tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-128599152011-11-25T11:53:39.365ZNo longer a yarn store, and I often don't talk about yarn. But I do bake, travel, and attack wool with a needle.Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.comBlogger6281100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-71282038843435266282011-11-25T11:50:00.001Z2011-11-25T11:53:39.376Z

Looking for a gift for that special someone on your shopping list? Think about buying handmade this Christmas. And I'm not just *suggesting* you buy from me, there's tons of sellers on Etsy who are offering Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Actually, if you search Black Friday 215,072 items come up! I'm offering Free Shipping at my shop http://etsy.com/shop/fibrous until November 30th!

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-42239014809084304422011-04-23T18:15:00.002+01:002011-04-23T18:18:54.855+01:00

I’m having an Easter sale over in my Fibrous etsy shop. 15% off everything with the coupon code EASTER.If you've been wondering we're I've been hiding, the answer is over at my new blog, http://fibrouscreations.com!!

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-55629529934048910152011-02-04T19:43:00.004Z2011-02-04T20:06:03.169Z

This is the last post I'll be making on this blog! (probably, maybe, I tend to change my mind about these things). But I'll continue blogging over at fibrouscreations.comYou can subscribe to my posts over there by clicking the "Posts" link on the upper right hand corner.I have a new project!It's a yarn club with UK indie dyers and designers. Eventually it will get to the point where I'll send out

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-91852675759433797102011-01-31T21:30:00.003Z2011-01-31T21:57:09.443Z

Yesterday J went for a pedicure.I declined to get my feet done though because the pedicurists were ugly.And they sucked.And here's a photo to prove it:Yup, they're fish. Garra Rufa fish to be exact. A place opened up in the mall right before Christmas where you can get pedicures by little fish. J asked me twice if I had gone to look at them, and I interpreted that to mean she wanted a gift

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-12787191698351553442011-01-29T22:00:00.003Z2011-01-29T22:22:49.093Z

Two weeks ago I posted that I would like to sponsor a crafty project. I received two emails, both were for charitable causes. So instead of choosing one, I've gladly sponsored them both.Juliann, The Sick Chick, has received $10 for her new charity Healing Arts International. She'll be making cards to send to chronically ill adults and carers. The $10 will go for the postage for the cards.And I've

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-66656881499052179182011-01-23T18:56:00.005Z2011-01-29T22:23:12.591Z

So a week and a half ago I posted I'd want to be a Patron of a Craft Project. Well, I received 1 submission.Why?I had a nice reaction on twitter, people seemed to like the idea. So what happened? Not enough money to warrant writing an email? Or do people think their craft project isn't worth being paid for? I still don't know the answer. Perhaps people just need to be reminded?...The deadline for

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-44155941598978201302011-01-21T21:11:00.003Z2011-01-21T21:32:52.921Z

Ah, I love the internet. I'm also occasionally mad at the internet for reminding me that I can't try every craft project I see.Here's a few that have caught my attention lately:I can't do origami, so my head hurts just looking at the instructions for this Kawasaki-Rose but I'd still like to try. These are quilled felt hearts are very cute. I recently sat next to a quiller at a craft night, it's

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-12317516880573530142011-01-16T21:41:00.006Z2011-01-16T22:11:41.281Z

I can't remember the last time I made a New Year's resolution.I normally just make resolutions throughout the year which I then promptly abandon or fail. And I don't subscribe to the idea that it's a new year and therefore there should be new changes. When I'm writing down dates I still write the old year until like 3 weeks into January.So I'm finding it rather odd that I'm giving myself two new

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-43412714861439293952011-01-13T15:36:00.004Z2011-01-29T22:23:26.958Z

Recently there was an interesting post about sustainability and free over on the CraftyPod blog. One of the issues she raised (and to really greatly oversimplify it), is that although non-monetary goodies (like comments on a blog) is nice and appreciated, money is also nice and appreciated.And because of that post I decided today to do something to monetarily support a member of the online

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-45759583528871473372011-01-12T11:57:00.004Z2011-01-12T13:46:19.010Z

Dear sweater,I'm sorry, but things just aren't working out between us. Yes, we had fun at first with a mini cabled neck hole, but things are different now.It's not you, it's me, really. I knew it was a bad idea to just hope the gauge would be correct by going down a needle size and not doing another swatch. I knew switching from bamboo on the gauge swatch to metal needles was foolish. But I

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-70234468855149820882011-01-01T10:41:00.007Z2011-01-02T00:09:38.764Z

Wow, 2011!!Happy New Year!I hope you all have a wonderful (and productive) year!It's already started to look like a new city and a new year in Edinburgh.The snow that once graced the tops of buildings and covered the groundmelted last week.A few Christmas inspired things are still around, but they just don't give off the same enthusiasm as before Christmas.The German Christmas Market with the

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-41580235593278214042010-12-27T18:54:00.002Z2010-12-27T19:33:14.573Z

Happy post-Christmas! I hope you had a wonderful and restful Christmas.So, now I can finally post what I made my mom for Christmas!A flying hedgehog:And magnets:Tahdah!

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-91719010300515574442010-12-25T22:08:00.003Z2010-12-25T22:15:12.589Z

Whether you're having a Christmas full of old traditions, or a Christmas full of new ones, I hope you're having a lovely day!Merry Christmas!

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-31383253018533542222010-12-20T23:13:00.001Z2010-12-20T23:34:53.249Z

I just made a gift certificate for my etsy shop!It's available on the Fibrous facebook page or on the right hand column of this blog. It's a paypal gift certificate, so it will be easy to use during the etsy checkout.If you run an online shop and want to make your own gift certificate there's great instructions at Handmade Spark.There's only a few things I would add to those instructions: one is

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-74954677381049114732010-12-15T22:05:00.006Z2010-12-15T22:58:18.274Z

It's festive hat season! And not just any hat - it's Santa Hat time!!If you have Photoshop it's actually quite easy to make your avatar, like this one.First, find a Santa Hat. There's plenty of free clipart websites online.Open the hat image in Photoshop.Then open the other image, the one you'll be adding the hat to. I think it's easiest at this point to make both images roughly the same size by

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-88895898298898766352010-12-14T12:53:00.005Z2010-12-14T14:33:40.688Z

As of right now J is on an airplane, off to visit her mom for Christmas. As of right now I'm spending Christmas alone, in a foreign country, without good friends or family around.It's been less than 48 hours since she'd been out of town and I've already started eating microwave food and have had waaaaay too much chocolate and shortbread. Actually, no wonder I'm already sad. Sugar crash.This is my

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-82722861641238587412010-12-08T17:22:00.006Z2010-12-09T20:57:12.868Z

I was going to start off this post by bragging that nearly all my presents this year are either made by me or handmade by other people... And then I bought two touristy "I Love Edinburgh" and "I Love Scotland" t-shirt... That's what I get for thinking about bragging :)Here's one of the things I bought from a fellow etsian:It's called Envy and is from Dyeingforewe (I'm just a tad bit green from

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-19883032161898667872010-12-03T23:33:00.003Z2010-12-03T23:39:58.543Z

Have you seen A Christmas Story? The scene where Randy is getting ready to leave the house? Yup, that's how I feel.

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-69526834504556841962010-11-28T21:47:00.002Z2010-11-28T22:41:01.861Z

It snowed today!! (not my car, btw)It actually snowed yesterday too, but this was thick, proper snow, and at one point the backyard looked like a snow globe. A cold snow globe.The holiday carnival has been up and running since Thursday. There's a ferris wheel and other rides, a Highland Market, German Market (I hear there's awesome Christmas markets in Germany, which is why they have them over

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-62559711227619562002010-11-26T14:07:00.002Z2010-11-26T14:15:10.643Z

I'll be at Drummond High School, Edinburgh, this Saturday to sell my fibrous wares. So if you're in town please stop by!If you aren't in Edinburgh, as I realize the world does not revolve around this city and most people don't live here... you can buy from me online at http://fibrous.etsy.com I'm having a Black Friday - Cyber Monday sale, 10% off everything when you use the coupon code

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-24022606816771156552010-11-25T20:23:00.002Z2010-11-25T20:52:22.258Z

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!Hope you had/are having a wonderful evening! Yes I mean you, even if you aren't American. And if aren't please have something yummy for dessert to celebrate anyway! We can all use a good dessert sometimes ...One of the many things I'm grateful for:That there are people who find me interesting enough to read my blog! So a special hellooo and thank you!

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-53684657416201841142010-11-22T15:39:00.006Z2010-11-22T16:32:39.556Z

Today was a blustery day. The sky was dark, rain skipped across the window.Not a day for rushing about. Or felting it seems. A day maybe for knitting.I've nearly gotten to the point where I should separate out the armholes from the rest of the body. About time too, because right now the knitting is too large for the circular needles.It's a bit annoying when the stitches push each other off the

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-70007320437674756442010-11-20T22:44:00.006Z2010-11-20T23:27:57.227Z

MMMM. Cupcakes. Have I mentioned I like dessert? It's my favorite food group.These are some yummy cupcakes. Extra bonus that it's not too sweet, in fact the pumpkin almost makes this taste healthy!The recipe makes 24 cupcakes280g plain flour1 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg1/2 teaspoon ground ginger1/2 teaspoon ground cloves1/2 teaspoon ground allspice1/2 teaspoon salt1

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-42348645698042275382010-11-17T23:24:00.003Z2010-11-17T23:42:48.488Z

Yup, it's nearing that time of the year where we need to pay attention to Christmas posting dates, so here's the info for any of you who are buyers/sellers:For packages from the UK:Monday 6th December South & Central America, Caribbean, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Far East (including Japan), Australia and New ZealandFriday 10th December for Eastern Europe, USA and CanadaMonday 13th December for

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-11019382138456024502010-11-15T17:27:00.008Z2010-11-15T22:56:27.082Z

Tonight at Granny Green's Big Night Out (a weekly craft group I go to) they were holding a Beginning Electronics Workshop hosted by the Edinburgh Hacklab.I can still remember a little electronic kit I had when I was a kid, and every few years I consider buying myself another one and never end up actually buying it, so I had been looking forward to this workshop all week.We each got a little kit

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-1542280158949373582010-11-14T23:04:00.005Z2010-11-14T23:38:09.386Z

I've decided it would be amusing to start regularly posting odd cultural differences between how I was raised in the US and what I've encountered in the UK.(Yes, I am pointing to the relevant sentence with a knitting needle)Now I admit I’ve eaten pizza with a knife and fork at a restaurant over here, but I’ve always assumed that people ditched the knife and fork when they were at home! A quick

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-62662476980441579452010-11-11T15:05:00.002Z2010-11-11T15:10:24.098Z

Yup, I'm talking about a hat! A hat that looks like I'm wearing a bunny on my head, and kind of impedes my sight, but it's sooo warm! And it's made in the UK (Lee Cooper), and I bought it on sale. So yes, definitely news worthy. BTW, that's my black alpaca owl cowl I'm wearing in the pic too - also super warm!! And those gloves I'm wearing - not warm enough. Almost ready for the snow,

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-76669814971254156462010-11-05T21:35:00.006Z2010-11-06T00:08:30.764Z

Today I went to my Local Bead Shop (LBS?), The Bead Shop Edinburgh.I don't bead, but I somehow went away with more than just necklace clasps.Lovely, aren't they? I thought they looked fibrous.It's a nice and friendly store.They also have wholesale discounts, if you buy enough of one item.I couldn't help taking pictures of the beads. There were all these colors and shapes saying hey, look at me!

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-82487971216040991192010-11-02T17:30:00.006Z2010-11-02T20:59:36.443Z

I was going to post this at the end of Autumn. But really, my definition of Winter is when I contemplate buying a balaclava. In my heart, winter is already here.Last month I sent in a little fibre leaf to the Craft House Concept Autumn Leaf competition (Craft House Concept is a neat little store in Edinburgh selling handmade goods). Well, I didn't win (you might have already guessed this as I did

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-4050589974212427392010-10-30T21:44:00.003+01:002010-10-30T21:57:55.468+01:00

Yay new project. And nope, not feeling guilty about ignoring the numerous UFOs. Why am I not feeling guilty?1. Life's too short, and2. It's a sweater, so it's going to be very usefulOk, so maybe there's a tiny bit of guilt, but I've never made myself a sweater! Which possibly should add to the guilt, but it's not... Perhaps it's just because the pattern name is Wicked, and I'm feeling a little

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-36459355739679258552010-10-27T19:22:00.002+01:002010-10-27T20:50:10.007+01:00

My two favorite things.Have I ever mention that during college I was the president of Cheese Lovers United for three years? Not only the president, but the president and founder. And yes, there were other members. Yay liberal arts education! The cheese club is a whole 'nother blog post though.This time I'll just leave you to ponder the pincushion I just listed:mmm. Cheese.

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-35595922821402747762010-10-24T14:42:00.002+01:002010-10-24T14:59:47.496+01:00

Well, actually I mean small town!I was selling at another craft fair yesterday and ran into two people I knew fro craft clubs, one person I took a class with, 2 people who knew me from the bead fair and one who had bought a pincushion from me in the last fair.It must be crazy for the people who've actually lived in this city for more than a year!Do you live in a small town? Do you ever get used

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-69968005680211439252010-10-20T21:27:00.003+01:002010-10-20T21:36:28.110+01:00

This is going to be my last Dabbling Wednesday until the new year. I have too much to do, and don't expect to have enough time to ... dabble.So I thought this week I'd do a bit of cross-stitch. I wanted to do something I could keep by my crafting corner. Something short, something relevant, something that would inspire me and motivate me.And this is what I came up with:Let's see how effective it

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-37682294458736909732010-10-17T20:23:00.003+01:002010-10-17T21:07:10.746+01:00

Today we hopped on the bus for half an hour and took a visit to Craigmillar Castle. The castle in its original form was built in the 14th century, and up until the 1700s had major additions and changes. It was abandoned in the 1700s and now stands as a surprisingly big castle with an hours worth of rooms to explore and run around in.The day started off clear, bright, crisp, and very cold. And

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-44876146161825713432010-10-13T22:31:00.007+01:002010-10-13T22:53:11.945+01:00

Apparently today was cupcake day at my house! If there isn't already a national cupcake day, there really should be one.The other day I saw these individual silicone cupcake molds at Pound Land (and for my American friends who are wondering - yes, it really is called Pound Land). I haven't made cupcakes in ages. Or at least I don't remember making them. I do oddly enough remember having cupcake

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-86380616744790254902010-10-09T15:01:00.002+01:002010-10-09T15:39:44.470+01:00

I recently made a felted leaf for a competition. The theme was "Autumn Leaves".My first attempt looked brown and withered. I'm a California girl. Back where I'm from we have green alive leaves and brown dead ones.And really, when Autumn arrives here I'm usually too obsessed with the change of temperature than the change in trees.See:Cold.But the leaves are quite pretty, aren't they?Do you notice

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-28917147418304263722010-10-07T15:43:00.003+01:002010-10-07T15:53:05.505+01:00

My battery charger has arrived!! And it's working! And I'm on the computer at home right now! Phew! That was a long month...And I wasn't completely idle and bored for all of that time.Here's a few of the things I made:And I read a book (Oliver Sacks) and I'm half-way through two others (another Oliver Sacks and Subversive Stitch (it's about the history of embroidery and femininity)) and I'm a bit

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-28912920088698415202010-10-06T16:24:00.004+01:002010-10-06T16:50:20.250+01:00

The crafting narrative that I've formed about myself has, up until today, started with a latch rug kit around the age of 10. But today's dabbling made me realize that wasn't correct. Before the latch rug I must have started with a knitting spool.And I can vaguely remember what it looks like too - a mushroom with a white stem and red top.I got this little spool at a charity shop on Tuesday, and

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-58038067101160343782010-10-04T16:21:00.003+01:002010-10-04T16:35:50.642+01:00

I don't know why, but it's often the tiny little changes in life that interests me. The other day I noticed that the biggest grocery store chain in the UK has updated their grocery bag. Assuming this is a Scotish-wide change this couldn't have been just a whim on their part. One side is largely the same, with the same text, but a little more spaced out and a best before date! I've checked, and

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-20752674237381153362010-09-30T14:23:00.002+01:002010-09-30T14:26:20.502+01:00

Yes, I know it's Thursday, but I'm still having computer issues. This week I made a little capelet out of a t-shirt. It was inspired by the book Generation T my mother bought for me many years ago. It's a bit like wearing a pillow case, but heh, it's a prototype.

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-7022821372067804402010-09-27T14:29:00.004+01:002010-09-27T14:45:22.012+01:00

Sunday was my first class teaching wet felting. We did a started a simple cord/necklace, then made a morning glory. Um, ya, that was ambitious. In all the excitement I only remembered to take pictures at the very end, when one student remained. Here's her's, a lovely white with yellow radiating out.

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-45357356369246852922010-09-22T15:32:00.003+01:002010-09-22T15:54:43.402+01:00

Today's dabbling Wednesday project was taken from the book 100 applique motifs by Deborah 'Ismoyo' Green. There's lots of really cute fabric applique ideas in there. I picked a little cat design because it didn't require sewing with a machine (as you can see why in the next picture).You're supposed to trace the template, then enlarge it but since I didn't know what I'd be doing with the end

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-86992448985285327512010-09-21T15:35:00.005+01:002010-09-21T15:52:53.041+01:00

On Sunday we went to Ikea to pick up a few things for the felting class I’m teaching next week. We also went because they have a super cheap Full Breakfast and hot chocolate at their restaurant. It doesn’t take much to make us happy. I think it might have been the opening weekend of their cafe because they had a jazz/ragtime band there!Monday was a bank holiday in Edinburgh, so J had the day off

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-76014173676474480462010-09-18T16:07:00.002+01:002010-09-18T16:08:03.555+01:00

You might have noticed my posts have been a little less frequent, and possibly shorter, in the past two weekend. That's because my computer is very ill, and in need of a heart transplant, if you excuse the odd comparison.Essentially we've been having problems with the power cord not connecting properly to the computer for months now, and finally the computer decided that it didn't want to accept

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-392669996241476252010-09-16T16:04:00.007+01:002010-09-16T16:50:32.733+01:00

Guess who I saw today? And no, I won't be directly talking about religion. This post was originally verbose, but sometime between writing it and typing this I've become moody and the phrase "who cares" and "why would anyone want to read about my musings about secret service" popped into my mind. So instead, here's some pictures and a bit of text.Today is St. Ninian's Day (Scotland's first saint).

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-64154566012315430542010-09-15T13:16:00.004+01:002010-09-15T17:38:55.170+01:00

Dabbling Wednesday very nearly didn't happen this week! I don't really have internet connection at home (more on that another day). So I really wasn't sure what I'd make.This morning I remembered seeing on our bookshelves a library book about paper crafts, Paper Celebrations by Jane Alford to be exact.Now me, paper, glue and tape are not the best of friends. And except for a brief time making

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-67315450138083330252010-09-13T13:44:00.004+01:002010-09-13T14:19:39.845+01:00

On Saturday I showed off my fibrous goodies at a craft fair. I had done a few craft shows back in the yarn store days, but this was the first one I had done for my Fibrous items.Just in case you have a craft fair coming up here's a few tips, some of which I had gathered from doing some research about it before hand, some of which I jotted down as a note to self while still at the show!Have a sign

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-91770370472356727202010-09-09T11:16:00.002+01:002010-09-09T11:20:06.197+01:00

I'm a little nervous. Just a little :)11th of September, 201010am - 4pm147 - 149 High StreetPortobelloEH15 1AFIf you're in Edinburgh please stop by and say hi!Map to the venue.

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-23321070192849395162010-09-08T14:02:00.008+01:002010-09-08T14:23:54.651+01:00

This week I tried painting with wool. I had seen the finished product of this technique a few times before, but hadn't come across any instructions. And then I saw some rather simple instructions in a book called Creative Felt. The first thing I did was draw a sketch on some cardboard.Then I layed down the outline of the tree, branches, leaves, moon, and stars with wet wool. The main portion of

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-16537258287231683442010-09-05T19:21:00.003+01:002010-09-05T19:29:25.397+01:00

What's an etsy mini? It's like a little treasury, but it only contains your etsy items. You can also make one with your etsy favorites by other sellers. I have one on this blog, it's in the box titled "My creations for sale".Instructions:Go to etsy.com and sign in. Click on "Your etsy" on the top of the page. On the left hand side click "Etsy Mini" (it's under Promote). Click "Items from my

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-52462991907526189582010-09-04T23:04:00.002+01:002010-09-04T23:17:18.919+01:00

Have you ever looked at your knitting and thought it looked like you were knitting with toothpicks?I have, so I made a little knitting magnet.It's also available as a kit on etsy.

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-377160257512929012010-09-02T22:38:00.004+01:002010-09-02T23:01:26.800+01:00

The Fringe Festival has officially been over for a few days now.The great big banner on the Royal Mile has been taken down, and the billboards have been dismantled.I have to say I'm a little bit sad to see the crowds go. Just a little. But I'm not sad to see the leafletters go. All those poor trees...One of the good things about the decrease in crowds is that I can take pictures without someone

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-19278577319087572492010-09-01T22:30:00.005+01:002010-09-01T22:54:23.777+01:00

Today I did some simple weaving. I had found this YouTube video from Craft about weaving using wool and index cards:It was very simple, and as you can probably see from the pic I learned a lot.For the first few inches I was just passing the weft yarn (green one) back and forth, only tightening it every few rows (are they called rows in weaving?). Then I realized it looked much better after

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-76742610120984700322010-08-30T23:32:00.005+01:002010-08-31T00:16:03.176+01:00

We brought out the 24 Great Walks in Edinburgh again today. This time we walked around Leith and the waterfront.We saw the "Potters Stone", a copy of a 17th century stone depicting stingmen, the special name given to wine porters who used to carry the wine barrels by hand as you can see on the left (not roll them). The strange circle thing on the right is apparently a human-powered crane.and

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-58691393127726991142010-08-28T12:58:00.002+01:002010-08-28T13:03:51.589+01:00

I'm not that into spindle spinning. So much so that I didn't even bring my spindle with me to the UK. But I'm considering making one with a CD and a dowel just so I can do this:

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-24318541720501009642010-08-26T21:10:00.010+01:002010-08-27T11:03:10.204+01:00

J is taking a week's vacation so we've decided to take a few little day trips around Edinburgh.Yesterday we went to New Lanark.New Lanark has a fascinating history. It started off as a cotton mill in the late 1700s. In the early 19th century Robert Owen purchased it. Owen was a firm believer in education and social reform. Later in life he actually went to America and tried to set up a Utopian

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-5777105220467069992010-08-25T22:08:00.003+01:002010-08-25T22:30:32.659+01:00

This week I decided to do some macrame. I wanted something simple, something that I could do on a train (more on that tomorrow). Fortunately I saw this video:There's also a much easier to understand non-video explanation.I made mine with wool:I'm planning on felting it, hoping that it will make an interesting sturdy cord and not some weird twisted red thing.Something they didn't really get into

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-938916038804900852010-08-24T16:09:00.008+01:002010-08-27T11:11:25.547+01:00

This morning I walked to the bus stop and saw this:Yes, that's a bus stop shelter. A bus stop shelter that wasn't there yesterday!And look at this, my friends:Yes, our neighborhood gets a used bus shelter.I'm all for reusing and recycling, but this is just kind of sad. Couldn't they have cleaned off the graffiti and buffed the seats before they put it in?Apparently not, as we live in the "bad"

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-20528609203398218372010-08-22T19:05:00.004+01:002010-08-22T19:34:11.990+01:00

We're still getting warm weather over here in Edinburgh, but the cold weather is creeping into the city, slowly.So I might have a good excuse to wear my new hat soon.It's a surprisingly warm hat, despite it's very open pattern.Pattern: Spring Cap (ravelry link)Yarn: Freyalyn BFL Aran, color TwilightStarted: August 21st, 2010Ended: August 22nd, 2010

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-90741031039435040562010-08-20T23:17:00.002+01:002010-08-20T23:28:39.812+01:00

Or at least I hope there's a craft show (long story, but thank goodness I'm a laid back sort of person).I'm bringing almost all my stuff, so if there's something you've been eying this might be a nice excuse to buy it. Since all my stuff is one-of-a-kind I might make something again, but I doubt it will look the same.http://fibrous.etsy.com

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-25920795822944573462010-08-18T23:34:00.005+01:002010-08-18T23:57:17.692+01:00

I don't often crochet, I don't often work with wire, and I don't often work with beads, so today I did all three!I used a simple pattern Nezumi World, and read some helpful tips on working with wire over at seafore.com.I used a 28 gauge wire and a 3.5 metal crochet hook.I strung 35 beads, but only ended up using 22Left a long tail as I was going to have to attach it to a clasp later.Here I am

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-2356459774360177302010-08-17T17:30:00.006+01:002010-08-17T20:31:48.661+01:00

So in other words it was a nice day.

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-68693555050971265502010-08-16T16:48:00.003+01:002010-08-16T18:32:43.569+01:00

I don't often go to the beach. I won't go into the water because my few almost-drowning experiences have drowned out any happy recollections of the sea. Plus, I find getting sand in between my toes to be very annoying. So J was very surprised when I suggested we go to the beach yesterday.A while ago I had checked out a library book on felting and one of it's projects had pebbles incorporated into

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-21398417127758069492010-08-13T23:38:00.003+01:002010-08-14T00:08:59.728+01:00

The last two days have been fibre-crazy. I finally took a class at Knit Camp. On Thursday I took a Nordic Color class with Nancy Bush. The class started with some information about the cultural, historical, and fiber traditions of Estonia. This was obviously something she was really passionate about.She taught us a really neat cast-on, and then the Estonian color technique. It's like embroidery,

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-43692985671372366892010-08-11T22:27:00.004+01:002010-08-11T23:12:31.836+01:00

A few months ago I felted some charity shop (thrift store) sweaters and had intended on making bags out of them. Except when I thought about it a little more I became a little paranoid that the thick felt would break my cheap sewing machine. So the sweaters have been sitting around the house in a bag, waiting.I hadn't done any planning for this week's Dabbling Wednesday, but fortunately I

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-72781936038597565002010-08-10T23:24:00.004+01:002010-08-10T23:55:28.267+01:00

I don't know if you're a knitter, or if you're following the threads about the event over on Ravelry, but essentially there is a big UK Knitting event happening this week in Stirling which ran into quite a few snags (big understatement).I was supposed to have been taking a class on British Sheep Breeds for Knitters with Deb Robson, but that was rescheduled to another time which conflicted with

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-54966515250890100962010-08-08T23:03:00.006+01:002010-08-08T23:32:55.183+01:00

I just found out we missed a big parade today! But I hear there were tens of thousands of people who did not. So I'm kinda thinking we wouldn't have been able to see anything anyway.Oh well.On Saturday though we caught the tail end of a bagpipe parade. We didn't know that one was going on either. So we had to run alongside the parade to see it. Which ended up being kind of fun...Can you see the

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-51815889763853340262010-08-06T23:14:00.004+01:002010-08-06T23:38:09.883+01:00

Or at least it's started for me. I went to see two comedy shows, both free, today. One featured four comedians, each doing about 10 minutes of comedy each. It was worth every penny.The other was Aaand Now for Something Completely Improvised. And yes, the actors did improvise. The audience reluctantly suggested plot points and then a story was then acted around the suggestions. Now that was worth

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-50813329599671089352010-08-04T23:53:00.003+01:002010-08-05T00:07:33.114+01:00

Last week I did a little dabbling with some fabric. This week I was intending on using some plastic canvas I got at a scrap shop recently... and then I saw a book in the local library called Spellbinding Bead Jewellery (can you tell I'm in the UK?). Normally I'm not impressed by craft books in the library. Most of them seem to be from the late 80s/early 90s and are not, how do I put this lightly.

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-29411460385667931002010-08-02T18:48:00.004+01:002010-08-03T09:08:39.598+01:00

I love Impossible Pie! I first saw the earlier this year on a cooking show called The Hairy Bikers.It's incredibly easy - you just mix a bunch of ingredients together and as if by magic the coconut creates a nice layer on top and you get some yummy eggy custard on the bottom. Don't believe me? Try it! Even if you do believe you should really try it.UK version that I use:4 Eggs½ tsp Baking

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-40020850623714742412010-08-01T23:07:00.007+01:002010-08-01T23:44:52.924+01:00

I hope you had a nice quiet weekend.I had a lovely weekend where lots of uneventful stuff happened, which I consider to be better than nothing happening, and much better than stressful events happening.On Friday we went to eat at a cheap Malaysian restaurant that had Pearl Tea. I haven't had pearl tea (boba) in a while, and this was the first place I'd come across in Edinburgh that served it so

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-24465017476843049362010-07-30T12:24:00.002+01:002010-07-30T12:28:59.182+01:00

11 days until UK Knit Camp!! I'm taking a class with Nancy Bush, another one on dyeing, and one on rare wool breeds. I'm really excited!Except for TNNA I haven't actually been to one of these. I'm so excited I'm contemplating making one of those paper chain things we made when I was kid to count down the days to Christmas.Anyone else counting down the days to something exciting?

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-52297168500473038572010-07-28T23:29:00.003+01:002010-07-30T12:40:19.359+01:00

I dabble. Or at least I used to. Have I ever mentioned that I spent a few evenings whittling when I was 12?It all kind of ended when we started the yarn store. I became a one-craft woman and shut the plastic canvas in the closet. But then when the yarn store and I parted company I basically stopped knitting, and by extension stopped crafting.To get to the point, I'm a wanna-be Renaissance woman,

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-82737982480785185972010-07-26T23:31:00.003+01:002010-07-26T23:53:48.465+01:00

What's a scrapstore you might ask? A scrapstore is a business, often a non-profit, which sells reused art supplies. Sometimes these are donated by individuals, but most often it's bits and bobs and leftovers donated by companies.In fact, there used to be one in Edinburgh called Bits and Bobs which I went to a few times but it recently closed down (noooooo).Today I went to another one called

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-71740651471008107122010-07-24T12:42:00.003+01:002010-07-24T12:50:30.486+01:00

We don't have a garden. We live in a big, noisy, often depressing block of flats.We also have a north-facing window, so we can't really grow any plants that need direct sunlight. Which unfortunately rules out most plants we were interested in growing.But a few months ago J bought a Gloxinia tuber.And it's started to flower!!Yay!!

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-26190975665473815032010-07-22T22:48:00.004+01:002010-07-22T23:14:40.041+01:00

Yup, my birthday. Meee, look at meeeee. ok, you can stop looking at me now, you're making me nervous.I had suddenly stopped caring about my birthday a few years ago, but it's still a nice excuse to do something... nice.So we went and saw a French movie and ate some sushi. The film was called Bluebeard and was a little disturbing (oh well). The sushi was not bad. We got a bento box (which came

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-84802523838705786982010-07-21T17:32:00.004+01:002010-07-21T17:42:33.170+01:00

I hope she ate it afterwards... I also hope this guy sees the video.

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-20719887482445075632010-07-19T21:59:00.008+01:002010-07-19T22:48:09.790+01:00

Yesterday J wanted to go for a walk. I wanted to work on the computer. An hour later ...Here we are at the bottom of the hill, about to walk to the top of Arthur's seat.Harrumph. Tourists.Found out later that this called the Salisbury Crags:When we got to the crags we were surprised to see it level off.And even more surprised to see the path go downhill.Turns out what we had thought of as

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-69567531074252173812010-07-17T16:33:00.005+01:002010-07-17T17:06:23.420+01:00

My giveaway package from Tamdoll has arrived!I won some Fusi-Boo by Fairfield. So named because it's a fusible batting made from a blend of cotton and rayon fiber from bamboo.I have no idea what I'll do with it. Maybe I'll hoard it forever and ever. Or fuse it onto my favorite coat for warmth. (Totally kidding on both counts, by the way) I'm sure I'll think of something interesting.I was

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-80333276552822527132010-07-15T11:54:00.003+01:002010-07-15T20:06:46.881+01:00

So earlier this month I was talking about how I was itching to learn a new skill. I had been eying sewing, crochet, ukulele, embroidery, and Spanish for a while, and was heavily leaning towards ukulele and sewing.I can't remember when it started, maybe even the same day I posted that ...post... but one day I had practiced the ukulele for a whole hour, instead of my normal 10-15 minutes. And guess

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-31443375966946655392010-07-13T23:53:00.000+01:002010-07-14T00:38:56.671+01:00

So this week over in the bake-along (ravelry link) I've pulled rank and declared it free-for-all week (I didn't want to do a cherry pie) and this morning I just happened to have seen an old email from yet another bake-along I do over on swap-bot called 52 weeks of baking (we're on week 15), where someone had written about the apple brown betty she had made from a recipe by The Pioneer Woman.One

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-2242585218436978032010-07-11T23:59:00.002+01:002010-07-12T00:30:08.131+01:00

Today we went to Linlithgow Palace to see a jousting tournament.No, not a real one!It's something they apparently do each summer, kind of a fun for the whole family thing.We showed up right in time for a falconry show. Sadly it was so windy that it was hard to hear what the falconer was saying, and the poor birds were swooping around all crazy like.After that was the jousting show.Even though it

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-61665460892119005382010-07-09T15:03:00.001+01:002010-07-10T10:34:34.766+01:00

I was riding on the bus the other day when I noticed a statue that I had never seen before. It was sitting in the shadow on a tree. A branch was near it's head, threatening to cover his face as if nature was slowly erasing the remembrance of this man.No one wants to be forgotten, so here's another .15 seconds of fame for some of the statues on Princes Street in Edinburgh.Wellington. Arthur

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-12489237609776774192010-07-07T23:21:00.006+01:002010-07-07T23:38:07.949+01:00

Throughout the month of July I'm doing free worldwide shipping for everything over $15 at fibrous.etsy.comYes, even my little mascot can be shipped to you for freeeee.

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-81338683086629497252010-07-06T21:55:00.003+01:002010-07-06T22:08:25.222+01:00

My dad will be teaching a class on hyperbolic crochet, i.e. this stuff:at The Little Knittery, in Atwater Village, Los Angeles, California, United States.On Saturday, July 17, from 11 to 1 pm, David will be talking about and sharing and showing you how to do Hyperbolic Crochet.$35 for the workshop, please reserve your spot soon.Hyperbolic Crochet is where yarn, higher math, and the universe

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-59828202050761277682010-07-05T14:37:00.005+01:002010-07-05T18:22:53.575+01:00

I hope you had a nice weekend, and a nice 4th of July for those in America.This is how Sunday looked in Scotland:And no, that's not fog, that's rain.It was like this on and off throughout the day. It was sunny for a while, and ten minutes later it could rain like crazy, and then out came the sun, teasing everyone with it's warmth, then ten minutes afterward there was wind and rain and it looked

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-46528834997653482792010-07-03T21:59:00.003+01:002010-07-03T23:05:44.199+01:00

I'm very excited to be part of a group that combines two cool and crafty communities.And I'm happy to be part of a team that includes wonderful shops like Regal Cottage, the shop of the week, which makes eco-friendly kids stuff like this cute baby ball:and Frosted Treats (love the name) that does cute accessories like this cupcake necklace:Yay!BTW, I this I need to add polymer clay to my stuff I

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-72458953734980232272010-07-01T18:54:00.002+01:002010-07-01T20:48:07.533+01:00

For a while now I've been thinking to myself "I'd like to learn"... crochet, sewing, ukulele, embroidery, Spanish, ...And normally when I see people asking this type of question I like to respond - All of the above!But really, I think my head would explode if I try to learn all of the above in the same day.Plus I'm kind of busy with my etsy shop (I've been posting a new thing each day for a few

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-55279835411531379212010-06-30T18:25:00.006+01:002010-07-01T11:47:28.110+01:00

Ok, so I didn't really dance when I made these, but I did do a little happy head sway.I saw these on Joy the Baker's site, and fortunately no one else had any other suggestions on the lets cook group (we do a weekly bake-along).There is seriously nothing to these.Peanut butter, sugar, egg, and baking soda. That's it.Last week I made Almond and Apple Cake. It was pretty easy (though I think it

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-44515028264525092962010-06-28T18:15:00.003+01:002010-06-28T18:57:38.322+01:00

For the past two days I've talking about twitter and mentioned some twitter basics. Today I'm writing about how to find people on twitter, and some strategies if you're using twitter for a business.How to find peopleOn the upper part of your twitter screen you'll see a link saying "Find people". If you click on that you'll see a search box. If you type, say, "craft" in that box and press search

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-69592675646181857032010-06-27T18:24:00.004+01:002010-06-27T19:12:58.239+01:00

So yesterday I talked about the actual sign up process for twitter. Here's some more of the basics.How to use twitterOn the right hand side you'll see your username and under that is the number of times you've tweeted. A tweet is anything you've posted. To post a tweet type something in the text box and then click "Tweet". Tweets need to be 140 characters or less.If you clicked "Follow" to anyone

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-13093021040644107352010-06-26T20:41:00.002+01:002010-06-27T00:31:44.852+01:00

I love twitter. I love how it connects communities, and that you can talk with someone who has the exact same view point as you, or an entirely different outlook on life. I love how it's almost a living entity; full of thoughts, feelings, and information from around the world. But enough of what I think...What is twitter?Twitter is a social network. Everyone on twitter can post anything they

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-51056998663090903212010-06-25T21:19:00.006+01:002010-06-25T23:01:39.117+01:00

Now that I've finished the glove I think I'm ready to take out my next long-term UFO.I stopped knitting this nearly two years ago, when I returned to England. I had finished the body and much of the sleeves, and then left it with dad in America to put it up in the yarn store as a large "swatch" example for the yarn (though I think it was actually in a plastic bag that whole time). This past

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-26084731569747477612010-06-23T18:41:00.008+01:002010-06-23T23:53:51.472+01:00

So I've been on a little quest for the past few weeks to try and learn how to take better photographs.This week I was experimenting with composition, and I have to say it was really fun!First thing I did was look at these websites: Composition and Rule of Thirds and Composition rules.Typically my photos look like this:But, these are much more exciting:Also, I thought this was interesting:Even

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-85464276340233690422010-06-21T20:34:00.003+01:002010-06-21T21:47:00.160+01:00

It's me! You know how I can tell? The flyaway hair.I'm only about 6 inches tall and knitted. My sweater was hand-knit, pants were felted and then sewn together, shoes are needle felted onto my feet (à la ironfoot), knitted hat sewn onto my head so it wouldn't fall off, bits of yarn sewn in, and of course I have a little felted flower in my hand. BTW, I'm wearing so many layers because I'm always

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-62477147815918117582010-06-18T21:05:00.010+01:002010-06-18T23:04:37.924+01:00

I decided to do some more photography experiments today, to find out three things:1. What is the best time to take pictures2. Which is the best white balance presetting to use when shooting near a window - auto or cloudy3. What's with the exposure settingI'm thinking of doing this experiment again in a few days, just to make sure, but it looks to me like 3 is the best time for pictures. Why?

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-75583173961749330092010-06-16T13:03:00.006+01:002010-06-17T10:00:00.428+01:00

So I'm part of a weekly bake-along over on ravelry and last week's theme was pizza.Yum! I used half the recipe for a smallish pizza, the other half was for bread. I can't remember the last time I made pizza, and I was surprised how few ingredients and steps were needed. The hardest thing was the ten minutes of kneading, which actually felt like 20. But you know, it wouldn't hurt me to develop

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-62318454010445077522010-06-14T13:01:00.004+01:002010-06-14T13:43:51.239+01:00

Woohooo.The story behind them is that I had wanted to make J another pair of socks, and she picked out the Kristy pattern from Cookie A's Sock Innovation book.My stockinette gauge swatch was correct, only I had forgotten that I knit my cables super tight, and I had already finished quite a bit of it before I found out it was too small. So, I decided to knit gloves instead. I had never knit gloves

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-43047563774271333692010-06-10T11:25:00.009+01:002010-06-18T21:36:29.775+01:00

So last week I talked about how I wanted to learn to take better photographs. Well today I finally finished reading the manual - it's 100 (small) pages!I'm really glad I read it, there was one whole setting (scene) which I assumed, for some reason, didn't do anything interesting, but it actually has some helpful preset options.I learned my camera has a Copy setting, which will take a clear

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12859915.post-46724059686902641822010-06-09T12:27:00.004+01:002010-06-09T23:47:59.201+01:00

Since starting my etsy shop I've been looking into ways to recycle shipping supplies.I suppose some of it's economic (so customers don't have to pay higher shipping and handling fees), but it's mainly environmental. And I realize now that recycling doesn't just have to stop with a reused mailer, there are a lot of other creative and cool ways to recycle.Many of these I'm planning on using, and

Theahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14112519617379198010noreply@blogger.com8