new ezine

I thought I'd share the website for a new craft ezine. It's done by Chloe Nightingale and it's pretty cool

chloe@galvanic.co.uk
http://www.galvanic.co.uk

I just love the sock doll on the front, but I'm a fool for sock dolls.
Speaking of socks, I just finished my youngest sister's hot pink socks. (Did I say I was working on them?) They aren't as cool as my "Jupiter socks" as my husband calls them, but still pretty cool, I think. I got to use some fabric paint on the bottom so she can wear them as slipper socks. Or more correctly, "non-slipping socks".

Check out the ezine. As always, I don't get a kickback but I can be bought;)












Link

new crochet magazine

Interweave Press is coming out with their spring crochet magazine on April 10, 2007. Nope, I don't get a kickback from them, but I love their magazines.
SO if you want a sneak preview, here's the site:

Click here: Interweave Crochet Spring 2007

pet hair sweater

You probably heard of the video where the woman had the cat hair knitted sweater. I had always thought cat hair was too short to spin, but this was a long haired cat. It was not cheap to have enough yarn made to make a sweater, but it's her business what she does with her money.
Anyway, if you're interested in seeing the video or maybe having your pet's hair spun into yarn, here's the website. You wouldn't have to get enough made to make a sweater (unless you want). You could get enough for a pair of mittens or a scarf. You can even buy yarn spun from other animals if you don't have a pet of yor own and you are interested in yarn that's a bit different. No, I don't get a kickback from the company.
http://vipfibers.com/index.html

I have 3 cats and a bunny here and never thought about spinning their yarn. The (sort of) sad part is Cadbury (the bunny) is an angora and has lovely fur. But I thought I don't need any more hobbies;) I have seen, at the Sheep & Wool Festival, people spinning the yarn right off of their bunnies. I don't think Cadbury would go for that - unless there was a marathon of "South Park" on at the time. For some reason, he is fascinated by that show. Right now, when I give him his haircut, I give the fur to my older sister. Her dogs like the smell of it.


Oh, yes, this has nothing to do with crocheting, but it's very important for those of you who have pets. There has been a recall of pet food. If you have a cat or dog, please check this out for their health.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-18-pet-food-recall_N.htm

1970's crochet

If you have been crocheting for a while, you've heard of Vashti Braha. You've probably seen her patterns all over the place. She's on the CGOA board of directors.
M's Braha is performing a valuable service for all of us who want to know what crochet was like in the 1970s. She is reviewing the 70s crochet books on her blog. If you want to see what techniques and patterns were available to the '70s crocheter, you can read the reviews and think "oh, _wow_" or maybe even "OH_WOW_" epending on what particular book is reviewed. And for some of the books (the Judith Copland "Modular Crochet"), this may be as close as you get to it. That book goes for a fortunate on EBay and I am looking forward to finding out why when M's Braha reviews it.
Here's the link - and remember, M's Braha is reading and reviewing these books so you don't have to;)

http://designingvashti.blogspot.com/index.html



_enjoy_

something about PussyFoot

PussyFoot is our oldest cat (since Houdini died last year) and our only female cat. She is definitely "Princess FurSoSoft" and she never lets anyone forget it. Would she lay on a thrift shop sweater that was purchased just to take apart? _NO_! She has to lay on a chenille poncho I made for myself. (Yes, the thrift shop sweater was also chenille, but the poncho was Lion Brand "Thick and Quick" chenille;))

I crocheted a small round bed for her, which she sleeps on a lot. She had surgery late last year to remove 2 cancerous growths and we weren't quite sure how she was going to handle it. She has come back pretty good. She even has a new favorite cat toy - a pattern by Jean Leinhauser of a cat toy. She will run up and bat it around. Since she's at least 14 years old, I'm surprised how kittenish she is with the toy.

So in honor of the pattern writer of PussyFoot's new fave toy, I have a link to an interview with Jean Leinhauser.

http://www.crochetinsider.com/JeanLeinhauser.html





Link

Cooking with Paula Deen and Crochet

I have to admit when I was standing in line at Joann's ETC or whatever it's called this week, I wasn't looking at Paula Deen holding a plate of brownies, thinking "I bet there's something about crochet in there." Instead, I was thinking "oooh, those brownies look _good_" as if I need more brownies or even another recipe for brownies. But buy it I did...

But there's an article called "Worth Collecting" that is about displaying vintage crochet. Some vintage crochet is displayed in what I consider the "usual way" - edging for shelves. But there are also some displays of the crochet used as curtains. Pretty cool stuff. I did especially like the tea cozy, just beautiful. I have few pieces of vintage crochet, but it is inspiring to see it displayed in the windows. She makes the suggestion of using ribbons to tie the crochet to the curtain rods, so there isn't undue stress of the crochet.

So I got another new recipe for brownies and some photos of vintage crochet - pretty good deal, I think....

www.pauladeenmagazine.com

kitten and yarn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZJGdPS0k7g

This is so cute. And the yarn looks terrific, too.