Hehehe, the title makes me giggle, but really this post is just to show off the jack o' lanterns Randy and I did for halloween. The first two were so much fun and pumpkins were on super sale, we decided to do 4 more. Oh the seeds I will be making! Enjoy and soon there will be new yarn and a pattern. I'll post more on THAT later!
Randy's on the left, mine on the right. We found some great patterns on www.zombiepumpkins.com
and some other places. Randy's was from a pattern. Mine is based on
headstones from New England we saw last year at the Bury Point Cemetery
in Salem.
Characters from Nightmare Before Christmas. Randy did Jack on there on
the right and I did Oogie Boogie on the left, both from patterns.
A scary demon created by Randy.
An adorable owl by me.
Happy Halloween Everyone!
Psst...I have a secret. My secret is....I'm a geek. Luckily, my husband is equally as geeky as I. As luck would have it, my brother is also a geek. Actually, he's the grand poobah of all things geeky. So for his birthday, I bought him a Volumes 1 & 2 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus and promised to make him Jayne Cobb's Cunning Hat for the short-lived Fox TV show Firefly.
For those not familiar - Check it out!
Anyway - in one episode, Jayne wears a very cunning hat made for him by his mother. The last time I ordered Peace Fleece, I added two colors I don't normally carry just to make this hat. It's a super warm hat and took no time at all. I didn't just follow on pattern, I cobbled together several patterns.
Here's the original and mine, side by side:
I just received my package from my KTS4 Buddy, Mary, and it's awesome! She just returned from her honeymoon in Greece, so not only did I get goodies for Vermont but from abroad as well! From Vermont, she sent two skeins of Green Mountain Spinnery yarn and it's as soft as I thought it would be, along with some chocolates that almost forced me to put my house on the market today and move there. Fantastic yarn AND chocolate? That's one fantastic state in my book. Plus there are maple candies, but I haven't tried them as I am still in a sugar coma from the chocolate.
From Greece, she added some olive oil soap and the most adorable hand carved owl from Santorini. She told me she learned on her trip that owls were an attribute of Athena, the god of wisdom, because their large eyes made them look all knowing and wise. Damn owls are cool. Seriously, if they wouldn't eat the cats - I would have one.
Of course there was tea too! Chai and Earl Grey. Two perfectly wonderful teas! Thanks again Mary! Oh, and I wasn't as diligent in labeling my stuff in her package and for that I am sorry. Let me know if you have any questions about what's in the package!!
The owl is just too cute not to get his own pic
The experiment is complete.
The verdict? O~Wool Classic does felt, but it took 3 washings to get the results you see below and it probably could have gone another time or two in the wash. When I look very closely, I can still see the stitches. I've only felted with non-organic yarns before this and it would usually only take 1 or 2 washings. It makes me wonder if the chemicals in the non-organic wool help the felting process?
Color: Color was not affected. The pictures may look a little different, but I didn't touch up the photos and the lighting changed during the day.
Size: Originally, the piece was 4" wide by 3.5. After felting it's 3.5 by 2.75.
It's a nice fuzzy felt though! I think I might make some toys for the cats now with it! As you can see from some of the pictures below - Rodman was very interested in the swatch process. The evil organic yarn bowl was attacked on several occasions.
Prefelt:
Post Felt:
Cat Attacking Ball of Yarn:
I had an inquiry today about O~Wool Classic . Someone wanted to know if it felts. I haven't made many felted items so I decided to test it out.
Here's what I know about felting:
Use a wool yarn or something that's MOSTLY wool
Put it in a zippered pillowcase if you like having dry floors
Use hot water
Yep, that's about it. I've done a couple felted needle cases and it was really fun but it makes me sad to see my knitting getting SMALLER. I'm too impatient to felt regularly. I would have to be on some kind of anxiety medication and/or antidepressants. I'm the kind of knitter that measures her knitting every row, even when I know I'm inches away from completion.
So, I'm anxiously awaiting my felting results. I started with a 4 inch wide by 3.5 inch long sample (see, I couldn't even hold out to get a square swatch) in Robin's Egg Blue. It's 100% Organic Merino and supposed to be handwashed, so I would THINK it would felt, but we shall see. It's in the washer now. I will soon have my results, but it won't be soon enough.
Here's prefelting, stockinette on size 4 needles (typically O~Wool is knitted on size 2-3, but I tend to knit tight on small needles)
That's right people - it's finally sweater season. And all you warm weather loving fools need to keep quiet for just a bit so the rest of us that like love WORSHIP the autumn and winter temperature can revel in the coolness of it all. The trees are looking good, the air is crisp and the sweaters are being knitted! In my case, a sweater for a tiny person. I'm not going to bother with an adult sized sweater unless I plan on starting it in January and can anticipate the fashions of 2015 because that's when I'd get it finished.
Here's my mini masterpiece. I'm a hat, scarf knitter so this was a big step for me. I used O~Wool Classic Sage and O~Wool Classic Robin's Egg to make it. I wish I was three so I could wear it. Plus if I was three, someone else would wash it and make me food and let me cry in public when things weren't going my way.
I'm excited to announce that I'll be featuring a few skeins of yarn from The Spun Monkey in a week or so. Shannon makes some really beautiful yarn and she's very eco-friendly which is a huge bonus in my book! She had an offer for me that I couldn't refuse - coffee and tea dyed merino. I've been looking for some for a while now, so I can't wait to see it. Of course, I'll have picture on my site, but here's the teaser from Shannon!
Plus it goes along with the Knitter's Tea Swap 4 I participated in. My swap buddy should be receiving her package shortly!
Another note - I'm in the process of transferring my blog over to Wordpress so it's easier to leave comments. I hope to have it done by next week, but I've been flooded with orders and writing!
I recently got an email from Dana Zukofsky from New York. She started knitting about 4 years ago, making scarves for family and friends. And you know how it is, you start knitting and you simply do not want to stop. She kept on making scarves & donating them to the Bronx Jewish Community Council for them to distribute to those in need. In her first year allow, she donated 100 scarves, over 3 years ago.
Obviously, knitting 100 scarves can get expensive so Dana is looking for donation of either yarn or finished scarves for the project.
I'm starting "Knit for Necks" at Granola Yarn. If you have extra stash or hand knit scarves sitting around, please send them to me (along with your name and email address) between now and November 15th. I will box up everything I get and send it off to Dana. In return, I'll email each participant a 10% off coupon their next yarn purchase at Granola Yarn.
I thank everyone for their help with this. It's starting to get cold out there, so let's show the world. Please send me an email at heather@granolayarn.com if you want more details or for the shipping address, visit the Charitable Page (also has information about Granola Yarn's ongoing charitable project).
I recently received a thank you e-mail from someone whom I sold a few skeins Peace Fleece Negotiation Gray. She run Fair Trade Family, making and selling wool toy and longies from ebay, etsy and hydra cart (I did a little stalking research) . Tiffany is a fiber artist with 25 years experience and a mother of 4,homeschools too! Where do you find the time Tiffany!
Anyway, her toys are simply adorable so I wanted to share the links to her sites with you all!
Fair Trade Family - Etsy Shop
Fair Trade Family - Ebay Store
Fair Trade Family - Hydra Cart
Check them out - I love the tiny latte cup!
I am an addict.
Addicted to "How Clean Is Your House?" Kim and Aggie are the funniest, cleanest, most wonderful clean duo EVER. If you get BBCA, check it out - they are fantastic and given me a lot of "Cheap and Cheerful" cleaning tips. There are some crazy dirty people in Britain in the same manner that LA has a lot of hoarders (at least it seems that way if you ever watch Clean House).
Anyway, Kim and Aggie use a lot of "bicarbonated soda" (aka baking soda) and borax instead of scary chemicals. I don't think I can EVER get rid of my bleach for good, but I decided to give a few of their remedies a try and even came up with one of my own!
Natural Drain Cleaner
1 cup salt
1 cup baking soda
1 cup white (cheap and cheerful, my love) vinegar
Pack drain with salt and baking soda, pour vinegar into the drain. After about 15-20 minutes, pour a tea kettle of SUPER HOT water down the drain to flush.
I'm a serious shedder. I'm like a human cocker spaniel - I should spin the stuff for the store. My naturally curly hair has caused the craziest clogs in our shower. Let me tell you, this worked! I was skeptical but also tired of pouring caustic chemicals down the drain.
Next, I was always using store bought antibacterial spray for the kitchen. I was killing bacteria with every wipe, even if I just needed a quick wipe. I felt like I was responsible for raising a new species of chemical resistant superbugs so I made my own cleaner. It's great for quick touch-ups and it softens up stuck on food really well if you leave it on for a few minutes. Here's the recipe - remember, it still not food, don't drink it. And don't let anyone else drink it. It's gross and could make you very very sick. You've been warned. Wait....I'll say it again DO NOT DRINK THE FOLLOWING. There.
Heather's Amazing All-Purpose Cleaner (for appliances, counters, sinks)
1 empty 18-24 OZ spray bottle (I reused a old one, just cleaned it out really well first)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons borax
1-3 drops of essential oil (Optional - see below for suggestions)
Put all ingredients into the bottle and fill with hot water. Shake to dissolve.
That's it! Now I used bergamot & neroli (as a candle maker, I love them together). If your looking for essential oil with antibacterial properties, you can try - bergamot, cinnamon bark, tea tree, clary sage, eucalyptus, peppermint. But really, any fragrance that will please you. I made another bottle using a couple drops of candle scent, rather than essential oil and it cleans just as well it just smells like lemon pound cake. It's fun! The kitchen is clean, but smells like I was baking.
Give this a try and see what you think!
