FINISHED * WINTER TRAILS* HAT

I finished my WINTER TRAILS hat this morning and couldn't wait to take a few photos.  I still haven't blocked it yet, but wanted to post some finished photos of this gorgeous hat.  It was a pleasure to knit and I love this yarn which is 55% wool and 45% cotton making it very soft.  If you don't mind knitting a bizillion cables, you will love knitting  this hat designed by Alana Dakos.  You can find the pattern HERE.  Because I am a loose knitter, I used US#5 circular on the ribbing and #6 needles on the body of the hat instead of the #7 & #8 called for in the pattern.  I used just a little over 1 skein.  I love this hat!!!!

I'm getting close to the crown of the hat using double pointed needles.  There is still a cable to knit on the next to last row!!!  I just wanted to show the craziness of all of the needles.......

FOURTH HAT OF THE YEAR

A few days ago I cast on a new hat.  It is called the WINTER TRAILS hat and was designed by Alana Dakos.  You can find the pattern HERE.  I am using Spud & Cloe Sweater yarn which is a combination of wool and cotton.  I'm not sure why I keep making hats when we are having the warmest winter EVER......but I will be ready for the snow next year.  It is turning out to be a lovely pattern and the cables DO look like winter skiing trails.  I will definitely use this yarn again and also make this pattern again.

LAUREL HAT UPDATE

The Laurel Hat is finished!  It still needs to be blocked but I am happy with the way it turned out.

THIRD HAT OF THE YEAR

This hat is Jared Flood's LAUREL hat.  I took a class about a year ago, never finished it!  So, I decided to pick it up and try again.  Here it is so far.  I have learned alot about bobbles and cables and rounds and markers.    Here is the pattern if you would like to try it.  It is really a lovely pattern and I can't wait to finish it!

DRAGONFLIES HAT FINISHED!

I LOVE this pattern!  You have to really pay attention while you are knitting but it turns out perfectly!  The yarn I used is Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino which shows off the stitch definition.  It is a lightweight hat which will be nice for the cool Springtime.  The pattern is Dragonflies Hat and can be found here.

JUST OFF THE NEEDLES

Just finished making another Marian Cowl.  It's a fun knit on size 17 circular needles.  I love the Seafoam color of this one.  It reminds me of going to the beach. I used only one skein of Bernat Roving (from JoAnn's) in color "Low Tide".  And, it is just as soft as it looks!

FELT HEART WREATH TUTORIAL

I cut a heart shape out of foamcore board.  Total height = 8".  Remember HOT GLUE IS YOUR FRIEND!  I have made pillows with these little felt petals but I stitched them together.  This time I decided to cut the prep time and use hot glue.

I squirted a blog of hot glue and then pressed my fingers into the center of the petal and slid it close to the previous petal.

I cut approx. 3" circles of felt.

I folded them in half and then in half again, securing them with a blob of hot glue instead of stitching.  This seemed to work out just fine.

Here I am pressing the petal into place and waiting for the glue to dry a few seconds.

You can make it as full as you want.  I had room to add about 2 petals side by side on this wreath.  Keep hot gluing petals all around the wreath.

And voila!  You have a mini Felt Heart Wreath to enjoy......even on a rainy day!

Gettin' Ready for........

my CRAFTERNOON that I'm hosting this Saturday.  I've invited several people over to do some Valentine crafting.  Thought I'd put a quick little preview up.  The first is a quick little Valentine's Day garland that can be hung from a window (please don't pay any attention to the ugly poles in the background) or it would be cute hung from your mantle.  I used several different papers, printed music and then stamped letters onto the last layer and joined it with ribbon.  

We are also going to make these Sweetgum Ball Glitter Stars.  I made them in silver for Christmas but thought a bunch in red would be pretty for Valentine's Day.  (note to self:  Save these for next Christmas!)

And last but not least, a Felt Petal Heart Wreath.  I haven't quite finished this one yet, but I guess that's the whole idea of a Crafternoon.....to learn, swap ideas and play around.  I needed a base for my Heart Wreath.  Joann's was sold out of the foam wreaths (which cost $4.99 and I didn't really want to spend any $$$).  So I found a piece of foamcore board which I had bought at a damage sale for 47cents .  I cut it into an 8" heart shape and hot glued the felt petals onto the base.  I'll hang it with a sheer ribbon - maybe in my kitchen window!

WOODSTOCK LEGO CLUB

Our first LEGO CLUB at the 

Woodstock Public Library

was a HUGE success!

The theme was

ROCKETS, SPACESHIPS AND ALIENS

Our next meeting is Sunday, February 19 and the theme will be HOUSES, BUILDINGS AND FORTS.

PET BUDDIES NOTECARDS

I am mentoring a high school student this semester for her Capstone Project.  She wants to major in Art and has asked me to help her with some art projects to benefit PET BUDDIES which is a non-profit helping low-income families feed their pets.  They have helped Ashley and her family feed their four pets and Ashley wants to "Pay it Back" now.

Today we are working on designing stamps and printing notecards to benefit PET BUDDIES.

First, draw the design.  Next, burnish the drawing onto the stamping material.

The graphite transfers easily to the rubber stamping material.

Cutting out the design.  Remember to cut away from you!

Here is the finished rubber stamp.

Making a few test runs to see if there needs to be any tweaking of the cutout.

And here are the finished notecards with Ashley's design which she printed herself!

She's looks pretty proud!  She did a great job and I hope she sells a lot to benefit PET BUDDIES located in Woodstock, GA. She will probably sell them for $1.00, so let me know if you would like to buy some and help her make a contribution to PET BUDDIES.