something tells me i'm into something good

blanket beginnings...


when one blanket door closes, another opens

pilgrim's progress

happy tofurkey day! today this chickadee is thankful for double crochets that are done. on this day of never ending sweet potato casserole, it seems fitting to share the conclusion of a pretty time consuming project. the crochet granny square baby blanket is finished and fantastic! although the actual making was tedious at times, the final result was well worth it. what started out as daunting and dubious turned out to be one of my most favorite makings. hopefully this makes one sweet little baby happy and keeps him warm.

if you missed the background on this blanket click here to see the last post and links to more!

clothesline never looked so fine

now bring us a figgy pudding

check out the latest craft chat over at hello craft! this time it is with ouissi of british cream tea. click the pic!


and while you are over there, check out the handy guide to making your holidays merry and bright by making prezzies!

if you aren't so inclined to do it yourself, you can always use your purchasing power to support those who do d.i.y.. there is a great round-up of local baltimore/dc holiday indie craft markets on the washington city paper's cut the craft blog. skip the mall madness and start the season off right by stopping by baltimore's visionary art museum for their bazaart show featuring our friend dandelion blu! the free show is this saturday, november 29th from 10am-5pm. there is also a preview on friday evening from 5:30-8pm. $20 gets you snacks, drinks and music to shop to while you snatch up your handmade treasures.

contain yourself

round and round

with another round of shows coming up in december, it is about time to get the store stocked up with some best sellers. the first of the last bowls of the year are here! you'll have three chances to snatch them up:

december 6th • dc craft mutiny holiday booty market (hilda's at national city church in dc)
december 7th • merry mart (the creative alliance in baltimore)
december 13th • dc craft mutiny holiday trunk show (design within reach in georgetown)

before they were bowls...

see these caterpillars become butterflies next week!

double knit

a pattern so nice, i made it twice! here's another version of the quant entrelac headwrap. isn't she pretty? isn't she pretty in pink? knit the same way with the same yarn (patons sws), just a different colorway.

click here to flash back to the first version.

finger food

one last thing that was whipped up for the handmade arcade and made its debut there...cocktail napkins! these are dainty in size and delightful in print. they measure a petite 8" x 8" and are perfect for placing next to tiny treats and hors d'oeuvres. most have some sort of happy holiday scene, including frolicking snowmen and frosty flakes. but a few are simple stripes and geometric patterns with a red, green and blue color scheme. more napkins on their way soon!

koozie krush

another new item from the mind of this chickadee! cute up your bevie with a quilted koozie.

no need to hide your bottle behind foam or cloak your can with a paper cocktail napkin, not when you have two layers of cotton stuffed with batting. your potable will stand out in a crowd of similarly shaped containers. and a chickadee koozie will also catch the condensation coming from your frosty beverage, making it safe to set down on counters even without a coaster.


they come in an assortment of colors and a couple have even been embellished! bernie has yet another new trick up her sleeve and a new foot on her presser, the darning foot. this allows for some simple words and symbols to be stitched by machine on to the front of the koozie. for the first batch, a few say "beer" and "yum" while two even have a music notes on them. be on the look out for more in the future and feel free to customize your own.

greetings earthlings

more progress on the never-ending granny square blanket! earth meets sky with the latest round of double crochet. the baby that cuddles up under this fluffy coverlet will have their feet on the ground and be reaching for the stars at the same time. the addition of a calming cocoa brown grounds the blue sky cloaked with white cumulus clouds. a fitting color scheme for a collection of organic cotton yarns. next step, stitching one hundred of these squares together!

(want to see how it all began, see previous posts here and here)

heaps of fun!

today the charm city craft mafia is hosting their annual holiday heap craft carnival at st. john's church in charles village, bmore, md. the show will run from 10am to 5pm and will feature a slew of super talented artisans from all over the area. come check it out! and when you are there, be sure to stop over at the hello craft! booth. this chickadee will be taking a turn at table #42 for the afternoon shift! we're conducting shopper interviews and spreading the good word about the site as well as handing out pins and patches promoting hello craft! (click here to read about our mobtown mission)

hello mrs eliot books!

time for another craft chat over on the hello craft! site. this time we're sitting down with francesca from mrs eliot books. click the pic above to read all about her super sweet prints and other crafty creations!

handmade from the hardware store

as promised, here's the other set of bowls that was completely plundered at the handmade arcade. time to stock up on more clothesline and start wrapping!

stars of the show!

the bowls were by far the best sellers at the handmade arcade! over thirty made the trip up to pittsburgh and a whopping zero were unpacked upon return to chickadee central. last week you met the holiday inspired sets, but there were two others that were whipped up and then snatched up before they had a chance to make the front page. here's one, the other will post tomorrow:

handmade hangover

phew! finally back from pittsburgh. last weekend's handmade arcade exceeded expectations. the crowds were huge both days and the assembled group of vendors was impressive. the handmade arcade support staff was also super helpful, setting up coffee and donuts in the morning and walking around during the day to offer breaks for vendors braving the show alone. while the location was spacious and seemed centrally located, it is the only negative factor of the entire operation. the floor was caked and coated with an accumulation of who knows what...grease, dust, diesel fuel, whatever the armored tanks dragged in...and when something happened to fall if for just a second, it was doomed to wear a coat of black.



other than that, no complaints from this little chickadee. the people of pittsburgh were wonderful and welcoming, and full of enthusiasm for craft and crafters. my home away from home was happily situated among some familiar faces from the baltimore etsy street team (b.e.s.t.), including shadyside suite-mates dandelion blu, sweet pepita and the littlest bean. thanks to that trio for all of their help and humor, and for making me an honorary b.e.s.t. member!

sherry (dandelion blu) gets set up

jen (the littlest bean) and shannon (sweet pepita)

you can check out their work at the holiday heap this saturday in beautiful baltimore, md. when you are there, swing by the hello craft! table to say hello and share the pretty stuff that you picked up from the show. yours truly will be sitting in for a spell in the afternoon.

hot diggity handmade

Handmade Arcade Logo, originally uploaded by handmade.arcade.

the weekend we've been waiting is finally here! all that stands between this chickadee and a cold can of iron city light is the major mountain of stuff that still needs to be done for the show. so no dillys or dallys today on the blog, best get to work and get the wagon packed with wares. this chickadee and constant craft companion dandelion blu are pulling in to a new town, looking forward to meeting lots of new people, and eating sandwiches with coleslaw and french fries on top.

for those of you who are local to the land that loves the steelers, we'd like to see your smiling faces saturday and/or sunday. the show is scheduled to run from 11am-7pm saturday and 11am-5pm sunday and is being held at the hunt armory in the shadyside neighborhood. stop by! say hi! for more information, visit the handmade arcade website.

hello urbanknit!

yummy, delicious big knits and bright bags straight from london!

you can learn more about them and their creator by reading my interview with dolapo of urbanknit over at hello craft!

the shape of things to come

ovals!

welcome these slightly stretched out circles to the growing bowl/basket bonanza. with a similar coiled construction as their circular counterparts, these elongated bins can't wait to brighten your holidays. they come in a dizzying array of colors and several different sizes. and they'll be hoofing it on up to the handmade arcade this weekend!

if you are around steel city saturday or sunday, come by and snatch one up!