That Was a Bit Much Don't You Think?

Not being a winter person to begin with, Wednesday and Thursday weren't on the top of my wish list, how about yours?  If you thought driving was bad on Wednesday, Thursday exceeded itself didn't it.  

And today...what was with those temperatures?  I mentioned to a sister-in-law in England that this morning it was -31 Celsius with the wind chill factor. 

She said..... 

MINUS 31 !!!!!  We got to Minus 16 a couple of years ago and thought that was bad enough....and it was only one night !!  

These English, no stamina have they...oops forgot I was one once...though I still have no stamina for the extreme cold.  

So how's your Christmas list coming along.  I have a little more to make and I'm there, pretty pleased with myself because I've had a hard time this year with ideas.  Often there's one on your list that challenges you, but this time it seemed to be everyone.

Have you been into the store to see 

the new quick crafts we have displayed?  

Last week we made a quick pipe cleaner tree that the little ones can handle easily.  

Or a pom pom snowman, another quick craft for the younger ones.  

They will be great crafts to keep their hands busy next week when school is out, so don't delay in popping in to pick up your supplies for them.

 

We also made a topper for a bottle of wine if you are thinking of gifting some wine for Christmas or taking it with you to a party, this is a great way to present it.  

A simple rectangle of felt, a couple of stitches and you're just about done. Attach two layers of felt for the beard and a pom pom for a nose, topped off with another pom pom on his conical hat and you are done!

I'm always looking for input on the blog to make it better for you, easier to maneuver or more interesting.  Last week we received a comment from Lynn asking if we could put all the tutorials in one place to make them easier to find at a later date.  

WELL! 

I looked at that and thought, oh dear, I'm a crafter not a techie, how do I accomplish that.  That was my response to Lynn too, but I told her I would give it a try.  

After some muddling around and trial and error, I got it figured out.  So now you will see on the right sidebar a subtitle called Pages. Under that subtitle you will see all the tutorials that I've put in the December blogs.  

Hope you're as pleased about it as both Lynn and I were. You can see our comments at the bottom of this blog entry here

Tutorial - Itsy Bitsy Multi Coloured Scarf from leftover Yarn

Scarves continue to be popular whether they are cowls or neck warmers, dressy scarves over sweaters, or scarves designed to keep you warm.

The one I'm going to show you now not only will keep you warm as a neck warmer would, but uses up some of those short ends of leftover yarn you have in your yarn stash.

I began with a part ball of chunky yarn that was multi coloured, but any weight will work for this as well as a solid colour.  If it's thinner, then put two strands together to work the scarf base.  I used 8 mm needles, but again that's not overly important.  (See how easy this is to make.)  Your goal is to knit a piece that is approximately 26-30 inches wide by about 6 inches long. 

I found that casting on 50 stitches (this is the long edge) worked for me and then I simply knitted in garter stitch (every row knitted) until my work was 6 inches long.

Once that was achieved the fun part began.  I pulled out many different small balls of yarn in different textures and weights (thicknesses).   

Cutting the yarn into strands of different lengths I began to loop the strands into the scarf on the short ends, travelling up about 8 inches from each end, which left the piece that goes around the back of the neck without additional yarn. 

None of these measurements are critical, it's a fun scarf and the measurements are only to be used as guidelines.

And here's the finished scarf.  You could choose to sew a button closure at the neck, or just as I did, tie it in a loose knot at the neck.

By using multi colours and textures of yarn, this would be a warm scarf and could be worn with any coat or jacket. 

Hope you try making one for yourself.

Remember a very plain knitted scarf can be dressed up by using different textures as this one was, or by adding an interesting fringe, or even mini pom poms on the edge. Thanks to June for that idea.

Don't know how to make pom poms?  We have pom pom makers at the store.

For other knitting and crochet ideas try looking at this website sent to me by my sister in England.

  That's a good question.
I'm fortunate enough to have not only two sisters, but three sisters-in-law.  Most of them are crafters, sewers, crocheters or knitters and offer me good input for the blog.
Maybe you are as fortunate as me.  Not a sister perhaps, but a sister-in-law that you enjoy sharing your crafting love with.  If  you have  neither, then why not find a friend that shares your love and craft with them. When the new year begins, then register for one of the classes at the store, we'll look forward to seeing you there together.

Until Later....Happy Crafting

Lilian