Pointy gnome hats

Don't know which is keeping me busier --
spinning yarn or making baby hats with it.
Both are so much fun!

One of my earliest successful skeins was from
a bit of red alpaca blend that I bought at a show last year.

 It needed some more length so I added white trim.
The other two were made with handspun yarn from The Fine Lime.
Each one is $30 including shipping.

Two more gnome hats in masculine colors and 3 month size.
Made of my own handspun yarns.
$30 each including shipping.

  These are gnome hats made with store-bought yarns.
Two newborn sizes and the green one a 3-6 month size.

$20 each including shipping.

More newborn-sized gnome hats in a rainbow of colors.
$20 each including shipping.

A whole new me

If you noticed the new blog banner above,

you will see that I have finally gotten around

to working on Red Hen Studios redesign.

Most of the other places I can be seen on the Internet

have been updated and have ordered new business cards.

Up next is redhenstudios.com with an all-new blog.
Please mark the new link in your favorites
so you don't miss anything!

Crochet stacking bowls-- with free directions

Most of my crochet projects aren't done from a pattern.

I find stitches I like and experiment.

My project from yesterday is one such example.

While in bed watching a "Law & Order"marathon, 

I hooked these three little stacking bowls.

Below, I am sharing my directions with you.

 

CROCHET STACKING BOWLS

I used bulky wool yarn recycled from an old sweater and an I-hook. You can use whatever you have on hand and adjust the size hook for your yarn, no need to check gauge. For a tighter weave, you can substitute sc or hdc for dc.

ROUND 1: Ch 4, sl st in 1st ch to create a ring; ch 2 (counts as 1st dc now and throughout), 11 dc in ring; join with sl st in 1st dc. (Join all rounds this way and do not turn at the end of the rounds.) (12 dc)

ROUND 2: Ch 2, dc in same st as ch 2, 2 dc in each dc around; join. (24 dc) 

[STOP INCREASING HERE FOR SMALL BOWL. SKIP TO ROUND 5.]

ROUND 3: Ch 2, dc in same st as ch 2, dc in next dc (2 dc in next dc, dc in next dc) 11 times; join. (36 dc)

[STOP INCREASING HERE FOR MEDIUM BOWL. SKIP TO ROUND 5.] 

ROUND 4: Ch 2, dc in same st as ch 2, dc in next 2 dc (2 dc in next dc, dc in next 2 dc) 11 times; join. (48 dc)

[STOP INCREASING HERE FOR LARGE BOWL. CONTINUE WITH ROUND 5.]

ROUND 5: Ch 2, sk st with ch 2, sc around; join.

ROUND 6: Repeat round 5.

[STOP HERE FOR SMALL BOWL.]

ROUNDS 7-8: Repeat round 5.

[STOP HERE FOR MEDIUM BOWL.]

ROUNDS 9-10: Repeat round 5.

[STOP HERE FOR LARGE BOWL.] 

After you get the bowl as wide and as tall as you want it, weave in ends and turn right-side out, so the pretty stitches show on the outside of the bowl.

I prefer the textured look of these, but bowls crocheted with wool can be felted by running them repeatedly in the washer and dryer until they are your desired sizes.

You can also make them any size you want. Continue following the pattern increases for a wider base [ROUND A: Ch 2, dc in same st as ch 2, dc in next 3 dc (2 dc in next dc, dc in next 3 dc), then ROUND B: Ch 2, dc in same st as ch 2, dc in next 4 dc (2 dc in next dc, dc in next 4 dc), ETC.] and make more rounds up for a taller bowl.

You can do what you wish with your finished pieces, but I'd appreciate credit for the pattern and a link back here. Share your photos too!!!

Happy vintage Valentine's Day!

Hallmark doesn't have the market cornered this holiday.

 I can't resist vintage Scottish-themed Valentine postcards,

My newest is the sweet little couple shown above.

I loved the bagpiping cupid I found a few years ago, 

he now has a permanent place in my studio.

New business card

Here are some of my new business cards. 

I couldn't be happier with Vistaprint's

easy of use, quality, cost and time frame.

From now on whenever I sell at shows

the cards will have a place of honor.

I found out this little glass Scottie dog

is might actually a pressed glass creamer

made by LE Smithin the 1930s and given away

as a Post Grape Nuts Cereal premium.

Finally getting my design on

I decided I had to get going on the Red Hen Studio redesign

since Vistaprint is offering 500 business cards for $10.
(Click on image if you actually want to read it.)

Off to work on the brand spanking new redhenstudios.com next.

Breathing a little easier now

Phew! My biggest task of the spring in officially done.

 Ever since my oldest was in 2nd grade I've worked on

our elementary school yearbook. That's 9 editions!
 

The first year I helped by processing photos but since then

did most of the photography and layout myself.

Help has gradually signed on so the typing, photo taking,

coordinating and selling has gone to other parents.

This year, with so many people offering to help
I worked on mostly my favorites -- the design and layout
(though I do miss visiting all the classrooms).

With the move from a local printer to Jostens online
the work was done twice as fast as in years past.

I,m so excited to see the final result once it is shipped
and hope everyone else likes it.

(The photo above is the weathervane atop the school.
The photography I still do for the yearbook
is for the front cover -- usually of the building.)

Six-cylinder courtship on butterfly wings

Once again, I was going through books, photographing them

for Etsy and I came across this real stunner --

"A Six-Cylinder Courtship" by Edward Salisbury Field.

 

Every page, including the end papers shown here,

have children with huge butterfly wings.

I've never seen a book with such gorgeous

Art Nouveau decoration before.

The glossy paper full-color frontispiece (covered in tissue)

was by renowned artist Harrison Fisher.

The copy on the cover was what originally drew me to the book.

It was copyright in 1907 by The John McBride Company

and published in October by Grosset & Dunlap. 

The six black-and-white illustrations,
also on separate glossy paper, are by
another renowned artist Clarence F. Underwood.

Be sure to click on each image
to see better see the details of each.

Visual interest

My cousin so kindly shared with me these two prints. She found them when she went to clean out her father's Maine apartment after he passed away. She knew I would love and appreciate them. And I really do.

This is a print by Frances Tipton Hunter called "Baby Sitter" in a gold metal frame. On the back is the last page of a small calendar dated December 1953. It is also imprinted that it is from "Wilson's Dairy, South Glens Falls, NY" where my uncle -- and his brother, my father -- grew up.

This Art Deco image goes back even further. From the Art Publishing Co. of Chicago, it was given by my grandparents to "Mother" in April, 1931. Not only do these pieces reflect illustration from certain decades, they also represent our family's history.

While these two books might be rather nondescript from the outside, they hold treasures inside.

 

The end pages represent the other stories from the 10-book series called "The Peter Rabbit Series" from MA Donahue & Company.

 

There is no date, but based on the text graphics, like the one above, and information garnered from the Internet, I'd say they were from around 1920.

 

Each book has 24 full-color plates by an unknown illustrator...

 

...plus countless black-and-white drawings.

 

This is my favorite image out of either book. The only one that I might like better would come from another book in the series -- "The Little Small Red Hen." I'm keeping my eyes open for it.

A lesson in design

Spent part of the day listing vintage get well cards in my Etsy shop. (Perfect since I'm still not feeling 100%.) Just looking them over is a lesson in humor, illustration, design, color, card construction, die cuts, embossing and, my favorite, pop-up elements.

They are some of the cards my dad received when he had mumps or measles or something back in the 1940s. I've saved many more. Here are some of the highlights of the ones I listed.

 

Our latest collaboration

My husband and I have been working on
the Scotia-Glenville Pipe Band website
together for the past few months.

We are finally to a point where we like it enough to share,
minus a few proofreading issues.

What do you think?
Oh, and send me a note if you would like a CD.

You can say you know people in the band
that placed Third at the Worlds
and is the top-ranked kids' pipe band in the US!

Phat dominoes

I spent a rainy afternoon this week, sitting on the couch creating dozens of domino magnets from vintage children's book illustrations.

It is very easy to do and you can use pretty much any kind of image, but I chose the sweetest ones I could find from well-worn books.

Place the domino on top of the image you want to use and either draw a line then cut it out or cut right around the domino.

Paste the image down with watered-down Elmer's or Mod Podge. Protect the surface with a few more layers of glue, allowing them to dry between the layers.

Glue a button magnet to the back and you are ready to hold artwork on your fridge in a sweet and retro way.

Bar coded

Rarely does the ever-changing Google logo catch my attention, but it did today, the 57th anniversary of the bar code.

I have my own, and you can too by clicking on the button below.


by Barcodes Inc

Sneaky peak

Here's the start of what dh and I collaborated on
this past weekend - a new version of sgpipeband.com.


We worked witha template from GoDaddy.com so the folks from the band can make edits on their own in the future should the need arise.

Between the two of us, we got it to where we like it, minus a few visual glitches we can't seem to overcome.

He's the webmaster/html expert and I'm the designer. I tell him what I want to do and he figures out if it is possible.

Our poor children were so neglected for two days while we grumbled over it. Good thing they are pretty self-sufficient and help to take care of each other.

Musical designs

All of the recording work is done so I'm rushing to get the design work done for the Scotia-Glenville Pipe Band CD.

This is a folded card that goes in the front of the jewel case. The front cover, with photo taken by Juliet, is to the right. The bass drum, with the list of tracks, is actually the back of the folded card. You see it when you open up the case.

This is the inside of that folded card. Band members and instructors are listed on the left. The white box holds a not from the director about the band and it's accomplishments.

This piece is underneath the piece that holds the CD. Since it is clear, we used it for another photo and recording information.

This is the back cover of the jewel case with another list of the tunes.

This is what I have for the actual CD imprint. I ran out of time -- and steam -- this afternoon. Should be done first thing tomorrow morning.

Band members are selling these to help defray the cost of their trip to the World Bagpipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland this August. If you are interested in your own copy of the CD, please mail me at redhenstudios@aol.com or just leave a comment.

Here are the two other CD designs I've done in the past, one still in the works and the other one completed last spring.