Craftaholics Annonymous 2013 Summer Gift Exhchange

I know I've not posted in forever but if there is anyone that ever reads my blog they know that is nothing new.  I go months, ok maybe a year or so, without posting.  I don't have a lot of followers so I guess there's just no "connection" there that makes me want to correspond.  But since I do still crochet, still live in my RV and still want to participate in this summer's Crafaholics Annonymous Gift Exhange, I have to have a link for the linky party!

So here is the gift I made for my partner:

The scarf does not come with the bling-bling pin (it's actually a barrett) but I thought it was cute so I added it.  The yarn is 100% sugar cane that I found in the bottom of a basket at Tuesday Mornings.  It was so soft that I couldn't help but get it.  Alas it was the only one so I was limited with what I could do with it.  When my partner said she liked jewelry and blue I thought this would work well.  I know it's not "technically" jewelry, but seriously have you seen some of the chunky stuff that is available now?  I think this will pass! :)  I hope she loves it as much as I hate to pass it on.

Handmade Gift Exchange Linky Party!

It's that time!!  The time where all the handmade gifts are finally in their new owners hands.  Now we all want to share our new items so we've been busy taking pictures and uploading them in a linky party!   It is so exciting to rummage through all the links and see what people have come up with.  You can browse too just visit this this link to Craftaholics Anonymous.

First I want to show you what I gave to my partner.  She loves lots of colors just like I do so I thought it would be fun to put a little spring in her kitchen during these short winter days.

A lime green Wash Blossom (dish cloth), a bright pink ChrysanthePad (hot pad or trivet) and a bright blue Scrub Bud (pot scrubber).  The wash cloth and hot pad are both made with 100% cotton.  The pot scrubber is 100% nylon and works GREAT on pots, rough feet and getting the grim off your precious tire rims!

Now for my gift! :)  My partner did great at reading between the lines of our email conversations and picked up on the fact that I teach yoga.  So she gave me a yoga mat carrier, with POCKETS!!  I think the pockets are so cool because you can fit your yoga belt, keys, lip gloss, drivers license; all together in one and head to class.  How AWESOME is that??  Check it out!

Ready for class!

Check out the pockets...ALL THE WAY AROUND!
And you can see the pretty green material on the inside...super classy.

It was a hit!

I love the colors and just the idea that it's handmade.  I mean really...who would have thought to make a yoga mat bag??  MY PARTNER, THAT'S WHO!  Kudo's to my partner Jody...best handmade, surprise gift EVER!

Have you ever participated in a gift exchange for someone you didn't know?  If not I suggest you do!

In A Creative Mood

I have been feeling unusually creative lately.  Not that I don't consider myself a creative person but it usually comes in small spurts one project at a time.  This post you'll see FOUR things I've come up with in the past week.  I have one more that is still in the ripping out, reworking, trying again stage but once it's done you can bet I'll post it!

As many of you know we bought a new car a couple of weeks ago.  Little miss short legs here has to have the seat up so far that the seat belt is extremely annoying on my neck when I wear a tank top.  Soooo I came up with this snazzy seat belt cover with some left over yarn I had.  I LOVE this yarn's color pattern.  And even better, it's not so girly that my husband won't use it.

Next, some flowers.  Originally I made these up and sent them to my granddaughter for her hair or bag or whatever she wanted.  Well after her mom posted a picture on FB with her wearing one I've had others interested.  So we're gonna give it a whirl at the Farmers Market and see how it goes! 

SCRUBBIES!!!  Everyone loves a good scrubbie and I really never thought about making any since I typically like to focus on wearables.  However....I had 3 different inquires as to whether I had any, or could make some.  After making these my husband liked it so much he asked for one to clean the grim off his truck rims....and all be darned they worked GREAT!!

This next item is still a bit of a work in progress.  I had some leftover yarn in the most adorable color verigation that I just had to use it.  My original thought was to make it long enough to wear both as a hippie/boho kinda head band or to tie around your waist as an oh so cute fashion statement. 

Keeping the fly aways at bay.

Wrapping up the bun....CUTE!

Darling boho belt.

So I'm still kicking this around because the yarn pictured is a very lightweight sock yarn.  If you use it as a belt it doesn't really hold anything up as it's just for fashion, yet if you want to put it on your head it's the lightweight makes it VERY comfortable and doesn't get too hot.  Either way you don't want to tie it too tight because of the lightweight.  I'm thinking I might use this same concept in a belt only style and add D rings to one end and use a heavier weight yarn....hmmmm, still thinking on that one.

How do you go through your creative process??

Blogging My Craft

So I've been reading a few blogs once in a great while but after reading the book "The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally, and Online", I realized that just reading blogs was not the only thing that would benefit this crochet sales endeavor. My main dilemma with selling my crafts has been keeping enough inventory to do a booth.

So you now would like to know why that is an issue. Well my husband and I started the great adventure of living in our RV full-time in 2007 and it is because of this great adventure I have the time to crochet but it is also because of this adventure that I have limited space for not only supplies but for my limited inventory. There are days that I feel I've shoved yarn in every conceivable nook and cranny I can find and am just waiting for my husband to open his sock drawer and I hear across the 32' travel trailer..."Uh...honey..." then I know I'm in trouble. AKA...time to sell some stuff! He always tells me that if something comes in the front door...somethings gotta go out the back.

OK, so back to the booth thing...not so much fun sitting in a booth all day by yourself. And to have a really GREAT booth you need GREAT props and table decorations and signs and nick knack stuff, and, and, and....did I mention the RV storage thing? So you see my dilemma. I have learned a lot from this book and one of them was that "to blog is to be"...that is if you wanna be noticed online.

I don't have a lot of items because crochet work takes time. Not all of the items I crochet are my own pattern either. If you happen to find something on my site that is your design and I have mistakenly left our your credit, it is truely that, a mistake. Believe me, I don't want to make a thousand of whatever it is you created...I traditionally make it once, maybe twice, then move on to something else. My love of crochet forces me to sell not for mere profit but for lack of space.

If you are not a crocheter but would like to commission someone to crochet something for you please contact me. If I know it is heading right out the door once I'm finished the happier I make the hubby!

I will give this blogging a try and hopefully if the stars align just right and God deems it fit this will be the start of a whole new season for Fabulously Flawed Crochet Creations!