I've been a busy bee.

I finally found the time to list something on Etsy. These are actually store samples from a class I was teaching, but they're back in-house now so they need a new owner.

This is what they looked like before they were mounted:



The bottom two, since I needed samples made of materials that could be bought in the store.

In other embroidery news...



Starting the biscornu...



Working on the winter flour sack towels, too.



Also got some books in from amazon.com. The two in the front were under a dollar each. The one in the back is hard to see, but here's a link:



So far, it's a fairly nice book.

I'm also surfing these for holiday gift ideas:



I LOVE PieceWork magazine. I used to get it years ago, then started getting it again this year. If you want more information on PieceWork, you can click here. They've got tons of great articles and projects for people who take needlework, knit, crochet, etc. to ridiculous levels ;)

Speaking of taking things to ridiculous levels:



I'm now learning to knit 2 socks at once toe up on one circular needle. I've never knitted a sock toe up, or on a circular, much less two at once.

Trust me, I do this all the time.

Oh, I also published a couple craft-related articles. One's a local article because one of our local JoAnn's superstores is closing. Another of our local JoAnn's stores closed earlier this year. The other one is about upcoming sales on classes at Open House events at my JoAnn's and other JoAnn's that have a Creative University. If you want to get some classes 50% off, I'd suggest calling your local JoAnn's to see if they have a Creative University and whether they'll be running the promotion.

Influx

My craft room is overflowing with new supplies. It's going to take days to reorganize all of this stuff. Most of it is for work or gifts in some fashion, sometimes both. They're pretty much coming in from every direction. It's a good thing I just organized everything? Now I get to do it all again.

First off:



Organization. I wrote an article on how popular bags are becoming for storage, outlining the uses and bonuses of using bags to make projects portable, as well as tips on what you'll need in the bag if you incorporate them into your crafting.



A recent finish, (actually, two finishes but I suppose it counts as one?) a pair of socks. I've got single socks done, which doesn't do me a bit of good, but this is actually my first pair ever. They're a wee bit loose, but I'll wash them up and I'm sure they'll shrink a bit. As a side note, however, I have to say I'm quickly becoming addicted to knitting socks for many reasons.

If you want a good recommendation on a sock book, I learned with this one, and it is AWESOME.





A couple things I was waiting for from Amazon.com (thanks, swagbucks for being my enabler) showed up but with some recent finishes I was starting to relax a bit and start some Christmas presents.

This just goes to show the fool I am because then this arrived:



and then this:



These are the rest of my square rulers that make quilting so much easier. I now have all the ones I currently need, thanks to swagbucks and amazon.com. Unfortunately, getting these tools in means I have to start working again...and I'm gearing up for a BUNCH of stuff for November through February.

Bunches and bunches and bunches, which led to the craftsplosion currently taking over my desk.



Money shows up, money leaves again. This stuff is for the fleece fringe classes...



NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I have to learn to make jewelry???



What?



You might call these tools, but they are actually torture devices for wire. One of these is 'all of the tools in one', which is why it has a different handle. If the first ones look slightly bizarre and painful, the 'all in one' is obviously from a fevered mind.

Back into more familiar territory, which probably looks like torture to some.



JoAnn's is having their Columbus Day sale this weekend and Simplicity patterns are only 99 cents apiece (limit 10), so I stocked up. I like to stockpile patterns for when I need an idea or have some time, so I did just that...



Cute little gift ideas...some Christmas-specific...



Bags of many types/sizes and other organizational goods. These will DEFINITELY come in handy.



These serve no purpose at all. However, I rarely collect anything that could be considered 'cute' but baby shoes? I could see myself stitching and keeping some baby shoes. Not for actual babies, but because I can't think of a cuter canvas for some awesome embellishment.

The one on the right is a vintage reprint. Look at the back!



They don't make pattern requirement lists like THAT any more! Nowadays you practically need a degree in pattern reading to even make sense of the thing. I can do it, but only because I've been doing it for years. My students have a lot of problems trying to decipher them though.

Most of these patterns will be going into the ideas bin, basically...but they'll see he light of day again I'm sure. Some perhaps sooner rather than later.

Man...I start to breathe a little easier because I'm getting on top of things and life senses a disturbance in the force and fixes it by swamping me in one fashion or another. Good thing I've learned to thrive in chaos. It's much easier when the chaos is of my own choosing, but as Gibran says, much of our pain is self-chosen.

Impromptu Contest.

I'm having an impromptu contest out of boredom. You do my work for me, and you get a chance to win random craft supplies. It won't be much...it's not The Most Awesome Contest of the Year...but it'll be free and straight from my stash.

The reason I'm not LISTING what's in said prize package is because I (and my readers) do so many types of crafts that it's hard to put together a fun prize that everyone would want. However...if you want to know what could be in it, remember that I do ridiculous amounts of embroidery. I knit and crochet. I quilt and sew. I spin yarn and felt (wet and dry felting). I dabble in lace and other random nonsense, and my bead collection is getting out of control for no good reason. I also hoard books and have a couple extra copies of certain things. It's not that it HAS to go (though some of it probably should)...it's just that I need your opinion and I'm willing to bribe you to get it.

Are we on the same page here? Good. Now here's what you have to do to enter.

I am in the middle of designing two biscornu (cross stitch) patterns with a Christmas theme, and I want to use the same colors with both of them. Problem is, my supplier (Valdani) sent me more colors than I can use in the collection, and the colors are so awesome that I can't pick a favorite. I'm counting on readers to pick a favorite for me. There are only two choices, so it's not that difficult. It's just that I'm completely undecided so I'm bribing you to help. *shakes mystery box* IT COULD BE ANYTHING!

Here are your choices:


One


Two

The only difference between set one and set two is that 2 of the balls in the front row are different (the gold and the green). Do you see why this is hard? I have to decide which gold and green go the best with all the other colors.

YOUR MISSION (if you choose to accept it):

Pick a favorite between options one and two.

Comment with:
Your favorite.
The type of crafts you normally do or enjoy (I have to know what to send you if you win!)
A way to contact you if you win (email address, blogger name, etc) and your name so if you DO win, I'm not telling everyone that Kleptosaurus39284 won my contest.

Do that and you get one entry into the Impromptu Contest.

If you link on your blog or other site, comment here with the link (I will verify) and you get one more entry into the contest.

Not too grueling, is it? Now the fine print.

Contest ends at 11:59pm EST on Friday, October 2nd, 2009
Winner will be chosen by using the random # generator at random.org.
Maximum of 2 entries per person.
This is an international contest, so readers in other countries CAN enter.
The winner will be posted on this blog (check back!) on Saturday and contacted via email. If, for some reason, the winner cannot be notified by email then I will only post the winner here. The winner has 1 week (until Oct. 10th) to contact me to give me shipping information for their prize. If I am not contacted within that week, I will select another winner again using the random number generator.
Prize is chosen at my discretion and may contain materials, tools, completed bits or pieces, or any combination of the above.
Blog owner is not responsible if products you make with prize materials do not match but you use them together anyway and end up featured on the Homemade Hilarity blog.

This blog post will self-destruct in...wait...no it won't. Good luck!

Busy, and loving it.

I really do love being busy, as long as it's a productive kind of busy.

Atop a bunch of other things, here are some of the productive things I've finished in the past couple of days.



I got these pajamas done! They were a custom order. She fell in love with the Olivia the Pig fabric so her pajama bottoms and the cuffs on her pajama top are done in that fabric (flannel). The pants have red cuffs. She wanted pockets and a side-closing mandarin collar so I drafted the pattern and voila:



Contrasting pockets.



Embroidery on the collar was done by hand. So were the frog buttons.



Drawstring waist.

In other news, I got one of two kitchen towels done for a friend.



Modified a design from subversive cross stitch and put it in the colors she wanted. I had to dye the towels.

I'm feeling slightly accomplished today :)

In other news, feel like entering a contest for a book on knitting your own socks? Craftgossip is running another giveaway, this time for the book Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn. Go and enter!

Did she just?

This winter was a doozy, wasn't it? This is my meager revenge. I drafted the pattern, should be easy enough for anyone with a basic understanding of the stitches to duplicate but if anyone wants the pattern, let me know :)

Crafty business...

My secondary nickname is "God of Crafting Chaos" for a reason. This is 5 of the projects I have running right now. 2 are almost done (yes one DOES contain a cuss word), and one is going to be unveiled, with free pattern, on this blog.

Note Buddha. He is unfazed by this chaos because he knows it all works out in the end. He's how I keep my sanity (what's left of it anyway).

DMC Mentor Program

I figured while I was playing on the net today, I'd let you guys know about the DMC Mentor program, in case you're interested in joining.

If you're a cross stitcher or needleworker, particularly one that teaches or would like to teach, you should check out their Mentor program for good ideas on curriculum, how to start groups, and supplies.

It was really easy for me to join and I'd like to do more with my approval at some point very soon. I'm not sure how long the program will be running, so if you're interested, get in while you can.

Sign up here

Oh, awesome!

I recently became a DMC Mentor. DMC=embroidery supplies company. Mentor=instructor/teacher. I have to say, I was pleased at how easy it was to sign up for their program, and it really helps MY work (I'm a needlework instructor), but that's the backstory, and I may expand on that in a bit.

What's awesome is that they just sent me a bunch of tiny cross stitch kits for a class I'll be teaching in April, and I didn't have to pay a thing. That'll cut everyone's costs for the class so hopefully more people will sign up :D

I realize it's the whole 'get people addicted to our product and they'll keep coming back' thing that gives people the willies, to a point, but it's really nice to see even big companies giving out freebies to their future customers. How often do you get something free in this day and age?

They're such cute little kits, too. I should take a picture.



It's actually laying over a copy of Zweigart's needlework magazine, at home with Needlework. I'm in love with that publication. I'm doing the cover piece and I'll post pictures when I make any significant progress.