Vintage Craft Review: Lily Speed-O-Weave

My grandma was a pretty crafty lady according to my dad. Besides knitting, crocheting, and sewing she would use a loom to weave place mats and doilies. Her crafty itch runs through my veins, but unfortunately, so does her short stature. Well, after my dad described to me her weaving process, I googled "loom frame," and this is what I found...




It is a Lily Speed-O-Weave probably from the 50s. I browsed EBay and found a lot of products from the Lily Mills Company were for making fiber crafts. I wish the company was still alive to meet my craft needs!




I bought a loom and started working on it since yesterday. It's given me such a weird vibe knowing no one in my family has weaved on one since my grandma until now.

The box is adorable, and would make any hipster swoon. Assembling the loom was cake. One thing I love about old things is how durable they are; the frame is made out of metal. However, it would be helpful if a few of the pegs on the frame were color coded to help you not lose your place while looping the string around. So far the directions are alright. I've gotten by with looking at the diagrams and fiddling around as I go. I don't expect my first place mat to be Pottery Barn amazing.




This is my progress so far. My only real complaint is the Speed-O-Weave is not so speedy. I suggest watching your favorite show while winding the frame or listening to Pandora while tying the half-hitches.




I'm going to use thicker yarn for the next mat to make the process faster. I give this vintage craft kit an 8 out of 10 with a thumbs up to boot! It's relaxing, and I'm excited to see the final product!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Bringing the Beach to the Burgh

Hurray! I'm posting!

I'm still alive and I'm still crafting. Here is an update on my latest project to prove it. The pattern is called "Summer Sling Tote," but I'm calling her Sasha. I don't know; she kind of looks like one and maybe someone who would spend a lot of time at the beach.

I used beautiful yarn of which I do not know the name because I bought it from a craft thrift store. It feels very rough in texture and came on a very big spool. I suspect someone spun it from scratch using different recycled fibers.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Word Art In a Couple Clicks

According to Wordle, I use the word "just" and "like" way too often in my blogs...sad. At least it was a fun and creative way to find out the truth. If you haven't heard of Wordle yet, it is a site where you can copy and paste any text and with the click of a button make fantastic word art! I can't believe how easy it is, and it makes me feel sorry for the artists who are trying to do this for a living. I wish this existed while I was still in college. Wordle would have been my ally in all my procrastination schemes.

The Macro Setting is Our Friend

So I have just discovered the powers of the macro setting on our camera. I don't know how to use Photoshop so I'm stuck using Picasa, which has been fairly easy but mediocre. And edited pictures on Picasa never look the same when you post them somewhere else. I spend so much time getting it to look somewhat decent. I'd rather take a good picture from the start and not waste time editing. Macro setting + natural lighting = one hot picture. It is perfect for showing off your handmade goodies. I love how you can see all the strands of yarn in the pom pom. No more blurring the picture to add fake depth either! That depth is the real deal...

February 5th was my birthday, and for breakfast the next day I had this. YUM!

Printable To-Do List Roundup

Printing a to-do list is on my list of things to do! Except we are out of ink...but I found some great designs to choose from once we get more. It would be neat to design one myself one day if I figure out how. I would add a due date column, because there are items in my lists that seem to get ignored after a while, like renewing my driver's license...eeek! Two weeks left before expiration!

(Little Jellyfish List Pad by Parasol)

(by Bricks and Clicks)

(by Kodak)

(I don't think the Freakin Neverending To Do List is still available for free. You have to purchase it now, but the The Blog Topics List still is, and it is by Vale Design.)

(by Emila Yusof)

New Year's CRAFTolutions

It is a New Year! New, new, new, everything new. Person, perspective, life. In the dead of winter, there is rebirth. I don't know what makes New Year's day special, but for some reason in the next few months hundreds of people are shedding off pounds, keeping their homes clean, and chewing nicotine gum.

And I, for the first time, am jumping onto this bandwagon. So scooch over! No, I'm not coming along for the ride because I'm unhealthy or I need to quit binge drinking. My resolutions are crafty ones (obviously).

My 2011 New Year's CRAFTolutions

1. Create an article of clothing every month (I'm getting tired of shopping for clothes in populated places. It is becoming a brainless activity for me, not to mention, how old malls make me feel. The mall has become a teenager world and it is weird to be running around in it. But now I'm experimenting on making my own clothes. At least, if I want a new dress, I have to work hard for it and gain precious skills in the process.)
2. Blog 52 times this year (The ugly side of blogging is showing off yourself, and I hate that, which is why I stopped blogging. But maybe there is an art of shameless self-promotion. And maybe it starts with sharing ideas that I think will help people.)

Ira Glass really encouraged me to set goals this year. Here is a word from him that my husband found via GreyScaleGorilla. Although he's talking about television and radio, it can be applied to any form of creativity.

Thanks, Ira.