Afghans... a wonderful way to spend sometime!

I don't like to sell my afghans, rather I would much rather give them away. That's one of the main reasons that I'm a Blanketeer for Project Linus. I try to make at least one afghan each month for the local Project Linus chapter..



A very good friend of mine (another crafter), just became a Great grandmother!! She knows my body of work quite well and knew that I loved to do afghans. Even so, I was really quite surprised when she asked me to make a blanket for her great grandson. I was even more surprised when she told me that she needed to have it in the post by the end of the week. With time to buy yarn, did a quick 'stash dive' and came up with some shades of Caron Simply Soft. With no real pattern to go by, I decided that a 'Mile a Minute' would be the easiest method. The resulting afghan is 7 panels wide and each strip is 50 rows long. I just hope the baby will love it as much as I did making it.

A yearlong project finished...

I fell in love with Moda Dea Fashionista yarn as soon as I saw it. With its amazing sheen and glorious colour selection I knew I had to make something with it.. but what?

I finally decided that this yarn would be absolutely perfect for a fisherman's sweater. It was a medium weight, was wonderfully soft, and the colours were vibrant. So, in January of 2008 the yarn was ordered.

Fisherman sweaters are a labour of love. I don't use a pattern for them, rather I look at the many varieties of cables and bauble stitches and design the sweater around how I feel. Before the yarn had arrived, I knew basically what my sweater was going to look like. The only decision left was the neckline. Usually I do a standard round neck on a 'winter' sweater, but because our climate really doesn't get that cold I figured that a V-style neckline might be more appropriate.

The yarn arrived in late January and I immediately dove into the project. Unfortunately because work for others must come first in my life (yes, I need to eat), the sweater didn't get as much attention as I really wanted it to. By the end of February I had the front and back completed. But, before I could even think about starting the sleeves, the Arizona weather turned warm on me.. and warm it was. The daytime temps were in the high 70s with nights in the 40s. Even if I did finish the sweater, when was I to wear it? So, the completed front, back and the rest of the yarn were packed into a tote. I would work on it during the summer..

Fast forward to January 2009.. I ran across the tote with this beautiful, partially completed sweater in it and just had to finish it! I pulled out my notebook to tackle the sleeves. But alas! There were no notes for the sleeves... just for the body. And no notes or even ideas written down about the neckline... Time to do some 'creative' designing... By the end of January, the sweater was completed! It fits perfectly and I absolutely love it. Now if only the temperatures would cooperate...

More photos are here

Hyperbolic crochet

One of the acknowledged wonders of the natural world, the Great Barrier Reef stretches along the coast of Australia. But, global warming and polutants are threatening this marvel. As homage to the reef, Margaret and Christine Wertheim of the Institute for Figuring have instigated a project to crochet a woolen reef - an enterprise that in involving hundreds of people all around the world. Over the past few years, the Crochet Reef has grown into a vast installation involving many thousands of models and dozens of 'sub-reefs'. The Crochet Reef has been shown in New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh and in London.

In April 2009 the installation will be on exhibit in Scottsdale Arizona, as well has facilitating the creation of the Scottsdale Reef, constructed by community members.

On January 22, I had the pleasure of taking part in a workshop on the creation of Scottsdale's own Coral Reef project. What a pleasure that was. Taking bits of 'yarn' in all weights and working on some 'scrumbling' (freeform crochet) with the master herself, Prudence Mapstone. It was a true pleasure to meet Prudence as I've been admiring her work and method for years.

Hookinosis!

HOOKINOSIS

by Ima Nutt

This disease affects women of all ages, races and religions. However, it has now started to afflict men as well. The most distressing part of having one of your loved ones catch Hookinosis, is that there is no know cure. Recently a group of men have formed the S.P.C.W. (Society of Prevention of Crocheting by Women) and have started a fund drive in hopes that, with more research, a cure may be found within the next few years.
Hookinosis has just recently come to the attention of the medical profession, since it has always been considered a hobby, but after some extensive testing, it has been found that women who crochet go through actual withdrawal symptoms, when their yarn supply has been cut off.
Some of these symptoms are:
1. Irritability.
. Nervousness.
3. Extreme craving for yarn and crochet hooks.
4. Inability to concentrate.

Since I am listing some of the withdrawal symptoms, I may as well make a list of symptoms to watch for if you feel your loved one may be catching Hookinosis:
1. Yarn and crochet hooks lying all over.
2. Sleeps with yarn under her pillow.
3. Crochets matching booties for your cat and dog.
4. Gets extremely agitated if her yarn supply runs low.

If you feel your loved one fits any of these symptoms listed above, try to get her to join Yarnaholics Anonymous. Even tho there is no cure as yet, the organization may be able to help your family cope better with this affliction. Those of you who have not yet been stricken with this disease, please keep your family safe. Crocheting is very contagious, and the best way to prevent it's ravages is to keep your females completely away from yarn, thread and crochet hooks or anyone who already has Hookinosis.

Its all about the soap!

About four years ago, a local soap maker approached my partner about making wooden soap decks. For some reason, she was not able to buy them locally. So after some experimentation we came up with these.

They are handcrafted from carefully selected hardwoods and measure 4" long by 2 1/2" wide and are 3/4" thick. The edges are rounded and each dish is lightly sanded. The dishes are cut in a manner that allows the water to drain completely through the dish and away from the soap.

In the fall of 2008, we started selling these on Etsy and they have been a big hit. Who would have known that a little piece of wood would be so useful?

They are available in single units or in wholesale quantites ranging from 10 to 50 units.

And much to my surprise, they appeared on the front page of Etsy on November 21, 2008!

Its getting out of hand....

I'm finding more and more people who are yarnaholics like myself!! Unfortunately, I can't help myself... I just love to buy yarn. I found this wonderful shop on Etsy called JuliaEileen that has the most wonderful yarns that she is destashing. And the prices!! Wow!! Talk about bargains. This is the place to find some wonderful yarns.

I've also set up a yarnaholics group on Yahoo where other yarnaholics can meet and discuss their obsessions with yarn. Come and join us!!

Etsy Front Page

What a surprise when I checked my Etsy shop yesterday afternoon and found that I had been on the front page of Etsy earlier on that day. I had never been on the front page and really never thought I would be.

Although our soapdishes have been selling well, they have been selling even better since being on the front page of Etsy!

Thanks to a wonderul Etsian, Yaelfran for including me in her beautiful treasury. Please check out Yaelfran's shop.

Setting up an Etsy Shop

Setting up an Etsy shop is actually very easy, but getting sales is the tough part. You really have to work at it!

I've been using Flickr to post pics of some of my work and to find other people who enjoy the art as much as I do. By joining various groups I've met so many other people on Flickr with the same interest.

I also belong to a local guild that is wonderful at promoting each others ideas.

My next foray into business will be to formally open my yarn shop! Its an exciting but daunting project!

Some yarns that absolutely "ROCK"

I've been playing with the ROCK yarn from SouthWest Trading Company for about a month now and I absolutely love it! I used "Prince" to make a wonderful butterfly shawl.. what a nice feel this yarn has.

This yarn can be purchased in my Etsy shop . At the time of writing, there are all colours available... from Black and grey, to vibrant reds, blues, and greens and all the colours in between.

Got Yarn???

Buying yarn can be fun and rewarding, especially when you get a huge amount at a fantastic price. This was my 'haul' at a local yarn shop recently. Unfortunately I didn't realize exactly how much I had purchased until I got it all home!

It looks like I will have to sell off some of it..

There is some beautiful wool/silk blends and some gorgeous bamboo/silk blend as well!

Pictured are yarns from the Vickie Howell Collection "ROCK" and "LOVE", some calypso, some Karaoke and some bamboo feather.