Earrings

Some earrings waiting for adhesive and hooks!

Felted animals in my little house

The past few days have been unusually rainy, here at the Little House in the Big Park, the streets that are usually lined with cars are empty, and there is a new river where the street to get to my driveway used to be.

Today I plan on getting bundled up and going out into it - but yesterday was a day for cooking pea soup and staying warm and dry inside.

being 29 weeks (and 1 day) pregnant, I've been doing a lot of what they call "nesting." I sort of hate that term. Maybe because I'm predisposed to it anyway, it doesn't seem to be only pregnancy-related for me, and it's sort of annoying to post "hey I made this thing" on facebook and have twelve people say, "ahhh, nesting" in a knowing way. In any case - there's no denying that yesterday being cozy with a craft was the best thing ever. 

Baby's room is going to be wood/forest themed. I had been looking online for things to add to the room, when I saw a few felt mobiles on etsy. They were beautifully done, super cute - and beyond my price range. So I figured I'd try my hand at them. The  project evolved - and I don't think it's going to be a mobile anymore, but here are the results:

One tree, 1 rabbit, 1 bear, 1 deer, 1 owl, and 8 birds. All made with felt I bought at Michaels, embroidery floss, batting, and hand-stitched by me.

 I have enough of the birds that I might turn them into a mobile after all. I haven't decided yet.

I particularly love the pattern on the owl wings. I am also proud of myself for stopping and not doing the whole thing - I like the look of it this way better, but it's hard for me to not fill in all the space I have.

He's so sad. I didn't mean to make him sad. And then once I did, it didn't feel right to change him.

This deer was the first one I made, otherwise I might have given her a little more personality in the eyes.

It's hard to tell in photos, but I thought a lot about the embroidered details of each - for example, this trunk was embroidered using all 6 strands of embroidery floss held together, so make it have more texture. I think all the rest of the embroidery was done with 2 or 3 strands.

Heritage Arts and Why I Love These Photos

Handmade earrings, available at www.showyourcolorz.etsy.com - made by me!

a beautiful example of Sposto Photography's wedding work
Also happens to be a photo of my cousin and his new wife :)

A few days ago I had the wonderful experience of having a professional photographer take pictures of my handmade jewelry and accessories. Her name is Shauntelle, and her company is Sposto Photography. 

Although I have been following her blog and her posts on her facebook page, I was not anticipating just how beautiful the photos of my work would turn out. 

a mini-shop set up, just like I have when I sell at craft fairs and festivals

We did a little studio set up in her backyard

 along with 3 dogs and chickens... 

Bird and Zoe

That's a chicken.

I honestly walked in thinking she would take photos for about 20 minutes, and be done - since she was doing me a huge favor.

butterfly rings

But she made a list of all the types of photos she wanted to take, and spent a few hours on it. Even looking at photos on the back of her camera impressed me. 

Brand new earrings, I especially love my classic granny squares!

Crocheted bracelets

I love creating jewelry - I love creating the color combinations and the design. I think I have an eye for that type of work - which you would think would translate to photographing this work. Alas, it does not. 

Hair clips!

Watching Shaunie work was great - not only because I knew I would be getting wonderful photos from the experience, but because I learned a lot about how to create the visual I wanted. 

Big dangly heart earrings - one of my best sellers :)

She also had the equipment to really show the details - which is, of course, as the person spending hours crocheting these little details - one of the most important things. 

One of my favorite photos - simple, clean, and beautiful

She did such a good job showing every, loving stitch.

So if I haven't mentioned - go to her facebook page and click 'like' and visit her website. This is a shameless plug for Sposto Photography - because look at what she did for me. I am so amazed. 

Hey look! Those are my actual hands! Actually crocheting!

Here's a little more to why I think this is important: heritage arts are a link to our past. When I crochet, I feel connected through something really tactile to Laura Ingalls, who hated to sew sheet hems, to Anne Blythe (maiden name: Shirley) who knit 2 socks a day during WWI. When I take my crocheting out into the world, little kids come up to me every time and ask me what I'm doing. Teenagers tell me about how they used to watch their Grandmother knitting or crocheting. Everyone has a fond memory of someone in their life doing something with yarn. It's a thing that used to be a necessity, and is now an art form. I imagine it's what people who are good at gardening/farming feel like when they sit at their table and eat the food they grew - they could have bought that pasta sauce at the store, but instead they are intimately connected with the process and ingredients. It's the same for me - I am just amazed, sometimes, when I look at a bracelet or blanket that I've made that we can do that with string, with fiber from a plant or animal.

What do you do or make that makes you feel connected to your past? Tell me in the comments!

Some of my little owls - magnets and keychains

flowers!

I applied for the Renegade Craft Fair - which is a giant craft fair in LA. If I get in, it's a two day show and I'll need lots n lots of product... so it's time for some marathoning crocheting. These flowers will be turned into hair clips, rings, and earrings. I also sell them here, on my etsy shop. I have a bunch of photos of them as finished products on my facebook page.

someone asked me for a pattern -- so here goes

using the magic circle technique I then do 10 half double crochet stitches in the circle, and pull tight. (If you want a smaller center, do single crochets. If you want bigger, double crochet.) 

Switch colors, and attach with a slip stitch to the top of one of the hdc's. Chain 2, and attach to one of the stitches with a slip stitch. Chain 2, skip 1 stitch, and attach to the top of every other hdc. So you should end with 5 chain2's. Attach to the nearest Chain2 space with a slip stitch. Then, *single crochet, half double crochet, 4 double crochet, half double crochet, single crochet* in the same space. Repeat from * in each of the 5 chain 2 spaces. Finish off, tuck in strings, and you have your flower!

I use embroidery floss and a tiny little crochet hook for these - but you can use any weight yarn or size hook, it'll just change the size of the flower.

earrings

Lately I've been working on new earrings -- I like this new design. I crochet all the pieces then put them together with little bits of jewelry chain. They'll be up at my etsy site soon.