Crochet for Vanya Earthia

Hello ;)

Summer is in full power, yet we can't help but have glimpses of thoughts about winter. 

Perhaps, some have traveling plans for the upcoming cold season, or moving plans, or creativity, entertainment or other plans.. 

And I have been thinking of fall and winter accessories, among others ;))

Water Bottle Sack, Personalized

As promised, I'm posting pictures of my bastardized sack for my water bottle. 

Hydrate and you'll levitate ;))) 

It's important to drink plenty, true!
I'm listing these sacks on Etsy as I write this!
Check Earthia shop to see what's new!
♥

Large metal bead - it has been laying around for years, I finally found a place for it!

 Australia Total Solar Eclipse Festival 2012 - are you going?! ;)

 Large square opalite bead - it used to be a centerpiece of a necklace my manager from my last job brought to me from Mexico, I love this artificial stone - blue is my favorite!

The orange guy is the Reality Engine sticker ;) 

Fun in the studio!

If you start doing what you love to do the most, you find yourself in another dimension. Living the dream, that is how it feels like ;) 

I thought a new sign for my shop, when vending would be nice. 

Upcycling.... the long side of a cupboard drawer!
I think I found it in the basement...

Acrylic paint in yummy shade of blue ;)

Like the sky, of course... most beautiful!

Then I used random small pieces of leather to make the knotty rope for the sign, I like the colors together - blue, black on wood. 

Tulip Upside Down

I am making water bottle sacks for kids too! ;)  

Living Earthia

I've been rearranging some things around today in the sunshine streaming through the windows!

Last night I took a look at my stock of materials and fabrics. 

As new ideas fill in the canvas of creativity, I look at what is at my hands to decide what I am going to be working with, and what not yet; sort everything by fiber content; type of fabric, garments to be re-made; sort everything out by color - love playing with color! ;) 

Spring cleaning, if you will... 

Among all the supply, there is a special place in my heart for the Precious Box. It has all the bits and leftovers of favorite yarn, trim, buttons, leather, stripes of gorgeous fabrics, ribbons, etc - not such a big box, but there is so much goodness in it! 

I just finished customizing my water bottle sack, using the insides of this PB (Precious Box), and it felt like I was using a palette of paints ;))) Digging around the colorful texturized mess ;) 

Pictures to be posted tomorrow, the light is not so good right now.

But here are some more pictures I took during the day today: 

 aurora borealis bead

i absolutely adore sparkle and something "raw", so to say, for example, fiber - un-dyed wool (in this case), ... kind of paradoxical.. and kind of not at all ;)))

 On this new coat vest i'm making (new design, model piece) I sewed 4 tiny aurora borealis beads.. i placed them in such a way around the garment, that you can only see one at a time, from each angle just one ;) and you won't be able to see it easily, just the shine ... ♥

Cat Hats are in stock now, get your festival attire taken care of ;) 

http://www.earthia.etsy.com

larger basket - wool, bits of various yarns put together - this one beautifully fits all 20+ pairs of handwarmers.. everything is organized and neatly sorted hehe ;)

 i totally love how thick and firm the basket came out, it holds the shape because it has this durable structure, - lots' of thin yarn together, tight stitch with a smaller hook. looving that mint and chocolate combo that just happened on it's own ;)) ♥

 crocheted basket for things - it holds things, that go in the pocket - keys etc. Very handy! Ladies who crochet, here's an idea of how to use up leftover yarn, - pile it up in one chunky yarn and knit away. 30 minutes work

cotton & lace 

scarves 

area rugs, both are circles! ;) mmmmm... dreaming of a LARGE round pouf! to sit on ;) 

Around the Studio

Welcome to my colorful place! 

✧✧✧

See lots more pictures after the jump ;)

All Cuffed Up

I have a special item left for sale, which I'm going to list on Etsy along with the new items. 

It is a wrist cuff:::bracelet, felted creamy beige alpaca - beautiful soft color and feel!

I went over it with knit cashmere pieces of wool - the prettiest sky blue, almost turquoise color. 

In the middle, the cuff is connected with light blue yarn, in large playful cartoonish stitches. 

There is a large button for closure. All the edges of the cuff, as the button hole, were stitched with zig-zag for ragged tattered look, which I love. 

I loved making this so much! 

Here are the pictures, take a look:
available in my etsy shop 

 Made by Earthia

Leaping into the Spring!

Crocheting to "Jeeves and Wooster" British comedy series, I love the books as well. 

I am wishing everyone amazing awaking Spring season. 

Something beautiful will unavoidably grow and flourish... 

inside and outside of us, this coming season, ever evolving - us... 

If we want so ;) 

Happy Spring to you!!!

☀

"Ben! I have one word for you: PLASTIC!"

I not always have a grocery bag with me. In such a case I ask a cashier to fit everything in as few bags as possible (it's always no more than two) and to not double bag it. I get all kinds of puzzled looks (human nature is incredibly vast in it's beauty of expression), lost looks, and even comments like "she's crazy". Sometimes, a kind clueless soul warns me, that my shopping bags are going to be to heavy, if not doubled. And then I say: "You know what's heavy? The build up of plastic on the Earth." A response, as a rule, is the look, that's even more lost. There are places, like Whole Foods, where not only customers, but all the staff is aware more or less, but not in the area of Brooklyn, where I live... I keep hoping that one day I'll see understanding and approving smile from a sales person. This is why, I collected as many bags as I did, with the help of my food-shopping loving family, and made my first shopping bags, which I'm intending to take every time I go grocery shopping. 

It is so darn easy and rewarding to make a bag like this, that I am to share a pictorial process, in hopes that it can be handy for some, if not all :)

Fold a bag lengthwise, cut off the bottom and the handles (those parts can go to recycle bin for plastic at your local supermarket).

Cut the folded bag across into several pieces, approximately 1 inch wide.

Unfolded, each piece will have a circular seamless shape.

Here's a seemingly tricky (but it's not) part. Take two "rings" of plastic that you unfolded, and interlace them, like shown in the picture. You sort of wrap one circle around another, making a loop, through which you pull out the whole thing eventually. 

Here it's more visible.

Dozens of bags are made into yards and yards of plastic yarn, which is then rolled into a ball.

I hope you can crochet. If you can't, you're missing out on a rather pleasurable pastime making many beautiful things for yourself and your friends and family. 

Here's my grocery bag. I like how there is a blue and red stripe going around - it happened totally by accident, a nice little gift from my own effort ;) 

p.s. oh, and the rug is the one I made out of old t-shirts, i blogged about it earlier ;) It feels soooo nice to step on it in the morning, a sudden splash of color... boom! makes me happy!

Vest meets East

 The vest I made a couple of months ago has received finishing touches from me today. I thought, that some bright orange trim around the edges and the same yarn tassels to tie the vest would be awesome, and so it is. A little eastern flair with this color combination, and the idea trimming the garment in this way makes it slightly costume-y, in the best possible way. Thick yarn knits up very fast, is warm and pleasantly cozy and chunky to look at and wear. Loving it!

The Rug!

This colorful rug has been in the making for several months already, and the reason is - it is made out of unwanted old t-shirts, so it takes time to accumulate more and more shirts from friends and family. It is still not the size I want it to be.. slowly, like turtles move, the knitting goes... ;)