An exciting week in crafting!

Well it's been quite some time since I've made any updates here. It's been a busy few months, with wedding planning, work, and lots of traveling out of town on the weekends.
Not to worry, I've still found plenty of time for crocheting, knitting, and have even added jewelry making to my repertoire!
This week I took a jewelry class with my co-worker, so I am on my way to making earrings and necklaces! I think this will come in handy come Christmas time :)
Today I went out and bought some beautiful beads and supplies to make them. Pictures to come!

In other exciting news, I am just about to finish a large custom order for my Etsy shop, to be shipped to SWEDEN! I'm so excited that my items will be over in another country for sale in a boutique there. In total, I've made 9 hats and 6 pairs of wristwarmers for this order. I think I'll take a picture of the finished order that I've been working so hard on for the past few weeks.
It will be nice to start working on other projects again, as my other projects got put on the backburner for a while.

Another big milestone...last night I finished my first ever knitted scarf! It turned out really well, despite all of the errors I made with it. Luckily the pattern I used is very forgiving and hides my mistakes pretty well.
Next up on my list....some knitted wristwarmers for myself! Hoping my skills can get me through this project and I can use some of the beautiful hand dyed yarn I bought last month.

Okay time for some hot tea and a bit of crocheting to finish up that custom order. Lots of pics to come soon! Happy crafting!

Cat Bed

I saw this pet bed and was inspired to make one for my cat, who currently uses this old, bright orange chair as a bed (I've been wanting to get rid of the chair for ages). So Brad and I went to a local thrift store and ended up finding an old picnic basket that was perfect! There's even space for some of his toys.
Here's our cat Brandon laying in his new bed :)

It took him a few hours to get used to the idea of it, but once he laid down in it once, and felt how comfy it was, there was no turning back!

I absolutely adore this site. I stumbled upon it tonight and love the story behind it as well as the beautiful blankets, cushions, and accessories!


I need to learn how to make those beautiful flower motifs!!!

Tonight I also ordered this book:

If there's one thing I love, it's color combinations, squares, circles, and flowers.
:)

And even better, I only have 2 more days of work this week, I go home to Traverse City this weekend, AND I will get to see all of my favorite people! I'm bursting with happiness and excitement...now off to bed!

also

I found this purse pattern and I reallllly want to make it.

I'm always needing a smaller purse and I have some really pretty fabric that I think would be perfect for a project like this!
Pretty excited!!

This past month hasn't been a very productive one for me, which explains my lack of updates. Here are a few things I've finished lately and one thing I'm working on.



A simple cloche hat. I wanted to make something that I knew how to make already and just wanted to use up some leftover yarn I had.


I really love the look of this scarf with all of the scallops and the way it is pieced together to give it a lacy look. Also, the yarn I made it with is super soft.


And here is what I'm currently working on. I'm hoping to make it into a purse, but still have a looong way to go. I really love how it looks so far though. I don't know why, but for some reason I really get a kick out of these kinds of projects that take me a really long time to get through. I guess it's an accomplishment at the end of all the hard work, and maybe part of it is just challenging myself to try something different. And what's even sillier to me is that I won't even keep it when I'm done. I'll put it up in my Etsy shop and hope to sell it.

I'm also thinking/dreaming up some ideas for summer items for my Etsy shop. I'm thinking headbands, loose knit scarves/shawls, berets in pretty colors.

Happy (almost) summer!

Busy Bee

I finally made it to the store this weekend to buy some fabric and things to finish some projects I had started months ago. I also got around to taking some pictures and posting new items in my etsy shop. I've been so busy lately with working and knitting and watching dexter episodes at night that I haven't been spending much time on crocheting. But I made some good progress this weekend.
(some wrist/handwarmers I made a while ago)

I also finished the purse I blogged about before. I bought some fabric for the lining and attached the handle this weekend. I really love how it turned out. I'm thinking about adding a fabric flower or something to the front to accessorize.



Still to do:
Line another purse with fabric
Finish knitting a washcloth by Thursday
Finish the hat I started making last month
Finish crocheting a zillion flowers and sew together to make a really cute (I hope) purse!

Stitchin!

I think I'm actually starting to get the hang of this knitting thing! I've been practicing the different stitch patterns :

I can knit and purl and do ribbing and the seed stitch and garter stitch and all that. Still haven't figured out how to make the edges look neater or how to fix mistakes, but I'm pretty excited that I've gotten this far.
My first project is a dishcloth and then from there hopefully a pretty scarf for myself!

New Project :)

I just bought these 2 fabrics from Etsy:



I'm going to use one of them to make this bag:

(I found the instructions for this bag here : http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=514)

Not sure what I'll do with the other fabric, but I think I'd like to get into sewing again, and I couldn't resist buying both fabrics. I think it will be a good bag to keep my knitting in, and also just a good summer bag in general because of the bright, floral fabric. Plus, one can never have to many bags ;)

I will try to post a picture when I have finished!

Knitty

I am officially a knitter!!
Well, kind of. I had my first knitting class last night and it went really well! I'm really excited about it and have been perusing knitting patterns already, planning all of the pretties I will soon be able to make (I hope!).
I've been trying to teach myself to knit for probably 3 years, and have tried (unsuccessfully) to teach myself at least three different times. I can get the stitches okay, but it just feels strange to me, as an avid crocheter. Also I just felt like I needed someone else to watch and someone to guide me through it. So far, so good.

We are supposed to come up with an idea for a scarf we want to make for class.
I think I want to make one of these:



(Found from Etsy Sellers PhylPhil (top photo) and fglass (bottom photo) )


I can't wait to do all of the things with knitting that I can't really do with crochet. Cables, tight (non-holey) stitches, socks(!), and lots of others. But while I am very excited about the prospect of knitting, I think I will always prefer the simplicity and familiarity of crochet.

I just finished making this pair of wristwarmers. (I know the picture isn't the best, but it's dark and rainy outside today so it was the best I could do for now with little natural light)

I've never owned any before, but I've been seeing some really cute ones online and in stores, so I decided to have a try at making them myself. I'm really pleased with how they turned out, and they look really cute on. They are perfect for these cold spring days we've been having in Chicago lately. I'm excited to make others and mess around with different color combinations and stitches.

I currently have a purring kitty on my lap and my guy by my side so I will go back to being lazy this cold and rainy Sunday. :)

Lazy Sunday

Today I finished a scarf I'd been working on for about a week. Last night I had the apartment to myself so I watched some old tv shows online and worked and ate m&ms. :) I cherish my alone time and usually fill it with such things.

Anyways, here is the finished product:

I had seen this color combination in a blanket and couldn't get it out of my mind I guess. I would probably never have thought to put these colors together on my own, which I think is why I was so interested in making this. Also it has a wave pattern and is really thick, which is something different.
I'm happy with how it turned out :)

To Do List...

As a result of constantly searching the internet for inspiration and ideas for new things to create, I have pictures and patterns saved in various places on my computer. I'll often come up with ideas for the next thing I want to make while I am still working on my current project, and by the time I'm ready for a new project, I have forgotten the ideas that seemed so brilliant and urgent at the time. In an effort to not let this happen anymore, I want to start posting my ideas and to do's here so I can refer back to one place rather than having to search through all of my bookmarked Internet sites and folders filled with pictures every time I'm ready to start something new.

Here are some stitches/motifs that I need to learn and incorporate into future projects:


Catherine Wheel Stitch


These pretty flowers


Hexagons! I've made plenty of squares and circles, but never hexagons.



Flower circles


Bobbles


Waves


Swirls!


There are so many many more but these are the ones that most interest me right now.

New season....new blog!!

So I've decided to create a blog detailing my creative and crafty endeavors, mostly for my own purposes, but also to show others what I am up to. This will be my place to post inspirations, ideas, wishes, and document my progress with certain projects that I am working on.
Perhaps I will occasionally write about other things as well...we'll see how things go!

So to start things off...I just finished this pretty and flowery scarf.
(based on a pattern I found http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/80995AD.html?noImages=).



I'm hoping to buy a dress form or mannequin sometime soon so I can take better pictures of scarves and things. I think something like this would enable me to show off my creations in a better way:
If there is one thing I struggle with in terms of running my Etsy shop...it is definitely taking the pictures. I've seen some online tutorials for making a light box, so I may look into doing that some day as well.
http://www.planetjune.com/blog/light-tent-for-better-product-photography/

Anyways, here is what I'm currently working on:

I just need to sew in a lining and attach handles and this will a really cute purse!
More updates to come....