@CraftyChica Design Team: #Crochet Fabulous Milagro Market Tote Tutorial

Welcome to Crafting by the Pool  

with Cami from Artlikebread.com

 It's so exciting!  I applied for and was chosen to participate on the Crafty Chica Design Team! The purpose of this post is to show you how I used one of her cool, new, Dia de los Muertos-themed products in an original DIY project.  Before we begin, take a look at this fun video where I show you all the materials I used!

And don't worry. In case you're viewing this on a mobile device or don't feel like watching the video, I'll do a play by play right here with still pictures.

HERE WE GO!

Interview with J. Musi, Artist and Designer at MusiBatty

Hey! Thank you for joining me today!  I am overjoyed to present this interview with Jennifer Musi, the artist and designer for MusiBatty.  If you saw my blogoversary post, hopefully you are already excited about her jewelry and the upcoming giveaway of the Mexican Bird pendant.  There will be more on that later, but I wanted to give you a little background on the artist herself.  Therefore, without further ado, I present Jennifer Musi of MusiBatty.

Model wearing four MusiBatty pieces. Used with permission.

What My (Famous) Stitching Group Made

I love sharing photos of the work of my wonderful stitching group! I adore all of them. Each one of us has a different forte when it comes to yarn crafting, so we love getting together and sharing what we do.

By the way, we are famous, as we were recently mentioned in the Holiday Collector's Issue of Vogue Knitting.  :)  (Yes, still excited!) 

Dvora is teaching her friend to knit. 
Hooray for new crafters!

I cast on some broomstick lace.

You can check on my progress on the "Il Pleut" Ravelry Project Page.

Are you impressed yet? Yes, that is about 8 active needles you see there.

David makes the most complex projects on the tiniest needles.  He makes the most beautiful knit amigurumi and is fascinated by crafts of all kinds.  

And he taught himself tatting.  I know. Totally cool.  (These are tatting shuttles, by the way.)

Jimena's fine handiwork has resulted in a beautiful sweater. 

Angeles is a whiz at free-form crochet.

 

I love my crafting friends!!

Welcome, Vogue Knitting Fans!

Way back in July, an editor at Vogue Knitting contacted me to inquire about the Stitch Group I run here in Mexico City.  She wanted to learn about the fiber scene here in Mexico, and I was all too happy to oblige.  It was definitely exciting to share the info and yarn connections I'd made over the past few years.  Mexico is full of inspiration, and once I found my favorite yarn sources, I wanted everyone to know about them! 

Martha's on the cover!!

Of course I hoped she might mention my name in the article (although just helping was exciting in and of itself), and I was elated to see my name and the website mentioned in the article.  My friends are mentioned as well.  I was even quoted!  

An online friend, Nancy Dardarian, who started the Ravelry Group that brought our Stitch Group together, was also quoted in the article, and Rebecca Klassen, who wrote the article, included her photo of naturally-dyed Oaxacan yarns.  

There is more to the article, like mentions of some of my favorite D.F. designers and craft events, but I want you all to read it yourselves!  It also talks about all different regions of Mexico.  I was really impressed with the reporting.  Rebecca Klassen wove together a great story that presents an authentic and fair picture of the rich tradition of fiber craft and the modern incarnations of this favorite hobby.  I'm very proud to be a part of the fiber scene in Mexico City.

Knitters and yarn-lovers alike should definitely check this issue out.  There are plenty of beautiful patterns, ideas, and yarn reviews.  It's truly a wonderful publication.  I bought a digital copy on the iPod, but you can also order a hard copy on the Vogue Knitting website.

Wordless Wednesday - Day of the Dead #Fabric Haul

Festive holiday fabrics from Telas Junco in Mexico City

Blogoversary! What My Crafting Group Friends Made

She made this from a plastic bag mold and a few balls of yarn. How gorgeous is that?

She sews, too. Beautiful, brocade fabric from a traditional Mexican store.

Beading is really relaxing.  D did the purple bracelet, and the other one was a gift from a beading friend.

Such inspiring work!

So glad to have my friends to craft with!

The Crafts of Summer - Catching Up

Heeeey! 

Copious, choice content is coming up from my super-duper summer of craft, travel, and lovinspiration. Follow me through my fleeting five weeks. Life can seem like you've living in a movie. I was present and mindful in everything I did this summer. That made all the difference. 

Life

is

luscious.

CHA-JFA Show 2011.  Rosemont, IL

"It's a good time of year for happiness." 

-Peter (A String of Blue Beads)

Chicago's Loop

"Life moves pretty fast. 

If you don't stop and look around once in a while, 

you could miss it." -Ferris Bueller

Charles River, Boston

"We could jump out and swim."

-Tyler Winkelvoss (The Social Network) 

Pioneer Valley, Massachusetts

Monty kisses her

Courtney: What are you doing?
Monty: I'm ending our friendship.
kisses her again

(With Honors)

Dottie's Coffee Lounge, North Street, Pittsfield, MA. The Beautiful Berkshires.

Arlo Guthrie: Just what I've always wanted.
Alice Brock: A restaurant?
Arlo Guthrie: No, a friend with a restaurant. 

(Alice's Restaurant)

Mehndi, as applied at XO Glow Salon in Park Ridge, IL.

Origin of expression
Born of imagination
Designed with creativity
Amaze, mystify, and intrigue.

(from "Henna" by Yas)

source: Meghan's Mehndi

Glee in 3-D. Niles, IL

"Raise your glass." 

-The Warblers

Pyramid of the Moon, as viewed from the Pyramid of the Sun.
Teotihuacan, Mexico

"And in all the days of my life 

I have seen nothing 

that has so rejoiced my heart 

as these things. 

For I saw among them strange 

and exquisitely worked objects 

and marvelled at the subtle genius 

of the men in distant lands. 

The things I saw there 

I have no words to express."

-Albrecht Dürer

Brussels 1521 

(quoted in ‘Turquoise Mosaics from 

Mexico’ by Elizabeth Carmichael)

What I Did with My Oaxaca Wool

When I moved to Mexico, I was a novice yarn crafter.  I moved here with a ton of scrapbook/stamp supplies, a few crochet hooks, and about three balls of yarn.  I wasn't sure if I'd like crochet or knitting, and I didn't want to buy too much yarn, you know? 

But I quickly became obsessed and started searching for the rich, beautiful wools of Mexico.  Well, as it turns out, natural fiber is not that easy to come by around here!  There is acrylic as far as the eye can see, but very little wool.  :(

When my family took a vacation to beautiful and rustic Oaxaca City, we visited several small towns that specialized in specific crafts.  When we got to Teotitlan del Valle, which is known for its beautiful woven tapestry rugs, I knew I had finally found my WOOL YARN! 

Beautiful, rugged, soulful- this yarn was so special.  So colorful, so unique.  I was able to choose from a palette of every rich color imaginable, and buy this yarn by the kilo.  The red. The red is dyed from the blood of the bugs that inhabits the nopal cactus and I saw the process of extracting the dye from the plant.  I saw the sheep from which the wool was taken.  It was a magical experience.  I left with a basket full of beautiful yarn.

For a while I just enjoyed looking at the yarn in my pretty stash basket, but as my stash grew and grew, I knew I needed to use the Oaxaca Wool at a much quicker rate.  Recently I took on two projects to that end.  I still have a few balls left, but I'm so happy with the results. 

The first is the Crocheted Stash Basket from Purl Bee which I made from all the little bits and pieces I had from Oaxaca.  It's a perfect project for this yarn because as I mentioned, it is a strong yarn.  It is meant for rugs so this basket is going to last forever.

Single ply makes great stitch definition

I started with a bulky yarn and bigger hook to make a strong (and large) base

Check out my project page on Ravelry.

It's pretty, right?

The second is a simple laptop bag that I designed myself, although there is not much design involved.  I doubled the yarn to make the laptop safe and secure.  I added a lacy flap which I adapted from an Edie Brickman motif.  This yarn is great for laptops because it's strong and thick.  It will provide the needed protection while my laptop is bumping about in my bag. 

turquoise & teal tweed. :)

I have only a bit of this yarn left and I will be using much of it for my Nicki Tote.  :)  Yay, Oaxaca!

I linked here.

Mexico Is Crafty

There was a horrible rumor that was imparted to me when I first moved to Mexico over a year ago. Someone (who shall remain nameless) told me that Mexico didn't do crafts the way we do them in the United States. She said that people usually made things here because they needed them, not as a hobby or pastime.

Well, in a way, I thought, 'What's the difference?' But also, I was sad, because I thought I'd never again encounter my beloved scrapbooking supplies. And what about my beloved craft stores? The closest I could find to Blick Art Supply was Office Max. My JoAnn Fabrics became Telas Parisina. I still have yet to find my Archiver's counterpart, but my crafty friend, Jenn, assures me that there ARE scrapbooking stores here in Mexico.

As a matter of fact, I have kind of moved on from scrapbooking (in case you didn't notice) and I've been exploring the wonderful world of yarn (or "estambres" if you're Mexican!) I can see there's no dirth of yarn here. There may be a shortage of natural fibers, but crafting with acrylic is okay by me.

I've since frequented Fantasias Miguel (my Michael's sub), thanks to the wonderful ladies in the Mexico group on Ravelry. Mexico is so so so crafty. At Fantasias Miguel, you can buy a bag full of gorgeous, fine glitter the size of a bag of sugar! Often, said glitter is applied to styrofoam shapes for holidays, however, as a scrapbooker, you'd be able to will most of this glitter to your children and grandchildren!

And, mi crafty amiga, Jenn, also told me about the crafting event of the year, the Expo Merceria y Manualidades, at the World Trade Center in Mexico City. (This is the advantage of living in the city!!!!) This is like my CHA. It's a huge crafting fair for consumers and retailers.

I went today! It was a lot of fun, and I'll reveal what went on little by little over the next week, ending in my special surprise... WE MET A CRAFTY ICON! :o) Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, excitement!!

Taxco Tianguis!

When my mom was here visiting, she convinced my sister to drive us out of the busy city into the gorgeous mountain town of Taxco. It's the same place with the bead market, and yes, I did purchase some gorgeous beads again this year. But I wanted to show you the pottery market. Look at all this amazing pottery! They have a lot of other stuff, too, but when I get into a place like this, I get sensory overload. I decided to focus on pottery alone. Enjoy!

Trees

Chapultepec Park

I love these patterns in the trunk.

It almost looks like driftwood in a way.

Have you ever seen a tree like this?

I wonder who lives inside...

I Am Not Afraid of Color

And Mexico City is exactly the right place to be!

thoughtful, intelligent blues with grey

I'm drooling, and not for the food.

The leaf-lime-beige-orangeyred-burntred combo is

luscious, and unexpected.

P I N W H E E L S !
joyful

Luchadores Masks... take your pick, each its own story.

Dramatic energy

...easygoing - slate, pink, green, and brown

Puerta Vallarta: Mosaics

On a recent trip to Puerta Vallarta, I was of course on the lookout for interesting crafty items.

There were some fun sculptures, and some paintings, but the most impressive items were the mosaics! Imagine my surprise when after spending a week away from my computer, the following related post shows up on the Craft Magazine blog! The Mexican mosaics were more traditional in nature.

^It's all yarn, folks.

^detail of the above.

a deer in yarn^

(insert dramatic chipmunk music here)
Dun...

Dunnn

Da-Dunnnnn!

A happy rooster all in beads. :o)