Mind, Body, and Craft…

three words:

JOANNS. YARN. SALE.

they had their caron giant one-pounders on sale for 5.99 so i picked up a handful for the crochet bins ive been making. its the perfect yarn: cheap, stiff, worsted weight. and theres a lot of i, so i wont have to keep dealing with running out when im almost one. (SO frustrating)

heres the yarn bin ive been working on for myself. it has a larger base than the last round, and the sides are lower. and its a rectangle. and its sparkly.

SPARKLY!

but alas, despite my ernest preparations for the reemergence of last thursday, spring has been sprunging in other ways first. namely, school. namely not, weather. (brrr!!!)

i started my 4 online courses today and baby, i have my hands full. these are the first online classes ive taken that require books. meaning, there is weekly reading to be done. meaning, i cant blow through a weeks work in 2 or 3 hours in front of my laptop. i suppose it will be nice to give my eyes a break from the screen, though. and theyre nice, wee little books:

(please, peruse the nap-inducing topics i will be reading about)

(zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz)

UNRELATED:

here are some other nice little things ive been doing for myself, to make me the happiest, healthiest, and most capable me that i can be. also, because i just quit smoking and started working at a donut shop within a week of each other. i have come to terms with gaining a moderate amount of weight, but am trying my best to stay on top of it:

these are the wee little 2 lb weights i use for the 8 minute arms program on youtube. the one i do after the far more dreaded 8 minute abs and 8 minute buns. also the one i follow with the soothing, rewarding 8 minute stretch.

every. damn. day. 

this is how i take lady gaga, salt n pepa, gnarles barkley, smash mouth, girl talk, and the yeah yeah yeahs out running with me. note the especially clever ear-hugging headphones. that is because i have mutant ears that have never gotten along well with earbuds. when i run, they fall out. simple as that. the nano is the easy part- i just shove it down my nasa-strangth spandex sports bra and it stays put just fine.  

thats all i got. and for now, its more than plenty.

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Don’t Call It A Comeback

well, hello again.

i am starting this blog back up from a new laptop and a new apartment, but the same ever-present crafting itch.

ive been doing a lot since i wrote last… i did an xmas of cross stitch, started sewing totes from pillowcases, and then there was the perler bead zelda magnets, the cross stitching on clothing and bags, there were a few more stabs at wendybird refashions, and some new clothing modifications like ratty tie-back tops and t-shirt tube skirts.

but that was the and this is now. more important is that i have pictures of now.

NOW:

this is my new and improved craft wall.  i recently acquired a big black rack on wheels from the curb of my apartment complex (i love my neighborhood) and decided to sort everything.

these are some crocheted rectangular bins ive been working on. i ran out of yarn on that green one, but when theyre done, theyll be a nesting set of 3. i used red heart super saver yarn because A) its cheap as hell and B) its nice and stiff. the stiff yarn and the way i sewed the base on (like pursed lips)  is what keeps it upright. the fold might help, too. im really excited about this project right now. ikea has its own version of them for $40 right now (ha! my skein of yarn cost $3!) and ive seen them holding rolled up bathroom towels in some upscale interior design magazines. i intend to put together a good stash of them and take them to last thursday this summer.

this is my first attempt at felting. its a potholder and a little squatty bowl thingie. i made them for my boy (see: grey) in lieu of the doormat i was going to try and felt for him. unfortunately, 100% wool roving is ridiculously expensive and to make a nice, thick doormat that felted, keeping shrinkage in mind, that would be like a million skeins. maybe someday, honey. for now, you get a potholder.

despite the obscene cost of wool roving, the felting part was super fun and super easy. i just threw it in the wash and it came out solid, with no holes, but with the stitches still a little bit visable to make it a little bit bumpy. i went ahead and sprang for a little more wool roving to put together this little flop-over bag:

 i found this picture on some crafters website, but the pattern cost, so i just decided to wing it. heres me progress so far:

it looks huge right now, but it should shrink about 25%. its currently on hold, awaiting more yellow roving.

lastly, ive been working on a sampler to experiment with different embroidery stitches. ive been playing with cross stitching for awhile, and decided to try the more free spirited version of needlecraft. i thought a tank top for a sampler would be fun, and to give myself a theme, i dug out the old “quote book” from ages ago. once upon a time, i would keep a small notebook in my purse and write down the funny, awesome, interesting, or dumb things i heard people say. so im stitching some of my favorite short quotes on the tank top, with little motifs to fill in the free space and seperate them. one thing that has helped immensely is a fabric pen. those nifty little baby blue markers that rinse out with water. i can just write on the shirt and stitch over my writing. its rad- it turns out looking just like my handwriting.

im very excited about the possibilities here. i have friends who can draw like nobodys business, and if i got them to doodle on a shirt, i could stitch over it and voila- awesomeness.

so thats what ive been up to recently. ill post updates on the sampler shirt and the felted bag. until then-

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