Ladder Scarf

I knitted this cute little ladder scarf one afternoon/evening - it was a fun and quick knit using a dropped stitch which was new to me. Awkward at first but really got the hang of it and now I love doing the drop stitch.

Unfortunately I was just "playing" and grabbed a ball of yarn that I only had one of so the scarf is short, maybe it will work for a child. I'm also not sure of the type of yarn I used since I no longer had the label but I think it is a chenille by Lion Brand. It is soft and warm!

Felted Knit Bowl

I made this felted knit bowl along with the vase that was previously posted from the same yarn.  The bowl looks much better, the vase did not stripe like the bowl did.  Will have to adjust the pattern to fix this next time since I still have more of this type of yarn to use up.

The yarn:  Patons Classic Wool in Rosewood

Felted Knit Vase

I recently made this felted knit vase using Patons Classic Wool in Rosewood. This was my first time using this yarn, it was all they had available locally.  I'm not so crazy about it, I've been spoiled learning to knit with Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride wool.  Still good to try new things!

Holiday Thank You Notes

 

I haven't done much this past year, my hands have just been to sore to really enjoy doing anything.  I'm really missing my yahoo groups and chatting with crafty and artsy folks.  I miss sharing ideas and I miss being inspired by you all.  However I did manage to toss together a few holiday thank you notes for some friends.  It felt good to make something even it was a simple project of painted, stamped paper and torn cardstock.

Legs For Brian

Legs for Brian
http://www.legsforbrian.com/

Please take the time to read Legs For Brian ...

Yes I personally know this family and it is heartbreaking to see those around you suffer. I have been to their house, I have seen Brian crawl around ... There is no reason why any human should be allowed to suffer like this. Animals are treated better in most cases. Please share this and lets try and get Brian the help he needs!

How can people come together to help those in other countries but we let our friends and neighbors suffer? How can our government help those in other countries but ignore the needs of those in our own country?

Please pass this along, twitter, facebook. blogs, media ... whatever. Lets get Brian some help from someone who has the ability to help him!

Much thanks!

Felted Mini Totes

These fun little totes knitted up quickly and required me to learn a new technique as the bottoms are square. I learned to pick up stitches!

I think they would make a great little gift bag. I can already see holiday colors and maybe embellishing them with decorative buttons and/or gems. If I start now I might have enough for myself as well as a few to sell since some of my online friends have expressed an interest in my felted knits.

 

I did learn a valuable lesson from this project. I made four bags in total and felted them two at a time, the first two came out great (at least I think so) while the second two were a tad to "fuzzy" and looked worn. What caused the difference in the final result when everything appeared to be the same? The first two were felted in separate pillow cases and the others were felted in separate mesh laundry bags. I tried the laundry bags after spotting them at the dollar store, I remembered reading in a book that this is what the author used. I honestly believe that the bags are better protected in the pillow cases and will be using them from now on, maybe the mesh bags could be used inside one laundry bag - keeping them separate from each other but still protected.

Playing with Yarn

Yes, I'm still playing with yarn and having lots of fun with it. I recently made a drawstring bag and a small bag. The small bag was just made from the left over yarn from my first project, I wanted to make a test piece as I have never felted anything on my own. It was a success!

Feeling confident that I could do this on my own I decided to try a drawstring bag. It required me to knit button holes for the drawstring which was a new technique for me. I think it turned out okay, would have been better without the "fizz". Time to move on and get over the fizz!

Before felting...

After felting ....

My First Felted Knit

So I've been learning to knit, its been a slow process and not something that got my full attention. I have a friend who is teaching me and she's been great. The goal of this project was for me to learn how to knit and how to felt it when it was done. There was no pattern to follow as we were just going with the flow and taking it step by step.

I used Lamb's Pride which is 85% Wool 15% Mohair and the color is Ocean Waves, made by Brown Sheep Company.

I'm pleasantly surprised by the outcome and just love the color, the tropical fizz adds a fun touch. I'm not sure what it is exactly ... to round to be a purse, handles to long to be a basket - hmmmm maybe I'll use it as my new knitting basket.

This was a fun learning experience and can't wait to jump into the next project. My friend and knitting teacher will be on vacation for 5 weeks so I'm flying solo on this next one. I think I'll try a purse or a pillow from the book Felted Knits. I need a simple pattern as I'm not 100% sure what all these abbreviation mean yet. Wish me luck!

Birthday Goddess

I started out with wanting to make my mom a Birthday Goddess. The plan was to make a wire and bead goddess but we all know what happens when we plan things, don't we? It ended up in the trash, it just wasn't working - I think I need different wire. So back to the drawing board I went ...

I finally came up with the one pictured above - she is made from foamcore. I printed a pattern onto paper, traced it onto the foamcore and cut it out with a craft knife. Applied colored tissue paper and dry brushed Luminere paint to give it some sparkle. Then I layered on some homemade paper to resemble a skirt and tied some fibers around her waist. My mom has a big heart so I thought her goddess should have one too. This one was made from heated and stamped fun foam that was cut out and painted. Above her head she holds wire which I twisted and added some stones to. I went with a green theme to represent May's birthstone of Emerald.

Happy Birthday Mom!


Oh BTW the idea to use foamcore came from the March/April 2002 issue of Somerset Studio

Tin Lizzy

Okay so maybe its not tin but I just liked the sound of "Tin Lizzy"...

I've had this big black metal CD rack that resembles a lizard hanging on my wall for years. I loved it when I first bought it oh about 12 years ago but it has been begging me to just "do something" with it for awhile now. So I took it down, gave it some paint and I plan to hang it outside as a planter.

I'm thinking about screwing one of those square pots behind it near the bottom, maybe some ivy or a vining flower to climb up the lizard - hmmmmm, any thoughts?