I bought another Craftsy Mystery Box. This time it's July's. There's still some left. I got the less expensive one, but for just $10 more you $100 worth of luxury knitting goods for $40.

If you recall, last April I bought one of Craftsy's Mystery Boxes and it was a swell treat to receive. Lantern Moon needles, buffalo yarn, and a selection of Cascade Heritage yarn. You can see pictures of it all here. It was a ton of fun and excellent value. I can't wait to see what turns up in July's box!

Have you ever gotten one of these mystery boxes? What did you get?

This week we're going to be talking a lot about craft rooms including my dream craft room and why craft rooms are so cutesy. Cute is ok. Cute can be fun, but when cute is too much it goes past cute and into the dreaded realm of cutesy.

1) The Cutesy Chandelier

Whether it's some spray-painted vintage dangly thing or a reproduction found at Bed Bath and Beyond, the dainty chandelier in the craft room has been overdone. It's past put-a-fork-in-it done. This design fixture is charred and burned, throw-it-in-the-trash-I'm-so-sick-of-seeing-it-in-craft-rooms done.

This craft room also commits the crimes of using those prefab inspirational words and a toile pattern.

2) The Cutesy Vision Board

The Vision Board is a useful tool, but too many times the board itself is the focus and not the things you put on it. While it can be an interesting accent piece for the room, the emphasis should be on function and open space, not more loud prints.

This craft room is actually very sweet, but the vision board overdoes it. The fabric is just too loud. A striped pattern would be better, or fine dots. Photo from froggy monkey of Rate My Space

3) The Cutesy Supply Island Organizer

Sure, you need places to put your supplies, but they don't need to occupy the middle of the room, be so boring white and generic.

4) The Cutesy Pastel Wall Paint

Ok, so pastels are really big this year for spring, but unlike spring fashions, which you can put away once fall starts you are stuck with the paint you put on your walls unless you like painting and repainting walls. Save the pastels for your kids. The craft room may be your playroom, but for me pastels on walls just make me feel like I'm in kindergarten.

5) The Cutesy but Sterile Wall O' Cabinets.

There are other textures and colors than white for craft rooms. White does allow you to see all your supplies clearly, but something about it feels so sterile and boring even if it works well with your chandelier, vision board, pastel walls and supply organizer.

Later in the week, we'll offer some alternatives to cutesy that can be much more inspiring for your craft room.

What's your dream craft room like? Do you like cute craft rooms? What is the alternative to a cute craft room anyway? Tell me all about it in the comments.

Just the other day the Yarn Harlot talked about absolutely needing to knit Amiga designed by Mags Kandis. It's a free pattern on knitty.

Look how popular the pattern is today on Ravelry:

That's nearly 7000 knitters who are interested in knitting Amiga! I don't think anyone has had that amount of influence on a large group of mainly women since Oprah. And don't we just need another Oprah? I think we do and it's the Yarn Harlot.

The Jets are flying overhead, the parades on Main Street, the pledges of allegiance. It's Memorial Day, time to remember the sacrifices our military has made for us past and present. For me, it's time to remember my grandfather, who served in the South Pacific in World War II. It's time to remember the Fogerty family who in my hometown lost their husband in son in Afghanistan a few weeks ago. It's time to honor those sacrifices, of human life and compaionship that people and their families make to fight for our country. It has me thinking how the knitting world acknowledges these folks and how we can use knitting to help our military and promote world peace.

• Go on Ravelry and see just how many knitters and crocheters are connected to the military. There are over 70 groups on Ravelry that match the military keyword here and abroad. Go there and see how you can help someone whether it's simple knitting pattern help, saying thank you for their service or knitting something for a soldier overseas.
• Check out Afghans for Afghans a non-profit organization that brings handknits to Afghanistan, especially to school children. Click here to see what their latest need is.
• Lion Brand has stories about knitting for soldiers...
• The Knit Addiction has some information about a contributor to Operation Gratitude, a non-profit that sends care packages to our military in action.

Who are you remembering this Memorial Day? Please share your story in the comments.

I'm a long time fan of Lexie Barnes and her fantastic bags. They are the best knitting bags hands down. They are super durable and can fit just about everything but the kitchen sink. I have taken mine overseas, have used it as a knitting bag and a diaper bag. The Lexie Barnes bags are the rock stars of knitting bags. My Dutch Treat Lady B still looks brand new. So when I saw the newest bags released on Facebook just now, the new fabrics literally took my breath away.

Is the mom in your life a knitter? Hands down barring a ton of cashmere, the newest Lexie Barnes bags are the thing for mothers who knit this Mother's Day.

Here's a sneak preview! (The website is having difficulties, but hang in there -it will be worth a trip)

First it was Iron Man, then it was The Hulk, then Thor (and Hawkeye) and Captain America, then Iron Man with Black Widow. Now all of them are in the Avengers (oh how can I forget Nick Fury?) and I know that the geeky knitters out there are asking themselves "Can I knit the Avengers?"

Why the heck not?

First off, knitting has its own set of superheroes, Handknit Heroes a knitting comic book written by Stephanie Bryant.

One Loopy Knitter made a knitted Hulk. (oo yay! Just found another interesting craft blog!)

You can buy some knitted Thor gloves on Artfire! If Thor's not your thing, you can buy Iron Man Repulsor Ray Gloves too. Oh and don't forget the Captain America gloves.

You can find a whole knitted Captain America costume here from Mark Newport (and Spiderman too for that matter).

Summer 2013 has both Iron Man 3 and a new Thor movie coming up. That means it's time to update with more Avengers-related knitting patterns!

Thor Hat by Hannah Sanders
Keep your head warm in those chilly movie theaters and impress your fellow geeks with this awesome crocheted Thor helmet by Hannah Sanders.

Crochet Loki Amigarumi by Jess Newstone
Everyone likes a good bad guy and Loki is one of the best. Knit with the other Avengers and your child can re-enact epic battles with these cool little dolls.

Knitted Iron Man Doll by Irene McCormick

Much softer than the original version!

Have you knit any comic book superhero stuff? What's your favorite superhero? Tell me in the comments!