This Week in Crafts

Week of January 10, 2011

I made quite a to-do list for myself this week. I had some setbacks and one of my projects didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, but all in all I accomplished a good portion of it.

I...

Wrote thank you notes and got them in the mail before Wednesday.

Sat down and wound a bunch of balls of yarn. I also made a yarn inventory and projects table so I can keep track of my stash and projects.

Sooo messy

Soooo pretty.

The slippers. I finished them and ran them through the wash, but they didn't felt as well as I had hoped. Actually, they didn't felt very much at all. This happened once before so I know that it's because my stitches were too tight. If there isn't enough space between the stitches, then the fibers don't have a chance to rub against each other and fuse. To add injury to insult they are way too big, even though I made the pattern according to my size. But I think I know who I can give them to.

I also visited Green Planet Yarn in Campbell, found something awesome at Urban Ore, picked up some great arts and crafts supplies at Blick, and went a little crazy at Ichiban Kan. And...I found a cabinet, fixed it up, and am nearly done getting my craft supplies in order. More on all that tomorrow.

Farm Fresh Diary

January 15, 2011

The rain has stopped, the cold spell has snapped and today was a perfect day for a trip to the farmers' market. I brought my camera along and took a couple of pictures so I could share the bounty that is the Grand Lake Farmers' Market. As I walked into the marketplace and surveyed the great produce and pleasant weather, I thought about how lucky I am to live in California. Take a look.

Saturday morning princesses grooving to steel drums.

Beautiful citrus...and tomatoes (in the back)--only in California.


This guy has amazing heirloom carrots and tons of hearty greens.


The Roli Roti stand smells sooooo good!

What I came home with:


A gigantic head of cauliflower, a bunch of heirloom carrots and two bunches of kale

(a variety I've never tried), all for $8. And, potato rosemary bread from Panorama.

A lovely bouquet of flowers. So pretty!

Week of Crafts

I've got plenty to do this week. Hopefully I can make a dent in this list...

1. Write thank you cards. Christmas was a while ago (I know), but my birthday is so close to Christmas and I'd much rather write one thank you card than two back to back.

2. Find a drawer unit for my craft supplies. Right now I have everything in plastic bins that I stack and its driving me nuts to have them stored in a rather inaccessible manner. I crossing my fingers that I'll find something at Urban Ore; if not, I'll most likely end up going to Ikea. (something like this-->)

3. Get organized. I have yarn to ball, fabric to sort, tools to reorganize.

4. Finish my slippers, revisit the apron, and start a special order for an infinity scarf.

5. Find a volunteer position. My goal is to start volunteering by late January or early February.

This Week in Crafts (Jan 3-Jan 9)

Finished up my snazzy birthday hair accessories on Thursday. The clips didn't work out very well: the glue and cardboard was too stiff to allow them to bend like they need to.

So I scrapped the clips and opted for making sleeves that snapped closed. My technique and method isn't 100% (I accidentally glued the sleeve to the headband) but I'm definitely moving in the right direction. This way I can mix and match the feather pieces with various headbands. Who knows, they might just be showing up on my Etsy site...

I didn't work on my apron and the last Christmas gift did not turn out well at all. Our printer was still out of commission last week so my planner didn't get done either. But I went to Piedmont Yarn & Apparel and bought myself some beautiful yarn.

Per my goal to purchase handmade items I began my search for a new pair of slippers. I checked Etsy and Artfire, but I didn't really see anything that I liked. But I did find a pattern that I liked. I started making a pair of slippers. They're going to be a snazzy pair of felted bootie-like slippers.

Birthday Weekend

A smattering of what I did this weekend, my birthday weekend.

Treated myself to some tasty yarn from Piedmont Yarn & Apparel. A hank of Cascade Magnum (green), a skein of Madeline Tosh hand dyed superwash merino in scarlet, and 2 balls of Ella Rae Classic (it was on sale for $5 and I think I'll use it to make these). I don't have definitive plans for the others yet, but that's the whole point of making a frivolous yarn purchase on your birthday.

Wore my snazzy feathered birthday headband to dinner. (sorry, no picture of that.)

Received a lovely orchid from my dear friend Christina...complete with a thoughtful birthday wish from her darling kuttens.

Checked out the farmers' market on Saturday and bought whatever struck my fancy: broccoli rabe, meyer lemons, blood oranges, rosemary ciabatta, and some bacon.

Birthday weekend breakfast: homemade pancakes hot off my new panini press/griddle, blood orange, and bacon.

Got some killer vintage Pyrex courtesy of a visit with my mom and my brother. She found the set--complete with matching glass lids--at a thrift store. Clearly some old lady's "junk" is my treasure.

One of my birthday gifts to myself arrived in the mail. I bought it from LouiseRose and it arrived just in time for going out for some birthday pampering and libations with friends at The Trappist.

Thank you everyone for a wonderful birthday!

Things to do...

What I want to get done this week:

1. Finish my apron. I've been working on this apron (design A) off and on for the past 2 months. It's my first major sewing project and I definitely bit off more than I can chew. The instructions aren't making sense so now I'm using them more as guidelines.

2. Put the finishing touches on my snazzy birthday hair accessories.

3. Make one more belated Christmas gift. I was struggling with this last one and I was struck with a lighting volt of inspiration last night (thanks Christina!).

4. Visit Piedmont Yarn and Apparel on Friday for some yarn and my birthday discount. (I have a project in mind!)

5. Start my planner. I wanted to do this last week, but our printer is experiencing some behavioral issues. Hopefully that'll get resolved so I can start printing out these lovely monthly calendars that will go inside.

This Week in Crafts (Dec 27-Jan 2)

Last Monday I made a list of the projects that I wanted to complete during the week. Some I completed, some I didn't. Nevertheless I got a lot accomplished.

Better-late-than-never Christmas ornaments for friends. Can't tell you who they're for, but if you know my friends then you could probably guess...
(pattern)



Impromptu craft project. I really wanted to make some of these for New Year's (I thought we might be going out), but I guess I'll just have to wear them for my birthday. I was trying to be clever by using velcro to attach the barrettes to the feather patch, but it doesn't seem to be very secure. I'll figure something else out.


Gettin' organized. This was my projects binder before:

...and after. Much nicer. But I think I need more tabs.


I worked on my apron. I didn't finish it today, but I worked on it, and that's a win as far as I'm concerned.