* Joy of Life: March 2009

31 March 2009

Pay It Forward!

The first five (cinq) (cinco) (5) people to respond to this post will get something made by me.
This offer does have some restrictions and limitations so please read carefully:
Totally ganked from Andey's blog .

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. (No refunds… no exchanges!!!!)
2. What I create will be just for you, with love from me.
3. It’ll be done this year (2009).
4. I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be. It will be something made in the real world and not something cyber. It may be weird or beautiful. I may even create something totally unbelievable and surprise you!! Who knows? Not you, that’s for sure!
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.
6. In return, all you need to do is post this text into a note/post of your own and make 5 things for the first 5 to respond to it.
7. Send your mailing address if you don’t live close to me! Feel free to email your mailing addy to writers_muse @ msn.com.

IMPORTANT: This offer is null and void if I do not see you post your own note to pay this forward.

Whoops! Correct email address present now ;)

23 March 2009

Felted Fingerless Gloves

TinkerAndPo

A friend of mine on Ravelry came up with a great idea: Buy old 100% wool sweaters from thrift stores and upcycle (via felting and sewing) them into fingerless gloves and card caches.

TinkerAndPo.etsy.com

From her site

"All of my fingerless gloves/armwarmers are made from repurposed merino wool, angora, cashmere or lambswool sweaters. Because they are felted, the fabric is soft, warm, sturdy, and will not fray."

So, I finally succumbed recently, bought a pair of the fingerless gloves for myself annnnnnd....

I LOVE them! I barely ever take them off, and I'll definitely have to buy another pair for the days when I want shorter ones. They're super soft and toasty warm!

15 March 2009

The Latest from Joy of Life

Just getting pics up of my last 2 batches of hand-dyes. I've sold a few but most of these are still available in my etsy shop: Joy of Life.

Cozy Toes - Rose Garden

Cozy Toes - Atmosphere

Cozy Toes - Terrarium

Cozy Toes - Briar Rose

Cozy Toes - Dragonfly Wings

Cozy Toes - Blackberry Picking

Cozy Toes - SuperGirl

Cozy Toes - Lilacs

Cozy Toes - Scuba Dive

07 March 2009

An Enigma Wrapped in a Shawl

I organize a 2 month increment KAL/CAL in Bubbo's Pants on Ravelry and for March/April we decided to do lace. This is my first major lace project, so on recommendations from others I picked something with a short repeating chart. I decided to do the Woodland Shawl because I've been dying to knit up my Enigma (a yummy color that reminds me of Butterscotch and Vanilla pudding swirled together) from Andey Originals, and I felt that the color went really well with a leafy pattern.

So far, I'm really enjoying this pattern. The chart is short enough that after I do one repeat on each row, I don't have to look enabling me to watch tv shows online while I knit. I definitely recommend using the chart link she supplies. Also, if you're a beginning lace knitter like me, I found it very helpful to copy/print out the chart and then write down the setup for each row. The pattern undulates so before you start the chart on each row you have a few setup stitches. I just found it easier to have it all in one place.