We were knitted! Alert the authorities!

Ornamentea has been the victim of a Random Act Of Knitting. This is a serious scourge upon our society and it must stop. Or it must continue until the entire bike rack is covered.

Random Acts of Knitting are street art. They put knitting where you least expect it, often in public places without the permission of the property owners or the public entities that 'own' the places. They make you laugh. They make you more comfortable. They could make you question who really owns what in our world, and why it would be a crime to knit something. Or they could just make you laugh again, and text pictures to your friends.

Want to see more Random Acts of Knitting? click here. Or here. Or here. This could be the end of civil society. Or cold society.

(I also just learned today that these items are knit elsewhere and then only stitched on the object quickly. Not knit in situ. I was imagining black-clad knitting ninjas working with matte black needles late at night to quickly knit covers for stop sign posts. "Quick, run, it's the cops, grab the needles!")

Nora's Chocolate Shop

My daughter, Nora, has a game she plays almost daily. She makes chocolates out of play-clay and puts them in these empty Escazu chocolate boxes and papers we always seem to have lying around. She then sets it all up and I have to come make a purchase. We discuss which of her sweets are dark chocolate and which are milk chocolate. Which are spicy. Which are filled with nuts. I have to call her Danielle as that is the owner of the chocolate shop we frequent. Nora tells me to have a nice day and then I pretend to eat the play-clay treats. If I am too enthusiastic about pretending to eat them, Nora reminds me that they are not real. Since her previous career aspiration was to be a cat, I am excited about this current turn.

Logo Sneak Peek!

 

Sorry, that wasn't very nice, was it? Well, you'll just have to wait and come to the Handmade Holiday party at Ornamentea on Friday, October 1st. You can see the new logo in person, register to win lots of fun prizes, get previews of upcoming holiday projects and find out what I've been doing that will change your crafty world. 

details of the Handmade Holiday Preview Party are here.

See you then!

Humblebeads Trunk Show held over!

We've had a great response to the Humblebeads Trunk Show at Ornamentea and we've talked Heather into letting us keep the beads for a bit more. I made this sweet birdie necklace and have some earrings sitting next to me here at the desk that combine some of the brown swirly disc beads and Elaine Ray's ceramic bead caps. Mmm... I didn't actually finish the necklace yet. I think I will crimp the silk cording strands and then use a toggle, but I can't decide. For now I just knot it and that is one of the nice things about those silk strands; you can take your time to decide what to do with them!

Heather sells her beads on her websites, but rarely can you see them in person in North Carolina. She's the featured designer in the October issue of Bead Trends and her work is often used in projects in all the other beading magazines. We have the Humblebeads Trunk Show through October 6th...

Free felt pumpkin project tutorial

This sweet project was designed by Andrea Sousa and you can get free directions right here.

Andrea teaches felting classes in Raleigh at Panopolie. See her upcoming classes here.

Read My Pins

If you love jewelry or just love the idea of jewelry sending a secret message you should check out this new book about Madeline Albright's diplomacy via pins. Here's an article with pictures of some of her most memorable choices. Personally, I love the three monkeys.

Order your copy here or at your local bookstore.