Is it Fall already?

I've managed to get nothing done for National Sewing Month. This picture, like the cake, is a lie. I actually got these book covers done LAST month, and am just getting around to sharing them. So what am I doing this month instead?

**sigh**



I'm getting really sick of looking at graph paper. I'm designing hardanger patterns because I have the stitching bug and not the sewing bug. On the plus side, I've made progress. On the downside, it's mixed progress...



I made this pattern, and then borked it. I'm sure it'll be reappearing at some point as something else, but I tried an outer border (after trying 5 different ones) and the results were not what I anticipated, and I've already cut so I can't undo it. I'm sure the pieces of it will be recycled into something else but if you're eager to try it, let me know and I'll try to get it into pattern form faster.

On the plus side, I DID get this done, and the pattern and the finished piece itself are both listed in my etsy store.


Do you read my blog? A winner is you! Get 20% off anything in my store through October with the code: RABIDBLOGGER :) You should probably tell your friends though because I'm too busy reading quilting books for an upcoming fall project to track them all down.

In the works?



I'm tackling fall crafts because I live in Michigan and it's cold here. I've moved and have a room just for sewing and quilting, so the machines are in good working order and I'm perusing fall fabrics to inject a bit of steampunk into my wardrobe, and I'm in the middle of donating yards and yards of Waverly fabric for my rabbit to shed on and devour because he's too special to walk on hardwood floors and I have to make a rug. A dry clean only rug. Logic was not my strong suit in this endeavor.

Work complete!

You know...I think it took less time to design and stitch the pattern than it did to clean it up for publication and put everything together, but...



The pattern for the design I made for Valdani is finally published and now you can stitch it too!

I'm feeling rather accomplished, considering that it seems like so small a thing to get it put together and listed.

Go get it!

Chaos

Welcome to my humble abode.

Note that I'm still moving in, so I'm still trying to find a place for everything, so everything is in chaos. This is hampered by the fact that I have tons of stuff on my plate, not the least of which is all the articles I'm trying to write. I'm a closet masochist, but don't tell anyone.

My tutorials were featured not once, but twice on craftgossip.com. Every time someone actually likes my work enough to share it, I'm always shocked. I guess it will never wear off. Though I would not proclaim to be wise, my grandmother always did say that a true sign of wisdom is knowing how much you don't know, and I feel dumber every year. I consider this a good sign, so I don't let it get to me. Keeps me humble and all that (Some would testify differently).

I've also written a couple of articles for Examiner. One is another tutorial. This time it's one on:




Making your own t-shirt yarn.

That's going to be a rug...or perhaps 3 rugs. I have tons of t-shirts. Total cost for several rugs? $0. I'm upcycling an entire garbage bag worth of t-shirts that were just going to go to waste.

My second article is most relevant to people locally. However, the Maker Faire is coming to Detroit, and it's going to be huge. People have been talking about it/preparing for it for months, which is good, because when you live in Michigan...there's not much to look forward to. Want to hear about all the cool stuff they'll be doing? Read on, my friends!

In other news...



Working on another article/tutorial. This time on chicken scratch embroidery. I love chicken scratch. It comes together so quickly, is easy enough to teach kids, and the results are beautiful.

Unfortunately, I have to get the sample done first. You guys get to be the first to see it, though.



This is for another article. The project is done, but you can't see how cool it is until I finish the article. Shouldn't be long. All the research and labor is done. Why can't editing do itself?

My last bit of news for the moment?



OMG SOCK YARN! I got a belated birthday present! Enough for three pairs of socks. However, 2 of the yarns (not the rainbow) will be combined with other yarns I still have to purchase to take out a bit of the crazy colors. You'd think I'd be trying to do that with the rainbow socks instead, huh? Psh...it's just not right to mute a rainbow. Besides, my feet like to party.

Unfortunately, I'm never ever ever going to get a chance to work on them.

Okay, perhaps I'm exaggerating, but not by much.

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.

Some people start even earlier!

Scream with me. Christmas showed up on my desk.

Not convinced?



What about now?

The joys of feeding consumer hunger...I have to start early. On the plus side, making tremendous amounts of stuff makes gift-giving a bit easier. If they like Xmas stuff.

In less horrifying news...



Picked up the fabric to teach the huge quilting class at JoAnn's. I hope these prints will go together. We shall see.



This picture announces an upcoming tutorial. If you can't figure out what it's for, the anticipation will be over soon.

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!

Arrrrrrgh! It's Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day, and if you're looking for booty, look no further. Check out this article to find some excellent pirate patterns in honor of TLAP day, including one that's free through September 27th.

Don't be a landlubber. Plunder your stash and craft like a pirate today!

A day late and a dollar short, once again.

I am now signed up for Craft a day September, aka CADS, which means I'll be making something every day. I know it's the 3rd. Fortunately, I'm usually cracking something out almost every day anyway, so I'm not behind.

Go sign up if you're feeling brave!

In other news...recent completions and projects...



One of two towels done for the fall embroidery class I'll be teaching. I wanted halloween patterns for the towels and was running short on time to design my own patterns. However, Quixotic Pixels was kind enough to share some free Halloween embroidery designs which are perfect for my purposes. I think people will like the designs. I know I do!

In other news, still wrestling with the wall quilt, which is bigger than I thought it'd be.



Huge, and yet still not big enough to be anything useful...because it's just a sample and not the full class project.



It's going so slow because I have almost no workspace to do something as large as a quilt. This is maddening and will have to be resolved since I'm quilting more and more often now. I had to roll the top and bottom of this wall quilt panel so I could fit it on the table to tack it down for stitching.

It's now my quilt scroll. The back is brown, so it looks like a giant tootsie roll when it's not opened. Whatever it is I think I see apparently DOES become a tootsie roll to me.



I also pulled out some silk and I've been spinning that up. Unfortunately, I think I'm spinning it up too thick so I'll probably have to fix that.

What will I do with a bunch of skinny silk yarn? Only time will tell, but first on the agenda is dyeing it. I'm counting on instructions at Wormspit to help me with that.

In other news...I've also had a few articles published, if you're interested.

This one is flower pressing 101, with instructions on how to press flowers the old fashioned way and how to make wax paper leaves, in case you've forgotten the details. Perfect crafts for kids, and perfect crafts for fall. Also, surprisingly eco-friendly. Ah, nature...you share so many gifts.

For Halloween lovers, or Tim Burton fans, or Alice in Wonderland fans (I think I've hit the entire population with these categories no?), I also published instructions for making Alice's costume based off the trailer for the upcoming Alice in Wonderland movie, which will be out in March of 2010. Want the costume instructions? No pattern required, ages preschooler through adult. Start now so you won't be late to a very important Halloween Party date. ;)

And, in case you missed it, the Halloween Wall Quilt instructions are up again.

Keeping Ahead of Deadlines

Struggling to stay ahead of deadlines but, as usual, supplies are flying in and completed works are flying out.

I've been slowly accumulating supplies I need to teach the fall classes at JoAnn's.



These are for the fall class, Quilting 201: Curved Seams. I know they're not fall colors, but they'll be cute nonetheless (if you're odd like me).



These are for the fall/winter class, Quilting 202: Steps Through My Garden. It's a 4 session class. I don't have all the supplies, but I'm getting them together.

Speaking of JoAnn's...



I'm almost done with the sock I need for a store sample. I don't know if I'll be knitting up one or two. I assume one, since that's what the class is about...but I can knit the other one during class so when it's over, I'll have a full set :)

That's the incoming and current projects. In outgoing we have this guy:



This sugar skull is now gone to his rightful owner. I'm sure he'll be well cared for.

Do you remember?

Remember when I showed this pic and said it was all knitting supplies?

Well, you've seen what happened with the beads. The fabric underneath though? I'm done with it.

Behold...a new place to store my crap.



It had to be done because I bought a bunch of new DPNs (double pointed needles) from eknittingneedles.com and though I haven't tried them out, the price was certainly right and I needed DPNs. Unfortunately, they arrived and my already overstuffed craft drawer was not pleased by me trying to add all of this:



I'm not sure about 'premium' but they certainly are bamboo DPNs and I got tons of them for the bargain basement price of $24.95 and free shipping. I haven't had a chance to work with them yet.



Now they have a custom home just for them. Note that my 'writing' when I embroider is about as awful as my real handwriting. I can read it, and that's what matters, right?



Circulars, crochet hooks, and other assorted odds and ends. Email address included in case I (please goodness no) lose it.



Rolls up okay, in spite of some of the pockets being crooked. (I'm a kamikaze crafter...)



Glad I finally got to it and got it done. Only took one day.



Coffee fuels my world. Dunkin' Donuts knows this, and sent me free coffee. Their coffee is delicious.



Said present couldn't have come at a better time, because without brain power, I resort to playing with floss.



It got pretty bad while I waited for coffee to brew. I'm better now.

For those following, I'm making progress on the design for Smac as well: