Team ESST Vintage---Oldies but Goodies :)

I'm a member of the Etsy Supply Street Team, and this lovely slide show (which I didn't make, see credit at the bottom) showcases some crafty vintage finds! Check it out, and check them out! Search Etsy with Team ESST to find the best supplies on Etsy!

Team ESST SlideShow by RunswithScissors4

Adventures in Recycling...

I've wanted to recycle my own yarn forever, but I haven't had the courage to try it before now. I found this really excellent tutorial on the process the other night and summoned up the courage to try it. I went out thrifting yesterday and found this glorious sweater at Goodwill. The yarn's a 60/40 Cotton/Acrylic mix, and the colors are dreamy. Plus, it only cost me $2! (sorry, the picture's icky!)

When shopping, I checked for 1)types of seams 2)weight of yarn (I really wanted heavy worsted yarn, lots of sweaters are made with smaller yarns and I didn't want to go that way on the first try) 3)price (because why pay a lot for it when I don't have to!)

If you want to try this yourself, it's important to know what to look for before you get started. There are only certain sweaters that can be unraveled, some can't be due to the way they were constructed. I can't get a good detail shot of the seaming, I'm expecting that's partially due to the colorway of this sweater, and also my lighting. Look at the tutorial above which shows really good detail example of the types of seams to look for. Once you get that down pat, the rest should be easy.

So, I've got my sweater with the right seams, and I started unraveling. The tutorial says to cut it, but I'm kind of a chicken, so before I started cutting, I spent some time with a small crochet hook unlacing it a bit. You can see the fine thread that the sweater's sewn together with, and once you know how to look for it, it's easy to cut. The sweater pulls right apart.

When I got to the sleeve section, I found that the sleeve would come straight out, just like frogging stitches. This is the hole where the sleeve would be attached.

After the sleeve is seperated, I went across the shoulder and around the collar. The collar was horrid! At this point I've figured out that the stitches used to connect all the pieces are slip stitches, and that if you can find them on the side and cut every few stitches, it comes apart easier and you run much less risk of cutting the sweater yarn. Once I finished the neck, I went across the other shoulder, back around the second sleeve, and back down the other seam.

Here are the 4 pieces, two sleeves and the front and back panels.

After this, I looked around for a corner, found a tied off spot, and started unraveling. :) This is the yarn from the front and back panels, I'm guessing it's about sport weight.

I haven't unraveled the sleeves yet. I'm excited about giving this sweater new life. I'm thinking the yarn shown here will be a nice scarf, double stranded, and the sleeves could definitely make some gloves. It's sooo soft, so some nice stuff will come from this.

I love the process and will definitely do this again! :)

Giving a little back...

This time of year makes my brain start thinking about charity. I always try to do little things to give back year round. I donate clothing to my local non-profit instead of tossing it in the trash (people don't do that, there's always somewhere local that will take things!) and when we use them, I also donate my soda cans to the same place (because they get them crushed for money.)

Sometimes I'll randomly give a dollar or two to some foundation, but it really takes cold weather and the holiday season each year before I start thinking harder about giving back.

Every year the above mentioned local non-profit organization, Appalachian Outreach, (which just happens to be a branch out of my alma mater) does a Coats for the Cold drive here locally. I always try to give something, or at least help out with collecting coats and accessories from other people. This year, I just happen to be downsizing in my Etsy shop and I've got bunches of hand-crafted scarves and hats that haven't found happy homes. So I'm making a box full and taking them down to AO to be part of the Coats for the Cold drive next week.

I highly encourage everyone to find out if there's a local Coats for the Cold drive in your area any time in the next few weeks, and if there is, to find something that you could donate for the good of others this winter. Or do something to give back. I'm a pretty big fan of Toys for Tots too, and I try to do that every year, or another local toy drive. Even if it's just something little, it makes a big difference to people who maybe can't afford a new coat, or scarves and hats for that matter, or kids who aren't going to have a great Christmas for whatever reason.

So, go and give a little back! Right now! :)

I keep on fallin'...

IN LOVE!

Have you heard of Pandora yet? It makes my heart sing! It's Internet radio, and not just random Internet radio either, but customizable radio! You enter an artist, or a song, and it compiles a streaming radio station based on music from that artist and other similar artists.

You can't pick a specific song and start with it, nor can you browse the list once it starts, it just streams. You can tell Pandora if you like or dislike an artist or song as it streams into your playlist, and it remembers and builds your list based on that.

And the best part?

It's totally free!

Pandora gives you 40 free hours to listen each month, and you can make lots of different lists too! If you go over the 40 hours, you have the option of paying 99 cents for the rest of the month unlimited, or you can subscribe to a more advanced service that has more services and unlimited listening.

I really like how it's helped me discover several new artists just based on one artist that I like, Anya Marina, who rocks my socks off. :) This is an Imeem playlist, since one thing Pandora doesn't do is let you compile and post specific lists, I had to use another site.

Some of the songs are only 30 second clips but you can listen to the whole song on the Imeem website. If you look in the top of the box (next to the artist photo on the right side) while listening to a 30 clip you'll see a ? and you can click it to go through to Imeem to listen to the full song, and you should be able to do that without an Imeem account. Enjoy, and go check out Pandora!

Pandoras Box

Fall Scarf Fun!

The weather lately has been wonderfully cool, finally! It snowed in Colorado a few weeks ago!!! (right after I got back from there, of course *frown*)

Cool weather makes me start dreaming of pulling out the long sleeves, coats, sweaters, and scarves. I've been rearranging my Etsy shop lately to showcase some of my favorite fall designs. Here are a few of my favorite fall friendly scarves. There's a ton more where these come from, so check me out! :)

White Chocolate, $18

Mardi Gras, $30

Cirque, $25

Adventures of the Traveling Scarf!

As I've mentioned before, I spend a lot of my time over at the HPKCHC (Go Slytherin!). Well, this glorious idea came about to start a round robin type traveling scarf group, and it was so overwhelming received that it got its own Ravelry Group.

There are about 50 people in four different groups currently making scarves. I'm just blown away by how neat of an idea this actually is. I didn't take a picture of my square (because I'm a bit of an idiot sometimes, really) but I've requested one from Australia where my scarf currently is. Yep, Australia! Isn't that the coolest?

By the time my scarf arrives at me again, it will have visisted several spots in Australia, England, and have taken a scenic tour of these United States. There are 12 of us total in each scarf group.

I only recently got the first scarf from the person above me on the list (she's in New Hampshire). We each add our own yarn and pattern/stitch of our choice to each scarf, following some basic rules set by the owner of the end scarf. I really hope she's not out there somewhere, about to read my blog, because I'm about to post a picture of her scarf on it. :)

waits to make sure....

Okay then. Her starter piece was this nice little knitted cable section, sooo soft and pretty. I started on the same end as her cast on and did a nice little front post/back post ribbed section in a pretty green. Even though I can knit, I'm not planning on knitting on anyone's scarves unless they want knitting only, as I'm not very good at anything except basic stockinette just yet.

I feel really special to be taking part in something so cool, and I'm going to share pictures of the scarves as I get them and work on them.  I'm hoping I can still get a picture of my original starter from Australia without anything else on it yet (I want my scarf to be a surprise) and I'll post that too. So, that's me, how are you?

The pics of knitted glory...

Or not knitted glory. But there are pictures, nonetheless.

What Knitting's Taught Me Thus Far...

I finished my first knitting project last night, and I'm so excited!

I've crocheted forever, but knitting is something quite new to me, and quite hard actually. I had tried to learn several times before, but it wasn't until my trip to Denver that I finally got someone (Kristen) who understood me well enough to get how to teach me.

I'm still terribly excited that I completed a project without having a breakdown or throwing the needles. The only thing I've ever managed to knit before this is a swatch, and even that usually resulted in the needles being thrown across the room.

I'll be posting some pictures in a few days, but in the meantime, in honor of learning a few things along the way with this piece, I'd like to share those things, in hopes that they might help others.

• Unlike crochet, the number of starting stitches you cast on does not directly relate to the width of your piece.
• Related to the above point, casting on 40 on 15s is *way* too wide for a scarf
• Watching television while knitting can sometimes lead to disaster, and the forced repeat of several rows due to error.
• A russian join is a good way to connect two balls of yarn together, but it doesn't work very well when you're doing something open, or using 15s. Or when you aren't really good at it.

Denver Wanderings

I can't believe I waited an entire month before I blogged any about Denver! I had such an awesome experience out there with Man and Kristen, and I blogged on the Owls Blog about some of our crafty adventures. It involves whore cups and penguin stamps, and is definitely a worthy read.

Rather than repeat that all here, I'd like to put up a few different photos. You can see my entire album on Facebook.

I really enjoyed the scenic vistas out at Red Rocks and of course took a bunch of pictures out there. They were getting ready for a concert, so we couldn't actually see the ampitheatre itself, but we still got very close, closer than this actually but I just love this picture.

Downtown Denver. I just love buildings, and isn't this a beautiful sky??

Me playing with black and white photos and angle. This was a really cool street near where Man lives. It's got lots of cute little shops on it.

My Geek Dream's Coming True...

What is my geek dream, you might ask?

Let's just say it has something to do with Hogwarts. And by 'something to do with', I mean GO. Love. Hug daily.

And now...Universal Studios is going to bring that dream to life for so very many of us, coming to a theme park near you Spring 2010.

I Gotta Get Back to Hogwarts.

Must...Go...Hogwarts. I just like the idea of the whole little section of the park being devoted to Harry Potterdom. The article above says that all of the restaurants and everything in that area are going to be Potter themed, it's very exciting.

Something Every Day...

It's going to be something every single day, guaranteed, going forward. Starting...

NOW.



It might not be exciting, but it's something. Isn't it funny?

And Now I Present Yee...

Beware, the fandom's weakening...

A New Goal...

I'm just so horrid at updating this blog, and I hate it. My blog is like this constant nagging child, screaming for attention, and I'm just not any good at updating it.

So.

Since we're transitioning into the fall, I'm going to make it my goal to update my blog once a week minimum. And the posts will actually have to be interesting. *scary, i know*

I'm setting fall Etsy shop crafting goals and coming up on a new term at the HPKCHC on Ravelry, so there will be things to blog about. Honest. ;)

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince in 15 m!

YAY! Cleolinda's done it again! God, how I love her...

I present to you, HBP in 15 minutes!

**Warning: Swear words, extreme movie spoilers, and moments guaranteed to make you giggle loudly are included***

More Musical Fun...

I recently saw Movits on the Colbert Report, and fell in love! They are this awesome blend of irony, a Swedish swing rap band! And they are amazing!

So, imagine my happiness when their album Äppelknyckarjazz popped up on iTunes' New Music Tuesday today! Yay! I didn't buy the whole album, but got the song i had heard on Colbert, Fel Del Av Gården and made this playlist so I can listed to the rest of the album to pick my favorites. Thanks to Imeem, I can stream the whole thing to see what I like and what I don't. listen! Love!

(You might have to click through to Imeem to listen to the full songs...)


Äppelknyckarjazz

Team ESST's August Weekend Shopping Extravaganza!

My supply shop, PiratesDreamofPearls (that I share with PresentsforPirates and KnitandPearl ) is a member of teamESST, or the Etsy Supply Street Team. They have these awesome Weekend Shopping Extravaganzas, and they have one this month! Come check it out for some great specials! Click 'this month' for the official Promo Thread on Etsy.

Here's some info from the TeamESST blog:

ALL ETSY SHOPS - HANDMADE, SUPPLIES AND VINTAGE - are invited to participate by placing an announcement in your shop and joining in with promoting on the "Official" Promotional thread in the Etsy Forums. This will be a “Shopping Event” similar to a Public Marketplace. There will not be a "Overall theme" since Etsy is a Global Marketplace hence, the seasons, cultures, holidays, etc. can vary quite a bit. Although not required, we do strongly encourage shops to have a feature, theme or sale as this can pique interest and help you to draw people to your shop. You do not have to participate for the whole weekend simply join in when you can on the Promo thread in the Etsy Forums.

My sale is 50% off Storewide! And US buyers who spend $25 after discounts get free US shipping. Yep, yep! Come check it out! I'll be adding new items all weekend!

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade suenosdejmi.etsy.com

Get Moving...

Muevete!


One thing I really can't ever get enough of is any kind of music with a good beat. I like other music too, but if a song has a great rhythm, I'm hooked---doesn't matter if it's pop, hip-hop, or in another language, if you can move to it, I'm with it. :)

Have a Laugh On Me, sorta...

A very funny Stewart/Colbert moment. How I do love the moments like these...

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Daily/Colbert - Universal Health Care
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Joke of the Day

*Testing: 1, 2, 3...

I'm working on some videos for the Trunk Show. I started this one a while back using Picasa, but stopped it when I realized the quality might have issues. So I got frustrated (naturally), then IckyDogCreations had some of hers on her blog, and taught me how to do the Picasa videos through Blogger, and when they show up they show up a lot better! This is me working on testing them. Whatcha think?

Warning: these have music!

The above video is my original edit, and this one is me going back in and doing some editing.

Love, Alisa :)

This week's showcased Owls member in our little HPC (hooters promo club!) is lovealisa. Alisa's one of my favorite Etsians, and I like to think that she would be even if she wasn't an Owlie. She's always had cute items, but recently she's went through this big shop overhaul and has started making adorable clutches and relaunched her jewelry line as well.

A part of her overhaul was new graphics and a new approach to photo taking. She shared a lightbox tutorial with us on the Owls blog, and it's definitely on my list to make one of these for myself! I mean, look at these results!!!

Check her out over on the left with her Etsy mini, or just click through here:

Happy Birthday to...

Me! And Frida Kahlo! And George W Bush

I'm enjoying a nice slow birthday at home, had a birthday lunch, and launched the new Etsy Owls Challenge. I haven't entered a challenge for the team since Valentine's Day, so I was excited to actually enter this one. Come on, it's Frida! I can't miss Frida! This little gal is my entry:

I had a lot of fun making her, and I think she's in great company with some of the *awesome* entries that the Owls and Spanglish team had to offer.

Now I'm off to crochet. :) Go vote for me! :) (click that awesome entries text above to see the blog!)

I have a Facebook Fan page!

I'm not sure why, but sure enough, I have one!

Now I know this is exciting news, and I really hope that I can use it as yet another promotional tool ( Twitter, anyone? ). I've managed to get some photos uploaded, and the next step is getting people to fan me, right?

So what are you waiting for???

Also, while you're clicking some fan love, be sure to check out my friend Squarejane (of whom I have fan page envy) and also our Etsy Owls Team fan page.

Thinking About Frida

The July Challenge for the Etsy Owls is in honor of Frida Kahlo, so I've really started trying to think about something unique and different. This challenge is going to be hard for everyone, because it does require some deep thought and creativity, but I feel like in many ways it's going to be harder than average for me since my main art form is crochet. What to do, what to do?



Anyway, in planning for this, I think I'm going to spend some time browsing through my Frida sketchbook and looking at some of my favorite Frida pieces. For some reason, I can't get Blogger to let me upload a photo, so for now I'll put in a link, but later, I'll add it in. My favorite Frida painting:

lo que el agua me dio

Spanish Civil War via Magnum Photos

I really don't spend enough time posting about things I'm passionate about. Some of you might know I spent 3 months in Spain last year, and came back with a great appreciation for a lot of the culture and history there, particularly some of the art and literature born of the Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939) and the time after during the reign of Franco. Also my recent subscription to American Photo has really gotten me into looking at the work of others.

Anyway, I made my way to this because I saw Robert Capa's brother Cornell listed in the current issue of AP, and remembered that Robert had taken some photos during the war, so I set off to find them on Magnum Photos . These photos aren't all his, and also include work from others from the same time. I'll be sharing more soon!

Click on each photo to be taken to them on the website where there's a bit more of a description that what I'm giving here, as well as around 1000 more photos from this time.

David Seymour: Children seeking shelter from bombings in Minorca

David Seymour: Pablo Picasso w/ painting Guernica, Spanish Pavilion of Int. Worlds Fair (France, 1937)

Robert Capa: 1939, With Barcelona fallen, people evaculate for France for political asylum from Franco's regime.

Yart Sale Sneak Peek...

So, I'm working on planning what I want to do for the Yart Sale in my various shops, and here's what I'm hovering around thus far. Let me know what you think!

Dreambirdphotos:

$2 5x7 prints!

Yep. Every 5x7 in shop: $2. How crazy is that?? This is a $5 savings per photo.

Also available: $1 4x6 prints!

suenosdejmi

$5 fingerless gloves

$5, $10, and $15 scarves!

Average savings per item: 50% off!

Here are some of my scarves, check back later for exact sections to see the savings!

Go Wild with Etsy's Yart Sale!

Have you heard about the Yart sale?



It was started last year by one of the teams I'm in, the Etsy Supply Street Team. It started as a little bitty idea but expanded so much, and last year's Yart Sale was huge! It's basically a gang of people offering fantastic sales, think yard sale, but with gorgeous art instead of that junk in your garage :)


Of course, this year's will blow last years away, because this year's sale gets one of the coolest teams on Etsy- us! :)

We've decided to participate this year as a team, it won't be our entire team, but I'm hoping it'll be a good amount of us. You'll be able to see our items by searching etsyowlsteam + Yart and before the sale we'll post all of our sales on the blog for a look see, too!

If you're an Etsy seller, you should participate! For some awesome information on how to do that, check out the Etsy Supply Street team blog for all the latest information and also this very helpful article on the Storque!

See you at the Yart Sale!

Sale of the Week!

50% off Scarves! Buy two items (any two in shop) and get free shipping!!

Select scarves only in 'Extra large Scarves' section apply for 50% off discount. Prices have not been adjusted. Convo first or wait for a Paypal invoice before payment.

Have I shared my Cleolinda love here?

I don't know if I've posted this here, but a conversation in the HPKCHC on Ravelry reminded me of it. I haven't read it in quite a while, but Cleolinda's fantastic. She makes these awesome parodies, MoviesinFifteenMinutes, in which she, well, takes apart a movie in fifteen minutes of hilarity. My favorite of these all is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Seriously. Read it.

Summer Sale of the Week!!

Since the summer heat isn't very good for my line of business, I've decided to have a Summer Sale. Each week, I'll feature a different type of item on sale for the entire week. To start it off, I'm starting with my fingerless gloves!



Get any pair of fingerless gloves for only $5! That's 50% off on average, and $10 off of this pair!


Prices have NOT been adjusted so please wait for a Paypal invoice before completing payment or convo me for a special listing


Buyers from the US and Canada: If you purchase more than 1 pair, or any other item with the fingerless gloves, you'll get free shipping on your order!


This sale starts right now and will run until Sunday, May 31st at 10:00 PM Eastern. A new sale will begin at that time, and the Summer Sales will continue until August!

Zazzle! (because I don't have too much to do already)

create & buy custom products at Zazzle

Just Popping In...

I really dislike that I let my blog go, sometimes for weeks at a time. I just wish there was more to blog about. My life is all about the Owls, the HPKCHC on Ravelry, and work. That's about it. lol. :)

Today was a nice break from the normal, as my bf and I went to see Star Trek with a friend of ours. Being that the movie theatre is (in another city) near a Hobby Lobby, I also side tracked and bought a bit of yarn. I needed to get Gryffindor colors for a House Unity project I'm doing in the Cup, but it turns out that what I ended up buying could've been purchased at my local WalMart.

Go figure.

I did get a gorgeous skein of green Caron, it's Simply Soft Shadows. It's neat because it's a solid color with a series of different colors twisted in. It works up gorgeous. Well, Shadows does. I've never used the green, but I did get a grey once, called Mardi Gras. It works up like this:

(Note that you can click that to see it still in my Etsy shop :))

This is the green version. Isn't it gorgeous?

I also bought KNITTING needles. Yep. I'm ready to try it again. (it was a terrible disaster last time). I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes, and also how my crochet projects are coming along. I'll be better, I promise! Happy crafting!

The tunes that move me...

Yup. You know it. Music feeds the soul. Here's what my soul's munching on lately.

WARNING. My music is strange, just in case you didn't know. :)

If it gives you that 30 second crap, there's a link in the top of the box that says 'play full song here' or something like that. just click that if you want to hear more.

May

Found on Flickr: Pt 2

In Found on Flickr: Part 1 I talked about Gary Shrimpling and how his awesome photography knocks me off my feet. Once I got past staring at this photo in American Photo, there were so many other cool Flickr features to see!

I know a lot of people spend a LOT of time on Flickr just browsing around. I really haven't before, but recently I was introduced to some really cool things on Flickr. Things so cool that I think I might start browsing Flickr to see what else is out there. :) As soon as I figure out how...

What's a good way to find cool people on Flickr? Anybody?

Anyway. The American Photo spread of Flickr Superstars also features Lauren Rosenbaum Her photos are definitely different than Gary's, yet are just as if not more intriguing for some very different reasons. I mean, check this out.

She does this gorgeous set of self-portraits called 365, which is a year of herself and her camera. I definitely recommend flipping through it. As noticed in the photo below, she also takes a lot of really cool photos in (bathroom) mirrors. The below shot was 118 of 365. She really makes me want to grab my camera and go take pictures of myself, which is saying a lot because I tend to not like photos of myself.

If you take a look at some of her photos, you'll soon notice she's either capable of seemingly impossible feats such as levitating or holding her kids in one hand, or she's great with Photoshop. The magazine even goes in-depth with one of her shots and explains the process of how she ended up floating in midair. You can see a small version of this tutorial in her photostream as well. I looked through a good 100 pages of photostream for this picture in a size I could save. It's in the magazine and it makes me go ooooh...

These are some of my other favorites:

Please note: The photos used in this feature are all really low-quality versions of her photos. Visit her photostream and check these pictures out in better versions. I just looked through her whole photostream, and trust me, you won't be sorry!

I'm Going Crazy!

I'm getting involved in so many things, I might be spreading myself too thin! But it's all fun stuff!

One thing I've joined is A Granny A Day. The object's simple: Make a Granny Square every day and share it. :) I've yet to share a square, but I'm working on my second one (I just joined a few days ago). I'm thinking I'll make a lapghan and sell it in my shop. Check out the awesomeness that's in this group, the color combinations are so inspiring!

Found on Flickr: Pt 1

I know a lot of people spend a LOT of time on Flickr just browsing around. I really haven't before, but recently I was introduced to some really cool things on Flickr. Things so cool that I think I might start browsing Flickr to see what else is out there. :)

A few posts ago, I mentioned that I'm a Maghound member, and that because of it I've fallen in love with American Photo. The May/June issue headlines 12 Flickr Superstars, and highlights some really awesome photography that's on Flickr!

This photo REALLY caught my attention, because it looked so tragic, and just a touch familiar. Turns out it's from the Atonement set, which photographer Gary Shrimpling was allowed access to after filming.

All of his photos that really catch my eye are Long Exposures, which I know so very little about but am so very captivated by. Here's a few more of my favorites of his extensive collection. Click on any photo to be taken to his photostream.