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recycling sweaters from my stash

I’ve had a shift in focus over the past few months. I’ve been slowly moving away from felted wool bags to try new things. I’m not completely abandoning them, but I need room for my new adventures. This hit me over the head on Saturday when I found some really nice things at a local church garage sale. I have a small amount of storage space, so whenever new stash comes in, other stash must go. I packed up three bags of sweaters, which I’m putting up on freecycle today if you are interested. Some are already felted!

recycled yarn

I’m spending most of the long weekend sewing and last night I needed something to help me unwind. Ha! I’ve always wanted to unravel a sweater, so I grabbed one from the giveaway pile and went to it. It was very relaxing. I find desconstructing  just as exciting as making. My mind starts racing with the possibilities: a baby blanket? matching scarf and hat? thick, wooly socks?

I have no idea what I am going to with this yarn. I certainly don’t need any more in my stash. There are knots at the end of every color change. I was thinking it would be cool to work them into the design. Something in seed stitch might be nice. What do you think?

recycle: There are so many beautiful wool sweaters that have been discarded. Try unraveling one for your next project. Where else can you get yarn to make an entire sweater for just a few bucks?

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wardrobe refashion: pants to skirt

I finished the refashion of those denim pants that made me look like I was waiting for a flood. It was much easier than I thought. I have a pair of khakis that are the same style. I think I’m going to to take some pics next time and write up a tutorial.

jeans

jeans

jeans

refashion: sewing a cute skirt is a great way to transform out-dated pants so you can continue to wear and enjoy them.

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thrifty yarn ideas

Hey all you knitters and crocheters! Vickie Howell has posted some creative ideas on how to keep those needles and hooks going in this crazy economy. My favorite suggestion is recycling sweaters for the yarn. I tried this once, but had a tough time picking the seams. I wound up giving it away to someone with more patience. Next time, I’ll check out the seams more carefully. You can read her entire list of ideas here.

resource: Vickie has lots of eco-friendly project ideas. I’m saving my Amy’s burrito wrappers to make this cute purse.

Bean bag update: I finished these, but it’s too late for a photo shoot. I wound up making little change purse zipper pouches. They are so cute! Details after I get some pics.

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mini santa hat pattern!

from the julie-bird.com archives

Last year I tried knitting a little stocking for our knitting group’s ornament exchange and it turned out really wonky. The night before the exchange, I whipped up this little Santa hat instead.

santa hat

For this year’s exchange, I knit the stocking from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and it turned out MUCH better. Tana, who picked my Santa hat from last year, picked the stocking this year. I knit them both out of the same yarn. Too funny! I should see if I can complete her set with a mini sweater next season.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the little Santa hat ornament. It was so cute and easy! So the other night I decided to knit another one for our tree. I love it so much! Here’s the pattern so you can knit up some cuteness for your tree.

Knitted Santa Hat Ornament

Yarn: Lion Brand Micro Spun colors red and white
Needles: I used size 3 dpns
Gauge: 6 stitches = 1 inch
Time to complete: Less than two episodes of the Sopranos.

Hat

Using white yarn, cast on 30 stitches and divide evenly over 3 dpns.
Join and knit 8 rows in white (add rows if you need to so it forms a nice roll brim).
Change to red yarn and knit 12 rows.

Begin decreases:
Knit the first two stitches on each needle together.
Knit a plain round.

Repeat these two rows until you only have 3 stitches left. Tie them off.

Pom Pom

Start with a slip knot of white yarn on a single needle.
Knit in the front and back of the stitch, increasing to 2 stitches.
Knit in the front and back of both stitches, increasing to 4 stitches.
Repeat once more for a total of 8 stitches.

Begin decreases:
Knit two together across, decreasing to 4 stitches.
Repeat, decreasing to 2 stitches.
Repeat once more and tie off.

Pull the two ends together and shape a little ball. With a darning needle, thread the ends through the top of the hat and tie a knot.

If you want your hat to hang straight, string it up from the top. If you want it to have a little curl, like mine, string it up from the middle.

Hang on the tree and admire your craftiness. Merry Christmas!

reuse: Don’t let all of those tiny balls of leftover yarn go to waste. Use them for small projects like tree ornaments.

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i forgot the combination

These wrist warmers are knit in the round until you get to the thumb. You go back and forth until the thumb is finished and then go back to knitting in the round. As you can see on the left, I was having issues with the thumb section and I couldn’t figure out why.

wrist warmers

A little back story: When I do ribbing in the round, I knit continental and purl combination. I don’t know why. It just seems easier to me. When I’m going around and around, it doesn’t matter. What I failed to remember is that when I go back and forth, my stitches are twisted. Doh!

So, both wrist warmers were finished, but in the back of my mind they were bugging me. I don’t remember exactly when I realized my mistake. It was probably in the shower. Isn’t that where all of our a-ha moments occur? Last night I ripped back to the beginning of the thumb and paid closer attention to the orientation of my stitches. The fixed one is on the right.

Now that I’ve figured it out, I feel kind of dumb.

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st. patrick’s day giveaway!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED. CONGRATS TO LISA IN FLORIDA!

Are you feeling lucky? Maybe a four-leaf clover would help. St. Patrick’s Day is the second day of the Lincoln Handmade Team’s giveaway extravaganza and I’m throwing a four-leaf clover coffee sleeve into the ring!

All you need to do to win is leave a comment and tell me how you celebrate St. Paddy’s Day. Do you wear a lucky shamrock or lots of green? Maybe you wear orange! Do you eat corned beef and cabbage? Drink green beer? Make Irish soda bread? (Yum!)

Whether you use the cozy for a tasty Irish coffee or rich and creamy Guinness, join in on the fun! Then visit the other members of our team for more giveaway goodness.

Comments close Thursday at midnight CT. Erin Go Braugh!

felted wool coffee sleeve

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coffee sleeve of the month: lucky shamrock

felted wool coffee sleeve

It seems like I can’t stop making felted wool coffee sleeves, so I’ve decided to start a feature cozy of the month!

March is all about St. Patrick’s Day and basketball. I don’t know much about hoops, but I used to be quite the little Irish Dancer. My Girl Scout troop had to learn an ethnic dance and we picked The Walls of Limerick. I remember that we performed on the stage at Golden Ring Mall.* A few of my friends and I stuck with it until high school. We competed, performed at Irish festivals and even walked in the St. Patrick’s Day parade. So in honor of my “Irish” background, this month is all about green!

Two sleeves are available in my etsy store.

*Sadly, Golding Ring Mall has since been leveled and replaced with big box stores.

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knitting for baby anikka

Remember when I knit that baby kimono for Brady? I wanted to knit another one for Sarah’s baby, but they were both born during late winter. I know Brady didn’t have a lot of time to wear his little wool sweater because Spring came too quickly and it was too warm. I decided to knit Baby Anikka’s in cotton. Hopefully, it will carry her through the seasons a little longer.

baby kimono

The pattern is the same as Brady’s; it’s from Mason-Dixon Knitting. I crocheted little ties instead of using ribbon or velcro.

baby kimono

I also added a little flower. Even though we were overwhelmed with tons of pink when M was born, I have a feeling Anikka will be wearing a lot of her big brother’s blue and green. I decided she needed something shockingly pink!

baby kimono

The best part about giving this gift was when Sarah opened it, she said she was hoping I would make this for her. She saw Brady’s sweater on my blog and wanted one for Anikka, too. I love when that happens!