marie's samples just keep coming!

I've added a lot more samples to my  Etsy shoppe: nest and eggs, a black kitty kat, Matilda the Witch and lots more. Next week I will be adding pumpkins and leaves. You can tell everyone you knit them! I won't tell.

I will even have a few one-of-a-kind snowmen with their accessories. I have so many hats and scarves of various colors that I may put together a few grab-bags for sale too. It sure feels good to pass along these items to those that will appreciate them. That blesses me! 

Be sure to check back often. If there is something you don't see, don't hesitate to ask about an item. I just may have another one around here. 

Thanks again for your interest in my work over the years. I am excited to be freed up to create again here real soon!

Happy knitting!

happy halloween!

tartan-plaid pumpkin pattern

Wishing you a spooky all-Hallow's eve! Don't eat too much candy tonight . . . just enough to satisfy that sweet tooth.

Never too late to knit another pumpkin or two. Maybe you missed the Halloween-pumpkin-knitting-round, but now you're just in time for Thanksgiving.

Happy knitting!

NOTE: The pattern is Tartan-Plaid Pumpkin, the pins are Just Pins Halloween BOO collection, and the ghost is hand-made using white oven-bake clay and a sharp-end toothpick. I drew the face on it using a black felt pen.

a sweet little interview

woolly nest & eggs

An interview with your's truly was just posted live on Robin Hunter's blog, How to Become a Professional Knitter. I don't know if I furthered the cause any, but it was fun to capture my thoughts down on paper, so to speak.

Here is the direct link if you want to read it: Interview with Marie Mayhew. Thanks for helping me get my name and patterns out there. If it wasn't for all of you, my knitting friends, I would be mainly in my basement drowning in felted ideas and yarn! Happy reading!

Happy knitting!

NEW black sheep kits!

woolly sheep

For a limited time I will be carrying Woolly Black Sheep kits now available in my Etsy Shoppe:

woolly black sheep kits

grazing sheep

The kit creates an all black sheep from head to toe. In each kit I have included Frog Tree's Alpaca Suri in a dark grey color that corresponds with the black worsted. Once felted it creates a wonderfully soft and fuzzy sheep especially after being vigorously brushed the nap riser brush. The head, tail, and legs do not have the Suri carried along with to give a different texture after felting. The kit has all the makings for one sheep either in the standing position, as shown above, or the grazing position.

If you don't need another black sheep in your family at this time, I do sell the traditional sheep kits:

woolly sheep kits

woolly sheep kit

 Happy knitting!

 

we wish you a merry christmas!

woolly snowman

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you and your families this holiday season! Blessings on your new year as well. Thanks again for a 'woolly' good year!

Happy knitting!

gingerbread cookie candle rugs

woolly gingerbread cookie

'Tis the season for all things sweet and sugary, but in this case, sweet but woolly. This larger-than-life gingerbread cookie candle rug would make a great holiday hostess gift. It measures about 10-inches tall from head to foot.

I used two strands of Cascade 220 worsted weight yarn and one strand of sport Berroco Ultra Alpaca, both in brown tones and size 13 dps. I followed my Woolly Gingerbread Cookie pattern just like a recipe. I had hoped that the alpaca would 'fill in' better than it did, but the garter stitch ridges were still apparent after several washes. Sometimes that happens when you double up your yarns. I am hoping to try it again but redesigning the pattern not knitting it in the garter stitch but rather in stockinette.

When I designed this pattern I wanted the thickness of a solid gingerbread cookie and the felted garter stitch does just that. The cookie when knit with only one strand felts beautifully and all the stitches disappear every time, but two strands is another story, sometimes.

vary the sizes

This photo, right, shows the differences in sizes: the smallest cookie is one strand of worsted and the large cookie, 2 strands worsted and 1 strand sport. The larger size lends itself perfectly for the candle rug idea.

Add a candle that gives off the aroma of sugar cookies or baking gingerbread as it burns. Too bad you can't eat them!

Happy knitting!

just a bit loopy!

woolly sheep pattern

I love to play when I can! and I sure have been playing with my Woolly Sheep pattern lately. I discovered the loopy stitch that creates little nubbies after felting. The felted version of this sheep is in the wash now as we speak.

I used Nature Spun worsted, Aran N91. It is a good, tried-and-true felting yarn. I knitted the exact same pattern but this time I added the loops, see above, every other stitch, on the knit rounds and every other round, starting just above the place where the leg holes are added (Round 8). It takes a bit more yarn obviously, but it is well worth it.

I have tried the loops with black yarn and LOVE IT! I will photograph the finished sheep and display them here in a day or two. Stay tuned!

NOTE: This pattern is now included in my new book, Whimsical Woollies.

Happy knitting!

A Real BIG Baby!

I just completed my over-sized Woolly Snowbaby and am very pleased. The original size of a felted snowbaby is 5-inches. The photo below shows the two sizes side-by-side.

 

two sizes of snowbabies

The little snowbaby used one strand of sport weight yarn and the large snowbaby, two strands of Cascade 220 worsted weight, #8010, and one strand of Frog Tree Alpaca cream sport weight yarn. The two yarns together created a wonderfully felted snowman! 

I used real twigs clipped from my crab-apple tree for arms. I held them in place by poking them into a small block of styrofoam placed within the snowbaby's interior. This worked slick! 
After having completed the arms this way, my first reaction is that I like him more withOUT the arms, but I wanted to have a photo to show with.

I didn't fill the snowbaby up with plastic poly-pellets like I usually do because of the size. I am planning on sticking a stone inside to give that extra weight, then sewing a circle of felt over the hole to finish off the bottom. 

For the eyes, instead of the usual french knots, I embroidered several small stitches using worsted weight black yarn. Then I added a single stitch using DMC white floss to create a highlight dot.

The nose is red wool roving needle felted into a round ball and attached to the snowbaby's face. The cheeks are small bits of pink roving again needle felted to the face.

I love this size snowbaby! so many fun possibilities for outfits, hats and accessories! let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Happy knitting!

Bird gets new beak. Tweet on!

woolly birds - robin

Same bird, but a new look! A new beak molded from polymer clay and then baked in my kitchen oven for about 30 minutes.

The idea originally came to me from a knitting store in Sitka, Alaska, Knitting With Class. Laura Ramp has been creating clay carrot noses for her Woolly Snowmen. How fun is that! My adaptation is the clay beak for any of the Woolly Birds. What I love is that you can control the beak's size so much easier than a knitted beak. Plus the clay beak doesn't lose its shape from year-to-year.

Want to make your own clay beak? Below is my first-ever YouTube video showing you how to do just that. Tweet on!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Something 'woolly sweet' for you, valentine!

valentine party mix

1 cup chocolate covered almonds or peanuts

1 cup dried cranberries or cherries

1 cup cupid's candy corn

1 cup roasted cashews

1 cup Corn Chex cereal

1 cup pretzel sticks or circles

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well with your hands. Store any leftovers in a plastic container with a lid. The mix will keep up to 3 weeks.

Makes 6 cups.

I usually triple this recipe because it goes that fast!

A Bird For Your Nest?

This little robin is from my Woolly Birds pattern. She was first knit using 2 strands together of Frog Tree Alpaca sport weight yarn, #0012 dark grey. This yarn felts beautifully! Then she is brushed with a nap riser brush to pull out the yarn's hairy fibers, creating a soft fuzzy little bird. Every nest needs a little bird to roost in and to call home. Look out, then come the eggs!

Woolly Bunnies Pattern Revisions.

I have completed the changes to the Woolly Bunnies pattern and the new pattern has returned from the printer. These revisions are the result of many requests for back legs on the laying-down bunny. I also took the opportunity to reposition the front paws on the sitting-up bunny, as well as, moving his ears slightly higher on the head. The revisions are relatively simple and purely aesthetic.

I am new to the pdf download-business, so let me know if you have any troubles. Enjoy!

Woolly Bunnies Pattern Revisions

Hoppy Bunnies. A Bit More Hip Hop.

I have recently revised the Woolly Bunnies pattern. I rarely do revisions, but I have been wanting to make a few changes to this pattern for awhile now.

What's new? First off, I added back paws to the laying-down bunny, as per several requests from customers. Secondly, I raised the arms of the sitting-up bunny to a slightly higher position (not visible in this photo). And finally,  I positioned the sitting-up bunny's ears higher up on its head so its face is looking more forward rather than so upward as before. I am really pleased with all of these changes. Hope you will too!

Already have the old bunny pattern? Soon I will have a downloadable pdf available for you with all the updates on it. Then you can write in the changes on your existing pattern. Let me know what you think.

My Christmas Nest & Now Yours!

woolly nest ornament kit

For those of you that have not knit a felted nest or two in your day, and thus have not heard the legend of the Christmas Nest, here it is. My Christmas wish for you and your families into your new year! 

"A German legend tells of the magic of all the world's birds bursting into song as if with one voice the night the Christ child was born. Your family may find a bird's nest hidden within their Christmas tree. The nest promises the gift of health, wealth, and happiness to all throughout the year!"

NOTE: Want to increase your little nest cuteness level just a bit? Brush the felted nest's rim with a little nap riser brush! Brushing the rim of the nest, back and forth a few times, will pull out the yarn's alpaca fibers, creating a fuzzy little edge. Adorable!

Wishing you a Merry Little Christmas!