It's not coloring...it's rendering

Hey all!
I have been so sad to be away from real crafts for so long, but right now school is priority. I have been rendering my brains out and I still have a lot to do-yuck. All of the fumes from the markers have started getting to me. Anyhow, I'm still around, just a busy bee. Once I'm back to the crafts, you'll be the first to know:)

Rachel May
www.rachelmaydesigns.etsy.com

Pumpkin Pie and other autumn fun

Hello all!
I'm still around, but I'm really busy with homework right now. I have, however made time to make pumpkin pie 100% from scratch, and not a too unhealthy version:) I also made pot roast the other day-yum! I will try to take a pic of my pie before it's all gone...but no promises.

How is everyone? I'm feeling very blah today-kind of an up and down mood. I hope it gets a little better today, but I only slept two hours last night. I think that explains the moodiness!

Hope everyone is doing well. Have a great day!

Rachel May
check out my website where I sell handmade craft goodies! www.rachelmaydesigns.etsy.com

I'm Still Alive!

Hello all,
Sorry I have been sadly away for so long! I am alive and kicking, just swamped with homework. I have no new craft things to report other than some jewelry I made a couple of days ago. I will post pictures and work on some crafts so I have something interesting for you soon!

Rachel May

Hello! It's been a few days, so time for a little bit of an update! First, you will notice a lovely picture of the arm/wristwarmers I made for myself. I like them a lot, they make me feel sorta grunge and urban, which is always fun. Oh yeah, and they're warm, without impairing any knit/crochet projects.

On another note, you will see that I have been doing a little reading. I'm trying to further my knitting skills, and I love the Super Stitches Knitting book, it's by Karen Hemingway. It has great pictures and a bazillion different types of stitches to do.

The Law (in Plain English) For Crafts is another book I'm reading, to further educate myself in the business side of crafts and Etsy. It seems really good and straightforward, but it is an older book, so keep that in mind (I bought it used off of Amazon). This book is by Leonard D. DuBoff, Attorney-at-Law.

On the bottom, which is last, but absolutely not least, is Closely Knit by Hannah Fettig. This book has great projects, which I hope to complete as Christmas gifts. What I really like about this book is that the categories/chapters are fun...there's a section for moms, daughters, the men in your life, etc. I thought that was fun. I will let you know how that goes.

On top of the books, you will see some washcloths that I have crocheted. This is all for a spa-day basket idea I have, but I've only gotten as far as to crochet two washcloths, but hopefully more on that soon.

Today is my first day of classes for this quarter, so I will try to be good about posting, but I will get busy because this is the last quarter I will be in school....I graduate with my Bachelors of Arts in Interior Design in December. Yay! (and oh so scary!)

Rachel May

Accomplishments for an Animal Lover

I did accomplish something today, but not exactly WHILE I was hanging out with my sister. Most of it was finished after. I hand-embroidered these tea towels for the Humane Society in Colorado Springs. My sister is volunteering there, and they are holding a craft fair and need handmade donated items to sell. The craft fair is this month, so get out your crafting gear and get to work! It's for a good cause, and there are so many animals that need help. I've made some small washcloths for wiping pet's paws clean, and the tea towels. Let's hope they raise some good money for them!

We hit some great stores today on Broadway in Denver. Decade has really cool interior decor and other items, like jewelry and lingerie, and Fancy Tiger-both stores. One of the stores has fabric and yarn, the other has clothing. We also hit True Love, a shoe store, and Paws, a pet store. In both Paws and Decade, there were animals hanging out. I was walking by a couch in Decade and spotted a kitty in the wilderness, and it was very friendly. In Paws, I pet a dog that didn't seem very interested in me, but once I quit petting him, he followed me around-so we bonded:)

I miss having pets!

Rachel May

On the Go

Today, I'm hanging out with my oldest sister, Jennifer. She's a knitter and a crafty person too. We are going to the Asian Market (if we can find it) in Denver and hitting the town. I hope to get some crochet work done while we commute to our shopping/hanging out places. I will post later and let you know how it goes.

Oh, and last night, I made another pair of armwarmers, smaller ones in one color. They look really cute and they fit like a dream. I will take and post pics for you all soon.

P.S. Somebody got Barack Obama to hold a sock! yay for knitters! (If that doesn't make any sense to you, head over to the Yarn Harlot's blog http://www.yarnharlot.ca/)

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Rachel May

Progress

Hello All,

Did you all watch the vice-presidential debates last night? I did watch them, but I also added to the curren WIP blanket...only right now it's more of a large washcloth. As you can see in the picture, I added a few more colors. I'm out of different colors of Cascade 220, so I will have to dig in the stash and figure out what I come up with that will work color-wise.

Other than that, you will notice a picture for some really cool armwarmers. A coworker/friend of my sister's requested them, and I think they turned out really well. I crocheted them with a cotton/viscose yarn, and a size H or 8 hook. I really like them, and I hope she does too. If you really want a pair, but either can't or do not have the time to make them, head over to http://www.rachelmaydesigns.etsy.com/lmaydesigns.etsy.com/ for the listing, and I will make them for you (shameless plug, I know).

I hope everyone's October is going well so far! Can't wait for halloween...anyone have any unique costume ideas?

Rachel May

Ambitious Fool

Okay, now I'm on to recording my crafts and WIPs (Works in Progress). I'm hoping that by sharing these, it will force me to finish a project and to be held responsible for my ambitious crafting goals.



For this Christmas, I really want to pledge handmade. I've always tried to make handmade items for my family members, but I'm going to try to make things that are extra special this year.


In the picture, you will see something that I fear will be a really long WIP. I intend to do an interpretation of the Log Cabin Blanket and design that the ladies at Mason Dixon Knitting do. I read a great story about it on the Vegetarian Knitter's blog (http://www.vegetarianknitter.wordpress.com/). She talks about having the blanket as a comfort item through many moves and about adding to it when she feels like it. I like the idea behind that. I have started with Cascade 220 (I'm pretty sure, the labels are long gone though) and I've crocheted a square and I will just keep adding to each side.


Other than that, many new and some crafty things have been happening in our apartment. I have started recycling, which I am really excited about. But I wanted to take it a step further. I understand that our landfills are filling up, so recycling is a good step towards avoiding that, however, there are three parts: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. I want to work more on the reuse part of that equation.


So far, I am thinking of ideas for reusing the soup cans that we have set aside to be recycled. Right now, I use them to hold pens, pencils, and paintbrushes. They also work good for mini-pails. Last year, I painted them orange with black faces and filled them with candy for halloween coworker gifts. I will try to think of some sort of Christmas application for them.


Other than that, I have purchased a handmade papermaking kit by http://www.basicingredients.etsy.com/ and I have started to reuse my paper. I take scraps of paper from my cardmaking for color, and other papers (like credit card offers and old school junk) that have print on both sides, shred them up together, and make paper. For paper that only has one side used, I'm setting it aside for later endeavors (I will let you know when it progresses).


Anyone have new craft/recycling ideas? Let me know!

Rachel May