Knitty Gritty Thoughts

Sweet Georgia:: Handspun:: Fiber Club

It's been crazy stressful at work lately so rather than a long post I figured I'd share some eye candy with you instead.  Here's my last 3 finished handspun all from the Sweet Georgia fiber club.  There's a variety of spinning there - singles, navajo ply and 3-ply, all gorgeous and in a variety of fibers from BFL, SW Merino and regular Merino.

Didn't know Sweet Georgia had a fiber club?  You can find more info and how to join here.  But hurry, club is only open for another day or two before it closes again for the next round.  Can't wait to see what Felicia comes up with next! =)

Cleaning out the craft room :: Use what you have

I've  been decluttering in my craft room again.  Every time I have a chance to go back through it, I always seems to find more I can get rid of.  And isn't that the point?  I feel like something that you haven't used since the last time you went through can most likely be gotten rid of now.  Since I haven't touched it in months, am I really using it?

I run into that problem all the time, I see something neat and interesting online, a new tutorial, project or design or doo-dad and buy it!  Then it sits in my craft room waiting for me to get around to using it.

Take these clover yoyo makers for example - remember when they were uber popular like 2 years ago?  Yea- they've been sitting in my craft room untouched since then except to take out and stare at occassionally.  I have a hard time starting things that require me to sit down and actually figure it out for more than 5 seconds and those directions are terrible!  They make my eyes cross. =)

Rather than spending so much time thinking about doing something, I should just put in the time to try it!  And if I finally admit to myself that I don't plan on making the time to doing it anytime soon or I'm not interested anymore I should get rid of it and donate it to someone who will. 

I finally took 20 minutes the other day and grabbed my big scrap bin where all leftover pieces go.  Took my templates, scissors, thread, needle and pincushion, sat down and finally figured it out.

So - so easy!  Been making this way harder in my mind than it needed to be.  And now I'm whizzing through them, and they're piling up around me.

Same goes for this cute little patchwork purse kit from Posie - The Tanglewood Bag.  I bought the pattern and fabric patch kit a year ago and I even sourced vintage scraps from thrift stores and quilt store scrap bins to match.  Cut them up and everything and they've been sitting there ever since, waiting for me to figure out how I wanted to lay out the squares.

Sometimes you just need to dive in, take a chance. 

I'm guilty of letting things psyche me out - if I don't know how to do it, rather than figuring it out, I let it stop me.  Sometimes you just need to start something, pick something, for 20 minutes.  Just sit down, and take a step towards completing.

I'm working hard to get to the point where I only keep things in my house that I plan on using within the next 6 months.  Declutter the rest and keep only what I love and plan to use.

Here's to cleaning out that project closet, overcoming our fears and creating amazing new items.

Sew on!  Sometimes the results amaze ourselves.

Spinning Hexs

First order of business....And the winner is....

According to Random.org - 2!  SamLaTricoteuse!  Miss Sam send me an email with your address will you or I will email you tonight and I'll ship the pattern right out!  Congrats!  And if you didn't win, don't worry I have a whole stack of amy butler patterns to give away from her different designs so stay tuned.

I wanted to share a little project with you.  I've been playing with the idea of crocheted hexagons and spinning.  Testing different lengths of color repeats from a roving and how they translate into blocks of color in the yarn once spun and navajo plied.

I love the idea of multicolored hex's without all the work, the yarn does all the color changes and I can just enjoy crocheting around and around.  Hardly an end to weave in!

There are long color repeats...

 

Slightly shorter ones...

The shortest of all...

and a bulky two-ply thrown in for variety

I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with them all.  I have a project formulating in my brain....

but in the meantime, they make a good coaster!

Hexagon tutorial here!

Freebie Friday: Anna Tunic by Amy Butler

How about instead of a free pattern friday we have a freebie friday this week?  I have a brand-new copy of the super cute Anna Tunic by Amy Butler.  I've been on a sewing my own clothes binge lately as part of my simple living.  I've found it rewarding to learn more about how clothes are constructed and how to sew something to fit my body. 

Now you can do the same!  I have a copy of the Anna Tunic by Amy Butler up for grabs.

Leave a comment on this post if you're interested and tell us why you like to sew your own clothes, or alternately, why you'd like to try.

 I'll leave it open over the weekend and announce the winner Monday.  Open to anyone and everyone, and I'll ship anywhere.

Good luck!

Peaty Pants!

I haven’t finished my shawl yet but I did manage to finish something else with Peat - Peaty Pants! =) I went a little overboard with my sampling when I couldn’t decided between spinning it a worsted weight or a fingering so I ended up with a bunch of worsted spun up. I had to turn them into cute little baby pants (all my friends are expecting this year) and figured I might as well get the knitting done early.

Rav details here

I had trouble capturing the cuteness without a little baby model but there you go. These are 3-6 month size knit magic loop with two legs at one time.  I love these pants, super cute!

The pattern is WonderPants from Wooly Wonder.  I own a number of her patterns including Perfection Pants and Wonder Soaker and I've knit them all (I just haven't taken photos of them yet).  I have to admit, the patterns that she has gotten around to updating are nicely written.  Perfection Pants and Wonder Pants are essentially the same pattern.  Perfection pants gives you all the info on how to calculate your own perfect fitting pair by taking measurements and includes no measurements.  WonderPants includes all the measurements (which is quite helpful when you are trying to knit them as a gift!) and essentially provides the same info, just has a different gusset construction.

For $12 bucks apiece I will admit they are pricey.  Perhaps a smidge overpriced.  I do think it's worth it to buy one or two styles (I would recommend Wonder Soaker and Wonder Pants) if you plan on knitting a lot of these.  There are lots of good construction tips in there. 

I've also been warming up my sewing machine again.  I've been trying to get through my stash of special little bits of fabric I've been hoarding.  Aren't those birds the cutest?  The fabric is from cicada studio and it's called feeding the birds.  I made the cute little checkbook cover from Weekend Sewing. It makes me smile everytime I use it, and isn't that the point in crafting??  Creating wonderful things that you love using?

Happy Thursday!

Making your place: Rebalancing your spending

I've been trying to regain my balance with the simple life after my move.  When you're in transition it's easy to consume consume consume and buy buy buy.  I've been doing a lot of "no-spend" days to get me back in balance.

That's where you don't spend any money for a day - on anything, including gas, food, groceries, bills, online ordering or more.  Hubby and I try to have an equal number of no spend to spend days week, usually 3 no spend and 4 spending days.  I'm gradually trying to rebalance to make it 4 no spend days instead.  The rewards are plenty - much more cash in your pocket and a better feeling of balance.  It helps you look around your home to see what you have and make do.  It can be quite inspiring once you get started!

I'm having a no spend day tomorrow (tues), Thursday and Sunday of this week, will you join me?

I saw this adorable little book "Make your place" on Amy/Angry Chicken's blog.  Ordered it Friday, showed up Saturday and I was reading it by Saturday afternoon.  It has all the recipes and back to basics info I'm constantly searing for on my road to a simple, sustinable lifestyle in one little itty bitty cute book.  It's handwritten and hand illustrated and has info on medicines, skin care, planting and more.  Definitely a must-read.  You can buy it online here.

It also goes perfectly with my cute little handwoven washcloth I found at the local farmer's market this weekend.

In other news, I spent the weekend spinning the rest of the yarn for my peat feather and fan comfort shawl.  I needed to spin the last little bit and ply it up and it's washed and the twist is set and I'm ready to knit.  Super excited to finally get this one off the needles and blocked although the knitting has been so enjoyable, I don't think I want it to ever end!

Happy Monday!

Free Pattern Friday: Simple Ribbon Headband

New Feature: Free Pattern Friday

I've been wanting to create a new feature on this blog so I've decided to start a "Free Pattern Friday."  Now, this doesn't mean a free pattern every friday (I'd need to leave my full time job for that!)  It does mean that on every other friday or 3rd Friday or so, a simple, new free pattern will be listed here.  It might be a remake on a oldie but goodie, or it might be something entirely new and it could be any of my crafts (knitting, crocheting, sewing, etc).

I hope you enjoy!

This Friday's free Pattern is for a simple ribbon headband...

I saw these cute little things all over the place, Target and Craft Markets and I love the idea so I decided to sit down on day and do some measurements to figure it out!  It's a quick 10 or 15 minute project that uses items you probably already have at home.  Such a great way to use up those precious odds and ends of ribbon and trim you have lying around. 

Let's get started!  First, gather your materials. 

You'll need:

• <1 yard of ribbon or trim
• 2 hair elastics (the larger size and I recommend the ones with no metal closures)
• fray check and scissors or rotary cutter
• sewing machine with coordinating thread

Sizes:

This pattern is sized for adult, lg child and sm child.  For our purposes, a large child would be about 7-10 years old size wise and small child averages 5-7 years.

Adult - Cut ribbon 17 inches long

Large child - Cut ribbon 14.5 inches long

Small Child - Cut ribbon 12 inches long

Custom Size:

Make your own custom fit!  Start by measuring your head where you normally wear a headband to get the distance all the way around in inches.

• Take that number and subtract 5 inches
• The final number is the length of the ribbon to cut.

Directions:

Gather your ribbon and notions.  Figure out what size you want to make (see size notes above)

Cut your ribbon to the proper length, fray protect the ends and trim any loose threads.

 

Prep your elastics.  Take the two ends and lay it over the other, take both ends and pull it through and tighten to a knot.

Attach the ribbon to the elastic.   Wrap the ribbon end around the end of the elastic on each side.  It should be folded 1/2" up.  Pin to hold.  Repeat other side.

 

Adjust your machine to sew a shorter stitch length than standard.  Put on your 1/4" foot if you have it.  For example, I adjust my bernina to sew a 1.8 length from a 2.4. 

The shorter stitch length helps keep the ribbon in place.  You should stitch 1/4 from the rubber band on the right, as shown below.  Take care not to sew the band itself, just right before it.  Sew once across, backtacking at both ends, and then back again so you go over it at least twice so it will hold.

Repeat other side.  Fray stay the ends and stitches and trim any extra.  Let it dry and it's ready to wear!

 

Easy peasy headband!  Now rinse and repeat and make some more.  I made a stack for my nieces birthdays to include in their birthday cards with their standard birthday cash.  They love 'em. 

I loved creating a more mature version in imported Japanese lace trim.  You can find the trim here.  Doesn't it look like something you'd buy at anthropologie?  Instead it only costs $2.50 to make!  Can't beat that!

Questions?  Feel free to ask and I'll leave the response in the comments so it helps everyone.  Thanks!

Feed Reader Poll

Apologies for my multiple posts that keep showing up in the feed readers, bloglines, google and the like.  I'm tweaking my format and feeds for new feature upgrades and for some reason feedburner keeps re-pinging the readers - annoying!

Anyhow, I have a question for you.  I've changed my feed to show only a preview in feed readers rather than the full thing like I used to.  That means you get to only show a snippet rather than the full text, images, etc.  A preview makes more people click over to read however I understand when you're at work it can be hard to click onto another site and a lot of people do all their reading like that.

I could go either way so tell me what you think and I'll take it into consideration....  There's a poll below:

And leave a comment too if you feel strongly one way or another.  Thanks in advance! =)

Girasole, oh Girasole!

First order of business, the random number generator told me comment #5 is the winner!  Which if my kindergarten counting skills serve me, that makes Kathleen the winner!  Congrats!  I'll email you for your address and get them right out to you.  Thanks everyone! =)  And don't worry if you didn't win, I'm going to have more giveaways soon.

In the meantime I had a project I wanted to share with you...

I cast on for the girasole blanket a few months ago, even after I swore I'd never knit another circular shawl again after Rona.  The round and round?  Yea, not so much for my straight thinking personality.  I never feel like I'm making any progress on a circular shawl.  I couldn't resist though - I mean just look at the gorgeousness!  I even had the perfect yarn in my stash Elsa Wool Company Cormo Yarn.  Such a lovely yarn and a lovely woman who runs the company.  When you order you get emails from Elsa herself! 

This yarn is a woolen spun which means it's spun long draw for a very lofty, air filled yarn.  The resulting item feels light for it's weight and is extra warm which is a result of all the air trapped in it.  Makes for a very cozy blanket!

The best thing about this blanket?? It's the perfect size to drape over my lap when spinning!  The circular shape just covers your legs to your toes but swoops up the side before it gets tangled in the treadles.  I spent a long lovely winter wrapped in this blanket, spinning the days away in Vancouver.  It gets cold in Vancouver - who knew??  We were even snowed in for a few days and the heaters in the apartment were sketchy at best so warm woolies were very prized.

I only had 5 skeins though so I had to make do.  I shortened the last few charts by a few repeats...

I also had to modify the edging completely for my shorter yarn amount.  Look familiar?  It's the edging from the hemlock ring blanket!  I actually prefer it to the regular edging, it's a crocheted chain bind-off and creates a beautiful symmetry between the last chart and creates little hearts on the end.  Can you see it?

Here's a link to ravelry project for all the deets

Happy Thursday!

Chicken Butt + Giveaway

If you're a friend on ravelry or flickr you've probably been there, done that and seen all my recent FO's that I haven't had a chance to post here.  This is probably one of the few I actually found on my computer and didn't upload there yet. 

I made these cute "Little Cotton Rabbits Bunny Egg Cozies" just before Easter.  This is such a cute little pattern!  I love the adorable little stuffed faces!



Made it for my MIL for Easter.  She loves Chickens so it got a Chicken Butt cozy bottom. 
The woman appreciates handmade, what can I say??
;)



Anyone planning on making these?  I have extra of the yarns I used in the pricey rowan purelife organic cotton in the 3 colors above.  The cozy only used the tiniest of little bits.  I'm happy to send them to you, just leave a comment like "I'm interested!" in the post and if there's more than one person who wants it after 48 hours of time I'll use the random number generator to pick a winner.  I'll ship it to you free, wherever.  I just want it to find a new home where it will be loved.

Happy Tuesday!