state of crafty wonderment

i am so excited to show some things i've been up to! first up, here's my newest friend. this little guy came home with us from crafty wonderland, and truthfully, i had my eye on him at a past show. initially i was sad when i didn't see him there at chet and dot, and then when it turned out that he was there, i was so tickled. i could not leave him again! isn't he a cutie? i just love all of her things! he is at home on our autumn mantle among these chestnuts and beach rocks or being pushed around on a cart by colden.

i hope the next photo will be readable upon clicking. i didn't make it around crafty wonderland as thoroughly as last time, but below is a snippet of cards i collected at various shops. (on the wall of my up-and-coming studio!) i also purchased some marble magnets from ta dah. they were very helpful in distracting colden until one was dropped (underneath the stage we think). we still have two actually, one is without its magnet and the other on our front (metal) door. love it! for entertainment luckily there was a woman who had a display drawer full of beans later on. i didn't get her card. oops! lanz bought something at zoom baby gear, where i intend to go this week for some wool cloth diaper covers. it is ridiculously close to my house, and i can get help with sewing my own covers or putting snaps in too! hooray! lanz also bought a card somewhere, but i'm afraid i can't remember the name. i thought it was funny though, because she ended up buying something she makes (cards), while i bought something made out of a sweater. lovely! oh i think lanz also got something at moontea artwork. the fabric there is all screen or block printed by hand. so pretty.

here is a nifty little thing i came up with for my sewing basket. i had tied them with yarn before so they would be inaccessible to toddler fingers, but then it turns out they were pretty inaccessible to me. so i thought a little felt (recycled sweater here) velcro handle cover would be perfect. i showed it to colden and he insisted that i remove it ('take it off!'). i have plans for more of these for laundry baskets. although, i have to say, we just got a new three-section laundry hamper so hopefully that will help distinguish which laundry is dirty (*fingers crossed*). my thought was to make a similar velcro 'handle cover' for the laundry baskets that say 'CLEAN' and 'DIRTY'. i even have an idea to make it reversible. we'll see.

i have more embroidery i want to share, but it is one of those gift things. it is coming. still! more exciting news! i have a new clothesline! i hope to display my vintage fabric-y goodies in the glorious portland sunshine (yeah, it's been raining here). ahem. (*more fingers crossed*) thanks to marc for the perfect clothesline - it can be reached from the back door. ahhhh! he also made a stunning raised bed and cold frame. would you like to see? oh! must get planting!

some exciting crafty and organizational advances to share as well. i am in a state of crafty wonderment at all to do with by hand at home. i am trying to do my homework online, via library books, and also keep up with the housework. straightening up my sewing space and my home is going to be key, i realized when going out the door the other day, colden said, "where's my phone?" in preparation to leave. i am a bit of a scatter, so i appreciate you bearing with me. thanks for reading, friends!

hedgehog, snake, and broom

please forgive me for not posting in a while. i am no ball juggler, like my friend anne, over here. she is tempting me to try quilting - look at those beauties! in turn, i must tempt her with this link to quilting for peace. i think i found it through the book publisher's blog? looks pretty sweet.

somehow my computer, internet, and camera couldn't see to it last week. nor could i muster the courage for the battle. then when the toddler finds the power button, well, you get the idea. i did, however, make it to the last crafty wonderland (post pending) and get a lot of crafting done in the mean time! i am hoping to perfect it a bit then seriously whip out the hedgehogs and brooms. maybe snakes. (they're just so big - i think a couple house snakes is all that we need - one for our drafty door and one to play with.)

so, here are my things - all made from recycled sweaters. inspired by all of the incredible sweater recyclartists out there, but my own unique little guys. so please respect my seedling ventures a la creative commons licensure. i'll add it to the sidebar or something too. (do i need to do something else here, o you of experience?) i jumped in feet first! another reason for the blogging break, research!

and without further ado:

hedgehog - body, coat, nose, eyes, all recycled wools. it is worth having the hedgehog just to hear colden say it. hedgog, hedgehog. dog. hog. hotdog. it's a mouthful. here is the hedgehog; "sit on my lap."

above = evidence of terrible camera problems. new snake photo coming. i was trying to capture how taken sammy was all curled up in this snake with her entire body cozied up to it all splayed out. but at this point she was getting embarassed. my next shot is her stretching and leaving. felted sweater snake with button eyes and i-cord tongue, plus rattle-ish tail. he still needs stuffing and sewing.

action broom! the handle is pretty floppy, you see. i am thinking of stuffing the next one for more real-life broom-like-ness.

here is a better view, again, recycled wools - pants and various stages of felted sweaters.

i don't want to leave you hanging so before my next post, please take the opportunity to do some shopping for a worthy cause at wheels for henry. heard about this fundraiser at crafty wonderland. etsy sellers are contributing percentages (up to 100%!) of their sales thru oct. 31.

next up, proper photos, a little embroidery, vintage swaps!, and the sewing room is coming along too!

west coast rosie cozy crafty pod

one of my primary motivations in going to this lecture was to give susan some buttons that i knew she would appreciate a thousand times more than i. it was lovely to hear the experience of these women, and they were all extremely, incredibly gracious. i felt surprisingly shy when i approached them after the talk with more button gifts - attached to a homemade card. especially because my only pink vintage buttons for alicia were an incomplete card, and diane promised to visit my blog. so kind. she is absolutely a god(dess)-send in crafty portland.

marc was working, so i had colden with me, and it was kind of challenging to be aware of how much noise was too much. i asked the woman facilitating to let me know if we were getting too disruptive, but she was so nice as well! i think she let us slide quite a few times. we were lucky enough to get a little play in with another babe - and we shared a little handmade love too.

here's a snapshot of the event from someone who was paying a bit more attention: wendy at build/make/craft/bake (and i only found this post courtesy of diane - again, such a blessing!).

i also made it out to the skating with scissors event that wendy mentions and talked with a lot of lovely crafters. many of whom i met at crafty wonderland earlier this month. i'd like to feature some of their work on here too... maybe a sidebar to come? hmmm.

p.s. sadly, i didn't make it into oct.'s crafty wonderland show, but i'm hopeful for the future.

for the love of handwork

september is a wonderful month, isn't it? so many celebrations! this project was for one of my greatest handwork teachers thus far. i worked alongside her as an assistant and learned lots of essentials i didn't know before. pattern-reading, altering, creating, lots of handsewing stitches, how to really crochet shapes and hats, and how to teach these things too!

in other words, a tall order. she is expecting a baby girl (any day now they say), and red is her favorite color. this luxuriously soft cashmere sweater was destined for baby-wear, and i sewed the sleeves into pants in short order. i've kinda got that process down, but the sweater jacket was a little more challenging. i added some flowery vintage trim (25 cents at an estate sale) to cover my rough edges, and some sparkly buttons (also estate vintage) that looked similar to other things on ms. gloriana's wishlist.

i think it will probably fit a lot better at a year and a half than 0-3 m., but isn't it sweet? i intended to make a hat too, but ran out of time. i've had a lot of crafty deadlines lately, including an application for crafty wonderland (due today!), which we attended for the first(!) time on sunday. i can't believe i'd never gone. it was spectacular!!! and i'd love to share more about that too - but for now, i'll leave a little link to the things i submitted as part of my app, here at: byhandathome.com if you see something you like, let me know. i'm working on re-tooling my etsy shop and getting some things up there too. i'm happy to make things specifically to your liking, especially if you are a dear friend, which you probably are if you're reading this! and thank you for doing so, i appreciate it!