Okay, I'm going to be busy the next few weeks. Busy with a capital "B." This is mostly because I'm starting NanoWrimo in November (I'm tiemeinbows on that board, if you want to look me up!) and so I'm doing some extra work beforehand to not get too behind while I'm trudging over 1667 words a day!

But enough about me, let's get to some of the pretties I've been spotting on Etsy this week! My pics this week just happen to fall into two categories—bags and fiber. Why? I don't know. That's just the way I roll.

First up is ElephunksTrunk's Green Zippered Pouch:


I just.... luff this fabric. I'd go so far as to say I *heart* it. The polka dots inside are just twice the fun. I'm a sucker for things like this. I can't tell you how many coin purses I own...

Next we have the Waterway Wensleydale from glblf's shop.


I've never spun with Wensleydale before, but it just looks so soft I want to reach into my monitor and grab it up in handfulls of fluff. I love the blues and greens, too. Yum. Bookmarking that shop, for sure!

And okay... I have a weakness for SHINY, too.


Especially when the shiny is mixed in with super rich dark colors like this Kiss Kiss Bang Bang batt from CorgiHillFarm. Talk about lush. This batt is merino, silk and firestar, and just gorgeous in all it's purple-y plummy goodness!

Last up... what do you do when you've spun up all your pretty pretty fiber? Well then you use your yarn and you knit something with it, of course (or crochet... of course!). And what do you need when you're doing that? How about a nifty project bag from lewZILLA?


This is (if you couldn't guess) her Gryffindor Inspired Box Bag—and that right there is enough to make me squee like the fangirl I am. But look! Pretty fabric, and a tiny little pocket to hold your stitch markers, too! Lew has all kinds of other goodies, too, so be sure to check out her whole shop!

Firstly this week, I wanted to highlight TattooDreams' Area 51 UFO Alien Box. For those of you who have forgotten (or never knew in the first place) I was/am/will ever be a HUGE fan of the 1999 WB TV show Roswell, and so when I stumble on something like this, the silly fangirl in me gets a kick out of it.


Besides that, though, it's just a beautifully-put-together little box. She has a lot of gorgeous, less-silly boxes, also. This one makes me happy, though! The feet and the handle at top, perfect!

Next up we have Summer Glory Color-Changing Cotton from WollesYarnCreations:


So pretty! I want to jump into this yarn and splash around a bit, it'd be like diving into the sunset!

And not too far away on the color scheme:


Dreaming of Autumn sock yarn by Stricken Smitten. Talk about delicious-looking yarn. It looks good in a bowl—I want to drink it up. I am developing quite a fondness for sock yarn, despite my ongoing hesitation to commit to making a sock (even my Mingus project by Cookie A. is turning into wrist-warmers as we speak). I looooooove this pink. I want to marry it. Can't get enough of it.

And lastly, but certainly not leastly:


This is the Vampire Diary by repaper. Heeheehee. I haven't read the books, but I've been sucked into the TV show since it started (who could resist Ian Somerhalder back on TV?) and I just about flipped when I saw this book. It's repaper's entry into the Bookbindingteam's 2009 Halloween Challenge, and I think it's fantastic. You can find the other entries here. :)

Believe me, I know. I've disappeared off the face of the blogosphere for a little while. And why? Well mainly because my camera broke and thus I was depressed and unable to upload photos. This shouldn't have stopped my Wednesday Wants, but it did. Actually, embarrassingly, my laptop died for a while there, too. But now I am back to being technologically functional!

I've been busy this week doing updates on my shop, since finally getting my camera back (it took ages, unfortunately) I've been able to update some of the things I'd been working on in the meantime. Here's my favorite:


This is my White on Red Button Journal. I was sorting through my buttons a while back and decided I really needed to make a journal with an assortment of white and clear buttons on the cover, and voila! I machine-stitched two pieces of bright red felt together, but then I decided to do a hand sewn running stitch all the way around the edge, just to make it really POP. The funnest by far was sewing the buttons on, though. I basically just grabbed a handful, blind, and dropped them on the cover, not fixing their positions any more than to spread them out a bit and turn them upside up. It's a little bit of a departure from my usual style, but I love, love, love it!

Check out my other new listings at the shop!

I also wanted to share with you a sneak peek at one of the two journals I'll be donating to the "I'll be Homemade for Christmas!" Auction for Support Stacie in November.


I know that looks almost like it's black, but it's really a dark navy blue, and the pages and thread used for the embroidery are the exact same color of WOW PINK. I mean, this is seriously pink stuff. Not for the faint of heart. ;)

I'll be working up one more journal for the auction, and hopefully doing some knits, too. Gotta love homemade stuff being bid on for a great cause!

Well this past week has just slipped past me! I suppose that's what happens when you fill your days with book-writing and book-making and book-reading. Whew, that's a lot of bookish things! So my weekly fancy is going to be not bookish at all, really. I hope you don't mind. ;)

In fact, I'm going to be revisiting one of my favoritish, things quite a bit, and you all know that's fiber. ;)


Take this superwash Merino from KnitFitKnitter. Is that gorgeous, or what? It's called Twinkle, 220 yards worsted weight, and I just love it. Maybe it's just my old AP art history class (which was longer ago than I've realized!), but I look at this and all I see is Van Gogh. It's perfect, isn't it? Gorgeous stuff!

And talking about gorgeous...


I can't help but be stunned by this. It's wall art by box64studio, more specifically an 18x18 inch Paper Collage Floral Burst. I am amazed that people can make such gorgeous things out of paper. It seems like such a delicate thing, which I suppose is part of the very beauty of it. These floral bursts remind me of my mother's Hawaiian appliqué, which is something that I've always wanted to do myself. Beautiful stuff!

And then we have this:


Hee. Oh my goodness if this isn't one of the cutest little monster(pair!)s that I've ever seen. This is Daphne and Delilah the Mommy and Baby Monster. It's a pattern, to make your very own little set of monsters, and I can't get over how darling these little gals are. The listing shows the pattern done up in a few different colorways, so you can get an idea of what your monsters might turn out like, and all of them are adorable! This is from dangercraft's shop, and really all of her patterns and creatures are just fabulous.

My next pick for this week is from SunshineMaker, who is brand new to Etsy!


She's got lots of lovely fibery things, but this right here is her Purple Rain batt. 50 grams of gorgeous purple wooly goodness with just a hint of white viscose to make it pop! This makes me wish (not that I hadn't already!) that there had been room in the car for my spindle and fiber when I made the move... They'll get to me eventually, they're tucked up safely down in San Diego... but I see stuff like this and I want to spin NOW. Sigh.

And lastly...


YES PLEASE. As you can see, this is the Buy Handmade shirt from phippsart. What a great way to tell the world your opinion on hand-crafted, high-quality items, versus the dross that we see in department stores? I love everything about this shirt. The color, the style, all the detail!

It's in conjunction with The Handmade Movement, which, if you haven't checked them out, you really should! It's a fabulous blog that coordinates sneak attacks on various Etsy shops... meaning a shop can be "sponsored" by someone, and announced to at a specific time, and as many people as are willing go and purchase something from that shop! It's such a great way to promote Etsy artists, and I tip my hat to them!

It's been a while since I've been able to do a Wednesday Wants post, so I thought I'd get an extra long one ready for you today!

Firstly...


Can you say yum? These are Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies from DeepSouthBakery. Looking at this picture I can almost smell these cookies. They just look amazing, don't they? Classic, rich chocolate chips, and then that hint of citrus? And I don't know if you've picked up on this yet, but I'm all about the citrus. You want to find your way into my heart it's through that fabulous fruit family right there. These look simply divine!

And now for something slightly less edible, though no less yummy:


Here's playatlifefiberarts' Peck of Peppers Kettle-dyed yarn, recycled from a 100% Ecuadorian wool sweater. Such pretty colors! I think the title is just perfect, too, this does certainly look like a zesty little skein of yarn! Looks awfully soft, too, doesn't it? You bet it does.

Next we have something from joojoo, who has one of the cutest shops on Etsy.


This listing is entitled Darlings for your Terrarium. ! How adorable is that? These little polymer clay dears are ready to liven up anything you want to put them in, a terrarium, a water bowl, or as shown, a lovely little jar of salt. Look at those little grass spriglets! And the little green coconuts waiting to ripen on the palm. I love it. I just love it.

I can't quite let this go without one more cute item:


This Octopus Crochet Pattern from trulyoutrageous is just the cutest thing! It includes all three sizes, so you could make a whole little octopus family all for yourself! She has lots of other fun patterns too, so be sure to check them all out!

And lastly, a new little find of mine that is just darling:


This is the Green Weeds Blank Book from Sprouting Oxygen, and she has some other really beautiful books as well. (Actually, her whole shop is lovely!) The look of the wood is appealing on its own, but then the stamp she uses is just the perfect touch. She'll even add a button-enclosure to it for an extra fee, which I think is kinda neat. :)

So that's one more week of Wants. Why oh why must my eyes be so much bigger than my wallet? Well, to entertain all of you, of course. ;)

Actually, forget the wind. The change is here. It's run over me like a runaway cart, but the dust is starting to settle.

I am, as of nearly a week now, a California resident no longer. It's a sad thing for me, but at the same time, I can't complain about where I am now. Just to give you an idea of my surrounding area...


I took this picture while on a walk about a month ago when I was visiting here to prep for my move, and there are flowers like this all over. Some exquisite gardens. California has it's beauties, and many, many they may be, but neighborhoods full of roses? That's not one I'm familiar with!

The first few days of settling in were taken up by getting ready for and then participating in the Bookbinding Team's Summer BBQ Scavenger Hunt, which was a lot of fun! (The winner, btw, will be announced later on tonight, check the team blog.) It was a great experience for me, but it kept me so busy that I didn't even get a chance to update my blog to let you all know that I was back in business!

Still, I had a good weekend, sold a Twilight notebook, and premiered and sold my darling Emmeline:


This is Emmeline, a chunky little journal measuring 3.25 x 4.5 inches, and fixed up just so in her little button-snap sweater so that she'll keep your secrets and thoughts safe and sound—and she'll even hold your pen for you, too! This little Emmeline has already sold, but there are lots more, in lots of different colors, coming up!

Yes, I'm still offline for a few more days, but when I reopen my Etsy shop August 1st, it'll be with a bang! Not only am I going to have a bunch of new items listed, I'll also be participating in a fantastic Summer Barbeque Scavenger Hunt hosted by the Bookbinding Etsy Street Team! Details at our team blog, or just look below:


Next weekend starting Saturday, August 1, through Monday, August 3, browse participating shops and locate hidden photos of items associated with the venerable tradition of the summer backyard barbecue. Not sure what that means? No worries! We'll provide a list of items so you'll know exactly what you're looking for. Find them all and enter to win a $30 gift certificate good at any participating shop. AND win bonus chances to win with each item purchased from participating shops during the hunt!

Come back next Friday, July 31, for a list of participating shops and complete details. Just follow the smoke!