Tempus fugit, indeed.

Greetings! Yes, this blog has been dormant. BUT! I’m still quite active on Twitter and Facebook, both as Joelle and as sparkle j designs, so fear not! If you’ve received a business card from me in the last few weeks at Temple Con, Arisia, etc., please know that I am alive and well on the internet despite the sparse postings here.

Greetings! And welcome to what has become the redirecting hub of sparkle j designs!

The shop is ready for your Cunning Jayne hat orders, and I’m restocking consignment shops as fast as I can. I hope to have additional stock to list in the Etsy shop if you’re not lucky enough to buy my wares in person.

If you’re snowed in along with the rest of the East Coast USA, I hope you’re staying warm and safe. Cheers!

Happy Birthday, sparklej.com! (Belatedly.)

*throws confetti*

March 2012 marked the 10 year anniversary of sparklej.com! Can you believe it? I’ve been blah, blah, blahging for 10 years (albeit intermittently). What began as a place to whine to myself (and a few close friends who felt like wading through the whinging) about my first world problems of being a college student involved in entirely too many activities for her own good, evolved into a place where I could share crafty projects as they developed (and where I only whined a little while in grad school). During my time in roller derby (which ate up every possible aspect of my entire life, my time, and my soul – in both good ways and bad), I hardly blah blah blahgged at all.

And now here we are, gentles, in 2012, where the grass is green and there’s hardly any whining at all! We made it! Does this mean I’m an adult now? I have a 10 year old after all.

Not to be outdone by the blogaversary, April 2012 is the one year anniversary of when I said “So long, libraries and archives, and thanks for all the paper cuts!” One year of being an independent contractor in the hand made garment industry. One year of sewing as a job. One year of learning a zillion and one things about growing a business. The biggest thing I’ve learned? I have a zillion times infinity things to learn yet. It’s been an amazing journey thus far, and I’m looking forward to learning and making ALL THE THINGS!

Which brings me to the celebration portion of this birthday greeting. Seeing as how I’m a bit of a Hobbit (elevensies, anyone?) and it’s my blog’s birthday, you’re all going to get presents! YAY! From each other! Double YAY! Here’s how it’s going to go:

1. Leave a comment on this post to join the anniversary craft swap, indicating your preferred method of communication between you and your swap partner (email, twitter, facebook, etc of your choice).
2. I’ll pair you up with another participant and will notify the both of you.
3. Communicate with your swap partner to figure out what sorts of things they enjoy craft-wise (I’ll post a brief survey to help guide you), or if you two would enjoy crafting within a theme, etc, and make something for them! Try to keep it to a $10 or so supplies limit.
4. You should mail your items no later than the 9th of May.
5. Receive a hand made something from a new friend! HOORAY!

That’s it! Happy crafting, everyone!

Happy PAX Easter!

Hello and welcome to first time visitors! I’m sure I’m going to be meeting a ton of new people at PAX this weekend. It’s going to be so much fun!

If you’ve seen me around the show, I’ve probably been knitting the whole time. Specifically knitting Cunning Jayne Hats for your Firefly hat wearing pleasure. If I’m out of stock in the shop, check back periodically throughout the weekend, as I’ll be adding more as I knit them. Don’t forget to use coupon code PAXEAST to waive the shipping fee, and we’ll arrange a time to meet up at the show for you to pick up your order. Follow @sparklej on Twitter, as I’ll be tweeting my location periodically throughout the weekend.

See you around, I hope! Happy gaming!

March Surprise!

In February I ran a little give-away on Twitter, and one lucky winner (@daharadreams) received a knitted Valentiny. This month, I’m doing something similar. You won’t know what the prize is until it shows up in your mail! It will be a small knitted or sewn surprise. I haven’t quite decided what it will be yet, so I guess it’ll even be a surprise for me!

You have three ways to enter that will get you three chances to win! Here’s how:

1. Comment on this post (one entry) and tell me your favorite thing about Spring time.
2. Link to this post on Twitter, making sure to include me (@sparklej), then leave a comment here with a link to your tweet (one entry).
3. “Like” me on Facebook (sparkle j designs) and leave a comment here letting me know that you have done so (one entry). If you already like me on Facebook, simply leave a comment here letting me know.
4. Make sure all of these entries are separate comments here, as the number generator I use will choose the winner by their comment number.

That’s it! Easy-peasy. The contest ends at midnight on March 11. Good luck!

———

Congratulations to Amanda Pedersen! She’s won! YAAAAAY! She will receive a tiny custom creature in the color(s) of her choice! I’ll post a photo once it’s done. Thank you all for playing!

Coming Soon!

I have a few tutorials in the works right now, and am just doing the finishing touches. Come back soon, and I’ll have some fun projects ready to share!

Spring Anew!

Happy March, everyone!

Since last Spring, I’ve been on a very crafty adventure. I’m now building a wee business for myself and doing sewing work by contract. (Ahem, do you need something sewn? I may know someone who can help!) It’s been quite an adjustment. Working from home has it’s ups and downs, of course. It turns out I wasn’t so good at time management at first; not without the usual 9-5 routine, anyway. I’m still not tremendously good at it, but I am getting better. The commute is just right, though.

Building the business bit by bit has made me feel more like an adult than anything else I’ve ever done. Taxes, and accounting, and all the organization required. It makes my head spin a bit, and sometimes I’m not really quite sure what I’ve gotten myself in to.

I still sell my wares on Etsy, but I’ve also started consigning at TL6 The Gallery in New Bedford, MA, and selling at conventions (where my goods are sold by other vendors). This summer I plan to vend at fairs and craft shows as my own entity. Thrilling, and a bit terrifying. I’ve set a goal of two events. I have yet to actually sign up for them, but I will as soon as I have more photographs of my work. Many shows are juried and I don’t have quite enough to show just yet. I spend most of my sewing time on contract work to pay the bills, but I’m working on building stock in every other waking moment.

To launch the new era of sparkle j designs, I’ve had the blog spruced up a bit. What do you think? I plan to have a patterns and tutorials section. Keep an eye out for clothing alteration tips, toys and oddments, and lots of other fun things.

Here’s to a new beginning! Cheers!

Cubethulhu bids farewell to MIT

As many of you may already know, I have left the library world for a while. My job at the MIT Archives and Special Collections was only as a temp so when this new opportunity presented itself I decided to go for it. My new gig is as an independent contractor assisting a seamstress. Sounds crazy, I know. I think of myself as an archivist on a crafty adventure.

I’ve worked for two seasons at King Richard’s Faire helping out the lovely Threads of Time folks in their booth, as well as going on the road with them to a couple of conventions and such. I’ll still be doing that, but I also help out in their workshop and work a little from home.

I was really sad to leave MIT, especially since I had worked there for over three years. It was a bit of a scary decision to make, but it was definitely the right thing to do, and I’m really excited about it.

(Click the photo above to see more Farewell to MIT photos featuring the adorably monstrous Cubethulhu!)

Hello!

Greetings, new visitors, and thanks for popping by!

It’s PAX East time and I’m wandering the Convention Center with Cunning Jayne Hats. If you didn’t get a chance to grab one from me, here’s where you’ll see more in the future:

sparklej.etsy.com

Follow me on twitter: @sparklej I’ll be tweeting my location all weekend if you want to find me and say hello.

I’m also on Facebook and periodically give away stuff.

YAY! PAX! See you around!

Valentinies!

Hello! Despite the lack of updates here, I’ve been quite busy crafting. We’re nearly buried in snow, so I’ve been at the knitting needles most of the time, as is my usual winter habit. If you want to see what sorts of crafty things I’ve been up to thus far this year, check out my Flickr set.

This recent bout of craftiness has been largely inspired by the wonderful Anna Hrachovec of Mochimochi Land. I just can’t seem to stop knitting her little creatures. I just love them to bits. I’d forgotten just how much I like knitting little things on double pointed needles.

I was even inspired to write my own pattern! Of course, it borrows heavily from Anna’s technique, and is an obvious attempt to mimic her knit-flat-and-seam heart pattern into an in-the-round pattern, but I’m quite happy with it.

If you would like to knit some wee heart-shaped Valentinies like the ones above, here’s a free pattern (PDF) for you! If you notice any mistakes or if something doesn’t make sense, please feel free to leave a comment here letting me know.

Happy knitting!
(PS- Yes, this pattern is posted with Anna’s permission.)

Mushrooms!

I have quite a fondness for all things woodland and whimsical, especially mushrooms and gnomes. I just added several wee mushrooms to my Etsy shop. Please check them out and spread the word. I hope to get a couple of gnomes done soon as well. Thanks!

(And a big thank you to Rachel Freitas for the lovely photographs!)