15 June 2009

12-point Crochet Star




i made this a few months ago for my cousin's 2nd birthday.

there are 12 points, each a different color, crocheted in acrylic yarn and stuffed with polyester fiber. it's about a foot in diameter. this was fun to make!

the pattern: Celestine Crochet at Berroco.com

18 May 2009

Adventures in Stained Glass



My first finished stained glass project...




On the whole it turned out great, but if you look up close you can see that it's quite an amateur piece. Nonetheless, my mother loved it!


I learned so much when creating this window. A lot of that was learning what not to do, and when to correct mistakes before they get out of hand. My next project is going to have much fewer, larger and simpler pieces. I chose a design that's too complicated for a beginner!

03 March 2009

Spotlight: Crochet in Comics

haha, i love it!!




http://comics.com/pickles/

25 February 2009

Southeast Portland Art Walk 2009 THIS WEEKEND!


Join us this Saturday and Sunday
Feb 28 & Mar 1
10 am - 5 pm

I'll be selling crochet mittens and hats, as well as jewelry, at:
3290 SE Harrison St.
#30 on the map


with 2 other artists:
Jeanne Henry, ceramic artist
Darcy Schultz Hanita, encaustics and life drawing

CLICK HERE
to get more info and download a map of artists in the area.

05 February 2009

2009 S.E. Area Art Walk


This year's Southeast Portland Art Walk is happening
Saturday, February 28 and
Sunday, March 1..

10 am to 5 pm both days!

Use this map to explore the neighborhood and discover the amazing and diverse art scene of the southeast area of Portland. With over 100 artists at over 50 locations around town, there'll be so much to see and do this weekend.

Here are the two pages that list the artists' names and locations. The map will also tell you where to find food and free parking. I'll be with two other artists.. Location 30 on the map. We're in between two large clusters of artists, so catch us right in between! Jeanne even has her own ceramics studio on-site.

Visit the S.E. Portland Art Walk web page for more info.

27 January 2009

Portland Artisans Quit their Day Jobs

Most artists and crafters at some point, myself included, have the thought that making a career from their creative hobby would be just swell. Doing what you love, and getting paid for it? Yes, please!

If you are familiar with Etsy, you may have seen some of their blog articles titled "Quit your Day Job". These articles offer inspiring interviews from real artisans who have been able to make a career out of selling their handmade creations. You can read about how they got started, what they learned from selling online, and much more.

The Portland area seems to be a haven for creative types, and many of these artists are able to take that step into professionalism. Here's a few of the interviews about great Oregon artists that are successful in their crafty careers:

Bread and Badger features innovative etched glass designs.
Read the interview

Fearless Fibers features handpainted yarns and knitting patterns.
Read the interview

Piddix features digital collages.
Read the interview

Rachelaustin features original artwork and prints.
Read the interview

Littleputbooks features paper arts, pendants, and more.
Read the interview

22 January 2009

Crochet Christmas Project Photos

a little belated glimpse at a couple of the christmas presents i made for the mom:

these felted slippers are my second attempt at the pattern listed in Felted Crochet by Jane Davis. they turned out just like i'd hoped! crocheted with (2 strands wool, 1 strand polyester) together, then machine felted, these slippers were surprisingly quick to make! of course, the drying time is the longest part, and considering my time crunch (yes, i waited till christmas eve, shut up) i had to help them along a bit...
once they'd felted down as much as they would, i threw them in the dryer to get them to shrink a bit more because her feet are quite small. when they were shrunk down to size they were still a bit wet, so i took a hair dryer to them at low temp until they were dry enough to wrap.
it's tough to tell from the photos, but the wool is a deep turquoise. the felting worked much better this time and the slippers stayed fuzzy rather than matted; i think it's because i used polyester for the fuzzy part rather than the super soft nylon i used the first time.
she loved them! so did the rest of the family; i may have to make a whole bunch next time...


and here's the first table runner i've ever attempted. whew, it took a long time for such a small thing!

she uses doilies and table runners a lot, but she doesn't have any handmade ones, so i thought this would be a great gift for her. i used a thin cotton/nylon blend for this so that it could be thrown in the wash. the yarn has a silky sheen to it.

this was made by crocheting 20 circle-square motifs then single-crocheting them together and adding a border. if i had more time, i would have made a fancier, more elegant looking border but i think it looks okay. honestly, if i hadn't gotten a few days off of work due to bad weather, this probably wouldn't have been finished.



it's such a rewarding feeling to pour so much work into something and have it so well received.