Truly Handmade

It's getting harder and harder to find truly hand made items.  Okay, I know technically, anything you put together by hand qualifies as handmade but, maybe I'm a hand made snob, because I think that at least some of the material included in a hand made piece should be, well, hand made.   I know I'll probably get some hate mail for saying that , but, so be it!

I'm not saying that those jewelry designers who use their eye for design and color and string together purchased beads and/or stones are not artists.  But I always like to see something that was actually formed by their own hands included, as well.  I'm in awe of those who can wire wrap a bead or stone and not have it look like a three year old did it. (My wire wrapping skills are on par with said three year old).

I like hand drawn, hand painted, hand sculpted.  Most likely, that's why I like to work with polymer clay.   I've chosen a few truly hand made items from the Art Fire Bloggers Guild for this post.


Polymer Clay Bracelet byCraftsOfThePast Polly Creamica Designer

Corduroy Fedora by Hat-A-Tude

  

Dolphins by KanweieneaKreations

Terracotta Lampwork Earrings by ShadowdogDesigns

3-D Daffodill Wall Hanging by CouchBeeCreations

Blue/Pink Cotton Summer Shawl by AndreaDsigns

And I'm not above adding one of my own pieces to the mix!
Bohemian Beaded Batick Bracelet by WyvernDesigns

Zoomorphic Hats

With winter approaching, my thoughts have turned to winter wear.  What is more important for winter than a hat to keep your head warm.  After all, it's said that most of the heat escapes your body through the top of your head.  And they make great Christmas presents!

I'm a very do-it-yourself kind of gal so I drew my own pattern for a fleece toddler size hat with ear flaps.  I made one for my grandson to go along with his Ninja Turtle Halloween costume.

  He loves the hat and wants to wear it all the time.

The other day I decided to try my hand at making a Froggy Reversible Ear Flap Hat

It came out so cute, I tried another, this time a Penguin

I also made a little Snow Bunny

Her expression makes her look like she's startled to be out in the cold and snow.

I have many more ideas for these hats.  I just have to figure out patterns for them.  In the meantime,  enjoy the snow to come because you know in about six months time, we'll be wishing for it!

The Attack Of the Fingerless Gloves

They seem to be everywhere on line, yet I very rarely see anyone wearing them  I, myself, love knitting them.  I found instructions on knitting gloves and mittens using two circular needles and I haven't stopped knitting since.

The two circular needle method takes quite a bit of getting used to.  The way I describe it is, it is like trying to knit with an octopus.  You have four needle points and because I'm lazy and always leave the weaving in of the yarn ends till the end, I have all the assorted yarn ends hanging down, as well.  Sometimes it gets very confusing and more than once, I've had to rip out all my work and start all over because I couldn't figure out where I was.

I'm finally starting to master the technique and I'm getting better at it.  Here's a couple of examples of pieces knitted using two circular needles.

Fingerless Gloves with Mitten Tops

Black and Orange Fingerless Gloves

Hand Knitted Fingerless Gloves

And I really love this purple hat!
Purple Knitted Lacy Hat with Flower

If you are a knitter, I urge you to try this technique, if you haven't already.