52 hats in a year

52 Hats in a year was my goal starting last August.  I have a couple months to go and I am doing well with getting them done.  I counted today and I have 45 finished hats.  Since I keep a bag with something to work on while I wait for things like the dentist and the oil to be changed and I always have something going by my chair in the living room, I have 2 more half finished.

Last fall when I went and stayed in Florida with my parents for several weeks, a really good family friend and their next door neighbor gave me a big box of coned yarn that she had from when she did a lot of machine knitting. Some of it is very fine lace weight so I have just been combining several strands as seems fitting to make a hat.  I finished several hats while I was staying in Florida and then I had to fly home so the yarn stayed at mom and dad's until we went down last month.  

 

These are the hats I have finished the last couple of weeks since we got home from our trip.  Thank you Miss Betty for the yarn for these.  I didn't even put a dent in the cones to make these and my mom sent yarn home with me as well so I will have to just keep making hats until August when the show is. Of course I did buy some yarn for myself a sweater while we were at Stitches so I might just have to stop when I reach 52 and make my sweater.

 

This is one of my favorites from this batch.  I almost forgot to tell you what the hats are all for.  At the Stitches Events that I am a vendor there is a group called Halos for Hope that collect handmade hats for cancer patients.  The hats will all go to this project and the group sends them all over the country to where they are needed.

Sunflower Buttons

Last week a customer from Minneapolis, Susan Felix contacted me about getting a sunflower button so she could make another bracelet to donate as a fund raiser for Minnesota Limes Association. She made this bracelet with one of my beads she got at the Hopkins Bead show.

She says,
"My sister and I learned how to macramé from Stephanie Sersich at the Milwaukee Bead and Button Show."

I of course couldn't make just one button for her to choose from.  So now that she has decided which ones she wants I am going to get some pictures ready to list a couple of them on Etsy.  Keep an eye on the shop for the next couple of days I am not sure when I will get them listed.

Just in time.

 I finished up these new shawl pins just in time to take with me when we leave to head south. 

 I didn't finish as many as I would have liked but they are new and I really like them.  They are long and will really work nicely in a heavy shawl or sweater.

I also finished up a few of these smaller ones that have a fun little clip that will hold your stitch markers.  Now I think I had better go pack or I will be wearing the same cloths every day because I forgot something.

Lots of new Buttons

Lots and lots of new buttons have been carded and are ready to head south to Atlanta.  We are leaving here just as the weather is finally beginning to warm up.  It was snowing Sunday and today it is supposed to be in the low 60's.

We will be at the Stitches South Show in a little over a week.  If you are in the Atlanta area please come out and visit us.

Revisiting Beads

 I ran out of little frog beads at the show in Minneapolis a couple of weeks ago and I had not made little fish beads in a very long while.  So...........

 ..............I thought I should make some of each.  And I have a couple of customers who have already spoken for several of these.  The little fish are so cute but their tail fins make them hard to photograph.  I need to make up some earrings out of both kinds of beads but that will have to wait until next week.

We are headed out before dawn in the morning in I guess about 2 inches of snow if the weatherman is right.  We have a show called the Art Glass and bead Show in Madison WI this weekend.  Click on the show name for a link if you are any where near for all the info.  It is a really nice show with a great variety of vendors and classes.

New Mixed Media Cords

Last week just before (I mean just, as in Thursday when we were leaving Friday)  we left to go to the Twin Cities Bead Bazaar I made these mixed media cords. I had the idea Wednesday and just had to try it out and make them up.   I am using all of my fiber stash to make them.  There are sparkly metallic fibers from my stash of serger threads and lovely shiny satin fibers.  They feel just fantastic.

 I had to figure out packaging really fast, so I don't know if this is how they will stay but it works for now.  And they hung nicely on my rack with the necklace displayed below.

I also had to have a display and while this is not as fancy as I have in my head it does show how you can use the cording.  The cords seemed to go over pretty well I had to come home and make some more to take to my next show in Madison next weekend.

Customer Request

I had a customer request puppy dogs.  Sculpture is not really my thing so it has taken me a while to work these out.  I do finally like them.  Now to find out if she likes them.  Don't forget I will be at the Twin Cities Bead Bazaar this weekend make sure to check it out.