I’ve been taking a weaving class here at Sterling (No! You didn’t know that, did you?). After our class went on a field trip to the Old Stone House Museum to look at looms and such Schirin, Joe and I went back to set up and weave on an enormous barn loom they have up in the Athenian Hall attic. Long story short, it was fun, Schirin had to dress up (all the way down to bare feet!), Joe and I didn’t (yes….) and even though the loom was set up in a strange way, it worked in the end and we were able to weave some things!

I found a tutorial featured over on Craftzine this morning that shows how to take a ratty paperback book and turn it into a really nice hardcover book. I think I’ll try it on a particularly sad copy of Watership Down that I’ve been reading to pieces since I was seven. All it takes is some stiff cardboard, fabric and a glue stick… too easy!

The more time I spend behind some sort of desk, the more time I have to dream up and research new crafty ventures. So, in appreciation of all the crafters who put up free tutorials and how-to’s on the internet, I’m going to start posting neat projects that I find so that you can marvel at all of the wonderful things we can make along with with me!

The First Tutorial -Knit Apple Cozy-

Once in a while, I’ll pop an apple into my bag and tote it around with me for a few days before I remember that it’s in there. By then the apple has been bruised, punctured and generally mauled. I still eat them, or feed them to Linus however I think it would be just dandy to slip them into a little knit apple jacket (say the words “apple jacket” and try to keep the smile on your face… bet you can’t!). I did a little poking around the grand thing we call the internets and found an etsy shop, Handamade that sells them and a free tutorial on how to make them over at the Vegan Lunchbox. I haven’t had a chance to make one yet but the tutorial looks pretty accurate and I’d love to see how the wee jacket turns out if anyone decides to knit one up!

Photo from Handamade

Apple Cozy

from Vegan Lunchbox

Materials:
100% cotton 4-ply worsted weight yarn, such as Sugar’n Cream or Lion
Brand Kitchen Cotton: one ball main color and a small amount of
contrasting color for the leaf.
One set of 4 double-pointed needles in size 7 (4.5 mm) or size to
obtain gauge.
Size H crochet hook.
One ½-inch (15 mm) button.
Gauge:
20 sts = 4 inches (10 cm) in stockinette
Size:
Designed to fit around a small (medium, large) apple.
Abbreviations:
K1: knit.
P1: purl.
M1: insert the working needle from front to back under the
horizontal strand between the stitch just worked and the next stitch;
place this strand on the holding needle and knit the resulting loop
through the back to make a new stitch.
K1f&b: knit one stitch through the front and back, making 2
stitches.
P2tog: purl two stitches together, making 1 stitch.
K2tog: knit two stitches together, making 1 stitch.
Sl1: slip one stitch knitwise onto the working needle without knitting.
PSSO: pass the slipped stitch over the next stitch.
Directions:
Cast on 9 (12, 12) stitches in main color. Divide evenly onto three needles
(3 (4, 4) stitches on each needle). Join in the round.
Round 1: Knit all stitches.
Round 2: On each needle, K1, M1, knit to last stitch, M1, K1.
Round 3: Knit all stitches.
Repeat these two rounds, increasing every other round and maintaining
stockinette stitch (knit all stitches) until you have 42 (48, 54) stitches total
(14 (16, 18) stitches on each needle).
Knit 2 (3, 4) rounds even.
Now it’s time to stop knitting in the round. Instead, turn the work and begin
knitting back and forth and decreasing:
Row 1 (wrong side): On each needle, P2tog, purl to end.
Row 2 (right side): On each needle, K2tog, knit to end.
Repeat these two rows until you have 15 stitches left (5 on each needle).
Cast off.
Make the Leaf:
Cast on 3 stitches in contrasting color.
Row 1 (right side): K all stitches.
Row 2 (wrong side): P all stitches.
Row 3: K1f&b, K1, K1f&b (5 stitches).
Row 4 – 6: P all stitches on wrong side, K on right side.
Row 7: K2tog, K1, K2tog.
Row 8: P all stitches.
Row 9: Sl1, K2tog, PSSO. Break yarn and BO final stitch.
Finishing:
Thread the tail yarn and use it to cinch up the bottom 12 stitches. Attach
the button near the top of the apple at one side of the opening. Use the
crochet hook to crochet a 10 (12, 12) st. single-chain loop and attach it
opposite the button. Attach the leaf along the top border. Weave in all
ends.
Pear Variation:
To make a Pear Cozy, follow the instructions above to the point where you
have 15 stitches left (5 on each needle). Add 4 (5, 6) extra rows of
stockinette (knit on the right side, purl on the wrong side). Cast off. Finish
as for apple.

Makeitawesome‘s idea to make a pregnant rabbit doll is pure, sweet, wonderful genius! I loved the doll on it’s own and my face broke into a huge grin when I realized that there was a tiny peanut baby rabbit inside that you can pop out. Oh, it’s a great day…

I picked up a book last month that made my eyebrows shoot up and my mind start to whirl with possibilities. The book was Pine Needle Basketry: From Forest Floor to Finished Project. I’ve been vaguely looking into make baskets but materials like willow wands or other grasses require lengths of time where they’re drying and, therefore, a considerable amount of forethought. Something I don’t particularly enjoy doing. Pine needles, on the other hand, blanket forests and are already dry and ready to go. All you have to do is bend over, pick some up, take them home and soak them in hot water for 15 minutes and you’re ready to basket! I’ve been using some 3 inch pine needles, some from the tree in front of Simpson and some from where they were innocently clogging a gutter in Franconia. They’re ok, just a wee bit short for my purposes. What I dream about… even aspire to are Florida Long Leaf Pine needles. They’re ten inches long and perfect for big-ish baskets. In the mean time, I made three wee baskets out of the 3 inch needles…

This one is made from the pine needles in front of Simpson. I used hemp to bind the needles together in this one. It’s a bit too thick, but it did stay where I wanted it to. I bought some waxed linen that I haven’t tried… that’s next.

This was my second basket. I used needles from the Franconia gutter and some synthetic sports thread my aunt is lending me. The needles are a wee bit too thin and the thread is really slippery so these baskets aren’t as sturdy as the firs one and took much longer to make.

You can see how the basket is started…

This is a teeny tiny basket. I’m not sure what I would ever put in any of these but they were great practice for bigger, interesting things. Plus they took long enough so that I can gauge how well I’ll be able to stick with this sort of craftiness if I ever did a larger project.

As I watched this interview with Billykirk on etsy today I could actually smell the leather they were working with and imagine what it would be like to watch them work together in their shop all day. The moments between dialogue where the camera focuses on the fellows working says volumes, a feeling their website couldn’t begin to convey. It’s worth watching for the general beauty of the camera work, the process behind their products and for the wonderful interactions between the two men.

Billykirk from The Scout on Vimeo.

I am living in a community that values mason jars above most other things. You can drink, store food, ferment, preserve, decorate and do any number of wonderful/amazing things in/to/from/with mason jars. So, understandably, I got a little giddy when I saw this wonderful ceramic mason jar over at Pigeon Toe Ceramics this morning. I love the soft pinkish glow and the rather dashing size of the whole thing…

There was a time when, if asked if I would ever go on a cruise, I would vehemently even passionately said “NO WAY!”

That being said, I just found something that would make me pause a moment and then slowly say “Nooo-o-ooo-o…?” not quite so decisively.  That thing? They’re called Craft Cruises. They’re pretty much what the title hints so alluringly at; luxury boats that travel about, stopping at various ports where there are things to do and see that would be interesting to a crafter. Not only do they have the very idea of craft cruises… they even have cruises geared toward specific kinds of crafting (crochet, knitting spinning, needle point). For example the hand spinning subcategory of Craft Cruises is described thusly:

Our enriching handspinning cruises allow you to improve your skills while visiting some of the most interesting ports in the world. Each day you will experience something new.

Unlike most handspinning retreats, with our handspinning cruises you are pampered onboard a beautiful cruise ship.   Our handspinning cruises provide a safe and comfortable atmosphere where you can be yourself without having to worry about anything except having a good time.

Handspinning classes will be offered while the ship is cruising and while we are in port there will be numerous opportunities to meet local fiber artists along the way.  Visiting fiber farms, local handspinners and yarn producers along the way will inspire you and give you a glimpse into other cultures that most tourists rarely enjoy.

Doesn’t exploring the Norwegian Fjords or New Zealand & Australia while knitting and spinning along the way sound fun!? Sure does to me…

So. I threw two batik “parties” (I’m using that term lightly… there were brownies involved) and this is what those crazy kids made (more or less). The fabric is about 4 feet long (shorter in some cases because, as the glue was drying, two strips got stuck together so firmly that they had to be amputated) and roughly two feet wide. We used elmer’s glue, watered down acrylic paint and plain ole white cotton fabric. It doesn’t get any simpler.

Now these beauts are hanging around the common rooms. The process and results were awesome, but I’m not quite sure that these are as impressive as I’d imagined them turning out. Ah well…

Since I bought all those block printing supplies I keep seeing things that would make great prints! What am I going to do!? Oh, that’s right, I’ll make tons and tons of blocks!

I’m rather fond of this teal llama-deer. I just wish I could figure out how to make the prints come out as solid as this one did! They’re awfully spotty for some reason…

And then I decided to experiment with some fabric printing! One thing leads to another these days…

I found this tutorial over at JezzePrints (which is a wonderful little blog) called No-Fuss Printing. Basically you cut the stencil out of transparency paper and then squeegie the fabric paint over the stencil with something small and stiff like a credit card. So easy! So I practiced on a bunny (of course). I love the idea, so I think I’ll have a go at some more once I can think of something neat to draw. Any suggestions? Inspiration?