festivities and friends

The past few days have included:

- a tour of the 2nd floor collection at the Springfield Armory

- Christmas by Candlelight celebration at Old Sturbridge Village

- a secret project unlike anything I've ever tried before, using Honduran rosewood

- a festive afternoon with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra



- a date with my husband (gasp!), hanging with old friends, drinking good beer and seeing live music, including one guy on stage that I've been seeing for, oh, 25 years now. (Hi, Pril!)

- bead sales, soap sales, and possibly felt sales when we weren't even trying

- two starts to another baby hat in an attempt to get gauge, so far without success. Third try is planned for tonight, after I get home from working on another secret project, this time with cocobolo

- attempting to take passport renewal photos for my kids without having them look like mug shots

- lacemaking lessons and ornaments in progress

- and a teeny tiny imp who is living here for 2 weeks and getting a phenomenal amount of attention until he arrives at his permanent home with Z-man (see Santa pic above) on Christmas morning. Shhhh...this little bugger (3 lbs.) is a big secret to keep from Zach!

 

I can't believe it has come to this

Reminder: The subject of this post is a Super Secret Xmas Surprise for Zach. Please help us keep the secret by not discussing in Z's vicinity!

Yes, indeed, I have sunk to a new low. I always thought dressing dogs in sweaters and coats was dumb, but I guess that's because I have a Very Big and Furry Dog. But then this adorable little foster pup entered our lives and we fell in love with him and then we noticed that he shivers like crazy when he's outside in the cold. So what's a crafty gal to do? Fashion him a coat of hand-felted wool, of course! We used this free pattern as a guide, making a prototype out of some scrap fabric and modifying size/shape to fit the little Squirt. Still needs some modifications and who knows how practical it will really be, but it will definitely keep his skinny little bod warm.

Since a few people have asked, I suppose I should point out that, yes, it will be able to go into the wash. This is wool that's already been shrunk and felted, so the washing machine is fine for it. I have a big sheet of this felt, so if he ends up wearing a coat on a regular basis, his permanent family can always make some more of them for him to wear while one's in the wash.

The very first time we took him out in his coat, the first person we met was a nice woman whose Italian Greyhound was wearing a sweater. She gushed about how pretty the Squirt's coat is, wanted to know where we got it, and how she could get (make) one of her own. She'll be coming over soon for an evening of feltmaking. We learned that she used to make lampwork beads, so I'm very much looking forward to getting to know her better. :-) So apparently we're not the only family wrapped around someone's furry little paw and I guess that's not such a bad place to be.