I <3 Etsy

Today I made my first Etsy purchase. I have been a big fan of the site for sometime. I love to just see what other people are creating and selling, but I haven't jumped in until today.

What was it that finally prompted me to buy....

Owls! A cute green owl ornament and an owl crewel picture (to be honest, I don't even know what that is, but I know I really want to try it out). I am going to refrain until after the PMP and after Audrey's Xmas is crafted, but then, watch out world.

Also, I love this person's blog. She has all kinds of neat tutorials. I think Audrey and I may try making some Xmas ornaments with the sunshine clay tutorial. Thanks Nikki.

Christmas crafting

I am already thinking of all the xmas presents I would love to make. Of course, non of the things I am about to mention are actually going to happen this year, due to lack of time, but I thought I would write down my thoughts, in case I have a little more time next year. :)

Audrey: Wee wonderfuls doll, we love to look at the photos of the beautiful dolls others have made here. Everytime we look at the photo group Audrey asks if we can get one of these nice dollies for herself.

Ryan: His scarf - this might actually happen, I have been working on it slowly throughout the year.

Genny: a corduroy quilt - she really loves corduroy.

William: A fancy and warm shawl/scarf in some super thin cashmere yarn - go for broke right :).

Mom: A kitchenaid cozy. I have been keeping my eyes open for a pattern, but have yet to see anything I want to make.

Dad: A skinny sweater - he has recently lost a lot of weight (yay dad!). I am thinking maybe the one with the flames on the arms from Stitch n' Bitch Nation, since he has also recently started riding his motorcycle again.

MIL: an afgan.

Me: a sweater (tbd), a cashmere skully scarf and cap (i already have the yarn).

Ben: a denim quilt - i actually have been collecting the denim to do this for a while. I made a denim quilt for William a couple of years ago and was planning to make one for my bro too, but... then I went back to work and it just never happened - maybe someday.

Mary Merna: a denim and khaki quilt (apparently I think everyone needs a good denim blanket in their lives).

House: I would also really like to make a knitted banner for my house. No pattern per se, but I have an idea in my head already.

Wow!

Now, I will start this with a disclaimer that I am not necessarily endorsing tattooing with this post (especially you Audrey - when you are old enough to read this), that said...

Isn't this an amazing tat! I can't wait to see it when it is done. I saw this on my favorite crafting blog.

Cozy craziness

I had to post this because Ryan kind of makes fun of my "cozy" fetish. And to be honest he didn't properly appreciate my offer to knit him a computer cozy. So imagine my delight when I found this...

Some clever artist got tired of staring at an old and dilapidated gas station and decided to craft a "cozy" to take care of the problem.

Weavette Looms

My grandma Foster has a blanket made out of these little woven squares that is awesome. She even lent me her original Weave-It loom at one point so I could make one too. But I was in college and didn't really have the time to devote to it. Plus, hers was a nice wool blanket and the yarn that I saw at that point in my life was all acrylic - which didn't seem worth the effort.

So imagine my delight when I discovered that someone (BuxtonBrook.com) has started making these delightful little looms again. The only problem is - they have been sold out for a very long time. I am even tempted to get a rectangle (2x4 or 2x6) one to make bookmarks since that is the only kind they have in stock - plus a blanket with a subway tiles look might be pretty snazzy. But what I really want is the square one.

So for any of you thrift shop/garage sales goers - if you happen to see a weave-it loom for sale - please think of me. :)

Spoiled!!

This post has been a long time in coming - owing to a camera without a recharging battery. My spoiler for the DC swap sent me an awesome package!!

She sent me 3! dishcloths all halloween themed - wow. Then she sent some cotlin yarn, which i have been wanting to try forever and she sent 2 sets of needles - some fantastic short bamboo ones and some vintage ones. She also sent a pattern of the ball band dishcloth - which is one of my favorites. As if all that wasn't enough - she sent some fantastic smelling soap, a witchy notepad and some treats - swedish fish and coffee - yum! Thank you Val!

On a side note, i posted earlier that I didn't like handmade soaps - well I have since changed my mind. After shopping for some soap for my partner and getting this great soap from Val, I have changed all of my bathroom soaps to handmade fancy soaps.

Crafty Bastards

Today we are going to Crafty Bastards and I am so excited. This is not the cutesy type of arts and crafts show that I go to with my MIL in the climate controlled expo center (though I must admit I love that too). We couldn't ask for better weather for the event 70s - bright and sunny, with a nice light breeze. I just hope the drive into downtown is as pleasant as the day itself.

I am hoping to pick up a cool thing or two. I have a strong dislike of chatchkey - ish things. So anything I get will definitely be useful - maybe a laptop sleeve or cool shirt. I will post any cool purchases (unless they are gifts for folks who read my blog).

First Stitch

I just realized that even though I now knit a little bit almost everyday, I haven't even mentioned how this came to be. It all started earlier this year. You see for Christmas I wanted to make crafty things for people in my life - following my homemade sends love motto. So I made a knitting themed bag for Mary and included some needles, yarn and instructions so that she could learn to knit (as most of you know we have long been avid crocheters with crochet parties that were the stuff of legends).

Getting the knit kit together for Mary, made me want to learn to knit myself - so after I finished William's quilt, I finally took it up. It was actually quite easy to learn off the internet - several sites had great illustrations on various stitches and then with the arrival of the aforementioned knitting book. So... I am hooked.

Here are pics of one of the hand towels that I did for Mother's Day and a wash cloth that I did for my mom as well. There is a close-up of the hand towel so that you can see the neat texture/design of it. The wash cloth is so bright and happy that I actually got it wet - hoping it would bleed - so that I would have an excuse to keep it for myself. It did not bleed, so I sent it off to my Mama with love.

Mason-Dixon Knitting

I recently - several months ago - got a new book from zooba that I absolutely love - Mason Dixon Knitting. It is my first knitting book so I don't know much about the genre, but I must say it is fabulously fun to read. As I am reading it - looking at their projects and stories to go along with them, I can't help but feel like I am among friends (the type who love crazy projects and crocheting parties). I also can't help but want to try to knit everything they show in the book.

As I am a beginning self-taught knitter, I am trying to pace myself. Even so, I have made several hand towels and several dishcloths so far. In fact, I am hoping to be sponge free very soon. My goal is to have a fresh dishcloth for each day so that they never get that funky smell that I can not seem to microwave/dishwash out of my sponges.

For some reason though, perhaps it is the frugal fanny or the closet environmentalist in me, I am drawn to the rag ball rugs. I am desperately trying to think of a place in my house that needs a rug knit from strips of old clothes - unfortunately, nothing comes to mind. Maybe I will just have to make another denim quilt to satisfy my urge to reuse fabric in a useful way.

Crafty Adventures

I finally gave William the demin quilt that I have been working on for what seems like forever. Luckily she loves it. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture before she took it home, so nothing to post by way of picture. Hopefully William will take a picture of it and send it to me and then I can post one for all to enjoy.

Thanks for the pic William!