not-so-secret summer saling

i've just signed up for vintageswaps, and thought i'd better share here, just in case any of my vast audience of immediate family and longtime friends are interested. all you have to do to participate is e-mail heather {at} shivayanaturals.com with the following info:

Name

Mailing Address

email

blog/website (if you don't have one, no worries :))

Craft of choice (sewing, needlepoint, knitting, quilting, etc.)

If you are willing to ship internationally

i'm excited! i also have to confess that i've been finding some fabulous finds this summer, including the above linens and buttons and tins and more! i intend to share them by and by, especially if they make their way into, or onto? projects. for instance, buttons can be seen on byhandathome, gracing fingerless mitts and arm warmers. and all of my embroidery hoops have been coming from the estate sales. today i scored a whole slew of them for a dollar, and came away with a pretty little box i intended to put my needles in. however, colden fell for it too, so we may have to share. he liked the idea of putting needles in there, of course.

play kitchen

i was inspired to do this one late evening after the boy was in bed, and marc was off doing something else. i actually remember seeing a woman selling similar (even cuter) play kitchens and fridges at the alberta last thursday event a long, long while ago. hers had little handles and faucets affixed. mine requires a little more imagination.

i even stitched up a little hand towel (it's hanging on the 'sink' area), and some impromptu pot holders (sitting on the 'stove'). i've since added some blue tissue paper to the sink, to give that watery feel, and i'm going to draw a little burner on that stovetop. i just need a few little pots and pans that will fit in there too!

dig the beer boxes? i have more from our move that i might experiment with (they are even labeled 'kitchen' with sharpie on the side). originally i was going to tape it all together, but i couldn't find the tape. lucky for me, because i sewed it instead and it's much nicer. i think it will hold up better too. the shelves do need reinforcement though, anything heavier and they would fall. i started a refrigerator box to go with, but so far it's, well, a box. yay recycling -> practical artful toys!

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!

ray & michael

i had a few wild ideas for some handmade gifts for our friends' wedding. but true to my nature, i left the making of them until the last possible moment and crafted into the wee hours of the morning (just a few hours before we got to the airport). and marc even convinced me to take sewing along for the trip (but that is another project).

the first piece was inspired by another etsy seller (by way of janna) who makes cute little hearts with names in them for weddings. i personally don't dig hearts, so that was out. i actually went through tons and tons of ideas for other icons - i think i have 2 more canvases with drawings on each side AND many pages of notebook paper littered with designs. in the end, i went with some of my more abstract curliques (again with the curlies!). i love how it turned out:

i also glued a backing on, with some really old craft glue. so it isn't as nice as it could be. luckily, i have plans for another. at the wedding there were special kippahs for 'michael & ray's great adventure', and i can't pass up the opportunity to commemorate that, in the style they chose (complete with tree icon - i came close earlier with a leaf design! if only i had known!). so if you are a friend of ours getting married (*hint, hint*) and have an idea or icon - speak now or forever hold your peace or let me know later, cause i don't mind making lots of these. so fun! i'll take custom orders for your friends getting married too!

my other idea for a gift was a little out there, i realized, when i described it to anne. bendy pipe cleaner people wrapped in wool and needle-felted, with a super silky soft finishing layer of very special fiber. they are quite fabulous:

ray is one of my dearest oldest friends, and i actually hadn't met michael except through pictures. most of which were adorable photos of the two of them wrapped in each other's arms. after seeing those, i had to make these bendy people, who can spoon in as many ways as the real couple (a few wedding guests took care to point this out in a rather illustrative manner).

marc helped me lay the wool base on the pipe cleaners and needle felt it on a bit, then i took over shaping them more and finally wrapping with the extra special fiber. it is divine to the touch, and seemed just right for this endeavour (english spelling for ray). i bought it at the sock summit, entranced by its texture and the shop from which it came, a verb for keeping warm. here's the one. baby camel and silk tussah. *drool*

i was totally in love with all of the yarns and fibers from a verb for keeping warm because they are truly natural - dyed with nature. and there were lots of informative tidbits on history, how-to, and even dyestuff available. their logo is even curly! unfortunately, my budget was limited, so i will have to come back for some more fibery goodness another time.

oh, i didn't mention sock summit before? hmmm, sounds like another post...

happy wedding, michael & ray!

undone + done!

i did have this ready to post last wednesday, but things have been a little nutso around here. forgive the tardiness, please.

another project i can gleefully share from the mass of undone:

is now done:

yay! i accentuated the fact that this little cross-stitch of mine looks like a teddy bear. see? (bonus background - our yellow walls, and a dahlia from the front yard!) i didn't intend to make the bear, nor did i know i could achieve such a likeness! i was doodling a curli-que fountain as i did in paper margins in days of yore. this piece began in my waldorf teacher training, and was never finished because i was convinced i didn't have enough fabric to complete the fourth side (and make the fabric grain match) and the back. i will leave many a thing undone because their perfect end is not within my means (or so i think). anyway, i decided i could always put a denim back on, and then voila! there was just enough. it's kind of karmic to finish this one. i remember the teacher saying she never liked to let children leave work undone with her. so, phew! paid my dues, pin-cushion!

and colden helped:

("more wool, more wool!") he is extraordinary at stuffing.

the tip of the iceberg

i can already write this post with relief because i finished the project. well... nearly (hey, isn't that how you got a tower of 'to-do's in the first place?). true, but i could actually call it done as-is if i want. and i reserve the right to do so, should i be called to it. here it is, in all its undone glory:

i know you can tell from my clever styling exactly what this is meant to be. you've seen this type of toy everywhere, and nowadays more often than not they are knitted or crocheted. felted or straight up made from felt! play food! mine is crocheted, and i intend to felt it. i may or may not alter the design and make more of the same type.

i've already used this yarn (lamb's pride) for another felted toy (show-and-tell teaser: this one could also be considered play food, but it's not eaten by most people) and it still shows crocheted stitches pretty clearly. i did try knitting a little green pear with a pretty leftover bit of heathery green, but for some reason the shaping was eluding me and i frogged it (another unfinished project done!).

here's another pic of it all sewn up. i stuffed it with leftover wool bits. i've got a bag going of yarns ends and cut up sweater scraps that i've been using for stuffing. it especially rocks for these felted things since it felts too! and you know it took me all of one minute to finish it, right? after i tracked down scissors, needle, and stuffing. (did i mention we just moved? i swear things will soon be more organized).

i would really love to make this type of toy out of recycled materials as well. i think it could be done with sweaters. not that i'm about to embark upon that at this moment. that is another contributing factor to the mountain. so many ideas!

i'm off to install a basket near the washer in which i can place items that need felting. i was wanting to have such a spot in our last place, to encourage my felting prowess, and it is just the thing to inspire me now. the final step in completing this sweetheart. and if you check back, i promise to upload a picture of the felted version down here.

oh yeah, and while i'm at it, i'll wash a diaper load too. then i'll really be on my way to hot water washing felting goodness.

*update* here it is all felted up!:

and thanks to this post, i figured out that i went one whole week between diaper loads! huzzah!!!

back at it

soooo, what was i saying? crafting? oh, yes. i'm still doing that! though i will admit that my 'unfinished project' basket items may outnumber my 'show-and-tell' stash. i'm building momentum to get back at it again and really get business started for by hand at home. (will also be at http://byhandathome.etsy.com).

my amazingly talented friend lanz is helping me to design a logo. i am working on a business plan and making stuff! but for now, in the interest of getting back at it, i thought i would start posting here. i've got to get our picture system down so i will be able to get photos up myself (marc was helping me last time), but my goal is to *at least* begin posting a few times a week. thus, i thought i would begin by sharing an unfinished project once weekly and see how far that takes me. then, by posting it, i will also be expressing my intent to finish said project. now that could be tricky.

more lofty goals to follow. tomorrow i'll post a tiny project that i am sure can be finished in a snap. maybe i'll even finish it now so i can get a jump on these wild aspirations. and speaking of snaps - anybody have a spare snap press lying around?