RainyDayArt

Pajamas!!!

2012-01-19T14:40:00.004-06:00

Look at me making stuff again! This is pajamas that I sewed for my daughter. It was fun to work on a different sort of project and this was my first zipper installation. I learned some things along the way and it turned out pretty good too!

The sleeve cuffs where too tight so I just left them off and did a simple hem.

I got so tired of the pajamas in the store having toxic flame retardants on them, so I did a few things about it. I bought some super spiffy wool pajamas from England, I bought some of those tight organic cotton pajamas with the silly warning tags, and then I picked out some fabric and a pattern and made my own. Mine look super cute on her and so cozy and warm!

Its pattern 3527, in case you want to make your own.

Knitting Again!

2011-09-17T12:19:00.002-05:00

Yes, I've picked up my much missed needles again! For this project, I am designing and knitting a hat for my daughter. The yarn is handspun by me alpaca yarn. The original idea was to spin and knit a blanket for her, but then I got a bunch of blankets at a shower (some really nice handmade ones too). I started spinning it before she was born but am just now getting to knitting it. The idea has morphed into a hat, knit from the top down. I like that for the same reason I like toe up socks, you can try it on as you go. I'm thinking an I-cord edge will finish this hat off nicely. I hope I can find time to finish it before it gets cold!

Baby Leg Warmers Again

2011-06-24T23:59:00.002-05:00

I know its been a while, but yes, I finished the baby leg warmers and I finished them in time for baby to wear them. :)

They're a super easy project and a great way to use sock yarn left over from a smallish pair of socks!

Baby Leg Warmers

2011-04-12T22:17:00.004-05:00

I had some of my orange and pink hand dyed yarn left over after knitting the socks, and wanted to knit something small with it. I think baby leg warmers are super cute! They are practical too, as diaper changes are so much easier than if your baby is wearing pants.

I'll share my simple pattern with you.

Size: 8 in around leg and can stretch to a little bigger.

Materials: Fingering weight yarn

Gauge: 8 st/in

Difficulty: Easy

Pattern: Cast on 64 stitches and join in round. I cast on both leg warmers using one long circular needle. I'm also knitting from both ends of the yarn.

K2, P2 *repeat around*

Continue ribbing for 10 rows.

K around, continue for desired length or you are running low on yarn.

K2, P2 rib for 10 rows.

Bind off using the decrease bind off to keep the edge stretchy.

Happy Knitting

Sample Socks

2011-04-12T22:03:00.003-05:00

I knit these socks to show off my hand dyed yarn, so people can see how the yarn knits up. If someone wants to buy them, that's cool too. The plan is to bring them to the shop downtown and have them next to my yarn.Here is a close up of the heart pattern on the leg.

Q&A Skew Socks

2011-03-15T18:59:00.002-05:00

I received a question in my comments about my skew socks, asking how I did them two at a time on one circular needle.

First I used the magic loop technique which I often use for two at a time socks.

Then, specific to that pattern:

Knit it twice up to the increase mini-gusset section.

Then you can either keep track of left vs. right socks very carefully or put one sock on a spare needle to hold it until you have completed through the decrease mini-gusset section.

There was some sticky moving stitches around to make it work, but I think its worth it to not have to knit them one at a time.

I put the heal stitches on safety pins until I finished knitting the rest of the socks and then I Kitchener stitched it together, but when you do it isn't a big deal.

Then the legs are the same again, but pay attention to which way they are facing.

Happy Knitting :)

They're gone already,

2011-01-20T21:36:00.003-06:00

gone to the giftee. I finished the Slippery Socks! The results were great, but had I known how long it would take to knit, I probably would have knit a different pattern.

Here are the cables close up! This is on the sides of the socks.

This is on the front and back.

The yarn I used is Paca-Peds: Superwash Alpaca Sock Yarn in Frosty Nite.
I paired that with a size 1 needle.
Yep, I went ahead and used a circular needle instead of the double points the pattern calls for (Hey, I don't have size 1 double points and I like doing socks 2 at once so I don't mess up and make them different. I'm just a rebel like that.) I had to do some creative rearranging of stitches for the heel and then again to finish the toe.
I like the cables and the pattern is pretty straight forward (use stitch markers to tell you where the end of the different needles would be if you're going the circular route, that part requires a little math).
However, I wish the sizing was more clear, as the pattern is for "an average woman's foot", and it instructs you to knit until "2 inches less than desired length". That is a bit difficult if you can't measure the giftee's foot, which can be awkward and totally spoil the surprise! That's why I linked those handy charts in my last post.

Now the socks have been given already or tardily as the case may be, and I hope the giftee loves them!

Sock Sizes

2011-01-11T21:06:00.001-06:00

I'm working on another pair of socks (shhhhh) and I've noticed that many patterns I've looked at say something like "knit until 2 inches less than foot length".

Well that doesn't make it much of a surprise if I go up to the giftee and ask to measure their foot!

In my searching I found this chart that gives you shoe size to average foot length.

These charts from My Jewel Thief Knits give even more information on sock sizes!

I'm so glad I found those!

Turkish Cast On

2011-01-02T12:52:00.002-06:00

I used the Turkish Cast On in the baby socks I recently knit. It was really simple, just wrapping the yarn around both needles (or both ends of the needle).

Here is a good tutorial.

Here is a video tutorial.

I think it works better for casting on a larger number of stitches than only a few. The little socks I made started with 8 stitches, 4 on each needle. It kind of looks like I started knitting from a small circle rather than a line which is the usual for socks.

Wrapping Cloth

2010-12-28T12:32:00.003-06:00

Maybe I'm weird, but I don't like having wrapping paper scattered about after opening presents only to be thrown out. I've been known to unwrap presents rather carefully despite not knowing what to do with all that pretty paper. I just find it so wasteful to throw it out. I tend to save and reuse gift bags, but the paper doesn't hold up well enough for that. I still want my presents to be neat and pretty!

Last year I wrapped presents in a combination of bought cloth bags, and gift bags. This year I took it a step further and bought some cute Christmas themed fabrics and sewed bags and big squares to wrap presents in. The big paper wrapped one was too big for my fabric and the little one is a gift to me.I got most of the bags back so next year's wrapping will go super fast!

These were really easy to make. I cut out rectangles two inches or so bigger than I wanted for the present, folded the edges neat and ironed and sewed. Ironing the seems down took longer than sewing them.

First Baby Socks Finished!

2010-12-28T12:11:00.004-06:00

I wasn't really into knitting baby clothes before because I didn't know any babies, but now I have little kids to knit for and really like how quickly I can finish those projects. The sweater I knit for my niece a while back went pretty fast, and these, even on a size one needle went fast too!I knit this pattern http://dawnprickett.blogspot.com/2006/04/free-pattern-toe-up-heal-flap-magic.html . You know I like toe up and magic loop. The heel is a pretty normal heel flap which is different from my usual short row heel, but not hard.

The pattern says to keep knitting until the sock is 1 1/2 inches less than desired. I didn't know how long I wanted the socks to be so I had to look that up! I went with 4 inches from the toe to the heel. They're a bit bigger than I'd planned, so they'll just have to be grown into, but hopefully they'll get worn more that way.

These are knit with Pacca-Peds Superwash Alpaca Sock Yarn, the same yarn I knit my skew socks with, so we'll have matching socks!

Skew Socks: Finished!

2010-12-18T17:05:00.004-06:00

Yay! I finished knitting my skew socks! They fit great with my minor modifications. They were interesting to knit with the unusual heel construction.

The heel starts with a few decreases, and then it is folded over and kitchener stitched together.

Dyed a Small Batch

2010-12-15T15:43:00.004-06:00

The other day I dyed a small batch of yarn, 7 skeins. The ones in the picture are all worsted weight and 100% wool. I did 3 skeins the same in case someone wants to buy more for a larger project or easy relisting if they go one at a time. One skein is half brown and half light turquoise blue, one is a raspberry purple pink, and the other not pictured two are half orange and half pink. One of those is a fingering weight destined to be socks to show off my yarn in person or for sale if anyone feels like paying for hand knit socks. I'd like to have those done and there like now, but I still have to knit them.

Pattern Up on Knit Picks!

2010-12-09T19:03:00.005-06:00

I'm super excited to announce that a pattern of mine is now availble for purchase on Knit Picks! It's my Lace Mobius Wrap pattern knit in Gloss Lace (merino wool and silk). It's really easy to adjust for different sizes, just keep knitting the pattern repeat until it's the desired length.

http://www.knitpicks.com/patterns/Lace_Mobius_Wrap__D10745220.html

On the Needles: Skew Socks

2010-12-07T16:55:00.003-06:00

I haven't been doing much knitting for myself lately, but these socks are all mine.
I'm knitting the Skew socks on Knitty. The pattern is for size 8.5, which is waaaay too big for me. The pattern calls for 7.75 st/in and I went with 8 st/in for a touch smaller around the foot using a size 1 needle, and did 10 repeats in the foot section instead of the called for 14 which leaves out 3/4 an inch.
I love toe up socks because you can try them on as you go. So far, it fits great, and now I'm about to do the heel.

Knitted Gifts Treasury

2010-12-02T22:52:00.002-06:00

Looking for some handmade knitted gift ideas? I found a bunch of warm woolly goodies great for gifting. :)

'Knitted Gifts to Keep You Warm' by RainyDayArt

Here are some warm knit hats, scarves, and fingerless mittens to keep your loved one warm.

Winter Blue Wrist Warme... kareknits $30.00	HandKnit HandSpun Alpac... northstaralpac... $28.00	The Dude Scarf, handkni... iWunder $60.00	Fingerless Gloves / Wri... ACrookedSixpen... $36.00
INTRODUCTORY SALE - Han... CasePhile $24.00	Hand Knit Scarf - Freef... EnchantedKnits $49.00	Handknit Fingerless Mit... creationsbycor... $29.00	Ready to Ship - Wool/Al... UnravelMe $45.00
FIELD OF GREEN HAND KNI... ArlenesBoutiqu... $45.00	Bella's Twilight Fi... surlysheep $26.00	Knit Beret Hat in Steel... JeanieBeanHand... $35.00	Surf and Turf Scarflett... utiledulci $38.00
Hand Knit Wrist Warmers... peacefu1 $34.50	Green wool hand knit un... jmillenLovesTo... $20.00	Tan Buttoned Scarflette YarnAndTulle $25.00	Cabled Fingerless Mitte... merrilyknittin... $30.00

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

A Day of Dyeing

2010-11-23T21:12:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I dyed a bunch of yarn! These are the happy results.

These are the worsted weight skeins.

And these skeins are fingering weight.

Another Finished Item

2010-11-23T20:47:00.003-06:00

Does this wrap look familiar? It's very similar to my wedding wrap, but I changed the center pattern from cables to lace and knit in a different yarn. It took me forever to knit it, but I finished it!

Finishing Things!

2010-11-09T21:42:00.003-06:00

Here's the project bag I mostly finished months ago. Well, today I finally sewed on the button and snap to completely finish! First the snap:
That pocket needed a closure on it. I went with a simple snap because I didn't have access to the back of the fabric.
Here's my favorite finishing touch, a fabulous Ginny button!

Wish List Treasuries

2010-11-08T14:29:00.002-06:00

I'm really not that hard to shop for.
I don't know how many people who are planning on getting me a gift will actually see this post but so what. I'm also trying out a treasury linking tool, so you can go to all the items instead of just look at a picture of the treasury.

'Melissa's Wish List' by RainyDayArt

Small Blue Cruise Earrings -... earlybirdcreat... $12.00	circular knitting needle org... sarahkincheloe $33.00	Autumn Flower handmade stone... kmaylward $32.00	Soft Baby Toy - Blue and Bro... Zadyball $15.00
Ayeurvedic Soap Nut Cleansin... rawandgentil $7.50	Knitting Ear studs - Blue kn... maxsworld $16.00	SET OF THREE Hand Dyed Onesi... adorababe $26.00	love birds post earrings - m... Lana0Crystal $18.00
chocolate - theobromine mole... molecularmuse $40.00	Vanilla Mint All Natural Sh... opheliasapothe... $3.75	Tiny Teeny Circle Posts ster... muyinmolly $12.00	Heart Yarn bowl Handmade Sto... DarriellesClay... $38.00
Little Lamb Yarn Bowl aspeerstudio $30.00	Cobalt Royal Navy Blue BUTTO... minipotterybya... $12.00	Peanut Butter Truffle Cups -... nikid $9.00	Naturally Yours Organic Sham... Tamarasherbes $6.00

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

'Baby's Wish List' by RainyDayArt

Combo Deal - One CHOCO and B... Shadyfeet $10.00	Baby Basics Pewter Gray Supe... BabyEtte $44.00	Soft Baby Toy - Blue and Bro... Zadyball $15.00	Camera - Teething Toy - Natu... woodworkingcra... $12.00
SET OF THREE Hand Dyed Onesi... adorababe $26.00	Baby TEETHING TOYS WOODEN mo... littlealouette $16.00	Green One Size Fitted Cloth ... thequirkycat $15.00	CUSTOMIZE YOUR OWN REVERSIBL... BabyinMindCrea... $60.00
organic crib baby bumper pad... SewnNatural $190.00	Cloth Swim Diapers KitchenSinkBou... $15.00	Organic Cotton Burp Cloths, ... organicquiltco... $18.00	SPECIAL INTRO PRICE One-Siz... SqueezieCheeks $16.00
SPRING BIRD cloth nappy - wa... bibandtucker $28.99	Dot dot Printed Cotton Baby ... kimoley $40.00	Fitted Cloth Diaper - Green ... PhineasGrace $16.00	Large 12 x 16 Pet Deer Wetba... PaddleandQuack $20.00

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

New Hats and Scarves

2010-11-04T15:17:00.002-05:00

I've been trying to ramp things up for the holidays, and part of that is creating more things to list in my shop. I've been wanting to list some things that will be easy to make more of when they sell. I decided on stretchy hats that fit a variety of head sizes, so no messing with the stitch count and matching scarves.

I'm still knitting the gray scarf if you're wondering why its not in the picture.

Felted Soaps Before and After

2010-08-17T21:34:00.005-05:00

I finally got a chance to felt some of my home made soaps!
Here they are (the blue green one doesn't have its before pictured here).

This one looks the best naked. :p

It is yuzu scented.

This blue green one is sandalwood vanilla scented. I really liked the colors on this one. :)

This cupcake shaped soap is not done yet. The top of the naked version is a bit rough as I was not as fast pouring it into the mold as I would have liked. I'm going to add some needle felting to the top and then it will be a peppermint cupcake!

Dream Vacation Blog Carnival

2010-07-16T20:18:00.003-05:00

I'll go with topic number 1.

1) It's summertime, a time to get away from it all. Do you have a dream vacation? Share details of your perfect getaway.

I have several dream vacations, but the main part is getting a vacation.

I want to get away and relax and do all sorts of fun things that I don't get to do very often, starting with kayaking and more kayaking. Then we can head to a LYS for some fun shopping and then a delicious sushi dinner. The next day we can do some hiking and give our arms a bit of a rest. A mountaintop picnic lunch sounds like just the thing, and then back to our cute B&B for a dip in the hot tub.
We can sit in the shade and knit or read for some downtime. When we're feeling more energized we can go water skiing on the lake.

Repeat as desired. :)

Goals and Accomplishments Blog Carnival

2010-06-26T08:06:00.006-05:00

Welcome to the June 21, 2010 edition of the EtsyBloggers
Blog Carnival! This weeks topic is on goals and accomplishments! I got the idea for these topics because my sister just graduated (or I knew she would be when I picked the topic!) That's a big accomplishment and the other direction is looking to the future, what do you want to accomplish: goals!

Missie presents EtsyBloggers Carnival Post posted at Sykin's One Stop Etsy Shopping Guide.

Clare Dempsey presents Etsy Blogger's Blog Carnival: Goals posted at Cricutcraftyclare, saying, "I think I got this one in on time! Thanks for the opportunity to particpate!"

mickeyscreations presents Goal-Setting to Keep Myself on the Crafty Path posted at Living the Crafty Life.

Sarah Buckingham "Finding Charm" presents Finding Charm: EtsyBloggers: June 18 Blog Carnival posted at Finding Charm.

Liz Howell presents My Goals Short and Long term posted at Liz's Wares.

Sandy Simpson presents Dreams posted at Punky Jane.

Megan Smolich presents Handmade Jewelry from Etsy posted at Glue Gun Crafts.

gilliauna presents Kitty Cats, Puppies, Pet Lovers and Charity - A Rare Post by Leal posted at The Meandering Musings of a Consummate Shopper.

Jen presents Mama Gets To Be A Grownup Today! posted at Mama's Magic.

dizzydragonflies presents Knitting Nirvana posted at dizzydragonflies.

storybeader presents Etsybloggers Carnival - June 18, 2010 posted at Stroll Through Storyland.

Elizabeth presents I Can't Believe It's Happening! posted at Thoughts from an Evil Overlord.

theashgrove presents Blog Carnival: Goals posted at Notes from the Ash Grove.

Linda B presents Recent Accomplishments - Blog Carnival posted at Linda B's Blog.

Beth presents Summer goals posted at Sunshine Daydreamz.

Erika presents The Goal is in the Shoes posted at NICO* Designs.

BeadedTail presents Making Tails Wag One Bead At A Time! posted at beadedtail.

Linda Wheelock presents Learning to Roll with the Punches Life Deals Me posted at Spotted Cow Soaps.

cindy devine presents Setting Goals posted at Devine Designs Jewelry.

Tammy presents Short Term Goals posted at tamdoll's workspace.

Alicia Mae presents Goaallll posted at Crafts and Cooking.

Sandi Myers presents What are my goals? posted at The T-Shirt Lady.

Mary presents Blog Carnival Time! - Goals posted at Misobel: Handmade Hooligan with a Mystic Touch.

Edi presents Blog Carnival-My Goals posted at Memories for Life Scrapbooks, saying, "The date and topics are posted wrong here."

Patti presents Goals in small (and large) steps posted at peacoxcreations.

RainyDayArt presents Goals Blog Carnival posted at RainyDayArt.

GirlyGirlsCrafts presents Around the Bend posted at Crafty Horror.

Kathleen presents Thursday's Thoughts - selling what you create! posted at tapestry316, saying, "What goals do I have...!
Wow - my security code says "working tapestry"!"

Anitra Cameron presents GOOOAAL!! One step at a time... posted at Coffee Pot People.

Jan Thompson presents Etsy Bloggers, my first deadline was missed posted at The Journey Continues, saying, "first one, late but done"

Deirdre presents EtsyBlooger Team's SOTM: Handmade by Sandi posted at Blackbird's Learning To Fly.

Misobel presents Blog Carnival Time!- Goals posted at Misobel.

Ebogie presents I can't believe its happening posted at Thoughts From An Evil Overlord.

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Treasury Time

2010-06-21T23:48:00.001-05:00

I was featured in this lovely purple treasury and wanted to share it!

Goals Blog Carnival

2010-06-16T17:57:00.004-05:00

I'm hosting this carnival and here I leave my post to the last minute! It's been a crazy week (although that seems the norm).

The topic is to write about goals or accomplishments.

For goals, short term first: major improvements on the house!

Here is a view from the hallway looking into the bedrooms shortly after they were done being painted. Most of the painting is done, the only thing that isn't is the kitchen. Notice the floors in this picture! They're down to the subfloor. We had to take out the absolutely nasty carpet. It had to be done before move in.

Hey if you only look at the right side of the room, it looks done. We're so close to finishing the first room and hallway!
Also on the list: other bedroom, remove wall in kitchen, floors in living room and kitchen, stairs, toilet that works for upstairs bath, floors for both baths. There's more for outside work, but that should give you a good idea of what's going on.

For long term goals I want to expand RainyDayArt. I plan to grow RainyDayArt in a systematic way. I want to offer more fiber art supplies, dye more yarn, and eventually have a physical store!

Crochet Flower by iWunder

2010-06-14T22:34:00.002-05:00

My friend over at iWunder makes these super cute crochet flowers. She makes them with lots of different types of yarn and some have handmade ceramic buttons in the center. This flower is one of my favorites! Is it because I really like the colors or because I made the yarn? :p Maybe both.
It was a fun yarn to make (I think I say that about all of them). I grabbed lots of different colors and just spun and then I plied it on itself.

Featured Etsy Blogger for June!

2010-06-12T17:37:00.001-05:00

Each month the Etsy Bloggers choose a member to feature. This month's featured blogger is ... BeadedTail !

She has jewelry and cat and dog themed items.

You can find her blog here: http://beadedtail.blogspot.com
and her Etsy shop here: http://beadedtail.etsy.com

This shows a few of the things that are in her shop!

WIP: Knitters' Handy Carry-All Post #2

2010-04-18T17:41:00.002-05:00

It doesn't look as floppy as it did last time. Since my last post on this I have sewn the lining pockets, finished knitting the inside and bottom of the bag, sewn the pocket linings in, and did most of the assembly. The interfacing is in place, but I still have to sew around the bottom edge to hold it in place.
I still have a button to sew on and the handles to knit and assemble.

Here's a peak at the inside!

Knitting Tools

2010-04-18T15:32:00.003-05:00

I've been listening to some KnitPicks podcasts that I'd missed while working on my Knitting Carry All Bag. I listened to episode 124, and yes, I just noticed that it was from December. It was a really cool topic though, what tools they have in their knitting bags.

I usually don't have as many knitting projects going at once as they do, but I do like to always take something to knit with me. I though I'd share what notions and tools I like to have in my bag. I like to have everything for the project I'm working on but not too much extra. Stitch markers tend to be on an as needed basis. If I'm in a pinch I can always use a bit of scrap yarn.

THE LIST

crochet hook
yarn needle
scissors or dental floss
bit of scrap yarn
pen
note paper
tape measurer

That's pretty much it. My needle gauge may occasionally jump in the bag, but that would be if I'm trying to start a project on the go and I'm grabbing for needles as I head out. The dental floss is really for the dental floss cutter, it works well for cutting yarn if you're going someplace you can't bring scissors. For my latest project my sewing kit jumped in there too! I sewed all the pocket linings in on my last trip, 2.5 during the car ride and the last bit after we got there.

Monday April 12 Etsy Bloggers Blog Carnival Newness!!!

2010-04-13T23:48:00.005-05:00

After patiently waiting my turn, I'm excited to host this week's blog carnival!
The two topic choices are:
1) Spring is a time for new things and growth. Tell us about a new item and what inspired you to create it.
or
2) Easter is April 4, what family traditions do you do for Easter?

Welcome to the April 12th 2010 edition of EtsyBloggers

Blog Carnival!

dizzydragonflies presents Dyeing for Spring posted at dizzydragonflies.

Odin presents Blog Carnival March 2010: Spring Fling posted at Odin's Bead Hall.

Trina Baker presents Etsy Blog Carnival « posted at gallery32, saying, "Thanks for hosting this months carnival!"

ImagineMDD presents Swoon, I'll Catch You: A necklace for springtime or anytime posted at ImagineMDD, saying, "hope this is the right place :-)"

Edi presents April Blog Carnival-New Listing!!! posted at Memories for Life Scrapbooks.

Alicia Mae presents New things and growth - an EtsyBloggers carnival posted at Crafts and Cooking.

TiLTcreations presents Etsybloggers Carnival: New Things posted at Crafts, kids, home and life.

Patch First Shop presents New items for Spring.. posted at PatchFirstShop.

BunnyKissd presents BlogCarnival: Easter Tradition posted at Diary of a Crazy Rabbit Lady, Too.

UberArt presents Grand ReOpening of UberArt! posted at UberArt Shop.

storybeader presents Etsybloggers Carnival - April 9, 2010 posted at Stroll Through Storyland.

Rainy presents Spring Time - April 9th Blog Carnival posted at RainyDayArt.

Spring Time - April 9th Blog Carnival

2010-04-09T22:09:00.006-05:00

This is a new crochet scarf of mine made with a variety of hand spun and high quality yarns.

I was inspired by some of my hand spun yarns of which I didn't have all that much yardage. For some of the yarns I had enough for only one row. I wanted to make a really long scarf with length wise stripes to really highlight each yarn. I may have gotten a little carried away on the length as it is 9.8 feet, but it can be worn folded in half and still hangs down to the legs.

The main inspiration was the soy silk and alpaca yarns in row 3 and 5. I liked going through my hand spun stash to find yarn to match.

The first row and all the purple and gray rows are merino mill spun yarn.
The second row and the two other green and lighter green rows are also merino mill spun yarn.
The third row is a hand spun soy silk yarn.
The fifth row is hand spun with dark gray alpaca.
Row 8 is hand spun with bluefaced leicester wool.
Row 10 is hand spun with a hand dyed merino wool.
Row 13 is hand spun with a 70% merino, 30% tencel blend.
Row 14 is hand spun with a heather gray wool, the same yarn that I knit my fist pair of socks with. (Yarn from the same batch, I still have my socks!)

Work In Progress: Knitters' Handy Carry-All from Knit Picks

2010-03-20T18:07:00.004-05:00

I've been knitting away at my new bag. The first picture here is of the outside of the bag. It looks sloppy now, but will be much more sturdy and happy looking when I have the interfacing in. The second picture shows what will be the pattern pocket. I like the idea of using fabric to line the pockets. It will just make the bag that that much longer to make. I'm excited to actually finish it. The instructions are pretty thorough, except for the part about making the welt needle holder pockets.

Reading the instructions again I think I see what the author intended with using two needle sets for the welt pockets. I don't have a second set that size, and I didn't get why the instructions said to use the second set when I started knitting the welts. I just kept going on my one circular needle. When I finished the welt and went to reattach the 15 stitches, I ended up with a hole at the back of the work. I sewed the first one closed but came up with a better way for the rest of the welts. I picked up stitches from the beginning of the welt and knit them together with the end of the welt stitches. I think the end result is the same as if you left the 15 stitches on the needle to start with.

Here you can see the difference between sewing the welt closed or picking up stitches to knit it closed. The bottom one is sewing and the top two are knitting it closed. The knit ones look much neater.
This is me, showing you what I did. That light green stitch on the left needle is the stitch I'm picking up from the beginning of the welt. Then I knit those stitches (light green from the body and dark green from the welt) together.
While the sewn welt isn't as neat at the knit ones, it is only noticeable from the wrong side, which will be inside the bag facing the interfacing when complete, so only I (and you blog readers) will know its there.

More Mugness

2010-03-20T17:06:00.003-05:00

I really liked the mug decorating challenge, and when I bought my mug to decorate I really bought 4 because it was a really good sale. One of the first things I thought of to write on a mug was "We gotta go to the crappy town where I'm a hero", by Wash in Firefly (Jaynestown episode). A close runner up was "This must be what going insane feels like" by Simon when the towns people start singing their Jayne song!

Since I made a Wash mug I had to put another good Wash quote on the other side! "What can it be? We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing? Oh right, that would be me, uh back to work."
No power in the verse can stop me.

March 15 Blog Carnival is Published

2010-03-16T16:55:00.001-05:00

Here's a blog carnival with a variety of topics: Spring, Women's History Month, Nutrition Month, and Irish American Heritage Month:
http://madebymelissa.blogspot.com/2010/03/march-15-etsybloggers-blog-carnival.html

Finished Item Cabled Purple Scarflette

2010-03-12T09:03:00.000-06:00

This item was first seen in this post. I really like that yarn, and those buttons! The buttons are from Ginpins. I'm telling you because she's super cool, but if you buy buttons let me get some too!
That post was back in January! I can't believe it took me two months to finish this!!! I tend to have multiple projects going at the same time, so that should make it not sound so bad. It did seem like it was taking extra long because of the small gauge.

Featured Etsy Blogger For March

2010-03-11T12:47:00.000-06:00

Each month the Etsy Bloggers choose a member to feature. This month's featured blogger is ... DizzyDragonflies!

She has some very pretty yarns!

You can find her blog here: http://knittingdragonflies.blogspot.com
and her Etsy shops here: http://DizzyDragonflies.etsy.com
http://KnittingDragonflies.etsy.com

This shows a few of the things that are in her shop!

Spring Time Blog Carnival / March Free Shipping

2010-03-09T22:56:00.000-06:00

Ah, is warming up for spring and I'm liking that! I do wish I got more skiing in this winter, but I'm ready for spring. Soon it will be time to trade the winter coats for lighter jackets. Neckwarmers or scarflettes are perfect for when there is just that little bit of chill in the air.

I've decided to offer free shipping on my neckwarmers/ scarflettes in the month of March to those to mention this blog post. (Free shipping to the US, buyers in all other countries get $5 off shipping)

Mug Challenge and Women's History Month

2010-03-08T00:27:00.006-06:00

The Sweets did a second challenge in February to decorate mugs with pebeo pens. I covered my mug in some of my favorite feminism quotes! I would have done with without March right around the corner, but how timely.

This quote tops my list!

I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a door mat or a prostitute. ~Rebecca West

Another favorite!

"Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
—Eleanor Roosevelt

It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union.... Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less. ~Susan B. Anthony

The only jobs for which no man is qualified are human incubators and wet nurse. Likewise, the only job for which no woman is or can be qualified is sperm donor. ~Wilma Scott Heide

"Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings". ~Cheris Kramarae

"I will love, honor, cherish- but not obey." ~Rosalie Slaughter Morton

Crochet Challenge

2010-03-07T21:28:00.003-06:00

The Sweets are doing monthly challenges and one of the February ones was crochet. Several girls who never did crochet before did some cool scarves. I've done a lot of crochet, but not many patterns.

Shout out for Sherri Crochets , where I got the pattern.

This bear is crocheted in pieces and then stuffed and sewn together.
The finishing may have taken just as long as crocheting the individual pieces.
Then I had to sew on the face. It just looks off without one. :pI used the same yarns for the face, but for the eyes and mouth I used two of the four plies to better control the color placement. Ta Da!

It turned out super cute!

Bright Ideas: A Place for Yarn to Dry

2010-02-24T15:52:00.002-06:00

I was getting creative finding places to dry my yarn after dyeing or setting the twist. I hung yarn on the shower head, on a hangar, etc. I need a place for it to drip without making a mess with a puddle on the floor.
The rod for the shower curtain is so tempting but if I hang yarn there the water will drip on the edge of the tub and the bathroom floor. Then it dawned on me!

We had an extra curtain rod from the last apartment we lived in. We installed it over the tub, and now have the perfect place to hang yarn to dry!

It comes in handy for hanging clothes to dry after the wash too!

Featured Etsy Blogger For February

2010-02-22T23:52:00.002-06:00

Each month the Etsy Bloggers choose a member to feature. This month's featured blogger is ... TiLTCreations!

This bag of hers is very tempting! :)

You can find her blogs here: http://tiltcreations.blogspot.com
http://tiltcreationstoo.blogspot.com
and her Etsy shops here: http://TiLTCreations.etsy.com
http://TiLTtoo.etsy.com

This shows a few of the things that are in her shop!

Vacation Blog Carnival

2010-02-22T15:32:00.004-06:00

I'm so ready for a vacation! I think the best places are the ones that aren't really touristy, the ones were you can go an relax or where you can do all sorts of fun stuff. The best vacations are the ones where you can get away for a while, and not worry about when you're coming back! Most of my trips tend to be shorter though...

I have a huge list of where to go. I want to see the world! You can't make me pick just one place! Some of the places I'd like to go first are: Seattle, Alaska, Mexico, Canada, England, and a cruise to the Southern Caribbean. I guess I'm starting with some of the closer places.

One Skein Purse Project

2010-01-28T18:08:00.000-06:00

I wanted to show off a purse I made with one skein of my hand dyed yarn. I know many people wonder what can they make with just one skein of a yarn. This is the yarn I used. It is a 100% wool, heavy worsted weight.
Here are more skeins of this yarn in different colors.

I started by knitting a rectangle, and then picked up stitches around the edges. I knit in the round until the top edge, and knit the handle straps back and forth. The purse then got to go through the wash a couple times to full it. After that I attached the magnetic closure and sewed the straps on the handles! Ta da!

Finished Items: Scarves

2010-01-27T17:55:00.004-06:00

Since you asked so nicely...

This is the scarf in the WIP post from the 15th, complete and modeled by yours truly!

Scarf number two is made with the same hand spun bulky yarn. It is very similar, just a little shorter than the first scarf.

Snowflakes Blog Carnival

2010-01-27T16:49:00.005-06:00

Snowflakes! What a fitting topic for today as its been snowing all day!

These are some fabulous snowflake themed items on Etsy!

These cute earrings are from a Daily Sweet, The Magpie's Daughter

Veelana, also a Sweet has this paper window ornament.

This snowflake shaped goat milk soap from, a fellow blogger, SweetSallysSoaps's is adorable.

Feature Etsy Blogger for January

2010-01-17T22:07:00.004-06:00

Each month the Etsy Bloggers choose a member to feature. This month's featured blogger is ... NICO Designs!

Two things that jumped out at me in her shop are these super cute shoes

and this bag!If anyone wants to buy these for me feel free! I'll find a baby for them later. :p

You can find her blog here: http://NicoDesigns.etsy.com
and her Etsy shops here: http://DesignsbyNico.blogspot.com

This shows a few of the things that are in her shop!

Work in Progress

2010-01-15T22:25:00.004-06:00

I'm in a knitting mode lately and I have a lot on my needles. From left to right: a scarf I'm working on with purchased hand spun yarn, a scarflette made with hand spun by me yarn, a scarf made with 2 strands of different commercial yarns.

The first scarf is black with bit of sparkles and other colors spun into the yarn. It's fun to work with.

The scarflette is in a cable pattern that made up as I went. I'm still deciding on what buttons to use with it. The yarn is 70% merino and 30% tencel for a shiny, silky, smooth, soft yarn.

The third scarf is a stash buster that I started because I was away from my other projects and wanted to knit something right then.

Looking Forward to 2010: Blog Carnival

2010-01-15T17:31:00.005-06:00

Now that 2010 is here, what do you have planned/look forward to/hope to accomplish this year?

I plan in finally introducing my soap.

I look forward to skiing! I'll be really disappointed if I don't get to ski before it gets warm again.

I hope to sell more than I did last year! I'd like to get up to 300 (or more) sales by the end of next year, which means making and selling a lot more than I did this year.

I also hope to travel and take more cool pictures. This is me after a mile hike on a peninsula sticking out into the Pacific Ocean in 2009. :)

I've been Featured!

2010-01-15T13:46:00.002-06:00

http://veelana.blogspot.com/2010/01/featuring-my-sweet-etsy-teammates-today_14.html

Veelana's did a sweet blog post about me, and I've decided to give away the winner's choice of a soap sock or a magnet. See her blog for details on how to win.

Happy New Year 2010!

2010-01-01T12:03:00.003-06:00

We had a pretty relaxed New Years Eve here. We just chilled and had fun playing a game with a friend! Yes, I had a LAN party on New Years Eve, and it was awesome! Plus we had the best salsa ever, and sushi rolls for dinner and pocky!

I also finished up this scarf on New Years Eve earlier in the day.

Gotta run, 2010 is off to a busy start!

Baby Hooded Jacket is Complete!

2009-12-27T18:58:00.005-06:00

I actually finished it over a month ago, but didn't want to post finished pictures until after I gave it to the recipient. I really want to see it on her and really hope they get some good use out of it before she out grows the sweater!
You can see my progress here: http://rainydayart.blogspot.com/2009/08/on-neeldles-baby-hooded-jacket.html and http://rainydayart.blogspot.com/2009/08/progress-and-kitchener-stitch.html
This is a closeup of the seam on the hood. I did that differently than the pattern too. The pattern said to bind off the outer edges and continue knitting the middle to make a T shape and then sew the edges together on the back of the hood. I knit the stitches together as I went so I didn't have to sew the seams. It didn't save me anytime because I tried out a couple different methods. It was like a heal on a sock only hood sized.

After all that I bought the buttons and sewed them on. There's really no avoiding that kind of sewing if you want buttons on the front. :p

Finished Hat

2009-12-13T22:40:00.003-06:00

Ta Da! What do you think? It's my newest hat! I've talked about it a lot already and shown pictures of it in progress and now, its complete!

Featured Etsy Blogger For December

2009-12-10T12:56:00.003-06:00

Each month the Etsy Bloggers choose a member to feature. This month's featured blogger is ... calkat!

She has some great jewelry in her shop; I especially like her zodiac necklaces, and she's currently offering free shipping until New Years.

Her blog is a fun read too. I just finished her post on St. Lucia's Day

You can find her blog here: http://calkatthejewelryjunkie.blogspot.com
and her Etsy shops here: http://www.calkat.etsy.com

This shows a few of the things that are in her shop!

S2KP A Double Decrease

2009-12-09T22:26:00.003-06:00

I came across this decrease in the hat pattern that I'm knitting. I'd never heard of it before. I found it a little awkward at first, but now I really like it. So I decided to show it to you.

In the first picture we're ready to start the decrease. Knit until one stitch before the stitch you want it centered on. This decrease takes up three stitches on the working row.
Put your needle into the next two stitches like you're going to knit two together and slip them to the other needle. They're going to hang out until we need them.Knit the next stitch. In this picture both the new knitted stitch and the slipped stitches are on the right needle.
Now pass the two slipped stitches over the one knit stitch. The S2KP is complete.
This picture gives a better view of the finished stitches. They are slightly raised and centered! This decrease doesn't lean left or right.

Hand Spun Knit Hat

2009-12-08T21:58:00.005-06:00

I've had this yarn (the light green one on the left in the first picture) that I spun from this hand dyed falkland wool top for a while now. It's been waiting for just the right knitting project. I knew I wanted to pair it with another yarn, but it took me a while to decide on some of my hand spun Bluefaced Leicester. The idea is that the solid color yarn will help to better highlight the subtle color changes in the hand dyed yarn.
Here is the hat I'm working on. I'm liking the pattern, which is here. I've been wanting to make one of those tams for a while too, plus its time to knit a hat for myself, because I want a new hat.
The really crazy part is that I knit most of that in one day. I had cast on the day before and knit a few rows. It was a day spent at various airports waiting for our flights and on the flights, but still, that much in one day is a lot of knitting! I wonder how long it will take me to do the rest...

Featured Etsy Blogger for November

2009-11-09T23:01:00.005-06:00

Each month the Etsy Bloggers choose a member to feature. This month's featured blogger is ... thefabmissb!

Thefabmissb has all sorts of vintage items from aprons and table cloths to a paprika shaker and bathing cap. Her shop Becky Kazana has her handmade creations such as greeting cards, word garlands and pipe-pets.

You can find her blog here: http://thefabmissb.blogspot.com
and her Etsy shops here: http://thefabmissb.etsy.com
http://beckykazana.etsy.com

This shows a few of the things that are in her shop!

November 6 Blog Carnival- Successful Items!

2009-11-06T23:13:00.005-06:00

My most successful product is my felted soap.
They are followed closely by my magnets, mirrors, and buttons.I started with aviation themed ones and have recently started offering custom magnets, mirrors, and buttons!

While, I'd still like to sell more of these items, let's look at what's working for them.

They're both at a price point that can be an easy decision - both less than $10.
They can be made quickly, as long as I have the supplies around.

The felted soap especially, has done well offline. I think it has benefited by people being able to see how good it smells, and no shipping if you're buying in person. Plus its a natural item made with handmade soap, a small luxury or a break from all the chemicals we are bombarded with.

They're unique. I haven't seen anyone else making the same style of buttons, and while there are plenty of felted soaps out there, they are a small percentage of handmade soap in general and they're all different- different scents, colors, made with different oils, etc.

Quality is important too! The buttons are sturdy. I've never had a problem with one breaking. The felted soap is made with quality ingredients and without the nasty stuff that's in a lot of commercial soaps or detergents and then wrapped in wool one by one.

I enjoy making them. Without that there would be no point.

All together these are products that are working for me and I can continue making.

On the Bobbin: Moonlit Sea

2009-10-10T18:37:00.004-05:00

I dyed 4 ounces of Superwash Merino roving different shades of blue and green, with the blue at one end and the green at the other. Here is the single after I finished spinning it. I spun the blue part first so the green is on the outside.

So far I've spun just under 2 ounces of it. I navajo plied the single to get a three ply yarn that maintains the same color placement. The yarn gradually changes from blue to green over the skein with no repeats.
Here is the finished yarn!If you'd like to buy it:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=32391257

Featured Etsy Blogger For October: Madebymelissa

2009-10-09T21:05:00.003-05:00

Each month the Etsy Bloggers choose a member to feature. The featured Etsy Blogger for October is ... madebymelissa!

Madebymelissa has a wide variety in her shop, including necklaces and earrings, scarves and cute crochet toys like this adorable octopus!

You can find her blog here http://madebymelissa.blogspot.com
and her Etsy shop is here http://madebymelissa.etsy.com

This shows a few of the things that are in her shop!

Halloween Memories Blog Carnival

2009-10-09T17:12:00.003-05:00

I always liked trick or treating as a kid. It was a lot of fun to run from house to house wondering what goodies we'd get. I'd go with my sisters and when we got back we'd dump our bags out on the living room floor and trade candy with each other. I think the trading candy was as much fun as going out and getting it all.

This year I'm planning on going to a friends Halloween party! It should be fun, but I still don't know what to wear, probably something warm. I'm playing with the idea of something from Firefly, possibly Kaylee...

Spinning My Drum Carded Fiber

2009-09-26T14:35:00.002-05:00

Remember those first batts I carded on my brand new drum carder? I finished spinning it into yarn!

The carding did the trick because the spinning was smooth. After I got the batts off the carder I pulled them apart into 4 long strips per batt. The drafting was easy and it made for a consistent yarn weight.

I think it looks a bit blue in the pictures, but its a dark purple wool with white mohair and white nylon sparkles.Now I need to expand my fiber stash...

September 25 Blog Carnival: My Studio

2009-09-25T22:08:00.004-05:00

I've done posts on my studio before but I've moved since then so I thought I would show you the latest version.

Yep, its the same couch and spinning wheel as before. The couch is still comfy and the spinning wheel is still awesome.

Here you can see my shelf with my boxes of finished things and works in progress. I have all sorts of stuff on that shelf: my swift, wpi tool, scale, boxes of yarn. You can see some blue and green hand dyed merino wool at the top left. I thought it looked pretty blotchy when I was finished dying it, so I decided to spin it and see if I like it. I can always ad more dye when I'm done if I want.

I'm still working on the whole more space thing. I actually have less space at this apartment than at our last one. I'd probably keep whatever I was working on in the living room because I like to spin there, but it would be nice to not have to keep everything there, well the drum carder is currently in the bedroom. I still have to figure out where to store it!

Drum Carder!!!!!!

2009-09-13T22:29:00.004-05:00

Earlier this week I was surprised by the fabulous gift of a drum carder! Here it is after I carded my first batt with it! I'm pretty excited about all the new yarn possibilities!

It is a fancy kitty drum carder. I'm really liking it so far! I still need to get a few tools to go with like a burnishing tool and a brush to clean it. I also want to finish the wood.

This is what I used in my first batt, a mix of purple dyed wool and white mohair with some nylon sparkle. This is what I had around here. That purple and white stuff is supposed to be roving, but it is a bit messy. I've hand carded some of it for yarn before.
This is the finished batt. I made 3 of them today and spun them all. I'll post pictures of the finished yarn when its done drying from setting the twist!

Featured Etsy Blogger For September: designsbyvanessa

2009-09-13T11:26:00.004-05:00

Each month the Etsy Bloggers choose a member to feature. The featured Etsy Blogger for September is ... designsbyvanessa!

designsbyvanessa has jewelry and cute bird and cupecake items in her shop!

You can find her blog here http://designsbyvanessa.blogspot.com/
and her Etsy shop is here http://designsbyvanessa.etsy.com

This shows a few of the things that are in her shop!

Progress and Kitchener Stitch

2009-08-28T18:36:00.005-05:00

I decided to go with Kitchener Stitch for the shoulder seams, since this is a baby sweater and the shoulders won't have to support a lot of weight, and Kitchener Stitch makes the seam look so nice and neat. Here is a close up of the shoulder. Kitchener Stitch is so great because it looks like it was knit in one piece!
Here the whole sweater so far. I have completed the body and started on the sleeves. I'm really liking how quick my progress is on this project!I've noticed that a lot of directions for Kitchener stitch only explain it for stockinette. In that case, with the purl sides together, you want to use your sewing needle to go through the stitches as if to knit the first stitch and purl the second, and for the back needle, purl the first stitch and knit the second. As you go push the first stitch of each set off the working needles. Remember: knit, purl, then purl knit.

For garter stitch it is: knit purl, knit purl - the same thing for the front and back needles. Just make sure the two pieces are facing the right way before you start so you don't end up with two knit rows and two purl rows together.

It's fine if its loose you can go back and neaten up the stitches.

Favorite Food Blog Carnival

2009-08-25T15:38:00.004-05:00

There are sooo many yummy foods out there, but I think I'm going to go with sushi as my favorite. Ok, now I want some sushi. ^_^
Why? because it tastes so good!
In fact, I want to go here! The last time I was there was a really great night, but its been too long. It's time to go again. It sure would be easier if my favorite restaurant wasn't about 2,000 miles away...

Anyway, here are some sushi related items to look at since I don't get to eat any right now. ;_;

Crab, Avocado and Tempura Sushi Felt Roll Pin by Sypria

Ocean Floor by Glassprimitif

Kawaii huge sushi necklace by honeypopjewellery

I HEART SUSHI bracelet by insanejellyfish

On the Bobbin: Stormy Seas

2009-08-24T15:24:00.000-05:00

I started with this lovely hand dyed merino top. I was trying to make a really huge skein, but I just had to see what it looked like when I plied it! This is about half of top I have.

It's already off the bobbin, twist set, and hanging to dry.

The Downside of Knitting in Public

2009-08-23T16:02:00.004-05:00

Some people say the craziest things. The other day SEVERAL people said something that really surprised me. I won't name names here because I don't want to embarrass anyone. I was working on the baby jacket in the previous post but hadn't knitted far enough for someone to tell what it was. Maybe it was the light pink yarn that caused such a fuss.

I was asked if I was pregnant, not once, but multiple times! Now, for some unknown reason these people thought that was an acceptable thing to ask. They are probably not the ones reading this blog but I wanted to clarify. Asking someone if they are pregnant is inappropriate and very rude. It doesn't matter how excited you are to talk about little ones. Did she tell you she is pregnant? No? Then don't say anything about that subject.

There are many reasons to not ask this question:
If she's not pregnant, you just called her fat. Maybe she wants to have a baby, but is having difficulty, you just brought up an unpleasant topic. Maybe she had a miscarriage, again with the unpleasant topic.
If she is pregnant, maybe she doesn't want to announce it to the whole group; maybe you're the 15th person to bring it up today and she tired of talking about it; maybe she has medical problems that she doesn't want to talk about.

Now about my situation. I'm guessing that they said that because of the knitting and not because they think I look fat (hoping anyway). How did you come up with the idea that knitting baby things equals pregnant? And why did you wait until I was knitting a pink sweater and not ask when I was knitting a tiny blue hat? And you asked this knowing that I knit a lot of gifts and things to sell... I'm far too logical to ever figure out what they were thinking.

I've been knitting since I was 12, statistically, the answer to that question is: go away, and next time be polite.

On the Neeldles: Baby Hooded Jacket

2009-08-23T13:24:00.004-05:00

It's been a while since I knitted a sweater. I usually like to complete things quickly, and this is a sweater that fits in that category, as its for a 6 month old baby! It is the very first baby item that I have knitted. I've been loosely following the Hooded Sweatshirt Jacket pattern at http://www.cutiepiefashions.com/originaldesignpatterns.htm.
You may recognize the yarn from a few posts back. The first picture shows the front right of the jacket. The top is on a holder waiting for me to finish the back. the pattern says to do a three needle bind off. I'm still deciding between that and kitchener stitch.
I've changed the pattern around a bit. Instead of knitting each piece, front right, front left, and back, I'm knitting them all together (and leaving an opening for the sleeves). This way I don't have to sew the side seems later. You can see my sleeve hole best in the first picture.Here is a picture of the back. I've made a lot of progress so far. That's good, because I want to be done with the sweater in time for her to wear it! I picked a size a few months out, so it should be good.

Results Are In: August 14th Blog Carnival

2009-08-18T22:52:00.000-05:00

Planning or Playing

http://www.storybeader.com/2009/08/etsybloggers-carnival-august-14-2009_17.html

Michigan Fiber Festival

2009-08-16T15:39:00.002-05:00

I got to go to the Michigan Fiber Festival in Allegan on Saturday. It was pretty hot out but a fun day. We saw the sheep dog demonstration, and lots of very cute angora rabbits. Every time I see those cute critters I want one! They are so adorable and I'd love to be able to spin and sell their fiber. I don't really want to have to clean up after them though. Am I just lazy in that area? What does it say that I potty trained my cat so that I don't have to clean a litter box anymore?

There was a skein competition and we saw some of the judging. I wish I could have entered a skein.

Here's the website http://www.michiganfiberfestival.info/ You might want to turn off your sound before you visit though. I wish they put more information on the website, like what time the festival starts and descriptions of the classes. Maybe next year?

There were also three buildings full of vendors. Pretty much everything fiber related was there, and lots and lots of spinning fiber and yarn. It was fun shopping but at times a little frustrating too. I was quite surprised by how many vendors didn't label their items with fiber content and price. I know I got tired of asking and might have passed up something good.

I ended up buying a little Merino and a little Alpaca spinning fiber.

August 14th Blog Carnival: Planning Ahead

2009-08-13T11:14:00.005-05:00

Here's the question: In a few months, the holiday season will be in full swing. What are you planning for: increasing your inventory, festival hopping, networking?

This isn't specifically for the holiday season, but I've been trying to increase my inventory. I'm hoping that that will help lead to more sales. I'm not sure about festivals. I've had mixed results. I would like to find some good indoor shows to do, since I don't have a tent right now.

I'm thinking about the kinds of advertising I want to do in the future. You may have noticed the ad box on the right side of the page (or not if you're blocking them). I've started using Project Wonderful which is a way to buy and sell ads, but its an auction system where you bid on the ad space you want. If its available for the price you want, you get the spot, if someone else wants to pay more for the spot, they get it. You can set a minimum bid if you want to, but I didn't, so the first few people who bid on my spot actually got their ad up for free, until someone else bit 1 cent. As I write this, the spot is going for 2 cents. I was also able to put my ad up for free on a few sites.

I still have big plans in the works for my soap, and generally want to grow my shop.

Featured Etsy Blogger For August: Memoriesforlifesb!

2009-08-12T11:56:00.005-05:00

Each month the Etsy Bloggers choose a member to feature. The featured Etsy Blogger for August is ... Memoriesforlifesb!

Memoriesforlifesb has lots of cool scrap book albums

You can find her blog here http://memoriesforlifescrapbooks.blogspot.com/
and her Etsy shop is here http://memoriesforlifesb.etsy.com

This shows a few of the things that are in her shop!

Etsy Bloggers Anniversary Giveaway!!!

2009-08-10T19:14:00.006-05:00

The Etsy Bloggers are celebrating their 2nd anniversary by giving away 25 really cool prizes.

I'm participating in this giveaway with one of my felted soaps!

Head on over to http://etsybloggers.blogspot.com/2009/08/etsybloggers-mega-giveaway.html to enter to win!

The prize that I'm giving away is this lavender oatmeal felted soap!
(If this particular soap sells before the end of the giveaway, the prize will be your choice of any of my lavender oatmeal felted soaps, or if you really want a different color just say so.)

New Felted Soaps

2009-08-03T18:45:00.003-05:00

These are my latest felted soaps, all in vanilla. Very yum! Vanilla is one of my favorites!

Yay ArtFire!

2009-08-01T19:58:00.007-05:00

Not that long ago, I participated in an ArtFire contest on Twitter. I didn't know how many people entered, but I thought my odds of winning were pretty low. To my surprise I won! The prize was to shop in ArtFire shops doing the Christmas in July sale, all on ArtFire! This is such a cool prize because even more people win! I won this cool stuff and got to choose my prize and the sellers won because me and the two other winners are buying things in their shops!

The first thing to arrive was this card holder from ma dbird.
It is constructed very well and has three different fabric patterns.

This very pretty Merino Top is from FiberCycle. I can't wait to spin this!

This handmade soap and recycled yarn is from happyearthsoaps.
How did she know what my favorites are?

beSPAlicious had this cute lavendar sachet that I couldn't pass up.
Gotta protect my stach you know!

Thank you Artfire and thank you madbird, FiberCycle, happyearthsoaps, and beSPAlicious!

Featured Etsy Blogger For July: Miesmama

2009-07-28T20:37:00.005-05:00

Each month the Etsy Bloggers choose a member to feature. The featured Etsy Blogger for July is ... Miesmama!

Miesmama has some super cute felt purses and bowls which I'm always a fan of, as well as hair ties, garlands, and other goodies!

You can find her blog here http://miesmama.blogspot.com/
and her Etsy shop is here http://miesmama.etsy.com

This shows a few of the things that are in her shop!

What Happens When Felted Soap Is Used Up?

2009-07-17T18:03:00.004-05:00

This is my fist felted soap that I made. I used it to test out my felted soap and it worked great! Here it is after all the soap is gone from the middle.

I decided to cut it open and show you what the inside looks like.

You can see the different layers of felt and they've all shrunk leaving a rather tiny space for the soap as it was used up.
There are still uses for the little pieces of wool.
It would still work well as a scrubbie, on dirty hands or dishes just with soap added now.
It could be used to protect jewelry when packing very light.
My pieces fit neatly on the ends of my fingers; they could be used to make cute finger puppets.
Do you have an idea for how to use the leftover felt? Please share it in the comments. :P

Spinning Time

2009-07-12T19:55:00.002-05:00

This pretty is 80% Merino wool and 20% Silk. I got it from yarn2spin in Greenville Michigan. It was pretty cool to finally go to her shop in person and see all the great stuff in her shop. This top was one of the things I picked up. I'll post pictures of the finished yarn when I'm done!

New Dyes, New Yarns

2009-07-12T15:27:00.004-05:00

I got a few more dyes, and now have 2 reds, 2 blues, a yellow, and black. I was starting to run out of my first 3 primary colors and decided to get the black too this time around. So all the greens, oranges, and purples you see in my shop are all from me mixing the dyes. Surprisingly (to me anyway) I'm not very scientific about it. I look at it more like mixing paint colors. I mix them until I have a color I like and then I put it on the yarn! This blue and green yarn has the new blue
and for something that looks newer, for this yarn I used my new black to make a grey and the new blue in the purple.

Blue Knit Treasury

2009-07-08T10:49:00.003-05:00

I haven't had much time for stalking treasuries lately but I looked at a few yesterday and saw that they were opening up in just a few minutes!

Candyland Inspired Yarn

2009-07-04T19:15:00.032-05:00

I thought I'd tell you a bit about how I made my Candyland Inspired Yarn for the EtsyFAST challenge for June.

First I chose the colors to match the squares on the path of the gameboard: read, purple, yellow, blue, orange, green. I selected equal amounts of each roving and then pulled each one apart in equal pieces.
I spun the single with the colors in the same order and then repeated the colors, after that my bobbin was quite full!

The first picture shows the single on my lazy kate. In the second picture, I've started plying the yarn. I navajo plied the yarn so that my colors would stay together. I wanted solid color stripes for this yarn instead of the plys being different colors for most of the yarn. In navajo plying the spinner makes big crochet chains with the single ply and twists the three strands together into a three ply yarn.

Here's the very bright and colorful finished yarn!

Ever Wondered How to Make Really Long Section Names?

2009-07-03T22:33:00.001-05:00

http://raisinlike.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-create-long-section-name-in-your.html

Puppeteer On The Roof explains it!

5 Favorite Things About Summer Blog Carnival

2009-07-03T10:11:00.003-05:00

1 Watersports- Water skiing, boating, kayaking
2 Beach
3 More light/ longer days
4 Swimming
5 Camping

I think that a pretty good list. Notice how most of them involve water to keep cool! I'm not a fan of the summer heat, but if its going to be hot out might as well do something fun!

If you missed the last episode, here's the June 22 edition!

My Light Box!!!!!

2009-07-01T23:34:00.002-05:00

I now have my very own collapses to flat light box!

I don't have space for a light box that just sits around being an empty box most of the time, so I made one that can be stored flat! I got some inspriation from http://clinecreations.blogspot.com/2009/02/space-saving-light-box-finally.html but our boxes are different sizes. My top is also different because I didn't like cutting out tiny slits in the cardboard. It's not the prettiest, but it seems to work. I just need more lights now!

Finished Item: Neckwarmer/ Scarflette in Green with Ceramic Buttons

2009-06-22T23:01:00.000-05:00

I finished the neckwarmer I talked about in my other post. :)

Results Are In: June 19, 2009 Blog Carnival

2009-06-22T20:59:00.000-05:00

Birthdays and summer!

http://panopticamx.blogspot.com/2009/06/etsybloggers-carnival-june-22-edition.html

Current Projects

2009-06-17T17:31:00.009-05:00

I've been switching gears from dying to spinning and knitting this week. I spun a brand new skein of Blue Faced Leicester Yarn, as well as a mini skein of some wool yarn I had from a while ago (shown hanging to dry on my door to the right). I only had a little sample, so I'm thinking of putting this together with some other hand spun yarn.

The second picture shows some possible yarn combinations. I'm looking at combining it with other small bits of hand spun that I have.

I'm also working on what to knit with it. Since its a small amount of yarn, I'm thinking of making a neckwarmer and adding some lovely handmade buttons that I just bought from ginpins. She makes such great buttons that its sometimes a race to buy them first!

I'm currently knitting up a neckwarmer in a new pattern that I think will work for the hand spun one as well. This neckwarmer is knit with yarn from Yarn2Spin; it is Shepherd's Wool from Stonehedge Fiber Mill in Michigan in 2 shades of green.

Summer Blog Carnival

2009-06-11T18:40:00.004-05:00

Summer is almost here and lots of people are talking about summer vacations and kids being out of school. For me, my work is about to get a lot busier, so I hope I still have enough time for my shop! If I'm working long hours I might not get to create, let alone blog as much as I'd like, but it will be nice to have some more money.

I really like how much more light we have in summer! I love having all that light in the evenings and doing things out side. I want to go camping and hiking and kayaking! In the Midwest it can get so crazy hot sometimes, I'm really hoping that this summer is milder. If the begining of June is any indication, it will be pleasantly cooler than usual. The usual is really hot with thunderstorms rolling through on a regular basis.

I've been done with school for a while now, so that's not really a summer thing for me. My work schedule is more flexible than a lot of people's, but I still have those darn responsibilities and all. I think it would be really fun to take some trips up to Northern Michigan and Wisconsin! (As well as some trips farther away!)

Yart Sale!

2009-06-11T10:49:00.000-05:00

yard + art = yart

The Etsy Supply Street Team is having a Yart Sale and has invited all of Etsy to join, and Etsy is promoting it as well! Here's the Storque article about it.

I've created a special Yart Sale section in my shop with all my sale specials!

Featured Etsy Blogger for June: LazyTCrochet

2009-06-07T12:20:00.004-05:00

Each month the Etsy Bloggers choose a member to feature. The featured Etsy Blogger for June is ... LazyTCrochet!

LazyTCrochet has lots of clothing/ wearable art, hats and scarves. This green hat is my favorite!

You can find her blog here http://LazyTCrochet.etsy.com
and her Etsy shop is here http://LazyTCrochet.blogspot.com

This shows a few of the things that are in her shop!

Custom Dyed Yarn

2009-06-04T12:03:00.000-05:00

I was so busy last week that I didn't have a chance to write about it right away, but I had a custom order! The customer was really nice and I enjoyed talking about what she wanted. I was a little nervous about messing up because I only had one skein of that weight left! I was happy with the results and so was she! Success!

EtsyKnitters ido2009 Wedding Challenge!

2009-06-03T10:27:00.004-05:00

The EtsyKnitters Team is having a wedding challenge for the month of June.

We'll be posting wedding themed items all month. I posted the pattern for my mobius wedding wrap that I finished just in time for my wedding! Which you can find here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25535823

To search for challenge items, please type in the words “ido2009” and “etsyknitters team” into Etsy’s search engine or click this link. Members will be listing their offerings to the challenge throughout the entire month. Each item will include the special ‘I Do 2009” Wedding Challenge graphic as the 5th photo.

The Lace Mobius Wrap is Complete!

2009-05-25T21:12:00.010-05:00

I finally finished the wrap after some serious crunch time on Sunday! I knit over 4 inches of lace that day! That's about 50 rows or 4,000 stitches. I kitchener stitched the ends together that night too! Weaving in the ends got saved for this morning but it wasn't that bad, and then a major photography session!

The first picture here is the wrap all layed out before I stitched the ends together.

Next is a close up of the lace pattern. Diamonds with a cable in the middle.

This was a huge project and I'm sooo happy that I finished it in time. I'm going to wear it at my wedding next Saturday.

My next project will definitely be something in a heavier weight yarn. I could do some more neckwarmers and Jayne Hats! That sounds good. :)

If anyone is interested in knitting this yourself I have the pattern in my shop.

And here are a few of me modeling the wrap.

Making Mailers/ Envelopes

2009-05-22T15:11:00.000-05:00

I had been looking for a good way to mail my magnets, mirrors, or buttons, especially when I'm sending out just one. I think the bubble mailers that I have are too big and bulky for just one. I've sent out some in just a regular white envelope for letters, but I don't think that is ideal. Then I found these:

http://thisis.notarobot.net/2007/08/make-your-own-bubble-mailers.html

http://www.scrapbookingmaking.net/handmade-scrapbooking/lal-handmade-bubble-envelope

http://swirlyarts.blogspot.com/2009/03/tutorial-to-make-your-own-padded.html

http://kojodesigns.blogspot.com/2009/05/kojo-tutorial-wrapping-paper-to-padded.html

Making my own mailers is the perfect solution. I can make something that's just the right size and will look more interesting than a plain envelope! My first one I did from a grocery store paper bag. I'll have to lug out the sewing machine to try sewing it instead of taping it. I really like the results though. Sorry I don't have a picture to show you, I mailed it out super fast!

Show and Tell- May 22 Blog Carnival

2009-05-21T19:46:00.003-05:00

This week's topic is: Show & tell: Summer line - what you will be making/showing in your shop this summer:

This summer I'll be trying to expand on my most popular items. I'll be felting a lot more soap getting ready for an arts and crafts fair on June 6th, and hopefully I'll have some time to dye some more yarn too. After that is over I plan on trying out making my own soap. One night I just got really interested in how its made and stayed up late reading online and bought some books on it. (I love books.) It doesn't sound that hard really, especially since I can buy sodium hydroxide, and not have to make my own potash. I'm still looking at all the cool supplies out there and probably won't get started on that until sometime in June.

I also plan doing more knitting. I've been focusing on my wrap. I have only a few inches left to go and really need to get going on it so its done by early next week! Once I'm done with that I plan on making more neckwarmers and hats! They're light projects, so won't get me too hot making them and I want to have more inventory when it gets cold here, besides, I sell on an international site, people from anywhere could buy there. :)

Results Are In: May 11, 2009 Blog Carnival

2009-05-11T23:25:00.000-05:00

The two topics are art vs. craft and fairy tales.

http://pumpkinhaus.blogspot.com/2009/05/etsy-bloggers-may-11-edition.html

Happy Reading! :)

Featured Etsy Blogger for May

2009-05-08T18:13:00.002-05:00

Each month the Etsy Bloggers choose a member to feature. The featured Etsy Blogger for May is ... Create A Thought!

She has lots of cool journals, rings, buttons, magnets, and cards!

You can find her blog here http://createathoughtetsy.blogspot.com
and her Etsy shop is here http://createathought.etsy.com

This shows a few of the things that are in her shop!

Art Vs. Craft Blog Carnival

2009-05-04T16:54:00.006-05:00

What is the different between art and craft? That is a difficult question. There seems to be some blur in between them, especially because their definitions overlap.

art
craft

Some things people typically think of as art are painting, sculpture, photography. These are fine arts, characterized by having no other purpose than to be art. There are also performance arts (music, dance, acting) and applied arts (clothing, functional ceramics, etc) Some of my art is wearable, and has a purpose, keeping someone warm. That does not detract from its being art.

I make mostly applied art and some fine art, and I definitely consider myself an artist.

Craft is a art, trade, or occupation requiring special skill. It brings to mind guilds and craftsmen, things like masonry, and metal work. In this context I would have no problem calling my creations craft as well.

However some people use the word craft with a negative connotation, as if it is somehow less than art. I see the same thing with fine are vs applied art. I think it is just rude people wanting to say that they are better than someone else.

Art and craft are synonyms. Call your creations what you want to call them or both.