From the Crafting Kitsch-en

Knitting


It is my sad duty to report that, sadly, I will not be able to make the trip to Petaluma tomorrow to see the Yarn Harlot. Due to circumstances beyond my control, and with great sadness, I had to make the decision not to go. I am bummed. I will keep my fingers crossed that she will make it this way again or that our paths will cross sometime in the near future. As a side note, I am also still hopeful that Ann & Kay will eventually extend their book tour to the west coast. I wish I had thought ahead to send one of my books to one of the knitters who will be attending so I could at least have gotten an autograph. Double bummer.


I think I have found a toe-up sock I could do. Check out these instructions from Purly Whites. I love all of the pictures and the clear instructions. I am optimistic that this find will translate to a successful attempt at toe-up socks. We'll see. Sometime after July 14.


Non-Knitting

You may remember a discussion here at Ok! What Next?? about origami. Origami is just one of the crafty things I manage to do that people look at with raised eyebrows and say (in a very even, calculatedly pleasant voice) "Oh wow." Pause. "What do you do with that?"

Knitters and crafters I admire are often of the arty, high-end, classy or elegant variety. Nora, might just be my crafting ideal. And then there's Ruth - I hope I never meet Ruth because she does such beautiful things - I would feel like a macaroni frame next to her Trompe-l'œil finery. While this brand of crafty, artistic refinement is something I long for and imagine I do in an alternate universe, it is not the kind I actually manage to produce. I seem to produce somewhat obscure, odd things. Kitchsy might be the word. So if you are looking for fancy, high-end crafting, you won't find it here. Especially today. (And really, this should not come as a surprise.)

One of the reasons I can't go to Petaluma tomorrow is that I have a commitment tomorrow evening that I've known about for 3 months and ultimately wasn't able to reschedule. I needed to prepare some favors and some snacky things for this function. That's where the kitschy projects come in. This was a "small" project that sort of grew. . . hearken back to the way the adorable mogwais morphed into Gremlins. (Am I showing my age?)


So, the results of this life-of-its-own undertaking?


Snack + Favor = Picnic Basket Full of Marzipan Fruits and Vegetables, with a side of Fruit/Vegetable Bookmarks made from Buttons.


For your viewing pleasure...


The basket and bookmarks (on some of my favorite books.)

Close-ups of the Raspberries and Pea bookmarks. (I also made Apple, Lemon, Plum, Orange and Cucumber bookmarks.)


To fill the baskets, a little snack. Handmade Marzipan Fruits and Vegetables. The Marzipan Menu includes Yellow Squash, Bell Peppers, Eggplant, Apples, Carrots, Potatoes, Cherries, Tomatoes, Oranges, Cucumbers and Peas. (And no, the they are not to scale, one to another.)


A Plateful:

Close-Ups

I can't decide which is my favorite, the peas or the apple.


Tune in tomorrow for the mystery crochet project.

Today's Quote:

"Nothing interferes with my concentration. You could put on an orgy in my office and I wouldn't look up. Well, maybe once." -Isaac Asimov