My first Yarn Bomb sighting!

So you all know by now that I was on vacation in Seattle Washington to visit my sister, it is over now but gosh we had a blast! I think it was on day 2 or 3 when we headed to Bellevue Washington for the BAM! Arts Fair. The whole downtown area was chock full of local artisans, yummy food vendors, live music and of course art projects for kids and grown-ups! As we exited the art museum to go for lunch, there it was! An airborne “river” of blue crochet connecting lampposts and street signs. It. was. AWESOME! Artist Mandy Greer had a booth to teach crochet and apparently you could even create a section to be added onto the exhibit, but unfortunately I was not aware of this part until they had closed down for the evening. It is supposed to still be on display into September so if you are in the area you will be sure to see it!

Simple Adventures: Lavender and Wine

My kids and I are still in Washington State visiting my sister, and we are having a blast. The other day we ventured out to Mt. Rainier to take in the sights. After a nice picnic lunch we went to hit the trail but there was a bit of a snag; my sister’s’ dog Rocko was not allowed on the trail!! Our bad for not looking this up before driving 2 hours to the mountain. We still got to hike around near the visitors center and around the picnic areas, and the kids were sufficiently worn out. Not a total loss.

As we headed back to town we noticed a handpainted sign directing us off the main road to “pick your own lavender/winery” um, yes. So we went to check it out, why not? As we pulled up the drive we were surrounded by a field of purple lavender and a little farmstand with lavender hanging from the porch eaves. We were greeted by the owner and soon we were going thru the plethora of lavender candles, sprays, and handcrafts he had in the little shop. Out came the wines for a tasting, with our host John giving a simple description of each. My sister and I are not winos, we have no clue about wine notes and pairings just that we like wine. John was very relaxed and not the least bit snobby about it, but very proud of his wines and his farm, Stringtown Farms.

After picking out our favorites we went to work it off in the field….he gave us a flower gathering basket and a pair of shears and we got too it! There were several varieties and the scent was amazing. Lavender is a calming scent, and between that, the scenic mountain view, and the wine tasting; we were pretty relaxed.



We brought home two large bunches of fresh cut lavender, two bottles of wine, some lavender-infused honey and a lavender scented soy candle. What a way to end the day!

WIP Wednesday!

It is Wednesday and I am writing from beautiful Washington State! I am so happy to finally be here visiting my sister, I miss her so much -living on the completely opposite side of the country really sucks sometimes. Yesterday we ventured into the city and explored Pike’s Place Market, and of course one of the local yarn stores So Much Yarn and they certainly lived up to the name. I got a skein of Malabrigo Rasta in the Solis color way for a drop stitch cowl. I also picked up a Rayon/metallic blend from Blue Heron Yarns in a variegated purple called blueberry which I plan to weave into a shawl. There was a cool project bag which I also could not resist, especially after my friend caught me using a plastic shopping bag for my last sock project- whoops!

So for today, my WIP is the Mairi Shawl which I am doing in an alpaca yarn I got in a swap. It is from a Doctor Who yarn club and I forget the details, but it is gorgeous. So far I am halfway done with the lace edging and it is going really quickly. I cast on at the airport and got all this done on the plane ride over. I hope to do a little mini yarn crawl while we are here, and pick up some new circulars because these crappy ones from the craft store are really getting on my nerves. The plastic just does not flex an ounce. But they get the job done for now.

We are going to be really busy this week so I am not sure how much I will really get done, but there will be a lot of driving so maybe I can get to the body of the shawl soon. Today we visit Mount Rainier! The kids are totally excited after seeing it from the plane:

Wednesday WIP Time!!

This project has been on the needles so long, I forgot about it and bought new size 4 circulars thinking I didn’t have any. The pattern is called Kernel and the yarn is Araucania Itata Solid- yes the same yarn of my woven scarf from the other day- love this color. Well it is a simple chart, and I have only two more pattern repeats left of 23, however I have not been able to memorize it. It is just too much for me to memorize and I have had to rip back on the project back so many times I can’t count. This is the project that convinced me to use lifelines. A lifeline if you did not know is a piece of scrap yarn drawn thru a row at certain parts of a pattern, so that if you mess up, you can rip back several rows and not lose stitches.

The picture for now does not do it justice! The pattern is lovely,  and there’s a little beadwork, I cannot wait to see how it will look after I am finished and block it to open up the lace. But that will probably be a while- I am going to be visiting my sister in Seattle and this is just too labor intensive for a travel project. Might cast on some new socks?

Entering the world of weaving….like I need another hobby.

So wow, two blog posts already for July…yay me! I have always just considered this to be a way to document my various craft projects for myself, and for friends who care to follow me in Becky-home-ec-y land. But I have gotten a lot of hits and likes and comments from people I have never met who happen to also love crafting, so thank you!

Anyhow, today I would like to share with you my foray into weaving! My husband bought me a 32″ Kromski Harp loom for Christmas and also made me a stand (so I could sit comfortably at the couch while weaving) and several different size shuttles (what holds the yarn so you can pass it back and forth to weave). He’s pretty awesome. He has also helped me warp the loom up (getting all the yarn ready for weaving) which is a tedious and back breaking process. I literally cried when I thought I had all my yarn laid out on the warping pegs then went to load the loom and ended up with a knotted pile of 300yds fingering weight yarn. We warp directly onto the loom now. (All about warping) I have made 3 projects, and feel like I finally got everything right with this last one, even attempting a little lacework near the ends for decoration.

I love this loom, and very much so enjoy the weaving process. Aside from the lacework, you don’t have to think as much as you do while knitting, and goes by much faster for me. At 5 1/2 ft long, and 12″ wide, this scarf (shawl?) in fingering weight only took about a week, whereas the same size scarf with the same yarn could easily have taken a year to knit. I purchased a book called “Hands-on Rigid Heddle Weaving” and it, along with the videos I posted above, has been invaluable in learning how to weave.

For this project I chose a beautiful handspun cotton/rayon/flax blend with just a hint of sparkle for the warp (lengthwise yarn). For the weft (horizontal, woven yarn) I chose Araucania Itata Solid in pink (also used for vertical warp stripes). The lacework on either end is called Leno Lace, and this is achieved by twisting the warp in certain places using a stick. It was easy once I figured it out. Once I tied off all the fringe and washed it (by hand, of course!) it sat until today when I finally trimmed the fringe to be even and now I can say it is done! So without further ado, pictures!

So now it is time to pick out some new yarn, and begin planning my next weaving project! I have to enlist a new helper to warp the loom since my husband is currently not available- any volunteers?

Projects that feel good- NICU Blanket

My family moved to Delaware almost 2 years ago and it has been kind of difficult to meet new people thanks to working full time, and being busy with the kids. So when a friend told me his wife was having her girlfriends over for a little party and I was invited, I jumped at the opportunity to meet some new people! While at the party we were all talking, and one of the ladies mentioned working as a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit at the local hospital. She was saying she works specifically with the babies of drug-addicted mothers and how difficult it was to watch these little infants go thru the withdrawals-addicted to methadone, etc.

Later in the conversations I was talking about my knitting, and my recent participation with an online charity knitting club and it clicked! Would the local hospital need any knitted hats, booties, blankets? She told me they were most in need of small blankets to cover the isolettes (the enclosed cribs at the NICU). She offered to provide all the yarn if I just made the blanket, so I got to work.

Well in my excitement I forgot just how boring a garter stitch blanket could be to knit up, but I took the project everywhere with me, working on it while traveling, at the pool, in coffee shops, etc. It is just a simple Grandmother’s Favorite Dishcloth pattern, I liked the idea of doing the border as I go, and having the garter stich be on the diagonal for a little interest. The yarn is pretty light in color so I wanted a tight knit with no holes to allow maximum light blockage for the isolette. I took a few breaks to work on socks and a chemo cap for my aunt, but the blankie is finally finished, washed and ready to go to it’s new home!

Pinterest Win! Bird’s Nest Necklace

I hosted a “Pinterest Party” a little while ago, and had a number of projects which we tried out, so much fun- I’ll post about that later. But one of the projects I had planned for us to make was this super cute Bird’s Nest Pendant- Tute Here -and we just never got to it. So I decided to give it a go for myself the other day and it turned out adorable! I highly recommend this super easy project, it literally took maybe 5 minutes to make.

 

 

Two New Finished Projects!

Hello Blog! I’ve been away enjoying my summer, traveling and hanging out with my kids. It’s been great- but I didn’t get a whole lot of time for crafting. I did manage to get two knitting projects completed though!

Earlier this summer, I started the Ginkgo Shoulderette to challenge myself with a larger piece- with a chart instead of just a pattern. Normally I don’t wear chartreuse but when I found this yarn it seemed perfect for a “Gingko” shawl. It took ALL SUMMER. Fingering weight yarn is TINY, meaning thousands more knit stitches than with a thicker yarn.

Lucky for me I was sent to Biloxi Mississippi for a month-long training course. I got a lot of work done on the plane, and in my hotel when I wasn’t in New Orleans or Pensacola. It is also my first project which required a significant blocking (blocking is basically shaping a knitted object, get it wet and spread it out like you would a sweater you just washed) and it was tricky to keep all the edges straight and even. Technically I still have to weave in my ends but it is otherwise done:

 

My next,  much quicker project came together in just a matter of days. Recently we traveled to Philadelphia and completely unintentionally ran into a beautiful Yarn/Fiber Arts Shop called Nangellini. The owners were amazing, introducing us to all the hand-dyed and hand-spun lovelies, taking time to credit the local artisans and even give a very quick demo of a drop spindle for me and my husband. My daughter purchased some awesome single ply super thick yarn for her finger knitting, and they showed her how to use the ball winder.

I got myself some amazing hand dyed yarns- it was very difficult to choose. My very favorite though was a super squishy bumpy thick to thin skein dyed an amazing rich magenta and spun with a black cord dotted with silver sequins. It’s maker named it “My Heart Beats Double For You”, and while it may be the most expensive yarn I’ve ever purchased, it’s character makes it worth it. This made for a very quick knit as a Drop Stitch Cowl.

 

Completing these projects felt really good, as I have a TON of knitting projects half done and there always seems to be a new pattern I want to get started on or a beautiful yarn that calls to me. My husband cleaned out our spare bedroom so I can use it as a crafts/sewing room- just in time for crafting season (otherwise known as Winter).

 

Knitting Project Bag

Since moving to Delaware, I have really missed my girlfriends and our knitting nights. My husband met a knitter where he works and immediately texted me- “I found you a knitting buddy!”. We got together this week and she showed me these adorable “project bags” she purchases from Etsy and her amazing collection of Knit-Picks needles. New needles aren’t exactly in the budget right now, but I just knew I could make some project bags myself.

After perusing the internet for quite some time, I found this tute: Suesse Sac. I skipped the patchwork and frilly embellishments (for now) and opted to add interior pockets to hold a few extras.

First- made my pattern with a paper bag, cut out my fabric, and got going!

 

Handles were first, notice the little triangles cut out along the curved seams, do this to reduce the bulk and get a nice smooth curve. Also press, press, press EVERY seam! It’s a pain sometimes, but this step “sets” the seam, and keeps things smooth.

I added a pocket to the interior, but did not catch it when sewing up the sides of the bag. Haven’t had to get the seam ripper out in a while but it is an awfully handy tool.

Tie up the handle, fill with a WIP! This bag is the perfect size for a small project like socks, washcloths, hats, etc. The pattern could be blown up to whatever size you want. 

Crafty Genetics- My daughter’s Feather Earrings

I must admit it was my husband who encouraged my 7 year old to pursue her love of feather earrings by making them herself. She tried to tape some feathers to her ears at summer school, and it wasn’t working- so daddy took her down to the craft store and purchased everything she needed. Some ear wires, headpins, crimpers, beads, feathers- and her let her at it. Within minutes her first pair was made and she’s been cranking them out!

 

We are super proud of our little jeweler! And I am super excited that my daughter got some crafty genes!! It’s always more fun to craft with others, especially your little girl!