Save Upper Darby Arts

The children of Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania need your help. $860 million in funding was slashed from public schools in the 2011-2012 Pennsylvania budget and the Governor has proposed an additional $100 million in cuts to public education for the 2012-2013 school year.

If these cuts in education funding are included in the final budget, Upper Darby School District (my alma mater!) will have to eliminate art, music, library science, and physical education classes from all elementary schools as well as technology and foreign language classes and associated instructors from district middle schools. These classes are very important to all children.

I graduated from Upper Darby and I am proud to say that my life was enriched by learning to play the viola in 3rd grade, having my first experiences with ceramics in elementary school, a love for books borrowed from the libraries as well as the French exchange program and French classes. While Upper Darby is faced with cuts of these programs now, the proposed budget cuts will truly have a negative impact on all students in Pennsylvania.

Please sign the petition against these cuts by going to the link below. It takes two seconds and you will make a difference for children who absolutely deserve it.

SIGN HERE: https://www.change.org/petitions/save-upper-darby-arts-www-saveudarts-org

YARN WEEK! - Day 7

It's the last day of YARN WEEK! and boy have I had fun.  I am definitely going to try some of the yarns I discovered this week. I am also making a pact with myself to find new yarns more often and not stick with the same old yarns. Check out these new and different yarns:

Sosae Caetano

Fickle Fiber Diva

Wolles Yarn Creations

luccadotyarn

Thanks for joining us for the great yarns and knitting supplies from Etsy sellers during Yarn Week!

YARN WEEK - Day 6

For Day 6 of YARN WEEK! I want to change it up a bit and post some supplies for knitters that I found on Etsy. All of these are excellent, and if you are looking for a gift for me, I highly recommend the items on this post.

Knit One Bead Two

Julie Knowles Pottery

Mountain Street Arts

Seeking Sanity

I am so glad it is Friday! This week was brutal and it was 114 degrees here today. I went to the Phillies game with some good friends and we just baked, but it was a great time.

YARN WEEK! - Day 5

Day 5 of YARN WEEK! It's a billion degrees in the shade here in Philadelphia today. I just walked home a mile and I didn't know if I was going to make it. Anyway, check out these fun yarns of the day.

The Scarlet Wood

merino wool mix

Swift Fiber Studio

70/20/10 baby alpaca/silk/cashmere

 

Pigeon Roof Studio

75/15/10 superwash merino/cashmere/silk

Did you ever have a week that you were just dreading, but turned out way better than expected? That's how this week was for me. I am definitely glad for two things today: that tomorrow is Friday and that I have air conditioning. :)

YARN WEEK! - Day 4

We've reached Day 4 of YARN WEEK! It is especially good because that means it is Wednesday already. To celebrate making it to the halfway point in the week, I found these yarns that have beads and sparkles! Who wouldn't love something pretty knit or chrochet out of these lovlies?

Enchanted Yarn

pure silk fiber

Ricki Kelly Studio

100% Tussah Silk

msfledermaus

mohair, firestar, angelina, wool mix

I am a big fan of sparkles. If you have favorite yarns, please share them in the comments section :)



YARN WEEK! - Day 3

It's Day 3 of YARN WEEK and I have to admit that I am having a lot of fun looking at all of the great options on Etsy.  I usually just buy from local shops in the city and near my parents' house just outside of Philadelphia, but there are definitely amazing yarns in amazing colors from Etsy sellers.

ceereese1

3 ply Targhee

AlohaBlu

50% Falkland British Merino/50% Tencel

Funk Yarns

Hand Painted Merini Roving

Sheeping Beauty

 Blue Faced Leicester

I have a confession to make: I love watching the Real World/Road Rules Challenges on MTV. It's ridiculous drama, but I love deciding whether I would be able to complete (or in some cases, even try) the challenges. I don't often watch reality tv, but I can definitely get hooked on these shows.

YARN WEEK! - Day 2

It's day 2 of YARN WEEK! This heat wave is really getting to me, but that doesn't stop me from falling in love with these beautiful yarns.

Little Red Bicycle

 3ply 80% superwash bfl, 20% nylon

HelenSW

single-ply of 70/30 silk/camel

Dye for Yarn

100% Tussah Silk

On a side note - is anyone actually transferring to Google+? I just don't know if I have the time or energy for one more social networking site. I am sort of overwhelmed as it is. I love Etsy and have grown accustomed to Facebook and Twitter, but I question whether I can handle one more thing on top of my job, shop, blog and real life...

IT'S YARN WEEK!

I am officially declaring it Yarn Week here at Albertine's Creations! All week, we will be featuring great yarns. I know it is a 90 degree July day, but it is time to start knitting for fall...and winter wool could use some love right now.

ElevenHills

Soy Silk, Merino x Shetland wool, Alpaca, Corriedale wool

 

aurelia wool

80% Merino wool and 20% shiny white bombyx silk

Dye For Yarn

100% Tussah Silk

Ewe and Me Yarns

78% mohair, 13% wool, and 9% nylon

Please share your favorites if you have some!

I hope you are having a great weekend. I sneaked off the the Orioles game in Baltimore at the last minute last night and it was a lovely night. I think Camden Yards might be my favorite stadium. The food is excellent and the seats are large. And the fans were super friendly. What else can you ask for?

Hands On

Even though Albertine's Creations is dedicated to knitting at this point and I love knitting, I also love ceramics.

I've been taking a pottery class for about two and a half years. My teachers are so nice and knowledgable.






I highly recommend taking up pottery if you can no matter what your skill level.

These are some of the items I've created over the past couple of years. Class starts again next week and I am so excited for it.

The Story Behind the Cowls

As you may have noticed, cowl scarves have been popular for the last couple of years. As a poor law clerk I needed to find a fairly reasonably priced gift for my fashionable city friends around the holidays. I began making cowls and giving them to my friends as holiday gifts. Their friends saw the cowls and wanted one of their very own and Albertine's Creations was born. I also have a lot of fun knitting and cannot possibly use all of the lovely items that I knit, so I am making them available for other people to love.

Although I've been a voyer and buyer on etsy for several years, I am still getting used to being a seller. I spent every spare moment I had over a two week time period reading all of the storque articles and blogs that I could to learn everything I could possibly learn about being a seller before becoming a seller myself. I still have much to learn. As a part-time crafter, I intend to use this blog to chronicle the ups and downs of my shop and to track what works for me and what does not. I hope someone else can find this helpful some day!