Displaced Moose!

Tag! You're it!

2008-03-08T09:45:00.003Z

ally sez:

The rules are:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So...
Facts about me:

1. I teach English at a secondary school
2. I used to teach at a school that had horse-drawn school buses
3. I have recently developed a love of chutney
4. I do own a pair of cowboy boots
5. I think Shakespeare is the coolest dude of the 15th Century
6. I write haiku in my spare time
7. My name, spelt backward, is gibberish.

I'm tagging:
ally
Sudsmuffin
JellyBeans
Me Husband!
Carla
Sixth and Elm
Natural Historie

My best Rolf Harris impression...

2008-02-21T14:54:00.002Z

Can you tell what it is yet??

Keep an eye out on DM!

Why I Craft - and why I get frustrated sometimes...

2008-02-19T20:30:00.005Z

Well, I've been doing quite a lot of thinking about this recently, mostly because I've just spent two days crocheting a top for myself (shock horror - something that wasn't orginally destined for the shop or a present!). I was really excited about the project, as I've recently got a back issue of Interweave Crochet and fell in love with almost every pattern in it... And I'd also decided to make something for ME, like I said.

So Monday, I went to a local yarn shop (cum dry cleaners, oddly...) and found some LOVELY pale green Sirdar Baby Bamboo, and got lots in order to make this top. And I started well - the pattern is very simple, and lovely. And it was going very well until about lunchtime today, when, about 5 rows from finishing, I realised that once again I was deluding myself, and although the pattern itself is nice, and the yarn is very soft and drapey, and the colour is wunderbar, once again it's not for me.

So I come back to the question - why do I craft? Well, some of it definitely is that I enjoy the process, and having DM! also gives me the opportunity (and excuse!) to try different yarns and patterns and colours than I would usually. But I think some of it is trying to find something that I would like to make that actually looks good on me. I've made over 100 projects in the last 18 months, and I wear three of them. Now, I didn't make all of them for me; but still, many of them I did intend to keep for myself, but I can't seem to find something that I'm happy with for me. Now, I know I'm pretty picky as far as clothes go for myself, but I also think maybe I'm not being adventurous, or maybe advanced enough, for myself.

So, I guess what I'm trying to say this that yes, I craft because I love the process, I love the creativity, and I love the relaxation that it affords me after my day job, but also that I guess I'm on a quest for the perfect pattern...

I just hope I eventually figure out what I'm looking for...

If only I had a Welsh accent, ...

2008-02-16T23:23:00.004Z

... I could say what's going round in my head in the moment - which is a Welsh voice (probably Rhys off of Torchwood) saying 'I love it!' And that would be in response to my new scarf, Ethnic Leaves, which was made from a pattern by Kathy Merrick.

This scarf is lovely to crochet - being fun and quirky, yet quick to do - but it's also gorgeous when it's finished. And it's also my first foray into sock yarn, which I've been dying to try because of all the fab colourways that are available. AND this is a new material, since the yarn - Regia sock yarn - is 45% bamboo! So, firsts all round for me today (including a massive forearm cramp - ouch...) but still, I'm bobbersome with the results...

(BTW: bobbersome = elated; full of joy. It's a Forgotten English Word, according to my page-a-day calendar of the things... Along with 'poosk'. Don't ask about that one...)

Just been browsing...

2008-02-10T17:38:00.000Z

... and I've found some amazing stuff on Esty today which confirms that it's a community of incredibly talented people. Look at this incredible teapot from Natalya Sots, which looks incredible and also actually works!

There's also the recycled jewellry from 2ReVert, made using all sorts of source material.

And glasfaden has a new line of brooches, which look quite intruiging...

So have a look at the creativity exploding on Etsy!

Have you got the Winter Blues?

2008-02-04T18:21:00.000Z

Well, DM! may have the cure!

This lovely hat and scarf are made from 100% wool to be snuggly and warm, while still looking fab. Wear with your fave jeans out to lunch, to the shops, or even to pick up the kids from school - everyone will want to know where you got it.

Woot! Woot!

2008-01-28T18:10:00.000Z

Hey - nothing says 'I love ya!' like viewings - and hearts! - on Etsy! I posted this lovely number last night, about 11 pm: and today, about 6 pm I've already got 200 views and 5 hearts on it! How amazing is that! This may have been because of a certain forum posting I made about where I took the photos, but they have turned out amazingly well, better than any of my other photos so far, and so much so that I think I'll be working on re-photographing all my stock!

So thanks so much to all the viewers, and it's still available if anyone's in love with it!

New Stock at DM!

2008-01-26T13:21:00.000Z

So now that the madness that is Christmas is over, and I have some time to do what I like (yeah right - as if any teacher REALLY has time to do that...) I've been able to spend some time getting some of the many started-but-not-yet-finished projects tamed and ready for the shop. I've also been surfing net for some new patterns, and came up trumps with this wavy, zig-zag hat-and-scarf set:

It's actually a recycled ruana that I made earlier in the year that didn't quite turn out right - which seems to be my theme for the new year. That's right, I'm finally biting the bullet and ripping out all those projects that didn't quite work, chalking up the initial effort to experience, and letting the yarn find a new use.

Thanks to some Christmas gifts, some old projects waiting to be recycled, and my insatiable yarn fetish, there should be even more stock coming soon...

And I think that another thing I should do is post more - has it REALLY been over a month since I've last posted?? Sheesh! How time flies when you're marking... :(

Etsy in the NY Times!

2007-12-17T21:24:00.000Z

Etsy has a profile in the New York Times magazine.

It looks at the Etsy phenomenon, and highlights some products like:

Maybe you’re interested in a “random music generator” called the Orb of Sound ($80), built by an Australian tinkerer calling himself RareBeasts. Or a whistle made out of a tin can and bottle caps ($12), by loranscruggs, near Seattle. Or the “hand-painted antique ceramic doll-head planters” sold under the name Clayflower22 by a retired schoolteacher near Las Cruces, N.M. Or the “Kaleidoscope Pearberry Soapsicle” ($5), made by a woman in Daytona Beach, Fla., who calls her shop Simply Soaps. Or a porcelain bowl with an image of a skull on it, from a Chicago couple who call themselves Circa Ceramics. Or an original painting from an artist in Athens, Ga., who goes by the moniker the Black Apple.

Handmade 2.0 by Rob Walker

SALE at DM!

2007-11-30T18:50:00.000Z

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did I mention DM! is having a SALE? Come on in and shop around - I"m sure you'll find something you fancy!

You know you've been busy when...

2007-11-19T20:33:00.000Z

1. Your automatic login has expired!
2. You have new yarn YOU HAVEN'T EVEN TAKEN OUT OF THE PACKAGE! (what was i thinking - and it's a gorgeous teal silk/alpaca blend, too!)
3. You seem to have repetitive strain injury in your thumb. Yes, my thumb. How it happened, I'll never know...

Unfortunately, this seems to be the busiest time of year all round - for school, for shoppers and shoppees... And with baby gifts to make on top of Christmas presents and new woolly wonders, I feel like I haven't got time to turn around. So, I do apologise that what seems to be suffering the most is the blogging.

And my thought processes... I need some suggestions. I got this gorgeous yarn the other day, and I want to make a little something for ME with it, but I haven't a clue. Could you check it out on flickr, and think of what it should be? (suggestions on a postcard to.... Wait - just leave a comment!)

Ahh, Saturdays...

2007-11-09T20:26:00.000Z

I'm sure that once I get around to actually having kids, 'Saturday' will take on a whole new meaning, but for now, I'm looking forward to another pajama-fest that involves - well, pajamas... - and a whole lotta yarn.

Last Saturday I managed to knock off a few Christmas presents, and with those added to goodies purchased from TagsOnBags, JennGee and CorinnaMaggyDesignsetc, my Christmas shopping is well and truly underway.

But despite promises to hubby that I wouldn't make anything else for the shop until something sold, this just seemed to crochet itself from the leftover yarn of a scarf for a deserving cousin... And once I'd finished it, I couldn't very well NOT list it, could I?? :) (BTW, the scarf in the photo is also available - the Alpaca Hairpin Lace one...) What's a girl to do??

So I guess I'll just have to see what tomorrow's creativity brings...

A little wine, a lot of yarn, and great conversation...

2007-11-03T11:51:00.000Z

I've done something this morning I've not done fore a long time - I slept in! The cat wasn't best pleased with me, but this morning I managed to sleep until 10 am, mostly because I had such a lovely evening last night...

My friend (and erstwhile model) Bex invited me, her mum and sister and some other mates round for a yarn-lovers evening, which ended up with some impromptu lessons on Tunisian Crochet bookmarks, and a few new Moose Marks! of my own creation. But the best thing was the company, the chat about (amongst other things) moving house, hair and podcasting, and the lovely fire which Bex' hubby V started for us... A perfect Friday evening! If you've not indulged in this sort of evening before, I highly recommend it!

Don't ya hate it when...

2007-10-29T20:20:00.000Z

... you spend all day on a project, only to have it turn out badly?

I spent many potential marking hours on Saturday working on something for ME - a wrap/ruana/cardi that I was planning on wearing to a function on Sunday. I had this lovely aqua and brown alpaca blend yarn, I had the pattern all worked out in my head, I had started it on Thursday, and it was do-able to get it done for Sunday morning.

And I did. I finished it Saturday evening, and I even made some toggle things so I could fasten it in a multitudinous variety of ways. It had been a bit short, but I lengthened it through a generous use of a wide border, and I even wove all my ends in.

Only to put it on on Sunday morning and realise that the whole thing looked like crap.

So, now I'm faced with a dilemma - try to flog it off to someone else, or just break down and rip it all out and try again? I think the general design principle isn't bad, it's just flawed in the execution - it ended up being wider than I anticipated, and shorter, where the proportions should have been the other way round. And, although I hate to admit it, as much as I love the whole drapey/ruana look, I really think it's not for me... Too short and wide myself, I think...

So, ~~sigh~~ I think it's back to the drawing board and some more planning. The 'thing' will probably live in my closet for a while until I have the heart to rip out two solid days worth of work, but at least I'll have 11 balls of yarn to play with... :p

I think Etsy is taking over my life...

2007-10-26T00:11:00.000+01:00

First of all, it's after midnight, and I'm usually always snoring (or so my husband tells me!) by about 10 pm. And while this is my holidays (half-term week in the UK), this is the fifth night in a row that I've been up at least this late.

Because Etsy is taking over my life!

I have to say, it's my own fault. Last Christmas I had an idea to make some extra money by selling scarves at my school's Christmas fete. So, I made about 45 scarves, rented a table, and showed up on time.

And sold one scarf. Oh - and a crocheted dishcloth. Yay.

For my first experience of selling my stuff, it was a real downer - and I was left with a box full of scarves. I did manage to flog some of them off to friends, and gave some away as gifts, and donated some to the church jumble sale, but I was still left with about twenty. So in the summer, when I found Etsy, it seemed the ideal solution! So I signed up, uploaded all my pictures, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Cause I'd missed the bit about where you have to promote yourself... So now that I have some time to think about things other than national curriculum levels in keystage 3 English, I've taken some (all) of my time this week to do stuff on Etsy. I started this blog. I added more items to my shop. I'm now addicted to the forums. My butt is flat from the stupid chair we have in the office. And now I'm panicking because I have 1 day left to do school work that will take 4 days, and I don't want to do anything but crochet.

I. Am. Mad. Crazy. Loonie.

~~maybe i should quit teaching and go into business full time...~~ Yayayayaya!! Except I already spent all my prospective first year's profits on Etsy stuff.

Ooops.

~sigh~ So, I guess I need to come back to the real world, where I'm too tired to crochet, and I actually do feel like a moose, and get with the program with stuff that actually makes me some real money. And hope the the two sales I had this week ~~Yay!!!! and double Yay!!!!!~~ start generating some actual business...

Moose Marks??? Eeeww.....

2007-10-25T14:07:00.000+01:00

No, not THAT kind of marks! Bookmarks from the Moose!
So, this morning I sat down with my book, and found that it had fallen off the sofa AGAIN, and that I'd lost my page AGAIN, and I thought, 'Hey, I need a bookmark!

Well, no, not really, but it did make a good story, didn't it? Actually, I thought that I should have some stuff in my shop that was less than a tenner, and I have lots of embroidery floss, and I'm working on an afghan in a similar pattern, so all these things came together in the new line at Displaced Moose!, Moose Marks!

Moose Marks! come in a variety of colours, and will all soon be available at DM! - I'm still getting all the pictures uploaded! See you there soon!

'Shruggle' up for Winter

2007-10-24T10:43:00.000+01:00

Coming soon to Displaced Moose! - more shrugs! Yes, that's right, I'm finally getting my act in gear and finishing off some projects that have been in the works for a couple of months, and two of those are some lovely new shrugs.

The first, worked in Tunisian Crochet is a lovely variegated green, made with a linen blend yarn by Rowan called Damask. It's lacy and wonderful, and also features a matching beanie, which Bex modelled fetchingly for me! It's a great accessory, and I imagine it would be a killer with jeans, or even out on the town.

The second is a scrummy soft pink concoction made with an angora blend yarn, also by Rowan, called Roma. This one is done in Hairpin Lace, and would be lovely to snuggle up in now that autumn has arrived.

So keep an eye out - more shrugs are making an entrance at Displaced Moose!

I heart Sixth and Elm

2007-10-23T17:35:00.000+01:00

Besides the fact that Sixth and Elm is (are?) Canadian, you HAVE to see the stuff in this Etsy shop. Maybe it all catches my fancy because of the writing and word associations (English teachers tend to go weak at the knees over stuff like that...) but I think the stuff at this shop is incredible. And funny. And cute.

And I'm probably going to spend way too much money here...

Please give them a look, and if you don't know about Etsy, give the whole darn site a good browse. We can take it! :)

Why do I have Prince running around in my head?

2007-10-23T09:14:00.000+01:00

Well, not literally running. And not either of The Princes, but rather the artist formerly known as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince. And actually, it's not that at all - it's Purple Haze, not Purple Rain... I guess the fact that I grew up in the 80s rather than the 70s makes me associate purple with Prince, not Hendrix...

Phew. Anyone else confused yet??

What I am, of course, trying to talk about is my new scarf, Purple Haze, done in Tunisian crochet using another alpaca blend yarn, this time by Wendy. I'm not sure why I gravitate to alpaca wools - I do have sensitive skin, and they are less scratchy than sheep's wool, and also, it's just a cool word, which I'm also into being an English teacher... But there's also the fact that alpaca is everywhere! We've obviously hit a trend. (And I've got another 3 balls of alpaca stashed away for a new project... heeheehee...)

Anyway, whatever your favourite animal, this is a lovely light and snuggly scarf to wrap up in. And judging from the frost on my lawn this morning, winter's a-comin'!!

We all need our friends...

2007-10-22T07:27:00.000+01:00

... and never more so than when we have new products to take pictures of! Thank you so, so, so, so much to Bex who agreed to be my model for my new Alpaca Hairpin Lace Scarf. All I said was 'Fancy being a model for a few minutes?' and she said 'Marvellous!', which is what I like about Bex - she's always agreeable! And didn't she do a fantastic job? While we were at it, I asked her to do a few more piccies as well, so I could update some of my older listings. Have a peek at DM! on Etsy to see what else she modeled!

BTW - the stunning location is actually round the back of our church yesterday after morning service - the weather was so amazing that I had to take advantage of the light and shadow. And the lovely plasterwork. And the amazing stained glass window. And the... well, you get the idea!

Oh. My. God.

2007-10-21T14:41:00.000+01:00

Seriously, I think I've died and gone to heaven... Somebody has finally combined my two favourite loves - food and baths!

SudsMuffin is a fellow Etsian who makes incredible soaps - many of which actually look like my favourite food - cake! I've just bought this one:
a Spiced Pumpkin Souffle concoction, and think I'm probably going to be buying more stuff from him as well, seeing as he also has this, and this and this.

What a fab idea! AND he's a fellow Canadian, with a bricks'n'mortar shop in Saint John, New Brunswick as well as his Etsy venture.

So good luck SudsMuffin! (And thanks for featuring me as well! :) )

Let me tell you about Eva...

2007-10-21T09:23:00.000+01:00

Eva is the person I made this scarf for. She's funny, intelligent, a bit dramatic, a bit sassy, and shows off her tastefully eclectic personality through what she wears. She loves natural materials and things that are just a little bit quirky.

This turquoise skinny scarf is for her! It's wool, made by a Welsh company called colinette, who have an interesting take on yarn for the modern crafter. I think it makes a perfect accessory - it keeps you warm, wraps us nicely, and best of all - looks fantastic!

So, Eva - where are you??

Winter is coming, the goose is getting fat...

2007-10-20T09:06:00.000+01:00

What? I thought this blog was about mooses, not geeses!

Welcome to the blog presence of Displaced Moose!

Now's the time to get wrapped up and snuggly with all things woolly in time for the winter snows. Or rains, as this is Britain, after all... But if you're not British, and you just have to have a Moose! creation, never fear! I do ship internationally.

But I'm getting ahead of myself! First you must look through my collection of woolly wearables and find something that will keep your head, neck or other relevant body part (Hey now - that's not what I meant!!) warm. How about this sweet beanie to start?

Called Sugar and Spice, it's made from hand-painted wool by Shunklies, another Etsian. It's done in double and single crochet, and is available as soon as you'd like it!

So, be browsing, and I'll speak to you soon!

Moose