It’s Yarn Season! Yeah!
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| From Crafty Projects |
Now that racing season is over and the weather begins to cool it’s time to head indoors. As fall arrives I’ll begin to move inward again and focus more on my meditation, strength training and crafts. I know many people enjoy their knitting and crochet year-round, but for me, summer is for playing outside. I’ve already begun to pick up my projects from last winter and finish them up. I’ve been working on a cowl/hood for myself whenever I have a chance to crochet, but don’t have the ability to focus on something complicated (riding the bus, waiting in line, etc). I’ve just finished it up and I’m very excited about how it turned out. I made it from the stash of super-cheap clearance yarn I got last year and it was very easy to make. I did use only two skeins though and it’s plenty long enough. I’ve found that with most of the Lion Brand Yarn (LBY) patterns, it always calls for one skein more than necessary. 3 skeins in length would have had the cowl around my knees I think. I can layer this over a plain black dress or long sleeve t-shirt and then pop it over my head when I head out into the cold. It’s soft and comfortable and I’m pretty excited about it.
The second and more complicated project that I’m working on is a scarf for my husband. It is turning out well and it’s my first knitting project, but it is taking (what seems like) forever. I’m hoping to have it done before the really bitter weather hits so that he can have a scrumptious wool scarf to keep him cozy. It’s been very easy to knit and the pattern is forgiving of my beginner knitter mistakes.
Next, I plan to work on a a hat for myself and some gloves for Jamie and I, then off to knit for friends and family again. I don’t like the idea of exchanging gifts for Christmas anymore (since I’m a Buddhist and all), but I’d like to make some items for my family just to give them because…. I’ll be sure to post up my progress on any new projects as well.
I have also started using Pinterest where I post inspiration and crafty dream projects that I hope to be able to make some day. I pin all of the beautiful patterns that I find while scouring the web for my next big project. I have several boards now, each of them devoted to a different subject including: Places I’d Like to Go, Favorite Recipes, Bike Pr0n (mountain biking goodness), Abode (dream house type stuff), Style (what I would wear if I did in fact have style), Stuff I Want (buy me gifts!, Health & Fitness, Neighborhood Finds, Full of Peace (Buddhist inspired art, quotes, etc), Beautiful (wide-ranging), Green Stuff (environmentally-friendly) and Random Awesomeness (quotes, jokes, comics, photos, stuff). Find me and follow my pins and share yours with me too. What are you working on for yarn season?
Filed under Uncategorized | Tags: cowl, crafting, crochet, fall, knitting, patterns, Pinterest, projects, scarf, update, winter, yarn | Comment (0)Doing Good: The Mitten Commitment
I received an email from the Simplicty Creative Group today and was delighted to read among their sales listings that they are helping to support a group dedicated to collecting handmade mittens for the indigent. The group is called “The Mitten Commitment“. The website reads:
Handmade Difference
Every year, millions of Americans face cold winter weather without sufficiently warm clothing. Simplicity Creative Group and OttLite have joined together to sponsor the Mitten Commitment – an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate by providing handmade mittens. All mittens will be donated to the Salvation Army for distribution in mid-December, 2011. Handmade mittens are special, unique, and especially warm!
What is the Mitten Commitment?
The Mitten Commitment is a call-to-action for crafters all over the country. We challenge you to knit, crochet, or sew one pair of mittens to donate. They can be any size, as traditional or as creative as you want! Some fabulous designers have donated mitten patterns, and there are more to come – see below. Use the patterns as a base for shape or style, or come up with your own pattern!
Why Mittens?
Excellent Question! Mittens are easy projects to sew, crochet, or knit, and there are endless embellishment possibilities.
How can I commit?
It’s easy as 1-2-3:
- Make a pair of mittens.
- Send your mittens to: OttLite / The Mitten Commmitment
220 West 7th Avenue,
Tampa, FL 33602
If you would like to start making a difference by crafting mittens to keep someone less fortunate warm this winter, you can choose a sewing pattern from the Simplicty website (there are two) or knitting pattern from the OttLite website.
Filed under DIY, Doing Good, Product, Tutorial | Tags: crochet, donate, handmade, homeless, indigent, knit, mittens, OttLite, poor, sew, Simplicity, The Mitten Commitment | Comment (0)
2011 Is Here; Now What?
Well, it’s officially 2011. If you are into Mayans or Judgement Day there may not be much point in planning out your next project, but as for me; I’ve got a lot of work to do. I am extremely happy to have survived the holidays. Everyone seemed to enjoy the gifts that I made for them with a few confused looks but mostly happy faces. Lots of exclamations of “It’s my favorite color!” which is really what I was hoping for. Lots of promises to pair the shawls coats (apparently purple coats were very popular in recent years) and new soap savers being filled with beer soap. I hope everyone really loves their gifts as much as I loved making them, but now it’s time to work for myself. Well, for myself and my Etsy shop. I’m off to a productive start though. I’ve already made a brimmed beanie and a pair of sweater boots from the same sweater. I’m hoping to get well practiced at making these matching sets so that I can have a few for myself, a few to give as gifts and a few to sell in my shop. They combine all of my favorite things in a few fun projects: thrifting, recycling and crafting! I’m also planning to use my newly acquired knitting and crocheting skills to get to work on a few fun projects too. I’m hoping to make a few rag rugs, some stylish accessories and maybe a sweater or two. Of course, I’m already receiving family requests for a new knit scarf, patches and hemming and even a fun baby shower gift. I’ve also come up with some fun ideas for the shop and I’m going to try to start using patterns in my refashions, so wish me luck! I’m also studying up on photography so that I can improve my photos. Please be sure to comment on anything you see in my shop; I can always use feedback, pointers or advice. Finally, in just a few months it will be time to get started on those Christmas projects again. So who has time to worry about the apocalypse? I’ve got crafting to do! What are your plans for the coming year? Be sure to share photos of any projects that you get finished or links to any cool tutorials that you spot. Happy New Year to you gentle reader!
Filed under Uncategorized | Tags: 2011, apocalypse, crafts, crochet, DIY, eco-friendly, Etsy, fashion, Happy New Year!, Judgement Day, Mayan, prediction, Rapture, recycle, refashion, SerendipiT, sustainable, Threadbanger, thrifty, Tutorial | Comment (0)Yarn Bombing: Getting Cozy with Street Art
I’ve always loved street art. Graffiti, pasteups, sculpture. I’ve always admired the brave soul who climbed a water tower, jumped a train or crawled under a dark overpass in the wee hours. I enjoyed watching living artisitic expression growing on walls at music festivals like Starscape here in Baltimore. I admire the interesting perspective that these artists share with us making socio-political statements and random acts of beauty. However, I don’t agree with the personal property destruction and the permanence of these acts. I’ve always wanted to participate, but I’ve always been more of the law abiding type. I’d just feel bad writing on walls with a Sharpie or painting the side of someone’s fence. Then I saw this, Yarn Bombing. I stumbled across the phenomenon of “guerilla knitting” and was instantly intrigued. This was something I could get behind, something I wouldn’t feel bad about doing. It’s really making the world a warmer, fuzzier, more beautiful place to live. Unfortunatly though, when I found out about the knit graffiti movement that was growing around the world I didn’t have any idea how to slip a single stitch. Now, however I can knit and crochet. I’ve been feeling particularly inspired recently and was reading about it more. Then, last night I finally got around to watching Exit Through the Gift Shop
Get to knittin’!
Filed under DIY | Tags: art, Baltimore City, Banksy, beauty, crafts, crochet, DIY, graffiti, guerrila knitting, knit, street art, tagging, yarn bomb | Comments (3)No Trash Wrap Christmas
Now that halloween is behind us, I’m skipping Thanksgiving temporarily and moving right to Christmas. Yes, I agree that it’s annoying when retailers do this and we should all slow down and enjoy the holidays. Ordinarily I would agree whole-heartedly, but this year, as in previous year, I’m making Christmas presents for friends and family again. I’m stepping up my game this year though and putting my newly found skill for knitting and crochet to work and cranking out gifts for the whole family. Some of these gifts are rather ambitious (omg how long will it take me to crochet 4 balls of yarn for one gift?!?) and we’ve only a few crafting weeks left until the big day. So for this reason, I am already 3 balls of yarn down and in the background of every football game you can hear the needles clicking away I’ll try to post up photos of my achievements as I go.
Unfortunately, all this time spent on gifts means that I can’t spend as much time on my Etsy store. I will however be sure to list some festive christmas gift bags (from recycled fabrics of course) that can be reused and passed among the family members in addition to my recycled paper bows. I hope to have time to list some other goodies, but I think I’d better focus on one task at a time for now. In order to celebrate the concept of a cleaner, greener holiday I am promoting the no trash wrap holiday tradition, which means don’t use throwaway packaging if you can help it; and if you must be sure it’s at least made from recycled materials. Here’s the promotion that I’ll be running in my shop through the end of the year.
SerendipiT’s Shop Announcement
Did You Know? In the U.S., an additional 5 million tons of waste is generated during the holidays. Four million tons of this is wrapping paper and shopping bags. Through the end of January 31, 2011 I will include either one (1) free refashioned t-shirt shopping tote bag or three (3) recycled paper bows with every purchase. Please let me know your preference by sending me a convo at checkout.
The individual members of the Fashion:Remix Team are committed to help fight the trash by offering promotional items tagged “notrashwrap”. Search for each of our unique solutions for a greener holiday season.
SerendipiT sources fabrics from previously loved clothing and recycles these textiles into hand-crafted EcoChic fashion. This eco-friendly process reduces our consumption of raw materials and precious resources. Refashioned clothing and accessories are true sustainable fashion that helps you to reduce your environmental impact on the Earth. I will donate 10% of all proceeds to The Conservation Fund, America’s Partner in Conservation. For the past 25 years, The Conservation Fund has been America’s partner in conservation, protecting more than 6.5 million acres. www.conservationfund.org – $15 donated so far in 2010
*Proud Member of the Fashion: Remix Team (tag: fashionremixteam)
*Proud member of the Recyclers Team Guild (tag: wastenot)
Proud Member of the Etsy Recyclers Guild Team
Visit us at http://www.EtsyRecyclersGuild.blogspot.com
Rethinking the Cotton Round
Photo: Sproutzstore.blogspot.com
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the production of cotton uses a lot of water which is a valuable and dwindling resource. Shortages of fresh water worldwide lead to famine and starvation, war and terrorism, poverty and disease. In thinking about how I can do my part to help eliminate the unnecessary use of this precious resource globally I have been looking to reduce consumption of disposable products that I can replace with reuseable options. The first and easist switch for me was to stop purchasing new clothes and reuse fabric that I have available locally. Next, I began to investigate other household items that I could replace and while I was washing my face last night it dawned on me; cotton facial rounds! These little cotton pads are great for removing eye make-up and cleansing, but I use several of them each and every day. I thought,”surely, there must be some way to buy or make my own reuseable pads”. This morning I began to look for alternatives and was pleased to find that I can both buy and make my own easily and inexpensively. There are packs of Organic Reusable Cotton Face Rounds
Knit Wit
I really enjoy recycling clothes and its true that with a little assistance that I can make darn near anything out of an old T-shirt, but I’ve always been drawn to knitting and crochet. The trouble is that I don’t actually know anyone who does it and everyone who has tried it complained that they couldn’t sort it out. Luckily, a friend of mine is currently happily knitting away at wash cloths and some very elaborate squares (I think to be used in a blanket). So I figured, it’s now or never… I’ve ordered a video from Amazon entitled The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Knitting
