Schnazzy black and green on Halloween!

 I think this is scarf #22.

And I'm think it's already sold.

I tend to do a lot of one thing... 

if I love it a lot!!

I love to weave!!!!

And I love this color combination!  So schnazzy!

Oh, and happy Halloween!
Here's some of our fun pie-making pictures!!

The stem popped off and the cats had such a fun time with it!

Have a fun day today!

PS.  If you copied down yesterday's pattern, please recopy it!  I fixed an error yesterday afternoon.  I had too many repeats in the top treadling section.  I put in 4 repeats instead of just 3.  Sorry about that!

Chevrons to Diamonds... we weave them all.

Chevrons are a very popular design.  I wanted to try one in 4/4 twill, but after mapping it out, some parts had floats that were just too long.  I tried doing a 4/4 twill with my yarn just to see what it would look like, and although the design was cool, I think those floats would be problematic right away.  So I decided to change the tie-up to be a 2/2 twill, and it took care of the problem right away.

I am really liking this design in this yarn!  I was going to do just plain chevron zigzags, but then at the last minute I decided to do some diamonds. 

 I especially like these colors.  Blues and greens are my most favorite combination.  I found this yarn for super super cheap at my local craft store.  And it's SOOOO super soft!!

I like the stripes that are appearing in my weaving.  I bought 4 skeins of this stuff, and I like it so much I might have to go back for more.  Hopefully there is some left!  I can think of some cool things I want to weave for myself!!  AAAAANNNNDDDD, it's also Brian's favorite color combination... I might have to whip him up a lovely man-shawl for the winter.  I can do that right?  Make a man-shawl?! 

hot! hot! hot!

I found this super hot pink on sale for really cheap! 

I saved 71% off the original price!

And it made for a hot scarf!!

The pink was a touch smaller than the black, so I sett the pink to 10 and the black to 8.  It was an experiment really, and I think it turned out well.  You can see the hounds tooth wobble just a little bit, but it creates a small optical illusion, and it made for a slightly firmer scarf.

So speaking of hot! hot! hot!, I was cooking some of my butternut squash in the oven this week and when I turned it on, it started making some odd noises, really loud and odd noises accompanied by many white flashes of light.  I was a little startled, and didn't open the oven door at all, and then suddenly it did it even more, much louder AND super bright, like blinding bright and then all of the sudden smoke was pooling out of the burners on the top!  I kind of freaked out a little bit!  I turned off the circuit breaker before I opened the oven door to take a closer look.  Everything was covered in this weird mental powder dust and part of the heating element is now gone.  What a mess!  I had to go to my mom's house to cook my squash and pumpkin!

I guess I won't be cooking anything for awhile in the oven while I wait for a new part!

Also, what a mess I have to clean now!  Thanks a lot, stupid little heating element!!!

And too bad about the pumpkin pie I was planning to make...

Maybe next week!

Memory Lane

Remember these phenomenal scarves??

These scarves are the things that have sparked these recent worsted weight scarves I've been working on!  When I was done weaving them, there was just a little tiny bit of wool leftover from these scarves and my friend in Ohio knit me some gorgeous mittens out of it!  Check this out:

Aren't these the most gorgeous things you've ever seen??  And they are soft!!  And they fit perfectly!!!  Holy Moly, they are just wonderful!  Now I know why people tell me that they don't want to use things because they don't want to get them dirty.  I kind of feel that way about these beautiful mittens!!  But don't worry, they are so warm that I can't wait to put them on when I go outside!  I love the swirls, I love the colors, I love the mirrored images, and I love the the white wool they are mixed with!  I wear a white LLBean vest almost everyday all day long in the wintertime!  These will just be perfect with it on my cold morning duties this winter!!!  Thank you Cass and thank you also for the extra wool:
 

Your most recent scarf is on its way, but I think a stowaway might have hitched a ride in the box to Ohio!!

Reusable shopping bags

I was able to sit down and make 16 of these reusable shopping bags for the craft fair next month.  My mom gave me a bolt of fabric to use up, and it must have had 8 yards on it because each bag takes 1/2 yard of fabric.

I got the pattern from here, and I only made a few modifications to the original pattern.  The first one was the size of the fabric.  When I cut it from the bolt, it wasn't big enough to have 4" handles AND a 20" body, so I went ahead and kept the 4" handles and so the body was about 18"x18".  Next, instead of sewing x's on all the handles, I saved a TON of time by just turning them up and sewing straight across.  Next, my fabric was connected on the bottom of the bag because there was a fold in the fabric there.  I just left it folded, I didn't cut it nor did I sew it again.


I like these bags because they help keep plastic bags out of the dumps and also it will help save little animals that get hurt by the plastic bags.  I use them a lot at the store, and I also use them for library books, for traveling, to carry my stuff when I'm out and about... they are useful for all kinds of things!  AND... they are the perfect project bags for knitting, crochet, etc!

And speaking of re-usable shopping bags, look what an online Ravelry friend in Massachusetts sent me last week???

Wow, isn't this cool?!  It matches my hound's tooth scarf fetish!!!!  What a cool bag!! 

Lost marbles? Check aisle 13.

We have made a gruesome discovery here in our neck of the woods.  Talk about branching out and changing opinions...

My mom and I ate at McDonald's the other day.  We usually try to avoid these types of places, but wow, I have to say over the years both their image and their food have really improved.  We both ordered off the dollar menu, and for $3 I got a double cheeseburger, a side salad, and an ice cream cone!  Wow, I was impressed by the price, how the meal didn't seem too unhealthy (considering it's fast food and all!), and it was just plain fun and all-American.

Funny that we were eating at McDonald's, because this Micky D's was also in a Wal-Mart, which has also been a forbidden place in our repertoire of places we shop.  However, my opinion is rapidly changing.  I mean, where else can you go to have a reasonable lunch for $3, get bananas, a package of socks, 98 cent fig newton-like bars, and YARN all in the same place?!

Holy moly balogna!  Yes, I said yarn!

I couldn't believe my eyes at their great selection of polyester yarns!  And the price is even better than Hobby Lobby!  Some of their skeins are bigger even!  Also, they carry peaches n' creme cotton, which I have never actually seen a supplier this close to home before.  When I used to be a knitter, I would order it online and have to pay terrible shipping prices.  But here it is without shipping attached!

An observer might think we lost our marbles with our giddiness going on in that yarn aisle!

But I saw this combination and couldn't resist!  I love the light pink and black!!

 

So now I have a finished scarf for the craft show.  I also need some time to weave the other 7 scarves I have on order!  Oye, I had an idea the scarves would be big, but who knew it would be THIS big?

You can't do that on television.

When I was a kid, there was a funny show on cable tv called "You can't do that on television".  It was one of those bizarre shows where kids pushed the limits of what could be done.  I'm sure as an adult I would find it not only obnoxious, but I would probably blame all of society's problems on tv shows like that one.

When I first started weaving, I remember someone telling me what I could and couldn't do in weaving.  This rule was that you can only do lace weaves with cotton or other fine threads, but not wool.  I have just taken it as fact all these years.

But... I always end up pushing through the limits.

No matter what I do, I find out what the barriers are and try to think beyond those.  And it has been very apparent with the polyester yarn!  I decided to give lace weaves a try.  This skein of polyester yarn was free and so were 3 others, so I figured I had nothing to lose!  (I found them in my box at school... someone out there is looking out for me!  They saved me a few bucks anyway!)

So, here I give you hearts in lace weave with free polyester yarn!

  

The yarn is a wonderfully soft deep cranberry red!  And the hearts are so perfect!!  I love them!!  How can anyone claim that they can't be woven with anything other than dainty froo froo yarn??

I do admit that the edges did end up just a little bit "wrinkly" when I took the scarf off the loom, so next time I need to remember not to pack so much weft into this amount of length!  Perhaps this is why people don't weave lace with polyester yarn... but I think it has more to do with the lacy effect being lost than anything else.

Want the pattern?  Look back here.  I even have the skeleton tie-up already planned out!

Zig zag

Here is a zigzag scarf in aqua and navy that I made for the show next month, but it already sold!

 

Very eye catching!

It feels like there is so much energy packed into this polyester scarf that's it's dancing all over the place!


And here is the most updated tree picture:

 As you can see, our trees and vegetation is still very green!  There are a few yellow leaves that are quickly turning to brown hidden near the middle of this tree, but not very many.  Our summer is still going strong!

Regular book? Think again!

We are really working hard for prepare for the craft show.  I thought I would show you some of the really cool things my parents have come up with for the show this fall!!

Take this regular looking cookbook, for example: 

But it's not a cookbook at all, but an organizer for your small sewing stuff!

Yes, way cool!!

Look at all the little cubbies for needles, thimbles....

 ... or even weaving stuff!!!

 

What a cool way to up-cycle some of these old books!

Check out this spoon holder, also made form a vintage book!

My dad has also been busy making a food storage system for your canned foods.  It's adjustable for the different can sizes.  And, it's so easy to assemble that a 9 year-old can even do it!

 

My mom has been busy sewing cute little stuffed toys!

Here's a cute little whale made out of neat aqua-colored felt!

 And look at these cute bears!  I keep thinking how cute they would be out of handwoven fabric!

And these colorful button hearts certainly catch my eye!  They would look really neat on a Christmas tree, or even just hanging somewhere around your house!

If something catches your eye, just email me!

 

We're really excited for this craft show!