What's up nurse?

Here at Chez Knittingnurse, March madness is in swing, the birds are singing and the crafts are slowly starting to re-emerge.

I made an egg Temari today that is meant for my niece. She is just about 18 months old now. Last year, I made matching egg Temari for her and myself. So, I have completed her egg for this year and tomorrow I will have to make the same egg again, this time for me. I think it will be pretty cool for us to having matching collections of Easter egg temari. Don't you.

I have had a set of felted clogs on the needles since last Fall. They are to replace the well worn (through) clog slippers I made a few years ago for DH. DS wants a pair to but he's growing out of shoes so fast that making a pair now would be an exercise in futility.

All that not withstanding, the most important thing going on here is that I have opened an Etsy shop! Something from the Heart "Handmade gifts and vintage treasures" opened about a month ago. I will be selling vintage items as well as handmade (by me) items and photographs. Right now, I only have vintage items and photographs for sale but I am pretty excited about it.

Here are a few of the items that I currently have up for sale ;

The tin salt and pepper shakers are absolutely adorable and much cuter in person. They very retro, kitschy and nostalgic. Love them! The tea bowl and saucer are Royal Staffordshire china. Who knew that find China was available in tea bowls? Regardless this is a charming set that will make a great addition to someone's tea cup collection.








So, here are a couple of examples of the photographs that I am selling. Red Geraniums in my window was taking last summer during our trip to Paris. I took this shot from the balcony of our hotel room. I just loved the rustic feel and the contrast of the red from the flowers against all the neutrals surrounding them. In the Arms of the Angel is a statue that can be found at the Louvre. I don't remember who the sculptor was but while admiring it, I got to this angle and loved the play of light and shadows to the statue. Isn't it wonderful?

What do you all think of these so far? The photographs that I have posted and will post are all going to be my own original shots taken during the KnittingNurse family adventures.

I appreciate any comments you have regarding the shop, items, listing and such. So, excited!

It's official

I am now an Etsy shop owner. My Etsy user name is 'somethinfromtheheart' (I had to drop the 'g' b/c the name was too long).

Funny thing is that I've always wanted to own a shop. A, coffee/tea house, gift, needlework, yarn shop. Y'know? The kind of shop where you go in and there are comfy couches and yarn and cutesy gifts (cards, stationary, simple knick knacks) and you can get a lovely cup of coffee or tea and a scone? Aaaaaaah!

Unfortunately, that brick and mortar store has yet to become a reality BUT I now have an online shop where I can sell some handmade things and some vintage items I've found along the way. Fun, eh?

Right now, I only have vintage items. Well, 4 vintage items. I had 6 but I've sold 2 (awesome right?). I've got a huge boxful of items to photograph and list but I haven't quite gotten them on their as of yet. Hopefully at the end of this week they will all be up and available.

My first handmade items to list will be some facecloths knit/crochet made out of cotton. I want to post knitted items, some temari, some stamped items and some jewelry along with my vintage treasures but, I need to get to making some stuff.

So, when thinking of a store name I was talking it over with the fam and we kept coming up with different ideas and then I said, "no, no, it needs to be something from the heart". Well, DUH! So, the shop is named "Something from the Heart" with the tagline "handmade gifts and vintage treasures". Cute huh?

Go take a gander for a moment. Go ahead. It won't take long and I will still be here waiting for ya.

Something from the Heart shop on Etsy.com

Kind of cute stuff so far, I think. BTW, go back if you have a minute and check out my friend's shop as well Back home vintage.

That's my 'picking' partner. Flea markets, thrift stores, garage sales, our ATTICS! We bounce pieces off of each other and help each other decide on purchases and prices to set as well as photographing, etc.

So, cross your fingers and wish me luck.

Hey everyone

So, I have been delinquent on my "Wonderful Wednesday" postings. Life here has been busy. When did that happen???? I remember being able to post much more regularly. I think it's all because of the evil of FACEBOOK . I wish I was stronger to resist but, I am not. Then there's Twitter. Another time and soul-sucking site. Who is evil enough to have developed these sites? Sigh. I wish I was stronger but I am weak and you just never know what your friends might be doing now, or in 5 minutes or 10 minutes from that or another 5 minutes after that, or, well, you get the picture.

Then there's the Temari.









So, what soul time sucking activities are you addicted to involved in???

Why explain?

So, I've a new addiction craft over the last few weeks. It's Temari and I love it. I like the idea that I am doing something that women began to do over 600 years ago. I like the way it feels to make something from nothing. I like the process of picking a design and colors and then working through blending the two. I like the feeling of the needle in my hand and the way the stitches lay next to eachother slowly building the design. I like the way the temari looks when I've completed it. I like seeing them all together and how beautiful they look as a group as well as individually. I like making something beautiful for the sake of beauty itself. I like looking at the finished project and saying "wow, I made that". I like the way DS looks at them and tells me "Mom, that's really cool!" I like the relaxation that comes with the rhythmic stitching and stillness of the needlework. I like TEMARI!

So, WHY do I feel like I must justify myself in this new craft?


Let me explain:

I've been a jack of all crafts my entire life. You name it, I've done it (at least once). Crochet? Check. Macrame? Check. Latch hook? Check. Cross Stitch? Check. Knitting? Check. Card making and stamping? Check. You get the idea. However, I have NEVER had to explain why I do something until I started to make Temari.

I mean, I have had the usual "why would you knit socks when you can buy them?" question but I've never had to answer "what's the purpose of (insert knitted item)?" before. Even when I was making Macrame'd wall hangings (hey it WAS the 70's y'know!) I never had anyone question the point of the completed project. (Even the Sun/Moon macrame wallhanging in the HORRID shades of gold that my Mother insisted on hanging in the living room - God help me).

But make Temari balls and this is the conversation that follows 99.9% of the time after showing the completed ball to someone else:

Me: "Here's my newest Temari."
Them: "Wow, isn't that pretty. What's a temari?"
Me: "It's an ancient japanese craft where you make and stitch these beautiful balls"
Them: "So. . . . . . .what do you do with it?"

EVERY TIME!

Whenever I've shown someone any of my crafts, I've never ran into the "What do you do with it?" or "What's it for?" question before Temari.

My reply is usually "You look at it and say 'Isn't that pretty'!" which inevitably is followed by "Well yes but what is it FOR?"

How do you explain beauty for the sake of beauty? Creation for the accomplishment of creating. But still, there's a nagging feeling of having to justify my crafting with Temari that I've never felt before. Show someone a cross stitched picture of a bunny in a field with trees and no one blinks an eye. Show someone a piece of pulled thread work in an octagonal shape and not a peep. Show someone an abstract painting ala Jackson Pollock - nada. Sand art in an elongated soda bottle? Zip (yep, I did that too!)

Now, I am not saying that any of this is going to slow me down or have me stop stitching Temari but, I find it interesting that the vast majority of responses to these gorgeous pieces of art is "I don't get it".


What's WITH that?


BTW, here's a beauty for you to ponder and admire (b/c you can).

ENJOY!