Jul. 17, 2008 - It Worked!
I spent the afternoon with my stash, yesterday. I feel so inspired I was feeling in a funk yesterday, I didn't want to work on anything. Now, after seeing and listing (more on that later) all of my stash I don't know where to begin! I've got so many projects in my head, I'm not sure where to start first!
As I was sorting through the many piles I pulled out a plastic bag with several small balls of yarn. The balls are even too small to make a scrap afghan or granny square. I contemplated throwing it into the trash can. I cannot, however, ever throw away yarn no matter how small! So I put the bag to the side. As I continued to clear out the large rubbermaid tub that held my yarn and accessories, I found another bag with some old elastic ponytail holders in it. I no longer used these because they had metal clasps on them that tore my hair. That is when I realized how I could use these scraps. I could make ponytail holders!
Last night, in the 10 minutes I had before my boys returned from Vacation Bible School, I picked up one of these elastic bands and a small ball of Sterling Silk and Silver and proceeded to single crochet around the band. I had almost half the ball remaining after making almost 100 sc around the band, so I sc in the first sc and then made 3 chains and sc into another sc skipping 2 or 3. I did this around the entire band before I ran out of yarn. Now I have a really cute pony tail holder.
Working with this yarn again, reminded me of the scarf I made for my sister last year for her birthday. I loved working with it and its drapey (is that a word?) feel. Making this ponytail holder brought back great memories, gave me a feeling of accomplishment, and made me feel good for using my scrap yarn in a functional way.
I'm sure I will keep a bag of pony tail holders at the ready all the time so that I can make use of even the tiniest scraps. I started a new band last night using some Lion Brand sock yarn. I made two pair of socks in Febrary and had a small ball left over from each. The color way is in pinks, greys, greens and yellows. It's fun and festive. This will make beautiful "hair bammers." (that's what my boys call hair bands.)
About the "listing" portion of my stash. I actually took pictures of all the yarn I own and posted it in my "stash" section on www.ravelry.com. I have 27 yarns stashed at ravelry right now. I'm so proud of it! By having my list pictured on the stash page, I am able to organize my thoughts about patterns and projects. I need to list my threads next, but I have a basket just as full of threads as I do of yarns, so that will come another week.
And now, the piles are gone from my bedroom. If you go to my side of the room you will see two lovely large baskets briming with yarn and thread. It's such a nice homey look. It was an afternoon well spent.
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Jul. 16, 2008 - Spending a day with my yarn
I'm in a funk. I've been trying to make a scarf out of some left over cashmere/silk that I got for Christmas. I made one scarf for myself but have enough for another. I want to make it for a friend who has been wearing a heavy and hot chenille scarf I made for him this summer! He needs something lighter for summer. But every pattern I try just isn't "it". I spent part of yesterday working two different patterns, one knit and one crochet, and ripped them both out. I even lost some yarn in the ripping. This yarn is very delicate.
I have another sock to make, but I don't really feel like working on that. I finished the backpack purse I was making and lined it on Monday. I don't feel inspired to work on anything right now. And hence, the funk.
What I want to do is go shopping! Not good for me or my pocketbook. Of course, living rurally, the only shopping I can really do is Goodwill thrift shopping, but it's still getting more stuff I don't need and spending money that would be better spent on other things.
So...where does that leave me? I've decided to spend my afternoon with my yarn. I keep my stash in the bedroom, and I also have two shoe boxes of patterns. Most have been printed from the internet, but I also have some magazines and pattern books stashed in those boxes as well. So, I'm going to watch 7th Heaven re-runs on the Hallmark Channel and sort through my stash. I'll put certain yarns in bags with the pattern I intend to use. I'll take other yarns and sort them by type to keep them organized. I'll lay everything on the bed and enjoy what I have. Then, if I'm feeling really ambitious. I'll sort through my patterns and start organizing them by type.
Just thinking about this little project lifts my funk. I can't wait to feed the boys their lunch so that I can get started! I'm glad we're just having BLTs for supper so I won't have to quit early to get cooking!
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Jul. 8, 2008 - My Wish List
I recently found this GREAT crochet/knit swap blog. I'm so excited to be a part of it. Check it out: http://crochetswapblog.blogspot.com/ And thank you busymom2girls for the suggestion/comment!
Being part of this blog swap requires me to answer the following "wish list" so here goes!
Are you a knitter or crocheter?? Both. My husband likes it better when I crochet, but I enjoy both knitting and crochet.
I love to make..... Doilees and anything lacy. I like scarves, too.
I really want to make...... A sweater for myself.
My favorite yarns are..... Anything. I love the feel of Baby Alpaca but haven't used it yet.
My wish pattern is...... Large-size sweaters for women.
My favorite hooks or needles are..... I love my metal needles. I don't like in-line crochet hooks. I love to look at the beautiful wooden hooks and needles but only own a few bamboo sock needles.
I really wish I had.....??? I don't know how to answer this question. I just kind of "stumble" on things and I'm happy to have them. I don't have a "really wish".
My favorite colors are... anything bold and bright! Although, I do have my eye on some really soft pink lace-weight yarn at Yarn Love
My hobbies... crochet, knit, nature journalling, playing piano, reading, book collecting, collecting Hershey tins, collecting bird nests.
My kitchen theme and colors..country, red and white and blue and white
My bathroom theme and colors...tropical fish, shades of blue/greens
My dislikes....heavy metal rock music
My crafts..what I like....I love anything crafty, it all interests me. I've never tried cross-stitch and it kind of intimidates me, but someday...maybe
My allergies... none!
My favorite pets... we have two dogs, two cats, a gold fish and a guinea pig. I have a feeling we're getting an anole this summer. I must say, our beagle who is almost 1 year old is "my" dog.
My favorite scents... lavender. I love it!
My favorite novels or magazines... I love crochet magazines, any of them. I prefer to read Christian Fiction and I'm not a great non-fiction reader at all.
Other stuff about me... I've played piano since I was 8 years old and lead the worship team at our small country church.
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Jul. 4, 2008 - Yard Saling
Last Saturday, we went yard-saling. In some areas these are also called tag sales. We had seen postings for several near our home and decided after breakfast, to travel and see what treasures we could find.
Of course, our boys (ages 9 and 11) found LOTS of treasures, but my husband and I were a little more discriminating. I hadn't found much until we stopped at a church who was hosting a multi-family yard sale. That is when I got a bag of yarn for $2!!
I was so thrilled with my purchase. I didn't even know what I was going to do with most of it. (I still don't know what I'm going to do with some of it!) It's so much fun to have something new in my stash to inspire me. I began with the Sugar 'n' Cream worsted weight cotton which is great for dishcloths. I've already made three blue dishcloths of varying shade. Today I started on a baby afghan.
No one I know is having a baby. But there was enough yarn in my new bag to make the pattern pictured on one of the skeins. Even though I have a second sock to make (I made one of the pair a few weeks ago, started the second, and have lost interest.) I felt more inspired by this new yarn and that's ok! I will eventually get back to the other project.
I had another inspiration about my baby afghan today. Over the past several months, I've made a few scarves, hats, dishcloths, even a pair or two of socks, that have no purpose. I didn't make them FOR anyone. I just made them because I wanted to make them. Right now, they are in my bedroom taking up space. BUT, and here's where I applied this afternoon's inspiration, I'm going to gather all those items and keep them together in a box or bin. When I have a need for a gift or donation of some sort, I will go to my completed projects box and pull out just the right hand-made item. That's where I will lovingly place this baby afghan that I began this morning. I will wash it, fold it, and place it in a plastic zipper bag ready for gift giving.
That brings me to another idea I had this afternoon. If you're making a gift for a baby shower and you want to wash it before giving, but a bottle of baby laundry detergent such as "Dreft." Wash your item in the special detergent and then give the slightly used bottle of detergent along with the gift. Just tell the new mommy that your item has been washed with this detergent and she can use it for all of that washing she will be doing when the baby arrives!
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Apr. 19, 2008 - My Favorite Website
Today I want to share with you my favorite crochet web site (other than Ravelry.com) that I visit EVERY day.
Every day, Annie's Attic offers a free crochet pattern here: http://www.anniesattic.com/free_pattern_day/index.html The patterns are different each day and come from many of the great books that Annie's Attic has to offer.
I check every day to see if the pattern is one that I would ever make. I can usually look at a picture or a pattern and know if it is something that I would enjoy making. When I go to this website in the morning, if I decide that I want to keep the pattern, I hit the link to the right of the page that says, "Printer Friendly Version." This causes another screen to pop up with a less-graphic version of the pattern. Then I go to the top of my screen and hit the "file" option on my menu-bar. From that drop-down menu I hit "save as". Then I save this pattern in a crochet folder that I've created in the My Documents folder. I have lots of patterns there that I browse every now and then when I'm looking for inspiration.
Every few months, I take these patterns and move them to a CD-R. This gives me a new open crochet folder and space to save even more patterns!
So, check out the Annie's Attic Free Pattern of the day. You'll be glad you did!
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Apr. 7, 2008 - Project Bags
When I began this blog, I wanted to share wtih you my love of crochet. I also have a love for knitting. But in this aricle, I want to share with you another love... tote bags. I am particularly in love with the canvas variety. Give me a good canvas tote bag and I'm in heaven. I have several tote bags stashed in my bedroom. Some of these bags were given to me, but some, I must admit, I picked up for myself, knowing that I already owned other canvas tote bags. I told you I love them.
Recently, I found a way to combine my love of crochet with my love of tote bags. I was sorting through my stash and pulling out a few projects that needed finishing. A long time ago, I made the base for a cute bearskin rug and now I need to piece it together and add the "fur." I bought brown yarn already cut into 3" pieces that you would use for rug-hooking to make the fur of the bear, but I was not ready to begin this finishing. So, I found an unused tote bag and placed all the pieces to this project into the bag. Next, I came across a shell-stitch afghan that I began using scrap yarn. If I have a few yards or a small ball of yarn left from another project, I use it o make a row on this afghan. I have several skeins of off-white, or aran-colored yarn that I am using to break up the multi-colored rows. Every sixth row is in the off-white color. I put the off-white skeins and the unfinished afghan in another tote bag.
Before turning some of my totebags into "project" bags, I had the yarn for these projects in among the rest of my stash. As I would rifle through my stash looking for yarn for a particular project, this yarn, already dedicated to something else, would get shifted around and possibly mixed-up with other skeins. Now, my yarn is sorted and if I want to work on a project all I need to do is grab the handles of my project bag and go! It's a great tool for organizing my yarn AND my thoughts.
I think I've told you in the past that this year I am really focusing on working through my stash. Many years ago I received several garbage bags of yarn after my husband's grandmother died. I'm still working on the yarn from this stash but it is dwindling away! When I buy yarn for a particular project now, I create a new project bag. Sometimes I use a canvas bag, or a large zip loc to store the yarn for each project. I also put a copy of the pattern I want to use in the bag with the yarn. This is a great way to keep my yarn sorted. When I need some other yarn I know which yarn is already dedicated to a particular project.
When my stash was larger, I had groupings of yarn that I knew I wanted to use for certain projects. I wasn't ready to start these projects, but I wanted to keep the yarn together for a time when I WAS ready to begin. Organizing yarn into project bags, kept my large stash in a manageable condition. Now that the stash box is considerably smaller, I still have project bags so that when I finish what I'm currently crocheting, I have the next project ready to go. All I have to do is grab the bag and get started.
So, I get to combine my love of yarn and all-things crochet with my passion for tote bags! It's a great way to use two stashes, and it keeps my bags fuctional and not just sitting on a shelf in my closet.
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Mar. 11, 2008 - Shawls
I love shawls. I love making them and I love wearing them. I've made them for others and I've made them for myself. I love the triangular shape and the rectangular shape. I have no preferences, I just love them.
One of the gifts I like to give to a new mother is a shawl. It is convenient when a new mother is in the hospital to keep her shoulders warm while sitting up in bed. It is also useful when breast feeding. A triangular shawl is great for modesty while breastfeeding if you picture it thrown over the shoulder.
Last summer I knit a rectangular shape wrap for myself when we were planning our summer vacation to Northern Minnesota. The evenings in N. Minn. get very cool. Having something to wrap myself in while sitting outside visiting family was very convenient.
I actually now own three shawls. One I made, one made for me and one we purchased. I first purchased the rectangular wrap when we were outlet shopping in Lancaster, PA. I love this wrap because it has pockets near the end seams. I can throw it over my shoulders and tuck my hands into the pockets. It is burgundy in color and very versatile.
I already mentioned the throw I made myself this summer. But I have not told you about my prayer shawl. A woman at our church has made it her mission to make a shawl for every woman in the church. She picks colors based on what she thinks about that woman's personality. My shawl is a triangular-shaped crochet shell-stitch shawl in green, white and yellow. It reminds me of Spring and sunshine. Attached to the shawl is a little card explaining that while the piece was being crocheted I was being prayed for! This is a very meaningful shawl to me. It makes me feel warm when I wear it on my shoulders in the evening and I think of the prayers offered on my behalf while it was being made.
Currently, I'm working on a shawl using some more of my stash yarn. The pattern is called "Seraphina Shawl" and can be found here: http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/donisfuff/croshawl.html
The pattern can be a little confusing so take your time getting into it, but once you have the first 12 rows, it is very repetitive and works fast. I am making it using pastel-colored fingering-weight yarn with a size f hook. This is making a very beautiful lacey pattern.
A few days ago, my family and I visited Daniel Boone's homestead outside Reading, PA. We spent a few hours in the afternoon exploring the buildings on the grounds originating in the 17-1800's and visiting with many re-enactors. I was interested to see how the women were wearing their shawls. It was a cool late Winter/early Spring afternoon and most of the women, even when inside, were wearing shawls and capes. Their shawls were tied around them in an interesting fashion. They put the triangular shawls on their shoulders and then cross it across their chest. The two corners that crossed their chest were then tied behind their back to secure the shawl in place.
These shawls were simple but gorgeous. They were knit in solid-colored wool. It was simply a garter stitch (knit row upon row) triangle. I have a dishcloth that starts at a corner and increases each row building to the center of a triangle and then decreases to the end corner. The dishcloth itself ends up being a square when finished. SO I was thinking that I could use that pattern to make this garter stitch triangle, and simply not do the decrease side.
THEN, when I have this lovely shawl, I can throw it across my shoulders, cross it in the front and tie it in the back. It will keep my shoulders warm and be out of my way as I go about my day around the house. I always say that I am just a little Laura Ingalls at heart. I think that's why I love knit and crochet so much. It's the pioneer in me! This idea of wearing a shawl in such a functional way speaks to my Laura Ingalls Wilder heart. Of course I also love the more modern rectangular shawls that women are wearing now. I love the way you throw one side of the rectangle over your shoulder and look very cosmopolitan.
I hope you can see the word picture I've tried to paint for you. Maybe you'll cast on a shawl of your own?
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Feb. 21, 2008 - 15 minutes of fame
I wrote to you earlier this week about my love of www.ravelry.com I hope you've had a chance to check it out. Today I received a very flattering message when I signed-on to update one of my finished projects.
On Ravelry you can send messages to other ravelry members. I've sent and received messages from friends from my knitting group, but I've also received messages from knitters and crocheters whom I've never met in person. These are usually related to projects I've posted on my "projects" tab. Today, the message was about a project.
A few weeks ago I finished a beret and pocket scarf pattern that I found on Lion Brand's website. I took a picture of my 11 yo son, Big Mac, in the beret and posted it as the main picture for that project in "my projects." Well, today I got a message that ravelry wants to use that picture for the "Beret and Pocket Scarf (Knit Version)" pattern on Ravelry! How flattering. I couldn't press the "Yes" button quick enough.
So, my boy will live in infamy under "Beret and Pocket Scarf (Knit Version)" LOL.
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Feb. 19, 2008 - Oh for the love of Ravelry
Have you been there yet? I'm addicted to it. I know I shouldn't but I can't help it. I have to check it several times a day. I just can't stay away.
What am I talking about? ravelry.com of course!! On Ravelry I'm also crochetlu. If you'd like to see what I'm stitching, check out my projects.
Two months ago, I went to my knitting club night at Border's bookstore and asked the girls in the group, "So what's so great about Ravelry? How do you use it?" I had been a beta member for a few weeks and I just didn't get what was so exciting. As so often happens when a group of women get together, our conversation vered off-course and I never did learn why ravelry was so special. So I went home and decided to figure out what all the fuss was about.
Oh my...I began by listing my needles. In Ravelry, there is a section where you can fill in a chart and list all the needles and hooks you own. There is a separate section for circular and straight knitting needles as well as crochet hooks. The crochet hook area needs work, but I'm sure that will come. So, I sat down with my needle cases in hand and began to fill-in the chart. You can even print out a little card to place in your wallet listing all your hooks and sticks. I thought, "Oh my goodnes...this is so cool!" A few days later I wanted to begin a new project. I checked the needles required and quickly zipped over to ravelry.com to see which sizes I owned and which I would need. Yes, cool.
Well, after spending a few months on ravelry, I'm completely hooked. My latest passion is entering my projects. Since we are without a digital camera right now, I use the camera on my phone. the quality is not great, but I am able to post the pictures of all the projects I am making or have finished. You have to post your pictures to a flickr.com account which is managed by Yahoo. But once you've uploaded pictures to your flicr account, placing them in your ravelry projects section is EASY! This past week, I was stitching away and posted four completed projects! I love having a catalogue of all that I make. When I'm spending a lot of time working on projects and many are given as gifts, I have no idea what I've made over a period of time. THAT is no longer the case! I now have "My Projects" in ravelry where I can see at a glance what is in progress and what is complete. And I have pictures and reference to the pattern on my projects space. Oh, for the love of Ravelry.
But that's not all! There are groups. Oh yes, groups. If you have an interest, Ravelry has a group. I'm in six or seven, I think. I don't spend lots of time reading posts on each group, but it is still nice to know that there are others with common interests, many not knitting or crochet related, using Ravelry. Some of the groups I'm in are "Homeschool Yarnies", "Christian Book Club", another Christian group, and "Central Penn" which is for th area in which I live. When you are part of a group, you simply go to that groups area and read what others are posting. You can post replies to others or post new subjects that relate to your group.
Ravelry has a very extensive pattern section which makes you wonder why you should ever buy another pattern book again. I do find the site to be a little knit-heavy, but that may just be because of areas I've investigated thus far. All-in-all I have no complaints. If you've not signed up for your free log-on, do it! what are you waiting for?
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Jan. 23, 2008 - Charity Stitches
This month, I stopped at the hospital on the way home from our first Spring co-op class and dropped off a bag of knitted and crocheted hats for the premature babies in the maternity ward. You see, I have one of these lovely little hats tucked away in a box in our attic. The hat came on our first son, who I call Big Mac on my blogs. He was born 30 days early. After a troublesome pregnancy and delivery, his birth was not anti-climatic. He came out with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck twice. He was not able to get oxygen into his blood because his breathing was so labored.
Big Mac spent 20 hours in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Harrisburg Hospital. The first time I got to see and hold my son, he had many wires and tubes connecting him to oxygen supplies and monitors. The next time I got to see and hold my son, he was delivered to my bedside with an adorable blue hand-knitted cap on his tiny little head. Now, our boy is 11-years-old and almost as tall as I!
But our boy is not the only reason that I am making caps for the premies. A few years ago a friend at church gave me her mother's knitting needles. There were needles of all shapes and sizes, circular and straight. As she handed them to me she said that her mother had made many caps for the babies at the hospital. This, coupled with the little cap I had from my baby, prompted me to make caps for the babies as well. I picked up the phone and called the hospital to get instructions on these caps. I was a new knitter and knitting the caps took a long time for me. So I knit one, crocheted one ore two, which went much faster, and tucked them away for a later date. That was at least two years ago.
A few weeks ago, I found my little bag of caps and began adding to them. I soon had quite a pile of caps and resolved that I would deliver them this month. Now that I have made one delivery, I've decided to work up the rest of my baby yarn and make another delivery of caps this month. This is my first foray into charity knitting and I'm enjoying it! I can make a crochet cap in under an hour and it takes about 2 to knit one.
The pattern for the crochet hat is as follows:
Row 1: chain 29, SC in second chain from hook and in each chain after that, 28 sc.
Row 2: ch. 1, sc in back loop only of each sc, 28 sc.
Repeat row 2 until you have made 45 rows.
Put bottom and top of hat together and SC joining the last row to the first until you get to the end. Fasten off and leave a 10” tail. Thread the tail through what is now the top of the hat and pull tight. Thread the yarn through a tapestry needle and stitch across the top of the hat covering up the hole left when you pull the top tight. Fasten off and weave in ends. Turn right side out and fold up a 1 1/2” cuff.
The knit pattern for premie hats is:
With 3-ply sport weight baby yarn cast on 60 stitches onto 3 #5 DPNs
Rows 1-6: K1, P1 around all 60 stitches.
Row 7: knit all around
knit for 3 inches not including the cuff
Next Row: K3, K2 together around all 60 stitches; 48 stitches
Next 3 Rows: knit
Next Row: K2, K2 together around all stitches; 36 stitches
Next 2 Rows: knit
Next Row: K1, K2 together around all stitches; 24 stitches
Next 1 Row: knit
Next row: K2 together around all stitches; 12 stitches
Next Row: knit
Next Row (last row): K2 together all around, 6 stitches
Cut yarn, leaving 8 inches. Pass yarn through the 6 remaining stitches or use the kitchener or grafting stitch and pull tight, push yarn to inside of hat, sew in ends.
Always keep these little caps plain without buttons or bows, you don't want little hands to grab something on which they can choke.
Try knitting or crocheting for charity. It's wonderful!
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Dec. 14, 2007 - Making Gifts
I've been stitching away on gifts for family and friends. I've not only stitched a few things, but I'm also baking, and making other gifts for people. Another one of my annual projects is to make the ornaments that our local library gives to businesses who contribute to our holiday fund raiser. I finalized those ornaments, made the first batch and delivered them to the library this week. As I was busy making Christmas gifts, I thought about the blessing of making gifts.
When we make a gift for another person, it blesses them to receive something we put so much thought and effort into creating just for them. But have you ever thought about how you are blessed? When I'm creating a gift for another person I spend a lot of time thinking about that person. I imagine their joy when they open this gift that I've selected just for them. I picked the pattern and the color thinking of their tastes. Sometimes I've made an item because I know someone's need. Regardless of the reason I selected a specific gift, in thinking about that person as I make their gift I am blessed.
By taking my thoughts away from my own situation or problems and focusing on others. I am blessed. By spending time thinking about someone else, someone who I love, I am able to step outside my life and focus on another person. That is a blessing to me in my life.
Of course, there is nothing like seeing the joy on someone else's face when you give them such a personal gift full of your love. But there are some gifts that I never see the recipients faces. I send gifts to friends and family out of state. I usually receive a wonderful thank you phone call or note. That is very much of a blessing.
And then there's the library. Making these ornaments, they are able to bless a business for blessing them. That's a lot of blessing. As I make the ornaments, I think about our hard-working librarians and their tiresome dedication to our community. I think of how I can bless them with a gift to give their contributors. I am able to heap blessings on many with just a few hand-made ornaments.
So keep crocheting those gifts right up until Christmas day. And while you are, make your thoughts of the recipients prayerful. In this way, the giver is blessed just as much as the receiver. Because you have opened up the lines of communication with our Heavenly Father...talk about a blessing!
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Dec. 2, 2007 - Big Sticks
Right now I'm working on the "Around Town" felted bag. It will be for my neice for Christmas. I made one already for one neice and am trying to finish the second. This is a Lionbrand pattern. I love their free patterns. They have so many and usually I can find just what I want. This is an unusual pattern because you make the bag as one big bag. Then you felt the piece. Then you cut handles right into the material. Because the wool is so tightly felted, you don't have to sew around the cut edges. It's kind of neat how the handles are cut into the material. This a very cute bag and easy to do.
I started to knit the piece on size 11 circular needles. The pattern calls for 29 inch circulars, but I only had 36 inch circulars. I thought I'd try it and just see if I could stretch the piece to make it work on larger circulars but I was soon frustrated. I pulled the work off the sticks and decided to crochet the piece instead. Now I am nearly finished and ready to felt. I love putting a crocheted or knitted piece into my zippered pillow case and a hot water washing machine. It is magic to me to pull out the pice and see the piece become fabric. Felting is so much fun. I keep telling my husband that if I get money for Christmas I'm just going to buy wool!
So, I still have these large knitting needles in my presence and from handling them for just a short time a desire has been born in me. I want to knit a throw with worsted weight or larger yarn on great big circular knitting needles! I don't have a pattern. I don't have any yarn in mind. I just want to get cozy under a pretty patterned throw while I'm stitching away at it.
Lion brand has a few 5 1/2 hour throws on their web site. I may have to see which of those I can adapt to large circular needles. One of the girls from my knitting group was working on a scarf on circular needles. It was not a piece done in the round so I asked her why she would use circulars. She explained that when she was done working on the piece she could easily slide it down onto the circular part of the needles and know that she was protected from stitches falling off the needles. That is a great idea! So, I'm off to find a pattern to fill my craving. Of course I can't start it right now because there are Christmas gifts to finish (or start) but a girl can dream can't she?
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Nov. 25, 2007 - Reduce Reuse Recycle
I've been busy working on my sons' sweaters for under the Christmas tree. I'm happy to say that I'm almost finished with the second sweater! I do still have the finishing to do on the second sweater. What is it about finishing? I just put it off and put it off! I don't like sewing in those ends!
OK, that's not what this blog is about. I want to tell you about plastic bags. Yes, there are those bags that you get at the grocery store. I have crocheted with them by cutting them into strips, but I found the cutting to be tedious and lost interest in the project quickly. No, I'm talking about the sturdy plastic bags in which sheets and table cloths are packaged.
I recently bought a clear plastic tablecloth for our main kitchen/dining table. It came in a very sturdy see through plastic envelope. The seal is even reusable. I saved this packaging and will put a doilee in it. This will be sent to one of our family members for Christmas. Using this sturdy packaging will protect the doilee and keep it clean on it's long journey through the mail and across the states.
I have another larger clear plastic bag in which our comforter arrived. This one zips closed and even has handles! I currently have the various threads from my stash in that bag.
Several years ago, I made an afghan for our friends who were getting married. I knew that she would open the gift among her many others at her wedding and the afghan would be loose and possibly get dirty. So what did I pack the afghan in for giving? You got it! The clear plastic packaging from another comforter we had at the time. This was the bride could open our gift and even take the afghan out to view it . But then it was easily packed away and kept clean while it travelled from the reception to their new home.
So save those plastic packages! And look for other packaging that you can use when giving your handmade gift. Anything that will protect your precious heirloom is a valued addition to your crochet and knit supplies.
Happy stitching!
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Nov. 11, 2007 - Today's Projects
I thought I'd take a quick minute to share with you about what I worked on today! I love Lion Brand Yarn. I must confess I'm not one to spend a lot of money on yarn. I'm not going to make an afghan or sweater that costs in the triple digits because of the yarn selected. So Lion Brand is about as expensive as I get.
Not only do I love their yarn, but I also love Lion Brand's website: www.lionbrand.com
I love their new podcast: http://yarncraft.lionbrand.com/
and I love their patterns. (Sidebar: when the lionbrand catalogue arrives in the mail, I page through it until the staples fall out! My girlfriend told me that she had the BEST day several weeks ago because when she got home from work the Lionbrand catalogue was there!) Lion brand has a free pattern finder on their web site and I use it often. Pictures of the patterns are in their catalogue, which you can also order on-line, and many patterns are free.
This weekend I've been making small purses to give my neices for Christmas. Here's a picture from lion brand's pattern:
I made a solid blue, a green and orange window pane, and a blue with thin green stripes. Next I'll throw them into the washer to felt. Tomorrow I'll sew them and then I'll have a fun trip to the craft store later in the week for buttons!
For the younger neices I'm making this bag:
I've just started crocheting the first one. I bought 3 skeins of Paton's wool and have the better half of all three left after making three of the little wallet purses, so I should have enough yarn to finish at least one bag.
The other project I have going are sweaters for my boys for Christmas. I can't work on them when they're around, so these are going VERY slowly. I miss the days of two hour afternoon naps and early bed times. Who told these boys to grow up and stay up later! I'm hoping I can get them done for Christmas, but at this point my hope is draining!
And that's what's in the works here right now! I'm definitely in the Christmas spirit after all of this gift-making!
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Nov. 9, 2007 - What's in My Bag?
I've seen lots of blogs and pod casts that talk about what's on the hook or what's on the sticks. Right now I'm crocheting a sweater for one of my sons and knitting a coin purse for a neice. The latter will be felted...I'm totally addicted to felting, but that's for another blog.
I'm not writing to tell you about what's on my hook or my sticks right now. I want to tell you about my bag. I carry a little bag that my neice bought me at Macy's several years ago. That bag goes with me everywhere. There's always a small knit or crochet project in that bag. But there is another bag in that bag. It is a small purple canvas zippered pencil bag. That is where I keep my stitch markers, row counters, and point protectors. But there are a few other items in that bag that are not necessarily crochet or knit related, but still important to have along when working on your latest project.
Hand cream: I keep this in my bag for times when I'm stitching and my hands just feel dry. I can't stitch with dry hands. It's also great if you have dry skin that catches on your yarn or string. A great hand cream will smooth away those dry patches in an instant.
Nail file: I hate it when I've got a chipped nail and it constantly snags my yarn. Keeping a nail file handy eliminates that frustration.
Pen or pencil: I use this to mark patterns and keep track of the rows completed.
Lip Balm: It's not really crochet related, but since this bag is always with me, I have the lip balm handy!
Bandaids: If I get a cut, I can quickly cover it up and keep blood off the project on which I'm working.
There are two treasures in my little zippered accessories bag. One treasure is the stitch markers my dear friend made for me. I mentioned them in my previous blog. The other treasure is a small wooden ruler. I got this ruler from a friend who was cleaning out his grandfather's home and found a few crochet related items. This ruler was a gift from a bank long ago when banks gave gifts to their customers. Printed on the ruler is the sentence, "For the Lady's work basket for the Man's vest pocket." I have no idea the age of this ruler, but it is a treasure. I don't have a work basket, but I think my crochet bag is pretty close!
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Sep. 20, 2007 - Pretty Things
Over the summer my dear friend told me that she was going to try to make beaded stitch markers. I was intrigued by the idea, but because I had never seen them, I couldn't picture it. When I saw my friend over the next several weeks, I asked her about the stitch markers. Through trial and error, she had found the right jewelry findings to make these stitch markers.
On Saturday, she and I got together for an outting. We were attending the Knitter's Day Out together. It was a wonderful event offering classes and a vendor hall for knitters. I am more of a crochet-er than a knitter, but I enjoyed the vendor hall and all fo the beautiful findings.
My girlfriend and I met early at a local diner for breakfast and as I hoped into her car to go from the diner to the local college where the Knitter's Day Out was being held, my girlfriend handed me a small zip loc bag. Inside the bag were two beautiful stitch markers!
She put a beautiful glass bead on a round jewelry finding that is the loop part to a lobster clasp. The beads on my markers are a beautiful marbled blue glass. She used a pin especially made for jewelry to attach the bead to the sliver loop. The pin itself has a woven pattern to it on the head, so it adds a lovely detail to the bead.
I used one of my stitch markers while knitting a hat for caps for kids. I was so tickled to use it because it was very beautiful. It is a wonderful feeling to make a beautiful product while knitting or crocheting, but it is equally wonderful to use beautiful items while crocheting or knitting. I have fallen in love with the new wooded hooks and sticks. Now I've got a new love for beaded stitch markers.
Recognizing the beauty in our craft is important. A comment on my earlier blog said something like, "Isn't it amazing to think that we are using the same stitches that other women have used for thousands of years?" There is a beauty to what we make. There is beauty in what we are doing, especially when you think in terms of the history of the stitches. And there is beauty in the materials we use as we stitch.
God has given us a beautiful world. I find it is easy to recognize His beauty in nature. When I'm walking the woods with the boys, I can recognize God's creativity all around me. I am greatful that He showed me the beauty in crochet and knitting, and not just in the finished product, but also in the process.
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Sep. 14, 2007 - My Favorite Birthday and Christmas presents
Every year for Christmas, and usually for my birthday, my husband and sons buy me yarn. This is not your usual purchase of yarn. My three boys (the adult one and the two young ones) stand before the yarn bin at Wal*Mart or in the yarn section of my favorite craft shop. As they stand there they pick up skeins that appeal to THEM. They do not pick yarn that they think I would like. They pick things that make them smile.
I so enjoy this gift. When my youngest was small, he always picked green yarn. Green was his favorite color and I got varying shades of green Red-Heart worsted weight yarn for Christmas for a few years. Later, he picked blue because he wanted me to make him a blue sweater. My older son usually picked varying eyelash yarns because he liked their colors and texture. He is my creative-artistic child, so his choice in yarn is usually very creative. And my husband likes soft yarns. Often I get chenille from him. He enjoys the feel of good yarn.
So, my Christmas afternoons are spent in the living room with my lovely little family. They are all enjoying their gifts, or watching the movie I placed in their stocking, while I am holding my new yarn and imagining what each skein could be. My husband does have a rule that the boys cannot pick yarn with a project in mind. (He made this rule after my youngest son bought yarn for his blue sweater.)
Quite often I can hold a skein in my hands and see what it is supposed to be. For instance last Christmas I got a skein of brown chenille with black flecks in it. To me it looked like a triagular scarf, not big enough for a shawl but big enough to be a nice-sized accessory. Sometimes the yarn is a simple scarf or the accent for a hat or some mittens made out of another, more plain, worsted weight yarn.
Even though I know that I will receive this gift every year, I so look forward to it. It is a gift that shows the creativity and interests of my family and at the same time encourages me in my creativity and in my developed interest. So, drop a hint to the significant others in your life. There is nothing like a bag full of yarn!
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Sep. 13, 2007 - An Afternoon with my stash
On Sunday I put the finishing touches on a purse I made and found myself "in-between" projects. I had a few things in mind to make, but nothing was making me tingle. So I decided to visit my stash. Before we had children my husband's grandmother died in Northern Minnesota. When we went back to his hometown for the funeral, his mother filled our truck bed with garbage bags of yarn. I have been using that stash for over 10 years. I still have some of it left. Last winter I worked through a book I had found at a yard sale called "Afghan's in a weekend." This brought my stash down to one large plastic tub. Of course this tub is larger than the largest tub at Wal*Mart, but that's beside the point. The point is that I've got the stash down to ONE LARGE tub!
I decided a few weeks ago that I want to focus on working from my stash and try not to buy yarn for new projects unless I absolutely can't avoid it. For instance, my boys want these skull sweaters we found in a borrowed book from the library. I do not have the yarn required in my stash. This makes it absolutely necessary to go and buy yarn.
But I digress. Let's get back to Sunday afternnoon. My family had been fed. Football was on the television for the first time in a long time. And I was between crochet or knit projects. I meandered back to my bedroom and sat down in front of my large tub of yarn and thread. For the next hour I sorted and carressed my yarn. I sorted some by type. (scarf yarn, like chenille and eyelash in one bag, small amounts of worsted weight in another, thread sorted by size) I sorted some by project. (brown into a bag to make the cute bear-skin rug I saw in a vintage pattern book) And I sorted some by color, no explanation needed. I came out of the room with a kit I had purchased years ago to make a dishcloth and an apron you tie onto a dishwashing detergent bottle, some rug yarn, two partial skeins of cotton sugar 'n' cream, and some really thick yarn that was left over from knitting over-size mittens that took the place of Christmas stockings for a friend. I also had several other projects in my mind for my stash.
By spending an hour with my stash, my creativity was overflowing and my hook was flying. As I type this, it is Thursday. I've finished the dishcloth and detergent bottle apron. There was enough leftover to make another dishcloth. I've knitted a dishcloth with the two portions of sugar 'n' cream I found. AND last night I made a basket out of the rug yarn. I think the over-size yarn is a pot holder. Sometimes I can look at yarn and see what it is supposed to be.
Isn't it fun to be able to go to other sources and find your inspiration? Just getting my hands on a few loose balls of yarn has given me hours of fun this week! When my stash is gone, I guess I'll have to rely on my pattern books! But I'm sure that's months, maybe even a year or more down the road. After all, I've been working through this stash of yarn for more than 10 years. Rome wasn't built in a day!
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Sep. 12, 2007 - My first entry
It's funny. I've had another blog for a few years (www.homeschoolblogger.com/lorilynn) where I blog about what's going on in our home and my heart. Recently, for the first time ever, I got an email from someone who read my blog and took offense to something I had written. I was so crushed by their criticism that I sat on my kitchen stool and cried.
I am learning about my fear of man. And God is changing me. But, for a brief moment, I considered deleting my blog. My husband said, "You're not going to stop blogging!" I was touched that he would still want me to write. He knows that I enjoy it and he enjoys reading my blog.
Well, as God would have it, instead of giving up my original blog, He gave me an idea for two more blogs! I can't believe I'm starting another one! But crochet has been my hobby since I was about 8 years old.
My crochet testimony: I learned to crochet from an Italian woman who lived down the street. She taught my mom, my sister, and me to do a simple shell stitch afghan. I crocheted all through highschool and then sometime during college, I abandoned the yarn. After I was married a friend was getting ready to have her first baby. I started talking to my husband about getting her a gift when he said, "Can you crochet?" His grandmother had crocheted and it was a fond memory for him. Suddenly, I was back at the craft store picking up a needle and some yarn for my first project in years.
Well, that was over 10 years ago and now, I'm obsessed. I have advanced my skills and work with thread as well as yarn now. I have also picked up knitting in the past few years. But my husband likes it when I crochet. Maybe it's because of his memories of his grandmother, but he says it's more soothing to him when I crochet than when I knit! ...funny...
So, I'm going to blog aobut the stitches that come off my hook, and sometimes my needles. I joined a knitting group that meets once a month. We just get together at a bookstore/coffee house and work on our projects and chat. I'm sure the group will enter into my blogging at some point. I will also try to add pictures just as soon as we get a working digital camera!
About me: I am a homeschooling mother to two young boys. I live in rural central Pennsylvania. I am 40 years old and proud of it and have been married to the man for whom I was made for 15 years this fall. My family and home is my calling, but I also serve at my church as the worship leader. I crochet nearly every day, usually in the evenings.
So, hopefully, you'll join me as I tell you about my crochet adventures!
