Danido Crafty » review

So today I got my new Craft Magazine (www.craftzine.com) and on the back cover there was a big ad for www.artfire.com which heralded the tag line “Sell without fees, create without limits”. Why yes please! Although Etsy has been very good to me, the idea of selling without fees on a site similar to Etsy is awfully enticing. So I set up a shop. (See it here) There are two types of accounts you can have as a seller, the free kind which is pretty limited and then for a $20 subscription fee a month you can have more access to the site and advertising. If I can sell a few things through there and I see I’m getting a decent response I’ll probably upgrade my membership but for now I just listed a few of my yarns, and one of my knit items. We’ll see how it goes.

The site has a nice aesthetic and seems pretty intuitive in how it’s put together. As far as I can tell I’m the only seller with yarn listed at present, but I’m sure as the rest of the magazines with their big ad in it get out to the other crafters around the world that other people will begin signing up too. At least that’s my hope and I’m sure it’s theirs as well.

I haven’t sold much of the last batch of yarn I did, but I’m hopeful that as knitters/crocheters begin to get freaked about the upcoming holiday knitting that I will see a sudden influx of ‘OH CRAP! I need to knit four pairs of distinctive socks for each of my sisters’ orders in the next few weeks. At least that’s what I’m hoping because I have a family full of people who don’t fully appreciate knitted gifts and I need to be able to buy presents for those of my loved ones who are ‘knit immune’ (as the Yarn Harlot calls them).

Also, this new issue of Craft is full of fun things. There’s this silver clay stuff that I want to try and play with soon. Also a recipe for Yerba Mate tea that I think my boss might like for Christmas this year. And then there’s a really cool tutorial on making a stack of books a stash box. All kinds of cross-crafty things I want to mess with. Time/money permitting I’d like to get to them all in the next few months.

On Monday, amidst the running of errands, I popped into the Bellagio to take a gander at the flowers they do seasonally in their garden area. I heard they had butterflies, so I had to go check it out. The butterfly part was depressing as hell, but the flowers were beautiful.

I didn’t take my good camera because I didn’t expect to be over there so the shots I did get were with my BlackBerry. Not bad photos for a phone camera, but I’d like to go again with the real camera.

This was the only decent shot I got of a butterfly. They were in a little glass garden shed thing, and several of them were dead. There was some really beautiful blue and red ones, but they moved too much.

This frog was pretty interesting, and I managed a decent shot of it. I like the brown wart like lumps they did on it. Very realistic.

This was my favorite photo of the day. The sun came in just right and lit up these flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

Less vibrant but equally pretty flower.

I had hoped that this photo would turn out better, but sadly it was a little hazy.

And last but not least:

 

 

 

 

 

 

A snail made from roses, almost poetic.

All in all, I spent less than 20 minutes there because there were far too many people to really enjoy it. Not to mention I’m allergic to anything that blooms, so by the time I left my whole face was red and itchy and I could barely breathe.

It certainly was beautiful though.

Leg warmers. ARE. NOT. OKAY. They weren’t okay the first time, they are not okay now. It is 2008, we left leg warmers behind somewhere around 1988. It’s been 20 years, the scars still have not healed. Let it go.

I implore you, dear knitters, to stop this madness. Quit designing them, quit wearing them, quit knitting them. Do not give your children leg warmers, do not buy patterns for leg warmers. Just say no to leg warmers.

I bring this up because the spring issue of Knitty.com is up. Featured there among beautiful socks, lace and sweater patterns is this one glaring misstep in fashion judgement.

The pattern is called Mosey and friends, they need to mosey on outta here.

These would be completely awesome if they had feet and we could market them as slippers, or mukluks or something. They’re cute, I like the cable pattern, I even like the little swingy pom-poms hanging off the side. I fully appreciate the wonderful job the designer did in putting together excellent and interesting elements, I love the yarn choice, it looks lovely and soft and comfortable.

What I don’t like is the Flash Dance flashbacks I keep having, or the fact that these are being ‘rocked’ with a denim mini skirt.

Oh and we need to address this:

This was fun to knit and more fun to wear.  It’s great to pair these up with a skirt or shorts for the cooler days in spring.

Yeah, if it cold enough to require that you wear wool up to your knees, chances are you should have pants on. Not a skirt or shorts. If it’s warm enough for skirts and shorts, you don’t need a foot of wool insulation from your ankles to your knee caps.

I am by no means the most fashionable girl on the block. I have what I like to refer to as (however delusional it may be) ‘classic style’ working for me. By ‘classic’ I mean, I’ve worn the same thing since I was 16 and by ’style’ I mean anything I can find for less than $20 on the sale rack. Mostly this consists of black shirts and dark denim.

Regardless of my lack of fashion sense, I can at least say that leg warmers are persona non grata in my wardrobe.

Okay, enough poking fun at other people. I have work to do. If you haven’t yet, be sure ya’ll check out the ‘My Ex is Full of Knit’ contest over at the ADHD Knitting blog.

I saw Deathcab for Cutie and Jenny Lewis (with the Watson Twins) at the Joint last week. Jenny Lewis never fails to utterly overwhelm and suprise me. I have loved her with Rilo Kiley, and now I am thouroughly addicted to her solo stuff. The Watson Twins back her up wonderfully and their ability to match her gut wrenching vocals with their soft and sweet harmonies is amazing. For a rather small woman, Jenny Lewis packs a lot of punch into her white girl soul and belts out songs that are a throw back to old gospel hymns.

I shelled out the $30 for tickets specifically to see Deathcab, although I will say that Jenny Lewis stole the show. I love Deathcab, and have been a solid fan for several years, but I was pretty underwhelmed by their performance. Not because they did a bad job, but just because I was still reeling from Jenny Lewis. Deathcab is a different kind of band anyways, and I should have known it would be a relatively uneventful show. It was basically 200 people standing around quietly singing along to their favorite Deathcab standbys. It was like listening to their CD’s on really big speakers, with alot of other people. Also, I had about eight jackasses spill beer on me throughout the night, which did sort of put a damper on how well I was enjoying the show. Also, I wasn’t drinking at this concert because I was sick as well. Oh, and the asshole in front of me was 8 feet tall and blocking my view.

If you’re interested in either of these bands I suggest the following songs for download: Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins: Rise Up with Fists, Jack Killed Mom and It Wasn’t Me. Deathcab for Cutie:  Photobooth, Company Calls and for something recent try Crooked Teeth, though I’m sure you’ve already heard it.

I have also decided that unless I’m standing by the bar, enjoying a cocktail I do not like the Joint as a venue. I’ve been to three shows there, (two of them were in the last week.) and the only one I really enjoyed was Alkaline Trio a few months ago and mostly because I started drinking before I even got there and would have enjoyed myself if I was listening to Matt Skiba sing out of the back of my Subaru on the side of a gravel road. I can enjoy Alkaline Trio anywhere. (especially when intoxicated.) I saw All American Rejects earlier in the week at the Joint, and while they did put on a pretty decent show it was distracting to try to find a good vantage point. I could have lived without the four opening bands that prempted All American Rejects taking the stage, but that’s mostly because they a) all sounded the same anyways, b) did not put on a very lively stage show. The Rejects however, did put on a good live show, complete with video clips on the stage behind them and a song where the lead singer and the overly gelled guitartist ran up to the balcony to perform by themselves. (The rest of the band backed them up from the stage.)

A note to the members of All American Rejects however: I regret to inform you, you are no longer the rock stars you were (briefly) in 2002. I did listen to your self titled CD repeatedly for a few weeks in ‘O2, but have since moved on. Oh, and I liked you better with a drum machine. I dig the tinny sound of prerecorded beats. Please be advised that your lead singer needs a burger and your guitarist needs to wash his greasy head. Please. Thank you.

Signed (with love…)

Danido