I am rather proud to have mastered the knitted bag pattern – now I just need to add beads whil e knitting, which is my ultimate goal. I am currently working on my first pair of socks. But with out much ado (at least much more!), here are two photos of the bag – one in progress and one finished (the mechanical pencil in the second photo is to give you a sense of scale….)

Second try at knitting with double pointed needles - a fuzzy drawstring purse.

And then:

Success with this knitting in the round stuff - here is the end result done in fuzzy white yarn. Now I just need to line it and make a strap.

What do you think??

Peace,

Bekka

Tags: bag, knit, knittiing, note, Personal notes, pouch

Today’s image comes from the National Media Archives of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, at www.fws.gov. It was taken by Ron Singer, but like all the images there, it is public domain, having been taken by a US government employee in the course of his or her duties. You can use it as you wish, though they request an attribution of “<name of photographer>/USFWS” when using photos and other images from their site (or just “USFWS” if there is no artist or photographer listed).

I loved this photo of a jaguar that I found there and thought I would share it with you. Maybe I’ll do a few days of images of big cats because, well, big cats are cool, in my opinion.

Jaguar. Public domain photograph from the US Fish and Wildlife Service media library. Photo by Ron Singer / USFWS.

Isn’t he just beautiful?

Peace,

Bekka

Tags: .jpg, animal, animals, big cats, black, black cat, cat, cats, color, daily public domain, DPD, feline, free, FWS, graphics, image, jaguar, PD, photograph, public domain, US Fish and Wildlife Service, USFWS, wild, wild animals

I have just recently put up new memory wire bracelet kits on Artfire. Unlike my old store, now each kit is listed individually (though I may yet list a ‘party pack’). This means you can see the exact mix of beads you are getting in the kit you choose!

These kits are easy, and the only tool you need is a pair of round or chain nosed pliers. Everyone from kids to adults can enjoy them. They make a bracelet like the ones in this picture:

A sampler of memory wire glass chip bead bracelets.

I had to raise the price of the glass chip kits to $5 for the kit due to rising supply costs (beads, wire, etc.), but they are still a bargain! Check out the color mixes I have listed!

There is only one of each pictured kit (each one is unique, and more unique once you make it!):

Memory wire bracelet kit in forest greens and browns. $5

Blues, purples, and white bracelet kit. $5

Ocean / sea blue memory wire bracelet kit. $5

Honey brown memory wire bracelet kit. $5

Please stop by my Artfire store for more fun things: Vintage crochet pattern magazines, vintage paper items, collage sheets, ribbon grab bags, and more!

Peace,

Bekka

Tags: Artfire, DIY, Jewelry, jewelry kits, kits, new store, store, Store News, Tidbits

I’ve known how to knit for years (decades!) now, but until now I have only knitted with single pointed needles – you know – the ones with a point on one end and a ball or stopper on the other. Great for scarves and sweaters but I wanted to try something different.

So, with some of my birthday money I got some bamboo double pointed needles. I can’t stand the sound of metal on metal so I won’t use metal knitting needles. Now I’m trying a drawstring bag pattern from Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders, edited by Judith Durant: “Beady Little Bags” designed by Marji LaFreniere (page 215). I’m modifying it slightly, since I don’t have any beads for it, and I’m using regular yarn rather than less bulky sock yarn.

Here’s my progress so far:

My first attempt at knitting in the round with double pointed needles. It's not so bad as I feared. This should, I hope, morph into a little drawstring bag when I am done.

I’ll post another picture if and when I finish the bag!

Peace,

Bekka

Tags: knitting, personal, Personal notes

I’ve been going through my graphics looking to see what I have. I have so much I forget all that I’ve collected. This is from a book available to read at the Open Library. It was published in 1836 to let fashionable American ladies see what their counterparts in Europe were supposedly wearing. Much like fashion magazines today, not all of the clothing and styles are really practical and many were not likely to be worn by the middle class. (How some things never change….)

The book’s title is The World of Fashion and Continental Feuilletons – a feuilliton, according to Dictionary.com, is the part of a European newspaper devoted to things besides news – what we would call the “lifestyle section” nowadays.

Note the pseudo-Arabic, Arabian nights outfit on the far right…

Evening gowns illustrated _in _The World of Fashion and Continental Feuilletons_, 1836. From the Open Library - openlibrary.org

Click on the image to see it and download it full-sized.

Peace,

Bekka

Tags: .jpg, 1836, clothing, color, daily public domain, DPD, dress, dresses, evening, fashion, free, gown, graphics, illustration, image, ladies, lady, Open Library, party, PD, public domain, Victorian, woman, women

I designed this image a while ago, and adjusted it to be square for my avatar on Artfire. Now for all my friends who either sell handmade goods or want to support buying handmade goods, here is the “Buy Handmade” girl:

Made from the public domain "We Can Do It!" poster from WWII. The image is 650 x 650, so please feel free to resize if you need to do so.

When I get around to it, I will shrink it to “blog sidebar size” but feel free to do that on your own if you have the means. My computer with my graphics program is down for the count – meaning I won’t have access to it until I can get an IT friend of mine to dissect it and recover what can be recovered. I’m still learning to use GIMP. This means, alas, that the Saturday Digital Freebie is going to be no more until I do have graphics capability again. Sorry!

Peace,

Bekka

Tags: Artfire, artisan, buy handmade, color, craft, crafting, crafts, daily public domain, DPD, Etsy, free, graphics, handmade, illustration, image, lady, PD, portrait, public domain, Rosie, Rosie the Riveter

I have been failing to keep up on my blog posts for far too long. I am sorry. Once the habit of regular posts was broken, it was much to easy to let it stay broken. I am now going to try to rectify that. Sorry to those of you who had been dedicated readers and wondered what happened to me! First it was the holidays and my health and then  just bad habits leading to worse, as far as the blog is concerned.

Even though I haven’t completely moved my store to Artfire, I have essentially shut down the store here at my website. The store is still there but only to point people to my Artfire store. I am going to keep the website for the blog and for personal use.

Again, sorry about the long hiatus.

Peace,

Bekka

Tags: apologies, Artfire, break, hiatus, personal, Personal notes, store

Okay, first, again I’m sorry I got so preachy last time I posted a freebie. If I offended anyone I apologize, and I do appreciate every single comment you guys leave.

Second, I found a site with a lot of freebies, not just digital stamps but also templates: Cuddly Buddly Crafts. Check them out, they likely have something you’d want to save and use.

Thirdly, be sure to check out the Free Digital Stamp blog, if you didn’t come from there to here! They have links every day to tons of free digi-stamps.

Okay, on to the freebie! This is made from the chapter head decoration of when Dorothy enters the Emerald City in L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. William Wallace Denslow did the original illustrations in 1900, and this is one of his. It may not resize to very very large, because it was a small illustration to start with, but I thought it was very cute. The maid is not named in the first book, but I think she is given a name later (though I don’t know what it is).

Dorothy with the unnamed maid in the Emerald City. From a chapter head illustration by William Wallace Denslow for _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_, 1900. PD due to age.

I also want to remind folks that I have a set of a “baker’s dozen” (13) stamps made from Denslow’s illustrations for the 1900 edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz available in my Artfire studio / store.

Oz Set #1: Thirteen digital stamps based on William Wallace Denslow's illustrations for the original 1900 publication of the L. Frank Baum's _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_. $18 for all 13 in my Artfire store.

You can also get each of the stamps except the title words separately.

Enjoy,

Bekka

Tags: 1900, bw, children, daily public domain, digi-stamp, digi-stamps, digital stamp, digital stamps, dog, Dorothy, DPD, Edwardian, Emerald City, free, freebie, illustration, image, L. Frank Baum, maid, Oz, PD, public domain, Scottie dog, Store News, Toto, Victorian, William Wallace Denslow, Wizard of Oz

I got a little preachy in my last post, and for that I apologize. I hope I didn’t make anyone mad!

Tags: Personal notes, sorry