Amanda: what I've been crafting lately

I've been concerned that I don't have enough crafting going right now, with our etsy shop opening just around the corner. I went looking for inspiration, and I think I found a little bit... I just need some momentum.

I got some graph paper so I can plot out block print designs, and started messing around with a piece of beginner's soft linoleum:

I threw the calla lilies in there for fun. Those and my Harry Potter Gryffindor scarves are the two things I have at present that I know I will be posting in the etsy shop in July.

I decided to start with some popular nerd symbols, namely the weighted companion cube:


and the heroes unwound, single-helix symbol:

This beginner's linoleum is messy. It leaves a lot of little flaky bits when I'm working with it. I still can't decide which kind I like better. I'll just have to work with them both some more and see how it goes.

The other two small prints in the top picture are old projects. They were trial runs for a project for Val's wedding that we eventually abandoned. They're tiny Star Wars prints; the rebel alliance symbol and the galactic republic symbol:



These are all very rough prints. As you can tell, they haven't been inked yet. I need to do some test prints before I decide whether they're good enough to sell. My guess is that, at present, the only one good enough is the Heroes symbol.

I really need to learn to take my time carving these, especially when I'm using beginner's linoleum. It's so easy to mess up a perfectly good block. But the practice is good for me, even if I end up discarding these. I'll show you when I have some prints to share.

I also have some knitting news. Brandon (my boyfriend) and I went garage sale shopping the other day, and I got some really fantastic yarn at an estate sale. We also got some cookie sheets and Brandon got some small mixing bowls. But I'm really excited about this yarn:



It's a really standard gauge, I got about 4 or 5 skeins of it... and just check out that color!


Green is my favorite color, and this one is so rich. There are a million things I could do with this yarn. And I have so much of it! Any suggestions?

I have one big project that I would really like to have a prototype of before July, but with Val's wedding coming up, I don't think I'll have it done before then. Maybe I'll work on it during July. It's a treat for D&D fans... Here's your first hint: Think of a campaign you did that was truly epic. You had a great character, and you want something to remember it by. If all goes well, I'll have the perfect product for that occasion in a few weeks' time.