Weaving

 Since I have been weaving when on Google Hangouts, I have made much better progress on that lacy shawl. It is officially cut off of the loom and I am working on using macrame techniques for the fringe.

The beginning of the fringe. It is a variation of macrame square knots (aka Solomon's knots)

You may have already seen this picture on my Twitter feed to the right, but I made the decision to continue this pattern versus the other photograph posted. Now that the shawl is off the loom, I am looking to start a new project on there. Unfortunately, the yarn I bought to make a rug seems to be clashing with the warp that is currently on there. I need to remove it and try something different. I'm not sure what yet, but I will figure it out either today or tomorrow.

Now for the exciting news that has consumed my thoughts for the past several days: I bought a table loom! It is the exact make and model that I fell in love with in the fibers studio during college. It's a Leclerc Voyageur, for those of you who know about such things. Here's the post of it from eBay. I was shocked when I found it on eBay! It is a newer model, so I have been unable to find one used in the past 2-3 years I have been looking. I like this model because it is easy to use and is a great teaching tool. It folds up for easier transport and because the levers are at the top of the loom versus the side, it can be used by both left and right handed people. 

Not only is it the model I wanted, it is an 8-shaft which means I can experiment with more complicated woven patterns! (Patterns like twill designs and plain weave are made with 4 shafts. There are more advanced patterns out there, and an 8-shaft loom allows me to weave most designs I would ever want to try.) Of course, I will probably play around with twill patterns before I experiment with designs I am unfamiliar with simply because it is the beginning of the school year. Also I need to focus on filling up the store before people start Christmas shopping. 

Included with the loom was a warping board and some yarn. This is fortunate because I needed something to count out warp threads for the new loom. I have a few bags of warp that I counted out for the floor loom when I still had access to a warping mill in college. Unfortunately these would not fit on the new loom, so I am very grateful to have the warping board included.

The loom was listed as local pick-up only. In Michigan. 9 hours away. Fortunately I have a younger brother who was visiting up there. And he was awesome enough to go look at the loom for me and is bringing it back to Tennessee today. So, sometime tonight I will have my new loom in my hands. Hopefully the floor loom, Loomie, will not get jealous. I tend to have multiple projects going at the same time, so I shouldn't start neglecting either of the looms or my crochet hooks and knitting needles.

Crocheted Hats

A few of my friends have commissioned hats from me recently. A photographer friend asked me to make him a hat when he was visiting to teach me about lighting product photography. It is crocheted, but I need to check to make sure it fits his head before I do any finishing on it and photograph it for my records. Also, one of my cousins convinced her mom to pay me to make a "One Direction" hat for the concert she is going to this month. She wanted a slouchy beanie with their logo on it. I loved her conversation with her mom: "You'd be helping Andrea with her new business!" She is much better at marketing than I am. :P 

Anyways, here is a picture she sent me of her new hat: 

1D is One Direction's logo

I also am making a baby hat for a different cousin who is about to be a new father, a couple of hats for an art trade, and a hat for my cousin who was just diagnosed with cancer. (I have a lot of cousins. I may have to start giving them nicknames for when I mention them on here. Let's see...First one mentioned we will call Cool K, second will be Jellyfish, and third will be Power Ranger.) I have finished the snowflake hat for Power Ranger's sister and I love it! But I can't send one hat up to the family before finishing both of them. That would be foolish on multiple levels. So for now it is sitting in my yarn studio waiting to be shipped.

Isn't it adorable!?

Motivation

Hello again everyone! Over the past few months I have been focused on learning how to take care of the house and cooking more. Now that I'm starting to get into a routine with all of that, I am looking at my yarn and how I can schedule my time to include making more items. 

The next few posts are updates on all the snazzy things I've been working on.

Motivation

The friends I've made from Jon Acuff's "30 Days of Hustle" have been extremely encouraging and motivating. I wanted to give them a quick shout out and all the hugs the internet can muster! Several of us will pull up Google Hangouts and work on our goals at the same time to cut down on some of the loneliness that often accompanies working at home. I usually end up crocheting or weaving when we mute our microphones and get to work. It's exciting to introduce people to my yarn interests and I love sharing what I've been working on (which is part of the reason I've been neglecting the blog, so I apologize for that).

I've also started up a crochet group with a friend that meets on Friday nights. While we don't have many people join us every week, we always have fun and end up getting a lot of work done. About three weeks ago I brought a friend and taught her some basics of crochet. She has already made several items and has become a "Crazy Yarn Lady" who crochets wherever she goes! Her enthusiasm is contagious!

Online Store

Okay guys, I have officially opened up a Store to sell my work online. I was going to warn you but I never got around to writing a 'Coming Soon' post. I'm extremely nervous about this venture, but I'm excited to extend my business beyond just my family and friends.

Anyways, here is the link: http://andromedafibersart.storenvy.com/

I will add a permanent link on here something this week. Let me know what you think!

Bucket List

I've wanted to make a bucket list for a while, so I was excited when I saw that one of the other 'Hustlers' has a blog about bucket list and a really easy to follow way to make one. I am using this post to build my list. 

I have a more goals than this, but I haven't found a way to word them yet so this list is a work-in-progress.

Travel

• Visit family/friends in California
• Visit Germany
• Visit Austria
• Take a daughter to The Cabbage Patch Factory
• Take children to Lego Land

Adventure

• Adopt a child (or children)
• Sleep in a castle
• Get a tattoo

Educational

• Learn how to spin yarn
• Learn how to bake Apple Pie (with the crumbles on top)
• Learn how to properly fold a fitted sheet (those things are intense)
• Learn how to build a bookcase from 'scratch' (not just assemble from a box)

Family

• Get married to an amazing God-loving husband
• Play through a Co-op Game with my husband (in addition to our MMO's)
• Be a Stay-at-Home Mom (at least until my children are preschoolers)

Volunteer

• Go on a mission trip in the United States
• Go on a mission trip overseas
• Design an item to sell solely for charity

Financial

• Pay off Student Loans
• Buy a House
• Have an Emergency Fund of at least $10,000

Life Goals

• Have a clean and organized home (and keep it that way!)
• Have an art show of solely my work (at least 15 pieces)

Physical

• Give birth to a child (or children)
• Unlock all of the items in Walk It Out (I know this doesn't sound physical, but it's a game about walking to the beat of music. Your 'currency' is steps made on beat....and the higher level items take thousands of steps.)
• Swim a mile...again (Did in high school, wish to work my way back up to that level.)

Lucky Items

• Get a hole in one
• Meet and play card games with Emma Stone
• Meet and play a table top game with Wil Wheaton

Random

• Read all of the books we own (at least once)
• Watch all of the movies we own (at least once)
• Finish all of my yarn WIP (or frog them)
• Teach someone how to weave
• Teach someone how to crochet
• Teach someone how to knit
• Write out my Bucket List :P

Mike Wazowski Hat

So, I don't really have a big long post for today, but I wanted to show you my finished product for the last baby shower I went to:

This is what happens when I ask you what colors you like for baby items and you tell me "We are decorating the nursery 'Monster's Inc.' themed."

Also, I've joined a email group..thing called '30 Days of Hustle'. So you should see me making more progress toward that booth goal I mentioned back in October. Hopefully.

Coasters

I don't really have time for a full update on what I've been working on recently, but I wanted to show you these cool coasters I made today. What do you think?