Wool Eater Pillow

In the beginning of February I started crocheting a Wool Eater blanket using the pattern by Sarah London.  The pattern is being used for a crochet-a-long on Sarah's Blog as well as spawning a flickr pool and a group on Ravelry.  I have been really great about crocheting every week and being consistent on such a large project...  The weekly updates?  Not so much.  My first update was after 7 color rounds.  More than a month later, this update is at 14 color rounds.

Seven color rounds doesn't seem like a lot to have done in a month.  However, I took a little detour and made a Wool Eater pillow to match my blanket and completely obliterate the last remaining scraps of yarn from the first 10 rounds.  I started with the smallest amounts of yarn first and made a square Wool Eater block.  When it looked about the same size as the pillow form I bought, I started on the backing.

For the back I made a square the same size as the front using single crochet.  I tried to make the color distribution as random as possible using the leftovers from the front of the pillow.  When it looked basically the right size, I attached the front and back squares in a way similar to starting a new color with the Wool Eater pattern.  The top and bottom were easy because it is clear where each stitch needs to be.  For the sides I just guessed how far apart the stitches needed to be.  (Clearly I was very scientific with the whole pillow process...)  I am thrilled with how it turned out, and I am planning to make another pillow after the blanket is finished.

Monday Project: Journals

This week my Monday Project was making journals using my stash of decorative papers.  This was actually a Sunday and Monday project.  I made the covers on Sunday, let them dry overnight, and prepared the pages on Monday.  I actually made three books today, but the third book had no pages attached when I took the pictures.  I couldn't let the fabulous evening sunlight go to waste!

Both books are made using decorative papers from Hollanders in Ann Arbor, Michigan for the covers, and Utrecht American Masters 100% Cotton for the pages.  The paper covering the fold of each signature is paper that I made by hand last summer at the Morgan Conservatory in Cleveland.  I also attached ribbons to the front and back covers so the books can be tied closed.  The binding is a basic Coptic stitch sewn with waxed linen thread.

I am gearing up for the summer craft fair season and kicking my book production up a notch.  This year I hope to do several craft shows with strictly books.  I also need to rotate out what I have in stores around the Cleveland area.  Right now you can see my books at the Urban Orchid near the West Side Market in Cleveland.

Pink and Green Journal

This week I stopped by a new paper and book arts store called Small Studio.  I had heard wonderful things about the store, and they were all true!  I ended up picking up some beautiful decorative papers and some waxed linen thread in fun colors.  One of the papers I bought was a bright green sheet with pink branches and birds printed on it.  I arrived home and immediately started planning a book using that paper.  I pulled out some pages of white cotton paper I already had cut (well, torn with a ruler) to the correct size.  It is along the lines of a Stonehenge or Arches paper that I have leftover from a printing class I took.  As I was looking through my papers I also had green tissue paper I saved from a package, and various shades of pink paper I made over the summer during my internship.

Next I decided this journal needed some kind of closure and I just happened to have some green ribbon that would go perfectly with the bird paper.  (Actually, that shade of green is my favorite color... So I "happen" to have about everything in that same color.)  I started thinking about how the ribbon would attach to the book and remembered a sewing technique I learned over the summer where the signatures get sewn over a piece of leather or ribbon.  And the piece de resistance are the pink grommets that attach the ribbons to the cover near the spine.

 Everything came together so well, and the only thing I needed to buy was the decorative cover paper and the pink waxed linen thread.  This will actually be the first book I make and use myself.  Ginny at Small Studio said something that got me thinking.  We had a conversation about journaling and the benefits of capturing all the ideas and thoughts you have on a daily basis.  I realized the only time in my life I ever journaled consistently was 2 years ago during my Europe trip.  Looking back, the process of journaling really helped me gain clarity on certain issues, and my journal is my most treasured souvenir from that trip.  Starting today I am going to use this journal to write down thoughts, events, ideas, drawings, and everything else I used to do in my Europe journal or my high school sketch book.

Knit Baby Hat

One of my dear friends had a baby about a month before Christmas.  I wasn't able to make it to her baby shower, but we were able to visit shortly after New Years.  I knit a little hat for the baby girl, but I didn't want to choose a yarn that screamed BABY or was all pink.  I found a soft rainbow acrylic that made large stripes when knit into such a small hat.  She just turned 3 months old, and the weather is finally cold enough to wear the hat.  My friend sent this picture to my phone this week and it made my day!  ADORABLE!  (And the hat is pretty nice too...)

Monday Project: Making Bracelets

Since the new year, my schedule has shifted so that I work on Saturdays but get to take Monday off.  Every Monday I settle into a nice comfy chair and pick a project to work on.  This week my Monday project was making bracelets.  Last week I ordered some strands of gemstone beads from Fire Mountain Gems.  They were having a $1 Sale and I like getting some variety in the materials I buy.  Today I had the chance to take the beads off the strands and put them away in my bead containers so they can be used.

I used to make a lot of bracelets in my free time to sell at a weekly summer craft show.  I haven't done that show for a couple years, but I would still pull the bracelets out occasionally to show to individuals.  Several months ago my mother started showing my bracelets to the ladies she works with, and slowly my stash of bracelets started disappearing.  So, I needed to start making bracelets again!  At this point my stash has gotten down to only about a dozen bracelets, not including the ones made today.

Today I made four bracelets.  The first one uses white ceramic beads with a blue floral design and vintage blue glass beads.  The second bracelet has long grey rectangular stone beads and small hematite chips.  The third bracelet alternates large pink gemstone chips and large green gemstone chips.  The fourth bracelet has small brown stone chips and round yellow gemstone beads.

Current Project: Wool Eater Blanket

My current project is crocheting a Wool Eater blanket.  The pattern makes a very close and textured fabric.  I discovered the project as part of a crochet-a-long.  I'm getting started on the crochet-a-long a little late, but I am making great progress on the blanket.

I am using this project as a way to use up some of the partial skeins of wool yarn I have hanging around.  I used the red yarn to knit my very first pair of socks.  The variegated pink and brown yarn was leftover from making my sister-in-law a pair of socks.  The brown yarn was remnants from making a hat for my dad...  And so on.  This project also gives me a chance to buy a few new skeins of yarn that I know will get used right away!

For the next colors I am thinking about using tan (the stuff I dyed with Black Walnut in the summer), gray, dark magenta, and red.  Any suggestions on what colors to use after that?

Valentines Goodie Bags

I made these goodie bags for the kids in the after school swing dance group I work with.  The kids are in 5th-7th grade and I wanted to do something special for them at our practice on Valentine's Day.

The bags have pretty pencils, cupcake shaped erasers, heart shaped suckers, candy hearts, and small handmade notebooks.  I made the books out of lined paper and colorful cardstock sewn together with a pamphlet stitch.

I put all the goodies in a paper lunch bag and decorated the bag with red construction paper punched with different sized hearts.  The heart punches became confetti for the inside of the bags.