Category Archives: Knit

Red River Fiber Arts … Making Rose Petal Guest Soaps

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It’s nice to be back with the group again.  Boy, have I missed it!  Last week we decided that we would try making Rose Petal Guest Soaps this week.. So we did!

We all fell in love the little soaps.  This is Sonia dipping the petals in the clear, melted soap.  We used Cucumber/Melon scent and had a choice of red, mint green or pink petals.

In this pic.. on the right side … you can see the shiny rose petals that have been dipped and set out on the waxed paper to dry.

We welcomed Fran last week and she was back this week.  Fran is a volunteer at Texoma Medical Center and a terrific knitter.  Circling from Sonia at the counter is Pat B., Pat L., Fran, Barbara.. and of course.. me.  I’ve decided no one will ever know what I look like..even my children.. since its me that’s the photo hound..lol

I didn’t get a picture of the beautiful shawl that Pat L. is crocheting… but I will next time.. ;o)

Have a great day today and share it with friends.. even if it’s only in memories..

 

Spinning Again, Knitting Still and I’m Gonna Make Me a Jacket!

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I’ve been slowly working on a hat and some wristlets for a couple of weeks… Funny how other mundane things (like mopping and dinner.. ;o/ ) seem to intrude on the more important things in life.. (like knitting, sewing and spinning..;o)

Back in 2010, son Phil and my wonderful DIL Loretta traveled to Earth Guild in Asheville, NC.  They sent some wonderfully soft and fluffy merino wool that I immediately began to spin.  I knitted Phil a warm  hat to wear in the winter (and this one finally fit comfortably.. ;o) But the peach/orange has been spun, skeined, washed and finally wound into several center pull balls and have patiently waited until I could finally decide what to make from them. I took several pics of the hat when I finished it and I like that it can be worn a couple of different ways.  Just finished the wristlets last night.  If you’ve never used a pair of wristlets under your coat… you just don’t know what you are missing.  They keep the cold from worming it’s way up your coat sleeves.  I had never used them until my DDIL made me a pair.  I accepted them gracefully and thought… “I’ll never use these..hmmm”  And then we had an ice storm and had to go out in it.  Believe me, I seldom go out in the winter without them any more.

The Watch Cap is probably my favorite way to wear any cap.  That extra layer of warmth around the ears is like Christmas every day for me.. ;o)

It can also be worn as a small tam.  This would be good for a stylish college or high school day.  Since I personally look like The Creature From the Black Lagoon in almost any hat or cap, this would have to be for someone else to wear..lol

I have the pattern for the wristlets written down and will try to get them up as a free pattern in the next day or two… but don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t happen until after Christmas.. lol  I have wonderful intentions.. you do understand.. ;o)  Please bear in mind that the wristlets were just finished last night and have not been washed and blocked yet..

Finally decided to try my hand back at the spinning wheel.  Since the discovery of the labrum tear in my right hip (and the light bulb understanding of why it hurt to spin..duhhh)  I have been reluctant to spin very much since I have a single treadle wheel and use my right foot to spin.  Finally, following the several times given advice from my buddy Pat, I went to Serenity Day Spa and had Brian do his magic massage on my right shoulder and hip.  Amazing is the only way I can describe it.  Release from pain is a wonderful thing.  The labrum tear of the hip and the bursitis of the shoulder are still there, but the pain is so far diminished that it truly is like magic!  And it’s wonderful to be able to spin again.

Now.. I’m gonna make me a jacket.. today.  Pat and I spent some time yesterday at JoAnn’s and I found this pattern, this plush for the jacket and this print for the edging… I can’t wait to see it finished…

I’m really anxious to get my sewing machines out.  I guess that crafting cycle calling for sewing has hit once again…lol  We’ll see how long this one lasts.. ;o)

Must go now and get something done around here or none of my hobby’s will get done.. ;o)  So… if I’m not back on here before the Holidays…

I hope all of you have the Merriest of Christmases and the Happiest of New Years…. and may the Joy of the Season last all year for you!

One Million Hits.. How Can I Ever Thank You? !

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A SALUTE TO YOU!

Sometime this evening or late tonight, this blog will have its ONE MILLIONth hit.  I have to say that I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all of you who have visited over the nearly 5 years I have been blogging here.  You have made all of the early morning, bleary eyed typing worth every minute.. ;o)

December 16, 2006 was the very first post on Fabric Follies Two.  Make Your Own Miniature Trees … This post was the first one carried over from my original blog Fabric Follies .  That one   was also a delight for me.  At the time of the change, I was very close to the limit for pictures that WordPress allowed, hence the new Fabric Follies Two.

How to say “Thank You!”..??

I have decided to put the names of everyone who comments between now and Tuesday the 29th of November  into a hat, have my husband draw 3 names out and each will receive a Secret Surprise Gift… but just so it’s not too big a secret, I will post a picture or two in a few days.. ;o)

Thanksgiving is almost upon us.  And what a wonderful time to be thankful for the joy you have brought me.  Thank you.

From our house to your house, may your Thanksgiving be filled with warmth and comfort.

 

 

CraftCookie.com… Free library of knit stitch patterns

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I was looking for a knit stitch pattern yesterday and came upon Craft Cookie.com .. Love this site.   This is  a library of knit stitch patterns that is broken down into  basic knit/purl stitches, cables, lace and ribs.  I especially like this pattern for the Lotus Flower Stitch.  Have a look.  I’ll bet your bookmark it just like I did.. ;o)

Cable Needle Ring… Tute (I love mine!)

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This is another of those things that I found online several years ago. I made one and let it set in my knitting box for years.  I cannot tell you where I found because I really don’t remember.  If you have any idea who came up with this wonderful idea I would love to know and give them the credit they deserve.

I’ve used cotton yarns to knit dish cloths and face cloths for my nightly knitting to the point that I have about 30 stacked away in drawers.  I do love the plain garter stitch ones to use as face cloths.  They are so soft on my skin that I seldom use anything else.  However, there are only so many plain garter stitch ones a person really wants to do.. ;o/   I decided that these wonderful small projects would be good to try new things… hence the cables.  After losing my cable needle a of couple times down the side of my chair, I decided to dig out this little ring and see if it works.

I love it.  No more fear of cables.  Just wish I had pulled it out sooner.   The picture above shows how the ring is used.  Very practical and easy.

The picture on the left shows the finished dish cloth.  The beginning of the cloth is at the bottom.  This is the practice for  making the cables front to back.  The upper part of the cloth is practice making the cables front only.  I can’t believe how much this little ring made a difference in how I feel about knitting cables.

Making one is as easy as measuring your finger.  Mine is 2 ½ inches around.  I wanted the ring to  ½” across.  Here’s what I did.

1.  I cut a strip of fabric (I used cotton) about 2 ½” long by 1 ¾” wide.  This time I used fabric ribbon.  The selvages are tight and it’s woven closely.  The grosgrain ribbon would make a good ring, but for the purpose of this tute it didn’t work out very well.. ;o)

2 I folded the cut piece in half lengthwise and pressed it with my iron.

3. I opened it back out flat and then I folded the edges back to the fold line in the middle and pressed each side.

4.  For this ring, I used regular sewing thread to make my cord for the buttonhole.  Crochet thread, yarn or any other cord of the right size would also work for this.  I sewed the two ends of the cord together, placed them to the inside of the folded ring and sewed it very well to the end of the ring fabric.  Then I continued to sew along the end, the side and the other end to completely sew the ring together.  I did this with a needle and thread (please don’t look closely at the stitches..lol) because it seems the electric cord and foot pedal for my sewing machines decided to stay behind.. I guess they just didn’t want to leave!  This is much faster with a sewing machine.. ;o)

5.  Now I placed the ring around the finger that I wanted to use it with to decide the button placement.  I marked where I wanted the button with a pen.

6.  By sliding the needle with the thread still connected through the center of the fabric ring and coming out again at the mark I made for sizing, I continued bye sewing on the button with no cutting of my thread.  This step you may want to do differently.  You can certainly fasten your thread firmly, cut it and then come back to the mark to place your button.  Either way, the button needs to be very securely sewn on.  Voila’…

You now have a Cable Needle Ring…

If you decide to make one of these, please let me know.  It would be nice to see if anyone else finds these as useful as I do.. ;o)

Have a wonderful day.  The sun is shining here in North Texas and temps are in the low 50s.  Still not too bad for this time of year.   Thanksgiving is coming up soon and here’s wishes for everyone to have a lovely day with family and/or friends.. ;o)

Knitted Fingertip Towels…Easy Free Pattern

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After I made the rose petal soap not long ago, I found myself using one of my larger face cloths for a fingertip towel to dry my face…  It felt so much better than a terry towel that I immediately found myself knitting some more.   I’ve tried several different patterns, but I personally like the feel of a plain garter stitch or moss stitch better than any of the fancy stitches.

The Plain Garter Stitch pattern is very easy for a beginner…

I used Peaches and Cream Cotton Yarn  and size 8 needles.

The pattern is worked back and forth so either straight or circular needles can be used… Gauge is not important.

Cast on 40 stitches using any cast on you would like.

Row 1.   Slipping the first stitch of every row, knit across all 40 stitches.

Row 3.   Repeat Row 1 until you have your towel as long as you would like.  Mine are about 14 to 16 inches long.

The Moss Stitch Pattern consists of  the knit and the purl stitch..

For this one I used the samePeaches and Cream Cotton Yarn.

I used size 8 knitting needles as before.

Cast on 41 stitches in any cast on you like to use.

Row 1:  Knit 1, purl 1 across row ending with a knit 1.

Row 2:  Repeat row 1

Continue repeating row 1 until your towel is as long as you like.

It’s been an up and down kind of week around here.  My computer went a bit wicked and had to be replaced.. ;o(   But it’s all done now and things are back to normal..;o)

We are finally getting to use our new fireplace at least for a little while each day and I love that..

Is Spinning, Dyeing and Hand Knitting Cost Effective?

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Back in July some of us got together and had a “dye” day.  It was great fun and during the processing I found a piece of wool roving (mystery wool since I have forgotten which bag it originally came out of.. ;o/  It was about 7 ft. long and rather thick roving.  If I were guessing it’s cost would be at the very most $1.00 since there was at least 20 pieces that long in the approx.  $18.00 bag of roving …  Add  to that the cost of 3 packages of Kool Aid  and you have spent ..at the most…$4.00. Now.. a person could say that you must add in the $350.00 cost of the spinning wheel…but not so.  If you have a spinning wheel that’s great, but the same thing can be done with a toy wheel spindle that would cost less than a dollar.

Now we have a cost of about $6.00.  The knitting needles can be made from two pieces of dowel rod cut to whatever length is the most comfortable for you with a point on one end of each needle made by a pencil sharpener…then the two needles are sanded until very smooth.  I’m not sure we should count the cost of equipment since it can be used for as many projects as you care to make, but just for the sake of this exercise we’ll add it.  That would cost less than another dollar.  We are now at $7.00.

That would make this set of scarf and wristlets cost less than $7.00 since I even had some yarn left over.. not much, but some.  What about my time!??  If I were making them as part of a plan to make money for the household I would count every minute of the time it took to make this set…including the time spent choosing the wool, the dyeing, the spinning, the knitting… But lets face it.. no one is going to get rich doing that.

Now, if a person is trying to save a little money on the expensive things that you buy….that’s a different story.  It takes less than 10 minutes to dye the roving.  About 3 hours was spent spinning the yarn.  The knitting was done in the evenings as we were watching television.  No big hurry.

Now.. the retail price for something like this.  Here’s a similar stitch scarf being sold for $55.00 on etsy.com .. Hand Knit Scarf Silk Mohair and Wool  (Shortly after this was posted, the scarf was sold.  Sorry.. ;o(

I have some Silk/Mohair/Wool roving and the difference in cost would be about $.75 to $1.00. The cost to buy  just the scarf would be $55.00.  Ours cost $8.00 to make both the scarf and the wristlets  (if using the mohair,silk and wool)  That is a savings of $47.00.  Not bad for playing around in your spare time.  ;o)  And this doesn’t even count the price for the wristlets!  The wristlets would sell for anywhere from $25.00 to $50.00 if sold on etsy.com.

Just a plain wool simple garter stitch hand spun and hand knit scarf sells for $15.00 to $20.00..  What nice gifts to give at a real savings!  ;o)

Confessions of a Fiber Enthusiast… Free Patterns too!

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Confessions of a Fiber Enthusiast … that’s my buddy Pat Blankenship.  She’s been a knitter/spinner/all around fiber person for about 25 years.  In all honesty, I think  we both should rename our sites “Confessions of Fiber Obsessives!”  ;o)   Pat has designed her own shawls and has now turned her attention to hats.  This is a new pattern of hers that I am test knitting.  I’m loving it.  I’m using Andes 100% wool yarn.   The colorway is actually a purple/gold but it shows up in the picture more as a brown gold.  Oh well..   It’s turning out beautifully with good stitch definition.

Pat has one of her shawl patterns as a Free Pattern… here.

 

On another note… Our Red River Fiber Arts group is preparing for Arts Fest this September to be held in downtown Sherman, TX.  Everyone is working toward filling a booth with items to be sold or raffled.  This is a test for a tiny sweater that can be used as a decoration … perhaps even on a Christmas tree with the right color scarf.. ;o)  This is some left over sock yarn that I’ve had stashed for a least a couple of years.  There is no real pattern.  I will knit a turtle neck collar on it, then perhaps a red flowing scarf.  It will hang on a tiny clothes hanger that I will try to get my sweet DH to make.. ;o)

It looks like rain here this afternoon and evening.  Sure hoping the weather doesn’t interfere with our meet up this afternoon… ;o(

I have to say that I am loving having all the fiber friends our group has rounded up.  If you don’t have a group for your interest or hobby… start one.  You’ll be amazed how many friends you’ll find that share your interests.. ;o)

Have a lovely day!

Apple Leef Farm… Second Saturday Spin-In Day! (free patterns)

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This time last Saturday I was on my way to Van Alstyne, TX with my friend Pat.  It was my first time to attend a spin-in and the first time to Apple Leef Farm.  What a lovely day!  I had no idea there was such a well stocked spinning shop anywhere in the vicinity.  Leef hosts a spin-in the second Saturday of every month.  There were 4 spinners and Leef already spinning when we got there and the number grew as the time went on.  (That’s my friend Pat over in the  left center of the picture in the salmon shirt.  Thanks again, Pat.  I loved this.)

We had a spinning good time for a couple of hours or so…everyone had something to talk about… and  talk we did..lol  It was so much fun watching everyone with their different wheels and the different ways they had of spinning.  One young lady was a new spinner and walked around asking questions.  Everyone was friendly and encouraging, helping in any way they could. 

Around 1pm or so everyone adjourned outside to the picnic tables…to the never ending joy of the canine buddies.  Leef has one such buddy that looks exactly like the dog my grandfather had that could ride a bicycle and pull the wood sled….and is even named “Sandy”.

I still think food eaten outside tastes better than any other food.   Leef is the lovely lady  in the green t-shirt with the lovely shoulder length white hair.

I was truly excited to see that she has many colors and kinds of dye stuffs.  While I love my kool aid, sometimes I would like to have a more intense color or an in between color that I find it hard to mix with the colors of kool aid.  I bought 3 colors of the Jacquard dyes to see if I can come up with a graduated blend for a scarf or shawl that I plan to do later this year.

See that ball winder there on the edge of the table in the pic to the left … I have it earmarked in my brain for my next purchase..lol  But this time I found some absolutely gorgeous, silky, I want to lay and squirm around in it  60% Merino 20% Cashmere 20% Angora roving that I could not leave alone.  I bought 8 oz. of it.   (Having a fit here trying to get everything spun up that is on my wheels so I can get to it..lol )

She also has a tahkli that I really, really want.  It would be wonderful to be able to sit back in a chair and spin with a supported spindle.  There was something about spinning that tahkli… it was mesmerizing.

Amazingly, I actually got a lot of spinning done while having such a good time.   This is definitely a good time that I will repeat every 2nd Saturday that I can.. ;o)

P.S.  Leef has really nice free patterns  and tips/info on her site.   Have a look… ;o)

Dale Earnhardt, Sr. … free crochet pattern

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Christmas is coming … I can’t imagine where the time goes.  Anyway.. there have been several requests for the Dale Earnhardt, Sr. crocheted afghan.  It took a little searching, but I have found it again.   We should all give Cindy Murray a huge hand for this… I’m sure it was terribly time consuming.    This is a graphed pattern for Tunisian crochet that can be printed off, but I’m sure that it  might  also be used as an intarsia knitting pattern.  Would love feedback on that.

If you would like to learn Tunisian crochet,  Nex Stitch has wonderful video tutorials for it.

This pattern is uploaded in a pdf. format so be aware that you will need Adobe Reader to read it and download it.  If you don’t have it,  here is the free download site.

Perhaps the afghans can be ready for  Christmas..!

Dale Earnhardt, Sr. crochet pattern

I hope you enjoy.