Acrylic Stash-busting Project #1: Make A Yarn Dog.

Every time someone finds out that I am a knitter, I instantly inherit several trash bags full of acrylic yarn from their aunt/grandmother/sister-in-law/boss/teacher/distant cousin/craigslist.

While I appreciate the sentiment, the reality of a room full of un-knittable yarn is looming. It's not that I am a yarn snob, I've just seen the damage that constantly knitting with unnatural fibers can do to your hands. I once watched a friend work on a red heart blanket until her hands were bleeding.

My friend Kellyn and I frequently host "crafternoons" in which we tackle the most heinous craft we can think of and giggle at the results. I was trying to come up with a way to use up some of the pallet o' yarn in my craft room and I thought about a craft that I had made 18 years ago in summer camp. After searching google for the phrase "yarn dog" for about twenty minutes, I'm pretty sure I found the exact directions the counselor had used a million years ago. I could remember the process, but needed help with the logistics.

This lil' guy took about two hours in all, and I couldn't be happier with the results. He's a far cry from the yarn-and-coat hanger mess the stood so proudly on top of my mee-maws dresser.

Make your own yarn dog and get rid of some of that inherited yarn!!!!

Recycled Wire Hanger Yarn Dog

Coming up...

-A Photoshop Tutorial

-My New Haircut

-Thrifting and Styling Tips with A Special Guest

Vocabulary Lesson: "Flocculence"

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"Flocculence" means having a fluffy or wooly appearance, and is usually associated with the color white.

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I have been collecting "flocculent" images for you all week. My Pinterest board is insane!!!
I really can't stop pinning fluffy clouds, or cozy looking beds.

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Symbolically, a cloud could be a prelude to an important revelation; while white represents purity, innocence, or even enlightenment. So, the term "flocculence" is really loaded; it's suggesting both a revelation and enlightenment. Try to approach this weeks "Vocabulary Lesson" with these things in mind.

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There is definitely something magical about this collection of things.

1. lion boy from VintageByCrystal

I love this little guy! I thought about trying to make some spun cotton ornaments myself, but for now, I'll leave it to the professionals...

2. parasol shawlette by this lyre lark

I don't think I have the patience to work on such intricate lace, but this photo is so inspiring!

3. hand knitted cream aran armchair slipcover by biscuitscout

I can't even believe this is real! I am blown away by the talent of this etsy seller!

4. bulky knit throw (source unknown)

SOOOOOOOOOOOO squishy!!!!!

5. andy's merino II from purlsoho

There's nothing I love more than a single-ply worsted weight yarn!

6. horned owl, also from VintageByCrystal

I confess . I may have a tiny craftercrush on Crystal. I saw her on Martha a few weeks ago, and I can't stop thinking about her work.

Be sure to use this word "flocculent" in conversation today!

o sailor!: a work in progress.

i'm moving along on the kenneth mcneil cardigan.

by moving along, i mean i knit for two hours every tuesday on it.

i'm exactly halfway to the armpit.

last night, i was working on it; just a little bit while we watched "king of the hill".

something fell in the kitchen; a regular occurrence when you have a kitten.

i jumped up and ran in to make sure she was alright. she was fine.

however, the needle slipped out of the sweater when i tossed it aside.

i was up till 1:00; picking up stitches with a tapestry needle. i was seeing double by the time i went to bed.

oh well.

these things happen.

A Not-So-LYS Adventure.

Yesterday, MidnightPurls and I stopped by WaWa for some delicious iced coffee and hit the road. The not so LYS was having a sale and we pretty much needed to go. With my RPM sock in hand, we made the hour trip to lovely, HISTORIC (every sign on the way said "historic") Mt. Holly. Woolbearers was the first yarn shop either of us had ever been in, and after knitting for few years, has moved twice. The new location is bright and overwhelming, it even has a real store front! I had all intentions of buying enough Rowan Wool Cotton to do the Sesame Sweater from Magknits, but by the time we got there it was completely sold out. So, after ten different choices of project and yarns, I decided on some of Woolbearers own Hand Dyed Superwash Kona to finally make the Baby Surprise jacket. I'm sure you've all noticed I have a thing for green, and there's a certain shade of green that's considered "robbie green" in my household. I wanted to make sure the jacket was feminine (it is for a girl) but, I also wanted to make sure that there is no doubt in anyone's mind that it had come from me. The "I'm Falling" colorway was exactly what I needed!

I'm so happy we decided to go, and that MP was cool with driving to come get me and then driving all the way there. Thanks to MidnightPurls and Woolbearers!

Five Alive!!!

yeah, so I'm still alive and doing a jillion things.

Thursday:

The Swimmers

Maria Taylor

On Thursday; Kellyn, Nancy and I went to Philly to see Maria Taylor. We got to the city super early, and goofed around for awhile. We stopped by Urban Outfitters but, everything looked kinda cheesy and mass market. So, we went down the street to American Apparel and I bought some stuff. I also ran into LUSH and picked up some things I needed.

The show was gr8! It was raining pretty hard, and there wasn't a huge turnout. Most of the good shows around here are in a church basement with no climate control, so it was a good thing that only about 40 people showed up. Both opening bands were really good. The Aderbats gave me an EP that I've already listened to a couple of times, it's pretty good (espesh 4 a local band). The Swimmers were a lot of fun and sort of reminded me of the Zombies. They had a sort of *new* Mod sound thing going on. Maria was quite amazing. I didn't know that her siblings were also her band, pretty cute.

Friday:

I decided to try the croq pot method to dye some yarn. It was kind of explained in the new Knitty. I soaked the yarn overnight in vinegar and water. The next day I drained it and added more water and vinegar. I poured in the dye and put the pot on high and just left it sit while we watched The Stewie Griffin Movie. It took about an hour and half, and there was no mess to clean up. You really do give up control when using this method but I'm happy with the results. I'll take a pic once it's re-hanked. I may just put this lil' guy up for sale in my Etsy shop. I already have plenty of sock yarn waiting to be knit up.

When I stopped by Lush, I got a free FRESH! face mask. I picked one called cupcake, pretty much just because of the name. It smelled so great, that even if my skin turned green and started peeling off, I would still use it. But that wasn't the case at all! In addition to the choclate-y goodness, it actually evened out my skin tone a little bit and even made some trouble spots go away! I love cupcake :-)

Saturday:

I had to work during the day. I don't really celebrate St. Patrick's day, so it didn't really matter. It was fun to see a bunch of people dressed up and a couple of people in animal suits doing the electric slide! When I got home, we watched The Science of Sleep. It's probably one of the best movies I've ever seen, right behind Amelie anyway. All of the dream sequences had tons of beautiful handmade things produced by a single, very talented woman. I was flipping through the special features and they were all about cat rescue and adopting pets. It was really cute! Our second kitty, Adrienne is adopted and she's pretty much the sweetest thing ever.

Adrienne

Amelie

The Science of Sleep

*to watch the videos, you can scroll to the bottom of my page and pause the music player*