making sweet head coverings

i wanna thank you all for hanging in there
and letting me know
what the bleep in the blogger world
little madlycreative
brings to and stirs your pot with

cupcake hats, more sweet somethings
for the adultsized kid
who wants to look super delectable
in the cooler months ahead
yeah

look familiar? you know i love the baked goods
and some fiber too
these will go on sale in my town/in my little store/in the shop where all the handmade things are
as i cobble together an existence
as i try to read the stars and search my soul
i keep on ticking
kicking
and creating
for therein, lies the fun

message to the blogosphere:
sign of the scorpio. messages of death and rebirth. time to look deeply and stave off the fear. rebirthing is right around the corner, baby...

More work than I can say...

My work has spilt over permanently onto the couch, it's covers, the surrounding floor. I am awash in efforts to finish the chickies by this weekend ( I feel absolutely duped! I thought Easter was next weekend!!) and I am preparing to install a host of goodies at my friend, Mary's, store. Whew! I feel undone - and undone, and undone - as I view all the yet to be finished goodies littering the floor.
I am silly - I am making Cupcake Hats (for adults) in an assortment of sorbet colors. The work that goes into these seemingly simple, but lovely confections will never correlate to the minimum wage - and yet, I toil on. May they find happy heads one day.
The apartment is awash with spring colors = I hasten to my deadlines. It shined with sun here yesterday, and I created freshly mown and weeded green patches in the backyard for me Mum. Today, I am squirreled away in the apartment, watching the pure creative genius of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean on the film MirrorMask and pondering my personal navel a wee little bit. Silly,silly thing - I am making chickies and cupcake hats, and aprons - again. My friend, Lodema the Potter calls this "soft art". May I soon find my way into realms of surer footing and happier dreams, but for now, I am just happy to be finding the end of these projects somewhere in sight. Amen!

For your personal viewing pleasure:

Strawberry Shortcake and Her Hat

When a head that is meant for a hat collide - it is magic -true joy. That is exactly what happened when Aimeekins saw the pink mound of strawberry madness and claimed it for herself.
This is the very same Cupcake Hat pattern that I posted earlier in my blog, only with the tasty addition of a amigurami strawberry to match. I found this pattern online, but the editor specifically did not want any hotlinks to her site. Sorry for us - and a wee bit sorry for her too. Now she can't come to know the likes of all of you.
Seems to be understood these days that if you get something made from my wee little hands, some modeling and photo session is not far behind. Thank God and Goddess that my friends have more cred in that department than I do. I hate most photos of myself. I rather like being behind the lens.
Can't have a pink hat that screams desert without some silliness - or downright snarkiness. Little Miss So and So giving us the butt waggle ala Shortcake Style - love the pigtails - all three of them - he he!

Cupcake Hats for big people

It's hard to be an adult - you're expected to be so well mannered and rational, when all you really want to do is lock yourself inside all day and play with your toys. Well, this Cupcake Hat Pattern is for you - to help release the Strawberry Shortcake within and let your childish wonderment roam free and have a super cool hat at the same time.

Be sure to make the hat while eating your favorite flavor of real baked goodness. These photos were taken at the Common Ground Coffee and Cupcakes Shop on South Third Street here in Downtown Renton. You can grab a seat and knit away in a cozy chair, while Hang and Crystal make you up a little latte action.

Thank goodness I have the kind of friends that jump at the chance to share a little frosting while posing in hats. The don't grow on trees - so be thankful when you find them.

Crystal, Brandie and Pinky model the adult Cupcake Hats with such suave sereneness - you can hardly tell that they are pretending to patiently wait for me to finish my photo tasks so they can get their cupcake grub on.

Cupcake Hat for Adults
Materials : Worsted Weight yarn
One skein of the main color and about 40-50 yards of the ribbing color (here in brown)
Needles: size 8 circular needles, 16"
Cast on: 80 stitches

Knitting in the round, cast on 80 stitches in the ribbing color of yarn and work in a rib stitch of K2,P2 for approx. 2.5 inches, placing a marker at the beginning of the row. Then, purl a row before switching to the main color of yarn. The first row will be knit, the second and third rows will be purled - this gives the rim or edge of the cupcake. From then on, knit every row until the hat measures 7 inches from the cast on edge. Now you are ready to decrease.
Decrease Rows:
Row 1: *Knit 6, K2 tog* all the way around
Row 2: *Knit 5, K2 tog*
Row 3: *Knit 4,K2 tog*
Row 3: *Knit 3, K2 tog*
Row 4: *Knit 2, K2 tog*
Row 5: *Knit 1, K2 tog*
Row 6: K2 tog until you have about 6 stitches remaining. Use your tapestry needle, cut yarn with at least 6 inches left, and thread through the remaining stitches - pull tight and secure end by weaving through the back to the stitches on the inside of the hat. Make and attach a small pom pom, sew buttons on, make a strawberry - you are set.

Wear your Cupcake with pride - many will envy you, some quietly, wishing they had your flair

Cupcakes Anyone?

The cutest cupcake you'll never eat - the Cupcake Hat, which looks good enough to put on any one's head, I guarantee it. I first saw my friend Mary, of Happy Delusions store fame, working on this hat pattern. So adorable I needed one in time for Valentine's Day to give to the little special person in my life. When she couldn't find her pattern, I realized that (duh!) I could find it online - which I did right here, free pattern and all.

I made the size recommended, but my caveat to that pattern would be to make the rib more than 2 inches wide and to increase the length before decreases to over 5 1/2 inches - especially if the child you are knitting for is beyond a year old. As you can see, in what I like to call the "Apple Pie" Hat that I made with the little gingham buttons sown on, our little model will not be able to sport it for too much longer :(( My second important addition to this pattern is when you come to the portion that requires you to knit the "nubs" hold strong, don't over think it. Remember the chain cast on? Where you stick the tip of the needle into the stitch on the left hand needle, make a stitch and put it back on the needle? Now, after 5 of those, just bind off until back to the original stitch. Those darn nubs can cause some unnecessary hardships, if you know what I mean. And this is a confectionery creation - it is meant to be just silly fun

Good models are hard to come by, as are the very best of Grandmas too - but I am lucky that I have access to both!!

Yeah for cupcakes and silly head gear and lovey dovey Valentine's Day gifts - and yeah to all of you - a big holiday hug !
(PS - stay tuned for my adult version of the Cupcake hat - yeah for big kids!)