Where Have I Been?

I've been here and there and everywhere! Really, I was all over the country last summer, on tour playing accordion with Origami Ghosts. That was an amazing adventure; playing music through the vast summer heat of the USA. I also slung my homemade jewelry the whole way.

Upon my return to Seattle and adjustment to sedentary life I began to sell my wares at the Hangover Flea Market at the Comet Tavern. This is always fun! It takes place a couple of Sunday afternoons out of each month. Now I'm just trying to carve more time out of a busy schedule to work on some new jewelry and to share some of what I've been working on with the blog world.

So, here is my welcome back to myself and to you!

Karlita's Designs at the Hangover Flea Market, Fall 2012

Slow Motion Quilt

I don't really know how to make a quilt- not officially- but I get the general idea. 
I love quilts and the tradition of them.
When I was a little wee one, the church ladies of University Lutheran Church in East Lansing Michigan made me a quilt (or my mom bought it from them- I don't know).  It was soft dark blue underneath and deep hues of dark fuchsia, burgundy, beige, gray and white.  Perfect cozy quilty blanket.  And then somewhere somehow in my young adult adventures, it disappeared.

The sad story is over. 
About a year ago, my friend Eliese and I decided to start a quilt project creating squares based upon squares created by the other.  She lives in Portland, I live in Seattle- this is a long distance project that we are tackling in slow motion.  Someday we will finish it.  For now- it is fun!!!!

Here are the squares thus far:

Lindsey's Birthday Mask

I crocheted this for my friend's birthday.  Freeform mask!

Treasury is O so Zen

My earrings are in there with other fellow spheres!

Soft Crochet Helmet Hats

This is my new favorite hat.  It is soft and keeps my head and ears warm. 
I also enjoy making these hats!

My New Favorite Hat

The Soft Crochet Helmet Hat by Karlita's Designs

The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef

For Attribution License terms for this photo, click here.

I am so amazed by this!
http://www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/hreef/index.html

And I think that I'm a little late to know about it- but I love it!  I love the idea of a community of people coming together to crochet a coral reef to promote awareness of the destruction of global warming.  I guess that it is possible to become involved with this giant community project.
Look here for more information:
http://www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/hreef/communityreef.html

With permission from the IFF, a Satellite Reef could be started in Seattle!
http://crochetcoralreef.org/

Refashioned Pants = Yoga Mat Bags!

About a year ago I said that I would make a yoga mat bag. A home-made tube shaped bag with an easy to carry strap to hold it to the body. I thought for a while that I would crochet the bag. Hmmmm.... I thought. Yessss.... I will crochet it with pretty colors. And then I thought about how easy it would be to sew a bag. Well, all of these things take motivation and I am a procrastinator. Although I am a procrastinator that gets so many things done while putting off one simple task; one as simple as sewing a tube with a strap. And then, the other day, the yoga bag motivation kicked in and I started looking through my fabric and found a pair of torn red pants. I looked at the pants... Aha! Pants have legs and legs are tubes and voila, yoga mat bag! Now I just need to motivate to sew those buttons on.

Refashioned Yoga Mat Bags!