Artist Spotlight: Part Eighty-Three

You've met her here before, and here too...

So, let's catch up, shall we?  She's added some more adorable stuff to her shop, like bibs with matching booties.

And hair clips for the kiddos.

Also for the kiddos, she did up this awesome girlie skirt.

Of course, there are still awesome hats.

And check out this gorgeous vintage quilt that she made & then more recently revamped!

So... more news.  In addition to her current Handmade Artists Shop, she'll be opening a second shop soon for her gorgeous glasswork!  Stay tuned...

The Sun Came Out!

It had been raining for a couple days, so I decided to do up another Handmade Highlight, focusing on sunny works by my fellow artists at the Handmade Artists Forum.  So I bring you... The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow!

You can see the actual Highlight here, and from there check out each piece in its artist's shop.  Trust me, it's worth it!

Artist Spotlight: Part Sixty-Nine

You've met this week's artist before, here, here, and here, but it's been quite a while, so let's see what Sandi's been up to over at iKnitQuiltSew!

Well, when she's not off with her husband in some remote high-mountain meadow trying to catch dinner in one of the many streams, creeks, or ponds near where they live in Utah, she's been busy!

Still knitting... headbands, cowls, booties, infant hats, receiving blankets, and a new line of wash/discloths...

Still sewing her amazing dolls, bears, and now pincushions!

And still quilting... for kids and now for adults too!  I love the amazing wall hanging that would be so great over the couch in a living room.

Be sure to keep up with her on her blog too.

Artist Spotlight: Part Forty-Six and Forty Seven

Two artists for you again this week!

The first you've met here a couple times before, but she's so multitalented that she's worth discussing again.  Sandi Levy of IKnitQuiltSew does in fact knit, quilt, and sew!

Like these great items:  baby booties, receiving blanket, women's headband, and baby headband.

Or this amazing hand-done car quilt, one of many in her Etsy shop and Handmade Artists Forum shop with which I'm in love.

Or these terrific hand-sewn dolls (I love the glasses and the smirk!), sundress outfit, and bear!

To learn more about Sandi, be sure to check out her blog.

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Our second artist is also multitalented.  Fasten your seatbelts for this one, because you're about to meet Haffina!

I'll start with my favorite part.  I've got dollhouses.  I got my first one for high school graduation, and spent a lot of time and effort painting, wallpapering, carpeting, putting in wood flooring, hanging pictures, running electricity, furnishing, and decorating.  I even have a tiny little Hummel figurine.

What I do not have - and really want now - is one of these cakes, made from polymer clay and available at her Handmade Artists shop!

Looks delicious, right?  But look how tiny!

Crazy?  Not as crazy as this chainmaille necklace or this seed beaded one from her Zibbet shop!

Not nutty enough for you?  At Haffina's Minis, you can find this tiny Barbie jewelry, in seed beads or micromaille.

Or how about her tiny, hand-embroidered doll cushions?

Your Barbie needs more accessories?  She can have this handmade suede purse!

On the other hand, you can find more human-sized pieces at her Artfire shop.

To learn more about this Australian mother of five (!!!), you can check out her Wordpress blog or Blogspot blog.  Of course, if you're having trouble keeping everything she does straight, since I have no idea how even she does it, you can just get all the links at her main site.

Enjoy!

I really have to get used to writing 2011?

I love New Year's Eve.  I love starting fresh every year and having a marking point where I can tell myself, "OK, now is the time to do... whatever."  I hate having to remember to write the new year on checks and stuff.  I know for the first month, at least, everything will be written as January 2010, crossed out, and rewritten as 2011.

Geez, 2011 is even weird to type right now.

I guess I should give it more than a day, huh?

So... it's January, and I've got that January quilt kit to try.  I pulled it out, since I figure I should get it done and hang it before the month is over, yes?

Especially since I also have the February one, and would want to hang that one come February.

Why did no one tell me that quilting involves ironing?  I hate ironing!  So I pulled out the kit, pulled out the pattern and fabric, read the instructions... and came here to write this.  I have not yet ironed the fabric.

I guess I should have known.  It makes sense.  I just didn't think of it.

Sigh.

I suppose I should go find an iron (we have two) and the ironing board.  It doesn't look like it should take that long to do this... once I get going and just do it.

Ironing, huh?  Happy new year to me.  

But a real happy new year to YOU!  I mean it.

Artist Spotlight: Part Thirty-One

Now this is fortuitous.  My spotlight this week is on an artist I mentioned in last week's spotlight and featured back in May:  Sandi Levy of iKnitQuiltSew.  So let's see what she's been up to since May, shall we?

Well, for starters she no longer has just an Etsy shop, but also a Handmade Artists shop, just one more opportunity to shop for her wonderful things!  She's also started a Facebook fan page, where you can get the latest news on everything in her shop and what she's doing.

She also now offers - get this - a baby gift registry in her Etsy shop!  Isn't that the most phenomenal idea?  Instructions on how to choose your registry items are here.

You know, I love the handmade community.  Most are such a giving bunch, but Sandi is truly generous.  Not only did she create a terrific bear specifically to donate as a prize for the HAF contest, but she even gives away her self-learned secrets.  On her blog, she's got a tutorial on making a log cabin quilt block!  Since I started sewing and may be trying my hand at some simple quilts, I could see using that tutorial.  She makes it look so easy!

It's the exact opposite of her bears, which look like they wouldn't be easy at all to make.  I'll leave those masterpieces to her, the expert.

I love those smiling furry faces!

Artist Spotlight: Part Twenty

This week's artist is Sandi Levy of iKnitQuiltSew, in Cedar City, Utah.  And this chick's not kidding!  Knit, quilt, and sew she does indeed!

Would you believe this talented fiber artist spent nearly forty years creating her wonderful things and hearing "you should sell these!" before actually taking the plunge to do it?  Her grandmother taught her to knit and sew before color TV was even invented, and most of her knitting comes from her grandmother's patterns.  Better yet, her grandmother claimed that the patterns came from her mother, which means they'd date as far back as the late 1800s!  As a fan of antiques myself, I just love that.

And it makes her pieces classic.  These hats and booties can be passed down between siblings or even generations.

Not into the traditional pinks and blues?  Me neither.  Sandi accounts for that, so how about this awesome unisex set in bright, cheery primary colors, or the camouflage set, perfect for the young woodsman?

You can find any of those great pieces in her Etsy shop, together with this beautiful receiving blanket, a great gift for expecting parents.

She loves what she does, and you can tell.  She refuses to have tons of items in her shop at the same time, because she wants to make sure that each and every piece you see has gotten the care and attention to detail that it deserves.  She's also my favorite kind of artisan - the kind who recognizes that she really is an artist and isn't afraid to say it.  Score one for the artists of the world!

Enough of the knitting, on to the quilting... would you believe that she's a self-taught quilter?  She learned it from a book!  Now that's talent.

And I haven't even gotten to the sewing yet!  Sandi makes the absolute cutest dolls and teddy bears!

You just have to love that hair!  There are other great ones in her shop too.  But the bears... oh, the bears.  I want one of these bears.  Or maybe all of them.

The problem is picking.  Do I want those cute friendly-looking bears with the scarves or that awesome curly bear that looks like it really needs a good home?

Sandi's blog is fairly new, but with such great things coming from her, it's worth following to see what she does next!  Check her out!