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test driving curtain fabric

sweater unravel crochet blanket

I haven’t been very successful at getting up early to have some creative time for myself. However, I am up early enough to know that my creative space is too warm for coffee and work in the morning. This big, beautiful window faces east. Not only does it heat things up, but it puts a glare on my laptop screen. Curtains are a must.

I love my view and was happy to find this nice muslin in my stash. I hung it up while my daughter was in school this morning and it immediately cooled the room down. You can’t see through it with the sun beaming, but after Noon, I had my view back! The big question comes tomorrow morning. Is it opaque enough to keep my creative space cool so I can enjoy my morning coffee while I work? I hope so!

stash: I bought a brand new bolt of this at a garage sale last year for a few bucks. It was still in the kraft paper wrapping! I have a feeling a few more rooms in my house will be getting curtains in the coming weeks.

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recycling a sweater directly into a blanket

Toward the end of last week, I wasn’t feeling very inspired. Maybe it was the high pollen count? Maybe it was the non-stop conversation with my three-year-old? Maybe I just needed a little creative break? I decided a few days on crafty autopilot would be good for me, so I grabbed a sweater and started unraveling.

sweater unravel crochet blanket

Since I only unravel when my “helpful” daughter isn’t around, I still have some of the original sweater to show you. This is one of my trade sweaters. I usually don’t mess with acrylic, but this sweater was so pretty and soft. Plus, it’s super bulky weight yarn and it’s working up fast.

sweater unravel crochet blanket

I’m crocheting a petite afghan with a simple granny square pattern. The yarn is even more lovely after being unraveled. The kinks are falling out as I crochet, so I’ve eliminated that whole soaking and drying step. I’m curious to see just how big it will get.

Has anyone ever gone from sweater to blanket? How did it work up for you?

recycle: I wonder how many people we could keep warm if we turned all of the sweaters destined for the landfill into comfy blankets?

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cool birthday gift idea for boys

I was at the bookstore the other night and found a book called How to Draw Cool Cars.* These weren’t your average cool cars, but super fast ones like Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Lamborghini — you get the idea. I had never seen anything like it and knew I needed to get it for Wyatt’s ninth birthday.

A few years ago I made a bunch of crayon rolls, including one for Wyatt with car fabric. You can’t really draw a Lamborghini with crayon, though. It just doesn’t seem right. So, I made him a much more grown-up colored pencil roll.

felt pencil roll

I have this really nice, thick wool felt that I got at a garage sale a few years ago. I never knew what to do with it, but it had Japanese characters printed on it with a sparkly gold ink. I knew I had to save it. I was so glad I did. It was perfect for this project!

felt pencil roll

I saved the printed part of the wool for myself. It will make a cool crochet hook roll, don’t you think?

stash: If you don’t have a use for a certain fabric right away, but it speaks to you somehow, I recommend keeping it in your stash. It might just be waiting for the perfect project to come along.

*I can’t find the exact book online, but this one looks similar.

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upcycling in the kitchen

recycled towels

I’m finally getting around to some household stuff I’ve had in my to-do pile for awhile. Last year I made some rags out of an old bath towel, but I never finished the edges. They’d get frayed and messy in the wash and every few months I’d trim off the scraggly bits. Yesterday I finally switched my serger over to 2-thread overlock and cleaned up those edges. I also went ahead and cut up and finished another towel. This stash of rags should last awhile!

I also tried to make some tea towels out of a thrifted linen dress. The blend has too much nylon though, and they aren’t very absorbent. My husband suggested that they’d make great napkins. I’m so excited that he’s open to the idea of cloth napkins, because they are on my to-do list, as well. This project gave me a lot of practice with rolled hems. Oh, how I love my serger!

I hope to have some more household stuff to post soon, including curtains for my office!

reuse: Towel came from my linen closet, dress from 99 cent sale.

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my creative space

my creative space

Are you sitting down? My creative space is filled with knitting today. Yes, I said knitting. Can you believe it? It’s been awhile.

Our local guild is making squares for charity blankets again. I took a break from this last year, but the year before I met my goal of 12 squares — one a month. I was hoping to meet that goal again in 2010, but here it is almost May and I’m on my first square! We’ll see how many I get done.

There were some lovely creative spaces last week listed on Kirsty’s blog. Did you check them out? You should!

stash and pattern: More acrylic from my thrifted stash. These skeins must multiply when I’m not looking! The patterns are being chosen by the group. This is the January square listed on the Hanks website.

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vickie howell’s craft corps: page 216!

vickie howell craft corps

I’m not sure where to begin. I received a copy of Vickie Howell’s Craft Corps yesterday and I’m just amazed at how jam packed it is with interviews of and stories about our fellow crafters. I am also honored to be included with such talented people.

vickie howell craft corps

This is not a book that you just flip through at the store, but rather one you bring home and sink your teeth into. I can’t wait to learn more about my favorite crafters and to discover new ones, too.

Vickie did an amazing job with this book. I highly recommend it!

Make sure to visit the Craft Corps website and add your story, too!

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thrifty find: zig zag quilt

I can’t believe it took so long for me to write about my daughter’s new quilt. I think it’s because I had a hard time getting a nice picture of it. Usually it’s covered in stuffed animals and books. I just recently took this pic while she was in school.

thrifted quilt

I’m not exactly sure when I found this, but it was still cold out. I remember having a conversation with my husband about our daughter’s new bed needing a comforter. I had looked for one that week, but nothing had seemed quite right. Once you eliminated licensed characters, it was slim pickings.

I also remember sharing this story with my friend. Less than two hours later we had discovered this brand new, handmade quilt. The lady said there’s a group of women in a Small Nebraska Town (I can’t remember the name) who make quilts and donate them to the store. Isn’t it beautiful?

thrifted quilt

thrifting: Sometimes all you have to do let the universe — and a friend with a good eye — know what you need. The rest takes care of itself.

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liberty of target tote hack

Confession time: my daughter’s dress wasn’t the only Liberty of Target item I bought last month. I fell in love with this tote on the website and was disappointed when I got to the store and realized it was oil cloth. I almost put it back a few times while I was shopping, but in the end, the print won me over.

liberty of london target tote bag

After using it a few times as a knitting tote, I wished I hadn’t bought it. The cloth was so stiff that even a small ball of yarn gave it a goofy bump in the middle. Then I thought, I make tote bags. Why don’t I stop complaining and just fix the darn thing?

liberty of london target tote bag

So I added a four inch gusset and prettied it up with some vintage buttons on the side. It’s still stiff, but much more functional.

liberty of london target tote bag

I’ve actually started using it for my daily purse, even though it’s kind of big. I still wish it was fabric, but I really do love those little flowers.

future thrifting? I’m wondering if others were as frustrated with this bag. Maybe they’ll start showing up at the thrift stores?

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sweater wool 220

upcycled sweater yarn

After yesterday’s trade, I got to thinking about my stash. My projects are usually small: hats, scarves, fingerless gloves. There’s no way I’ll use an entire sweater’s worth of wool or cotton for anything. So, I’ve decided to keep some and share some. First up is the beautiful cream and gray wool I’ve been working my way through. It looks so lovely after I took the kinks out. I’ve got a skein of 220 yards in my shop. You’ll find more pictures and details there, too.

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my creative space

In my creative space today, I’ve been trading work for materials. Last week, a friend saw my happy little airplane and asked if I would make one for her son. “I’ve got sweaters to trade!” She even checked the seams to make sure they weren’t serged.

sweaters for unraveling

The original airplane was really big. Much bigger than I thought it would be. Would it be ok if I made a smaller version? “Deal!”

mini small airplane amigurumi

I find this happens a lot in my circle of crafty friends. We’ve all got items we’re ready to pass along and services to use for trade. It’s a never ending re-cycle.

The list of creative spaces keeps growing! Visit Kirsty’s blog to see them all.