Crafty Pants!

I know everyone but me has an iPod, so I'm just catching on to this 'podcast' craze. My TiVo (How I love thee! Seriously, everyone NEEDS a TiVo), has a feature that lets me subscribe and listen to pod-casts. I subscribed to the Crafty Chica Podcast, and it sure is nice listening to someone talk about the same things I love! I am the only crafty person in my life. The only crafty people I know or know of are on-line, so I have never heard anyone speak of loving crafts out loud. I like to listen to it while I crochet!

I have all four volumes of the ever popular Japanese amigurumi books. The problem is, I can't read Japanese.  Usually, the charts are enough to figure it out, but sometimes it's hard to see what parts are what. My little mochi did us all a great favor, and translated most of the important characters used in amigurumi!! The internet is such a fantastic place:)

While I'm a big fan of free patterns, I do know that some people want money for their work. It's completely understandable. What does bother me is when people feel the need to take down a free pattern when it becomes popular, then charge an exorbitant amount for it. My idea of exorbitant is $5 for a single pattern. I'd rather spend $14 on a whole book and get over 10 patterns!

However, I found a pay-for-patterns site that doesn't make me angry. It's TigerLilly's Etsy Shop. She charges a very affordable $2 for 3-4 patterns. They are all very cute creatures and I think they are worth the price. I might actually buy one to give to my mother. She keeps begging me for more amigurumi animals and I think it's about time she made her own:P

I love Etsy with all my heart. I’m a sucker for handmade goods, especially jewelry, and Etsy is feeding my addiction (and emptying my bank account!). So far I have bought:

A gorgeous green coin purse from malisonian.

Super cute and super cheap earrings (for my roomate) from Zoesoph.

Simple and elegant swallow earrings from lustrongirl.

And I have more items that I’m contemplating. I am living on a budget here so I can’t go crazy, but it is so nice having access to handmade items. Living in a small town means the best I get is quilts and soap.

Teacosies With Irony is a cute web comic that deals with crafts and a crafty lifestyle. It is very cute, and the only of its kind! I with more people make comics about the ups and downs of being a craftster. Most people give me a blank stare when I tell them I crochet or sew. I mean, what college student in their right mind would possibly want to spend their weekend making crafts?!? Sheesh.

Annie’s Attic (don’t get me started on them, grr) gives away one free crochet pattern per day. I just discovered this a week ago and so far all of them have been… eh. Who in their right mind really wants a frilly tissue box cover? But here’s to hoping a cute one appears.

I love crochetville. I just found it recently, and there are some really wonderful ideas. One of my favorites so far is the flower closure idea:

The center of the flower acts as a button! I wish I thought of it!

This is the website of my dreams! Jen’s Stuffed Toy Archive has links to dozens of free crochet animal patterns. She has pictures of each so that you can do a quick scan to find the one you want. While I have seen most of thee patterns, she has many ones that I missed.

I’m addicted to reading blogs about crafts. There, I said it. I read more about crafts than I actually craft. It’s a nasty habit that I’m trying to break, but it’s so hard to not look at such beautiful creations. One tool that has really helped me read a billion blogs at once is bloglines. I wish I found this earlier! I have about thirty differed blogs that I subscribe to, and I never miss an entry. Which might not be a good thing, because now I’m addicted to checking my blogline feeds…

I got this needle felting kit for Christmas, but I haven’t had time to try it out. The instructions look very thorough, and two people have used a similar kit with adorable results. My mom liked the kit so much that she bought one without the book (we’ll share). When I go home to visit we plan on doing some needle felting. I love having a crafty mom!