Friday Finds: Sh*t Knitters Say

Lately there is a lot of crafty snarkiness online that is making me laugh. Last week I shared with you the Ryan Gosling phenomenon, this week it is the "Sh*t People Say" videos. Have you seen them? They kill me. If you go on YouTube and search for "Sh*t (fill in the blank) Say" you will find it. I assure you.

Anyway, I had a good chuckle over this one...enjoy!

Have a great weekend,

Cassandra

Free Yarn (and a story of progress)

All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Check it out! I made two, crocheted washcloths! The square one was simply an exercise in practicing double crochet. I needed to work on rhythm and tension so I did one row of double then one row of single until I got sick of working on it. Then I made a little chain loop because...well... I figured that my stitches were actually nice enough that I didn't have to throw this swatch away so it could actually BE something (like a washcloth).

Washcloth number two... my very first, successful crochet-in-the-round. It's pretty sweet. My stitches look good and there are only a couple of "holes" where I think I may have missed a pick-up. Plus, it lays flat!

Previously, I mentioned that one of the inspirations for me to learn crochet were some free Lion Brand patterns that I'd gotten in their weekly newsletter. Specifically, I really wanted to make this washcloth.

I don't know what it is about this stupid thing that's so appealing to me but, for whatever reason, it was the impetus for my new crafting adventure.

So, attempt number three (attempts 1 and 2 were chronicled in an earlier post) was supposed to be "Alex follows a pattern" and, according to Lion Brand, this is an easy pattern. "Easy" is relative when you don't know anything at all.

My first challenge was with the abbreviations in the pattern. "ch 1", "sl st", and "dc" meant, literally, nothing. So, I broke out my library books and looked up the various definitions and instructions for each abbreviation. Challenge number two was with the language of the pattern. Some of the instructions were easily identified as variations on the language of knitting patterns but some was absolute Greek. "(2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in each ch-1 sp around" might mean something to even the novice crocheter but, to someone who has never, ever read a pattern before, it's complete gibberish - even with the abbreviations defined.

It's in Greek - istg

I sallied forth and attempted to do the pattern with my library books as instruction but I ended up with a morass of crazy that didn't remotely look like the washcloth of my dreams.

Back up and punt. I put the pattern away and decided to try to, at least, make something round. In my mind, if I could get the "round" part mastered, the pattern would be easier. Neither of my library books had a simple round pattern in it so off to the Interwebs I went. Can I just say...thank Babyjesus for YouTube and this woman:

Bthintx1's YouTube channel may become my de facto online home. She keeps it simple and explains EVERYTHING. So, basically, I started the video, paused, did what she did, re-started the video, paused, did what she did... etc. and I ended up with that awesome round washcloth above! Amazing.

Unfortunately, the video doesn't address my inability to read the pattern. For that, I bothered my co-worker, the lovely and talented Lisa, to help me decipher it. She was, in fact, very helpful - for the first few rows. By the time I hit row 4, there was a new instruction I didn't understand. So, I'll be back at her desk this afternoon for more one-on-one guidance. Which brings me to this thought...

When I learned to knit, I took a few classes. I've decided, after this experience, that teaching oneself pattern-based crafting is really an exercise in futility and frustration. It's just better when someone (even an anonymous, online someone) can show you what you need to do.

On a final note, I'd like to talk about the yarn I'm using for these washcloths. Cassandra and I attended the Sheep In The City convention in Milwaukee last winter and found some really gorgeous yarns there. One of the more interesting yarns we saw is made from corn fiber. The company, Corny Goodness, makes yarns of pure corn fiber or a wool/corn blend in some of the most beautiful colors you've ever seen. In the booth, they had a number of items knit with this amazing, hypoallergenic, vegan, yarn - and one of the coolest was a dishcloth. There's something about the weight and texture of the yarn that makes it perfect for this use. Plus, the fiber has some weird qualities, like it's antibacterial and dries extra fast, that make it really appealing for any cloth that's going to be getting wet.

The yarn has a slight sheen that is really appealing and the colorways are incredible. My one complaint is that working with it is a bit of a chore. It's "sticky" - kind of like the way cotton feels sticky after working with wool, but 10 times mores so. And it tends to be a bit splitty, which is only really a problem because I'm still learning how to use the crochet hook properly. The skeins aren't cheap - $14 US per - but they're huge. The DK weight comes in around 100 grams or 240 yards of yarn. That's a LOT of washcloths.

So...I have two skeins of Corny Goodness DK weight in colorway Orville's Ocean Light (see above) and I'd like to give one away to you guys. If you'd like to be entered into a random drawing for this skein of yarn, simply comment below before 3pm CST Friday August 19. (Comments now closed please see here for winner.) All eligible names will be put into a hat and we'll do a random drawing to see who wins. If you enter, please remember that we need a way to contact you so, if you aren't registered with Blogspot you'll need to send us an email so we can let you know if you won.

I love giveaways!

- Alex

Embroidery School: Lesson 3

So, you have your pattern, your fabric, hoop, and floss...now what? You might be wondering what sort of magic you are to use to transfer that picture from the paper you printed out to your fabric. Fear not, there are a few ways to do it... 

Transfer Paper
If any of you are old enough to remember typing in duplicate with a piece of carbon paper...well, this is sort of the same thing. Transfer paper for this purpose is a wax-free product so it erases like pencil and a hot iron won't set any marks accidentally left behind. I am sort of partial to the brand Saral. Their product is awesome. You simply take your fabric and lay it out right side up. Then you put your transfer paper on top of it, "inky" side down. Set your design on top of that and using something like a pen, bamboo skewer, etc., go over the outline of the design. Your design will magically appear on the fabric.



A word of warning though. I advise against lotioning your hands before working on your embroidery project. From my experience, the lotion will start to erase your design if your hand rubs across the fabric when stitching.

Light Source
This was a technique that I stayed away from until recently. I loved the transfer paper so much that I never really needed to try this method. It wasn't until some of my design had rubbed off (see above warning regarding lotion!) and I needed to re-transfer in just one spot that I discovered the easiest way to "spot transfer" was to use this method. Honestly, it kinda rocked. What you do is, tape your design on a light source (window works great) and then tape your fabric (right side facing you) on top of that. The light source behind your fabric should give you a clear view of the design below it. Use a fabric marker that is water soluble and then trace the pattern. This works great and there is less chance of your design rubbing off as you stitch.

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With your design transferred on to your fabric, you're now ready for your hoop. Place the inner ring of your hoop behind your fabric where you would like to start stitching. Place the outside ring on the front of the fabric and put the two rings back together with the fabric caught in the middle. The fabric should be taught, but you don't need to be ridiculous. And as you work, the fabric will loosen in the hoop. Don't worry, just unscrew the hoop and redo the sandwich again.

A design transferred and begun.

See, it's not that hard. Go get yourself some tools and start stitching!! And, don't forget, our Free Downloads page has some fun embroidery designs. More are added all the time so keep checking back. There are many, many sources for stitch help out on the web. My favorite has to be youtube though. If you pop over there and search "embroidery stem stitch" (or something similar) you will get some great video how-to. Oh my gosh...your reasons for not trying this craft are just fading away here!

As always, let us know if you have any questions or comments on this content.

–Cassandra