Wooden Moustaches

Friday, July 4th, 2008
Categories: Other Crafts

Wooden Moustaches

I want to buy some of these wooden moustaches so I can go to the savannah and hunt some elephants. In honour of the occasion, here are my favourite moustaches:

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Midwest Moonlight

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008
Categories: Future Knitting Plans, Ideas & Inspiration

Midwest Moonlight

I really like this version of Midwest Moonlight. I don’t ordinarily like striping yarn, but I make an exception for rainbows! There are more versions here, here, here and here.

How to Sew a Lining for a Knitted or Crocheted Bag

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008
Categories: Future Knitting Plans, Techniques, Tips & Tricks, Tutorials

Sew A Lining For A Crocheted Bag

Oh man, did I need this! I’ve been sitting on my Isabeau Purse for a few years now because I had no idea how to line it. But now I can try my hand at this tutorial and see if I can indeed Sew a Lining for my Knitted Bag! Updates soon.

Happy Canada Day Everyone! Honk if you’re Canadian!

Tuesday, July 1st, 2008
Categories: Story of my Life

Maple Leaf

Maple Leaf via Pure Nintendo.

Honk via the comments below.

Cork It!

Tuesday, July 1st, 2008
Categories: Other Crafts, Ideas & Inspiration

Cork Trivets

Whenever I’m bored in class, flowers start appearing in my notebooks. Now with some instruction from Design*Sponge, I can make my flowers in the form of Cork Trivets. I’m trying this! Let’s hope my parents drink wine with non-plastic corks. Maybe I can befriend some alcoholics.

Don’t you love the cups, too? I need them.

Reverse engineering an Estonian lace pattern

Monday, June 30th, 2008
Categories: Techniques, Tips & Tricks, Tutorials

Reverse engineering an Estonian lace pattern

Here’s a great post on reverse engineering an Estonian lace pattern.

Some Gorgeous Mesh Lace

Friday, June 27th, 2008
Categories: Ideas & Inspiration

Mesh Work

I really love this Mesh Work.

Nähsucht

Thursday, June 26th, 2008
Categories: Other Crafts, Ideas & Inspiration

Blumentasche

Heute habe ich eine neues Blog gefunden. Es heisst Nähsucht, und es hat so viele schoene Sachen drin. Hier ist eine Blumentasche, ein paar Radiergummis, und eine schoene Tasche.

Yay for practising German and having no idea whether my grammar is correct!

I’ve found a great blog called Nähsucht. There are so many pretty things on it! There’s a flowery purse, a few eraser stamps, and another pretty bag.

50 Great Yarn Tips

Wednesday, June 25th, 2008
Categories: Techniques, Tips & Tricks

Yarn

Lion Brand has 50 Great Yarn Tips (at least). Some of my favourites:

Double-pointed and circular needles are often not marked for size and they almost always get separated from their original packages. I mark them with a fine-point permanent marker (two dots for size 2). The larger needles usually have enough space to mark the actual number. It works for all needles (wood, metal, and plastic.) I never have to search for my needle size gauge. Also, I keep a complete list of the needles I own in my purse, so I know at a glance whether I have to buy needles for a new project.

Keep your pattern and the copy of your pattern that you marked up and notated in a plastic sleeve in a 3 ring notebook. Slip in your swatch and a picture of the finished project as well. This way, when looking to make another of that pattern, you’ll have all your notes right there, suggestions for what you’d like to change for the next time, and how it turned out the first time. All your notes, etc…are all in one organized place.

Free yarn bras: Ask your florist to save you the plastic webbing that protects Fuji mums and other large-headed flowers during shipping. This webbing is a lightweight version of the material used for yarn bras, and florists throw it out. A little cleaning with soapy water will remove flower residue and voila! Yarn bras for all those 50 g./1.75 oz. yarn balls! A larger, more sturdy version for larger skeins can be found at some wine or liquor stores. This larger webbing is used to keep bottles from clanking together in consumer’s shopping bags.

You can also use the wrappers around asian pears.

Found via TipNut.com.

How should I store my fabric stash?

Tuesday, June 24th, 2008
Categories: Recycling

BedroomUnclutterer has a feature on how to store your fabric stash. This could be a good resource for knitters as well as sewers. There are some things with which I agree, and some that I don’t. For example:

If you cannot carry the whole of your stash, then it is too big. You would never be able to save it in an emergency if you couldn’t carry it, so why have more than you could reasonably save?

My aunt is a master quilter, and she has an entire room full of scrap fabric. If you want to quilt dragons, you can’t just have one colour on hand and you can’t just pull out that green fabric that you usually use for trees but “they’ll do.” You need scales, you need smoke, you need fire. You need maybe 20 fabrics in each colour if you want to make nice quilts. When my aunt first showed me how to alter a pair of pants with some fabric I’d brought with me, she asked if she could keep the rest and of course I gave her all I had. A few years later she gave me a quilt for Christmas and I was so happy to see that same fabric tucked into one of the pictures. It was so nice to see not only that she’d kept it, but also that she used it. That wouldn’t have happened if she had uncluttered her sewing room. Then again, not everyone will be painting with fabric.

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