Crafting365; day fourteen: Washable stuffed animals

These two went through the washer yesterday after they were made.
The terrycloth one is an experiment.
I'll be taking it into the bath with Esme today as a washcloth toy ;)
I'm very happy about Mousebear being a washable stuffed animal,and a handmade one, at that! When Esme spits up on him, he just goes away for a few hours and comes back clean. I tried making some mousebears out of different materials for a customer at the shop and washed them. 'Washing non-calico bearmice intrigues me.' HEH. Good experiments, anyway.


I love these bowls I got yesterday, lots of room for putting small toys in. I got five of them in different colors for the MamaMade show. I'm going to have a mousebear or rabbit-making day and fill them up, soon.

Crafting365; day 13: Cappuccino anyone? A sewn coffee cup pincushion

I'm sure you've seen those cup of joe coffee cup pincushions and crocheted teacup pincushions out there in blogland. Where are the sewn versions for these? There are versions that use an actual teacup as well. But I implore, where are the plush coffee cups? There are softie versions of lots of other felt food and treats.

I didn't want to knit or crochet and was having a hard time finding a pattern for a sewn coffee cup pincushion. I decided it was up to me to make one.

Here are my first efforts. The handle needs to be up higher and maybe add a rim to the cup on the next one but this one makes me quite happy just the way it is. I think the button really makes it and need to go look for more similar buttons today.

I'll be working on this pattern for the shop after I make a few :)

Crafting365; day 12: Some sewing patterns have sane sizing

Some sewing patterns have sane sizing
say that ten times fast... ;)


These fit!
Even though she is only four months old, most of the 'store-bought' clothes Esme now wears are 6 months size. I've made three pairs of baby pants, 12 mo, 6 mo and 3 month sizes. The 3 month size fits her. Apparently there are still 'sanely-sized' clothing patterns in the world. I also saved each of the other sizes on newspaper as I cut down the pattern to 'small' - so no worrying about when she outgrows this size :)


A custom dolly order for the shop
for a special little girl on her way to America.

Custom Soft Toys available at KnitOwl shop

Custom make-to-order baby toys in the KnitOwl shop.



1. Mousebears : Machine washable soft baby toys
2. Custom rag dolls for babies in your choice of hair color
3. Custom horse softies and zebra toys
4. Choose your own colors pairs of Alien Monster dolls
5. Machine washable cotton bunny toys

Crafting365; day 11: Snowbunnies and sweet faces

For Phyllistene:
Squeaker is getting big!


We had snow here last night!
It was enough for me to make a snowbunny ;)
That counts as my Crafting365 entry today.

And Esme is getting so strong!
Here she is being cute for me.

I made baby pants last night. However, I made the wrong size (eep). I made the medium which ends up being 12 month size. They're put away for later and I am now making a six-months size pair. Pants are not difficult. The hardest part was getting the idea that when the pattern says to put one leg right-side-out inside the other (inside-out) - it is to sew the 'front-to-back' seam.' I stared at that picture on the pattern HARD and finally the idea crystallized 'OH - DUH...' and I was making pants. ;)

Crafting365; day ten: Revisiting Dream bags or I play with string again

Green dream bag

This is a little narrower than MY dream bag I finished earlier last year. This one is for the shop. I really enjoy the process of my dream bag. I hope to share that process with others who would be open to the idea of trying to use their dreams as a tool to better self-awareness. Many cultures believe in the power of dreams. It was one of the things I was fascinated by in my anthropology courses (I was an Anth minor ).

The process of dreaming:

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Dreams are often not just nonsense. Some of the symbols that appear, especially recurring ones, are there for a reason. They just need to be understood and then used to translate what the rest of the dream is saying. Once we understand what a dream is saying it can be directed and used as a reflecting tool for our waking lives.

Often a nagging problem can be solved in dreams because our dream self is not restricted by physics and time - we can go anywhere, do almost anything, if only we become aware we are dreaming. This is called 'lucid dreaming.' Realizing you are aware and able to direct things in a dream is an awesome feeling, even though it is often short-lived and the inexperienced dreamer can easliy wake themselves up as soon as they realize things 'aren't real.'

So, what are dream bags?

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Dream bags are put under your pillow, or on your bedside table. The bag itself is slightly symbolic in colors and materials, but is mostly about durability and being a pretty object :)

What is inside a dream bag is the most important part of the process. A favorite piece of jewelry (perhaps from a loved one?), a special token or totem symbol, gemstones or semi-precious stones symbolizing the things you wish to dream about and other objects that have special meaning to you. These items are placed in the bag in a hope to direct your subconscious thoughts into dreaming about the ideas they represent. A dream bag is very personal, and the contents will be different for every person.

It is good to often take everything out of your dream bag, sort through it, remind yourself of why it is in there and put back only the things that still have meaning and purpose. This is a good time to redirect what you hope to dream for and put in new objects as well as take out old.