You Spin Me Right Round

In my post-show glow (note to self: take pictures of your booths!), I've decided that it's time to refocus my shop. This means that a few changes are in store for Kastroll Kreations.

I've decided to focus the shop exclusively on crochet. It's what I'm good at, and what I love. The good news for you, dear reader, is that all of my sewn items are 40% off. Stock up on bibs and blankets for those babies that will inevitably become a part of the lives of your friends, family, and possibly you!


What about my art, you say? Well, my womyn's spirituality art is being spun-off into it's own Etsy store, Goddess Art, at http://goddessart.etsy.com. Here, you'll find my fabric transfers, patches, ACEOs, artSquared, original silk paintings, original line drawings, and any derivative art from these items. For now, the two shops will share a blog (after all, my art is also a Kastroll Kreation), and features will be shared between the two shops. Look for more posts on Goddess Art in the coming weeks, as I transfer the art listings from Kastroll Kreations to Goddess Art.
Back to crochet - I also learned that my accessories are wildly popular - hats, scarves, bags, and the like. But the items that did especially well were the ponchos, shawls, and shrugs. You'll see an increase in the number of clothing items in the coming weeks as I get these items photographed for the shop, and a clearing out of blankets, housewares, and the like. Soap socks and scrubbies, of course, will be available as always.

So many changes. Get ready for the new face of Kastroll Kreations and its sister store, Goddess Art. Both should be ready for their new images in time to ring in the new year.

Tweak-Tweak: A few projects modified

Now that I have Brie in my life, I'm finding crafting, posting, and blogging a bit more difficult. Granted, I'm getting it done, but not with the proliferation I had before. And that, my friends, is actually a good thing. As I type, my little banshee princess is sleeping on the bed. But that is just background for the topic of this post.

Since things are a little harder, I've spent some time tweaking older projects. The first was the soap holder. I decided to give the keyhole closure a try, and I decided, depsite my previous criticism, that I like the design. It looks cleaner. Granted, I still have concerns about small soap slivers disappearing out the larger opening, but even I have to admit that it looks better than a drawstring. So I've decided to sell both styles.

I also had two "eureka" moments for my silk paintings. First, that I could crop an image down to ACEO size in order to make an ACEO. I did this to make "Swimming" an ACEO, and realized that I could do the same for other paintings. My first attempt at this was "Turtle", and I am pleased with how it turned out. Second, as I stared at a beautiful, simple, line drawing done by ivaart, I realized it was an artsquared painting, a collectible form of art whose only requirement is that the finished work be 4x4" (5x5cm). I already have to crop my painting images into squares, so many of my works, especially the prayer flag panels, are well adapted to this. Be prepared to see the images I can't crop into decent looking ACEOs as artsquared items very soon.

Lessons learned:
1) Necessity does breed invention
2) Learning to make time for creating when I've created the most amazing little creature in the whole world is challenging