Well, it happened.

I let myself get away with not posting.
But let's not dwell on that, I'm posting now.
We went thrift store shopping on Wednesday, and I bought 2 men's XL t-shirts with the sole purpose of making leggings out of them. One of them turned out too small to do that, so I just turned that one into a smaller t-shirt using one of my favorites as a pattern.

It's been very cold, and it rained on Wednesday. Last night is was really, really windy.

I dyed wool for some kits I sold. I wish I had taken photos, but I always forget too.

Some jewelry-making supplies arrived at my doorstep today, so I will be making necklaces and listing them tomorrow. Maybe when I have my camera out I will remember to take pictures of the leggings and shirt I made.

Alright, I think I will go spin some yarn now. I will take pictures of it and show you tomorrow. :)
Happy New Years!

Outfits :)

Wednesday's outfit:

The boots and pullover are both thrifted. I saw that quilted light gray darling and knew it was destined to be mine! Okay, maybe that's a little dramatic, but I like it. A lot.

Tuesday's Outfit:

Everything except the umbrella and jeans are thrifted! I was wearing a black coat over everything, but I took that off when we took the photos. You can see the shrug, boots, and t-shirt up close and personal in yesterday's post.

Okay, that's all for today. Have a very merry Christmas!

Thrifty Thursday + Outfits

As promised, here are some photos of my thrifting loot! I love finding things for such a good deal and I have a couple good thrift stores around here, so I try to go as often as I can. This time one of the thrift stores was having an awesome sale. White tags were 25% off, green tags 50% off, and blue tags 75% off! :) I have a lot of clothes that are second hand, so Thursdays will be reserved for thrifty finds (among other things, if I don't feel like talking about thrift stores, lol).

These blouses were all found at the same thrift store. I've already worn the blue one and it's really nice. I love it.

The crocheted shrug I found at the same thrift store as the shirts above, and I've already worn it. It reminds me of sweet old ladies. :)
The butter yellow cardigan actually has a bright pink, sequined palm tree applique that I will have to remove before wearing- it has this wow factor that stuns you for a second. Not good.
I never would have found the mustard shrug if it wasn't for my mom- she spotted it and knew I would like it. Thanks mom!

...and here's my pile of skirts. I have this thing for skirts. I just love them. I haven't been able to wear them recently because it's cold and rainy, and I don't have very many leggings or tights. I need to get some more of those asap. I'm going to have to hem about 80% of these skirts before I can wear them. Wish me luck. :/

I already have a pair of white keds, but these are whiter and fit me better so I snatched 'em up.

Be still my heart. These boots. They. ROCK.

Come back tomorrow! I will be posting photos of some outfits I've worn recently.

Wednesday Wishes: A kind of fire

Wednesdays are for Wishes. :)
(Left to Right, Top to Bottom)
1. Pollen pure cashmere yarn, $33
2. Vintage suede stripe pixie boots, $38
3. Crimson flames wig, $76
4. Hand-knit socks, $65
5. Cream heart leggings, $42
6. Eleanor print, $20

So yesterday I went thrifting & I found some pretty nice stuff. I'll have to show you some pictures tomorrow. I'll also show you the outfit I wore. It was pouring down rain and we were out and about for a good 5 hours. I was so tired and wet when we got home and I quickly settled down to a nice bowl of hot pozole (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pozole).

I'm glad to be back into blogging- I have so much I can talk about! I want to bring you up to date on all my craft projects, but that's a post for another day.

Tuesday's Thoughts: Reincarnation Post

My thought for today is:

My blog is an interesting specimen. There were 4 years where I consistently posted. (I call 49 posts in a year consistent, since that comes out to a post almost every week. In 2005, I had 96 posts!) This year however, has been the worst year yet. Only 4 posts -well, 5 counting this one.
There could be several reasons for this. Lack of time, not wanting to post, forgetting all about it completely. But trust me, it has not been for lack of material. I'm constantly doing something. My interests change from week to week, but that doesn't mean I can't blog about it. That's what I realized this morning. A blog is a very beneficial thing to have. But not if you aren't consistently updating. So, my goal for 2011 is to post things on this blog!
I hope you all will help me and keep me accountable.
And to those who actually read this entire post, thank you thank you thank you! :)

So I have not been around in a while...

...but I plan to be more active around here. I thought today I would just share some random crafty stuff. :)

It's not like I haven't been doing crafty stuff. It's basically all my day is filled with. Here's just a sample of something I have dyed recently. I was going for black where the gray is, but that didn't work out. It's kind of frustrating, I haven't been able to get black with my "True Black" dye. I think the problem is it isn't concentrated enough. Yesterday I dyed up some BFL that I wanted to be dark blue, olive green, and black, but it came out a brilliant blue, yellowy-green, and gray. I have to admit, the result was unexpected, but I love it!

I've been wanting to get into screen printing. I saw a kit on dharma trading co., and I really want to buy it and get started! Here's a cool tutorial I saw. The only problem is, I'm constantly trying new things and wanting to do this or that. I feel like I should calm down and get some other stuff done before diving headfirst into something new. But I can't resist... it's in my nature, and screen printing is so cool! :)

That's all for now, talk to you later.

Cuddly Crochet Blog Tour & Giveaway!

I was delighted when Stacey asked me to be a part of the Cuddly Crochet Blog Tour! She has a new book coming out called Cuddly Crochet: Adorable Toys, Hats, and More. Every amigurumi in the book is paired with a matching accessory. All the patterns are so whimsical and cute, and the items in the book are perfect for baby showers!Without further ado, here's the interview I had with Stacey. :)

1. How did you start crocheting?
My mom taught me to crochet when I was about 6 years old. She crocheted (and still does) every minute that she was watching TV, so I naturally wanted to learn what she was up to. I spent a while making REALLY long chains (I had a preliminary goal of making the longest chain in the world), but I got a little bored with that, so I moved on to actually crocheting. My mom taught me to make flowers (basically ruffles), which taught me the concept of increasing… and away I went!

2. What are your favorite fibers to work with and why?
I’m a sucker for anything soft that’s not too slippery. About the exact type of yarn… it depends what type of project I’m doing. I really love merino, it’s so soft and warm. I also like a lot of the organic cottons that are out on the market, and the cotton/soy/bamboo blends that are coming out for summer.
When I’m making my animals, I have to consider a lot of factors when choosing a yarn. Usually, it’s a toy that’s going to be played with by little ones, so it needs to be durable, soft and not too pricey. I’ve found that a good 100% wool yarn (like Ella Rae Classic or Plymouth Galway) is my favorite amigurumi yarn.

3. Where do you get your inspiration?
I’ve always liked circles. That probably sounds strange, but it’s true. So, I think of my amigurumi as just being animals that I turned into lots of circles! I like to go to the Natural History Museum or the zoo (in DC) to check out all of the different animals that are out there… but sometimes those animals are difficult to translate into stuffed animal form. So, when I’m brainstorming about the actual design, I look around at cartoons, drawings and clip art to see what the basic shapes of the animal are. From there, I identify the shapes that are important to the animal (usually circles!), and I start sketching.

4. Do you have any other hobbies?
Oh, do I! I like to think that all that I do is hobbies… I’m lucky enough to have a job that’s one of my hobbies! In addition to crochet, I do lots of other crafts: I knit (mostly clothing), I sew some of my clothing (I love making dresses!), I’ve dabbled in beading (I have an affinity for French beaded flowers) and I quilt. I really love making things in general: I make soap, I make all of our bread and yogurt, and I’ve also made cheese and tofu. Aside from making stuff, I read a lot and run. Really, I don’t have enough time in the day!

5. What are your favorite things to make besides amigurumi?
Well, I guess I gave you a hint in my last answer… I dream of having a closet full of clothes made by me. So, most of what I knit/crochet is clothing. I make socks and sweaters and hats and things… but I suppose that my current favorite is tank tops for summer! Tank tops (since they’re small, without sleeves) end up being pretty quick to make, and since they’re for summer, you can add lots of fun lacy patterns to them. I like how adding different patterns makes it interesting, but not too complicated.

I encourage you to take a look at Stacey's blog, she really has awesome content that I think you will love. You can find it at: www.freshstitches.com/wordpress

Stacey has generously offered to giveaway a signed copy of her new book to one lucky Octopi Crafts reader! To enter, simply leave a comment on this post by April 30th, and I will pick a winner randomly on May 1st.

All photos courtesy of Martingale Publications.

Sale at my Etsy Shop!

I am 4 sales away from 100 sales!
So in celebration, the next 4 sales get 25% off their entire order! (Not including shipping.)
So if you buy $12 worth of stuff, you will get $3 back through paypal.
AND the 100th sale gets a surprise!
So hop on over! :)
sunniefairy.etsy.com

In other news, I have been dyeing, sewing, stamping, and making spindles...

Coconut spindle- smells delicious!

Everything above is available in my etsy except for the wool roving.

Sampler Boxes, Spindles, and a Project Bag

Only the Best of Etsy Sampler Boxes are now on sale at otboe.etsy.com!
The boxes are full of samples from several different etsy shops.
Each box has 10 samples & is unique. No two boxes are the same.
To see what kind of things are in the boxes, take a look at the sneak peak video and the contributor list.

New spindles are available at sunniefairy.etsy.com.

And I made this project bag- for me!