Spring into Spring with yarn

A few weeks ago I had spring fever in a major way. I started making insane claims like "I will spin ten skeins of recycled yarn today," and "I will list all these skeins of yarn on Etsy before bed," or "I will do all my laundry, walk the dogs, and then rewrite all my Etsy listings.

But you know what? I got it all done. The last few weeks have been an illuminating experience. As the weather warmed up, the ground thawed into a soggy, disgusting mess. Birds took to the trees, cheering me on. And I sat, and spun. Got home from work and spun. Watched TV and spun. Talked on the phone and spun. In two weeks I've gone from a huge box of sweaters and balls of yarn, a tangle of odds and ends and a daunting list of skeins to ply to a small milk carton of balls and a shelf that at last count held approximately 30 skeins of plied, recycled yarn.

Excuse that thumping sound, it's just me patting myself on the back.

In all seriousness, it feels great to be nearing what seemed like such a ridiculous goal. In another day or two I'll have spun and plied my entire upcycled yarn stash, and by the week the whole shelf will be listed on Etsy, destined for new homes as hats and scarves and stylish handknit accessories. The gigantic pile of yarn that has haunted me all winter will be transformed.

I feel like an alchemist. Give me an ugly, 80's sweater with too many bobbles, and I'll give you this:

A smorgasbord of color; wool, acrylic, silk and cotton plied together artfully and to the tune of cheery birds and Disney-like dancing animals. This is how I feel. 

What are you doing to welcome in this spring? Cleaning your house? Airing out your stash? Shaving your dog and spinning the fiber? (this thought has seriously crossed my mind...)

A Splash of Color

Every year for Christmas, I struggle with what to get those friends and family members with which I am not close, but for whom I'd still like to give a token of my appreciation, affection and love.

Two years ago I made these adorable felted soaps for all the women in my life. They were a great hit! They were also inexpensive and easy to make, and let me check about 10 people off my Christmas list in just one weekend!


Last year I wanted to to branch out a little bit--impart a little holiday cheer to men and women of all ages. Teenagers? Grandma? A little browsing on Crafster and Ravelry inspired me, and armed with my leftover sock yarn and some shatterproof plastic ornaments from Target I started crocheting.

These ornaments are easy to make, although little fiddly. The best part is, however, it's a great way for us craftsters to showcase beautiful yarn, and it's a funky, unique, and beautiful inexpensive gift we can give to those we love!

I've also got them listed in my Etsy shop for any non-crocheters who want a little splash of color on their tree this year!

Once More with Feeling

I finished the second of the emoticon hats just as the temperature plummeted and every leaf in Chicago leaped to its death. Overnight it became autumn. The sky is grey, people are cranky, and I have gorged myself on pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks until my blood flows with nutmeg and allspice.

Thank goodness I have a hat to keep me warm!

Like I said in my previous post, when this hat finally materialized--when I finally found the right yarn and the right chart and had the patience to really work out the ins and outs of the pattern--it turned out so much better than I imagined. And the response it evokes from people is incredible. Something about the carefree silliness of emoticons mixed with the coziness of a snug winter cap catches peoples eyes. Even Eric who mocked the idea when I first proposed it has begrudgingly admitted these hats are cute!

I finally posted the pattern last night, after wading through about 20 different versions of the smiley-face charts, a million proofreads, and the other woes that come with copyediting anything. In a fit of insomnia I managed to post it on both Ravelry and Etsy so you, too, can have a smile on your face and your head!


Pattern Specifics:

Once More with Feeling:
a distinctive winter hat with modern flair

Size: one

Measurements: apr. 18" in diameter, unstreched

materials: Caron Country: 25% wool, 75% acrylic. 3 oz/ 85g, 185 yds/170m. 1 ball Claret (#0017), 1 ball Naturally #0007).

Size 3 16" circular needles
Size 3 DPNs

Gauge: 6 st and 8 rows / 1" in stockinette
Not only is this hat super cute and incredibly fun to knit, it's a great stash buster. I got 3 adult hats out of 3 skeins of Naturally Caron Country; two red earflap hats and one white beanie. I'll definitely be making more of these in the future!


I'll probably try to release a child's version of the beanie in the near future, but for now I'm happy keeping this hat all to myself. I hope you enjoy it too!

Three day weekends and the joy of the sewing machine

You heard it right. Three day weekends, every weekend. At least for 4 more weeks, when my summer job as VISTA volunteer with Kalamazoo Public Schools ends. Until then, I've been enjoying a nice schedule: 4 days of work, which leaves me drained but fairly happy, then three days of time to craft, bike ride, cook, and play with my dogs.

And have I ever been crafting. I seem to come out of my knitting slump with a vengeance: now all I want to do is knit. And sew. And crochet. And spin. Today saw a good 7 hours straight of crafting, photographing, and generally maintaining a consistent level of productivity that I haven't had for a long time.

It's great! I love getting into that zone, where 7 hours can go by, and not only am I not tired, I'm enthused and ready for more. A bit like a zombie on yarn fumes, I suppose. It's the kind of focus that sat me down at a sewing machine with a pile of old jeans, ripped t-shirts, leftover fabric scraps, and an ugly tweed jacket last weekend. And the same productivity that produced these five patchwork squares in a little over two days of focused work:These five squares will be paired with squares of felted turquoise cashmere (from a recycled sweater, of course!), backed with a magenta flannel sheet (also recycled), and made into a wonderful, funky, and completely upcycled baby blanket. If only I had a baby to give it to!

The idea came from a jacket my mother made me: about 10 years ago she discovered a book on crazy quilting, at the same time my grandmother was going crazy for silk ribbon embroidery. The two were a match made in heaven. Using old scraps of fabric my grandmother had, my mother made a funky and completely decadent jacket. All sort of silk, velvet, and colorful prints of fabric went into the body of the jacket. Then, using beads, buttons, old jewelry and anything that glittered she embroidered the jacket to the nth degree. Of course, I was 12 and had to be forced to wear it. Now, 10 years later, I'm wondering if I can get her to overnight it to Kalamazoo!

The technique she had used stuck in my mind: take any piece of fabric and cut it so it has 5 sides. Sew a strip of fabric to one side; trim; turn; repeat. Continue until you have a big piece of fabric, and trim to be square (if you desire). And so I sewed, trimmed, and turned, using every scrap of fabric from the pile of clothes up.

And I couldn't be happier with the results! I'm not sure I'm going to embroider this blanket. I think the colors are loud enough that anything else might be overkill. And, I tend to like simplicity, even if it is funky,loud simplicity. That being said, this blanket is going to be fantastic. Anyone have a baby in need of a blanket, cause I'm going to have a blanket in dire need of a good home probably, oh, tomorrow at this rate! I'm so happy that my first major sewing project on my new machine is turning out so well!

Oh Dear Abandoned Store...

Please forgive me dear Etsy! After a few great months, and nearly 20 seamless and wonderful sales I really let the ball drop.

I stopped listing Etsy items because I didn't have time. I stopped Tweeting and blogging and talking because I was so stressed out about school and singing. And I stopped even thinking about my poor little store!

Of course, it reflected. My hits went from 150+ a day to about 5 overnight (amazing how that can happen), and I haven't had a sale in weeks. But, now that school is winding down I have two main focuses: getting a job (only sort of a big goal) and taking care of my little etsy store!

Finally, while I'm enjoying a cup of tea in the late light of the evening, I got around to listing some new items:

Some really lovely Tee Shirt yarn...

and some really great silk/acrylic recycled wool. It's a really wonderful, high quality acrylic so this yarn would be perfect for someone with a wool allergy who couldn't buy my other silk blends.

It feels good to be back on this particular horse!

A Bouquet of Baby Hats

I just launched a new line to my etsy shop. I am so excited! The idea first came to me on a bus ride from London to Canterbury over a year ago, and was reignited within the past few months.

With the idea of and inspiration for baby hats burned in my mind I dove into my stash, came up with various odd-balls of yarn, and started knitting. All colors; all sizes; all sorts of baby hats flew off my needles.

And now, here are the first 18 hats listed in the shop!




The whole idea was to have a gift for babies that was fun, funky, and original. For $50 (including shipping) people will receive a beautiful and original gift ready to go! Each basket has 6 hats nestled tissue paper, creating a "bouquet" of baby hats in similar colors, although each hat is unique.



Let me know what you think I can do to make these even cuter! Like I said, the idea has been percolating for a while but I am still struggling with the best presentation for these adorable hats!

(The listing is here!)

Spring into Spring

With Spring upon us and finals thankfully a memory of last week, here are some lovelies I managed to finish in between finals, and a mini road trip to Kentucky (more on that later).

First, some crocheted armwarmers, made from 100% recycled yarn and reclaimed buttons.













I really adore buttons. Really adore them. And I am head over heels for these little fellas.




















Next are probably the most elegant pair of armwarmers I've ever made or seen, and they are PERFECT for spring. 100% acrylic (leftover from the Madeleine Tam), upcycled lace, and beads from my stash make a lovely combo.










So does the picot edging! it really turned these into something beautiful, rather than the original simple armwarmers I had planned.














Mmm, lace! The lace is girly, but the deep blue gives it a funky edge.




















Flirtatious, funky, feminine, and all around awesome.















More on my rav page, and if you want these to be your very own, check them out on etsy!



I promise to blog more later this week. Next up, the whisper cardigan, and (hopefully) a sneak preview of the launch of a new etsy line/brainchild!

Woo!

Hey,

Psst...

Look at the sidebar...

I finally got some items listed on etsy! I'm super excited.

Now to go ply more yarn, and play with my Roo!