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The Girl Who Makes Everything
So I am packing up my house, box by box. I have had to prioritize my belongings because we will be moving to a much smaller living space. The hardest yet to sort? My yarn! I love it all but some of it has to go. The funniest part of pulling all my stuff out is I realized exactly how much yarn I have. More specifically how much Skein Yarn I have. After staring at the pile of beautifully hand dyed fibers I thought…they deserve a photo shoot…and what the heck, SO DO I! So you can see just how addicted I am to these yarns. Well this might just…
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Learning New Knitting Stitches
We are progressing in moving and packing up the house. As I get more and more things packed up I am finding less and less time for big projects. So, I have been working on swatches. Often you need to knit up a swatch to find out if you can match the gauge in a pattern. It seems complicated but if you do it correctly it can make your life SO much easier. Here is an awesome article about swatching for achieving the proper gauge that I found on knitty.com. https://knitty.com/ISSUEspring03/FEATswatchout.html Another reason for swatching is to try out new stitches. Here is a fun one to try all you…
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To Keep or Not to Keep
So big news in my life…I am moving. I have lived in the mountains for the last five years, that consists of most of my married life and all of my kids lives. Transition is hard but if you let it can allow for a lot of organizing and cleaning out of both thoughts and posessions. In my case I am attempting to organize my art/crafting supplies. It has forced me to look back at things I have created in the past. It is amazing to look back and see past things you have created to see your own growth or the change in trends. In my case I am…
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Finding Vintage Fabric on a Budget
I wish I had the money to get yards and yards of great fabric from my local fabric shop. Lace also is something I would love to buy but it can be so expensive. Here is my secret. Sheets! I find the best fabric by buying sheets and curtains from thrift stores. There are some wonderful prints and you get lots of yardage for 1-5 dollars. Here are a couple of pictures of some fabric I have acquired in this way. I absolutely love the butterfly fabric. I am planning on making this into something for my daughters bed…maybe a canopy. Another thing you can find at thrift…
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Free Printable Card
I have been looking at Valentine’s cards when I am out at the store and I have been really disappointed in what is out there. I decided to make my own and figured others might benefit from it. {Download Now} You can print this card out (simply click on the image or link above), it has the tea stain look incorporated into the image. Simply cut it out along the tea stain edge, fold it, write in it and pop it in an envelope for someone special. Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. I have to say it isn’t my favorite holiday, mostly because it is a holiday of…
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Reversible Smocked Hat
New pattern release! Available for purchase in my Etsy Shop and Ravelry Pattern Store. Ready, set, smock! Reminiscent of a gnome hood, this smock pattern beanie appears complex but is actually quite easy to create—and the best part is it’s reversible! Choose your favorite side before you attach the pom pom, or leave it off and choose each time you put it on! The pattern includes a video tutorial for the smock stitch so even a beginner can make this hat! {buy now} If you are nervous that you cannot complete this look simply check out this Video Tutorial to see how easy it is!
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DIY: Pom Pom
For my latest pattern (Reversible Smocking Hat), and for many of my Christmas gifts I had to make a pom poms. I actually have not made pom poms enough before to decide on a way to make them. There are several different methods. Here is what I tried first. https://techknitting.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-to-make-pom-poms.html or https://garnstudio.com/lang/us/video.php?id=95d This tutorial is great but I don’t prefer this way, mostly because I get bored threading the yarn through the center of the cardboard ring. You can purchase a pom pom maker like this one sold on amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Clover-Extra-Large-Pom-Maker/dp/B001CE38QQ Here is how I do it. I prefer making pom poms this way because it requires nothing more than…
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Winding Yarn
I don’t know about you but I wait anxiously for the mail when a package is coming. Especially if it is from my favorite yarn dyer. Not to belabor the point but…SKEIN YARNS is amazing! Here is the exciting package I got a couple of days ago. The lighting in my house has been terrible, due to winter storms. These are wild apple and pastel sky in the silk/merino worsted base. I am using them to knit up my head wrap with a smock pattern. So I still remember the first time my yarn came in a hank like this instead of a center pull ball or skein (like the…
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DIY: Bow Tie Ring
Every once and a while…well probably more than that I have an idea which seems a little absurd. This is one of them. The result was a really great bow tie ring. You could use the tutorial for the bow and make a clip or a hair tie also. Supplies: Glue Gun 8 inches of ribbon (more or less depending on the size of the bow) 2.5 inches of elastic 1. Cut ribbon into one four and a half inch length and one two inch length. 2. Fold the larger length of ribbon over like so. The narrower length can either be folded in half length wise or in thirds.…
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Tea and a Simple Life
I have had a lot on my mind during this the first month of 2012. One thing I have been thinking about is simplifying. I am ready to make some changes. Isn’t leaving a simpler life a hugs aspect of what art and creativity are all about? Artists are those who stop facing the grind of life and experience the emotions and watch and see what the rest of the world is too busy to see. I already live a pretty simple life, there is no cell phone reception where I live and I am two hours away from any kind of shopping experience. The things that I am wanting…
