It"s a Puzzle, It's a Painting, No It's a Christmas Present!

I admit it is not often when I take to painting. When I do it generally requires less thought and more action which is sometimes difficult for me when I am working on many projects (more work and less creative) than I probably should be. I talked my mother into hanging all the paintings that I did a couple of years ago on one wall in the guest bedroom of her house which left another wall more than blank. She was not happy about it and I promised her to make a new creation for that wall.

So a day or so before Christmas it was time to get started. The plan was to take several canvases, of different sizes (okay I had two sizes in each thing I opened so that is where the different sizes came from), and create a piece that would work if all the canvases were next to each other or apart from each other. In other words each canvas could stand on its own as a painting. I knew my mother preferred more contemporary designs and really seemed to like my splatter pieces. I used the colors in the room and in a glass frame that I get her in Italy as the color palette for the design. I actually sat down and sketched out the geometric design and went from there.

My acrylic paints were not being nice to me. The colors were clumping and I ended up smoothing them out with a thinner to make it work better. I worked in one color at a time and did as many shapes as I could with some of the shapes being on more than one canvas, then went back in to fill in the spaces. After getting everything together and letting it dry it was time for the fun part. I went outside and laid the entire piece on the ground and began the splatter process with my acrylic inks. I was hoping for a more metallic look out of some of the inks but they seemed to match my paint colors fairly well and I was pleased with the overall design.

After everything dried I wrapped each piece individually so there were several gifts to open on Christmas Day. My mother seemed to like the first one and second but then got a little overwhelmed that there were so many. When I laid them all out as one painting for her, she really seemed to like the design and how it all flows together. However framing and hanging is what she is concerned about now. I might end up coming up with a new design on the wall when I get done with the framing and hanging...it might be most interesting. I will let you know.

Sparkling Holiday Theme

I write these blog posts as I complete projects. However, sometimes, like with this post, I will post it long after I write it because I do not want the recipient of this gift to see the post and ruin the surprise. I found this wooden cutout of a candy cane at a national arts and crafts store. When I saw it I immediately knew I could do something with it, I just wasn't sure what. When I got home I knew this would be a decorative gift for my mother because she loves to decorate for all holidays but especially Christmas. However I wanted this to be an extra sparkly piece of decor so I came up with a shimmery plan. The entire piece got a base coat of white paint. After drying I painted the White strips and added white glitter to the wet paint. After waiting for it all to dry I discarded the excess glitter and repeated with the red stripes. After getting everything glittered and striped it was time to outline. Thanks to a fairly thin paint pen I was able to define the candy cane strips. Then after all was dry I spray painted thin coats of acrylic across the entire piece (probably sprayed it four or five times letting it dry between coats). It made the entire piece glossy and helped ensure the glitter will stay on the piece rather than fly around and get on everything else in sight.
Although rather well protected I would not display this outside in the elements, maybe under a roof or a protected area outside but not directly in the elements. It would probably be best served being stuck in an indoor plant to spread the holiday spirit and let it last even longer. As far as the Christmas present...my mother seemed to like it. However she seemed more surprised that I made it rather than having bought it that way. So Merry Christmas and I hope your holidays are sweet.

Popular Color

While I was set up at the craft show there were a couple of special orders. The first was actually for dish clothes. No, I had not sold out, but I have a tendency to make them in variegated colors and do not have many solid colors. So when I was approached and asked if I could make some in white, I said of course and asked how many. Two to three was the reply. Several people that day commented that if there had been white ones they would buy them. So I ran out and purchased three skeins of white cotton yarn and started knitting. Within two days I had all three ready for the order and will be delivering them tonight. The great thing about the white ones is that when you wash them, you can tell they are clean. I do have more white yarn so I will be making more to stock up my dish cloth collection for sale in the near future.

Swimingly Hot!

Yes, this is my traditional dishcloth. However this one seems a little hot today. I bought this yarn over Thanksgiving thinking it was an interesting color and might make a great looking dishcloth. Today on my way out of the house I grabbed it to knit with while I was set up at a craft show (for those of you who know me you know I can not sit still and have to fiddle with something). I set up and sat down to wait for customers with the yarn and needles in my hands. When I looked down the color name was swimming pool blue. Seemed rather appropriate and while selling my various designs I knitted a dishcloth, which got a lot of attention while I was doing it. When it was done I added it to the ever shrinking stack of dish cloths that I was selling. Sure enough within 10 minutes someone walked in and commented on what a beautiful color yarn it was and asked what I was knitting. I said, Oh, just a dish cloth, I just finished one with this yarn that is over there (pointing) if you would like to see what the finished product looks like. Next thing I know money exchanged hands and the dishcloth was out the door.

Snowmen Sticking In

Several years ago at a craft show my mother purchased me a wooden spoon with a snowman painted on the handle. I absolutely love the spoon and it just adds a little smile of happiness in my kitchen during the holiday season. In an effort to share this happiness I have tried to recreate that design on wooden wear of my own.
Purchasing some wooden salad forks (I have to admit I could not find wooden spoons at a reasonable price that were shaped like I wanted) I went to work on designing. A red background was what I needed to create my snowy design. Snowmen with scarves blowing in the wind, and a few snowballs (in case of a snowball fight) add a little whismy to this everlasting snow storm.
I have to admit painting on the round was a little difficult and a few lessons were learned. This is only something that can be accomplished a few paint strokes at a time. Patience is involved and it was fun to do. The forks will be priced at $5 each, and I hope soon to be able to find spoons to add to my collection.

Just Hanging Around

Every once in awhile I like to think that I am creative at something else. In the spirit of Christmas, and the upcoming craft show that is part of the Historic Homes Christmas tour, I have been knocking around with something new. I found wood plaques at a local craft store and couldn't help but purchase them. I hoped that as I held on to them they would speak to me. In all honesty I do that with a lot of things and nothing happens, so I end up collecting a lot of stuff. However in this case I thought I would try some cute little holiday door hangers and I think the idea works.
So I pulled out the paints and started working. I chose traditional colors for the background (red, green, white, and blue) and started painting. Now mind you it took about three coats to get it just the right color but that was just the background, I still had to decorate. Now what says Christmas? Is cute? And will allow my limited art talents to paint it on a piece of wood and look like something people would want to hang in their homes? So sayings, snowflakes and snowmen came to mind. I have to admit the first batch I painted ended up having to be redone because when I went to poly them the polyurethane was not mixed well and turned everything yellow. So a sanding block and a few hours later it was time to start again.
The first batch came out as planned with a couple of big snowflakes, a snowman on the hill, and Merry Christmas. I could not resist a let it snow, and Shhhhhh Listening for Santa sayings either. I did come across a plaque that looks like an old wooden danger sign and wanted to have a little fun with it. So in my best five year old writing skills I put something on that there some five year olds that I know might write, "Dear Santa, Define good..." That sign had it's own string strung through ti. The others I matched different types of ribbon to and was trying to come up with a way to secure it. Brass thumb tacks seemed to be the perfect answer. They went in easily, don't pucker or tear the ribbon, and can be removed if the customer wants to place a different ribbon on the piece or wants to display it in another manner.
The last one that I finished in time for the craft show was actually inspired by a cake I did recently. If you look on my cake blog, Custom Cakes 4 You, you will see a post titled Cake Designer Meets Baker/Decorator for Dream Cake. In it I used a scroll design to decorate the cake. I tried to use the same concept on this door hanger. With the word Noel I used a green glitter paint pen to create shimmery green scrolls on this door hanger. Now some may thing it is terribly busy while others like the fact that the scrolls are done in a variety of widths and densities to frame the Christmas Sentiment.
If you are wondering the door hangers will be selling for any where from $2-$4 dollars each depending on the size and time it took for me to create it. Even if I don't sell a single one, it has helped me get into the holiday spirit.

Cleaning Up

Way back in July the Balden County Extension office had their Christmas in July craft sale. This highlights local crafters. One of the wonderful people in my group of crafting heifers (really we have called ourselves this for years...might as well go public), took some of my items, or all of my knitted items over to sell for me. When she came back she said she sold a few of my dishcloths. I think I had about 15 or 16 that went over. I figured at a dollar a piece they are an easy buy and awfully easy make. With that in mind and knowing that we did not sell a great amount of products I figured she sold one or two. When she however handed me a check for $12 I realized I have some work to do In that trend I have been working on special projects and have made about five dishcloths.
All five are made from Lily Sugar'n Cream cotton yarn and are machine washable and dryable making them very green. Three are daisy hombre and now I have two made from summer prints. The daisy hombre is a variegated yellow and white yarn and may look familiar. It is the same yarn I used for the place mats and coasters you read about in August.

The summer prints is a white yarn with small splashes of blue, green and yellow through it making it a light and fun pattern. Dishcloths sell for $1 each and can be reused. They make great housewarming and thank you gifts, not to mention great stocking stuffers.

Knitting a Baby Towel?

Did you know that the Red Cross classifies home fires as a natural disaster? Where I live we seem to have more than our share of natural disasters in the term of home fires that destroy a home. Recently one of our law enforcement officers in the county, home was destroyed by fire while he and his wife, daughter and newborn were on vacation. When he came home, nothing was left. Having made gifts for dispatchers and others at the local agency I was contacted about knitting some blankets. After getting some stealth information on favorite colors and needs I was able to find the right yarns as start knitting. This is the first of three blankets I am working on for the family.
Close up of blanket for the newborn girl who will be almost six months by the time she gets this I have picked a new yarn that has flecks of pink and green mixed in with the white. It is Bernat's Pipsqueak yarn in the color called Candy Girl. I was not sure about how to knit this and using size 9 needles ended up with a knit and purl design that made a flat, yet thick blanket. When you look at it the yarn makes it feel like a terry cloth towel. The design is like a pastel tie dye. It is really interesting, warm and fitting of a baby.

Taking Knitting to a New Place

So I decided it was time for something new. At the request of my mother I am knitting cotton place mats. Yes, place mats that you put under the plates on the dinner to protect the table. The nice thing about these place mats is that they are perfect for everyday use because they are machine washable and dryable. They are made from Lily Sugar'n Cream yarn, daisy hombre to be specific. My mother actually picked out the yarn. It is a variegated yellow and white yarn that will allow each place mat to be similar while being eclectically unique. The pattern is a simple knit one purl one stitching. It takes two skeins to make one place mat. Due to the time and the cost of this project (4 place mats will cost $40) I have done something special. I have also made matching coasters and a dishcloth to go with these for no extra charge. That is a $45 value for $40. You can be sure that each one is hand made, and one of a kind because there is no way to specifically replicate the color design on these pieces. As you can see they add a little whimsy and fun to a traditional table and will be a great conversation piece for any party.

Surprise???

All I can say about surprises is my father's green surprise Father's Day shirt.  You see, when I was much younger (probably about 12), on a trip to Virginia over Father's day my mother, thinking she was slick, slid my father's surprise gift into a shoe bag.  His gift was a green polo shirt.  It sort of stuck out from the shoes and my father, whose job it was to load and unload the car of course saw it when he loaded the bag in the car, but chose not to say anything.  Over the course of the 10 hour trip my mother was dropping hints and trying to tease my father who refused to play the game, making my mother more smug as we drove.  Finally when we arrived in Virginia and were unloading the car, my mother dropped one last remark for which my father proudly announced, "Are you by chance referring to this green polo shirt in the shoe bag?"  Oh it was not pretty watching her face turn red, as she sputtered, and just finally without anything to say in response let out a few choice words and got mad at him for discovering her surprise.  When she finally realized he knew from the beginning and was playing with her the entire trip, it just fanned the flames even more.  From that point on she stopped trying to surprise because she realized he was pretty quick and could figure it out with little effort if he wanted to.  It was also one of those stories that came up time and time again and the surprise green father's day shirt will go down in family history.
I tell you this story, because one it is now my job to repeat that story and allow it to go down in history, and two because it shows how surprises work in my family.  My mother, still trying to keep tabs on me realized that I was spending an awful lot of time at the pottery painting place in Fayetteville and might be working on more than one thing. 

Grapes Tile

To throw her off I made a tile that I will work into a tray, I think (or should I say that is the plan right now).  However she had a pretty good idea that something else was up.  So I regret to say that I have post dated this post because she would snoop the post and try to find her surprise, and I am not willing to make it that easy for her.  The first trivet I started working on was the one for her, however they ran out of a couple of the paints I needed.  I painted a cream background, with dark brown edges and added her initials in an Asian inspired font.  Then robin egg blue dots, to match the writing were added to the edge and chocolate brown dots were added to the middle.  Firing such a piece with a lighter color on a darker one could offer a complex situation and may not work.  However because of using the wooden end of the paint brush to add my dots, it worked out really well and I am excited to say I was able to offer her a partial surprise.  She knew I made her something but did not know what I had made.  Thus when she opened it she still had to make the surprise face and determine if she liked it, which I think she did.  I think the key to surprises in my family is just let it happen, don't give hints or clues, because someone will search for it.

A New Passion

Yes, it is true. I love all things crafty. As a matter of fact there are few crafty things that I will not attempt. Thus with the opportunity to teach an arts and crafts day camp as part of my day job I was able to introduce our youth to something I have not done before, pottery. Let me back up. The youth did not throw clay, nor do I. We decorate the preformed product. For them it was plates, bowls, or mugs (part of the group rate). When I went back a week later to pick up their finished products I was able to pick out my own to do.

Let me start at the beginning of my adventure. I travelled to Fayetteville, North Carolina to a place called "Just Claying Around." Once inside you notice tables with paint brushes, bowls of water, and a colorful plate full of numbers. The walls are lined with shelves that are loaded with various items begging for color and personality. The items range from small tiles to very large items, each with various prices. The price includes all the paint you can think to use as well as glazing and firing costs. The process is simple. You pick the item you want. The colorful plates are samples of all the paints they have. You pick your colors and paint lightest to darkest. Each time you paint you have to wait for it to dry. After about 20-30 minutes you paint over it again giving it three to four coats of paint to make sure it is solid. When you are done you pay for the item. Then it takes two to three days of drying before they dip it in a special glaze. Then it drys again before being placed in the kiln and being fired. I asked about things shattering and they said all of their products come from the same place to ensure the moisture content is even in everything they fire and very rarely do they have accidents in the kiln.

So about a week after painting (and let me say when you paint you are going on a vision because it does not look like you plan when you originally paint it) you get a call and go back to pick up your finished product. I actually started with two trivets, one for my mother and one for me. I found that having two projects to work on took the boredom out of drying. It so happened that I ran out of the paint colors I chose for my mother's trivet so my got done first. They wrapped up the other one and let me take it home to bring it back another time to finish.

For my trivet there were lots of choices and I was not quite sure what to do. I found a speckled off white for the background which ended up having a very colorful affect. Then I took a bright red and painted the edges and my initials on the trivet. I did not know when I painted it that the speckles would come through the red but it gives an neat and unexpected affect to my finished project. I picked up my finished project and took the opportunity to finish my mother's trivet as well as a tile that I hope to use in a tray. I will let you know how it turns out.

Knitting Trash?

This is sooooo cool. In case I haven't told you before, I have a job that allows me to be creative. As part of that I work with people who are way more creative than I am. I came back from a meeting one afternoon and found my co-worker, let's call her Christy, with a ball of grocery bag. To be more specific she had taken plastic grocery store bags, that we had in the office, and with the help of instructions she found on a craft web site she found on the Internet, turned them into a ball of plastic yarn. Basically by cutting the bags into loops and using slip knots to string them together there were no tied knots to get into the way of knitting. It took about four bags to create the small square I needed. Two things to keep in mind; it is probably best to use the same type of bag throughout the project you are doing because color schemes and bag densities are different based on the store bags you are using. The other thing to remember is that if you are not careful when you loop the loops together bubbles will be created when you knit so you have to pay attention when making your plastic yarn. This project was knitted with size eight needles and I would not recommend using anything small, as a matter of fact you might want to use larger needles. Overall it was a lot of fun and a great way to recycle. My next plan is to download some shopping bag patterns and make enough yarn to knit a new kind of recylced grocery bag. Thanks Christy for introducing me to this fun!

Talk about a Donation

I love to knit. What is even better is when you can see the face of the person you are giving it to or just donating it to someone who does not expect it. So you can imagine this morning was a great morning. Today we gave the rest of our items from the United Way Day of Caring Knit-In event to Southeastern Regional Hospital's Maternity ward. We had quite a crowd at the event. Two of the organizers Margaret Crites and myself were there and joined by: Sandra Oliver, the United Way Director; Rod Jenkins, Robeson County Assistant County Manager; Jane and Megan Hurst with 4-H; Tanya Underwood with the Robeson County Partnership for Children; and Jessica Drake with the Rape Crises Center. Beth Ivey with Southeastern Regional Hospital arraigned the meeting with the charge nurse for the maternity ward. They were very appreciative of the items we made for the newborns and said they would give them to those who need them and would love the items as much as the love they were made with. They took especially good care of one of my favorite items, a Winnie-the-Pooh pillow made by Amonica Graham and said they would find a very special home for it.

While we were there we noticed a framed cap and booties on the wall. It was in memory of a volunteer who had donated more than 200 items in one year. Can you imagine what our goal is next year?

Warming Hearts and Bodies

The first donation happened and I can't help but share the incredible news. The photo is from our first donation from the knit in. The adult blankets and caps were donated to Gibson Cancer Center, which is part of Southeastern regional Medical Center. Sherita Jenkins accepted our donation from Margaret Crites. Crites is the Director of the Rape Crisis Center and one of the three organizers of the first knit-in. Jenkins is a social worker at the center and you may remember her husband, Rod Jenkins took part in the knit in. He learned how to knit and knitted a pink baby cap as part of the knit in. Sherita promised that all of the items knitted with love would go to people who needed them and she said they were greatly appreciated.

Stay tuned for more information about our next drop off which we hope will take place in the next week. Also if you would like to take part in the second annual knit in you can get more information from face book or you can e-mail me at this blog and we will be happy to add you to our knit-in e-mail list.

Travelling to Building Inventory

For those who know me they know I can not sit still. I have to be doing at least one or two things at a time. If I sit still I will likely fall asleep, and that might not be attractive. So when I travel, I make sure to pack yarn. Right now I have construction going on at my house so everything is topsy turvey. That means I grab what I can reach. To that effect I grabbed to skeins of this poofy fun fur. The yarn is black with fuzzy blue and purple balls in the yarn. I took it with me to Virginia as I traveled over Memorial Day Weekend and knitted this scarf in just one morning. It is a fairly narrow scarf only measuring four inches across. It is almost five feet long (four feet 11 inches) but is perfect to wear as an accent under a coat. It is conservative but full of whimsy for someone who wants to make a subtle statement. This will be a $20 scarf and you can by it by e-mailing me at this blog or send me a message.

Productively Waiting

I recently had the opportunity to sit and wait. For those who know me I am not good at just patiently sitting and waiting. Even if I watch TV I have to do something else. On this occasion I started working on one of my other blogs (http://www.customcake4you.blogspot.com/ and http://www.robeson4-H.blogspot.com/ if you are interested). When the computer battery started dying and a plug was not nearby it was time to switch to something else. Needless to say all I had to do was reach into my purse and pull out yarn and knitting needles to keep me busy for a few more hours. I was able to knit two dishcloths with Peaches and Cream brand cotton yarn. This specific color is lemon and lime which was a variegated white, yellow and green. I must say the final product was bright and as one person said to me it looked like something from Jamaica. I knitted two of these with the skein of yarn, and promptly gave them to those around me. So I guess you could say I was productively waiting, even if I wasn't patient.

Robeson County's First Annual Knit-In

What an incredible day! Who would have imagined that a few people with a love of crafting and knitting would be able to put together Robeson County's 1st Annual Knit-in which was such a fun event that netted more than 112 items. Honest to goodness 112 items. We had about 17 volunteers who knitted and crocheted during the day. We had another three of four people who came by and dropped off the most incredible items; preemie caps, baby caps, blankets, pillows, etc. The generosity of the community was incredible.

One of the other great things that day was that four people who had never knitted before learned how to knit, including our Assistant County Manager Rod Jenkins. Margaret Crites used the looms we brought in and taught Rod, Stacy Kinlaw, Amanda Swisher, and Kerrie Roach how to knit. Each of them completed at least one cap that day and two of them completed two at the knit in while Kerrie went ahead and completed another at home. Jessica Drake knitted the most adorable caps and crocheted. Jane Hurst worked diligently crocheting a beautiful blanket. Cherry Witherspoon taught several knitters/crocheters how to crochet flowers for baby caps. Her secret is that she attaches them with a button to the hat so they can be removed before washing. Tanya Underwood knitted the most adorable teddy bear. I worked away and completed a pair of booties and matching cap. Janice Fields brought her sewing machine from home and put together the most beautiful pattern for a baby blanket. She is finishing it up at home with batting and a backing. It was a fun and successful day of knitting, crocheting and sewing all to benefit those who might not otherwise have something like this made with love.

In a week or so we will make a trip with United Way representatives to the hospital and Gibson Cancer Center to donate all these incredible items. This was such a success that we are already planning on doing it again next year. For more information about Robeson County's 1st Annual Knit-In please check out our Facebook page. If you would like to sign up for next year's event you can comment here on this post or send me an e-mail. You can also sign up through our Facebook page. Our goal next year will be to top 112 items donated. Wouldn't you like to help?

Extras=Something Nice for Someone Unknown

I admit this blanket is similar to the last. Actually I had two skeins of left over yarn and thought the first annual Robeson County Knit-In is coming up and I should go ahead and knock out a blanket. This baby blanket is a pattern of squares that are created from a combination of pearl and knit stitches. The edge is a seed stitch of P(1) K(1). It is the baby version of the blanket I made for Miss Mary about two years ago. I used the skein and green and blue yarns that I used for the previous blanket, giving it an interesting coloring. When it was done it measured about 28 x 32.
This blanket was not made for someone specific but is being donated as part of Robeson County's 1st annual Knit-In (check out their facebook page). The Knit-In was the brain child of Margaret Crites who is the Director of the Robeson County Rape Crisis Center. She invited myself, since I am a knitter and Stacey Kinlaw from the Partnership of Children to take part in the event. The other thing we all have in common is that as part of our day jobs our agencies receive funding from United Way of Robeson County. The Knit-In will be part of the annual Day of Caring that will take place May 12. Many community service projects will take place across the area including building of wheelchair ramps, canned food drive, landscaping and more. If you would like to take part in the Knit-In you can sign up on the facebook page. Or post a comment through this blog to me to let us know you will be there. The Knit-In will take place at O. P. Owens at 455 Caton Road, Lumberton, NC on May 12 beginning at 9 am and ending at 5 pm. All items donated and made that day will go to Southeastern Hospital, Hospice and Gibson Cancer Center. We do not have a goal for our first Knit-In but would love any baby, child, or adult items made with love so that we can brighten someone else's day and let them know there are people who care about them. We will have yarn, needles and hooks available for knitters, crocheters, and fleece available for those who know how to make fleece blankets. We will also provide lunch for those who join us. So please think about joining us for our first annual Robeson County Knit-In.

Jungle Time

Okay, so when you ask your mom to pick up yarn for you and she has to FedEx it because you are working on a deadline and you live five hours apart from each other, it doesn't always happen with out strings (feel free to enjoy any and all puns that I accidentally put in there) attached. At the same time I was planning on attending a baby shower for my friend, my mother was planning on attending a baby shower as well. A young lady she knows, lets call her April, was having a baby shower. Mom and another friend bought a very nice mattress for the crib that April was planning on using. However, a little something more is right up Mom's alley and she asked if I might be willing to knit a blanket for April's baby. I said I would love to, as soon as you send me the yarn I need because I will need the needles in the blanket I am currently knitting to knit the blanket you want.

My instructions were simple. They were having a little boy, and there was a jungle themed room. Sounds simple but when you do not live near yarn stores, sometimes finding neat yarn ideas is rather difficult. So after a quick trip to, of all places, Wal-Mart, I found the perfect color combination. I purchased four skeins (two of each color) of a really bright green and a really bright blue. I knitted the blanket using one strand of each color at the same time. The pattern I used made the blanket look like it was a stripped. Believe it or not when I got done it only took two skeins (and about a foot more of blue yarn) to knit the entire blanket.

As it turns out the baby arrived a few weeks early much to every one's surprise. I hand delivered the blanket to the dad when I visited my mother over Easter. He seemed quite thrilled to know that we took the time to make something special for them and mentioned that the colors worked perfectly.

Can You See Them?

If you can see the pink camo items above you might notice I am in baby knitting mode. My friend who I mentioned in my previous post with the baby blanket was also the recipient of these items as well. She told me a story a few months ago about her father and husband coming home with a present for the baby. It was an outfit in, yes, you guessed it, pink camo. This is rather befitting of this family and seems only right to pass the tradition on to the baby when she is born. As a matter of fact this outfit has been deemed the one that the baby will be brought home in. My only hope is that they don't lose her, being dressed in camo and all.

It took a couple of months but I finally found the Red Heart, pink camo yarn. As cute as it is when it comes out of the skein I must admit I was a little disappointed knitting with it. The cap was knitted in the round and took me just a few hours to finish. The booties were knitted in less than four hours with a pattern I found on the Internet which required a small amount of sewing. When they unwrapped the items they knew it was pink camo and even tried to find the baby's feet in the stomach to see if they would fit. Of course the dad to be tried to put the cap on. Might have to see if I have enough yarn left to make a cap for dad. Just a thought.

Cotton Candy vs. Jolly Rancher

A friend of mine is having a baby. Back in October, when she found out, she broke the news to me by asking if I might be willing to knit her a baby blanket. With nine months to go you would think that would be plenty of time to get one done. So I started planning immediately. I knew I wanted a specific pattern book of baby blanket patterns, it is a sister to another book of patterns I have on adult blankets and throws. She is not exactly your typical mother to be and this blanket sort of needed to represent that. I know you are saying the blanket is about the baby not the parents, but since we have not met the little bundle of joy, it needs to be all about mom and dad right now. I was keeping that in mind while picking out yarn. They were told the baby would be a girl, and they have decided on a name, Samantha Renee Wright, Sami for short. Now we have to keep in mind that sometimes ultrasounds don't tell us all we need to know so there is always a chance she might not be a she, so that is also in my head as I pick a yarn. I was thinking something fun and almost tied dyed. So I picked a yarn that had flecks of pink, blue, yellow and white. It was variegated and neat looking. As I started knitting however the blanket looked more like cotton candy, which is OK because Sami's mom likes her cotton candy during the fair.

I started knitting in November, and ran out of yarn. My mother picked up the last skein I needed in March and I finished this 29x32 blanket the week of the baby shower. When the mom to be unwrapped it she seemed tickled with it, and her husband said it reminded him of jolly ranchers. She was able to dissect that I knitted it with two strands of yarn and had done a seed stitch border so it would lay flat. No matter what it reminds him of it will be sweet, especially when Sami gets here.

Every Woman Needs a Little Fuzzy Black Scarf?

Okay, maybe not as common as the little black dress comment, but how far off could we be? I am actually knitting away at scarves to build up my supply from the Christmas Craft Show. This is made with fun fur and is about 23 inches long with lots of fuzzy fun.

It is not only fashionable but also gives you that warm fuzzy feeling. Actually it was quite simple to knit by casting on 23 stitches and knitting every row. The fuzzy yarn does not seem quite so full until you get the whole thing done and it all comes together.

there will be more fun fur scarves coming as well as some other fun crafties as I redo my crafting room in my house. Stay tuned for more knitting fun.

A Little Angel

I just showed you the train quilt block that I finished for my play room, where my trains will be.  As I uncovered that, I also uncovered this little gem.  It works on the same principle, a laser cut foam block with a pattern.  This one is in the form of an angel.  I am not an angel collector but I have someone that I work with that is.  She actually collects Santa's and Angels so this one will be for her. 
This block is smaller than the train and has many more pattern shapes to cut out and fit into place.  Working for the outside in, this one offered some challenges with curves and unusual cutout shapes.  However when it is done, it is a glowing site to see.  My co-worker hopefully won't see it until Christmas, when I give it to her as a gift (does this mean I am ahead on my Christmas Shopping?).

Quilting Back to the Station

I mentioned in my last post that I was redoing my craft room. As part of that I have had to clean it out. I mean clean it as in six trash bags left the room for the dump, there are three boxes of shredding and two bedrooms stuffed to the rafters with miscellaneous items such as my various train sets. As part of this massive cleaning effort I came across a crafting project that just called out to me to be completed. Some time back, while I was in Florida I came across this really cool shop in a flea market that sold quilting blocks. Literally blocks for quilting. They are foam blocks that have padding on the top. A laser cuts a design in each block and you cover it with fabric giving the design that quilted feel.

There are traditional designs, but the one I chose was one based on trains. When I came across it I set it aside so that I could get it done before my room is finished so that I can hang it up to go with the new motif. That motif includes trains. You see my father and I loved to play with our trains and set up boards in our home in Missouri. Now I have the trains and plan to hang track from the ceiling so that I can enjoy my trains again. This quilting design is one of the largest I have tackled and did take a couple of hours to complete. The fabric comes with it and you have to cut out the fabric into corresponding pieces for the design. You can use a tool that comes with the project or a simple butter knife to tuck all the fabric pieces in. When you get done it turns into a pretty awesome piece that takes no sewing what so ever.

Turning to Green

I mean green in so many ways. Yes, these dishcloths are very green in color for a very good reason. 4-H (my day job that sort of spills over) colors are green and white. So what better color for dishcloths that you plan to donate to the 4-H Volunteer Leaders Conference? Each year the 4-H volunteers from around the state gather for training, fundraising, and networking. Through in some awards, and a little fun and it is an additive environment for all involved. In other words you can't help but want to go back year after year. As part of the conference the volunteers run an old country store where items are donated. They also hold an auction where higher end items are auctioned off and items that did not sell in the store are bundled together for auction. I am not sure when or where these items sold but I do know they were placed in the old country store for two dollars a piece.

Of Course these are green for another reason. Made from 100% cotton these dishcloths are meant to be used and then put in the washing machine and reused again. Thus helping the environment and being healthier because people are more likely to wash something that can be reused rather than reusing something as much as possible that is disposable because they want to make sure they get the most of their money.

Only the Shadow Knows.....

No this is not a post about building a radio or writing a show, although that does sound rather interesting. Actually, I am quite proud of my first ever shadow box. I can't really say I built this. However what I did do is buy a kit of an unfinished shadow box. I bought the kit from A.C. Moore, and must admit it was very reasonably priced. You might ask why I would want to do this, and actually I am not big on Shadow Boxes per Se, but I had a very specific item that I wanted to protect and display.

As part of my profession, I had the opportunity to travel with a 4-H club, the Dirty Dozen 4-H Shooting sports club to be exact, to see Tom Knapp, an incredible sharpshooter, perform. He along with two of the members of the U.S. Shooting Sports team were part of the Annie Oakley Boom Days in Pinehurst, NC. Mr. Knapp was kind enough to take the time to meet with the youth, take a photo with the club, and sign clays for everyone who came. Also the two members of the U.S. Olympic shooting sports team (who both began their shooting sports careers in 4-H) took photos and signed clays as well. These are once in a lifetime items and something that I would like to display to remember an incredible experience, but must do it in a manner that will keep these fragile clays from breaking. A shadow box would allow me to show the photos, clays, and even a spent shotgun shell that Tom Knapp used that day. Basically everything is framed behind glass with a two inch depth between the glass and mounting board.

The first thing I had to do was determine what color to paint the frame. For those of you who know me I absolutely love the natural look of wood. I will stain it, poly it, rarely do I paint it. However, not every thing goes with day glow orange. In an effort to let the color of the clays and photos stand out I thought basic black would be best. So I spent a little time painting the frame inside and out. After the paint dried I nailed the claw hanger in place. Now here comes the harry part. The instructions (not that I am one who likes instructions) said to hot glue the corners of the glass in place. Not wanting to take any chances of the glass and glue perhaps drying out one day, genius my decided to use super glue. In case you don't already know this the fumes from superglue are used to activate the oil in fingerprints. It is some really amazing stuff. However when I set the glass and frame down on a plastic bag it trapped the fumes and they adhered to the glass. So in an effort to make it better I took Windex to the glass to clean it up. Problem was the glue was not completely dry. Thus I began spreading it around on the glass. A few new words later, when I was sure the glue was dry, and not moving from where I smeared it from, I got a straight razor and carefully scraped off the dry glue. My advice if you do this project is not to use super glue, I will try not to do it on future projects.

Finally after I had secured the clays, shot gun shell, photos, and placed the wording in the center it was time to put the back in and secure it. I must admit the clays and shotgun shell have been secured with Velcro so that I would not damage them if I wanted to move them. The photos were done with double sided tape. I can get into it at anytime should things move but I truly hope they won't.

This was fun to put together, reasonably inexpensive (much more so than buying a finished shadow box) and when I got done well let's just say I am happy with the final outcome.

Getting a little Blue

I admit I have been snowed in for the last three days (actually iced in to be precise) and I hate just laying around. Thus I have kept my hands busy with one of my favorite things, knitting. As you might have noticed scarves have been on my mind lately (probably because I know I have three blankets to knit before June and I am procrastinating). I picked up a yarn the other day that is similar to fun fur but the fur is actually shorter. The base of the fur that is actually knitted is smaller as well. Thus this scarf is thinner than the typical fun fur scarves and has a more delicate feel to it. In that approach this scarf is shorter than the others, and is meant as a dress scarf. It is great to add a little flair under a coat or jacket collar and is great to throw around your neck to dress up a blouse or simple dress. The color is an aqua or dark teal blue. It is knitted in a machine washable and dryable yarn. The actual scarf is four inches wide and about four feet long. It is delicate and fun and can be worn in a variety of situations not just to keep you warm. If you are interested in this scarf just e-mail me at the e-mail below and I would be happy you be a little blue too.

Royal Dish Cloths

You have seen my dishcloth design before so the pattern is nothing new but the color is like none of the others. These dish cloths are knitted from 100% cotton yarn. Specifically Peaches & Creme brand dark purple. It is a variegated pattern that translates a little funny in this pattern but if you know someone who loves purple these are the perfect little pick-me-up gift for them. The great thing about these dishcloths is that they are green. In other words when they get dirty you just toss them in the washer, then dryer and they are ready to go again. The ridges from the pattern are great for gentle scrubbing or picky up items off a counter top. Each dishcloth is $1.00 (plus shipping) and can be bought separately. Other colors are available and if we don't have it we will do our best to get the color you want and knit it for you. For more information about this or other products just e-mail us at DeJCreations@aol.com.