Gift Worthy!

We've all gifted handmade items to people who didn't appreciate them, leaving us feeling that we had wasted a whole lot of time. My daughter, however, is a very knit-worthy young woman. She not only liked the mittens and hat I knit for her, but she even sent me a photo! (If you look behind her, you can see the cat quilt I made for her.)

The holidays sure aren't the same without Rachel and Seth. Keith and I rang in 2020 in Phoenix, along with my mom. Tonight will not be half as fun.

I've been knitting my Habitation Throw whenever I watch TV or socialize on Zoom, so it's coming along. It looks way better in person than in this photo, I'm happy to say.

In the last month, I got around to learning a jewelry-making skill I've long wanted to master: using brick stitch to attach beads to a metal ring. It's rewarding because it goes pretty fast.

I used free tutorials on YouTube to figure out the technique. It amazes me how generous people are with sharing their skills. I'm sure many of them are offering the tutorials in conjunction with a business, but it's still really nice. I thought about buying a tutorial on Etsy, but I figured that I know enough about beading to figure it out with a little help.

Keith has a strong preference for the fan-shaped earrings, but I like the the full circles just as well. What do you think?

I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year's Eve. We'll be binging on The Mandalorian. Keith likes it more than I do, but I am the advisor for the Star Wars Club at school, so I like to be on top of it.

A Trend In Decline? Or Is It The Internet?

In the past, when I've gone to the Bead&Button show in Milwaukee, I had a sense of panic when I entered the market. So many booths! How could see them all? How could I figure out what to buy on my budget?

But it wasn't like that Saturday, when I went with a friend. We stepped into the marketplace, and there were about half as many stalls as there were a decade ago. I last went two years ago, and the decline in the number of stalls was drastic even from that time.

On the upside, it was a lot easier to see everything and figure out what to buy. But it was sad to see all that open space and to worry about the future of jewelry-making. I talked to a lot of the vendors, and they said the problem is all the online purchasing.

I don't understand that. I use the Internet when I must, but I really prefer to see the beads in person. You can't get the same sense for the colors and luster and size of the beads on the Internet. I like going to a store, where you can talk to the employees and the other shoppers. 

In general, I am not a fan of moving all of life online.  The type of blogging we do is, I think, an exception. We are a group who make friends. But in general, I think it's good for us to get out and interact with people.

Still, we had a good time. We took a break and walked to a Thai restaurant for dinner. On the way we saw some of Milwaukee's famed architecture:

And the shopping was still a lot of fun. We found plenty of great elements for jewelry making:

And our goodie-bags had a lot of mini-kits and useful tools.

We both took classes. Tsela did a class in layering with resin. I took a very cool class on beading a spiral bracelet. The good news is that I learned a skill I've been wanting: peyote spiraling. The bad news is that it is a very involved project and I didn't finish in the class:

And, changing topics completely, I have to thank Kat for identifying the bush in my last post. It is indeed a Weigela. When we downsize into a smaller house, I want to make sure there is enough sun for me to plant one of these!

A Different Kind of Stash Busting

While I'm healing quite well, I am still home much of the time. One of the things I'm doing is going through old craft magazines to tear out the few articles I really want to hang onto and then to discard or donate the magazines.

In one of my jewelry magazines, I saw some cute earrings made with acrylic flower beads. I decided that I should I try to use up my little stash of such beads.

The results are fun, I think, but I didn't use up as many beads as I'd hoped. So many beads, so little time.

I did go into work for part of the day on Monday. It was a staff day, so it wasn't too stressful. On Sunday I was able to make my Urban Sketching group at a cute coffee shop in an old train depot.

For once, I finished it in the allotted two-hour time. Usually I have to do the finishing touches at home. I've switched from using Derwent Inktense pencils for the color to watercolor, and I do like the results. Watercolors are more flexible, at least for me.

This is the first formal day of summer vacation, and I have to say that it feels good! 

Some Finished Objects

When I started my ZickZack scarf, I was sure it wouldn't be ready until the winter of 2018-19. Fingering-weight yarn, small needles, and long rows made it feel like it would be long-term project.

But I had forgotten the seduction of the Chevron stitch pattern. It became a comfort to knit a few rows every day. And now I'm wearing it!

I made mine longer than the pattern calls for. I like a scarf I can wrap around my neck and still have dangling ends, so I bought an extra ball of each color -- though I did not use all of the 3rd balls.

For the first time in a while, I have finished jewelry project.

I can't claim that this is an original pattern -- I got it from a book -- but I love it nonetheless. It's a bit tricky, but totally worth it. I think I know what my sisters-in-law will be getting for their next birthdays!

Quiet Weekend

 It's been a quiet weekend in Madison. (Do you hear echoes of Garrison Keiler? I miss that guy!) Other than a few outings with friends, I've been working on various projects at home, including my embroidery club at school and a community project for my fiber group.

I made these "mug rugs" as a way of playing around with free-form embroidery. I am most comfortable following lines, but I want to venture into more spontaneous embroidery. These small circles provided the perfect experiment. And, I didn't have to buy anything for them! Pure stash-busting.

I cut the biggest circles out of felt, and the rest came from my fabric scraps. I basted the circles into place and just started embroidering with 6 strands of floss. I can't decide if they are going to be a gift or stay here at the house. They were fun, but somewhat time-consuming.

I repaired this necklace for my daughter. (I made it a few years ago and was horrified that it broke.) Now I have to get it into the mail. She's very happy to be back in the Miami warmth -- even though it's been unusually cold there. It hasn't gotten anywhere near the sub-zero temps we've had here.

This came in the mail. But I ordered it before January 1, so I haven't broken my vow not to buy yarn outside of a few major yarn events in 2018. It's going to be a Clara's Cape, one of Helen Stewart's Knitvent projects.

Today I went to an amazing LYS and walked out with nothing other than the 5 skeins of embroidery floss I needed. Go me! This LYS has truly beautiful yarn, I might add.

It was nice to have a three-day week for our first week back to school. This next one is a five-day week, which is going to seem very long! I have IEP meetings on Monday and Tuesday, and it will be nice getting them accomplished early in on.

All Good Things Come to an End

I'll be heading back to school today. While I do enjoy my students, I'll miss those long lazy mornings for coffee and crafting. My daughter flew back to Miami yesterday, and I'm going through a bit of withdrawal. We had such a great visit!

I won't have as much time now for knitting... 

Fairy Lights Socks

...or making jewelry...

...or hanging out with this girl:

But I'm sure I'll adjust to work. And Spring Break is only 3 months away!

A Sin, A Vow, and Other Stuff

 One party down and one to go for the weekend. The Special Ed Department at my school has an epic holiday party every year -- and last night it did not disappoint. We do a hilarious White Elephant Exchange. I schemed to get the item I wanted, but can't show it yet as it's a gift.

So, on to the sin:

I swear this is the last skein of yarn I'm buying until 2019. OK, I am making an exception for my guild's Knit-In and the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival. But that's it! I've decided that 2018 needs to be the year of stash busting. It's not like I don't have plenty of yarn right here.

The little needle has been busy, too. Now there are two bird in my Happinest cross stitch. This will be a holiday gift in 2018! This shows an unusual level of organization for me.

And I've been photographing jewelry for my poor neglected Etsy store. There are some really cute knitting earrings, like these:

If you have a minute, check them out at www.etsy.com/shop/caffeinegirl1.

Enjoy your weekend!

A Week of Crafting

Joni and did lots of different crafts during her visit last week. We took a great class at Bare Knuckle Arts, where we made paste paper and marbled paper.

We found white shirts on sale at Anthropologie and decided to dye them with red cabbage.  We did a ton of research and tracked down alum and cream of Tartar to prepare the cloth. We added ammonia to the dye to make it more blue, and look at the gorgeous color we got:

Sadly, the color almost completely washed out! Now we have off-white shirts. Is there some way to fix the color?

Joni decorated a store-bought frame with some of my polymer clay tiles:

While she did that, I painted some handmade polymer clay pendants that I made a while ago.

I'm lucky that I have some art/craft friends here in Madison. After Joni left, Tsela and I went painting at the Memorial Union at UW-Madison. Here is mine:

And here is hers:

Art/craft and friends are a pretty amazing combination!

Beads and Byes

I know you can't really tell, but take my word for it: This car is covered with Swarovsky crystals.

I had a quick trip the annual Bead & Button show in Milwaukee because back in January, I had signed up for a class. I'm glad I made the trip because I love the bracelet I learned to make:

It isn't that hard, just basic off-loom weaving with leather and Delica beads. But I can't stop admiring the result.

I've already started making a second one:

But I don't think I'll be able to finish it until I get home from Copenhagen. We catch the bus to O'Hare at 5:30 tomorrow morning. I think I'm done packing, but I better make one more check!

I won't be sad to leave behind this weather: 90 degrees every day. And we don't have air conditioning! I actually don't mind most of the time -- but I don't do much cooking when it's this hot. In this weather, Nagi needs lots of extra naps. His favorite spot is my chair on the screened porch:

It's hard to imagine that just a few morning ago I needed that blanket for warmth!

I probably won't be blogging from Copenhagen because I'm not taking a tablet or computer. I hope you all have a great week!

Five on Friday By Myself

Even though Amy of Five on Friday fame is taking a break, it just so happens that I have five things to share.

Even though our school district shortened our winter break by three days, I am still thoroughly enjoying every minute. One of the highlights has been skiing with my friend Lisa. Just gliding around a nearby golf course is pure bliss. Sadly, the snow isn't ski-able at the moment.

Of course, the best thing is a nice long visit from Rachel, shown here at a Hanukkah party with baby M. She has a lot of studying to do -- the downside of facing comprehensive exams in the spring -- but we've had some lovely times hanging out with my parents, working on a jigsaw puzzle, watching American Crime Story, and just talking.

I'm working on getting some of my knitting-themed jewelry up on my Etsy site. Setting up the listings is quite tedious, but I will get it done!

Kathy talked about comfy boots in a recent post, which inspired me to share this drawing. These boots are so comfy and cute that I own them in three colors!

And here I am, wishing you a very happy and healthy 2017 and reminding you to post a comment here to be in the drawing for the Think Summer Giveaway!

It's Beginning to Look a Bit Like Winter

This was the scene I had to turn my back on yesterday afternoon. Though I don't think you can tell from the photo, snow was falling steadily. The perfect Sunday afternoon to stay home and curl up with a book or some knitting.

But no. I had committed to a craft fair, so I headed on inside to a windowless room to try to sell this:

And this:

I did sell two things -- but one was to my Mom, so I'm not sure that counts. (I do give her plenty of homemade gifts, but she bought a gift for someone else. Just saying.)

I did finish up a sock -- the first in a pair. And lots of people I know stopped by, so it wasn't a terrible afternoon. Still, I'm a bit sad about missing staying home on a snowy afternoon.

Darn Those Badgers!

My friend Tsela and I spent the whole day -- the whole beautiful, warm, sunny day -- in the gym of a suburban middle school. What were we doing there? Nothing! To be precise, we were selling nothing.

These are my resin pendants made with illustrations from vintage reading primers. I love them. But they didn't sell.

The day wasn't a total waste because we got to hang out together. And we met a really nice woman at an adjoining booth. She drove more than 3 hours to get to this show, so we felt lucky in comparison. Still, we had thought we'd sell a more than a few items. She sold one pair of earrings. I sold two pairs plus some gift boxes.  If you figure in gas, we maybe broke even.

These are my handmade polymer clay beads.

The other vendors told us that they think most people were home watching the Badger football team play Iowa. We found this shocking! Who would rather watch football than go to a craft fair? Very strange.

A number of people liked these bracelets, but not enough to buy them.

We have another rural fair scheduled, but I'm ditching it. I do better in a more urban setting. My weekends are just too precious.

Forgive me if I sound grouchy. I came down with a cold yesterday, and that didn't help my day at all. When I finally got back to my house, I couldn't sit on the back porch because one of the neighbors was doing his whole yarn with a leaf blower. Am I the only one who hates those things?

I hope your weekend is more pleasant!