Enjoy!
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Left Handed Crochet - Double Crochet Video
Here is my video tutorial on the double crochet stitch. I am left handed so it is for left handed people.
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Left Handed Crochet - Single Crochet Video
This video tutorial shows how to do a single crochet stitch. Being left handed I crochet left handed. Enjoy!
Wait! Am I imagining things?????
Wasn't your blog title something else the other day? Wasn't it "Idle Hands"?
Why yes, yes it was. I changed it. I still believe in "Idle Hands", but it was time for a change. When I started this blog years ago I couldn't get the URL to be "Idle Hands" so I used "whitneyshandwork" instead and just named my blog Idle Hands.
My grandmother never had Idle Hands. I never do either. I am always working on some project or another when watching tv or just sitting by the fire. I feel productive while relaxing. I find working with my hands IS relaxing.
Time for a change.....
With the beginning of my Facebook page highlighting the classes I teach as well as posting about the posts I make here, it was getting confusing with all the different names. My Facebook page is called "Whitney's Crafting Classes". I just began making videos and posting them on You Tube. The channel there links back to here but the channel is my name, so it just makes sense to use my name as the title of the blog too. At least there is some consistency, right? Makes sense to me.
So the new title of the blog is "Whitney's Handwork".
Why yes, yes it was. I changed it. I still believe in "Idle Hands", but it was time for a change. When I started this blog years ago I couldn't get the URL to be "Idle Hands" so I used "whitneyshandwork" instead and just named my blog Idle Hands.
My grandmother never had Idle Hands. I never do either. I am always working on some project or another when watching tv or just sitting by the fire. I feel productive while relaxing. I find working with my hands IS relaxing.
Time for a change.....
With the beginning of my Facebook page highlighting the classes I teach as well as posting about the posts I make here, it was getting confusing with all the different names. My Facebook page is called "Whitney's Crafting Classes". I just began making videos and posting them on You Tube. The channel there links back to here but the channel is my name, so it just makes sense to use my name as the title of the blog too. At least there is some consistency, right? Makes sense to me.
So the new title of the blog is "Whitney's Handwork".
Friday, February 13, 2015
A Few Valentine's Day Cards
I sat down this afternoon and created a few quick and easy cards with my papers and stamps.
This first card was super simple, using the DCWV Love and Wedding Scrapbook kit in a Stack. I used some Recollections Glitter tape. This tape is NOT sticky at all. It doesn't stick or stay where you put it. I had to put some Tombow on the back of it to make it stick to the paper. That was a bit disappointing. The LOVE stickers on the front was from the same Scrapbook Kit in a Stack. It comes with letters, some stickers (which in my opinion are cheesy) and some vellum sayings. I wanted to use the vellum sayings but when I used my Tombow on the back of it you could see it. I need to get some adhesive that won't show through vellum.
The second card was also from the DCWV Love and Wedding kit. I used a "Happy Valentine's Day" stamp that I found in the $1 section at Michaels a few years back. It fit perfect in the little space on the bottom left. I inked the edges with Cat's Eye Chalk.
The second card was also from the DCWV Love and Wedding kit. I used a "Happy Valentine's Day" stamp that I found in the $1 section at Michaels a few years back. It fit perfect in the little space on the bottom left. I inked the edges with Cat's Eye Chalk.
The third card was a K and Company paper. Both papers were from K and Company. I picked these up at Tuesday Morning last year just after Valentine's Day. The Glitter tape again is Recollections brand and again not sticky. I put some Stickles on the back paper to make it a bit glittery. I pop dotted the square in the bottom right corner. Inside I used a stamp that says "Love you".
Chain Stitch - Video
This is a video tutorial on how to do the chain stitch or the foundation stitch. Yes, this is me in this video, and yes it is for left handers. I am left handed.
Enjoy!
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Reading a Yarn Label - Video
Reading a Yarn Label.
Lots of great stuff on a label. I show you in this video some great things you will find.
Enjoy!
"No Spend" month - almost halfway through......
I can't tell you how many times I think to myself, "oh, I need to get some __________". Then I remember, "oh yeah, I can't this month. How many more days of this???" Ha!
The month started off rough. The first couple days were hard. I wanted to start new projects but didn't have what I needed. So I had to remind myself that it would have to wait. Now thinking back on it, I can't remember what it was I wanted, which goes to show me that I probably didn't need it anyway.
I worked on my walker bags that I sell at a local pharmacy. I used what I had to finish up 10 bags. I took them up last Thursday and sold them. They handed me $125 in cash. Now the rules were that I couldn't spend any money in our household budget for any crafty stuff. BUT if I sold crafty stuff then I could use that money to buy more.
Immediately I knew I had a workshop coming up which would take at least $30 out of my paycheck. That left me with $95. I spent $20 on a new sturdy desk for my craft room. While this is technically not a crafty item, it was purchased for my craft room so I will count it. Now I am left with $75. Then I spent an additional $21.75 on scrapbook paper. Now I am left with $53.25. Then I went to a consignment sale and found a bold of awesome fabric to make walker bags with for $7.90. I bought that. It was 5 yards of upholstery fabric. I couldn't pass that up. Now I am left with $45.35. I put that in my pocket for later. I made a donation to the local library of $5 but I am not counting that. Included in the donation was a bag of books that I could choose from an array of books. I chose some great novels for myself and my family but also included some crafty books and magazines that were there too. I am not counting this because I didn't buy the books. It was a donation and the books were a "gift" because of the donation.
I still need some thread and some lining. I will wait on that for a bit because I don't need it right now.
What I have learned.....
The month started off rough. The first couple days were hard. I wanted to start new projects but didn't have what I needed. So I had to remind myself that it would have to wait. Now thinking back on it, I can't remember what it was I wanted, which goes to show me that I probably didn't need it anyway.
I worked on my walker bags that I sell at a local pharmacy. I used what I had to finish up 10 bags. I took them up last Thursday and sold them. They handed me $125 in cash. Now the rules were that I couldn't spend any money in our household budget for any crafty stuff. BUT if I sold crafty stuff then I could use that money to buy more.
Immediately I knew I had a workshop coming up which would take at least $30 out of my paycheck. That left me with $95. I spent $20 on a new sturdy desk for my craft room. While this is technically not a crafty item, it was purchased for my craft room so I will count it. Now I am left with $75. Then I spent an additional $21.75 on scrapbook paper. Now I am left with $53.25. Then I went to a consignment sale and found a bold of awesome fabric to make walker bags with for $7.90. I bought that. It was 5 yards of upholstery fabric. I couldn't pass that up. Now I am left with $45.35. I put that in my pocket for later. I made a donation to the local library of $5 but I am not counting that. Included in the donation was a bag of books that I could choose from an array of books. I chose some great novels for myself and my family but also included some crafty books and magazines that were there too. I am not counting this because I didn't buy the books. It was a donation and the books were a "gift" because of the donation.
I still need some thread and some lining. I will wait on that for a bit because I don't need it right now.
What I have learned.....
- I am an impulse shopper. (when I see a great sale or a great deal I buy it)
- I am an impulse creator. I have a terrible habit of seeing a new project on line and want to try it out. I start the project to see what the pattern looks like, feels like, etc. Then I put it down partly done and go on to the next one.
- I thrive on creativity and I really do need a budget. I lucked out this month because I could sell some of my items to get a budget for the month. But the reality of it is that I don't sell my walker bags each month. I sell them once every couple months. So I can't rely on an $125 monthly budget. I need to figure something else out.
Plans for the rest of the month:
- I want to create some things for Easter.
- I want to finish up the knitted blanket that I started.
- I want to reorganize my yarn stash. Currently it is in piles and in plastic bins all over my room.
I will post again in a week or so and let you know how I continue to fair.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Box Stitch Blanket - Gambling With a Side of Fixes
I stumbled across this pattern the other day and wanted to give it a try. This pattern has a picture with it and the blanket looked so cozy and cuddly. I was a bit chilly that day and thought it would be nice to have a cozy, cuddly blanket to snuggle up with. So I decided to give the pattern a try.
The pattern is written for a preemie baby blanket. Well, I am not "preemie" sized so I needed to increase this blanket considerably. I chose to strive for a lap blanket. Something about 45 inches by 60 inches would be good.
The pattern also calls for DK weight yarn doubled. This means that you knit with two strands together. The yarn they actually used was a baby weight or sport weight. I had some medium weight but not enough to double so I decided not to double it. I also chose a size smaller needle because I wasn't doubling. The pattern calls for a size 10 knitting needle. I went with a size 9.
Currently, I have not measured the blanket yet. I have about 22 rows on it. I really should have started on circular needles but I didn't have any the same size. So I went with straight needles. I casted on as many stitches as I could. I have 160 stitches.
I also decided NOT to add the border on the blanket that they called for in this preemie blanket. I decided I wanted to crochet a border around it later.
I had a bunch of Loops and Threads Impeccable yarn laying around in various colors so I chose to use that for my blanket.
That is it so far. Once I get a bit further I will change colors and make stripes of color for the blanket. My thought is that if it is not quite as wide as I would like it then I will add a thicker border on it to make it wider.
The moral of this story? If you see a pattern that you like the looks of but it doesn't quite fit your needs, make it fit! You can use the basic pattern or stitch and make it work for you. Use the gauge and it will help you figure out how many extra stitches you need to make it the length or width you need. Also use the pattern to help you. In this case the pattern repeats every 4 stitches. Knit 2, Purl 2, then you repeat. So you need 4 stitches to complete the pattern. Therefore, I multiplied by 4.
If you choose to add a border to it while you are knitting then add the border stitches to the total multiples of your pattern stitch. For example if you want a border of 5 stitches on each side then add 5+5=10. So your total would be 10 + the number of multiples of 4 you want. Easy???
So for my blanket with 160 stitches I expect the blanket to be a bit over 42 inches wide. The gauge for this pattern is 15 stitches = 4 inches. I divide my 160 by 15 then multiply by 4. Now I know that my needles will make the gauge a bit smaller and if I were a precise knitter I would have knitted up a swatch to create my own gauge to figure out exactly how many stitches I would need for a 45 inch wide blanket. But I am more of a gambling with a side of fixes kind of girl, so I gambled with the number of stitches and used their gauge and will opt for a crochet border to make it a bit wider when I am done.
The pattern is written for a preemie baby blanket. Well, I am not "preemie" sized so I needed to increase this blanket considerably. I chose to strive for a lap blanket. Something about 45 inches by 60 inches would be good.
The pattern also calls for DK weight yarn doubled. This means that you knit with two strands together. The yarn they actually used was a baby weight or sport weight. I had some medium weight but not enough to double so I decided not to double it. I also chose a size smaller needle because I wasn't doubling. The pattern calls for a size 10 knitting needle. I went with a size 9.
Currently, I have not measured the blanket yet. I have about 22 rows on it. I really should have started on circular needles but I didn't have any the same size. So I went with straight needles. I casted on as many stitches as I could. I have 160 stitches.
I also decided NOT to add the border on the blanket that they called for in this preemie blanket. I decided I wanted to crochet a border around it later.
I had a bunch of Loops and Threads Impeccable yarn laying around in various colors so I chose to use that for my blanket.
That is it so far. Once I get a bit further I will change colors and make stripes of color for the blanket. My thought is that if it is not quite as wide as I would like it then I will add a thicker border on it to make it wider.
The moral of this story? If you see a pattern that you like the looks of but it doesn't quite fit your needs, make it fit! You can use the basic pattern or stitch and make it work for you. Use the gauge and it will help you figure out how many extra stitches you need to make it the length or width you need. Also use the pattern to help you. In this case the pattern repeats every 4 stitches. Knit 2, Purl 2, then you repeat. So you need 4 stitches to complete the pattern. Therefore, I multiplied by 4.
If you choose to add a border to it while you are knitting then add the border stitches to the total multiples of your pattern stitch. For example if you want a border of 5 stitches on each side then add 5+5=10. So your total would be 10 + the number of multiples of 4 you want. Easy???
So for my blanket with 160 stitches I expect the blanket to be a bit over 42 inches wide. The gauge for this pattern is 15 stitches = 4 inches. I divide my 160 by 15 then multiply by 4. Now I know that my needles will make the gauge a bit smaller and if I were a precise knitter I would have knitted up a swatch to create my own gauge to figure out exactly how many stitches I would need for a 45 inch wide blanket. But I am more of a gambling with a side of fixes kind of girl, so I gambled with the number of stitches and used their gauge and will opt for a crochet border to make it a bit wider when I am done.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Where Crocheting and Sewing Come Together!
I have been interested in crochet edgings for the past couple months. I wanted also to start making seasonal kitchen towels. I love the change of seasons and it makes me happy to have pretty things that change with the seasons too.
I made the edgings one day with some cotton thread I had on hand. I made up the pattern as I went. I chained a bunch of chains, then single crocheted in all of the chains. Then I double crocheted 3 times in one SC then chained 1 (I think), skipped two SCs and did 3DCs in the next SC, chained 1 and skipped 2 SC and did 3DC in the next SC. I did that all the way to the end. Then I chained 2 and turned. I did 3 DCs in each space on the row below, chaining 1 before moving to the next hole.
I made the towels myself with some homespun cotton fabric. Then I sewed the edging on the bottom of the towel with a zig zag stitch.
They are so pretty. I might not have the courage to use them.
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