mellowbeing - crafty, geeky and a new yorker.

Subscribe to new blog!

2010-02-01T18:00:00.003-05:00

Something happened when I switched from Blogger to Wordpress. Please subscribe to the new feed and you won't miss out on any new content! Thanks :)

Subscribe to new blog!

2010-02-01T18:20:00.003-05:00

Something happened when I switched from Blogger to Wordpress. Please subscribe to the new feed and you won't miss out on any new content! Thanks :)

Thing-a-Day (still time to join!)

2010-02-01T18:20:00.003-05:00

From the thing-a-day blog:

"Want to join thing-a-day and spend 30 minutes a day working out your creativity in February?

For those of you not signed-up yes, the instructions for registration are here.
You will need to create a Posterous account first and then fill out our thing-a-day form. Once this is done, you'll be posting to the blog through email!

Registration closes on February 1st at midnight!"

Purchased Item: Love Gnome from SewnNatural @ Etsy

2010-02-01T14:03:00.000-05:00

I recently bought something from SewnNatural. Not only did I receive this adorable felt love gnome but also a gift - a felt heart!

The workmanship is amazing and the cute gift makes this whole experience even more awesome. I'm pretty sure the Valentine's day recipient will love this :D

Gift Swap & Meeting w/ TheNewNew

2010-01-31T09:34:00.000-05:00

Hung out with the NewNew Etsy crew last weekend. It was a blast! We had a productive meeting with brainstorming and good news on the horizon, a gift swap and karaoke night.

I was lucky enough to get a My Name is Mud mug (who had hosted the meeting at her studio space). Isn't it awesome?! I'm a little worried to use it because it's just so cool heh. The colors are great and swirls are always good in my book :) (isn't that right, Missu?)

Purchased Item: Knit Knit Leaf Necklace

2010-01-30T09:15:00.001-05:00

I recently purchased my very own KnitKnit "Little Leaf Necklace" and I'm so happy to have done so! It's just the right size so it's noticeable enough while being subtle. I really have a penchant for leafy themed items and the lime green immediately caught my eye. It's the second time I've worn it this week and look forward to getting a lot of use out of it :)

Knit Tie for Kevin

2010-01-29T09:13:00.001-05:00

One of our coworkers, Kevin, stopped working at our office a little while ago and now he's pursuing his job interviewing in Washington, D.C. As a gag going away gift, I knit him this blue tie so he can wear it on his interviews. It was well received :)

I was pretty happy with it too. It didn't come out too shabby for something I knit without a pattern and in one go in a day. I literally just borrowed our HR guy's tie, made a quick technical sketch with dimensions and went from there. I'm thinking of making others in different colors. Who knows what the future holds?

Snowy Day

2010-01-28T19:29:00.002-05:00

In Queens, NYC.

East Village, NYC.

And yet, by the middle of the day, it was quite sunny and not windy. Ah, what a day in this city..

FO: Mushroom Hat!

2010-01-19T17:18:00.002-05:00

The crafty resolution list is getting shorter already and it's only mid-January. It's great getting the little projects out of the way. First finished object of the year...

... the Mushroom Hat!

It's a little larger than I'd like it to be but it fits well and is super comfy and warm so I guess that's what counts. It was good using circulars and DPNs again. While making it, I came up with another possible rendition of this - black with black shiny beads at each 'corner' in the pattern design. It'd come out nicely, me thinks. This version is 100% wool but a more 'fashionable' version could be a silk blend for more drapiness.

All in all, a good project to start the year off :)

2010 Crafty Resolutions

2010-01-10T13:08:00.002-05:00

I was looking to link to my 2009 resolution post and it turns out I didn't write one last year. That's so surprising since it was an incredibly productive year. I wonder if these lists help?

In any case, I will make a list for 2010 of the things I fully intend and realistically expect to complete:

- Second sweater*. Either the Rusted Root (first pattern I fell for) or the Cowl Sweater
- First hat* (in progress!). Mushroom Hat pattern from PurlSoho
- First lace project*. This will be Knitty.com's Branching Out Scarf
- 1 cable project**. Might make a smaller item to make it go by faster and have it actually finished
- Make 2 softies**. Making the crochet bumble bee was a lot of fun and I now have actual poly-stuffing so it'd be good to make a couple more. I have ideas for a gift and one to keep.
- 2 Gadget cozies for friends*
- 1 pair of Pirate wristwarmers for friend*
- 1 scarf for friend**

Ongoing projects to finish:
- Laptop bag***
- Crochet blanket***

* Would be awesome to finally have these done!
** Would be nice if I got this done this year
*** Okay, I *finally* got it over with...

This sounds like a lot.. but I'll make sure to get through them in order of priority. Here's to hoping for the best.

Shop Updates: New Wristwarmers!

2009-12-15T12:06:00.003-05:00

Check them out in the shop.

More Buttons from a Fellow NewNewer

2009-11-30T09:00:00.002-05:00

For about a year now, I've been a member of a NY Etsy Team: {The New New}

Through my membership, I've met a few crafters who share the love of accumulating tons of amazing crafty things. One such team member is Karen from Karen's Monsters. She was awesome enough to give me an *entire* jar of buttons!

Thanks again :)

FO: First Sweater - The Buttony

2009-11-29T22:18:00.003-05:00

Lo and behold! The first finished sweater in the Mellowbeing collection of handmade sweaters. I'd never made a sweater before and even though this project spanned almost 10 months, it was a pretty easy pattern to tackle. It just got a little tedious at times so I'd start and finish other smaller projects here and there.

You can view the Stretchy Button Sweater page on Ravelry for more details on the pattern and my personal changes to it. I'm just glad it's finished and wearable. Now, to find a second sweater pattern to work on...

Thailand Purchases

2009-11-28T23:27:00.002-05:00

As some of you may know, a few friends and I were in Southeast Asia last month - Thailand and Cambodia to be exact.

It was a blast! Everything was an adventure and the weather was hot and humid and yet I miss it.

While there, we went to Bangkok and stopped by Chinatown. And what kind of trip would it be if it didn't involve some craftiness?! Behold, BUTTONS! :)

Shop Update: Neckwarmers

2009-04-08T16:00:00.004-04:00

Hello guys and gals!
New to the shop...
neckwarmers!
Perfect for chilly spring weather...
...and bringing a splash of color to your outfit.
More styles to come.
Feast your eyes on these for now :)

Check out the shop for more photos and descriptions.

Three by Three Scarf

2009-03-23T18:24:00.007-04:00

I recently "published" a pattern on Ravelry called Eton's Scarf. It's free of charge and uses a simple basketweave pattern.

Since then, I have modified the pattern to have a more defined "weave" look with a nice border. The original was a 2x2 basketweave w/ no borders. This is a 3x3 basketweave with a 3 stitch garter border.

I want to share this new simple pattern as well. It's really classic so it's easily adaptable for guys and girls (use solid, darker colors for the dudes and you can get away with brighter colors for the dudettes).

Pattern:

Yarn: Classic by Ella Rae (100% wool yarn; worsted/10 ply; also a cheaper alternative to Cascade 220)
Needles: Size 8
Dimensions of finished scarf: Appox 5' long and 6" wide.

Cast on 36 stitches. (You can make it narrower/shorter by using another number divisible by 6)

Rows 1-4: K36

Rows 5, 6, 7: K3, (K3, P3) 5x, K3
Rows 8, 9, 10: K3, (P3, K3) 5x, K3

Repeat these 6 rows til happy with length of scarf.

Last 4 rows: K36

You can find it on Ravelry under "Three by Three Scarf".

Butterflies in Love

2009-03-23T10:15:00.004-04:00

This photo was highlighted by PZ Meyers from the Pharyngula blog. Butterflies in love.. or courting.. either way.

Don't Keep Calm and Carry On...

2009-03-23T10:12:00.004-04:00

Good morning guys and gals. Thought I'd start off the week with some uplifting imagery. The first to grace our eyes is this motivational poster which is the anti-thesis of the "Keep Calm and Carry On" well-known British poster.

It was highlighted by Merlin Mann at 43 Folders. The original image is here by Matt Jones.

Mellowbeing Takes Over DUMBO

2009-02-28T17:00:00.004-05:00

... or rather, Mellowbeing will be in the Brooklyn Flea DUMBO Market!

Sunday, March 1st.
Come by and say hi. I'll be showing for the first time my new line of neckwarmers.

The Cycle

2009-02-26T22:08:00.001-05:00

Thing-a-Day NewNew Style

2009-02-10T21:08:00.005-05:00

Thing-a-Day 2009 is now in full swing! If you are not familiar, it started as a class project at NYU's ITP [where I happen to have my masters :) ]. The gist of the project is for each participant to create one thing each day for one month. In order to make it an achievable goal, February was chosen since it's the shortest month and each 'thing' should take sometime between 30 and 60 minutes to complete.

It's quite amazing to see what people make in such a short amount of time. My favorite part is seeing how people break out of their 'usual' crafts. Several of our very own NewNew members are taking part in this challenge. Check out their thing-a-day pages for more projects!

Mermade ACEO by DeafDog (DeafDog.etsy.com)

Adorable heart soaps by Groundsel (Groundsel.etsy.com)

Felted heart by Ikyoto (Ikyoto.etsy.com)

Cute flower earrings by Mirela Jazdzewska (Jantar.etsy.com)

Cashmere scarf by Joyella (Joyella.etsy.com)

Felt cluster necklace by knitknit (knitknit.etsy.com)

Felted person by lookcloselypress (lookcloselypress.etsy.com)

Dandelion drawing by mellowbeing (mellowbeing.etsy.com)

Silver bead necklace by persuede (persuede.etsy.com)

Daily custom typography By My Coney (Prismpop.etsy.com)

Bolsa de Bodega by redbridgestudio (redbridgestudio.etsy.com)

Stylish earrings by ladylulu (Thecraftarium.etsy.com)

Decoupage necklace by wabisabi brooklyn (Wabisabibrooklyn.etsy.com)

Thing 4: Sketch of Dandelions and Clocks

2009-02-04T08:06:00.003-05:00

Read more about this sketch on Thing-a-Day.

Thing #3: Single Dandelion

2009-02-03T20:34:00.001-05:00

Thing #2: Upclose Daffodil

2009-02-03T20:33:00.003-05:00

Thing #1

2009-02-03T15:50:00.000-05:00

My goal with these daily exercises is to finalize an idea for a 4 panel painting I want to create in March. I originally wanted dandelions.. then daffodils.. and then other objects. Through these daily compositions, I can hopefully find 4 that I can “run with” and paint something I won’t hate after a week

First “sketch” via Photoshop to play with sizing, composition and color:

111th Post: Decisions

2009-02-02T19:51:00.002-05:00

From the Indexed blog.

Thing-a-Day 3 posts coming soon.

Book Review: Picture Perfect Knits

2008-11-28T00:25:00.002-05:00

Picture Perfect Knits, originally uploaded by mellowbeing.

About 2 months ago, CraftyPod held a giveaway for 2 copies of "Picture Perfect Knits". Til then, I hadn't won a single online contest... but this time..

I won!!! I want to say THANK YOU (again and again) for the book! It's got some awesome projects I want to tackle soon. I've got my eye on the cupcake pillow case and the argyle vest.

Sorry it took me so long to update about this book. I was hoping to actually start a project and report on how it was going but considering holiday knitting projects, that won't be happening soon... I give it a couple of months..