Necklaces for Etsy

Here is my latest project:

I have always been interested in designing jewelry. I seem to have a knack for it. Anyways, when I learned that you have to be eighteen to have an Etsy shop, I began the preparations so that I would have something to sell once I am eligible. :) Here are the products of my imagination (partly because Michaels did not, in fact, have all of the collections advertised in stock-or had pieces of them missing, and partly because I am imaginative. :)

And this, this became the most interesting and challenging piece for me so far...

TADA!!!! 

I had to catch every angle. :)

I hope you will soon be able to check out my very own Etsy shop. I will have other cool things on there, like cute crotchet coasters, organic catnip-makes the cats go crazy!- and so much more!


Alexis

First Test: The Beginning of an Incredible Journey

Kel, short for Kelandry, is a young girl who wants to be a knight. In the kingdom of Tortall, this is unusual, and had been forbidden for hundreds of years. However, a brave girl before her had secretively journeyed from page to Lady Knight, and had paved the way for other girls to try for the title.
Kel is the first. Can she pass the "First Test"?

First Test is one of my favorite books. It was written by Tamora Pierce, who also wrote "The Alanna Series." Hopefully we will get to read all four chapters of Kel's story together, and discuss what we think of the book!

"First Test" is appropriately titled, as Kel is put on a 'probationary period' to test her willingness to become a knight. In Kel's eyes, this is extremely humiliating as no one has ever gone through a probation before-this is the first test she must pass to prove her resolve to become the second Lady Knight of Tortall.

Quirky Octagons~"Project UFO"

My octagons are complete! I am now crocheting the little squares that go in-between. My family is anxious to see the blanket put together, and keep asking when I will have enough squares to do it. :) Humoring them, I will make a few from each color so I can start the first row at least.
These squares look like granny squares-they are probably a form of them, anyways. If I had know granny squares could be so simple, I might have made some before now!
This might be the second-most ambitious project I have taken on. The first is the Jacobean crewel piece that I recently finished. I am taking it to the cleaners, so that it can be professionally blocked (I really don't want to mess all that hard work up) and then I am going to frame it. I want to post about it, but I think it would be best if y'all waited to see the final project.

I'll post in a bit!

Alexis

Back to the Book List

Hello!

I am going back to the book list. I love how that kind of sounds like "back to the basics". :)

Here is a new list that I am going to attempt to keep reading from. As always, the list is subject to change.

First Test
A Girl of the Limberlost
Fairest
Goose Chase

Well, fellow readers. Let's get started.

Quirky Octagons~"Project UFO"

Here we are with another "UFO". (Un-Finished Object) Because I am nearing completion on my Jacobian Pomegranate Crewel Piece, I am enthusiastic about bringing out this lovely.

"Dusty Blue" pieces to the afghan.

This quirky octagon is actually part of a afghan! It looks like it will end up all askew, but besides the octagons, I will be making little squares to put in between. The picture on the back of the pattern is actually very symmetrical. It is all the different colors that make it look like it could be all uneven and just thrown together (in a good way).

The reason this project is a "UFO" is the octagons. :) When I first started this blanket I was on a crotchet-high from finishing my first (albeit smallish) afghan. It was in a gorgeous blue and brown varying yarn in a wave pattern. It was much more simple then this pattern, but I liked the look.

I went to Michael's (the best store on the planet, if you ask me) and picked out all the yarn of the same dye-lot with my Mom. Everything went as planned, until I began to crotchet. At the time, I didn't have quite enough experience with making circular objects, and unfortunately, many of the octagons I did in the first color, "Navy", are different sizes. I admit, it was so frustrating I stored it away for a year and then tried again.

The second round went much more smoothly! I was able to make all of the "Dusty Green" octagons and finish the little squares for the "Navy". Then, for some reason-possibly pillowcase season-it got put back into my closet.

The color isn't the best, but this is "Dusty Blue" making a
reappearance and "Dusty Green".

As of today, I have finished the octagons of four of the five colors. (!!!!) I am working on the final color, "Linen", right now. After the octagons are finished I will work on the squares and begin putting it together! I am finishing the octagons first so that they will all be the same size for sure. :)

This is a project that I was really excited about completing when I picked it out, and the excitement is still here! I am hoping to finish within the next two weeks.

What projects have you left undone that you would like to get back to?



Have a good one!
Alexis

Lovely Flower Pillowcase For A Homey Country Quilt

Hello Again!

Friends of mine are getting married this summer, and I thought I would get a head start on their pillowcases as I constantly seem to be finishing projects like this last minute. I searched their wedding registries and I found the quilt that they requested-it is a darling quilt with green, blue, and purpley tones in a homey country style. It has little flowers in all the small blocks, and I thought of this pattern that I found a few months ago.

Here is the "P" after I sketched it onto the pillowcase.
 

I am thinking of doing a sort of candlewicking with it. Candlewicking is where part of your embroidery is roughly the same color as the fabric you are working with, and the other part is bold, brilliant color. It is gorgeous and really pops. I am, in this case, making the "P" what pops, and the vine flower white like the case. 

Here are my supplies. :) Small hoop, scissors, floss, and the ever-useful reusable gallon bag! I store all of my smaller projects in these as they are very easy to keep neat and stash in my bag. :)

As you can see from the picture the "P" will be a nice deep green with an olive temperament. I am excited to finish this! It will be an enjoyable project. 

Alexis

Welcoming Back the Blogger in Me

Hello All!

It has been a little while, but I have been doggedly moving forward on my many projects. I promise-you will see pictures and new posts very soon!
For my writing, I am in the middle of writing a trilogy. Yes-all at the same time! The irony here is I began one book when I was twelve, one when I was fourteen, and one when I was sixteen, and I somehow named the city in the books the same name. A trilogy was born! You can imagine my surprise when I had extra time and pulled out the battered notebooks to continue the epics. ;) Then the genius of not-quite-connected trilogies popped into my mind, and now I am having a fabulous time connecting them in secretive ways. Writing is so fantastically fun to do!
And...wedding season is beginning again! I am so excited about the gifts I am planning to make! Also, my friends and I graduate this year, so I am looking for memorable gifts I can give to them.

Happy Living,

Alexis