1st Craft of the New Year - Ribbon Garland

/



When my husband and I first got married we had very few Christmas decorations, despite my inclination to decorate the house to the nines.  We also had little money to put into comercial decoriations, or hand made ones for that matter.  Our first Christmas our decorations consisted of a 1 foot tall tree, covered in small glass bulbs, and large bows I made from bargin basement ribbon.  I was appalled at the prices of the ribbon at the time, and decided I wouldn't waste any.

Fast forward several years, and nearly every scrap of Christmas ribbon that has passed under my nose has been saved in some way.  The same ribbon has been used in my family for years now, getting a bit shorter every year, as at least 8 inches of every piece has been added to my Christmas ribbon garland.


This year the garland grew to about 20 feet of recycled ribbon, each link 8 inches in circumfrence.  

How can you make your own Christmas ribbon garland?
1.  Ask your friends and family to give you the Christmas ribbon they would otherwise throw away.
2.  Cut the ribbon into 8 inch pieces.
3.  Sew the first "link" in the chain by matching the short ends of the ribbon (right sides together) and machine or hand sewing securely.
4.  The second and all subsequent links in the chain is made by inserting the 8 inch length of ribbon through the prevous link in the chain, wrapping the ribbon around the link so that the short ends of the ribbons match (right sides together), and machine or hand sew securely.
5.  Repeat step 4 until all ribbon lengths are incorrperated into the chain.
The chain lengths can be turned right side out as you work, or after all the links have been made.
The chain can be added to year after year, making a christmas timeline of sorts, showing change over time.  My chain is already showing differences over time, as well as tremendous growth.  I can only imagine what it will look like in a few more years time.

Happy New Year!

/

Happy New Year Every one!  As of today my family is officially back to business as usual.  We shipped Mr. Incredible back to work this morning with no prospect of vacation in the near future.  While it is good to get back to our normal routine, I think we all enjoyed Mr. Incredible being around during the day.  He brings a playfullness to the atmosphere at home I sometimes forget to encourage.  I get too wrapped up with getting things done, and he encourages me to let things go and just have fun. 

At the moment my sink is overflowing with unwashed dishes, my bed is slowing sinking under the weight of unfolded laundry, the house looks as if it has been ransacked, and there is almost no food in the cupboards.  Last weeks idea of a through spring cleaning seems somewhat daunting at the moment, but the house is slowly transforming back into it's nearly clean state.  On the upside, with the exception of washing clothing, I throughly let go during the last week!
Perhaps I should resolve to figure out how to both get things done, and let go and have fun this year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

/

In this period of economic downturn it is easy to forget what we have to be thankful for, but, if you are able to read this post, you very likely have a lot to be thankful for.  You probably have all of your basic needs, such as food, shelter, clothing, and safety, taken care of.  There are still many people around the world who do not have these luxeries (but are still thankful for life, family, love, etc.).  So, as we sit down to our dinners tonight, whether lavish or meager, know that you have something to be thankful for.

I am thankful that my family is spending the holiday in one of my favorite places.  We will be back on Sunday, and I will tell you all about it.

Mini Stocking Advent Calender

/


The website Burda Style has recently published a free and easy stocking advent calender pattern. They even have a step by step tutorial that makes this project easy as pie for even beginners.

The stockings are small enough to use up scraps of fabric and ribbon, and they sew up quick enough that they could still be made before December. Even if you couldn't make them all in one go, you could make them one per day in December taking only a few minutes per day. Pictures of a few of mine are below.

Not interested in the stockings? You should still check out Burda Style. They have beginner to advanced sewing patterns that are mostly free, and great sewing info, and several quick holiday projects (even a few for ambitious hand sewing).I made all of my stockings thus far out of home dec weight fabric leftovers from other projects (mine, and the leftovers I have collected from other crafters), and scraps of ribbon. I really love the eclectic look.

Gift Idea 3: A Gift Your Toddler Can Make

/

Recently my friend K (a former elementary school art teacher) e-mailed to tell me about Crayola's Model Magic - a kind of modeling clay that doesn't stick to anything and dries to a flexible firmness after being left out of it's bag for about 24 hours. Since we both tend to stick to basic art supplies, like crayons and glue, I took the suggestion of such a high tech medium as high praise. She suggested that Violet - my 3 year old - would be able to work with it, and unlike traditional clay the finished product wouldn't easily crack in toddler hands.

We bought some on our next trip out, and Violet set out to make a present for her Granny. While I suggested what to make and how to make it, she did nearly all of the work herself.

Granny likes butterflies, so she is using cookie cutters to cut out butterfly shapes.
I poked a hole through the tops so they can be strung on ribbon and hung as ornaments.
After the medium is dry it can be painted.
I think they turned out beautifully.

Gift Idea 1: Melt-and-Pour Soap tutorial

/


I have a huge family, and as a result I am constantly trying to find or make nice gifts for lots of people at low cost. This year my mother's sisters will be receiving melt-and-pour lavender soap.

Unlike soap made from scratch, melt-and-pour soap is quick, easy, fairly safe, and can be made in small batches. The following is a quick tutorial on making melt-and-pour soap.

Tutorial
1. Buy melt and pour soap base. It can be found at Michaels, Joann's, and most other craft stores. I got mine from Brambleberry.com which has great prices for large amounts. I am using an opaque goat's milk soap.
2. Find a heat safe mold. You can buy these at craft stores, but there is no need. I used paper cups left over from a party (this was their 2nd use, and they have at least 1 more use in them if not more).
3. If you would like to add anything to the soap, like herbs, put them in the bottom of your mold. I used dried lavender grossa, a non-flowering version of lavender that grows well in my Florida garden. Other herbs or flower petals also look nice, but some discolor in heat, so you may want to test whatever you use before you make a large batch.
4. Melt your soap base in the microwave (on high checking the soap every 30 seconds) or a double broiler (being careful not to get any water in the soap). Add a few drops of the essential oil of your choice after taking the soap off the heat. I melted about 14 ounces of soap base, and added 8 drops of lavender essential oil for a mild lavender scent.

As soon as your EO is mixed in, pour the soap base into your prepared molds. The herbs will rise and mix on their own, but you can mix it yourself while the soap base is still very hot.
5. When the outside of the mold is cool to the touch you can squeeze the sides gently and pop the soap out. The soaps seen below are about 2 ounces each, and about half the size of the bars of soap you get at the grocery store.

Alternative method: You can also weigh the amount of soap you want in each bar, place that amount in your mold, then microwave the mold to melt the soap.

How much? I already had all of the materials I needed on hand, so I didn't spend anything. However, joann.com has 2 pounds of olive oil soap base for only $9.99. That is enough to make 16 2 ounce bars. If you gave 2 bars per person, that would be only $1.25 per gift. Not too bad!

Note: Melt-and-Pour soap does not have to cure like soap made from scratch, but it will sweat for a few days after it's made (due to it's high glycerin content), especially in high humidity. So, it is a good idea to wait a few days before wrapping it in plain paper - although wax paper does a good job.

Enjoy!

SAFF - the Fiber (Photo Heavy)

/

On the show floor we saw variations in fiber type, and color galore, but it was in the room full of unwashed, un-carded, and un-dyed fleece in which I was able to see the beauty in the variation between species, breeds, and even sheep. This variation knitters, and eve spinners are rarely able to see, but which I think can give the greatest appreciation for the materials of our craft.

Below are pictures of a few of the fleece we saw.





Week in Review

/

This week really seemed to fly by leaving my blogging good intentions in the dust. Perhaps next week.

Earlier this week we bought a new couch. It is a very inexpensive (dare I say cheap) pull out from World Market that fits our current. After having friends over last weekend, and watching them suffer on the extremely uncomfortable couches we had, my husband decided that it was time for a new couch. The couch came in a couch sized box that has since become my kid's play house (big enough for both of them). Knowing that it would likely be in my house for a while, I decided to pretty it up a bit, and here is the result.
In knitting news, my obsession with knit food seems to be slowing a bit, however, I am still planning to make this culinary delight for a friend's baby. I was also able to finally finish the husk on my corn, which is ridiculously cute.I also have both of the fronts of my Holly Jacket Hemmed, the Vanessa skirt is almost finished (to zipper, or button, that is the question), and new living room pillows are in the works.

Craft night this week was also a success, with my husband actually crafting. Ok, it involved sodder rather than fiber, but we all have our preferred mediums.

Have a good weekend,
~Gerwerken

Links

/

Here are a few Links to free and cheap craft resources, and other fun stuff. This list is by no means exhaustive. Please let me know your own free and cheap craft links, so I can add them to this list.

"The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,531 groups with 5,390,000 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is free."

This is a great resource for those of us who may need supplies but don't want to spend the money - or those who either don't have the time or resources to make many gifts...these are free!" - Thanks Apples from an Apple Tree
http://www.freecycle.org/

Sew Liberated's Fun for Nothing Challenge. You will even see a few pics of my kiddos in their Flickr pool.
FunForNothinButton

An insightful article asking why conspicuous consumption exists.
Dangerous Intersection: Shopping for Sex

Free sewing patterns and tutorials.
Burda Style

Homemade Deodorant

DIY Everything
Instructables

Christmas in July

/

I know, it does seem a bit crazy, or cruel to bring up the idea of Christmas right after encouraging a buying ban, but I assure you, there is a method to my madness.

I have a large number of family and friends that is getting bigger every year due to marriages and pregnancies. That means that every year I have more and more people to get Christmas presents for. I currently have about 30 individuals or families I would like to give personal gifts to. Even if I spent only $10 on each of these people/families (which we can probably all agree is a fairly small amount for a nice personal gift), I would spend $300 on gifts. In reality I usually spend much more than $10 on many of the people on my list.

The Christmas season (one wish should end with happy memories of family togetherness) often ends with reminders of debt accumulated during the season. We are also left with a mountain of discarded wrapping, but that is another story.

As green crafters we have the ability to make wonderful gifts, for little or no money, but it does require some time and planning. For crafters, especially knitters, July is the perfect time to begin thinking about holiday gift giving. Check out some of my Reuse posts for ideas on material scrounging. I will be adding more ideas in during the month.

Convergence

/

Today should have been my second day at Convergence, the Tampa yarn fest; however, I am at home. I started feeling bad the night before I was to leave, and thought it was probably just stress after all of the medical issues we have been having lately. Since we still don't know what is wrong with DH I was a little worried about leaving him, and not being able to get back to him if something happened. After hours of vomiting the day before my wedding, I know that I react poorly to stress. My DS also vomited twice this week without any apparent cause, so I knew that real, contagious illness could also be the cause.

While I think stress may still be the cause of my own nausea, the kids obviously have some kind of GI illness. At this point I think I did the right thing by staying home, rather than potentially infecting lots of people, but I would still really liked to have gone to Convergence.

All I have to say about this situation is that only hospitalization or institutionalization will keep me away from SAFF this year. If I have to I will wear a bubble, just slip the yarn through the food slot.

Summer Knitting Goals

/

Ali over at Skeins Her Way is having a Summer Knitting Goals Contest with some great prizes. It is actually the kind of event that I would love to host one day when I have a larger readership, and more money. Until then, here are my goals;

  1. Finish my sister's bag by her birthday, which is only about 3 weeks away. After about 5 different design iterations, I think I have finally landed on an idea that I can stick with.
  2. Finish the Gone With the Wind (ravelry link) hat. I have actually finished the knitting, I just need to install the brim wire. I have been having a hard time finding a local store that sells millinery wire, so I may have to go online.
  3. Fix my mistake, and knit at least one repeat of the Icarus Shawl, installing life lines at least every 20 rows.
  4. Finish all of the large projects that are currently on the needles before starting any more large projects. I am going to consider the sweater that I swatched for last night as on the needles. This goal feels like a not knitting goal, rather than a knitting goal, but I just can't leave these projects languishing any longer.
  5. Take pictures of and notes on the progress I am making while knitting, rather then the finished project alone.

Thats it.

I should note at this point that Ali, the woman that is running the project, has shammed me with her knitting goals. Despite the fact that she has 6 kids and one on the way, she seems to have more knitting time than I have day light hours. I need to find out her secret.