Monthly Archives: January 2012

Video Tutorial: How to Line the East Meets West Bag

Bags, purses and satchels are such fun accessories to make, in addition to being a quick and chic way to add a pop of color to any outfit. But sometimes, depending on the size and shape of your bag – it can lack the structure of a bag or purse you might find at the store. Lining and reinforcing your bag with a stiff interfacing is great way of adding structure and support to any bag, but it can seem like quite an intimidating process at first. This is exactly why I teamed up with Kerin to create a step-by-step video tutorial on how to make the most of your bag with a little fabric, stiff interfacing, and a few other supplies.

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Stashbusting with the Beekeeper’s Quilt

I bought The Beekeeper’s Quilt pattern from Tiny Owl’s Magic Attic
back in October and have quietly been working on hexipuffs between
other knitting projects ever since. I’ve been using all my fingering
weight odds and ends leftover from all the sock projects, mittens and Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi
critters that I made over the holidays. This morning I decided to sit down and see if I could identify all the
Knit Picks yarn that has gone into this project so far… it was fun
trying to retrace my knitting! Do you spot them all?

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Let the madness – and sweaters – begin!

Well, I’m still not totally through figuring out what craziness is in
store for me this year, but I know that it’s going to involve a lot of
sweaters. I really need to use up a good size chunk of my stash this
year (for the sake of sanity), and sweaters are a darn good way to do
that.

But my first sweater is decidedly not a stash sweater.

Over the holidays, my husband and I found ourselves shuffling among
the crowds at the mall a little more frequently than we’d have liked.
But one upside of that is that my husband got to see a lot of the
mannequins decked out in their nice fancy sweaters. We kept passing by
one window that had a lighly textured Aran type sweater in a creamy
oatmeal color, and over time it really grew on him. Until finally, the
question was asked – “can you make one for me?”

WELL OF COURSE! WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SO SOONER! I GET TO GET MORE YARN!!!
(and also – he doesn’t want me to buy one, but make one. Double score!)

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Reversible Freebie Friday

Do you love dishcloths?  I’m constantly making them – I don’t have a dishwasher (yes, I live in the dark ages apparently.  At least my kitchen does) so I use them all the time to wash my dishes!  I also like to make face cloths to use when I wash my face – they are so much softer than ones you can buy in the store! (I use either Simply Cotton or Shine for those).  Well if you like them as much as I do, IDP designer Kathy Cairns Hendershott has put out a free version of her popular Reversible Dishcloths.

This is her Walled In Reversible dishcloth pattern – and as the title suggests, it’s completly reversible!

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TNNA Fun

So as I said last week, Alisha, Jenny & I all headed to sunny Phoenix for The National Needlearts Associate (TNNA)‘s winter show.  It was so much fun!  Not least of which was the beautiful Arizona weather we got to enjoy.

TNNA show 

But sadly, we weren’t there for vacation – we were there to work!  First step was  to set up our booth for yarn shops to order needles & tools for their stores.

 TNNA show

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Cozy Toast Wrap in Capretta

It’s the time of year for shifty, cool weather and I’m definitely
bundled up all the time. When I’m knitting I have a blanket over my
shoulders, when I go outside there’s always a hat on my noggin, and even
when I’m working at my desk I have a scarf (or two!) on. This time around I knew that I wanted to knit a super cozy cowl that I
could wear outside to the market and inside around the office.
Something substantial. I spotted the Toast Wrap over on Ravelry and had that little fluttery heart moment when I know I’ve found the perfect project.

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Winter Book Sale!

I may have told you this before, but it’s a truth that I need to say again.  I love books!  A book is a tangible item – you can touch it, turn the pages and (of course) it can inspire you! Our book list is constantly changing as I search for wonderful new books. Now, to make it even better, the books are on sale for 40% off!

I’ve recently added several new books that have caught my eye.

The Lace Knitting Palette by Catherine M. Thomson

The lace knitting palette book

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