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!

New Year's Resolutions

My attempts at blogging here this year have been woefully poor. I may have made this same resolution regarding my Other Blog (where I talk about real world, rather than crafty me, and generally rant, moan and discuss what happens in my head!) but one of my New Year's resolutions is to blog here, and there, at least once a week.

I'm hoping that this will inspire me to a) craft more, b) actually write about things without bottling them up more, and c) entertain / annoy / amuse / insert word here people who bother to read these things!

So, keep watching, and poke me (metaphorically preferably) when I don't make posts.

ETA: I've added a new layout. Isn't it pretty?!

Armwarmers!

Over at the Craftzine blog, there's a Loom Along happening! As one of the few people I know whoknits with a loom, rather than needles, I was pretty excited.

Sadly, it's based on the armwarmers a character in Twilight / New Moon wears. And I'm pretty sure everyone who knows me knows that I hate Twilight with a passion. As soon as anyone mentions it I all but foam at the mouth!

Still, a Loom Along is a Loom Along, and I've wanted to make Armwarmers for ages, and hadn't had much luck with finding a pattern. And I wasn't the only one with the same opinion. Over at the Flickr Group that relates to the Loom Along, a lot of people said much the same thing!

Anyways...without further ado...here are said armwarmers:



And here's one on my wrist:



I am totally on a stripes kick right now, and these remind me of being a kid, and reading the Beano. They are totally the same shade as everything Dennis The Menace and Minnie The Minx wear. They are officially known as my Minnie The Minx armwarmers! I can see myself making a lot more of these, and if there's any interest, I might make some for sale!

I've now moved onto knitting a shrug type thing, which if it works, will be an xmas present for my Auntie. It's an experiment really, as this is the first time I'm making something from a pattern that exists solely in my head. It'll be good if it works though!

And finally (this has been going on for a while it seems...), The Sock Swap, has been postposted. I only had two people email me about it, so I'll try again in the new year, when people are likely to have more time and aren't worrying about making things for xmas!

Phew...I'm going to shut up now!

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!

And The Winner Is...

Okay...so I didn't have a hat to put the names into...but I had a box, which worked well enough:



And the lucky winner of the monkey cards is:



So congratulations Livvie - I'll be contacting you to get the address to send them to!

In other crafty news, I've nearly finished the 3rd panel on the Looney Toons cross-stitch - I just have the back stitch to do. So the next picture will hopefully be of a fully completed cross stitch!

Oh, and my new job seems pretty cool too!

New Job!

Once again, I am an employed person! As of tomorrow, I will have a job once more!

Okay, so it's call centre work, I vowed I would never do it again, but at the moment, I don't think I can afford to be fussy, and work is work!

So, all in all I'm pretty excited, and looking forward to having money again.

One of the first things I want to buy when I have money, is I think, this cute little purse, because mine is falling apart:



It's made by alliebeans and is available here