These are a few of my faaaaavorite things... Part 3

Okay so today I am going to feature some of my favorite items that I have either bought or traded for on Etsy... almost all of them have been re-listed, so if you like any of them you can purchase them as well! Enjoy!!! :D


Kyle the Raccoon Wool Felt Applique Plush Doll Pillow by Cuore


Large Knit Project Tote with Pockets


The Lonely Tiger - Handcarved Stamp


Sweetheart Apron in Pink Marilyn by prettylittlepearl

Bijou Print


White Knitter's Brooch - Yarn and Needles


1AEON Natural tote with 3 blue Owls (I got mine with black owls)

Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair

Hi all!

I just got back a little while ago from vending at the first annual Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair held at the Hallockville Museum Farm in Riverhead, NY! In addition to having fiber artists sell their wares, there were also many demonstrations and workshops, including sheep herding, sheep and alpaca shearing, carding, dyeing, spinning, felting, knitting, and weaving! There were also angora rabbits, sheep and lambs, and llamas and alpacas that you could pet. Below are some pictures I took throughout the day of some of the beautiful work I saw as well as some of the lovely creatures without whom none of these fiber arts would be possible! Enjoy!


My table


My favorite item of the day, a lovely felted handbag from the Hallockville Knitters




Beautiful table decor and pin cushion from Mojo's Place


Gorgeous hand-dyed and hand-spun yarns from Hampton Artistic Yarns


Brilliant hand-dyed rovings from Color Craze Fiber


Beautiful hand-spun yarns from Temptress Yarn


Me meeting my first darling llama!!!


Amazing art from award-winning needle felter Irene Heckel


Freshly sheared llamas and alpacas


Me petting some baby Romney sheep! "Baaaah!!!"


Mommy angora bunny and baby angora bunnies (2.5 weeks old!) :)


Another angora bunny -- I challenge you to find its face!! (Hint: only the nose and mouth are visible)


Adorable retractable tape measures I bought from Mojo's Place


"Weave-it" miniature handmade loom I bought from Bumblebee Primitives


Finished woven square!

It was great meeting everyone and I look forward to seeing some of you again at the next fair!

The Nervous Knitter

I am, what some people would call, a "nervous knitter". Certain things about knitting that I haven't tried yet scare me and make me feel anticipatory anxiety. It's silly, I realize, to be afraid of a pair of not-so-pointy needles and a ball of wool, yet I am. Yet at the same time I truly desire to try new things and expand my knitting boundaries. So far I have mastered the following (with great mental anguish ahead of time):

cables
changing colors
entrelac
lacework ("easy"-level)
increasing
decreasing
using markers
making something in 3D
fulling (felting)


Sage Green Braided Cable Scarflette Neckwarmer

Things I still need to master and that continue to give me the chills every time I think about it:

double-pointed needles
fair isle/intarsia
making a sweater
making socks
making gloves
making a hat
following a chart


Knitted and Needle Felted Violet Rose Clutch

And some of these are combined: like, I need to be able to use double-pointed needles to make the hat and the gloves I want to make. And the silly thing is, once I try it, I am fine. It is all anticipatory anxiety. I guess what I'm afraid of is that I will fail, and that I will waste time and energy on something that turns out to be no good. Never mind the fact that all of the other things I have tried have turned out fine...


Knitted and Felted Scoop Bag

So do any of you get nervous with certain crafts or trying new things? Would love to hear from you!

7/9/10 UPDATE!

I have now become much less of a nervous knitter, and have attempted and conquered most of the items on my "scary list": double-pointed needles, fair isle, making a sweater, making socks, making a hat, and following a chart! The only one that I have tried and NOT conquered now is the intarsia -- that still kicks me butt! Oh well... I'm just glad I've gained so much more confidence! :D

These are a few of my faaaaavorite things... Part 1

Hi all and Happy Holidays!!!

Having trouble finding just the right gift? I thought I would put together some little gift guides of some of my favorite things for you all to see! All items can be found on Etsy; just click on the title below each image and you will be brought right to that item's page. Every couple of days I will be posting more. Happy shopping!


Red Poppy Felted Necklace scarf Jewel Merino Felt


Platypus - OOAK


Citrine Druzy Cluster Necklace -- Golden version


flurry-beaded dangle earrings


8x8 Inspirational Nature - square photoprint

Fall's Needle Felted Harvest

Hi All!

I just wanted to put together a blog entry showing all of the needle felted goodies I made this year to celebrate fall! I love needle felting and I love sharing my love of it with others, especially with those who have an interest in learning how to do it. If you have any questions about needle felting please feel free to ask me and I'll do my best to help you! Also, all of the items shown below are available for sale in my Etsy shop; they are made-to-order (just for you!) so please allow up to a week for delivery. If you need them faster please message me first (through my shop) and I'll let you know if I can accommodate you. Blog readers get a 10% discount if the coupon code "artistry&craftery" is entered at check-out (discount sent via Paypal refund). Thanks for looking!

Needle Felted Pumpkin

6 Needle Felted Acorns

Needle Felted Balls -- Autumn Leaves Solid Colors Mix

Spooky Cat Needle Felted Mini Play Set

Needle Felted Autumn Leaves

Needle Felted Balls -- Autumn Leaves Marbled Colors Mix

Needle Felted Jack O' Lantern

Needle Felted Acorn Appliques

Needle Felted Balls -- Bark and Autumn Leaves Mix

Happy Halloween and Happy Fall to all!!!
~Rebecca

My First Craft Fair!!!

I just had my first craft fair this past Sunday, October 25th, 2009. I was a nervous wreck the week leading up to it, missing a couple nights of sleep and agonizing over countless details. I thought my nervousness would dissipate once I was there for a while, but in fact it did not... lol. It was a great experience, however, and I look forward to doing it again! I walked away with a nice profit as well as the contact info of some very nice local crafters that I met. The items of mine that did best were my needle felted items (sold some appliques, my ladybug, and my spooky cat mini-play-set) and my earrings. I also sold my first bracelet, a ring, some fabric-covered buttons, and some hair clips.

Some of the wonderful people I met included my "neighbor" Cathy Nichols of cathynichols.etsy.com. She does beautiful paintings including painting with wax! My other "neighbor" was Lisa Dalton of lmdalton.etsy.com. She makes adorable sewed kitty cats called "Travel Kitties" -- you can take photos of your Travel Kitty and write up stories and send them in to her to be published on her site! Fun! I also met a woman who knits with size FIFTY knitting needles -- she uses up to 10 strands of yarn at a time! Her husband makes the wooden needles and they sell them at a shop in Huntington, NY called "Knitting on the Lamb".

The craft show occurred alongside a screening of the movie "Handmade Nation", followed up by a Q&A session with producer and director Faythe Levine. The movie explores how young people have taken up crafting and the various reasons they do it, from helping the environment to fighting the take-over of the corporate world. As a vendor I got to see it for free!

All in all it was a very successful day, and I am so glad that I was invited to be a part of it. A great big thank you goes out to the show's organizer, Gabi Moisan of Sought.etsy.com!


Me at my table

Table shot #1


Table shot #2

Faythe Levine and Cathy Nichols

Lisa Dalton and one of her Travel Kitties


Size 50 knitting needles!!!


The room

Mah First Blog... well, not really

But this is my first blog on here, and I intend on taking this blog a bit more seriously than the other one I have. My mission here is to document my progress (or lack thereof) through the world of handmade arts & crafts. I am in the process of making items that I have made for a long time for my etsy shop -- www.notsoshabbychic.etsy.com -- , but I am also in the more interesting process of learning some new crafts (needle felting) and re-learning some old ones (knitting). I wanted someplace to post notes and photos as to my progress so that I can [hopefully] see that with time and practice that I am improving.

I am also an avid birdwatcher, gardener, and lover of all things nature, so I also wanted someplace in which I could share with the world (or just the one or two of you who will be following this) what it is that fills me with joy and what inspires me. :)