Jewelry Shop: knitting

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Giveaway Feature - Handarbeitskram!

I don't remember how I first met Yvonne of handarbeitskram but we have a lot of geekiness in common! She hand dye's yarn (how cool is that?), knits, and sells incredible stitch markers. I love the yarn above because it's called "police box" after Tardis from Dr. Who! Great inspiration huh? Now, to let you get to know her a little bit better ...

1. Where can we find your work and what do you create?

I sell on Artfire, my shop is http://handarbeitskram.artfire.com. I offer handdyed yarns, stitch markers for knitting and some knit or crochet patterns. And if you don't know how to knit or crochet, you can order a custom made item from me.

2. What's your favorite part about being an independent artist?

I love that I can be creative without anyone telling me what to do. I don't think I could be creative on a timeline with given themes all the time, with my own shop I decide about the pace and about the designs or colours.

3. Where do you find your inspiration?

Everywhere... Sometimes it's movies or TV shows I like, sometimes flowers, trees or other things I find in nature. But it can be artwork as well or something that comes to mind when I read a book or listen to a song. There are so many possible influences when you mainly work with colour, everything has a colour or a combination of several colours and might inspire a new yarn.

4. What advice would you give to other artists?

Do what you love to do. And don't be afraid to try new things, it might sometimes lead to the best results. Be willing to break the rules, it's your work, you decide about the rules

You could win a set of 6 Millefiori Stitch Markers!

Here's what she has to say about it :)

The brightly coloured glass millefiori beads I used for this set of stitch markers are an eye catcher.

I framed them with silvery spacer beads, iridescent black rocailles and black faceted beads.

I can make them as crochet markers as well if you prefer those

and if you don't knit or crochet I can make a key chain with the same beads for you. Item value: $6

So how can you win?

1. Comment on this entry
2. Share their favorite item from her shop(s) (scroll up for links)
3. Plurk or twitter about it and leave a comment with link.
4. Blog about it and leave a comment with link
5. Purchase an item from her shop (for 5 entries) (links above)

Important: All entries must be submitted by comments on this blog post.
I'm keeping track of the entries, so telling Yvonne about them won't help :P

Interested in doing an artist feature/giveaway on this blog? Just let me know!

Reclaimed Yarn

Along knitting comes the fact that you have to pay so much for yarn, I have come to find. Sheesh, the last time I purchased yarn, it didn't cost that much! $7 for a skein of synthetic yarn with enough to make a scarf? Wow! So, I did what every other frugal chic does: I got online to look for an alternative. The answer? Reclaimed yarn a.k.a., yarn reclaimed from old sweaters.

Now, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that reclaiming yarn is going to be very time consuming. Therefore, I have resolved to reclaim only higher-end yarns like wools and such. But, first, I need to learn how to do it. So, I retreated to my closet to grab a sweater I haven't worn in over a year:

A nice soft cotton.

First, I disassembled the knitted pieces:

Then came the unraveling process. Wow...talk about time consuming! Here is some yarn wrapped around the legs of a chair into hanks:

At one point, Tayelor came in the room and saw me having so much fun (yea, right), she asked to join in! So, she unraveled and I wrapped the unraveled yarn in hanks around the legs of a table chair.

Here's the hanks I got from the sweater:

The next step is to wash it:

I let it soak for about an hour. Then, the hanks were hung to dry. I really wanted to weight them down, but I don't know if I am actually going to use this yarn, so straight yarn was not my priority. This whole undertaking was to learn how to reclaim yarn on a garment that I cannot ruin the yarn, remember. Now, I do know that when I wash the wool, it has to be done a certain way so that it doesn't felt, and when choosing the garment to reclaim the yarn, I have to inspect closely for any felting. If there is any felting in the piece, you cannot reclaim the yarn because it will not unravel.

The fruit of my labor? The first picture I started with! I don't know how much yarn I got as I didn't hank it in 3' pieces. I really didn't care how much I got. I just wanted to practice!

So, what tedious undertaking have you done recently? Did you regret it or did it help you learn something?

BESTeam feature: Chasing the Nuns on Etsy

Today it's my pleasure to introduce you to Sarah from Chasing the Nuns on Etsy. Sarah from McHenry, IL, is a stay at home mom who's into crafts. Her shop is full of beautiful knitted and crocheted items and she's happy to make any of these up in different yarns for you if you see something you want customised, or if you want something like a bag made out of a T shirt. How cool!

I've chosen some dishcloths, hats, a cuff, bags and booties from her colorful selection. That turkey hat is perfect for Thanksgiving, I think! And that red lotus cuff would look really striking with jeans. Click on any of the pictures to go directly to the shop.

You can catch up with Sarah at the following links:

http://chasingthenuns.blogspot.com

http://twitter.com/chasingthenuns

http://www.facebook.com/pages/McHenry-IL/cerlandia/273587627352

and be sure to visit her other Etsy shop for screenprints:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/charlesandsarah

BESTeam feature: Chasing the Nuns on Etsy

BESTeam feature: iknitandbead on Etsy

It's a pleasure to feature Elizabeth from Cary, NC, this week and her shop, iknitandbead. Elizabeth is passionate about knitting and yarn, having taught herself to knit from a book, and loves to spend time in yarn shops just touching and selecting the wool for her creations. Inspired by colour and the natural world, this is a really cheerful shop and perfect for browsing on a cold winter's day when just looking at the scarfs, hats, cowls and gloves will make you feel warmer!

Elizabeth's talents don't stop there, as she also loves to create jewellery. One of my picks below combines both knitting and jewellery making, and I'm looking forward to seeing more creations like this in the shop because it's such a new and funky idea.

This multi coloured chenille scarf will keep you warm and cosy and coordinate with almost any colours you were wearing.

I love the unusual colour and texture combinations in this knitted necklace wth a flower pendant. What a great idea to combine those two skills!

There's a matching bracelet in this gold, brown and pink yarn too.

Elizabeth describes these lime green circle earrings as 'simple but beautiful' and I couldn't agree more. They could take you to a really dressed up function, or look stunning with jeans and a T shirt.

You can catch up with Elizabeth through the following links:

Etsy: http://www.iknitandbead.etsy.com
Blog: http://www.iknitandbead.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/knitsandbeadsbyebeth
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/knitsnbeads

BESTeam feature: iknitandbead on Etsy

By George, She's Doing it!

Knitting. My nemesis. I have been trying to knit since I was 21. Believe me...that was a while ago! My mother tried teaching me, I tried using books from the library, I even tried tutorials online. However, it all turned out the same: it didn't resemble knitting in the least!

My last attempt? Christmas break last year. I gave up to the point where I started Tunisian Crocheting just so that I could make something with yarn that at least LOOKED like knitting!

Last week, my favorite craft store had a super-wicked sale, so I went with the intent to grab some stuff for my business. As I passed the yarn section, the yearning to learn to knit bit me again. I didn't need to grab any yarn, but I did pass a book that I was hoping was THE BOOK to finally teach me. I got the book at 50% off (it is just one of those skinny paperback Leisure Arts books) and sat down that night watching "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", needles, yarn and book in hand. Would you believe it, by the end of the show I was knitting! Me!

Get the book here

I was so excited! Now, I don't know if it really was the book or if it was years and years of trying to learn and it just so happened to click that night, but I have been knitting every night since then. After making tons of squares to practice the stitches, I have embarked on a project:

Find the pattern here

I love wrist warmers and my crocheted pair is just plain yucky from use, so I shall KNIT another pair! The first image is the beginnings of this wrist warmer. It may take me a while, but I am just too excited!

In other news, this blog is going to be going through some changes in 2011. I have set a goal to include more posts, giveaways, tutorials and just plain fun stuff so that you will definitely not want to miss it! I scanned through the current content and have decided that she is just swinging in limbo and she needs to be utilized more. So look for that in the coming weeks. Of course, it is going to be a work in progress over the next year, but I am hoping that this blog will be much more purposeful than the waste of web space it is now!

Okay, Folks, my wishes to you for a super Christmas and I will see you in the New Year!

My Projects Right Now!

As promised - a picture of the headband I made myself!

It's just a simple knitted strip that I tied in the back.

And you even got a pic of me out of the deal :)

This is my bead weaving board at the moment!

Working on a vampire bracelet that I designed :)

I might put it aside temporarily to knock out a couple of pendants though...

Crafty ADD Weeks 21 - 30

I've had so much fun doing my Crafty ADD posts! And one of my favorite posts of all is when I get to the end of a 10 week (approx) stretch and look back with a slide show on all I've done. It's a lot of fun to revisit my projects, frustrations, and triumphs. I hope you have fun looking at the slide show as well :)

Awesome Knitting and Crocheting

The Blogfire Guild's current them is showing off awesome knitting and crocheting! Well it just so happens that I have friends in both of those camps, and so I thought I'd show of their work!

Meri makes all sorts of fun things to put in her shop, but I have a special place place in my heart for these dolls she makes. The one shown is the Chess Black Queen Fairy. Not only do I think her work is very impressive, she was sweet enough to make me a purple fairy for Christmas! I was sooo suprised - and excited! My fairy, Lira, sits on my desk and watches over me while I work :)

Yvonne of Handerbeitskram is another artist I've had a lot of fun getting to know! We've both done a trade, and she ordered a custom order from me, and both transactions went wonderfully. We also talk on plurk all the time and have many of the same interests (like sci-fi). I've been learning to knit - and I really admire her handiwork. She also has bunch of great yarns in her shop so make sure to check it out. I picked these fingerless mitts to feature because I love all the bright colors in them!

Crafty ADD Recap - Weeks 11-20

Yah, yah, yah, I know, I'm a wee bit late in getting this up! Especially since I'll also be posting Crafty ADD #22 today... But you guys still loves me right? lol

Crafty ADD Update #21

Lots of pictures this week! I would have put this up yesterday - but I had a really bad migraine - so no computer time and no pictures!

Paper Craft

I took these plain brown paper bags from the craft store - and added snow flakes to them! We were having a game night and it was the perfect time to hand out some of the Christmas presents I've made over the last few months. My dear hubby thought I was CRAZY for making the snowflakes to put on bags that they will probably throw away, but I don't care. Paper is cheap and I love snowflakes!

Knitting

I finished the green scarf in time! I know it's longer than what I had last shown on here - but I have no idea how much longer. I think I added about 8 more inches? I should have written myself a note when I measured it huh?

I started this scarf on Christmas day - and then did a lot of work on it during my road trip to visit Granny! It's been interesting, a very different experience than any I've had before. I've never used eyelash yarn before and I've never used the circular knitting needles before. I was a little nervous about trying the eyelash yarn, and while I would never want to crochet with it, it actually works up really easily once you get it started! It also is going much faster than anything I've done before because it's much narrower and on larger needles.

Crochet

Mom showed me how to do the next steps in my project! And I got 5 rows added along the top. Hard to see how that's going to be a hat when I'm done isn't it? I guess I just have to have faith in the pattern. And I know I'll stitch it up the back when I'm done :P

Jewelry

I made this charm/shawl pin for the green scarf - and Bu liked it!

I actually made this pin awhile ago -

but I finally put a back on it and gave it to its intended recipient :P

This is the last of the presents I made for my friends at the Game Night - and I made it in the last hour before we left! Talk about overbooking myself with projects... She loved it though!

Now your probably thinking, "What on earth does this have to do with jewelry?" Well...the answer is that's my new project pan! I took a cheap tinfoil pie dish, spread tacky glue around it, and glued down some beading fabric. This gives me something I can put in my lap when I'm doing bead work away from my house. I tried it out on the trip - and it worked really well until my back started hurting and I had to sit in a different position in the car.

Christmas isn't over with! This one is going to be late - but that's ok - I know the girl I'm making it for loves me to death :)

I had a lot of fun doing a largely handmade Christmas this year...and I'm already starting to think ahead towards the next year of birthdays, weddings, and Christmas! Am I crazy? Naw...just crafty :P