Archive for January, 2010

Hi friends,

It's my birthday today, and it just so happens that I share said birthday with one of pop culture's most famous moustachioed men:

(Hee hee!)

So in celebration of our special day, I'm indulging myself and writing about one of the funniest craft trends I know: moustaches! Think of it as a themed birthday party (Actually, that's not a bad idea. Hmm....) I rounded up a few of my favourite crafty moustaches from around the interwebs. Here we go:

Photo from knitty.com

The Incognito Cowl from Knitty. I love it! You can bet that's going on my to-knit list. There's nothing like adding a bit of woolly whimsy to your winter kit.

Photo from Somethings Hiding In Here

The Mustache Envy Kit from Something's Hiding in Here (blog, Etsy shop). These would make fabulous party favours, dontcha think?

Photo from 5 Orange Potatoes

Or, if you're going to a party where there's going to be lots of eating and drinking you might want to make a hands-free moustache with this Silly Moustache Tutorial from 5 Orange Potatoes. (Click over for lots of great ideas to make with kids: that moustache up there was made by a 7-year-old!)

Photo from Chase Dreams

If all these moustaches have you feeling like an artist, you could use these Moustache Crayons to create a brand new masterpiece. (From Chase Dreams.)

Image from Paperdoll Woodshop

Any meal would taste better with these Moustache Salt and Pepper Shakers from Paperdoll Woodshop.

That's all for today! I hope there's a funny moustache sighting in your weekend. See you Monday!

Hi friends,

We're coming up to a busy time in the office, so I've been gathering up some Valentine's ideas to share when I'm swamped with pages to proofread. But I thought these were too cute to save until next week...

Photo from www.kundhi.com/blog.

Tiny crocheted hearts! Tutorial by Julie Kundhi, found via whipup. I think they'd make great pins, or, strung together, a cute garland. And I'm sure there must be a way to make them into granny squares – wouldn't that make a fabulous baby blanket? (If you think of a way, let me know!)

Alright, it's time to get my nose back to the grindstone. Have a great Thursday.

Hi friends,

I've written before about how much I'd like to own a small loom (expense and lack of storage space notwithstanding!). Apparently the Cricket loom from Schacht Spindle is a good model for a beginner.

Sadly, even at its relatively small size (11" x 18" x 6") it's a bit big for my apartment (I'd have to keep it in my oven, or maybe suspended from the ceiling!) and so I've put aside my weaving wishes for now. Or so I thought. Last night I discovered what might be the perfect solution.

This paper loom from The Curiosity Shoppe looks like it might be the ticket. The kit comes with a die-cut paper loom and shuttle, plus instructions; you have to supply the sticks and string yourself. Obviously, it's not for complex projects, but it would be a neat, low-cost way to learn. Fun, huh?

That's all for now. Have a great day.

Hi friends,

Back in December, when I was deep enough into Christmas-gift crafting to be looking for the light at the end of the tunnel, I joined a virtual quilting bee called "The Maple Leaf Bee." I'd seen several bloggers I admire participate in VQBs, and so when the chance to participate in an all-Canadian bee presented itself, I jumped at the chance!

There are 13 women from across Canada participating in this bee; each of us has been assigned a month. When it's our month, we send out packages containing fabric and instructions for the type of block we want; the other 12 quilters each complete a block and send it back. The idea is that by the end of the year we'll each have received 12 blocks – enough to make a small quilt (or get started on a big one!).

Things got underway in January, and I received my first envelope last week. The theme was wonky log cabin or improv log cabin; the colours were orange and aqua. The blocks are destined to become a quilt for Barb's little boy. Here's what I made:

This is the first block I made, and it's a pretty standard (barely wonky, really) log cabin block. Barb included a fun fabric with lots of dogs, and I decided that fussy cutting was the best way to feature the capering canines. When I was finished with this, I still had lots of fabric left over, and lots of time left for playing around, so I made a second block.

I guess this would be more of an improvisational block. I tried to stay with the traditional colour scheme (in this case, blue on the bottom/left, orange on the top/right). I made the centre block first, then the five smaller log cabins (dog cabins? dog houses?), sewing them on as though they were a strip of fabric (as with a traditional log cabin). Looking at it now, I'd probably replace the big blue border on the left and bottom with an all-around white sashing...but I was out of white, and wanted to square it up to 12.5", as with the first block. Part of the challenge of this is using what you've got, and overall I'm pleased with how things turned out. Besides, look at all those dogs!

My fabrics for February's blocks arrived yesterday – here's a peak at the style of block we'll be making. (Guess I'd better get my ruler out!) My month is October, so I've got a bit of time to brainstorm about the blocks I want...but something tells me it'll be here before I know it, so I'd better get thinking.

Have you participated in a virtual quilting bee? What about a quilt-along, or a swap? I'm interested to hear about your experiences.

Hi again,

Last week I had the opportunity to meet Dino, a representative from Diamond Yarn, a Canadian company that imports fine knitting yarns. It turns out that many of the yarns I've been using for my projects (including Malabrigo and Sirdar) are imported by Diamond Yarn. If you've been trying to find these yarns for your own knitting projects, it's worth a visit to their website – they have a handy "find" feature. Just enter your postal code to see a list of local-to-you stores that sell their yarns. It's also worth checking out the Diamond Yarn blog.

One of the things that Dino brought along to show me was a selection of Mirasol yarns. I was familiar with the brand but I didn't know that the yarns are a fair trade product whose sales not only help support shepherds and their families in Peru, but also contribute to funding the construction and operation of a boarding school for the shepherds' children. It's called The Mirasol Project (check out some photos of the centre here).

At the school on opening day; photo from mirasolperu.com.

This week I'll be giving away four skeins of Mirasol yarn, plus Book One of the Mirasol Collection books, a collection of designs by British knitting designer Jane Ellison. (The Diamond Yarn Blog recently posted an interview with Jane that's quite interesting.)

Yarn photos courtesy diamondyarn.com

The yarns are: Qina (80% baby alpaca, 20% bamboo); Sulka (60% merino, 20% alpaca, 20% silk); Tupa (50% merino,50% silk);  and K'acha (60% merino, 25% suri alpaca, 15% silk), in a variety of earth tones. They'd all be perfect for a one-skein winter cheer-up project such as a cowl or some wrist-warmers.

For your chance to win, leave a comment on this post by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, January 31. I'll post a winner here on Monday, February 1. This week, I'm wondering what other examples of crafting-for-good are out there. Whether it's an online auction, a church rummage sale, a fair trade product...I'd love to know about it. Thanks!

Hi friends,

Happy Monday! I hope you had a lovely weekend. I dusted off the sewing machine on Saturday for some quality patchwork time (more about that tomorrow), then spent most of yesterday working on my mitts. They're really coming along!

To knit the liners, I picked up stitches at the bottom of the mitt, then ripped out the waste (yellow) yarn. The liners will be folded inside the mitts. It's a neat trick.

All I have to do now is knit the liners, which I think (hope!) will go quickly. With any luck they'll be finished before the temperature dips back below zero.

Now, on to last week's giveaway. I was pleasantly surprised by the response to Giveaway #37; I owe a shout-out to Kerry Bogert herself for sending her readers my way (and thus opening up a whole new part of the craft blogging world for me to explore!). Thanks, Kerry! If you'd like to see what's going on in the jewelry-making side of the craft-blogosphere, I encourage you to check out some of the links in the comments on last week's giveaway post. So neat.

The prize, of course, is a copy of the brand-spankin'-new book Totally Twisted: Innovative Wirework & Art Glass Jewelry by Kerry Bogert, from Interweave Press. As usual, I let the Random Integer Generator do all the hard work...

And lucky Number 92 is...

Congratulations, Kari! I'll be in touch with details shortly.

Tune in a little later today for Giveaway #38. See you soon.

Hi friends,

I was doing a little wishful fabric shopping online last night when look what I found:

Scottie Dogs (photo from DS Quilts)

A free Scottie Dog pattern from Denyse Schmidt Quilts! I've seen these at flea markets and vintage stores on occasion, and I'm always taken by their whimiscal nature. The interplay of fabrics and patterns, the abstract shape, the just-challenging enough method of construction...seems to me that this would be a great project, a fun gift to give or to receive, and an ideal pattern to keep on hand for those times when you need a (handmade) gift on short notice.

What are your crafty plans for the weekend? I'm close to finishing my new mittens, and I've got some sewing to do – I joined a virtual quilting bee for 2010 and the first set of blocks is due to be sent back at the end of the month. I need to dust off my sewing machine and get busy! With any luck I'll have photos of finished objects to show you here on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

Hi friends,

One of the reasons I love writing this blog is the opportunity it gives me to wander down the crafty highways and by-ways of the internet in search of little bits of handmade treasure. I found one of those today:

Isn't it great? Stitched by emshim, via Feeling Stitchy.

Embroidery been on my mind lately so I imagine there will be an embroidery project on my crafty to-do list soon. In fact, I spent a good half hour looking through books by Jenny Hart (of Sublime Stitching fame) last weekend, soaking up the good ideas. You can read Jenny's blog here.

The last thing I embroidered was this Pyrex-themed table runner inspired by Alicia Paulson's "Pleasant Kitchen" dishtowels (available as a free PDF download – look in the right-hand sidebar on her blog). If you're familiar with Alicia's blog, Posie Gets Cozy, you might have seen today's post about using waste linen for monogramming. So neat! She's got an embroidery book coming out in August and I can't wait to add that to my collection.

And of course, there are tons of embroidery resources on the web. Some links:

• Feeling Stitchy
• The Purl Bee (check the sidebars for links to embroidery-specific projects and tutorials)
• Wee Wonderfuls (with patterns for free or to buy; and an embroidery resource round-up)
• Hand Embroidery Network

Finally, for a look at something absolutely extraordinary, go take a peek at The Embroiderers' Story. It's a blog that details the recreation of an exquisite 17th-century embroidered jacket on the Plimouth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It took three years and more than 250 people, and you need to see it to believe it. It gave me chills.

On that note, I'm outta here. Have a great night!

Hi friends,

It seems like it's been a while since I posted an inspiration round-up that wasn't Christmas-themed, so I pulled some of my bookmarks together to share. Here are some things I've found inspiring lately.

• This Embroidered Ribbon Sleeve (think of it as a jar cosy) from The Long Thread would add a bright spot to your day.
• These little walnut candles from The Small Object are just right. They remind me of the Owl and the Pussycat for some reason.
• Sew, Mama, Sew posted this fabric card and envelope tutorial and I think I'm in love. What a special gift to make for your sweetie pie.
• These chalkboard hangers make organizing your sewing projects as easy as pie. Time for a trip to Ikea, I think.
• I love the look of Hunter boots but I hate, hate, hate cold feet. Voilà: a tutorial from Sabbe that shows you how to make personalized welly warmers.
• It seems a bit early to start talking about Valentine's crafts, but this heart garland from Oh So Crafty is sweet and might help bright up a dreary looking post-Christmas house.

What's set  your crafty senses tingling recently?

Hi friends,

In the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, I have watched in awe as crafters around the world have sprung into action, doing what they can to help the Haitian people. Last week I posted about Knitters Without Borders and their fund-raising efforts in aid of Doctors Without Borders. At last count, they had raised about $234,000 – just since last Wednesday. (My donation feels like a drop in that bucket...but that's all it takes: many, many drops.)

The women behind the website Craft Hope are at the helm of another fund-raising effort: the Craft Hope for Haiti Etsy store. They are accepting donations of handcrafted goods, which are then listed in the shop; the purchase price goes directly to support Doctors Without Borders. So far they have raised close to $10,000.

The Craft Hope for Haiti shop has everything from downloadable quilt patterns, to soft toys, to jewelry and accessories, to art prints (and much more besides) – and they're accepting donations through tomorrow. Go here to learn more about how to make a donation. If you're not crafty, or you can't make the deadline, or you just have some shopping to do...you can help by making a purchase.

In addition, two Canadian knitting designers will be donating the proceeds from their pattern sales in the month of January to Doctors Without Borders: Glenna of Knitting to Stay Sane (buy here; Ravelry store link) and Kim McBrien of Indigo Dragonfly (Ravelry store link). If you or someone you know is doing something similar, please leave a link in the comments.

I hope you'll go have a look.

See you tomorrow.