Miniature Purple Wire Basket

I just finished a miniature twined wire basket and got it listed in my Artfire shop here: Purple basket It's my first listing on Artfire and I'm glad I figured out how to get it off and running. At first I was just getting error pages so I was getting worried, but then I restarted my computer and it uploaded just fine. On Artfire you can list 10 items for sale for free. Or they have a special right now where you can get a flat fee of $7.00 a month for life. Then again, who knows how many years any new web business will be up and running? For people that list to Etsy daily it's a better deal, but I don't spend $7.00 a month listing on Etsy so I'm not as motivated to sign up for the paid account. We'll see.

Crochet a Dinner Plate Hat

Just finished my new hat crochet video tutorial on Youtube. Or just use the first part to learn to crochet circles and go forth and make hot pads, coaster, pillows and amigurumi to your heart's content.

Why Pastel Yarns?

I found some more yarn at the .99 store in the perfect colors for my flower scarf.

This morning I sorted a whole bunch of granny squares that my bf's mom gave me. I'm trying to figure out some way to put them together and finish them so they can be put to good use. I'm just not into pastels and don't think they should be given to babies so I'm a bit conflicted. Babies need colors with high contrast to help develop their vision. Like red, black and white. But that flies in the face of tradition and yarn stores keep cranking out the pastels. I may round up all the pastels and give them to my daughter and her sister-in-law.

Personally I prefer gem tones like ruby, sapphire, emerald and so on. And also black. I almost never use white yarn either.

Crochet a Flower Scarf and Knitting on Jumbo Needles

Today I had to find a crochet project that would keep me busy at the archery gathering. So I decided to design a flower scarf. Unfortunately I wasn't very lucid when we left this morning and only grabbed muted blue, muted gray, purple and ombre yarn in firey yellows, reds and oranges. Not quite the best choice for flowers, but it's just a prototype anyway so I went with it. Each flower has 8 petals, so I can most easily join them above and below and side by side. Four petals would work but wouldn't be very posh looking, and an odd number would make it hard to link the design together. This time I did remember to write down the pattern and make diagrams so I don't forget how to do it later. I got about 12 flowers done before I needed to move onto something else.

I also started a garter stitch scarf on big needles in purple and blue. It was getting too cold to crochet and the bigger knitting needles were easier to hang on to, though they were as cold as popsicles when I first picked them up.

Leaf scarf

Today I'm busy as a bee designing a multicolored leaf scarf in crochet. It's varying shades of green, though a scarf in autumn colors would work just as well. I worked on it outside for a while, then came in to have lunch. Now it's too cold to work outside so as soon as I finish this blog post I'm going to bring all the parts back in.

I'm working on all new stuff for my 3 Etsy shops and my 2 Artfire shops for 2009. I still have a couple of listings from 2008 that will expire soon.

Tomorrow is the paleo meeting but I have a feeling it will be too cold to do beading outside, so I'm not sure what project I will take with me. I'm going to have to stay physically active or I'll turn into a popsicle.

Yarn, Knifty Knitter, Crochet and Embroidery

I found two new Knifty Knitter pamphlets at Joanne's today. One is hats and the other is blankets. At .99 a piece how could I resist. Also I took advantage of their yarn sale and got a tote bag full of yarn. My boyfriend even picked up the cost claiming that since I don't do Christmas it wasn't a Christmas present and since my birthday isn't even till next year (Jan. 3) he doesn't know what to call it. Nothing like picking out your own present eh? I never would have bought that much yarn if I knew he was going to foot the bill. But I will enjoy making things out of it. After getting that home you'd think I would have done knitting or crochet. But I didn't. I worked on my cross stitch. The embroidery projects were expanding and making a mess so I found them their own bin so I can keep them clean and away from the cats.

Busy Day

Today I did some cross stitch on the Twilight project. But I barely got into it when I was called to dinner.

I made raisin bread today in my bread machine. When it's hot it has a crispy crust and is soft on the inside. After I wrap it and it sits over night, it is soft all the way through. I like it both ways. I was going to make chicken for dinner but no one was hungry. Later at night we had salad instead.

I've avoided the chatrooms everywhere today so I wouldn't have to hear people going on and on about Christmas. I'm a little lonely but at least I'm not aggravated.

I'm tempted to go to the Joanne's after xmas yarn sale tomorrow but I'm not sure if I'm ready to face the crowds. All their yarn is supposed to be on sale.

I thought my daughter had given up knitting and crocheting because her husband convinced her it was a complete waste of time when she could be doing something more productive. Then she taught one of his sisters how to crochet. When she told me I offered to give his sister some of my extra yarn and supplies and my daughter says, "Hey, I want some too." So I guess she is back on the wagon. The crochet wagon at least. So when she comes down to visit I'm going to give her enough yarn for the both of them.

Welcome to the party.

Yippee! I got three new blog followers today. So that makes an even 10. Thanks for signing up.

I overslept this morning and woke up at 10 AM. Oopsy. Guess I stayed up too late in the Gypsy Camp Etsy chatroom last night, but I was having a really good time chatting with another writer named MSHalton. Bill from Pagancellar was also there. He was up late listing jewelry in his new Artfire shop. Everyone who came in the chatroom was an old school photographer so we talked about darkrooms and developing and the good ole days of photography too. I only had use of a darkroom when I was in college but it was a wonderful learning experience. My daughter has an Etsy shop for her photography but I noticed it was empty yesterday. She's really busy at her day job. Hugs to all you shutter bugs.

Emboidery

First thing this morning I worked on my hypnosis cross-stitch. I had to mix fonts from 2 different sources but I really like the way it is coming out. I'm still not sure if I just want it to say Hypnosis or if I want to keep going and have it say "Hypnosis Happens Here". I like watching projects unfold. Most of it is in dark red, so I may put a border of roses around it. Or maybe to underline it.

I would also like to do some more freestyle embroidery soon, maybe on silk. I've never tried on silk before but I saw an example on Antique Road Show.

ArtFire Special Promo Deal

I'm building two new shops over on artfire. If anyone wants to join me here's the link: Artfire. If you can get 10 people to join you get your shop for free. But that expires on Dec. 31, 2008 so get cracking. I didn't even think to ask people today so help a girl out and sign up.

One of my shops is named Steampunk. I'm trying to remember the name to my other one. Laughs. I haven't had time to put anything in my shops yet. The Internet is eating my life.

Anyway, thanks for considering it.

Loom Knitting and Crocheting Hats

I woke up to a rainy day, perfect for crafting. I've been studying my 3 loom knitting guides because I need to do a tutorial on removing projects from the loom. The books lean heavily on using a crochet hook to do so, and I'm not sure why but many knitters seem to be allergic to crochet hooks. Most of the techniques can be done with a yarn needle as well, it's just a little harder to get into tight spots but it can be done.

I also want to make a tutorial on crocheting hats. Threadbanger just did one and I feel I can make one that looks the same without all the tedious counting. Counting slows down progress. Sometimes there is no getting around the counting, but if there is a way that you can just move smoothly along rather than checking a chart after every row, it stands to reason that it will be quicker to complete the project.

51 Things in My Bedroom

I spent most of today working on a vlog video for youtube. Hope you enjoy it. The music was a collaboration between myself and John Chafe. I wrote the lyrics and he did the revisions and wrote all the music and sings all the songs.

Knitted headbands

Yay me. I finally made myself grab my yarn needle and finish 2 knitted headbands. I finished the knitting weeks ago but couldn't seem to do the last little bit of work on them. I'm not sure if I'll put them in my Etsy shop, just wear them or give them as gifts. I'm just glad they are done so I can focus on my 300 other projects.

Saturday is Getting Away From Me

It's already after 3 and I haven't had a chance to work on crafts yet. Our cat needed his medicine refilled and the vet wouldn't refill it without a yearly check up, so we spent the morning driving to the vet 30 miles away. Then we needed cat food so we had to stop at the pet store. I got 2 angelfish and a plecostomus while we were there.

We also swung by the farmer's market in Buena Park and got beets, tomatoes, lettuce, and asparagus. Traffic was terrible coming back by Knott's Berry Farm. I realized that this is the last weekend of their promotion where you bring $10 worth of toys for Toys for Tots and get in free. So there were long lines of families all carrying big bags of toys.

When I got home, I hooked up my old computer. My other computer needs a new motherboard so I'm going to have to live with the old and slow one for awhile. At least I don't have to borrow my bf's anymore and we can both be on line at the same time.

I just finished lunch and was about to dive into some crafts when a friend of my boyfriend's dropped over. So now they are in the living room talking and I can't even get to my crafts at the moment. But at least I can catch up on my blog posting. I thought I'd better do it now before the day got away from me.

Blogging on Somerset

If you are like me, when you first started blogging people either said, "What's that," or "That's lame." But then a lot of artists caught on that not only is it a great form of self-expression, it's also a way to make friends, find customers, get your name out there, inspire yourself, inspire others and improve your writing skills.

So I felt pretty darn good when I walked into Joanne's and saw Somerset magazine had devoted it's front page to blogging. Go bloggers!

Hypnosis Cross Stitch

I wanted to make some sort of cross stich design about hypnosis. So I started on an H. I'm not sure if I want to make "Hypnotist", "Hypnosis spoken here." or what exactly.

Crocheted potholder

I just finished a black and white potholder that was started either by my boyfriend's mother or grandmother. It was in a box of unfinished projects from his grandmother's estate. So at least I can say I finished one thing this week even if I didn't start it.

For those of you reading my blogs via RSS feeds and other proggies, you won't be able to see the photos on my blog, so make sure you drop by the blog itself to see photos. Also I often type a post and don't add the photo for a day or two. I don't always have the camera near the computer or the project for that matter. So do check back for photos.

beadweaving

I started on a peyote stitch beaded medicine pouch today. I'm quite stiff from working on it so I'm giving it a rest for a while. It is light pink, hot pink, silver and green so far.

Knitting Book

Here are some photos of the knitting book I'm doing the Confetti Sweater with. It's on page 95. So if you have the book feel free to knit along. It's called the Yarn Girl's Guide to Simple Knits.

Are You Sick of Knitting Yet?

The only problem with going to bed early is I wake up early. I was wide awake at 6:30 AM so I started knitting the sleeve of my sweater. I decided to use the smidge of multicolor yarn I have left on the cuffs and do the rest in the 2 shades of yellow I used in the rest of the sweater. Coming along great so far.

Last night I found a teal scarf I had started so I worked on that before bed last night. I had to undo and redo about 8 rows before I could figure out the pattern again. But I think I'm on the right track now.

As far as holiday cards, I went ahead and just bought an asst. box of cards. I'm just too busy to make any right now. I got most of those mailed off this morning.

I'm amazed at how many people come to this blog and yet how few leave comments. I know you are out there, I can hear you breathing.

Confetti Sweater Cont.

I worked on the Confetti Sweater first thing this morning. I have the back and front finished. I'm also not going to have enough of the multicolored yarn to make two sleeves. My options are buy another skein if I can find it, look through my stash and see if I have more I forgot I had, make the sleeves plain yellow, or make yellow sleeves with a multicolor border along the bottom cuff with the yarn I still have.

Gem Faire

The gem faire was a lot of fun. They had virtually nothing for Steampunk though. Mostly I bought carved bone items and seed beads and 2 beaded necklaces. Crowds were way down this time. Normally a Sat. crowd would be elbow to elbow. I think the economy is having an impact. Let's face it, if artist's aren't selling as much, they won't need to buy as many supplies. I know most of the items I bought were for my own use when normally I'd be buying them to make items to sell on Etsy.
I'm glad we went today. It's supposed to be storming tomorrow.

knitting a bit

Tonight I got some knitting done on my confetti sweater and also worked on my cross stitched Christmas stocking. And then I spent some time drawing. Nothing I was drawing came out quite right, but I think drawing is so important I do it anyway. I figure I can't get worse at it so I have to get better, right?

I also joined a new blogroll, but I'm too tired to add it tonight and my boyfriend is pacing back and forth waiting to use his computer so I better get a move on and get to bed. It's 12:03 AM.

Gem Faire

I took 6 giant bags of cans and bottles back to the recycler this morning so now I have more space in my garage and dining room to get projects done. I can get to my sewing machine again.

And now I have $20 to spend at the Gem Faire tomorrow. I want to look for some steampunk componants and a present for my boyfriend's mom. Plus whatever else catches my eye. I could easily spend $500 there, but I don't have it to spend.

Wire Basket and New Steampunk Blog

Tonight I made a new blog for my current obsession with Steampunk and Neovictorian counterculture. http://steampunkneovictorian.blogspot.com/

I also reserved the name Steampunk on Art Fire. No listings there yet but I hope to have some up soon.

Most of tonight I spent working on a purple wire basket with swarovski crystals and glass beads. It's turning out quite nicely but tomorrow's another day.

Confetti Sweater (knit)

I've dubbed my mostly yellow sweater the confetti sweater. I bound off the back section of the sweater this morning and started on the front. The front is just like the back and done from the bottom to the top, only near the top you divide it in the center for the v-neck.

Tonight I'm going to take a break from knitting and work on holiday cards so I can get them in the mail on time. Which begs the question, if they are not Christmas cards, but holiday cards, do they even have to be there by Christmas day?

Steampunk

Plotting some kind of Steampunk project. Hmmmm. At least a pair of earrings or a leather cuff or something.

Greeting cards

As Christmas approaches I'm debating what to do for a holiday card. Do I want to make them or buy them? I really only need to send 5 or 6. So it wouldn't be unreasonable to make them. It's times like these I miss my Gocco printer. It's probably in storage. I hate storage.
What do the rest of you do about greeting cards? Make them, buy them, recycle old ones? Or build a stash to keep on reserve so you have them when you need them.

Sunday Crafts

First thing this morning I worked on my knitting loom making a scarf I call Buttery Sunshine.
Then later this afternoon I switched to knitting needles and worked on my sweater. I'm almost done with the back of it.
I also re-watched my video on gourd art. I just don't have enough time in the day to get to all the projects I want to work on. But having a blog keeps me plugging away. I always want to make sure I have something new to share with you all.
My boyfriend is sitting on the floor surrounded by a colorful swirl of dyed goose feathers trying to sort out what he needs to order for the arrows he's working on.
That reminds me; I glued the nocks on my arrows too.

Visiting an art studio

Today I went to the Brunetta Art Studio in Laguna Beach CA and took David some gold velvet for the dagger shealth he is making to go with my dagger. We visited for a few hours and talked about the importance of drawing, the challenges of switching from pencil to pen to paints to sculpture and developing skills that will help in every aspect of being an artist. Plus we discussed the challenges artists are facing in the current economy. We get hit the hardest when there is no disposable income. Even well established artists are scrambling for alternative incomes as we try to keep a roof over our heads.

cross stitch oopsy

Last night I was working on my cross stitch and adding green x's. Suddenly I realized I'd gone off on the wrong line somewhere and spent the next 2 hours undoing all the green I'd done so far. Some crafts are easy to correct errors on. Cross stitch isn't very forgiving. I still have a little more to remove because I can continue on.

Using a Knitting Loom

I was sorting projects tonight and writing them in my log book when I came across a yellow ombre scarf I was double knitting on a knitting loom. I don't think I've worked on it for a year and it needed some lovin'. So once I figured out the technique again, I got about 6" added to the scarf. It's very posh feeling and will be a nice thick scarf. I need to live somewhere where it snows. Southern CA doesn't give me much opportunity to wear knitted hats and scarves.

Art Fire

I just joined a new craft selling venue called Art Fire. If you want to join too click on this link.
Register on ArtFire.com
I'm not doing that well on Etsy so I'm willing to try out something new.

Sewing Article

Today I updated my sewing article http://hubpages.com/hub/Learn_to_Sew
At first hardly anyone read this article, but now that the economy and the global warming thing are on everyone's mind the do-it-yourself crowd is turning to sewing as a way to repurpose things they already own, rather than buying new. Imagine the money you'll save when you start mending and remodeling your already owned clothing. Turn those jeans into hot pads and purses and place mats. Cut apart old sweaters and make mittens, and a scarf or a toy. Socks can be sewn into sock monsters, bears or other creatures. Use your noggin and I'm sure you'll be surprised.

Researching crafts

Today the time just flew by. I did manage to get some knitting done on my sweater first thing in the morning, but my plans to get back to it never quite materialized. I did catch some videos on Threadbanger.com, a knitting tutorial on youtube on mobius strip knitting, a few steampunk inspired belly dancing videos, and took time to glance at some vintage knitting magazines. So today was more of a 'grist for the meal' kind of day.

Plus I looked up my old name on Tribe.net and saw my groups needed some moderation and that alone took about 2 hours. I had 27 friend invites just sitting in my folder. Some were from a year ago. It's hard to keep up with all this internet stuff isn't it? It really does expand to fit the time.

I'm pooped. I'm glad bedtime is near.

Cross Stitch and mornings

Guess who got up at 6 AM and worked on her cross stitch. Normally if I get up so early I have to be quiet, I just log onto my computer and my computer died. So I resorted to cross stitch. I'm really not a morning person so this is freaky to me.

At any rate I'm supposed to be cleaning the living room right now. It's such a jumble I can't work on my projects. So off I go.

Story of the Stone

I truly am having a run of bad luck. After sending a special stone to be cut for the handle endcap of my dagger, the artist finally finishes it and mails it to me. I open the box, and the contents are gone. What I held in my hands were two pieces of box. After contacting the artist, he said the box was all one piece when it left his studio. Someone took a knife or razor blade, cut the cardboard, took out the contents and taped it all back together sometime between when it left his place in Kansas and arrived in my place in CA. Meanwhile, the blacksmith has been waiting on the stone for a month and will now have to wait even longer.

Knitting a sweater

Today I started knitting a sweater that I know will be too small for me. But I thought I would learn useful techniques and maybe figure out a way to make the next one bigger.

arrows

I got the arrows dipped in their first 2 coats of gasket lacquer. Now the cresting looks so much more impressive.

So Many Blogs

I have 56 blogs on blogger.com alone, so please take time to visit the other ones. Most of them are sorted by topic. The whole list is at the bottom of my profile here: My Blogs

Headwrap checkerboard

I finished the checkerboard texture head wrap. The rectangle is 3 1/2" x 20". It's a little tight around my head but I want the stretchiness to hold it on. Yarn relaxes after you wear it a bit, and then it would be too big.

I started another one out of Lion brand trellis yarn. It's squirrely to work with so I'll see how it goes.

Thanksgiving

Yesterday on Thanksgiving Day I got to spend a lot of time on my cross stitch projects. I'm about out of the navy thread so I will need to pick up another skein. Either that or make the last word of the quote another color.

Twilight Cross Stitch

After seeing a cross stitch artist on Flickr and seeing the movie Twilight, I am off on a new cross stitch project using a quote from the vampire movie. It's navy thread on Aida cloth.

Crafty Sunday

Today was a busy day. At the Pasadena archery range I worked on peyote stitch beadwork as well as a knitted scarf. Then when I got home I worked on my cross stitch Christmas stocking, my scarf, and some freeform crochet.

My friend Aimee worked on two loom beaded bands to put on her new yucca quiver. She just learned loom beading and is delighted that it goes a lot quicker than bead weaving without a loom.

Another woman joined us and worked on a knitted scarf for a Christmas present.

From the Library

I'm at the library picking up a whole stack of craft books. I'm going to check out the New Book of Image Transfer, Wreaths and Garlands, Crafting With Flea Market Fabrics, Crochet Jewelry and the Yarn Girls Guide to Simple Knits. If you are on a budget don't forget to check your library for inspiration. Also, I can use the computer here free for an hour. And I can renew my books online. If you haven't been to a library in years you'd be amazed at how different they are.

Vintage Book and Knitted Headband

Here is the headband I made for the free tutorial. I just have to sew the narrow ends together and weave in the ends.

And this is a vintage knitting book I got from Nadine's estate.

Headband

I just got this vintage knitting book from Nadine's estate. And here is the headband I made for the tutorial. All I need to do is sew the narrow ends together and weave in the ends.

Knitting and the cat

Today I'm working on some knitting in navy and gold yarn. It wasn't cooperating so I've been doing more fixing than making progress. My cat didn't help any. When I went to bed last night I left my project sitting by the couch and sometime between when my boyfriend left for work this morning and the time I got out of bed, the cat had dragged the wool-ease yarn around several table legs, around a bin and down the hallway.

Projects Everywhere

While cleaning I came across so many projects I had forgotten I even made. I filled up box after box with stuffed toys, hats, jewelry, beaded book marks and so on. Makes me sad that I could never find buyers for them. It seems like now-a-days everyone is an artist. I do know people that make a living at it. So I'm not saying it's impossible.

Cresting arrows

Today I worked on cresting arrows on a cresting jig. First I straightened the shafts. Then I chose the colors for the cresting. As many coats were needed, I had to let things dry every once in a while. The shafts are ramen, the paint is acrylic. Next they will be dipped in about 6 coats of gasket lacquer, then I will chop and glue on the feathers. Then add the tips and knocks.

Archery

I've been neglecting my archery so this weekend I will be working on a bow and a set of arrows. I also want to make a better quiver. I have a gourd one started. Then I want to go to the archery range and practice shooting for a while. I feel like I'm really rusty.

Counted Cross Stitch

I got a bit more done on the counted xs Christmas stocking. So far I've used light blue, yellow, 3 shades of brown and red. And I found out something I didn't know. My boyfriend used to do embroidery on his clothes. Talented guy. Another closet embroiderer.

Cross Stitch and Plarn

First thing this morning, I got the Aida cloth edges sealed off with masking tape. Then I got the horizontal and vertical lines marked with basting thread. I found the perfect embroidery hoop compliments of a craft box my bf's mom just gave me, and then got to do some of the fun part finally starting with a blue angel's wing and a brown teddy bear's paw. Then my eyes were already tearing up so I had to stop.

While eating breakfast at a fast food place I started writing an article on Plarn or plastic yarn for Hubpages. It's in longhand (anyone want to give me a laptop) so now I have to find time to type it on the computer. I also need to make samples for the article. So I won't have it done today.

Cross Stitch Christmas Stocking

I found a Christmas stocking kit that is about 25 years old that I no doubt meant to make for my daughters when they were kids. So now I get to make it for my Grandson. Everything is still in excellent shape. I sorted all the colors out tonight. The kit is by Dimensions.

rubber chicken

Today when I was cleaning, I found a crocheted 'rubber' chicken I had started months ago and forgotten all about. That's another one to add to the good ol' project list. We got some legal/letter size storage boxes from Office Depo in packages of six and I'm doing a major reorganizing of my craft supplies. Being multitalented has a cost and that is you end up with so many parts to so many things it's unbelievable.

Headband

We were supposed to move furniture from Arcadia to Anaheim today, but it's raining. So I don't know if we are not going to do it at all, or if we will do it later today. But I love doing crafts on rainy days. Last night I finished the knitted part of the headband that goes with the free tutorial. Now I just have to stitch the ends together. So glad to be done with that. The needles were a really poor match for the yarn. That's what I get for rushing.

My boyfriend's mom also gave me a big bin filled with sequins, beads, a darning egg, calico fabric, glue and well basically enough for many enjoyable hours of crafting.
And today (if we get out to Arcadia) there is a big batch of knitting needles and yarn and craft books waiting for me.

Furniture

We just inherited some furniture so the rush is on to tame the craft monster in my house. I bought 24 boxes and I'm in the process of sorting everything into them so I at least have a snowball's chance in hell of finding them when I have the next Etsy sale or craft fair. I don't understand how I can be so creative and yet so inept at organizing things. Sigh. Oh and I have a sore throat so that makes things ever so much more fun.

Art Supply Warehouse

I just got home from Art Supply Warehouse. ASW has a new line of wonderful beads to drool over and I couldn't resist getting some. The store is in Westminster CA. They've got a fun new billboard up and they've rearranged their store layout. My daughter and I ooohed and ahhhed around every bend.

Always on top of the trends, ASW has the latest tools for encaustic (wax) art, and a Strathmore sponsored Artist Trading Card (ATC)promotion going on. Their bookbinding section is well stocked. And they carry silkscreening and eraser stamp/linoleum block printing supplies. They also have a lot of DIY stuff.

So now my mind if full of even more creative ideas. Sometimes I feel like my head is going to explode.

Knit and Crochet

Even though I'm traveling, I'm still working on crafts. The crochet hat I was making my grandson was way too small so I started knitting a pumpkin hat instead. Knitting is so stretchy it should fit him for a long time.

The Beverly's remodeled and opened their upstairs again, so I went up there and found some great yarn for $1. a skein, as well as some colored wire and wooden beads for .25 a package. So once again, I'm going home with more stuff than I brought.

I also started a new wire basket while sitting in the garden area of Linnea's cafe yesterday. When I could sit still no longer, I went to watch The Secret Life of Bees at the movies. Good well done film but depressing, so take a box of tissues.

Well dinner is almost ready. We are having tri-tip, saffron rice and broccoli. Catch you all when I get back to Anaheim.

Little Red Hat

Well I made my train/bus trip from Anaheim to San Luis Obispo today and I'm none the worse for wear. There is always some character or another on the trip and today's prize had to go to a woman that was a compulsive hair twirler. She twirled her hair around her finger so many times, put it in and out of a pony tail over and over again, that I was beginning to wonder how she had any hair left to twirl. If she used that energy for knitting she'd have 100 sweaters by now.

I wrote a song on the bus (the lyrics) and I started crocheting a red hat for my new grandson. I just hope I made it the right size. I'll find out when I meet him tomorrow.

choker and basket

Yesterday at the archery workshop I worked on my wire basket. Wirework is hard on the hands but I got a good bit done before my hands conked out.
I also worked on my crochet choker and got a flower added to the band.

Create a Day Blog

There is a collaborative blog that I've spent a lot of time posting to called Create A Day. Like many, I've added so many posts and photos and videos there, and imagine my surprise when today the blog was just gone. I hope it's only temporary. Even if fewer and fewer people were participating, it still had a lot of useful information and well, heck, my friends were on there, and I don't know how to reach them now. Hmmm, you'd think they'd at least have sent out a group email saying 'I'm deleting the blog so if you want to stay in touch here's how. Or given someone else a chance to take over the management. Maybe it's a glitch and it will show up on my list again tomorrow.

Wreath and Gourd

Today was a busy day. I got the banner painted for the wreath. Acrylics worked just fine on the polyester ribbon as long as I kept the brush free of excess water.

Since I had black, white, and gold paint left over on the pallette, I painted a gourd mask with a skull for Day of the Dead. The two projects in juxtaposition was a little unnerving. The dark side of death and losing a loved one and the bright side with the way we laugh at death as having no power over us. I can't quite wrap my mind around that but anyway. That's what art does...helps us sort out our feelings and emotions.

Sympathy Wreath

I'm working on a sympathy wreath. I'm going to do everything but add the fresh flowers. I'll try to add those early Monday morning. I wish I'd thought to get some peacock feathers, because the funeral is in Arcadia, and they are big on peacocks there. I still have the weekend to pick up some of those. I still have to paint the banner, but for right now I'm resting my eyes. Tomorrow is another day.
The angel is removeable and will be for a keepsake for the family.

Driftwood

I sanded my favorite piece of driftwood. I always thought it looked rather like a horsehead, and here is what it looks like so far. But I can't quite decide what to do next.

New Logo

I spent many hours pondering what kind of logo I wanted and finally I got it finished tonight (I think). Going from a pencil sketch in my notebook to making it work with a computer graphics program proved to be challenging and I'm a little crosseyed but here it is.

Logo copyright Fayme Harper 2008

Make a witch costume

How to make your own fantastic witch costume and hat from Threadbangers. This is a labor intensive project, so plan ahead. But it's worth it just for the hat.

Welcome to my new followers and autumn crafting tips

Always happy to see that people are coming to my blog more than once.

I think autumn is such a great time for crafting. Time to gather all those botanicals before they are covered by snow. Time to pick up and press autumn leaves and flowers to enjoy later in the winter months. Perfect time to make things for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Day of the Dead, and Christmas. Plus all those birthday cards. I need to make an inventory of birthday cards so they are ready to go. How many of you do that? Or do you find yourself constantly running to the store at the last minute. I find the trickiest part about cards is often the envelopes. So get the envelope first and design the card to fit inside. Or make your own envelope. Carefully take apart any existing envelope and use it as a pattern template. Find some big paper to trace it out on, or piece together glossy magazine pages until you get a piece big enough. Use brown paper, or heavy duty giftwrap. If money is an issue, check postal rates and sizes of envelopes first. They are a lot pickier than they used to be and have minimum sizes and so forth.
I imagine in this day and age most post offices have a website with that info on it if you poke around and look for it.

Don't forget to make Christmas projects like soap or glued items or paintings way ahead of time so they can cure properly.
The photo is my friend Aimee doing beadwork at one of our archery gatherings.

Patchwork

I worked on the strip quilt tonight. Soon I will have to lay it out on a cutting table and make sure I'm going in the right direction. I was just getting in the flow of it when my bobbin thread ran out. So I redid the bobbin, and somehow screwed up the threading and broke the thread 3 times. By the time I got that squared away my boyfriend was home with the groceries, so no more sewing tonight. At least I made some progress.

Inspiring articles for starving souls

Today I was posting an article on Hubpages about doing original art, and as I was posting it on DIGG, other similar articles popped up. And by sheer dumb luck I happened upon another Hubpage writer that writes all about pyrography and driftwood and doing art on the cheap by repurposing every day finds and beachcombing gleanings.
She does pyrography, which is also something I want to do more of.

So here is a link to my article as well as some of hers. So if you need some inspiration hop on over.

Creating a Lasting Message Through Artwork

http://hubpages.com/hub/Pyrography-and-Acrylic-on-Wooden-Shingles-Make-Holiday-Decorations-For-Fun-and-Profit

http://hubpages.com/hub/Woodburning--A-Handcrafted-Gift--

http://hubpages.com/hub/Woodburning-on-Plywood-and-Flat-Board-Surfaces

http://hubpages.com/hub/adriftartstudiopyrography

http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Create-Artwork-Using-Pyrography--Driftwood-and-Other-Mixed-Media-

Yay a three day weekend

Some of you lucky dogs have a 3 day weekend for Columbus Day. So you should be able to fit crafts in there somewhere. I normally decorate for Halloween but I'm going to be out of town this Halloween so I'm not in much of a decorating mood. I mean I can't leave it unattended outside for a week, right?

I have gourds galore that need to be crafted upon. I like to do woodburning on them (pyrography) but I also like to paint them or do sinew weaving on them. Or even beadwork. There are so many things you can do with gourds. I have a quiver I started out of a snake gourd and there it sits while I decide exactly what to do with it. I have a lot of projects like that in various stages of completetion. Crafts requires a lot of decision making doesn't it? Sometimes it helps to have a theme like Day of the Dead or Fall Harvest.

Time to grab some breakfast. Have a productive weekend everyone.

Knit and Crochet Tube Top

I knitted this tube top a while back. It's basically a rectangle with straps. The straps are crocheted, but of course you could knit them as well.

6,000

Whee, my blog just passed the 6,000 independent views mark. :Does little happy dance.::
Thanks everyone for dropping in.

Prayer Shawl Update

I buckled down today and got four more rows done on the prayer shawl. Four rows doesn't sound like much, but remember this is a shawl, so each row gets progressively wider. I had a moment of panic when I picked up the project after it sat for a week and a half and I couldn't make heads nor tails of the directions. But I slowly puzzled it out. There are really only four rows that you repeat over and over again. But as you add to both ends it can get confusing. So word of wisdom, don't let your project sit too long.

Second Life

By an interesting twist of events, I mentioned to a friend that I wanted to make a grapic arts shop on Etsy, and in the same conversation he told me about an online game called Second Life. And unlike most games that someone else built and you have zero control over the way it runs, Second Life lets you build and write scripts and design worlds and create a fantasy persona of your own choosing. So while I have fun playing the game, I'm also learning about scripting and costuming and art and all kinds of wonderful things. My brain hasn't quit running on overdrive in a week. In a way it's like paper dolls for adults. And it does have a PG version and an adult version, so if you are going to play, shoo your kids out of the room first until you get your bearings.

Baroque

Today I'm making a freeform crocheted necklace (choker) with DMC Baroque 100% crochet cotton in an ecru color. I may try dyeing some of this thread because it only comes in that one color. Or for once in my life I can make something that's all one color.

Spontaneous Scrap Quilt

I've been staring and staring at a stack of fabric scraps someone gave me a few months ago. Then today I could stand it no longer so I grabbed the bundle, which was mostly in shades of blue and started randomly sewing the strips together. It was so nice to be spontaneous and just get busy with no preplanned end result in mind. It got so hot today that I was only able to sew about an hour, but here are some photos I took.

The quilt

This is me standing in front of the strips I've made so far for the postage stamp quilt.

Graphics by me

I'm going to be opening a new etsy shop for making banners, avatars and ad boxes just as soon as I figure out what to call the shop. I know many people either don't have the software, the skills or the time to make their own graphics. And I love doing it. And with thousands of new people joining Etsy I think people may need them, even though there is already tons of competition. But nothing ventured nothing gained eh?

Squidly

I've been working on my crocheted squid. It has so many parts it's taking a long time. Soon he'll need his own box to camp out in because his parts are covering my keyboard.

Graphic Arts

I'm seriously thinking of opening a graphic arts shop on Etsy. I told my friend I didn't really want to do it unless I had Paint Shop Pro 9, so he got me psp9. He rocks. I really missed having the kaleidoscope feature and the twirl feature. I'm so excited but it's after 1 AM so I have to wait until tomorrow to play with it.
I'll be making Etsy banners and business cards and ads for other people in the sizes for Project Wonderful. Please consider giving me a shot at making your banner or avatar. I've been doing my own graphic arts since the '80's for my performing arts businesses. And of course for my websites and other places a person uses avatars. Oh I'm so excited.

About the photo: I drew this with watercolor pencils. Then I used the antique mosaic feature on PSP9.

Give Away Box

I need to make a give away box. Pretty regularly I find myself in a situation where I'd spontaneously like to give someone something I made. And usually I have about five minutes before the window of opportunity closes. So I want to make a box filled with crafts I can bear to part with. Things that haven't sold on Etsy, things I have too many of, things that were experimental prototypes or 'one-offs'. You know, all that cool stuff that clutters up your apt.

A few times I've been at craft fairs when a vendor wanted to trade. But I never had anything on hand. So the box will also be used for that. Now I just have to sit still long enough to make the thing, and then get in the habit of keeping goodies in there. Perhaps I will put my business card on each one as well.