I love to knit, crochet and double crochet dishcloths!!! I use them at the kitchen sink daily and give them as gifts as well. They are quick and easy, for the most part and I wouldn't use anything else for quick clean up around the kitchen. I keep a nice "collection" of that wonderful Sugar and Cream cotton yarn on hand and throw it in the car when headed to a soccer game, swim meet or if we're going to be on the road for awhile and I'm not driving! Yesterday was one of those days to knit in the car and while at the soccer field. I finished it up this morning before heading out the door...
Seed Stitch, on size 6 needles with 42 stitches total to make a 9"x9" cloth.
This is a variegated cotton which is fun to knit with...you just never know how the colors will turn out and invariably, no two cloths are ever the same. Finished product flat looks like this...
It's next to the sink already. I chose not to "block" it before using. It's ready to get to work!
Materials needed:
Size 6 knitting needles, 1 skein 100% cotton yarn
Instructions:
1. Cast on 42 stitches (or number of stitches to make desired size)
2. Row 1: *Knit 1, Purl 1*, Repeat from *-* across the row.
3. Row 2: Turn. *Purl 1, Knit 1", Repeat from * - * across the row
These 2 rows form a Seed Stitch Pattern.
Continue in this pattern, repeating Row 1 and Row 2 until piece measure 9"x9" or desired size.
4. Bind off all stitches and weave in loose ends.
5. Block piece if giving as gift, by lightly pressing with steaming iron.
Here's a quick video showing the Seed Stitch in action!!! Happy Knitting!
Inks, Inks and more Inks! There are so many and I am enjoying them all - so wanted to share! Thanks to a class rescheduling this past weekend (silly Ranger didn't get all my ink goodness delivered in time) I had some free time on my hands! Friends were attending a nearby event and it was going to be "inky" so I decided to give it a try! Let's just say I was NOT disappointed!
Stampendous and Tsukineko were in town! Great fun to learn from Tammie Wilson at Stampendous who showed us how versatile the Tsukineko VersaCraft inks and re-inkers are to use with here Stampendous Stamps. These stamps are only Stampendous...they are Stupendous!!! We PAINTED with these inks and they are AWESOME!!!! We started with this... to color these.... and they turned into this... I'm pretty excited! I loved learning how to use these inks and stamps to create this project. Completely different from ink techniques I've used before! And...all of you who were to be in my Inky Crop class on Saturday...you WILL be seeing this in the rescheduled class!!! Just sayin'!!!!
So how are you going to use your Inks? Which are your favorite? Don't be afraid to share!!!!
Have a few more projects that I'll share later this week! Tsukineko is awesome!!!!
Happy Ides of March!!! Doesn't seem like it should be March yet...haven't had enough snow, ice or even a good old fashion deep freeze! You know...the kind where you nostrils stick together!!! Haven't had much of it and I'm afraid to say that I'm kinda missing it! There's still plenty of time though so I'll not get to dramatic about it! The plus side of the calm weather is that we've been able to hold more classes and gatherings at Grove's! That means loads of fun and lots of playing with all kinds of goodies! I had great plans for the crop this weekend but a migraine brought a change in creative plans and the hubby had to step in for a few hours while I napped in dark solitude! I really, really, really don't like when this happens and I know it's a sign that I'm doing to much, not watching what I'm eating and so on and so forth...(I haven't had as many since I retired...so that's a good thing at least) but at least when it happens I know I have to step back before it's gets worse! That I did and I am glad to say that I am on the mend and felt well enough to play a little bit today. I had a neat little project (which I'm not going to disclose)planned for Monday Madness and it involved Die Cutting Machines. I can't say to much or it will give it away so let's just say that in planning for the project I had a difficult time deciding "which" diecut machine to use!
I was working at the store so heaven knows I had enough to choose from...the vintage Sizzix, a Quickutz Squeeze, Quickutz Revolution, AccuCut Go Machine, an old Silhouette, small Cricuts, Cricut Expression and so on! I'm pretty sure there are a few others in there too! Hard to believe that over the years we've had so many options in diecut machines to choose from. I think I bought my first Sizzix machine 10 years ago??? Along with a few alphabet and shape dies. I moved to the Silhouette when I finally acquired a laptop and I really enjoyed it. Then I switched from a PC to a MAC before there was MAC version and that was the last I used it.
So that brings me to Monday Madness...which diecut machine is your "Go To" machine for projects? Do you use one at all? If so what do you use them for? Traditionally, at our crops and classes, croppers use them for cutting papers for cards, embellishments and titles for scrapbooking layouts. Is that your use?
Lately, I've been learning and teaching with the Cricut Expression 2... an upgraded verion of the long standing Cricut Expression Die Cut Machine! I enjoy using it and do enjoy the upgrades on this machine. It comes loaded with a few cartridges and all your tools are on an LCD touch screen. That is nice, until someone taps the touch screen a bit to hard and then, well, it's a little more time consuming! It's safe to say that I am not a"Cricut-holic"! I enjoy using them, love to learn how to use them, have great fun creating projects and teaching Cricut classes at the store and at crops with them and I have used them to cut metal (a favorite of mine...just in case you didn't already know that!), vinyl, fabric, magnet material, canvas, chipboard and a few other things when there is not a line waiting to use one of the 3 we have at the store...but....that usually only happens if I don't have a letter sticker or embellishment already for the project I'm working on. Still, I enjoy them for certain projects like cutting multiples of objects and even basic shapes that are difficult to cut by hand or that require a larger size than I can cut on this machine...the Sizzix BIGKick manual die cut machine! The BIGKick has been my "Go To" machine for years! I'm not even sure they make this white and red version anymore. Notice I have Spellbinders cutting pads in it...to emboss my Ten Seconds Studio's metals of course!!! I do cut things with this machine but the embossing of metal is the primary use! (I can emboss with the cricut...even a full 12 x 12 sheet thanks to some new tools) but...this is my favorite! So much so that I decided...deep breath...to go for my very own personal 12 x 24 version!!! Introducing...the Big Shot Pro...
the big daddy to the original Sizzix and hubby to my BIGKick!!! It's awesome and I'm having lots of fun cutting out bunches of these....with great ease!!!! (Pardon the rhyming!!!!!) I do love the machine and I'm embracing the many used it has for the projects I'm working on. It doesn't talk back to me and my biceps are getting work out with each cut I make! More on the fun things I'm cutting later! For now...let me know how you reeeeally feel about diecut machines!
Happy Monday, Happy President's Day, happy vacation day and HAPPY MONDAY MADNESS!!! Yep, I'm yelling it at the top of my lungs! Just a little tired from a great weekend full of lots of creativity, great fellowship, new friends, old friends and some Distress!!!
The weekend was spent here.... Greene Hills church camp, just "over the river and through the woods" a bit from home. A place I haven't visited since my childhood with my great (who was great...I just didn't know back then) Aunt Myrtie who drove us over hill and dale in her yellow cadillac(the old 1956 model with the torpedo style headlights on each side-I'll have to dig up a photo!) introducing us to neighbors, places, people, yummy foods and things that at the time were of no importance to me. Oh how things have changed! Now...they are very fond memories. Coming back to this place was wonderful. Lots of history in this land, a building filled with memories and the people working there...friends of my family who knew Aunt Myrtie. Great to be there with them. Greene Hills is definitely one of those "if these walls could talk" places! Oh the stories they could tell.
This weekend, Greene Hills was home to an amazing group of woman gathered to create, craft, scrapbook and share fellowship. They asked me to represent Grove's and be the "official" store for the event. It was great to be there with these wonderful woman and the caretakers of Greene Hills. I will share more pictures of them on another post.
During the course of the weekend, I was fortunate to be able to get some playtime to myself. The creativity of these ladies motivated me to pull out the supplies I had with me and put some pages together. This is when the weekend turned into a distress-FULL weekend!!! I didn't have my usual stash with me so I needed to improvise to blend colors and make things flow. Somehow that stark white (although I do use it alot too) just wasn't cutting it with the papers and pictures I had chosen. Then that old light bulb came on.... which brings me to Monday Madness -DISTRESS INKS!!! I always have my inks with me! And I do have a few... stored in a handy dandy make up bag.... very nicely, although when the inks are being used the case doesn't look so nice! At any rate, I LOVE these inks (and the matching markers, stains, paints etc.) and find myself using them on almost everything. I love the aged and slight bit of color they add to the pieces I use in crafting. Today I used the Faded Jeans with some Van Dyke Brown to age and add color to the letter tiles for my page layout title. I was pleased with the results and decided to do the same to the journal tag which was a bright white originally. At first I did the edges by running them right against the pad and then I smoothed them out with the blending tool. Love the result. I should have done a "before pic" to show the big difference in the coloring of the letters. I'll remember to do that next time! I am very pleased with the finished layout and end result. It was an "antique-y" kind of page showing flea market shopping so the DISTRESS look and feel is perfect. Even though I would have used them even if the pictures weren't "antique-y"! LOL! Hope you have a great day that is FULL of Distress...INKS that is! Get them out, add some color and age to your pieces!!!
I've loved playing with puzzles since I was little. Remember those wooden puzzles in elementary school? Or the cartoon chipboard puzzles from McCrory's or Murphy's 5 and Dime? Don't forget about those colorful Ravensburger puzzles too! As a family, we enjoy a good puzzle now and then. We always stop at the puzzle tables at Bedford Springs when visiting there. A stop on the way in....to get a feel for the puzzle, (don't laugh...this is serious puzzling{the art of putting 1000+puzzle together} business!) the theme, colors and pieces, (It takes skill and concentration to conquer these!) and a stop on the way out, to hopefully get at least ONE section (usually 2 pieces) together! That, if accomplished, is mentally draining and exhausting-but great family fun! Most often it requires a replenishing and nourishing meal in the tavern before heading back home! If we can't get our own 2 piece section together first, we try to add a piece or 2 to what has already been started! We have been known to hover over these tables, focused on matching pieces for 20 minutes or more, or until someone yells "I got one"! Nothing wrong with a little friendly, family, puzzle competition once in a while! Not just any puzzle creates such a stir. It has to be a Wentworth, real wood puzzle, with the most awesome shapes, coloring and 1000+ pieces to spark our interest! Just look at that turkey!!! And the fox at the top left too...Seeing these got me thinking! Dangerous, I know! I have had Chipboard puzzle pieces at my disposal for a few years. We sell them at Grove's (in store only) and they are used primarily by teachers for preschool and elementary projects, I knew, sooner or later, that I NEEDED to use them creatively! I was puzzled though, as the pieces are all the same shape, no smooth border for them to "lock into a snug fitting" shape like all the other puzzles I've put together. Silly me....why did I think they needed a smooth border! Why do they have to fit together! Who knew it would take a turkey, a fox and some other Wentworth shapes to give me a wakeup call! Soooo, for sketch class this weekend..we played with a 12 x 12 puzzle piece (among other things)!!! I think everyone was as relieved as I that it could be used alone...no border! This is what I came up with....not very puzzling at all...very simple actually and
it was a perfect fit for one of the sketches we used....and I used my stash to complete it!!!! I have lots of ideas now! I can't wait to play with the 2 smaller sizes and I just might have a few of those large alphabet floor puzzles around that would be great to repurpose! Why didn't I do this earlier! No more thinking inside the "smooth border" for me...back to thinking out of the box!
NOTE: Don't be puzzled by those puzzle pieces...instead create a puzzling piece of art!!!! (insert chuckle here!) That's all for now! Happy Monday Madness on Tuesday!
It's been a few weeks and things are starting to slowly get back to "normal?" That's not completely correct, but I think you get the idea. Still lots of emotion around here and THEEEEE flag IS (and WILL CONTINUE to fly) to fill the void, show pride and honor PSU and Joe and family. We still and will always have PSU in our hearts! We wear it on our cars....
See it in the Scrapbooking and Papercrafting Aisle at Grove's.... in our jewelry.... and it's on our candy wrappers, paper plates and yes, sometimes we eat blue and white pasta!!!!! Obsessed? Nah, proud, appreciative, thankful, devoted and very glad to have experienced this during the time Joe was here! We attended the processional for Joe in our best blue and white out of respect for him, his family, our family and because it was the right thing to do. We received word that the service was over and cars were beginning to move. As we looked in that direction to confirm, Jeff noticed this very faint, but very awesome rainbow. It is faint, just above and to the right of the trees, but it IS there and we, already emotional, shed a few more tears! A sign for sure that Heaven was Happy...Joe smiling down on us! (Insert tears here!) Then we saw the cars, those awesome blue buses carrying family members with Sue in the seat that Joe rode in for the last 60 years and Jay and family waving to us as they passed. We have NEVER experienced such quiet in this place. The hum of the media helicopters, noise from flashing vehicle lights and the snaps of cameras were all that could be heard. Such respect for a man and his family who have done so much. Listen for yourself.
The day after this processional was a public memorial service at Bryce Jordan Center next to the stadium. We did not attend but did watch it live on our local station. It was amazing. Such a tribute from sooooo many lives Joe had touched. This video of Nike CEO, Phil Knight, who also spoke at the service, said what we all have been feeling. We visited Joe's Statue... so quiet and yes, I cried...Jeff told me to "Buck UP"...that didnt' work at all! We had our Peach Paterno ice cream....delicious, delicious, delicious...made at the Campus Creamery! We paid our respects and left messages at the Sports Museum & just one more photo!
Yep! We're Penn State, Nittany Lion, Joe Paterno, Paterno Family fans! I will close with that and say that there will be more pictures from this day and days to come but...we'll be sharing some creativity too. Monday Madness will be here this week too...just a little late!
This is CHANGE....I am working to EMBRACE it! I may have to borrow some "FOCUS" to continue to move ahead!
Thanks for allowing me to share! Have an impact in all you do!
I am really enjoying file folders. I know, enough already, but can you really ever have enough of a good thing? Wait, don't answer that...I know the answer already. For now though, I will continue with my attraction to file folders. Fortunately, I have easy access to them at Grove's! Just in case you'd like to order them....CLICK HERE to go to the Grove's online store.
Without further ado...another technique using those awesome little manilla masterpieces... Just another way to score, fold and insert into your projects. Using these in my Scrapbook Life Journal with Stephanie Ackerman class. Head on over to check it out! She's extended registration til the end of January!
Enough plugs...now another tease of things to come.... Thanks to everyone for the well wishes too, I am on the mend after a wonderful bout of hives turned to stomach flu. Hope to create a bit tonight and share some things later this week!
Happy Monday Madness! This week we're using some office products...those lovely file folders that come in a variety of sizes, colors and shapes!!! I LOVE them...and I'm using them in my Scrapbook Life Journal Class with Stephanie Ackerman so it's perfect timing for today. Here's a little tutorial for the mini accordian file folder
And...a few samples of finished projects I've created with 6 x 9 folders and letter size folders. I'm very lucky to have Grove's nearby so I can get these folders whenever I need them!!!!! I do love these...there are so many uses...gift card holders, add them to a scrapbook layout to hold extra photos or memorabilia, special greeting cards, invitations...the list is endless! I am loving using them in my journal...but I'll save that for a later post.
Enjoy this first day of 2012, may it be a creative start to a creative year!
