Whether you are frugal or frivolous with your money, a free knitting pattern offers an opportunity to create something with the expense being only the yarn and your time. If it fails miserably, you unravel (or frog it, as the slang is) and start something else. It is also nice to feel like you have…
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Tag Archives: sewing
Dyeing Roving Wool & Knitting Yarn with Kool-Aid
You may remember Kool-Aid as the happy-go-lucky red pitcher sloshing around commercials of your childhood – or you may not be familiar with the beverage at all, but did you know you can use Kool-Aid powder packets to dye wool? Yes, I know, it’s ok if you need to sit down to process this news. Then you…
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Books to Inspire You to… Renew! Recycle! Create!
Taking something that already exists and creating something new with it has such poetry – or at least that’s how I see it. It can also be described as resourcefulness, flexibility, thrift, or upcycling. You’ve read about my adventures making old things into something new (felted jacket, wine cork trivet, Christmas tree), now read about…
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Oversized Hat for a ‘Just Right’ Big Head
In two years of knitting, my husband has watched on as I’ve made baby blankets for other people’s children, scarves for other family members, and even things for myself, but finally last week it was his turn. Even the biggest of brains need to stay warm in cold weather, so I measured and surmised until…
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Upcycled Cardigan Turned Felted Cropped Jacket
I found the softest oversized cardigan at the second-hand shop last year. Its soft gray fibers begged to come home with me in spite of the fact that it resembled a coat more than a sweater. But it’s amazing what we’re willing to adopt when it costs less than €5. I brought it home and…
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A Trivet Made of Upcycled Wine Corks
Creating something new and useful from something already created is almost always appealing to me so the classic design of a wine cork just had to find a way to be enjoyed beyond the bottle. Considering what I needed most, I set out to make a simple hot pad for my tea kettle with the corks…
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Art is in the Heart of the Creator
Art is what you make of it, but I’ll admit that I do not think of my knitting or sewing or cooking or crafts as works of art. My drawings and paintings are art, perhaps even my graphics, but somewhere between my BA in fine arts and a few years ago I forgot that art…
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Christmas Tree from What I Had Handy
I couldn’t see the point in parting with money for a Christmas tree when we don’t even have a tree stand or enough ornaments. Then I half-joked with myself that I should turn our tall tripod into a tree with some green fabric I have around. Well, one thought led to another and a short…
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Knitting for Autumn: Taffy Twist Cowl
With autumn approaching like a falling leaf to the ground, it is time to think about transitional pieces to balance the bit of evening chill in the air. For me, the cowl is just such a piece since it stays in place, adds a bit of color to any outfit, and can carry you through…
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