celebrating heritage

I’ve got some Native American blood in me, so I decided to do a craft which celebrates that culture.  Presenting my first ever dreamcatcher!

Now there is crochet in this — the brown yarn is crocheted around a cheap bangle from Wal-Mart (the whole thing is about 3 1/4″ in diameter).

From what I know about dreamcatchers, they were originally about the same size as this one.  Traditionally there should be 8 points and you should hang personal/spiritual items from it (these beads come from some clothing I used to wear).  Dreamcatchers are, of course, supposed to filter out bad dreams when hung above your bed, letting only the good dreams pass through.  Now I’m not using the traditional leather strips and sinew, but honestly I have no idea where to get sinew and I figured it didn’t matter what the materials were, so long as most of the symbolism is still there.  Old fashioned ones actually become brittle and fall apart eventually due to their materials, which is supposed to symbolize growing out of childhood, but since I’m not a child anyway I figured I could improvise.  I’m excited to hang it up!

speedy cushion

Last night and today, I stitched out another cushion!  This one’s about 14″ x 14″ and features Caron Simply Soft, like the last one.  I used this crochet button closure tutorial and this border tutorial.  I also used this cushion for my inspiration, but the pattern, as far as I know, is all me.  The actual pillow was sewn from one of my boyfriend’s undershirts, and stuffed with Poly-Fil.  Oh and I used the alternative granny pattern for the squares.  Here it is!

I love the way the little holes in the corner line up to make diamonds!  I feel like it adds extra visual interest.

I also framed part of the packaging my new craft bag came in today.  I know it’s silly, but I think I’ll hang it in my bedroom.  It is really cute:

Sorry for so many posts in a short amount of time.  I just like to share things when I finish instead of waiting a few days and possibly forgetting to post.  Anyway, hope you like cushion #2!

finally, it’s here!

The craft bag I ordered ages ago (or what seems like ages) finally arrived from the UK today, squished in my mailbox.  I was so excited to see it that I uttered a high pitched squeal as I pulled it out.  I must say, Cath Kidston things sure do come in pretty packaging!  Look at this cheery parcel close-up!

It’s so cute, and due to the expensive nature of CK products, I feel like I should frame a piece of this bag because I’ll probably not get anything else from them for a long while.  I must admit I had doubts about spending so much on a craft bag, and oftentimes I regret expensive purchases soon after I buy them.  Not this though.  I am so in love with this bag — I’m glad I saved up a little extra for it!  I’ve been eyeing it for so long…  So here is my treasure:

It is absolutely perfect.  And when I guessed on Cath Kidston colors for my cushion, I was pretty close, huh?

Sorry this post doesn’t have any new crochet projects or anything, I was just so excited about the bag I had to share with you!  I can’t wait to start carrying it around instead of the crinkly plastic bag I had been using before!  Having this bag makes me want to start new projects right away so that I can use it asap.  In fact, my boyfriend has requested another cushion in the same colors as the one above, so hopefully you’ll see the beginnings of that soon.

finished the cushion

My first cushion ever, made with the square pattern from Attic24 and the border method from Compact UK, has been completed.  I’m a little unsatisfied with the shape of the pillow — it’s still lumpy and misshapen looking.  Maybe with some use it will work the bumps out itself?  The buttons on the back aren’t quite spaced out the way I wanted them to be either, but I honestly just wanted to finish it up.  Anyway, here are the pics: