Treasury x 2

How nice to find myself featured in two treasuries on Etsy. I'm the beige wristlet and the red neck warmer. Both are available in my Etsy shop. Click either photo for a larger view.

Find of the Week

What a great find...I've already listed some books I'd be willling to trade. All you pay is the shipping cost to send the traded item, no fees for listing or swapping.

swaptree.com: a free service that allows members to exchange books, DVDs, videogames and CDs. List items you have or want by entering their UPC or ISBN numbers, and the site will match you with users for a trade. Print out postage through the site; all you pay for is shipping. Check it out.

Childhood memories

It's time for the EtsyBloggers Blog Carnival again and the topic I've chosen is "Something You Did When A Child That You Will Always Remember".

The choice seemed simple even though I have many wonderful childhood memories. What immediately came to mind were the family vacation trips we would make each summer to Canada. My grandfather had a summer home near Trail, B.C. in a little community called Robson. His place was right on the Arrow Lakes.
I was six when we moved from Canada to California and after that my family made a pilgrimage back to Trail and Robson each summer for several weeks. Some of my memories of these trips include:

• Picking cherries in the orchard above the properties, also digging potatoes and harvesting other vegetables and fruits.
• Going for walks along with road with my grandmother and going out in the evenings to visit neighbors or having them in.

• Several days or a week overlapped with my two male cousins and my Aunt and Uncle on most trips. My grandfather had made and hung two wooden swings in the large trees on his Robson property and while both families were there, we had to fight our cousins for them.
• Car rides with my grandfather to visit his friends and go to "town", i.e. Trail or Nelson. My grandfather was the Mayor of Trail from 1924-1929 and 1940 to 1946 and knew everyone in and around there. During the war, he had a wager with the mayor of Nelson about which city could sell the most war bonds. Nelson won the bet and my grandfather had to submit to milking a cow in the middle of the street near City Hall while a crowd watched. My aunt has a cartoon drawing of this occasion.
• Row boat and motor boat (1/2 hp engine) rides on the Arrow Lakes and just sitting in the rowboat tied to my grandfather's dock and feeling the waves when a big boat or boom went by. Swimming in the cold, cold water.

• Playing scrabble, "pig", canasta and later bridge along with other games.
• Sleeping in the "little cabin" my grandfather built and having to wait until the curtains were open in the house before we could go in to the house each morning. Breakfast was always "porridge" i.e. oatmeal.
• Using the outhouse (now a potting shed) and being afraid I would fall in the hole or that spiders would get me.

Now that I'm grown, my grandparents and my parents are gone, I still love to visit. My aunt owns the Robson property and it feels a lot like going home to visit there. On one of my recent visits, we arranged to see the inside of my grandfather's house in Trail and that brought back many wonderful memories too.
While reminiscing about the wonderful summer vacations at Robson, I found myself pulling the family history information I have. My father put together a book after my son was born that details much of the family history, including my mother's family. I also have a wonderful CD/book of Clark Family history that was put together by some other descendants of my great great grandfather and grandmother, John and Jane Cooper Clark. I came across a short autobiography my grandfather, Herbert Clark, wrote and was struck by his adventurous early life . Here are some extracts from the document he wrote in 1967 (the year I graduated from high school)

"Born on a farm near Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia" in 1885. Left home in 1902 to learn the Machinist trade and went to work in Massachusetts. Went to Edmonton, then Kelowna, B.C in 1906, visiting Trail BC in 1907 but went on to Seattle, then "drifted East" as far as Williston, North Dakota. "By May 1909 had enough of the Dakotas and moved North to Nelson, B.C. working there with the Nelson Iron Works and the Kootenay Engineering Company until November 1909 when I took a job with The C M &S Co then operating the Snowshoe Mine at Phoenix, B.C. which lasted until May 1910 then Westward Ho to Vancouver, while taking a look at the waterfront I saw a steamer due to leave for Australia the following day, decided to take a look down under."
"Worked in Sydney, N.S.W. and coastal points for a year then in May 1911 booked passage to England via the Suez Canal, six weeks and four days later arrived in Southampton in time to see part of the coronation ceremonies of King George V and visit the birthplace of my father near Aberdeen, Scotland and then booked passage to Nova Scotia. Shortly after my arrival back home I took on a two year contract as Machine Shop Foreman with the Cerro de Pasco Mining and Smelting Company in Cerro de Pasco Peru, elevation 14,400 feet above sea level. "
"Returned to Canada in late 1913 (he was then 28) where I took a job with C.M.S." which led to his employment at the Trail smelter, a place he continued to be employed until his retirement in 1946.

I have a couple of souvenirs from my grandfather's time in Peru, these wonderful silver llamas which he made or had made while he was there. They do have an incredible amount of detail but they were difficult to photograph, in part because they have a significant amount of tarnish.

My research about Cerro de Pasco led me to this page about lamas (with some photos taken about the time of my grandfather's stay there). I also read that Cerro de Pasco is the highest city in the world and in contrast to the sound of it's name, it is described as a barren, bleak area which was known for it's silver mines and later copper and other metals were mined there.

Symmetry

555 hearts on Etsy...what a nice round number! And 303 days of crafting. Today I visited with owner of the LYS about my upcoming knitting class. I'll be teaching a beginning cable class on September 20 using my neck warmer pattern. In preparation, I've been experimenting with some different cable designs.

Crafting 365, Day 300

I made it to day 300! Tonight I worked on some cable samples for the knitting class I am teaching in September. Here are the last 36 days of Crafting 365 photos for your enjoyment:

I'm back....New Flickr Widget

I'm just back from my California trip and missing my little grand-daughter already. My CPH sweater #2 is coming along nicely, thanks to lots of baby and Olympics watching, the sleeves are almost finished...that leaves just the hood and button bands.

Here's a neat new widget that tracks my Flickr account. You can get one too by clicking on it... I'm impatiently waiting for it to load my data....hello, it is tomorrow already!



Finally, I noticed while I was on my trip I was in this wonderful treasury. Click on the photo for a larger view. I love the combination of items:

First time Grandma pics

IMG_3990, originally uploaded by homemadeoriginals.

6 days visiting my first grandchild will be ending soon. It will be hard to leave. Ella has grown and changed even in the few days I've been here. Here's a photo of her in the itty bitty baby dress I made (not so itty bitty, as it turns out):

In addition to lots of baby watching and baby holdilng, I've made considerable progress on CPH #2. I'm knitting the sleeves (abouit 1/2 way done) and then have the hood and button bands to go.

Crafting 365, Day 292, Last minute baby dress

Crafting 365, Day 192, Last minute baby dress, originally uploaded by homemadeoriginals.

I'm headed off for a visit to meet my grand daughter in the morning, so today I had to make time to make these for her today. I've had the fabric for some time but since it's a tiny dress I thought I'd better get it finished before Ella is too big to wear it.

I've packed several knitting projects for the trip, including the yarn to finish Central Park Hoodie #2, and yarn for this sweater in a 12 month size

However, I'm leaving this new yarn at home even though I am dying to get knitting with it, soft lovely alpaca that I plan on making....

.

this....

Sweater Addiction?

I think this sweater pattern is addictive. It's the Central Park Hoodie. I finished #1 yesterday but already have the back done on #2 (I started on it while I was waiting for my 60" cable for my options needle to arrive so I could knit the button band in one piece.) I started sweater #1 on July 5 and finished it August 15. I think I've only knitted one other adult sized sweater in my life, so I see this as a huge accomplishment. The fact that I love this sweater makes completing it all the more special. (The first one I knit was rarely worn, though I still have it, just couldn't part with it after all the work!)

Here's #1 completed I used Plymouth Encore Worsted weight (75% acrylic and 25% wool), used size 6 and 8 needles and knit size 40. I made the sweater longer, increased every 6 rows on the sleeves to give more room, did a three needle bind off for the hood, shortened the sleeves, and knitted a 1" button band with i-cord bind off. I plan to put a separating zipper in once I find or order (from zipperstop.com) one to match.

All the details including my yarn and modifications are in my Ravelry account.

And here's my start on #2, which is knitted in Cascade 220 super wash.

Symmetry

I just realized that yesterday I posted my 288th Crafting 365 photo and earlier today I made my 288th blogpost. Or today is my 289th day of crafting 365 and this post is my 289th post. How's that for symmetry?

You can see my 288 days of Crafting 365 in the slideshow in the right margin of my blog or in my Flickr account.

The most recent 36 photos are shown in the photo above.

Tools of the Trade

August 18th Blog Carnival, for Etsy Bloggers:

Choose one of the 2 topics to write about:

1. "Back to School" What does it mean to you?


2. "Tools of the Trade" Tell of your favorite tool or a tool you use in your craft.

I chose to write about #2 since "back to school" doesn't have much of a connotation to me anymore (my children are grown and I'm not a teacher) .

I've been thinking about what I should feature as my favorite tool for several days. I could list several things I regularly use and love, like my rotary cutter, my Options interchangeable knitting needles, and my bamboo knitting needles (straights and dps), I have quite a collection of these. I could also write about my washing machine (for felting) with jeans and tennis balls for extra agitation as a favorite tool or piece of equipment. My sewing machine (New Home) is also an essential in my creative process. I have a floor loom, a table loom, and a spinning wheel that I rarely use, so I don't think they can be counted as favorites, although the spinning wheel was custom made for my mother and I do love it.

When I reflect on all these tools, I have to say my #1 favorite tool is actually my computer.



I say this because:

• it allows me to connect to the world, and more importantly to the community of crafters and bloggers, including my "friends" from Etsy, Flickr, and my blog
• it allows me to sell my handcrafted items to the world
• I can share photos and find inspiration from other crafters from my Crafting 365 Flickr group or Flickr and blogging friends
• I can find patterns or develop my own using my computer
• I can share my knitting projects on Ravelry, get ideas and help from other Ravelers, and meet wonderful knitters from around the world
• I can order supplies, books, materials on line
• I can keep records for my little business using the Excel spreadsheet I designed and file my Schedule C with the IRS and my state sales taxes on line (well, maybe this part isn't exactly a "favorite")
• I can feed my creative desires through blogging. I love finding new gadgets and widgets and ways to improve my blog. I love reading other blogs for inspiration and fun. And I love sharing things I've made in the hopes that someone else can find inspiration in turn.

Anniversary Sale, Etsy Bloggers Street Team

★ SALE!! EtsyBloggers 1st Anniversary SALE!! *5 DAYS ONLY* 8/13 thru 8/17 ★

We are the official street team for those who love to blog abut their craft, the creative process, and other Etsians! In the EtsyBloggers team you will find a global group of talented artists who offer a wide range of items which are handmade, vintage, and supplies.Visit these EtsyBloggers shops from Wednesday 8/13 thru Sunday 8/17 and celebrate our team's 1st Anniversary with us!!
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Got a blog?Love Etsy?Check us out! http://etsybloggers.com/

Three More Treasuries!

Lucky me, I'm in 3 more treasuries on Etsy. It's the Etsy Blogger's anniversary and I have other Etsy bloggers to thank for this honor:

Treasury x 2

I found myself featured in two more treasuries on Etsy. Cute babies in the second one, too! Click on pictures for a larger view.

Three needle bind off-success

I used a three needle bind off for the hood of my Central Park Hoodie. It is awesome, provides a smooth seam that looks wonderful. Here is a photo of the bind off in progress. I used the instructions at the bottom of this document from Knitty.com to guide me and they were super. I highly recommend this bind off when you can use it...hoods and shoulder seems like the most likely uses.

Basically, you divide the stitches in half onto two needles, then use the next smaller sized needle to repeatedly knit into the back of the front stitch and front of the back stitch, then bind off.

Treats for the eyes

I am a proud first-time Grandma as of Monday, August 4. Ella was born at 12:04 on 8/4 and I must say she is beautiful, though I haven't seen her in person yet.

Here are a few other treats, from Etsy, where I am featured in two treasuries:

Buttons!

Crafting 365, Day 279, new buttons, originally uploaded by homemadeoriginals.

Aren't these gorgeous buttons.? I exchanged them on the most recent alpaca neck warmer I knitted and it makes a huge difference. I actually love the fact that the buttons don't match, but coordinate. The light is a bit funky because I took this shot in a Boise hotel when I was there for meetings last week. The neck warmer is actually more of a deep purple, not burgundy as it appears here.

Crafting 365/277, Tie dye bag

Crafting 365/277, Tie dye bag, originally uploaded by homemadeoriginals.

I bought this tie dye fabric some time ago and never had a use for it. This is a little drawstring bag I whipped up today that has a soft lavender sweater as the lining. It's very soft, making it a good bag for jewelry or something you don't want to scratch. Could the beginning of a new line in my Etsy shop.

Here are the most recent photos of my crafting 365 project. There is a slide show of all 277 items in the right side bar of my blog. Also I've added a link to a tutorial for making a skein winder. I'm hoping I can get my BF who is very handy to make me one.

Treasures

Tulip's Treasure Box is the featured blogger for August for the Etsy Bloggers Street team. She's a very active member of our team of Etsy Bloggers. Her blog and Etsy store are, indeed, filled with treasures. The photo above is of a necklace in her other Etsy store, called OctahedronJewelry. Octahedron oc·ta·he·dron is "a three-dimensional solid figure/shape having eight plane faces, a regular solid figure with eight equal triangular faces".

Congratulations, Tulip's Treasure Box!

Crafting 365, Day 275, Red alpaca neck warmer

Crafting 365, Day 275, Red alpaca neck warmer, originally uploaded by homemadeoriginals.

Wow, 90 more days and I reach my goal of 365 consecutive crafting days. I have to admit that some days my crafting has consisted of knitting a few rows, but most days I have spent at least an hour making something. This is my most recent neck warmer. If you read my blog regularly,you may be about ready to say "enough with the neck warmers"! But I do love the design (my own) and it seems to keep selling on Etsy. This is another one created with Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande (it does NOT come from baby alpacas, but rather a certain part of the wool from the alpaca, I'm told).

Anyway, it is wonderfully soft and warm and I love the rich red color which may be just a little less orange-red than this picture shows, more of a wine/burgundy.

Today, the owner of my local LYS asked it I would teach a course in September on knitting this neck warmer. it is a great first cable project. I said yes and just need to decide which evening or Saturday in September will work best with my schedule.

Tonight, I roamed around downtown for the First Friday Art Walk. I saw some wonderful jewelry, paintings, and some unique photography. The photographer is Jesse Sena and you can find him on my space www.myspace.com/senaphotography

This one is titled "Roots" and is some sort of photo shopped (?) mirror image of wonderful tree roots: