journal

Grand Re-Opening of the CL Shop!

It’s been a long time since I really updated the Craft Leftovers shop and it’s mainly because I had a limit of just 25 items on big cartel, with such small ticket items I really need to be able to list a ton at a time so you all have […]

journal

October Craft Leftovers Monthly in the Shop!

There are certain things about every month that I love, but I look forward to October more than any I think. Getting fresh apple cider, apples, gourds and squash, honey, jams, apple butter, oh the apple butter from local orchards is always a high point. It’s all so delicious and […]

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 […]

journal

Rain Day Rambling

Well, no progress could be made today on the dresser. It poured all day. Well, up until right now actually and it’s now getting dark. I did make progress in general though. I finished up my shawl that I’ve been working on since January. It’s a gift for someone, but […]

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

CRAFT:07 & 08 Giveaway!

I just received another issue of CRAFTzine in the mail and well, I only need one, so I thought I would give it to you my lovely readers. I also have an extra issue of CRAFT:07, so I’m going to give them away to you as a set. Now I’m […]

journal - knitting - patterns & tutorials

Scruby Bumpy Face Cloth

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.

journal

Dresser Redress:: Part… not done yet.

Well, not much to report today. I don’t have the dresser anywhere near sanded all the way so I’ll hold off posting about that until Tuesday. This is the image that inspired the color I picked out for my dresser. Granted my ridiculously bright green isn’t quite as elegant (nor […]

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 […]

book review - journal

Dresser Redress Part II

Today was the day to start putting the drawers back together. They were all painted and as dry as they were going to get in the humid weather we have been having lately. This is what I started out with this morning: First I put the drawers back together. It […]

journal

Simple Sewing with a French Twist

I first read about Simple Sewing with a French Twist by Céline Dupay when it came out 2 years ago. I’ve wanted it ever since. Every time I have seen it at the book store or online I’ve been tempted to buy it. I carry it all around and eventually […]

fabric - journal - patterns & tutorials

Pin Cushion Hang Up

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.

journal

Dresser ReDress :: Drawers Part I

There are a lot of great qualities about my new old dresser, but there are a lot of bad things going on with it too. It has this great molding and wonderful little legs that remind me of Wallace and Grommet’s Holiday to the moon (the little moon machine with […]

journal

Crewel :: A Four Generations Long

You may or may not be aware of my issues with embroidery. It seems that although I can follow a pattern just fine, my own pattern attempts have been, well, “okay”. Haha. The strange thing is that I don’t have any of these issues with crewel embroidery. Here, here, and […]

journal

Intro to Dresser Re-Dressed Series

After cramming my apartment’s and studio’s stuff into an already occupied one bedroom (large one bedroom) apartment the decor is bland, messy, crowded, and bland. We have okay stuff, just too much and not nice furniture. I hodge podge of old-roommates’-off-the-curb-hand-me-down-thrift-shop-standard-just-graduated-college-and-have-no-money furniture. It’s so true. Our small stuff is great, […]

journal

Hi to Tomorrow!

I was going to post today but a few things came up and I have a fun post planned for tomorrow instead. I need to take some pictures and it was too dark by the time the thing I wanted to post about found its way back to the apartment. […]

journal

What the! Where did the Archive Go!?

Geesh. Okay, so thank goodness someone was finally like “free pattern archive, what the heck is she talking about?” Not an exact quote, but that’s what I would have been thinking. So the last time I updated the archive I succeeded in setting every single page of patterns in the […]

fabric - journal - patterns & tutorials

A Walk in the Park Apron

A Walk in the Park

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.