Handmade Holidays: Items for the Children's Chorus Brunch

I sent a text to my sister asking the size of the Granny square blanket I made my niece Taylor for Christmas last year.  I asked cause I needed a mindless craft project I can do in front of the T.V.  She calls me back and tells me about the Children's Chorus Brunch and the fundraiser they're doing.  My sister is assembling baskets and needing donated items to fill them with.  Needless to say I was Ecstatic!!  I love having an excuse to knit or crochet especially if I get to learn something new, work on something I am rusty at or getting to do one of those fabulous patterns I'm been dying to make.  That night I started with a beautiful set of wrist warmers.  The easiest way to make quick and easy wrist warmers is to knit a rectangle.  I know, not very exciting, BUT.......when you're stitching up the seam leave about 1.5"- 2" hole where you can stick your thumb out.  Well she only told me this about a week ago and I have completed 2 sets of wrist warmers (pictured above), flower pens, and knitted flower pins.  I wanted to donate something that was a bit more towards LeslieGallery so I am currently experimenting with pamphlet stitches and fun cardstock.  I have about a month left and the amount of quick and easy projects is endless.

If you're in the Springfield, MA area check out Children's Chorus of Springfield, December 2, 2012.  And check out my lovely sister Katie's online magazine, BYO Family for all things family fun in Springfield, MA and the surrounding area.

Happy Crafting :)

The Never Ending Blanket

I FINALLY finished the Never Ending Blanket! I made a super cute Granny Square blanket for one of my nieces.  It was her Christmas present.  She loves blankets (and who doesn’t) so I wanted to make her a more grown up blanket since she is now 5 years old and the others she has are from when she was born.  I made them look like little flowers cause she is ultra girlie. Wellllllllllll I severely under estimated how big she has gotten and it was too small. So being awesome Aunt Leslie I made more granny squares to attach.  Now 2 months it is done.  It went from 26”x26” to 50”x50.”  My sister has already joked that I will be making this blanket bigger until she gets married. HA! It might be a good idea to have extra squares made for whenever it needs an expansion.  I used my favorite Caron Simply Soft Yarn! I’m hoping this size will last her awhile.  I love her and would do anything to see her happy face. 

Happy Crafting!

Product Review: Caron Simply Soft Yarn

I don’t know if I can say any more about how much I LOVE Caron’s Simply Soft Yarn. The name says it all….Soft. I have found it to be the softest acrylic yarn on the market. It’s a medium weight yarn, size 8 needles for a 4”x4” square with 18 stitches and 24 rows. For the crochet-ers an H-8 US hook is recommended. I have made this my go-to yarn for any project needing a tough, durable but lovely yarn. Some of my past projects have been potholders, blankets, scarves, bags and wrist warmers. The other plus it’s that it’s majorly affordable. AND it’s machine washable. Pop it in and it will as good as new. Looking through my local craft store flyers I found that it is one sale frequently. Carriers of Simply Soft include Michael’s Arts & Crafts, AC Moore, JoAnn Fabrics and Wal-Mart.


The color selection is amazing. They have everything from soft colors to party colors. Check out the website for their wide variety…..http://www.caron.com/color_cards/cc_simplysoft.html. Currently I am working on a granny square blanket for my niece. She out grew it and has requested I make it bigger. She went to her mom, my sister and said “Mommy, I don’t think Aunt Leslie knows I’m turning 5. The blanket is too small.” Too Cute! I am using the Party Colors Fuchsia Sparkle and Purple Sparkle, which both of us are lovin.

So the next time you want a fun and super soft yarn consider Simply Soft. I know I will.

For fun projects be sure to check out the Caron website! http://www.caron.com/free.html

Happy Crafting :)

Charity: Knit-A-Square

I want to share one of my favorite charities...Knit-A-Square.

http://www.knit-a-square.com/

This is a great way to scratch the Craft Itch and use up all that leftover yarn (which means you get to make room to buy more new yarn!!).

All this charity asks is for an 8"x8" square, knit or crochet, and send it to them. They make the squares into blankets and give them out to AIDS orphans. If you're new to knitting or crocheting this is a great way to learn to control

your tension and new stitch patterns. Read the label of the yarn of your choice for the right size needles an

d gauge.

The "US 6" under the crossed needles is the size knitting needles you will need to use for that particular yarn. The "22S" is the number of stitches needed for 4 inches of stitches. the "28R" is the number of rows. If you want to know how many stitches per inch and rows per inch use division: 22/4=5.5, depending on your knitting tension round up or down. I tend to round up. It's basically the number of stitches (22S) divided by the number of inches that equal 22s (4 inches). Use the same for the number of rows: 28/4=7 rows, it will be 7 rows to equal 1 inch.

The same applies for crocheting. In this example they want you to use a G/6 hook, same number of stitches and rows apply. If it would be different it would be noted on the label. After about 4 inches of rows measure to see if you're staying within the 8 inch perimeter.

Basic Knit Stitch:

OK so now that you can read the label here is the basic knit stitch. When you do a "knit" for all the rows it's known as a Garter pattern.

1. Cast on the appropriate number of stitches. From our example we will want to cast on 44 stitches: 5.5x8=44, 5.5 is the number of stitches, times, 8 which is the width we want.

2. After you have cast on, hold your work in your left hand

3. Keeping the yarn at the back of your work, place the tip of the right hand needle through the front of the first stitch, so that it ends up behind the left hand needle

4. Bring the yarn from behind, in an anti clockwise direction, and wrap it around the top of the right hand needle, pulling it forward between both needles

5. Slip the top of the right hand needle down and then up towards you, to catch the yarn as you go, creating a loop on your right hand needle. If you were casting on at this point you would place the new stitch back onto the left hand needle, but as you are now knitting, you leave it on the right hand needle.

6. Then release the left hand needle, either by sliding it backwards to the left or by giving it a nudge with your right hand forefinger

7. Your yarn is now back to behind the right hand needle and you are ready to repeat steps 2-5 until you have knitted the entire row. Turn the knitting around to start again.

8. Castoff and weave in your ends

9. You're done! and doesn't it feel oh so good?!

If you would like to discover other yarn based charities check out the book Knitting for Peace. The cover of the book is pictured above.

Happy Crafting!

Today is Crafty Wesnesday!!!

Hello

I love to knit and crochet. It's something I can do infront of the TV and still be creating. So today I wanted to share mt favorites yarn books....Stitch n Bitch. These books teach you how to knit and crochet easily and have wonderful projects. From a knit Joan Jett doll, crocheted doormat and a knit bikini with matching bag. I believe the binikii is more for hanging out in the sun but it's really cute. I have known how to knit since I was 7. My mom taught me how. My sister was the crocheter in the family. In college she made a beautiful afghan blanket. Currently I am working on a pattern from the Stich n Bitch nation book. It's a Lace Wrap Sweater in a muted purple. I struggled in the beginning but now it's smooth sailing. Recently they have released Son of Stitch n Bitch which I have yet to see. So i recommened to any yarn lover to check out Stitch n Bitch, Stitch n Bitch Nation and Happy Hooker for fun and modern projects.

Happy Crafting:)

Crafty Wednesday!

Hello
We meet again for another addition of Crafty Wednesday.

Today's Topic: Craftzine.com

Craftzine was a quarterly magazine that was around for about 2 years. The they decided they would have a larger outreach if they became solely an online magazine. You can buy old copies of Craftzine from their website, which I highly recommend. Cratfzine is made for crafters (ok duh!) but it not only gives great projects and ideas but showcases artists in the field. Everything from a woman who knitted a house equiped with gfood, table, dishes and artwork to feature Project Runway designers who put LED lights into clothing. Some of my favorite projects were making a wallet out of underwear, ironging plastic bags together to create a recycled reusable plastuc bag (who doesn't love the Target bullseye), crocheting a fancy granny square bag, and one of my next projects a hawaiian blank.

Right now you can get the same great expereince from the Craftzine website that includes interviews, tutorials and a network to be among crafty people. Sign up for their news letters and become a fan on face book. The exciting thing about crafting is there is always something new to discover and these people are at the forefront.

Tune in next wednesday to see what we're crafting.

Have FUN! :)