vested interest

Oh, how I want to make this vest designed by Barbara Breiter! The colorwork is a slipped-stitch "mosaic" method. Have I ever tried that? No. Have I ever knitted a sweater of any sort? No. Do I still want to try? Yes. And the long list of projects I've already been dreaming of? Groan. But just imagine this in brown and blue/pink or any other fun color combination!

ribbit!

Last night I finished my very own Purl Frog! It's filled with lentils, and is surprisingly posable. I hand-sewed mine, since I'm not quite ready to handle such tight curves on my sewing machine yet (just straight lines, thanks!). I thought mine was too chubby, until I saw this photo in the Purl Bee blog. Too cute!

(Photo: Purl Bee)

new growth

Peppers, tomatoes, and ideas--oh my! I haven't had time to really sink into it yet, but it appears that Amy Karol's sewing book totally lives up to the hype. And Nicky Epstein's flowers? Fabulous.

beaded bling

pink romance charm bracelet
Originally uploaded by snapdragoncrafts

I've been cranking out a lot of these beaded charm bracelets lately--using beads as charms allows for so many more bead combinations than the simple one-strand beaded bracelets I usually make. This one is my favorite so far. I really love the flower-print heart beads, and have had to ration them as I tend to want to use them in every project! You can see more of my beaded charm bracelets at my flickr page.

summer sunset bead charm bracelet
Originally uploaded by snapdragoncrafts

thrifted treasures

A few goodies I found at the thrift store yesterday ...


















Fun flower print pillowcases, a pretty flowered bed sheet, a large shallow basket, and two adorable baby-blue tea cups! The orange-flowered pillowcases are perfect for lining the recycled-sweater tote bag I've been working on:

















I just can't decide between the yellow daisies or orange roses!

local craftiness

I absolutely love how the ladies at Sing and Shout Crafts displayed their earrings at a local farmer's market. What a great idea! The black and silver combination is gorgeous, but I'm having visions of white framing blue-green striped fabric... mmm....

(Photos: Sing and Shout Crafts)

things are bloomin'

In my patio garden!

back in the (sewing) saddle again

My sewing machine's intimidation factor has officially diminished. After picking some neutral brown fabric for placemats several months ago and cutting strips in infrequent bursts of energy, tonight I dug my sewing machine out of the garage and set it up on the dining room table. I happily discovered that the needle was still threaded correctly, and tentatively began sewing strips. And when it came time to wind a new bobbin, I stayed cool, refreshed myself on the steps to follow with my owner's manual, and wound a new one--no sweat! Hoorah!! These little successes are so exciting that I'm already dreaming of sewing projects to start after these placemats! But first things first--sew the back side of these placemats (I'm making them double-sided) and then figure out how to bind them.... there's that intimidation factor creeping back in again.

The colors for the yet-to-be-sewn reverse side:

fitting isn't it?

I am a Snapdragon What Flower Are You?

it's been awhile

There's no denying it. What hatched as an exciting idea in February has remained dormant for way too long. I haven't forgotten about this little blog, but engaged in a loooong planning phase. I've spent so much time reading other amazing blogs and getting inspired! This has become my "summer of craft," as I have a long and ambitious list of crafting goals this summer:

1. Learn how to use my sewing machine. (My mom taught me the basics, but my lack of experience leaves me intimidated. The plan is to start small, with simple projects like placemats and tote bags, and graduate to my first skirt!)
2. Perfect my felted tote design and construction, complete with linings and zippers (the latter part of this goal hinges on my mastering my sewing machine).
3. Get proficient at needle felting (so as to adorn my felted totes....).
4. Knit another felted animal.
5. Knit my first sweater--a soft cardigan, preferably.
6. Maintain an inspiring craft blog!
7. Develop a stock of crafts I can sell at an upcoming craft fair (gulp!).
8. Design something I could submit to Knitty! (okay, so that's dreaming big)

Wow. This list is impossibly long. Even if I can only complete a fraction of it, I'd be proud! It's going to be a busy summer ... and July is nearly here!