Lately, I've been longing for a new pincushion. I'm notoriously bad about losing my sewing needles. I constantly use needles while making my toys, and I only need two at any given time...one yarn needle, one embroidery needle. I don't need a big pin cushion, and hate carrying one in my knitting bag when I go out for knitting night. Wrist cushions are cute, but get in the way while I'm knitting. So I normally just keep them in a little ziplock bag, and lose them before night's end. (I often lose the sewing needles I borrow from my knitting friends as well) So this necklace seemed like a good solution! I ordered it from
Octopus Parlour on Etsy. It is so cute, and functional, perfect for wearing while I'm working!
And while we're talking about cute, small things, are you familiar with
Wool Pets?

I'm always looking for new skills in regards to making toys. I've been wanting to learn needle-felting for a while now. For Christmas, my mom gave me a bunch of wonderful needle-felting supplies. And my friend Jamie gave me this kit, for the Wool Pet owls. Aren't they the cutest? There are lots of amazing kits to choose from, and they come with all the supplies you'll need, roving, needles, instructions, etc. There's a book too! Jamie's working on the elephant kit, and I have to say, she is a needle-felting natural. She's picking it up much more quickly then I am.
Anyway, as soon as I "master" this needle-felting business, I'm hoping to design some tiny creations of my own, and maybe use this to add some of the felt details to my toys.
Thanks for all the well wishes regarding my new schedule. I think I'm adjusting pretty well. Last night I felt awake enough to actually pick up the needles and knit through a movie. I also have plenty of time to knit this weekend. I have several deadlines coming up in the next month or so, so there's plenty to do. I can't promise I'll be sharing a lot of what I'm working on, as most of them will be submitted to one publication or another, but hopefully I'll have something new and public to share very soon.