Swatch! Swatch! Swatch! What can I do with them all?

We've found a home for so many swatches.  How many you ask???  Would you believe 99 swatches of a variety of sizes?  It's amazing.  Can you come up with any new ideas?  Here are ideas for 8 to 10 swatches each.

1. Seat Cushions:  Nine granny squares is also the right size for a seat cushion for the dining room chairs.
2. Tote bag cover:  Nine four-inch granny squares can cover the side of a slightly worn, but ohso-handy tote. Eighteen squares and you can cover the whole thing!
3. Doll House Afghan:  Nine tiny granny squares will make a doll house afghan. The best yarn to use here is one strand of three-ply needle point yarn.
4. Tote Bag Cover:  Eight 6 inch squares and you can cover the same tote above.
5. A whole sofa cushion:  Eight swatches or squares and you can cover on both sides of a sofa cushion
6. Slippers:  ten 3 -4 inch squares, 5 to each one can make slippers.  
7. Vest:  For larger children and adults, 10 swatches of 2 sizes will make a vest.  Take 2 very large swatches for the front and back panels.  Use 3 small swatches seamed to the left and right side of the front.  Seam them now to the back panel.  Seam 2 of the remaining 4 small swatches together on one side to form a shoulder strap.  Repeat.  To place the straps, start at the 1/4 mark and the 3/4 mark at the top of the tube you formed before and seam them working toward the outside edge.  To give a finished appearance, single crochet around the outside edges.  

And here we have found a home for another 63 squares/swatches in a variety of sizes.  Bet you can't guess what all there is in store for next month!

A Yarn Tasting

A number of years ago, I offered a yarn tasting opportunity to students.  I was rereading old posts and came across this topic again.  This is something that I like to do from time to time.  I have new ideas for old topics or have learned something new.  I can offer new insights to this courtesy of recent events.

If I were to go to any big box craft store, I could find all the usual yarns, smooth acrylics, boucle acrylics, a smooth wool or two, some dishcloth cotton (smooth but sheds when washed the first time), a possible eyelash or furry yarn, and recently a chenille yarn.  And that would be about it.  Most of it is worsted weight or heavier.

However, I attended a fiber festival recently, as you have seen from a recent post.  On a first go around, most of what I have seen there was smooth fingering weight wool, usually merino or merino and nylon.  But further investigation reveals other things.  There were smooth cottons, some linens, some silks both smooth and on the textured side, wools from lace weight to super bulky smooth to boucle, alpaca, and there was even a hemp and a few linen and linen blends.  Notice what isn't here??

I decided that I wanted to taste quite a few things.  I got a little of many things.  I have a silk that is smooth and delicious.  I have wools that are fine and smooth and soft to a heavier, more textured and not so soft.  I got some of my favorite alpaca.  I didn't get any linen but am kicking myself now.  I did get hemp.  I have more cotton than I need at home so I didn't get any.

I definitely suggest going to a fiber festival to try new things.   There's almost never yarns from the huge commercial sources that you can get at a big box craft store.   You will support local dyers and spinners.  Local is relative,  not the people next door but not across the country either.

Try something new....

My Knitting Bag and My Notions Bag

What do I have to have?  What do I actually have?  Why? How many do I Have?  Why?  The mysteries will be answered, hopefully.

First up the knitting or crocheting project bag.....

Yarn, hooks or needles, pattern.  These are the obvious suspects.  We all have these items with us in our project bag.  But what else might there be?  I have a notions container.  For this I use an old altoids tin or other plastic or metal candy container.  In this I keep a small snips, yarn needle, stitch markers, beads if needed for the project, a row counter, post it notes or a tablet plus a pen.  These all seem to be rather straight forward, I admit.  But there's more.....

I also keep a nail file or emery board, hand lotion, a travel container of antiacids/ibuprofen/cough drop or hard candies, eye drops, lip balm (in winter only or if a long cold) and tissues.  The file or emery board are for both my hands and needles/hooks.  One never knows when a nail or tool will develop a burr that snags yarn or finished fabric.  The lotion does the same for skin.  I can also use lotion on the tools to speed up the process.  The rest is for my comfort.  I suffer from headaches, indigestion, dry mouth and coughs as well as dry eyes.  Tissues come in handy for many things. 

I don't carry chocolates or other meltable items.  They can make a mess.  I never carry a drink unless it's water.  Water doesn't stain.  Wine, beer, tea, coffee, sodas, juices can all stain, especially the natural fibers.  

I never carry my keys in my bag.  I learned the hard way not to do this.  My keyring has a corkscrew which is bad for yarn.  My keyring has jagged sided keys, also bad for yarn.  Some of the rings are a clup type and those catches are bad for yarn.  

I don't allow Velcro in my bags, again this is bad for yarn and finished fabric.  The grippy side causes pulls.  If you have the adhesive type, that can also cause pulls.  When the adhesive comes off the backing, you will have a heck of a time getting it off the yarn.  depending on the yarn constructrion, you will tear out a lot of individual fibers creating thinner yarn.  Just say no to Velcro.  You might want to include zippers too.  They can catch yarn in the teeth.

To join or not to join...a group that knits or crochets

Recently I saw this topic and I thought about the obvious benefits and detriments of joining a knitting group or a crocheting group.   Then the question of online or in person popped up.

The benefits are easy to see. 

1.  You get to talk to others about how they might proceed with a trouble spot,  color choice, stitch pattern....

2.  You have someone to knit or crochet with while solving the problems of the world or something more close to home.

3.  You might have a segment of time to learn something new

4.  You can find new friends of all ages, backgrounds and experience levels.

5.  You will see fabulous new patterns or yarns, or tools in action.

6.  You have people around you to commiserate about uncaring recipients.

7.  As you become closer to these people,  they can help if a tragedy befalls your family.

8.  The members might bring new charities to the attention of the group and ask for a donation to the charity.

Now for the detriments of joining a knitting group or a crocheting group.

1.  You will see many, many things that will tempt you to want to start many new projects. If you are a slower paced stitcher or work a full time job or have people to take care of,  you may be gaining a lot of ufos.

2.  The politicians don't solve the problems the way you worked out.

3.  Your bank account might suffer from purchasing fantastic but more expensive yarns.

Now the question of online or in person.

The above benefits and detriments mostly apply to both in person and online.

1.   Most online groups have no politics talk allowed. 

2.  Online groups will have many times more people than in person groups to entice you to want to purchase yarn, tools and patterns. 

3.  There are also more people to encourage you. 

4.  There are more ways thought of to work out a problem. They might not all meet the standards you have for your stitching.

5.  Online groups will probably have a wider age range and more different backgrounds.

6.  Online groups are mostly anonymous despite profile pictures and the sense of community.  You won't hear inflections in the written word.   In person groups allow you to get to know the members on a personal level and do things with them.  Mostly online groups will be further afield,  not allowing you to get together on a regular basis in person.

My first fiber festival

I went to a local fiber festival. There were few if any classes but that wasn't my primary reason for going.  I wanted a taste of the experience. The festival was the Allentown fiber festival.  I went with a sister in law and we met up with a friend of mine there.

First thing I should have considered was travel.  This was an easy drive for us.  Unexpected road construction worked against us for arriving at our anticipated time.  All in all not terrible. 

Once we arrived and met up with the rest of our party, the real fun started.  Catching up is always great with friends you don't get to see often.  There were outside vendors.  Some were in open canopies. They were pretty smart. There were quite a few in the closed sided tent provided.  That was stifling in the heat.  But a lot of very interesting things were there.