Patttern: Rio Dances on the Sand

I crossed out one pattern on my long list of patterns to complete and publish. I just finished and posted Rio Dances on the Sand onto my Ravelry Store. I also sent a copy to all the people who worked on the project for JayJay's baby. (I hope I didn't miss anyone!)

I keep saying that I'm going to do a mini rehaul of Crafty Diversions to include pattern sales on this site, but I don't know when that will be. (Yikes! I'm a liar now!) In the meantime, Rio is available in my Ravelry store, and I'll probably also sell it on my Etsy Shop, when I get around to creating a new listing.I decided to provide images of the pages of the actual pattern so that people can see how neatly arranged everything is. Of course, to protect some of the proprietary details, the images are saved in a very small resolution, and if necessary, I covered some of the images.

I also discovered (doh!) that I could put password-protected protections on the pdf files, including creating a password for people to open the file, and limiting access to the file, such as limiting the copying of images within the file. I'm definitely learning as I go. While I did not require passwords for the Ravelry sales, I have since required passwords to files I sell/send via Etsy sales. Also, now all my pdfs, including the ones available for free downloads have been secured with limitations on editing, printing and access.

Right now, I am working on a bunch of other patterns -- some of which are essentially done, but I'm just waiting for good photos. I also have a hat I'm working on and hope to try again and submit to Knitty.

Glad To Be Back!

I must apologize, for the blog disappearing act. The hubs had to upgrade some server stuff (stuff I don't understand), so I wasn't able to post anything for a while, nor were folks able to access the site. Thanks for all your patience and for blog readers/visitors who emailed me about your inability to access the patterns and for waiting.

The most exciting update that I have is that I FINALLY finished editing Twister and posted it for sale on Ravelry. I'm still working on adding more, but please do visit my Ravelry Pattern Store, where you can find Twister for sale, and some of my free patterns on a handy and pretty pdf download.


I also reformatted and added new instructions for the Yarn Swift on a pdf. The formatted pdf swift pattern is only $1.99 and contains an extra set of instructions for a lazy susan swift not available in the html version. Don't worry, the html version is still available on this blog for free, but I decided to charge the miniscule amount for the pdf version because of the time it took to reformat (not to mention all the hours spent writing it in the first place), and hopefully, it'll help pay for some of the website fees.

For non-Ravelers, I also posted Twister for sale on my Etsy shop. Hopefully, soon I will be able to figure out how to post the pattern for sale on the blog as well. I guess I have to learn really quickly how to do that.

Stuffed

Unfortunately, it's not the kind of stuffed that you get post-holiday. Out of control allergies + cold from flu shot = major cold. Boo! I thought that at least being in bed I could catch up on some knitting, but my head and chest is so clogged that I can't really do anything requiring coordination and concentration.

I did have a nice holiday though. A friend from high school with whom I recently reconnected came over on Thursday night. Then, a bunch of friends came over on Friday for a dumpling / potsticker wrapping party. We even made the skins from scratch!

The one productive thing that I did today was to relist some stuff in my etsy shop. I've been severely neglecting the shop and have not posted anything new. I do have stuff, but I haven't gotten around to photographing them. You'd think that relisting is simple, just clicking a button. It generally is, but I have been without internet for nearly 2 days! waaaahhhh! My wireless connection decided to go kaput and I've been trying to fix it in between naps to no avail. I'm not computer whiz, so I just now discovered and realized that I can plug my laptop to the network.

Anyway, I relisted some of my buttons:

Hats and Headbands

Since I forgot to photograph the Hunter's Orange hat that made for Linh's husband, she took some for me. It turns out that Nick's head is huge. I had already made it big, but apparently I erred.


Being a hunter who grew up in a village in Arkansas, I guess I half-expected that I'd get a photo of Nick posing. However, this photo really makes me cringe and uncomfortable, no matter how much I love Linh and Nick. That's one large hunting arrow -- too big for this former 10+ year vegetarian who still has problems eating some meat.

On a lighter note, my sister and her friends were sweet enough to model the reversible headbands they had bought from me. Thanks!!

In Recovery

Just when I thought I was finally nearing the end of my recovery from Aubrey's wedding, I got hit with some crafty deadlines.

First of all, the wedding, veil, and flowers all turned out fabulously. Of course, the bride was glowing, gorgeous and flawless. We were all relieved and elated that the famously klutzy bride did not fall or trip on the uneven grounds of the nature preserve -- not once! Whew! Seriously, this is a lady who trips on air on a flat level surface. However, the bride did not lose a special Aubrey touch: She lost her garter, which slipped off her leg somewhere, and she lost an earring, which she later found with a flower from her bouquet inside her bra.



Above: me and Linh. I don't have any photos of the gorgeous arrangements. I hope Linh blogs them soon!


Above: The knitters! It was really nice seeing some of the knitters dressed up for a change. We rarely see each other looking spiffy and not covered in yarn and fiber fuzz.

Soon after the wedding, I realized that I had an upcoming deadline for a contest that I wanted to participate in. Did I ever mention that I'm trying to do something for an Etsy contest? I had originally planned on entering the 3 maximum allowable entries per person, but it looks like I will only be able to do one before the June 15 deadline.

As I was planning out the contest entries, the author of an upcoming book on recycled sweaters contacted me about some of my project/idea submissions. She and her editor liked the things I submitted and they requested that I send them finished projects and descriptions ASAP. So I spent the week after the wedding getting the projects finished and mailed off. In all, I think I sent in about 6-7 projects. From what I can tell, it appears that the book will be some sort of anthology of projects from various crafters/artists. Hopefully, they will select at least one of my projects.

Wish me luck on both (I think the Etsy contest is a longshot though.)!

Things finally appear to be slowing down a little from the recent flurry of miscellaneous crafty activities. Maybe now I'll have more time to devote to knitting and spinning. I haven't done much of either. I had been making great progress on a double knitted hat and was near-ready to decrease. Then, I realized that my image was not right. I failed to check as I knitted and knitted. What's more is that I lacked foresight in planning the design image, so I ended up with a backwards design on one side. *sigh* That's the Zen of Knitting.

Not having time to knit also means no time to spin -- I still don't think I have more than 6 yards of the alpaca lace I started nearly 4 weeks ago. I DO have some new spinning-related news though! I will keep you all in suspense until I can photograph the great news. ;)

Well, before I get to do more spinning and knitting, I do have to do more sewing. I need to make more headbands for the shop. In the next couple of weeks, I will also be making more of my Fortune Cookie purses (like this one I made for Aubrey) for the shop and for two custom orders I received at the wedding.

If Only for a Moment

I woke to this morning to find one of my items featured on the front page of Etsy. Unfortunately, being on the front page can last from a few hours to 1-2 days, and I think mine was a few hours. It's no longer on the front page, and I failed to capture the image. Darn! Here's the image of the collection that was featured though:

Lately I have been sewing away, not just in Aubrey's sweatshop, but also in my own. I've spent the last 2 weeks designing and tweaking a couple of purse patterns. I made one for Aubrey, but I forgot to take photos of if before giving it to her.

These two bags below are for my godmother and my stepmother. I decided to let them decide between the two of them which one they want:







I'm call the first design "Gigi" and the second one "Fortune Cookie." I currently have another "Gigi" in the same striped outer fabric but with a fun martini print lining in my etsy shop.

I also made these 2 headbands for the shop, but of course, I also made 2 additional ones for myself to wear. :)

Dalai Llama

Unfortunately, that's not his name. His name is Cinnamon, and he's a bonafide camera hog. Cinnamon (right) is one of several llamas that Aubrey's future mother-in-law has on her property. The news on the grapevine is that Cinnamon and all his friends are due for a haircut soon. You know what that means, right? Llama fleece and fiber to play with and spin!! Lots of fiber! The other llamas are pretty friendly as well, or so they seem. I was a little wary of making any sudden movements, because getting spat on by a llama is certainly not on my to-do list.

This past Thursday, hubby and I went to a Galaxy game with JayJay and her spouse, and my friend Linh and her spouse. It was in the middle of a sudden cold windstorm, only we were all too stupid to bring a jacket. If it weren't for all the freebie t-shirts, we would've frozen. It was a nasty windstorm that knocked out the power in many areas. We really could've used a llama fleece for warmth! While the boys enjoyed the game, the girls without the sexy David Beckham to oogle, turned our attention to knitting -- well, as best as we could with our frozen fingers. JayJay and I both worked on baby hats, and Linh (right) worked to finish her very first knitting project, also a baby hat.

Halfway through her visit Linh decided that she wanted to learn, so of course, I was more than happy to oblige. She wants to be able to knit clothing and accessories for her future children. She's a pro already-- here stitches are all pretty even and she really only dropped a 3-4 times. Not bad for a first time, especially working on dpns!! And as you can see to the left, Linh resorted to wearing her unfinished baby hat due the sharp winds. Good thing wool is stretchy!

As far as my own recent crafty endeavors, this past week, I made 3 baby hats for my inventory stockpile for future craft fairs. I'm otherwise stuck in between knitting WIPs. I ran out of one of the yarns for my entrelac stole, so I can only admire it in its unfinished state for now. I'm also working on a lace stole for a friend, and am attempting to write my first lace panel design. We'll see how that goes -- it doesn't seem very promising at this time. If I am itching to knit, I guess I could always try to tackle the many old UFOs....nah!



In shop activity, I also recently listed these:

Left: Reversible fabric headband featuring different Asian prints on either side. Right: Fabric -covered buttons

Left: Fabric covered keychain with a genuine Indonesian batik fabric. Right: A fully lined and stabilized wristlet clutch with 2 interior pockets.

Left: Another Liana kit in Hot, Hot, Hot! colorway. Right: A Dye-No-Mite Surprise Yarn pack. I'm offering people a handpainted yarn package deal If you buy, what you get will definitely be at least 25% less than buying it separately. Details here.

Surprise Visitor

A few days ago, I received a call from my friend Linh at the same time I was about to pick up the phone to let her know that I'd be sending her the baby booties she commissioned me to make as a gift for her pregnant sister-in-law. Her response? "Don't bother sending them...I'll pick them up in a few days." Huh? She's in the Windy City! As it turns out, she and her hubby decided to take a month-long road trip, with southern California as their primary destination. I love it when my good friends come for a visit.

Today, Linh and I dragged her hubby with us to a massive fabric store. Then I helped Linh, who has no sewing skills, execute a prototype for dressing a vase for a wedding she's doing. There was lots of hammering and grommets too. Tomorrow, I will be "forcing" them to go to my knitting group with me for a little while so that we can get the yummy gelato made daily at a local cafe. Yum! Also, Linh will be offering her expertise and creativity to assist Aubrey in figuring out wedding florals for Aubrey's pending nuptials.

In crafty news, I picked up my entrelac scarf/wrap again and am making steady progress (prev. post). I'll have to remember to take a progress photo and post. I'm also nearly done with a swatch of the sunspots lace in Barbara Walker's 3rd Treasury for the Walker Treasury Project (WTP). The WTP is such a great idea, so I volunteered to do 4 pattern swatches for the WTP, but I haven't even finished the first one. Kind of sad, isn't it? In my defense (not a real defense, more like carelessness), I've had to undo many many rows as I worked the swatch. It's definitely not something you can knit mindlessly. Well, volunteers get 3 months to finish their swatches anyway, so I have 2 more months to complete all the swatches. I also donated some stuff for the WTP contest. So if you are thinking about signing up to do some swatches, you should do it this month!

Today, I sold a couple of items, but it seems that my customers were having problems with PayPal. Weird. So, technically, I haven't gotten paid yet. I also finally just got around to posting these fabric buttons in the shop. The purple flower one is from a genuine cotton batik I bought in Indonesia. The yellow flower one is from an Asian print fabric. I will be posting some needle cases later this week as well.

Project: Baby T-strap booties
Pattern: A modified mary jane
Yarn: Valley Yarns, Goshen in Ballet Pink; 48% Peruvian Cotton/46% Modal/6% Silk; 92yds/50g
Needles: US #6
Notions: 4 pretty little buttons.

Swag

Here's what I just got from my swapper in the Cool Crafty Chic Swap (see photo at right.) My swapper is Karrie of Girl on the Rocks. She spoiled me with some merino roving she painted with such lovely shades of blue, indigo and violet, some of her own button creations, a hand-woven pouch and some awesome vintage magazines that I have never seen before! Thanks Karrie!

I spent the weekend making a portable needle roll for my swapee in Italy. Since she lives in Italy, I went ahead and sent her what I had until I had time to make something and so, she'll also be getting this from me:


Here's what it looks like without all the stuff on it, and with it buttoned up:


And finally, I got around to taking some photos of some cashmere yarn that I dyed about 2 months ago for projects commissioned by my friends/family. This one will end up being a scarf or wrap for my friend Pamila:

And this will end up being a rectangular shawl for my cousin Amber (which will take me a while to get to and finish):

These are yarns that I painted/dyed a while back but never got around to processing. I plan to post them on my shop. Ugh, I still have lots more to process and photograph:


Clockwise: "Minty," Kid mohair; "Wildflowers," Merino wool; "Jewels," 60%Cashmere/Merino; "Purple Haze," 40%Angora/40%Merino/20%Rayon

Crafty Buttons

My new buttons! I posted them on my etsy shop before I left for Stitches West.

All are 1.5" in diameter and have a mylar coating. The ones in Sheet B are miniature (real) patterns on a button. Thanks to Zona, for giving me the idea to do this. These are the same buttons I gave those cute old ladies at Stitches. I have many more ideas for crafty buttons and other button in general, but I figure I should keep the focus small in limited for the time being, unless someone orders or commissions a custom design.

Etsy Upcycling Contest

I recently entered the Etsy Upycling contest. I know it's a long shot, especially since I was out of town during the holidays and barely had time to meet the deadline. But hey, I can say I tried. The contest requires people to make stuff out of recycled materials to be posted on their shops with a maximum of 3 entries per person. Here are my entries:

"SHELLY"Shelly is a giant turtle floor pillow that I conceived for Uncommon Threads. This Shelly was made from leftover felted recycled sweater scraps we had for the show. Every inch of Shelly is recycled, except for the thread used to sew her together. Shelly is stuffed with fabric and more sweater scraps. Making Shelly is quite labor intensive and dusty (all the felt fuzz!) with all the cutting and sewing, especially wiht her size! I wasn't sure how to price her, but I settled for $80 due to all the labor involved.

"FLOWER"

Flower is a clutch made of a sleeve of a holey cashmere sweater that I embellished with scrap yarn and strips cut from a potato chip bag. Yep. I felted it, added a magnetic clasp and lined it with my hubby's logo shirt form a former employer (logo cut out of course). The flower on the flap is from bad CD. Again, the labor on this was quite a bit because of all the hand sewn and felted details, even if I didn't knit it up, so I settled at $44 as a price. I know some people may still think it's too much, but oh well, it's still way less than what it would be if I actually charged for hourly labor.

"SWIRLS"

Swirl is made of the same holey cashmere sweater as Flower. It is also embellished it with swirls and dots using scrap yarn and strips cut from a potato chip bag. The shinier dots and swirls are from a defective CD. I also lined it with my hubby's logo shirt form a former employer (logo cut out of course), but I utilized the pocket and button hole on the front of the shirt. The floral band on in the lining was a scrap from a project that was in my crafting trash pile. Again, the labor on this was quite a bit. I priced this one at $54 because the bag is a little bigger and took more time to put together.

I'm not sure when Etsy will be making their contest decision, but I really don't think that I will win. I just wanted to try and sumbit something, even with the limited time that I had. There are many really good and super creative entries out there (and a few crap ones, IMO) so I am sure that the judging committee will be having a challenging and difficult time!

Still sick

I'm still suffering the effects of a severe cold. Now that some of the congestion has moved out of my lungs and chest, I feel a little better, but it has all moved to my head. ugh. Anyway, after several days of rest, I went to knitting group on Wednesday night, armed with drugs, cough drops and a new knitting project. Two lovely ladies came by to pick up the order they commissioned from me as a gift for their daughter/sister. Here's the finished product, fingerless lace-up gauntlets from my hand-painted yarn (100% merino, double-faced satin ribbon):


Last night, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had another sale on my etsy shop. So this morning, went early and was the first in line at the post office to drop off a new order from my etsy shop. yay! - I sold 2 of the headbands I made recently (see previous post). I couldn't just put an estimated postage on the package in order to avoid holiday traffic because the package needed to go to Canada.

In other crafty news, I started yet another knitting project, despite having about 10 other WIPs. I've been planning on making something(s) for my friend Linh in preparation for her drastic climate change from Dallas to Chicago. I settled on a combination of a kid mohair yarn and a 60/40 cashmerino blend yarn, both of which I hand-painted/dyed. I think the lace pattern is called ivy lace.

My next cast on will be a pair of sample Liana gauntlets for the class that I will be teaching based on the kit.

Yay! my first 2 sales!

I just made my first 2 sales this week on my etsy shop! I only wish I had more time to post more stuff and to make more stuff for the holiday purchases. Here's what I sold:


I called this necwarmer "Willow," made from a 50/50 alpaca and wool yarn.





I called this neckwarmer "Contempo," also made from a 50/50 alpaca and wool yarn.



I'm crossing my fingers that there will be good light tomorrow. I haven't been able to take good pictures of a few more things I wanted to post in the shop by this weekend.

My etsy shop is open!

Whew! After much delays and a very messy house in getting all the stuff done, I finally listed some stuff on my Etsy Shop (I joined and opened an account 2 months ago! - so sad!) Having never done this before, I didn't realize how much time and effort it would take to list and post on sites like etsy. I still have a ways to go, such as listing my lacy gauntlets kits and other really nice yarns that I dyed, but I guess this is a good start. :)

The next difficult task upon me is knitting and making holiday presents for all my friends and loved ones. I am really behind!

Teacher, Teacher!

I just finished my first-ever craft fair as a vendor this past weekend. And boy, I am tired! I had attended the same craft fair as a spectator a couple times in the past and as a cheerleader for my friend when she had her booth in October, and there were more people in attendance then this one, which really surprised me because this one's a holiday fair. My booth is pictured above. (I don't know photoshop well enough to get rid of the bluish tint in the photo.) I should mention that my logo was designed by my sister and the sign was made for me by Zona's husband, who also set it up for me!

I suppose, considering the low attendance, and my first attempt, I didn't do to terribly -- not as much as I had hoped, but enough to make me want to try it again. (Did I just really say that? Eek - another craft fair means no sleep for me!) Anyway, the response and interest I received was encouraging. A few people commissioned me to make them some knitted projects of my own design/pattern. I priced and quoted the commission work a little low for the amount of labor involved. But since they were my first craft fair commission work, I wanted to just get some repoire and establish relationships, so I really don't mind that I undervalued my time/labor a little bit.

I sold mostly hand-painted yarns, some knitted items and a few sewn items. The item that got the most response is the lacy lace-up gauntlet "Liana" that I designed to be worn 2 ways and to feature my hand-painted yarns (see picture to right). I sold it as a kit and be will posting it on my etsy shop along with some yarns by the end of this weekend (hopefully). Towards the end of the second day of the fair, some ladies approached me and asked if I would be interested in teaching a class featuring "Liana." Of course, I jumped a this opportunity to add more notches onto my belt. So, in January, I will be doing a demo on the gauntlets and some of the wonderful things you can do to show off hand-painted yarns. Then in February, I will be teaching a class on my pattern using the kit. The photo on the left shows the packaging I chose and designed for the gauntlets.

See, I HAVE been busy!

I finally got the photo publishing thing fixed, so I'm catchin' up! These aren't in any particular order though...

I made this for my dear friend Jean a couple weeks ago, per her request. The yarn is a merino that Jean dyed the yarn at the slumber party. The pattern is the one from Stitch n Bitch.
A few weeks ago, Zona had a booth at a local craft fair held over one weekend, where she sold her hand-dyed and hand-spun yarns. So puuurrrty! Anyway, when I went to visit and support Zona on the Saturday of the fair, she said I could put out some of my hand-painted yarns and give selling a try. I only had 2-3 skeins, so after being inspired by Zona, I embarked on a dye fest Saturday night. On Sunday, the first thing I sold was some recycled yarn that I painted (picture on left) so that every stitch would knit up a different color.

Below: Pictures of Zona's booth and yarns. She actually had a lot more stuff, but she sold them all before I remembered to take a picture! yay Zona!


Below: Some of my dyed yarns. I still need to re-skein (is that a word?) them, especially the 60cashmere/40merino ones, since I don't think most people will buy 400 yds of hand-painted cash/merino in one breath. Plus, the colors look better when it's mixed up a little. (L-R: cotton, recycled shetland, cash/merino, cash/merino, cash/merino, cotton, merino, cotton)

Here is a picture of my overstuffed needle case. The large one is my main one, and it's overstuffed with double-points, circulars, straights, crochet hooks, and stitch holders. It was so overstuffed that I really couldn't find anything, especially at 6am when I'm trying to find a project to bring with me to work on during my commute to/from work. The green sari fabric one is my travel needle case. I made a circular case (black Asian print) to alleviate the overstuffing. This circular one can be hung on a hanger or wall, and can be folded up and become portable. Well, it'd be a little more portable if I had made the yellow part a little more narrow. The numbers are embroidery yarn.

I Don't Get It...

I don't get it. See the little cube at the very bottom of this page? (scroll all the way down). Well, the cube [Sitemeter] tells me my blog stats, such as how people are getting referred to my blog. The really weird thing is that sometimes about 1/4 of the people who happen upon this blog were doing a search on purses!! I'm not talking about homemade, crafty or artsy purses, but a particular high-end couture one that sells anywhere from $4k to $20k! I am not going to name names again, but I will say that it is all related to a previous little post that I wrote on April 9, 2006 about an LA Fashion District Santee Alley find. Why are sooo many people searching for this purse? How many pages of the search did they click on to get to this blog? The people doing that search certainly is not looking for a crafty blog either -- the stats indicate that these people aren't on my page for more than 1 to 2 seconds. Since this has peaked my curiousity, I typed in the appropriate keywords and Crafty Diversions is certainly not in the first 3 search pages. Weird, huh? Or am I just inexperienced in the way the blogging world and in my knowledge of the way people are using the internet?

On a side note -- I was all prepared to do another post on the 2nd Uncommon Threads taping, but Blogger was having problems again and wouldn't upload any of my pix. Argh! I'll try and carve out some time again (tomorrow?) and do it so y'all can see the pictures!