in the spotlight & a shawl swap

I’m starting a new feature, however, I’m not yet sure how regular it will be or exactly how it will work. I want to highlight some of the really amazing things my friends are making and in many cases, selling. It’s a difficult economy out there and I would rather support an independent artist or family run business than a big generic box. I hope you will too. Please bear with me as I try to figure out how to do this spotlight thing and how it will go. I also want to thank my first guinea pig from the bottom of my heart.

However, before I turn on the spotlight, I’d like you to go read Miriam‘s post Please Act on the CPSIA and (or?) read Vickie Howell‘s post Repost: Save Handmade Toys. Then go act. I’ll wait.

Thank you. Lead is bad, but CPSIA as it stands needs some work.

Odd-ish Creations is the Etsy shop of artist Kata. She sells hand-dyed yarns, original artwork, beautiful magnetic line markers, and hand carved stamps.

Who is Kata?
In her words: “I like art and colours and love to play with both of them as much as possible. Definitely a craftster and prefer DIY whenever possible. A dreamer trying to make a living in a non-dreamers world, and spread the joy and sunshine as often as possible.”

In my words: Kata, based in London, Ontario, is a talented and thoughtful artist. She uses colour in refreshing ways and can figure out exactly what I’m looking for based on my very untalented description and request. Her drawings are inspiring and fun. In addition, I find her a wonderful penpal and am pleased to count her among my friends.

Oh my. Doing this is a LOT harder than I thought. Sorry Kata!

I recently commissioned Kata to make me a book stamp with a “send whenever” timeframe and while I have planned (though not written) this post for a while, I was delighted that it arrived today! It’s exactly what I had in mind. The photo is courtesy of Kata.

I look forward to mounting it and soon showing you the plan I have for my little book stamp.

* * *

My mother requested that I make her a new shawl because her Mother’s Day Shawl was too small and her Swallowtail too nice for everyday.

more hugs for mom
Comfort Shawl
by Sandi Wiseheart
published at Knitting Daily
Ravelry Project Page
Vanna’s Choice in Dusty Blue (1½ skeins) and Silver Grey (.5 skein)
6.5mm needles

This is a project that is fun to knit and really turns into a hug. Faroese Shawls are shaped to stay on. It was gifted to mum in December and I believe she is actually using it. I found the Vanna’s choice a very nice acrylic to work with. It was chosen to take some of the “my daughter made this” fear out of the item so that she might use it instead of placing it on a shelf to be looked at. I hope she is wearing it, especially in this frigid weather. When we visited to gift this to her, we discussed why she didn’t wear her swallowtail and I realized that a contributing factor might be the size, or lack of it, so I offered her the huge Seraphim as a trade and after showing her pictures she assented to the trade. At the moment I have both Swallowtail and Seraphim, but will try to get it to her before Valentine’s Day.

• Category: handmade
• Tag: knit