Writer. Editor. Teacher. Maker.
In a little bit I’ll take one last peek in my p.o. box to see if any stray bracelets are whimpering in there. Once I’m assured that all the bracelets have arrived, the swapping will commence.
These? These are the wrap-style bracelets I made. I have big plans for another batch in silk rather than cotton. Just wait!
Are you in?
Are you busy with your embroidery thread?
Take a look at the original post about the great Friendship Bracelet Swap of 2011. I’ve updated the amount of postage ($1.71) you should put on your SASE.
Still deciding on a pattern? Here are some great tutorials:
Petals and Sunshine has a cute wrapped bracelet tutorial
and…
if you search “friendship bracelets” on YouTube, you’ll get more tutorials than you can shake your embroidery floss at!
Remember, bracelets need to arrive by Monday, July 18th!
Feel free to share links to anything friendship bracelet related in the comments or over at the Flickr group.
ETA: Purl Bee just got in on the action!
There’s been a nice amount of interest in a friendship bracelet swap, and I’ve decided to follow the method used by the best-organized craft swap on the web! If you’d like to play along, here are the rules:
Signing up: There’s no need to sign up or notify anyone in any way that you intend to swap. Have your friendship bracelets at the address below by Monday, July 18, and you’ll be swapping. If you don’t have them there on time, they’ll be returned to you. I’ve set up a Flickr group you can join, but you don’t have to.
The bracelets: Each participant is required to make five bracelets in the same pattern but can vary the colors as much as desired. Pick your pattern, go crazy with the colors, and have fun! Finished bracelets should be 5-7” with additional length for ties. They can be as narrow or wide as you want to make them. Remember, people have different sized wrists, so leave plenty of room for tying!
Quality: If you’ve never made friendship bracelets before, take a look at some of the tutorials listed below, and practice! Please send your very best work. I found that after one wonky bracelet, the rest turn out great. The wonky bracelet will stay with me, though!
Please use embroidery floss. To keep postage costs consistent, please don’t add charms, beads, or any other extras. Each bracelet should be labeled with your name, town and state, and any other information you might want to include—pattern source, favorite summer activity, Twitter, Pinterest, or Ravelry handle, etc. Please tie the label onto the bracelet securely or use a safety pin to hold it on. Make sure the label won’t get separated from the bracelet!
If these requirements aren’t met, your bracelets will be sent back to you.
Swapping: Once your bracelets are received, I’ll select five different bracelets to send back to you. You’ll have a wrist full of fun before the end of July!
Postage: Please send a SASE with $1.71 postage. International swappers will have to have a paypal account so I can bill them for their postage.
Deadline: I’ll need to receive your bracelets by July 18. Please mail them to:
ORW, PO Box 122, Granby, CT 06035
Questions?:
Email me at pomogolightly@gmail.com or ask in the Flickr group.
It all started on Sunday. I went into Madewell with Sarah, saw some friendship bracelets and said “we should get these.” In the end, other items were gotten, and the $5 bracelets left behind. I couldn’t stop thinking about friendship bracelets, though.
This morning I pinned a bunch on Pinterest, and then I pulled out my embroidery floss to try out this tutorial. I swear, it’s like when I used to learn a new vocabulary word and then see it in EVERYTHING! Friendship bracelets seem to be everywhere! Or perhaps I’m just looking.
I haven’t hosted a swap in a long time, but I’m thinking a friendship bracelet swap might be super fun. Who wouldn’t want to sport a wrist full of pretty embroidery floss for the summer?
What do you say? Should I hammer out some details? Want to play summer camp with me?
My potholders for the swap are packaged up and on their way to Adrian. I used Tahki Cotton Classic and a C hook. What fun to return to crochet, my gateway craft! You can see more pictures here.
I've got a palette of cotton and a one of wool and hooks of all sizes for the potholder swap crafting. At SnB on Tuesday I knocked out a sample, discovering along the way that I need to go down in hook size quite a bit. I liked the pattern I tried, but I'm still looking around.
I'm enjoying the experimental nature of this swap…it's nice to play with color and texture in a different way, and fun to pick up a hook as a change from the ol' sticks.
What are you working on that has you trying new things?
This morning I attended the Nutmeg Spinning Guild's meeting and had the pleasure of hearing Abby Franquemont speak about spinning and her time in Peru. Maybe some fiber jumped into my tote bag, too. I'm not going to linger on that.
I brought my wheel with me, and I confess, it felt really good to spin. I haven't in quite a long time; a fiber that I had intended to use for my dissertation shawl has been languishing on the wheel (probably a really bad thing. I'm a bad spinner). Today, though, I got the spinning mojo back and had a lot of fun getting the fiber on the wheel. When I saw this, I decided to order one to hang off my wheel. Lendrums are just made to be tricked out.
Before I hit save, I want to ask you to send healing thoughts to Peru, where my oldest niece just had her appendix removed. Her partner is from there, and they were visiting his family when she took ill. His cousin is a surgeon, which I hope made it easier for her to go through so far from home. She won't be home until next week, and I know she must want the comfort of her mom and dad so much. What a terrible twist to her big adventure, poor lovey.
Tonight: grading and UCONN Huskies. Hope you're Saturday is going swimmingly!
Earlier in the year, I joined Bley's Cozy Domesticity swap, and my package–from none other than the hostess herself–arrived yesterday. I oohed and ahhed in delight as I unwrapped one wonderful treat after the next.
She made me a pair of her Fingerless mitts in perfect PoMo Golightly spring colors and also sent one of her gorgeous handmade books, a Lamy pen in the coolest packaging evah, and a kit so I can try my hand at book binding, too. Thank you, Bley, for an amazing and thoughtful package!
I'm off to meet a new baby and then have lunch with Neal. I can't believe this is it for spring break–I have so much to do still! The good news? Only six weeks left of the semester. Summer break is almost here!
Have you tried the Fall 2008 IK's Dumpling bag yet? Fastest knit around with a load of embellishment options. Want to make one? Want to get one? I've been cranking them out for Christmas 2009 gifts and for me to call a pattern "fast" , well, it really must be!
Join my IK Dumpling swap on Swap-bot. The secret code for joining is "dumpling". Sign ups are until March 8th and will be limited to readers of this blog and Ravelry members.
Hope you'll join me!
My photo doesn't do this adorable package justice. Heather filled a box with delightful goodies for me and the girls. I'm enamored of the little book houses…and the cookies, though they are long gone! The Scrabble ornaments are going to look great on my silver tinsel tree. If you click for bigger maybe you can get a better look at how sweet the two pair of earrings are, too.
See her (better) pictures (as well as what I sent) here.
