Oh the Cuteness!

Since I can feel that summer is fast coming to a close, I decided to make myself something to keep warm on the drafty buses out in SF. I have been knitting this cowl for a month or so, mostly exclusively at the meetup group, and it came together really fast and easy (that's about 4 days in total). The yarn (Paton's Rumors) did not go as far as I thought it would and I only had one ball in my stash. I went to a bunch of craft stores to try to find it again and I was disturbed by the lack of variety at Michael's. They used to have so much yarn, now the stores are being overrun with scrapbooking supplies and all they have is boring old Red Heart worsted, some Lion that gets about as interesting as the Homespun stuff, and a little Paton's. Booooring. So I had to go online to find another ball and of course the dye lots didn't match. Oh well, it looks like they don't make that yarn anymore, but since it is for me and not to sell I don't mind the color change. So ...

Sorry it's been a while since my last crafty post! The new commute out to San Francisco has taken some getting used to, but I think I've got the hang of it now and I have been making more room in my schedule for some much-needed crafting and such. Today my roommate and I are having a girly day, sitting around listening to records and sewing little things. I keep catching the side of the back pocket on my jeans on an old door latch on the kitchen entry, and I have torn big holes in two of my favorite pairs, so I patched them with big squares of awesome fabric today. But mostly, I wanted to show off this sewing project that I am really proud of... Take one super soft shirt that I got from my mom for my birthday. It fits great and has 3/4 length sleeves which I adore, but it is a little boring all on its own. Add to the equation a ton of inspiration from the girls at my weekly stitch n' bitch meetup and you get this: One of the girls who comes every couple of weeks is a fabr...

Well, I had to work yesterday (normally my day off), so I had no time this week at all for crafting. And I just realized I forgot to take pictures of the cute zip pouches I made for all the giveaway winners. Oh well, they will get a surprise then! I worked yesterday because my bosses opened the new toy store in San Francisco! So yes, finally I am taking Bart/ Buses to work in the city! It's an amazing shop, full of life and color, and in a really great neighborhood to boot! We are on the corner of Fillmore and Lombard streets, so come by and say hello if you are in the area! Another big announcement is that I finally got a record player! I have been wanting one for a very long time, and this one was brand new on Amazon for $40.00 plush shipping! It reminds me of the one my parents had when I was a kid. It's very compact, actually smaller than a 48 record so that the top has cut-outs where the record sticks out as it plays. Very simple, no-frills, with built-in speakers (thoug...

Whilst I was rummaging through my closet, going through my old purses and looking for things to go into the "garage sale box", I happened upon this little fluff ball: I clearly remember my sister giving me this neat-o handmade purse for my birthday some years ago, but it looked to be filled with unfinished crochet projects I scarcely remembered. As I started pulling them out of the bag it all came flooding back... Unfinished crocheted flower brooches, cupcakes, acorns, wrist warmers, aminekos, business card holders, and various other nearly-finished amigurumi came pouring out. I know that the black amineko was supposed to be a Christmas present for my mother a couple years ago. I vaguely remember that this was the bag I kept all my projects in. I think it must have gotten lost in the fray when I moved out of my old apartment. I feel like such a heel for abandoning all of these projects right when they were so close to completion. But I will make it up to them... I guess I kno...

For the third prize basket, comment number 41, Chase ! For the second prize basket, comment number 28, Hannah ! And for the grand prize, comment number 30, Kelli ! Thanks so much to everyone for playing and leaving me all those wonderful comments all month long! Please send me your contact info at ohthecuteness@hotmail.com and I will send you your prizes on Wednesday! And congrats to the winners!

They should call me "little miss last-minute" these days, but at least I am getting things done and not letting important deadlines pass me by. My schedule got thrown out of whack because I went to visit my parents for a little pre-birthday fun this past weekend. I had hoped to post this stuff last Wednesday and to have done a shop update on Saturday, but I had to switch days off and spent them all in Paso. Anywho, blah blah blah, let's get to the good part, yes? Here's the spread of prizes, all waiting to be arranged in the pretty little baskets I went on and on about yesterday: Yaaay! So I have picked all these little goodies out from the most coveted parts of my stash, and made some too! We have: Vintage Japanese tin butterfly pins, amigurumi acorns (with hanging loops), fancy little spools of baker's twine, vintage cotton mushrooms, and vintage flower beads... Big baggies of vintage and new buttons, some Japanese dessert erasers, and some little blue plaid 3-...

For those of you who would like to make one of the little fast baskets but don't need the entire tutorial , here is the pattern, plain and simple. This is also good to look at after you have completed the tutorial, so you can see what a pattern for in-the-round crochet looks like. Materials: H hook (5.0mm) Ball of Sugar and Cream worsted weight cotton yarn in Natural A small amount of colored yarn or hemp twine for the stripe Abbreviations: st - stitch slst - slip stitch ch - chain dc - double crochet Round 1: Begin with the adjustable loop in the natural yarn. Ch 2 (counts as first dc), and crochet 11 more dc into the loop. Join to beginning ch with a slst. (12 dc) Round 2: Ch 2. 2 dc in each stitch around, join with a slst. (24 dc) Round 3: Ch 2. *1 dc in next st, 2dc in next. Repeat from * around, join with a slst. (36 dc) Round 4: Ch 2. *1 dc in next 2 st, 2 dc in next. Repeat from * around, join with a slst. (48 dc) Round 5: Ch 2. *1 dc in next 3 st, 2 dc in next. Repeat from...