all of a sudden, i have a handful of ideas that i’m itching to put into metal.    perhaps i will have something to show you tomorrow?  (the finale of the one-a-week challenge has been put on the back burner for now until i work some of these new thoughts out.) for now, here is an inspiration image that i’ve just tacked up to my wall.  look at those delightful scallops!- found on page 96 of the june ELLE magazine-

i really would just love to put on a dashing swim cap with this suit and lounge around by the pool today . . one can dream!

so i haven’t finished those gosh darn fair isle gloves yet- it’s hard to knit and watch twin peaks at the same time!  but i’m so excited to start on a new project from this book:

my best friend is having a baby girl (hi bf!) and you can be sure this little baby girl will be outfitted in the CUTEST knits!  - as soon as i’m through with season two of twin peaks. . .

 speaking of knitting- have you heard of ravelry?  a wonderful place for knitters to connect.  here you can meet other knitters in your community, reach out in the forums, create an inventory of your needles, knitting library, and yarn stash as well as upload photos of your works in progress OR finished pieces!  so fun.  - there is a  bit of a waiting list to join now- but it’s worth the wait!   above is a screenshot of my knitting library.

and a friendly reminder:  have you entered the “what’s your favorite bagel and bagel topping” contest in the post below?

hello everyone :)  i hope you are having a lovely day so far.  just popping in on my lunchbreak before i go back to work in the studio.

tidbits:

steve and i are listening to do make say think here today.  it is quite relaxing yet it helps me to focus all at the same time. . .

we are currently having twin peaks marathons at our place.  i’m a david lynch fan, but have never seen the series before- i thought it might be watered-down lynch because the show was made for network t.v.  - but no ma’am- i’ve been falling asleep with the twin peaks creeps every night . . .

lunch today- cucumbers that steve picked up from the farmer’s market, tomatoes, and cream cheese on an everything bagel.

Contest time! what’s your favorite bagel and bagel topping?  please leave a comment and let us know! a winner of a mystery gift box (with contents from imogene the boutique) will be drawn at random on friday the 16th!!

xoxo

thank you SO MUCH to etsy and to each and every person who left a comment, e-mail, or convo about the featured seller spot over the last few days. Thank you to everyone who gave me a heart or purchased a piece from the shop.  - it’s been an absolutely amazing and exhilarating experience! i’m still sorting through all of my convos and e-mails, but know that i will respond to each one.  i feel so very blessed for the opportunity to represent baltimore, jewelers, bloggers, LOST and pitt bull lovers!

all of this positive energy has got my brain turning- i have a few new designs that i will be working on this week that will hopefully be ready before art star at the end of the month!

needless to say, i’ve fallen behind COMPLETELY on my project runway challenge!!  and just when i’ve learned that there is a new participant! - see laura’s results here.  i’m running off now to see what kait and alisa have come up with.

today i give the blogosphere a BIG HUG.  i can’t say it enough- thank you so much for your support! xoxo

i wheelie like you letterpress card available at

chewingthecud’s etsy shop

oh my god! finally- i can tell you! it was so hard to keep this secret from you guys!- i’m the featured seller on etsy today!

what an honor. i’m at a loss for words. . . and on cloud 9.

the charm city craft mafia will be showing at tomorrow’s spring art mart thrown by the squidfire crew!

stay tuned for surprise number two . . .

mark your calendars people!

i’ll be receiving my second bruce metcalf dose on july 24th. won’t you join me in new york to hear a dialogue between bruce and chanel kennebrew of junkprints? (have you seen chanel’s video interview on the etsy storque? love it!)read all about the city salon series right here.

clockwise from left:

junkprints’ another big o wig bag

bruce metcalf

junkprints’ ladies of soul print

this should be very . . . interesting indeed!!
by the way, i’m no longer writing that article for the storque on my SNAG conference experience, but don’t you worry. . . something’s brewing for you on that topic. - patience, my friends!

chosen by the talented alisa miller! so glad you joined us alisa!

from alisa’s blog:

“i went through all the project runway challenges and found the garden party challange from season 2. i loved this challenge.

here’s photos from bravo’s site. and just to refresh anyone’s memory, here’s a really funny video from that episode.

the challenge is to make something out of real plants. they can be alive or they can be dried. on the show they went to a floral shop to buy supplies, but they also had a budget of $150. i don’t have that budget for this one. you can also go to the park or if you’re lucky enough to have a yard, then just go outside! i’m going to wander to some parks that are nearby. it’s a beautiful day here and i’ll use any excuse to get out for a bit.

on the show they said that they must buy all the supplies at the store, but they ended up using muslin. so i’m not going to restrict my use of metal.”

thanks alisa! i’m off to the park to find some materials!

found via ffffound 

Happy Monday!

Good morning everyone!

i completely wimped out on the one-a-week challenge last week. boo for me! kait over at tether perservered- see her results here! kait and alissa- i’m game for this week’s final challenge! everyone, stay tuned to find out what it is!

instead of working on the challenge like a good girl, here’s what i was up to this weekend:

1. finished this monster of a book (976 pages!), the pillars of the earth. i give it 4 out of 5 stars.

2. finished the first finger on that fair isle glove!

3. dug around in the dirt, sowed seeds both indoors and out

4. whale watched in fells point

these pieces are coming to the etsy shop today around 3:30 pm.  this time, i mean it!

happy beautiful friday to you!

if you are an avid knitter or crocheter in maryland, you probably know all about the maryland sheep and wool festival which takes place every first weekend of may.

i’ve never been before and am not sure if i will make it out this year, but how i wish i could go! not only does the lineup include 250 vendors and 1,000 sheep, but i’m seeing that events range from sheep parade and sheep photo contest to junior spinning contest.

there are some new plastic goodies up in the bead shop and hopefully by the end of the day, you will see some new pieces in the jewelry shop.

in closing, i would like to dedicate the following video to juliet and rebecca: