LOOM DUDE

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL

2012-01-02T21:47:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, after a long hiatus due to router, computer and digital camera issues, I'm back, and I haven't been slacking off in the knitting department while I was off line! I will be catching up the next two posts on what I've been doing all this time, and then I'll discuss what I'm working on now.

First, you may recall that I had been working on a skeleton costume. Well, it turned out that I was unable to get enough yarn to complete the project, so I finished making the shirt:

I had started out using Bernat Glow in the Dark yarn, but wound up finishing with Nightlights Glow in the Dark Yarn, which has a slightly lighter gauge. For whatever reason glow in the dark yarn must have been big last Fall, because I could not get more than a few skeins of it, and small skeins at that. I did the best I could with what I had. You will notice that on one sleeve, the arm bone is one long continuous bone; I wanted to see what it would look like if I just knit one long bone instead of separating them like on the other sleeve. As far as the digital camera is concerned, I no longer had access to the one which had a candlelight setting on it as freely as I had in the past, so I bought a cheap replacement camera that I thought would do the same thing. I should have known better, and I wasn't able to invest in another camera right away. Once I was able to get access to the camera with the candlelight setting again, I took this picture:

And here it is using some enhanced settings in the photo retouch program I use:

My November project was a time consuming one indeed, but one I take great joy in seeing the finished product: a cornucopia!

Yes, it's true, knitted cornucopias have been done before, but I've never seen one using raffia on the loom! I bought a couple of packages of raffia to work with, and found that it wrapped the pegs on the loom quite well. As long as I didn't wrap it too tightly, the raffia was flexible enough to work with without breaking. I simply knotted the strands together and knit with them, making for a more rustic and rough look:

Side and top view:

I used all of the round looms in the Knifty Knitter set, knitting a little on each one at a time and then joining the pieces together. To create the curl at the back of the horn, I turned one of the sections I was working on as if I was knitting a sock. Then I sewed two sections near the top of the cornucopia together. It really wasn't too hard to make, but you will want to use it in a well ventilated area. Raffia has a scent that some people may not like as they work with it. It didn't bother me though.

Then I knit the harvest bounty:

You may recall that I posted about making apples and pumpkins before on the loom, and I used the same techniques to make them. Simple on the round loom for the body, stuffed with batting, and I made the leaves for the apples on the straight loom, and the stems for the pumpkins on the spool loom, and sewed them on. The apple stems are just braided bits of brown yarn.

For the gourd I tried a new technique. I knew I wanted to use the flower loom to make the large end of the gourd, and I knew I wanted to use yellow and green yarn to make it. For the skinny "neck" of the gourd, I knew I wanted to use the large end of the spool loom. But instead of making the two pieces separately and joining them, I used a threaded yarn needle to remove the bottom end of the gourd from the flower loom and simply knit off the extra loops on pegs with the same colors as I placed the loops onto the spool loom. The flower loom and the spool loom don't have the same number of pegs, so it was necessary to decrease in this way for this technique. It made for a more unified look, and I used the same technique for a Christmas project I will discuss in the next post.

The corn I have made before using the round loom. This time I used the spool loom to make two small ones, stuffed them with batting and attached raffia to the top for the husk.

For the grapes, I cast on the 5 peg end of the spool loom and knit off 1 over 1 e wap stitches for 3 rows and then bind off. I made 20 grapes this way. The stem is simply bits of braided brown yarn.

I carefully knotted the tail from one end of the grape to the stems, and voila! The leaf was simple to make using the straight loom.

And there you have it!

Next time: Holiday projects!

Loom Dude's Rhine (beck) Journey

2011-10-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

This week, instead of an update on the skeleton, I bring you my story about the NYS Sheep & Wool Festival. I was fortunate enough to attend this event last weekend, and the weather held up the entire time I was there. But I did pass through a few brief showers before reaching the festival.

I knew it was going to be a great day when I woke up just in time to see this glorious sunrise:

After that I got ready to leave for what would be an all day trip from where I live. I was making a stop in Cornwall to meet a friend and then it was on to the festival from there. I didn't realize it, but my journey would also be taking me down memory lane. It brought to mind all those annual fall foliage trips our family used to take when I was growing up. Every year we would drive on Saturday in October to Upstate NY to admire all the fall colors and stop at whatever interested us as we drove to Hepworth Farms on Route 9W. To my surprise, I would be taking the exact same route past the farm to get to Rhinebeck. I was delighted! As I got closer, I began to remember all the places we stopped, all the landmarks I had memorized, and how much they had changed or stayed the sames in the years since I had last seen them. One place we often stopped was at a scenic overlook on the side of a mountain on 9W:

My route took me right past Hepworth Farms, but alas it was no longer there. It was sad because I remember they had a nice farm stand with all kinds of fresh veggies and fruit, a huge barrel with fresh apple cider in it, fresh hot donuts, and pumpkins. Fortunately I have plenty of great memories and pictures to remind me of the special place that Hepworth Farms was.

Finally it was on to Rhinebeck. It was my first time at the Sheep and Wool Festival, and I was looking forward to it. I was not disappointed. There was so much to see and do and hear, not to mention eat!

The biggest spinning wheel I ever saw. It was taller than me:

I bought some yarn to work on a Christmas project, but I won't show you what I bought just yet. And at the end of the day, the sunset was just as wonderful as the sunrise had been:

Skeleton Shirt Half Done

2011-10-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

Here's my progress so far:

I plan to make one more row of ribs and then the clavicle. On the side anchor pegs I will begin making the holes for the sleeves. I hope to have it completed by the next post. The pants shouldn't take too long to complete. It has been fun making it, but especially seeing the "bones" as they are completed. It's coming out so well, it's scary! : ) Can't wait to see it with the lights out...

There's a Skeleton In My Closet

2011-10-06T18:59:00.000-07:00

Well, ok, it isn't really in my closet... it's on my loom! For Halloween I decided to create a skeleton costume, using the long straight blue loom on all pegs (including the corner pegs) and a giant ball of Loops & Threads Impeccable Big Worsted Black yarn, with Bernat Glow in the Dark yarn for the bones (to make it even more creepy when trick or treating). I'm winging it, based on what I already know about creating shirts on the loom. Here is the pattern I drew up:

Each week I will post a little more of the progress until the costume is done. So far I cast on with the Glow yarn 1 over 2 stockinette stitch and knit off 15 rows. I plan to sew in an elastic band later, so this will stop the stockinette curl. Some of you more accomplished loom knitters could probably add the elastic band while you put the loops of yarn from the cast on row back onto the loom to knit off a "brim" with the elastic band enclosed inside. Right now I want to get the costume finished so it can be ready in time. I'm making pants to go with it. I decided to make this costume large enough to fit over a pair of black pants and long sleeve black shirt for my 6 year old daughter. She wants to be a princess, but I figured she wouldn't mind modeling it once it's done.

The spine is 4 pegs wide, knit for 25 rows, and the bones go from 16 to 20 pegs wide for 7 rows, and I plan to make 3-4 rows of them, depending on how many I can fit on the size shirt I am making. It will probably wind up being just 3 bones, since I need to leave space at the top for the clavicle bone. Here's a close up of the ribs so far:

I got a new digital camera, and so far I am not thrilled with the pictures it takes, but it will have to suffice for now. I'm hoping that the glow effect will be visible with this new camera.

Holiday Knitting Orders

2011-09-20T17:59:00.000-07:00

Did you know that Christmas is less than 100 days away? The holidays are just around the corner, and it’s not too early to start thinking about those special people on your gift list. I am accepting orders right now for loom knit items you can purchase. These items will be knit to order by yours truly, and you can receive them well in advance of the holidays. Why wait until the last minute? Shop now! You’ll be glad you did. Send me an e-mail at artmangreg@aol.com with your choice from the list below, and I will send you a Paypal link so you can prepay for your order. Items will take 2-3 weeks to knit and ship, so ordering early is essential to receive in time for the holidays! Last date you can order from this list is 11/11/11. All yarn used is Lion Brand (or equivalent) acrylic, unless noted. Photos are for suggestion only; actual knitted items may vary slightly in color or design. You may request a photo of an item that doesn't have the photo here:

Adult hat and scarf sets (not sold individually) one solid color or two color: $40.

Child hat and scarf sets (not sold individually) one solid color or two color: $35.

Child hat with pom pom and scarf sets (not sold individually) one solid color or two color: $40.

Newborn baby hat and booties set (pink, white, yellow or blue): $25.

Adult or child watermelon novelty hat and scarf set (in sizes above, not sold individually): $45.

Teddy bear (pink, blue or brown): $25.

Sunflower air freshener: $20.

Glass Christmas ball ornaments with Christmas tree inside – set of 4 (family heirloom quality – each gift can have individual gift tags with your family’s names on them – up to 6 different names): $45.

Glass Christmas ball ornaments with Christmas wreath inside – set of 4: $30.

Knit Christmas ball ornaments – set of 4: $20.

Baby Daffodil Christmas Ornaments – set of 6: $25.

Mini Christmas stocking ornaments (stuff with a peppermint stick and attach to your Christmas gifts, or trim your tree with them!) set of 4: $22.

Glow in the Dark stars – set of 6: $30. (made with special glow in the dark yarn)

Cupcake: $15.

New Steering Wheel Cover

2011-09-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

I needed another steering wheel cover for a green minivan, and since the last one I made came out so well (see here for pics and directions: http://loomdude.blogspot.com/2011/06/fathers-day-gift-idea.html), I decided to make my own:

Here is a detail of the stitching. I used 1 over 1 stockinette, double stranding (1 strand of Sugar 'n Cream Green Twists and 1 strand of Lion Brand Hometown USA Oklahoma City Green), and knit off 110 rows on 10 pegs on the flower loom:

These steering wheel covers are simple to make; the only bit of a challenge comes when you have to sew the cover onto the steering wheel. This can take time, but it is well worth the end result. I suppose if you wanted to use velcro strips instead of sewing the cover on, it would probably work, but you would need to knit on 12 pegs instead of 10. I knew I wanted to use green yarn, but I didn't want something too pastel or deep green. Combining the Sugar 'n Cream with the Hometown USA provided just the look I wanted: variety without being too busy. What do you think?

Oh my Stars!

2011-09-05T19:07:00.001-07:00

I’m a little late posting due to Hurricane Irene blowing through NJ and having the power off for several days. You can read more about my hurricane experience here: (http://artmangreg.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-hurricane-irene-story.html). For now, I’d like to post the latest project: stars!

They are relatively easy to make, and I will have the complete directions in my upcoming book. In the meantime, I used the Bernat Glow in the Dark yarn on the flower loom for the small star and the blue round loom for the large star.

Knitting the stars doesn't take long, but shaping them afterwards will require a little nimble effort with the yarn needle. This time I dunked the completed stars in the fabric stiffener and saturated them before I placed them on a plastic bag, shaped and blocked them. After a couple of days they were both dry. They are perfect to hang in a child’s bedroom as a sweet little electricity-free night light! You might consider involving your child with creating a mobile using a coat hanger and some string, to hang the stars and make them seem as if they are floating in the child’s room. Along with the firefly I posted last month, your child’s room will be full of glowing nighttime novelties in no time!

Naturally, the camera was not steady for such a long exposure to capture the glow effect.

Starting New Baby Gift Set

2011-08-27T18:50:00.001-07:00

Here is the start of my next baby gift set: a blue baby hat and socks -

I will work on the blanket and post that as well, but I'm curious to see what kind of box I can find to put the gift set in. There really aren't a lot of choices that I've found for a baby boy gift box. Anyone know of where I might find something suitable?

I am also going to put a different design on this blanket instead of the one I used for the baby girl blankie. New pictures to follow soon!

Up Up and Away!!

2011-08-21T19:47:00.000-07:00

In my beautiful, my beautiful hot air balloon!

Out here in Hunterdon County, NJ it is not an uncommon sight to see a multicolored hot air balloon drifting by on a summer's day.So I thought, why can't I knit a sculptural balloon to "float" on the wall inside the house?

I will have the directions on how to make this one in my upcoming book, but I basically used the yellow round loom with 5 Red Heart yarns. It was a challenge keeping them all tangle free, but I was able to do it with a little bit of practice. The basket was knit using Hometown USA yarn on the flower loom.

Once I completed the knitting, I covered one of my daughter's toy balls in a plastic bag. Next I stretched the balloon over the ball.

Then, using Sta-Flo liquid starch straight from the bottle, I painted the balloon.

I had never used liquid starch on yarn before and wasn't sure how it was going to turn out. All I knew is that I wanted the yarn to be very stiff so it would look take the shape of the ball once it dried. I coated it until I thought the balloon was drenched in starch, and then let it dry overnight. The next day the outside of the balloon was stiff, but the inside was still flexible. So I coated the inside and outside with starch and set it aside to dry overnight. This stiffened it up very well, but something I hadn't counted on was that the starch would not dry 100% clear. Something else I realized after I was done was that I could have just as well dunked the balloon in the starch and then stretched it over the ball to dry. Maybe I'll try that for the next one. Anyhow, every coat of starch was making the yarn a bit duller, so I decided to stop, even though it was still not strong enough to be hung without it sagging. So I thought, why not weave some jewelry wire around the edge of the inside of the balloon? I bought 3 yards of Jewelry Essentials Stringing 12 gauge blue aluminum jewelry wire,

and carefully poked it through the outer loops of the balloon.

This worked perfectly, and I could now hang the balloon on the wall without a problem! But first, I attached the basket to the balloon by weaving the yarn through the inner loops of the balloon flap at the bottom. If you don't weave the yarn through the inner loops, it will show through on the front part of the ballon and won't look as attractive (to me anyway).

You can add your child (or grandchild) to the basket by cutting out a photo and taping it inside the front of the basket.

Or, perhaps your child might want to put a favorite action figure or doll in the basket!

This one is a miniature doll Christmas ornament that fit just perfectly.

Personalize your balloon with any color combination you want, limited only by your skill, imagination and patience!

Cutest Cupcake!

2011-08-12T18:16:00.001-07:00

Here's a cupcake that I whipped up from scratch in a jiffy, and it didn't even make the kitchen hot!

With a delicious dollop of frosting and a cherry on top, it looks good enough to eat! You can make it too! You will need your flower loom, blue round loom, spool loom, hook, yarn needle, pen, scissors, cardboard, batting, and various yarns. All stockinette 1 over 2 stitches.

To make the cup: Drawstring cast on with a light brown yarn (I used Caron Simply Soft Bone). Knit 8 rows, then cinch bottom shut. Knit 12 more rows then bind off with yarn needle. On cardboard, trace the inside of the flower loom with a pen:

Then cut out the circle on the cardboard, and put the circle inside the cup (to make the bottom of the cup stand. If the cup seems a little wobbly, you may consider taping a heavyweight metal washer to the cardboard circle. Set aside.

To make the cake: Drawstring cast on the blue round loom using a medium brown yarn (I used Loops & Threads ImpeccableTopaz).Knit off 13 rows, then cinch bottom shut. Knit off 12 more rows then bind off with yarn needle. Turn piece inside out. Trace the inside of the blue round loom onto cardboard and cut out.

You may want to cut off more from the edges if the cake overlaps the cup too much (that's what I did). Place the cardboard circle inside the cake

stuff with batting, cinch the top shut and knot. Set aside.

Next, stuff the cup with batting,

center the cake over the top of the cup, and sew the bottom of the cake onto the top of the cup:

For the frosting dollop: Regular cast on the flower loom with white yarn (I used Bernat Baby Coordinates white).Knit 15 rows, bind off, turn inside out. Carefully stretch one end and sew it onto the top of the cupcake. Stuff with batting, then cich the top of the frosting shut and knot.

For the cherry: Regular cast on the 5 peg end of the spool loom, 1 over 1, with red yarn (I used Red Heart Cherry Red - how appropriate!). Knit off 5 rows then bind off. Turn inside out and cinch one end. Instead of batting, cut some red yarn and stuff it inside the cherry. Then bind off. Braid three strands of red yarn to make the cherry stem, and sew the cherry stem to the cherry.
Sew the cherry on top of the cupcake, and voila! You're done! It took me about 2.5 hours to complete. Great for simple party favors, give as a gift, or keep it as your first no-calorie cupcake!

Great Glowing Fireflies, Knitters!

2011-08-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

Here is one of my favorite bugs of the summer: the firefly!

The back:

I had been mulling over this idea for some time, wondering how I would do it. I looked at photos of fireflies, chased a few and caught them to study them. I learned that there are several varieties around the world, some famous for their synchronized display! While they are complex little creatures indeed, I decided to keep it simple and made the following drawing as a guide for what I would knit:

To make the body: Using Red Heart Cherry Red and Black yarn, and the pink straight loom, starting with a drawstring cast on I knit 9 rows of 1 over 1 stockinette stitches on 14 pegs (including loom clip and corner peg). For the black yarn, I knit 24 rows. The white yarn I knit 14 rows (more details on the white yarn later). The white yarn was a thinner gauge than the Red Heart, so I had to double strand it. The body measures 12".

For the wings I used the Red Heart Black yarn and Caron Simply Soft Bone yarn, knitting a flat panel 1 over 1 stockinette stitch on 6 pegs for 33 rows. Then, by switching to all Bone yarn and moving the yarn from the outer pegs to the inner pegs 1 row at a time, I made the tapered end of the wing. Each wing measures 7.5 inches. I knew I didn't want to knit the wings so long that they covered the white yarn completely, so that's why they are a little short.

For the eyes I simply sewed the yarn 3 times over and underneath one stitch on the head., and knotted the black yarn on the inside of the head.

Fireflies are more flat than round, so instead of regular batting I cut 2 pieces of foam batting and stuffed them inside. After that I cinched the firefly's head shut.

The antennae and legs are simply braided bits of black yarn that I sewed on in the appropriate places. And I also sewed the wings on at the top under the head, and all the way down his back until I reached the white yarn, where I wanted the wings to flap freely a little bit. And voila! It's done! Here's a closeup of the bottom part of the firefly:

Oh, I almost "forgot"... it wouldn't be a firefly if it didn't GLOW!!!

The "white" yarn is actually Bernat Glow in the Dark Glow White yarn! You place it under a light for 5 minutes, and it will glow for 5 minutes in the dark! Imagine having a few fireflies hanging in your child's room! Perhaps it would be just enough of a distraction to keep him/her in bed after you turn the lights off at bedtime!

If Not Kansas, Then It Must Be OZ!!!

2011-07-28T18:45:00.000-07:00

She's my latest Coffee Can Doll! Here are Dorothy and Toto, about to enter the Emerald City with their friends!!

No, I didn't knit or create the Cowardly Lion, Tin Woodsman, or Scarecrow in the background. But I did knit Dorothy's dress:

Since the details on how to create her will be in my upcoming book about all my coffee can dolls, I will only give a few details here. I call them coffee can dolls because under each doll's dress is a coffee can. I used the Knifty Knitter round looms to create the dress, painstakingly alternating the Red Heart Super Saver Spa Blue and White yarns to create the gingham-inspired pattern. I decided not to include the ruby slippers for her feet, partly because she doesn't have any feet! But also because I didn't think they would look right poking out from under the front of the dress. And in the original story the slippers aren't red; they're silver. I wanted her to be a combination of the "Dorothys" we have come to know and love on the silver screen, not just focusing on a particular one or accurately following her description in Frank Baum's book.

I used some brown yarn from my stash on the spool loom to create Toto's basket, seen here from various angles:

It took me awhile to find a dog that would be recognizable as Toto. I went to crafts stores, searched online, even considered sculpting my own Toto out of clay and painting him. I would find dogs that looked like him, but they were the wrong size. Finally, we were perusing a local Christmas ornament store that had just opened, and I found him nestled inside a Christmas stocking. He was just the right size, the right look, and everything! So I bought him, removed him from the stocking and twisted off the hook from his head. With a marker I carefully painted over the hole to match the color of his fur.

For my Emerald City, I paid homage to the movie and added a little of my own ideas about the city:

And yes, me being the detail-oriented person that I am, I individually drew and shaded every brick on the yellow brick road, even though I knew much of my hard work wouldn't be visible in the photos I took. I made them all different sizes, and drew them in perspective so that the further away they were, the smaller they were. Here's a close-up look:

It was a happy accident when I took the outdoor photos that the sun was shining in the direction that I had shaded the bricks.

So long, Dorothy! May you ever be enchanted by the spirit of whimsy as you follow the yellow brick road to your dreams!

Baby Blankie Gift Set!

2011-07-21T17:27:00.000-07:00

Here is the complete baby blankie gift set, at last!

But first, to complete the baby blankie, I blocked it, taking care not to stretch it too much so it would keep it's shape:

After blocking, the blankie measured 24"x30". Next I pinned the blankie to a large piece of pink flannel and carefully cut out the flannel around it. With Coats and Clark pink thread, I painstakingly hand sewed the blankie to the flannel around the outer edges. I made sure to sew every loose bit of yarn onto the flannel around the edges so it wouldn't snag.

Then I pinned a pattern on the flannel side of the blankie and carefully sewed the flannel to the blankie according to the pattern I made. First I pinned about 2" in from the edges to create a box, and sewed that. Next, to make the center x pattern, I lay strips of paper down diagonally until a straight line is formed, and then stuck the strips of paper to the flannel using post-its (regular tape would fray the flannel too much when you pull it off). Then I pinned along the edge of the paper strips to create the line, removed the strips and sewed along the edge of the pins. This helps keep the blankie from sagging and keeps the flannel from separating from the knitting.

Finally, I arranged the hat, booties and blankie inside the box that I bought from a local craft store (Michael's). It has a magnetic strip on the top flap that keeps the box closed.

I'm thrilled with the way that it came out, and I have already started working on a blue gift set!

Engaging Interviews with Fellow Knitters!

2011-07-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

I've been having some problems with my computer photo editing software, but I hope to have it corrected soon so I can post the photos of the complete baby gift set!

In the meantime, I’d like to introduce you to two outstanding fiber artists: Michael Leach, who is on a fascinating two year quest to master the art of knitting and crocheting. Prior to his quest, he never knit a stitch in his life! Also, meet Dino Foxx, an expert at yarn bombing, which is the art of transforming ordinary objects into extraordinary art by covering them with knitted yarn. It's a fast growing art form!

You will certainly gain a new perspective about yarn by meeting these two men, and I enjoyed interviewing them both! You can read all about them and see pictures of their work at http://www.creativehelps.com/interviews_4.htm.

Finishing Touches and Baby Footsies

2011-07-08T18:36:00.000-07:00

I'm 95% done with the bably blankie now; just finishing sewing the flannel on the back! I took a short break to make the rocket last week and that put me a little behind schedule, but all is well.

In the meantime, I finished making the baby footsies using the flower loom as instructed in Jennifer Stark's pattern @ http://guppylovesshark.wordpress.com/2011/03/02/flower-loom-footsies/ . It's the Bernat Baby Coordinates Baby Pink yarn, using the yarn double stranded 1 over 1 knit and purl stitches. They came out great!

I bought a sweet little gift box to pack my baby gifts in. Next week: the baby gift set will be complete!

Really Red Rocket!!

2011-06-30T18:31:00.000-07:00

Here is a rocket firecracker for you to knit up for your Independence Day celebration! It only took me 3-4 hours:

You will need:

Knifty Knitter blue round loom, hook tool, yarn needle

Red Heart Cherry Red and Bright Yellow Yarn, Lion Brand Hometown USA Houston Cream yarn Wooden dowel (mine was .5" x 12", you may want a longer one)

Tape (duct tape would be best, or strong glue), and scotch tape

Empty container (I used a grits container)

Several sheets Red card stock (as close as you can match the Cherry Red color)

Scissors

Pen or pencil

To begin:

Remove the lid from your container. Wrap the container with the red card stock and scotch tape it together. Cut off the excess overlap of paper around the rim of the container and set aside.

Cast on with the Cherry Red yarn on the blue loom using the drawstring method (wrap the outside of the loom with your yarn twice. Then, using your hook tool, pull the bottom row over the odd pegs and the top row over the even pegs.) After casting on, knit 1 over 2 stockinette stitches for 55 rows and bind off with your yarn needle. At this point your project should look like this:

Now you have a decision to make. If you like the stockinette look for your rocket, leave the knitted rocket sleeve as it is and stretch it over the container:

If you prefer a flat knit look to your rocket (which I did), turn your knitted rocket sleeve inside out and stretch it over the container:

Now put the dowel next to the edge of the bottom of the container and trace around it:

Use your scissors to puncture through the container to make the hole. Do not cut your hole too big. You want the dowel to be a snug fit, but don't put the dowel in just yet.

Cinch the bottom of the rocket shut and sew across the hole.

Poke the dowel through the yarn into the hole you made at the bottom of the container, and push it 4" up inside the container. Using your duct tape or strong glue, secure the dowel to the inside of the container. Once the dowel is secure, place the lid on top of the container and set the rocket aside.

For the cone top of the rocket, find a large round lid and trace around it on . I used one that measured 6.75" around. I discovered later that this wasn't a large overlap for the cone of the rocket. You may decide you want a larger circle.

Then using a ruler and your pen, draw a line from the center edge of the circle to the middle of the circle. I didn't measure exact, I just eyeballed it

Cut out the circle, and then cut the line in the circle. Then overlap the line edges you just cut, to create the cone shape:

Once the cone is the desired shape you want, tape it shut using your scotch tape and set aside.

Knit the Cone Top: With the Cherry Red yarn, cast on the round blue loom using the drawstring method, then knit 1 over 2 stockinette stitches for 10 rows. Using the tail (not the working yarn), cinch and sew the yarn shut. Continue to knit off 20 more rows, then bind off using your yarn needle, reserving an 8" tail. (If you have made a bigger circle than 6.75" then you will need to knit off more rows to compensate for the larger size cone head.) Turn the knit cone top inside out (if you prefer the flat knit look) and stretch over the top of the card stock cone until it overlaps. Gently cinch and set aside:

For the fuse and the spark: - the fuse is simply a 6" piece of the Houston Cream yarn. The spark is a simple pom pom made with the Bright Yellow yarn. Knot the pom pom onto one end of the fuse. At the top of the fuse, separate two strands from two strands in the yarn:

Using your hook tool, or your nimble fingers, poke two of the fuse strands through the yarn at the bottom of the rocket right next to the dowel:

Knot the fuse onto the bottom of the rocket and poke the ends through the inside of the red yarn so it doesn't show:

Cinch the top the the rocket yarn over the top of the container. Using your yarn needle, sew the rocket cone top to the top of the rocket:

And you're done!

If you choose to use your rockets as outside decorations, direct sunlight will REALLY make them blaze red! They will practically be glowing:

What a sizzling display you will have! And if you would like to mix it up with thin and large rockets, use the flower loom and the cardboard tube from a paper towel roll to make long, thin rockets! Get creative and add some white and blue stripes to the rockets if you wish!

Baby Blankie 80 Percent done

2011-06-25T19:06:00.000-07:00

Here she is, fresh from the loom!

This is before I block it and add the flannel backing to it, which I finally decided I would do. I went to a local big box store and bought the flannel and some pink thread so I can sew the flannel to the back of the blankie, and then it will be done!

As far as the process of knitting it is concerned, here's how I did it. Using the blue straight loom with one additional corner peg, I knit off 1 over 2 stockinette stitches using Baby Bernat Coordinates Baby Pink and White yarns. After casting on using baby pink, for the top edge of the blankie I wrapped the odd pegs with the baby pink yarn and the even pegs with the white yarn and knit off for 20 rows. Then I snipped a 5" tail from the white yarn and wrapped the loom with the baby pink and began knitting off the bobble pattern. Here is the pattern below:

I used graph paper that I taped together so I had 61 boxes, the same number of pegs that I had on the loom. I then created the pattern by putting an "x" in each box that I wanted to bobble, and put the number of the box above the x. Then, on the loom, I used a pencil and marked the top of each peg that corresponded to an the "x" on one row on the graph paper the same number above the "x" box on the graph paper is the number of the beg that I marked to bobble), as you can see highlighted below:

I knit off 1 over 2 on the loom until I got to the peg I marked to bobble, where I knit off the same peg for 5 times and then placed the bottom loop back onto the loom and knit off, then I continued to knit off around the loom until I reached a bobble peg and repeat the process. It took quite a while since I had a limited amount of time to work on it each day, but the results were worth it. The pattern took 13 rows to complete, and in between each complete 13-row pattern I knit 4 straight stockinette stitch rows, just to add length to the blankie. I repeated the pattern in this way for 5 repetitions, then knit off 11 straight stockinette rows, then knit off 5 more pattern repetitions. Next I added the white yarn back in again to create the bottom pink and white blankie border, which I knit off for 10 rows. Finally, using only baby pink, I knit off 4 rows and cast off the blankie from the loom.

The reason I chose this pattern to bobble is when I was young I had a blanket that had a bobble pattern like this.

The next picture I post will be the completed blankie with the flannel added on the back.

Baby Blanket Progress!

2011-06-16T18:06:00.000-07:00

So here's how the blankie looks now:

It measures 13" long. I am knitting the 6th repitition of the pattern; I plan on making 10 repetitions before finishing and blocking. Progress has been a lot slower than I anticipated, so I am making it my goal to complete 1 repitition per day. Until now I have been doing less than that with the amount of time I have to knit. Here is a better view of what the pattern looks like:

Simple bobble diamond shapes! When I was first knitting this, I wasn't sure if the pattern was going to look the way I wanted it to. The more I kept at it, the more I still was unsure. It wasn't until I took a photograph of it today that I can see that it worked out. Have you ever had that happen to you? You are working on a project for so long that you don't see how well it's coming out. That happens to me when I create artwork sometimes. Other times I know beyond the shdow of a doubt that it's coming out great (or horrible).

I'd like to complete this blanket before the end of next week, if possible. I still have matching booties to knit!

I also want to get started on another special summer project that won't take nearly as long, though I am creating the pattern from scratch. I've had the idea since last year but did not try it out because I couldn't create a good drawing for it, so I just moved on and worked on other things. Finally last week I was able to create a workable sketch to use as a guide for the pattern, and I'm pretty excited about making it! I think it's fun and different, hope you will too!

100 Followers! Yay!

2011-06-15T17:49:00.001-07:00

Thanks everyone for your interest in my Loom Dude blog! I'm now at 100 followers, which is so awesome! It's a neat little milestone for me. Hope the blog is as interesting to you now as it was the day you first started following it!

Father's Day Gift Idea!

2011-06-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

Father's Day is next weekend, are you ready? If not, here's a 4-5 hour project you can make: a knitted steering wheel cover for Dad's car:

Easy to make, unique, and will keep dear ol' Dad's fingers warm in winter and comfy in summer (you know how hot those steering wheels can get!)

You will need: Knifty Knitter flower loom, yarn needle, loom hook, scissors, Lion Brand Hometown USA yarn (I used San Diego Navy and Oakland Black. You can use whatever colors you want, maybe even the colors of Dad's favorite sports team) or any super bulky yarn.

First, using an antibacterial wipe or cloth, clean off the entire steering wheel and dry it with a paper towel. (If you get in the mood, why not shock the pants off Dad and vacuum the whole car?) Then, using a measuring tape, measure the circumference and width of the steering wheel (SW). The SW that I based my pattern on measures 4" wide x 47 3/4" around.

Next, cast on pegs 2-11 of the flower loom, using the e-wrap (stockinette) method. You will be knitting 1 over 2, so loosely wrap pegs 2-11 with yarn 3 times and knit off. The key word is wrap loosely, otherwise you will struggle with knitting off. Keep the yarn loose, and you can work faster. You will knit off for 190 rows, or 38", unless you are adding different colors, which may take you up to 3 hours, depending on how fast you knit and whether or not you added different colors. The cover will probably curl naturally, like mine did as I knit it:

Next, leaving about a 5" tail, snip the working yarn and bind off the loom using your threaded yarn needle. Using one hand to position the cover at the top of the SW, stretch the cover around the circumference of the SW until the ends meet. You want the cover to be snug to the SW, that's why you knit it shorter than the actual circumference of the SW. If it is still a bit loose, frog stitches from the bind off end. Once you reach the desired fit, sew the ends of the cover together and knot the two tails together (the tail from the working yarn and the tail from when you cast on). Stretch the cover over the SW and position so that colors are to your liking (if you knit with more than one color).

Next, cut an 18" piece of yarn, thread your yarn needle, and (starting at the bottom of the SW) sew the ends of the cover together, pulling the yarn tight as you work, so that the cover stretches tightly around the SW as it is sewn shut.

In areas where you cannot sew the covers together, thread the needle through the outer loops of the cover

until you can sew the two sides of the cover together again.

Depending on how fast you work, sewing the cover onto the SW will take 20-30 minutes. When you reach the bottom of the cover where you first started, knot the two yarn tails together and pull the tails through the inside of the cover, snipping off excess tails as needed. And you're done!

Dad will certainly be surprised, and it will make his car just that much easier to find when he parks in a crowded parking lot; probably no one else will have a knitted SW cover!

If you make it, I'd love to see how yours turned out!

Baby Blanket Briefing and Book Blurb

2011-06-02T17:41:00.000-07:00

Here's how the baby blanket is coming along so far:

At first I was going to stop at 5 repititions of the bobble pattern, but now I see that that is not enough. I am on the 4th repitition, and the blankt is only 8" long. I want it to be 18-20" long, so I will probably repeat the bobble pattern another 10 times before I finish it. I will also need another skein of yarn, since this one is running out faster with all the extra yarn used for bobbling. I lost some time working on it this week due to taking a break on Memorial Day, so I hope I can catch up soon.

I haven't decided if I want to sew a thin piece of pink or white flannel to the back of the blanket to give it a little more weight. Right now it is ideal for a light spring/summer/early fall wrap, but in winter it probably wouldn't be very warm. We'll see how I feel about it when I'm finished knitting it.

Over the past month I have been listening to Debbie Macomber's Blossom Street series on cd. I started with Summer on Blossom Street, thinking it came before Back on Blossom Street, since I didn't know the order she had written the books in. After a click on Wikipedia I found a list of the order the books were published in. Right now I am in the middle of Susannah's Garden. What I like about these books is that each novel can stand alone, even if you never read any of the others in the series. I'm reading them out of order since my library didn't have all of them as audio books, and I started with the one I could get first. So far it hasn't been too confusing reading them out of order. I also like Debbie's style of writing and the situations that the characters get into, though I must say that owning a yarn shop seems to be a favorite topic in these fiber-focused novels. I find myself getting engrossed in the storyline, eager to hear what happens next. So far I am about midway through Susannah's Garden; I'm going to see if the library has A Turn in the Road yet.

Have you read any of these in the series? What do you think of them?

Bobbly Baby Blanket!

2011-05-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

Bobbly Baby Blanket... say that 5 times fast, I dare you! : )

Here's my progress on my baby blanket so far:

I am using the straight blue loom and knitting a flat panel on all pegs + 1 corner peg, using 1 over 2 stockinette stitches, and Bernat Baby Coordinates Baby Pink & White yarn. I created the alternating color blanket border the same method I used for the baby hat: wrap odd pegs with pink yarn, even pegs with white. So that the yarn doesn't get caught in little baby fingers easily I will sew a satin ribbon on the back, and this should also help control the curl that stockinette stitches always create. Using the pattern below created on graph paper, and using a pencil to mark the top of the pegs for each row of the pattern, I'm knitting off 5 repetitions of the bobble pattern, though if I need to make the blanket longer I will knit off more.

So far I have completed about 6 hours of work; marking the pegs and creating the bobble pattern takes longer to complete the project, as you might imagine. I have a few other ideas for how I might create this differently next time, but this is my first attempt and it is coming along fine. I hope to have it completed by the second week of June unless I get more time to work on it before then.

Here's a closeup of the bobble pattern; it was hard to get the lighting right for the shot, so I darkened the photo a bit:

I will have some better shots of the bobble stitches once the blanket is finished.

Baby Hat With A Striped Brim

2011-05-19T17:36:00.000-07:00

I made some progress on my baby projects, so here they are:

First I wanted to make some baby booties, so I searched online for a pattern that I could follow, and found Jennifer Stark's Flower Loom Footsies (http://guppylovesshark.wordpress.com/2011/03/02 /flower-loom-footsies/). They seem very simple to make, and I will post a photo of the footsies once they are done. I notice that the directions explain a way to make the heel and toe that I haven't tried before, so I'll be curious to see how it comes out. Whenever I've turned the heel on the loom in the past, there were always gaps in the heel. She also has a technique called the baisc graft cast off, something I've never tried before either.

For now, I have completed a baby hat using Bernat Baby Coordinates Baby Pink and Natural yarns for the brim. On the round blue loom, I simply alternated the colors (pink on odd pegs, natural on even pegs) to create the stripe pattern for the brim.

It takes longer, but I like the effect. I almost liked it enough to make the entire hat out of stripes, but decided just to stop at the brim.

For the top of the baby hat, I tried out the basic graft cast off from the footsies pattern, and it worked great! I never knew how to make the top of a hat lie flat after casting off, and this is a great way to do that.

I'm using the stripe effect on the top edge of the baby blanket I'm knitting on the long blue loom, so we'll see how that comes out. If it's a little too stringy for little baby hands to get caught in, then I will unravel it and just alternate a knit and pearl pattern instead in the pink yarn only. Or I was also contemplating sewing a satin ribbon to the back of it to prevent baby fingers from getting caught in the strands. We'll have to see, I just started it, and I'm up to 13 rows now.

At first I was going to create an elaborate pattern on the blanket, but then I decided that simple would be better for now. So I will incorporate a simple pattern on the blanket to add interest. The blanket will probably take me a couple of weeks to finish, but I will post my progress as I go along.

Novelties & Knitting Books!

2011-05-13T18:13:00.000-07:00

This week I am working on a few baby items (booties, hat, blanket) to be given as gifts. As soon as I have a good amount of progress to show I’ll post it. I’m creating a design for the baby blanket and need to knit several rows to see if it comes out like I want.

Also, now that the weather is getting warmer, I invite you to browse the Loom Dude Novelty Shop at http://www.zazzle.com/LoomDude . There you’ll find playful t-shirts, bumper stickers, and other knit (oops, I mean neat) things. Here are a few designs you will see on some of the items:

Hope you’ll take a look and buy a little something special!

Have any of you read Kate Jacob’s Friday Night Knitting Club series? I just finished listening to book 3 – Knit the Season. I found the series to be pretty interesting, though I’ve never belonged to a knitting group yet. I was disappointed by something that happened at the end of the first book (I won’t spoil it for you); I figured it would happen but not to the person it happened to, and wasn’t sure how the sequel would develop as a result. But overall it was pretty good. What made the story engaging to me was that it wasn’t what I had expected it to be.

As the voice actress acted out the story on the cds, I could picture in my mind’s eye what each character looked like (and who I thought in Hollywood should play them): Ellen Burstyn as Anita, Sandra Oh as Darwin, LL Cool J (or Mos Def) as James Foster, Keke Palmer as Dakota, Kimberly Elise as Peri, Reese Witherspoon as Katherine, and rumor has it if the movie version ever gets made, Julia Roberts is cast as Georgia. Never mind that some of them are older than their parts. I really hadn’t pictured anyone for Lucie or KC. How about you? Maybe when the movie comes out, we’ll all go to the movies with our knitting supplies and knit while we watch! : ) I can’t wait to see what the Phoenix and Blossom look like! (If you don't know what those are, you'll have to read the book to find out!)

I also read (listened to) the Knitting Circle by Ann Hood. The story would always stop as each character explained about the life experiences that made them the person they were, as opposed to Kate Jacobs’ series where the author does some of that explanation (rather than have the character explain). I have to admit I was more than a little surprised by the amount of profanity in all of the books I read.

Next week I am starting Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber. I know Blossom Street is a whole series, but my library doesn't have all of the titles on cd, and listening on cd is the best way for me to "read" the books right now.

Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll write a knitting novel too! You can guarantee it will be full of drama, but from a different perspective!

Last Minute Mom's Day Gifts!

2011-05-07T16:53:00.000-07:00

Oh, no! It's the night before Mother's Day, and you waited until the last minute to get something for dear Mom! You really ought to know better, but instead of heap guilt on you, I'm going to help you out with a couple of last minute crafty knits you can give Mom. They are both air fresheners you can hang in your car (rather, she can hang them in her car!). Just be aware that there may be some fading due to sun exposure. I knitted I-cords for each one, but you may decide to use a single strand of yarn, or a piece of elastic cord. Each project will take you 3-6 hours, depending on your level of skill.

The first one is a sunflower:

You will need: yellow yarn (I used Red Heart Bright Yellow), and brown yarn (I used Lion Brand Homespun Wild Fire), and air freshener (4 large cotton balls sprayed with Mom's favorite perfume, air freshener pellets, cedar balls (if using in the closet), potpourri, lavender sachets, something of that sort).

To make the flower head: Cast on your flower loom with the brown yarn using the drawstring method. After you have completed the cast on row, you will knit 1 over 2 stockinette stitch for 6 rows, then cinch the flower head shut and knot. Do not cut the tail. Then knit 7 more rows and cast off. Do not cinch. Set aside.

Petals: On your pink straight loom, cast on 3 pegs with a 5"-6" tail, 1 over 2 stockinette stitch, to create a 3-peg I-cord, and knit for 16 rows. *Move bottom strand of yarn from peg 1 onto the middle peg and knit off. Move bottom strand of yarn from peg 3 onto middle peg and knit off. Repeat from *. Then cast off with a 5"-6" tail, tugging the yarn to snug the stitches together (this is the pointy top of the petal). Using your yarn needle threaded with the tail from the top end of the petal, poke the needle through the outer 6 stitch loops on one side of the petal. Pull the threaded yarn needle out just before the 7th stitch loop, and snug tail, pulling yarn through loops, taking care to keep the top of the petal pointy and straight. Make 16 petals. With your yarn needle, thread the bottom tail of one of the finished petals and set aside.

Gently cinch other end of the flower head (but not completely shut). Using your thumb and first finger, pinch flower head flat (as below)

and sew petal with yarn needle onto the outer edge stitches of the flower head, taking note of the side you are sewing the petal on (the side with the tail sticking out from the side middle of the petal is the back).

Do not knot the petals onto the flower head yet; sew each petal onto the flower head side by side until you reach the petal you first sewed onto the flower head. If you have petals left over that is fine; if there are wide gaps, sew on an extra petal to close the gap.

Once you have sewed all the petals on and facing the same direction, sew each one firmly into place, knot and poke the tail through to the inside of the flower head (using your threaded yarn needle). You may choose to knot them from the inside and snip the tail; I did not.

Next, using your yarn needle, thread one of the tails from the side of a petal, and sew it to the petal next to it.

Sew the petals together down to the flower head, knot, and poke the yarn through to the inside of the flower head (if needed). Repeat for each petal.

Add the air freshener to the inside of the flower head, using additional batting if needed. Cinch the flower head shut and knot, or cinch and tie the tail if you want to replace the stale air freshener at some point in the future.

Using your straight pink loom, knit a 2 peg 12" I-cord using 1 over 2 stockinette stitch and sew the I-cord to the top of one of the petals. You're done!

The second project: roses on a ball ornament. Will require nimble fingers and braiding techniques. I used some white yarn I had in my stash (gauge 4), Red Heart Paddy Green, Lion Brand Homespun Candy Apple Red.

Ornament ball: Cast on your blue round loom with the white yarn using the drawstring technique. After completing the cast on row, knit 1 over 2 stockinette stitches for 25 rows, cinch shut and knot, cast off, and turn ornament ball inside out. Set aside.

Flower stems: measure an 11" strand of green yarn. Fold it in two pieces, leaving a 2" tail, as below.
Carefully tie the tail around the bottom of the yarn, leaving a tiny loop, and knot. Cut the loop at the opposite end, so that you now have 3 strands, knotted together at the bottom.

Tightly braid the strands together, knotting near the top end of the braid.

Make 6 stems.

Rose Heads: Repeat the same process as the stems, leaving a 4 inch tail instead of a 2" one. Braid LIGHTLY, not tightly. Thread your yarn needle with the 4" tail. Coil the braid in a spiral, and use the threaded yarn needle to sew the coil together. (If you want roses of varying sizes, don't measure how much yarn you use; wing it after measuring out the first rose, always making sure you have a 4" tail.) Then knot the rose head to the stem by passing the yarn needle through the loop at the bottom of a stem and knotting the flower head to the stem.

Repeat until each stem has one flower head knotted to it.

Sew the roses onto the ball ornament in an asterisk pattern; i.e., one vertical stem with two diagonal stems crossing over each other, crossing the vertical stem. Do this on both sides of the ornament, taking care that the roses on side one are equidistant to the roses on side 2. Even if it isn't perfect, make sure it is aesthetically pleasing.

Knot the top of the rose to the inside of the ornament, and knot the bottom of the stem to the inside of the ornament.

Snip the excess yarn tails (otherwise, if you leave the long tails without snipping them, when you stuff the ornament, the red and green tails will show through.)

Add air freshener inside the ball, (4 large cotton balls sprayed with Mom's favorite perfume, air freshener pellets, cedar balls (if using in the closet), potpourri, lavender sachets, something of that sort). Stuff with batting, add more air freshener. Shape the ball and add batting as needed, cinch and knot the ball at the top (or tie instead of knotting so you can replace stale air freshener at some point in the future), then set aside.

At this point you may choose to create your I-cord, or you may choose to add ribbon around the rose stems and knot it to create a bow. I already had pre-assembled tiny knotted bows, so I glued them on to the stems.

Using your straight pink loom, on two pegs knit off a 12" 1 over 2 stockinette stitch I-cord, and sew onto the top of the ornament. And you're done!

You may decide to arrange your roses differently on the ornament, or add more roses also.

Let me know if you make them. Happy Mother's Day!!

Read about Loom Phenom Isela Phelps, Sherri's Hat Shop, and Brain Food

2011-05-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

For all the Moms out there, I thought it would be nice to interview a couple of enterprising Moms, in celebration of Mother’s Day. Click

http://www.creativehelps.com/interviews_3.htm#ANOTHER_COLORFUL_LIFE_~_ISELA_PHELPS to read my interview with loom knitting phenomenon, Isela Phelps.

Known and admired by many for her insightful loom knitting tips and creative designs, Isela chats with me about creating patterns and what inspires her.

Also, you will be inspired by my interview with Carol Bruner and the story of Sherri’s Hat Shop.

Sherri’s Hat Shop provides free custom hats to children and teens with hair loss from cancer and alopecia.Click http://www.creativehelps.com/interviews_3.htm#ANOTHER_COLORFUL_LIFE_~_CAROL_BRUNER to read all about how Carol got started, and how you can create a hat!

Finally, I posted a new review of Brain Food, a product offered by Fat Brain Toys, at my CreativeHelps.com Creative Product Review blog.

Take a look and see why I recommend Brain Food!

Next post: last minute Mother's Day loom knitting projects you can complete in a few hours!

Felted Pants Almost Done!

2011-04-28T18:55:00.000-07:00

Here are the felted pants, almost done!

You can read about my previous progress with these pants here:

http://loomdude.blogspot.com/2011/04/felted-pants-and-other-things.html

http://loomdude.blogspot.com/20 11/04/loom-knit-felted-pants-part-2.html

For the entire project I used Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool Natural color, 2 skeins (though I didn't use the whole second skein). For the legs I knit 1 over 2 stockinette stitch on the red round loom for 134 rows per leg. For the torso I knit 1 over 2 stockinette stitch on the long blue loom (using both corner pegs). To start, I knit off 3 rows on the 8 center pegs, then I knit off the entire loom for 64 rows.

I arranged the three pieces together,

then sewed them together. They measure 12.5" x 30.5".

After knotting every tail, I turned the pants inside out,

and felted them in the washing machine for 5 minutes, checking to make sure they didn't shrink too much. Finally I carefully wrung them out, shaped and blocked them. I knew once I felted them that the curl caused by the stockinette stitch would tighten up and flatten out, so I wasn't really that concerned about it. I also "guessed" that the shrinking process would straighten out the top of the pants also. I figured whatever the shrinking didn't fix I could fix when I blocked and shaped them.

I shaped and blocked them a little more after taking this picture. After felting they now measure 9.75" x 26.5". They won't truly be complete until later this year, when my daughter tries them on and I alter them for her size. At first I was going to add some felted flowers to the pants, but they look nice the way they are without any decoration, so we'll see. I'm thinking about adding an elastic lining instead of a belt, though a nice ribbon belt would probably work too. Once I fit and alter them I will add a light fabric lining on the inside so they won't be scratchy, and try not to panic if she spills anything on them. I can always make another pair!

An Easter Cross

2011-04-22T21:13:00.000-07:00

My second Easter project this year was something I had planned to do last year, but I couldn't find the right frame last year. I had made the cross with lily in 2010 (see http://loomdude.blogs pot.com/2010/03/easter-projects-cross-with-lily.html ) . This time I found the frame I wanted at Michael's Craft Store, and it was 40% off! A 9x20 shadow box. It came with a black velour backing, which I had no intention of using. The cross I had made didn't look good against the black, so I decided I would get some fabric the cover it up. I finally decided on a green fabric with a textured vine print on it, which matched quite well with the color of the cross.

I cut the fabric and wrapped the backing with it, using some archival document repair tape to secure it to the back of the backing.

I also used the archival tape to attach the cross to the fabric. Next I created a little Scripture card to go underneath the cross

(I am the resurrection and the life. - John 11:25). I printed it on a blank business card that I had, and used glue dots to attach the card to a piece of foam core, which I cut out around the card. I then used archival tape to attach the card to the fabric.

Finally I put everything in the frame, and it was done! I was happy with how it turned out.

Happy Easter to one and all!

Hot Cross Buns, Hot Cross Buns

2011-04-22T20:33:00.000-07:00

I was thinking to myself, what could I create on the loom that would be different than the usual Easter bunnies, chicks, eggs, and lamb projects? And then it hit me: how about hot cross buns? I don't recall having seen them knit before, so why not give it a shot? So here they are, fresh from the oven:

A sweet treat, just in time for Easter!

I just made up the pattern based on how I thought a knitted hot cross bun might look. I used the Knifty Knitter green straight loom with the corner pegs in, casting on all pegs with a 1 over 2 stockinette stitch. I started out with some leftover cream colored yarn to make the sides of the bun. I knit off 5 rows, snipped the cream yarn, then began a combination of the cream yarn and Loops & Threads Impeccable Worsted Topaz yarn. I kept the cream yarn on 9 pegs at both corners of the loom (including the corner peg) and used the Topaz for the rest of the pegs. The Topaz is the top and bottom color of the bun. I knit off 60 rows like this and then snipped the Topaz so I could knit off 5 rows on the entire loom of just the cream yarn.

Once I cast off, I carefully thread Topaz yarn through the inside of the brown stitches to create the different bun sections.

Then I sewed together one side of the piece. I cinched the Topaz yarn a bit that I had threaded through the stitches and knotted it. Then I turned the piece inside out and stuffed it with batting. After shaping the piece, I sewed the other end shut.

I then knit 5 I-cords using some white yarn I had around, and carefully sewed them to the top of the piece. Voila!

Top:

Side:

Bottom:

I will try this pattern again, and next time I plan to use less cream yarn on the corners so that more of the brown bun will be showing. And the bottom could even be a lighter color yarn than the Topaz. I had thought about adding a few specks of raisins and fruit to the sides and top, but decided against it. When I try the pattern again maybe I'll add it just to see how it would look.

Loom Knit Felted Pants Part 2

2011-04-14T17:05:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest progress on the pair of pants I'm loom knitting: So far: two pants legs, and I'm working on the torso using all the pegs on the blue straight loom, 1 over 2 stockinette stitch. This is still an experiment for me, and I hope it will work out. I won't know until I put everything together and felt it. I feel pretty good about how it's turning out so far. Someone suggested that I line the inside of the pants to prevent them from geing scratchy, which is an excellent idea. I will start shopping for some extra soft fabric to line them with. But the only problem is I just glanced at the calendar today and I noticed that Easter is next weekend already! Where did the time go? So I will post my two Easter projects next week, and then post the finished results for the pants the week after Easter. Plus, next week I'll be posting a portion of an interview I had with someone who is a loom knitting phenomenon! Hope you'll check it out!

Felted Pants and other things

2011-04-07T17:17:00.001-07:00

Now that I've learned how to felt, I'm going to try something a little ambitious: I'm going to make a piar of felted pants for my daughter! I'm using the round red loom for the pants legs, and I'm using fisherman's wool natural color for the yarn, since I got such great results from using it to loom knit a pair of felted mittens. So far I have knit one pants leg using a 1 over 2 stockinette stitch for 134 rows:

It measures about 20" without the curls at the end. It's too late for her to wear them this season since the warmth of Springtime is finally kicking in. I'm trying to estimate how much I think she might grow by next season, and allow for the shrinking process during felting. I've already started the next pants leg, and I'm making up the pattern as I go along, so if it doesn't come out quite right I'll try again and make corrections. Hopefully they won't be too itchy for her; the mittens I made for someone else weren't itchy at all. Once the pants are felted I plan to make some little felted flowers to decorate them with.

As a result of being given the Stylish Blogger award (thanks to Sharon of Sharon's Eclectic Retreat blog), I would like to present 7 things you probably didn't know about Loom Dude:

1. I enjoy rollerblading and ice skating when I get the chance.

2. I am a great cook (most of the time).

3. I like watching the Weather Channel (even before they started having more variety programming).

4. Christmas is my favorite holiday.

5. I used to make my own ice cream when I was a kid (using an ice cream maker).

6. I have more creative projects than I have time to do them all!

7. Magenta is one of my favorite colors.

That was fun; now tell me one thing about you!

P.S. - I added a bunch of new blog links to my website at http://www.loomdude.com/. Click on the links page and take a look!

Two New Hats

2011-03-29T18:19:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I took my daughter to a birthday party for one of her friends at Michael's craft store. It was nice, and she enjoyed it a lot. The staff led the children to make two take home crafts during the party: a birdhouse and a magnetic wooden notepad holder-thingy. But it wasn't until I got to our next destination after the party that I realized I had left my hat at the store! It was the loom knit hat that I had made over a year ago. I was a little bummed out about it, but of course it was the perfect excuse to make a new hat to replace it.

I planned to make another blue one, but I had been wanting a brown one to match a brown coat that I wear every winter. I made the brown hat first, using the round green loom and Hometown USA Billings Chocolate, which I double stranded with Sugar 'n Cream Warm Brown. This was a good combination because the colors are so similar. The Hometown USA is super bulky acrylic and the Sugar 'n Cream is Medium (4) Worsted Cotton. I knit the two strands together using a 1 over 1 stockinette stitch for 12 rows, then added the brim. Then I knit for another 19 rows, cast off with a yarn needle and cinched it closed.

Done in about 1.5 hours, but it took a little longer because I stayed up late watching the 1968 movie musical Oliver!, which used to be one of my favorite movies. It was the letterbox version with all the intermission and extra music included. I wore the hat to church the next day, with the brown coat.

On Sunday I decided I didn't want to wear my nice brown hat as an everyday hat, so I rummaged through my stuff and found my Hometown USA San Diego Navy yarn, mixing it with some dark blue yarn I had in the stash. This time I completed the hat in about 1.5 hours, and have been wearing it every day since.

Just as well, since the warm Spring weather is taking its time about getting here this year!

Sweet Pink Shrug is Finished!

2011-03-24T18:02:00.000-07:00

Here is the completed shrug, worn by my daughter, sweet as cotton candy:

I used the blue straight loom to make the body, and the blue round loom for the sleeves, with Bernat Baby Coordinates yarn. I knit 1 over 1 on 48 pegs (using the anchor peg and a loom clip). At the bottom of the shrug, I alternated knit and purl stitches for 8 rows, then completed the body using stockinette stitches.

For the arm holes, I simply removed the yarn from the corner pegs and put it on the peg next to it, and knit off. Then separately I knit each "panel" between the arm holes, cutting the working yarn when I knit off 60 rows. After 60 rows I e-wrapped all the pegs with the working yarn and knit off 6 rows, alternating knit and purl stitches to make the neckline.

I made the arm holes too big, so I am going to make the shrug again to get more exact directions before I post detailed directions on how to make it. Also, I ran out of the yarn after completing one of the sleeves. When I bought another skein, I noticed that the gauge was slightly thinner than the shein I had used to knit the shrug with, but I didn't realize this until after I had completed most of the second sleeve and had to frog it. To make the sleeves fit better, I simply "turned" the top rows of the sleeve, as if I were knitting the heel of a sock. At first I wasn't sure if this would work; I thought it might not fit my daughter very well. But when she tried it on it fit perfectly.

The finished body of the shrug measures 10.5x11; the sleeves are 16" each. Naturally, since I used the stockinette stitch, the cuffs on the sleeves curl, and the chest panels curl also; but I don't mind that. That isn't a dropped stitch on her shoulder; that's where I made a knot in the yarn when I joined the sleeve to the body. I need to tuck that on the inside to hide it better.

I decided to knit the entire piece 1 over 1 because she would be wearing it to keep the chill off during dance class. My wife thinks it will go well with her Sunday dress on Easter. I agree.

Special Olympics Poster & Shrug Progress

2011-03-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a nice "thank you" poster I recently received via e-mail from the NJ office of the Special Olympics:

The thank you was in appreciation for the scarf I had knit for them (see http://loomdude.blogspot.com/2011/01/special-olympics-scarf-done.html). It was a great project to work on, and I will probably do it again next year. Congrats to all the Special Olympians!

The shrug is 95% done. I just need to fit it on my daughter to see how it looks, and check the shaping around the neck. It only took a few days to make, and the results will be well worth it. The only problem I had with it was when I made the second sleeve, I wrapped the loom with yarn too many times and had to frog it to get the sleeve the correct length. You know how it is when you get into your knitting zone!

A New Shrug!

2011-03-08T17:38:00.000-08:00

For some time I have been working on this shrug.

I actually started it last year in November, just after I had finished the one I made for her to wear while trick-or-treating. But then I started getting requests for loom knit items and I had to complete my Christmas projects, so I put the shrug aside. Now that my loom requests have quieted down a bit, I am almost done with knitting this shrug. It fits my daughter well, but I haven't decided if I want to add a button to the front if it or not. I also want to knit some matching leg warmers to go with it, to complete the outfit. I did a little knitting and purling details on the bottom of the shrug. Next time I will also do that on the sleeve cuffs. I'm still working on perfecting m finishing techniques as well as getting the neckline right. I am determined to keep practicing until I am fully satisfied with the results. Though I have improved a lot since the first time I made my daughter a sweater. The sleeves are an equal length, though the photo doesn't make it appear so. I took the picture at an angle to avoid the flash reflecting on the floor.

A Colorful New Purse!

2011-03-01T16:14:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest in my line of purses in the Loom Dude collection:

back view:

A sweet color scheme, courtesy of Loops & Threads Charisma Yarn, Lakeside color. I knit from two skeins simultaneously, 1 over 1, using the yellow straight loom, double-stranding the already thick yarn. It was difficult to knit off as a result, but the tight knit made it worth the extra effort.

The inside is cotton fabric:

Here it is in progress:

Yes, this one is a gift for someone who hasn't gotten it yet, but when it arrives it will be quite a surprise! I haven't sewn the label inside yet, but here's what it looks like:

I think it came out much better than the last label I did. I used a permanent marker for the last label, but the tip was too broad and made the writing bleed. This time I found my thin-tipped permanent marker and it came out much better. Eventually I want to get my own custom made labels, but for now my budget says I need to use the less expensive ones.

The finished purse measures 7.25" x 10.5" (minus the handles).

100 Days; Scarf & Hat Sets

2011-02-22T20:28:00.000-08:00

Recently my daughter's school celebrated 100 Days of school. I helped her with two creative projects that she needed to have for the celebration. For the first project, she had to put 100 objects on a piece of paper. The suggested using toothpicks, pasta, beans, etc. At first I thought, "How about knitting something that has 100 stitches?" But I decided against that idea, since I knew she would need to explain that to the teacher. Finally I decided her portion of the project would be to glue some confetti contruction paper squares to the paper, glue 100 lentils to the paper, and I would knit the number 100 and glue it to the paper:

She liked it, and the teacher commented on how clever the idea was!

The second creative project was to decorate a shirt for a fashion show they would be having at school. I decided to cut the number 100 out of felt, and then sew on 100 sequins to it. Then I cut out her name in felt and sewed it to the back of the shirt. She squirted glue to the front of the shirt and added glitter. You can see the results here: http://artmangreg.blogspot.com/2011/02/100-days.html . I think it came out pretty good, and the teacher did also! Now that I know how to actually make felt, I plan on making her a felted hat to wear.

Over the last two weeks I also loom knit 2 scarf and hat sets for someone. I was very happy with the results, since they were both Lion Brand Homespun colors I had not used before. The first one is Corinthian:

When the person chose Corinthian as the color, I wasn't so sure about it. I didn't know how the variations in color would actually look once knitted. But it came out lush and fabulous.

The second color is Montana Sky:

What a beautiful color of blue! So rich, with subtle variations in tone. The person who bought these scarf and hat sets was very pleased. I know I'll be using both Corinthian and Montana Sky again for future projects.

No more counting on paper

2011-02-22T20:15:00.000-08:00

Recently I received a gift card for a local craft store and I used to to buy knitting supplies (of course). One thing I bought was the Clover Knitting Counter. I had wanted a counter for ome time but I didn't want to pay so much for it. This one was $7.99, which I wouldn't have bought without the gift card. I guess I can be really frugal sometimes, but I figured as long as I can write, I'll just keep track of counting my rows that way. Hence:

But I used the knitting counter yesterday for a scarf I was making, counting off 296 rows one "kacha" at a time (kacha being the noise that the counter makes when you press it).

The counter doesn't go beyond 99, but it was easy to keep track of the rows just the same. I'm so glad I got it! It seems to make the knitting go a lot faster, and I remember pressing the button more often than I remembered whether or not I wrote down the row I just finished. I just hope it lasts a long time; I don't get gift cards that often and won't be buying a replacement without a gift card if it breaks.

Felted Mittens!

2011-02-15T19:40:00.000-08:00

For the first time I tried my hand at making loom knit felted mittens. A friend needed a pair of mittens. He has a large growth on one hand, and I would imagine hasn’t had any gloves or mittens to wear for years. He asked me to make them out of wool, so I decided to felt them to prevent the cold air from getting through the stitches.

I went to the local craft store and purchased Lion Brand Fishermen’s Wool, Nature’s Brown color. I never used it before, but I bought Fishermen’s wool for two reasons: I imagined that fishermen get really cold out there on the sea, and this kind of wool would keep them especially warm; and it says “PERFECT FOR FELTING” right on the label. Having used Lion Brand before with great results, I tend to trust what it says on the label. But I knew nothing about felting and I thought it would be a long and tedious process.

As I knit the mittens on the green straight loom using 1 over 2 e-wrap stitch, I asked the online group I’m in about felting. I received excellent responses, one of which led me to http://www.lusciousgracious.com/felt.htm where I found easy to read and understand directions for felting, using a washing machine. After I knit the mittens extra large to allow for shrinking during the felting process, I turned them inside out.

I felted the mittens according to the instructions on the website. They turned out great!

Except for my first try I shrank one of them a little too much and had to knit it over again. The other mitten I was able to stretch over an oatmeal container so it would fit his hand properly, and I stuck a small zucchini up into the thumb so it would retain its shape also. I discovered that the felting process elongated the thumbs on the mittens, but I trusted that I would be able to cut and sew them to the proper size once they dried. I also discovered that I didn’t make the mittens long enough and would have to find something to use for a cuff. I decided on some fleece that I had leftover from a project I had made over 10 years ago (who throws anything away?). I folded the fleece over so I could enclose a strip of elastic inside, to prevent the cold air from getting inside the mittens. This worked out really well. After I had knitted and felted the smaller mitten, I stretched it over a coffee can to dry (and used another zucchini for the thumb).

Then I was able to have him try them on. He was so excited and glad to get them, and they fit perfectly!

I trimmed and sewed the thumbs so they would fit, after I took this picture. Of course, now I may have caught the felting bug since the project was so easy to do, and I’m glad that I bought the Fishermen’s Wool to felt with.

Another Loom Knit Purse, and a Scarf!

2011-02-08T18:02:00.000-08:00

This purse I loom knit for a friend of mine as a surprise gift -

Front:

Back:

I made it to match the hat that I had previously made for her, using the popcorn bobble stitch pattern ( http://loomdude.blogspot.com/2010/11/no-more-pumpkins-for-now.html ). I made this purse in the same way that I made the other two, but this time I used Hometown USA Oakland Black.

In progress (the inside lining is on the left):

I also hid the bottom part of the handles a lot better than my first two attempts. And for the first time I used a label with my name on it – Loom Dude.

I found a nice button at the department store that added just enough contrast to the knitting without drawing too much attention to itself. I knew I wanted to use a button for a latch that was a flower in shape. I found a plastic black one that is multifaceted and reflects the light when it moves. Overall, the purse was a success, and the recipient was overjoyed at receiving it.An elegant little purse that would go perfectly with a little black dress, right?

Next, someone asked me to knit a grey and black scarf for them, and they wanted a solid dark grey color. At first I didn’t think that a dark grey and black would offer much contrast, and I didn’t see any Homespun greys that were extremely dark. Finally I settled on Homespun Black and Edwardian.

Edwardian is not a solid gray when you look at it, but when it knits up it has a soft, silvery sheen to it that is just awesome. The person I knit it for loved it.

Two Loom Knit Purses!

2011-02-02T17:15:00.000-08:00

Here are two sweet little purses that I knit for Christmas gifts in 2010! The first one I made for my Mom using the yellow straight loom on 34 pegs (counting the corner peg and using a loom clip).

I did a double strand 1 over 1 e-wrap stitch, using 2 skeins of Loops & Threads Impeccable Worsted yarn, Earth Ombre color. The bamboo handles I picked up from an online craft supply shop, the button and the inside fabric I bought from Walmart. The purse is 8” long and 6” wide. It doesn’t have a large opening for the purse because the handles take up so much room, but it was my first time making one so it was a learning experience. For the inside lining I just sewed together two pieces of fabric that I cut out, and then sewed the bottom edge of the lining to the inside bottom edge of the knitted purse. Then I sewed the top lining along the edge of the top.

The button holder is simply an i-cord.

This purse I made for my wife:

Front:

Back:

I made it the same way but I used alpaca yarn (1 gauge) and Ella Rae Amity yarn color 3 (which I think is cocoa), using the two strands together to knit 1 over 1. I chose these colors to match an alpaca poncho that she has. I made her purse the same way as my Mom’s, but for the flap on top I simply bind off one side of the loom, then knit on the flap on the other side of the loom and bind off. Once again I made an i-cord for the button loop. I got the handles from the same online craft supply store, but they are a different style.

I made one more purse as a surprise gift for Christmas for someone which I will post next week, and I am working on another one as a gift for someone next month. Everyone was delighted with their gifts!

Men's Hats

2011-01-25T16:56:00.000-08:00

Here are 3 men's hats that I made in Nov-Dec 2010. I used the round green loom to make all of them. The first one is a tri-color hat which I made to match a scarf I had knit the year before:

I used Homespun Tudor, Black, and Colonial, 1 over 2 e-wrap stitch, using the traditional method to make the hat and attaching the brim while knitting.

The second hat I made based on the pattern for the garrison hat I knit before (http://loomdude.blogspot.com/2010/05/for-all-veterans.html ), all with 1 over 2 e-wrap stitch:

Front:

Back:

Instead of making the hat flat on top, I made it round like a regular hat. I simply knit the body of the hat first, then knit the brim separately. I positioned the brim the way I wanted it to look on the hat, fastened it to the hat using yarn needles (though you could probably used safety pins or other knitting needles) and then carefully sewed it the bottom of the brim to the bottom of the hat using a yarn needle and Homespun black. Then I sewed a row of Homespun Shaker around the top edge of the hat brim, attaching the brim to the hat as I sewed, and removing the yarn needles I had placed for positioning. As you can see, I wasn't fanatical about the line I made with the Shaker yarn being perfectly straight. After all, I knit it a little loose so it could stretch when the hat was worn; otherwise it would probably feel tight around the head in that area.

Finally, I made another hat based on a hat that I knit for myself in 2009. I used Hometown USA San Diego Navy and another dark blue yarn I had that was gauge 4. I double stranded the yarn and knit 1 over 1 e-wrap stitches, attaching the brim during the process. The brim on my hat was much wider (about 3"); this brim is about 1.5"-2".

Unless you look closely you will not see the variation in color between the two yarns I used. I decided to knit it this way because when I only used the San Diego Navy yarn and knit 1 over 1, it left gaps which I knew the wind would easily get through. Using the two gauges of yarn together double stranded helped solve this problem, though on an extremely windy day you will still feel the air blowing through momentarily. I've used this hat outdoors and it is heavy enough to make me sweat if I'm shovelling snow or playing with my daughter, so I usually only wear it when it's below 40 degrees.

Special Olympics Scarf Done!

2011-01-22T17:03:00.001-08:00

Here is my 60" scarf, completed and mailed in time for the NJ deadline!

For the turqua and blue stripes, I knit off 6 rows of each, + 2 "transition" rows (rows where the two colors meet and overlap on the loom).

I also enclosed this note of encouragement, for whomever wears the scarf:

It says - "Whenever you feel down or feel like giving up, hold this scarf in your hands, wrap it around your neck, and remember: someone you don't even know made it just for you, because you are a special athlete. Someone you don't even know is rooting for you and cheering you on. Someone you don't even know believes deep inside of you is a winner, and every time you smile you let the world see the winner in you. Special Olympics 2011"

It was a lot of fun to make, and I may do it again next year. Here's to the athletes and the people who love them! Hooray!

Almost Done!

2011-01-20T17:49:00.000-08:00

Here is the Special Olympics scarf at 43" in length; I plan to make it 60".

I already measured it and the stripe design should start again at 53". I hope to complete it by Friday evening and mail it out on Saturday. I'll post another picture before I do!

Special Olympics Scarf Progress

2011-01-18T17:17:00.001-08:00

Here’s my progress on the Special Olympics Scarf so far:

Right now it is a little over 20” long, and the required length is at least 53”. This is about 2 hours’ worth of work.

My original design was to create a flat panel scarf and use a popcorn bobble stitch on the alternating bands of blue and turqua. When I tried this, it just wasn’t achieving the effect that I wanted it to. So I frogged it and started over. I decided to keep it simple and straightforward.

They ask for the scarf to be 6” wide, so I knit off on 22 pegs, knowing that the scarf will contract to 6” as I knit it. At first I tried 20 pegs, but it contracted to 5”.

I will be finished with it in time to mail it out for my state’s deadline; it’s due at the end of this week.

It is such a rich color of blue; it reminds me of Christmas because as I child we used to have blue and green tinsel that had that shade of blue in it. I had never heard of Turqua before, but I presume it is a variation of the color turquoise.

A worthy project

2011-01-12T17:02:00.000-08:00

I am knitting a scarf for the Special Olympics! Anyone want to join me? I don't personally know any atheletes that are competing, but when I saw the website mentioned last year I decided I wanted to do it. Each state has it's own deadline for when they need scarves, and there are certain colors that they ask you to use. You can read the full details here: www.scarvesforspecialolympics.org . I will keep you updated on my progress, and if you are also doing a charitable knitting project, I'd love to hear about it!

Watermelon in Winter?

2011-01-04T17:23:00.000-08:00

You bet, and it's ripe and delicious, fresh off the loom!

Well, actually I knit it during the summertime so I could post it now, when the winter winds are raging and frigid temperatures say anything but summer. With this cheerful hat you can bring a slice of summertime into your winter and brighten the day of anyone who sees you wearing it! I used the round green loom to knit it, 1 over 2 stitch, with red heart red, paddy green, and white yarn. The seeds are some navy blue yarn I had in my stash. The hat itself is simple to make. I knit the seeds separately and then sewed them on. They are simply mini I-cords that are sewed together and shaped to look like seeds. I actually made it small enough for my 5 year old daughter to wear, but I could fit my head into it as well. You may need to adjust the amount of green and white "rind" for an adult's head.

Try not to giggle too much when you wear it!

Merry Christmas Tree!

2010-12-27T16:21:00.001-08:00

I was having trouble posting this over the last few days, but I was finally able to get it posted.

My final Christmas project for this year was a Christmas tree I designed myself! This adorable tree decorated with poinsettias and lights stands 27.5 inches tall and was a delight to make!

First I started by deciding on how I wanted the poinsettias to look. I created them all in one piece, using the flower loom and Homespun candy apple red yarn. But they came out looking more like a star (the one on the left), and they weren't the right color. I tried again, increasing the number of leaves and using red heart red yarn. Now it looked more like a poinsettia to me (the one on the right):

I knit 20 poinsettias and set them aside.

To knit the tree, I used Homespun Evergreen Christmas yarn and every round loom I had. I knit each section of the tree from small to large, and then sewed them together with yarn. I knit the bottom section of the tree a little longer than the cone so I could pull the tree taut against the cone and cinch it underneath.

After I completed it I thought of a different way of creating the tree in one piece; maybe next year I'll try it out and see if it works.

To assemble the tree, I purchased a clear plastic cone from an online craft store to use as the inside of the tree, because I knew styrofoam wouldn't work well with the lights. Plus I didn't want the color of the styrofoam to show through the knitting. I bought a wood dowel and painted the bottom part of it brown, to use as the tree trunk. I bought a strand of 20 red Christmas lights. Then I bought some styrofoam discs that I would cut to insert and glue inside the bottom of the tree and into the base of the pot, to hold the tree steady and upright.

Before I put the lights in, I sewed the poinsettias onto the tree. This could have been a big mistake, since I didn't take into account the distance between each light bulb -vs- the distance I had sewn on each poinsettia. But fortunately all of the lights were able to reach the centers of eack poinsettia as I had planned.

Another problem with sewing the poinsettias on the tree first happened when I had to space and match each light with the center of each poinsettia I had sewn on. I had to use an exacto knife to mark the center of each poinsettia on the plastic cone. Then I enlarged the hole in the plastic cone and pushed each light through. Then I secured the lights using black electrical tape, which I knew would be covered up by the poinsettia.

Next I carefully turned the tree inside out, and pushed the lights through the center of each poinsettia, starting at the top. This was difficult, but not impossible. I poked a pencil through the center of each poinsettia to guide my finger and to make the hole big enough for the light to push through. The ones at the top were the hardest, but after the first few I was able to position the lights both inside and outside the cone through the yarn.

At first I had planned to knit the star on top of the tree. I was going to make a large poinsettia for the top, but I just wasn't getting a good design together for how I wanted it to look. So I found a star at the craft store to use instead.

The last part I bought was the pot itself: a cute wicker basket that I found at the craft store, in the shape of a snowman's hat. It was just the right finishing touch!

Here is what the tree looks like with the lights on,

and an artistic rendering of it:

Hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas!

Christmas Ornament #2

2010-12-15T17:54:00.001-08:00

Here is another ornament I created this year:

A Christmas wreath with tiny holly "berries" woven into it - red yarn sewn through. I put the wreath inside the bulb before adding the holly leaves. It was a task but worth the beautiful result when it was done. The yarn is Red Heart Paddy Green, and Red. I bought the holly from either a local craft store or a mail order catalog, I don't recall which right now.

Santa!

2010-12-15T17:51:00.000-08:00

Phew! I finally finished helping Santa write his letters and send them out to good little children all over the U.S.! He does this via his website, www.SantaLetterForChristmas.com. Every year I help Santa with this task, and the deadline for sending out the letters just passed. Back to knitting!

2010 Christmas Ornament #1

2010-12-02T17:34:00.000-08:00

Here's my first Christmas project for the year: a glass bulb with a knit wreath inside!

It was simple to make, using the spool loom and carefully inserting it inside the bulb. Then I glued some fancy ribbon I bought from Michael's around the top. I already gave it to someone as a gift.

I bought a few miniature bulb ornaments from one of my favorite places to order from, http://www.factorydirectcraft.com/ . I can sit and stare at their catalog, drooling at the thought of all the wonderful projects I could make! The miniature bulbs are hanging inside from the top of the wreath.

It's always fun to see people's reactions when they see the ornaments. They wonder, "How did you get that inside there?" Practice, practice, practice!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

2010-11-24T12:05:00.000-08:00

to one and all! See you after the holiday with Christmas crafts!!

No more pumpkins for now

2010-11-12T15:13:00.000-08:00

I thought I was going to create another pumpkin pattern, but I was so happy with the way the first one came out I didn't try to make any more!

I started working on a few Christmas crafts and I look forward to posting the new projects over the next few weeks.

In the meantime I made a hat for a friend of mine based on the pattern for the Popcorn Bobble Hat from page 14 of the book, "Learn New Stitches on Circle Looms" by Anne Bipes. Instead of the white hat pictured in the book, she wanted black. Here's how it came out:

It's a little harder to see the popcorn bobble pattern in black in a photograph without making the photo so light that it washes everything out. My friend loved it very much.

Frog & Company

2010-11-04T17:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo of my frog on the altar, just like I said I would post. Do you see mine?:

These are just a few of the many frogs that were up there. You can watch my pastor's sermon series on "The F.R.O.G. in the Swamp" here:

http://www.stonecrestcommunitychurch.org/OnlineMessages_092610.php The series begins on September 26 and concludes on 10/31/10.

Trick or Treat

2010-10-31T19:59:00.001-07:00

It was my daughter's first year officially trick or treating, and she was going to be dressed as Princess Tiana from Disney's The Princess and the Frog. I have to say that the Tiana costunes we saw at our local stores were very cheap looking and certainly not durable. The first one we looked at would have left our daughter's back almost fully exposed. Just what we needed, a princess with a cold because of a skimpy costume. The second version of the costume we saw had more covering, but there were no sleeves on the dress. After much debate we finally bought it.

Naturally, we stopped by the Dismey store at the mall and saw the perfect Tiana dress, nicely made and much prettier, of course for $20 more. We decided to stick with the dress we already bought.

As a result, I decided to quickly make a shrug to help keep my daughter warm as she went from door to door. I used Baby Bernat green, yellow, and white to give it a soft tone to match the dress, and some Lion Brand Fun Fur for the cuffs.

After a few measurements, the shrug came together nicely. Whipping it up on such short notice didn't give me much time to check if it fit her properly and it wound up being a little tight around the armpits. But now that I have the pattern down I will make a nicer more durable one for her to wear at other times. I'll just make it a sweater instead of a shrug. Next time I will add Fun Fur to the bottom hem and maybe the neckline, though it might be too tempting for her to nibble on it around her neck. She loved it just the same.

First Pumpkin

2010-10-31T19:53:00.000-07:00

I completed my first pumpkin! And I'm so happy with how cute it came out! I love how it has the ridges just like a real pumpkin! I have to say this is probably one of the cutest projects I've ever done. As soon as I saw it when it was finished, I said, "Awwww." And it was so simple to make, using the blue round loom and e-wrap stitches to make an orange tube. I wove yarn back through the stitches to create a drawstring, stuffed it with batting and cinched it just enough to create the "sections" that occur on the pumpkin surface. What do you think?

A Nice Surprise Gift!

2010-10-31T19:41:00.000-07:00

You may recall a couple of weeks ago I attended the North Jersey Fiber Arts Festival. Well, at the festival my daughter tried her hand at weaving at a loom. The nice lady who was helping children learn to weave told us that she would finish the weaving that my daughter started and send the completed piece to us in the mail. I thought that was a really nice gesture and looked forward to receiving it in the mail. Several days ago, my daughter and I went by the Post Office box and to my surprise there was an envelope. I told my daughter that she had gotten some mail, and her eyes lit up as a smile brightened her face. She was delighted when opened the envelope and she saw this:

I reminded her about how we had attended the festival and how she had started making this bookmark there. I read to her the enclosed note: "Greg, it was great to work with your daughter. I hope that she continues her interest in the fiber arts - Carol (from the Palisades Guild of Spinners and Weavers (www.mafafiber.org/palisades)" Well, she is certainly off to a good start! Thanks Carol!

Another Coffee Can Doll Coming Soon!

2010-10-21T18:22:00.001-07:00

I'm almost finished working on my next coffee can creation, and she's a real darling! A few finishing touches and she'll be ready for her close-up probably late next week, if I can get my props for the photo shoot ready. Regardless, I'll keep you posted.

I'm also working on another fall project: pumpkins! Now, I've seen loom knit pumpkins online already, but mine is going to be made differently. I'm testing two designs right now and will post both of them when they are done.

Fall Project Number One - Loom Knit Corn!

2010-10-14T18:19:00.001-07:00

I started my fall projects late this year, but one of them took a little longer than I expected. I thought it might be nice to loom knit some corn to hang on the door for a fall decoration! It was very simple to do, so I tried making it 3 different ways, using the Knifty Knitter flower loom. The first time, I used some yellow-gold yarn that I had leftover from last Christmas. Since it is such a thin gauge, you can see the batting through the stitches, even though I used 1 over 2 stitches.

Simply e-wrap your loom and knit away to the desired length; mine is 8 inches long. After binding off with the yarn needle, I sewed the bottom end of the corn shut and stuffed it with batting. It is probably best to use one long piece of batting rather than stuffing it with several pieces, since it will not come out even. I stuffed mine with smaller individual pieces and even though I tried to shape it, it still came out a little lumpy. You will want to slightly overstuff it so the corn "leaves" will have a secure footing. For the top of your corn you will need raffia. I cut mine a little too short for the first corn. All you do is - after you cut the raffia, set aside one strand of it. Fold the raffia in half and tie it with the strand, around the folded end. Insert the folded end of the raffia into the top of your corn. Thread your yarn needle with the tail from the top of the corn and pull it to cinch the yarn around the raffia. Then you will go through the raffia with the yarn needle and sew the yarn onto the other side of the top of the corn. Do this a few times, crisscrossing the yarn through the raffia, pulling it tightly so that it will be secure, taking care that you are sewing it on straight. Take another strand of raffia (#2) and tie it around the outside of the corn leaves, about 1.5 inches up from the top of the corn. Then take another strand of raffia and sew it around strand #2 through the raffia, otherwise it will slide down. And you're done! You can either braid some raffia and loop it to strand #2 to make a hook for your corn to hang from, or just use some yarn the same way.

For corn number 2, I decided to use "I Love This Yarn! Candycorn Ombre yarn that I bought from Hobby Lobby. I followed the same directions above and here's how it came out:

I liked it, and it felt and looked more like corn, but I still wasn't completely satisfied. I didn't like how the colors of the yarn made a distinct pattern on the corn; I wanted the pattern to be more random like real corn would be. So I tried again.

For corn # 3 I decided to make the whole thing using what is known as a popcorn stitch. To cast on I used a one over one stitch. Then for every peg I used the popcorn stitch: I wrapped peg 1 once and knit off, then I wrapped peg 1 again and knit off until I had wrapped and knit off peg 1 4 times. Then, using the hook tool, I pulled the loop from first stitch that I knit off and put it back onto peg 1. Then I knit off and moved to peg 2 and repeated the process until I completed 1 row. Then I simply e-wrapped all the pegs once and knit off. For the next row I used the popcorn stitch. I alternated between popcorn stitch rows and plain e-wrapped rows until I reached the desired length and followed the same directions for adding the batting and raffia as for corn #1, except I cut the raffia much longer. I finally achieved the look I was trying to get! Naturally, corn #3 takes the longest to make, but I am satisfied with the results. The candycorn yarn pattern isn't as noticeable, and the texture of the finished product feels a lot more like corn. Had I not stuffed the corn as much, The stitches would have been tighter together and perhaps looked even more realistic. What do you think?

North Jersey Fiber Arts Festival

2010-10-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

My daughter and I went to the North Jersey Fiber Arts Festival this past weekend (http://www.northjerseyfiberartsfestival.com/). It was nice weather on Saturday, and the drive to the festival was fine until we got closer to it where the traffic was really snarled. But on this particular road in NJ traffic is always pretty ugly.

Anyway, once we arrived at the festival, all traffic cares melted away as the feeling of being among friends welcomed us. The admission fee was $8.00/person, which was certainly a bargain for the fun that was to be had. The festival was inside a center which had two rooms, one large and one small.

In both rooms there were interesting demonstrations going on,

weaving at looms large and small (even my daughter tried her hand at the small loom - no that isn't her or me in the picture!)

felting

and vendors with plenty of wonderful items to choose from.

Duduza Dolls, dolls knitted and distributed to Ghanaian children recovering from surgery

There were also workshops going on, but I knew ahead of time that we weren't going to be participating in any of them. Our friends from Abenaki Acres Alpaca Farm (http://www.abenakiacres.com/) were also there, whom we gladly greeted and chatted with for awhile. Outside there was a large tent where you could sit and knit quietly, or eat lunch at tables provided. My daughter and I shared a turkey and swiss sandwich. I'm very glad that we went!

Probably the funniest moment of the day came when I saw this bumper sticker sitting on a vendor's table:

It just cracked me up, since I knew exactly what it meant! Knit 1 Pearl 2! Pretty much summed up the experience for me!

My frog got frogged!

2010-10-05T18:22:00.000-07:00

The Pastor at my church started a new series of sermons he entitled "The F.R.O.G. in the swamp," and he asked congregants to bring in a frog to put on the altar. The acronym F.R.O.G. stands for "Fully Rely On God." The object of the sermon series is to point out how God is fully reliable and trustworthy no matter what is going on in the "swamp" of our lives, and regardless of what lies the enemy tries to get us to believe about ourselves.

Naturally my first thought was to loom knit a frog to put on the altar. But I couldn't think of how I wanted it to look. I surfed the web to look at several designs, but none of them really clicked with me. I finally decided to make up my own pattern, and make my frog a children's puppet. Using some of the yarn that I received free using Freecycle, here's the first frog I created:

I liked how it came out, but it didn't seem very frog-like to me. His head was too narrow, and the stitches made him look as though he were an alligator. So I frogged my frog down to the neck and made a new, wider head for him. I also turned him inside out, so the stitches wouldn't interfere with the design. Here's how frog #2 came out:

I like this one much better, don't you? Though he does look a little cheeky, with his tongue sticking out. Either that, or there's a fly buzzing around your head that he's about to zap...

Overall he was pretty simple to make. I used the pink straight loom both times, knitting 1 over 2. I made frog number 1 all in one piece. The eyes and tongue I made separately and attached.

Now when I go to church I will put him on the altar. When I do, I'll take a picture of him sitting with the other frogs and post it here. The sermon series isn't over yet, but when it is I'll post a link to it here.

National Alpaca Farm Days!

2010-09-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the annual celebration of National Alpaca Farm Days (Sept 25-26) http://www.nationalalpacafarmdays.com/ . Though the weather was overcast on Sunday, after church we decided to visit Abenaki Acres Farm in Stockton NJ (http://www.abenakiacres.com/ ). So glad we did!

This clean and spacious alpaca farm offered an inviting open house tour, where you could get up close and personal with their herd of alpacas.

Our daughter was comfortable enough with the alpacas to have them eat out of her hand (a trick she taught me to do years ago!)

Gracious hosts Bill & Elizabeth Johnson were on hand to answer any and every question you could possibly think of about alpacas, and their staff was remarkably kind and helpful too! Naturally I was drawn to the fiber art offerings (an assortment of clothing, finger puppets, alpaca yarn, etc.),

My wife found an awesome poncho that looks like it was made for her, for a great price! And there were some people there demonstrating felting techniques, as well as spinning.

One of these days I will get a wheel and learn how to spin also. Our daughter seems pretty interested in the wheel every time we see one at various fiber events we go to, so it might be a good craft for her to learn as well. When I get one, I want the large old fashioned solid wood kind, though I'm sure I need to experiment with several kinds to see which one I might actually like best.

It was obvious that our hosts and their staff loved the alpacas and loved caring for them. Though it rained off and on during our visit, it didn't dampen our spirits and we had a really nice time.

Did you attend any alpaca farms this past weekend?

Fruit, Dolls & Toys Galore!

2010-09-22T18:18:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, we went on a family outing to enjoy Apple Day at Terhune Orchards in Princeton, NJ (http://www.terhuneorchards.com/). It was a lot of fun walking around the farm,

taking the wagon ride through the fields,

watching our daughter ride a pony, getting lost in the corn maze, and of course, picking apples.

As we were driving back home, I noticed a sign that read "Doll Museum." I said to my wife, "You wanna go?" She said, "Sure!" So we visited the Princeton Doll & Toy Museum in Hopewell, NJ (http://www.princetondollandtoy.org/).

It was truly an unexpected delight, with dolls and toys everywhere you could look!

Some exquisitely rare,

a Shirley Temple section (with a delightful video of her singing songs from her movies),

a doll research library, miniature rooms, and a thoroughly knowledgeable museum director and gracious host, Ms. Virginia Aris. Though it was a relatively small space, there was so much to look at! Much of the museum was a "do not touch" zone, but one of the best features was a play area for small children (like our daughter) full of small toys that were "ok to touch and play with." I really appreciated that! It was only $5 per adult to get in ($3 per child), and well worth the admission. Plus there are 2 separate display houses with even more dolls and toys on display, one house entitled "Alice in Wonderland House," which of course I took special interest in (considering my own doll).

If you are ever in the area, be sure to stop in and visit Terhune Orchards and the museum; they are close to each other!

I interviewed Barney & Hip Hop Harry!

2010-09-17T05:43:00.001-07:00

I’m happy to announce that I just posted my interview with David Joyner, the man who knows Hip Hop Harry & Barney inside out. He’s the actor who has brought these characters to life for many years, and he has some very interesting stories to share! I hope you’ll take a look at the interview by clicking this link: http://www.creativehelps.com/interviews_3.htm#ANOTHER_COLORFUL_LIFE_~_DAVID_JOYNER . Let me know what you think!

Curiouser & Curiouser! Alice is Here!

2010-09-15T18:29:00.000-07:00

Here’s my little Alice! She finds herself in wonderland...

Poor dear, she seems to have drunk from the bottle marked, “Drink Me,”

and it has caused her to shrink down to a tiny size!

How curious!

No, I didn’t employ any tricks in photographing her, she really is that size!

She’s tiny, but she looks ever so sweet in her blue dress and apron!

Here’s my original drawing of her:

Early progress:

For her dress I alternated knit and purl stitches.

Her apron is all loom knitted in one piece.

When it came to her headband, she isn’t wearing one in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. She is wearing a ribbon in her hair in Through the Looking Glass. But instead of a ribbon I decided to braid a headband for her instead. At first I thought a dark blue yarn might work, as I’ve seen her with a dark headband many times before. But something about it didn’t look quite right to me.

Next I tried weaving a string of pearls into the braiding and changing her name to Elegant Alice. But that didn’t exactly suit her either.

Finally I decided I would braid together two strands of white and one strand of blue yarn, the same as I had used for her outfit. This looked best, so I braided two and then sewed them together with a little white thread.

To me, John Tenniel’s illustrations for Alice will always be the definitive image I have of her, since that is the version I grew up reading and loving. However, did you know that you can see what Lewis Carroll’s original illustrations for Alice looked like? Take a look! Go to http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/ttp/ttpbooks.html and scroll down, click on “The Original Alice” at the bottom center of the page. Be sure to leaf through the entire book, which is written in his own handwriting; at the end there is a photo of a little girl, presumably the real Alice Liddell. If you plan to do research on Alice Liddell, you will find that Lewis Carroll is a pseudonym for the author’s real name, Charles Dodgson. Just a little Alice trivia I thought you might enjoy!

Sheep & Fiber Festival

2010-09-15T18:08:00.000-07:00

This past weekend my family and I went to the 16^th Annual NJ Sheep and Fiber Festival by the Garden State Sheep Breeders (http://www.njsheep.org/festival/index.html). There were plenty of sheep there, as you might imagine. Many different kinds, too. Some with tight curly hair, some recently shorn, others huge, some small.

All bleeting, but not at the same time. It was held on a sunny Saturday afternoon at the Hunterdon County Fairgrounds in Ringoes, NJ. The Fairgrounds feature a midway with four large “barns” where the sheep and vendors were. It was our first time going, so we didn't know what to expect.

Vendors included fiber farms (alpacas, llamas, sheep, angora rabbits, etc.), jewelers, fiber craft vendors, strolling musicians, face painting for the children, sheep judging, and knitting, spinning, and shearing demonstrations.

Spinning at the wheel. There were lots of women, but men also. All ages were there.

Weaving demo for my daughter. Earlier the lady showed me how to knit with needles!

North County Spinners Spinning Class (I just missed it, I had wanted to take it while we were there)

It was quite an extensive display. Our daughter was fascinated by the sheep and the spinning wheels. Though my wife and I just looked and chatted with the vendors, our daughter found a couple of cute Christmas ornaments she wanted:

There were many different kinds of wonderful handspun yarns to drool over, and plenty of creative handcrafted items as well. They had food too, but we didn't eat there. I saw people eating french fries and cheesesteak sandwiches.

We really enjoyed ourselves!

Hobby Lobby Visit!

2010-09-06T18:37:00.000-07:00

I love Hobby Lobby! Just going there makes me drool with delight about all the crafty projects I could make, and this visit was no exception. Rows and rows of wonderful stuff, so hard to keep from buying more than what I needed! Just look at all their wonderful stuff! Made me get emotional right there in the store:

I posted two other videos at http://artmangreg.blogspot.com in case these aren't enought for you!

My First Loom!

2010-09-06T17:52:00.001-07:00

Well, knitting friends, I was sorting through the boxes in my storage area and came across this little gem. This is the first loom I ever used, I saved it since I was a child!

You use it with yarn to make squares that you then sew together with yarn. I got it from a thrift store that we used to go to a lot when I was a kid. I've probably had this loom since I was 12 years old! I used it to make a scarf and a wall hanging, as well as a carpet and a blanket for a bed for my sister's dollhouse. I used it to make other things as well, but those are the main projects I remembered. It is called the Wonder Weave, manufactured by Karbercraft Co back in 1964. I still have the project book and the instructions that go with it.

I don't recall if I have any pictures of the projects I made with it, but if I come across any I'll post them. Who knows, maybe I'll start using it again!

Red Riding Hood!

2010-08-29T05:58:00.000-07:00

She's finished!

The only thing I have left to do is to glue the flower to her hand and the basket onto her arm; I don't want them to be removable. I am also going to sew the hood onto her clothes in the back because I don't want that removable either.

When I start making my dolls, I draw a picture first to get an idea of how I want her to look, with some directions regarding color:

As I create the different parts of the clothing and sew them together, I usually decide to make some changes if something doesn't look like how I thought it would. This was taken before I made the apron:

On the front of her dress I tried out a few different stitch patterns at the bottom for a little variety. I alternated the knit and purl stitches. I did that on the basket of goodies as well but since it is so small it is hardly noticeable.

The apron was fun to make and I liked putting the little pockets on.

At first I was going to use ribbons for her hair at the bottom of the braids but then I decided to just keep everything yarn, including the flower. I decided to make the flower blue to compliment her blue eyes. At first I was going to make a red rose, but I figured with all the red she was wearing it wouldn't stand out very well.

I decided not to make the wolf. At first I thought it might be fun to have the wolf off in the background of the picture, blurry but recognizable. But it came out fine without him. He wouldn't have been made using a coffee can, I would have just made him and stuffed him. But since she isn't really a toy, I decided not to make him.

New doll started!

2010-08-21T18:26:00.000-07:00

I started my next coffee can doll! I won't tell you who it is this time until I'm almost ready to post pictures. But suffice it to say she is truly scrumptious! I really only have 2 more pieces to knit to complete it, aside from sewing the pieces together. I'm excited!

Free Yarn from Freecycle

2010-08-21T18:22:00.001-07:00

Here is my generous pile of yarn, given to me for free simply because I asked for it on Freecycle.com! I'm a member in my local area and I asked for yarn. When my daughter saw the pile of yarn, she said, "It looks like a yarn pool." The pool measures 3 feet by 3 feet, and there area many colors and sizes as you can see!

Little Bo Peep is Done!

2010-08-19T16:46:00.001-07:00

Now the complete set of Little Bo Peep with her lamb is done! After painting the shepherd's crook 4 times, I glued it to her hand and placed two paint bottles underneath it to keep it straight while it dried:

Once it was dry, and it stopped raining outside for a day or two, I took her outside for her glamour shots:

During the week I thought about adding a ribbon and a little bell around her lambkin's neck, to add that extra touch of authenticity. The bell would let Bo Peep know where lambkin was at all times. But I decided against it; I felt the ribbon and bell would be a little bit too much. Lambkin looked just fine without it.

Shepherd's Crook is Coming Along

2010-08-10T18:07:00.000-07:00

Had a chance to paint Little Bo Peep's crook today after I bought the acrylic paint yesterday at the craft store, 2 for $1. I wasn't sure which color brown I wanted, so I bought these two: brown and espresso.

I settled on the Espresso and got started. It matched the color of her hair better. As I painted it, the smell of the paint reminded me of when I used to paint in grammar school, and that was a pleasant memory.

It went on relatively smooth, but it didn't cover extremely well. I know I will wind up giving it two or three coats before I'm done. And I forgot to look at the paint carefully when I was in the store to see if it was glossy or matte. Of course, it doesn't say, so I'll have to wait and find out after it dries.

I painted it on wax paper, but after I started I thought of a better way to paint it. I have a pencil holder, and I could have gotten it painted all over by standing it up in the pencil holder and painting it instead of lying it flat. But it's too late now. Maybe when the other side dries I'll try it that way.

I like how the color turned out, though it is blotching in places, which is what I suspected.

Lambkin is Done!

2010-08-05T15:43:00.000-07:00

Here's Bo Peep's Lambkin:

I really hadn't thought of a name for the lamb, so I guess Lambkin will do; it's kind of cute. I used flexible aluminum wire for the legs and sewed them inside the body. At first I was going to bend the wire and sew it along the inside bottom of Lambkin's belly, but the legs simply wouldn't stand up that way. So I finally sewed the wire in a straight line, and the legs stand up just fine.

Bo Peep's Lamb Companion

2010-08-03T18:04:00.000-07:00

Here's my progress on Bo Peep's lambkin so far:

The front end is where the yarn needle is pointing. I have been adding more black yarn to the hooves to prevent the wire I used to stabilize the legs from poking through. I just need to stuff it and sew on the head, and it will be done! Soon Bo Peep will be ready for her closeup!

The Shepherd's Crook

2010-08-03T17:40:00.001-07:00

I was pretty busy this weekend with promoting my new website so I didn't get to make the shepherd's crook for Bo Peep until Monday evening. Here's the clay I used:

My wife had bought it for me as a present for my birthday. I won't tell you how long ago that was, but I knew one day I would use it. Originally I wanted to try and sculpt my own dolls with it, but the shepherd's crook was the first project I used it for. Perhaps because it had been sitting for awhile it was stiff to work with at first. I found that I didn't need a very large piece to roll out thin enough for a staff. Once I kneaded it a bit, it became easier to work with and I was able to easily shape it into a crook. It was rather limp, so I wasn't sure if it was going need some extra support inside. I put it in the oven on a round tray (which was too small for it and I hoped it wouldn't wilt as a result - it didn't).

I'm not sure what it smelled like as I baked it because I baked a tuna casserole and I'm sure one smell overpowered the other. I also thought it would change colors after baking but it didn't. It felt firm after I took it out of the oven and put it aside to cool. Here it is all cooled off. Now I have to get some brown acrylic paint to paint it. The surface of the crook is bumpy, and I wanted it that way, as though the crook were made of a piece of natural wood.

Now the trick will be attaching it to her hand. I know I want to use glue, but I'm not sure about how to hold it in the position I want it in until the glue dries. Plus I don't want globs of glue dripping down her hand on her dress. I suppose I could put fabric over her dress to protect it.

I had thought about using a stick pin to hold the crook in position in her hand while the glue sets; we'll see if that turns out to be a good idea.

New Loom Knitting Website

2010-08-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

Please join me for the launch of my new loom knitting website, www.LoomDude.com ! There you can read the story about how I got interested in loom knitting in the first place, see the projects I'm currently working on, and browse the neat items I have for sale in my online stores. I hope you'll choose to stay connected with me by following me on my blog and returning to my website often to see what's new. Let me know what you think! And if you'd like me to knit something special for you, let me know!

Little Bo Peep's Sheep

2010-07-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm just going to give her a lamb, not all of her sheep; after all, she's looking for the other ones...

So far I just finished the head and one leg (apart from the body which I posted earlier).

I was going to sew the head onto the body but thought better of it, since I would need to attach the legs first. I plan to finish the legs by the weekend and put them on at the start of next week, if not sooner. I will make the staff over the weekend. I plan on making a few of them, in case one cracks when I bake them in the oven. I wonder what they will smell like when they're baking.

Little Bo Peep 1

2010-07-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

Here she is, my Little Bo Peep coffee can doll!

I think she came out really nice.

It took me a little while longer to finish her, partly because the local craft store didn't have any air freshener dolls at all and I had to order it online. Then I decided I wanted to add pearls to her dress, but was having trouble finding the size pearls I wanted. I finally did:

Now I am working on her lamb, as you can see:

Over the weekend I plan on making a shepherd's crook out of clay for her, since I can't seem to find any that are the right size online or anywhere else. Probably would have an easier time of it at Christmas, with all the creches and shepherds around, but I don't want to wait that long. I'll just experiment with making my own this weekend.

Website almost complete

2010-07-18T17:37:00.000-07:00

Hello all! I've been pretty busy as of late, readying my knitting website for launch later this month. There are still a couple of bugs in it that I need to work out, but I hope to have them corrected soon.

In the meantime, I have been knitting another coffee can doll; this time it's Little Bo Peep. I have to find a miniature shepherd's crook for her, otherwise I'll be making one. And I have to knit a little sheep also, as a companion. I also have to braid her hair. But her dress has come out very nicely and this time I made puffy sleeves, which was an interesting experience. I hope to have her completed by the end of this week and I'll post pictures then.

Firecracker top

2010-07-08T18:51:00.000-07:00

How was your 4th? Ours was nice, but very very hot weather here. No matter how hot it gets, I'm still knitting, whether in the sun or in the shade.

This was the first "lid" I made for the firecracker. I was trying to get the blue, red, and white to be in even amounts, but for some reason it didn't come out right. I just wanted to include it here so you could see my first attempt.

I'm working on another doll, but the craft store didn't have any dolls left so now I have to order one online. Much better variety online.

Firecracker!

2010-07-01T18:27:00.000-07:00

Here's a little coffee can firecracker I made for the 4th of July using the round blue loom and some red white and blue Red Heart yarn:

After I made it I thought about another variation on it, so if I get it done in time I'll post it before the 4th. If not, I'll post it later. The fuse is Thick & Quick, and the fire on the fuse is a simple pom-pom I made by wrapping two of my fingers together with yarn, cutting it, and then I tied it.

Baby Doll Stages

2010-06-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

Here's the baby doll in progress:

First I removed the arms from the body and used the spool loom to create the sleeves. I did a drawstring cast on so I could tighten one end of the sleeve so it would flare out like a bell shape. I used a simple 1 over 2 e-wrap stitch. I made the sleeve in two segments and then sewed them together.

Next I made the upper part of the dress using the flower loom. It was a little tight near the waistline (dare I say such a thing), but I knew that part would be covered up with the hoop part of the dress. I attached an I-cord to the front of the dress to add interest. I had to remove the head in order to fit the dress on.

I created the outer part of the dress using the flap technique that I used to create the wings on the hens I made at Easter time. The bottom part of the dress naturally curled up once I took it off the loom. I used the round red loom to create the dress.

More details to come...

My Baby Doll!

2010-06-28T18:46:00.001-07:00

Here's a sweet little doll that I worked on for about 2 weeks, using the FibreCraft Air Freshener Doll. I thought a lit about how I wanted her to look, and designed her dress in several stages, which I will be posting during this week. But first, here is the finished product:

I used Bernat Baby Coordinates for the yarn. Under her dress is a coffee can, and for awhile I was calling it my coffee can doll, but that name just doesn't sound romantic enough, does it?

4th of July

2010-06-28T18:44:00.000-07:00

I will be posting a fun 4th of July project that I worked on earlier this year before the end of this week! But first...

For Dad... or not

2010-06-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

Here are my Father's Day projects! The first one is a bank I made from a coffee can:

I used the red round loom to make the sleeve and drew up a diagram of where I thought the word "Dad" should be on the can. It looks fine when the yarn isn't stretched onto the can, but once I put it on the can the word "Dad" became difficult to read. Perhaps if I used a different kind of yarn? I used Homespun, which doesn't stretch a whole lot. I didn't try the next larger size loom because I thought it might be too loose on the can, but perhaps next time...

Here is a movie I filmed using my cell phone so you can see the word "Dad:"

Next up: another coffee can sleeve, but this time I wanted to create a dollar sign. I used Vanna White navy blue and Red Heart Paddy Green & Soft White. I didn't stretch it onto the can to see how it would fit yet, but when I do I will post the picture. I thought the dollar sign came out pretty good, except I was a little off at the bottom of the dollar sign.

Finally, I thought making a car air freshener using the flower loom might be an interesting project, so I used Vanna White navy and grey this time. The word "Dad" is easier to read (in my opinion), but it would look a little better if the letters were either smaller or more spaced out. My plan is to stuff it with batting, spray it with a little bit of cologne or fill it with some potpourri, and hang it in the car. I want to see how long it will take before the sun bleaches the color out of the yarn.

As far as what I gave my Dad for Father's Day: you'll just have to come back after Sunday to find that out. He'll have the gift by then.

Father's Day projects

2010-06-14T18:52:00.001-07:00

I experimented with a few ideas for Father's Day gifts, and I will be posting them over the next couple of days. I tried to think outside the box on this one, so no sweaters or ties! What are you working on for Father's Day?

World Wide Knit In Public Day & A World Record...

2010-06-08T17:53:00.000-07:00

Sounds like my kind of event!!!! World Wide Knit In Public Day is celebrated from June 12-20th this year. You can find all the details at www.wwkipday.com . I knit in public almost every day, but I haven't done it with a group of folks yet. I'm sure that would be an entirely different experience. Have you ever participated in an event like this?

Also, I missed the Guiness World Record for most people crocheting simultaneously on 6/5/10 at Citi Field in NY. Probably one of the only times I'd go to a baseball game. Did you go? Read about it here: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/06/06/2010-06-06_record_stitched_at_citi_field.html.

For all the veterans

2010-05-31T04:53:00.000-07:00

As we in the U.S. take time to honor and remember our veterans on Memorial Day, I thought this would be an appropriate time to post my knitted garrison cap design:

front:

back:

A couple of people asked me to knit a garrison cap for them. They chose the colors for their caps. I had no idea how to do it and scoured the web for knitting instructions, but all I could find was a pattern for how to sew one. So I decided to make up a pattern from what I knew of loom knitting, and the customers were both satisfied. You will need to tweak my pattern a bit depending on the size head you are knitting for; mine is for a 23" head.

You will need: measuring tape (to measure the person's head), yarn needle, yarn (I used Homespun black and tudor), straight yellow loom, straight blue loom, yarn hook.

Knitted using 1 over 2 e-wrap stitches.

For the inner cap: on the yellow loom, cast on 38 pegs and knit off 47 rows. Remove yarn from one anchor peg corner peg and place the loops on the adjacent peg (it doesn't matter which one); knit off so that there are only two loops on that peg. Remove the anchor corner peg. Repeat for other side of loom. Knit off 4 rows on 36 pegs and loosely bind off. Set aside.

For outer flap: Place the inner cap that you just knit against the left or right corner of the blue loom. Place a peg into that anchor peg corner peg hole where your inner cap is resting. Place a peg into the opposite anchor peg corner peg hole. With the loom facing you, on the peg row that is directly in front of you, count 10 pegs down from the anchor peg corner peg where your inner cap is resting. Remove what would be peg #11. Now go backwards, counting the pegs you just counted, and count off 54 pegs in the opposite direction. Remove what would be peg #55. You will begin by using the black yarn and casting on the original 10 pegs you counted, all the way around the loom to peg 54. Knit off 4 rows, then decrease by 1 peg at both ends to knit off 2 rows on 52 pegs.

Decrease by 1 peg at both ends to knit off 2 rows on 50 pegs.

Decrease by 1 peg on both ends to knit off 2 rows on 48 pegs.

Decrease by 1 peg on both ends to knit off 2 rows on 46 pegs.

Decrease by 1 peg on both ends to knit off 2 rows on 44 pegs.

Decrease by 1 peg on both ends to knit off 2 rows on 42 pegs.

Decrease by 1 peg on both ends to knit off 5 rows on 40 pegs.

Decrease by 1 peg on both ends to knit off 5 rows on 36 pegs.

Add tudor yarn for the trim and knit off 3 rows.

Loosely bind off.

Now, wrap the outer flap around the bottom edge of the inner cap to create the overlap look as in photo #1 above. Carefully sew the bottoms of the outer flap and the inner cap together. Then, using tudor yarn and starting with the inside part of the outer flap (the part that has been overlapped), sew the top edge of the outer flap onto the outside of the inner cap all the way around the cap. This will secure the outer flap to the inner cap to prevent it from curling up, and will create the trim edge for the decreased edges of the outer flap knitting. If you make one, I'd love to see it!

New website coming!!

2010-05-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

Watch for the June unveiling of my website redesigns: www.CreativeHelps.com, www.ArtmanGreg.com, and the world premiere of my new loom knitting website!!

Fruit slices

2010-05-29T12:47:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up, fruit slices were one of my most favorite candies in the whole world! It was special to me because to get fruit slices meant that we were going to take a family trip to a local mall, and a certain department store had a candy counter which sold fruit slices, Swedish fish, and Maple Nut Goodies, all my favorites!!! I can still taste the sugar-coated jelly candy in my mouth right now...

I had different ways of eating them too: one way was to nibble the rind off first, then eat the rest of the slice. Another way was to eat the inside of the slice and then nibble the rind. Another way was to stuff the whole slice in my mouth and melt the sugar off before chewing the entire thing up. Such sweet memories!

Well, here's my hand at knitting a few fruit slices. I think I will keep trying to accomplish these, and one day I will, but for now I think I'm off to ao pretty good start:

The first ones I made were the watermelon slices. I made them both using athe blue round loom, but the first one I made is more elongated than the second one. I also knit the seeds into the watermelon. The second one that looks more like an actual slice had a fewer number of rows, and that made all the difference. The seeds I knit apart from the watermelon and then sewed them on, so they are shaped more like seeds (to my eye).

The yarns I used were Homespun Candy Apple, Red Heart Soft White and Paddy Green. The seeds are bits of dark blue leftover yarn I had.

The lemon slice was made on the blue loom also. I used Red Heart Yellow and some thin yellow yarn I had. If I could figure out how to keep the ends from curling up, then you would be able to see that there is a row of thin yellow yarn around the outer edge, followed by the deep yellow yarn for the rind. But I felt that this would have been a mammoth-sized lemon in real life, so I decided to try making the lemon slice on the flower loom instead.

This lemon slice turned out more like a flower rather than a lemon slice, but what might you expect using the flower loom? Maybe I will use a different stitch next time instead of e-wrapping. Now you know Loom Dude is going to figure out and perfect a way to make scrumptious fruit slices using the loom, so stay loomed - oops, I mean stay tuned!

Sunflower Power 2!

2010-05-29T06:17:00.000-07:00

A little while back I posted an entry entitled "Sunflower Power," which showed a sunflower that I had loom knit. But I had not finished the project because I wanted to find the perfect pot to put it in. Well, it just so happens that the local craft store had just the pot I wanted, and they were on sale. And I got to use my 40% off coupon too! So here's how it turned out:

The view from the back:

The instructions for making the sunflower are in the previous post. And here is what I did to complete the sunflower project:

At the craft store I purchased a 6" round plastic canvas (made by Quick Count) for .79.

I placed the round over the mouth of the pot and cut off the number of rows from the round that overlapped the edge. In my case, I cut off 4 rows from the outer edge of the round. Then I placed the dowel in the center of the round and cut a larger hole for the dowel to fit through. I cut three rows from the center of the round, which will just enough for the yarn-covered dowel to snugly fit through when I cover the round with yarn.

Next, on the red round loom, I used Red Heart Paddy Green yarn to create a drawstring cast on 1 over 1 stitch, then I e-wrapped and knit off 19 rows with a 1 over 2 stitch. On the 10th row I cinched the drawstring, but not entirely shut, just so it was about the same size as the hole I made in the round. After knitting off the rows I sewed the knitting off the loom, placed the round inside what I had just knit, and cinched the working yarn to the size of the hole in the round. Next I sewed the 2 sides of the knitting together around the inside edge of the center of the round. The yarn needle is too big to fit through the holes of the round, so you don't have to worry about it getting stuck in there.

Next, I inserted the bottom of the empty sunflower stem through the center hole in the round. Then I inserted the dowel inside the stem. I sewed the stem to the yarn on the round.

I added batting inside the pot, stuffing it in a circular way so that there would be a hole in the center for the dowel. Then I put craft glue on the bottom of the dowel and around the outside edge of the round. I carefully inserted the dowel and round into the pot, and positioned it so the stem was straight up. The glue will slide down the inside mouth of the pot when you push the round in there of course, so to prevent that you may want to just put glue around the insed edge of the pot where the round will fit into it. I left it to dry.

In the future I hope to take more scenic shots of my knitting projects; they look even better that way.