She's Crafty | Finding Time to Craft

Creating things makes me happy but I'm finding it harder and harder to find the time to craft. Or, perhaps, I'm not making time to craft? Either way, it might be best if I locate some projects that will fit in with my hectic weekdays. Some options include:

• Zentangle, which I talked about in this post, would be a great option during breaks at work.

• A crochet project, like opera-length fingerless gloves, can be worked on while vegging out with the family at night.

• Instead of checking Facebook for the zillionth time, I could go outside and snap some photos to use as layers in a digital collage.

Really, the possibilities are endless. I just need to make that commitment. And for me, it's worth my time and effort.

It's true.

Quick, simple projects might make it easier to inject some craftiness into my daily life. The more I think about it, doing some repetitive needlework while decompressing after work sounds like an excellent idea. Maybe these books have just the project I'm looking for...

• Quick Knits by Judy Ann Sadler.

• Simple Knits for Sophisticated Living by Barbara Albright

I even found a few blog posts by other craft bloggers who ave graciously offered their ideas on finding time to craft.

• Stacey wrote the post Tips For Making Time To {Craft} on her blog, Glued to My Crafts and Everything In Between.

• Hilary Chybinski wrote the post, Squeezing Time to Craft Into Your Busy Life for the blog, A Life In Balance.

Have you found ways to be crafty even when you're busy?

Malia

She's Crafty | Amigurumi

Confession: I, Malia, collect mascots.

Little friends that dot my living spaces with their cute little faces. Throw in some zany, goofy, and slightly creepy elements and it's all over--I'm an embarrassing, giggly mess. The latest adoption was a set of three Matryoshka dolls that hang out near my sewing nook with a stuffed Bilbo and Gandalf. I even have mascots that actually help me craft, other than just keeping morale high with their cute little selves.

I keep pattern pieces in line, most of the time.

A few years back I wanted to learn how to make a crocheted hacky sack for my nephew. Searching for tips online about keeping the stitches super tight and starting the project with a move known as the "magic ring," I kept coming across a term: amigurumi. What is this business? I kept digging and stumbled upon a definition similar to this one I found on M.E. Williams's DIYlife post, Amigurumi Knitting Tutorial (Plus Free Patterns!):

What are amigurumi? Well, nuigurumi (noo-ee-goo-roo-mee) is a Japanese word that means stuffed doll, but it refers to sewn fabric items. Ami (ah-mee) is from a word that means crocheted or knitted. So, an amigurumi (ah-mee-goo-roo-mee) is a crocheted or knitted stuffed doll.

Basically, it's crocheting in the round to make a doll that is then stuffed. If you're a beginner crocheter, amigurumi is an awesome area to explore since it's not too difficult to learn and the result is a new little friend or gift to give! I was hooked and tried to find all the information I could about amigurumi. After making a few friends, I moved on to my next craft obsession...

But now that the weather is turning cooler, I'm in the mood to crochet and knit so I've been thinking a lot about amigurumi again. When I first learned about it I started a little blue octopus. I finished his cute little head and two tentacles then moved on to other projects. Maybe I'll go back and finish him up. Although, I did start to refer to him as my shy little guy--you know, he's just hiding his tentacles, which makes him even cuter! Maybe I'll make him some underwater friends to hang out with instead.

If you're interested in making your own little friends, we have a few Amigurumi specific books at the library:
Amigurumi Animals 
Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts. Amigurumi 

We also have some great titles that can help a beginner learn how to crochet:
Happy Hooker
Kids Crochet: Projects for Kids of All Ages 

You can find even more amigurumi instruction and pattern books in Link+:

Creepy Cute Crochet

Crobots

Go ahead, make yourself a little mascot to cheer you on when the crafting gets tough. Or when the book is getting zany and you need someone to point your surprised face at and squeal.


And, of course, let us know all about your amigurumi adventures!


Stay Crafty!
 Malia

She's Crafty | Nice to Meet You...

Did you hear that? We're cute!

Hello, I'm Kaye and I'm the mother half of this mother-daughter duo. You will be hearing from one or the other, or both of us every week about ALL things crafting...and maybe some other things too, sometimes, like art, which is not so other, really. It's all about being creative, useful, beautiful, joyous, cute, self-sufficient, expressive, and above all--fun! Which reminds me--how do you like our blog title? Cute huh? It sounds like a catchy song title to me...Say, who are the Beasty Boys?

I've been making things for as long as the daughter half can remember, and for almost as long as I can remember, which is a very long time--of course, I'm not going to tell you how long. Suffice it to say, I have lots to share with you about a fair number of crafts I've been learning and doing in all that time. Some of these are what you'd expect: Sewing, crocheting, knitting, embroidery. Some are a bit different: chain mail, beading, macrame, stained glass. And, there are always more crafts I want to learn--lamp-worked glass beads, spinning my own yarn, mosaics, making fancy paper. 

Chain mail necklace by Kaye

Oh! And the places we'll go: San Francisco's Renegade Craft Fair; a yarn bomb scavenger hunt; Sonora's Celtic Fair, where you can see a guy making chain mail armor from steel rings the way the Europeans did so long ago (you need strong hands for that!) Ah, crafting is history!

Squid Tree yarnbomb by Lorna and Jill Watt

The daughter and I have many crafting relatives and ancestors we look to for inspiration: The tinkering dad; handy brother; sewing sister, plus cousins, mom, aunts, and grandmas; musical grandkids & grandparents (music is art!); poetry writing other daughter (oh yes, writing too!) Then, there are the ancestors going farther back: Grandmothers & grandfathers into the great-great-greats who quilted, crocheted, knitted, fixed things and made them do. I could go on and on. And, I will! One week at a time. I hope you'll join us!

Now it's time to hear from the daughter half. She's going to keep us current; but she'll tell you her own story--hey daughter! It's your turn--

Hi, hello. Can you just excuse me a second...

Pssst, mom, it's the Beastie Boys.

...okay, on with the intro!

Malia here, the daughter half of She's Crafty. And, yes, ever since I could remember, arts and crafts have been a BIG part of our family. I grew up in a world of doilies and soft blankets, handmade hats and school clothes, and shelves upon shelves of do-it-yourself books.

As much as I loved being on the receiving end of some amazing heirlooms, my little kiddie hands couldn't wait to make their own mark. I practically begged my mom to teach me how to crochet! Ever since, I've been fascinated by all the wonderful things hands can make.

And make things I have! It's pretty much been a crafting free-for-all after I finished my first granny square. Some items great-great-grandma might recognize. Some others, not so much.

Tatted mask, feather mask, and mini-top hat by Malia.

Of course, I would not be the prolific crafter I am without the help of the library. In fact, I consider my library card just as important to my crafting endeavors as my favorite pair of purple-handled scissors. Seriously, peep at my bedside table and you will find at least one craft book I checked out from my local branch at any given time.

Check out my latest score from the library, Sweet Paper Crafts by Mollie Greene. Isn't it just the sweetest thing?! Makes me want to populate my desk with a flock of paper birds. Like, right now.

So, can you tell we love crafts? Now tell us, how much do you love being crafty?