Cold Winds ~ Hot Cocoa ~ Warm Scarves

As the daily highs here in Wisconsin start to plummet I find myself enjoying hot chocolate, a warm fire and a new soft and cozy scarf...  

I always kid that I would love to move to warmer temperatures.  Especially when the winds really settle in, when the snow makes it virtually impossible to drive, when it is dark when I get up in the morning and dark long before supper each night... But, then who would drink my stash of flavored hot chocolates, my cozy warm fireplace would never get used AND I wouldn't have a reason to wrap a different soft & beautiful scarf around my neck each day!

Felted Wool

The thing I love most about felting is the uncertainty. I hand knit wool pieces that start out obnoxiously large and then I shrink them. Each one taking on a unique shape and style. To me wool yarn has a mind of its own when felted. It takes on a personality. When I make my bowls and wine bottle cozies I never quite know exactly how I will end up using them or what I will try to sell them for until after the felting process is complete. What starts out as a wine cozy may shrink down to a point that its personality is more suited as a bowl to hold candies or paper clips. Or maybe it would look great with a plant placed inside or to hold a little girls precious hair clips.

In addition to the personality of the wool, I love to add various textures to incorporate more depth to my items. The colors and combination possibilities are never ending and no two are ever alike! The many eyelash yarns that are available add some fun and silly to the finished piece and make me smile! They become a conversation piece - a feeling of "I want this, this is really fun... what could I use this for?"

Oodles Of Noodles ~ Unique Newborn/Baby/Child Photography Props

I hate to admit it... I'm an etsy alchemy junkie! I often scroll through the pages to see what others are looking for in the hopes that I might be offered a custom bid order or find an interesting piece that I can't get out of my mind. It was through such a search that the Oodles Of Noodles Fringe Blanket Photography Prop was born! I saw something similar during my searches through alchemy land and bid to create it. The custom piece was not offered to me but I simply couldn't get it out of my mind! And the rest, as they say, is history! I absolutely LOVE the way it turned out (so much better then the description, if I do say so myself). The blanket color possibilities are endless and being the yarn fanatic that I am, the added fringe just about puts me over the top! I'm in yarn heaven when I go to the yarn shop to pick out colors, textures, patterns, designs to coordinate and compliment. And, it goes without saying that the thought of creating something that will be used to forever capture a special moment in time of someone's precious little one... PRICELESS!