Just a taste of what's in my shop at the moment :)

So i've done it.
I put some stuff on Etsy.com to sell!
I'm slowly adding more stuff as I'm able to get good pictures. (the weather has NOT been cooperating lately)

Icemelon's Stash

go and take a peek! I'll be adding more stuff within the coming week and hopefully changing a few things around.

What are you still doing here? Go now!

In addition to everything fiber, I actually like to bake now and again too. I had a hankering for muffins, so looked online for a simple yet yummy recipe for muffins that could be easily changed around for what I wanted. I found this recipe (thank you google and blogging people!) and it seemed to fit the bill.

I decided to snazz it up a bit with some frozen berries I've had hanging around forever, and some chocolate chips. This is quite a bad picture, but you can sort of see the chocolate chips on some and berries on others.




I meant to take an after picture because I didn't exactly know how everything was going to move around while baking, I'm lucky I even got this one! They were sooooo good! The only thing I would change is maybe adding more liquid if I'm only going to be doing chocolate chips, and definitely use more milk than oil in the future- I got that sort of oily taste going on. Maybe I'd use shortening instead.
Either way, they were still quite tasty and I will be using this recipe again!

Yes, that would be a granny square blanket in the works. I finished the ripple blanket (but no- I didn't get any pictures of it. I have some of me in the bridesmaids dress though.)

This is for- you guessed it, another wedding gift. This time for my friend Jenny who is fixing to get married October 4th. 10-4, good buddy!

I am an "Artisan" at the Holt Farmers Market. In Holt, Michigan. It's weird being called an artisan, because it doesn't seem like all the stuff I crochet would be ... well, all that fancy. The yarn? Yeah I guess I could let myself be called an 'artisan' for the yarn. So here are some pictures from the first Saturday, the 12th. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of this past Saturday the 19th- but it was a much nicer setup with more things eye level. I didn't make as much as I'd hoped from the 19th but I think once it's colder out more things will move.


And I know, I've got a million pictures of the boyfriend up but none of me.
Someday :P




(the table was not this messy the whole time! I swear it was more organized than this!)

Here's a few things I've been up to---







(Well, what you should be looking at here is that blanket under his head. It's not done yet... not even close.. and I have exactly two weeks to finish it.)





What could this be?





Do you know yet?



It's a SPINNING WHEEL! I'm in love! It's a Babe's Fiber Garden Production Double Treadle Spinning Wheel. And it's amazing, and sorta shiny, and full of happy!




I've spun at least two pounds of fiber since getting it two weeks ago. All if it is going to be sold at the Holt Farmers Market starting tomorrow under my little name of "Delicious yarns"! I'm freaking out about it, just a little. You know! I'll have my trusty Babe with me... I'm thinking it needs a name, other than "My Baby".
I'll take the camera with me and get some pictures of my booth and everything! Wish me luck!

You guys lucked out, because there's no one online worth babbling this to!


Over on Ravelry (a knit and crochet community) There is a thread going titled, "Crochet is Better Than Knitting." Usually these end up flame wars, and I was hesitant to actually click the link and read through pages of knit-bashing. (There's nothing wrong with knitting- and nothing wrong with crochet either!!) Ravelry seems to be a little bit more knit-based, simply because the 'public' forums are awash with knitters talking about projects, needles, yarns, etc. Seems the crocheters either get lost in this mess or are simply not as vocal. (Typal?) However this group called Crochet Liberation Front- where the thread is- is totally devoted to crocheting and the love of crochet.

Anyways, I was reading through the thread and was pleased to find that it was just people saying why they prefer crochet to knitting- one being you can stop mid-stitch no damage done, another being that a quick pull of the fabric made will erase mistakes, easier to make something 3d, and so on.

And then I saw this post by Grieney:
"Because I can make a stitch any-damn-where I please."


And for those of you in the know- that's a hell yea right there!
It made me laugh :)

I don't think i was ever tagged, but uh. here ya go :)


1) What was I doing ten years ago?

Ummm since it was summer I'd probably be at Blue Lake Fine Arts camp for two weeks over summer. I'm pretty sure that would have been the first year I went, and the first time I'd ever gone to camp. I had a few friends from school actually in the same cabin as me, so overall it was a great experience... which is why i went back every year until high school was over!

2) What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today:

*Work on that damn blanket for my cousin (I need to have 3 1/2 more feet done in a month)
*Do some dishes that have been piling up...
*Go to Thirsty Thursdays at the Lansing Lugnuts stadium (and probably NOT get hammered)
*Sit on my butt and be lazy because even though it's Thursday, I have the next two days off so it's like my friday :)
*Eat dinner (does this count? I ran out of things!)

3) Snacks I enjoy:

Umm I like crunchy stuff like chips or pistachios, and I guess they have to be salty too. I love ice cream but can really only eat the soy stuff... um. Chocolate! Dried fruit is always really tasty. (hmm i should put that on my shopping list!)

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

*Go to school and not worry about student loans at all (and therefor probably keep going to school until i was bored with it- you know a few degrees here and there ;)
*Buy a big old farmhouse and renovate it (which of course would be a farm too!)
*Invest lots for my future and any future children's college- you know, live off interest!
*Give to charities- volunteer my time at the Humane society since presumably I wouldn't have to work if I didn't want to anymore (and foster animals! <3)
*go on a super sweet vacation
*pay back my parents from years of borrowing!

5) Places I have lived:

Okemos, Williamston, Haslett, Lansing, Lansing, Lansing...

6) Jobs I have had:

Cleaning rental houses, Retail at Kohl's, Computer Lab at LCC, Cleaning Remax office.

7) Peeps I want to know more about:

Whoever is bored enough ;)

I finished up a bunch of spinning projects a few weeks ago after I got my hand carders- I felt that mojo come back in a storm! But now i'm sort of spun out, I haven't really touched the spindle or the cards for a week or so- but I've been fondling my fiber stash, of course!
I just wanted to show you what I did with those carders. First up is Tutti Frutti- only a few yards and was made with chunks of wool that were dyed many different colors. This was the 'test' of the carders, to get the feel for them and to see what spinning from rolags would be like. Navajo plied, to boot! It was my first time plying that way and I actually had a good time doing it and it was pretty easy to keep going.





Next up we have the big ticket yarn- This one is wool and soy, which it was my first time spinning soy too! I'd say 50 or so yards, made from rolags from my carders and then navajo plied.

I did finish up a poor yarn that had been waiting to be finished forEVER, but you'll just have to check out my flickr for that :)

I finally got my hand carders- which I have been waiting for since november(!) Although I didn't buy them from the place I ordered them, as they never called me about them. I checked with them multiple times before giving up too.

No, I got my brand new Ashford Hand Carders from The Spinning Loft in Howell, Mi. Pictures do not do justice to how packed that place is with lovely fibery goodness! They had everything from silk to raw wool to dehaired alpaca to bamboo, seacell, and so on! I took a little trip out there with my mom a few weekends ago and we literally spend two hours in there, playing with everything.
I don't know how I managed it, but I got away with only spending $7. (my mom bought me the carders as a late xmas gift)
I ended up getting 2oz of Black Diamond, which is carbonized bamboo. Also they had glitz there! Pretty cheap too, comparing what prices I've seen online. I got the rest of the white/blue, which was only .3 oz- but i think there's plenty to last!!


As for what I was thinking along the lines for my cousins wedding- I've just decided to crochet her a ripple blanket using the 'soft waves' pattern from the 200 Ripple Stitches book. I'm pulling colors that are used in the wedding and the reception, so it's just a bunch of blues and greens with a teeny bit of purple thrown in for good measure.

And another blanket will be in the works after I get the ripple done- For another friends wedding in October. Her colors are watermelon and brown so we'll see!

My cousin Cait is getting married in July, and i am her maid of honor! We talked about it a bit and we're both pretty clueless as this is our first times being involved in a wedding since the age of 4 or 5.
I have decided that if she wants, I will crochet her a nice shawl or wrap to wear in the evening when it starts getting a bit cooler out. (but it will be July when she gets married so it still might be 90 degrees out!) I need to find a good pattern. Nothing too heavy or old ladyish (read: intricate). I'm not dissing anyone here, it's just that she's 23 and it's a very simple wedding, and a simple dress, plus if it's a simple pattern I wont have to stress about it as much either. And you know, it still might be too warm for something heavy.
I found something that might work out here but i don't know if i want a shawl so much as a wrap. I guess i'm just thinking along the lines of a gigantic scarf, sort of like this:

I think this one calls for denim silk? I don't know but it's sort of weird. It might work in a fingering weight or lighter white alpaca or something... I've still got a few months to think about it and see if she would actually want a wrap to wear for her big day if it does get chilly. If anyone has any good ideas, please send them my way!!

As promised, here is the plastic fork hackle I was talking about.



Seriously now, is that not the most cheapest thing you have ever seen? And you can see that the tape isn't even duct tape- it's some off brand that was half the price. The forks too, now that I think about it. And even all that llama fiber sitting there was free. It works just fine for very small amounts of fiber, and I have to be really careful when pulling it off. It's working fine for my needs as I am not a voracious spinner yet and I've only washed a handful of that llama anyway to work with, so it's not like I need something heavy-duty to work with right now. And besides, those hand carders I ordered back in November should be here soon, right? Right??
Anyway, this would be a good cheap alternative if someone was just interested in mixing small amounts of fiber together.

It's attached to my coffee table which, in retrospect, is not a good place for it at all. I can't put my feet up anymore when I'm sitting on that side of the couch. And I like sitting at that end of the couch... haha oh well! Craftiness before comfort, eh?

And of course I didn't come up on this one all on my own, I saw this page: This Land! >> DIY Hackle V. 3.0
So much wonderful things they have going over there! Check it out!

Roving being dyed. What a lovely ghetto setup! Its pretty much all merino combed top, but that little green in the front is SOY! yes! happy soy! I found it languishing in a sale bin at the Little Red Schoolhouse (which was the first time I had been there in oh ten years...) It's soft and silky and happy! And, it smells like soybeans when wet. Go figure right?






And this, my friends, is some lovely baby llama that I got from a friend in a big lawn bag. I washed it and now am spinning it with a little bit of dyed by me pink merino.

And for next time, I'll show you my ghetto (are we seeing a trend?) hackle made of plastic forks. Also, the results of the roving in the first pic.

eh heh, heh heh... So I've been slacking. A lot. But I have good excuses, you see.
I moved. and then it was Christmas. and then it was new years. and then work and school started again.
That isn't to say i haven't made anything or done anything crafty, it just means that between no internet at the new house and not taking any pictures- teh blog suffers!


I've been making hats, as usual. I'm starting to follow patterns to get practice of new techniques.

Soley Granny Squares Hat: Can you believe this was actually the first time I had ever made a granny square? let me tell you it changed my life. I promptly made two hats with this pattern.

Divine Hat: This hat was so quick to make, however I felt that the pattern ended up on the extra large side. Either that or the pattern creator crochets a LOT tighter than i do. I'm going to try again with some different yarn with not as many starting stitches and we'll see how it turns out.

Cable Hat: Again this hat was pretty quick to work up, but it ended up on the large side again even with some homebrew decreases. I will definitley make this hat again as it it squishy and warm and that's something i love about it!

There are a few things I would love to do in the future, but for reasons such as time, money, experience, and materials, I don't feel like I can start on now. Not all of these have to do with crochet but they're sort of just general craft things to do.

• Knit a sweater. Now this one obviously I'll need to learn how to knit- even if it is just the stitches required for the specific sweater I'll be making. This sweater over on Craftster seems like the perfect candidate. Plus many people have given tips and tricks. Materials for this one would be easy, because I already have lots of yarn to choose from.
  
• Crochet a rag rug. This one will take time acquiring the materials. There is a tutorial here that lays it out really well. I've also been admiring the Flickr Pool of rag rugs. I already have an old fitted sheet lined up, but it will take a trip or two to the goodwill to find old sheets to make up the bulk of the rug. This will also take quite some time to finish up, depending on the size of rug I end up making.
  
• Crochet scrap blanket. Now this doesn't really have to be anything special, but it's the material part that's the hard part. I have a bag going that has leftover yarn in it, but there's not enough in there to really make anything big with. I have been pulling scraps out though to work into hats recently, so this might take some time to work back up.
• Sew a fancy dress. So this sort of comes from my family history. My mom made her own wedding dress and I'm pretty sure my grandma did too. I think that would be the coolest thing, to have made my own wedding dress. Although in reality it might not happen, sewing a dressy dress from scratch would be the same sort of thing. And I'd be able to find a reason to wear it at least once! This sort of goes along with the whole 'craft your wedding' but the only reason these come into mind is because it seems like everyone is getting married!
• Make a quilt. Now this is a big project. Takes lots of time, fabric, and work! I think i could do it someday though. maybe when i have a sewing machine that can actually handle it.

I'm pretty sure there's more craft related things that I'd love to do, but i can't think of any more big ones at the moment.

I made a little kitty a few weeks ago. my mom had just given me her old sewing machine and i was itching to do something with it, so i whipped out the black felt and sewed to my hearts desire. I sewed on his eyes after i had sewn most of the the main body together. I was getting really lazy and didn't want to hand sew anything i didn't have to. He's pretty lopsided but thats what makes it lovable right? The ironic thing- i found a teeny black kitten in my backyard the morning after i made this. It was a sign. Don't worry, the little stray kitten is now living with my roommates girlfriend, being well taken care of!


Felt kitteh



Real kitteh


And Bonus! Racheal with reall kitteh!

So, a few weeks ago I decided that I really needed to have a craft blog. I get caught up making so many things but never record them in any way- a blog would be perfect, separated from all that old day to day whine stuff on the ol' livejournal. I was checking to see if icemelon was taken, because it's pretty much my overall username now for a few years. Turns out it was taken! I was ready to chuck the whole blog thing out the window, I was so upset. Well... it was me... from 4 years ago. Just some teen angst posts of course. Those are gone now, but man. I had some serious forsight on that one ;)

So look forward to lots of posts about my crafty escapades! And there should be lots of pictures too, because hey. We all know people only look at blogs for the pics.

and to start, here's an oldie but a goodie.