Art, Craft, Needlework - November, 2008

[Harriet]

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.
Art is knowing which ones to keep - Scott Adams

Has some of your art come out of mistakes? We might call that serendipity - by happy surprise, we find that something pleases us artistically. But we didn't even know it was about to happen! What have you created that surprised you?

How are we doing on our plans for the holidays? Does anyone have decor crafting they are trying out, or Ta-Da reports on gifts they are making? Have you decided on a different wrap idea this year that others might be interested to hear? Do tell!

[Harriet]

Saw another web piece on ideas for handmade sewn gifts if time or money is short, so thought I'd post a Reader's Digest edition here :

1. Choose a crafty gift that you can assembly-line, not one that requires one-at-a-time attention - think in terms of a dozen, if possible!

2. Fleece blankets plus (baskets?) - Either buy fleece and made everybody no-sew blankets, or buy already made fleece blankets and then add extras - for each adult add coffee mugs and hot cocoa mixes, small stuffed animals for children, books for either.

3. Pillowcases - Make from a fabric the person would like, or buy very simple ready-made and decorate in your favorite way - appliques, embroidery, etc.

4. Scarves - Cut fleece yardage 9 inches wide across to get 4 from a yard, and cut fringe on the ends. Decorate however you like, also buttons or beads on these. Good for long-distance mailed gifts. (I actually received these before - they were tied just above fringe at ends with 6-inch by 1.5 inch pieces of plaid fabric - these were sewn and turned edges but I suppose they could have as easily been unturned, or even plaid ribbon of the same size).

5. Reusable Shopping Bags with a tag explaining how they can help the environment.

[BookSaver]

Product recommendation, possible gift idea:

I saw the Klutz spool knit jewelry kit at Barnes & Noble one day and was reminded of the spool knitting I did as a young girl -- on a homemade gadget, a wooden thread spool with 4 nails in the top, and probably a borrowed crochet hook. The Klutz kit looks nice but is geared to making jewelry for young girls. I looked around locally for other knitting spool kits, and eventually bought one at Walmart -- the Knifty Knitter Spool Loom by Provo Craft. Their site at http://www.provocraft.com shows their looms which are based on knitting spools in various sizes.

I like this particular “spool loom” a lot. It has 2 sizes in one -- 5 pegs on one end and 8 on the other. It is a comfortable size and shape to hold. Each peg has a vertical groove on the outside to make it easier to catch the looped yarn. The hook is a nice shape and with the yarn I’m using right now, easier to use than a crochet hook would be. I can conveniently use this at the computer, and with my dial-up service I can put in a row while a page loads or a few rows if the page includes photos. When I need to use the mouse or type, I can set the hook into the top of the spool and hold everything in one hand without dropping stitches, which was a big problem last year when I was trying to teach myself to knit with regular needles.

Right now I’m playing with 4-ply acrylic yarn to make a round cat mat. The tube with this yarn on 5 pegs is 3/4” diameter; I’ll have a cat mat in no time.

This craft has become popular with jewelry makers so there are lots of kits available commercially.

I saw a spool knitter at Michael’s by Clover, a company which makes good sewing gadgets so their spool is probably a good one, too. Their version has a similar shaped hook but only one set of pegs, on a rotating top so you don’t have to turn the spool as you work. I find, though, that with the grooved pegs and straight hook, I can work the spool from the top without rotating it and therefore the knitted tube doesn’t twist.

Google Image “knitting spool” shows lots of versions, including a homemade one from paper clips and a plastic ring from a tape dispenser.

Spoolknitter.blogspot.com shows off her collection of vintage and modern. She also has a list of various names for this type of knitting gadget, including Knitting spool, Knitting Nancy, Corking, French Knitting.

My online search came up with different instructions: casting on by looping counter-clockwise around the pegs, next row either looping around again or just setting the yarn around the outside of the pegs. Of course I don’t remember how I did it as a kid, but I’m finding it easier to control tension and knit at the computer by continuing the looping sequence. Seems as if it uses more yarn, though, and the version without so many twists might be easier with another type of yarn or jewelry wire.

I have some eyelash yarn to try to make a scarf on the larger end. Eventually I think I’ll probably try jewelry with beads, and maybe make spools in various sizes. I'll also play with creating flat panels as well as tubes.

[Harriet]

BookSaver, I already thanked you for the research and link in PWYC, but thanks again - I've thought of this kind of knitting before. It seems relaxing and fun. How did the cat mat turn out?

Today dd10 and I stopped off at Hancocks Fabrics and bought DMC floss for tying the reinactment quilt. Although I didn't see it advertised, folks there were mentioning that on Thursday, McCalls patterns will be 99cents at Hancocks. One lady put her purchase back and said it was worth her gasoline to come back Thursday.

[BookSaver]

Hi, Harriet ~ The spool knitting is so easy, no concentration or counting necessary! I'm using purple/white variegated yarn for my first project (not that the cats will care ). The tube is almost long enough by now to start sewing together for the round mat, and it's very soft. I don't play with it every day but this is a great pick-up craft, no worries about losing track of a pattern. Well, I suppose a person could be very precise about number of rows and color sequences and such, but I'm not at that stage yet.

I have an old royal blue sweater that the chenille yarn has worn too thin in spots to wear as a sweater. The color is so gorgeous that I'm going to try to unravel the sweater and remake it into other things. I've never unraveled a sweater before, we'll see how far I get. I figure it was destined for the trash anyway, if I can't recover the yarn I can always just cut it up and stuff a cat pillow with it.

Yesterday I spent a lot of time online researching sewing blogs for an article for the newsletter I do for the Guild. Fun, fun, fun!

[Indiana]

SuzLew's ornaments that she made...

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[Harriet]

Great looking ornaments, SuzLew! Everyone should be impressed with those at Market! How long did each take you to make? Is that folded work I'm seeing around the cross-stitched stars?

I finished the border, so the quilt top is done. I've put it with the completed backing and will forget it until after Thanksgiving. I still can't get over how soft it is - I must remember this fabric, which is actually a Hancock's brand, "Quilt Innovations". Come to think of it, the very soft baby quilt backing I found was from there, too. Maybe not "quilt shop quality", as they say, but, gee, softness (or a nice "hand" to the fabric) is about half the battle when you think - this IS for snugging with!

I had a time with the homespun small plaid of the border. Both the sides and the ends were long enough to require a join, so 4 potential headaches, lol. I've made the rule for myself in the past to never work with plaids, but I honestly thought this little one would be easier. I had to learn to join with a seam through the light color, not dark, or it would be obvious, and still it was painstaking to try to get the stitching directly in the middle of that across the whole seam. I had enough length that I didn't have to rip mistakes - when I was dissatisfied I'd just cut the stitching away and start over for less stress. Lots of pinning did the trick. I had HRH look at each join and pick the hardest one to detect for the top border.

Opposite to the "nice hand" of that new fabric is a present HRH bought me of some antique quilt blocks, all different. Boy, do these need some tender loving care. Some of the fabrics are too thin to stand up to even a wash, some have a tear and I sit there wondering if it's worth repair, some are that harsh old white fabric that makes you think you could make kitchen drying towels out of it. Also, the lady used too narrow a seam and sometimes a carefree attitude toward accurate cutting so some need restitching, some just won't lie down flat! But they are WAY interesting. I had to make 3 stacks: "worth working with" ; "worth keeping for the fabric scraps" ; and "just not redeemable" (I pulled those from the trash within an hour and will brainstorm crafts). Of the "worth working with" blocks, some have already-basted applique work, so, hey, ready-made take-alongs. There are enough for a quilt top here - wonder what decade I'll get to this UFO!

[SuzLew]

HARRIET: xstitch takes me about an hour to hour and a half each- I am a little slower because of my tremor then I used to be! Yes, folded 2 " squares around "star" area. Front has motif and back year! Sell them for 6.25 so I think they are worth it! As you can see I do "our first", babies first, teacher ones, etc. Thinking of selling them on ebay!

Thanks INDIANA for posting for me!

[Harriet]

SuzLew, the reason I think they would be a good candidate for ebay is that they are light and won't cost much to ship. But, of course, you'd have to box them, so that is an expense to think about, and you'd have to probably take the first one to the P.O. to be sure you are getting postage right. If you could figure that out, I think you'd enjoy doing it. Don't sell so close to Christmas that you have to worry you won't get a package to someone by Christmas - you don't need that hassle. Easter might be a second time of year white or off-white ones might sell. Or, you could just keep one auction at a time running year 'round for buyer's choice of a few types like the teacher one that aren't specifically Christmas-only. Or, just make them as you go along through '09 and plan to sell them next Christmas.