Some Crafty Stuff

I've been up to a little bit recently, in the craft world, and I have some pictures to show now. They are bad, for which I apologise - they were taken with my phone because I've misplaced my camera again! But hopefully they'll give you some idea of what I've been up to!

First up, a new monkey:



He's the first one I've made in a while actually, and I think he's a little on the skinny, gangly side. He is for sale though. He's £12, and I can list him in either my Etsy, or Folksy shop if anyone wants him. And because I love you all so much, if you post here, or email me that you want him, I won't charge you for postage!

Next up - a sock I'm working on - it's a mothers day present for my step mother (I haven't even started the ones for my mum yet! Thank the gods I still have a week before I go to Bristol!):



I've also made another pom-pom hat, which I still need to list in the shops. Again, if you want it, I can list if just for you, and won't charge Postage. The hat is £8!



And finally, some pincushions. I've never made pincushions before, and as I'm still getting used to my new sewing machine, I thought it might give me some practice sewing in nice straight lines. I still need to work on that! These are also my first attempt at patchworking too, and I know, it's really wonky and still needs work. But on the whole, I think I'm pretty happy with them all!

Kind Of Slow

As the title says, I'm kind of slow on the crafting front at the moment. I've made a pair of socks, and I'm about halfway through another hat, but other than that, I've not really got a lot done.

I'm really quite keen to get my sewing machine out now, but I still have nowhere to put it, which is really quite irritating.

And unless putting Lego together counts as crafting, I've actually really not got anything left to say. :(

More interesting posts to follow. Promise.

Oh, one more thing, my business cards arrived. If anyone wants one, or wants to do anything with one, let me know! Comments are the preffered method, if you leave an email address!

Snow Crafting...

Yes, that's a bad pun. Due to the snow (and we have a lot of it here!), I've mostly been too tired to do any crafting when I've got home from work. Trekking to and from work in snow up to my ankles is not something I particularly do again, but as we're apparently getting a blizzard tomorrow, I think I'll have to!

So, no pictures at the moment - I can only say that I have been knitting socks, and pictures will follow at some point!

Also, I'm taking part in the Etsy Baby Shower. Not because I'm having a baby, but because I want to get some socks out there in the world, and what better way than by giving them to gorgeous little newborns and their mums?!

New Year, New Shop Looks!

Hello, hello! Happy New Year to everyone!

As I posted previously, one of my New Years Resolutions was to blog more, which for this blog actually means having to craft more! Well, so far, 2010 has been a very productive year craft wise! I have finished one pair of grown-up socks, and knitted three more baby pairs of socks!

Grown Up Socks:


Baby Socks:






Also, as it's the new year, I thought I'd have a bit of a re-vamp with my shops. In both my Etsy and Folksy shops, I now have a new banner, and have listed all of these items in both shops. Links are in the sidebar if you want to check them out!

I'm also having a bit of a think about what to sell in them. Obviously, socks are now my main focus, but I'm wondering if I should just sell knitted socks, or sock creatures (mainly monkeys and bunnies) as well? At the moment I'm thinking of still selling creatures, and maybe offering make your own type kits, where I'd cut out all the pieces for a monkey, package it up with the stuffing, and let people sew them together. Although this is still just an idea and one that needs to be tested at the moment (anyone want to volunteer for the job!?)

So, opinions are always valued, comment and let me know what you think! And in the meantime, enjoy 2010!

Sock Swap

As avid readers (ha, like I have any of them!) will know, I make things from socks. Mostly monkeys, but also bunnies, cats, monsters and just about anything my imagination can come up with!





I've also just learned to knit socks, and armed with this knowledge, I've decided to host my very first swap, based around, you guessed it, socks!



So...here's the brief:

Socks! Simple as that! Whether it's something made from socks, or a pair of handmade socks, or even a pair of socks that you've embroidered or made pretty in some other way, socks is where to start!

Then add something crafty for your partner - fabric, buttons, stickers, (maybe even more socks!) and something tasty to nibble on (chocolate, biscuits, sweets...)! And there we have it, a sock swap parcel!

Overall you should aim to spend around £10 ($15) on your parcel, although obviously, it's up to you how much you do!

This is open internationally, as I don't think it'll be too expensive to post everything!

And now, the important bit - if you're interested, email me: driahades@gmail.com with 'SOCK SWAP', in the title! Then let me know your name (real and online!), address, and favourite colours, themes, items, and anything you're allergic to!

Sign up will end on Friday 30th October, and a rough date for sending parcels out would be around the end of November.

Simple as that! Enjoy!

Socks!

It's been a while since I made a post here...what with the new job I haven't really had too much time for crafting.

I made 2 sock monkeys for a friend, who was overjoyed with them, and has ordered 4 more for xmas, which makes me very happy. I've also got the pattern for the frock coat my dad wants me to make him, but it looks REALLY complicated, so I keep putting off actually doing anything with it. It's a much more complicated pattern than I've ever used, and it's been so long since I've done anything with a pattern I'm not even sure I remember how! Hints, tips and lots of fingers crossed for luck when I start it would be gratefully accepted!

In other news, I knitted some socks! For a year now I've been playing around with my knitting looms, and I haven't mananged to make anything except hats and scarves (things that are basically just round!). Looking at something completely different online, I found a link to a great loom knitting resource site, and from there, I managed to find a pattern for socks!

And here they are:

On the bed:





and on my feet:



They're obviously not the prettiest socks ever, but they're warm, and comfy and I totally love them. I am going to go wool shopping at some point in the week for pretty wool to make many more pairs from!

Monkey Madness!

I'm on a bit of a monkey making spree at the moment, after having spent lots of time making rabbits and monsters, I've gone back to monkeys.

At the moment I'm making a monkey for the Monkey Swap, so no pictures of that yet! I'm also making a dark striped monkey, and I bought some more fluffy socks this morning which I plan to turn into monkeys, as I think they look really quite cute made from fluffy socks.

In other news, I've set up a Coriandr Shop, which hasn't much stuff in yet, but hopefully will do soon.

Also, the Pirate sock creatures I've made are up for sale in my Etsy shop. I also have some better pictures of them too:

And Normal Service Is Resumed

After being horribly unispired for a couple of days, and feeling generally like everything I make is worthless, I'm actually feeling better and doing some knitting today. I think a couple of days of not doing anything crafty at all has put things into perspective and made me realise how much I do actually enjoy doing it, regardless of whether or not things I make are selling.

Despite this fact, I still had a facebook message from my step-mother, asking for a sock creature, free, as no one in my family seems to factor in that I have to pay for supplies and suchlike (even a few quid to cover the cost of the socks would be nice!) and I'm considering making her one, in the hope that she'll show it to people and it might generate some interest.

I'm also having a think about how I could make my sock creatures unique, and at the moment I'm considering maybe giving them knitted accessories of some kind. It's still a bit of a work in progress / idea at the moment though, so it could all change yet!

I haven't really been up to much crafty, but I do have a finished Sock Rabbit to show off:

Sock Creature Round Up

I've been making a lot of sock creatures recently and only a few of them have had pictures taken and posted here. I have now taken pictures of all of the ones I have made, and those that haven't already been posted will be now!

First up, Monkeys:

This is a monkey made for my boyfriend's Niece - she/he/it doesn't have a name yet:


This is Spot:



This is Stripe:


This is Bruce (note the bats comic-fans!!):


And this is another un-named monkey, made for my mother:


And now, Bunnies:

This is Lilah


Springy:


And my absolute favourite-est sock creation ever - Captain Blacktail, the bunny pirate:


And then this, is a monster. He doesn't have a name really. I like to make Rawr-y noises at him though:


Some of these will be appearing in my etsy shop over the next few days! Keep an eye out for them!