The Last of that Yarn

Remember the yarn that my friend Jane gave me? Well I have used every last bit of it now. The last of it was this scarf that was a knit two purl two ribbed pattern. It is red and black with fringe and measures a couple of feet long. This was a fun scarf to make and I must admit I finished it a few months ago and have moved on to something much bigger with a really neat story so stay tuned to the blog for more details.

Old World Scarf

Knitting, crafting and baking are great hobbies. Although I sell some of my items I have not done anything so creative that I can make a living off these really fun activities. In other words...I am not giving up my day job. The great thing about my day job (besides the fact it is very rewarding and I love the people I work with) is that I get to travel to interesting places in and out of the Country.

Last September I had the opportunity to travel to Portugal. It was an incredible learning experience and I met people who have made a lasting impression on me. During one of our tours of Villa Real we started by a yarn store. Actually the group wandered by it and I of course wandered inside.

There were all sorts of yarn, on SALE! I could have stayed in there for hours looking touching smelling. Mind you I am sure that the store clerk thought I was a crazy American and the group I was with was trying to explain what a knitting freak I am to our tour guide. The big difference about the yarn was not what it was made of (or the incredibly cheap price) but that it was sold by weight, not by the skein but by the weight of what was picked out. I grabbed a navy blue bouclee yarn and one of the people I was travelling with picked out a white yarn with shreds of green ribbon weaved through it. This second skein had a purpose, to knit it into a scarf and put up for auction for the 4-H leaders association auction. It was actually chosen by our state specialist in charge of our volunteers, Harriett Edwards.

I must admit I stared at the yarn for a few months before trying to figure out what to do with it. After a few unsuccessful attempts at a scarf I finally got size 15 needles out and knitted from side to side (not end to end) a very long scarf. The purpose was to allow the person who wears it to wrap it and tie the scarf like they do in Portugal. Scarf wearing is very sheik there.

When the item came up for auction, I must admit I was tickled. I explained the story of the scarf and the bidding started. Usually I sell a scarf for $15. This one sold for $35 with a great story and pictures to go with it. The most important part is that the money raised went back to the North Carolina 4-H Volunteer Leaders Association to help support the incredible work they do in this state.

To learn more about our incredible trip to Portugal check out our blog we kept at http://www.4-hinportugal.blogspot.com/.

Burning it Up

Part of what I love about crafting is being able to put your heart into something and give it to someone else. My favorite is when it is something that they have looked at and commented how neat it is or when you just make something and surprise them.
On a recent trip to Lowes (where I should probably not be allowed to go because I see too many items I "need") I found an item on sale. Oval shaped pieces of red oak and poplar that I knew I could use (even if I wasn't sure how). After thinking on it, the inspiration and designs hit me. I took the center part of the North Carolina 4-H Centennial logo and designed an NC with the 4-H Clover in it and transferred the designs to the wood. I found my wood burning tool and quickly plugged it in slowly and carefully working my way around the designs. After sanding and touch up I decided the Centennial logo needed color so I started painting. When everything dried I went ahead and used some golden pecan stain to give it a little color. A little polyurethane on top and voila, two 4-H exclusive decorative pieces.
I took them to the North Carolina State 4-H Volunteer Leaders Conference and donated them to the county store. The store is one of three big fundraisers that the members of the North Carolina 4-H Volunteers Leaders' Association put together during this weekend event. They sold for $5.00 each, with the money going to a wonderful organization.

Jumping Up and Down for the Pom Pom

My favorite winter hats as a child made the list because of the pom poms on top. The bigger and more colorful the better. Needless to say when you are knitting a hat you start with simple and add more complicated details later. After knitting my first hat on the loom I still had enough yarn from that skein to knit another hat on my needles. Then there was still some left so I jumped in and added a pom pom on top. Thrilled with my newest details I modeled the hat. Some very honest opinions informed me it was cute but, not me, too young for me, and my favorite, just plain silly. Alas, one day perhaps a child who believes like I did, the bigger and more colorful the pom pom the better, will get to wear this hat.

Knitting Version 2.0

Great presents come in small packages...or something like that. The other day a friend of mine, lets call her Tiffanee stopped by and dropped off this oddly shaped wrapped gift. Usually a quick glimpse at an oddly shaped you can tell what it is but this one I couldn't figure out. So like any child with a wrapped present I tore the wrapping off in record time and found a soft plastic case containing four round knitting looms. I had seen these before but had never been quite brave enough to have a go at it. So with this great present in hand, I read all I could, and waited until I got home that night to whip off a hat.
One of my bears was kind enough to model the hat (so the square parts of the hat are probably his ears sticking up). It is of course knitted in the round so the variegated chunky yarn (yes, another skein from Jane) sort of swirls between black and white in this knitted version. To have a brim you fold back three inches and knitted the bottom into the hat itself which I thought was interesting. It took less than a skein of yarn to knit a hat that would fit an adult. It is very light weight and resembles a typical ski hat. I can't say it was any faster than using my needles, but might be when I get the hang of wrapping the yarn around the posts. To adjust the size of the finished product you use different size looms.
These looms would be awesome for anyone learning how to knit and they are a great break for me to do something a little different. I seem to have a stock pile of yarn that I am trying to knit through now and these rounds will allow me to keep knitting but offer me a challenge of learning a new way to do it. The books also offered ways to to ribbing, blankets, scarves and much more. So much to learn...so much fun to have!

Stylishly Warm

This one is just too cute. So cute, comfy, and warm I might knit one for myself. This purple and black hat is made from the same batch of scarf that my friend Jane gave me. I found the pattern for the hat at the same place I found the pattern for the biker scarf, as a matter of fact they were on the same page. To create it is simple just a stocking stitch for 11 inches and then decrease the stitches by knitting together every other row. The bottom will turn up about 5 inches or as much as you would need it to to cover ears, different size heads, and adjust s it fits any head you put it on.

I have a tradition that if someone requests or really likes what I am knitting when I am knitting it I give it to the person. So this hat is going to a teacher that I had the privilege of working with this weekend. She lives in the western part of the state and said she has the socks to match the hat. How could a knitter resist giving this first time hat to someone not only willing to wear it but with matching accessories.

Biker Wife Scarf

I admit it looked like a Halloween experiment gone awry. Here I sit right after ringing in the New Year knitting an orange and black scarf. No, I did not knit this because of some longing I have for the scary holiday. Actually I did it to fulfil a promise. Curious yet? Actually a friend of mine, lets call her Jane. Jane handed me a bag with four really big skeins (actually double skeins) of yarn. She had tried to crochet with it but the type of yarn made it difficult and she had given up. So she gave me the skeins and her only request was that I knit her a scarf out of the orange and black skein. Of course I agreed, after all a true knitter never turns down free yarn.
I had knitted with this yarn before and after spending two weeks using size eight needles I was a little frustrated myself. So this time I scoured the Internet (my new crafting buddy) and found a pattern specifically for this type of yarn. I adjust the pattern a little and went to knitting with a knit two purl two pattern. 65 inches later we had a scarf that was full, soft, and unique. I also figured out why she wanted this yarn for her scarf. Not long ago Jane's Husband purchased a motorcycle. Their favorite pastime now is riding everywhere, and anywhere on it. I realized as I was knitting that the colors are also the colors for a very popular brand of cycle. As I presented Jane with her scarf, I asked if it was for the chilly rides, and she said overwhelmingly confirmed my theory.
I'll let you know if it keeps her warm on her next ride.