Macrame Lil Miss Purses Sold Out!!

Sunday, June 28

Yesterday was so hot!! According to www.weather.com, June 27 set a record high of 99 degrees back in 1971. It felt hotter than that to me. Even with a light jacket, large sunbonnet and a HUGE umbrella, I still got burned and my left arm has a wide stripe where my watch was to prove it.

But it was a good day. Flea Market Day. Craft Show Day. Garage Sale Day. Pick one or all of the above. For me, it was a bit of them all. I had two 8 by 3 foot tables to fill up with my junk.

My Junk consisted of:

• “thanks-but-I-wish-you-hadn’t” gifts received from relatives over the years. (I had my fingers crossed one of them wouldn’t pop into my view from across the parking lot.)
• “on-sale-had-to-have” items accumulating in all corners
• “bet-you-can’t-buy-just-one” items in an assortment of colors
• AND MY CRAFTS!!

Well, at least one of my crafts. Macrame. I took all of my little girl purses and some large baskets to give my table some instant fun colors. It worked. I saw people glance my way and head straight over.

I sold 70 items.

• 27 macrame (including 13 Lil Miss purses)
• 17 household items
• 9 kitchen items
• 8 baby products
• 4 stuffed animals/toys
• 5 misc items

Here are some of the macrame items sold.

Can you guess what I am doing today?

Yep, making more Lil Miss macrame purses to replenish my stock. Slightly larger than those pictured. Already have two pink ones done and cords cut for two light blue ones. I am going to make up however many I can before boredom sets in.

Need Some Help Tying Macrame Knots?

These illustrations will provide assistance with basic macrame knot tying.

Lark’s Head (LH) and Reverse Lark’s Head (RLH): Fold each length of cord in half. Fold the loop down over the cords toward you.

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Square Knot (SK):  To tie a square knot, you will need preferably four (4) cords, though three will work. But normally you will tie a SK with 4 cords, two knotting and two filler.

For this knot, the two outside cords are called the knotting cords or tying cords. The two center cords are called filler cords. Sometimes called holding cords.

A Square Knot (SK) is tied in two steps.

Step 1: Following the illustration, take the outside right hand cord and place it under the two center cords, and over the left knotting cord. Hold in place. Take the outside left-hand knotting cord and place it under the right-hand knotting cord. Holding the right-hand knotting cord in place, bring the left-hand knotting cord up over the two center cords and through the space between the right-hand center cord and the right-hand knotting cord. Take hold of the two outside cords and pull snugly into place.

Step 2: The second step is just the reverse of the first step. Take the right-hand knotting cord, place it over the two center cords and under the left knotting cord. Hold in place. Take the left-hand knotting cord and place it over the right-hand knotting cord, under and behind the center cords, and up through the space between the right-hand center cord and the right-hand knotting cord. Taking hold of the two outside knotting cords, pull snugly into place to form your Square Knot.

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Half Knot (HK): Step 1 of the square knot or Step 2 of the square knot by itself is called a half knot. When one of these steps of sequences is repeated several times, the knot begins to twist.

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Square Knot Sinnet and Half Knot Sinnet: A sinnet is a chain that is formed when knots are tied repeatedly along a filler cord.  A sinnet of square knots makes a flat solid braid. A sinnet of half knots creates a spiraling effect.

Practice, practice, practice.

Red, White & Blue Exchange

Monday, June 22

I finished crocheting the red Market Bag I started the other day.

And just in time too, since I need some red, white and blue items to ship off to my 4th of July Exchange Pal.

I may try to find some smaller patriotic R/W/B box stuffers, but for sure, these will go in the box. All handmade by me.

I have already received my box of goodies from my Exchange Pal.

Didn’t I hit the jackpot!!!

Look at all the great crochet stuff I received. Coasters, pop can holders, potholder, dishcloth, pot handle cover, hot pad trivet and pop can covers. I am all set to go on a picnic or host my own party.

Sending lots of love to my Exchange Pal if she sees this. (Shhh… hope MY exchange pal doesn’t read my blog. Want her to be surprised.)

How To Tie A Macrame Square Knot Button

Isn’t this macrame purse really pretty.* Though the pattern is decades old, it still works today. Maybe with a different handle. Just wanted to show you what a row of Square Knot Buttons looks like.

Follow along with my tutorial and you can make your own Square Knot Buttons.

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How To Tie A Macrame Square Knot Button

Step 1: Find the centers of 2 cords and reverse larks head onto a ring.

Step 2: Tie Square Knots (I have tied 6) to begin your SK Button. Drop down about 1/4 inch to create an opening for filler cords (the 2 middle cords) to go through.

Step 3: Continue tying square knots. (I tied 6)

Step 4: Take the 2 filler cords (the 2 middle cords) and push through the opening created in Step 2. One cord per hole. Front to back.

Pull middle cords down firmly, tight against the back. A circle of square knots is formed.

Here’s the side view.

Here’s the front view.

Step 5: Tie one square knot with the outer tying cords UNDER the circle of knots to hold button in place.

Congratulations!! You have just created a Square Knot Button.

The number of square knots needed to create a button is optional. Use whatever you wish to create the size button you want. I usually use 5 or 6.

If you are creating your own pattern or design, throw in a few of these for variety. Also SK buttons are a quick way to use up longer lengths of cord if for some reason you measured incorrectly and cut cords too long.

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Here are photos of a plant hanger with SK Buttons.

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* Picture of Womanly Treasure and Girlish Pleasure found in Macra-Mates, Mother-Daughter Purses. #7411 Plaid Enterprises 1980.

Got the Swap Bug? Looking for Swaps?

Sunday, June 21

After participating in my first on-line swap, I went off in search of what other swap opportunities were out there in cyberspace.

A LOT!!

There’s a swap for everything and everyone.

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http://swap-bot.com/

http://www.swap-bot.com/terms.php

Swap-bot is a online service that organizes group swaps and a community of creative individuals. Swap-bot takes the hassle out of participating in group swaps by organizing all of the participant information and doing all of the partner assignments. On Swap-bot, you can host swaps, join swaps, and chat with other swappers from all over the world.

Joining Swap-bot and swapping on Swap-bot is free.

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This site has an index for swaps. It has been running for almost 2 years.

http://swapdex.blogspot.com/

http://swapdex.blogspot.com/2007/07/about-swapdex.html

SwapDex was created to help you find the greatest variety of swaps so you can choose the ones you most want to sign up for.

Some current swaps are for kids, stamp collectors, bakers, no spend swap (regifting), Christmas in July. And of course, swaps for quilters, knitters and CROCHETERS. (Eyebrows lifting here)

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Have you participated in any on-line swaps? Good experience? Bad? Do tell. Please leave a comment. Thanks!!

500 Swap Potholders

Saturday, June 20

Participating in the Potholder Swap was a lot of fun. You, my readers, were right by my side as I experimented with patterns and selected yarn colors. And you were the first to see my finished potholders. Well, now you get to see what I received in return.

But first…

Want to see a portion of the 500 potholders made for the swap? Here’s a picture I found posted on the Swap Blog. The organizers said they received even more that these. Wow!! Can you imagine finding a table large enough to display them all? Good idea putting them on the rug.

Can you spot the ones I sent? I see them. To the right of the pink square sheet of paper. In the center area of the picture. See them? OK, I’ll help you. This is what they looked like.

I hope the people who got them like them. I had fun making them.

Well…. drumroll….

Here are the five potholders I received in exchange for the five I sent.

I can only thank two of the participants, Priscilla (front left) and Nannette (front right), since the others didn’t have names/labels. But please know that I am enjoying your creativity.

Special thanks to all five of you for sharing your talents.

Ready For the 4th

Friday, June 19

Got two more macrame purses done.

Red and navy. Perfect for the 4th of July. Just add a crisp pair of white shorts or pants and head off to enjoy the fireworks.

I also made one in seafoam green, brown and bronze. Great for any occasion. Just the right size for grab up and go. Cell, keys, lipstick.

Using a striped design is a good way to use up shorter lengths of leftover macrame cord. And good practice for making a square knot with the bar on the right.

Notice the knots where the color changes. I had to reverse the way I usually tie a knot so the “knobby” colors would match up on both left and right sides of the purse.

I am happy to report that I have only a small amount of 3 1/2mm braided macrame cord left. Yay!!

And once I convince myself I am not macraming just for the heck of it, I will get busy listing them on Etsy.

Plastic, Paper… Or Cotton? Recycle!!

Friday, June 19

Is your grocery store charging you yet for plastic or paper bags at checkout? Doesn’t seem possible but this could happen and sooner than you think.

I refuse to pay for something I have been tossing in the trash. I guess we all have. 100 BILLION plastic bags are trashed every year. Wow!! That’s a lot of tossing and less than 1% have been recycled.

I mean, I am all for going “green” and reducing landfills and saving the planet. BUT I am not paying for shopping bags.

So… I started making my own. Here’s one I am crocheting with 100% cotton yarn. Granted it won’t hold much but it’s a start.

The next one I will make bigger. And the next and the next. Until I have enough of them to hold a cart load of cans and boxes. Cloth bags are stronger and last longer anyway.  Free pattern for Market Bag can be found here.

http://www.sugarncream.com/pattern.php?PID=133

There are lots of ideas on the net for making your own shopping bags. Search Google or Metacrawler.

http://frugalliving.about.com/b/2009/02/16/make-your-own-reusable-grocery-bags.htm

http://www.blisstree.com/tag/take-your-own-bag/

http://living.peta.org/2009/top-five-reasons-to-take-your-own-shopping-bags-to-the-store

Some states such as New York already have laws in effect to reduce plastic bag waste and to recycle them.

http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/50034.html

Here are some sites with free patterns to make your own. Whether you sew, knit or crochet, there is one for you.

http://tipnut.com/35-reusable-grocery-bags-totes-free-patterns/

http://www.instructables.com/id/%22Green%22-Re-usable-Grocery-Bags/

Don’t leave home without your own shopping bags!!

Cell Phone Bags By The Dozen

Thursday, June 18

Actually, there are 15 of them. Cell phone/iPod bags. Made in 3 1/2 mm braided macrame cord. Fuchsia, seafoam green, forest green, wine, brown, beige, bronze, rainbow, light blue, yellow, striped, red/black and black.

I have been working on these for a week. My plan was to use up ALL of my 3 1/2mm cord. I ended up with a little bit left. My energy ran out before the cord did.

Not only did I put a dent in my macrame cord supply, but also embellished most of them with “something.” Decorative tags and buttons. The fuchsia one has cotton eyelash yarn braided into the strap and wrapped around the top rim.

Measurements:
Cell phone/Mini Bag-approx 5-6″ length, 5″ height and 1″ width. Some are slightly larger. Straps are approximately 46″.

I hope to get these listed soon in my Etsy shop.

Quick Fly-By Post

Friday, June 12

I have been so busy this week, doing things outside the house. Crafting some, when I could. Have some made stuff to show you. Just need to get them photographed. And today it is so dark outside, not sure I should even try.

But first… I have to run out to pay for tables I have reserved for an upcoming Garage Sale/Flea Market in the area. It is going to be outdoors in a busy section of town with lots of traffic.

I am going to box up all my little, inexpensive stuff, slap a dollar or two price tag on them and hope for the best. I may even put together some DIY jewelry bags or craft bags. Could be a way to reduce my supply inventory.

And I finally got around to getting my passport pictures taken. I need to fill out my application and take it to the post office. I have to admit, I was motivated by the thought of hubby going to Canada without me. I would be stopped at the border crossing and thrown out of the car… without a passport as of June 1st. Can’t let hubby have all the fun. In 6 weeks or so, I’ll be able to join him.

Well, got to go. Errands are a-calling. BBL, hopefully today or tomorrow with some photos.