Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Crafty McCrafterson Over Here

I've been crafty lately.  The hint of fall (as in, it cooled down to 80 the other day) and all this free time has accommodated that.  Some recent crafty things:

1.)  Oh, wait, but first, I got serious about organizing my craft desk.  It's this old roll-top that a roommate left behind (Amanda?) and when I'm in the midst of a project it is a wreck.  There are scraps of felt and teeny beads everywhere.  And the felt is normally bulging at all points.  So I got down to business and organized it all.  That felt is packed so tight in there I'm afraid one minor earthquake or a sound door slam or my wonderful upstairs neighbors (whom I love, really and truly I do and they are so nice and neighborly about the whole thing and only exercise during the day so it's hard to be bothered, although I think they may be made of steel) doing their P90X and the whole collection will come exploding out of it shelves.


Things of note:  There are tons of drawers and they're all filled with fabric and yarn and needles and hooks and patterns and fasteners and notions; I'm in love with my ribbon collection; That thing on the top left?  it's an old train signal that belonged to my great grandpa, who was an engineer, and Katie and I borrowed if from our parents for a party we were throwing where we needed mood lighting, I think it was Liz's Beatnik Poetry Reading Birthday Party - which, it must be stated, was a resounding success.

2.)  Speaking of hooks, I got tired of my crochet hooks just rolling around in the needle and hook drawer. So I made them a cute bag


You can get handy hook organizers just about anywhere but I have found that they are kind of bulky.  This is compact and also, cute.

3.)  My pal (and Sister In Arms in the Pursuit of Social Awkwardness and Anxiety)(T, I'm going to needlepoint that on a pillow for you) Teresa, commissioned this



It's not just a cute bag (I'm clearly on a drawstring kick).  Look inside.


Monkey and alligator finger puppets!  For that terrifying kiddie song 5 Little Monkeys Swinging In A Tree, where the alligator sneaks up on them and snatches them out of the tree, presumably to feed them cookies, I HOPE.

4.)  And finally, in the pursuit of trying to get rid of some of my crafty stuff (if only to make room for more), I have made an afghan from scrap yarn.


I like how it turned out.  But, sadly, I can't keep it.  Because I already have stacks and stacks of blankets.  And I live in a place that doesn't often require them.  And if the point of making it was to create more space then it's got to go.  Which is me saying it's yours for the asking.  If no one wants it I'll just hand it over to the DI, which was the original plan. But if you can give it a home, just let me know. 

10 comments:

Andrea said...

I've been in a crafty mood too, I also think it is because the hint of fall (as in, it cooled down to 99 the other day). You are so crafty, I'm jealous. I love the monkey bag, the blanket, everything! I wish I were as clever as you.

Brooke Knecht said...

Rachel's got talent!

Rach said...

You are super crafty. I made a set of those finger puppets once and ran out of steam before any of them got eyes, and they ended up buried at the bottom of the stuffed animals in our basement. Yours are much more successful. And I am super impressed by the afghan. Just to get rid of some yarn. AMAZING! If you didn't have to pay a year's salary to ship it, I'd ask for it. I'm super impressed by the amount of felt you have jammed into that desk. And I want that desk. It's fantastic! I can only imagine what I could do with my stamp collection with a desk like that!

Tammy said...

I love love your afghan. If you haven't promised it to anyone else yet I would proudly take it.

Amanda said...

How did the "I'm giving away a hand-made afghan" get top billing in this post? Incredible! I'm sitting in a hotel room right now in Dallas. It is 90 outside and I'm wearing socks, a hoodie (hood up) and flannel jammy pants. The other adult in this place things it is important to max out the A/C. Hello?? So, I really could use a good afghan right now, but have a gillion back home and think Tammy should have it.

Bronwyn James said...

Um, I hate to be all contrary, but I am actually in pretty dire need of blankets right now. Can I throw my name in the hat? It's so beautiful!

Jayne said...

i love the afghan you are so talented, I love your blog RAchel, it brightens my day when I see you have updated it.

jayne

I need one of those crochet holders, I have my needles in an envelope and they always fall out!
I think you should give one of those away!

Valerie said...

Did someone already get the afghan? I think it should rightly go to the person who lives in the coldest place (you don't have any friends on either of the poles, do you?).

Anonymous said...

We need to meet.... like, in some rainy alleyway in Prague or something... to discuss our Project.

teresa p said...

I love my monkeys and alligator! They're so perfectly made. You're amazing, as always. By the way, do I still owe you ten dollars?

We at least need Awkwardness Sisterhood buttons, if not pillows.