A Good Yarn or Two….

There's a really nice knit store in Sarasota, on Tamiami Trail (Highway 41). It's called A Good Yarn…You can come and sit and knit as long as you want, and as long as you can squeeze yourself in at the table, it's fair game for anybody to come and sit. Some people come and knit for a couple of hours, some come for three or four, some come for most of the day, some come every day, some come whenever. The ladies order lunch out, and one of the store owners or ladies usually goes and gets the food for everyone. That's really nice that the store lets you come in to just sit and knit and shoot the breeze. Of course, they hope you'll need yarn or a pattern every time you come, so Sparky tries to fulfill her responsibility of supporting her local yarn shop a lot of the time. :-)

Lots of retired teachers are here, so I'm in good company! There are so many talented gals who show up on a regular basis…There's one who really is an amazing yarn and fiber artist. She dyes her own silk, makes shawls of amazing colors and designs without patterns, and is just one of those incredibly talented ladies who got blessed with some amazing creative genes. She didn't want her name or photo used, so I will just say, that to view her beautiful knitted projects is to view fiber art in the truest sense….She sells things in shows where you have to be judged by an art jury, and some of her shawls sell for 300-500 dollars. WOW!

And here I am, just knitting little things, little minis--like this gift card-igan, a little sweater to enclose a gift card..not my original idea…the pattern was a freebie off the internet, and they just asked that you please credit them as the source of the pattern, so here it is: Simply Notables….And once again, here is the little sweater card-igan I made for the month of February to put in my little shop, JeanBeanGifts on Etsy. It's re-giftable…I like that…..

While I was at the knitting store today, one of the ladies, the retired special ed teacher from Canada, THE FIBER ARTS LADY, saw that I was showing some of my recent bracelets photos from my phone to another teacher sitting next to me. She asked to see the bracelets and got all excited when she saw them. She asked if I would bring some the next time I came…WOULD I? You bet! Not sure if she's interested in purchasing one, but the chance to network a bit with another crafter is always a good thing. I'll be sure to bring my little business cards and we'll see what the outcome will be…..Here's a little crocheted bracelet I made…These are really fun to make and they are so comfortable to wear…The nylon crocheted cord is indestructible. It should last a very long time!

Made another headband…this one was EXPENSIVE to make based on what the pattern called for…It has faceted gold beads and picasso Tila turquoise beads. Those gold faceted beads are about .11 EACH. The turquoise ones are about .08 a piece. By the time I realized how many beads it was going to take, the cost of the materials is probably far more than what most people would be willing to pay for a beaded, leather headband---$23.00. Going to try and make another one and substitute some other faceted bead type to bring down the cost…..But it sure is pretty and catches the light with the faceted beads!

And I've made a BUNCH of bracelets…some new ones…..The ones on the left have adjustable little macramed slides so they fit just about everybody.

And this is my favorite one of all so far….Hope to have quite a few made and ready for the Tara show coming up next month…..And of course, they are for sale in my Etsy shop: http://etsy.com/shop/JeanBeanGifts 

And….a winter hat….for anyone up north needing something cute to keep warm…LOTS of people needing that right now. I found some cool sliced cedar buttons on Etsy to use for the little loop to hang onto…But I need a hat model…not happy with how I look photographed from the front, but it would be nice to see the front view, wouldn't it? No young kids or young adults in the neighborhood to use…maybe I will have to find something in the way of a mannequin or something or somebody with a young neck elsewhere in the community--maybe school! But then you have to worry about getting permission with kids…Hmmmmmmm…..  

There's a new bead shop that opened up in Sarasota, called Bead Time, over on Clark Road right near Honore, in the Palmer Crossing shopping center. It's BIG, it's FULL of great beads, all different kinds of styles, a terrific selection, and the prices are very reasonable. Uh-oh! I better make sure I'm getting lots of sub jobs to support my beading habit…I'm going to be in trouble if I don't watch myself. Luckily, it's quite a distance away on the opposite side of town, so it's a little harder to get to. :-) But I DO know how to get there!  :-)

Working on a couple of tooth fairy pillows just to have some things for young kids in my shop… A monster one for little boys and an angel one for little girls. Going to make some interesting baby booties with some fun fur trim, and other than that. Don't know anyone who's expecting, but maybe someone will need some..It makes me slow down and enjoy life more when I create and make things……

And life goes on…..