For the entire month of July I will be pushing people to start their christmas crafts. Whether its things they will give as gifts or things they will make for their home, the time to start is now! If you're going to needlepoint a personalized stocking for that new grandchild you need to start now. So let me know what projects you want to start and share your pictures. Maybe we can all keep each other motivated this summer.

Summer of course means kids need to be kept busy. Well I won't bore you with repeats because I did do a show last summer about this but I will remind you that I have a video tutorial on our web site to begin the basic lanyard keychain. I keep trying to do more but life gets in the way. Hopefully I'll have more up soon. Episode 1 Kids Projects

Scouting web.com has alot of projects for kids that are perfect for the summer  http://www.scoutingweb.com/scoutingweb/Program/CraftsGeneral1.htm

Now I know in the summer you don't really think about crochet or knitting but I have been doing a lot of it. I did a star blanket for my friends baby and now I'm doing a blanket for my friends little girl I'm naming chocolate candy. When you see the pics you'll know why. Pictures of these projects are on Flickr or if your on Ravelry

But I don't seem to crafting as much as I like and one of the reasons is twitter. Twitter if you haven't heard of it is hard to explain but ill try. You set up an account and start saying things that your are doing which creates a feed or listing. people can subscribe to that feed and follow what you're doing.  I twitter when I craft or when I read something interesting and also when I start a sale in the store. But the fun of twitter is following others with like interests. 

Go to http://twitterpacks.pbwiki.com is a great way to find people to follow by topics. Like Vickie Howell and Craft magazine. You can also search http://summize.com/ where you can search what people are tweeting. 

No interesting crafting news this week but I did find a project I want to do. I was looking for a broomstick lace vest pattern to remake something my grandma did many years ago but instead I found this super easy broomstick lace wristlet pattern on Gritty Knits I of course will post pictures when its done. 

Next up is new stuff coming out. Lots of new things, first up is from

ChaioGoo needles are made of Moso bamboo, the largest and strongest bamboo in the world. Im told they are a high quality yet very attractively value priced when compared to other brands on the market. Ranging from 5.49-9.79 depending on size. The coloring is a warm brown and is completely natural. No dyes or stains are used to achieve the warm brown shade. Some consumers have said the color provides a good contrast with the majority of shades of yarn. 

Another new thing this week was some vinyl charms for the ka-jinker. Does anyone actually use one? If you never heard of it, it reminds me one of those handheld clothing taggers but instead of price tags you can attach jems to crafts. It seems like a nice idea but seems like alot of money to spend to just to attach things. Maybe one of you can convice me. 

Next new thing is from boye. Loopy Scarf Tool Set  RETAIL $5.99  Create beautiful scarves in minutes! A simple and fun tool that helps you make a scarf quickly and easily. Wrap yarn around tool in a figure eight fashion and you have a great scarf-in less than an hour! Making just one is not an option. Package comes with one large and one small tool, a children's needle for completing the scarf and easy-to-follow instructions. looks like fun, I will be getting one of these for the shop because it really looks like one of those no skill needed crafts for a beginner.

Keeping with yarn there is a new yarn from bernat called sox yarn. 1 skein makes a pair of self striping socks with a free pattern on the wrapper. For $5.99 to make my own personal socks seems resonalble, i just have to learn to knit better. 

Then from patons is some new colors for their beehive baby sport yarn. 6 new shades of Twist varigated colors. 3 for girls and 3 for boys. I have other colors from patons beehive yarns so i may just add these to the shop too. 

Lastly is Chunky glitter Great for all kinds of decorating. Ideal way to add color, shapes and sparkle. Simply squeeze or brush on and let dry. It is non-toxic, acid free and sticks to craft foam, paper or wood. I never really like the confetti but this looks like it could work. 

Well thats all from me this week.  I have discontinued using the talkshoe chat room for now but if anyone wants to chat, please let me know and I'll be happy to fire it up again. You can also send me a recording or email of a product you found or a craft project your doing and Ill add it to an upcoming show.