finally.   The Holiday show (my last show of the year) was Sunday,  and while it was a lot quieter than previous shows a good time was had by all….. Architectural Artifacts the huge warehouse of cool schtuff and antiquieties that housed the craft fair was so cool,  it was one of those stores that you wander into out of interest and then easily spend the whole day wandering around and still not see everything inside (I love those kind of stores).  Anyway as always here is the obligatory booth shot

I am so glad to  be finished with the crazy crafting routine and now I can enjoy the upcoming holidays and not be thinking about needlefelting at 2 am yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!! (although knowing me I still will)

Anyway another sign that the holidays are coming is the fact that we picked up our Christmas tree yesterday morning.

I love going to our local garden center for a tree…….they turn their whole outdoor lot into a winter wonderland of trees and wreaths and giant pine cones…….it’s so Christmassy and they have at least 6 different choices of type of tree,  we decided on a 6 and a half foot tall Scotch pine  and it is now sitting in my living room waiting to be decorated.   I know what you are thinking now though…….but Lulu don’t you drive a mini cooper?  How on earth did you transport a 6 and a half foot tall tree from the lot to your living room?   Well isn’t it obvious?

Thankfully the garden center is only a few blocks away from our house so no arrests were made.

So today will be a day of Christmas pies and holiday decorating and hot chocolate and trying to stop crazy kitties from climbing the tree and playing with all the baubels…….and no panicking about  needle felting for shows…………..aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah Bliss

So a couple of days ago I was contacted by a lovely woman interested in a bulk order of lovely felted Christmas ornaments for her tree………and look at what happens when you forfeit a few hours of bed

I really wanted to make these guys so I can mail them out with lots of time to spare for Christmas,  I just hope Marion likes everything and that they are how she envisioned them.

Another reason sleep is overated is who can sleep knowing that the Harry Potter exhibition is coming to Chicago……….I am so frickin’ excited for this I have a really strong desire to buy a million tickets for every day of it’s run ( April 30th – Sept 7th at the Museum of Science and Industry) and then just live there…….how awesome would that be?  they are going to set up the exhibits just like you are in the rooms of Hogwarts or Hagrid’s cottage or the Weasleys ……………………screaaaaaaaaaaam!!!! I’m so excited already 4 months is going to be a long wait!!!!!  what’s not a long wait is my last show of the year (what will I do at the weekends?)

So please come on by and wish the critters a Merry Christmas………..

Shows that is,  yup as my last show is rapidly approaching I figured I should have some new goodies for the table….

I was asked to make a little black santa ornament by one of the lovely vendors at the Bcktown bazaar……and here he is

I hope she likes him as she will be picking him up on Sunday at the Holiday Show.  Of course making him set the ole noggin’ to ticking and now I have amassed a little Santa army

Now I would love to tell you he’s my new favourite thing to make……but he’s not.  Why? I hear you ask well simply because these guys are..

They are kind of a bigger version of my little snowmen ornaments with pipe cleaner arms and I am determined to keep a few for myself I absolutely love how they look………I am getting worse!!!!!

So these little goodies (and lots more)  will be available at the show on Sunday I hope to see you there

My last show of the year is quickly approaching,  and I can’t tell you how much this thrills me…..I don’t have my tree or decorations or anything done for Christmas yet as I have been far too busy with the stabby stabby……..sigh I love having a real tree decorated for the holidays and I think this is the longest I’ve ever gone without having one…….waaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Anyway I am currently working on some new goodies for the Holiday show (and for Anthology) I’ll share them with you soon.  I got a request for a little Christmas cardinal last week

I had forgotten how much fun the little birdies are to make,  so thanks for the request Elizabeth I hope he makes your holidays cheery.

Remember if you are in the N. Ravenswood area of Chicago on the 14th  to stop on by and say Merry Christmas to me and the critters at the Holiday show

Wow it really was,  it felt like the whole of Madison at some point was in the hall.  I would like to thank all the wonderful shoppers for supporting  independent artists,  vendors for having the coolest schtuff  and most especially the organizers (glitterworkshop) for such a brilliantly organized and promoted show.

I managed to get a piccie of my booth in one of the 3 second lulls I seemed to get and also a rather fab pic of the hall

Lots of critters found fabulous new homes and lots of young artist were inspired,  check this out

How cute is their little penguin?  I am so impressed  as they made him only a few hours after purchasing the stabby kit from me!!!!   and  I am so thrilled to be spreading the needle felting obsession to others……yaaaaay a stabby invasion,  we will take over the world!!!!!  mwah haha

So I am going to be a very busy lady as The Holiday show in Chicago is this Sunday.   I had better get back to the stabby stabby.  But don’t forget

I’d love to see you there.

It feels like so much is going on over here in Stabbyland and yet nothing at all,  all at the same time………if you get what I mean.

I guess it’s because I haven’t moved away from my work place very much in the last week (try month) and yet I’ve been receiving the most brilliant requests and pictures from my wonderful stabby customers showing me the critters in their new homes………I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to know they are so loved.

Just look at Buttercup for example

Doesn’t she look happy?  and I think she is rather smitten with Marco the fabulous sock critter made by her new owner……. I just love that picture.

One request I had that was rather fun was from Miss Bea (one of my favourite Etsians).  Her son Noah’s Christmas list read as follows……. an MP3 player, Animal Crossings, and something from poorlulu.  Oh the pressure I mean how can I possibly compete with an mp3 player?   Well Miss Bea said he loves his hamster Ruby just look at his Etsy store for proof.  So here is Ruby for Noah

I hope Noah loves him just as much as the real Ruby………I certainly did which is why I was inspired to make Gary the Gerbil

I love all things mousey like so of course  he has my heart.

Remember this weekend me and the critters will be in Madison for the day at the Madison Masonic Center at 301 Wisconsin Avenue  from 10 a.m to 6 p.m and did you know that the first 50 shoppers through the door get a fabulous printed canvas tote bag stuffed full of free goodies from the crafters?   How cool is that?

So stop on by and say hi to the critters

So this time every year my hubby’s work has a bit of a Christmas party involving schtuffing yer face with food and swapping white elephant gifts (who exactly came up with the term of white elephant for a gag gift?  I mean it’s kinda odd right? It could just as easily be say a chunky chicken gag gift?  or am I overthinking this?)

Anyway back to the story,  last year I made him a little scientist for the exchange (and the fact it kinda resembled his boss was merely a coincidence  I assure you………..ahem)  and this year I took a little break from my crazy show crafting schedule and made him a little Marie……..

Above is the lovely Marie and below is my homage to her in wool……

I hope she isn’t to offended.

So I’m back to stabbying frenzy for Saturday’s show.  It’s the Craftacular in  Madison Masonic Center at 301 Wisconsin Avenue and will be on from 10 a.m to 6 p.m.  I can’t wait for this one as I adore the regular vendors and the organizer of this show so much,  it’s always a good time and really has quickly become a holiday tradition for me.  I hope if you are in the are you will stop on by and wish the Critters Happy Holidays………

Wow,  what a fantastic weekend………..so many fantastic vendors and appreciate shoppers I hardly know where to begin,  how about with a piccie?

This was at the very start of day one and I am so very glad I remembered to take a piccie as a lot of my critters found lovely new homes this weekend.   I did a few awesome trades with the other vendors which of course means Markie took them away for Christmas (would someone please explain how me setting up trades and swapping my lovely critters means Markie has got me Christmas schtuff?  because it’s confusing to me but somehow seems logical in his mind…. harumph)

Anyway I fell in love with Steve Tomashek’s Miniature Menagerie booth.  Steve whittles the most amazing little critters out of teeny bits of wood and also takes whimsical pictures of them……..loved them all to bits,  so Mark got to pick out some of them (fingers crossed it’s more than one)  for me for under the tree yippppeeeeeee.

SwallowKisses booth was behind me (very exciting as she has long been an etsy favourite of mine) I got a completely cool birdy hair clip and a peony flower pin and I LOVE them.  I also got the cutest pine cone necklace from Charmaine Anthony her jewellry was so gorgeous I was drooling at her booth…….but fell in love with the little pine cone.  I also snagged the coolest felted wool scarf from SteveSews! which I did actually keep and not permit being a Christmas gift, very essential  as Sunday was the heaviest snow storm we’ve had this year which meant that the field house was more than just a wee bit nippy…….. and made our drive back to Rockford just a little bit interesting.   Weenerware was also there (another of my favourites ever since I snagged a bottle cap pin of hers from the art-o-mat  machine a few years ago) Markie won the auction for one of her fabulous bracelets (it’s so cool, wait till you see)  but guess what?  yup  not till  Christmas…………sigh.   So thank you so much Bucktown Bazaar and all the wonderful shoppers and vendors for a completely fabulous weekend in Chicago,  my head is still spinning from the support and wonderful comments I received.

Now it’s back to work as this weekend is the rather fabulous Craftacular in Madison

Thanksgiving is such an odd holiday………but it does mean a parade!!!!! woooohooooo

and my favourite ballons have got to be…….

So Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!  I hope you have a fantastic day of over indulging in lots of yummy goodies……I may even take a stabby day off………maybe……….

Yaaaaaaay I got my hotel room booked for the weekend,  I had been a little worried about getting a hotel room in Chicago for the Bucktown Bazaar…….It had been a little difficult to get a reasonably priced room in Chicago for Thanksgiving weekend,  and yes I am sure the hotel is beautiful! …but $325.00 on my crafter’s budget just wasn’t going to happen.  But yaaaaaaay Hotwire came through for me once again (love that website!!!)  so we are staying in a fantastic hotel in the loop,  and I am as excited for that as the Bucktown Bazzar………..well, maybe not!!!!     But I am so excited for this weekend in everyway and it’s lovely icing on the crafting cake to have a nice hotel to schlep back to from the show……yaaaaaaaay!!!

I had a fantastic past weekend too…….we went to Madison for the first time in ages and dropped of some Christmas goodies at the wonderful Anthology.   Then headed to whole foods to place my Christmas dinner order,  they do a fantastic turkey and the works dinner and it’s all basically good to go with very little input from me (thank god for whole foods).  Then we enjoyed a few pints of some fantastic Belgium beer from the Monroe Street Bistro yummm.  So it was a fantastic weekend and I definately felt much less like a crafting shut in for it……

So remember this weekend is the Bucktown Bazaar………hope you can stop by and say hi