Fall

It’s Fall again.

New school year, new clothes, new yarns~!

As we all know, choosing the perfect yarn can be a daunting task. Then again, it could be something others look forward to.

No more of that cotton and bamboo yarns. No more of the thin threads to make that lightweight  clothing. Now we get to play with wools and alpaca and all  the wonderfully heavy and warm yarns to make up those warm scarves and coats and hats.

Something we all want to keep in mind when we’re working with heavier fibers, especially for the first time is gauge. Heavier fibers require larger hooks and needles. If you’re wanting to make a tight piece of fabric you’re, of course, going to use a smaller hook and needle, but keep in mind, this could make the fiber difficult to work with.

In my experience it’s always best to experiment with the larger gauges and gradually work your way down. The gauge you use will greatly impact the wearability and usability of the item you’re making. You want something, in the end, that is comfortable to use and easy to work with. You surely don’t want to feel as if your hat has just been dunked in starch!

Check the gauge recommendation on the wrapper of your skein of yarn and go one size up. That is generally a good place to start. It will change the size of your finished product if you’re working with a pattern, so keep that in mind and allow yourself some flexibility.

Have fun and keep warm!

Summer coming to a Close

Hello Everyone,

With summer coming to a close soon, it’s easy to become eager to look through that yarn stash and start in on your fall works. One thing to remember though, what did you make last fall and what didn’t you like about it?

Sometimes we forget that we had already made that itchy awkward wearing sweater or that too tight hat in that ugly puke green color. To avoid any potentially hazardous recreations that are just going to end up at the bottom of the closet again I’ve developed some methods to keep me organized.

Cataloguing your creations is a GREAT way to show off your completed works and to remind yourself of what didn’t work and why.

I’ve created a scrapbook for myself with each page dedicated to what I’ve made and what I’ve used to make it. This way if someone asks what all I’ve made. I can very easily just hand them a beautifully and lovingly created scrapbook.

Another method, though simpler, is a photo album. If you’re not so much into the scrapbooking scene you can easily put together a photo album and simply write on the back of the photo when you made it, what it is, and what you’ve used to make it. Again, so if anyone asks, you can hand them the album.

Both these methods are great visual devices that many artists utilize to keep track of their works.

Sometimes we create things so fast we’re not able to make designated spaces in our albums for them and some artists use online storage bases for their photos.

Some sites like photobucket.com are great places that can help you organize your albums and even give you places to write notes.

If anyone has any other suggestions please feel free to leave a comment!

~Summer is here~

Well yarn-fans, 

It’s that time of year again. Summer. 

And if you’re in the middle of the desert like me then that means sunburns and lots of breezy light clothing. 

Good thing for us, we can still wear our favorite crocheted and knitted clothes with minimal changes!

The best thing for warmer weather that I’ve found, is to avoid synthetic materials like acrylic yarn. It’s heavier and retains more heat. If you want to make a  all around great top, make up a nice oversized top that has plenty of negative space (lots of holes) so you can wear a nice tank top underneath! Its stylish and will keep you cooler longer.

Also. There’s plenty of designs out there to make -cute!- summer hats with wide brims. Just the thing to pair with sunglasses and a day at the beach! 

Keep in mind that you’re going to want to use natural yarns. Bamboo, cotton, thin light yarns that aren’t going to keep so much heat close to yourself. So yes, stay away from wool please.

I’d love to hear your ideas for what you do with your yarn-crafting in the summer months! Post a comment or maybe even some pictures to share!

Keeping Focus

  I know myself as a avid yarnaholic that one can get lost in all of the possible creations we can make. The endless patterns available to us, the countless skeins of yarn and fun tools makes it difficult to find just the right thing to keep us occupied from start to finish.

  I myself will admit to a shortfall when it comes to keeping focused on a project. My co-workers and beau can both attest to this.

  I have found though, with luck, that there are a few tips and tricks you can do to maintain focus on something.

  The first thing one needs to do is organize your yarn stash and create an inventory with samples of your yarn colors and create an organized display where you can find everything easily and quickly. This goes for your hooks and needles and sewing things as well. What I recommend is take a 2 inch sample of each yarn you have and glue one end of the strand to a poster board and above or below the sample, write the brand, type and color name or number of the skein it came from. That way you can see exactly what you have and you wont be buying multiple skeins of the same color.

  Secondly, organize your projects. I recommend taking a notebook and dedicating it to your yarn projects only. I’ve got several for just this purpose. Set aside a few pages in the front of the notebook to write a list of your WIP (work(s) in progress) and even list down things you truly plan to make. That way you can cross things off as soon as you make them, it’s such a satisfying feeling. Included in this, is not only organizing your projects on paper, but in actuality as well. What I’ve done, I’ve bought some of those drawer totes on wheels you can get at Wal-Mart for $10-$20 and within each drawer I’d take the skein of yarn I’m working with, the pattern and any hooks I’ve got attached to it and I’d put them in a plastic bag and put them in the clear drawer. If you think you’re going to forget what’s in there, try putting a rubber band around everything instead or write on a piece of masking tape what project it is and taping it to the bag. If you’ve got enough drawers, you could even try putting the individual projects in their own drawer. That would be good as well too if you’ve got a larger project. 

  Anther thing you could do to maintain your focus is to work on projects that require small parts to be made then turned into a whole project. Such as toys, granny square afghans, scarves or hats. Small projects are great for that feel-good feeling you get when you finish one because they’re easy to get done and usually only take a couple days. Baby items are great for this, booties, hats, mitts, coats and pants.

  The last thing I would recommend would be to multi-task. This is only good if you know you’re good at it. For me personally, I get bored when I’m sitting there doing the same project day after day after day. So what I do is I’ll dedicate one or 2 days a week to a specific project or a couple hours a day or even a certain number of rows or pattern repeats (per pattern instructions). That way, I’m sure I’ll attend to each one of my projects per week and even per day and with that, I’ll be able to keep my mind occupied and keep myself on my feet and I’ll be sure that no project goes to the wayside.

  I know that each person has their own way of keeping their focus on their projects. If you have a method that you’d like to share leave me a comment. I’d love to hear what methods others use!

Bath Sets

  As girls, we are all into a bit of self pampering. Bath sets are the easiest way to do this.

  When generously supporting your local artists by buying homemade things, there’s just a few things you want to look out for.

1. In the bath set, or spa set, what type of yarn is being used? Cotton? Organic? Cotton blend? The type of fabric used will determine the feel of the product when wet and also will feel different on your skin.

2. Does the set come with any scents that you may be allergic to? The last thing anyone wants to do is write an artist a bad review because we didn’t see what was all in the set. Ask the artist what they have in their baskets if you cant tell completely.

3. Does the artist offer to include a homemade soap, candle or bath salt? This little bit of extra loving care tells a lot about the artist and the time and thought they put into their products.

4. Price. Is the product reasonably priced for what you see? How many items are in the basket compared to the price? If there’s 4 items in the basket and its a 20$ basket, thats $5 per item. I would definately consider that reasonably priced. 

  When you’re looking at bath sets. It’s a wonderful gift to share with friends, family, baby showers, bridal showers, wedding presents, birthdays. It’s an all around great gift for everything. 

  Different artists put different things in their baskets but generally you’re going to see the same things, just different styles and colors.

- Bath Puff or Loofa

- Face cloth

- Back scrubber

- Hair bandana or Head band

- (If it’s for baby or child) A body bath mitt in some sort of animal representation

- (again, for baby or child) A bath toy 

  Just think of who the gift is for and how the basket is represented and presented. Remember, appearance is half the value.

  Have fun and happy shopping!

  Don’t forget to visit my ETSY shop!

Red Heart Super Saver – Review

  Everyone has a standard yarn that they use for test swatches, miscellaneous projects, even clothing and afghans and household items. For many people, Red Heart is the brand they go to and Super Saver is their preferred choice. 

  The wonderful thing about Red Heart Super Saver is that the color variety is so immense. There’s every color in the spectrum and variegated yarn for every occasion.

  The yarn in itself is very versatile and sturdy and can be use as its standard 4-ply or one can untwist the strands and get a nice thread. I’ve done it before and made some very cute miniature items.

  The only negative thing I could really think of for Red Heart Super Saver is the coarseness of the yarns. They’re not luxurious or soft or snuggly yarns and sometimes have to be washed and softened with fabric softener multiple times before they achieve any sort of soft feeling. Now understandably, it was made to be an all around useful item, some things just aren’t meant to be as soft as a baby blanket, but one can wish right?

  All around, with this yarn I feel Red Heart did fabulous on their choices of colors, utility and quality in this yarn and I look forward to seeing more colors and more quality items coming from Red Heart.

Homespun Yarn- Review

  I do love my fair share of unique yarns. Some are better than others and some just shouldn’t be made.

  There is nothing wrong with spinning ones own yarn at home and many times I’ve asked my beau for a sheep or alpaca or llama for christmas so that I could spin my own yarn. Hasn’t happened yet but I am still hoping.

  Though through mass produced yarn, companies have to be more careful about how they produce unique yarns and should focus on how their yarns and products will be received by fiber enthusiasts in the general public.

  Consistency in the yarn texture, color and quality is always important to any knitter, crocheter or latch hook project. (I didn’t want to use ‘er’ at the end of that…) 

  I’m sure that if you Google’d “Homespun Yarn Reviews” you’d find a great deal of chatter about this unique yarn. I’d rather give my 2 cents and let you all make the decision, just as I have.

  Onto the topic of Homespun yarn by Lion Brand Yarns. The yarn itself is pretty good. The texture is a nice soft warm feeling without the itchyness or irritability or worry of felting that you’d generally get with wool.

  Although, with each skein of yarn that you get with Homespun, even though you get the same color, maybe even the same dyelot, you have a chance to get a variance in color with each skein; sometimes within the same skein. It would seem as though it was hand dyed. 

  Homespun yarn seems to be made of unspun yarn wrapped with a thread. Now although this gives it a nice lumpy texture that makes scarves and hats and mittens particularly yummy, I’m sure that several fiber-ists have found that the thread that Homespun is twisted with makes grabbing the yarn efficiently pretty difficult. This in itself could through off any knitter’s or crocheter’s rhythm on their project. That isn’t Lion Brand’s fault. 

  What I do find disconcerting with the yarn is that very often within a skein, you’re bound to run into parts of the yarn in which the thread that holds it together has broken and the yarn has started to separate. With this, it goes to show that making projects that -don’t- fall apart particularly difficult. The yarn itself is already plush and stretchy, but having to worry about the thread breaking and a stitch separating and then your whole project falling apart, that’s bad enough.

  Onto some good notes. Throughout my previous points I mentioned that Homespun is a very warm, plush yarn that has the potential to make some very comfortable items. The color selection of Homespun isn’t quite the most abundant, but the colors are nice and subtle, something you’d find if you probably dyed your own wool.

  I would recommend Homespun to any advanced beginner to expert fiber-ist and definitely consider how long you want your project to last when using this yarn. Longevity doesn’t seem to be in the works for this yarn.

ETSY

  Now as I am sure that most of you know, ETSY is a great place for handicrafters to sell their stuff for loads cheaper than eBay. 

   I am on ETSY as well and I have quite a few things up there for sale which include a very nice cloak, pet items such as toy boxes, hammocks and cubbies as well as dolls for younger children.

  Everything on my site there is clearly visible with lots of great pictures. If anyone is ever interested in purchasing or getting more information or even requesting a special item feel free to contact me.

Welcome!

Welcome! Welcome!

Come in! Have a seat! Make yourself comfortable! But please don’t feed the animals, they get excitable.

This is a little journey through my love of fiber, not just related to yarn, but mostly yarn.

Sewing, Crocheting, latch hook, knitting, plastic canvas, the list could go on and on.

But I digress.

Please join me often and I will do tutorials and reviews of various yarns and techniques for any of you that are interested!

Have a great day!