As I was visiting my favorite blogs today, I found these great Knitting Journal pages from KathrynIvy.
In am currently in two EtsyFast treasuries on Etsy featuring my felted ornaments and Three Trees Bag.
I'm not quite mid-way through my vacation. I am pleased to report that I had a wonderfully relaxing day:
1) slept in to almost 8:00 and then did my usual "computer thing"--email, blogs, Etsy, Flickr, etc. while drinking coffee.
2) visited two great thrift stores
3) my SO made us whole wheat pancakes for breakfast
4) felting a new sweater I picked up for a buck at the thrift store...beautiful beige Shetland wool. I discovered after the first felting why it was at the thrift store, because there were at least 4 small moth holes that became much larger. This was followed by more knitting and time on the computer.
5) visiting with my neighbor then fixed lunch--turkey san on delicious home made bread I made with me *new* bread maker (thrift store purchase several days ago for $8)
6) more computer fun plus knitting. I've started a yellow scarf, very simple stockinette pattern.
7) an hour at the gym and visiting the lapidary shop to look at jewelry lovelies. I also learned about the upcoming craft show and how I might participate next year.
8) more knitting and computer. By the way, the yellow yarn is something I picked up at the thrift store, 3 skeins for a couple of bucks!
9) dinner
8) movie (I picked up 3 dvds from the library and since they were free, the price was definitely right. Last night we watched "The Pursuit of Happyness" with Will Smith. I give it a ****)
So after thinking about my wonderful day, I realized it was a pretty perfect day of practice for retirement (not totally perfect because it was in the 60's at best and not a warm Arizona day). You could say I succeeded in my own "pursuit of happyness" for the day.
P.S. Yes, I know it's really spelled happiness. Well, you have to see the movie if you haven't already.
Well, today I completed the knitting on my Retro bag which I started just over a week ago. I used the "Retro" colorway in Patton's classic wool and a size 10.5 needle. I started with a rectangular bottom piece, then picked up stitches and knit in the round for about 16". I made a pocket as well as a piece to use to hold the magnetic snaps. A 5-stitch I cord will be the strap, I made it about 100" long. Finally, I single crocheted a double strand about 10" long into a loop inside the bag (for keys). Tomorrow, I plan to felt the bag so check back to see how it turns out!
In celebration of completing 30 days of crafting, I created a slide show of all my activities:
Etsy has a new feature called "Gift Guides". I was happy to find one of my items, the recylced star ornaments were chosen for one of the guides, the one called Eco Friends, gifts that are ecologically friendly.
Isn't this a great photo of the week? I know I am a day late with my Friday Flickr photo and also that I haven't blogged in almost a week. I've been on vacation and am thoroughly enjoying myself. Today, it's cool and a bit wet here and it seems like a good day to stay inside and get caught up on blogging, Flickr, and my store.
I love the way that Altered Angel caught the detail in this photo, both the intricate spider web design and the water droplets. Isn't the spider nature's most wonderful weaver? The skill of the spider makes me want to warp up my loom and weave. I haven't used my floor loom in decades, actually, I'm sure I've forgotten how to warp it up. But I do plan to get back to it someday. Altered Angel is one of my newer contacts, she is apparently from the UK, check out her craftiness and her photos here. I don't know if she has an Etsy store, though I'll look for her there.
In addition to vacationing this week, I've been working on a large bag which I will be felting. I'm probably at least 2/3 of the way done with the knitting. I've stayed with my crafting 365 quest and today is day 29. Here are the most recent photos of the bag and i-cord strap which I worked on the last several days:
I've also found three or four wonderful wool sweaters for felting at the local thrift stores. Not sure if I'll get started on those while I'm here because I don't have access to a sewing machine. That may have to be a thrift store find in the future.
I've also been a bit challenged by a location for my photos in the villa, but found I could also take photos outside on a rock on my patio:
I started this new bag which is a custom order. I' m using Patton's wool in the "Retro" colorway. I worked on it on my trip yesterday and today here in sunny Arizona. It was a beautiful day, about 85 degrees. In addition to visiting the little town of Tubac and touring around the area of Green Valley, we are spending our time here:
Today, I have items in two treasuries on Etsy, my "Love Etsy" card case is in one and my Nano case is in the other. 
Well, I've made it three weeks with my crafting 365 project. It's actually gone by very quickly.
Today, I was pleased to find myself in a treasury. It was a slow crafting day, however, as I worked all day and then came home to prepare for a vacation trip. I did work a bit on my scarflette and I felted my second set of blue coasters. Since you can see it in the photo, I'll confess my lazy secret with knitting/felting: Rather than weaving in ends, I often leave them hanging. The felting seems to take care of the need for weaving in and it saves lots of time. After felting, I just snip them off with the scissors.
It has been one of the most beautiful fall seasons I can remember. The squirrels have been out in force in my backyard and I've really enjoyed watching them working. They are such a good model of preparation for winter.
This isn't my own photo, but one from kalurah, one of my Flickr contacts. It's my Flickr Photo of the week!
In addition to taking wonderful photos, Kalurah has a blog I enjoy: http://whiletheyplay.blogspot.com/
Also an eclectic Etsy store, While they play: www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5032640
It's my birthday. A few weeks ago I decided to buy my first "Showcase" spot to celebrate my birthday. If you don't already know, Showcase is a feature on Etsy where sellers can purchase a spot to have their item showing more prominently for a 24 hours period. About that time, unfortunately, Etsy more than doubled their price for a showcase spot. They created showcases for each of the major categories around the same time, so I decided to buy a spot in the "Bags and Purses" section since the price was more reasonable. Here is what it looks like and you can find it on Etsy all day today.
Also, an added surprise, when I opened Etsy a few minutes ago, I found my pink nano case was featured in a treasury by Rosie Made. Thanks for the birthday surprise!
I have the day off work and plan to relax, play on Etsy, go to lunch with a friend, and perhaps create something.
P.S. In addition to working a bit on my scarflette, I fulled (felted) this sweater. I plan to use it in a future project, probably a bag.
This is a relatively mindless project I worked on while in Boise and traveling. It's a simple K1P1 rib and I think I cast on 15 stitches. I haven't decided exactly how I will finish it (with a button, or a loop to attach it). It probably needs to grow to about twice this size before I can consider it finished.
On Day 18, yesterday, I completed another set of blue coasters on my trip to Boise. I think I will crochet or knit an edge on this set in white or beige so I'll post a photo when I get them finished. I also made them larger than the last set. I think I cast on 14 stitches to start and knit them with a double strand of worsted weight wool.
I got a the message below today from letitiah from Eco Etsy (an Etsy Street team) that I'd been blogged. The grey felted bag I just completed yesterday was included on the Eco Etsy blog.
Thank you so much for selling green products. I've blogged about one of
your items in the latest eco etsy street team post: http://ecoetsy.blogspot.com/2007/11/updates-from-world-of-trashion.html.
Please feel free to pass the link on to your friends or post it in your shop
profile. Your work is great and I wish you all the success in
the world.
:)
Members of EcoEtsy will work together to:*find attractive ways to reuse packing material*find promotional materials that are eco-friendly*manage a blog that encourages Etsy buyers and sellers to waste less*promote Etsy through the creative reuse and labeling of packaging*create tutorials for sellers who want to create stamps or stencils to reuse packaging*create a forum for Etsy sellers to share eco-friendly ideas*create a list of tips for sellers who want their shops to be more "green"*educate buyers on the importance of reuse*find promotional materials that are eco-friendly
EcoEtsy is different from Trashion in that it focuses on reuse and recycling in the business of Etsy, rather than in crafting. EcoEtsy and Trashion plan to collaborate at times, and will likely share many members.
EcoEtsy is open to all sellers who want to waste less in the process of selling, and to encourage buyers to do their part as well.So that's pretty much our goals to start out with. We plan to communicate online thru the chat rooms on Etsy as well as the EcoEtsy Message Board. This will be a team that is open to all members of Etsy in the entire world. This team is not restricted to any certain area. We will raise money to create ads to promote our shops as well as environmental practices, events, promotions etc. We will eventually start an Etsy Shop totally dedicated to Eco friendly crafts, packaging, promo materials created by the team members. This shop will help raise money along with other events to promote our etsy shops and the well being of the environment.
We plan to be very active in our blog and eventually have blog authors who are dedicated to keeping the EcoEtsyblog updated on a weekly basis. There will be team sales in our shops as well as special items made to promote an eco way of life.
All inquiries about joining the team and for new member sign up information,please contact cuppeecake.
Yesterday, I thought I had made my "masterpiece" as far as felted recycled sweater bags go. I still love the "Sheep Bag" I made. However, this is my new favorite. It was made from my original design, similar to the Sheep bag, but with much more attention to detail and with lots of hand-stitching and finishing. I like the way I finished the top of this back, the magnetic closure, and the pockets inside and out.
I've already put this one in my Etsy store: http://homemadeoriginals.etsy.com but am still holding out on the Sheep Bag. I also listed a pair of felted Christmas stockings today, they are gorgeous burgundy with black and grey. I had them at the Boutique and many people commented on them though they didn't sell there (I did sell a few of my other stockings in different color combinations). 
I'm headed out tomorrow for meetings in Boise so am trying to come up with a portable project(s) I can take along so I can keep up my mad Crafting 365! I'll try to post while I'm gone, but I may miss a day.
This may be my all-time favorite bag from a thrifted/recycled sweater. I came up with a new design which involved using the ribbing for the bottom of the bag. I also covered an old button with sweater material because I couldn't find a button I liked. The sweater was a wonderful 100% pure virgin wool sweater, "Glencairn Knitwear" made in New Zealand. When felted, it makes a wonderfully thick bag. I used the sleeves for the straps, making them long enough for a shoulder bag and used the neck for an interior pocket. It's so wonderful, I can't decide if I will keep it or sell it.
I had a pretty crafty day. Besides recovering from my sale yesterday, I made another little knitted Christmas stocking ornament, finished up the coasters I made for a friend (see Flickr for my photos of these) and made the sheep bag. Now, if someone would just clean up my crafting area, it's a total mess!
The Holiday Boutique was today. These are the mini-cheesecakes I took as a treat. they were all consumed!
It was a very successful first sale for me (so far I have only sold on Etsy and to my friends individually). I sold 20 items including some of my larger bags which was about 20% of what I took to the boutique. I was asked and think I will participate next year. This is year 14 for the Home for the Holidays Boutique and they obviously have a following of customers.
Mini cheesecakes
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
Vanilla wafers
Mix all ingredients (except vanilla wafers) together and beat until smooth.
Put one vanilla wafer in each muffin paper and add 2 Tablespoons of filling Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Cool and top with a small spoon full of cherry pie filling.
Not much time for crafting today, but I did manage to complete day 15 of 365 by knitting one more Christmas ornament mini stocking, pictured below with some sock yarn I bought to make more ornaments.
I continued my "out and about" afternoon by dropping off my 101 items for the Holiday Boutique and then picking up the ingredients for petite cheesecakes which will be my contribution to the Holiday Boutique food. I'm also working on my contribution to the door prizes which is a couple of felted heart ornaments and I finished fulling (felting) photographed below with the blue coasters I finished felting. 
Whew, it makes me tired just writing about my afternoon/evening. Now, plan to relax a bit, watch "Sicko" on DVD (actually, I am not sure that will be relaxing given the subject matter) and get off this computer. Tomorrow I'll try to post my recipe for the mini cheesecakes and a photo.
Here's my project for the evening: a set of simple garter stitch coasters knitted with a double strand of worsted wool. I cast on 12 stitches and knitted for about 22 rows or 4" . I am going to felt these a bit more before considering them finished. the coaster in the bottom left was run through the washer two times and the others only once.
This was a busy night because I also finished tagging and pricing the 101 items I am taking to Saturday's holiday boutique. When I saw it all ready to go I was astounded with what I have created in the last 4 months.
Anyway, this gathering of birds is much less sinister than in the movie. I love the way the one bird is caught in flight. I imagine all the birds sitting on the wire patiently waiting for the last straggler to land so they can start their meeting and decide when to fly off again. Wonderful photo!
Sand Fibers is also a wonderful artist who has an Etsy shop here. Her profile describes her as a " fiber and bead freak living and working in southern New Mexico." She makes wonderful things from beads and fiber and I often see her work featured in treasuries and on the front page of Etsy.
It's a grey day here, with intermittent rain. When we went to local craft fair this monring near where this photo was taken, it was cloudy but not raining but as the precipitation fell later, I thought about the poor artists who were set up outside. This is not weather you expect in Southern Arizona, even at this time of year. Tomorrow should be more of the same. A little disappointing for those who came her to escape winter, but nonetheless it is about 30 degrees warmer than it is at home.