Art, Craft and Needlework, October 2014

[FelineFriend]

Harriet, I looked on-line, about the differences between blankets, afghans and throws. I'd never given it any thought before, for some reason. I always assumed any blanket or afghan or quilt was a throw, if you threw it over you, when in a chair or sofa, cuddling up with a book to read or to watch TV. I never realized a throw was smaller than an afghan, but found out blankets or quilts CAN be throws, too, if made smaller, like a lap robe or lapghan. I learned a lot. They talked about bedspreads for display on beds, too. I enjoyed looking at TV afghans on sofas, too. I loved how some afghans have no matching main color round. They just make colors of Grannies at random, then join. I like to frame my afghan squares with the MC I join and edge with. It also was interesting to read various sizes listed for various throws, spreads, etc... I learned a lot!

I've finished the origami potholder for a holiday gift for a dfriend, now have 1 pair for her. A matching red & white snowflake hot pad complete the set. I'm glad I finished it tonight.

I found a yellow hot pad unfinished 2 sides in my office, which used to be the craft room. I had crocheted the 2 sides, had sewn a fiberfill for potholders & hot pads, to 1 side, had the other side pinned & ready to sew. I just did it! Like the Nike commercial. I SC the 2 sides together, added a loop, and it'll be the hot pad to match my SC friend's yellow kitchen. It turned out so thick & nice. I know she'll love it!

Now, since that filler makes a potholder or hot pad, so thick, and nice-looking, I'm trying to figure out if I want to make our dneighbor-friend the same style, for potholders w/hot pad. Or just do a completely different potholder altogether. I'm tiring of the origami potholder, where I go around & around & AROUND forever- it seems- - so I'm at a cross-roads tonight. I just don't know what I want to do. My mind is like sludge right now, not functioning right, because I'm very, very tired, it's been a long day, and I'm puzzled now, as to what my Dneighbor-friend would prefer. She's a very feminine person, she loves pretty things, she's stylish, "hip", modern, with savvy. I'll see if I can find my potholders file folder, then will take it from there. The origami potholders are no-brainers, I don't need to count rows or stitches, just go around. Like a brain-dead potholder. So I might do with her, what I did for my other 2 friends: Make 1 pair of origami potholders and then pull out all the stops with a mighty nice matching hot pad, to round out the set. THAT'S an idea!

[Nancy]

After I did some straightening in the sewing craft zone I got busy ripping the touq. Knit ripple piece and free up that yarn for another project the granny ripple and yea it is going well! One draw back my shoulder is sore so I have to pause on crocheting and try knittin to give it a break.

Next up the yellow ripple crochet is to be frogged turned out too wide more baby blanket size I wanted a shawl size I will try kinitting a ripple with it instead as I now have better instructions now on increases to see how that goes!

Finished up some dish clothes this week I done with this cone of cotton yea!

[FelineFriend]

I printed up 2 Halloween clip art pages, for 2 pages each letter by hand, for pen friends & family. I rubberstamped "Happy Haunting" in black, with webs coming off the letters, and took orange & black markers, permanent ones, and did designs all around the envelopes (need to finish the job tonight/tomorrow!) and it's so festive. I have a Halloween-born grandson, turning 18 this Halloween. He's #1 grandchild, so DD got to pick out his due date to birth, because she had Caesarian. She didn't want it to be on her Ddad's or Dgpa's b-days, so she chose Halloween, so his b-days would always be a lot of fun for him. I enjoyed rubber stamping! It's just a little itty-bit, but still.... with the artwork border, clip art letter pages, it's festive and better than doing nothing.

[Nancy]

Yellow frogged again two more times sigh moving on not going to get a knit ripple. The good news there is success now with the granny ripple and I am enjoying working on that one! Toug, blue ombre and purple pink ombre is looking awesome together!
Knit dollie is done and turned out well. Got to the last of the dish cloth with the blue ombre cotton cone too.

[FelineFriend]

Edit: I'm going to crochet an 8-ounce yarn walker-tote. It takes 2 shank buttons. I don't know if I have 2 shanks on hand to fit the buttonholes. I looked on-line, to read why you make shank buttons, with thread, on flat buttons. It's because flat buttons are harder to close and support a heavier project or weight. I read how to make a shank button, from a flat button. I suppose it gives more wiggle room, to the button, when unbuttoning and buttoning it? I'll look through my gallon "button jar" to see what I come up with. If I find no shank buttons, to make, I'll grab a toothpick (round one) and make my own shank, from a flat button.

I had a pen pal who is very poor. She cannot buy yarn. She takes sweaters from the thrift shops, unravels them, and re-crochets them into lap robes for the Veteran's hospital patients. Wow! What a doll she is!

I'm working on crocheting a pair of potholders for a holiday gift. It's a very old pattern, is very pretty, done in rounds. The pattern sequence for my Dfriend are:
rows 1 & 2 = red
rows 3 & 4 = variegated white-red
rows 5 = white
row 6 - the joining round & loop = red again.

It's such an old pattern, I doubt if it's on the Internet any longer. Unless it's in the Wayback Machine Archives. Here. I'll run and get it, will copy the name down, so if you "Google" it, you might be able to find it someplace on-line, whoever's interested.

It is called "Shell Potholder," with Option #1 on the left & Option #2 on the right. I'm doing Option #2. Here's the link listed for it, but it's probably not there any longer, as I printed this pattern on 4/9/2008. If anybody wants a copy, PM me with your address, I can mail you a copy, when I scan it on my printer, too. I checked & that link doesn't work. Sorry!

It took me 3 hours- or more- to complete 1 potholder. HOWEVER, I was taking breaks, while doing it, to dust window blinds, dust the MBR, and dust mop the floor in there & our closet, too. I think tomorrow, when I make potholder #2, to finish the pair, it won't take as long.

I searched the Internet, the potholder's not on-line.

[FelineFriend]

DH got out my gallon "button jar". I looked through my collection. I found several pairs of shank buttons in different sizes. I'm fond of the pearl-looking flat grey ones, thinking how beautiful they're going to be with the deep red walker-tote.

I also found a large round (aren't ALL buttons round? Well... NO! I found an oval one!) and it's a big yellow smiley face. I'm planning to crochet DGD a vest, which has 1 button at the neck. If the smiley-face button fits, it'll be so perfect for her. If it's too large, I've found an antique rhinestone button, which is very sparkly and beautiful. It would look so nice on her vest.

I love ♥ buttons. I had a Great Aunt, who had a button collection, in a gallon jar, like I have. She'd let me string buttons, to entertain myself, while she cleaned house, etc... in her San Fransisco home. I made myself necklaces, bracelets, and button snakes. I had hours of fun. Her love of buttons, sprouted MY love for buttons.

Once, when my button collection had grown by leaps & bounds, I needed a gallon jar. We didn't know anybody, who got cow's milk at a farm, like we did, when I was a kid growing up on the prairie. One day, I was at our dear friends' home. I mentioned a gallon jar to Bob, did he have one, and he said "I sure do! You just trot out to our garage, grab any jar you want or need and I'm sure I've got a plastic lid for it, too." ♥ I found a jar. He gave me a yellow old margarine lid, which fits nicely over the neck of it, as though they were made for one another. He's passed away, 1.5 years ago, or 2 years, and my memories of getting my button jar from him, are still close to my heart. His widow, is my dear friend, who is now 98.5 years old. She's the one who will be the recipient of the red walker tote.

I went to Bev's Country Cottage, under "Patterns," under "Seniors". I found several walker/wheel chair totes to be sewn felted, or crocheted, from various Internet sites. Mine is a very simple pattern, shown in variegated yarns. I'm low on variegated yarns and only have a surplus of camo yarn. I thought it was more 'manly' so decided solid red would be better. She's legally blind now, will be able to see, as best she can, the red better, too. It's a Christmas gift and red will be festive for the holidays, too. When I visited her this summer, we sat outdoors in the shade, sipping blueberry herbal tea. She hated hers, she denied herself snacking on cookies, so I ate them all! I made a "mental note" that day, how she had NO walker-tote on her walker. I was surprised. Her caretakers can help her (or her adult DD's) to fill up her walker tote with tissues and things she needs to have. She can also slip her eyeglasses into it, for times she's resting. This idea is a win-win idea. I'm sure she'll love it. It's small, useful, and will be welcomed by her.

[BookSaver]

Report from Sewing Camp:

Casual top = Over half done. The fabric is a very stretchy knit, so there is no way to sew it quickly. I worked on it Thursday evening, then pulled it back out Saturday evening after completing the easy potholder project.

Here are the instructions for making the top, from the Sew It All show on public tv.
http://www.sewitalltv.com/episodes/seri ... e_709.html

Gloves = It took most of Friday to mark and cut the gloves. Lots of pieces and very complicated way they have to fit together. I started sewing them Saturday. I thought the 1/8" seam allowance was going to be the biggest challenge. That turned out to be not a problem. The tricky part was the combination of small pieces and awkward angles, trying to fit the fabric under the sewing machine foot. I worked on the first glove most of Saturday, stitching and taking out stitches, 2 steps forward and 1 step back. Finally decided I'd done enough on that for the weekend and switched to a very easy project.

Potholder = One of my sewing friends gifted me with six 9" squares of cotton print fabric and a 9" square of InsulBright to make a quick potholder. Almost everyone in the group made one from the same easy instructions. This is the project that I sewed while others played a trading game, and I think I had as much fun as they did.

Jacket = I took along a jacket I'd started in a class last year, but didn't get time to work on it at all.
Ditto the reversible apron and crochet dishcloths.

Here are the instructions for the reversible apron, also from Sew It All:
http://www.sewitalltv.com/episodes/seri ... e_703.html
I have a set of coordinating floral print cotton fat quarters to use for this project. The colors are bright pastels.

Editing to add: Here is a video to show how the easy potholder is done --
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sipzCAflJQ8
One thing we did to make it easier is instead of only sewing 1 time around all of the layers, we sewed the bottom layer and the InsulBright (heat-resistant padding) together first, then layered on the rest.

[FelineFriend]

Thanks for the links, Booksaver!

I used to sew everything, years ago, when our children were in grade school. When they got into middle school, they did NOT want anything "homemade".

I think one fun project I did, as a newbie seamstress, was taking denim, floral trim to match it, to sew into a very large hot pad, in the fashion of a potholder. I sewed the trim in about 4" increments across it, then quilted the entire thing, with machine quilting and it looked so cute and professional, too!

My Dmil used to live in S. Calif., she'd buy material on sale, ship it to me. I'd measure it, write down the size width and yardage, go to the fabric store, looking for patterns, to fit the material. I'd sew outfits up, take photos, send them to my in-laws, and we all loved to do this. The material was a real treat, because we were on a budget, being a young family of 4. I think 1 matching outfit I loved sewing was out of blue patchwork design for Dson, and tan patchwork design for DD. They snapped up the front, the jackets, and the pants were pull-on. When DD was in Kindergarten, I bought wide wale wine-colored cord. I made DD and Dson matching aviator jackets and pull-on pants. Dson had a zipper pull on his zipper on the jacket, which was a gold plastic whistle. His show-and-tell was his new outfit and he even blew on the whistle and said, "See? My whistle even works!" Oh, those were the days! I loved doing that for them!

[FelineFriend]

I took a folder, which is like a standing greeting card, only it's covered in a pink, blue, green, and off-white wall paper with those colors, in a design. Inside, on the right-hand side, there was matting board, covered to fit, with 4 corner ribbons, for holders. I took a pink index card, solid side showing, trimmed it to fit the space, with the ribbons holding it in place. I put a butterfly sticker on top, centered, and on the bottom, is a Suzy Zoo running turtle with a ball cap flying off his head, he's in a red sweatshirt and running shoes with red socks. I went to my Word file, printed this:

Slow & Steady
is the pace~
And then~
you'll win the race!

It's centered in a cute font. I cut it out with decorative scissors, glued it in the center. Below it is the jogging turtle! I put it into an envelope, put a "Happy Birthday Wishes!" sticker on the envelope, with my "From" and address label & DH's name,too. It's for our postal clerk at the market, 1.5 miles away. Her b-day was recently or is soon, because DH saw her getting her license renewed the same day he was renewing his! This is a quick-to-make b-day gift, kinda artsy craftsy and it's simple, and matches her turtle collection! She can display it on the shelves there or the counter, or take it home. In the past, I've designed her a turtle magnet and I've crocheted her a mini-turtle, too, which was so adorable with those black beaded eyes! It was SO MUCH FUN to do something "different" yet creative!

[Nancy]

I too have taken apart and unraveled things for yarn.

I have the pink prayer shawl past the half way point now. It has out grown the tote I was using and I will need to keep this as an at home project as it is not very portable now.

Yarn meeting went well today we enjoyed it.

I got the yellow crochet ripple project frogged it was going okay but I was not enjoying it so I have and restarted this as a knit prayer shawl in an easy more fun project to work up.