Etsy Main page...woot!

almost next year already

bah...I am such a bad blogger lately. Are you ready? ok, let's go!!!

First, I'll start by telling you all about a wonderful Minneapolis artist Wendy Petersen aka Claire Monet. I met Wendy at the Handmade Market I organized at the Beat Coffee House in Uptown. She started a facebook fan page, and offered a free prize to one of the first 25 who became fans. Of course I did right away, and wouldn't you know it, I won!! The prize was not one, but two tshirts: a purple long sleeved "oh minneapolis" and a short sleeved "ergslaymation". She also included a screenprint of "oh minneapolis" that got a little banged up by my good friends at the post office, but I'm going to frame it anyway and hang it on my wall. I do hope that I get to hang out with her again sometime soon :)

And now for some Christmas knits:

Ridgeback Mitts for niece Libby:

Corset Mitts for niece Alysa...I also posted these for custom orders in my Etsy shop.

Lucky Mitts for niece Alison...fuzzy photo alert:

Lapis Cable hat for my sister Katrina and Chunky Chartreuse Cowl for my sister Kelly

I didn't get a photo of my mom's scarf because I had wrapped it already...

Decembering....

Just posted to the shop:

i was holding off on this one for while, because i wasn't extremely happy with the photos. Dark colors don't photograph easily, and bright sunshine make me look all squinty and pale. But it's been really cold lately and this is probably one of the warmest hats i've made.

going to try to get some more stuff up tonight :)

in other news-ish things:
.Frank is giving an art talk at St Johns tomorrow afternoon so we get to go out of town...woot!
.i got my Daniel Smith gift certificate in the mail...now i have to take inventory of all my art supplies to see what i need.
.Swell Season concert is on saturday
.Grumpier Old Men is playing in the living room.
.playing with weaving some novelty yarns...might show a photo of my results.

have a great night!

random numbers and some other quick notes

VYBTZRAWNN6W

Yesterday I sold two of my new Felt Bead Pendant necklaces :) And this one was featured in treasury the morning after i posted it. Go Me!

I will probably doing some "black friday sale" type thing...

oh and I did some quick thinking packaging that I was quite proud of:


And I got a really nice printer:



Today I:
-got some beautiful Hobbledehoy batts in the mail.
-won a gift certificate from Daniel Smith for following them on twitter. They are pretty much the best art supply store in the land...I miss working for them sometimes...

Lately we have been moving the apartment furnishings around. Since we rarely have people over, we decided to move our bed into the living room, because it's warmer and it's nice to sit in bed and watch movies on our gigantic projection tv instead of falling asleep on the couch while doing so. (ps...my arms are still aching from moving that couch) So all of our clothes will be in the living room, and I will have...drumroll.......
A room for knitting & spinning!!! We already moved my yarn/fiber shelf and I reorganized everything. It looks so lovely :) And I'm sure i will be able to get a lot of spinning done this winter and will probably put a few things up on my Etsy shop.

~k

finally some up to date updating

New Etsy items posted in the shop today!
Some lovely recycled and felted wool pendants:


These are affordable as well, only $12 plus Free Shipping if you are a blog/twitter subscriber!
Canadian shipping is only $10. I will also be posting some earrings as well.

Oh and since I've been lax on the blog posting lately, here is a update from the last couple of months:
-spun up a few hanks of yarn from some Cosy and Hobbledehoy roving.
-had a wonderful time at the Handmade Market:


- was in an Etsy Treasury and made the front page a few weeks ago:
-made a few sales :)
-didn't get the fiber art grant that I applied for, but there is always next year, and you never know unless you try, right?

Special Shipping Offers...

$10 shipping to Canada until Christmas! (going to test the waters)

FREE US shipping for twitter/blog followers through the November 30th :)

Toasty knits to keep you warm.

Accessories to be posted soonish.

I take requests :)

Actual content coming soon, I promise...until then here's a fuzzy photo of me with long hair singing in Indy...

a stick up! and FREE Shipping :)

The first of the Bus Stop Bandits are now up in my shop



These are so nice, because they don't get all bunched up if you are wearing a hooded coat, like a scarf would...and they are incredibly warm. Plus, you can wear them like a hat, too.
I'm hoping to get some good photos of the felt bead necklaces and earrings soon...maybe tonight...and i still have a ton of knits to put up...so much to do.
I'm also offering Free USPS Priority shipping to all my blog & twitter followers through Nov. 30th.

In other news:
-finished the hats for Sarah & Amy...this one is Sarah's:

now just got to start Katrina's...and knitting for family people.
-frank and i are going to be rearranging out furniture again...so i will be getting my very own knitting room yay! :)
-have to wait another couple of weeks before i find out who got the grants that i applied for
-have to start working on the Sketchbook Project
-hoping the winter won't be too bad...looking for a new(used) car
-still thinking about writing a book...

bits of strings

going to be adding these beauties to my Etsy soonish.
for now, they might help me get the grant that i'm working on :)
they are made from leftover pieces of string too small to card and spin again or overwashed (ie starting to felt already) bits of roving:

the handmade artists and a sweet giveaway...

The Handmade Market is this Saturday @ the Beat Coffee House in Uptown (MPLS)
9am-5pm
I'm very excited to meet all of the wonderful artists.
Chuck Burton: BurtonArtStudios.etsy.com
Wendy Peterson: Clairemonet.etsy.com
Duckie Uglings (sorry for misspelling the name): beccajo.etsy.com
Heads Twogether-Maren & Dena: headstwogether.etsy.com
Ryan& Molly Blauer: mnartists.org/hoodies. lifeanddeathbrigadeart.blogspot.com
Lynne A. Nelson Photography and Design: lynnanelson.etsy.com
Laura Whitney-Uptown Urban Craft: www.uptownurbancraft.com
MountGigantic-mountgigantic.etsy.com

Unfortunately, Miche Mailloux and Waist2Wrist won't be able to show at the market, but you should check out their work. There will also be a couple more artists who are not mentioned here. It will probably be a rainy fall day...perfect weather for a good hot coffee.

And now for a giveaway!!
A handknit hat in your color/style choice could be yours.
All you have to do is share the event on your facebook page, post it on your blog, tweet about it, post a myspace bulletin, etc about the Handmade Market and the give away. (if you have a private profile, you will have to add me so that i can see it).
Then come back to this blog post, and add a comment with the link to where you posted it and your email.
On Friday evening, I will pick a winner (using a random number generator).

(since the hat will be knit specifically for you, it will take approximately 1-2 weeks to get it to you)
Here are some links for you to post:
Facebook
Myspace

Thanks everyone!

the final show poster

Yay! It's done :) Frank was a big help with the layout and whatnot.
I wanted to put his website on the poster as the designer, but he would not let me.

Now to get crafty!

Coming Soon!!!

October 3rd..9am-5pm
@ the Beat Coffeehouse
MPLS

the Seattle Adventures of Frank, Kristy and Knitten

This is a very long post...enjoy

Friday:
Arrived in Seattle at around 1030 am.
Rode the new light rail into the city (we were not impressed...it took forever). Caught bus up to Capitol Hill to meet Jess before she left for work.
Sandwiches at Baguette Box.
Took nap while Frank worked.
Walked down to market, walked on pier.
Met up with Steven...saw the new baby.
Walked back up the hill...got a green tea muffin.
Ate dinner at the Satellite and then went to the Comet, Vermillion and back to the Satellite.
(Frank got the hiccups)

(Knitten got the Manny's Pale Ale...in a Roger's glass)

(Lucy the dog...)


Saturday:
Slept in. Walked to the Market. Had lunch at Michou.
Caught bus to Daniel Smith...red paint and print sleeves.
Met Jess downtown...finished knitting Jon's hat.
Gray/the Saint/Hot Mama's pizza
(enjoying Jarritos @ the Saint with Jess)



Sunday:
Uwajamaya with Jess. found matcha powder, boba pearls, red bean mochi, and bean paste cookie things.
Gray/Vermillion/Bimbo's
Ran into Jan & Anna outside the Comet...Havana
Frank filmed Jan singing in the laundry room...witnessed the Mighty Boosh
stayed out until 430.
(champagne @ Vermillion)


(waiting for burritos)


Monday:
walked downtown to have coffee and meet frank's friend Danielle at Cafe Ladro.
walked to belltown to meet the boys from fargo.
walked around until sushi place opened...sooo good!
walked back up to the hill
caught cab back to belltown for the show
nightcap/late dinner at Charlie's.
(climbing the tree in Belltown...)

(waiting for Brandon to be distracted from his sushi...)


Tuesday:
Sat at Bauhaus Coffee for most of the morning...started drizzling and cooled off a bit.
Walked around for a while.
Met Jon at Dick's Drive-in parking lot and chatted for a while.
Dinner with Jess.
Met Bryce at the Redwood for drinks and sweet potato fries.
Met Carlos at Vermillion...veggie hot dog w/cream cheese, sour kraut & onions.
Comet...closed the bar.
(Jon in his new hat that I made)

(sweet potato fries & manny's pale ale)

(with Bryce outside the Redwood)

(french press coffee w/ Saffron sugar cubes...fancy!)

(art talk w/ Carlos)

(Jess, who we love very much)


Wednesday:
Up at 7...walked downtown for coffee & saw Danielle again.
Post office to mail paint & things home.
Caught light rail to airport.
Came home.


while we were there, my old boss from Daniel Smith was in the cities for the weekend...and the day after we left my friend Shannon was in transit/moving back there, so we missed seeing them both by just a few hours.
all in all, it was a fun relaxing vacation...i miss it already.

some funny knitting things

two at a time hats...


monster foot cozies


Curses! foiled by malabrigo and and it's pretty handpaintedness...

approaching things...

Last week was pretty exhausting. I love my family and we had lots of fun but I'm glad it's over. We ended up spending both days at MOA, visited the Japanese Garden at Normandale College, had dinner with Frank's parents, had a birthday cake and pizza for Libby, and went swimming. When we were swimming, Jim wouldn't let go of the railing, but after a while, he let me hold him up while he kicked. He was so excited, he shouted, "Mom!! Take pictures!!"...too cute.

-I finished the short row capelet that I've been working on. Note to self: when they say dye lots in Malabrigo may vary, they aren't kidding...a big chunk of the capelet is noticeably more green. oh well...i can always say i meant to do it.
-I am attempting my first socks...using Berroco Peruvia Quick and size 8 dpns, just to get the hang of it. They don't look too bad so far...more like slippers. And of course I can't do anything that isn't challenging, so i'm making them with stripes.
-Booked our flight to Seattle for the weekend after my birthday !!!
-Emailed a bunch of stuff, posted call to artists for the handmade show I'm organizing. already got a couple people who want to do it...WOOT!
-trying not to get angry at work because it takes up time that we can be doing other stuff...

Family is in town today!!
I'm taking most of today and all of tomorrow off to hang out with them.

Today, we will be going to the Mall of America (as soon as they wake up and finish swimming). And I'm not ashamed to say that, yes, i like going to this particular mall.
-it's nearby.
-my sister is going to get back-to-school clothes shopping done while she's on vacation...she's good like that :).
-there are things for the two little kids to do.
-lots of "useful" stuff for my mom to buy.
-i need makeup and stuff...i'm also desperate for new pants, but finding good ones that actually fit and don't cost a lot are the bane of my existence.

If we get done before frank finishes work, I might take them to our apartment, and show them my spinning wheel. my mom would love to see how it works, and my sister might think it's "neat"...not sure how enchanted the kids will be.


have a nice day!

a very busy month ahead...

note to self: do not watch La Vie en Rose or The Namesake while Frank is out of town. They are just too sad to watch alone.

Goals for now through the weekend:
-laundry (because i have nothing to wear)
-dishes (because i have nothing to eat with) (mostly done)
-work on organizing the handmade show in October
-wind all of my yarn (at least the good stuff) into cakes. this will do a few things: namely take up less space so as to give the illusion that i don't have as much as i do, and i won't have to do it again when i want to use it. I've already got six done, but i stopped to knit because the yarn was so pretty and i really wanted to use my new Addi Turbos. (halfway done)
-charge the camera battery (done)
-get gas for car (done)
-pick up my darling sweetheart from the airport
-keep the apartment clean until my family gets here on Sunday.
-figure out why my blog all of the sudden keeps switching to this font...?

hey, how's it going? what's new?

Frank is in Reno doing work stuff for the until tuesday :(
I have to get the prints done and mailed by friday. This morning I made a sort of table top for clamping the screens. One of the screens didn't turn out too well (got a little burned) so I may have to do another one. Also, I haven't screen printed in ages...hope I'm not too out of shape.

a few of the 10,000 best things ever
1- new espresso machine...iced soy lattes every morning

2- those really good whole wheat bagels
3- getting back on the good side of student lending
4- delicious dinners

5- sassy magazines

6- projection television
7- screen printing

8- new yarn shelf

new etsy items preview...and some new hair

coming soon! all of these are waiting to be blocked, so they look a little off.

seismic kitteh:

february seismic:

garden tam(hand spun bought on etsy):

dorthea tam (and frank waves to the camera):

academy kitteh:

charcoal cable: