In the works

In preparation for the busy schedule of my upcoming internship, I have decided to take some time off working. You know what this means: CRAFT TIME! Check out what I have in the works

As usual I'm knitting and knitting. This sweater is made out of lovely Malabrigo Rios Yarn in Sunset Colorway. The pattern is Ravine. Pretty, right? It almost makes me want fall to come. Almost.

These two took sooooooo long- no one told me how much work refinishing is! But they are actually completed. The long table above is a beautiful cherry stain, and the slightly  blurry coffee table to the right I spraypainted. Cute right?

 

I'm crazy about this pillowcase I quilted out of Robert Kaufmann fabric! Isn't it just the sweetest?

 

I've been making some comfy comfy comfy nightgowns out of knit remnants . . . full tutorial to come!

Hope you guys are having a  fun and productive summer as well.

Rice Pack: Your new best friend

There is a not so friendly condition that runs in my family: migraines. My mom, sisters, and I all get terrible migraines. Mine usually stem from stiff and sore neck muscles that result from daily activities that can't exactly be avoided like, um, my job. My mom introduced me to the wonderful world of rice packs when I was still in middle school. These babies are the best. Pop them in to the microwave for about 3 minutes and you've got lovely lovely painkilling heat wherever you want. I use mine on my tummy for menstrual cramps, on my neck to soothe pre-migraine aches, on my feet in the depths of migraines to pull the blood away from my head, and on many other random aches and pains. I've introduced several of my friends to these lovelies and have gotten requests for more. The most fun thing is you can choose prints that really speak to the personality of the recipient. This is one I made for my good friend and brother from another mother Will, frontman of The World's Slowerst Comeback.

 See, even rockers like them! So go on, make one!

MATERIALS: 1/4 yard of flannel, prewashed
around 8 cups of rice
thread
ruler
tailor's chalk or colored pencil
PINS
dried lavendar (optional)


I started out with 1/4 yard of lovely soft flannel print. They make every kind of print imaginable these days, which I find really fun. I chose these electric guitars for my rocker friend. Please pre-wash the fabric and cut off any frayed ends. If you find a nice remnant it can even be a few inches narrower or wider without compromising the finished product- save that moolah!

Start out by marking your fabric into 4 relatively even sections. Most flannel is 44" wide before washing so I mark it about every 5" across, leaving the extra fabric on the selvage edge. You'll understand why later. With wrong sides together, sew up the raw edges of your flannel.

Turn inside out and fill the tube you have created with approximately 2 cups rice and a pinch of lavendar. Then pin carefully alond the line you created with chalk to prevent the rice from spilling into the next section. Try to push the rice to the finished side as much as possible. In general I'm not big on pins but  believe me, I have broken more than one needle in this process by catching it on a grain of rice while sewing.   After sewing through this first line, repeat the process to fill up three rice packet chaimbers.



 The last packet is probably the trickiest, and might be easier for you if you are more meticulous than me about ironing and such. Before you fill the last chaimber with rice, iron over the raw edges abour 1/4" all the way around with the extra fabric you left yourself (ahah!). Fill with rice and lavendar and make sure all the rice and raw edges are on the inside before pinning extra carefully.

Sew everything closed. I like to pass over this seam two or three times to ensure it's really shut. Nothing is worse than having a small hole and all your rice leaking out as you use it.

And. . . . Tada! Finished rice pouch, all ready to ease the aches and pains that life is sure to bring you. You can reuse this may many times; it is reusable for many years of good use before the rice is just too dang dry to continue.

 Enjoy!

No, Seriously.

So I haven't ever posted a real entry on this blog. My bad! Life gets busy and other things get in the way! But this time for real. I have some real craft projects planned to show you. Just wait, I'll post and it will be worth the wait.

Introduction

It's hard these days to figure out what you want to do with your life. I myself have tried on a multitude of hats. All through college I held  various part time jobs: from feeding horses to grilling meat, night security and bookstore cashier, knitting tutor and donating plasma. My favorite was my three years working as a sales associate at Jo Ann Fabrics. My stash grew to epic proportions, meaning my salary was basically paid in fabric, I had a lot of fun, my co-workers were awesome, and I learned how to craft EVERYTHING.

After graduating college with the two equally useless degrees of a BFA in Fine Arts (Metalsmithing) and a BA in Japanese Language, I applied to teach English in Japan and got placed in the mountains of Shimane Prefecture in the tiny town of Okuizumo. It was an amazing experience, but I was lonely and missed my boyfriend who is a Japanese citizen but was working in Iowa. So, I came home, married him, and found a job to support us while he applied for US citizenship. I am currently working as an aid for people with developmental disabilities. It's a rewarding and aggravating  job that takes a lot of patience.

So what is all that life experience leading up to? Well, I am now pursuing my Masters in Social Work. I want to work with people with mental disabilities and addictions. That's my responsible side talking. My gypsy artist side wants to run off and become a tattoo artist. Seriously. I am obsessed with tattoos and tattooing. It was the subject of my senior project in college.  So, to reconcile my nurturing responsible side and my rebellious artistic side, I decided to pretend to live a normal life while quietly going rogue. I knit like crazy, and have decided to do guerrilla knitting.

Follow the adventures of a crafty vegetarian with a Japanese husband and two feline children as she prepares to make as much mischief as possible while making a difference in this crazy world.