The Leia Wig, Fleece Edition

I have had many requests from non-knitters for a knit Leia Wig, rather than a pattern from my Etsy store. But because they take a while to make and Alpaca fiber is not cheap, they are a bit expensive. I was thinking of a way to produce them that was not so labor intensive. So, I present the Leia Wig, Fleece Edition.

It took a while to design a pattern that would fit just as nice as the knit version, but I think I finally did it. I will be offering these for sale during The Brewery Artwalk, October 6 & 7, in Unit 642, W-9. I mentioned the Artwalk here.

I will be offering the fleece version of the Leia Wig at my Etsy store in brown and black, just after Artwalk. They cost $49.

The Brewery Art Walk, Oct. 6 & 7, 2007

The Brewery Fall 2007 ARTWALK is just around the corner.

Saturday and Sunday
October 6 & 7, 11am - 6pm

Come visit me and over 100 other working studios of Brewery artists and purchase art at studio prices.

2100 N Main St
Los Angeles, CA 90031

directions are here
list of participating artists with links here

FREE ADMISSION
FREE PARKING

images of previous ARTWALK's here

My New Kitchen

I have a new working kitchen! The new loft came to us without closets or a kitchen, which was a trade-off. Although we have had to do a lot of work, we got a 1,200 sq. ft. place within an art colony for a decent price.

We purchased almost everything from Ikea. The cabinets are from the Akrum series with Applad doors, Lansa pulls, and Capita legs. The counter tops are Pragel. We got the steel sink, which is discontinued, from the as-is bin for half price, and chose the Edsvik faucet. The spice racks, shelf, and paper towel holder are from the Grundtal series. The flooring is Armstrong's Standard Excelon industrial composition tile. You can see images of the progress on our kitchen here.

Knit Wonder Woman Sweater (Jumper)

Practical Polly has created an really fantastic knit Wonder Woman jumper (sweater). Hopefully the pattern will be available to us soon. via Craftzine

Art Exhibition: Form and Imagination, Women Ceramic Sculptors

September 8^th - November 24^th, 2007

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 8^th, 6-9 pm

Form and Imagination: Women Ceramic Sculptors exhibits the figurative art of fifteen female artists from across the United States whose narrative work has been inspired by their experiences as children, mothers, women, artists, wives, or simply as human beings. The sculptures, intricate and embellished, include figurines, dolls, torsos, and still lifes. Some contain a playful twist or fairytale-like quirkiness, while others specialize in irony or satire.

Featured artists include:

Lisa Clague, Cynthia Consentino, Debra Fritts, Linda Ganstrom, Marie E.v.B. Gibbons, Margaret Keelan, Coeleen Kiebert, Beth Lo, Janis Mars Wunderlich, Kathryn Rush, Kathy Ruttenberg, Esther Shimazu, Nan Smith, Cheryl Tall, and Patti Warashina

Special Events:

Forming the Figure in Clay – October 13^th, 12-4pm, Fee: $10 adults, $5 children 12 & under. Learn how to form a simple figure in clay. This workshop is for children and families.

Guest Lecture with William Catling – Saturday, November 10^th, 5pm

Pottery Market – Saturday, November 10^th, 12-9 pm, free

Southern California potters sell their original ceramic artwork.

American Museum of Ceramic Art

Bathroom Storage, Ikea hack

I was in desperate need of bathroom storage in our new loft. The sink is mounted to the wall, so there is no counter space. When we were shopping for our kitchen I came across these BYGEL accessories. Now there is space for hand towels, tooth brushes, and other bathroom items.

Shoe Storage, Ikea hack

I have been working hard at organizing my new loft living space. We had to install a kitchen, bathroom stuff, and build closets. I purchased a PAX closet from Ikea, but still did not have room for my shoes. I had purchased an AKRUM wall cabinet for the kitchen with the APPLAD doors and LANSA handles. We ended up changing the floor plan of the kitchen at the last minuet, and the cabinet would not fit. I realized that it was the perfect size for all my shoes. I purchased an extra set of the CAPITA legs, and now my shoes have a safe home where nobody has to look at them.

Vintage Ads, Modern Products

Worth 1000 has a few contests going on for advanced Photoshoppers. Boing Boing points to this contest using vintage ads to promote modern products. There are a ton of great ads there, but I really like this one for the Nintendo Wii which was created by gugacardo.

Free Pattern: Sabinette

Berroco has come up with a free pattern for scarf just like this one created by Queen Mud that I posted about a few weeks ago. Berroco's pattern is called Sabinette. I like how the architectural structure of the "rungs of the ladder" pop out like fringe when wrapped around the models neck. You can also see an un-felted version of this scarf here on the Berroco site.

Art or Not on TV

Ovation TV has a new program called Art or Not. I do not have this channel, but was pleased to see that they have many video clips available on their website. I wish there was more programming like this available on a regular basis.

Sewn Felt Slippers

Martha Stewart has a template to make your own sewn felt slippers from commercial felt. I would like to make a pair of these with a rubber sole so they can be worn around town.

The Draft Vader Helmet

The talented Ladylinoleum of Monster Crochet has just pointed me to her fantastic Draft Vader helmet creation. She suggested that her Draft Vader should date my Leia Wig. I could not agree more.

Ceramist, Laura Zindel

A few weeks ago I was browsing through Ceramics Monthly magazine and came across an article about ceramist, Laura Zindel. As an admirer of bug and beetle designs, I became an instant fan and placed an order immediately for her tumblers. They arrived in the mail and are gorgeous.

If you like these too, you may want to check out the ceramics of Catherine Reece of Village Clay Works.

The Amazing Moxie Does it Again

One of my favorite needle felting artists, the amazing Moxie, whom I wrote about earlier, has once again wowed me. Her finger puppets make me giggle with glee, and this new fuzzeh one has put me over the top. You can see more of her fantastic needle felted creations on her flickr page. She also has an etsy store.

Felted Scarf in rainbow colors

I really like this knitted & felted Rainbow Scarf created by Queen Mudd from Sweden over at flickr. She has a ton of fantastic photos of knit items. Many of them are of lace. You can see a before felting photo of her Rainbow Scarf picture here. She also has a blog called Queen Mudd.

DIY Glowing Hoop

A while back Psi-hoops came out with these amazing hoops that have LED lights in them. They are really beautiful. I wanted to purchase one, but was scared away by the $200 price tag. You can see a few videos of them in action here.

Recently, jeffkobi posted a how-to on making your own LED Hula Hoop over at instructables. He said he spent about $15 in materials. Yeah!

To learn more about the hooping phenomenon, go to hooping.org.

Two Crafty Events this Weekend

The American Museum of Ceramic Art is hosting its semi-annual pottery market featuring handmade ceramics from Southern California Artists.
Saturday, July 14th, 12-9pm
340 S. Garey Ave
Pomona, CA 91766



Felt Club, Los Angeles's fantastic indie craft show.
Sunday, July 15, 11-7pm
4315 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA

I adore the fake diamond rings by Danielle Maveal. I think they would make a great engagement ring.

Fabric from Fused Plastic Bags

A while back, Etsy Labs posted a tutorial on how to create a durable plastic fabric by fusing plastic bags together. Three of my favorite blogs wrote about the process too, CRAFTzine, Whip-up, and Treehugger. Treehugger has posted a new article about the fusing experiments that Betz White is doing. Her experiments have resulted in the cutest bags!

I love that these bags are recycled and eliminate the need for using new bags from the store every time. In reality, I may never make one though because there are so many great, affordable options on the market. I would rather spend my limited crafting time making something else.

Interweave Press: Hurt Book Sale

I like a good bargain. Interweave Press is having a damaged book sale. A new book may be in my future.

Fantastic creations with carpet samples

There was a contest a little while ago by two carpet manufactures, Bentley Prince Street and Tricycle, to create new designs with carpet samples. The winner was this Rugburm lounge chair, but you can see all of the great finalists at Ample Sample.

There are a bunch of great ideas, but best part of all, you can download a pdf on how to build many of these items! via Inhabitat.