hello pineapples

Crafters!

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 22:53:00 +0000

Just finished a long, but fun Crafters weekend at the Olympic Centre. I still have a few monkeys leftover...I plan to bring a few of them over to Love, Me this week. I'll let you know when they're there.

Halifax Crafters Spring Fling Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:19:00 +0000

It was another busy weekend with the Halifax Crafters. The show looked great. It just keeps getting better.

I think I've learned my lesson the hard way: your weekend will be so much better if you actually get some sleep. I pulled an all-nighter on Friday and was exhausted on Saturday. On the upside - I had to stand at my table (which I prefer to do anyway), because whenever I tried to sit, I'd fall asleep. Oops.

Despite being exhausted, it was a good weekend. I like getting to hang out with the awesome Crafters and it's always fun to get to know the person at the table next to you - because otherwise, I find myself drawing a blank when I see them without their work in front of them. A roundup of my awesome show neighbours over the years: Robyn Stephens of Shibang, Colleen MacIsaac of Little Foible, Anne Pryde, Roisin Fagan of Bespoke Uprising. This show I chatted Amanda Fullerton of Big Day and Hillary Webb.

The best part of the weekend was seeing a little customer hanging out with her new sock cat. Seriously, if she had been my only customer, I would have been happy. It's always nice to sell things, but it's even nicer to see someone really loving the toy you've created. She danced with him and tied him around her neck and her waist. I was in complete glee watching her and her sock cat. It was also great when people would stop by and say, "I bought one for my son/daughter/friend/etc and they love it". One woman told me that her son's monkey was named Pineapple. Awesome! Another told me that one of my favourite creatures still hangs out in her car.

I fear that the weird and nasty weather on Sunday (snow? what?) may have kept shoppers away. My leftover monkeys, a bunny, and a last minute socktopus (started Saturday night, after my nap, and finished at the show on Sunday) are headed over to Love, Me Boutique tomorrow.

Bad-ass sock monkeys

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 01:58:00 +0000

I'm loving this kia ad:

Of course, my sock monkeys were getting tattooed years ago:

I think I might have to add a few tattoos to my monkeys for the Halifax Crafters spring show.

No Sleep 'til Crafters

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:49:00 +0000

It's the night before the Halifax Crafters Winter Market and I'm frantically trying to sew and paint and whatnot. No Sleep Til Crafters.

One of these days I'll be all ready a week in advance (ha! unlikely!). Anyway, show is tomorrow, hope to see you there!

Knitting Help Needed

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:56:00 +0000

Hey! I need a bit of help with a knitting project. Here are the deets:

Halifax Crafters want to cover a telephone pole outside of the Olympic Centre for our December Market (December 5 and 6!).

I've volunteered to cover this (pun completely intended), but that's a lot of knitting in three weeks - especially since I'm also trying to get ready for the show. So I'm looking for any knitters/crocheters who want to help cover a telephone pole - maybe even the stop sign pole if there is time. I'm looking to do something similar to the awesome folks of Knitta Please or The Ladies Fancywork Society (among many others). If the project is successful, it could be the start of other yarn graffiti around HRM (I have some other projects in mind).

What I need is a chunk of knitting or crochet (any style/any colour/any yarn - although you probably don't want to use your good stuff) as big as you feel like making it. Yarn Bombing's Universal Measurements say that I'll need 42.75" circumfrence and we'd like to see it about six feet tall. So if you or anyone you know feels like knitting, that'd be awesome. If you want in, I just need your piece by Friday, Dec. 4 (you can email me about a drop off - crafty [at] hellopineapples [dot] com). It'll be on the telephone pole first thing on the morning of Saturday, Dec.5 and you can go admire your handiwork. You can even help with the installation if you're so inclined.

If I end up with more knitting than is required to cover the telephone pole, it'll go towards another project - but that one is Top Secret and not for blogging about (not right now anyway).

Craft in America

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:19:00 +0000

I had fully planned on watching America's Next Top Model tonight, but completely got sidetracked by this on PBS:

Forget crazy Tyra! Craft In America = Awesome. (Hopefully it's only on for an hour, because there is no way I'm missing Glee at 10pm).

Sock Monkey in Costume: Ghost Monkey

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:38:00 +0000

Sock Monkey in Costume: Ghost Monkey, originally uploaded by lesleyhyphenanne.

This guy is a project I've been working on for Love, Me. I don't usually do a lot of seasonal crafts, but they were socks with candy corn on them. I couldn't help myself. There's a devil monkey as well (the photo quality is the worst - bad lighting and my hand was a bit shaky):

Ring ring ring ring, bananaphone

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:56:00 +0000

Something I've been working on recently:

Bananaphone! It's how sock monkeys make phone calls.

(It's crappy photo quality because I used my camera phone)

That's the first one. There are some things I plan on changing to the design, but I'm happy with it. The yellow part is from a sheet of cheap craft felt. The buttons were needle felted on. Then I did some embroidery as I am not skilled enough with the felting to put the numbers on that way. The speaker bit at the bottom started out as felting, but that didn't work so I switched to french knots.

Craft Talk

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:52:00 +0000

One of my favourite crafty people sent me this video. The outfits hurt my brain, but I still love it.

So craftastic.

Handmade Nation

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:34:00 +0000

Um, how excited am I about this screening at AFF:

That's right. Handmade Nation at Park Lane on Sept. 24. I am so there. With crafts in hand. Maybe even my Sublime Stitching Handmade Nation pattern. Love, Me has plans to make it extra DIY special.

And speaking of craftiness and DIY: deadline for applications to the Crafters' December market are due on Friday. Email halifaxcrafters @ gmail.com with 'application request' in the Subject to get an application. It's December 5 & 6 at the Olympic Community Centre, which I predict will not only be huge, but awesome.

Now, I need to get to bed. It's late and I've got The Other Blog to attend to first thing in the a.m. and a boring book to finish before it becomes overdue at the library.

Art Harvest recap

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:42:00 +0000

A few pictures from my table at the Crafters' Art Harvest. Man oh man. Do I ever suck at taking pictures of my work. I was hoping to use some for my application to the December market, but that's unlikely to happen.

It was a long weekend, but a good one. I'm really looking forward to the next one. Hopefully this time I'll get started on preparation more than a week ahead of time.

On another note, if you've ever "adopted" one of my monkeys, I'd love to hear about where they are now. Like this much loved monkey living in PEI:

You might notice that the eyes look a little weird. Here's a closeup:

That was an emergency eye surgery. The monkey originally had button eyes when sent up to my friends before their baby was born. When I saw the monkey over Labour Day weekend, the monkey was sans eyes and I was worried that stuffing would come out at some point (had holes where the buttons were). So those eyes were embroidered on...since they were covering holes, the embroidered eyes aren't exactly as neat as I'd like. I don't think they wee one who loves the monkey cares. She was just as happy when it didn't have eyes.

This is why I'm not good at delegating

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:45:00 +0000

The husband meant well and I appreciated the effort (it was late, he hates messy things like glue), but this is what happened to some of the tags for the sale:

glued together. oops. I'd be better off if I didn't leave it until the night before.

Crafters' Art Harvest

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 22:51:00 +0000

Hey there Crafters' visitors (and readers who've pretty much given up on this blog)! It's Crafters' time again!

I was really scrambling to be ready this time - houseguests, head colds and road trips meant I didn't get much done during the week. I think it all came together though. Not as many monkeys as I'd like, but there it is. (although, I took pictures of my table this time! I always forget my camera).

One of the things I really love about the Crafters' shows is getting to meet other crafters. Since I usually share a table with someone, it's a great chance to get a good look their work and talk to them about what they do. During the spring show, I got to meet Robyn of Shibang Designs. Her bags are fantastic.

Today I got to meet Colleen MacIsaac of Little Foible, whose cards I've long admired at Love, Me. It was really awesome to get to watch her paint and sketch while we were at the table. She has a One Minute Film that will be screened at this year's Atlantic Film Fest.

Seriously, the North Street Church is just chock-a-block full of awesome when the Crafters are there.

If you were thinking of buying a monkey, but not this weekend, you can always check out Love, Me Boutique on Birmingham St. They usually have a couple in stock. If you're thinking that you could probably just make one on your own with an old pair of socks, well, you totally can. I can also teach you. Watch the Love, Me events page for a schedule of crafty workshops this fall.

You can also contact me by email: crafty [at] hellopineapples [dot] com. If you're from out of town, we can arrange something via Etsy.

In the meantime, I will continue to be a horrible craft blogger, as I've gotten stupidly busy with the Other Blog (Fashionable People, Questionable Things) and I'll be writing for You Know You Love Fashion (which launches on Monday!) during season three of Gossip Girl. YKYLF is all about the fashion on Gossip Girl (the good, the bad, and the downright ugly - I'm looking at you Vanessa).

Now, I need to eat my dinner before my cat steals it. Hope to see you at the North Street Church tomorrow!

Jenny Hart is Awesome

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:46:00 +0000

Free Pattern - Fireworks, originally uploaded by Sublime Stitching.

Canada Day and the Fourth of July are both around the corner, so hooray for Jenny of Sublime Stitching for sharing this free pattern. You should follow Sublime Stitching on Twitter and/or Facebook so you're in the know when Jenny has something new to share.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some stitchin' to do.

Crafters & internet finds

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:21:00 +0000

I went to my first Halifax Crafters organizing meeting yesterday. The ball is getting rolling for both the September and December shows. Very exciting. I've got a floor of little canvases that I'm painting. They'll probably be in the September show. I've also had some ideas for monkey accessories, but those will stay under my hat for the time being.

So, two internet things to share today. For starters, on topic with Crafters, I thought I'd share the website of Shibang designs. Roby/Shibang shared a table with me at the spring show & I found myself admiring her bags and pouches. She makes some really lovely stuff. Check it out:

That's one of her pencil cases, which are available in her etsy store.

Off topic from the Halifax Crafters is this inspiring internet find:

What? Seriously? Yes, seriously. That is a fabric "cootie catcher" & all the letters/numbers/fortunes are embroidered. How much awesome is that? It's made by the very talented Penny Nickels. I believe she sells it on her etsy site.

Things I found on the internet today

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 01:20:00 +0000

Sifting through Craftzine in my feed reader, I found a few things that I want to make, that are pretty and that are inspiring.

To Make:

Cupcake Cones

YoYo Blanket (I'm hoping it'll crochet up faster than the knit baby blanket I like to make for new babies...who end up getting them when they're closer to the age of 2):

Pretty/I'd like to make it (but let's face it, I probably won't...too many crafts on my plate to really start quilting. I do admire quilts/quilters though):

Sparks Baby Quilt by Alissa

It's pretty adorable, non? I like the off-centeredness of the squares. Gives it a touch of whimsy, which is a nice touch for a baby's quilt. I found this via a list of free quilt patterns collected by WhipUp.

And last - but not least:

Inspiring:

Embroidered note by katie.cupcake:

I'm still heavy on the embroidery these days. I'm working on another baby shower quilt - still early days of embroidering the squares. This note is just fantastic. It's one of those things that when you see it, you think: oh man! why didn't I think of that! And it's a total mix of jealousy and admiration (more parts admiration than jealousy).

Free travel advice and pretty downloads

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 14:25:00 +0000

I'm making an attempt to blog again and it's not always easy. It's funny. I suck at posting on this blog, yet I'm managing daily posts over at my other one. Probably helps that I have a partner in crime over at Fashionable People.

I recently travelled to Palm Springs for my yearly dose of sunshine and as always, I struggled to figure out what crafty items are allowed on the plane. It really isn't clear and seems to change with each airport. And when you try to search for tips/tricks on travel & crafts, you get more info and advice than you know what to do with. Which is why I was happy to find Craftzine's advice/interpretation of TSA regulations for crafters. Although, keep in mind that the TSA regulations aren't universal (here is a list by CATSA for when you're travelling in Canadian airports. Knitting needles fall under "Penetrating Objects" and are allowed.). Last year, scissors I was allowed to bring on the plane at LAX were confiscated by YYZ (Toronto) security. This year I didn't have problems, but I also didn't attempt to bring scissors on the plane. I pre-cut embroidery floss to save myself the headache. Although I did get some security hangups from my pencil case. For some reason it showed up as suspicious on their Xray machines. Once they took it out and dug through it, they determined there was nothing of interest (unless of course you are interested in my Stabilo markers and other pens). I packed the pencil case in my checked bags on the way home.

Moving along...I recently found a site that offers links to free downloads of pretty labels and fonts:

The site is iDIY and is all about DIY weddings. While I'm not planning any weddings (I'm about to hit the five year anniversary mark!), I'm still a sucker for pretty labels and fonts. I think the labels are the part of me that wants to organize things. I don't always succeed in organizing my space, particularly my disasterous office/craft room, but a girl can dream. I rarely do anything with the labels I download, but part of that comes from having a B&W laser that doesn't do the label designs justice (but is awesome for printing out reams of essays and academic journal articles).

i heart pineapples

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:41:00 +0000

As you might be able to guess from the name of the blog/my sock monkey business, most pineappley things make me happy. Some awesome pineappley things I have found online:

as always, natalie dee:

nataliedee.com

good afternoon pineapples (a most excellent advertisement):

more natalie dee!

nataliedee.com

that's it for today. Nothing particularly crafty, I know, but I've been meaning to share this. Also, I haven't been particularly crafty lately. But I'm sure that will soon change.

(If you're getting this in a reader, I'm sorry if it was posted a zillion times over. Blogger is being dumb.)

To Boldly Go Where No Monkey Has Gone Before...

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:27:00 +0000

While visiting Palm Springs recently, my mom & I went to see Star Trek. Which was awesome! For both the classic Star Trek fan (mom) & non-fan (me - I havent' seen a full episode of any generation of Star Trek). I mention going to see the movie because of this guy:

Spock Monkey!! Awesome, n'est pas? He's about as hott as Zachary Quinto as Spock:

The Spock Monkey (not Zach Quinto) is currently on Etsy and his creator has a couple of other comic/action hero geektastic monkeys available in her store The Sock Drawer. But you may want to hurry over...she doesn't have that many Spock Monkeys in stock. I like that she has kits available with instructions, patterns, and materials. Nice idea. I may have to try my hand at making one of these for my mom, seeing as she is a fan.

What I did on my spring vacation

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:33:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was set up at the Halifax Crafters sale. It went fairly well - not as well as the Christmas sale, but that is to be expected. I really love being at the Crafters sales as I find all the other artists/artisans to be so inspiring. I need to come up with a better display for the September sale. Not exactly sure what I'll do, but I'll come up with something.

My favourite guy at the sale (and sadly, I only had my camera phone with me) was this dude:

His name is Reginald and he wore a tutu. I really need to get better at taking pics of my work. But the tutu was an afterthought, so I didn't think to actually get a photo because I was focused on the sale itself. Anyway, Reginald was the first pair I attempted to sew on my machine. I screwed that up in so many ways, I just couldn't manage to make a monkey out of him. But I still had this body and other appendiges that were so goofy, I couldn't just abandon him. So I played around one day and came up with Reginald. I'm going to keep messing around with other sock/plush creatures and monkey accessories (like tutus). Need to keep things fresh.

Something new I'm trying is embroidering eyes on the monkey and then sewing the buttons on top of that. My reason for doing this is that I prefer monkeys with button eyes, but customers with wee ones like embroidered eyes (for the safety of their own little monkies). So this is what I've come up with:

Right after the fair, I headed off to the Palm Springs area to visit with my parents. My mom and I spent some time working on monkeys. My mom is my source for awesome socks. Check out the collection she has for me:

Those are just some of the 75+ pairs of socks. Her cat Deano was a fan of our craft time:

I succumed to a nasty flu on my return, but now that I'm getting better, I'm getting back to thinking about crafts and monkeys. Right now I'm working on one of the red monkeys that the cat is sleeping on. A baby shower is coming up. The red & black monkeys, believe it or not, are a hit with babies. Most people like to buy the more pastel-ish monkies for babies, but the wee ones love the bright contrasting colours. A friend's kid would just stare at hers for ages. And at two months old, that was as much of a sign that she liked the monkey as you could ask for.

Some of the leftover monkeys joined their friends at Love, Me Boutique on Saturday. I still have a few hanging around the house and may look into putting them on etsy in the near future.

Halifax Crafters Spring Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Sun, 03 May 2009 11:12:00 +0000

oof. I've been Worst Blogger Ever. well, Worst Craft Blogger. I've been working on fashion blog with a friend for the past month. It's super fun, but no excuse for ignoring this blog.

This weekend is the Halifax Crafters Spring Sale. Love these sales. So much creativity and awesomeness under one roof. The North Street Church is bursting at the seams with handmade goodness. Lots of people were out yesterday, despite the crappy weather. I'm hoping for another good day today. Although I'm trying to think of a different display for today. I wasn't feeling yesterday's display.

Speaking of today's sale, I should go get ready and get out the door.

teeniest sweaters in the world

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 22:18:00 +0000

I have yet to see the movie Coraline. My friends tell me it's good, but I'm not a huge fan of animated movies, so I'm hesitant to go see them. I usually just wait until they are on video and friends own a copy. Not really the best way to approach such things and my friends who like animation tsk-tsk me when I say that I don't. However, I am somewhat intrigued by the crafty element of Coraline. I'm even more intrigued now that I've seen this:

Holy Cow! That's some tiny knitting with even tinier details in the knitting. It blows my mind that Althea Crome has the patience to knit on such a scale. Damn straight I'm "fascinated" by how she knits on such small needles! I know how frustrated I get when I knit socks on 2.75mm needles and she's working on 1mm or less! I think it is less fascinated and more dumbfounded. I can't even begin to conceptualize what it would be like to knit tiny gloves on .0001" needle made out of wire.

Having said all this, her work is pretty darn amazing. Such detail! And on such a small scale! It is making me overuse exclamation marks!

(found these links via the blog popped up on the grid, that I found via my friend Ally's twitter - oh the layers of the internets and that web 2.0 stuff).

Craftiness in Music

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:58:00 +0000

Progress, originally uploaded by Kate Doodles.

I really enjoy these bird illustrations by Kate Wilson. They're adorable with amusing little descriptions (and available in her etsy shop).

My enjoyment of her work coincided with my discovery of a video for Lenka's song The Show. The bird in this version of her video reminded me a bit of Wilson's birds:

that particular video (according to lenka's youtube page) was directed by James Gulliver Hancock and Lenka. I've never gotten into paper crafts, but they usually impress me. I also love the fonts (i am self-taught font geek) and the embroidery (or what looks like embroidery) in the video.

Lenka's adorableness seems to know no bounds. Check out the official video for The Show (the song itself is adorable) and watch for the plush awesomeness:

Plush birds and tomatoes! How fantastic is that?

Oh, but the awesome doesn't stop there! Here's a stop motion video of embroidery by Lenka:

My lukewarm fandom based on the song The Show has officially turned into full on crafty geek fandom. I believe it is time to get myself a copy of her album.

Happy Pancake Day! Celebrate with a free pattern!

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 02:42:00 +0000

free pattern! sweet!

It's Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), which is all about the Pancakes for me. My friend J.Lau and I whipped up a batch for dinner and they were awesome. We made regular pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes, and raspberry/chocolate chip pancakes. We then smothered them in butter and real maple syrup. The raspberry/chocolate chip were the favourite.

A few hours later, I'm still feeling stuffed on pancakes. But I don't want the day to pass by without sharing Urban Threads' awesome one day only free Mardi Gras design. You have until midnight Minnesota time to download the image or an embroidery pattern (for machine or hand). Or download them all. It is Fat Tuesday after all, which is a day that is about excess (or cooking up fat and eggs before lent. or flashing strangers for plastic beads. whatever).

Good thing: All Ears Earmuffs

noreply@blogger.com (Hello Pineapples!) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:32:00 +0000

Does Martha Stewart have a trademark on the phrase "good things"? I hope not. Not that i'm about to start using it regularly on the blog...but I'd rather not face a cease and desist from MSO Inc.

But I digress before I even begin...

I was at the library yesterday and flipping through a copy of the Holiday 2008 issue of Vogue Knitting. This is not a magazine I usually read because I have a bit of a love/hate for Vogue Knitting. I "hate" (well, strongly dislike) the overall look of the magazine and I think most of their patterns are overly froufrou or would be highly unflattering on the general knitting population. And I do hate the idea of spending a lot of time and money making what looks like it would be a lovely knit dress, only to find out that it really doesn't suit anyone larger than an XS and will lose shape after wearing it once or twice. But, I do love seeing some of the knitting accessories that are featured in the front of the book or dreaming about having the time/money/body type to knit up my own Michael Kors sweater tunic in something lovely, like cashmere. Or having the patience to knit up a sweater on size 0000 needles.

But I happened to pick it up anyway. Probably to see what sort of Nanette Lapore knitting patterns they were going to offer. While flicking, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a little write up on the All Ears Earmuffs.

I was instantly smitten by the idea of knitting up my own headphones!

(photo credit belongs to all ears earmuffs)

Seriously? They are genius! I don't even like earmuffs and I love the idea of these, mostly because I love my iPod, but Halifax weather (it's cold from about November to May) often means cold ears. These would be perfect for the days when I don't quite need a hat, but I do need to cover my ears to keep a cold wind out.

Sadly, the kits are priced a bit out of my budget (to be fair, pretty much everything is out of my budget right now. Food is pretty much our only spending right now), starting at $34/$41 for an acrylic/wool or cotton/acrylic blend. You can spend as much as $174, if you felt like knitting up some beaver fur headphones with a leather band (yes! knitting beaver fur! although, strikes me as a bit too rich/opulent for my tastes).

I do like that they are knit and crochet friendly, although I think I prefer the knitted version. For the time being, I might try to knit up some headphone cozies for my own big headphones. They're not really portable headphones, but they will seem so much more practical if they double as earmuffs.