Thinking of Christmas Crafting lately? I know I sure am. I see many many hats and scarves in my future, haha. I’ve been trying to find hat patterns that I like that would be quick to knit, that are good for stash and leftover yarn, and look super nice that […]
crochet - patterns & tutorials
Crocheted Scruby Bumpy Face Cloth
Another great face cloth from the yarn I recycled last month, this time though, it’s crocheted!
howto - journal
How To :: Making Butterfly Bobbins
I first learned how to make these great little bobbins in my beginning weaving class at Northern Illinois University. They are great for weaving, especially tapestry weaving, but also when working brocade on the floor loom. The thing is, they are great for knitting and crochet and pretty much any […]
fabric - patterns & tutorials
Love Bug Clutch
I have been making quite a few clutches lately for Green Prairie Fibers and from that I wrote up a pattern for Craft Leftovers. Well, I wanted a clutch just for me for my accessories. And I also had all of these great 9” X 9” squares paired up for a kit that ended up not selling. So how do I get a cute clutch for craft accessories out of just 2 small squares of fabric that isn’t just a plain liner and an outer with a zipper.
journal - patterns & tutorials - stitching school
Conversion Chart :: Needles and Hooks
There will always be bizarre units of measurement like the foot (US) in common use. I can only guess that when people were measuring the trees they had just felled, walking the length of the tree and saying “Hey, this is 10 foot lengths long” made a whole lot of […]
howto - nosew - patterns & tutorials
Boxing Up Giving
These boxes are great to add a little extra something special to any small gift. I like them for any kind of jewelty, stitch markers, and other small handmade goodies for friends. I love these boxes and have been making them for quite awhile. I figured it was about time […]
howto - journal
How To :: Potato Stamping
I love printing, just about any kind really. From the copy machine to silk screening to block prints and monoprints. I love it all. And one of my favorites, that’s the easiest, quickest, really fun and super easy to clean up is potato printing. You can print about on anything with them and they are cheap and the supply list is short unlike silk screening or even block printing really. Granted, you can’t get realllly detailed, but it’s great for greeting cards, pots of plants, even fabric really.
crochet - patterns & tutorials
Guest Pattern :: Itty Bitty Anything Bag
I worked mine up using two strands of sport weight yarn and it is just perfect for putting all my scraps of yarn into and hanging up on my tool rack. I’m loving hanging things up on my rack lately. I use the yarn scraps to tie tags to my hand dyed yarns and handmade goods. Enjoy this sweet little project!
howto
How to :: Saving my Knitting :: Part I :: Life Lines
I’m not sure why I never thought about writing about this before, but today as I was ripping back 8+ rows for the 1 millionth time I did. I worked at a yarn shop for almost 2 years (just ending this past May when I moved to Ames) and helped […]
howto - journal - patterns & tutorials
Aceraceae Crochet Cowl
This cowl was inspired by three things. I wanted a scarf that would keep my neck warm in the upcoming months of cold, but that would lay flat in my pea coat… or maybe not have to be tucked into my neckline at all. The issue though is that little […]
howto - journal
Dresser Remake :: Part III = Slow Going
It seems that the dresser was varnished more vigerously than the drawer fronts were. That and I ran out of my good sand paper, which I didn’t realize was my good sandpaper because I didn’t realize there was a better and worse. With the limited selection for my little mouse […]
journal - knitting - patterns & tutorials
Scruby Bumpy Face Cloth
I know that this stitch pattern must exist out there somewhere in the knitland. Pretty much any stitch pattern is, but I came to this on my own. I love woven basket stitch for it’s simple texture, it also lays nice and flat. For a face cloth though, I wanted something a little more bumpy, so I added in a couple rows of a little something something to make it nice and gently scrubby. I love the way it turned out. I am hoping to make a bunch more for Jason and I. I recycled a whole sweater of 100% cotton yarn and it’s just perfect for this project. I also learned a little trick about weaving in ends on a 100% cotton face cloth, something that has always evaded me before, so I’ll show that too you in this pattern too.
howto
How To:: Recycling Sweaters for Yarn
Shortly after I learned how to knit I read about how one could recycle a sweater for the yarn. Sweet! Cheap yarn I thought! I went to the Salvation Army and picked out a sweater I thought would be good for recycling. Huge, an XXXL, and 100% cotton. It was […]
fabric - journal - patterns & tutorials
Pin Cushion Hang Up
I finally came up with a good idea for the pin cushion. So for me, my problem is storage. I really can’t have little cushions cluttering up my work space and at the same time, I don’t want to have to go hunting for it when I need it. I saw one of Trixy’s little quilt squares and it was like “that’s it!” I’m going to make a little cube with a loop so it can hang on my tool rack. I’m going to put a little lavender in it too so it will make my studio area smell nice every time I stab it. If I had emery sand I would put that in there too, but I don’t so rice and stuffing it is.
fabric - journal - patterns & tutorials
A Walk in the Park Apron
This apron sure is a walk in the park to make. It’s so fast and easy to whip up in an evening or morning, or afternoon for that matter. Use a pattered fabric for your main piece. Something kind of darker and kind of “filled” works well to hide stains and smudges from cooking. I’m always wiping my hands on the sides of my pants because I’m used to wearing my studio apron just about all the time. I made this apron a bit more wrap aroundish for that reason.
crochet - journal - knitting - patterns & tutorials
Switchy Swatchy Swap
While working at the yarn shop I mostly came into “knitting” questions and troubleshooting so that increased my progress exponentially when compared to crochet. So I make little swatches. Sometimes from a stitch dictionary, sometimes from my head. Then I put a border around it. I try to do a different stitch and a different border each time. Or if I have a hard time with a particular technique, I do it again and again until I get it right. It has helped so much and I highly recommend this practice for anyone trying to get comfortable with new techniques. Mix and match crochet and knit borders to get an idea on how to work with the two techniques. My knit/crochet version of a sampler.
fabric - journal - patterns & tutorials
Stitch Clutch
Hi ya folks! Success! Well, haha, kind of. No embroidery still, but some stitchy goodness all the same. This clutch was originally inspired by a few different sources. I wanted to create a light weight, thin, lovely gift to feature in Kro Postal for starters. I had a need to use of scraps of fabric that I had laying around. I wanted to try my hand at machine appliqué as well as using the sewing machine to draw. It was so fun to make and even better to give as a gift to a friend who is far away and could use a package of goodies.
patterns & tutorials
Mini Knits
After seeing Little Cotton Rabbit’s Free Patterns newest pattern for teeny tiny knitted critters on Whip Up,I just couldn’t resist sharing it with you as well as some of my other favorite tiny knit patterns! First off, I have never seen Little Cotton Rabbit’s Free Pattern blog and I am […]
fabric - patterns & tutorials
Carrying Balance
So you all know of my delay by wii fit? Well, I changed plans that day for a regular tote type bag to a Wii Fit carry all. For all your wii fit on the go needs. I had a two fold motivation for making this bag carry all for my newly acquired wii fit. The primary reason was that I needed something to protect it from ferret teeth when it was not in use. They reallllly liked the little cup feet on the bottom of the board as well as all the rubber fittings anywhere else on it. Secondly I was heading on vacation and my friend had a wii and she wanted to try it out, so I wanted to have something to carry it all in along with my mario kart wheel and wiimote. Are you nerded out yet? Haha. So this was the end result of those two needs.
patterns & tutorials
Eating Locally Fresh Food Part II
Summer is really great for multiple reasons, granted so is every other season. There are several options for eating locally in the summer that aren’t there as easily in the dead of winter. What I am talking about has to do with gardening and farmers’ markets mainly. I so enjoy […]