On My DPNS
Say What? For those of you who do not knit, DPNS may be a new word. It’s actually an anacronym for Double Pointed NeedleS. These are knitting needles which have points on both ends (instead of just one end) and are only about 8″ long. I LOVE working on DPNS!
They are used for knitting in the round, meaning that you work around in a circle, rather than back and forth on a flat, rectangular piece. They allow you to create hats, tubular scarves, sweaters and sleeves without seaming, handbags and all kinds of other rounded shapes. My recent craze is knitting these awesome bird’s nests and eggs:
Aren’t they fun?? I can’t decide which I love most…the PROCESS of making them or the END RESULT! Both are de-light-ful!! Being a crocheter as well, I’ve often thought that it was only in crochet where you could begin in the middle of a circle and work your way out. BUT NO! These eggs and nests have showed me how simple it is to start at one “end” of an egg, increase to the desired circumference, and then decrease to the other end. All in one piece! Then the nest is really the same concept! You just squash one half of the “egg” shape down into the other half and voila! You have a nest! So, so fun to make.
If any of you are knitters and you want to make this, click here for the FREE pattern from Purl Soho. It is off of their blog, the Purl Bee, which is one of my absolute favorite spots for inspiration and patterns (both free and for purchase) for knitting, crochet, sewing, quilting, etc. It is visually one of the most beautiful craft blogs on the web! As an artist, I adore feasting my eyes on how they have photographed the creations and the type of projects they seem to choose are wonderful.
Oh my…in linking you to The Purl Bee, I see a Big Cuddly Bunny I’ve just gotta make for Maddie! And I have THIS PATTERN on order for more bunnies…so full of character, I just can’t resist!! Drawings and photos forthcoming!!!!!
Baby Step #9: Pyramid Gift Box Pattern
How an idea comes to life…
1. A shape pops into my head. Pyramid!
2. A question follows on its heels. How can I make that shape in knitting?
3. Paper & folding ensues. Ahh…so that’s how!
4. Another question pops up. What can the shape be used for other than a sachet?
5. Leaving shape open on one side. Yeah, righto. A gift box!
6. Yet another question. How can I make it festive?
7. Jar of leftover bits of yarn, ribbons, and raffia says “Use Me!” Oooh, yes!
8. Button bin starts yelling too! Even brads work pretty well for a gift box! (Lime green polka dots are brads!)
9. Et Voila!
To view and/or purchase this knitted pattern...CLICK HERE!!
**A Note on Baby Steps: It needs to be said that each Baby Step I’ve posted here, actually has SEVERAL baby steps imbedded in the making of each one!! So, for instance, in creating a pattern for others to use, you have Step One: Idea. Step Two: Working out the idea ( in pen & paper, yarn & needles, etc.) Step Three: Sitting with the completed “prototype” to see if you are satisfied with it, or whether it needs something else. Step Four: Typing up the pattern in humanly readable terms rather than the chicken scrawl you have on a throwaway piece of paper. Step Five: Photographing the finished project. Step Six: Adding photo and EDITING the pattern for mistakes. Step Seven: Downloading pattern to Yarnworks site, Etsy, Ravelry, etc. Whew!!
The KEY to creating by the Baby Step method: DO NOT let yourself look ahead to all the zillions of steps you need to make. JUST BE PRESENT IN THE ONE STEP YOU NEED TO MAKE NOW!!! This helps me so so much! I get too overwhelmed by all the ideas swirling in my head and all the steps necessary to make the idea a reality. I have to HAVE PATIENCE and MOMENT PRESENTNESS. Not easy for me. But it is so rewarding to see the idea come to life and to share it with others! 
A Summer Tote
I’ve been carrying around this tote I bought a couple of summer’s ago from Harris Teeter. It’s the straw kind, with a fabric lining…great for toting my knitting & crochet projects wherever I go. It’s a perfect size and gives ample room for my sketchbook and pens too! I thought the cross-hatch approach would be super for the strawy texture.
Of course, I have FAR too many bags to tote yarns and such around in…and that’s not including the pocketbooks! Oi! Remember this post? And then there’s the crocheted bag I love to make and use for my summer pocketbooks.
How ’bout you? Do you have a favorite tote for your drawing supplies? yarns? everyday essentials? Do tell!
A Duck to Water
Last Saturday Maddie and I sat on our couch for her first knitting lesson. I was teaching her the steps, the rhyme that goes with it (see below), and telling her to have patience, that it would take a bunch of practice. She had been begging me to teach her. I would find her in the living room with a ball of yarn suspended in the air by two needles, floofing the yarn and asking me if she was knitting. Uh, no sweetie. Not. But after our first lesson, she was off and running, er knitting.
She had several rows completed before she even had a question, and many more rows before she noticed that “somethin’ doesn’t look right!” A minor problem to fix, and off she went again. On Monday she asked if she could take her knitting in her book bag so she could knit on the bus ride home. Wow! My heart swelled at her request, but didn’t know what to say…are there rules about knitting needles on a school bus like on an airplane?? Would kids grab the needles and be tempted to use them as weapons?
I didn’t know, but I said: Well, of course you can take your knitting with you…you can take it wherever you go! And so the yellow ball of yarn with size 10 needles goes with her in the car to piano and soccer and to places where she thinks she might be bored. One is never bored when one has their knitting! What a joy it is to see her knitting..she does it beautifully. She’s even changed colors from her 16 or so rows of yellow to a vivid red. She has plans for orange, green and blue next. She says it’s going to be a blanket for her American Girl dolls.
Maddie had learned to crochet when she was 7…a bit more arduous work for her then. I don’t know whether it’s because she’s 9 now or because she just takes to knitting easier than to crochet, but it reminds me of that saying–Like a Duck to Water. It seems that natural for her.
A Rhyme for Learning to Knit
In through the front door
Run around the back
Out through the window
And off jumps Jack!
More Hats…
Let’s take a break from my series on Type 1 Diabetes: My Journey. The hat craze continues…two cotton hats, one knitted, the other crocheted. A bit of back story for each of them: the knitted watermelon hat on the right is made from a Susan Anderson free pattern. Susan B. Anderson is one of my favorite knitters/designers/bloggers! Check out all her websites! The hat is intended to be for one of my sister’s daughters who turned three last weekend!
The crocheted hat is a big-sister hat. In the previous hat post I mentioned that the baby hat and blanket is for a friend. She already has a son and daughter who are so excited about their soon-to-be-born baby sister! So, I had five of the inner circles leftover from the blanket. Instead of creating the hexagon shaped final round, I decided to make them square and fashion them into a cute hat for the big sister. Now I’m working on the big-brother hat, omitting the pinks!
I’m also very excited that Knit Wits is starting back up again! This was a group of knitter/crocheters who used to meet at the old location of Shakespeare & Co. in Kernersville. We will begin meeting again on Friday mornings from 10 am to noon. If any of you yarnies out there would like to join us, please do so! Shakespeare & Co. is a wonderful book shop, coffee cafe in a beautiful new location downtown. Our “motto” is taken from a Shakespeare play called Pericles:
“When peers thus knit, a kingdom ever stands.” Yes, indeed!
Hat Craze!
We did have a couple of coolish days a few weeks ago…and we haven’t seen them since! But it got me itchin’ to knit and crochet again. Especially knit. And not just any knitting…hats, on double-pointed needles! The crocheted hat on the left, I made to give as a gift to a friend who’s having a baby girl soon. It will go with the hexagon blanket I’ve also recently finished. The knitted hat on the right fits Maddie perfectly! It took exactly ONE ball of the lovely Noro stuff I had in my stash. Since photographing these two hats, I’ve completed two others, one knit, one crochet; and I have another hat on the dpns, and another crochet hat planned and ready to go. These things I call “art in the margins”. It’s the stuff I fit in when I have five minutes here, five minutes there, when I sit at soccer practice, when I’m helping with homework. It’s amazing what we can do when we “rescue” those throwaway minutes. I’ve blogged about this subject before…here…and here.
Here’s hoping your day is filled with rescued minutes!
BTW: My homemade hat trees are simply a round tupperware turned over on a stem vase…they even bobble a bit! I had been wishing for a cute hat tree to hang and photograph my hats on, but came up with this idea which I think works quite well!
Nesting Birds
Here they are! Cute little birds for you to make! It was so much fun trying to make ‘em as cute as the ones that visit our deck. I’m not sure if I achieved it, but I do love the shape and colors. I actually began the design by drawing them…coming up with a realistic bird shape that was simple to make. Sketching it out first was the only way I could visualize how to go about making them. After a try or two with my hook, it worked! I hope you like.
The whole time I was creating them, I kept thinking of another favorite children’s book we have read to all three of our kids: The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman. Our kids have LOVED this book and Maddie still loves to read it. When our oldest daughter was little, my husband and I made up a tune that goes with the above song the birds sing in the book. Click here to listen to Maddie, our youngest, singing it!
“I love my house, I love my nest,
In all the world my nest is best.”
So, once again, pairing a children’s book with a crocheted stuffed animal…love, love, LOVE that! They would make wonderful gifts for bird lovers too! And who doesn’t love birds???? (Pattern includes instructions for the bird AND the nest pictured below! To purchase the downloadable pdf pattern, click here!)
Peek #1 and Thoughts on Becoming
I told you I’d give you peeks at what my Happy Little Squares are becoming. Here’s the first: 9 squares becoming one bigger square! Woo Hoo! And another set is not quite 9 yet. There will be more of them, these little squares. And then things will take a turn…rows and rows of colors…and there will be solids here and there as well! Hee! Hee! Every step is fun, fun, fun! I’m sure you think me crazy!
I do think about becoming…that whole process from beginning to end. Nothing becoming something. An idea becoming a sketch, becoming the first step, becoming the second, then the third and so on…until the thing has become what it was intended to be. Sometimes, the idea doesn’t become exactly what it started out to be. Sometimes it becomes something a little different. Sometimes it becomes something COMPLETELY different. This is the problem here with showing you peeks as I go along…my original idea might not work out! My first sketches may become something entirely different. We’ll have to see. At this point, it all looks good. Looks like it might work. So I’m motivated to keep going. Every idea is a series of tiny little steps. My job is just to take the next step. Then I’ll have the information I need to take the following step, whether that is to adjust the original idea or to keep going. I’ll keep you posted.
Going Owling
I have never actually gone owling…except through the pages of a book. For years, my husband and I have read to our kids a wonderful book titled Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, with exquisite watercolor illustrations by John Schoenherr. As you read this book and gaze at the images, you feel as if you too are going owling along with the little girl and her father. You’ll even find yourself, as we do, reading the book in hushed tones, as if you were out on a cold, wintry night, walking silently in the snow, trying not to scare away an owl so that you can see it in the evergreen woods. I absolutely LOVE children’s books and their illustrations! What I love even more, is when a book has a stuffed animal or character to go along with it. A child, snuggled against his mom or dad’s shoulder, holding the stuffed animal, while they read the book, is an image that makes me swoon.
The crocheted owls I’ve designed and made here are not exactly like the owl in Owl Moon. Not even remotely. I got the idea for these owls from some fabric versions I saw on Flickr. I could hardly stop making them, and then the purse came along soon after that…ooh, what fun! You can purchase the downloadable PDF pattern here at my yarnworks site. I would SO love to see your versions of these sweet and oh so simple, little owls. If I weren’t so color starved these days, I would have made some of them in soft browns, creams, pale blues and greens. But no, I must have color…these owls would be spotted a mile away in the deep winter night with or without the moon shining! Perhaps you have a child or a grandchild who would love a gift of this book and an owl of their very own. Or maybe, like me, the kid inside you would like to have a flock of them sitting around. I hope you enjoy!
I’ll leave you today with the final words in the book, Owl Moon:
When you go owling
you don’t need words
or warm
or anything but hope.
That’s what Pa says.
The kind of hope
that flies
on silent wings
under a shining
Owl Moon.
Happy Little Squares
Years ago, I remember watching entranced as Bob Ross painted his “happy little trees” for us. Watching one of his landscapes unfold and come alive right before your very eyes was indeed mesmerizing. So too are these little crocheted squares. They are made from a Lucy pattern, she calls her Summer Garden Square.
I’m quite tickled about these squares and what they are becoming…you’ll have to wait and see how it evolves. I’ll give you peeks as I go along. But for now, I’m over the moon about the colors in my basket (yes, ANOTHER basket of yarn…yeesh! but I do love baskets filled with lovely yarns so I can see them ALL at a glance and pick and choose at happy will. And no, I haven’t lined this one…yet!). I walk around the house doing laundry, picking up stuff, making meals (er…assembling them:) and every time I walk by my basket, I smile and pause, gaze a moment longer, smile again and go on my merry way.
Happy is the person who has palettes of paints and baskets of yarn to bring a smile to their day! (Ancient proverb:)
I just had to give you another pic of these cheery squares!
Have No Fear
Many years ago, when I was setting about to teach myself to draw and paint, two guys who had graduated from the Savannah College of Art & Design, encouraged me in my endeavors by saying, “Just have no fear…” I don’t think they realized how much I would recall those words. Every painting, every sketch, every knit or crochet project or design, every new creative endeavor…starts in my head with, Have No Fear Jen. It’s only paper, it’s only canvas, it’s only string. Somehow we can get so strangled by fear of…well, what is it, anyway? Fear of it not being “good”? Fear of it being a failure? Fear of messing it up? Fear of not being original? Fear of not having anything to say? Fear of not improving? Oh my, these are just a few.
Of course, I could blast through every one of these and “explain them away” for you. I’ve read a good bit on creativity and it’s traps, I’ve learned to recognize and talk myself through them. But somehow, when faced with a blank page, a basket full of new yarns…all our reason goes out the door, and the deer in headlights look comes over our face. Have No Fear…just begin…one baby step at a time…just move forward.
One place this fear shows up is when we tackle something we are not as well-versed in or something we have not made before. I faced this as I stared at a basket (remember this basket from the hexagons in Crag2Crag?) that I wanted to line with fabric so the yarns wouldn’t get picked. Now, I can sew. I’m fairly well equipped when it comes to sewing. But I had a small amount each of four fabrics (which I had purchased to make these birds), no pattern, and I had never lined a basket before…or at least I can’t remember when I have. And, of course, I didn’t want to JUST line the basket…I wanted it to have pockets on the outside for my scissors, hooks, and anything else needed for the project in the basket. *Headlights*. Will the idea work? Will I have enough fabric? Will it turn out alright, or will I have butchered the fabrics so that I can’t really use them for anything else?
Just begin. It’s only fabric.
An hour or two later…I had it…the thing I had envisioned, plus or minus a thing or two. One MUST be flexible along the way and allow for altering the original plan. This is KEY! I like to think, in creative matters, that mistakes or roadblocks are merely opportunities for a wonderful new idea or outcome. But you’ve gotta bend to it. Life is that way too.
And so now my basket is lined with fun fabrics which have places for “stuff” around the outside. One spot that gave me pause, was how to deal with the liner where the handles meet the basket. What came out (ribbons tied on the sides) works well and is pretty to boot.
And with the leftovers, I was able to make the birds from a free pattern found here…I’m not sure WHY I made them…just for fun…and with no fear.
A Place for All of Them
Well, almost all of them. There are several of them still sitting in baskets or bags of in-progress projects and, I’m sure, there are stragglers in the sofa cushions and maybe out in the bowels of our cars. Seriously, do I really need all of these? But of course!! Can you guess what they are?
Yep, crochet hooks of all kinds, aluminum, plastic, Bates, Boyes, unknown origins. Lovely things when all put in a row like this, don’t you think? I got the idea to make this from another crocheting blogger favorite of mine, Handmaid Liset. She makes these colorful pencil/marker holders and sells them in her shop. I just loved them!, but needed something for my hooks, not for my pencils…well, not yet anyway…I AM thinking of another holder for all my drawing supplies, both pencils and pens and brushes…oh my!
Anyway…I used stuff I had on hand: bits of Cotton Classic in various colors and a button. In a couple of cases the amount of yarn I had dictated how wide the slot was going to be. I briefly considered lining it with fabric…I may end up regretting I didn’t. Nor did I make the top long enough to fold over the hooks, which I may regret later also if they all drop out of the holder in transport. But I do like how it turned out! So much more cheery than the one I had before, which only held a few of my hooks. If you crochet, it is simple to tailor make this to suit YOUR crochet hook needs…I could have made it much smaller, to hold fewer hooks. Likewise, I could have kept on going (since you crochet this side to side) to make room for more. Simple single crochet is all we have going on here. Oh, and weaving in ends. Of the weaving of ends, there is no end!
But it’s worth it in the end, don’t you think?
Simplicity Shawl II
Well, this would actually be Simplicity Shawl III. My very first version was made out of a lavender linen and cotton yarn with a flower pin made from flowers I found in one of Kristin Spurkland’s books. The pattern for the shawl was popular with crocheters at Knit One Smock Too, but was not the best written pattern. Last fall I finally revamped the pattern and added a rosette pin of my own creation…Simplicity Shawl II.
KOST now has the new patterns and I made this version (III) out of Noro Silk Garden Lite for the shop to display. Oh how I love Noro yarns! Love, love, love how the colors work with this stitch pattern…lovely stripes of gorgeous color. I even made the rosette from different colors all available in the ball of yarn. I used the I hook called for in the pattern. Though I got gauge at the beginning, it ended up a smidge smaller than the pink shawl, so I might suggest using a J hook if you want the fuller size. Of course, you can add more stitches to start off and that would make it larger as well. I plan on blocking it a bit–should loosen up the fibers some and make it bigger. But I like it just like it is.
The Comfort of Yarn
When we were told we would probably be staying a night or two at Brenner’s for our daughter to be cared for her newly diagnosed diabetes AND for our training in caring for her, I tossed into my purse a zip-lock bag of two balls of Noro Matsuri yarn, some crochet hooks, and a pair of scissors. As I put them in, I knew I would probably not get a chance to actually crochet a design I’ve had banging around in my head. But I wanted to take it, to have it on hand. When we got settled into our room, I placed the bag on a shelf near where I would be sleeping. I could see those happy balls of yarn from just about any spot in the spacious “homey” room, and that was really all I needed…just to see the yarn.
It’s amazing how comforting yarn can be. Somehow, just seeing the colors sitting there brought comfort… the bright vivid colors, the soft squooshiness, the promise of a beautiful scarf, the anticipation of creativity, the hope of life opening up again to allow for time to crochet, a reminder that my life is not ONLY finger pricks, insulin shots, sugar levels, ketones, carb counting, etc. I do often carry around my sketchbook and pen. Yet it doesn’t quite hold the same kind of comfort. The sketchbook in and of itself does not have that warm, home & hearth kind of feeling about it.
An artist friend left a comment on the “When Life Happens” post that she didn’t think she could concentrate so well while facing so much. Yes, that is a challenge. But it is also a comfort. To engage in creative endeavors while going through difficult times, functions somewhat like a tether. Your life feels like it is whirling out of control. And so it is. But drawing, knitting, crocheting, grounds you, reminds you that at the very least, some things do not have to change. When concentration is difficult, choosing to create in ways that are “second nature”, or very simple, are helpful. It may merely be placing the creative project or the supplies close by that will offer some comfort as you whirl around in the unknowns.
A Close-up View
Pretending to be a camera zooming in on details…I’m showing you the lovelies of Simplicity Shawl. When I draw or paint, I love to zoom in and crop the edges of an image as I’m sketching. This gives the sketch or painting a bit of an abstracted look…one might first wonder “what is it?” and then the realization comes upon closer look. Zooming in also gives you the opportunity to not be so literal, if you like. The objects you draw do not have to be “proportional” or in correct perspective…they can just exist as shapes: fun, lovely, created shapes.
Simplicity Shawl itself, is a fun, lovely, created shape. The pattern allows you to choose whether you make it into a triangle or into an upside-down trapezoid. The rosette clasp continues the shape fun with layering simple crocheted motifs to make something that looks like a flower. To further the shape-play, you can be creative with how you wear it: secure it in the center front, or off to the side, knotted or tied in any fashion, or wrapped around your waist. The v-stitch used in the shawl works up so quickly, it makes a perfect gift for someone on your list.
Try looking at your world by zooming in and seeing the shapes…you’ll find inspiration for drawings, paintings, fiber work or whatever your creative penchant may be!
Simply Rectangles
If you can knit a scarf, you can knit almost anything! I mentioned this last week, and I want to begin to show you how this is true. So many things, both knitted & crocheted, are actually glorified scarves. By that I mean, they are simply rectangles that have been draped over shoulders, added to other rectangles to make sweaters and vests, or folded into purses or shrugs. Genevieve is sporting a couple of examples of this. The above drawing is Origami Shrug, my latest design now on the website for purchasing the pattern. Seriously, it’s just a rectangle! It’ll make you giggle as you see how the folding happens, and how the simplest of embellishments (garter rows & ribbon) turn this rectangle into a piece of wearable art. This next drawing is of Dreamy Shawl. Most shawls are truly glorified scarves…rectangles endowed with lovely stitches, embellishments, or in this case, COLOR and TEXTURE. You can really let your inner artist bloom when you knit this shawl.
When I teach knitting & crocheting, I aim for students to understand “concepts” even more than being able to “read instructions”. When you understand the concept behind a piece of knitting or crocheting, you are empowered to really be successful in making it AND to go beyond the instructions and “make it your own”. This is my hope for you if you wish to knit these projects. My patterns certainly give you the “instructions” you need, but go a step further in helping you understand the “concept” behind each piece AND to give you some ideas for Variations on the Theme. 
I often think this is true in life as well. It’s so easy for me to get bogged down in “do the list” living…just following the directions. But when I look up, open my eyes, see the lovely forest (not all the individual trees), and peek behind the veil so-to-speak, I begin to see the beauty in it all, the overarching concept behind my life and the lives of others around me. Taking time to consider the beauty, instead of blindly moving through the “musts” in my day, allows for larger living, a more grateful heart, and a little extra spring in my step.
Scarf Weather
Lately, we’ve been having scarf weather! I love it when it’s cool enough to wear a scarf around my neck. As the season continues, I move from wearing the light and airy scarves to thicker, woolier scarves. What is it about this long rectangle of color and softness that we wrap around our necks? I’m not convinced it is merely for warmth. There’s a decorative factor there as well. I have a friend who travels to France often and she says French women are rarely without a scarf…vive le foulard! I think I would love life in France:)
I’m pretty sure the number one gift to give and to make at Christmas is THE SCARF. Have you noticed that? It also happens to be, typically, the first project a new knitter or crocheter tackles; and he/she usually succeeds. There are SO many knit & crochet patterns for scarves…one could spend one’s entire yarn career making nothing but scarves, and probably still not make all the patterns that are out there. 
And so I add to the throng, a Simply Woven Scarf. At least, it looks woven with the lovely v-stitches. I’ve made several of these for gifts and for myself, long ones, short ones, medium ones, out of fine yarns, thick yarns, textured yarns, smooth yarns. The pattern allows for SO MANY variations, it is really like getting lots of patterns in one.
I’ve had so many people tell me that the only thing they can knit or crochet is a scarf. To this I answer,”If you can knit/crochet a scarf, you can make almost anything!” My next posts will show you what I mean.
Infusing the Ordinary with Beauty
The humble granny square is probably the most ordinary, common, and well known motif in all of the crochet world. Even non-crocheters recognize this stitch pattern. I’ve had a few students come to a beginning crochet class JUST because they want to learn how to make “the granny square”. It’s a great way to begin your crochet skills, and even after you’ve been crocheting for a while, there’s something comforting about returning this common, ordinary motif. With an artful eye, however, one can transform this ordinary stitch pattern into a feast for the eyes.
In my last post, I promised to bring you another idea for keeping the holiday hound at bay, for using what you have, to make gift giving a joy this year. My FREE! Colorful Granny Throw pattern will lead you step-by-step, through this humble motif, and even give you tips for combining colors and yarns of different weights to create something of rich beauty. These throws (you can make ANY size imaginable!) work up quickly…perfect for making a few as gifts, and maybe even one for yourself. If you use up your stash, then all the better, since you are making room in your house for all the Christmas “stuff” that gets hauled in (tree, trimmings, gifts, etc.) or for more yarn…perhaps all that yarn Santa will be bringing you:)
We have lots of crocheted throws around our house. Some I have made, some that my husband’s grandfather made, and a knitted afghan my mom made. Our family loves these warm, curl-ups pretty-much year round. I have a knitter/crocheter friend who believes that hand-made afghans have healing powers. I don’t know any medical statistics on this, but they definitely make you feel better when you’re sick, cold, or just wanting to be comfy and cozy. I think quilters also enjoy this about the quilts they make for themselves and for friends…tangible love, warmth, and beauty all in one.
And did I say, this is a FREE pattern! Please download and enjoy it this season! You’ll be able to see how I’m writing these patterns…tons of helps for you to make your knitting/crocheting adventure successful from beginning to end!
Everything but the Kitchen Sink…
The hound of the holidays is already nipping at my heels. You’re probably familiar with this…the voice that says, “You gotta get ready! Start buying! Start making! Start preparing!” And as November flies by, the voice gets louder and louder, especially if I haven’t paid much attention to the hounding voice. Every year I say, I’m going to start earlier! Every year I say, I’m going to simplify! And every year it ends up feeling like a mad dash to the finish line! Yet every year, in the midst of the dashing, there are moments of sweetness: baking with my children, enjoying family and friends, and of course, creating gifts for certain people on the list.
Much of the time, when I set about to make a few gifts, this is how things go:
I look around me at what I have. Paper, paints, yarn galore, fabric, buttons, etc. And that sets my mind to wonder, “What can I make from all this?”
Last year, I kept peering into a huge stash of leftover yarns. There they were…the “castoffs”, left over from other yarn projects, or the single ball of yarn that caught my eye on a sale table, or yarns that had been given to me from others who no longer wanted to store their stash. I SO wanted to USE it! Not give it away or throw it away. Hmmm…
So I began putting colors together and came up with this wonderful bag that uses every color in the rainbow. Genevieve is sporting the large one I’ve kept for myself. You can see more photos of this one here. I made them in all different sizes, with whatever yarns I had on hand. The photo to the left is a small one, also made with multiple leftovers, though the bag can be made with just one yarn. I line them all with fabric, to give the bag a finished look and to keep it from stretching too much. And of course, a hand-painted card completes the gift!
I’ve created a pattern that allows you to make ANY size bag you’d like. My hope is that you’ll enjoy getting miles of fun out of just ONE pattern! So many options, so many to make and give for friends and family members. I’d love for you to share them with me, if you make one or more!
My next post will share with you another idea for using up what you have. Repurposing what was once used for something else is a fantastic way to ward off the hound of the holidays! I’d also love to hear how YOU deal with that ole hound!
Cupcake Mania!
The first cupcake design I created was for a gift…to be given to a dear friend on her birthday last spring. This friend is now my trusty pattern tester and all-around huge-help in the creating of my new online pattern shop. Ellen is a fantastic person, knitter, crocheter, lawyer, baker, friend, and wife to Steve. At the time I gave her this cupcake, 
I had no idea that the other gals in my crochet workshop at LYS, Knit One Smock Too, would like it so much. Due to their encouragement, I typed up the crochet pattern and taught them the ins and outs of making one of these fun cupcakes.
I had seen other cupcakes around…knitted ones, crocheted ones, but had not seen one with a candle, nor using multiple yarns for icing. I spent a whole week making one cupcake after the other using all different textures and colors of yarns for the icing. I loved making different sizes and coordinating the candle with the rest of the cupcake! The knitted candle worked out perfectly, but my pattern also offers a crocheted version for those who want to crochet it. I’ve now given a cupcake to numerous friends on their birthdays and to a few children. The adults seem to like it as well as the kids do, so it really doesn’t matter what age we are–we all love to be celebrated!
The most happy part about being an artist/crafter is GIVING. It is so gratifying to give something one has made. Every stitch, or stroke of the brush, has bound up in it a good measure of thoughts and wishes for the recipient. Affection, friendship, and kindness (lofty and ethereal concepts) get translated into something concrete and tangible. That’s what it’s all about: letting someone know we think of them and celebrate them!
