carzoocritters giant list

If you haven't seen this yet, go see it:
http://carzoocritters.blogspot.com/2010/01/giant-list-of-blog-topics.html

As advertised, it is a giant list of blog topics. Like, tons. I plan on using it.

For now, I'm posting it here, partly to share it with y'all, and partly (mostly) so I know where to find it when I need it.

While I'm sharing... this poor little robot couldn't handle the pressure.

Has anyone got a favorite lace yarn that they would recommend? I'm planning my knitting for my trip to Santa Fe, and I know I'll need knitting. I've read that lace is best for travel because it takes up no room and a ton of time. I'm not quite decided on a pattern, yet, either. Maybe two patterns: one brainless and one interesting.

Also, I'm proud of these:
I think that's a pretty good picture. *puffs chest in pride*

Motorcycle Parking

I took this picture a while back, during that huge snowstorm that everyone seemed to get.

Where I have been

Where o where have I been? A sort of forced break from blogging for purposes of part II of my qualifying exam. On Friday 2/19/10 I presented my thesis proposal and had my oral exam. I passed, and have earned my masters degree in neurobiology and anatomy. Friggin' phew!

Now that that's finished, I should have more time for blogging! Yay!

Simple Sewn Sachet

Lab has been rough, lately. Yesterday was a 15 hour day, and the recent past and near future are filled with unsavory tasks. So I've been desperately craving the opportunity to make, to create. And I really wanted a project with a high payoff-to-time-invested ratio. So I decided: scented sachets. Very easy, very quick, useful, and using materials I had on hand.


Then I thought maybe I'd share how I made these sachets. So I went ahead and wrote a little tutorial. My first one. :) If you could give it a try, I would love to know if the technical aspects of posting the tutorial actually worked. I would also like to know if the directions make sense, or if my little annotations are too much.

I'm thrilled with the response to my giveaway! 106 comments! Wow! The winner will be announced tomorrow, and then I'll be mailing the scarf. Thank you so much to everyone who participated!

Big ol' Saturday

This is turning into a big Saturday. Got up, watched Land of the Blind (a whacked-out movie. I can't tell whether I liked it or not), walked across the street to buy laundry detergent and deodorant, started laundry, cleaned like crazy, made and ate lunch, and now I'm sitting on the couch, listening to the president's meeting with a bunch of republicans. Interesting. Later, my brother and his girlfriend are coming over to make personal pizzas for us, and then all four of us (Jonny, Anna, Evan, and I) are going to the Rochester Philharmonic concert tonight to have a "grand old time," as Jonny said. I guess it's good to have productive Saturdays.

Last night I came across a new very cool blog, offering a free PDF for this project. I had to go to Joann Fabrics immediately to buy heavy weight fusible interfacing.

Not the best picture ever, especially color-wise, but you get the idea. Useful thingy. But I was reminded that I am definitely not a sewing person. My seams started out even and pretty, but by the end I started rushing, and the seams were considerably less even and pretty. Still functional, though.

On Thursday night I sang with Schola in Harmony for Haiti. The weather was atrocious, so the turnout was smaller than I had expected, but I think the concert was a success. I feel like a good person.

Giveaway!

I'm having my first giveaway, and I am excited!

The item: a handwoven scarf.

Made with Araucania yarn (75% wool, 25% polyamide).


8.5" wide and 60" long, plus 4.5" of fringe on each end.

The color palette features soft pinks and purples with gentle streaks of white and occasional dashes of grey and gold. Good Valentine's Day colors.

To enter, go here.
http://rochesternystreetteam.blogspot.com/2010/01/wednesday-wellspring-sarahs-amiables.html

words for my niche

I've been reading a bit about finding/making your own niche, which is both important and tricky in the world of Etsy, where there is a lot of very talented, very cool competition.

What is my niche? Or what might it be?

I thought a fun brainstorming game would be to pick out words that appeal to me for one reason or another, and that I would like to somehow highlight in my niche.

Some words that make me smile: wool, yarn, knit, fiber. Really good stuff of substance and potential.

I'm big on pragmatism, so useful should go in the list.

Aesthetic pleasure is important, too... beautiful, pretty, lovely, etc.

Simplicity really appeals to me, but not to the point of being spare.

Crafting etc is really fun for me, and I want that to come across in my niche.

I want my niche to be a pleasant, friendly place to be, to come hang out, have a cup of tea, and enjoy the crafts.

I think that's a good start.

The harder, longer-term bit will be actually defining my style. Or maybe just defining a part of my style. Is it color-oriented? Structure-oriented? Fiber-oriented? or something else. And how should I best express my style? Should it extend to the background I use for my pictures, for example? Probably. The challenge is that I like to try new things a lot, and many of the projects I return to are quite simple, because I enjoy the simplicity, I guess. The other problem is that I don't have enough time (never enough time!) to really focus on this issue and iron it out. I've got this pesky graduate school business to deal with!

What's in your niche?