New heights of needlework?

Hats that keep both your head and your face warm...  I don't know; seems kinda cute...

Tara Duff has these on Etsy http://www.etsy.com/listing/47868043/yellow-and-gray-striped-bearded-beanie?ref=v1_other_1

Stash getting out of hand?

Want/need some of that new yarn (fabric, patterns, rubber stamps, paints, clay) but can’t fit any more in until you use up what’s already there?

Are friends and family beginning to worry that you need an intervention?

Well, hey, pack up the extras and come on over to an end of summer stash party. Donate, trade, buy, sell – as you wish. Leftovers go home with you, or can be dropped in a charity box (to be consulted upon, but might be the PTO Thrift Shop, alternative high school, women’s shelter…?)

1-3pm Saturday, August 29

6751 Scio Church Road, A2 (1.2 miles west of Zeeb, on the left. We’re in the ‘granny’ apartment around back.)

Light refreshments, good company, lovely weather, Crafters’ time! (sorry, but this tiny house isn’t safe for very small children)

Oh, and drive in very carefully, as there are multiple small children, goats, dogs, cats, turkeys and chickens wandering the yard and driveways, LOL.

Okay, If You're Tired of Knitting....

...there are other things to do with yarn, LOL.

Today's edition of the Skull a Day Blog, for instance... And every one of the creations, about one every day, is different! Take the tour and see for yourselves

Sigh. When do these people get any chores done? Surely that much creativity must take up the whole day!

More Extreme Knitting...

What can I say? This may be a 'movement'........ Meanwhile, Etsy has a lot of other neat stuff on her blog/page.

What's on the Needles at the moment...

I knit. A lot. With needles, on machines, looms and frames.

But mostly, of late, on needles -- or round looms when I'm in a hurry. In fact, hats and scarves make up so fast on round looms that it probably takes longer for me to blog about them (take the pix, process them for on screen, put them up, write the text, arrange them artfully, etc., etc.) than to actually finish the project!

And I do like using the looms for very bulky yarns, such as Lion brand chenille Thick & Quick.
Really plays to my need for 'quick fixes,' LOL.

However, (because some members of my family feel that my activity might be getting out of hand) I decided to take some pix of works in progress (WIP) that are currently littering my living room around the glide rocker. I'm not listing the ones in the bedroom, on my crafts table, in my purse, in the car, or in the woven hamper that sits behind the glide rocker.... (That's too many pix!)

First, a very plain, garter stitch scarf, in Lion chenille Thick & Quick.Good for meetings, bus stops, doctor's offices, any waiting time, as I don't have to actually look at what I'm doing very much. It has been finished since I took this pic.

A baby blanket in basket weave stitch, using a thick luscious chenille which I bought in bulk on eBay. It came without tags, but could be Lion brand.

The Besotted Scarf. Not working so well in Jiffy, because the Xs don't show between the Os. Darn. May end up frogging it and doing something else with this yummy, bulky, soft yarn. The pattern was intended for worsted weight wool...

A magic scarf, on needles, in Lion FunFur. Doesn't knit up nearly as fast as the large round Knifty Knitter loom pattern, and I don't know if it will be as magic. It has more stitches...

A laptop bag working in corn stitch -- a variety of afghan crochet using double pointed afghan hook sold as CrochetKnit and KnitCrochet, depending upon brand. The yarns were from a yard sale bag of tagless wool skeins that I think were meant for rug hooking. Sturdy, slightly harsh wool, which may felt up nicely. Or not. Either way, it will make good padding for a new MacBook.... Worked flat, folded and sewn.

A dish rag, with squirrel picture, Sugar'n Cream 100% cotton worsted weight yarn. Dish rags are new to me, but am I hooked! They work up very fast, in less than 2 hours -- if my hands would allow working cotton that long at one sitting. Cotton has no 'give' in it, so makes hands hurt. It is endlessly entertaining watching the pattern emerge. And when knitting a mystery knitalong (KAL), you are searching each row to see if you can figure out what the design is going to be. Much fun!

Two dish cloths at once, with the instructions for each cloth on the same row. Don't try to figure it out in your head! Just do it, and then it makes sense, LOL. So far, one of them has two flowers and the legs of what might be letters. The other has one flower and the letters E N D. The way the KAL works is that about 10 rows of knitting instructions are posted each day, so you can knit along...

The beginnings of yet another DoRag. These little roll-brim hats in mohair/acrylic fingering yarns go fast, are knit flat on large needles, sewn up, and have a cute little tail on top that you tie in a knot. I've made a bunch, using up odd bits of skeins left over from my sister's stash. (That means the yarn is more than 20 years old!)

The pattern is from a book of easy knit projects for teens, which, naturally I can't remember at the moment. Looks too lacy and insubstantial to be warm, but boy, are they hot! 87 yo MIL uses hers to keep her head warm at night.

Oh my, I'm sleepy! It is past my bedtime, but Blogger is a bit slow tonight. Probably everyone in the world is online, seeing as it is Thanksgiving's Eve eve. No school tomorrow and most people are leaving town. Whole 'Net is slow...

More on carrying the craft a bit too far....

Here is the story behind it, and complete instructions -- for anyone who might just NEED to be making knitted pimento olives......we won't mention any names.












Or, perhaps your cell phone or iPod
needs a cozy sweater....







So, seriously, when do these peeps have the TIME to come up with this stuff?? It's all I can do to find time here and there in the day to knit a few rows on a scarf or a hat or dish cloth...

Of course, it could be my problem is that I gave up TV back in April, so I have no boob tube time for knitting... That's 6 hours a day for the average American (not that I ever managed to get that many, but maybe 2 hours a couple days a week.)

And all the kids are out of the house, so no knitting at PTA, little league, school assemblies, doctor's appointment waiting rooms...

Sheesh! I'm deprived of prime knitting time!

Stashbusting -- Progress!

So, okay, I have too much yarn -- meaning I can't buy any more yummy stuff until I make use of what I already have, some of which I have been carrying around with me for many years!

And this winter I have made some progress. Here are a few things I have knitted and crocheted (minus the several scarves and baby blankets that went for Christmas/Ayyam-i-Ha presents to family):
















Baby and toddler blankets,















More blankets, and a washrag (that's what a clever knitter calls a swatch knit to test a new pattern...)














Some baby and doll hats (the latter being what happens when gauge doesn't come out big enough for babies. Who knew babies had such BIG heads?)




















A couple crocheted bags...
















A super soft and warm capelet in Christmas colors...

And last but not least (especially as I have about 7 other projects currently on the needles)...











A silver gator (yummy!) two scarves, and a shawl to go over that little black dress...or, pink strapless prom dress?