Yarn Bombing at the Blanton

Back in an earlier January post, I mentioned how I would be involved in a yarn bombing project headed by Magda Sayeg of KnittaPlease over at the Blanton Museum on the UT campus. Well, that project has come and past, and this past Friday, all of the tree koozies were taken off. Here's a look at all the trees that were involved. Below is the section where my tree and it's koozie stood for nearly 3 weeks.

Many of the participants came to tear down their trees pretty early.

I was glad to see that I wasn't the only late straggler. In my defense, I did have to drive all the way from San Antonio to Austin to get there.

As I was taking down my koozie, I noticed little buggy eggs on it... kinda gross.

Me and My knit koozie. I wanted to make sure I claimed it back so that I can use it on International Yarn Bombing Day come this June. Don't worry, the item has been washed!

I was able to catch the trees all dolled up about a week prior to tear down, when I was in Austin for SXSW, however as you can see, it was late at night and pretty dark.

Even though the pics are dark, you can still get an idea of how awesome all of these trees looked.

Above is a shot of my tree by itself.

Here, you see me along side my tree... Finished and all!

This last pic gives you and idea how long the knitting project really was. Nearly 7ft! Many, many hours and sleepless nights went into doing this. The project called for sport weight yarn knit with a fairly tight stitch so that none of the bark showed through. I ended up going with size 12 needles, and in order to fit the width of the tree the swatch had to be at least 25in wide.

As mentioned earlier, I will be using this swatch again in June. Hopefully there is another tree in downtown SA that wears the same size as the Blanton tree!

The Itis

Last night was the first night in a long while in which I did NOT create or design anything. I blame it on an awesome dinner. Matt grilled up some super tasty grass-fed lamb patties, which was served with a side of mashed sweet potatoes, and a side of cheesy macaroni shells. Once dinner was over (around 8:30) I went to lie down, and never got up. The Itis got hold of me.

I ended up sleeping for about 12 hours. I lazily woke up around 8 and started the day off with another great meal. Ham and cheese omelets, with sliced banana and a toasted cinnamon-raisin english muffin with blueberry preserves.

Textiles

I've been working with various textiles over the past few nights. I decided to give embroidery a whirl, and finally make some dresses with the fabric I've had in stock. Here's what I've come up with since Tuesday:

My first embroidery project. I'm really pleased with the color combo I used. Pattern provided by Sublime Stitching.

I turned the fabric into a small purse. Available at B.Link for $20.

Here's one dress I made for myself.

Here is another...

And another. This is the same dress in the above photo with the purse. I wouldn't wear it with as flashy a belt as that, but it was the only belt I had in the shop. This dress does look good with a belt, by the way.

Craftacular at SXSW

Lots of people, music and heat! Yesterday was a balmy day to be out vending during South By Southwest. I love doing these shows, but the part I hate most is the day after. With taking so many items, that means that there are almost just as many items to put away when all is said and done. So today I am here at the shop resetting up, however here are some pics below of my setup at my booth. Special thanks to Liz and Scott for spending the day with me.

Them vs. Me

In no way am I trying to be a copycat designer, but I recently looked over a Spring 2011 James Avery catalog and noticed some big similarities between some of my designs and theirs. The only real difference is the price. Keep in mind both their designs and my designs are comprised of sterling silver. Take a look for yourself:

Theirs: $75. Not to mention that I've seen this ring and it is about 1/2 the size of mine featured below.

Mine: $55, and like I mentioned before, about twice the size of their flower.

Theirs: $99

Mine: $30.

I will admit that they've got quality stuff, but I'm just questioning whether they are just too overpriced, or am I undercutting myself?

The Adventures of Pepe the Chihuahua

The weather in San Antonio has been absolutely awesome the past few days. Clear, dry and a high in the mid 70's. When the weather gets like this I just leave the door to the shop open since it's so comfortable. As 5 o'clock rolled around yesterday afternoon, I started to pack my things up and head home for the evening, while in walks a tiny little guy with no reservations what so ever! This little chihuahua just took a little lap around and sat next to me behind the counter.

Being the dog lover that I am, I gave him a little cup of water (which he drank quickly) and picked him up to check his tags. Luckily there was a 1-800 number listed indicating that he was micorchipped. As I attempted to call, my cell phone dies on me. So I walk over to Tres Rebeccas a few doors down and use their phone to call this doggie's owner. The number lead me to a third party which then tried to contact the owner, but with no luck. At that time I did find out the doggie's name, Pepe. I then decided that Pepe would just hang with me for the evening until his owners called.

As I came home, I was a little worried about the interaction between Pepe and my dog, Tiger who is a pit bull mutt. Tiger loves to play with other dogs, but he tends to invade other dog's space to where they get a bit pissy with him, however to my surprise, Pepe and Tiger got along really well. They took their time and sniffed each other a while before I let them both go outside and do their business.

By this time, 7pm had rolled around and still no call from the owners. I was getting a bit worried, and then at that minute, my aunt and uncle called me asking if I wanted to go to the Spurs game that evening at 7:30. They had tickets in one of the cooperate boxes, but didn't feel like going. Matt is a HUGE Spurs fan so I didn't want to pass up the opportunity, however in the back of my mind I was worried about Pepe. I decided that I'd go ahead and go to the game, so with Pepe in hand, he and I head over to my aunt and uncle's house to pick up the tickets, and I rush back home to get ready for the game.

By that time Matt had just gotten home, and has a look on his face of "Oh, Brandy..." as I walk in the door with a little chihuahua in my arms. He's always having to be the voice of reason every time I see a stray dog anywhere. Every time I see one, my response is, "Awww, he'd be friends with Tiger," and Matt quickly responds with a "NO!" I reassured Matt that the owners have been contacted and we won't be looking out for him for very long. Now the question was, what to do with little Pepe while we're away at the game?

Luckily, our hallway is isolated with doors all around, so we put little Pepe in there with a pee pad, a chew toy and a little bowl of water. Tiger still had free range of the rest of the house. Matt and I rushed out of the house as soon as we could, and we were able to make it to the ATT Center by the end of the 1st quarter. Just as I arrive there I get a call from Pepe's owner, Patricia. I tell her that I'm at the Spurs game (which they won) and as soon as I get home I would give her a call. I assure her though that he is quite comfy in his own little room indoors.

By the time Matt and I get home, it's already 11pm, so I quickly get hold of Pepe and call Patricia to meet me at B.Link. I give her directions to the shop, which is about a half mile from her and Pepe's home. The little guy and I arrive and a few moments later, Patricia shows up, and Pepe is SO excited to see her. Patricia then goes on to tell me that Pepe is a sneaky little guy that likes to sneak out and have little adventures. She told me how one time he ended up at one of the downtown hotels, which is several miles away from where they live, but since Pepe has a chip in him, he's always been returned home safely, as he was once again. So in then end, Pepe was in the care of the Garcia's for about 7 hours! Silly little guy.

On the Lighter Side

Still trying to perfect my crocheting skills. I love making hats and other accessories, but as the weather gets warmer, my favorite chunky yarn is making itself less seasonable. As a result, I've been working much more with cotton yarn. It's light and comes in most of the colors I prefer. Expect to see many more items featuring these cotton yarns.