Bear and Wolf Carvings

For my birthday in 2019 I treated myself to two painted Bear and Wolf Carvings created by Tony Callaghan a local artist with a booth at the Western Fair Market called "Sidhe Ring". I love the colours, images and mythical stories behind Tony's artwork. I love everything about these two pieces in particular. 

Words Tony painted on the underside of the bear carving:

Ke-na-Kow-nasz

Ursus the great bear, guide and sanction in the vast star filled skies. The shaman charts the dance of the cosmos, his guide an owl of many bright hues. Knowledge, foresights and faith give answers to the shamanic quest.

The Bear Star Singer

Ke-na-Kow-nasz

We hung these carvings above door frames in our front hallway where I see them every time I walk through. The majestic bear is walking away in one direction while the wolf pack is heading in the other direction with the young wolf looking back nervously to ensure the bear is not following. At least that's the story I like to tell with the placement of these two carvings.

If you ever get a chance to visit the Western Fair Market in London, Ontario, be sure to stop by the Sidhe Ring upstairs to chat with Tony. His stories and good cheer are bound to make your day a little bit brighter.

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Itty Bitty Crochet Kitty

One of the first things we did when I retired in July of 2021 was drive to Boulder, Colorado. We had not been to visit our grandchildren in almost two years due to COVID travel restrictions and ongoing border closures. 

In July of 2021 the Canada/US border was still closed to non-essential travel. We hoped to get through because we were visiting our daughter who was pregnant with her fourth and in need of help with the other three while her husband was working. Luckily our reason for travel worked with sympathetic US border guards. I remember it was such a huge relief that I cried tears of joy when they let us go.

Our drive to Boulder was uneventful, but our reunion with our grandchildren was awesome. We are always happy to see them and they us. This visit was different though. After more than a year of COVID restrictions including on-line schooling, limited activities and very little socializing, they were super excited to spend time with us. Our week together flew by and we enjoyed every minute of it. 

Our granddaughter was sad to see us leave this time. She gave me a note the night before we left with a picture of a kitten she had drawn. She wanted me to crochet a kitten and she wanted it to be little like her drawing. 

I didn't follow a pattern for this one ... just crocheted parts to match the drawing and sewed them together to make an Itty Bitty Crochet Kitty. Check out the photos below. Although it's a little bigger than her drawing, I think I nailed it!

 

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Crochet Baby Elephant and Blanket

When I heard our niece was expecting a baby in April of 2021, I was excited. Baby gifts are my absolute favourite things to crochet. As soon as I finished the sweater for our daughter, I started on a baby blanket and elephant ... such fun.

I was happy to finish this elephant on the very day our niece's son was born - April 23, 2021.

I took a few photos to show you this Crochet Baby Elephant and Blanket. I especially love the last photo showing our niece's baby posed with his gift. This photo was a perfect birthday gift for me!

I picked a new-to-me pattern called "Crochet Modern Moss Stitch Blanket" by Daisy Farm Crafts. I used worsted weight 100% acrylic yarn in white and arctic (blue) Craft Smart Value yarn to make this blanket. With a 6 mm hook plus a starting chain of 150 and a two row border, the baby blanket measured 40"x53".

I made the baby elephant in arctic (blue) to match the blanket with a bit of contrasting red on its frilly white bonnet. If you'd like to make one too, you can find the free pattern here.

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Crocheting Sweaters

My next crochet challenge back in March of 2021 involved making a sweater for my daughter. I searched online for an easy and free crochet sweater pattern that looked comfy and wearable. I think I found the perfect one. It's called Bead Stitch Pullover by blogger Wan at KNITCROADDICT.

I love my first "practice" sweater made using yarn from my stash. I actually made a mistake working the bead stitch, but loved how it looked so carried on to produce a fun colourful version of the bead stitch pullover that suits my style perfectly.

Once I finished my colourful sweater, I made a trip to Michaels Craft Store to buy enough yarn to make a sweater for our daughter. I bought five balls of Lion Brand Heartland Yarn in a colour called "Carlsbad Caverns". This time I worked the bead stitch pattern properly making the sweater with one extra pattern repeat on the sleeves. Overall, I like how it turned out. 

I really love the colour and softness of this crochet sweater. The sleeves are perhaps a little long. I'm not really sure how it fits though because our daughter announced she was pregnant with baby #4 soon after I finished. Oh well, no worries she may wear it eventually. And if not, at least I enjoyed doing something productive to take my mind off COVID.

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Crochet Granny Sweater

In March of 2021 a year into COVID with ongoing travel restrictions and gym closures, I was looking for a new crochet challenge. I love crochet toys, blankets, mandalas and such but had never considered crocheting sweaters. 

I had a box of granny squares sitting in my craft closet from an unfinished afghan. It was a kit I bought way back in 2012. I remember crocheting all those colourful squares. It was fun. I loved crocheting granny squares. I even loved laying out those squares on our dining room table arranging and rearranging until I was happy with the overall look. I was excited to be nearing the end of my afghan journey. All was going well until I left it out overnight and our cat puked all over those lovely squares. Ugh!!

I had to wash a bunch of those squares then pack up the rest to host a family dinner. It wasn't the worst but for some reason, even years later I still didn't feel the urge to make that afghan. 

I looked at that box of crochet squares and decided to challenge myself to make a Crochet Granny Sweater. Challenge accepted!!

Without a pattern, I joined the squares approximating the shape of a sweater. At first it was too wide so I removed an extra row of squares down both sides. To make it fit I added a few rows of double crochet down the sides and under the arms. Amazingly it worked out well enough to wear in public. 

I wore it to work. I love that my boss bought me a matching cupcake to applaud my efforts. He was so generous and fun.

Of course I also made a matching sweater for our sweet Sadie.

For the crocheters out there, the pattern for the squares is from Crochet Bumble Berry Pie Afghan by Michael Sellick from The Crochet Crowd. For the record, I selected a different colourway called Calypso but the yarn has since been discontinued.

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