Work is eating my life (in a good way), but I've still managed to get some crafty stuff done. Most notably, a clutch for kittykill on Craftster, for Ongoing Wish Swap 10. As usual, I forgot to take pictures, so here are hers:




It's Amy Butler's 'Velma' pattern. I loved making it so much that I'm doing another one for myself, and yet another for batgirl (also for Ongoing Wish Swap 10). Yay!

I'm also signed up for a DIY Kit Swap: I'm getting a yarn-dyeing kit, and a lip balm kit, and making a stuffed animal kit and a purse kit; and a Friend of Craftster Swap. Expect pictures from the former, but not the latter...It's a long-term secret swap. I can't wait! :-D

In other news, I got my diploma in the mail today, so it's official: I'm graduated. Wow. I think part of me still believes I'll be going back to school, come fall. Wierd.

life, orchids, and swap booty

I've been bad about posting, but I have about a gazillion good excuses. Not the least of which being my move home and starting my full time job! :) Everything is going well on that front...but I'll save details for a non-crafty blog.

What I will not save you from, however, is pictures of the GORGEOUS flowers that my incredibly thoughtful boy sent me for graduation. They arrived just as I was unpacking my stuff at home on Thursday...I was tired, worn out, and very sad to be leaving Happy Valley for the last time. They were the perfect pick me up. <3

If I look harried here, it's because, well, I was! Two hours of packing, three hours of driving, and another two hours of unpacking had taken their sweaty, exhausting toll on me. Just ignore the gross girl and look at the beautiful orchids.

There were so many, I literally couldn't fit them into one vase. So I now have *two* beautiful arrangements of my absolute favorite flowers gracing my home.

I can't thank you enough for the wonderful welcome home. :-*

Here's an update on swap items I've recieved recently, from Ongoing Wish Swaps 9 & 10 on Craftster.org.
Kristen 81 sent me this Domokun cover for my Dell DJ! Kristen hand-sewed this awesome cozy for my MP3 player with nothing but simple dimensions to guide her. It fits perfectly!

Inside...

Attacking some classy cement bunnies!!

Batgirl sent me some beautiful roving to feed my needle felting habit:

Americandemockracy sent me this great sewing goodies bag, in my favorite color:

It has pockets for all my accessories. And look! She added a bonus matching zip pouch. :)

I think I'm addicted to swaps. :-D

fin

At long last, I have completely finished the Ribby Cardi. I like it very, very much. I would love it, except the damn thing is too short. I love the colors, though, and it is quite warm. It was very relaxing to knit. I got the yarn from my mom for Christmas, and had most of it finished by New Year's. I just dragged my feet on the finishing. What do you think?

Also...


We only had one (borrowed) gown (why buy another one if we're not going to graduation?), so I had to Photoshop us together onto the Lion Shrine. Can you tell? :) Actually, I just noticed one wierd spot as I'm looking at it now, but I'll fix that ASAP.

So now, I am officially done everything college. I await my grades, and my full time job, which starts on Monday.

PSi'llmissU

jabba the hutt wristlet

I've been participating in ongoing swaps on craftster, which have a really cool format. Basically, someone posts a list of what they want, then you claim one of their requests, then you get to post your own list and someone picks you. And on, and on, and on.

I've gotten to make some really neat stuff through this swap, but this is by far my favorite:

Hopefully you can recognize it...if not, it's Jabba the Hutt! [From Star Wars.] It only ended up taking a week to get to England, and that's pretty awesome. I took the first one, and the second is what she posted in the gallery.

I'm really starting to get the hang of this embroidery thing. I think I'm going to try a portrait next. Maybe Ziggy Stardust? We'll see.

I'm also working on Knitty's 'Soleil,' using purple cotton/acrylic blend that I ganked from a thrift store sweater. It is knitting up very nicely. I'll post pictures when it's a bit more formidable.

Here's a swap package I recieved from Batgirl: it's my needle felting kit!


Contents:
- wicked sharp, barbed felting needles
- a case for said needles
- instructions for a first project (which I completed...it's a gift, though, so I covered it up in Photoshop)
- 6 different colors of roving
- great smelling soap for soap felting!

I was waay spoiled. Thanks so much, batgirl!

My other two swap packages are being sent to my home address, so I won't get them until later this week. Campus mail is notoriously unreliable during move-out week. Speaking of which, my last act as a college student will be at 4:40 pm, when I take my last final exam ever. Wish me luck! Then...I'm outta here!

an armless blazer, and a one skein wonder

Here's some (unfinished) pictures of the suit I made for my interview. These were taken over Easter weekend.

And so you get an idea of what I'll look like all corporate pimped out...


This suit DID get finished -- Friday morning, for a 3:00pm interview. Nothing like cutting it close! (Bad pun, I'm sorry.) But, it must have done the trick, because I just accepted a job offer from the company I interviewed with! That's right, I am now officially and gainfully employed.

I'll post some pics of the finished suit when I get back home. I had planned on making a bunch of work clothes as well, but I start working WAY too soon for that (right after finals), so I went out shopping and got some work wardrobe staples. I <3 H&M!

And finally, here's some (admittedly terrible) pictures of my One Skein Wonder. Glampyre rocks!


Just perfect for those cool spring evenings...

recent swap stuff

Here's the instructional part of a sock monkey kit that I'm sending to mata. I had lots of fun putting this together. Click for full-sized versions!

Here are some handmade journals that I sent to ebeth. Bookbinding appeals to my anal precise nature.


And last but not least, here's a tote bag and matching zipper pouch that I made for batgirl. The fabric was a steal in the clearance section of Joann's. It's got beautiful birds and plants all over it...I had a hard time letting it go. But it's now being used as a stylish uniform tote!

no pictures, because I suck

Actually, no pictures because it's late and I'm tired.

BUT I have exciting news. I have a job interview next week! It is for a job that I am very excited about, so send good vibes out to the universe next Friday afternoon.

I have decided that I have nothing to wear for said interview. And I'm broke. So! I'm making a blazer and skirt set. I tore through all the fabric I have here, and found a suitable grey suiting (pun intended). It actually was a piece of my mom's that I used as a tablecloth at the PSU craft fair last year. This will be a much sleeker incarnation. :)

I started at 6 pm and so far:
- The skirt is done except for a zipper (which I don't have here).
- The jacket outside is cut out completely.

I'm going to need to get interfacing this weekend, and cut out the lining, and maybe start assembling. With some diligent work, I should definitely have it completed for the interview. Awesome! I'll post some pictures when there's something exciting to see.

Also:
- I finished my One Skein Wonder (last week). Pictures soon.
- I finally, FINALLY finshed the last details on my Delia's-esque purse (buttons, and bias tape over the inside seams). Pictures in the near future.
- Also, I got the first T-shirt with my Movin' On logo on it! It looks really spiffy. Pictures following.
- I sent off two swap packages yesterday (a tote bag and some hadmade journals). I have two more to send out (a sock monkey kit and a wristlet with Jabba the Hutt on it), and I'm expecting three in return (a needle felting kit, a sewing goodies organizer, and a DOMOKUN cozy for my Dell DJ!!).
- I am getting something awesome in the mail sometime over the next few days...Details later.
- I sold my first item on Etsy! To a 'mystery shopper.' ;) Thanks, by the way! Hopefully this will spurn on a shopping frenzy.

My Etsy shop is finally up and running!

Let's keep our fingers crossed that I actually sell some stuff. :)

craft show results

If my rough calculations (based on how much inventory I had left when I was packing up) are correct, I netted $215 in this year's show! I'm thrilled! The new location was obviously a good choice.

My cut of this is $160, which is going towards two things that I've been meaning to get for a while now...one very silly thing for myself, and one thing for someone else. Considering I only spent $5, because I had almost all the supplies I needed, I consider this to be a huge success. Hooray!

:-D

Spring Arts & Crafts Show 2006

Well, there *would* have been a post about the craft show yesterday, but the internet was down in my building for several hours. How annoying...but it's (obviously) fixed now. :-P

So, without further ado, here's some pictures of my table!

An uninspired shot of the entire table. See the red thing on the right? That's a mohair capelet that I've been trying to sell for the past two years! :-D It is my goal to finally sell the damn thing this time. Wish me luck!
Also, I got lazy and only made one purse to sell. It was a huge pain and really put me off to making more. I prefer jewelry anyway...much less time to make, higher profit margin, and I don't have to use up my fabric!

Here's a closeup of the little earring mountain. I sold 11 pairs of earrings yesterday. I'm always amazed by how fast these go...

Bottlecap necklaces. oooOOOooo. I wish I could come up with a (cheap) better way to display these, but this will have to do. 3 of these went yesterday, as well.

And a shot of my table with some of the others. Once again, I am next to a very interesting woman named Elli. Every year she comes to the show with really unique items, and this year is no exception. Her new medium is recycled junk, like street signs, bottle caps (woot!), water bottles, and other ephemera. She makes really amazing sculptures. I have 2 Elli Groninger originals at home. :)

All in all, I made $75 yesterday...not bad for the first day. Things usually pick up on days two and three.

In other news, regardless of the huge Advanced International Trade exam I have coming up in only 5 hours (eep!), today is a superfantastic day, as the Manolo might say... ;)

not craft related, but...

I need this.

Amazon has it. I may have to gift it to myself once I start making money.

Don't know about the FSM? Do yourself a favor and read about it here.

Look for a post later tonight about the first day of the craft show!

B is for Bottle Caps

I had a fantastic weekend away, which lifted my tarnished spirits immeasurably, which in turn spurned me on with my craft show merchandise. Behold the products of today's labor:

50 pairs of bottlecap earrings, and 15 bottlecap necklaces! [As modeled by my ironing board. I'm running out of flat spaces to put this stuff...]



And here's what the necklaces look like out of a knot and on a neck.


I'm planning on making 5 more necklaces, and about 10 hemp bottlecap bracelets. My selling patterns in the past have led me to this specific product mix. I'm also going to have a few things left over from the last show, and as many bags as I can make before Wednesday. Wish me luck!

For the curious, the above pictures represent $320 worth of merchandise. That's $4 for earrings, and $8 for necklaces. I think I may be underselling myself a tad, but I really want to sell as much as possible to clean out my stash. Eventually I'll be moving, and I don't want to take all this with me! Anything that doesn't sell will probably be posted in my new Etsy store.

Here's some more swap booty, from the Ongoing Wish Swap #8 on Craftster. I asked for Japanese fabric pieces, and boy, was I spoiled! Raindrops sent me 7 different pieces of fabric. See the sushi one? How cute!

Here's my favorite:

There's enough here to make a small purse or clutch. I can't wait to use it!

In other news, my 'One Skein Wonder' is coming along great. All I have left is ribbing on the outside and one sleeve. Maybe a FO tomorrow?

a girl and her hammer...it's a beautiful thing

It's that time of year again: the Spring Craft Show put on by the PSU Center for Arts & Crafts is next week! And I've procrastinated, of course. But I'm making progress!

Soon to be 49 pairs of bottlecap earrings.

More pictures next week...I'm taking the weekend off. ;) See ya later!

picture happy, apparently

This is the Waterlily top from Interweave Knits Spring 2006. Mods: I took a few inches off the bottom, and used a row of purling before the cast off to reduce rolling. I'm still not completely happy with the hem, so I think I might rip it out and re-do it.

Other than that, though, I love this tank! This is probably one of my favorite knitted pieces I've ever made. It used 3 skeins of pricey Colinette Giotto, in colorway Rembrandt. It was from a failed attempt at crochet over a year ago, so I was very pleased to finally be able to use it.

Here's the center front eyelet detail. There are eyelets at the center front and neckline, center back, and both underarms. I love the look they give the sweater: feminine, but not fussy. Overall, this pattern gets a big thumbs up.


Here you can see the damage from a recent trip to a newly discovered yarn store in Centre Hall: the Knitter's Underground. This may be the coolest, quirkiest knitting shop I've ever been to. If you're in the area, it's definitely worth a visit. Turns out that it's owned by the mother of an art student I had the hots for in my drawing class sophomore year. Small world!

I made it out with 5 skeins of Lamb's Pride Superwash Worsted in Platinum, one skein of Noro Silkul (color 109, center), and one skein labeled 'Royal Cotton multicolor' (right) that I can't seem to find on the internet. Total cost? $17.75. I love sales! As you can see, the Royal Cotton is already being used for a One Skein Wonder, from Glampyre.

This is a mistake rib scarf I started recently. I'm using two skeins of Noro Kureyon in color #40. I'm already realizing that I"m going to need a lot more to get it as long as I want. For now, the nice weather here has put this on the backburner.




These three pictures are my booty from the 'I Heart My Craft' swap on Craftster. My partner totally rocks! I got a large knitting tote, accessory pouches, and some beautiful stitch markers. Thanks, dharma_rebel!

That's all for now...

Ballet T-Shirt

Teva Durham's Ballet T-shirt. A very quick knit, using yarn recycled from a thrifted Express sweater.

Here's the stack of sweaters/yarn-to-be that I got at the last Trash to Treasure. I purposely felted three of them, to make purses, and the rest are being unraveled and repurposed. The red & black yarn is what's left over from the Ballet T-shirt. The purple is a cotton/acrylic blend that I'm going to make a tank top out of. Total cost? About $10 for the lot.

And finally, a FO from last summer that I never posted. This is a felted Lopi bag, and the pattern (I think) was from Knit.net. I got the yarn and buttons from my mom's stash. I love this purse!

I have a very exciting FO and some yarn porn coming up later this evening. Stay tuned!