Watercolor Wanderlust

Here is something I've been doing lately that is not in the normal vein of my crafty outpouring: watercolor painting. It is so relaxing for me, and it's a great creative exercise to get my brain ready for whatever I decide to do next. You know, like knit. Or crochet. Or walk the dog. Like working out your body, it's a good plan to warm up before you work out your creative muscles.

Plus, I feel really fancy with my watercolors all spread on the table. Colors are the most inspiring thing for me, and a box of colors is just the thing to glace at when you get depressed about the fact that it's April and it snowed again last week.

I've had my plastic pallet since high school. My benevolent art teacher preached quality of materials and scorned the dreaded Prang watercolor pallet. We got to use real-deal, from a tube, watercolors in her class. Let me tell you, it makes you feel like a real grown up to use them. Right before I went off to college, she let me load up my pallet with any colors I wanted to take with my to school. A little paint goes a long way!

It has been a few years since then, so some of my colors were beginning to run out. I was lucky enough to score a ton of new tubes of color from a local model/train/hobby shop. They were clearing out their fine arts inventory and all paint tubes were marked down to $2/tube. TWO DOLLARS A TUBE. These Windsor Newton watercolors usually sell for $5-8/tube. What a deal!!

I love Micron pens. So much.

Just for fun. Nothing fancy. Just a little way to push myself to be more creative in different ways than I normally do. An artsy challenge, if you will. I may never be able to push myself to run a mile, but by golly I'll push myself to paint more.

We Need to Talk.

We need to talk. We really do.

No, you aren't in trouble. We need to talk is scary. Don't those words just make your stomach churn? Like some adult authority figure has discovered the fact that you did the thing.... The thing you were under no circumstances supposed to do? Yeah. I probably should have said, "Hey, can we chat?" Chat is nice. Chat is friendly. Chat means they didn't find out about the plate you broke.

So let's chat.

I've been gone a while. Well, I've been gone for....a few weeks? Heh. Yeah.

In my absence, my real life has been changing more rapidly than you can say "wireless access point." I've been thinking a lot about my life in general and my choices and how I spend my time and blah blah blah adult chores. I've come to two realizations:

1. I'm having a baby in 4.5 months.
2. No matter how clever you are at planning, if it's not God's will, it's ain't gonna happen.



While obvious, these two things alone have driven me to inspect various areas of my personal life with a new lens. I won't bore you with a weird tale of self discovery or emotional breakdowns, but I will fill you in on how my view on my blog has changed.

One of my long-distance crafty buddies had mentioned to me a week or so ago via la texting that she could tell I was super busy, since I hadn't updated my blog in so long. It suddenly struck me that I was busy, but not that busy. I mean, I was busy before and I still managed to churn out several blog posts a week. I then, staring blankly at her text, began to think about why I hadn't been posing things on my blog? Really, why hadn't I?! Things have happened! I've been crafty! I could share stuff!

So....why not post?

Every time I logged on to blogger to start a post, I felt drained. I know, I'm pregnant. Tired is my day to day life. This tired was more a mental tired than anything. Doing a blog post meant making sure I update Facebook and Google+ and put all the fancy tag words in it and posting it to link parties and Pinterest and watching page views and numbers climb and drop and and and -sigh- nope, I'd rather watch Netflix. And knit. Or scrub toilets. Anything but blog.

I took a break, because I was looking at blogging the wrong way. I was comparing myself to big-name bloggers who have bazillions of pageviews a day. The ones that companies beg to write reviews of their products. The ones whose projects show up on thousands of Pinterest boards instantly. The ones who make moolah off of their blog. I had started to idolize them. To study their habits, and their tips on the best way to be seen, develop a following, and create great content...while making money doing it.

This is my personal opinion. I am not hateful of the peeps who have mad blog-money-making skillz. That is great for them, for their families, and whatnot. I do not think that any blogger who reaps money from their blog is a sell out, or evil, or anything like that. For me, however, the blogs I love to read and the ones I follow most closely, are not the big-name mega blog queens. They are people who share interests with me. People who inspire me with their creative outpourings and silly tidbits on life. People who answer my comments and who I feel I can develop a real relationship with, albeit online.

It all dawned on me with that one text. Why was I writing a blog that I hoped would become a big blog, instead of focusing on being the type of writer that I would love to read? Why was I feeling angst about not having thousands of page views a day instead of relishing the people who did take the time to read my nerdiness? It was crazy, I tell you, crazy. And incredibly selfish. And it made me avoid writing on my own blog. Well, no more, I say!

I am not going to monetize this blog. Though the thought still delights me, it was kind of the reason I started to hate what I was doing. Again, I am not writing this to try and bash on people who write sponsored content. If you can make money off your blog, good for you! I don't hate you or think what you are doing is dumb. I just hate how I felt when I realized the reason I was avoiding my own blog was because I wasn't having fun writing it when the goal at the back of my mind was "more pageviews" and "someday making money off my blog."

So how is this new direction going to change things? Really, the biggest changes are going to be behind the scenes things. Mostly things that happen up in my brain. The result will be more frequent posts and more sassy commentary. And more belly pictures. Because I love my belly and I don't care who hates belly pictures. Sorry I'm not sorry?

16 weeks (aka 3.5 weeks ago)

So, three cheers for having a silly outlet for your crafty musings! Three cheers for being true to yourself! Three cheers for probably overthinking this entire thing, but not caring!

Has anyone else been feeling similar angst? It would be nice to know I'm not alone on this crazy train of thought.

New in the Shop: Darling Deer Baby Hat

 There's a new item in the shop, and it is ohsocute. I had juuusstt enough yarn left over from the adult-sized Darling Deer Hat I was commissioned to make to whip out this little piece of adorable. A pint-sized version of the big hat!! I am pretty smitten, and I think I may require more yarn so I can make one for Baby Z.

 I really love how it turned out. Baby-sized earflap hats are too cute. And a baby earflap hat with antlers? Come on. You know it's adorable.

Those widdle antlers!!! I love.

My hand looks so weird in this picture. The hat measures about 7.5" across.

Pop on over to Last in Line Shop on Etsy to see this hat and other adorable goods!

Linkin' up at these fine sites!

"One Skein" Book Review & Another Thrift Score

A bit of a mixed post for you today! A Thrift Score and a book review. Let's get to it!

I was just at Share Stuff last week, but I stopped over there again with my friend who just got a promotion and needed some supah classy clothes. Yay!! You don't have to twist my arm very hard to get me to go thrift shopping. Having just gotten a big haul of clothes last week, I didn't really expect to be buying more.

But. The Winter Sale was still going on. $1 for all coats, sweaters, flannels, button ups, sweatshirts, and hoodies. I know I just got a metric poo ton of sweaters last week, but those were all fancy. Hoodies are totally different, right? Hood life, yo.

Plus, you can't hardly beat getting an article of clothing for a dollar.

 This billowy top was forced upon me pointed out to me by my friend who loves purple. And plaid. And flannel. I think she may have been attempting to live through me. But the shirt is nice, long, and can be worn when I have a big belly. Good stuff. Plus it has bling. Can't go wrong with bling.

The bling

 Normally, I would not go for Hollister stuffs. Because I just am not that kind of girl? Yeah. But this hoodie was brand new and sooooo sooooffftttt. And I just got rid of like five hoodies, so a nice new soft hoodie for a dollar was acceptable.

 This is more my style of sweatshirt. A little militant, a little sassy, and green. Love me some green. The only thing I dislike are the teeny pockets. I need useful pockets. For holding yarn and whatnot.

Beybee sized pockets!

Those three tops set me back $3.06. Woot! Another successful shopping trip. -highfives self-

 Onto the book review! I was meaning to write up a review of this book when I first got it two months ago. But moving. I bought this book off of one of my absolute favorite websites: thriftbooks.com. It was $4 with free shipping. I read reviews of the book on amazon and deemed it worthy of the four dollars. Here's what I think!

 There are a lot of clear pictures, which is always a good sign. In fact, each pattern has at least one photo of it finished up. That's mega bonus good. I hate getting a pattern book that doesn't have pictures for each item. What's the point?!

 There are a lot of projects that I can actually see myself making. Lots of baby clothes and scarves that look simple and pretty. I'd say about 60% of the book consists of things I want to make. The other 40%? Major lame stuff. Some pretty ugly pillows and purses. And a set of felted bowls. If you are into that kind of thing, then great. But furry bowls are a turn off for me. Even if they are "decorative" I can't help but think of the dust and fur and hair and gunk they would attract. Blarg.

Cute scarf with a nice cable. Simple and classy.

One of the ugly bags. Barf.

 Though I haven't tried any of the patterns yet, they seem decently written upon skimming them. Let's hope I don't find horrific errors and start crying and cursing the day I thought the book was good.

Final thoughts: The majority of the book consists of projects I can see myself making and enjoying. The prospect of only requiring one skein of yarn to complete a project is delightful, and I will probably be making a few things from this book in the near future.

Happy Tuesday, friends!
Linkin' up at these fine sites!

Yarn to Dye For: How to KoolAid or Tea Dye Yarn

For a long time, I have wanted to play with dyeing yarn. Remember when I saw that dye lab in Minneapolis a million years ago? Yeah, well, that's what I want in my life. But this weekend I was finally pushed over the edge to give in and try dyeing by my dear friend Lizzy, and I have no such amazing laboratory for color science. Luckily, there are a lot of techniques you can do right in your own kitchen! Or, in my case, someone else's kitchen!!

What is cooler than adding another handmade, one-of-a-kind, feature to craft projects? It's like taking handmade to the next level when you color your own materials!! I know you are already just as excited as I am about this, so let's get down to the steps!!!

You will need:
-100% wool (or other animal fiber) yarn
-A sink
-A microwave
-Some tea bags
-KoolAid Packets (there are lots of possible color combos, so do some research and choose what you like!)
-Some big ol' measuring cups that you can put into the microwave
-Water
-Vinegar (which I didn't have so my tea dyed yarn looks like poo)

Start by prepping your yarn. You have to decide how you want your yarn to come out in the end. I decided on looonnng repeats of two colors of tea, and a gradient-effect with KoolAid for my two balls o' yarn.

To achieve long repeats of two colors, you need to wrap your yarn into a big long loop and gently tie it so it won't come undone while dyeing. Then you plunk one end of the loop in one color and the other end in the other color. Tada! Long repeats!

For a gradient effect, wrap your yarn loosely in a ball. The wool at the middle will not absorb as much dye as the stuff on the outside, resulting in a light-to-dark gradient. Just make sure you make enough dye to cover the whole ball!

Before dyeing, fill your sink with warm wahtah and pop your yarn in to soak for about 20 minutes. This allows the yarn to dye faster and more vibrantly. You may need to use some plates to hold the yarn underwater if you are doing long repeats: the loop floats.

Now, prep your dye!! Since I knew my tea dyed yarn was going to take a lot of liquid and messing around, I did it first. As I said before, I made the big mistake of not using vinegar to make the dye acidic. So, my tea-dyed yarn didn't soak as much of the color up. But let that be a lesson, not a discouragement. I promise it works super well if you use vinegar.

Onto the dye-making. I did black tea for one color and green herbal tea for the other. For the black tea I boiled about a quart and a half of water in the microwave. I boiled a little less than a quart for the green tea. I used five teabags of black tea and six of green. I wanted the green to be more intense. When you measure out your liquid, make sure to do a 3 to 1 ratio for water to vinegar. It's gonna be smelly, but it'll look so niiiiceee.

 Let the tea steep for 5-10 minutes, depending on your desired darkness. Don't let it cool off all the way before you put your yarn in it. You want it to be warm still! Just be careful to avoid felting. Haha.

To make the KoolAid dye, I went waaayyyy dark. You don't need vinegar for KoolAid dyeing, because the powder is super acidic already. I boiled about a quart of water for two packets of strawberry KoolAid, half a packet of Crystal Light Strawberry Lemonade, and a packet of Raspberry Iced Tea. I was really messy, so I couldn't get pictures of the dye bath, but lemme tell you, it was blood red.

Now that you have your dye ready, pop your yarn in it and send it for a spin in the microwave. You need to cook it for two minutes, then let it rest for two minutes. Keep doing that until it has cooked for a total of 8ish minutes. Pull it out, and let that baby cool!

Once it is room temp, pull the yarn out and rinse it in cool/warm water. Not too cold or you will shock the fibers. Rinse the yarn until no more dye comes out and the water runs off clear. If you do the gradient effect, you will need to carefully unwind the ball of yarn and wrap it loosely into a loop when rinsing so it can dry better. Some people suggest rinsing with soap at this point, but I didn't. It's up to you.

All that's left is letting your yarn hang to dry overnight, and loving it to bits!!

 My tea dyed wool is going to get a redo once I get some vinegar. The black tea part dyed a little, but not as much as I want. Still, it was fun.

 My KoolAid dyed yarn is soooo pretty. I cannot get over the richness of the colors!!! It is going to be fun to pick a project to use it on.

Roxy (my parent's dog) was very interested

There you have it!! I cannot wait to dye all the things. I already have plans to try some of the techniques Lizzy has played with, as well as the ones Cyprienne at Big Knitting Trouble has been doing. She made a rainbow!! Come on guys. You know you want to tryyyyy.

Happy Monday!!!
Linkin' up at these fine sites!

Thrift Score: Sweaters Galore!

I do not think there is much I find more satisfying (when it comes to shopping) than scoring a ton of wonderful wearables from the thrift store. The savings compared to buying first hand are enormous, and it's just too fun to paw through all that random assortment in search of a gem.

On my last thrifting trip, I indeed hit the mother load. In my hometown there is an amazing thrift store run by one of the area Churches. It is called "Share Stuff." It is entirely staffed by volunteers, and all the proceeds go directly to our local "Sharefest" which is an annual project where volunteers work to refurbish local schools. Too cool, right? Not only does Share Stuff have the best selection of used clothing, I can feel extra good about where my money is going!

Added bonuses about Share Stuff are the fact that they pretty much wash all the clothing that comes in, and they are picky about what they accept. No major stains or holes or defect on their wares!! It's awesome. As if all that is not enough, they have weekly sales that are pretty much insane. When I went in, they were having a Winter Sale. All their sweaters, flannels, fleeces, button-ups, and coats were $1.

ONE DOLLAR. I don't know where else you can get a better deal. Enough blabbing. Onto my haul!!

This was the first beauty I saw when I started going through the racks. I swooned. It had the store tags still on it!! Brand spankin' new, for one dollah. Heck yeah, it came home with me!!! It has such a folksy, romantic feel to it. This winter has been long and brutal, and shows no sign of giving way to spring any time soon. So why not supplement my winter wear with some blooms?

My camera went a little nuts. In real life, the sweater is navy, not purple.

The embroidery is to die for. So cute!!

Never heard of this brand, but I'm not one to be loyal to a brand.

 The embroidery even continued to the back yoke of the cardigan. Just stunning. I love articles of clothing with nice, unexpected details and this cardi certainly fit that bill. I can't wait to wear it!! I already have several outfits in mind.

Dat stitchery.

Next up was a drapey knit cardigan with all sorts of stripes. There are no pockets, which normally is a turn off for me on this type of garment, but for a dollar, I think I can deal with it. Besides, since this sweater is synthetic it is machine washable and super soft. Those are very important traits when it comes to sweaters for me!!

 This stripey sweater also had brand new store tags on it. Never been worn!! What, whaaattt?? It must have been my lucky day. Finding one "brand new" thrift item is a big deal, but two in one day? Winning. Pure winning.

 Can I take a moment to point out how nicely the stripes line up on the sleeves? Maybe I'm a fiber nerd, but not a ton of clothing manufacturers seem to be putting this kind of thought into their garments anymore. I keep seeing sloppy seams, raw edges, and all sorts of other shortcuts in the stores lately. I understand companies are pressured to make a high volume of stuff for a low low cost, but I for one am willing to pay the extra bit for quality clothing construction. If it weren't so expensive, I'd make all my clothes myself. -pouts-

These next two tops I got at another local charity thrift store. This one supports the Rescue Mission for homeless in our area. It's another Christian organization that I can feel good about supporting. Unlike some of the -ahem- big name thrift stores with executives making six figures. I just don't get that.

Anyways, this first top is pretty spiffy, if you ask me. Bohemian and delicious. It's flowy, too, so hopefully I'll be able to wear it for a few more weeks. Dat baby bump is growin'!!

 I just love the colors and the pattern. The fabric has a really nice feel to it as well. This one was $3. Oh man. Breaking the bank, yo. Haha.

Dat pattern.

 This top also came from the Rescue Mission thrift store. I am discovering that I really do want to be a gypsy when I grow up. All these floraly, flowy tops! I am just drawn to them! So boho.

Love that little pleated detail.

The fabric kind of reminds me of retro calico prints. Just another reason to love it!!

 This brown shirt was $3. I was on a roll with the good deals that day!!

Another super exciting find at the Rescue Mission Mart was this denim skirt! I have a lot of maxi skirts in my wardrobe, but not a good work-horse denim skirt. I fell in love with this one immediately. It's big for me, but that will be beneficial as the baby bump progresses. And it is pretty much the perfect length: mid knee. I can wear it in the summer or now, with sweater leggings. The latter I have already done. Love it!

Another example the type of construction details I adore on clothes: these pleats. They aren't just any pleats, they are three structured, fully finished off, beautifully seamed pleats. They add to the structure and flow of the skirt without being ridiculous or flimsy. Just look at them. Looooookkk aaattt theeeeemmm. Maybe you all aren't as obsessed with details like this as I am, but you have to at least admit, this is a niiicceee skirt.

Those pleats. Just. Yes.

 Another fashion bonus with this skirt (besides the fact it was $5) is that it is a dark enough denim that you can really dress it up if you want to. I'm not going to go all fashion theory on you guys, since I've ranted enough about pleats, but not all denim is created equal. Some denim is just for casual times. Argue if you want, but you are wrong, and I am right. This denim goes both ways. Dark enough to be fancy, and denim enough to be casual. -drops mic- Fashion bully ranter girl, out!

You may have seen this lil beaut yesterday when I was wearing it in some pictures. This is another one of the $1 sweaters from Share Stuff and let me tell you, it is a lot of sweater for just one dollar. This thing is sturdy. It's heavy. Made out of cotton and knitted into these thick, rich cables I mean, hello! This thing is a work of art. Albeit mass-produced art, but art nonetheless. And it's green, so hey. I had to have it.

 It's a little bit small on me in the sleeve department, but nothing unbearable. It's super cozy and great to wear around on these frigid days when all I want to do is stay in bed and wear a hoodie. This is a good alternative that allows me to be just as warm and less of a bum. Pullovers are so classy, right? Right. And this one is green, so....come on. Can't fail, here.

Those cables!!!

Do you see how poofy the collar is? So thick. So warm. Love it.

 I also scored two tea cups for a dollar and the Rescue Mission Mart. I have been in such a cutesy mood since we moved and these swirly cups just called to me.

"Carolyn, Carolyn, you don't have your own house but you need us! Drinking tea out of us will make you feel like you aren't living in someone else's house. You'll feel fancy!"

So I bought them. Because teacups.

And a few parting fashion shots of outfits I compiled out of stuff I had on hand and my new goodies. I had to play with them once they were all washed. Couldn't help it. No regrets.

Had to crop my derp face out. It was pretty special.

 That teal top with my first pair of prego jeans. Awwww yeah. Elastic on top. I know it doesn't look like it in this picture, but the bump is making itself known. And making me not be able to fit in my clothes. Haha. But this is the best reason for not fitting. A baby is coming!!

Love dis outfit.

And this red maxi skirt and I are going to be bffs, I can already tell. I got it a couple of weeks ago and already want to pair it with everything. Maxi skirts > sweatpants. So comfy. So flowy. So good.

That about wraps that up! Have you had any good thrift scores lately??
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