I had a great time at the Ravelympics this year … my first time competing and I think I’m going to have to compete again when it comes around in 2012!
I apparently have a love for making bags ….
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Ravelympics 2010 – Completed!
Stitches West 2010 – Early Report
I’m calling this an early report because Stitches isn’t done yet! I, however, am feeling very done. I have one more class tomorrow .. and all day class at that, but it’s a new craft (wet felting) so it should be cool. I won’t have another chance to get to the Market, but I think I’m pretty Market’ed out!
Thursday started out with Leslye Solomon’s Continental Knitting class. Leslye is a great teacher and I enjoyed her class very much. I enjoyed learning the new technique and am looking forward to practicing.
I really enjoyed the needle felting class by Debbie Radtke. I took and decorated up my Watercolor purse that I made for the Ravelympics. I also turned a felted sample into a luggage tag with flowers and a butterfly.
Friday afternoon, I took “Beyond Basic Buttons” with Christine Bylsma. Chris was a very good instructor and I learned some great new ways to create my own buttons and to adapt buttons, and items around the house, that I do have. I’m not sharing photos of my buttons, but there are pictures somewhere that were taken … so you might see them yet :) I will be making more buttons using the techniques I learned and will share them if they’re good enough!
This morning I spent most of my time in the Serendipity Spinners booth, teaching people how to spin and hanging out with my fellow guild members.
In the afternoon, I took “Spinning for Knitters” with Merike Saarniit. The class is a basic spinning class, but advanced knitters can definitely learn something too! I did. It was a lot of fun and I got to play with some awesome fibers!!! Fiber suppliers included Carolina Homespun, Snicklefritz, Judy’s Novelty Wool, Spin Knit and Life, Anzula Luxury Fibers, Verb for Keeping Warm, Jewel Fiber Designs and LookChina.com. Thank you all for your beautiful fibers, and thanks to Merike for sharing the fibers and her knowledge with us!
Tomorrow’s class is Fancy Felt Bags with Sharon Costello and I’m really looking forward to it.
I find that I have a love of bags ….
And finally .. my Market goodies!!!
It’s Soap Time: Making Swirl Soaps
In an effort to reduce the crafting stuff that I have, I’m working on de-stashing … including the soap making stuff that I have.
I got a kit from Brambleberry to make a swirled melt and pour soap. Some thing I haven’t done before and didn’t think was possible. It’s not the same as a swirl in a cold or hot process soap, but it looks pretty cool
As you can see the top of the bar was sprinkled with light gold mica in a clear layer. The rest of the bar is swirled white, pink, blue and purple. The process takes a while and some attention, but I’m really happy with the results.
Rawr!
Yay for a husband who likes crafty things! C wanted something cute for his desk for the holidays, and he likes dragons…. so …. Rawr was born!
Holiday Crafting Pics & more
This year, like every year, I crafted my way through many of my gifts. it's not always possible to make gifts for everyone ... but I do try. I like the touch of handmade, and the items are created specially for each person. So here's some of this year's goodies.
A Crocheted scarf made from one skein of 100% sugar cane fiber yarn. It's super soft and silky and not too heavy for my warm weather family. The scarf pattern came from Craftsters
Then a knitted dishcloth as we're all trying to become more "green"
A Soap Tree, idea from Martha Stuart! Made of glycerin soap in different colors and stacked to make a pretty and useful tree.
And then there's the bag .. a copy of a Nordstrom's bag with a hand braided handle in Chocolate and Turquoise.
Of course, since my family celebrates Christmas, we need Santa hats!
I had a great time making everything, and I hope that everyone who got goodies enjoyed them!
Bentos ~ The modern lunchbox
Lately, I've been making my own lunches ... trying to cook at home rather than buying food for a combination of health and financial reasons.
I discovered bento boxes, a Japanese method of packing lunches that are fun to view as well as eat. Traditional boxes are packed with rice, protein, and vegetables .. in that order. I've adapted them a bit more to my style, but since I enjoy asian food, it's easy to do fairly traditional boxes .. but I like more vegetables than is traditional. It does mean that I usually need to pack a snack box as well or I get hungry in the afternoon.
I'm also trying to lose weight, yet again, so the smaller box sizes help to limit portions as well.
If you pack lunches, for yourself or others ... consider giving bento boxes a try.
Sites for Bento Ideas:
Crafty Fun for my niece
Since I'm fairly sure that my young niece doesn't watch my blog, I can post this here. My Mum found a cute little bag, and I made this one after the pattern.
The pattern is very simple, crocheted with Vanna's Choice and Vanna's Choice Baby acrylic yarn and a size H hook.
