The Natchbox

Blog #2...

2008-12-19T02:26:00.002-05:00

So, I've decided to start a second blog. I know you may think I'm crazy, as I hardly have the time to update this one, but I hope to be able to keep up with this one a bit more as it doesn't rely on me having time to craft. So I encourage you to check out my new fashion blog:

Freddie

The layout and such are still in progress but do let me know what you think! Meanwhile, it's winter break for me, and although it's a short one, I will hopefully have some crafts/DIY projects to show off to you soon!

Happy Holidays

2008-11-27T15:00:00.004-05:00

Well, I'm home from school for Thanksgiving, so as I wait for our wonderful meal to be ready, I thought I'd leave you all with a little mem I've been saving since, well, this summer... just like everything else non-school related in my life. haha

What you do:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker).

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name

I didn't really have definite answers to most of these questions, but it was still fun ;) ... I dare you to just try and guess what I typed in based on these photos- hah, I know I couldn't!

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I also realize I still have swatches I made for someone or others swatch swap this summer... I know I'm awful for never sending them :/ summer just ended so quickly, and I have them in a little tin (a rin tin tin tin... ironically enough, haha) up in my room in Ithaca... so if you sent me a swatch (I think I only got 4 or so, since I never did send mine) please let me know and I will send you one!!

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Anyway, hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and I will "see" you in December! ;)

Eep!

2008-08-06T14:14:00.001-05:00

My apologies for falling off the face of the blogosphere before summer even ended... I've gotten super busy, but at least I have been doing some crafting- for swaps, friends, etc. I promise I'll have some things to show off before I go back to school in two short weeks. For now, hope all is well! I'll try to blog soon.

<3

These are... my favorite thrifted finds

2008-06-29T22:51:00.004-05:00

So I'm sorry not to take new pictures for this week's this is... my favorite op shop find (though in the US we call them thrift stores- I think it's the same thing, yes? - theme thanks to lino forest) but this way I can actually post it on Sunday! Actually... it's 11:55, so I better hurry up! haha

One of my absolute favorite finds is my $12.50 Jessica McClintock/Gunny Sax dress which I almost wore to my prom last year. I found it at a flea market when I was visiting a friend up at Bowdoin, and it was just meant to be, especially at that price, which I am so proud of ;) I ended up finding a different dress for prom, but wore this to a formal this year instead.

I'm also in love with my $35 Marc Jacobs cardigan which I found at a Buffalo Exchange last year on our spring break trip to San Francisco.

old picture... my hair is so much shorter here :o but you get the idea ;)

And just for fun, a cute little mug I found a little while back at the housing works by my apartment.

Oh darn, it's 12:03. Well, I tried- right? ;)

On my desk... per se....

2008-06-25T18:23:00.006-05:00

ok, so my desk is actually pretty empty now because it is still fairly clean from last week's revamp, yet my laptop has now migrated back to the couch- go figure. However, I wanted to share what was quite recently on that table my mom and I squeezed into the shower that I spoke of last week.

and the stamp - next to the sink actually, not on the table. Oh technicalities... ;)

Almost everything I used for this project was purchased in my shopping spree last week (which was more than paid for with the birthday money I got from my grandparents yesterday- hooray!), with the exception of my carving tools. The new speedy cut was such a pleasure to work with! (I used to cut all of my stamps from erasers) I was afraid it was a little crumbly during carving, but that did not seem to have a negative affect on my final outcome. I was also extremely pleased with my new brayer, which made inking so much easier, though I do sort of wish I had sprung the extra $6-$7 for the inking plate, which at the time of said shopping seemed so unnecessary. The fabric paint and fabric were also purchased on the same trip and I am really pleased with the colors.

The print is now hanging next to my desk waiting to be washed and cut up for jesse's swatch swap :)

see who else is playing on my desk here

This is...

2008-06-23T20:44:00.004-05:00

my personal style. This week's theme thanks to kitty's kaboodle. And yes yes I know it's Monday, I'm a day late with the meme thing as usual, but what can you do?

I couldn't pick just one outfit to express my personal style because my style is so eclectic and variant, especially from summer to winter. But here are a few highlights of Natch's summer style: (My apologies for the cruddy bathroom photos... but that's what happens when I have to photograph myself)

Polished Summer Casual:

The Sandals that go with it:

This summer I've been rotating between these (from target, and quite comfy!) and my t-strap Birkenstocks

Lazy Summer Casual, mostly because this is my favorite t-shirt (from Threadless):

And then finally, Summer Classy/Dressy, which I wore to my little birthday celebration this weekend:

This dress was my biggest purchase at Renegade this year and I am head over heels in love with it... even if I did have to shorten the straps. The dress is by this lovely lady.
and the shoes:

which I got from ebay a few years ago and absolutely adore, though they are a tad small and therefore a tad pinchy in the back.

And speaking of Renegade, I know I've kept you waiting on the other photos I promised!
So, here we have my friend Helen and I posing for a photo outside of the Etsy booth:

and then 'the postcard machine' which very much cracked me up. She even said she was smiling for our picture ;)

Since the dress was a large purchase, the only other things I got at Renegade this year were a letter N typewriter key ring and three magnets- 2 for myself with my initials "NB" and pictures of a nest and a bird- how perfect! And an I for Ice Cream for my mother, Ivy, who certainly does love ice cream.

Anyway, sorry for the slightly rushed post, but I've got a surprising amount going on lately... I really meant to post this yesterday, or earlier today.

Until we meet again, check out more "this is..." on three buttons :)

On my desk...

2008-06-19T10:35:00.007-05:00

Nothing! :o

I know I promised to blog about Renegade (and I still will!) and I know it's a day late for the meme, but I am just so elated about my revamped desk area that I wanted to show it off. I wish wish wish I had a before picture so you could see how horrendously messy it was, but just imagine piles of papers and trinkets everywhere rendering the entire surface unusable. My sewing machine lived in a corner of the living room and my laptop on the couch, or on the floor next to it... never could I have dreamed of fitting either on my desk, let alone both! I am so excited that for the first time ever I actually have a usable craft workspace. Though, knowing me, I'll still do half of everything on the couch ;)

And the room revamp doesn't stop there. My mom and I squeezed a table (now trust me, that was interesting) into my shower (which is never used- I use the "guest" bathroom- mine was always filled with cat stuff, but I figure Casper should be able to share) so I can have an area for printing and cutting and things, instead of crouching in the bathtub, haha. I still need to do more physical cleaning of the shower area before I use it though, the dust that was caked on everything was pretty ridiculous... Well, hopefully I'll be inspired to keep cleaning and make even more room for crafty storage and etc now that I actually have a workspace. :D Yeah I know... still kind of can't get over that ;)

Anyway, here it is:

Probably still looks rather crowded to most of you, but to me this is practically empty ;) haha I'm also excited about how I hung my scissors, brand new rotary cutter (hiding behind the old computer), and voodoo pin cushion on my bulletin board/bed. (Yes, this whole shebang is underneath my loft bed).

And here's above the desk:

You can see the underside of my mattress ;P as well as the spool and bobbin storage I'm so proud of- I just stuck straight pins in to the bulletin board at an angle! Obviously I have some more to put up there, but I'm super happy with it for now :)

Other people's prettier desks can be found here. ;) And I suppose this also goes well, though rather late, with last week's this is... because this is the space in which I will create!

Finally, yesterday I also went to Dick Blick, Pearl Paint, and a few random fabric stores to stock up. I got:
A rotary cutter
A cutting mat
A smaller squeegee (preparing for my gocco already ;P)
2 more colors of fabric ink (dark purple and dark green)
A sheet of speedy cut
A rubber brayer
More stencil plastic
Tracing Paper
"Friskit Film" - something new for me to try :o
3 yards of interfacing
3 yards of muslin
3 yards of a plain grayish cotton

I don't think that's too shabby for under $100 in NYC. Oh, but another thing I'm bouncing out of my pants about: I also bid on and won this print gocco - I'm so unbelievably excited! It looks like it should be in full working order and oh I hope it is, because with shipping and many special extra fees to get it, it obviously comes to a lot more than the 3600 yen listed... but should still amount to about $50 less than getting a new one from printaddict or somewhere else... so, my fingers are crossed! I don't know how I'll be able to wait for it to get here, because it's also much slower than getting one from printaddict... could be a couple of weeks. Also, it looks like it might be missing a blue filter, and I might need to get some other inks, but I'm trying so hard to prevent myself from placing an order with thinkink or anywhere else until the gocco is in my hands and I can properly assess it.

Now, what I really need to do is stop spending my birthday money before I get it ;) ... less than a week until I'm 19, time really does fly.

Bicycle bicycle bicycle

2008-06-17T10:18:00.008-05:00

I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like

So, I meant to blog about last Friday's bike ride much sooner... last Friday or Saturday perhaps, but as usual got distracted with other, more useless things. So, I will blog about it now. Simply put, it was a lovely ride. Sometimes, living in the city that never sleeps, with construction making my daily commutes an ever changing maze and cranes collapsing down the street, I forgot that it takes less than 10 minutes of easy peddling to get to something as delightful as this:

Which is free for the crossing, and quite fun to ride down the other side of. And on that other side, it's like a different land, where you can chase ferry boats,

or stop and get distracted by some pretty horses,

or even a mother and her lovely ducklings.

This place is called Ward's island, and I used to bike here with my mom when I was a kid- it is just a short ride along the east river to the bridge- and while the island has great potential to be creepy and sketchy at night (I do believe it is home to some mental wards... though strangely enough, that is not how it got it's name) it is really lovely during the day... at least, the part they aren't doing construction on, haha, I guess some things never change. It seems they are renovating a great deal of the park right now, a lot more of it was bikeable when I was a kid, I think they are trying to redeem it for it's former status as a home for all things undesirable (garbage, bodies, the insane...) and make it more useful/open to the public. Point being, I need to take my bike out more, ride along the water, go to Ward's island, and other parks too. I mean, that's what summers are for, right?

I will end this entry here as to stay on topic... but Renegade was this weekend and it was grand! Though, maybe not quite as grand as last year... due to the rain perhaps? Anyway, I will blog about it soon... my main reason for waiting that I have yet to photograph my goodies ;)

And happy belated poppa's day to all you fathers out there. I hope you had a good one :)

On my desk.... ish.

2008-06-11T18:05:00.007-05:00

Well I've been busy browsing some beautiful photos from the Wednesday on my desk meme, begun by Kootoyoo, and I must say I'm having a little bit of desk envy. I tried to make one of those cute little mosaics of some of my favorites but it didn't seem to work. boo :( Guess I still have some blogging tricks to master. Well, anyway, my envy spawns from the fact that at home, I can't say I really have a desk... I mean, I do, but it contains my old, not really working desktop computer, and piles and piles of paper, rendering it rather unusable. My main workspace is the living room couch and floor and so things have a tendency to become very messy and unorganized. In fact, I hardly spend any time in my own room at all... it's become more of a storage area :/ And at school, well, my desk is all full of boring school-type stuff, and nothing lovely and crafty.

Well, yesterday in my beloved flamingo print dress (thanks to e-bay for the photo) I found myself in a 1950s housewife sort of mood where I wanted to clean and organize and perhaps make my desk and room into something usable once again! However, I was working most of the day (from 11am-12:30pm and from 3pm-10:30pm) and so didn't have the time. Today, I have had all the time in the world but haven't had that same punch of desire to organize, no matter how many photos of pretty desks and clean craft closets I lust after.

Alas, for now, even though It's not Wednesday, I did want to show you a picture of what's on my "desk," aka the couch, which is what I've been working on today rather than doing any sort of cleaning whatsoever. I'm pretty excited about it, but can't show you much more as it may end up being for a craftster swap I've just signed up for... though this is still kind of a trial run.

And speaking of swapping, head on over to Jezzeblog and check out her Swatch Swap which I think is an absolutely fabulous idea. I've only printed fabric once or twice before, but I had a great time with it, and if you do too, or if you've ever wanted to give it a try, you should head over to swap some swatches too!

Anyway, time to whip myself up a quick dinner and perhaps I will feel a bit more inspired after I eat...

The school year: journaled

2008-06-06T21:08:00.010-05:00

Well, I have been back from my freshman year at Cornell for almost 3 weeks now, but have done little crafting and no blogging. It's strange, I've knit a little, finally begun a dress I've meant to make for a while, but for the most part I've been feeling relatively uninspired. Maybe it's my lack of a good workspace here... not that I really had one at school, and not that I really had crafting time at school, but sewing on the floor and such has been bothering my back even more than it used to. And it feels like it's twice as crowded here as it used to be... I haven't finished unpacking because I just don't have a place to unpack the rest of my things in to. haha. But anyway, I am back, and the one thing I have been working on throughout the year is my visual journal, which I began last July. There are a few months, especially during the beginning of school, that are a bit barren, but I've kept up with it for the most part and I thought sharing some of the pages with you would be a good way to return to blogging again.

So, without further adieu:

and a memorial page for my cat Madison, who I had mentioned passed away over my spring break.

The rest of the pages, as well as larger versions of these, can be viewed on my flickr along with a page of Shows I've Seen and an indefinitely incomplete page for a show I was in last semester, the Bourgeois Gentleman. Perhaps this post will inspire me to really return to the world of crafting and blogging? I hope so... because I really do need to do something with myself (besides watch Lost which some friends at school got me addicted to :K) haha

More Craft Therapy

2008-03-20T23:36:00.004-05:00

This was started Monday Night and finished Tuesday morning out of a need for more (somewhat) instantly gratifying craft therapy. It is based on the 1 hour bag from ric-rac but took me much longer than one hour ;)
A lot of my supplies are up at school (not that I ever have time to craft while I'm there) so I had to do some improvising. The fabric is from my stash of upholstery fabric from my mom's office (I am very fond of this print though... almost makes me think of Mary Poppins? hah) and I didn't have my magnetic snaps or cover button kits so I made that flap and attached a hook and eye which is a tad annoying, and covered my buttons the old school way... and then attached them with hot glue because they were too sloppy to sew on. haha. Two layers of upholstery fabric meant it was sturdy enough without interfacing though, which is always nice. Anyway, I am very happy with how it turned out, though I do wish I had made it a tad bit deeper. Ah well, it's a pretty perfect size for my essentials ;)

action shot/close up:

Last night there was also some therapeutic brownie baking. I may be doing some therapeutic gaining a pound or two, haha, so much for eating healthy/getting in shape again, I'll just have to do lots of circus this summer. I am going to one class this Saturday before I leave, but I'm going to be a real weakling.

Unfortunately, the rest of my week has been, and will most likely be, too busy for crafting, or much else for that matter. I'm sad to say it, but this may be the last you hear from me until the mid/end of May (I go back to Ithaca on Sunday). Happy crafting all, and I hope to be back this summer in full strength!

Spring Break

2008-03-17T11:19:00.008-05:00

While, I arrived home for Spring break around midnight Friday night, and it has certainly been a bumpy ride. As usually, my crafting up at college was limited, though I did make good progress knitting my thermal, that was mostly last semester during Bourgeoisie.

I also did manage to break out my sewing machine the night before I left and resize my size large dragon day shirt into a nice, fitted girly small. I have no pictures of the shirt, but I'll show you a few of the dragon for good measure.

In short, dragon day is the day where all of the overworked architects go crazy (not that the rest of us at Cornell aren't overworked, but the seem to have it particularly bad). The freshmen archies build a giant dragon float the day/night before and all of them have a big parade full of many many entertaining costumes and many wasted upperclassmen. Then, at the end of the parade, they run around like maniacs and set the dragon on fire. A very old Cornell tradition, sound quite civil yes? Hah, well, it was indeed a lot of fun to watch.

I wish I had taken more pictures this semester, the dragon day ones were pretty much my first. And while Ithaca is freezing in the winter, it is indeed both gorges and gorgeous, and I wish I had captured a little more of that. No matter, I have three more years, and I'm hoping and praying that Ithaca will be ready for spring when I return.

Now, I know what you're thinking, Spring break? bumpy ride? Seems like you're doing well and having fun. Well, I was, as I mentioned, overworked at Cornell, but I am loving it a lot. However, yesterday is where the not so happy facts come in. To make a long story short, we took my cat, Madison, into the vet because he had lost weight and was looking rather lethargic. He had been to have blood work in November and was perfectly fine so we figured he was just a bit dehydrated, the vet would give him some fluid, and off we would go. Not so much the case. Turns out he had developed an extremely aggressive cancer in almost no time at all and would have to be put down. After an hour stuck underground due to the annoying MTA I surfaced and called my cousins whom I was supposed to have brunch with, they told me to instead call my mother, and I got in a cab and rushed back uptown immediately. We got to spend some time with him, but no amount of time could have been enough to say goodbye to my best friend and truest confidant of 12 years. I grew up with Madison, from 7 to almost 19, and now he's gone. Goodbye baby, I will miss you more than anyone will ever know. I love you.

My family spent the rest of the day wallowing at home and after knitting more of my thermal in front of a few silly movies, my mom and I decided to bake. Baking is therapeutic, correct? So we made oatmeal chocolate chip, one of my favorites and I made a play list of extremely upbeat, happy, shiny songs. If anyone has any suggestions for that list, I'm still looking to add to it. Then, a dinner of Indian food, a few more cookies, a few more silly movies, and a bit more knitting later, I decided I needed to craft. I painted a page in my journal for Madison, but I only did the background because most of my supplies are up at school, and it also took some time to dry. Around 2 am I glanced about my room and saw the packages of yarn from the long ago Rapunzel scarf swap that I did. I took them out and started laying pieces across my living room. By 3:15, I was done, chopped the loose ends with a seam ripper because I didn't want to wake anyone by going to look for a scissor, tried it on, and then went to sleep.

I'm quite happy with how it turned out. So springy and wonderful. And it reminds me how much I love crafting. It helps take my mind off things, and make me feel better. I just wish I had the time for it up at school. Alas.

A Year in Pictures

2008-01-02T14:03:00.000-05:00

I've noticed this on a few other blogs, and I thought it was a charming idea. So here goes, a picture for every month of 2007:

January:

February:

March:

April:

May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

October:

November:
(ok, I cheated a little... this is also a December photo... but November was so busy with my show and such that I just didn't have anything good...)

December:

Happy New Year Folks

Thrift

2007-12-30T13:47:00.001-05:00

So, I don't know where the rest of you folks out in blog land thrift, but for the most part, the thrift stores in my area are the homes of the old and grimy, rather than the cute and kitschy. However, the other day I made this little, adorable discovery at Housing Works:

There was another identical mug as well, and while I felt a little guilty separating the pair it was hard to justify another $4 for the second one, let alone for the first. (Another thing, our thrift stores aren't always that terribly cheap either.... I suppose that's NYC for you).

Too cute though, the mug has a label which says it's dishwasher and microwave safe so you can heat up soup in it ;) It's also says it's circa 1989, the year I was born.

Well, it's almost the new year... still haven't done any crafting since finishing that hat, but I need to make those mittens before I go back to school or I won't have them until next winter :o We'll see what happens ;)

The Houndstooth Hat, and other holiday fare

2007-12-26T00:41:00.000-05:00

New yarn and goodies from knitpicks arrived lightning fast and I began on my Center Square. Once I got the hang of the fair isle (this was my first project with colorwork!) I decided I wasn't happy with how the colors were looking in the pattern. So, I frogged the thing and then this morning, started again, using a houndstooth colorwork pattern instead. I finished it about an hour ago, and I am incredibly happy with it! So this is also my first finished object in a single day ;) (and I still had time to beat my dad at risk, and loose at various other games, including a very close game of scrabble in which I had a 40+ point move! We also ate wonderful homemade pizza (pesto, potato, carmalized onions, and goat cheese) and cookies and other things... so overall, a very good day!) Anyway, here is the hat:

Oh, and another cute Christmas thing: on the way back from my french lesson yesterday I noticed a Christmas tree stand selling "Charlie Brown Christmas Trees" for $1 each. I thought it was way too adorable, and since it's been a few years since we've had a tree, (we don't really celebrate Christmas, though we used to get a tree when I was little and call it a "Hannukah Bush" haha) I thought why not? It was extra fun because my dad and I called my mom telling her we got a tree and she was a little angry because of all the work she would have to do... until she got home and say this:

needless to say, she cracked up ;) And my dad thought it was appropriate that our tree be smaller than our menorah (which was still out yesterday since we had a belated Hannukah celebration when I got home from school)
(The trimmings are all my doing of course. And yes... those are earrings ;) haha)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all who celebrate! And to everyone else, I hope you had a fabulous day ;)

A Lack of Posting: brought to you by college

2007-12-15T01:13:00.000-05:00

So, here I am. My first term of college is done, and while it's been fantastic, it left me with almost no time for crafting. I was so busy... there just wasn't even a moment. For blogging either in that matter. From classes that were hard, to the show I was in--yes, I am quoted in both articles ;), and working as a newscaster at the radio station, and acting in a student film, and new friends... I could go on and on. In the past 4 months all I managed to do craft-wise was to finish this unicorn for a swap:

and to start knitting my first sweater, thermal. I'm a bit further along than this poor picture portrays as I was stuck in Ithaca for an extra day after my exams ended due to snow. Beautiful snow. So what did I do? Knit of course.

brought to you by:

Anyway, while I'm going to miss my friends, my cast mates, and so many other amazing things, I'm excited for more knitting and sewing and crafting over this break. I hope to knit some mittens and maybe hats too, work more on more of my thermal, stitch up some gifts... perhaps... (suggestions anyone?) and maybe even make that dress I've been wanting to start since the summer. I don't know... there are always plenty of things that I intend to do, though one of them certainly is to blog about whatever does get created, and if I don't do this- yell at me! haha. But first... to unpack the exorbitant amount of stuff I brought back with me, including a lot of craft supplies who were sadly neglected up at school.... ah yes... I'll get to that...

Once upon a time there was a girl named Natch

2007-10-21T16:57:00.001-05:00

Wow... last post August 1st... 17 days later I left for college and the rest is history. So, yes, basically, I am still alive, but now that I'm at Cornell I have almost no time to craft, let alone blog. I am doing my best to keep up the visual journal I started in July, though I had to cheat and make September after it happened, and maybe I'll share some of those pages with you at some point. However, other than that it looks like both blogging and crafting will be primarily a winter and summer break phenomenon. So, don't forget me, I'm around, and I miss the crafting community oh so much, but my school work, rehearsals, and choices about what I may be doing with the rest of my life come first. haha. Keep crafting and enjoy, I hope to be back here more permanently soon, though likely it won't be until December. :(

My new children

2007-08-01T10:51:00.000-05:00

The past week or two has been filled with lots of crafting tidbits combined with driving, work, and college preparation (accompanied by the necessary freak outs).

The weekend of the 21st (yes, Harry Potter weekend, and yes I did get the book at midnight and finish it before the weekend was out) was spent up in the Berkshires which lent itself to more driving practice, and you guessed it- craft shopping. While Joann's did not satisfy my palate in terms of fabric, I did come home with a Built by Wendy pattern, as well as many other supplies ranging from foam and felt to thread and cover buttons. Very exciting indeed.

However, other than Mr. Potter, the highlight of the weekend was spending time with my grandfather... and building the newest addition to my crafting family. A swift. When I arrived home I ordered a ball winder online and just this Monday I was finally able to enjoy some blissful yarn winding time.

she's a little crooked but she was made with love and care and I'm so excited by how these two new toys work together! Winding up beautiful little cakes of yarn is such a breeze... and such fun! Granted my setup is a little... erm, makeshift... right now, but maybe someday I'll have a table to use for these things.

Anyway. Tracking back a bit, last Friday merited my first trip to Purl Patchwork downtown to spend a gift certificate from my birthday. And what a fantastic place this is! I was sad that I deterred myself from purchasing from superbuzzy during the last update, and this really lifted my spirits. While the store is small, bolts of gorgeous fabric- ranging from Japanese to Amy Butler to anything you might desire- are piled high. It's such eye candy!
Anyway, I came away with a nice little addition to my ever growing fabric collection.

and yes, those are the ever coveted little Japanese hedgehogs... oh how they set my heart afire ;)

However, I did not stop at that. Saturday we took a trip up to Ikea for dorm shopping and came home with quite a nice little haul. I think my favorite thing was Ikea's "yarn store" which demonstrated storage and other furniture for small business... but it was so great! I didn't get to spend long mulling over fabrics because we had other clear purposes, but as you can probably tell from the picture above, I did not come away empty handed in that department.

With all these new fabrics in tow you can imagine my desire to cut into something at once. The Japanese fabric still being too precious to me, I broke into my piece from Ikea to create a cloth grocery bag.

This baby is strong! And he has a lot of character. Unfortunately his lining (from Germany) is quite bulky and so he does not fold into his pocket like he should. However, I love him and took him for a test run recently.

Something about carrying this baby around makes me feel very hip... hahaha. And I love how miserably he clashes with many of my outfits... I really do love it ;)

Well, this post is getting on now... but I promise I'll have more exciting things to show you soon. Including another new baby who excites me more than you can believe! Oh just you wait and see ;) hahaha

Dankeshen

2007-07-18T18:55:00.000-05:00

Now, I know you've all been waiting to here more about my trip to Germany, and especially to see pictures of all the delightful things I got while I was there. In Berlin, we visited many flea markets, including a huge one which had many "craft" type booths, a Turkish market, and various shops. We also spent time in Gorlitz, Dresden, and the Saxon Switzerland region while paying super quick visits to Poland and the Czech Republic. The trip was fantastic and I'm so excited to show you everything I brought home with me ;)

First, buttons. Flea markets are always loaded with vintage buttons, but I happen to think I picked up an especially fabulous batch that my photos just don't do justice to.

A few of my favorites:

(the small flowers came in all sorts of colors, and I may use a little paint or polish to fix up their insides)

I found this great hat at the same flea market:

Later, I found this handcrafted felt hat at a sort of craft market set up near our hotel:

And got a lovely dress from some very nice crafters who gave me tips about the Turkish markets (for fabric):

(do excuse my mess of a room)

The advice was good, and I brought home 3 yards of simple, but beautiful, cloth.
I've already paired one of them with two pieces from my stash ;)
(The first 3 on the left are from the market, the two on the right are from my stash)

Close up of the printed one:

I even picked up these shoes at the same market! Any tips for how I can seal them so they won't get too too dirty?

My largest, and most favorite purchase from the trip had to be this fantastic messenger bag (Though the felt hat comes in close behind, it doesn't count because my mom bought it for me) ;)

The flaps unzip and are interchangeable... the walls of the entire store were full of flap choices. It was great! Visit www.taushe-berlin.de for fantastic photos of more of their bags and their shop. Plus, their name is a combination of "tauschen" (to change) and "Tasche" (bag) - how cool is that?

detail of back zip where you change the flaps:

Lastly, as a tourist in Berlin, I had to buy a small piece of the wall... even if I don't like the idea of making money off of things like this.

also pictured is an adorable "make your own matchbox diorama" set given to me by the woman at the toy museum in Gorlitz ;)

I know it seems like our vacation was all shopping, but we spent quite a lot of time exploring, visiting museums, and seeing beautiful scenery and architecture... I promise!

More from me soon, as we will be in the Berkshires this weekend, which, of course, means a trip to Joanne's ;)

Matryoshka's for my Travels

2007-07-10T20:07:00.001-05:00

So, I have returned from Germany and had an absolutely wonderful time. I will, of course, soon have lots of goodies to show you from my trip, but first I'd like to show you the new wallet I made myself right before I left. I'm really pleased with it because of it's small size and the larger capacity it has than the last wallet I made, which is now ragged and falling apart.

It took a lot of trial and error, because while I loosely based it on a craftster tutorial, I was pretty much making it up as I went along, which makes me even more pleased with the results.

I used a discount print I found at Joanne's which I think is really charming, plus I had enough of it not to worry about wasting it with all my trial and error.

Anyway, without further ado, pictures:

front of the wallet:

opened:

3 card pockets, 1 clear ID pocket, two misc pockets (where the papers are sticking out) and of course, the cash money pocket.

inside the cash pocket:

and the part I'm proudest of (and what my last wallet was really lacking)- the zippered coin pocket on the back:

It proved quite useful in Berlin, especially since 1 and 2 euro are coins!

Since returning from my trip I've gotten right back on the crafting circuit.
Most recently I carved an "initial stamp" which I plan to be offering in craftster's SSS round 10. I'm so excited! :)

Anyway, goodies from my trip to follow soon, along with the final transformation of a WIP to a KIP which I know you've all been waiting for ;) haha

As we go on, we remember...

2007-06-26T21:24:00.000-05:00

So, I went and graduated on you, how about that?

But this blog isn't about all that, what's most important are my crafty endeavors, eh?

So, I do have a few things I wanted to show you.

First, the bag (remember the one I was knitting on all of those spring break flights?) is done. The pocket isn't shown in this picture, but I finished knitting that as well. All that's left now is to felt it up and put it together. I'm excited :)

I also had a sweet 16 a weekend ago (it's been a while since I had one of those) and had no gift on the day of. So, I whipped up an ipod case (a little messy as I had no real pattern and had never made an ipod case before) and got her an itunes gift card. Overall I was fairly pleased with it. The pictures are awful though as I snapped them as I was running out the door.

I also have a new, many pocketed wallet, to show you, as well as a lace knitted "market bag" I started on, and some plastic fabric I ironed up. However, all this for another day as I prefer to take my photos in the daylight.

Tomorrow I go into school one last time to pick up my final report card and diploma (yes, they only hand us a diploma case at graduation). Then Thursday I leave for a week and a little in Berlin, so I may not post again for a while. However, I do hope to return with lots of crafty and thrifty goodies to show you and will finally be able to show you the great graduation dress which is sadly hidden under my robe in the picture above.

I leave you for now with a nice little graduation appropriate quote I found through some crafty page or another...

"Promise me you'll always remember... you're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think" said Christopher Robin. ;)

Ran away to Renegade

2007-06-18T21:32:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's been a long time again, hasn't it? Well, it really is summer now, and I hope to be able to bring you more consistent, continuous, craft filled posts in the near future.

Any the way, this weekend was the Renegade Craft fair in Brooklyn, and it was absolutely spectacular! It my my first time attending the event and my mom accompanied me since Helen couldn't come with (her grandfather passed away, and on father's day- how awful!) :(

Despite the sad news, and once I overcame my shell shock, I had a truly terrific time! While I was still too shy to really say hi to some of my favorite bloggers/craft world idols (such as Heidi and Emily) I did partake in the buying of their wares, which are only that much more wonderful in person. If anyone saw me, I was the sheepish girl with big rectangular sunglasses and a brown t-shirt reading "Natch." (I made it for the occasion, but don't have photos as of yet because it's in the wash- boy it was hot yesterday!)

In the end, I did my best to control my spending (that was certainly a challenge) and came home with:

Two journals (I am so in love with everything this guy makes! These books are blank journals with some of the original pages interspersed and are quite possibly my new favorite thing!) from Jacob at ex libris anonymous. The tuba one is for me (of course) and the other (which also has the most charming illustrations inside) is for Helen. This guy will even make notebooks out of books you send him for only $9 a peach! How fantastic!
And, a beautiful print from Miss Emily at theblackapple which is already hanging on my wall (though still in it's plastic as I have no frame and it is certainly worth protecting)

A used tissue for Helen (I thought it was ironically appropriate... but also darling) from the wonderful Heidi over at mypapercrane. Though I'm wishing I bought something of hers for myself, I kept gazing wistfully back at those cute little milk cartons...
A wonderful monster from Mad Science, who is new to me, but I'm so glad I discovered.
and a cute little clutch from cotton cupcakes, which is the only purchase I'm regretting just a twinge, because I know if I tried really hard, I could have made it myself. (Though not with that lovely owlie fabric...)

I also picked up some fabric (and a free lolly) from the reprodepot booth

and won a raffle at the adorn and knit magazine booths! The bag was filled with yarn and other goodies, and the included crochet hook inspired me to give crocheting another try when I got home...

resulting in my first crochet FOs, three lovely little flowers:

I'm certain I didn't do it "correctly" but I think they came out alright. Now I want to make a cloche hat to put them on. (I tried on and fell in love with this hat at the fair... but $100-$140 for a hat, even as stunning as that, I just can't afford)

More craft and less shop soon. I have a few FOs to blog about. I know you don't believe me, but I swear!

Back In Action

2007-06-03T12:39:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know, it has been quite a long time. Well, now that my senior year is drawing to a close, my APs are over, and so are the band concert and the musical (which both went fabulously well), I finally have some time to craft again.

I'll start by sharing something that I made quite some time ago, but it's pretty exciting as I suppose you could call it my first commissioned work. A double sided stamp for someone who plans on using them in their jewelery:

More recently, inspired by the fact that I was unhappy with my summer wardrobe, and still had very little time to go shopping, I also started work on a dress using the fabric I got way back in San Franciso.

No pictures of the dress itself yet as I still need to add straps and hem or cut it to a length, but I think it's looking good so far, and I'm pretty proud as I just made it up as I went along.

However, I did complete the reconstruction of an old pair of jeans into some shorts. I wish I had a before picture, but these were jeans I had played with when I was younger, and entirely destroyed. I had ripped the side seams out to add big triangles of Asian inspired fabric that was now in a state of fray and decay. There were also some crude patches sprinkled over the lower half of the jeans. It's reasonable to say that after this job I never wore them, at least out of the house, again. Recently, I brought them back to life by cutting the pants, ripping the seams open again and removing the fabric, and then sewing them back up to a normal size. I then added the lace to polish them off.

Lastly, I spent memorial day weekend up in the Berkshire's with my Grandparents, and got a chance to pay a visit to Joanne's. I picked up some cute fabrics and discovered some Dritz cover button kits, which I picked up with very little confidence, thinking they wouldn't work well. However, I was elated to find out that I was wrong! I am in love with these little things and my only problem is that now I want more, more, more! However, it'll be a while before I can go to Joanne's again, so I settled for making 3 cute buttons which, no pin backs available, I sewed on to the messenger bag I am now using for school, as the end of senior year has rendered my Jansport obsolete.

the moo print fabric and the matreshkas are both new from Joanne's, while the giraffe is from something older from P&S.

This weekend I also finished up my prom shopping with some great shoes and a bag. Soon I'll be able to show you those fantastic dresses I raved about... prom is on Thursday!

Any the way, I can hardly wait for the move in to summer so I can start making more and more things! ...I'm also excited for my move to college in mid August!
Did I mention I'll be joining fellow crafter Avian Flight at Cornell University in the fall?

I apologize for how long overdue this post was, and for my lack of eloquence today. I hope I can bring you more frequent quality blogging in the future ;)

Vintage Heaven

2007-04-22T11:13:00.000-05:00

I spent the better part of yesterday with my mother at the Manhattan Vintage Show, and it was absolutely wonderful. When I entered the doors of the Metropolitan Pavilion, I was in absolute vintage crafter and designer heaven. I was so overwhelmed that I don't know if I made the best use of my time, but I did manage to find what I was looking for: the perfect non-traditional prom dress, which turned out to be 1980s Mary McFadden, and not a bad price either! I also fell completely in love with a 1950s summer green and white eyelet dress, which although was not on the agenda, was deemed the perfect graduation dress, and also purchased. This one was a bit more pricey, being vintage Dior, but after getting such a good deal on the prom dress, and seeing how in love with it I was, my mom bought it for me anyway. She also got a kick out of how eternally grateful I was, doing favors for her for the rest of the day.

I also bought some amazing saddle shoes and an adorable, bright yellow 70s culotte. There was some lovely vintage fabric at the show, and I was especially drawn to a gorgeous piece with little poodles all over it. However, I was turned off after discovering the $24 price tag, though in retrospect, the booths all had such a wide range of prices that I should have looked harder. Ah well, there's always next time... I believe the next show is in October... hopefully I can come back from school to go!

Anyway, enough boring you with my rambles, and I apologize that I can't show you the dresses, but both of those must wait for their respect reveal dates before anyone lays eyes on them ;)
However, I can share a few things:

Those perfect saddle shoes, with real buckles in the back!

Can't you tell I'm ready for spring? Thank goodness the weather has been fabulous since Friday! (Oh, and do excuse the dirty hair ;P)

Well, I suppose that's all I have for now. I'm sorry this blog has been more clothes and less craft lately, I've been awfully busy, and mostly working on things for other people, but I promise to have some crafts to post soon!

Across the country and back again

2007-04-13T21:20:00.000-05:00

Well, Spring break is over and done, and now it is time to get back in swing with the rest of the year. I had a fantastic time both in Brunswick and San Francisco and was not without crafty things on my mind.

One of the highlights of my fabulous weekend in Brunswick with Mary was the fabulous flea market inside an old mill. There was so much to see and so much I wanted to get my hands on, but I managed a few especially stellar finds, The highlight being a potential dress for prom, Vintage Gunne Sax, for $12.50! I know for a fact the original price was at the very least over $100. It makes my thrifty bones tingle a bit ;)

(I'm afraid I don't photograph myself very well, and can hardly do the dress justice)

I also snagged a few beautiful vintage buttons for about $6 and a fantastic pair of black, gold plated cameo earrings (1920s-30s so the woman who sold them to me said).

I also picked up some fun fabric remnants and a bounty of colorful acrylic felt from a cute everything store in town and a few fabulous deals from the Ralph Lauren store in Freeport. Not to mention that Mary and I had a wonderful time.

Then, after a few days at home, it was off to San Francisco to meet the gang. We saw the sites- Chinatown, Fisherman's Warf, Ghirardelli Sqaure, Japan Center, Haight Asbury, the Golden Gate Bridge, Sausalito- and I picked up a few fun things. While I managed, barely, to pull myself away from the kitschy ceramics in Brunswick, particularly a cute squirrel salt and pepper shaker set, I could not resist this little bank in Chinatown for only $2.

I also found a few great pieces in the Haight area at a store called Buffalo exchange, the highlight being this Mark Jacobs sweater for a mere $30. Normally, I am not such a brand oriented person, but beauty and quality can just be so hard to resist.

We has an amazing trip, and got some exercise too while biking across the Golden Gate bridge!

Sorry this post was so much thrift and ramble, and so little craft, but the many plane rides did give me an opportunity to get some knitting done.

I am now well in to knitty's satchel, a project I started especially for these trips and am very excited about.

I also had a chance to test an adorable pattern for a stuffed turtle by everyone's favorite Hillary Lang, but I shall refrain from posting pictures just yet.

More soon now that the window escapades are through with and I am back home in the land of craft.

Busy bee.

2007-03-24T15:18:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since my last post, I know, but things have gotten busy and in the way of crafting around here. The building's window project is finally underway, and so some of my craft supplies, along with furniture and whatever else was near the windows in our apartment, have had to go into temporary storage. No worries, they should be back next week- our new windows are supposed to be installed Monday and the movers should be bringing things back Wednesday.

I've also had rehearsals and tests- the usual busyness, and last week was the ARISTA (national honor society) induction ceremony- so that was a late night. I felt a little bit like I was being inducted into a cult- we marched down the isles of a dark auditorium holding lit candles and then said a pledge. Haha, but it was nice. Mary was home on spring break and came to visit that day. She's so cute, she brought me flowers!

Speaking of Mary, we also made Calculus cupcakes together on Thursday afternoon since I came home a bit early (no rehearsal after school). Nothing special compared to many of the delightful blogged cupcakes I see out there, but it was still fun- and they tasted great!

In slightly more crafty news, the Crafty Detective swap has drawn to a close and I believe my partner was very happy with what she received. I know I'm proud of it all as well.

I used some of that fabulous upholstery fabric for the outside of the tote and some cotton from P&S for the lining. I also gave it a hand-carved stamped craftster logo tag and a pocket with pen holders.

The notebooks were my first try at cellulose transferring (I believe that's what it's called), and I love how they turned out. I definitely want to try this technique again, but maybe a less toxic alternative can be found to paint thinner (someone on craftster suggested an orange cleaning solution that I may look into). I also hand stamped each page with one of my own creations.

The happy marshmallows, little felt bowl, and crafty apron were great fun to work on as well. It was nice to do some hand sewing for a change (on the mallows and the bowl).

You can also she the fabulous things I received from my partner/stalkee in the gallery.

My crafting/posting may be somewhat limited once again in the next few weeks as spring break is fast approaching. I am going to visit Mary at Bowdoin from the 30th to the 2nd and then am going to San Francisco with the usual crew from the 6th to the 10th. Hopefully the plain rides will give me some good crafting time, but I'm not sure about knitting needles on planes? Meanwhile, I hear from colleges from now until mid April! Busy, busy bee.

Round and about

2007-03-11T21:13:00.000-05:00

I haven't been accomplishing anything lately. Crafts, school work, it's all in senioritis mode. Admittedly it's kind of nice to just go to school and rehearsal and come home and read lots of inspiring craft blogs... but I need to make that inspiration go somewhere. At least I was inspired to do something when my beginning crochet kit came in the mail. It's not much, but check out my first swatch!

I decided mastering crochet chain, single crochet and slip stitch was enough for one weekend.

Today however, I finally picked up my dpns and the random, slightly ugly dk yarn I have a million balls of to start knitting my first socks.

It's not much, but I'm excited. I'm 'taking' Silver's Sock Class and so far so good- I've mastered casting onto and getting started on dpns (I only used dpns once before- for my no-ears kittyville hat, and that was started on circs. It gives me some mindless knitting (at least until I get to the heel) to do during rehearsal for a while... at least until I order the yarn for my first sweater (ambitious again, yes?)

Really I should be working on the crafty detective swap... or that branching out on which I stopped after (unlucky?) 13 pattern repeats and have yet to pick up again. I hope it will be done in time for mother's day... problem is, it just requires too much concentration, that I certainly don't have at the moment.

Well, I do have one thing that is a little more fun:

I sent this pouch (and stamp I used for it) to my partner in the DIY kit swap- along with a lot of other stamp making stuff of course. The pouch has a nice little brown lining from some small thrifted piece of material. It's my first, and so far only, use of that huge barrel of upholstery fabric, and though it's simple I'm really happy with it. It's going to take a lot more of these to use of all that fabric though! Haha, well one of these days I'll be back in full craft mode again, I know it.

Realizing... toast.

2007-03-04T00:01:00.000-05:00

Today I stumbled upon this wonderful woman's incredibly beautiful work space and decide that when I 'grow up' I want an amazing space like that. My corners of piles of junk are not creatively conducive and I just wish I had the space time and energy to surround myself with such exquisite things. I craft to make the world beautiful, and I wish that my surroundings could always be neat, tiny, and full of splendor. When I grow up, I want a craft room, or at least a nook, that can be at least 1/10th gorgeous as that and conducive to my creativity. Meanwhile, I'll survive with my piles and messes, because at least I have the space for that, and maybe someday I'll be able to get it a little bit more organized.

In my clutter, last night I pulled a table out to the living room rather than sew on the floor as usual, and whipped my mom up some pot holders for her birthday (I only managed to finish about 13 pattern repeats of the branching out, I suppose she'll get that for mother's day.)

She liked them, and they are certainly an improvement on our old ones, which were really just old and falling apart.

Also, Wednesday I had some sort of mystery stomach flu, and stayed home from school. I wanted to craft, but could hardly muster up the energy, I was feeling this bad. Instead I rented Little Miss Sunshine and the Devil Wears Prada- both inspiring in their own very different ways- and spent most of the day on the couch. I did however, manage to make this little guy, because what's better when you're sick than a little toast?

As I believe was pointed out on Creative Kismet, it is good to feel sick once in a while because it makes you appreciate feeling better. Well I know I appreciated feeling better on Thursday despite my unexciting lunch of crackers and jam to appease any possibility of a lingering upset stomach.

Well, that is all. I did receive a craft package with some nice earrings recently, and had a good evening of babysitting, and dinner and pinkberry with Mike and Laura. However, they did not appreciate how delicious pinkberry is, and their lovely 'kawaii' Japanese decor, as much as Helen and I do, so that may be a venue reserved just for us in the future. Otherwise, I'm a busy girl, so crafting is somewhat limited at the moment, though I do have a swap package to work on, but busy is good, and sometimes, that's just how it should be.

An Inspirational Adventure

2007-02-21T13:30:00.000-05:00

On Monday, Helen and I went on a craft/inspiration adventure. We didn't end up buying much crafty stuff, but I did get some needed cable needles at school products (I still can't believe I was able to restrain myself and not buy yarn since I didn't "need" any :o) and I got a cute new shirt and sweater on sale at H&M. We did have a great time wandering around in the cold and getting inspired though, and she ended up with a cute pink wool/mohair sweater from goodwill for recycling purposes.

We enjoyed the container store:

wouldn't those wrapping papers make fabulous fabrics?

Discovered a cute Japanese boutique on 19th St:

too bad the fabric was like $9 per fat quarter... I was tempted though... especially by an adorable little print with bunnies. Well, now that I know it's there, I can always go back ;)

who on Earth would blow their nose on these?? So pretty!

And the best part: Since we were in the area, my mom let us raid the "trash" pile at her office... she is the president of a textile mill! We set aside piles and piles of gorgeous upholstery fabric to add to our stashes. I already have 2 specific projects in mind. Since it was heavy, we left most of the fabric there for her to UPS back uptown (or to Queens in Helen's case) but I took my favorite piece home with me:

It's fairly soft for upholstery fabric too... though I haven't decided what to do with this particular piece yet. There were also a ton of great paisleys, florals, and geometrics patterns, including one other print with birds (peacocks I think) which I claimed and a smallish amount of a great print with strawberries which Helen and I are sharing. I foresee I lot of bags and pillows in my future! Any tips for other good upholstery fabric projects?

Otherwise, besides working, hanging out, and doing my vacation homework, I've been working on a lot of stuff for swaps and I've reached the 13th repeat of my mom's branching out. I think my goal is 30... *sigh* it's going well though, and is much more interesting to knit than a plain scarf!

Branching Out

2007-02-16T13:50:00.000-05:00

So, feeling a little guilty for starting my February break a day early, I turned on two hours of PBS's supreme court series, while finally biting the bullet and starting the branching out for my mom's birthday. I'll admit I was terrified to try my hand at lace... but, while it's challenging, it's not terribly hard at all, and I'm really happy with how it's going so far. After frogging the first repeat 4 times, I finally got in to the swing of it, and haven't had to frog anymore since (though the lifelines are there just in case) I know there are a few mistakes, but I don't know where they are, and I think the pattern looks great anyway! I've completed three repeats and am excited to keep going, though I may take a break now to work on something for a swap or clean my room. I am using recycled, kool-aid died merino wool from my first recycling and dying projects ever for this knit :)

Anyway, here it is:

and stretched to look more like it will look after blocking (I assume):

The colors are truer in the second picture, but neither are very good. You can get a better idea of the yarn used in my post about the recycling project itself.

Oh, and the pencil cases were a great hit with my friend :)

The magic of Goodwill

2007-02-11T11:11:00.000-05:00

On the way home from rehearsal last night I stopped at Goodwill for a quick look around, to see if there was anything worth my while. There was! I got two pieces of 'fabric' and a lovely yellow, wool sweater.

When I got home, I set to work fixing a pencil case my friend gave me. She got it in China and loves it, but the zipper was pulling apart and one of the ends came apart as well. So I unpicked the whole thing, added a new pale pink zipper (it had a white one before, but I liked the pink) and sewed it back together:

you can see it on top of the first piece of 'fabric' I got at Goodwill, which turned out to be a shower curtain when I got home. I really liked it, and so contemplated putting it up, but instead made another pencil case for my friend (It's her birthday today):

I used the shower curtain fabric and covered it with clear vinyl so that it can be wiped off when it gets dirty in her bag. I made it in the same style as the one I fixed, but after I finished I realized my zipper isn't as nice because I didn't fold over the edges, ah well, I'm still quite happy with it, and it was my first time working with vinyl, so it was a little challenging, but not as scary as I expected ;)

Here is the other fabric, actually intended to be fabric, that I got at Goodwill:

I had also picked up a sweater, and when my Dad came in to tell me Guys and Dolls was on PBS, I turned it on, and started unravelling. I only did the front panel so far, but it's such a large sweater- I know I'm going to get a lot of nice things out of this!
Right after unravelling:

Drying in my bathroom this morning:

My partner for the owl swap also received, and so I have some things to show off from that:
group:

Bag lining and applique:

shirt:

key chain, mini-bag, and stamp:

This was my first two times carving stamps, and then stamping fabric (the lining and mini-bag) and also my first time doing applique. It was a great swap! :)
*Gallery*

anyway, I think that's all for now. Only a week until February break when I have so much to do, so many people to see, and so much to craft! <3

Found the Camera Cord

2007-02-03T17:47:00.000-05:00

It was hardly hiding, just under my desk, though I'm so sure I looked there. Anyway, what's important is that I can post pictures again.

So, the kittyville hat. I finally decided against the ears, it makes it more wearable. Though I have a blue and pink monster fur hat with bear ears that I found very wearable for a long time, it just doesn't go with my new winter coat, haha. Anyway, I like it how it is, and I can always add the ears if it strikes my fancy. Done in the suggested mission falls, it's much purpler than it looks here:

excuse the pjs and the toilet in the background, it's hard to take pictures of yourself ;P

As a mentioned, I also did some yarn recycling. 100% fine merino wool, recycled from a $6.99 thrift store sweater. The dyed skein is a much richer cranberry in the darker spots and pinker in the lighter spots, except a few where it stayed rather grey.

It doesn't look like much, but that's because the yarn is a pretty fine weight, I would say probably fingering weight. The entire back panel of the sweater is still un-recycled and I had to get rid of some of the sweater since I didn't do an amazing job of getting it apart at the seams (especially on that back panel, which is why I haven't tried to recycle it yet, haha) Anyway, the grey ball is from the sleeves, and the red skein/blob is the front panel, died in the microwave with 3 packets of kool-aid. The color's not all that evenly distributed, but I'm happy with it- especially considering that this was my first time both at recycling and yarn dying!

Oh, and the fingerless gloves were received very well :) She said her mom complimented them too!

I also just received the happy hooker from amazon- one copy for me and one for Helen, who already knows how to crochet, time for me to learn another craft!

Last night I did my first cable, inspired by Helen who brought her first cable swatch to school on Friday- what can I say, I have to keep up, haha. Even though it's just a little swatch I think it's given me the confidence to attempt a project with them... when I get some of my current WIPs done... or not... we'll see ;P

Instead of starting on my mom's birthday gift, or the knit pear I promised Laura, or my first pair of socks, last night I started a t-shirt quilt!

After taking this picture I cut out all the designs with a 14"x14" template I made from file folders and started to iron on interfacing. The facing isn't cooperating though, it just won't stick, I don't know what I'm going wrong :\ Ah well, it stuck in a few places and if worse comes to worse I can always sew the rest on. I have a lot of time to finish this one though, I just want it to be ready for college next year. I'll probably need some more t-shirts, but I have some more from shows I've been in, though some I actually wear so won't cut up, and want to get another t-shirt from my school to chop. I vow to finish this project, even if it doesn't happen until the summer.

I think those are all the updates in the craft world for this evening. I think I'm staying in tonight as I'm kind of cranky with the friends about supposed spring break plans, and Mike has his job until 9 anyway, so maybe I'll get more done. I should do homework, but crafting is the greater good... or evil ;)

The camera cord is missing.

2007-01-30T23:37:00.000-05:00

That means no blog updates, because really, what is a craft blog update without photos? Nothing, in my opinion. Recent news in short:

1. finished the kittyville, no ears. This has been done a while actually, but the ears were still being debated.
2. Helen came over which led to Recycling my (and her) first yarn. Mine was 100% grey merino wool from a goodwill sweater ($7- I know, pricey for goodwill, but still cheapo for lovely yarn!) It's a little skinnier than DK weight, not really lace though, I dunno.
3. Dyed my first yarn. One "skein" (3.5 oz) of the grey recycled + 3 packs of red kool aid + microwave and pyrex = one "skein" of variegated grey-pink-cranberry yarn. So soft and pretty :) (Though maybe has more grey left than I'd like ;P)
4. Finished everything for the owl swap. I'm so happy with the results. But of course, I couldn't post pictures of this anyway.
5. next project= using this yarn for knitty's branching out as a birthday gift for my mom? This might be a little too ambitious.

No pictures, so that is all for now.

Shopping Spree

2007-01-23T15:34:00.000-05:00

Today I went on a craft shopping spree. I woke up on the early side and explored the garment district, including a stop at Daytona Trims, and then went downtown to P&S Fabrics. It was wonderful. Funny, I was also in the Canal area last night for dim sum, bubble tea, and dessert... but that's another story- wonderful as well though, I assure you! Sadly, I did forget to bring my knitting for the long train ride back uptown- the 6 from Canal to 96th- I am making good progress on my kittyville hat, maybe 4 inches or so done? I'm excited :) But now I have even more to work on! ;P

Anyway, when I arrived home, laden with packages, my huge zipper lot from ebay arrived! Yes, that's right, 90 zippers in all length and all colors. Anyone up for a swap?? Haha.

Anyway, here's the haul!

3 beautiful floral/paisley prints. The top one is linen, the others are cotton I think. 1 yard ea.

brown floral cotton and brown paisley cord, 1 yard ea.

Cotton prints from P&S- sewing notions, peaches, floral, and animals.

The whole shabang!
Including: "tape measure" ribbon, magnetic snaps, assorted buttons, thread, 3 yards of fusible interfacing, a plain canvas tote for stenciling, 8 pieces of felt, knitting needles, and the zippers.

Almost all of it was really cheap too!! Of course, add up a lot of really cheap things and you've spent a decent amount... but still, it was worth it ;)

So, yes, I had a fun day. Now to start crafting with it all!!

All boxed up and ready to go

2007-01-20T19:11:00.000-05:00

The mini-gloves are finished!
These were great because they were such a quick knit. The second glove (to the right) is a tad looser, the bottom ribbing is slightly shorter, and the top ribbing is slightly longer, but I'm still very happy with them. This is my first knitted gift, other than a chunky garter stitch scarf I made my Dad when I first learned, so I hope they are well received. The girl I made them for really wanted me to knit her something, so I think she'll like them.

and here they are, all boxed up and ready to go. The box is a tiny thing from a gift package we received this holiday, and the gift tag is from my one very experimental attempt at handmade paper. I repeat, very experimental. I tied it up with lace because I have way more lace than ribbon lying around, haha.

Now, no more knitting until after my exams next week... hah, right. ;)

In the beginning, Natch created...

2007-01-19T19:04:00.000-05:00

a blog. So, welcome to my brand new craft blog, The Natchbox. Why The Natchbox? Well, I'm Natch, often known as Nathalie or Nat, and I'm just super witty, alright? ;P Anyway, now that I am practically a second term senior and have a little free time on my hands, I wanted to establish my own little place on the web where I post my crafts, etc. I love to sew, knit, and stencil, and am always experimenting and trying new things.

Anyway, I thought I'd start out with a few of my most recent finished objects and works in progress.

First, a reversible tote bag I made from a navy bed sheet, interfacing, and red star fabric I received in a swap. It was based on the tutorial found here. The pockets on mine are a bit short, and I had to switch threads from dark red to lighter red partway through, but overall I'm very happy with it. I took it to my Cornell interview today (navy side out) and received a compliment from my interviewer!

and a close up of the red star fabric and my wonky top stitching:

I also stenciled this shirt last weekend, inspired by a Mary Poppins bag challenge on craftster, which I probably won't get a chance to enter. I love Mary Poppins, so I decided to stencil a T-shirt instead. I made the stencil myself, based on a movie cover, and am quite happy with the result. I'm trying to decide if it needs something else, but I've already worn it and gotten some compliments, so we'll see if I feel like making changes.

Last but not least, I am working on these fingerless gloves for a friend's birthday on Monday. I finished one last night and cast on for the other this morning. They are a super quick knit, from this site, and I am loving the result!

I am also working on some things for a swap, but can't show any of that off yet.

Anyway, to a future of happy crafting and posting, cheers!