Oh my candied bag!

According to my Ravelry stats, I am now 70% complete the Haekelbeutel bag. (See post below for more information). That means that it is time to share my progress.

I have now completed 12 of 16 squares, and I have yet to complete the strap, which appears to be quite easy. You will see a photo of my completed squares above. I’m still not sure how I feel about the random colour changes. That’s how it looks in all the other Haekelbeutel photos, but it mentions that not in the pattern. Je ne sais pas. I also worry that my squares might be too big. The pattern called for a Nr. 3 hook, but I went with a size 4. Will it make that much of a difference?

I wanted something that was more pastel rainbow than bright rainbow, but it seems that bright rainbow it is. That’s okay - I think I’ll still like it. I have a tendency to work on this only when I’m visiting someone else. It’s my visitor’s bag, apparently! That’s alright though, I have enough to work on at home.

Etsy Shop Update

Today was my last day to have a booth at the Chatham-Kent Handmade Market, and so all my left-over products will be posted to my Etsy Shop. The market really drove home the fact that I need to stop creating to sell, and rather focus on creating for enjoyment.

Mass production of goods would be rewarding if they were then purchased. Unfortunately, the majority of vendors did not sell much at all during my time there. I think it’s the fact that this is Chatham, and people aren’t interested in handmade goods. Why pay more when it can be bought at Walmart for less? It’s sad, but true; and realistic.

But, that translates into a full etsy shop, and just for you, I’m offering 20% all items in my Etsy Shop until the end of August if you use the code: CKMARKET. Enter it into the comments section before you place the order.

See you around!

What I did last week

I spent last week with my mom at the Thames Institute of the Arts taking a course in pottery. I enjoyed it immensely. This is a photo that my mom took of me cleaning out my pottery wheel. Our pots went into the kiln for the final firing on Friday afternoon, and our scheduled pick-up is August 12th. I am very excited to see how my pieces turned out! My favourite piece (which consists of four bowls) was inspired by this…

It didn’t end up being a quilt, but rather a set of dishes! Oh how I love my purple and white dishes with red polka-dots! I hope they don’t explode in the kiln!

Candy-toned colours to brighten my day.

DSC00533, originally uploaded by MichaelaMarie.

I’ve started a new crochet project involving many colours of yarn from my stash. One of my goals this summer is to use up as much of my craft stash as possible, in preparation for my trip abroad. This bag will be a good way to do that. The pattern can be found here, if you are so inclined to give it a try. There are 372 different projects from this pattern on Ravelry, so go look for some inspiration, if you’d like.
The photograph above is the colour combination that has most inspired me, and that upon which I am basing my yarn choices. I’m curious to see how mine turns out - my squares are massive… well the one square that I’ve completed. I don’t often make things for myself, so this will be a treat! I’m also taking a pottery class this week, so I will have some photos of my WIPs soon!