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Archive for the ‘Crafting’ Category

Kids Crafting

Posted in Crafting, Creativity, tagged , , , on May 14, 2018| 2 Comments »

Not only have I have been knitting and sewing but have just added kids crafting to my list. How did that happen? As many of you know I started working part-time at JoAnn Fabrics about 8 months ago and recently have been added to the teaching roster. I was asked a couple weeks ago if I could sub for the Kids Crafting session on this past Saturday. There were a few delightful young people who stopped by to make Mother’s Day cards for their moms. For me…..a whole new world of Washi tape designs has opened up. I have to laugh at myself because many of my crafty knitting friends have been using Washi tape for designs for a long time….I held off….but watch out now. And I think I have a new project for my 2 1/2 year grand niece. She is a very busy young child…..this will be so fun!

By the way…..Kids Crafting at JoAnn’s in El Cerrito is every second Saturday. You can check it out here.

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The Ice Cream Quilt

Posted in Crafting, Family, Friendship, Gift, Quilting, Treasures, tagged , , , on January 30, 2018| Leave a Comment »

You might recall my post in August about this special memory quilt….a gift from Hildagarde to her cousin. I love the colors and thoughtfulness of this quilt. The picture of the small child is that of Hildagarde…a special way to “signature” the quilt. Look carefully and you will see a juke box  selection, a map, a CocaCola bottle, a menu, and different choices of sundaes and ice cream cones. This indeed is one my favorite quilts that I have seen. So glad that I got to see and share the completed quilt with you.

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Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece and Lamb Pride’s Superwash Spring Sale

Posted in baby sweater, Crafting, Creativity, knitting, Textiles, Treasures, tagged , , , , , , , on May 22, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Enjoy Spring Savings this week…..May 22 – May 29…..40% off Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (must be in stock) and 30% off Brown Sheep’s Lamb Pride’s Superwash …sales price reflected in price @ Skeinlane.com

Many projects have been knitted with these two lovely yarns. I am thinking that I will start another Moderne Blanket.

Lamb’s Pride
For the twins
Kimberly’s Cotton Fleece Blanket
Wash Cloth Pattern to Shawl
Cotton Fleece
Cotton Fleece
Reiko’s Round Shawl
Tower Cap with Lamb’s Pride for cousin Louise
Cotton Fleece
Purl 3tog detail
Baby gifts
The Prayer Shawl – Fanned
Phyllis – Cowl
Carson – “A natural model”!
Susanne and her gift of love – Moderne Blanket for her son and wife!
Nina and her granddaughter!
“Ribboned” Twirly Skirt
Marsha showing another glimpse at her latest afghan
Susanne and her latest Moderne Blanket
Jade’s skirt
The Three Twirly Skirts
The Girls are Dancing!
Maurie and the Rose Heart Afghan
Betsy – the side view
Diane has finished the baby blanket – notice I-cord edge
Another version of the log cabin and Natasha
Marsha’s Baby Gift
Joseph’s Blankie of Many Colors
Peg’s Log Cabin – Joseph’s Blankie of Many Colors

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The “Glazed Carrot” Hat

Posted in Crafting, Creativity, Family, knitting, tagged , , , , , on October 13, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Not too long ago I received news that one of my favorite cousins, Freddie, was just diagnosed with a cancerous tumor on his tongue. This came on the eve of me almost completing my chemo treatment….and it threw me for a loop. I quickly decided that I wanted to knit him a tower cap (Fiber Trends Pattern #AC-20). I asked the color….he chose “fiery orange” to wear when he is on the mountain trails of Colorado and Wyoming….not too far from his Colorado home.

I made a quick trip to Avenue Yarns and with their help found the perfect yarn….Malabrigo Rios in “glazed carrot”. This yarn was a joy to knit….will have to knit another one for me! I added glow-yarn……yarn that glows when light hits it…..perfect for this mountain man.

 

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Autumn Lace Shawl – Mayra

Posted in Crafting, Creativity, Friendship, knitting, tagged , , , , on September 1, 2016| Leave a Comment »

IMG_0191We have had the pleasure of watching the making of this beautiful project by Mayra of the Friday Morning Knitting Group (FMKG). She has provided us with the facts with some notes from me.

  • Knitted shawl:  Autumn Lace by Svetlana Gordon from Ravelry
  • Yarn: for the leaves and edge – Malabrigo lace weight Color 866-arco iris.For the rest, I used the Malabrigo yarn with a peach mohair yarn.  Don’t know the name or brand but it was a very light peach color.  (Carolyn’s note – her choice of color makes a very vibrant pattern elegant.)
  • How long did it take? I only know that each full leaf would take one hour. No idea how long the “main” body of it took me.It took about a year and a half year to complete.   I did a few other projects in between. (Carolyn’s note – She knits, she beads, she crafts…)
  • As you know, thanks to the suggestion of the members of the Friday Morning Knitting Group, I modified the pattern. (Carolyn’s note – Don’t we all do some modification to what we knit??? I know I generally do. The modification was to not add the leaves on both sides. FMKG felt that it was so beautiful with just one side of leaves and that the other side would get lost in the folds of the neck. Mayra ended that side with an I-cord bind off. ) For the I-cord I used the Malabrigo yarn without the mohair.
Thank you Mayra for letting us enjoy and share your stunning work!

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Hats Galore

Posted in Crafting, Creativity, Friendship, knitting, Sewing, tagged , , , on August 25, 2016| 3 Comments »

Knitting needles have been clicking and sewing machine needles have been seaming. The creativity that I’ve been seeing and enjoying is beautiful.

The other day I stopped by Avenue Yarns to visit Janie who leads a Knit Lab on Sundays (noon to 2pm)  so that I could thank her in person for the beautiful quilt that she and her sister Lyda gifted me. It had been “special delivered” to my home by Karen K. It is stunningly beautiful and I will enjoy it for many moons. In fact, it is the perfect size to hang on a chair in the studio….not only will I get to use it but I will enjoy the beauty of it every day.

The Beautiful “Blankies for Grown-Ups” Quilt
A full view!

Janie surprised (again) with another treasure….a hat knit in Koigu. The yarn is like silk to the hand, in this case literally the head. The pattern comes from “Vogue Ultimate Hat Book”. I tried it on with the ties and brooch in back, but in fact it can be worn with ties on the side.

 

Here are some other knit hats which have so generously and loving been knit by Barbara and, Alison and Juel. Let’s throw in the last couple off my needles…..the gray slouch and the red tower cap.

…from Barbara’s needles
,,,from Carolyn’s needles
…from Alison’s needles

 

Friend Juel’s sewing machine has been steaming! She whipped out a few fleece hats!

And there are those hats that been been commercially crafted……a beauty unto their own. Thanks to all who gifted these.

IMG_0358My latest silliness includes this “Batman” cap. I had to let my nephew Daniel, who is a Batman geek and who also just began his first teaching job,  see it right away.Thank heavens for today’s technology…..I was able to send him photo via text. He loved but did suggest “dork” to me. Haha!

My thoughts about hats…..I love them and as long as I really have a need to wear now I love the different looks. Here are some from my closet.

The day I lost half my hair….with my little cousin Grace
On the way to hairdresser
The new coif
Treatment day
I knew I would have ocassion to wear this hat

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Yaza

Posted in Crafting, Creativity, Jewelry, Textiles, tagged on May 10, 2016| Leave a Comment »

I wasn’t looking and yet I discovered a new shop on Solano Ave…Yaza. I popped into this shop while waiting for Bill to do banking across the street. I was intrigued by a blouse that I saw in the window….white, loose and reminiscence of my younger carefree days. Yaza 4

Namgyal and her sister create the ideas…..they have a cottage style industry based in Tibet that turns their ideas into reality.  I love this sentence from their website:

All Yaza garments are inspired by the diaspora roots of our family who lived nomadic lives in the faraway cultures of Tibet, Nepal and India.

I liked the clothing, jewelry and bag offerings. I think it’s more than worth checking out. If you stop and or/shop, be sure to mention that Skein Lane recommended Yaza. I know I will be going back!

.

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The Week Before Christmas

Posted in Christmas, Crafting, Creativity, Family, Holiday, Sewing, tagged , , on January 4, 2016| Leave a Comment »

I believe it was the Saturday before this past Christmas that I woke to dive into Facebook….well right after I got coffee….yep always looking for new ideas as well as connecting with my friends. This idea for potholders got me fired up.  I remembered I had some fat quarters of fabric that I purchased at a quilt show some time ago. I dug into my stash. Here are the results.

I really enjoyed making these. If you like to sew and want a quick gift, I highly recommend that you try this project.

Batman theme for nephew Daniel – who has takaen up cooking.
TKU gift for my wonderful cousin BeV
For niece Honara and Scott – they both like to cook.
For niece Shelby and her hsuband John….he works/supervises at Chipolte

 

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On the Pillow Case Creation Trail again

Posted in Celebrations, Crafting, Friendship, Sewing, tagged , , , on January 2, 2016| Leave a Comment »

I am just getting ready to create some more personalized pillow cases and realized that I had not posted these from earlier in the year. Each was so fun for me to create.

The horse themed pillow cases were a wedding gift for cousin Colleen and her husband. The Tinkerbell theme was for cousin Amy’s high school graduation gift…yes, she is still in love with Tinkerbell. The last pair was a college graduation gift for cousin Jade. Her mom (my 1st cousin) helped select the fabric by sending a photo of Jade’s bedpread/comforter. In this case, I purposely made the trim on each pillow case a different color.

You too can make customized pillow cases with the help of this tutorial.

My friend Mary called the other day saying “you know I have this really good friend who made me a special pillow and can you believe I left it at the motel. Do you think she could make me another one?” Thus, I found myself at the fabric store a couple days ago and guess what I will be sewing? Here are some of my new fabric choices……stay tuned for how these pillow cases turn out! Hope to have them complete next weekend….although the next few days are really busy! Happy New Year all!

IMG_2219

 

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The Purlettes

Posted in Business, Crafting, knitting, tagged , , , , on December 17, 2015| Leave a Comment »

It was just a couple weeks ago that Bill and I were watching the TV show – The Shark Tank. I stepped out of the room for a moment and when I returned Bill said, “You have to see this. It’s about knitters!”

Sarah Oliver of Sarah Oliver Handbags was seeking funding to expand her business whose work force is made up seniors – The Purlettes.  She was successful.…a deal was struck with three sharks partnering to invest in this business.

After the deal was “struck” I almost immediately contacted FMK knitter and friend Bonnie who teaches knitting to seniors and works with those who need knitting assistance. Maybe she and Sarah will meet up.

Do click through the above links…..the stories are heartwarming!! You can also find Sarah Oliver Handbags on Facebook.

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