Sometimes, it’s not about the big and bulky, but the thin and delicate.

As a sometimes impatient crocheter, I’m a fan of big, bulky yarn. But I’ve got a healthy respect for those who work with small hooks and needles and turn out the lace pieces or the things with intricate details that take many hours (and much patience) to do.

Something like this:

This is the work of Irregular Expressions, a family project that comes all the way from Turkey! According to the shop’s profile, the mother makes all the goodies while her son and daughter help run the shop. (Yay for helpful family!)

Everything made Irregular Expressions is completely unique and won’t be duplicated. Since many of the pieces employ freeform crochet, it would be hard to re-make some of the items in the first place!

You’ll find cuffs, neckwarmers, chokers, necklaces and brooches in the shop. There’s a wonderful whimsy to many of the items, from meandering loops and cords to lacy fringes and irregular shapes. Some items also employ small beads. But everything displays a level of attention and detail and craftsmanship that’s beautiful.

Sometimes you just need a place to put all your important things. You know, like money, keys, cell phone, makeup, mirror, etc. Otherwise, everything just kind of lays around and then you leave the house and you forget something really important!

If you’re in the market for a cute container for said important things, you may want to check a couple of these out:

Unfortunately, the bottom pouch has already ben snapped up and reserved by someone, but you can still check out the rest of the felty goodness at Black Mustard.

Joline is the gal behind Black Mustard. She knits, then fulls (or felts, if you’re more familiar with that term) her pouches. Then, she meticulously needle felts the motifs on her pouches.

Each piece is one of a kind, and while she can re-create a piece, it of course won’t look exactly the same. She does take custom orders, too!

Vinyl records have that retro-hip quality these days. Recycling is also pretty hip these days. Combine the two and you’ll get some doubly cool accessories and home goods:

This is the work of Christine from Eye Pop Art in Portland, Oregon. Her specialty is taking vinyl records and painting the intricate mandala designs on them.

Mandalas may be round, but that doesn’t restrict Christine’s imagination at all! In addition to turning the records into clocks and wall hangings, the makes them into wavy mirrors or bowls. And there are, of course, the record cuffs. Very cute, bright and colorful.

She’s even taken her painting skills to CDs and turned them into wicked suncatchers like this:

If you’re looking for an amazing art piece for your home — and one that’s functional at that — do check out Eye Pop Art. And you’ll be supporting upcycling, which is an added bonus.

Well, actually, you probably will want to stop and take a good look at these lovely scarves from skiingweaver’s shop:

Kristin is the gal behind the loom at skiingweaver! (If you go to her shop, you’ll see a picture of her sitting in front of one of those cool enormous looms.) She produces unique handwoven items and even develops her own weaving techniques, so you’re sure to get something unusual from her shop!

She is also a big believer in using eco-friendly yarns such as bamboo and tencel, so if you go green and are very eco-friendly, you might want to check it out.

Besides, the patterns on her scarves and scarflettes are lovely. They’re just the thing to spruce up an outfit and add a unique accent. (And they don’t always have to be just for cold weather, either.)

I have extolled the virtues of needle, thread, fabric and felt before, and these fun items only reinforce my love of that combo:

These super-cute accessories can be found at fabulous fabulous!.

The main draw is all the brightly colored sewn goodies in the store. They range from the totally functional — iPod cozies, laptop cozies, patterned totes and even some stockings you can stock up on for next Christmas — to the plain ol’ fun — plush toys, mini monsters, even a wee non-pointy cactus.

You’ll also find crocheted hats and lots of felt-embellished tees and onesies.

Or maybe you just want that awesome-looking owl pillow above, which must have taken all kinds of time to cut those multiple pieces. The craftsmanship looks pretty sweet.

What’s a crafter to do when he or she has many talents and interests? Indulge all of them, of course! And excel at all of them.

That’s what Susan of Elbit Enterprises does. She makes jewelry, crochets, sculpts, makes dreamcatchers. Here is a sampling of her work:

Do check out the jewelry, crocheted wristbands and even runestones in the shop. Susan is bursting with creativity and bless her, she’s sharing it with the world! Or at least stop by to see what she’s going to come up with next!

One could argue that credit cards are just a bad thing that’s contributing to the financial ills of many people. (But then again, how else could some of us be able to buy such great indie stuff?!)

Anyway, at least one person is making sure credit cards do more than just burn a hole in your wallet:

This neat idea — yes, it is an American Express Blue card! — comes from Sweet Stella Designs, who has other fun accessories in her shop.

(She’s also got another credit-card related necklace in her shop … check it out here.)

In addition to some of the silver and beaded jewelry, there are plenty of food-related polymer clay accessories in the shop. All the clay accessories are true to their respective foodstuffs and just might make your friends hungry along the way. Take your pick from breakfast to snacks to candy.

Enjoy!

Knitting isn’t just for yarn, you know. Observe:

Oh, yes, they’re very pretty (and shiny)!

These bracelets were hand-knit by the talented Beth Brown. Look at Beth’s Etsy shop and you will notice that the banner says “Socks That Fit!” But Beth is more than just socks! (Just like knitting is more than just yarn and fluffy stuff! Like the correlation?)

Many things in the shop are labeled “Not Just … ” because really, everything there looks pretty and warm. If you’re still feeling the chill, you’ll probably find something that fits the bill.

If you’ve got some cold hands but you need your fingers (to either type, or maybe knit), check these out:

There are other wearables such as headbands, scarves, hats and of course, socks! Beth also makes custom items, which is always nice.

And if you do have a yarn fix, you can get that filled with the wide variety sock yarn — lots of colors! — in Beth’s shop.

Depending on where you live, it’s probably still cold out. And maybe quite drab and gray (or white). (The snow might be melting, but then it turns into that icky gray slush and probably gets all manner of leaves, debris and other gutter fodder stuck to it. Yecch.)

So perhaps you’d like to knit or crochet something warm, useful and colorful to chase the grays away? Maybe with some nice yarn like this?

You can find this yarn and much more at Kitty GrrlzKnits & Spins. Bobbi is the one behind the wheel at Kitty Grrlz, and she’s churning out yarn for all tastes. There’s single ply. Thinner yarn. Big, bulky art yarn. Two-ply. Three-ply. And all in wonderful, colofrul combinations.

If you don’t knit or crochet and still crave something warm, fear not! Kitty Grrlz also carries finished items, such as hats, scarves, shawls and hand warmers. All the items are handmade by Bobbi from commercial yarns or handspun yarns (either her own handspun or handspun yarn from other fine crafty folks!).

For example, you could find this cool scarf to keep you cozy:

Needle + thread + fabric + nifty additions = Fun accessories.

Like these:

a crocheted necklace …

a cuff watch …

a beaded bracelet (hey, i bet some needle and thread was needed to make it!) …

All this is the fine work of Amy Rae at Dragon’s Spark, where on her site she says, “I have a passion for the useful and beautiful, and a compulsion to create the things I imagine.”

How’s that for feeding your creative spark?

Amy Rae has plenty of beautiful accessories on her site, many of which incorporate fabric, ribbons or beads. The crocheted jewelry is especially nice, as it’s elegant and simple and makes for a nice, organic look.

There are also clutches, cuffs and some sweet copper wire jewelry. So Amy Rae’s need to create awesome stuff is to your advantage!

This only serves to prove that you can crochet just about anything, and it’s even more awesome when it’s one shop producing the varied body of work.

Observe.

Here’s a cake …

And maybe after you’ve had your cake (say it’s your birthday …), you can wear this out if you like:

This is the work of lubee, a crafty fiber team based in Jacksonville, Florida.

It’s a pretty varied store. There are all sorts of yummy foodstuffs (don’t miss the donut bracelets … or the crocheted chocolate chip cookies). Or maybe the crocheted animals. Or the scarflets and other accessories. Or the handspun yarn, even.

If you have a fiber lover in your life, or maybe are looking for a host of eclectic gifts, it might be a good place to start!

With it being November, you may start to feel a chill in the air. Maybe you need a hat. Or a scarf. Or maybe the knitter/crocheter/weaver/spinner/fiber fanatic in your life seeks some roving/yarn/something to create with. Or you know someone who quilts or sews or works with fabric. Or maybe you eat, breathe, sleep and live for fiber art.

Well, if you happen to fulfill one of the above categories, then perhaps you should check out the EtsyFAST (Fiber Arts Street Team) Trunk Show and its accompanying events!

Here’s a flyer (’cause visuals are always nice and pretty to have):

If you happen to be in the New York area, you can come meet and greet some of the EtsyFAST members at the Trunk Show, which will be held at EtsyLabs! Here is a listing of who will be there:

Yours truly, http://rosebud.etsy.com
Beth Brown, http://bethbrown.etsy.com
Hoolyghans, http://hoolyghans.etsy.com
Foolmoon, http://foolmoon.etsy.com
BklynMoMos, http://bklynmomos.etsy.com
Sunrise Lodge Fiber Studios, http://sunriselodgefiberstu.etsy.com
Sweetyprize, http://sweetyprize.etsy.com

This is but a fraction of the EtsyFAST team!

If you’re not in the New York area and want to support EtsyFAST no less, you can check out member shops who are holding a Trunk Show sale! The sales run through November 16th (the day of the show). Get your shopping on by checking out this list.

You can also check out some of the fiber goodies being sold by member shops at this Flickr link. Photos from the show will be posted there as well after it happens!

Finally, for more information on EtsyFAST, visit the EtsyFAST website, or read the EtsyFAST blog.

There’s a series of commercials on TV that touts the wonders of plastic — about how it’s in life-saving medical equipment, in your car, in your computer, your toys, basically how it makes up pretty much almost everything we use (think Tupperware, that bag holding your groceries, the armrests on your office chair, etc.).

Well, for Australian artist Liana Kabel, plastic is one of her favorite things to play with. And she turns it into pretty wicked things like this:

It’s always nice to see notions getting repurposed into cool accessories!

(They would also make the perfect gifts for the knitter or seamstress in your life!)

Liana’s knitting needle bracelets — the knitwit bangle! — come in all sorts of colors and needle widths. There is a wide selection in both her Etsy shop and her website.

There is other jewelry in the shop, all made with colorful plastic things, and even a necklace made from the ends of knitting needles.

OK, so there really isn’t any fighting involved, but I have to say that Kung Fu Cowgirl has to be one of the coolest shop names ever.

The shop has nothing to do with kung fu or even cowgirls, but there’s just oodles of cool stuff like this:

And, in a nod to awesome Nintendo games (of course, a favorite topic of mine), there is this awesome Kirby Nintendo DS case:

There are plenty of sewn goodies in the store, and just about everywhere you turn there’s something fun and colorful and cute. There’s definitely a lot of kawaii inspiration! There are also some unique buttons, one featuring dancing bacon and another featuring rabid broccoli.

When a shop’s got a pretty rad name, it goes without saying that you’d probably find a lot of cool stuff in it.

What would you do with a closet full of ties? You could give ‘em to your favorite nephew, maybe fashion a leash for your dog, play some tug-of-war or tie a bunch of them together and use them as markers when you’re hiking through the woods.

If you’re the folks behind Donda Designs, you will take the ties — nice ties, even! — and turn them into some pretty awesome accessories:

That’s a lot of ties.

Each product at Donda Designs is made with silk or polyester ties, and each bag is one of a kind. There are several different bag styles in different sizes, from a roomy messenger to a snazzy backpack to a mini tote bag. There’s an assortment of colors and patterns (stripes, solids, even floral ties — yes, there’s a use for those crazy floral ties!).

You’ll also find a bouquet of tie flowers and even a unique folded tie pendant at the shop.

You might just see ties in a whole new light when it comes to accessories.