Rag Rose Necklace

I learned to make fabric roses... and then I made a million of them. I couldn't stop. I had a compulsion to glue roses together. I ordered more of that fabulous Moon Ragg Yarn, made from recycled sari fabric. I arranged the roses and attached them to a felt backing and then attached the necklace. I think they look super cool. I'm not sure exactly who will wear them but I hope someone appreciates fun colors as much as I do. 

Valentine's Day Mantel

 Paper Heart Chains are so fun and simple to make!

 Votive wraps from pink construction paper with heart punch. Pink jewels to add flair.

 My kiddo made these pink yarn pompoms. I set a timer and told her to wrap around a serving fork for 8 minutes. ;) We attached them to sticks in our yard. It's very Lorax.

Tissue paper pompoms on candle holders, hearts and doilies on jars with battery operated tea lights, and subway art.

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Burton Bear Cowl

They are finally finished!! The cowls knit up so fast but then you get the fun task of "finishing" them. I hate weaving in ends. I'm ashamed to admit this but I have a pair of striped socks that have at least 10 tails inside them that I pretend don't exist. :x I made a cowl for both myself and my daughter...and with my leftover yarn I made her a wristlet that she loves. I must point out the crochet work along the front of the cowl and the ears. ;) I'm learning a bit. It goes so fast, I can see why people crochet. On this cowl, I used a bind off method that my friend Jeremy taught me. The pattern calls for casting off and then stitching together but I cast off by using a three-needle bind off.

Linking up to: I Heart Naptime . My 1929 Charmer . Craft-o-Maniac . Making the Scene . Making the World Cuter . Sewing Barefoot . Ninth Street Notions . The Dedicated House . Mad In Crafts . DIY Showoff . Brassy Apple . Homemaker On a Dime . Not Just A Housewife . My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia . Sugar Bee Crafts . Mercy Ink Blog . VWB Blog . Home Stories A to Z . The Winthrop Chronicles . Just Us Four . Sugar and Dots . Gingersnap Crafts . Someday Crafts . White Lights on Wednesday . The Well Crafted Home . Fine Craft Guild . The Gunny Sack . House of Hepworths . A Glimpse Inside . Two Yellow Birds . 30 Handmade Days . The Shabby Nest . Naptime Crafters . Whipper Berries .

Boot Cuffs

My sister has EVERYTHING. And by everything, I mean everything. Literally, I don't think she can cram one more thing into her room. Did I mention she lives with my parents and she's 25? Crosses my fingers for her moving out one day. But she did, however, mention well...text me a photo of boot cuffs that she wanted. Unfortunately, they were crocheted. I know, crocheting is supposedly really easy but I just don't want to learn. My wife thinks it would be really cool to be able to say "I knit AND crochet." I just don't really want to. Laziness I guess. SO I knit my sister a pair of boot cuffs and with the extra yarn, I made some for my grandma. We'll see where she wears hers! ha. I tried two different patterns. The first pattern is from here. Very simple but the effect didn't show up as well on this fluffy yarn.
Pattern:
row 1: *k2, p1*
row 2: *k2, p1*
row 3: *RT, p1*

The second pattern is just your basic k2, p2. I think it looks much cleaner with the yarn choice.

Linking up to: I Heart Naptime . My 1929 Charmer . Craft-o-Maniac . Making the Scene . Making the World Cuter . Sewing Barefoot . Ninth Street Notions . The Dedicated House . Mad In Crafts . DIY Showoff . Brassy Apple . Homemaker On a Dime . Not Just A Housewife . My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia . Sugar Bee Crafts . Mercy Ink Blog . VWB Blog . Home Stories A to Z . The Winthrop Chronicles . Just Us Four . Sugar and Dots . Gingersnap Crafts . Someday Crafts . White Lights on Wednesday . The Well Crafted Home . Fine Craft Guild . The Gunny Sack . House of Hepworths . A Glimpse Inside . Two Yellow Birds . 30 Handmade Days . The Shabby Nest . Naptime Crafters . Whipper Berries .

State Pin Art

 There you have it, I'm an Arkansan. To be honest, I absolutely love Arkansas. I was talking with some people this weekend who are transports to the state who can't find anything to love here. I think it is what you make it. I can't seem to find enough time to do all of the things I want to do. I've been hoarding this idea that I saw here months ago. I purchased the supplies but never found time to complete it. It requires a lot of hammering of nails, and once you get those nails hammered, it loosens up all of the nails that you've already hammered...and once you wrap those nails, they get looser...and then you re-hammer those nails again. Endless loop of getting angry/getting your anger out. ha. It was definitely a fun project. I think my little one will be able to make one of these with some help. My wife talks about all of the cool things her dad taught her to do when she was little and I joke that my dad gave me a hammer, a board, and a hand full of nails and told me to keep busy. ;) I can't tell you why I chose these colors, looking at the photo all I can think is "why did I choose those colors?" I guess they just spoke to me. I printed an outline of the state and cut it out and then hammered my nails around the perimeter. I free-handed the heart, which is never a good idea. The tutorial I read said to be sure and use as many nails as possible for the heart, I didn't. It would have looked a lot better if I did. Note to self, listen. I think that's about it. Not bad for a quick gift.

Chunky Wrap

Oh hi there. I recently finished this scarf/wrap/shawl monstrosity and I've gotten so many compliments on it so I thought I would post it here. I have a friend who loves to make shawls and I've always envied his patience. I knew I wanted something warm for the winter that would match everything and this is my perfect piece. :) I searched all over Ravelry but didn't find a pattern that would fit my needs so I improvised this. The yarn is Berroco Sundae yarn in Marmalade. I used 3 skeins on size 15 needles. In retrospect, I should have cast on at a corner and worked my way up but instead I cast on 160 stitches which meant I was stuck with a big 5 feet triangle. Had I started small and worked my way up in stitches, I could have had more flexibility with the size. The pattern is a simple lace pattern: knit 1 row and then knit 1, yarn over, knit two together on the next row... repeat. To make the fringe, I cut pieces 10" long and folded in half and then looped them through the edges (ever 3rd stitch).

Fall Yarn Letters

 

 I'm almost too embarrassed to post these on here because they were so simple (and free!). Everyone has those wooden letters from craft stores and you could spend a small fortune buying up the alphabet. It dawned on me one day that I can make my own. I have yarn out the wahzoo (Did I spell that right? Is it even a word?) I cut letters out of amazon boxes at 12" tall and covered one side with glue. Then I wrapped yarn back and forth until the entire letter was covered. To keep the yarn in place while drying, I attached a paper clip. And that's it! Next time I'll aim for cutting straighter lines. ;) I consider these to be very abstract or freeform.

Anthropologie-Style Silk Necklace

 I loved this Anthropologie necklace but not $148 love. I stumbled into my local yarn store and found the perfect yarn to make one with. The yarn is 100% silk from Nepal and the label said the proceeds provide safe shelter, healthcare, and education for people in Indonesia, so I'd call this purchase a big win! 50 yards allowed me to make 8 necklaces in less than 45 minutes. I laugh at how simple the idea is and how awesome they look. I hope no one sees this before the holidays, if so disregard. ;) Oh, I almost forgot, I put a large silver bead at the back for a little flair. I chose to have these go over the head instead of worrying with a clasp.

I took my silk yarn and tied a knot in it every 8-10 inches. I then wrapped it around my neck as many times as I would like depending on how many colors I wanted to show. To finish them off, I tied the ends together while tying the other pieces together.