I loved The Lorax by Dr. Seuss as a kid, as I am sure many of you did, but never, ever, ever in all my crafty years did I desire to actually knit a Thneed. Apparently somebody did though, because there is a pattern for it. I discovered this craziness on Threadbared.com, a site devoted to poking snarky fun at vintage patterns from the 40’s to the 80’s.

Make your own custom Moleskine cover using this great tutorial from Keyka Lou. I gave my husband a Moleskine for Xmas and now for his birthday I can give him a gift made with love.

Like going to craft shows, but you don’t really need any more crocheted toilet paper cozies? If you are looking for craft shows with hipper, cooler, handmade stuff, then you need to attend some of the indie craft shows that are going on this spring and summer. Indie craft shows are not like traditional craft shows, but instead are made up of vendors who craft outside the box.

To find out about what shows are going on in your neck of the woods, check out Indie Craft Shows. MYMY has a great list of shows as well.

If you know of some great shows or show resources, please let me know!

Thanks to Whip Up for the mention yesterday.  It’s an honor to be mentioned on my favorite crafty blog!

I love this Free Oversized Knitted and Felted Bag Pattern availble at Berroco.com. Use it as your knitting bag or, since it’s rather stylin’, as a way cool everday bag. I think I’d like to do it in green instead of this earthy tone–something like the Berroco Peruvia avocado.

Make your own customized paper bookmarks.  Figure out for yourself how to make them from the great images or email for the tutorial pdf.  I’m thinking about making some as promos for my biz.

Kiva is a relatively new charity organization that is having a huge success and one that I can personally recommend. Kiva, which is the Swahili word for agreement or unity, offers loans to small entrepreneurs in the developing world, many of whom are craftspeople. Individual loaners pool their money and loan it to specific businesses in need. Since the money is pooled together, even the smallest loan can have a big impact. As the business grows, the initial loan is repaid to each person who contributed. It’s great because it gets the money into the hands of the people who have a direct need, as opposed to a government or other organization that decides how the money will be spent. Plus, once the loan is repaid, the individual loaners can choose to invest in another small business with the same inittial loan.

Want to get involved? Go to kiva.org, choose a business, decide how much you can loan, wait for your loan to be repaid, and then choose another business in need. I signed up in December and I’ve already had about 30% of my loan repaid so far.

I was looking for places online to purchase fabric ribbon and I thought I would share my finds with you.

* jcaroline creative - I ended up ordering about $20 worth of ribbon from here for a couple of new products I’m designing for Tilting Swiftly

* Les’ Bon Ribbon

* M & J Trimming

* ReproDepot

Thanks to Jennifer, Sue, Jenifer, Nicole, and AJ for helping a crafty girl out.

I love these Folkwear Patterns that are available at Cheap Threads. Folkwear is an independent, women-owned company that was started in the 1970s. Popular with theatre groups and vintage wearers alike, Folkwear offers a variety of vintage, historical and ethic styles. Whether the 1940’s is your thing, you want to create your own Edwardian Bridal Gown, or you need a Navajo blouse and skirt Folkwear has the patterns you need.

Cheap Threads carries a selection of vintage Folkwear patterns, including a Fifties Flair Dress, the Glamour Girl Dress, and the Tango Dress among others. Cheap Threads also carries Betsy Ross, Amy Butler, and Sublime Stitching patterns. You can also pick of great fabrics and notions as well.

If you are like me and are just starting out with embroidery, you must visit the Primrose Design Blog. On Mondays, Janet of Primrose Design posts new entries in her Stitch School series. She includes a tutorial with great images and tips and tricks only a pro would know. And she is a pro, check out her online boutique on which she sells her handmade accessories, home décor and kids stuff that are made from and inspired by vintage fabrics.

I’m not quite ready for the French Knot, which is the stitch depicted in the images, but when I am I will definitely be using Janet’s great tutorial! She has about 20-25 different tutorials of embroidery basics and of various stitches including the straight stitch, running stitch, feather stitch, and the lazy daisy stitch.

keep looking »