Goals for the Summer...

My first goal I have for this summer is to completely beef up my Etsy site by crafting through my enormous yarn, cloth, and jewelry stashes. I'm making an honest effort to cut down on what I own, and making some money off of it wouldn't hurt. :)
So we begin with project #1 for the summer, the simple armwarmers:I'm going to be writing up a free pattern for these for you all as well. They are perfect for the buy-one-skein-sickness that I seem to suffer from. Don't you love the mustard yellow?
Another big goal for this summer is to cook often and cook well. I made these pretties last night, they are pretty much a staple around here. Its just grilled portabella mushrooms on nice bread. We season them slightly and then put them on the griddle with a little olive oil. So easy and so good. Also, those are sweet potato fries (from trader joe's) in the background-- not cheetos as this photo may try to convince you. Lastly, those are Nate's man-hands, not mine. :)
Well, more goals later, I'm off to eat some dinner!

Semester Accomplished!

So I'm all done with my semester and I have a HUGE weight lifted off of my back! I got done with my last crit last night at 5:30 pm, and I'm now officially done!
I'm really excited for this summer because I am hoping to do all sorts of fun things with my three months of free time. One of the things I really want to catch up on is visiting friends and family. That may be a bit of a pain because gas prices are kind of a pain.... at least I've got my little corolla though!
I'm taking it easy this weekend and catching up doing some listings on my Etsy site. I was a little sick the other day, but I'm feeling better today.
Here is a sampling of some of the recycled yarns I've been dyeing up:Last Wednesday night I went to go see Josh Ritter and his amazing band in Madison, and it was lots of fun, like usual. We went with Nate's family and happened to see a bunch of friends from Oshkosh. If you are in the Chicago area, they will be playing at the Taste of Randolph Street on June 22nd. The Drive By Truckers are playing there the night before, so I may need to make a weekend out of it. It would be well worth your time to check Josh Ritter's music out. :)

Catching Up

I'm procrastinating finishing a paper today, so what better way to do it than have some fun on the internet. Last post I talked about my recycled yarn, and here is about half of it. I'm in the process of editing pics of each individual skein to put up on my Etsy site, but I believe that will happen after the semester is done and over with.

You may have also noticed Rascal looking contemplative in the backround- haha.
The garage sale season is also off to a good start this year. I picked up these pretties last week:I'm also in the midst of crits for the semester and my portfolio review for continuance in the painting program. Here are some shots from my studio:
As you can see from this one, I don't get out much. My skin is blazingly pasty.....

Bogged Down!

I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel with this semester! I've still got a few papers, paintings, and presentations to do, but I've gotten a few of the major things out of the way. The weather has also been wonderful for the last week or so, and it was fun to see the field behind our apartment turn from brown to bright green in a matter of two days.
One of the big things I got out of the way last week was my Eco Art Project. I ended up making 7 reusable crocheted grocery bags, 10 reusable sewn tote bags, 22 skeins of hand-dyed recycled yarn, and a free pattern to boot. Everything I made was handmade from recycled material or yarn, so it fit within the 'eco' concept.
My favorite thing is this shirtdress that I made for the 'fashion show'.

The top is knit out of hand-dyed recycled yarn, and the bottom is made from a XL mens t-shirt. It is super cute, and I will try to get a picture of me wearing it at some point, but for now it is being shown on my handy dandy packing tape dress form that is stuffed with old plastic bags.

Also, here is Mr. Bo, he is so happy we can open the windows finally!
Even thought this semester has been nuts, I've been making a huge effort to cook more. This is something I whipped up last night, but I do believe it will become a staple in this household. It is my 'random ingredient' tomato soup with open faced brie sandwiches. Yum. I'll try to write down the recipe next time so I can share it with you all. :)

Free Reusable Crocheted Grocery Bag Pattern

ECO FRIENDLY SHOPPING BAG

Materials:
• Around 150 Yards of Lily Sugar'n Cream Yarn
• Size H or J Crochet Hook (Go with the J or larger if you crochet tightly)

Gauge:
The gauge of this pattern is not important because it will stretch.

Construction:
This bag is crocheted in the round from the top down. It might be helpful to use a paperclip or a stitch marker to define the start of the round.
Instructions:
CH- Chain
SL- Slip Stitch
SC- Single Crochet
DC- Double Crochet

Top & Handles:
1. CH 86.
2. SL 1 to join chain into a circle being careful not to twist the foundation row. SC the next 86 ST (row 1). SC two more rounds.
3. The next row you will be separating the handles from the body of the bag. SC 13, CH 11 (Skip 17 to create first handle), SC 26, CH 11 (Skip 17 to create second handle), SC 13.
4. SC 74 (one round)

Body
1. CH 4, {Skip 1, DC 1, CH 1} ←Repeat the bracketed stitches until you reach the end of the round.
2. DC into the opening created by the chain stitch openings of the previous round. {CH 1, DC 1} ← Repeat the bracketed stitches for three more rounds.
3. (CH 2, DC 1} ← Repeat for one round.
4. {CH 2, DC 1} ←Repeat for four more rounds.
5. {CH 1, DC 1} ← Repeat for one round.
6. {CH 1, DC 1} ← Repeat for one round.
7. Bag Bottom: At the end of the previous round, lay the bag flat so that the handles are lying on top of one another. While holding the front and the back of the bag together, SC through both sides to close up the bottom of the bag, and tie a knot at the end.
8. Weave in ends.

Use of Pattern:
If you would like to post about this pattern on your website or blog, please include a link to this entry. Copyright 2008 Cassiemarie - All Rights Reserved. You may use this pattern to crochet items for personal use or charity. You may not sell the pattern itself or any items made using this pattern under any circumstances, neither individually nor in any compilation of patterns. You may not copy this pattern and post it elsewhere, not on a web page, nor message board, nor via e-mail, nor via any other electronic means. If you make modifications to the pattern, please only post the modifications you made, not the entire modified pattern. Thanks! :)
Fun Facts:
--Every year, each person in this country uses about 1,000 plastic bags.
--Using reusable bags will lower your carbon footprint and also save about 1,000 bags over the lifetime of the bag.

Good News!

Here is a sneak peek of what I've been working on recently. It is a group of interiors on 6"x6" hardwood panels. I've been using water-soluble oil paints in effort to nix the migraines I've been getting from paint thinner, and I really love them.
I found out this week that I got a Teaching Assistantship for next year as well, and I am VERY excited. I'll be teaching a foundations drawing class all by my lonesome. I really love NIU's MFA program because with my TA I'll be the teacher of record, so it will count as the precious 2 years of teaching experience that is necessary to score almost any university teaching position. I've been on cloud nine all week!
In other news, I'm completely ready for spring. Winter is starting to wear on me, and I'll be happy when I can feel the warmth of the sun again!
Speaking of winter, I went with the hubby's family to see Wicked in Chicago last weekend. It was a good show, and we stayed at an amazing hotel, but I think it could have been a little nicer outside- haha.Nothing like a good windy-ass sleet storm to get you in the mood to go walking around downtown!
Lastly, in lieu of nice weather, I've been doing some preliminary planning for the trip I want to take this summer. Nate and I, and possibly some others, are going to take a train up to Glacier National Park and camp/hike/paint for a week and a half. We are fairly set as far as camping gear goes, but we needed a nice backpack for Nate. Anyways, we were at the thrift store the other day, and *poof* right in front of me is this never-been-used $100 backpack with a $4.50 price tag on it.
I might have done a happy dance, or two.

Hello Semester, Goodbye Social Life

I am aware a large amount of time has elapsed since my last post, but I've been a little overwhelmed by school and travels these last few weeks. I've got four paintings in the Watercolor '08 show at the Norris Gallery in St. Charles right now until mid April. Framing those pieces caused an entirely unnecessary amount of stress. The long and short of the story is that I ordered frames online, they were craptastic, I had to quick go to the craft store and pick up mediocre frames, and re-mat each piece. Not the most fun thing to do on an already stressful weekend. Anyways, they look fine, and I got four pieces in, so not too bad of an end result.
Other than that, Nate and I went to the Dells for a couple of days over our short lived spring break, and that was pretty fun.
Also, I read a great book over break for my Eco Art Class- it can be found here on the class's blog. There are some other book reviews from my classmates on there as well, so if you are looking for an eco-friendly book to read, look no further.
Last but not least, here are some of the new yarns in my Etsy shop.They are all 100% Merino, and very squishy.

New Items?

My Etsy shop has been in a sad state lately. I've been letting it go pretty badly since the semester started, so it's my goal to beef it up again this week. I've also been toying with the idea of starting a second shop for my jewelry, so the yarn and the jewelry are separated, but I'm not sure yet.
As if that's not enough to think about, I'm also starting some wood-burnings for fun. Who knows were that is going to go- hah- maybe I need to start doing some craft fairs....
Here is one of them, and I've got six more ready to be drawn on. Also, I went to the thrift store a couple of days ago and hit the jackpot. I got all this for $10!I got:
- 2 new scarves from Target
- A jacket and a tank top from Target
- A pretty glittery headband
- A new long-sleeve shirt and
sweater from Old Navy
In the fiber realm, I've spun three new yarns this week, and this is my favorite. It is super bumpy and bulky merino plied with a orange wool yarn. It is super squishy!
I've also started brainstorming for my EcoArt Project, and I'm really excited to get started on it. I'm going back and forth between doing a project involving handmade recycled clothing, or handmade recycled bags. Either way, I'll be trying to take a positive angle on consumption, and the encouragement of smart consumption.
But more on that when I'm further along with the project. :)

Rings and Things

Nate and I celebrated Valentines day the weekend after valentines in Chicago. You can read about it at his blog here. I am bringing this up so that I can show you the lovely ring he got for me! It is made from an antique spoon, and sized to fit. I really love it!
If you want to get your own, you should go to LTCreatesJewelry's website on Etsy.
I'm also in love with the watches :)
Today I got a chance to go to the thrift store between classes, and got a bunch of great clothes.
Other than a little fun, there has been a LOT of painting going on here:
This painting is still in progress, I've probably got about 6-7 hours to go on it.
I've also been working on some oil paintings. I have two done and one in progress as of now. Thats about it for now, I'm exhausted and its only Tuesday! Yikes!

Getting Back in the Groove

We had the week off from classes, so I tried my best to get some of the things that have been piling up on my back burner out of the way. Also, Jacki came down for a visit. It was a pretty chill visit, she had a job interview here, and we went out for Thai food and did a little shopping. It was a good time, and I brought my camera, but still somehow failed to take pictures. I did however take pictures from a couple weeks ago when our good friends came down for Nate's birthday. It was so nice to catch up with our Oshkosh friends, we've been missing them!
We've had a busy last few weeks around here, and I've still managed to be somewhat productive. Here are a couple of projects I've recently finished (or gotten around to taking pictures of). The first is a baby blanket for Nate's cousin's new baby boy Jeremy.This is a hat I made for my sister that is on the way to her in the mail. It is super soft and cozy and I love the yarn. It is Farmhouse Yarns lumpy bumpy yarn. Can you find the naughty kitten?I wanted to thank all of you who replied to my last post and who e-mailed me, we are doing a lot better here. Classes start back up again tomorrow, and I hope with that the healing process will begin for our campus. I hope you all are doing well too.
:)

Yesterday was a completely shocking day to say the least. I went to work in the art office, considered going to the library to do some research for my art history class, and decided to go home early because Nate had the day off from work. Soon after I got home from class, Nate's dad called asking if we were alright.
There had been a shooting on campus, and 6 people were killed and 12 injured.
We were and are still in a state of shock.
We are both safe, and are really thankful no one we know was hurt or killed. But at the same time we are both grappling with how this could have happened.
It was so surreal to see our campus on the news all evening. It just didn't seem like it actually happened.
We live right near the hospital, and could hear the helicopters transporting people out of the hospital. It was all very chilling.
This is just beginning to set in, and with the reality of this comes the healing process. I have faith that we can bounce back, and I have to say that as a NIU student, I feel proud of the way the school handled the situation.
I'm sure we'll learn more and more as time goes on, but for now, lets keep those directly involved with this terrible shooting in our thoughts and prayers.
(Image from the Associated Press)

Some Happy Little Moments

Yesterday someone asked me why I sell things on Etsy. We were having a conversation about how much I actually make for my time, and I told her it is probably a little bit over minimum wage. She was kind of confused as to why I would keep doing it if it didn't "pay well."
I responded that it pays in other ways. First of all, there is no stress involved, I can do it on my own time, and I really do enjoy the creative process. Secondly, I just love the personal connections that Etsy (and selling handmade goods in general) brings about. I've had many customers who've e-mailed me after receiving items to tell me what they are going to do with them, or just to say that they loved what they got. I've also bought a few things over Etsy that I truly adore, and not just for their worth, but for the connections they have given me to others. Lastly, I've always been a great advocate of doing what you love no matter how hard it is. I sometimes ask the question to others: Is it really work if you are doing what you love and getting paid for it?
I've had two customers that have recently sent me some much appreciated love, and I wanted to share their stories with you. First there is Grace, from Uncommon Grace, and she recently purchased some yarn from my shop. A short while after she had purchased the yarn, she posted some pictures of her finished project on her blog. If this doesn't brighten your day, I don't know what would!
(Photo by Uncommon Grace)
What a cutie! And what a wonderful hat!
Her blog's name is very fitting to her personality, thanks Grace!!
This leads us to the second customer who has also been so very kind. Stephanie had recently ordered a skein of yarn from my Etsy site, and a few days after she got the yarn in the mail, she sent me this message:

"Hello my Illinois friend,

I received the yarn and I wanted to tell you a little story.

When it first arrived, I hadn't noticed the yardage in the listing and thought "what can I do with this?" it didn't seem enough for a scarf and I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to use it. Then, this Monday, our oldest dog became quite ill. Her name was Sophie, a shiba inu, that was really my son Nicholas' dog. She was 11 and had been doing poorly for some time. We had to have her put to sleep that night, and I haven't seen my big young man cry like that since he had been a little boy.

I don't know why, but I found myself drawn to your beautiful yarn. I picked it up and just started knitting. It gave my hands something to do. And I found myself knitting a hat for Nicholas. My first hat. From a free pattern on the web shared by a Mark Thrailkill in London. He writes "feel free to distribute [the pattern], copy it, profit from it, learn from it, discard it, and/or share it. pah! on copyrights, they keep loved ones warm!" So, Mark Thrailkill from London taught me how to make a hat with your beautiful yarn.

It's almost finished, and while not perfect, it is lovely. I am going to sew a label for it "XOXO, Sophie." To keep Nicholas' noggin warm. I just thought you might like to know what happened to your yarn once it left your hands.

Just had to write,

Stephanie"

I has some serious tears in my eyes after reading that one. I think it has a lot to do with my having pets for the first time, and the sheer sweetness in Stephanie's willingness to share with me the story of her hat. She was also kind enough to send some pictures of the hat she made. Isn't it beautiful! And it was her first hat!
(Photos by Stephanie with help from Nicholas)

And here is the shot that will make your eyes tear up:
Thank you Grace and Stephanie for your kindness.
Crafting has become more and more of a way for me to connect with others, and I feel as if I am a part of a meaningful "chain" of creativity. I love it when something I do inspires someone else to try something new, or create something they may not have thought they could do.

Sorry for the wordy post, I'll leave you all with a picture of Rascal, who loves to be naughty, can you tell? :)