Sending Up Smoke Signals

I'm here, I'm here! Just thought I should make note of that here since I've left the blog unattended since...late November! Yikes!! Sorry for the unusually long sabbatical, after the holiday Felt Club last year things got non-stop crazy between work and travel (and traveling for work), and this poor ol' blog had to take a backseat. I'll try to be better from now on-- promise. I even prettied up the joint with a new color scheme and banner design, so if you're reading this via an RSS reader, visit the blog itself and check it out!

There's no way I could catch you up on everything that's happened in the last 3-4 months in one blog entry, so you'll have to settle for a few highlights and some more frequent posting from me from now on. Oh and just so you know, I'm now blogging at CRAFT on a much more frequent schedule: five times a day, Monday through Friday. I'm even on the little blog masthead now, ha! It's a lot of work but I love, love, love it.

One thing I'd like to show off is latest tattoo, the scissors you see above (which match the needle and thread on my other wrist). The scissors (like the thread) were drawn by Jordan Crane and the tattoo was done by TJ Hernandez at American Electric. I love how it turned out and I think I'm done with tattoos for now...but don't quote me.

Sooo, I've been very busy working on my sewing book for St. Martin's Press, which is taking a bit longer than I'd hoped but all in all things are going great. The good news too is that we recently upped the amount of projects included from 25 to 30, which on the one hand is more work but on the other hand means MORE FUN! What's killing me is not being able to show anybody the stuff I'm working on. (I've posted a teeny, tiny sneak peek at one of the projects above. Nope, I can't tell you what it is. Nope, it's not a quilt or a table runner. Nope, I won't tell you!) I will post more sneak peeks here and there but for the most part things will stay under wraps. I can't wait to surprise you guys with the full package, y'know?

Some of the projects included are based on items I used to sell on my retail site, such as the crochet hook cozies and sweet treat totes, but most are totally new (and even the old-school projects have been tweaked and "kicked up a notch" to use Emeril-speak). The projects aren't just bags, either-- there's fun stuff for kids, items to make for your home, and more. Basically I'm super happy with how things have been turning out, but look forward to finishing things up and preparing for the photoshoot at the end of April. Whew!!

Speaking of books, have you heard about Susan Beal's Bead Simple yet? If you've ever been even slightly interested in making jewelry, you'll want to pick this up the minute it hits bookstores (March 25!). The book features a total of 150 fantastic designs that span a wide spectrum of beading and jewelry-making techniques. What's especially cool is that Susan enlisted nearly 40 crafty pals (familiar names like Jennifer Perkins, Cathy of California, Faythe Levine and yep, yours truly) to put their own spin on her projects. It's great seeing how different folks put their stamp on things and I'm so proud of Susan for putting together such an inventive and beautiful book. Yay Susan!!

PS: I'm so pleased that I actually finished a crochet project last fall (crochet being a craft that is outside of my usual Crafty Comfort Zone) that I have to share it here-- this is an owl amigurimi I made for Susan's soon-to-arrive baby girl! Narumi from Mr. Funky generously wrote out the pattern for me (it's not in her book) and helped me get started way back when and I'm happy with how it came out. I look forward to having more time to explore crafting for purely selfish reasons once the book is all done. I think next time a crocheted toadstool or gnome might be in order!

Comments

[Tess]

I likey the new scheme :)

[Naughty Secretary Club]

Man o' man I am dying to get my copy. Congrats on the gig at Craft I love their blog. Oh and when is the prom and the next Felt Club? I wanna come out if I can.

[emily august]

What a beautiful tattoo. Your photos of your projects are so nice.

[Natalie]

I miss you girl! Congrats on more projects in the book -- I can't wait to buy my own copy!!
Also, I can't wait to hang out w/ you during Maker Faire! Can you bring me some of that Intelligensia coffee?? YUM! ;)

xo

[alison]

awww..come one jenny. i'm coming out for the maker faire, we need to get more tattoos!

[kristy]

cute tattoos! congrats on a book too, that's really awesome.

[alex]

I love the tattoo.

[Lotta]

Adorable tattoo! I'm sending a pic to my 60 year old quilt making Aunt who wants one.