Rainy days

So Sunday marked the beginning of a no-power week in my apartment building. It started with a tornado in Montgomery county which came through and knocked over the tree outside my window...onto my car!

  Yeah those 60 mph winds were no joke.

Strangely, my car ended up with only minor scratches on it, once excavated.

Since then, I have been running around and haven't gotten too many crafty things done. And today there's more rain...

Supermodel Photo Shoot #2

Yesterday Jyoti was gracious enough to be my new scarf model! Here are some shots of her modeling my purple chenille scarf. Isn't she lovely?

The scarf will be posted on etsy soon :)

Beginnings of my fall line!

A few weeks ago I decided I wanted to put together a fall line of accessories...I planned out quite a few but have started with the pins and barrettes (the easiest!)

I have a really wide variety of new projects planned...from scarves (both woven and sewn) to gloves and maybe even a piece of clothing or two. We'll see how many I get to, as some are quite ambitious :)

Here's the first batch of pins and barrettes so you can see some of the colors I'm working with.

It's going to be romantic, a little bit cowgirl...with lots of plaid, suede, and tiny calico prints...more to come soon!

Sketchbook Project

I spent this morning catching up on my blog reading and getting inspired. I saw info on a few blogs about The Sketchbook Project and right away knew it was something I wanted to participate in too!

I've signed up for the "In Flight" theme (mostly so I can put birds all over it!) and am excited to receive my journal in the mail soon. The "Nighttime Stories" theme was also tempting though...

It's pretty cool...the sketchbooks go on tour to 6 U.S. cities and then enter into the permanent collection of The Brooklyn Art Library. Awesome!!!

Great read of the week!

This is a non-crafty book but fantastic for refocusing your energy or reorganizing your craft area. I picked up this book and was thoroughly inspired to clear my clutter! Really an excellent guide--this book focuses on why and how to clear your clutter as it relates to feng shui and improving your environment and life in general.

This really motivated me to get rid of old junk and stuff to make room for new things in my life. A quick and enjoyable read...I heartily recommend!

Okay, okay...

I've gone missing for a little bit, but I had a lot going on:

1) Switched to new, non-crashing computer!
2) New volunteer gig
3) Massive cleaning spree of house
4) Car repairs--still in the works!

I will most likely return to the world of blogging later this week. I did complete a few crafty projects, including finishing the orange purse and decoupaging mini notebooks with candy wrappers--pictures to come soon :)

I am also newly resolved to clean out my craft shelves every 3-6 months. I hadn't truly gone through them in about 5 years and was stunned at some of the stuff still there that I will probably never use. I got rid of my huge stash of homemade paper beads (from when I made a curtain out of them to go around my dorm room bed!) and am giving my untouched scrapbooking supplies to a friend. Why didn't I do this sooner? I do have a hard time parting with my stuff and looking at it objectively. But recently I've been watching a lot of Clean House and I think it scared me a bit, haha.

Crafty book review!

The New Crewel: Exquisite Designs in Contemporary Embroidery

Several friends recommended this book to me, knowing how much I enjoy embroidery. I finally got a chance to check it out and was pleasantly surprised. I always thought crewel sounded scary and super-difficult. When I was a kid, the crewel kits in the craft store looked beautiful but too complex to try. However, this book does a great job breaking it down into easy and manageable stitches and projects.

It turns out, a lot of crewel is just variations on satin stitch--which I already do tons of in my embroidery. I liked the book's straightforward format and clear instructions.

The sampler is a great way for a crafter new to crewel to try out various stitches or patterns and there were some really beautiful ones of leaves and flowers. There were also a few that reminded me of a bizarre 70's pillowcase from when I was a kid.

Overall, the projects are cute, though I would have liked to see a few "more intense" projects at the end. And the color palette was pretty simple in this book, they could have shown more variety. I guess on both counts they were just trying to keep it simple and "not scary"--I'd say they succeeded.

I would definitely recommend this book for a beginner, or if you're looking for some basic projects to try out.

Happy crafting!

Busy bee!

I can't think of the last time I finished this many projects. Here's my bounty from yesterday's crafty afternoon.

So cute!

And here's my finished Waldo scarf...

It's really soft and fluffy :)

I also finished my variegated stripes scarf in blue & gray. I thought this one would be "easier" to weave. Ha! For some reason, the warp threads kept snapping or the chenille rubbing off--but only on the blue warp ends. I can repair them easily, but it's still frustrating! The finished scarf did come out beautiful though.

The stripes are subtle and remind me of a snakeskin pattern.

Also quite soft and fluffy!

Here it is in progress...with two snapped ends showing that I later wove back in.

Here's to hoping the next scarf is pain free! :)

Fruity felt coasters

I finished another set of these coasters yesterday, as a very special birthday present for a friend. I love how they turned out!

More projects in progress!

My internet's been out for a few days so I've been slow to post. Here are a few of the things I've been working on:

Cutting out more pieces for tie-dye barrettes...

finally picked a lining fabric and stitching together the orange purse...

and finishing touches on the pink scarf.

It looks a bit Waldo-esque. I had to abandon the original Valentine scarf plan because the yarn I chose for the warp turned out to be a HUGE pain in the neck and I needed to do something fairly simple for the weft. I am pleased with how it turned out though. The next scarf should be an easier weave.

And lastly, I've been journaling in a different format of late, see what you think...