Week 2

So far so good...I made it through week 2 and successfully made another item!

I found this great vintage hats pattern with 30 different patterns, from the 1970's I believe. I chose a pattern that looked cute and added my own modern and personal touches, such as the flower and red stripe. It turned out very cute and can now be found in my Etsy shop!

On top of making this hat (which I finished early in the week), I also made 2 pairs of earrings for myself! Pictures to come soon for those as well.
Next up: Tackling a few projects I've been working on for a while. Maybe I'll start something new as well!

On another note, one of the blogs I read daily has been posting stories on Making Space for Crafting lately, and it has me drooling over the beautiful spaces people have created. I absolutely cannot wait to move to another apartment, where I will NEED my own space for all of my crafting supplies!

These rooms are particularly inspiring:






Ahh....someday I will have something like this!

New Year, New Goals!

(image credit)

In honor of the new year, I made a few new goals for myself. Among the standard things like losing weight, excercising more, saving money, and learning to cook, I've decided to make it a goal to make something new EVERY week (and hopefully blog about it). Whether I crochet, knit, sew, or make jewelry, I just need to make at least one new thing a week.

I know that this will be a fun goal, and is something that is very important to me, as I love to create and make! It seems pretty easy to me now, but I know that once I am in full wedding planning/preparation mode later this year I will definitely have a hard time with this!

So to start off the year, last week I finished up a pair of mittens for my Etsy shop.


I'm excited to see what kinds of things I'll be making this next year, and have lots of ideas and inspiration to get me started!
I hope this will allow me to remember that even though I'm feeling stuck and frustrated in my dead end job, I can still feel happiness and appreciate the beauty of each day through doing what I love to do in creating new things!

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!