Custom Items

I always tell people, if they want something that is knit, crochet, sewn or quilted, just let me know.

Here's a bit more of what I mean by that.

Most of the time, the items listed in my store are completely finished and ready to be shipped. Since my home is very small, and many things take a lot of time, it means that I have certain limits to what I can make ahead of time.

Anything I sell on my site, I can make in different colors or materials just by asking.  When you inquire about it, I will give an estimate on how long it will take. That time frame includes not just the time to craft the item, but also the time it will take for the supplies to be delivered, if I have to order them.


I love to make clothing items. I seldom have them listed for a simple reason - too many sizes! If I make a sweater to be sold, I have to pick a size, color and material, and there are many sizes, colors and materials to choose from. Unless I want to spend hundreds of hours making and storing all the possible combinations, I cannot make things like sweaters in advance.

That being said, I may, in the near future, craft a few items, use drop down menus for size, etc, and make them only when they are ordered.  If I do so, it would mean that there would be at least a 2-week wait before it could be shipped.

The point of all this is, never be afraid to email me asking for something different.

For example, if you read this blog regularly, you know that I recently made several sets of stitch markers. Someone made a comment about one set that they would make pretty earrings. The result - I made her some earrings.

It can be just that simple.

Yarn

I recently became a seller for ICE/KUKA yarns. The company is in Turkey. I have been buying their yarn for my own use for a while now, and I absolutely love it! The company caught my attention when I was searching for baby yarn in colors other than the standard pastels. ICE yarn has a very wide variety of colors of baby yarn, including primary colors, and the illusive black.

Currently, I carry 6 different baby yarns:
   

And 8 yarns of different thickness and fibers:

  

If you are looking for a particular type of yarn, please let me know. I have access to over 4000 different yarns, and may have just what you are looking for.

New Items

I added a couple of new items to the store today.

First up are some hair scrunchies;

Besides just being prettier than a plain hair band, these are easier on the hair. The yarn clings to the hair, meaning that you do not have to wrap the band nearly as tightly, reducing both damage to the hair, and less pressure on the scalp.

Currently, I am selling a set of 3 - one each in black, white and red. Of course, other colors are available upon request.

Also listed today are sets of three kitchen scrubbers;

These scrubbers are roughly the same size as SOS pads. They work well on most kitchen pots and pans, from Teflon coated items to cast iron.

I have 7 different colors listed. Of course, different color combos can easily be made upon request, in line with the black & white striped ones as seen in the picture.

Stitch Markers

As I mentioned yesterday, I added a "Supplies" category to my website. (www.originalsbyjeanene.com) Today I listed 6 sets of stitch markers.

Stitch markers are used in knitting to mark a change, so you do not have to count stitches every time. Generally, they are used to mark increases, decreases, and the start of a round when doing circular knitting.

Sometimes, stitch markers have most of them the same, with one slightly different. That is done so that, you can use the identical ones for increases/decreases, and the different looking one to mark the round beginning.

Come take a look. Feel free to leave a comment regarding what you think about the markers, or the store in general.

New Store Website!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

The move to a new website is just about complete. To celebrate, enter the coupon code, "OPEN13" for 10% off your purchase.

http://www.originalsbyjeanene.com

The site *does* have a mobile version, but you cannot purchase from the mobile site, yet.

In addition to a new site, with categories to help you shop, I will also soon be carrying Supplies, starting with yarn and stitch markers. That should be ready to go within a week or two.

Go take a look. Leave a comment below for anything you like, to problems that need to be addressed.

OT - Mis-regulation Strangles Small Businesses

 Update #3 1:33pm: UNOFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE! The following was taken from an email from Lt. Craig, posted with his permission. The information below is from Dr. Priollaud. The complete and official information will be released and posted on the OSAC website as soon as it gets approved.

*******************************

I have proposed the following as our course trying to achieve the best medical practice while maintaining the good relationship between competitors and the physicians/commission.:

1. Effective 2-4-13 if you fight in any non-OSAC regulated event then you cannot fight again in Oregon until 6 months passes and your repeat (after 6 months) disease testing is negative. This was the Committee decision in November 2012.

2. From 2-4-13 to 8-4-13, if you had a past fight (prior to 2-4-13) at a venue not sanctioned by OSAC and your negative blood testing is not performed at least 6 months after this exposure then you must inform your opponent in advance that you could possibly represent a disease risk using the attached form. This form must be received by OSAC in advance (7d) of the fight and verified the day of in order to meet the requirement of informed consent without the appearance of any coercion. Your opponent could clearly choose not to fight. Since Hep C can easily persist on the mat for the entire duration of an event, a terminal cleaning with bleach solution would have to be done after every fight that included such a person.

 Update #2 12:00 noon:  After my first conversation with Lt. Craig, he spoke with the Medical Board. The official release should be today - tomorrow at the latest.

But they are offering a compromise.

Short version - New blood work will be required of fighters that fight at an event where no blood work is required. That fighter would be able to fight in Oregon during that 6 month time, SO LONG AS their opponent, at least 7 days before the event, signs a disclosure release that states they understand the situation and still want to fight.

There is more than that, but that is the bottom line.

UPDATE #1 11:30am: Just wrapped up a 43 minute conversation with Lt. Craig of OSAC. They will be issuing a Press Release about the Out-of-State blood work situation, probably tomorrow.

Mis-regulation -- and a state government leadership vacuum -- have put one Oregon small business sector in a stranglehold. As elected officials scramble for ways to create private sector jobs, one potentially easy victory sits under their noses, ignored -- halting government mistakes that actively hurt business.

A perfect example of mis-government putting the smackdown on small business is the harm done by neglectful mis-regulation by the Oregon State Athletic Commission (OSAC) of the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) industry. MMA events in Oregon are controlled by OSAC, a division of the Oregon State Police. Over the past four years, OSAC's missteps and fumbles have driven the regulatory cost of an MMA event up by 138% -- from $1,200 to $2,860 -- and as MMA grows vigorously in other states, Oregon's MMA events have plummeted 82% -- from 120 to just 22. (OSAC's event-fee revenue has fallen 56%, from $144,000 to just $62,920.)

OSAC also added a swarm of new Administrative Rules, often sloppily and in violation of Oregon law. Then in June 2012, OSAC's Executive Director was put on Administrative Leave -- and the Lieutenant of the Tribal Gaming Commission now covers the duties of both Commissions.

OSAC started 2013 by doubling down on sloppy rule-making. On February 4th, they announced a rule change "effective immediately" -- with no previous notice or public comment. This new and ill-considered version of OAR 230-020-0405 Out-of-State Contests, effectively suspended an estimated 30% of Oregon's dwindling family of competitors for 6 months for the "crime" of participating in an out-of-state event -- yet there was no rule against their attendance when the event was held. It was impossible for any athlete to follow a rule that was not in place and not announced. This disorderly rule-making, and especially the "ex post facto" inventing new rules to apply to past actions, is unworthy of a state commission.

MMA Promoters have been leaving Oregon for Washington and Nevada. With events down 82%, athletes have no place to compete, leaving them without income to support their families. Professional fighters no longer have nearly as many venues to earn their purse, and both professionals and amateurs lose out on sponsorship income. Local gym owners are losing business, and many have shut their doors, as MMA athletes move to other states. Almost a dozen promotion companies have moved -- or shut their doors.

Total job losses are estimated at 125, at an average wage of $33,000 -- making Oregon $4,125,000 poorer.

OSAC's actions have cost the state's taxpayers over $50,000 a year in direct event fees, and a further loss of the 6% ticket tax -- roughly $1,620 per fight over the 98 missing fights, or another $158,760 per year.

And when OSAC cannot cover its own costs, the funds come out of the OSP budget, reducing funds available to other public safety programs.

OSAC's economic beat-down also hits businesses near the events. Athletes and fans alike need hotels, restaurants, locations for post-event gatherings, and even supplies. In smaller communities, the local hospitality businesses need that influx of customers to keep themselves going. OSAC's changes have driven up costs so much that they become untenable to hold in smaller areas, and the entire local community loses that revenue. This is just one small Commission, but their sloppy rule-making and misregulation of their industry has a negative impact (directly or indirectly) on every Oregonian.

Multiply this effect by the number of Oregon's 220 rule-making boards and commissions. How much revenue and how many jobs have been lost, when you add all these humble industries together? A half million dollars here, two million there -- it all adds up. While we are looking for ways to improve Oregon's economy, we must not just look at the huge dollar items, but look at all these little fiefdoms that are, unintentionally, putting a choke-hold on small businesses.

If you agree that MMA in Oregon should be properly regulated, to allow the industry to grow and prosper while keeping athletes and the public safe, contact your Legislator and tell them. We need our Legislators to remind OSAC to follow their own rules and stop impulsive and disorderly rule-making. Ask your legislator to consider whether the industry would be better served if OSAC's duties were removed from the Oregon State Police, and regulated like other businesses in Oregon, under the Bureau of Labor and Industries.

We need the Commission to immediately roll-back the improper February 4th rule that they had no authority to implement, and to start over, following proper procedure. OSAC should also adopt suggestions previously made to recruit and train more Officials so more events can occur. And we need a full time Executive Director dedicated to OSAC. We can stop the mis-regulation and neglectful policies of the Oregon State Athletic Commission and allow the MMA industry to grow again.

-Jeanene Hammers

593 Taybin Road NW

Salem, OR 97304

Cell: 503-432-9361

Note: Feel free to post this in it's entirety. 

Charity Fundraiser

In many high schools, at least in Oregon, Seniors have to do a Senior Project.

My daughter chose to raise awareness and education about teen suicide.

SAVE - Suicide Awareness Voices of Education

From her letter:

"Depression is a treatable medical illness marked by changes in mood, thoughts, energy and behavior that affects more than 23 million adult Americans each year. It is the most common serious brain disease in the United States. SAVE's mission is to prevent suicide through public awareness and education, reduce stigma, and serve as a resource for those touched by suicide.

We are asking for your help in getting the message out there and to help SAVE lives. We are in need of silent auction items for our upcoming fundraiser at (Century) High School in Hillsboro, OR. Any items or gifts would be greatly appreciated and your donations are tax deductible.

What can your gift do? It can help raise money for a cause that can spread the message to young adults regarding symptoms of depression and how to deal with thoughts of suicide through SAVE's educational programs. It can help us distribute grief packets to families dealing with the loss of a loved one to their battle with depression. It can help SAVE lives.

With your support we can reach our goals."

For more information, please email Elizabeth at hamme997@hsd.k12.or.us

I will be making a quilt and donating it. As the event itself is being held at the high school, with music, it looks like the majority of the people attending the auction will be younger - high school to college aged. I am designing the quilt with that in mind.

Thanks for reading!

New Items for Fall

As previously promised, things are getting back to normal around here. Well, as much as my life can every be normal. So how about, normal for me?

I've recently added 6 new items to the store, with more in process. My yarn stash has become dangerously low, which I will have to remedy soon.

However, I did have the yarn to complete the new items. A new size of dish/wash cloths has been added, by request. The new ones are roughly 9" square, and are currently available in 2 colors.

For Fall, I added 4 new scarves in different styles.

For short scarves we have blue with random stripes:

And a soft and fuzzy one done in Sensations Rainbow Boucle:

Then we have the long scarves. For the women, we have a pocket scarf done in green with lavender, measuring at approximately 7 feet in length:

And for the REALLY tall, or those that just like long scarves that can be wrapped several times, we have this one done in black, red and white that measures over 8 1/2 feet long:

If you have any requests about what you would like to see in my store, please feel free to leave a comment.

Bright Blessings!

Almost there

The move is complete. Most of the new place is put together and organized.

Yesterday I got all the material that I have here sorted and the sewing area mostly set up. My yarn is organized and ready to go.

Only area left is the shelving unit holding the misc. supplies and paperwork. That will be done today, and that will allow me to clear of the craft table.

Meaning, by tomorrow, I can be back to work making new items for the store!

But that does not mean I have been doing no crafting.

Last night I had some down time, but close to bedtime, so I needed something relaxing. I had been thinking about some things that the bathroom could use to pretty it up a bit and watching Torchwood.

And this is what I accomplished before I went to bed:

Yes, it is a Dalek toilet paper cozy.

It's free-form, using no pattern, done in black and silver. If I make another one, I will make a few changes - for one, the eye-stalk looks too much like a beak to me, and the dome needs to be a bit bigger and stuffed so it does not cave in.

But I am happy with it, for a three hour, off-the-cuff project.

I should have new items in the store come Tuesday. Have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend, everyone!

I'm Back!

I know that it's been a while since my last post. But it couldn't be helped.

On the 3rd of July, I started to have some breathing issues after being exposed to a lot of dirt, dust, dead bugs, etc. while cleaning out a garage. It got better, but then was exposed to more bad particles on July 7th. I did not get better, and ended up in the emergency room on July 9th.

I was kept in the Pulmonary Care Unit for 5 days. It took several hours in the ER for my oxygen stats to rise to non-life threatening levels. It was a very scary time.

When I got out, the medications that I needed to finish my treatments came to over $750.00. I had $150.00. A group of wonderful people, most of whom had never met me in person, convinced me to set up a donation page through WePay. In less than a week they donated the needed funds. I honestly do not know what I would have done without their generosity, support and encouragement. Heck, they were my main source of company and entertainment while in the hospital! I cannot thank them enough. To each and every one of them, I owe you so much! I will continue to pay to forward to the best of my ability!

I have been recovering nicely since then. In some ways, faster than expected. But other matters of large importance have also occurred.

What happened and who was involved is not important. The result is that I am moving from just West of Portland, Oregon, an hour south to West Salem, Oregon. I sign my new lease there on the 14th.

It's a cute little apartment, about a block from the Willamette River, near bike paths and lots of outside recreational activities. It's a very calm place, and already feels like home. The manager there is a wonderful lady, and I am so looking forward to a fresh start.

Until the end of the month, it may take me a couple of days extra to ship any purchases from my store. I am leaving these items unpacked until the very last minute. But I will be going back and forth for about a week after that, so they may not be accessible that day.

If there will be a delay in shipping, I will be sure to let the Buyer know right away.

Everything should be back on schedule by September 1st. I have a lot of new items planned. I will first be restocking my pocket scarves so they will be ready before the cold weather hits. I am planning on adding a bunch of hats at that time, too.

Bright Blessings to all!

Be Kind; Everyone You Meet is Fighting a Hard Battle* Part 2

*Quote source - could be Plato; could be Ian MacLaren.

Earlier this week I posted a bunch of small businesses whose hard working owners are using their skills to improve their financial situations. Medical bills, job loss, and other economic reasons.

Here are a few more.

I'm not telling their stories, as I do not feel it is my place to talk about their private lives. Some of them have their story posted on their web page.

However, for this first store, I can tell her story.

Rena is an absolutely fantastic artist. I am jealous of her skills, to be honest. Here's her story in her own words:

Loads of people, friends & family have told me that I should tattoo... How? There's no real schools around here, only lengthy & very expensive internships ($15,000+)... Being a mother of three, I can't do that... But I can be gone for only two weeks!

The course I'm aiming for is this September 2012, very close to my birthday...

What's stopping me?

I need to pay over $6000 for tuition, travel (from Oregon to Luisiana)... I may have to put it on my credit card but that still needs to be paid...

Help me follow my dream & I'll pay-it-forward somehow, it's only right, Thank you!

Here's Rena's store: Purple Daizie Fine Art

Next is a UK group with fantastic items that could use some love and assistance. Their story can be found HERE.  Their store:  ReCreations Project

Lots of jewelry sellers on Etsy, but few as spectacular as Phoenix Fire Designs. If you like or buy jewelry, you must check out this woman's store! Phoenix Fire Designs

For beautiful and unique art and jewelry, you have to see this lady's shop, too! Be sure to ask her about custom work. Aphotica 

Some very unique knit items in this store: Dress Me Up In Stitches

That's all I have for today. If you want to shop, shop these (and Part 1's) store first!

Got a busy weekend, so look for a new post early next week. I have some fundraisers I want to share.

Be Kind; Everyone You Meet is Fighting a Hard Battle* Part 1

*Quote source - could be Plato; could be Ian MacLaren.

These days, all of us have our struggles, and too often, it's financial.

When faced with financial difficulties, most people try to solve them, generally doing one of two things - cut expenses/go without or increase income.

In desperate times, some people take the moral low ground.

This post is NOT about those types of people. No scammers, grifters,  or beggers allowed.

This post is about people struggling financially and are looking for help by way of selling their items. 

Please take a look at these shops. There are many, many great items, made by wonderful, caring people.

To start, we have stuffed Hellephants!
https://www.wepay.com/stores/hellephant-4-sale

Awesome vintage toys!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/IusedtoLOVEthat

Some cool knitting!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ShopPoopsPlease

More knitting!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Knithulhu

Whimsey!
https://www.wepay.com/stores/princess-buzzkill-crying-glitter-eagle-s-emporium-of-whimsy

Lip gloss, and such!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/eatmeintimates 

Etched glass!
https://www.wepay.com/stores/little-shop

Vintage!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/EstateSaleShop

Crochet!
https://www.wepay.com/stores/penguinfly-designs

More small shops ran by wonderful people coming soon.

Busy Times

I've been a little lax about keeping this blog up to date for the past 10 days or so. Mainly because the other aspects of my life - the non-crafting parts - have needed my attention. I have a couple of big meetings coming up fast - a political convention with party elections and a big DSAC (Disabled Services Advisory Council) meeting with elections.

Craft-wise, I have been working on a custom order of a baby sweater and hat set. It is just about done. I just have to finish the sleeves and sew the buttons on. Here's the finished hat:

I have more swatches for custom icons in the works, also. Set 2 is about half done. Five are complete, and I want to add another five before I photograph and add those as options.

Sunday is Father's Day. Nothing too strange for dad this time, but is something he needs/wants. Since he and some of his friends know about this blog, I won't say more until after Sunday.

Also coming up fast is my Mom's birthday on July 1st. I have a couple of ideas, but have not made a decision yet. She does not like the weird stuff that Dad does. lol

So more picture and new products coming as fast as I can make them. The Valknut tote has sold, but will be replaced by another shortly. Just stay tuned.

The Rest of the Story

As I wrote yesterday, some FJL's assisted me in coming up with a birthday gift for my dad. I won't say what other ideas were brought up, as Father's Day is fast approaching. It was Poops that reminded me about the Penis Pack.

Like a Fanny Pack, a Penis Pack is a small pouch that it worn around the waist (or over the shoulder) to keep your small crap in that you cannot/don't want to put in your pockets. And it looks like a penis and ball sack.

For my dad, I made the sack part out of the leftover blue yarn from the lace sweater I made for mom. The flap and strap were done in tan. Dad chose to wear his around his neck.

(It was at this point that I realized that blue may not have been the best color to use. Or it was the perfect color to use. Guess it depends on your outlook.)

After snacks and cake, off we went, heading to our American Legion Post for the Saturday Night Draw. Dad put his cigarettes and lighter into his new bag and grabbed a jacket as it was starting to get chilly.

At the Post, we stepped out to smoke. Yes, dad knew exactly how this looked. He kept waving the "penis" at people, teasing them about how they were jealous of him - if they did that, they would be arrested - and basically just being silly with friends.

After the draw, dad wanted to show his friend Norm the shirt. It's Johnny Cash giving the finger. So we went to see Norm where he runs karaoke.

Overall, it was a pretty good night. I think dad mostly had fun. Dad and I talked about taking a trip to the coast this month, just the two of us.

Speaking of just the two of us, as I wrote the blog post yesterday, I realized I have no images in my computer of just dad and I. Our friend Gaylenn use my cell to take this pic. My cellphone camera is very difficult to use without blurring the picture, so it's not the clearest pic in the world, but I do not mind.

A final note - A big thank you to all the FJL's that helped me make my dad smile!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is my dad's 77th birthday. I feel very blessed to have my parents still around.

This (blurry cell phone) picture was taken last March. My parents are in the front, us kids in the back.

Dad is an interesting character. He likes practical jokes and definitely has a warped sense of humor. When I was younger, people would think me slightly odd, until they met my dad. Then things made sense.

 I've had a lot of fun making my dad things over the years. And since he requests items from me, I guess he appreciates them. From the ski mask above, to the neon robe below, it's been an interesting time.

Like this pic from Father's Day 2011. I made him a couple of fish, fishing pole and fish hook. Not only was he playing with it at the table, he later started fishing behind the bar!

 

And he just likes to be weird. Here he is, goofing around with Liz, during my twin's birthday dinner last year.

 And again, showing off his Christmas gift from Liz.

But after all these years of making fun things for him, I ran out of ideas. So I turned to my FJL friends, and asked them for ideas. I got some great ideas, many of which are saved for later use. But Poops came up with the perfect item to made for my dad's birthday day.

But I'm not going to spoil the fun. I'll post pics and details AFTER the party tonight.

I love you, daddy. Thank you for being my dad.

Baby Stuff!

After several requests, my custom baby sweaters and caps are now available through my WePay store.

Here's how this works. Each sweater and hat has a single color image worked into it. For the cap, the image goes all the way around, sometimes linked together, depending on the image. For the sweaters, there is a single image on both the left and right front, and linked images across the back.

For example, here's one that was done with anchors:

When you order one, you choose from the drop-down menu the size, the main color, and an icon from the list. I currently have Set 1 of icons done.

 You can also get these done in icons not listed. I just need an email stating what you want, and a picture/drawing, if possible.

I can do just about anything. However, I will not violate copyright/trademark laws, so please do not ask for anything that someone else holds the rights to.

As a side note, I am working up these patterns all on one long sampler. It's gonna make a very unique scarf by the time I am done!

Look for Set 2 of images soon!

Happy Super Towel Day!

Towel Day is celebrated every year on 25 May as a tribute by fans of the author Douglas Adams. On this day, fans carry a towel with them to demonstrate their appreciation for the books and the author, as referred to in Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The commemoration was first held in 2001, two weeks after Adams' death on 11 May 2001.
 
From Chapter 3 of the Guide:

A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitchhiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have "lost". What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with.

Hence a phrase that has passed into hitchhiking slang, as in "Hey, you sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There's a frood who really knows where his towel is." (Sass: know, be aware of, meet, have sex with; hoopy: really together guy; frood: really amazingly together guy.)

Today, May 25, 2012 is SUPER Towel Day.
May (5) + 25 + (20)12 = 42

Why is 42 important, you ask?

42, as all frood's know, is the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything.

So Happy Super Towel Day, and don't forget your towel!

And remember, Don't Panic!

 

Rain

One thing you can count on around here is rain.

After some very nice, and very warm for us, weather last week, it got cold and wet.

Sudden change to wet and cold + my hands = no knitting or crochet. Nor painting, drawing or sewing. Typing is difficult.

My hands are swollen, weak and not very agile.

Which just sucks.

Especially so, as I was inspired yesterday and started on a new illusion. I also found a minor flaw in how I was writing my illusion patterns, and fixed it, so this one should be my best yet. I designed the illusion without determining what it would be used for - tote, pillow, something else - so I won't know until it is finished. It's bigger than my others, though not big enough for an afghan.

When my hands get working again, I'll get back to work.

Leaving you with a picture of Priscilla bathing Gypsy. Just because.

New Illusion Tote

So I finally completed the Valknut Tote. I am happy with the tote, though I'm just not a good enough photographer to take images where you can really see the details. In the photographs, the color changes is all the eye can see, making the plaiting on the sides all but disappear.

A Valknut is an Old Germanic symbol, consisting of 3 interlocking triangles. Here is one example:

And here it is as an illusion knit:

In this picture, it looks like a color-based lattice pattern to the right and left of the Valknut. It's actually the plaiting. The colors deceive the eye in photographs. (or at least in MY photographs!)

For more details, just click on it at my store above-right.

I have more illusion tote in the design phase. Look for them soon!

Quiet day

Lots of things going on right now, but little craft related.

I'm kinda in-between things at the moment. I'll be finishing up a new illusion tote in tan and black this weekend. I also have a pale green and white set of potholders on the needles as bedside knitting.

But I am thinking that my pile of plastic bags is getting out of hand. So I will force myself to sit down at some point this weekend and make up a bunch of plarn.

Plarn, for those that don't know, is yarn created from the plastic bags that, in some places, you get from the grocery and other type stores.

Here's some of the plarn items I have made in the past.

Not sure that I will make in this batch, though most likely, some sort of hobo bag, book bag or such.

If you have a request, please leave it in the comment section!