Tip For Tuesday ~ Crafting on the go.

I am in the process of packing for my vacation and I always take along a few things with me to do on the plane.  I usually take a small crochet project and a sketch book with me.  Here are some tips for taking crochet on the plane.

1.  Get yourself some bamboo or plastic hooks.  This goes for knitting as well as crochet.  Crochet hooks tend to look less threatening than knitting needles.  This article has great tips for knitting.  While plastic hooks are cheaper I have to say I would invest the money in the bamboo.  I purchased them a year and a half ago for an Orlando, FL. vacation with my husband and they are now the only hooks I use. 

2.  Small, blunt craft scissors with a blade under 4 inches are allowed on the plane!  TSA's prohibited sharp objects list shows that "Scissors - metal with pointed tips and blades shorter than four inches" are allowed in carry one.  I am always paranoid that they are going to take away my craft scissors even child ones with blunt tips.  Also, the cruise line that we are going on has notorious crazy scissor confiscation stories and a whole message board dedicated to ways to outsmart the scissor police.  So here is an out of the box option - Empty Floss Container! 

3. Don't get to carried away.  Be realistic you will probably only work on it during the flight so work on something with only a couple of colors. 

Tuesday's Technique ~ Tying Up Loose Ends

 Crochet patterns always instruct you to weave in the tail of the knot after you end a color.  I have never liked the results of this method.  The kind of yarns I like to use are often very soft and sort of slick.  It tends to loosen and slip out of where you have woven it in.  


I sew down each knot in order to eliminate the worry that the crochet product will unravel or come loose.  This is how I do it:

1.)  I take needle and thread that closely match the yarn and sew through the yarn knot 3-4 times in different directions.

 2) Then I tightly loop the thread around the "tail" of the yarn 3-4 times to make a tight hold on the tail.

3)  I then guide the needle down the middle of the thread holding down the tail and make a knot and then cut the tail off close to that knot.  

This leaves me with a nice finished end that I don't have to worry will come loose.

Homemade Gift Exchange

I recently participated in a homemade gift exchange with my friends.  We agreed to make or buy gifts for each other for a $10 limit.  I decided to make scarves for everyone doing different color / pattern combinations for each girl.

I took a basic pattern and then changed it up for each one to make a different pattern of stripes.

My friend Mrs. Oomph was a part of the gift exchange and made these awesome book page wreaths for us.  I actually had these on my list of projects to try, but a whole lot of deadline projects were way ahead of trying to make them.  I immediately picked the tiny one featuring an adorable owl ornament and it looks perfect in my room.

Despite the questionable literature featured on the leaves it is an awesome, unique, and handmade treasure that I love!

Tip for Tuesday ~ Online Sources

I get all kinds of ideas online.  I also do a whole lot of my supply shopping online.  Here are some of my favorite online sources and what I use them for. 

Knitting-warehouse.com
This is my go to resource for buying crochet supplies online.  My favorite products on this site are the travel OK bamboo crochet hooks, Caron's simply soft and simply soft eco yarns, and Bernat's satin yarn.  My all-time favorite purchase was the Eagle good to go knitting tote which unfortunately the website doesn't carry anymore.  I would highly recommend getting one if you can find it somewhere!

wilton.com is my go to for all things cake decorating.  From ideas, techniques, to purchase of specialty cake pans I check this site to see if I can find it here.

goodybeads.com
I get many of my beads here.  My favorites from this site are the lamp work beads, the metal spacers, and metal round beads.

crochetpatterncentral.com has a huge library of free patterns for crochet.  I tend to scan this website for ideas when starting something I have never made before.  I usually get an idea of how it is put together and then change it up with colors and pattern to get exactly what I had in mind.  For the most part I have had success with the patterns and have had very little failures.  Tip: (pretty much all yarn brand websites also have a free pattern section for both crochet and knit.)

ehow.com is a vastly useful site.  I have used it to get everything from instructions on how to recover lamps and dining room chairs to making my own stencils.  I love browsing through ehow to research projects that are on my list and to find shortcuts and directions on things I haven't done before.

I've Made a Huge Mistake - Scarf Disaster



{Image Credit: http://www.patonsyarns.com/}

 So  it all started with my love of Paton's Divine yarn.  It is the fuzziest, softest feeling, puffiest looking yarn ever.  I fell in love with it.  I promptly made myself my very first crochet project of a scarf and matching hat.  I made scarves and hats for a few of my friends.  Unfortunately the yarn contains 10.5% wool and 10.5% mohair.  I discovered quickly that I had reactions to wearing anything made with any kind of animal hair.  Rabbit hair, mohair, wool, cashmere...all out. 

I always look longingly at the cashmere displays in the department stores.  I run my hands over soft fuzzy knit hats, scarves, and sweaters immediately begin itching and break out in a rash from face to belly.  I had to give up my first scarf and hat.  I now religiously read labels to see what the fabric contents are, and I constantly search for soft fuzzy yarn that is made from acrylic or some other material that will give me the same feel of the Paton's yarn.

Recently I went to my local craft store and saw a new brand of yarn in its expanded yarn section.  There on the shelf with a shaft of the purest light shining upon it was the yarn - Loops & Threads Sante Fe Striped Brushed yarn.  It looked so inviting, the color combinations pretty, and I thought to myself, "It can't be soft because it's probably wool."  I ran my hand over it.  It was soft.  I held my breath as I pulled it off the shelf and looked at the content... a host of angels began softly singing as I read  - 88% acrylic 12% polyester. 



I was so excited.  I broke my budget rules and binged.  I got three skeins of each color, and at $4.99/skein it was not a cheap bill.  I got home and began my scarf.  I used the skein that was hand painted in reds, pinks, and oranges.  Well, I made a huge mistake.  Almost at the end of one skein I looked down and realized - It looks like I skinned Animal from the Muppets and made him into a scarf.


Not every project turns out how you pictured it in your mind, but in crafting you learn from these happy failures and move on.  There is always the good and the bad and the unintentionally ugly.  I am still going to wear the scarf...it does have some kind of retro 70's appeal to it.  If you realize early on that your project is headed for disaster try to abandon ship.  If you realize it half way through try to think of a way to correct course and fix it.  And if you get to the end look down and realize you have created a great big pile of fugly - toss it, donate it, or wear your mistake proudly.

Animal {Image Credit: Muppet Central.com}

Budget v. Binge - Yarn

I have two modes when purchasing yarn for projects: budget or binge.  Usually binging wins out and I end up with way more yarn than what I need.  I end up buying too much because I but it online.  One of my favorite resources for all things yarn is http://www.knitting-warehouse.com/.  When I get on the website to order the color and quantity I need for a new project I end up getting distracted by all the other colors available.  I think to myself, "Well, that's a really pretty color and I can always use that in another project."

Well, now I have ended up with 6 bins overflowing with various yarn - some colors I have never used.  So I still end up binging, but I have made myself practice discipline when it comes to new projects. 

Are there situations where it is actually good to binge?  The answer is yes.  I am constantly re-ordering my neutrals.  White, Cream, Tan, Camel, Light Brown fly out of my bins faster than anything in my hobby room.  I also make baby blankets so colors like the softest shade blues, greens, purples, pinks, and yellow are good to have on hand in larger quantities. Crochet is one of my most participated in hobbies so I do dedicate more of my hobby spending money and organization space to yarn.  I still order my neutrals and baby blanket colors online when I am running low and order large quantities of them.  I have been mid-project and lost steam to finish it because I needed more of a color.  However, I have started practicing budget when it comes to special projects and non-typical colors. 

One thing that really undermines my budget mentality is when I go to the store, they don't have the yarn I need, and I have to go online to order it.  My binge temptation is always online, but yours may be when you go in the store and see all the lovely colors and types of yarn.  Know your weaknesses and try to use avoidance as a method of dealing with it.  If you can be disciplined online then don't drive to the store or stay away from the yarn section when you are there for something else.  If online shopping makes it too easy for you to order en mas then drag yourself out to get supplies for the project that you are starting.  (Project planning helps with sticking to your budget - post on this topic coming next week.)  

When to budget - when your spending money is tight.  To help budget:

1. Plan out your project.
2. Look at your inventory - can you adjust your plan to use something you already have?
3. Shop around - don't just go to Michael's: look for prices online (don't forget to add shipping into the price/skein), think Walmart, and use coupons (http://www.michaels.com/ always has 40% coupons).
4. Only buy what you need.

When to Binge - when all three of the following are making the perfect storm:

1. When you have extra cash on hand.
2. When you have a need for yarn (some of you standard colors are low/gone in your inventory)
3. There is a sale on yarn.

So, keep in mind that planning, budgeting and discipline help eliminate overspending, overflowing mess, and unnecessary inventory.