Camelama

Back again! This time around I'll be posting about my embroidery adventures, my return to knitting and quilting, and the vast changes looming in my life. Last year my mother and father passed away a month apart, and now as we deal with clearing out their house and scattering their possessions amongst many, there will be reminiscing and childhood photos to share.

 

Now, I would rather have my mother in my life, but she was done with this life and has moved on to whatever is next. On her passing, I inherited her lovely Singer sewing machine from 1940-something. Love this beast of a machine! It looks dainty, but this can sew just about anything. I know I've seen Mom put it through a heck of a lot of tough stuff - including repairing old Army pup tents!!!!

 

So, now that I've returned to the normal work-a-day world again, I'll be posting more.

More crafting!

More swaps happened ....

For the Fat Quarter swap, we crafted as many items as we could out of two fat quarters of fabrics, and then also included two untouched fat quarters.

My partner has lots and lots of chickens, so among the many projects I sent were these chicken items:

Chicken pot-holder (sitting on a package of Peeps!)

A little chicken zipper pouch ...

 

And last, a little chicken pin cushion!  Her tail portion is a little emery pin cushion, so it will sharpen your pins. The rest of her is stuffed with polyfill.

My partner sent me a package with some lovely blue/brown/green plaid wool and a great blue cotton fabric. A couple of favorite items were the zipper pouch (shown here with little finger-tip hotpads and a keychain)

I loved that she made these little magnets, and then wrapped a pen in the fabric!

And then this lovely tea wallet, a little needle book, and a tissue pack holder.

Another great swap!

Craftiness

Some of the recent crafting going on in this household ...

 

For a Cuff Swap, I had a lovely partner who liked steampunk, black, and purple. So I made a black and purple gears felt cuff, lined with a purple cutton fabric.

 

 

 

 

(More after the jump)

Craft my pet Swap - what I sent

My swap partner mentioned she would appreciate a plush version of one of her three cats, and I thought his unique forehead coloration was just the kind of challenge I like. After making a large version of her big floofy cat, I made smaller versions of her other cats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gift of sun

Today was a GLORIOUS day. I spent it running errands and making sure I got out to enjoy the wonderful dry day!  In Seattle you take days like these and you RELISH them.  You wring every moment of sunshine out of the day. So things like this happen - the gal at the local-owned pet food store *insisted* on helping take my one bag of food and one bag of litter to the car. Not because she thought I was so helpless - she just wanted an excuse to get outside! We stood chatting for quite some time, until I apologized for monopolizing her time, and she said "Oh please! Ask me more questions! It means I get to stand here in the sun!" Heh.

I sent off a little ornament today, for a potholder/ornament swap I'm in. One of the things I love best about Christmas is making festive cookies, especially cut out cookies. My favorite of the cutters is Rudolph. So I thought, why not make a felt Rudolph, just like I would a cookie?

So here he is - cookie, frosting, sprinkles, and even one of those silver balls for his eye!

I hope my swap partner appreciates this concept and the whimiscal mood....

Birdbook

 

I participated in a One Tiny Book swap recently, and the book I got from my partner was astounding! And she really captured "me".  She did a wonderful job!

She sent me this lovely bird in a book-paper nest...

Here's a shot of him snoozing in the sun in his nest:

 

It turns out this little birdie IS my book! His wings are blank paper.

Each wing covering is a bird-ish text...

 

Here is is inspecting the grape harvest...

Isn't he fantastic?

 

She also sent along some little bookish extras. A little vintage stamp that says "Journal":

 

And this great, odd, mysterious little fake-book leather holder. It's missing a piece, I'll have to research what it was and see if I can recreate the missing pieces! I think it was a little paper holder, or money holder, or such... but, being a fan of fake books, this was perfect even with half missing!

 

Oh, and here's a shot of the nest, empty. It also contains avian-themed text.

Fabric finds

So, i admit it, I'm a fabric freak. I love it! All kinds of fabrics. Cotton, linen, silk, even wack-tastic oilcloth and fake fur.  I can make so many different fantastic things just from the remnant bin at the fabric store!

Thus when I came across a fat quarter swap, I just HAD to participate.  Here's my haul:

And then, cruising a local thrift shop, i found these. First is a chicken wire print, from 2003:

 

This is a print from the 1970s by a Finnish designer. Vintage! (Altoid tin for scale of print). I *love* this, I can't wait to start making things out of it.

I won!

I entered Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day - any blog participating in the event hosts a giveaway, and you can enter as many as you like.  And I won TWO giveaways!

First, there's this incredible little zipper pouch ... made of selvedges!!  To think, all these years, I've been throwing these away!!

Catch up part 3!

Of course, more cat pictures:

 

 

 

I did a One Tiny Scientific Thing craft swap, and got this incredible little field journal from my wonderful partner "loves2experiment".

 

 

Catch up!

Ok, let's go - about a month of stuff to talk about.

Crafty!

For a Frugality craft swap, I made a tote with ties as handles and a waterbottle holder out of ties, good ways to use up the ties the men in your life don't want any more!

 

I've been doing a lot of reading, though it does get difficult sometimes:

 

Lots of cat time:

 

I enjoyed the early Spring we had, before Mayvuary and Junovember struck:

 

More in the next post, this is getting photo-heavy....

Farmer's Market craft swap - received

My lovely swap partner sent me a very fun bunch of items but my favorite is this glorious scarf - extra extra long, so very soft.

Farmer's Market craft swap - sent

I participated in a craft swap with the theme of Farmer's Market / gardening.

Here's what I sent my partner... she likes skulls and black/purple, and was growing an herb garden.

This is a long, deep market bag - good for flowers, baguettes, etc. 

Then I sent her baby a crinkly tab blanket with apple fabric (small apples on the back). 
 

I made her some garden markers by bending the tines of metal forks

I made her some buttons to wear to the Farmer's Market (ok, so I was kinda stretching the theme here! hee)

And I had another set of lip balm cozies to send her, too! 

I sent her a bunch of extras, gloves and an Almanac, some dried organic lavender, soaps from the Ballard Farmer's Market, and a Sublime Stitching packet. The box with soap in it, is not only compostible - it has seeds in the cardboard! So you simply unfold and then plant the box!

Water and rain and embroidery

I joined the Feeling Stitchy embroidered button swap a few weeks ago.  I was partnered with a lovely gal named Amy.  We chatted in email, I couldn't stop talking as usual, but I loved poking around and learning more about her.

She really got to the heart of my life - she picked up the theme of water, or Gifts from the Sea, and I love how she interpreted it!

 
Back row: footsteps in the sand filled with water, rain, water fall (oops, upside down!)
Front row: light on the water, waves, and I'm not sure yet what the last one is but I like it!

This is my favorite (right now), the light on water button. LOVE love love.

And she sent a whole bunch of goodies along with the buttons - the chocolate is already out of the picture, heheh.

 

I loved every bit of the package she sent!  The jewelry is spot-on - the colors I wear, the lightness and silver I like, and not fussy - just simple beauty. And so very much reminiscent of the sea life and plants around here. And I have plans for the frame already, I'm going to put a picture of Phoebe in it and have it on my desk when I get a new job. I have resisted opening the beads or ribbon until I'm finished with another project that's in progress right now.  She also sent some lovely linen, I have plans for it - and the buttons - already! 

I can't wait for Amy to get my swap package, so I can share what I made. I had so much fun! I've never made embroidered buttons before but now I'm hooked!  Buttons for everyone!  :)

"Quick and Easy" Craft Swap - what I sent

So I showed you what I got in my latest swap a couple posts ago... here's what I sent!  My partner had said in a blog post that she wanted whimsical plush animals.  So I made her two Kiwi plushes!

 


 
The beak on the multi-colored one glows in the dark!  And the brown one is stuffed with organic dried lavender, so she smells good.

These were fun to make, another great pattern from Funky Friends Factory.  And they were a hit with my swap partner, yay!

"Quick and Easy" Craft Swap - received!

I'm participating in a "Quick and Easy" craft swap.  One item, or set of items, that is quick and easy to make (yet still skillful).

I'm still working on my partner's item, so can't share that with you, but i can gloat about what I got!

My lovely partner sent me a set of 3 project bags. For those non-crafters out there, these are small bags that hold all the bits and pieces of whatever project you're working on. (Also called WIPs, "work in progress")  I *need* these! What a perfect choice for me. And she was spot on with the fabrics, too. She lined each bag with a complementary solid color fabric.  She's a great craft partner, I'd nab her any day to swap with. 

Here's one of the bags in action:

 

 And here's the fabrics from all 3:

 

The cat was very annoyed that I wouldn't let her sprawl out in the middle of each photo.

Seven Days of Specialness - Day 5

It's another special day today!  Day 5 in my week of specialness is another knitted cowl - but holy cowl! (Har har)  This is an octopus necklace / cowl.  It's *fascinating*!  I can't stop playing with it.  I wish I had better pictures - I'll have to get a pal at knitting night to model it for me.  :)

 

Seven Days of Specialness - Day 4

It's a gorgeous sunny day here in Seattle, and I have another special item!

My partner sent me this lovely wool yarn, and some felting wool to go with - I haven't decided yet how to use this, but I have lots of ideas!

 

Seven Days of Specialness - Day 3

Day 3 of my special package is this charming little vintage necklace. This will go great with many of my vintage dresses and blouses!

 

 

Seven Days of Specialness

Day 2: My partner Sonya sent me FABRIC.  Yum.  I'm a fabric addict, I freely admit, so I welcome more quite happily!

 

Seven Days of Specialness

One of the blogs I read, Domesticali, ran a "Seven Days of Specialness" swap and I joined. I had some troubles making items for my partner, as my concentration seems to be shot lately due to the recent deaths of loved ones. I just can't settle down and DO something, I feel all drifty and floaty and flitty. I haven't been able to manage even a blog post - twitter seems to be about all I can handle these days, 140 characters.

But oh, the specialness I received!!  I'm so spoiled. My partner Sonya really hit the bullseye with her items, because not only were they items I liked, they are specifically styled the way I like - I just adore it all.

Today was Day 1, and my special item for day 1 is: A lovely warm gorgeous cowl!  (Photographed in the box it came in, otherwise the cat was *ALL OVER IT* - wanting to lick it and sit on it!)

 

I *LOVE* it, as it is a big *tall* cowl, it's a big circle so it doesn't choke me, and I can shape it and use it in so many ways. I can keep the furnace off all evening if I wear this at home!  :)

 

I am going to have a very special week with the things my partner sent, oh such lovelies!

And of course i have more cat photos to share.  Of course.

Here's Phoebe in her floofy poofball pose - she tucks all four paws/legs under her, and her tail, and somehow poofs herself out extra poofy (can you tell I like the words poofy and floofy?!).

  

Here are a couple calendar cat poses - she's entranced by the gang of bushtits in the tree, out the living room window, at twilight.

And here's the little charmer in the sun again, right before she decided to squirm and wiggle her way into my fabric stash pile next to her, and take a nap in the middle of it!

Inspiration

Holy cow.

Now I want to spend all weekend being artsy and craftsy!  Alas, other duties pull at me.

Groundhog-along for Groundhog Day

Are you ready for Groundhog Day?  Do you have your own little Groundhog?

If you still need one, join the Groundhog-along!

Join the Ravelry Group for the Groundhogalong and get crocheting this lovely Planet June pattern!

I picked out some yarn this afternoon - it's a nice lightly fuzzy merino in what I consider to be a lovely groundhog-ish color.

 

Christmas Stocking

A few folks have shared their handmade Christmas stocking so I thought I'd join in.

My mom made this stocking for me when I was a baby. It needs a facelift - after Christmas this year I'll work on sequin replacement. But I just love getting it out every year and hanging it up, oh what joyful memories! Mom and Dad would always buy cheesy silly comic books and put them in our stockings, so that we'd have lots of fun reading to do. (Good idea, parents - reading *and* keeping your kids quiet for an hour or so!! Hee.)

 

My favorite parts of the stocking are the Snowman and the Tree. Closeups reveal the genetic condition I inherited: lack of glue expertise. :) But oh, poor things, such repair work needed. First time it will ever be repaired, though, so pretty good holding up for four decades!

Maybe I'll pick up an Archie comic book at the grocery store tonight and put it in the stocking for old times' sake!

Ornament Swap!

Four years ago I spotted a lovely ornament swap too late to join in. I stalked the blog for the next year waiting eagerly for the swap to start again, and I've joined every year since.

The swap is now so large the organizers have had to move it to Swap Bot, but it's still the same great swappers making some incredible ornaments.

If you're in a craft mood, and are up for making and mailing 10 ornaments (and thus receiving 10 lovely ornaments from around the world), sign up!

I swap with Swap-bot!

Little Cotton Rabbits giveaway

Look at this sweet rabbit that Little Cotton Rabbits is giving away!

Dangit, now I'm craving pot stickers. At midnight.

YUM.

Fabric giveaway!

Randi is having a giveaway of some fabric stash bits and pieces.  Go enter!

Giveaway

Can't sleep? Count your sheep!

Some Sheldon craftiness.

No, not Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory, but Sheldon the webcomic!

I was experimenting with different tinting techniques on flour sack dishtowels, and needed some interesting things to color and quickly embroider. So I thought of Sheldon charactures, colored from Sunday comics (M-Sat they're black-and-white). They turned out ok, so I sent them off to the Sheldon creator - hope he has fun with them, drying dishes!

There's Flaco the Lizard:

 

An Oso the Pug, saying "Hype!":

Arthur the Duck (saying "Ducks don't do dishes!"):

 

Sheldon (saying "I'll pay you to do my dishes!"):

Dante, who doesn't say anything because he's an artist and is being contemplative:

And finally, the man who creates a good life out of all their insanity and chaos, GRAMPS!  He's saying "And voila, clean dishes!"

Yarn Yard Sale haul

Today I went to Not Martha's Yarn Yard sale, and brought home a great haul of fabric from a few of the tables there.

Her table was jam-packed with buyers before the yard sale even really officially opened!

My haul:

(not from notmartha) This vase fabric has some silvery sheen to it outlining the vases, and in the paisley pattern:

A trio of blues, from NotMartha and others:

Lovely bright flowers (all NotMartha):
 

And a great fat quarter (actually random sizes) pack from NotMartha (It was pictures of these packs on her blog that spurred me to show up);(That's shushi fabric on the bottom, where it says "Smelt Egg")

The place was *PACKED* even before 10am. I'm glad I got there on time! So nice to meet Not Martha and to chat with all the gals there - most folks I talked to were very friendly and the early ones were grinning at folks who started pulling up near them on the street. We all knew we were kindred spirits!

Now I'm back home and keeping cool, we're in for some 90+ weather for the next few days. The eeeevil evil sun is out and so I'm inside!  :)

Western Messenger Bag - commissioned project

I had a sewing project commission that I finished last week, styled after one I sent to my swap partner ohsweetie (who sent me the map envelopes).

The outside was this fun brown corduroy fabric with horses and brands embroidered on it:

The interior was a fun print from Alexander Henry called "Sagebrush Sweethearts", in blue. I made one external pocket and one internal pocket:

The cat had to get in on the photoshoot somehow:

With some scraps of the lining I also whipped up a lavendar sachet and a key fob, as little extras inside the bag.

Gold Rush Ghost Towns map stationary

I received a lovely package of goodies from a swap partner, ohsweetie, today - and I just have to share the stationary she made!

ohsweetie took old maps to Gold Rush ghost towns and made envelopes out of them, added some old stamps for fun, some recycled paper for letters, and labels.

 

 Can't wait to mail these out to friends!

Lovely Day

Gorgeous day today - the excessive heat is gone, and we're back to perfect Seattle spring weather: sunny yet cloudy, good breeze, and everyone happy.

I went outside to read for a bit.  Took a blanket, a book ("Pigeon Post" by Arthur Ransome - a children's book that still pleases me long into adulthood, as do all of his books in the Swallows & Amazons series), and of course I took the cat.  She's been going crazy with the screen door lately so accompanying her oustide is the least I can do for her.

Oh yes - and we have Wildside Salmon snacks. I give her these whenever she comes running back to me when I call her.  These days I can call her name once and she comes from wherever she was, immediately, and even comes back inside the house. She really really REALLY likes these.

We lay in the shade of my gorgeous birch tree...

It shades the whole side yard and makes even the hottest day liveable, when stretched out beneath it. Peeking into the photo is my little apple tree - last year it had two apples.

*Someone* was extra cute this afternoon:

 And here she is getting into the picture when I was trying to photograph how the quilt is tied together:

This little faux-quilt was made by my mother about 30 years ago, for me to take to summer camp. We picked out a cheater material that already looked like a patchwork quilt:

Mom got yellow material that matched and we sewed two pieces of the top and two pieces of the bottom together to make the resulting blanket a bit wider, then sewed two long front and back pieces together. There's no batting inbetween the layers, I didn't need warmth from this - just coverage. Then in the middle of every large flower, Mom and I stitched a piece of red yarn through and tied in a knot on top:

I can remember sitting and tying these knots with Mom, debating how long to make each piece of yarn. These days they're just little yarn nubbins, they're so worn and washed and used.

I'm not sure how I'll patch this, I need a 6"x6" square and a 2"x2" square for two different rips. After that first summer, Mom patched one corner with the old 70's iron-on patch:

But that won't work for these larger portions:

The poor used worn spot, where you can see the backing...

Mom and I still joke about how we "made a quilt" all those years ago. We know it isn't really a quilt, it's just our silliness.

Thirty years later and I'm still using this blanket frequently. It went to summer camp many times when I was a camper, many times when I was a counselor. It went to the ranch in Wyoming with me, on numerous camping trips, to college dorm rooms and first apartments, cookouts on the ocean beaches, picnics on the shores of Puget Sound, and for many naps over the years it's covered myself or my friends. It deserves a really good patch so it can keep on blanketing for many years to come!

I need to start reading up on patching methods - this is 30 year old cotton material, soft and warn.

Sewing Machine meme from Sew, Mama, Sew! blog

I normally don't do memes because really, no one is THAT interested in me - but I love this one, as it's about my sewing machine, not me! The "Sew, Mama, Sew!" blog is hosting a sewing machine month and this meme is one of the activities.

What brand and model do you have?  

I have a Singer Merritt 4530

How long have you had it?  

Going on 15 years now

How much does that machine cost (approximately)?

I think my parents paid $400 for it at the time (It was a birthday present)

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)?

I sew a lot of different things - clothing, home projects, bags, quilts, scarves, pillows, fabric sculptures, etc.

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?

I sew at least once a week.  The machine has a very hard life with me - I am not easy on my belongings. And it has to do battle with long-haired cat hair.

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?

I enjoy using the machine. I feel no emotion towards it, and it does not have a name.  My sewing machine is just a machine.

What features does your machine have that work well for you?

Changing stitch tension & length/width to suit the project and the materials - fast and easy.

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?

It pulls the material diagonally!!! Sewing a straight line on this machine is well nigh impossible. Repeated attempts by repair people to fix this have been futile.

Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it!

Nope - just a little machine as a present from my parents, as Mom knew I was a big sewing person and didn't have my own. 

Well, ok, I think maybe she gave it to me so that I'd stop coveting her 1929 Singer machine so much and asking to borrow it.  :)

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?

Good starter machine. Nothing fancy, but if yours doesn't do the darned diagonal pull thing, it's a good general machine. Never has broken, just gotten mis-aligned and too fuzzy inside, easily cleaned and repaired.

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?

Ease of use - not too many wacked out computer menus, I don't need computer embroidery, I want it to be able to handle canvas and denim, I'd rather have strength and reliability over fancy stitches.

Do you have a dream machine?

Not really - I haven't been able to afford anything so haven't looked. If I don't know about it I can't be tempted! I do still lust after my Mom's machine, a nifty little black metal Singer sewing machine from 1929. It has lost some of its shine over the years, but I just love the gold filigree decorations on it and how everything is both machinery and pretty. And no cheapo plastic, either! It was marketed as a portable but because of all the metal, it's not that portable! I can remember Mom "oomph"ing as she moved it from one room to another.  And I remember the joy when she got the buttonhole attachment, no more by-hand buttonholes, just set it up and the guide would make the machine do it all (well, with you powering the machine and turning the material, that is).

Paint your Penguin

I've been selected to be a Penguin artist!  The Woodland Park Zoo recently opened a new penguin habitat, and to help raise money and awareness, the Zoo and neighborhoods are having a "Penguins On The March" event.  Various artists will paint/decorate/etc their penguin, the birds will go on display around town for a month or so, and then they will be auctioned off.

Here's my fella coming home, safety first:

Yup, the Miata was just fine for bringing home the Penguin.  I got to choose him out of a herd of possibilities - he looked like he needed the most care, what with no eyeballs painted on yet!

Here's Phoebe getting acquainted:

And here's the noble head of my artistic subject:

I can't wait to get started!! I have a couple ideas I'm mulling over, unfortunately most of my ideas need accessories, which would have to be waterproof, theft-proof, and yet still look good.  Mull mull mull.

Fabric-y goodness

A friend sent me a thank-you gift after I helped her with some home-repair chores - some fabric from Spoonflower!

I got a few yards of this cheery little number- I love the birds perched on the happy little heads.

I am *SO* lucky.

I did a craft swap recently called "One Tiny House" swap.  You got themes from your partner, and using those and any other information they gave you, you made them a house that did not exceed 4"x4"x4".

I had *so* much fun making the house for my partner, she had great themes and ideas, and if I had any trouble it was narrowing down ideas!  I want to make her MORE houses!

And then I got her house.   Oh. My.   I was stunned, elated, happy, and SO IMPRESSED.  She really was *spot on* for me.  In fact she even made me tear up a bit, she was so sweet and dedicated to this house.

Look what I got.

First, she decorated the mailing box:

And then when I opened it, I found a little booklet with my moving-in instructions!

As you can see, the exterior walls are covered in text from many different sources.  And isn't that a great sign over the front door?

The house has two windows, so that I can look out at the mountains and at the ocean:

Each interior wall has a different theme:

See that wood plank floor?  Those are *individual pieces* laid down.  Not a sheet of paper. Individual little tiny planks.  My partner is INCREDIBLE.

And then.  As if the house itself wasn't enough, she sent extras, wrapped individually and in a specific order for me to open!

It turned out to be furniture for my house!

That's a little tufted couch with a nautical pillow, a little tufted ottoman, a little table, a little yarn stash with "knitting needles" in the corner, and on the table, a little *SEWING MACHINE* with a little project in it!

Here's a closeup of the machine:

Isn't that charming?!

Here's a look in a window:

And then she went one step further.

The last little package to unwrap revealed a little gray cat - she sent me a mini-Phoebe!!

The two of them got acquainted...

All household members approve of the tiny house.

I love it!  I am going to have to create a special shelf for this house and the other tiny houses I might get in future swaps.

I'll post photos of the house I made after my partner has posted in our forums. 

Now if you'll pardon me, i'm going to go imagine myself on my little couch with my little cat knitting a little something, with my feet up on my ottoman and watching the sunset over the mountains!

Glowing hearts....

I recently came across some nifty glow-in-the-dark fabric and decided to experiment.  So, for Valentine's Day, I whipped up a few items for the Etsy shop.

The glow fabric is *fascinating*.  It's a heavy rip-stop nylon almost, but with better weave texture. And BOY does it ever glow!!  The pictures below are with just a few minutes exposure to sunlight. If you plant this under a lamp for a while, it will glow all night long.  I woke up to a glow once and freaked a little bit - aieee! aliens! - and only then remembered it was the pile of fabric on the chair. Hee.

First are a series of Loopy Hearts pillows.  These are 16"x16"x~3" pillows, made out of red fleece with the glow-fabric in heart-shaped insets, along with glow-in-the-dark thread "loop-de-loop" stitching flowing off the ends of the hearts.

It's a lot of fun to work with.  The thread needs to be used pretty heavily to show up, so future projects will involve perhaps double or triple embroidering with it.

I also whipped up a few little ornaments, selling them on Etsy too.

This has been so much fun to work with, I have a big line of projects to try with this fabric!

Ornament Swap

Every year I participate in the Cake+Pie/FreshlyBlended Christmas Ornament Swap.  Some of the ornaments received have been incredible!  Some artistic genius, some quaint and lovely, some hilarious. 

Last year I sent the Pirate Snowmen.  This year I went a bit less piratical, and made glittery jingle bell acorns.

Ornament Exchange!

The lovely cake+pie/FreshlyBlended Ornament Swap is on again!  Only 2 more days to sign up.

Scarfy goodness!

I got my scarf in a scarf exchange today - it's *GORGEOUS*.

I love it!  It feels *so* good, and it's really warm, AND she left the very middle of it less bulky than the ends, so it tucks into your coat easier or under a collar!

Someone else loves it too....

I can't wait for cold crisp fall days so I can start wearing this.  :)

More Dorky Fun: Ironic T Cozy

My entry into Crafster's September Challenge (topic: Cozies With Irony)....

Ironic T Cozy!

Energy again

Finished a scarf for a scarf exchange!  Not only finished it, but blocked it, dried it, wrapped it up, found a box, put other stuff in the box too, sealed up box, addressed box!  Now it's waiting by the door for the next time I go run errands.  HUZZAH!   

Also re-packed a stash-swap box and now it's ready for mailing, when the recipient gets home from vacation.

Projects (some in code name because some of them are going to friends who might read this!) left to go for today:

-wash and dry clothes
-finish stripey project
-finish jolly project
-job ap for that really cool job
-figure out pieces needed for final purse design, cut out fabrics and liner
-finish knitting hooty project
-figure out final additional hooty projects
-respond to outline query
-zipper pouch

All this while finishing my battle with the summer ick.  Much easier to breath today, with the rain finally coming down and the humidity gone. 

Etsy Smile

On this cool rainy GLORIOUS day after a stretch of soul-sucking 90+ F, 90% humidity days ... I welcome fall with this Etsy find, a painting of birch trees and fallen leaves.

It reminds me of a favorite aspen grove
along the Yakima River, next to a beaver colony, and how the grove is so beautiful in different ways in every season.

Possibilities ....

Came across this skein in my yarn stash.  I purchased it from my friend Astrid from her Damselfly Etsy shop.

The color is so richly rose, with touches of light pink.   I'm not a hardcore pink person, but this stuff just sang out to me when I first saw it!  I can't believe I haven't used it yet.

September's project is: use this yarn!   From her shop description: Sturdy Sheep is a blend of 75% superwash merino wool and 25% nylon. This yarn is fingering weight, 4-ply, firmly spun, and has a lovely sheen. It knits with beautiful stitch definition, is marvelously soft to the touch, and is very hard-wearing, perfect for socks! It is also great for baby garments, as it can be machine washed.

What should I make with it?

Another crafting win!

My "Stormy Stormy Night" event entry took second place!  Woooo!

Winners Announced in the Puzzle Pirate forums.

Woo!   My dorky entry won!  And I won a trinket to show off in the game.   Nothing in real life, mind you. :)

Winnah!

Huzzah!  My dorky "Little Playing Card House in the Big Woods" won the crafting challenge!

Winner announced

Hee.

Needle case from tourist trinket

This is a very thin tin of mints that I got on my UK trip last summer, in Brighton at the Royal Pavilion.  That was a hot hot day, and I needed to sit and have refreshments.  Bought the mints on the way out of the teahouse.

Now that the mints are gone, it's the perfect size for holding my embroidery needles, which are too big to go in my lovely embroidered-ribbon-covered needlecase, that I got in a craft swap. 

So now I just need to find the right storage unit for my sewing machine needles, and oh my stars, I might actually be able to find all my needles whenever I need them!

Oh, but then there's my circular knitting needles to organize.  Uff da.  :)

Beach Towel Bag

For my craft swap pal, I made a beach towel bag.  It's a big beach towel that folds up into another towel, making a bag to carry all your beach stuff in!   I followed this blog post's tutorial:

Beach Towel Bag

I also took a remnant of a checkered tablecloth material, and turned it into a little dry envelope, so that you can put your things that need to stay dry/clean in there, and not worry about the towel being wet and sandy.

Latest craft project - paper

I created this series of "Day in the Life of Mermaids" notecards for a pal in a craft swap.   My favorite is the fortune teller, but my favorite detail is my freehand Ohm.  :)