Knitting Inspiration - A Knitting Kitty Illustration

The Knitter - by Sparrow Moon

A knitting kitty that wears tights and has a pocket handkerchief? This illustration is almost too cute for me to handle! I'm so glad I stumbled upon it in Laura's beautiful shop. 

Happy Monday and Memorial Day to you all! I hope you have a great day with friends and family! Get ready for some more fun posts this week! :-)

My Knitting Playlist

I've been working on some artist playlist blog posts for Etsy Dallas, so I thought I would share my own playlist with you! When I'm knitting, I like to listen to music that calms me down and doesn't distract me from counting stitches. Here are some of my go-to albums:

1. The Very Best of Nat King Cole

2. Blossom Dearie

3. Sinatra - Nothing But the Best 

4. Fred Astaire's Finest Hour

Yes. It's true. I'm an old woman, but I don't care!! I love these songs! They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 

What do you like to listen to/watch when you are being crafty? I'd love to know! 

Also, we have a winner for last week's fox pin giveaway from Mariet Vosloo! Congratulations GiddyStuff! 

Knitting Inspiration - WARMI

It makes me so happy when I stumble upon unique knitwear designers. WARMI was created by French-Columbian designer Sylvia Toth in 2008. According to the WARMI website, each piece from the collection is knit by Columbian women from the villages of Tausa and Sutatausa. The pictures of the women who knit the garments are shown on the the online shop. 

Knit shorts aren't something you see everyday, but I would wear one of these frilly pairs in a minute! 

You can see more of the WARMI collection here. 

As always, I hope these beautiful knits give you an inspiring start to the week! 

Summer Vacation Pictures Part Two // Victoria, BC

After spending a few days in Vancouver, we took the BC ferry over to Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. We had the best time there! Victoria is so cute and so British. Like I said, it was my "pre-London" experience...which is hopefully coming soon. 

One day we walked over to the biggest, fanciest, (dare I say schmanciest?) hotel I've ever seen, The Fairmont Empress. Talk about your ivy covered palace...

The big tradition at the Empress is afternoon tea, originated there by Queen Victoria. We enjoyed berries and cream, earl grey, tea sandwiches, and a variety of pastries. It was so delicious! 

(Oh no. I forgot to put my pinky up.)

Anyway...a day or so later, we went to the Butchart Gardens. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from the garden, just more flowers and trees. But then the sky parted and a light shone down from heaven on the garden...you know like in that show Touched by an Angel? Seriously. Just look at this place! 

I had to pinch myself later to make sure it was real! I had the best time in Vancouver and Victoria! It's true you know, Canadians are extremely nice. Thanks for being so awesome Canada! I hope to see you again soon!

Summer Vacation Pictures // Vancouver, BC

I hope you don't mind me posting a few pictures from my vacation last week! My family and I went to Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia in Canada! It was an adventure filled with beautiful flowers, cool weather, and the most ridiculous seafood I've ever tasted. Ever. 

Our first day was a bit bumpy (for reasons I'm not quite ready to share on the blog...maybe someday). By day two, we were a little defeated, but were hopeful things would get better. And oh boy did they. 

We went to Stanley Park, a public garden in Vancouver, and walked around for a few hours. Me being a bit of, what my dad likes to call, a "tree hugger" I was over the moon to see giant trees and beautiful blossoms. It was just so different from the twig-like trees in Texas.

We also went to the Vancouver Aquarium and saw some pretty sweet rainforest and sea creatures. 

The best thing we saw was this dolphin tossing a fish in the air, taunting this poor little seagull into thinking he was giving it to him. Who says animals don't have a sense of humor... 

We also went on a fun sunset cruise around the harbor and I discovered something...

Forget my dreams of cottages on the English countryside. I want to live in a little blue house that floats. Or green. I'm not picky. 

Tomorrow I will post my pictures from Victoria, BC, which will forever be called "my pre-London experience". 

Crochet Inspiration - Stella McCartney Crochet Bag

Although this bag is slightly out of my price range, I'm completely inspired by this beautiful Stella McCartney Falabella crochet bag. The contrast of the soft, kitschy, crochet flowers with the hard chain trimming is so cool. I love it when I see pieces like this in a "big name" designer's collection, it makes me feel like we have at least one thing in common!

Have you spotted any other major designers with great knit or crochet pieces? I'd love to see!

**(Don't forget about the fox brooch giveaway happening below! Ends 5/22)**

Artist Interview & Giveaway - Felt Fox Pin by Mariet Vosloo

I'm thrilled to introduce you to Mariet Vosloo. Mariet is a designer and crafter living in Cape Town. She created her own label, PONCHO, and makes incredible, one of a kind brooches. She also does some freelance graphic design from time to time. I hope you enjoy getting to know this very talented lady! Thank you Mariet for providing the beautiful photos! 

How did you get started creating such beautiful brooches?

My love for handmade things started when I was little. My mom and granny are two very talented ladies and always kept me busy with some sort of crafty thing. My mom and I used to make pouches for my marbles, dolls clothes, pencil cases, the list goes on. My granny is an exceptional knitter and always kept her pieces of scrap wool, which made for pretty cool holidays and some really scary creations, like the little multicolored blanket I knitted for my miniature poodle, Tjokkie. Poor Tjokkie, he must have had nightmares sleeping on that.

In Primary School, Fridays used to by my favorite day of the week. Not because it was the start of the weekend, but because we had two whole periods of needlework at the end of the day!

Later on I realized that I really loved embroidering. Most of my pieces are animal characters. Combining my love for animals with my love for embroidering and sewing is super satisfying. I love the freedom I have when I work by hand and to see how all the little stitches come together to form the final piece.

Your brooches are very detailed! About how long does it take you to make just one?

On average, between one and two full days. 

Mariet's step-by-step process for making "Sailor Tom"  

What inspires you to create?
Nature, especially animals. More specifically, my cats, Bobby and Snoekie.

My fellow animals nuts, a.k.a my family.

Rouleaux, my always positive and supportive boyfriend who is an amazing graphic designer.

Reading the blogs of people who's work I admire.

The library. It's impossible not to become inspired when you're surrounded by a zillion books.

Rouleaux's vinyl collection.

Describe your creative process.

I really enjoy making custom pieces and when I get an order I usually do some drawings first. 90% of the time though the drawing and the final piece don't look alike at all. Sometimes I just start embroidering with an idea and some sort of picture bouncing around in my head. I like it when a piece evolves while I'm working. Keeps it exciting.

What keeps you busy, apart from your crafty business?

I'm crazy about succulent plants and spend a lot of spare time gardening. And I love going on little hiking adventures, but now with the arrival of Winter I foresee a lot of movies, pancakes and listening to vinyls. Oh and loads of crossword puzzles, reading and kitty cuddling.

Thank you so much Mariet! Your brooches are simply stunning. 

Mariet was kind enough to offer my readers this adorable fox pin called "Sailor Tom" for a giveaway! 

How to Enter:

1. Follow Mariet's blog Kittens with Mittens and leave a comment here. 

2. Follow this blog One Sheepish Girl and leave a comment here. 

3. Spread the word! Share on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or blog about this giveaway and leave a separate comment for each entry. Please include the link where you shared this post in your comment. 

4. If you tweet about this giveaway mention my twitter name @sheepishknit so I can see your entry! You can tweet once a day and leave a separate comment for each tweet. 

*You must leave a separate comment for each entry in order to be considered to win! Please leave your e-mail address as well so I can contact you!*

The giveaway ends on 5/22 and I will announce the winner on 5/25. 

What's in my bag?

Just for fun, here is a little peek inside my favorite purse! I got this Pan Am bag on EBay a few years ago after one too many viewings of "Catch Me if You Can". I absolutely love it! It's so different and I always get an even mixture of compliments and confused looks when I carry it around.

I love my Ray Bans but they seem to be a little bent from shoving them down into my purse instead of properly putting them in their case. I always carry a few packs of gum, because I chew it when I'm nervous, which is most of the time. :) So that means that the bottom of my purse is always littered with gum wrappers...(of course I cleaned things up for the picture.)

I recently bought these headphones because my earbuds would always slip out of my ears when I walk across campus. Until I can afford some Beats by Dr. Dre, these happy aqua headphones will do!

I hope everyone had a great week! I'll be back from vacation soon and I have the cutest artist interview and giveaway set up for Monday! See you soon!

Crochet Envelope Pattern

I'm so excited to finally share my first pattern with you! I came up with this idea when my friend Danielle and I decided to become pen pals. I thought a cute, crochet envelope like this would be the perfect way to store the letters. 

You can find the full pattern on Roots and Feathers a beautiful blog I am sponsoring this month!

I hope you give this pattern a try! If you do, let me know and send me your pictures!

Analog Blogging

I bought this One Line a Day Journal a few months ago on a whim. I'm the type of person who buys a journal, writes in it for a few weeks, or a few months if I'm lucky, and then buys another one. Usually it's because the next one is just so "cuuuuute" and I'm convinced that my memories will somehow look better in a journal with a silly owl on the front than they did in a plain black one. In other words, I have about 100 journals of various shapes and sizes, each one with only a couple of pages filled with my thoughts. When you put them all together, well, it doesn't make much sense. 

So, when I picked up this little journal, I didn't really expect my fickle friendship with diaries to change. Oh, but it did. All I have to do is write one line a day for five years and I will have a book filled with memories. That's what I mean by "analog blogging". I like that this journal is real. I can hold it in my hands 20 years from now and look back on all of my memories and silly troubles. I love this blog, but it isn't exactly the place I want to share every detail of my life. I mean, opening up isn't one of my strongest qualities, it took me about five hours just to write my About Me page! 

A year from now I will graduate from college. That's a scary, crazy, and beautiful statement right there. I can't believe it's coming so quickly! To have this journal with me through my final days of college and first few years in the real world will be such a wonderful thing to look back on. 

Does anyone else write in a journal regularly? Or do anything else to document their memories?

A Royal Miracle - The Finished Union Jack Teacosy

Finally!!!! It's finished! I never thought I would see the day! Ok, maybe that's a little dramatic, but I can't believe how long it took me to finish this teacosy. I tried my hardest to finish it before the Royal Wedding, but alas I was hit with an unfortunate sinus infection right around the time I had about 5,000 papers to write. Ok, I'm being dramatic again...but it was pretty bad. I was so sick that I couldn't even wake up at 3:00 a.m. to watch the royal festivities. Thanks to the DVR, I laughed, I cried, I sneezed, and I fast-forwarded all the way through the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding day. 

I'm so happy with the finished teacosy. It's something that I hope to use for years to come, because I certainly drink a lot of tea. :)

I survived...

(via Where the Lovely Things Are)

Whew. After hours of reading, writing, and notecard flipping, I made it through my final exams. I'm so excited to finally take my nose out of the books and enjoy my summer vacation! Actually, I'm going on vacation with my family next week which will be really fun! If you like, I'll share pictures and stories about my trip when I get back. 

Don't worry though, I have a bunch of really great posts planned for next week! 

~ A fun and easy crochet project on Violet Bella's World.

~More knitting inspiration.

~ What's in my bag? Awhile back I did an Inside My Knitting Bag post, so I thought I would show off my favorite purse. :)

~ My love of "analog" blogging and memories.

~And FINALLY the finished Union Jack Tea Cosy...minus the teapot. Oops. :-/ I know, I know...but I can't find one I like! Maybe I will find a pretty one on vacation. An unfortunate sinus infection and loads of studying prevented me from finishing it before the Royal Wedding, but I'm sure Wills and Kate will forgive me. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I know I'm already enjoying sleeping in...

Crochet Inspiration - Colorful Rag Rugs

(one - two - three - four)

What could be better for my first crochet inspiration post than these beautiful crochet rag rugs made by Rose Beerhorst? Each rug is made of 100% recycled materials like t-shirts and colorful cotton sheets. She sells these and other crafty goodies in her Etsy shop, Sock Monster.

For months, I've been wanting to give t-shirt yarn a try. I think a rug like this would look great in my kitchen and make washing dishes a little more enjoyable. 

Have you made yarn with t-shirts or sheets before? How did your project turn out? 

Weekend Fun - The Etsy Dallas Spring Bash

I'm so happy that the Spring Bash was a huge success for my Etsy Dallas teammates. I woke up early Saturday morning to help them set up at South Side on Lamar, a cool, industrial space, perfect for a springtime craft show. 

I fluffed a lot of these pretty paper pom-poms and hung them all over the place. They definitely kept with their colorful Homecoming/Prom theme! 

This lucky lady was one of the first 50 shoppers in line to snag one of the oh-so-coveted Bash Bags!! I wonder if she liked my knit heart pin?

Everyone did such a great job with the booths! This pretty set up is by Cheyne from Cut Out and Collect.

And how sweet are these Matryoshka dolls from Regal Cottage?

I definitely learned a lot getting the behind the scenes look at the set-up process. It really makes me nervous though, thinking about having my own booth at their next event, the Jingle Bash in November. I've been told I should start knitting now....and that's exactly what I will do! 

But first, I need to get through my final exams this week! I'm so close that I can taste the sweet freedom of summer...

Have a happy Monday! :-)