, recycled felt products, glass marble necklaces, orginal collage jewelery and the ever popular nose warmers! (Plus whatever else I can get done by then! ) Don't forget the DysFUNctional Family Christmas Cards for those whose holiday memories were not alway Merry! I had a lot of fun with those last year.

Here is a Sample Book Scarf I made for myself. There will be another red one but may have different color lining. These are turning out really pretty.

I put one of my temari balls in the Unity Gallery art show. It helps to be on the gallery team but I think it look quite nice hang there. I will have a few of those at the Biz Baz as well. I am starting one called "Here Comes the Sun" that is made from a recycled core of grocery sacks and is wrapped in vintage thread from old wooden spools. Quite lovely!

This is a 16 division and was inspired by the Eckert Tolle book A New Earth, hence the title. I was finishing this up while we were having a study group with the book. This ball is called: "Flowers: The First Recognition of Beauty"

Here is a detail shot of it. It reminds me of a lotus flower seen here at my orthodontist office...

These are so beautiful!

This is the reason I was at the orthodontist office although one of us has graduated...can you guess who it is...

I better get busy...I surely must be stitching something!

More from Sparks...

Well, the time finally came when my overflowing crafting room had to be cleaned. (Thanks mom and Cathy!). I had a GIANT bunk bed in there and someone at work needed a bunk bed for a family so I gladly offered it up but it was barricaded in my craft room by all the treasures I hunted down this summer--including my recent Sparks excursion! Well now everything is stacked neatly. I am a little afraid I will not be able to find things but glad to have it more stacked then piled--a gatherer would understand the difference!

Here are more from our time in Sparks. I saw Cheryl today and she is trying to convince her husband to sell his wonderful, hand-made porch swings at Sparks next time around. She is thinking that her and I can sell some things too! We tend to gather so much that it would be nice to sift through it and sell some so we can get some more!

Here is Cheryl looking at some western stuff.








Sparks can be full of extremes from junk piles:

To gorgeous glass. I am not a collector of glass. I tend to be quite clumsy and break a lot of things so collectible glass ware is not something I seek out but thought this display was stunning:

Cheryl's friend Sally found this really awesome game board. It has metal tubes in the sides to store the marble for the Chinese Checkers board. Sally found some extra marbles to so now it is a complete set. There is another board on the other side but I am not sure what game it is. I thought this was very unique and I had never seen anything like it.

This vendor has some neat stuff but it is stored in a structure that has tarps for sides and it piled so high that you feel like you need to take a shower when you come out. I have found some interesting stuff in there but it tends to need a lot of TLC.

I love old patterns and thought this was a nice display. I did not purchase these but have some similar ones in my stash. This are has some really nice restored furniture.

Here is a typical street scene...

More stuff and things...




and finally...

My best treasure of the day!

I have wanted one of these step stool/seats for a long time. My grandma had something similar but with out the very cool steps that come out. I found one for $17 and was going to go back and get it but Cheryl spotted this for $10! It has just been marked down so I snatched it up. Fortunately, I had another awesome garage sale find with me...

My little red wagon! (plus several bungee cords!) This is a must have for any serious junker! It was so nice not to have to carry everything on our backs and in our hands. OR to leave it for pick up later and try to remember everything place we had to go!

This wagon was like my chariot! I was very pleased with it! ($5 at a local garage sale!)

So now the season of gathering is over and the fun begins. I have a table at a local event entitled Bizarre Bazaar the Saturday after Thanksgiving so have to get down to creating masterpieces that folks think will make great holiday gifts!

Cheryl and I are gearing up for the Maple Leaf Festival in Baldwin City, http://www.mapleleaffestival.com/about.htm

It is a really fun crafters show, along with other events in the town. They have a great little quilt shop that I enjoy visiting. Fall is coming and time to curl up with warm fuzzy things! I love fall, that and spring are my favorite seasons. It seems that we may have a nice one this year--not too short!

Spark-a-licious!

Well, yesterday was my semi-annual trip to the Sparks Flea Market in Sparks, Kansas http://www.sparksfleamarket.com/ . 500ish vendors of fine, quality junk, antiques, fair food, and anything a true junker would desire! My friend Cheryl and her friend Sally decended on Sparks about 10:00. There is tons of free parking and we have found that the August show is a better place for deals. I found many $1 tables and got to stuff a bag with VINTAGE fabric and linens for $2.00!!!! Let me tell you, I can stuff a bag. I came away with a vintage apron, 2 linen table cloths, a multitude of Irish and English linen kitchen towels and silk galore!

The displays run the full range from neatly arranged, air-conditioned trailers to dusty, dirty piles to dig through! The one thing that everyone has in common is the pursuit for the treasured item of the day. See Cheryl's saddle below...

At the first $1 table I encountered, I found a zinc lid mason jar filled with colorful rocks. I thought the rocks would make great charms. I cleaned it out this morning only to discover the rocks were actually antique candy! EEEWWWW! I got a lovely a Mason jar for a buck but no pretty rocks. Here is a pic of one similar to mine...perfect condition and no chips. Mine is not quite a blue but has the zinc lid.

Here is Cheryl with her prize saddle! She is decorating her living room in a western theme. She found this adorable child's saddle in great shape for $50! The other saddles were running about $150 and were not in as great of shape as this one.

Stay tuned for more images and stories from Sparks...And my treasured item of the trip! It is always such a good weekend and Cheryl and I look forward to it every May and August. Now Sally is on board and we are a trio of junkers in pursuit of the awesome deal, the diamond in the rough, the potential of old, broken and rusty things!

Bizarre Bazaar and ravelry.com

The registration form just came for Bizarre Bazaar! This will be my first "official" show to sell things...I am going to be very busy this summer! The show is on November 29th. I am very exctied about it and nervous too. I am still tossing around ideas of things to make so have to get those creative juices flowing.

I went to Wichita last weekend to see my baby cousin and her baby. He is so adorable! There is a new yarn store there called Twist. It was adorable and I scored some awesome yarn! They also introducted me to www.ravelry.com I had a log-in but had not checked out the site much. It is very cool! If you have some yarn and are not sure what to do with it, you can type in the name and see what other people are making! Also, if you have a pattern from a popular book you can see how other people have made it. That was a great feature as I did not have the book with me and wanted to check out the yarn for it. The demand for log-ins is so great that there is a waiting list but it is definately worth the wait. You can also find local yarnaholics and Stitch and Bitch type group. There are groups for everything on there. It is a great community!

Toooooo Muuuuuchhhhhh Snoooooowwww!

Well, it has been a while since I posted. I have been recovering from the Christmas rush and hibernating from the snow. We have had more snow this year then any year I have lived in Kansas. I am a native Californian and it took me 5 years of living her to learn how to dress for going out in the winter! I still cannot do the cold one day, warm the next dance! Ugh! I wore sandals today in 67 degree weather but just saw a winter weather advisory! Doesn't anyone know that spring starts this month! It is March 1st! No more snow! I do hear that the wet winter will make for lovely spring growth but still it is too much. I have been buying seed like crazy just anticipating the time I can get outside and play in the dirt!

As for wintertime creativity, I have created a couple rag quilts--one as a baby gift and one for Jacob. I enjoyed it so much I am gathering fabric to make myself one in my new bedroom color--medium lavender and chocolate brown! mmmmm yummy!

I have also recently, been exploring the world of freeform knitting and crocheting. I learned about it by listening to a book on MP3 called Chicks with Sticks. There are two books and they are in the young adult genre--mindless, mostly and attention getting--exactly what I need for my 40 minute commute in which I cannot knit (or otherwise occupy myself) and drive. There was a girl with a learning disability who had limited reading and counting skills--of course this goes straight to the heart of a school social worker! Anyway, she has quite a fashion sense and gets frustrated with the whole pattern scene and meets "freeformers". I did not really think much of it until I plugged it into Google for kicks and was AMAZED at the beauty I beheld! Try it! Type in "freeform Knitting" and see what you get. There are some galleries on flicker as well as some artists out there that are amazing. I am working on a piece for fun and am not sure what it is but I am having a blast imaging a shape in my head and actually being able to knit the curve and shapes! There is some crochet too. I have never considered myself a designer and any attempt to alter a pattern or just pick up and knit something has failed miserably so being able to just knit whatever and hook it together is pretty cool. I am not sure what my creation will be--maybe a purse???

I went to a local knitting group and there was only one other gal and myself! We were both first timers at the group and the only ones who showed up! (I have since learned that they meet at the Merc on the 2nd and 4th Satrudays at 3:30 and NOT at Mirth!) but Shelby is an amazing knitter whose mom teaches classes at our LYS. She was making the most amazing Fair Isle sweater from the cover of Interweave Knits! I was blown away and have since been inspired to consider making a vest! I know, I have never considered making myself clothes because, well frankly, it would cost a fortune in yarn! I have begun contemplating unraveling thrift store wool sweaters for this purpose because I figure if it fits well then there is enough yarn to re-knit into a sweater! I am working on a ugly shade of pink cashmere/silk twin set. I never wanted to get rid of it because it is cashmere (puuurrrrr) but it is a ghastly shade of pale pink--really it does ex hist. I figured with some unraveling and some dye--maybe even koolaid that I could have some pretty yarn! Oh and I also finished a pair of cashmere, wool, cotton, angora (Cashcotton) 1/2 gloves with a mit flap. They are so cozy! Looks like I will need them tomorrow!

Check back for pics soon...Keep thinking spring!