Grasshopper Handmade

Mid-Winter Sale

2012-01-27T18:02:00.000-05:00

I'm having a mid-winter sale in my Etsy shop. 25% off all cowls and any other winter accessories I may run across in the next week or so. I made a lot of cowls for my holiday shows and while I did sell many of them, I have more than I want to store all summer so I thought that I'd hopefully clear some of them out with a sale. I'll be adding more as I get pictures taken so keep checking back.

Hedgehogs!

2012-01-02T13:26:00.000-05:00

I made six of these hedgehogs as Christmas presents this year using this pattern. The Fun Fur was such a pain to work with--especially at first--but they turned out so cute I think it was worth it. (Though right now I'll be happy if I never see another hedgehog, let alone make one.) The ones already given were, I hope, well received. These last three are a gift for my "nieces" who sadly may be too old for this kind of gift really soon.

Youtique: A Handmade Holiday Craft Show

2011-12-02T06:00:00.002-05:00

My next craft show is Youtique: A Handmade Holiday--tomorrow at Wayne State University from 2 - 9 PM. (Not 3 - 9 PM as stated in the ad above.) Hope to see you there!

Free Shipping in My Etsy Shop

2011-12-01T08:00:00.031-05:00

I decided to give out a code for free shipping at my next two craft shows in case for some reason, someone wants to order later. That way they can still get the price they would have gotten at the show. (I wish I'd thought of doing this at my last show.) And while I'm at it, I decided to extend the coupon to my blog readers and Facebook fans.

Here are the details:
Use coupon code FSGRWIN2011 for free domestic shipping in my Etsy shop until 1/1/12. (Contact me for international shipping and I'll give you a discount.) Feel free to share the code with whoever you like.

(Maybe use the code on one of my new cowls?)

Say Yes to Michigan!

2011-11-30T12:48:00.000-05:00

Just made this Michigan-themed Treasury on Etsy.

Craft Show Season

2011-11-16T16:10:00.000-05:00

I am currently in the process of getting ready for three craft shows which take place three weekends in a row starting November 26th. And I'm a little panicked, to tell you the truth. I have never done three craft shows in quick succession like this (and one of them is a two-day show.) I do think I'm doing pretty well getting ready, but I imagine I'll be a bit stressed until December 12th, when all of them are over.

The first show is the Flint Handmade Holiday Craft Market which will be on November 26th at the Flint Masonic Temple. The list of vendors has been posted on the Flint Handmade blog just in case you want to start making your shopping list. There is also a Facebook event page with all of the info in case you prefer that.

The second show is Youtique: A Handmade Holiday on December 3rd at the Old Main building on Wayne State's campus. It takes place during Noel night, which is a fabulous event you also might like to attend. Youtique also has a Facebook event page.

And my third and final show for the year is DIYpsi's winter show which will be December 10th and 11th at the Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti.

Nerd Wars

2011-07-15T17:54:00.000-04:00

So I've been participating in Nerd Wars on Ravelry. I'm a member of Team Enterprise since I'm a big Next Generation nerd. (How many people have I just alienated, I wonder?) I thought I'd share my projects from the last round--which ended at the end of June.

This is my felted Ferengi Rules of Acquisition wallet. The style is very similar to something I have been working on for my Etsy shop.

The Boldly Go baby hat. I used a pattern (somewhat modified) that I've used several time before for the hat itself and a different pattern for the stars. It was made from seconds of my Intrinsic yarn.

These are my Silly Starfleet Kah-nigits--combining my love of Star Trek with my love of Monty Python. I can't help but giggle a bit whenever I look at them. They were made using the pattern I used for my regular knights a while back.

I charted this lightning bolt myself--after getting my husband to make me a chart that I accidentally faced in the wrong direction. Whoops.

And this is my Borg Kitty. The kitty was made using this pattern and the Borg additions were made up as I crocheted them. I wish the picture had come out better, but black yarn is so difficult to photograph well and I'm not a very good photographer.

More Canning--Strawberries

2011-06-30T17:57:00.000-04:00

Last week, I went strawberry picking with my sister-in-law and my nephew. I hadn't been to pick strawberries since I was a kid, but I still managed to pick almost 17 pounds of berries pretty darn quickly. (pretty darn quickly = slightly longer than the amount of time a 5-year-old will happily pick strawberries) So all week I made things with strawberries.

In the above picture:

Spreadable Fieldberries from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving: This did not quite set up properly, but is definitely thicker than syrup.

Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate (also from Ball): I used my juicer to juice the lemons and I think it made the concentrate a bit clumpy (for lack of a better word) but it's still good. (Delicious with sparkling water.)

Strawberry Vanilla Jam from Food in Jars: This is pretty much syrup. I haven't actually opened a jar, but I don't have high hopes for it being very jammy. I also found it to be a little too sweet for my tastes.

This was my first canning of strawberries in any form and my first jam. While I didn't get a good set on either kind of jam, I'm still happy with my first attempt and will definitely try again. Maybe raspberries.

Rhubarb!

2011-06-20T14:10:00.000-04:00

We have a new rhubarb plant in our garden this year (a transplant from my parents), but, since we just planted it, my dad didn't think we should pick any this year. This advice was quite upsetting to me since I have about 10 different things I want to can with it. Luckily, our neighbors brought us a giant bundle of rhubarb last week.

While it wasn't enough for all of the things I was hoping to make, it was plenty for this Victorian Barbecue Sauce.

The recipe is in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving if anyone is interested in making it. I highly recommend it. Yum.

Another Treasury by Yours Truly

2011-06-17T15:39:00.000-04:00

Apparently I am starting to love making Treasuries. I was looking at my favorites today and noticed how many of them featured words, so I decided to make a Treasury of things with words on (which was my original title until I thought of a better one.) Then I poked around Etsy for far too long finding items to finish it up. I don't think it looks quite as good as my last Treasury, but it was more fun for me to make. (Click the link underneath if you want to look at anything more closely.)

"Words are all we have." - Samuel Beckett

Yarn Name Change

2011-06-05T13:00:00.006-04:00

The name of my Superwash Merino Sock yarn is now Intrinsic. I never liked the name of the yarn and only used it because I couldn't think of a better one--one that wasn't just a basic description of the yarn. Now I have. And I have names for several other lines which I will hopefully be getting to very soon. (Another fingering weight one is just about ready. I just want to dye a few more skeins before I announce it.)

In other yarn news, I have several new colorways in the works. Be on the lookout for those very soon. If it cools off a bit (and I finish getting my garden planted), I should have a dye day or two this week, so get ready.

"Country" Living

2011-06-03T13:18:00.010-04:00

We have been having trouble getting our entire backyard mowed since it's been super rainy and when it wasn't, we were out of town. (Also we live on two acres and most of that seems to be grass.) So we have this patch that is pretty tall. Yesterday, when Chris was mowing, he noticed something hidden in the grass.

A tiny fawn.

We looked it up and apparently a fawn has almost no scent, so the mother will leave it in a safe place all day in order to not attract predators to it with her scent. And I guess our backyard looked like a safe place. At least until the mowing. Now it seems that the lawn near the driveway appears safer since that's where the fawn is today.

Good Day Sunshine Treasury

2011-05-24T00:05:00.003-04:00

Last night, out of nowhere, I decided to make my second ever Treasury on Etsy. (The first was about 4 years ago.) It started with two sunny items in my Etsy favorites and ended with this.

Things I'm Loving Right Now

2011-05-22T12:01:00.002-04:00

So I thought I'd start occasionally posting links to things I love. I commonly spend too much time browsing Etsy and other sites and often find things that I'd like to share. Here goes...

I bought this Ministry of Silly Walks mobile from Salty and Sweet for my husband for his birthday earlier this month. He loves it and I am thrilled that I get to keep it in my house.

This stoneware planter by Virginia Wyoming would look gorgeous in my dining room. (I'm kind of a sucker for this color so expect to see more of it in future posts.)

This vintage lamp from Modern Relics is gorgeous. I also want probably about half of the other things in the shop.

I could use this amazing quilted pouch by Hip to Piece Squares for so many things. If I only had enough pouches and other useful items for putting things in, I'm sure I could get organized. Really.

I love this linocut print from The Big Harumph. I know exactly where I would hang it if I bought it too--right between two closets in my guest/craft room.

Dandelion Love

2011-05-16T14:52:00.006-04:00

My yard last week--before the evil lawnmower went to work.

New Logo

2011-03-30T23:23:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, I spent way more time than I should have needed (pretty much most of the day) working on a logo for my shop. I just wanted something very simple that I could put on tags and business cards. And simple is what I got--since I can't really draw and I don't know how to work Photoshop Elements beyond a very basic degree. I don't really know how I feel about it. I would love some opinions.

Now on to making new cards and tags. Hopefully before the Youtique show on April 16th, but I'm making no promises.

Youtique: Spring Into Handmade

2011-03-24T12:36:00.004-04:00

I just found out that I am going to be a vendor at Youtique on April 16th at D'Amato's restaurant in Royal Oak. The show is being planned by Michigan Artisans and the Handmade Gift Guide. Should be a fun show--they will have appetizers, a cash bar and a silent auction. Now I probably need to get to work.

Remember This?

2011-03-12T14:07:00.005-05:00

Do you remember this wrap? (I was horrified to see that I posted that a year and a half ago--I really need to speed up my process.)

Since I never really ended up with one that I loved, I've decided to improve upon it. And, instead of making them for sale, I'm going to write up a pattern and sell that. I have been intending to branch out into pattern sales for quite a while now and I've promised myself that this year I will finally do it. I make up patterns all the time for myself and to make items to sell in the shop so it seems like a logical step to write them up for sale. I believe I have the wrap design the way I want it, so I'm now writing a pattern from my notes. After I have that done, I'll make one more to see if the pattern seems correct to me and then it's on to testing. Hopefully I'll have it ready for sale this spring. Now I just need to think of a name for the pattern. (And as you can probably see by my boring post titles, I'm not very good at that sort of thing.)

Some Gifts I've Made Recently

2011-02-07T12:53:00.018-05:00

I made some fun gifts for children I know for Christmas and of course could not be bothered to take any pictures of them before giving them away. So I have a couple of shots taken by parents of the recipients that I hope they don't mind me posting here.

First, for my nephews, Zachary and Gavin, I made these cork knights and ninjas (links are to patterns).

Each of the boys had three knights and a ninja (because what army is complete without a ninja?) in different colors. This is one set with both of the ninjas--the other knights were busy at the time. I'm going to make more of these because I love them so much.

I also made some play silks for my almost-nephew, Wyatt. They were fun to make, but time consuming because I had to keep redyeing to get them as bright as I wanted. Or almost as bright, anyway. (They look more subdued in the picture than in reality.)

He's wearing one of the play silks and most of the rest are hanging on the play stand behind him. His mom and grandfather made the gorgeous play stand, by the way.

And finally, for my nephew Zachary's birthday, I made a sock doll. And I actually managed to take a picture of this one before I gave it to him. I'm not much of a sewer, although I do have a sewing machine which is still in the box (I've promised myself to start to learn to use it this year.) so this was a little more outside my normal crafts.

It's all handsewn (so I didn't have to get the sewing machine out yet) and I used a tutorial from the book Stray Sock Sewing by Daniel. I found the tutorial and book a little hard to follow for a beginner, but I think that was more a problem with the translation than the book. Also I've discovered I'm a much worse embroiderer than I am a handsewer, so he got a button face instead of the embroidered one I was planning. I guess that's something else I need to learn.

Books Read in 2010

2011-01-23T23:16:00.011-05:00

As I'm still keeping track of all of the books I read, I thought I'd share last year's list. Some of these are re-reads and I've marked those with an [RR].

1. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
2. The Invisibles: Say You Want a Revolution - Grant Morrison
3. Planet of the Damned - Harry Harrison
4. Gibbon’s Decline and Fall - Sheri S. Tepper [RR]
5. The Butterfly Revolution - William Butler
6. The BFG - Roald Dahl
7. The World Inside - Robert Silverberg
8. The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett
9. Escape to Earth - Ivan Howard (ed.)
10. All the Myriad Ways - Larry Niven
11. The Zombie Survival Guide - Max Brooks
12. New Dimensions 1 - Robert Silverberg (ed.)
13. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
14. Spindrift - Allen Steele
15. On Our Way To the Future - Terry Carr (ed.)
16. Doorway Into Time - Sam Moskowitz (ed.)
17. The Tesseract - Alex Garland
18. House of Stairs - William Sleator
19. Millennium - Ben Bova
20. Toward Infinity - Damon Knight (ed.)
21. The Bicentennial Man - Isaac Asimov
22. Over Sea, Under Stone - Susan Cooper
23. A Time of Changes - Robert Silverberg
24. Damnation Alley - Roger Zelazny
25. 7 Steps to Midnight - Richard Matheson
26. A Dusk of Demons - John Christopher
27. The Revenants - Sheri S. Tepper
28. The Phoenix and the Carpet - E. Nesbit
29. A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick
30. The Awakening - Kate Chopin
31. The Wounded Planet - Roger Elwood and Virginia Kidd (ed.)
32. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
33. Lovelock - Orson Scott Card and Kathryn H. Kidd [RR]
34. Lemony Snickett: The Unauthorized Autobiography - Lemony Snickett
35. Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood [RR]
36. The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly
37. Engine Summer - John Crowley
38. Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett [RR]
39. The Unsleep - Diana and Meir Gillon
40. The Egypt Game - Zilpha Keatley Snyder
41. Beloved - Toni Morrison [RR]
42. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
43. Millennial Women - Virginia Kidd (ed.)
44. Fragile Things - Neil Gaiman
45. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
46. Full Dark, No Stars - Stephen King
47. The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
48. The House With a Clock in Its Walls - John Bellairs

I think my favorites for the year (out of new reads) were Pride and Prejudice, The Book of Lost Things, Never Let Me Go and The Hunger Games--all of which I adored--although there were quite a few books I really enjoyed. I'm not really sure how I managed to go this long without reading Jane Austen as she's exactly my style. And if I'd realized Kazuo Ishiguro had written a science fiction book, I would have read it right when it was released because I loved The Remains of the Day so much and sci fi is my favorite genre.

Long Delayed Crocheted Play Food Part 2

2011-01-22T16:47:00.007-05:00

Well, I never said how soon I'd post the second of my posts on the play food I made for Wyatt's 2nd birthday. (His 3rd birthday will be here in about three weeks, but at least I beat that.) Please accept my humble apologies for being so slow and lazy about blogging. If I don't start to do better, I think I may have to give it up as a lost cause. I do have things to share, though, so I guess I can try a little harder.

Now on to the food...

Tiny cupcakes made with this pattern. I probably didn't follow the pattern exactly (because I usually don't) but I didn't make any notes on the project on Ravelry, so I don't imagine I changed it too much.

Red velvet cake that I made up after seeing another pattern similar to it at some point in the past.

These strawberries were made with this pattern, although I made the tops completely different. I don't remember if I thought my way looked better or if it was just easier.

A lemon and lime made with this pattern and yarn that I already had. I would not have picked these colors, but I decided before I started that I didn't want to buy any yarn for this project.

And the pear, which I love (not quite as much as the radishes from the last post, though.) It just came out so pear-y. I used this pattern and modified it quite a bit, but didn't take any notes so I have no idea what I did. I'm sure I'll be mad at myself for that one the next time I decide to make a pear.

Lots of Crocheted Play Food

2010-03-16T23:27:00.011-04:00

Ah--another extremely after the fact blog post. I guess I should just be happy that I manage to get them up at all.

Last month I finished a project I've been working on for about six months--a ton of crocheted play food for our friends' little boy, Wyatt. I've got loads of pictures so I'm going to split this into two posts so as not to overwhelm you. I apologize for some of the picture quality, but I'm working with what I've got. I'll post the pattern when there was one.

All of the food--I don't think it looks like even close to as much as it felt like.

The apple was made from this pattern--I believe I followed the directions pretty faithfully.

The cookies were just made up as I went along. People didn't seem to know that the sugar cookies were cookies without me telling them, however.

Carrots were again just made up as I went along--trial and error. I kept deciding that they weren't carroty enough and ripping out half my work and I still don't completely love the way they turned out.

I used this pattern for the radishes, which I absolutely adore. Wyatt's present was almost short a couple of radishes because they were just so darn cute that I wanted to keep them.

More pictures to come...

Super Cute Baby Hat (For a Super Cute Baby)

2010-02-16T15:14:00.005-05:00

My friends' daughter, Maia, had her first birthday in November. I didn't have her birthday hat done at the time--bad Liz!--and didn't see them again until last month so she got it then. (In the meantime, I redid the entire hat to make it bigger.) And I'm just now managing to post about it.

I made it from my hand dyed wool in the colorway Nightswimming and I used the knit Aviatrix Baby Hat pattern which can be downloaded free from Ravelry. I think it's adorable even if it is a bit big. And maybe she can wear it next year.

Books Read in 2009

2010-01-06T00:23:00.003-05:00

When I changed my blog layout over the summer, one of the things I added was a continually updating list of all the books I read during the year. I meant to post about it, but never quite got around to it. I am a voracious reader--I have been as long as I can remember. In 2008, I started keeping track of all of the books I read because I was curious about how many I read in a year. I enjoyed having the list since I tend to be on the forgetful side and sometimes forget what I've read, so I continued it in 2009. I read 56 books in 2008 and 78 in 2009. (Those numbers don't include comics--unless the comics were bound into a book--and it doesn't include crafty or cook books.) I don't know the reason for the huge difference in numbers--I guess we will see what this year brings.

Here's the final list for last year:

1. Man Plus - Frederik Pohl
2. Not With a Bang - Chapman Pincher
3. Childhood’s End - Arthur C. Clarke
4. The Space Merchants - Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth
5. The Second Trip - Robert Silverberg
6. The Margarets - Sheri S. Tepper
7. The Long Goodbye - Raymond Chandler
8. The City of Ember - Jeanne DuPrau
9. He, She and It - Marge Piercy
10. Masters of Everon - Gordon R. Dickson
11. Coraline - Neil Gaiman
12. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon
13. The Infinity Box - Kate Wilhelm
14. Solar Lottery - Philip K. Dick
15. The Ladies of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke
16. Sardonicus - Ray Russell
17. We Who Are About To... - Joanna Russ
18. Redwall - Brian Jacques
19. In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
20. View From Another Shore - Franz Rottensteiner (ed.)
21. Batman: Year One - Frank Miller
22. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - Frank Miller
23. The Crucible of Time - John Brunner
24. Monument - Lloyd Biggle, Jr.
25. Imperial Earth - Arthur C. Clarke
26. Now You See It... - Richard Matheson
27. City of Illusions - Ursula K. LeGuin
28. Enchantress From the Stars - Sylvia Engdahl
29. Downward to the Earth - Robert Silverberg
30. Highway of Eternity - Clifford D. Simak
31. The Time Machine - H.G. Wells (audio)
32. Always Coming Home - Ursula K. LeGuin
33. Years of the City - Frederik Pohl
34. Matilda - Roald Dahl
35. Shock III - RIchard Matheson
36. The Peace War - Vernor Vinge
37. The Eyes of Heisenberg - Frank Herbert
38. Looking Backward From the Year 2000 - Mack Reynolds
39. Stress Pattern - Neal Barrett Jr.
40. Two Views of Wonder - Thomas N. Scortia and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (ed.)
41. Gathering Blue - Lois Lowry
42. Island in the Sea of Time - S.M. Stirling
43. Planet of Exile - Ursula K. LeGuin
44. Devil in a Blue Dress - Walter Mosley
45. Those Who Watch - Robert Silverberg
46. The Santaroga Barrier - Frank Herbert
47. Spaceling - Doris Piserchia
48. Truckers - Terry Pratchett
49. Diggers - Terry Pratchett
50. Wings - Terry Pratchett
51. Woe Is I - Patricia T. O’Conner
52. Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Master’s Choice - Alfred Hitchcock (ed.)
53. Five Children and It - E. Nesbit
54. He Is Legend - Christopher Conlon (ed.)
55. Tor Double #4 (Tango Charlie and Foxtrot Romeo - John Varley and The Star Pit - Samuel R. Delany)
56. The Stars, Like Dust - Isaac Asimov
57. The Currrents of Space - Isaac Asimov
58. A Canticle for Leibowitz - Walter M. Miller, Jr.
59. The Infinitive of Go - John Brunner
60. Ella Enchanted - Gail Carson Levine
61. Through Darkest America - Neal Barret, Jr.
62. In Deep - Damon Knight
63. Doomsday Book - Connie Willis
64. Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture - Ariel Levy
65. A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett
66. The Life of Pi - Yann Martel
67. Riddley Walker - Russel Hoban
68. Seven-Day Magic - Edward Eager
69. Reach For Tomorrow - Arthur C. Clarke
70. The Stainless Steel Rat - Harry Harrison
71. The Stainless Steel Rat’s Revenge - Harry Harrison
72. The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World - Harry Harrison
73. The Girl Who Owned a City - O.T. Nelson
74. King’s Blood Four - Sheri S. Tepper
75. Necromancer Nine - Sheri S. Tepper
76. Wizard’s Eleven - Sheri S. Tepper
77. The Sheep Look Up - John Brunner
78. Under the Dome - Stephen King

If anyone would like to discuss books with me or suggest any that they think I might like, I would love that. Really--please do. I would also like to take this opportunity to say that I sometimes read books because of their badness (I like bad movies too.) so please don't assume that I think the books I read are all good. Sometimes the absolute horribleness of a book makes it incredibly entertaining. At least to me.

SALE in My Etsy Shop

2009-12-28T19:29:00.008-05:00

I'm having a small end of the year clearance sale on felted clutches and pouches in my Etsy shop. I'm clearing out these lines to make room for new ones. Including several different kinds of fingerless gloves.

I also neglected to ever mention how the Flint Handmade Holiday Craft Market went after posting about my panic. I had more than enough stuff--as usual I overdid it. But at least now I have plenty of stock. I had a lovely time at the show. Everyone was super nice and friendly and I sold well enough to make it completely worth my time. I will definitely make it a point to try to get into Flint Handmade events in the future.

New Facebook Fan Page

2009-12-16T23:54:00.005-05:00

I now have a Facebook fan page. Whoo hoo! It's very new and I'm still not quite sure what I'm doing, but if you are on Facebook and would like to be kept up to date on sales in my shop and new designs I'm working on, please become a fan.

On the new designs front, I now have felted bowls available in my shop. Perfect to put on your nightstand for storing all the little things in your pockets at the end of the day.

Craft Show Panic

2009-12-04T01:06:00.004-05:00

The Flint Handmade Holiday Craft Market is this Saturday so I am having my usual last minute panic about not having enough ready. Which is obviously why I am still up and posting rather than working on more stuff. I don't know if anyone local reads this blog, but if you're near Flint, MI on Saturday between 10 and 4, please stop in and say hi. I will be in the Crim Fitness Foundation near the back. More details are on the flyer I posted a few weeks ago.

I am always intensely curious about what becomes of the supplies I make, so I always ask people who buy supplies from me to send pictures of the things they use them for. In October (and yes, I am just now remembering to post about it), I received a lovely message from Tracy--who bought the beads below--asking if she could mention my shop when posting about the adorable cupcake pincushions she made on her blog. Thanks again, Tracy for letting me see my beads out in the world.

Baby Blanket Addition

2009-11-24T16:00:00.005-05:00

I left out an important baby blanket update in my last post. Last year I made a baby blanket for my friends' son, Wyatt. I guess Wyatt has become quite fond of lying under it. And he sure takes a cute picture.

Flint Handmade Holiday Craft Market

2009-11-14T17:50:00.003-05:00

For anyone who may be in the area, I will be a vendor at the Flint Handmade Holiday Craft Market on December 5th. I imagine I will be mentioning it again, but thought I'd post this now since I just got the flyer.

(And look at me posting two days in a row.)

Baby Blanket Catch-Up

2009-11-13T18:09:00.007-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted regularly, so I'm going to try to remedy that by doing a series of posts about things I've missed posting about. This post's theme: baby/child blankets.

A few years back (before I had a blog), I made Bella, the daughter of friends, a blanket as a gift for her birth. I posted about her love for the blanket two years ago after her first birthday party. I saw Bella and her brother, Iain, over the summer several months before her third birthday. Once she understood that I made her Didi (her name for the blanket I made), she informed me that she needed a "pink Didi" for her birthday. Of course I had to do it after that, so I bought the most godawful shade of bubblegum pink yarn and made a blanket. Which she loved.

I crocheted it from a stitch pattern from A Treasury of Crochet Patterns by Liz Blackwell. I imagine I would have been happier with it had the color not made my eyes bleed while working with it. But it was what Bella wanted, so I guess all is well.

Last weekend I went to a baby shower for Anna, who I used to babysit when she was a baby. And wow, that made me feel old. I made another round ripple--my third. While I love the way these blankets come out, I am getting a bit sick of making them. But it did come out well. And quite speedy to make.

Back From Vacation

2009-09-25T12:08:00.007-04:00

(Bet you didn't even know I was gone.)

I've been going to the Outer Banks of North Carolina on vacation pretty much every year since I was in elementary school. I originally went with my family and when I got older, I started going with my friends. Chris and I were there last week. We did pretty much nothing the entire week--it was lovely. I read seven books.

I also started, and nearly finished, my first sock. I used a pattern (more of a formula, actually) from the book Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. I've been wanting to make something for myself made from my yarn in the colorway Annabel Lee because it's pretty much my favorite--unfortunately the sock doesn't fit me. Still it's really exciting to make socks and easier than I expected. (The color is not super accurate in the photo below.)

Prototype Wrap Design

2009-08-31T23:55:00.001-04:00

I've been working on this wrap/shawl design for a bit now and I think I've almost got it the way I want it.

Of course, it's done in a cotton blend yarn since I intended it for spring, but at least I'll have it ready for then. Now to get to work on one for fall that I'll probably have ready just in time for spring. The one in the photo doesn't hang quite right, but I believe the next one will. It's also a bit larger.

And I don't believe you've met my mannequin, Helena, yet. (Her name is a morbid joke based on the movie Boxing Helena, which I didn't even like, but once I thought of the name, it just stuck.) I got her last year on Ebay and I really don't know how I took any pictures without her. I do think she needs something to wear if I'm going to show her whole torso--the black ribbon around her waist looks a bit funny as is.

The Truth is Out There

2009-08-06T15:26:00.004-04:00

I made this potholder for a friend's birthday and gave it to him with the first season of the X-Files, a bag of sunflower seeds and a funny little glow-in-the-dark alien from a vending machine. (I really like theme presents.)

I'm pretty proud of it since I designed it myself--and it was my first time doing a chart for anything I've designed. Plus I think he's pretty cute.

Around the House

2009-07-12T04:06:00.007-04:00

This is what I found in my garage the other day:

He was a cute little guy. I'm afraid I may have scared him off permanently with all the moving around trying to take a decent picture I did. I hope not--I love snakes.

We planted a very small garden this year since it's our first year here and we have so many other things that need to be done. Everything was going quite well (even with our lack of proper care) until I discovered the tomato and cucumber plants were being eaten.

We figure it must be deer or groundhogs. I don't know if we'll get any cucumbers now since the entire plants are pretty much gone. Which is unfortunate.

We were also excited to discover that we have black raspberries and a kind of sad mulberry tree growing in our yard.

(We also have a pear and, I think, an apple tree, but since we had no idea what they were, they didn't get the care they needed in the spring. Hopefully we can do better next year.) Now I'm imagining all kinds of jam, but I have a feeling I won't get around to it. I guess there's always next year. (Or the year after that.)

New Blog Layout

2009-06-17T02:44:00.005-04:00

If there is anyone still reading this, you may have noticed that I changed my blog layout. I now have three columns instead of two--yay! I also changed the colors and a few other little things. I have thinking about doing this for a while and finally decided to just go for it. I definitely like the three columns, but I'm not sure about the colors yet--maybe I just have to get used to it.

I also think I've decided to mix it up a little on the blog and not only post about crafty things. I may post about fixing up our house (which I suppose is crafty) and maybe once in a while about books or movies or other interests. Up until now I've kept it pretty strictly about the crafting because this is a business blog after all, but I'm beginning to feel like the whole blog is just a list of projects I've finished--which I think makes for a boring blog. I'm not going to start posting all of the details of my life so don't worry about that--maybe just a little more about me that isn't craft related. I guess we will see what happens.

Moving and Circular Flower Hairpins

2009-06-09T17:35:00.007-04:00

So I guess I'm not doing very well with blogging. We moved into the new house in mid-May and it is taking up tons of my time right now. Which means all of my crafty endeavors are on the back burner to an extent. But it should get better. I hope.

Recently I started making a new flower hairpin design. They are made out of felt that is made by hand instead of being crocheted and then felted in the washing machine. I love making them and I think they are turning out pretty cute.

I made all of these before the move but I'm planning to make some more very shortly. Several of these are already available in my shop and more will be available soon.

An Adorable Baby (and Some Other Stuff)

2009-03-07T17:50:00.000-05:00

My friends Sarah and Kim have a new daughter, Maia, who was born in November. So I got to make fun baby gifts. And since I haven't been around to show you anything, I need to catch up.

This is Maia's blanket. I crocheted it with Lion Brand Cotton Ease and it is just random stripes of single, half double or double crochet. Normally I don't like to make things that change color so often, but I thought that it would be fine because I didn't have to weave in the ends since I was just making fringe from them. I realized the stupidity of that as I was rushing to finish the fringe before the baby shower.

I also crocheted these booties from my hand dyed sock yarn (in Collective and Tomorrow Wendy). I used a pattern from Sylver Designs on Etsy called Little Button Loafers. Of course I didn't do a gauge swatch and the booties only fit Maia for about a second. They came out pretty cute, though.

And I saved the best for last. Not the best project, but clearly the best picture--what a doll. (And I can't take credit for the picture--Sarah and Kim sent it to me.) I crocheted the hat out of the same yarn as the booties, but I kinda winged the pattern. Which was obviously a mistake because it's still too big on Maia at three months. But she's so cute that it doesn't really matter.

Back Again

2009-03-04T22:17:00.004-05:00

Well, I've been gone for a while. We've been looking for a house since last summer and it felt like I really had no time for much of anything else. I didn't intend to stop blogging, but when I stopped, it was so easy to continue not doing it. But we now have a closing date (which is the third one, I believe, so it may change again) of March 23rd. So I am going to attempt to start blogging again and we shall see how it goes.

I'm in love with the new house, but there's much we want to do to it (and the yard), so I'm sure I'll be posting plenty more about it over time.

A Gnome, a Cowl and a Necklace

2008-08-25T16:10:00.008-04:00

I thought I'd share a few pictures of some of the things I've made recently.

I made this little gnome for my friend Emily's birthday because she's really into gnomes right now. I'm not really a gnome person but I almost kept it because I thought it came out so cute. I used a free pattern--Simply a Gnome--which is available here.

This is a cowl I made from another free pattern. I don't know exactly what I'm going to do with it yet--I just felt like making it. It's made from my yarn--Grasshopper Handmade Superwash Merino Sock--in the colorway Silflay.

I've also come up with a new necklace design for my Etsy shop. It's a felted cord with glass beads added in randomly before felting. You can wear it wrapped around your neck up to four times. I really like these--hopefully other people do as well.

New Semi-Solid Colorways

2008-08-07T18:47:00.006-04:00

I've been working for what seems like forever on perfecting a technique for semi-solid colorways and I believe I have finally done it. I have three colorways so far and I'm working on several more. All of the yarns are dyed randomly so they should not pool.

This is Tangled Up in Blue:

This is Elphaba:

And this is Collective:

They are all available in Superwash Merino Sock yarn in my Etsy shop right now.

Artist of the Month Yarn and Interview

2008-08-01T15:11:00.004-04:00

My yarn and my Artist of the Month interview are up at yarn4socks today. Yay! I'm unreasonably excited. I'm working on a bunch of new yarns, including a new line of semi-solids, so I'll have lots to share very soon--but for now I just wanted to let everyone know about my temporary fame.

New Fiber Flower Choker

2008-07-30T04:48:00.006-04:00

I recently had a request for a fiber flower necklace, so I played around a bit and came up with this.

It's a crocheted flower on a crocheted and then felted cord. It fastens with a snap underneath the flower. I'm thrilled with it, so now I'm working on more for my Etsy shop. It's been a while since I made any new products for the shop aside from yarn--which makes this even more exciting for me.

My yarn is going to be available at Yarny Goodness starting very soon. I'm mailing my first shipment of yarn today, so look for me there. It's great to be getting my stuff out there more. I'm trying to expand my business a bit and this is one of the ways I'm doing it.

Yarn4socks Order Finished

2008-07-08T14:15:00.005-04:00

I have finished and shipped my order for yarn4socks. Yay me. I will be featured next month, but don't worry, I'll make sure to remind you about it then.

I've been putting all of my time into that order, so there is pretty much nothing new in my Etsy shop--time to remedy that. I also have two new yarn bases to try out. So I guess I need to get to work.

I have a small FO to show off. The pattern is called Blanket Buddy and it comes from the book 101 Designer One Skein Wonders. I made it out of Berroco Comfort, which is lovely soft yarn, but I found it a little splitty and hard to work with--although that may be because my knitting is not that good yet. I'd definitely use the yarn again, though.

I made it for Wyatt because he is apparently very into these kinds of toys right now. It came out a bit wonky, but I still think it's pretty cute. And it was good practice.

Busy, But Still Around

2008-07-01T11:33:00.004-04:00

Yes, I am still alive. I've been uber busy for the past few weeks--working on my yarn for yarn4socks and a custom order, making some little crocheted toys (which I will show you in a minute) and one other thing...

I believe I neglected to mention that Chris and I got married on April 1st. It was really no big deal--we only did it so that I would be covered under his insurance (hence the April Fool's Day wedding). We've been together for 12 years now, so it really changes nothing for us. But my parents were very excited and insisted on throwing us a party--which was about a week and a half ago. So that was the one other thing I've been busy with recently.

I've been making lots of crocheted toys recently--I don't know why, but it's become somewhat of an obsession. And, of course, I can't be bothered to make something with a pattern, so it's a bit of trial and error. But I've made a couple of fun ones lately. Here is my flying saucer:

And the 'nake I made for my nephew from some hand dyed yarn gone wrong:

I'm pretty happy with both of them although the flying saucer has gone through an improvement or two since I made that one. I'm now working on making both of them in felted versions and when I get those worked out, I may try writing up the patterns for sale.

Two New Colorways

2008-06-15T18:22:00.007-04:00

I've put two new colorways up in my Etsy shop in the last week or so. This is Off With Her Head:

And this is Last Night:

Off With Her Head reminds me of candy canes and therefore, Christmas, but I decided it wouldn't make everyone feel that way so I listed it now. I hope I was right about that.

A Few Small Updates

2008-06-05T20:30:00.005-04:00

I'm not sure how I managed to forget to mention this, but I will be the Artist of the Month for August at yarn4socks. I'm super excited--this will be my very first wholesale order and it's great exposure. I'm frantically trying to come up with a few new colorways before the order comes in. And, of course, trying to hurry is making it pretty much impossible.

I finally managed to deliver Wyatt's blanket to his mom--the one I didn't really like and thought she wouldn't like either--and she loved it. (His dad has not weighed in yet.) So I guess I was worried for nothing. I still don't love it, but I'm glad she does.

I finished the baby blanket I was making in my last post a few hours before the party. Yay! I didn't manage to get a picture of the entire blanket because of the last minuteness of the whole thing--which is unfortunate. The parents didn't open the presents at the party, so I don't yet know how they liked it, but I was mostly over my concern about that one. (Probably because I liked it so much.)

Racing to Finish

2008-05-28T18:02:00.005-04:00

I am working like crazy to finish a baby blanket that needs to be done by Saturday. I started it late last week because the yarn I ordered took extra long to get here. So now I'm hoping I can manage to finish it in time. It took much struggle to figure out what I was going to make (which seems a bit silly since I ended up using my go-to ripple), but I really like it and I hope the parents will too.

It's crocheted from Lion Brand Cotton Ease yarn, which is a cotton-acrylic blend, so it's lightweight but sturdy and it feels like cotton. I know they are unusual colors for a baby blanket, but I wanted something modern looking because I think that's what the baby's parents would want. I love it and I'm thinking of making something in these colors for me.

I also recently finished a small hand towel for Towel Day which was Sunday.

I am a huge Douglas Adams fan (especially the Hitchhiker's Guide), but I am ashamed to admit that I only heard of Towel Day for the first time a month or so ago. So I joined a towel KAL/CAL to make a towel for my very first Towel Day. It's knit from dishcloth cotton and I'm not in love with it (in large part because of the ugly pooling), but it came out okay. I hope everyone can see the 42.

Yarny Shopping

2008-05-17T21:24:00.006-04:00

I've been buying a lot of yarn (and yarn related items) lately. I just got a giant box of yarn from Smiley's last week--which included tons of Red Heart Bright and Lofty for $0.77 a skein (love it for kid's blankets) and some Jaeger Roma (currently becoming a tank--more about that later) plus some. And yesterday I got my very first order from Webs and my stuff from the Ravelry Mini-Mart.

Webs is having their annual sale right now so I decided to get some yarn for sweaters since I really want to start making wearables. I also bought a few skeins of yarns I want to try and some cotton/tencel for another tank. I'm super happy with my yarns--the pea green is going to be a cardigan and the burgundy a v-neck pullover (unless I change my mind before I make them, that is).

My pint glasses from Ravelry are wonderful--Chris and I used them last night. I thought I would fortify myself by having a beer in the "frogged" glass before I had to frog a couple of inches of my new tank. (I also ordered a "disagree" shirt, but received a "love" shirt instead, so I will show you that once I get it worked out.)

My newest project is Interweave Knit's Summertime Tunic in sage Jaeger Roma. I love this yarn even though I'm not madly in love with the color. I'm just sorry I didn't order more.

My knitting is still way more uneven than I'd like, but I'm trying to get past that and just make something already. I hope I will succeed and actually finish it, but you can never be sure at what point my perfectionism will take over and I will be forced to frog. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

New Colorway - Boat Drinks

2008-05-13T00:36:00.005-04:00

I listed a new colorway called Boat Drinks in my Etsy shop over the weekend.

Most of my sale yarn is gone now--I had quite a run on it. I do have a few more skeins of sale yarn to list still. And I may have a few undyed skeins around that I could dye up and sell--when I get a chance. I'm working hard to fill up the shop with new yarn, so I will try to fit that in when I can.

Wyatt's Blanket

2008-05-09T12:02:00.006-04:00

I have finished Wyatt's baby blanket (a while ago, actually), but have not yet gotten the chance to give it to him. It's based on a block pattern from the book 200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton. I just basically expanded everything to make it baby sized instead of block sized. The colors are the same colors that are in Wyatt's bedding.

I'm not in love with it. It's okay, but I guess not what I would have chosen. And I'm concerned it didn't come out the way Emily (Wyatt's mom) expected. I hope she likes it.

As promised, here is a picture of how the blanket was originally turning out.

Chris and I both thought it looked like a hideously ugly flag. So I had to frog and start again at the brown.

Books and More Books

2008-05-05T11:36:00.009-04:00

My birthday was last Saturday (not this past Saturday, but the one before that--April 26th) so Chris and I went used book shopping to buy me lots of birthday books. We already have piles of books that have no where to live, but you can aways find room for more, right? We seem to think so anyway.

First we went to our local library which was having a bag sale--all the books you could fit in a paper grocery bag for $3. (We insanely overfilled ours and gave them $6.)

These are some of the more entertaining ones:
The New Complete Hoyle--published in 1956,
The Wonderful World of Science - Book Five--an elementary school textbook published in 1941,
Polly's Homemaking Pointers--1965--love these hilarious/scary old homemaking manuals,
Stitch By Stitch--published 1986
and Creative Needlework--published 1974.
(There were about 15-20 that I didn't take a picture of.)

Creative Needlework has some really fun projects and what Chris and I agree is the pretty much the best picture ever taken. (You might want to click the photo for the larger size to really get the full effect.)

Then we went to several used books stores and got probably 20 more books. Mostly fairly old sci fi paperbacks, as evidenced in the photo. (Including a couple that I believe are out of print.)

All in all it was quite a gratifying haul of books and it made for a happy birthday for me. And after all of the wonderful book buying, we went out for dinner with some friends for the best Indian food ever.

Lots of Yarny Stuff (and a Sale)

2008-04-27T19:20:00.006-04:00

I have a new sock yarn base (which I love) which I think I've mentioned before. I have just started dyeing it and I have decided to put all of my older sock yarns on sale for 25% (or more) off. So check it out in my Etsy shop.

I also have a brand new colorway called Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me which was just listed in the shop today (but is on the new base yarn and so is not on sale).

I also listed another new colorway a couple of weeks ago which I never mentioned here called Browncoat--I think it's my new favorite colorway of mine. (That may be partially because of the name, which is a reference to the canceled tv show Firefly and the movie Serenity.)

It sold today, though. I will be trying to get a new one in the shop this week--dyed on the new base yarn no less.

I took a picture of a few of the newly dyed yarns to show off.

From left to right they are: Nightswimming, Valentine Michael Smith, Superhoney and Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me. The Superhoney looks a bit washed out next to the others, but it doesn't really look that pale in real life.

Punch Needle Embroidery (or I never met a fiber craft I didn't like)

2008-04-18T21:42:00.005-04:00

So I'm learning a new craft... punch needle embroidery. I've been wanting to learn for a while--since I saw patches that people had made. There were kits on clearance at Joann's so I picked one up. It's quite fun and so simple. This is my first attempt.

Last Minute Taxes

2008-04-14T21:56:00.005-04:00

I just finished my taxes for my first year of being in business. Whew. Nothing like waiting until the last minute, eh? (For those of you not in the US, our taxes are due tomorrow.) I had more trouble than I had expected and ended up buying Turbo Tax today. Once I had that, I zipped right through them. I think I need to completely change my record keeping system. And now that I've done my taxes, I have a better idea of how to set up the spreadsheet I'm using to keep track of things. I can't possibly have a worse idea. So it turns out I had a small loss last year, but it was less than I was expecting so I may even make a profit this year.

On a craftier note, I am very nearly done with the crocheting of little Wyatt's blanket. Then I just need to weave in the ends (blech!) and hand it over. I'm hoping Emily likes it. I'm not sure she will--it looks very 70s to me (which I kinda like) and I don't really think that's her style. I don't actually know how I feel about it myself yet. But it's almost done and that the main thing.

Of Yarn and Blankets

2008-04-10T18:32:00.005-04:00

I got a box of yarn in the mail today and for once, most of it is for us. I'm going to be making the Babette Blanket as soon as I get a chance to get started on it. I decided to make it in Knit Picks Palette after perusing Ravelry and seeing what other people were using. I didn't want to make it from acrylic, but I also didn't want to spend too much on it, so this seemed like the perfect solution. (Although it's actually quite a bit less than I would have spent.)

I'm using mostly the heathers since those were my favorites--there weren't quite enough, so I had to add a couple of other colors. I'm very happy with the colors I chose, though--I think it should come out well.

As for things not coming out so well... The baby blanket I mentioned in my last post did not work out at all. Emily and I had both felt a little concerned about the green next to the brown and orange and we were right to be concerned. It was coming out hideously. So I partially frogged it and ordered some yellow yarn to replace the green. Hopefully it will go better this time. When I get some of it done again, I will post pictures of both. I don't want to post the before picture without the after, though--it's that bad.

New Crockpot Dyed Colorway

2008-03-31T17:06:00.001-04:00

I've finally listed that new colorway I gave a sneak peek of last week and here it is:

It's called Silflay and I'm quite happy with it. I have several other Crock Pot dyed colorways in the works. I love dyeing in the Crock Pot and I'm sure I will do much more of it.

This yarn is for a baby blanket for my friends Emily and Jon's baby, Wyatt. Yes, he is 6 weeks old and should have his blanket already. But it isn't completely my fault. I was waiting for his mom to tell me colors and a style for the blanket for quite a long while. Yes, I have had that information since before Wyatt was born, but I had some trouble dyeing the brown (as evidenced by the yarn I had to buy in brown) and I just haven't gotten around to it. I hope to start the blanket in the next few days and have it done very soon.

Dyeing in My "New" Crock Pot

2008-03-22T17:56:00.004-04:00

I finally decided that I absolutely had to have a crock pot to dye yarn in, so we went out today to purchase one. We planned on ultimately going to Sears, but checked at the resale store to be sure they didn't have one before going there. And they had one--for $5.99. I was planning to spend about $20-$30 on one, so this was amazing. It's a Rival Crock Pot--probably 4-5 quarts, which is the smallest I really could have used, but it works. I'm using it right now to work on a new colorway.

You can see a little sneak peek of it through the steam--and you will see it hopefully (as long as it comes out the way I'm picturing) here and in the Etsy shop in a few days.

Kool Aid Dyeing

2008-03-17T02:06:00.001-04:00

Last weekend, a friend's little girls, Anya, Kaia and Lily, came over and spent the weekend with us. While they were here, we did some Kool Aid Dyeing. Unfortunately, our kitchen is way too small for all three of them to dye at once, so we took turns. I had a hard time choosing which of the super cute pictures to use--I apologize for using so many. Couldn't be helped, though.

This is Anya:

Kaia:

And Lily:

(By the way, the gloves didn't get that blue from the Kool Aid--those are the gloves that I use to dye my hair.)

Here are the yarns hanging up to dry--from left to right they are Kaia's, Lily's and Anya's:

And here are the girls with their yarns all wound up in balls:

They did such a good job with the dyeing, especially for their first time--the colors didn't get muddy at all. I hope to try this again with them sometime when we have more space and can all work together.

Nightswimming

2008-03-11T09:56:00.005-04:00

I listed a new colorway in my Etsy shop last week--Nightswimming.

This is a lace weight yarn, but it can be dyed on any of my base yarns. However, I am in the process of getting a new fingering weight base yarn and will be discontinuing all of my other fingering weight yarns. I will not be ordering any more of them, so what I have is it. The new base yarn is a superwash fingering weight merino. I hope to eventually add at least a superwash/nylon fingering weight yarn, but for now, I will only have the one.

Free Pattern for Amigurumi Mushroom

2008-03-04T19:05:00.006-05:00

A while back, I posted a picture of a crocheted mushroom I gave to my mom for Christmas. I had so much fun making it that I made a few more and now I've written up a pattern in case someone else wants to make one. This is my very first written pattern (usually I just make notes for myself) so I hope I did okay. Please let me know if you find any mistakes. And I'd love to see pictures if anyone makes one. :)

Amigurumi Mushroom

Materials:
worsted weight yarn in one or two colors
G hook (or any hook that gives you a tight gauge)
stitch marker
fiberfill
yarn needle
contrasting color yarn (optional)

Gauge:
not important, but should be crocheted tightly

Pattern note:
This pattern is worked in spirals--do not join at the end of each round. Use a stitch marker to indicate the beginning of rounds and move it after finishing each round.

Two color mushroom:
Color A - tan worsted weight merino wool
Color B - red worsted weight merino wool

Stem

Rnd 1: Using color A, make 6 sc into magic adjustable ring.
Rnd 2: 2 Sc in each sc around. (12 sc)
Rnds 3-9: Sc in each sc around. (12 sc)
Cut yarn and fasten off.

Cap

Rnd 1: Using color B, make 6 sc into magic adjustable ring.
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each sc around. (12 sc)
Rnd 3: *Sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc; repeat from * around. (18 sc)
Rnds 4-5: Sc in each sc around. (18 sc)
Rnd 6: *Sc in next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc; repeat from * around. (24 sc)
Rnd 7: *Sc in next 3 sc, 2 sc in next sc: repeat from * around. (30 sc)
Rnd 8: *Sc in next 4 sc, 2 sc in next sc; repeat from * around. (36 sc)
Rnd 9: *Sc in next 5 sc, 2 sc in next sc; repeat from * around. (42 sc)
Rnd 10: *Sc in next 6 sc, 2 sc in next sc; repeat from * around. (48 sc)
Rnd 11: *Sc in next 7 sc, 2 sc in next sc; repeat from * around. (54 sc)
Rnd 12: *Sc in next 7 sc, sc2tog over next 2 sc; repeat from * around. (48 sc)
Rnd 13: *Sc in next 4 sc, sc2tog over next 2 sc; repeat from * around. (40 sc)
Rnd 14: *Sc in next 3 sc, sc2tog over next 2 sc; repeat from * around. (32 sc)
Rnd 15: Sc2tog around. (16 sc)
Rnd 16: *Sc in next 2 sc; sc2tog over next 2 sc; repeat from * around. (12 sc)
Cut yarn and fasten off.

If you would like a face on your mushroom, embroider it now with the contrasting yarn.
Stuff cap and stem with fiberfill and whip stitch together.

Two New Colorways On Etsy

2008-02-27T17:03:00.006-05:00

I've listed two new colorways on Etsy in the past week.

Honah Lee:

and Superhoney:

These can be done on any of my base yarns just like all my other colorways, so if you want something in a different yarn, please just let me know. I am currently trying to decide on new yarn bases, so these will be changing shortly. And I think I'm going to pare down to only 3 or 4 different ones--for now at least.

In vaguely related info, I recently bought Photoshop Elements to try to make my pictures better. I have been using iPhoto, which has worked fairly well, but I'm starting to feel like it's not quite good enough. I haven't quite figured out Photoshop Elements, so if anyone has any advice for me, I'd really appreciate it. My main problem is that the colors on my photos often don't turn out properly. I am already using a (homemade) lightbox, so the only thing I can think of is to fix the pictures in editing. And even with Elements, that seems to be much harder than I had anticipated.

Sadly Neglected Blog

2008-02-26T00:25:00.004-05:00

I have been neglecting this blog as of late and I sincerely apologize to those of you who read it. I have lots to post about, so I will be trying to be a little more regular about it.

For today, I'm just going to give you a photo of a recently finished baby blanket.

I made it for Chris's new nephew, who is due in just a few weeks. It's made from Bernat Cottontots using this pattern. I made a ripple from Cottontots for this baby's brother and wanted to make a similar (but not exactly the same) blanket for him. So this is what I decided to make. I'm pretty happy with it.

More Knitting

2008-02-04T18:54:00.000-05:00

I have been doing lots of knitting lately, so I decided it was time to tackle mittens. After a few false starts (I didn't like the way the original yarn was working up and then the mittens were way too small), I managed to make myself a serviceable pair of mittens.

I made them from a pattern I found on Ravelry (how did I ever live before Ravelry?) called Warmest Mittens and my hand dyed yarn. (I added a few rounds to the hand and the thumb to make them longer and now the thumbs are too long--whoops.) When I picked up stitches for the thumb, I made fairly large holes, but I think I sewed them up pretty well. I wouldn't give the mittens as a gift, but they're definitely wearable.

I also discovered while making these that I really like working with double pointed needles. Odd. I had only used them in the past to finish hats worked mostly on circular needles and I thought I hated them. I had been avoiding patterns using them and while I really want to learn to knit socks, I was afraid to try them--mostly because of the DPNs. But now I think I'm ready for socks. We'll see.

I love wearing mittens that I made--I think I'm more excited about these than I have been about anything I've made so far. I'm not really sure why that is except that maybe I thought mittens would be too hard for me.

Yoshimi Colorway

2008-02-02T15:29:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I listed a new colorway in my Etsy shop. It's called Yoshimi. I think I may make myself something out of it and I don't even like pink. (At least, I didn't used to like pink--I think it may be starting to grow on me again.)

Tiny Baby Gifts

2008-01-24T18:55:00.001-05:00

I went to a baby shower last weekend, so now I can finally show you the gifts I made for my friends Emily and Jon's baby. (He's due in the middle of next month, so it shouldn't be long now.)

I actually started these way back in July when I found out they were expecting. The hat is my own pattern and the booties are from a pattern in an Annie's Attic booklet called Precious Baby Booties. I love how tiny baby stuff is--it always seems like it's actually too small to fit a human being.

Baby Gifts

2008-01-17T15:48:00.000-05:00

So I made a hat for my friends' son, since I made one for their daughter.

It's a helmet hat made from this pattern. I changed the ear flaps a bit since I thought they were too small the way they were. I'm mailing the hats and the blanket I finished for him ages ago today. Finally.

I'm working on another knit pattern. I seem to be actually enjoying knitting for the first time recently. I never thought I'd get to like it. I'm making a pair of baby booties for one of the babies that will be arriving this year.

They are made from this pattern and my hand dyed merino superwash. The picture does not show the yarn color very well--it's brighter (and prettier) than that. The booties are going okay, I guess. I really love the way the yarn is working up, but I can't do a ssk to save my life. They are very loose and, I think, look bad. I will try to post a picture of what I'm talking about later on.

New Colorway

2008-01-11T19:37:00.000-05:00

I just listed a brand new colorway--Valentine Michael Smith--in my Etsy shop especially for Fiber Friday. It has nothing to do with Valentine's Day--it's actually named after the main character in one of my favorite books, Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein.

I've been working on a bunch of new colorways so be on the lookout for them. (I will probably try to debut them on Fridays.)

Yesterday, instead of working on the things I should have been working on, I made this adorable hat for the daughter of a friend.

It's from this pattern, which is an attempt to make a hat like the one worn by Lyra in the movie The Golden Compass. I didn't actually see the movie (although I adore the books), but the hat was just so cute that I couldn't pass it up. Wish I had more little girls to knit for. I used three strands of Lion Brand Homespun instead of what was called for in the pattern--it's what I had.

Christmas and Baby Gifts

2008-01-08T23:59:00.000-05:00

I wanted to talk about one of the Christmas presents I bought on Etsy this year. (And I keep forgetting to do it.) I bought a lantern made from a recycled can from Mariposa Avenue for Chris's sister and her husband.

The lantern was lovely--absolutely gorgeous. And Lisa, the seller, was lovely as well. She was so concerned that I get my lantern in time for Christmas that she sent it UPS (at additional cost to herself) so that it would be easily trackable. I think these lanterns would make wonderful wedding gifts and I will definitely be going back for one of these for myself eventually. So go check her shop out already.

I just made a baby doll blanket for my (practically) nephew--the one I bought the baby doll for--to match the blanket I made for him before he was born.

His birthday is Saturday--he'll be two. The blanket is crocheted from Bernat Cottontots and this pattern.

More Christmas Gifts

2008-01-03T18:52:00.000-05:00

Here are some more Christmas gifts I made (plus one baby shower gift). These are all crocheted toys of a sort--I'm really into making them right now.

This one is a mushroom for my mom made from my hand dyed yarn. I just made it up as I went along--I'm thinking about writing up a pattern for it when I get a chance.

This is a bird I made for my sister--she recently got a tattoo of a bluebird so I thought she would like it. (She did.) I used this pattern.

A ninja I made for a friend who is into ninjas right now. I made it from this pattern, but I changed some of it a bit.

I made this octopus from this pattern for a friend's baby shower over the weekend. She is having another shower in a few weeks so I will have more gifts to show off.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T13:55:00.001-05:00

I've been very bad about blogging during the holidays--sorry about that. I've just been busy with all kinds of crazy stuff and didn't get around to it. But now you're going to get several posts about all the stuff I made for Christmas presents--lucky you. :) So without further ado, here are some of the gifts I made:

Three pair of knit and felted slippers from the Fiber Trends Felted Clogs pattern. I made them all from Patons Classic Merino Wool--the light brown is hand dyed because I couldn't find a color that I liked. The top ones are my dad's, then Chris's stepmother's, then his dad's. They seemed very popular, so I'm glad I made them. The next pair will be for me, though.

Finished Christmas Gifts

2007-12-17T16:23:00.000-05:00

I have several finished Christmas gifts to share. Yay! And I finally believe that I will be done with things in time. Yay again. Even though I don't think that the people I've made these things for read my blog, I'm not going to mention who they're for--just in case.

Here is a crochet ripple throw I've been almost done with for quite a while--as usual, it was weaving in the ends that was taking so long. But I've finished now. I based it on this pattern, but I used bulky yarn--Lion Brand Jiffy. I was worried about the colors together while I was making it, but now I think they look really nice.

This is a Calorimetry knit from my hand dyed superwash merino yarn. (It's a headscarf to keep your ears warm in case you don't know what I'm talking about.) I think it came out really well and I guess I'm a bit surprised since I don't generally think my knitting is that good. I'm probably going to make one for myself as soon as I have some time. (Maybe out of the Annabel Lee colorway.)

And this is a crocheted squid toy for my cat, Scamp. I made it from this pattern with a few minor alterations. I stuffed the pointy top of the squid with the yarn ends and nothing else and sewed across the middle to keep the stuffing and catnip in the body. I was worried about stuff leaking through the bigger stitches of the top. Such a fun and cute pattern--I may make one as a Christmas tree ornament when I get a chance.

More Customer Photos

2007-12-16T18:23:00.000-05:00

In the last week, I've gotten a couple more convos from customers with pictures of the things they made from my yarn and felt beads. I love seeing what people come up with.

First, more from Strawberry Anarchy. She has made two more creations using my felt beads and promises more to come. (She bought lots of beads.)

A cute little felt flower brooch:

And this odd and adorable little doll:

Both are for sale in her Etsy shop.

And Jennifer sent this photo of the lovely scarf she knit from my superwash merino yarn. It looks super cuddly.

Repeatable Colorways

2007-12-11T22:56:00.000-05:00

I've been meaning to post about the fact that I now have repeatable (named) colorways of some yarns in my Etsy shop. Yay! I will still continue to dye some yarns in a more haphazard way because I enjoy it, but I'm coming up with more colorways all the time. So far, they are Eternal Sunshine, Tangled Up in Blue, Harvest, Sliced Avocado and Annabel Lee, which is below. (I sold my only skein at the craft show on Saturday.)

These colorways can be dyed on any of the yarns I carry--although the color may not look exactly the same, depending on the fiber content of the yarn. I also have several more colorways in the works.

The Cutest Doll Ever

2007-12-05T15:01:00.000-05:00

I've been buying a ton of gifts on Etsy during the past few weeks and I wanted to share one. I'm not worried about the surprise being ruined since the recipient isn't even two yet and so probably won't be able to find my blog by himself.

How cute is this doll? I bought him from dmollison on Etsy--she has tons of adorable dolls and stuffed animals. This particular one is named Gregory and is made from angora blend socks and stuffed with organic wool. So sweet. I've been looking for a doll for Chris's nephew (more or less mine as well) for about a year now because I wanted to be ready with the perfect one as soon as I thought he was old enough. I think I've found it. :)

A couple of weeks ago, I started having back pain and yesterday I finally went to the doctor to have it checked out. And apparently I have sciatica--which makes me feel really old somehow. Probably no big deal, but it's made it a little hard to get ready for my craft show on Saturday. On a happier note, that pesky hole in my eardrum decided to finally heal up which means no surgery--yay!

Holiday Craft Extravaganza

2007-11-28T07:48:00.000-05:00

Only about a week and a half until the show. Yikes!

Etsy Purchase and Customer Creation

2007-11-24T21:46:00.001-05:00

I just bought these two adorable little zip pouches as Christmas gifts from oblinaknit on Etsy.

They are just the cutest little things and so well made. I'm still trying to decide if I will keep the blue one for myself and find a different gift.

I always ask everyone I sell supplies to on Etsy to send pictures of the finished items if they feel like doing so. Strawberry Anarchy just did. She bought a bunch of felted beads from me a while back and used them to make this very colorful and creative necklace.

She has lots more beads so I await more fun creations in the future. It's so exciting to see what people have made out of the things I made.

Etsy FAST Trunk Show Today

2007-11-16T16:41:00.000-05:00

The Etsy FAST Trunk Show is today at the Etsy Labs in Brooklyn. And also online in the the Treehouse at the Etsy Virtual Labs from 6-8PM EST. I'll be at the online event--although I don't know exactly what will be going on. I do know that there will be a live webcam feed from the Trunk Show at the Labs and a bunch of Etsy FAST members will be there to chat and answer questions.

In conjunction with the Trunk Show, Etsy has picked a front page of Etsy FAST members and my paisley felted clutch is on it!

New Clutches

2007-11-15T00:06:00.000-05:00

Here are some of my new clutches. I've been meaning to start needle felting designs on them for quite a while now and I have finally gotten around to it.

(The top one is already for sale in my Etsy shop and the others will be for sale shortly.)

I like how they are turning out and I think I will be making more of them--kinda combines several things that I love to do.

Skull Cuff and Craft Show Info

2007-11-13T00:14:00.000-05:00

I finished the skull cuff I was making for Chris's cousin.

I think it came out pretty well--especially for my first time knitting with beads. I hope Lauren likes it.

I am doing another craft show on December 8th in Royal Oak. It's another Etsy one--held by the Michigan Street Team, MICE (Michigan Independent Crafters of Etsy). I have only half of an eight foot table, so I'm a bit worried about fitting all of my stuff. Hopefully we will work out something amazing for a display by the time I need it.

Christmas Gifts in Progress

2007-11-05T16:50:00.000-05:00

I've finished the red and white felted slippers I was working on and unfortunately the red felt has contaminated the white--it didn't bleed, but red fuzzies have embedded themselves into the white all along the lines where the colors meet. Argh.

I've never attempted to felt white before since most white yarns will not felt because of the bleaching process--so I didn't know that this would happen. They also came out too small for pretty much any adult I know. If I had bothered to make a gauge swatch, I might have not had that problem. Oh well, I'm chalking it up to experience and making a new pair. No white this time. And I'm planning to use a different yarn altoghether.

I'm also currently working on a pair of the same slippers for Chris's dad. I'm using the yarn I usually use to make my clutches and purses (Patons Classic Merino), so I feel a bit more hopeful about these. And if these come out too small, I'll be more likely to find someone they fit--like me perhaps.

I dyed the lighter brown since I couldn't find a color I liked for it--it came out exactly like I wanted so yay for that anyway.

I'm also working on another knitted project--a beaded skull wristwarmer for Chris's cousin, Lauren. It's from the book Stitch and Bitch Nation--the pattern is called The Bead Goes On.

It's my first time knitting with beads (or needles this small), but I think it's going very well. I'm doing it with white beads because I had them on hand and I wanted to get started.

Shameless Advertising

2007-11-01T16:43:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned before, my Etsy street team, Etsy FAST (Fiber Arts Street Team) is having a trunk show at the Etsy Labs on November 16th. From now until then, many of the Etsy FAST shops are having sales--including mine. Currently everything in my Etsy shop is 15% off the price listed.

Check out the other shops participating in the sale by going to the Etsy FAST website.

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T15:18:00.000-04:00

Since we didn't have a Halloween party this year, we went over to our friends' house to watch a movie. But I couldn't not dress up at all, so I made myself a little costume.

Horns! They are crocheted from this pattern and they are super cute.

Buy Handmade

2007-10-24T11:42:00.000-04:00

Etsy is starting a campaign to get people to buy handmade gifts this holiday season and part of it is a pledge to buy handmade located at the Buy Handmade website. I just signed it--you should too. Of course, I will be making some of my gifts myself, but I suppose that means I am still supporting an independent crafter. Tee hee.

My Etsy Street Team, EtsyFAST, is having a trunk show at the Etsy Labs on November 16th. There will be events throughout the month to go along with it, including a sale that many of the members will be involved in (including me!). I guess the easiest way to explain would be via our press release:

Let fiber keep you warm during the Etsy Fiber Art Street Team sale, trunk show, online events … and all year round!

Who: The fabulous independent spinners, knitters, crocheters, weavers, felters, and fiber artists of Etsy.com, your place to buy handmade!

What: A giant event, online and in person, celebrating all things handmade and fiber!

When: Sale in online shops from Nov. 1 - Nov. 16. Trunk show date is Nov. 16, online and at Etsy Labs 6 - 8 p.m. EST.

Where: Etsy Labs, 325 Gold Street, 6th Floor, Brooklyn NY 11201 , and also online at Etsy and EtsyFAST.

Why: Warm up your November with our great fiber artists! Great sales on items for the holidays, supplies, and more! Interact with our members, learning more about these products and techniques! Buy handmade.

How: Check EtsyFAST for more info, and be sure to visit us during our sale and show Nov. 16!

A Finally Finished Object

2007-10-23T02:23:00.000-04:00

Back in June, I posted that I'd finished the round ripple baby blanket I was working on except for weaving in some ends. Well, I've just finished weaving in the ends.

So, perhaps I can manage to get it to the baby I made it for soon. I'll let you know how that goes.

Christmas Gifts and Other Projects

2007-10-17T15:15:00.000-04:00

I'm getting started on Christmas gifts. I don't know how many gifts I'm actually going to get around to making but I'm going to try to make a few. To that end, I've joined a Holiday KAL-CAL and I'm donating a skein of yarn as a prize. Fun. I haven't actually finished anything and posted it there yet, but hopefully soon.

The very first Christmas present I'm working on is a pair of felted slippers for Chris's stepmother, Gail. And they're knit. Gasp.

I'm using a Fiber Trends pattern --Felted Clogs (AC-33x)--and it's pretty easy. I've done several things I didn't know how to do before I started this, which is pretty exciting. And since they're felted, my mistakes probably won't be noticeable.

I bought a set of adjustable circular needles partly because I needed new needles for my felted slippers. I got the Boye Needlemaster set and so far, I like them quite a bit.

(Two of them are currently in my slippers, so that's why some are missing.)

I also recently crocheted these little drawstring bags for a friend's little girls. (They aren't a Christmas gift, though.)

When we were in North Carolina, we bought little wooden hearts for them and I made the bags to put them in. Normally I would never make them something all the same color, but I wanted them to match the hearts. So I put initials on them. I think they came out pretty cute.

Ravelry

2007-10-11T14:42:00.000-04:00

I got my invite to Ravelry yesterday. So excited. For those of you who don't know what Ravelry is... It's a community for people who do things with yarn (crochet, knit, spin, dye) to talk about everything related to yarn and also keep track of projects, stash, tools, etc. I know that's not a very good description, so if you want a better one, try here. I am loving it so far, but I think it's going to take me quite a while to get integrated there. I need more time! Anyhow, I'm woolygrasshopper (I thought it was funny, anyway) on Ravelry since grasshopper was taken and grasshopperhandmade was too long. In case you want to say hi.

I Was Tagged

2007-10-07T18:08:00.000-04:00

I was tagged over three weeks ago by Umme Yusuf who posts at the crocheting message board I belong to, Crochetville. I really meant to get to it, but I am slow and forgetful. But I am doing it now.

The Rules (which, being me, I will not completely follow):
Once tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you. Then post the rules before your list, and list 8 random things about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to 8 other people, visit their sites, and leave a comment letting them know they've been tagged.

1. I have one sibling--a younger sister.

2. I adore science fiction books/short stories from the 60s-70s. I think that comes from having so much of it around the house growing up. (My dad is a bit of a sci fi geek as well.)

3. I am self taught at all of my crafty endeavors. I never seem to know anyone who know how to do what I want to do so I just blunder through until I figure it out. I don't know what I would do without the Internet.

4. It's a family joke that I was almost named Marigold Zucchini because of my father's love for marigolds and both my parents' love of zucchini.

5. I am a bit of a perfectionist--always have been. According to my mother, when I was 3 and learning to write, I used to make my Zs backwards and I would cry every time. (I think I've finally got that down.)

6. Halloween is my favorite holiday (and fall is my favorite season). I love dressing up and all of the decorations. We usually have a Halloween party just so I can dress up and make fun food and decorate.

7. I love watching bad movies--especially bad sci fi. A recent favorite: Battlefield Earth--hysterical.

8. I was a smoker for about 11 years (off and on) and I've now quit for almost 2.

Well, I guess that's it. That was difficult. I'm not tagging anyone since I don't know enough people and it's been so long.

Etsy at the Market

2007-10-03T00:38:00.000-04:00

Well, I--with Chris's help--survived my first craft show. (My first craft show for my own crafts, that is. I used to help my mom with hers from time to time.) And it was fun. I didn't sell much, but I did make back my table fee (Thanks Mom and Dad!) and I met a bunch of very nice people. I'm really glad I did the show and now I feel much more prepared for the next one. Plus, since I didn't sell very much, I have tons ready for Christmas and all the sales I'm going to make in my Etsy shop. At least, that's what I keep telling myself.

Craft Show Tomorrow

2007-09-29T19:44:00.000-04:00

My very first craft show is tomorrow in Ann Arbor, MI. I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be. I have quite a lot of stuff ready--maybe not everything I wanted to have, but I'm sure I have plenty. So we will see how it goes. I will be taking everything out of my Etsy shop until I get back, just so I don't sell something at the show and on Etsy at the same time. And I will hopefully be posting all about the show sometime next week. (Now that I don't feel so rushed.)

Teaching Crochet

2007-09-24T16:19:00.000-04:00

While we were on vacation, I taught my friend Emily to crochet. It was my first time teaching anyone and it was really hard at first. (I suppose it didn't help that we were in the car while I was teaching her.) But I think I did okay once I realized what I needed to show her. I'm self taught so I really don't know how people teach other people. I don't know if she'll continue to do it now that we're home, but I gave her the yarn (bright yellow left over from a rainbow ripple blanket, lucky her) and hook she was using so she can keep going if she wants to.

Avocado Yarn

2007-09-21T17:31:00.000-04:00

While on vacation, we had this absolutely gorgeous avocado. (It was so pretty I had to take a picture.) I offhandedly said I'd like to dye a yarn in those colors, not really thinking about it. Well, the other night I got it into my head to try it and I'm thrilled with the results.

I think I'll work a bit more on this and then actually make a repeatable colorway instead of all of the one-offs I've been doing. Now I need a name. I can't call it Avocado because there is a color avocado and I don't want it to be confusing. This skein will be for sale in my Etsy shop soon--if I can manage to part with it.

Vacation

2007-09-20T17:35:00.000-04:00

Here's a picture of me on vacation in North Carolina--crocheting, of course.

I'm holding my pattern between my knees in an attempt to keep it from blowing away. It was probably far too windy for me to be sitting out there and crocheting at all, but I wasn't going to sit inside where I couldn't even see the ocean. I didn't spend too much time working because I was on vacation, but I do enjoy crocheting, so I did do a bit. However, even though I really wanted to, I did not take my yarn and hook to the beach. I thought that might be a bit too much. Or more importantly, it might get sand in my work.

This is my latest clutch for sale in my Etsy shop. I crocheted some flowers out of handpainted merino and sewed them to the front. Until now, I've only used storebought appliques. I may do more of these.

I'm Back

2007-09-17T21:00:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm home from North Carolina and pretty much in full panic mode about the craft show. We got back at about 4:00AM yesterday morning and I'm still not quite settled in yet. So I will be posting more soon, but I wanted to make a quick post about my needle felted heart pin being on the Etsy front page yesterday. !!!

And I actually got a picture. I don't think I was up there very long, but still it's very exciting. So, a big thanks to Maple of North Star Alpacas for putting me in her lovely Treasury.

Recent Etsy Purchases

2007-09-06T20:31:00.000-04:00

I wanted to show off some of my recent purchases on Etsy. Technically, I suppose I should say trades since I traded for all of them--I may become obsessed with trading if it's always like this. These were my very first trades and all of them were just wonderful--not only because of the amazing products, but because of how nice all of the sellers were.

This is a necklace and earrings from Groovy Glass Girl that I gave to my sister for her birthday. So gorgeous--I love glass jewelry. I almost couldn't give up the necklace, but somehow I made myself do it. I may have to get one for myself in the future, however. It was (almost) worth it because my sister adored them both. (Also check out her blog.)

This is one of several notecards I got from Menta. They are just so cute and I can't wait until I need to send someone a card. She also does the same picture in lovely prints--as well as many others.

And this is a necklace from Design by Sabreena--which is also for my sister. (That one will be for Christmas, I guess.) It's adorable and so light, which will probably make it really nice to wear.

Please don't judge the quality of the products by my pictures--I guess it's good I don't make jewelry because I can't manage to take decent pictures of it.

I also wanted to let everyone know that I will be going out of town for about a week and a half starting tomorrow. We are going to the gorgeous Outer Banks of North Carolina. It seems like such a bad time to leave since my craft show is in only a few weeks, but we take this trip every year and I'm not planning on missing this one. Hopefully, I will manage to relax even with the craft show looming. I am taking some things to work on, so maybe that will help. I will be back on September 16th.

New Hats and Social Networking

2007-09-02T23:07:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm still frantically trying to get ready for the craft show at the end of this month. And I'm still feeling like I'm never going to have enough stuff ready. I'm trying to be calm. (I'm not very good at it.) I've been crocheting these children's hats for the show. The picture needs some work for when I list them on Etsy, but I guess you can see what they're like.

I also just made this kid's hat. I love the tassels. I just think it's so fun--I hope you can tell how adorable it is from this picture.

I've been meaning to mention the social networks that I recently joined--We Love Etsy and Indiepublic. I'm still feeling my way around, but I'm having fun with it. I need to do some work on my pages, but I think it's going to have to wait until after the craft show because I just don't have time. Still it's fun--if you like Etsy or are interested in independent art and design in general, you should definitely check it out.

grasshopperhandmade.com

2007-08-26T17:56:00.000-04:00

I thought I'd write a short note to let everyone that I've registered grasshoppperhandmade.com. It just links to my Etsy shop right now, but I'm still super excited about it. (Plus, now no one can steal it out from under me.) Eventually I will get a website set up, but I really don't have the time right now. So, anyway... Yay!

Banner and Bracelet

2007-08-22T17:38:00.000-04:00

I've made a new banner for my Etsy shop since I really hated the old one. It's not really that different, but I took out the part I hated--which was the background color behind the text--and still managed to make my shop name legible (which was why I had the background on it in the first place). You can see it at my shop or here--as soon as I figure out how to add it.

Above is a stainless steel bracelet my grandfather made for my grandmother. Her name was Ruth--I hope you can read it. My grandfather worked in a machine shop, but also had a garage full of woodworking tools and was a wonderful carpenter. (I've got a family full of crafty people.) I adore this bracelet--partly because it rocks and partly because it makes me think of my grandfather and my grandmother. Eventually I may post some pictures of my bookcases, my jewelry case and other things he made for me, but for now I wanted to share this.

Circular Rug "Pattern"

2007-08-20T23:07:00.000-04:00

I've been asked to share my pattern for the crocheted t-shirt rug I posted about in my last post. I'd be happy to share, but I don't really have a pattern--I just crocheted a basic circle in half double crochet. Just in case that isn't something you already know how to do, I'll write it out as a pattern. (Hopefully this will be understandable--I normally only make notes for myself, not for other people.)

Basic Circular Rug Pattern

For the one I posted about, I cut the t-shirts into about .75 inch to 1 inch strips (by cutting off the sleeves and seams and then cutting each piece in a continuous strip around the outside edge) and used a Q hook, but that's certainly something that could be changed.

Round 1: Ch 2 and crochet 8 hdc into the first ch, sl st in first hdc to join
Round 2: Ch 1, 2 hdc into each st, join
Round 3: Ch 1, (hdc in next st, 2 hdc in next) around, join
Round 4: Ch 1, (hdc in next 2 st, 2 hdc in next) around, join
Round 5: Ch 1, (hdc in next 3 st, 2 hdc in next) around, join

And just continue on increasing in this manner until your rug is big enough.

I hope that's helpful, but please feel free to ask if something's not clear or you need more information. (And that goes for anyone--even if you weren't the one who asked for the pattern.)

I didn't make it to the Michigan Fiber Festival over the weekend. We were going to go on Sunday, but my boyfriend, Chris, had a terrible headache and it was raining fairly hard. We thought we would probably just be miserable and since it's a pretty long drive for us, we decided not to go. I'm sad I didn't get to go since I had been looking forward to it for months, but I'm sure it was for the best. There's always next year, I guess.

Finally Spinning

2007-08-12T23:28:00.000-04:00

Well, I can hardly believe it, but I have finally gotten around to spinning some of the roving I handpainted ages ago. (And then had predrafted for another age.)

I think it's coming out pretty well. As I believe I've mentioned before, I'm a very beginning spinner (even though I've been learning for about a year and a half now--I just don't practice enough), so I don't expect too much, but still... I think I like it.

I've also been working on crocheting this rug out of strips of old t-shirts.

(I know that it looks like navy, gray and black, but the navy is actually black--just different t-shirts.) I made one of these rugs out of fleece a year or so ago and never made any more. Last night, I decided I had to make some more, so away I went. I have a huge collection of old t-shirts, polyester dresses and fleece remnants that I've been saving to crochet into rugs and it's about time I work on using some of them up. Besides, I think they'd be nice to sell at the craft show I'm doing in September.

Well Loved

2007-08-06T21:28:00.000-04:00

This is a picture of Isabella (Bella for short)--who is the daughter of friends--at her first birthday party. What a doll. I crocheted the blanket in the picture for her before she was born and now I am told that she can't take a nap without it. Which is just lovely. It totally made my week.