Like most knitters/crocheters... I have a yarn stash. It's tucked away in a few different places so I never see it all at once and have to face that I have a problem. One thing that has nagged me about my stash are the batches of natural coloured yarns I have that I'm not interested in using. I picked a bunch up from a former weaver, but didn't use them in my weaving projects. I thought I might try dyeing some of it and Kalin (fellow Maked girl) suggested I do a test with kool-aid dyeing, to see if that would work (some of the fibres are of unknown content, and kool-aid dyeing works best on natural fibres like wool).
Thanks to everyone who came out to Got Craft on Sunday - it was crazy busy, like usual! I'm going to give you a secret tip... the trick to avoiding the crowds (i.e. where you practically have to stand in line to even look at a table) is to arrive at 4pm. The fair goes until 5pm, so you'll have a good hour to shop, and you'll be able to stroll around leisurely and see whatever you want - no need to elbow someone out of the way! It's very calm and civilized in the last hour. It's up and down during the other hours - you might get lucky and be there during a lull, but at 4, you'll be set.
Maked had a good day. Hopefully our stuff will make people happy. I always love the people who admit they're buying something for themselves - it means they loved something so much they broke their own rule about buying for themselves - that's pretty satisfying for a maker to hear!
Most of my craft projects tend to be very detailed and intricate. They can take months to finish. I don't know why I'm attracted to really lengthy projects that take forever to complete, perhaps because I feel like if I'm going to go to the trouble of making something by hand, I want it to be amazing and complicated/elaborate. Still, every now and then I get the urge to make something quick and simple. Or I'll get an idea for something that is very plain and I can't bear to make it more fussy.
I've been missing my beads lately, what with all the other crafts, so that combined with some components I picked up at the store recently resulted in a few new necklaces that I'm very pleased with! Simple, unfussy necklaces - some with an sparkly industrial style even. I know my style might not appeal to everyone, but that's another benefit of making stuff for yourself - it can be custom made to suit me!
I do feel strange showing these off as things I 'made' when I really just assembled components that other people/factories made. It's not the kind of handmade I usually do! Let's call this, necklaces I assembled.
First off - a very simple, classy snowflake necklace for winter. It's
got a bit of sparkle and I combined it with sterling silver chain and a
pretty magnetic clasp I've been holding on to, waiting for the right
project.
Next, does it get any easier than this? A cool bar component that is industrial + sparkly, paired with stainless steel neckwire. I thought about making this more complicated but love it too much as it is.
Last one - harder to assemble, but still keeping it simple & clean - a two bar necklace.
Sometimes it's good to do something different. It is also very nice to be able to finish several projects in one sitting for a change!
These may appear in the etsy shop one day - email me if you're interested.
This may not be strictly craft-related, but it does include a dose of cute and some creativity....
I recently roped a friend of mine into taking photos of homeless cats in need of homes - to spruce up their online profiles. He's been very enthusiastic about it and on Tuesday, we did our second photoshoot with cats.... except this time it was mostly KITTENS!
It's been a long time since I've been around kittens, and having seven 5-week old ones running around was seriously cute overload. It was awesome.
And, Ben took more fabulous photos! Don't these photos make you want to adopt them all? I think Ben and I both want to quit our jobs and photograph cats full time.
I have a habit of entering online contests. I used to do this a lot a few years ago, and even won $5000 cash from an online contest. Mostly I win movie passes, DVDs, tickets, that kind of stuff. I do really like free stuff, who doesn't? Obviously, I'm particularly drawn to contests with craft supply prizes. You may recall when I won a Yudu screenprinting machine a year ago? I was ridiculously excited about that! Well....
Here's my latest win - an Accuquilt Go! Baby.
In other news - Peter and I made our annual batch of cold-process soap last night. That's what everyone does on a Saturday night, right? Make soap? Peter was skeptical of the whole idea of making soap at first, but I lured him in with the danger aspect of it (lye can burn) and once he used our homemade soap, he was a convert, and now we make it every year - some for us and some to give as gifts. He's actually more particular about it than I am and hates store bought soap! Any Doctor Who fans in the house? I'm a huge Doctor Who fan - I think the recent seasons are well written, funny, fun, smart, and just entertaining. If you've watched the most recent season or two then you should find this Halloween costume by Reese Dixon very impressive. It's so well done! They would get a boatload of candy from me if they showed up at my door. Though I might need to see the sonic screwdriver. It kind of reminds me of this costume I discovered last year - Doctor Who and the Tardis. Brilliant! I love it when people get creative with their costumes!
Since getting the great news that Maked was accepted for the Holiday Got Craft fair, I've been using my bits and pieces of spare time to try and make stock. A few soap pours here and there - including space invaders inspired soaps and jewel-themed soaps for the swag bags.
I bought a lady's soap supply off her as she gave up her craft business - which means I got a huge quantity of soap base for a great price. Which means I have a HUGE quantity of soap base! I'm hoping to get a lot made for Got Craft, partly as a way to free up some space in my apartment, but also because they're great stocking stuffers and the Got Craft crowd seems to love them!
My personal favorite product we have at the moment are my reflective flower pins. These are made of the same reflective material as stripes on a runner's jacket so when light hits them directly they really shine! But in ordinary daylight I think they're still cute. They do take a bit of time to make however, but it's good movie-watching crafting and I just joined Netflix so I've got lots of stuff to watch. :)
Less than 2 months to go, but I'm feeling pretty good about the stock I'll have on hand for the fair!
Fantastic news - Maked will be returning to our favorite craft fair in Vancouver, the holiday Got Craft fair. This fair is always full of great vendors with lovely products, and wonderful customers who really appreciate handmade goods. It's just a great fair overall. Kalin and I will be doing this one, so a scaled down version of Maked, but I think we'll be able to fill a table!
It's a ways off yet, not until December 4, but that's good, we'll need to time to make stock! I might not get that knit blanket finished so soon after all!
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