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.