Planet Nice Crafts

Hello Everyone! I hope you have thrived in at least one way during this hot summer. The summer that had kick in it until yesterday?  Now on to Fall or Autumn. All is well here; some extra self-care was required because allergies were worse than in previous years. But there is nothing wrong with more self-care. Not much free time devoted to crafts except for a session on repair work that had been stacking up. What has been happening and this is the big REVEAL is the development of PLANET NICE ODYSSEY (PNO) on Etsy. YES! Okay this is not official yet as I haven't signed up, but I'm getting there. What is this new adventure? I haven’t exactly drafted a mission statement but in macro terms I would say it is a presentation of craft materials, goods, and experiences/services by the practitioner of Planet Nice Crafts, me. The purpose of this blog and PNO is to share my adventures in crafts with some baking, gardening, jigsaw puzzles, reading, and other hobbies of necessity (plumbi...

Yes, the last post was July 27 – I think that is amazing. What happened? Well, starting a new job and Fall semester everyone. Fall semester 2019 has been the semester I have worked the largest number of hours (20-25 a week) while still taking 4 credits and trying to save the planet. Good things have been happening during this ‘soon to be ending’ semester. At the beginning of it, just when I thought I was finished with sewing for the theater, I discovered that they really needed my help and I was challenged to carve   out as many hours as I could from an already full schedule. Here is my favorite piece I think I have ever sewn for the Theatre Department, it was the main character’s coat for the Fall production “The Little Prince”: I went to see the play and didn’t really understand it even though it is considered a children’s play, but I was very pleased how durable the coat was despite all of the actor’s movements. It hung beautifully, not really a credit to me but to the...

Hello Everyone. I apologize for being absent the last three months. It has been a very busy 2019. Since I last posted during Spring Break, I completed the semester but it was busy until the very end which was not until May 18. I don’t think I will be taking 4 classes or 12 credit hours ever again – it was much too rigorous. Overlapping with Finals week, the community garden opened. This Spring was really tough for gardening: record rainfall, grey skies, and cold. I set out plants and seeds. The plants have been struggling, but now that we have more seasonal weather, they and a second planting of seeds have fared better. On the heels of ending the school year, the employment year began. There are still several classes I plan to take, but now I hope to devote more time to employment – a good idea to keep Planet Nice Crafts spinning on its axis. That is the update. I left the bean bag chair way back in late January after a first attempt at the zipper. I find zippers tough. I have re...

After a mild start, we are in the thick of a nice normal Chicago winter with plenty of snow and cold to go around. The days are getting longer and the Southern exposure of the sun, when it decides to come out, is the best light ever. To go with the weather, the Spring semester started – it must be a sign that time should be spent indoors on homework. Before moving to Planet Nice Crafts updates, I would like to share this Ralph Pucci advertisement, found in a recent issue of Architectural Digest. I think the chair bears resemblance to a bean bag chair, don’t you think? The last week of Winter Break was very productive with two museum visits and progress made on the Planet Nice Crafts bean bag chair.  The construction of the cover started with the pocket – specially cut so it would blend with the one of the panels. I hope you can see it below. The big stitches are temporary basting stitches used to keep the pocket in place while the pocket was attached by machine sti...

We made it through the holiday season and Planet Nice Crafts’ first year to 2019 and the blog’s second year. As predicted, the holiday season was quite hectic with cleaning, shopping, writing out cards, baking, decorating, wrapping presents, cooking meals, and socializing. It was sometimes a blur, but I am happy with how it all turned out.  I hope all of you had an enjoyable holiday season. As for the holiday recovery process, it has concluded. The Christmas tree is gone, the chairs are back in storage, and any leftover cookies were put in the freezer. This is good news because the new Winter semester is starting next week Tuesday. What put the final touch on the transition was the resuming of Planet Nice Crafts activities. The bean bag chair was initiated. This has been a good project because it has given me an opportunity to become more comfortable with a plaid fabric. The chair has two layers: a lining bag that will hold the pellets and an outer bag. The pattern suggested ...

Hello Everyone! The humidity continues this summer – there has not been much of a break, and I have been trying my best to stand tough though I do get fatigued more quickly. Speaking of breaks, the three weeks to Fall semester is soon over as a week from today I will have my first day of classes. Does anyone complete as much as they really want? From a project perspective, the green hat was re-done successfully! I was meticulous about counting stitches and used more stitch markers leading to no mistakes so I was content at last. Here is a photo of the now completed hat: I can let you know of three differences compared to the previous hat: two rows added to the bottom band, more uniform diagonals, and lace pattern going higher. Also, there was only an itty bitty piece of yarn left. So, I am ready to move on to yet another hat with the previous purple yarn used for the fingerless mitts. Though Planet Nice Crafts is planning to continue with two more knitting projects,...