etsy friday

Already that time?


Vintage Nippon crane stamp pendant from lingglass.etsy.com

I love LingGlass' stained glass pendants-- they are insanely well made with vibrantly colored glass. (I've bought a few.) Sometimes Chu Ling uses her amazing soldering skills to make pendants from red packet paper or vintage stamps, and I was lucky to score this one (...because I subscribe to her rss feed! :)) I have a huge soft spot for cranes; like I said before they were a big symbol in my childhood home, and I just love this stamp "framed" like this on my neck.

An aside and not really recommended (but...), I took a m6 shower wearing this and the stamp showed no signs of water damage afterwards. Not recommended, but sometimes you just have to get into a shower right away, so. :)

Now for the "everybody bathes" portion of our program. Seems lots of you dug the soaps from last week, so a few more for you and your loved ones (they shouldn't ever run out of soap and/or toilet paper... I haven't found tp on etsy yet so I make up for it in soap ;))


Soaps from mickybyrd.etsy.com
l to r: coriander blue, midnight blue, black tie

These soaps from Mickey Byrd are nice, dense soaps with little to no fragrance and lots of lather-- perfectly unisex or if you just don't dig bright scents. (Right now, my headcold meant I couldn't smell the pounds of soap a few feet away from me!) They're cold processed as opposed to say glycerin melt and pour soaps, but they still have a certain arty, fancy "look" to them that other cold processes sometimes don't. I think these'd be a great next to the sink bar, as pretty as they are. (I'm using them in the shower, though.)




Soaps from frostfishcovesoaps.etsy.com

I know I did Frost Fish Cove Soaps last time, but I really like them (obviously). One of the reasons why is that each soap has a different formulation, not just scent but ingredients. I chose the top pound (one of the "choose your own pound" listings) combination, wanting a set of "scrubby" type soaps (they have scrubby soaps containing ground pumice, non-gmo cornmeal, jojoba beads, crushed vanilla beans, oatmeal... ) I've been switching off between a scrub soap and a "regular" soap in the shower, enjoying the hot, rough echo it leaves on my skin :)

The other pound was found in Tory's sale section-- scents I hadn't tried but want to. I really really REALLY like the way their jasmine soaps smell... those'll definitely be on the reorder list when I need more. I know, like in a million years but still.


11 tiny duck soaps from aBreathofFrenchair.etsy.com

So.freaking.cute. There are 11 glycerin duckie soaps here from A Breath of French Air (well, 10-- one's in the bath) for my kid. I don't know about the rest of the families with young ones, but as much as he loves bathing he will scream and fight as if I were practicing Japanese rope bondage on him when I bring up the fact he needs to take a bath. Little things like these help me get him in the shower without a fight, and really are just too cute above and beyond being a baby bribe :)

Fwiw, this soap isn't super lathery like others I've tried... but since he gets the ends of the cold process soaps I use (easier for him to hold) and these are mainly for looks and play, I don't really mind.

I've also tried (and enjoyed!) soaps from daisycakessoap.etsy.com and YouStinkSoap.etsy.com (before I started blogging about etsy purchases, so no pics :))

...and now for something completely different...


Business card envelopes made from Asterix (French) comicbook, by time2cre8.etsy.com

I love time2cre8. Purchases from my etsy store include thank you gifts and business cards tucked into tiny envelopes, handmade by MaryLou from recycled and damaged books. I had been using atlas envelopes exclusively, but she had seen the Asterix comic book and thought it would be perfect for me and my next envelope order-- obviously she was right :) She's also very sweet, including these cards that reminded her of someone...



:)

More great cards? Easy.


Paper quilted notecards from yarnbee.etsy.com

I found yarnbee's shop thru the etsy links left in the comments of my last contest-- I'm a sucker for stitching on cards, and these are just great. (My pics of these cards are terrible, check out the shop for better ones.) Fancy papers machine stitched onto notecards, stacked like quilt blocks and showing off the play of colors among them. Nice stuff :)

I always seem to run out of space, so til next time have a good one, and wish me luck finishing a last-minute project :)

productive

The past few days have been really unproductive around here as far as work I can show... I frogged the Twisted Flower sock (started a Mona sock in the same yarn, not past the ribbing yet), wrote up, knit and frogged some patterns that just weren't right (heartbreak!), and haven't *done* anything but battle a summer cold, anticipation and my own what-ifs.

I was really productive this weekend spinning-wise, though:


l to r:
llama/merino carded batts (from debbieshandspun.etsy.com), 2 oz
non-superwash merino, 4 oz purples
superwash merino, 4 oz yellow/grey from zero.etsy.com

I really meant it when I said that I was jealous of Alyson's fat yarn skilz. I had been working on the carded llama/merino batts earlier, spinning them from strips taken from the batt (Abby has a great flickr photoset on this, I didn't spin from the fold though) and making a worsted weight 2-ply, but I wanted faster and fatter. The yellow/grey was an ugly duckling braid left over from my last dye session that I decided it was time to practice on-- I managed long draw and some really soft, thick yarn in the process. It isn't even by any stretch, but I was super impressed how fast I could spin by letting go and letting the wheel draft for me. (I was also surprised this was possible with superwash merino, but it was.)

The purple's special, mostly even and bulky and amazingly soft. It is only 4 oz though... enough for a scarf? Not sure. I always overbuy fiber but this time it was only the 4, so... we'll see. I have no idea what to do w/ the yellow, don't really want to do anything with it (is that bad?) The llama/merino is only 2 of 7 oz I have total, and I'm thinking a mittens and a hat set? I don't think it is soft enough for a scarf, though none are blocked yet and it may soften.

Another not so washed out pic:



Even though I haven't been too productive over the past few days, the mailman let me in on the secret I will have to be real soon:





A long awaited order of new freshwater pearls and semiprecious stones arrived, and I'm itching to start updating my shop with new stitch markers over the coming days and weeks. Yay :)

Handspun Pomatomus in BFL

Pomatomus by CookieA.com
Winter Knitty 2005
Handspun 3-ply superwash BFL (spun by me); roving from pigeonroofstudios.etsy.com, "nightshade"
US 2 (2.75mm) dpns, 4
Started: June 17, 2007
Finished: August 5, 2007

Still my favorite sock pattern, my 4th and not final time knitting it :) I think it is a great one for handspun-- I'm always thinking my handspun isn't even enough for texture work, but the twisted stitches and ribbing mean that the heart and soul of the yarn stands out, not the thick and thin parts.



Even though I cut one repeat from the leg (it's still very long), I ran out of yarn for the 2nd toe and subbed in some leftover handspun merino superwash from the "glass ocean" socks:



Not bad :) I wanted to keep these a totally handspun pair, so I'm lucky I still had leftovers. Actually, I have leftovers from every handspun pair so far except these-- just need to think about what to do with them (besides falling back on them for toes!)

I like the color a lot, I think it also looks great as a 2-ply. Krista's been listing lots of handspuns, roving and sock yarns lately in her etsy shop (I may have a new something from her for an upcoming etsy friday) :) I can't remember if I custom ordered this roving or not, but when I have it's painless and you don't get all !!! when someone snatches something you want from your cart :)

Another variation of cookiea & pigeonroof studios...


Twisted Flower sock pattern from CookieA.com
Superwash merino sock yarn from pigeonroofstudios, "artichoke" colorway
Freshwater pearl and garnet stitch marker from zeromarkers*

Krista's superwash merino sock yarns are a *perfect* sub for the Louet Gems Cookie uses in all of her patterns. I'm going to frog this one though, seeing mine and browsing all of the TF's on ravelry, I think it really looks best in a solid since it is so deeply patterned. I'll use the artichoke yarn for another Cookie pattern though... haven't decided which one yet.

Going to go swatch something to get it out of my head, maybe spin in the rain flurries outside. Have a good one!


* I have more triangle garnets for custom orders and to be listed for sale later in the week. Other garnet shapes already for sale in my etsy shop... convo me if you like the triangles best.

etsy friday

Starting off with a bang today.


Handspun superwash merino, 95 yd
TheYoYo.etsy.com

I thought the world may have caved in when I bought this yarn. On occasion when the mood strikes, I've been known to dye a bunch of superwash merino roving for sale in my etsy shop... Alyson aK(a): TheYoYo bought the "glass philemon" braid and spun up this lovely for HER shop. I waited about 2 seconds after seeing it, enough to ponder if it was too much of a mindf*ck to buy it (and the over/under of some sort of tear in the knitting/spinning continuum if I pressed "add to cart"), and succumbed.

And I'm glad I did! Check this out.



95 yd of bulky, shiny, squishy yarn... 4 oz of yarn packed into 95 yards! I have to admit I am no-good, very-bad jealous over how nice this *thick* yarn looks... I really want to spin a thick, even yarn and here Alyson comes to taunt me with hers. Someday! (Maybe she'll share her secrets with us.)

For now her etsy shop has some other beauties-- from sock to worsted to novelty. Check out her yarn tag:



It's a moo card (right?) with a pic of the top of her Blue Moon Fiber Arts *thighhigh* wedding Bellocq stockings, strung with ribbon and adorned with a freshwater pearl stitch marker from my shop. Maybe teh knitting internets did cave a little. :)

How about some dimension, paperwise?




Pudgy cat waiting, Splashing koi and Happy thoughts cards by tatsuko.etsy.com

Not my first (or last, I'm sure) card purchase from Tatsuko-- she has a nice range of cards made from her handcarved stamps and chiyogami papers, as well as sushi, origami and taiko jewelry. I love the raised bit of paper paired with the raised, embossed koi. Even the positivity/happy thoughts card, while "only" stamped, has the dimensionality of the others as she's used heat embossing on the card to raise the image.

More 3d action? You know how I love 3d.



Yeah, it LOOKS cool, but big deal eh?

Closer...


Handwoven card by 51greenwich.etsy.com

51Greenwich takes different recycled papers, prints them using soy ink with their own designs, and "weaves" the papers together by folding them. There is NO GLUE used to secure the raised design-- the paper weaving holds the design together. (Click for big, you know you want to.) I love how well thought out the card is, from the printing to the folding placement it looks wonderfully cohesive... also dig the little secret of its construction, something people may not notice if you didn't tell them.

An oldie but a goodie...


Pound of soap from FrostFishCoveSoaps.etsy.com

I admit I am a handmade soap junkie, and it's all etsy's fault. One of my absolute favorite dealers is Frost Fish Cove Soaps. They make lots y lots of different types of soap, and when I say different I don't mean the fragrances are different, but each ingredient formulation of their soaps is different. (Check out their product list and blog if you're curious.)

This is one of their pound guest samplers-- 11 different soaps from scrubby to chocolatey to bright and sharp. I think this is a great gift (esp. from me!) since what I think someone will like and what they actually do is usually miles apart (but fun to discover). I also dig that you're not committed to a few scents you haven't tried-- you can try out a bunch and later pick your own pound of scents when you find some favorites (they usually relist the "choose your own adventure" pound of soaps, so if that link sells just check back or convo Tory.)

Their supernatural lotion rocks, too.

That's it for today :) I need to work on some stock for my shop-- once the sun rises I'm sure I'll be outside spinning (caught the bug again). Have a good one!

purples and red

I'd been wanting to knit a string bag for a while, and was going to knit this one pointed out to me by Chris... loved the solid bottom and that it was knit in the round. Then Amy let loose the sheep of summer with the surprises, and I'm nothing if not a knittyhead-- so cast on for the everlasting bagstopper pretty much right away.


Everlasting Bagstopper
surprise from knitty summer 2007
Louet Euroflax Linen "eggplant," 1 skein
US 4 (2.75mm) Addi and US 11 (8.0mm) Susan Bates, 24"
Started: 24 July 2007
Finished knitting: 27 July 2007
Finished with strap: 1 August 2007

It is super great-- flat solid bottom, picking up sts and knit in the round with a super simple stitch pattern (no need to even worry about memorizing). It worked up very quickly-- I used US 11's for the body of the bag (patt calls for US 10.5), just because I had them on hand. The stitch pattern is even more open with my choice of needles, but not a big deal.



I chose a dupioni silk ribbon picked up from Article Pract, don't think it is a really great choice ribbon wise but love the color with the deep purple of the bag. I was worried the ribbon wouldn't be strong enough to support the bag, so I first stitched a doubled bit on the inside of the bag where the handle would go, then stitched the actual doubled ribbon handle (hopefully for even more support) over that.


(no laughing. i am so not a seamstress.)

Since the inside of the bag, including the stitched part, can be seen when the bag is worn, I secured the ribbon with about 2" spare of ribbon hanging below, and then folded it up and secured that with a single stitch.



Again, not perfect but better than seeing my crazy stitching job :)

I also managed to accidentally crisscross the handle... I got a little flustered sewing this thing on and didn't really care enough to fix it, it's still functional.



It is a functional bag, will work well for treks to my local farmer's market. My bag is slightly longer than the original (at about 11" deep before the top border) since, well you know when you have enough yarn you just want to keep knitting? If I knit this again, I'd not let it get so deep-- it stretches like mad and there's no need for a 2' deep bag :) I knit the entire bag from one skein of Euroflax Linen, with a golf ball sized bit left over. I had hoped to see if "linen softens in the wash" was true, but the choice of silk dupioni for the handle won't have me throwing this in the wash anytime soon.

For things I can throw in the wash?


Zen Yarn Garden, "bodhi" colorway
100% merino superwash, 420 yd

It looks so happy next to my new bag-- all smug and soft :) I won a contest @ Roxanne's blog, the dyemaven behind Zen Yarn Garden's yarns, and in addition to getting to name her new spinning wheel (Bodhi) she dyed me a custom colorway. I asked for a purplish, burgundy semisolid, and it is just spot on to what I wanted :) Thanks again Roxanne-- (she has both an etsy shop and her own storefront, I don't think this base yarn is currently listed in either but you may be able to ask her for it).

Yay for favorite colors!


ps... happy rounding up day! many coliseums to you.

Lambtown in Dixon, CA 2007

We made it out to Lambtown in Dixon on Saturday, despite 2 hours in traffic and 95F degree heat. Arriving late in the day, there were only a few sheep victims of the shearing demonstrations to see (though I promised my son we were braving the weather to go to "the sheep show") :)



Supposedly, this year's Lambtown was much smaller than normal and had some cookoff issues. It was held in a park behind Dixon City Hall (as opposed to the larger fairgrounds), and didn't include the sheep dog trials or shearing competition (only scheduled demonstrations). The vendor list was also small, maybe 40 booths-- several of which had nothing to do with fiber or spinning (sunglasses, hawaiian vacations, cheap plastic toys and poppers, etc.) Doesn't mean I didn't pick up a few things, though.


Recycled silk yarn, approx 200gm
Yarnplace.com

This will eventually be another sunburst sling bag. I think it's awfully amusing that as much as I disliked the recycled silk yarn I used the first time, I went back to the same retailer and bought more. Admittedly, this isn't quite the same, but I may be whining about the yarn later. I still really like my hairy red recycled silk bag though, and mom has always admired it/glancingly asked for it. The new gold one (for me!) will have a wider, shorter strap to help offset the amount of stuff I can carry in the bag (like the last dye session's 2.5lbs of roving I took outside for photos) and the consequent stretch.


Superwash merino roving, 4 oz "penngrove purples" (color off, much more royal, no blue)
RoyaleHare.com

Lovely roving, but I can't capture purples with my camera. Superwash = socks :)


Susanne's 4" glove length double pointed needles, ebony
CarolinaHomespun.com

My favorite needles for toddler socks. I mistakenly said these were 5" on the Stash & Burn podcast, they're actually 4". I also liked this length when knitting the fingers for my knucks.

Also picked up...


my "semele" handspun 3-ply with a 3rd place ribbon
category: 100% wool, plied
remarks: "terrific color. spinning is great except for a few spots that are too thin."

I'm pleased as punch. I pulled this skein from my stash and entered it on a whim, and am happy that the judge's remarks hit on exactly what I think is my weakness in spinning (that I tend to spin too thinly). The 1st place winner in my category also took the best in show overall (beautiful handdyed BFL spun on a spindle), and it was just neat seeing lots of different types of handspun up close with the judge's notes on each. Mine was definitely the largest skein (yardage and weight wise), I wonder if people spun just for the competition?

I also really enjoyed watching bits and pieces of the national spinning competition-- I wasn't always sure what they were attempting, but I was surprised to see many using my embarrassed-to-admit short draw method (PDF!) for spinning. I only saw two spinners using long draw(PDF!), but to watch they didn't seem to actually be that much faster yardage-wise and seemed to have less technically perfect yarn than the inchers. Who knows, but as a self-taught spinner it was good to see I didn't have to be too embarrassed about how I achieve the results I'm happiest with, even though I always want to learn more. I even broke out and started spinning the naturally colored llama/merino from debbieshandspun.etsy.com, inspired by the daytrip.

Good times :)

etsy friday

Usually my posts on etsy friday consist of a picture (maybe two) and a little bit of my impression of an item I've bought on etsy. Today'll be a little more picture intense, but you'll see why I couldn't just stop at one.


Small project pouch set from piddleee.etsy.com

Next time you see me, just tell me I'm not a tomboy anymore :) I just absolutely love using handmade bags to house my current knitting projects, and the bags from piddleloop are just awesome and feed that need in me. Bags keep everything together (yarn, needles, patterns, notions), help keep center pull balls from falling apart, and just look better stacked on my desk than 4 wips with needles and patterns everywhere.

I've known of Jen and Wendy's store for a long time-- piddleloop attaches stitchmarkers from "local" (etsy) stores on their bags' zippers, including stitch markers from my store, zeromarkers. It isn't to say I give them to the piddleloop team, or that I even sell them at a discount-- Jen quietly buys markers from my shop like everyone else, and sends them along with her bag orders without really advertising (before you buy a bag) that she does-- one of the little surprises from the piddleloop sewing team. You can check out the post about stitch marker and etsy love on the piddleloop blog (yes, I'm biased... you can see some of mine there :))

Their blog was the thing that had me all crazy about this particular bag-- Jen had posted a cryptic shot of a finished bag and I near on lost my mind with want (story of my recent life). Jen had no more of the loteria fabric, but went on some crazy manhunt and found fellow etsyhead azaleaSTUDIO with a single yard for sale, snapped it up and made this bag set custom for crazy me.

The end.*

Well, aside from the set! :) Let's just sift on thru the pics I've taken of the bag, eh?



You can order your bag with a grommet at no extra charge. I have to admit I bothered Jen via email no less than five times "reminding" her I'd really, really like a grommet... the idea with it is you can knit without unzipping the bag if you like by threading the start of your work thru the hole. You can't remove it (and say, put another project inside) by "tying" it to the bag, but it's just a really interesting idea. For as much as I begged for it, I haven't used the grommet yet :)



Piddleloop hooked me up with this sweet ribbon handle, knitting hands silkscreened on the light blue satin. I haven't seen this ribbon on their bags for sale (yes Virginia, I subscribe to their rss feed)... but in any case its a little hint as to what's inside.

Speaking of inside, let's go!



It's hard to capture, but the amount the bag can hold is surprisingly large. (That's my unfinished Everlasting Bagstopper inside-- a 100gm skein's worth of Euroflax Linen knit into a loose fabric and not even taking up half the space inside). The bag is lined with a coordinating fabric and has interfacing between the layers, same with the 4x6 pouch.

Deeper down the rabbit hole...



Pocket on one side, and...



...elastic needle/hook holder on the other. The little extra details inside make me think this would work well not just as a project bag, but say a notions or a knitting accessory bag as well. I have more than one set of needles for the elastic holder, but the few crochet hooks I have would slip in nicely there while my needle box and roll could hang out in the main body of the bag... my notions box in the pocket. Just thinking out loud, no bad ideas here ;)

edit, 7/27: Sherry W let me know in the comments that her double pointed holders work well in conjunction with the elastic needle holder-- slip needles in and pop the holders over. Really good idea, since I have several of her dpn protectors and just the other day was wishing I'd carried a spare set of needles with me, losing one needle forever on transit and not having enough to keep knitting. (The horror!) Thanks Sherry :)

Since we're already inside and you know you like the up the skirt shots...



...pictures of finishing and grommet from the inside. I don't sew but with anything handmade (like, 99% of what I buy on etsy!) I always am super critical looking at the finishing touches on an item. I don't know what's right, but I can see if it's wrong. The attention to detail and finishing is awesome to my eye.

For those of you curious about the size, a size comparison shot of the piddleloop bag next to the JapaneseHandmadeEtc bag (my son really wanted me to take a pic of *his*)...



They're both great. I can't wait to sew the (bad choice of) ribbon onto my everlasting bagstopper so Hanami can sit in my new loteria bag instead of being shoved unceremoniously on the side of my desk. :)

Besides the super great stitch markers attached to the bags, piddleloop also includes really sweet little surprises with each bag they sell. Also, notice the adorable sheep and horse (?) buttons above from my inside pics? Jen sent me a bunch of these as promos for her store on top of the ones that adorn the inside, so I'll be sending them along with new orders from my store til they run out. (They're all handmade as well, buttons and handstamped promos).

I really love connecting with people who appreciate and "practice" handmade-- piddleloop sources many things from other etsy sellers, writes about etsy and handmade on their blog, and practice it in their products and even their promos. I dig it a lot, and it makes me love my bag even more.

They will do custom work, so you can contact them thru etsy for more info on their sold items or if you have an idea in mind. Very easy to work with-- I appreciate how up front they were about the custom process and how it all came together, just as I'd hoped. Yay :)

You know, I didn't mean for this to be a one-item etsy friday, but it feels this is a good place to wind down. So there you go, have a good weekend! :)



* edit, 7/30: jen let me know that she's scored 4 more yards of the loteria fabric from etsy and can take custom orders for bags in it, and will have some for sale in their shop eventually. woo!

blame it on the weather

For the past two days in my neck of the Bay Area, the overcast sky and misty weather has everyone and everything a little off.

I'm wearing socks with my shoes...



...and my son needs a jacket outside.



I'm playing my milli vanilli card and admitting that I have cast on for a new project...

*

...and that I have a more than a sweater quantity's worth of yarn heading my way, thanks to the Debbie Bliss sale** at Little Knits.

Hope it holds :)


* pressed amber stitch marker from my etsy shop, will be adding round shapes and more of these nugget shapes later on. you can convo me for a reserved set-- very light even though they're relatively large.

** free shipping to US for orders of +$125, 50% off int'l shipping for orders +$150 with "debbie7" code.

Colors and voices

Totally in love with the colors in my recent handspun purple stockinette socks, I broke out the dyepot this weekend and dyed some more "glass" roving (twice-dyed superwash merino). I was still feeling the Ovid and Bulfinch inspiration, so went with that again.

All (except noted) are currently for sale in my etsy shop, zeromarkers.


"glass amphitrite"


"glass daphne"


"glass atalanta"


"glass phaeton"


"glass nyctimene"
(reserved)


"glass ariadne"
(may keep this one, can't capture the color well enough for pictures to sell)


"glass eurydice"


"glass baucis"


"glass philemon"

(baucis and philemon were dyed separately but have similar coloring. baucis has more plum red, while philemon has more royal and overall purples.)

...on a billy the kid note, check out the most recent Stash and Burn podcast if you ever wanted to hear what it sounds like when I say, "uh..." :) Krista did a much better job under the gun, and Jenny and Nicole were really good at keeping it going. (They sound *just* like their podcast, so I must sound like that... as much as I don't think I do. Didn't know rolling on and off the tongue could be so fun :))