Sorry, all.  I didn't forget you.  I just don't have the brain power to form coherent sentences....

All the holiday busyness and lack of sleep has made my head explode.  I'll be back after the holidays and will have LOTS to talk about.   :)   Until then you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for small daily updates.  (Links are in the column to the right.)

Happy Hanukkah!  Merry Christmas!   Happy holidays!

Think of a Happy Thought, Any Happy Little Thought

Where did the week go?  I've been concentrating hard on my project list that I've barely noticed the individual days go by.  All in all, it has been a pretty good week. :)

Yes, I researched, prayed, cried, and voted.  I have been avoiding the nasty social media war.  

Please, lets not talk about it here.  Happy thoughts only!

Last Saturday I put the finishing touches on the hats my aunt commissioned me to make for Christmas gifts.  I would recommend both these patterns and the yarn I used.  

Trying to Catch My Breath

I'm trying to catch my breath over here for a moment so I can tell you all what I've been up to!  The time crunch last week was so severe that I didn't have time to stop and write my weekly blog, so now I have a lot of catching up to do here.

Thomas' birthday was in September, but as it was such a difficult month I couldn't do his birthday party yet.  Then my husband got a big electronics order from the company he works for; he worked on it evenings and weekends.  So that meant that I couldn't host a party here, so then I started thinking about putting the money up for renting the community room that our apartments has for events. The more I thought of it, the more I liked the idea.

We don't have a tiny apartment, but it isn't huge either so we can only host small parties here.  Having it at the community center would open it up to being able to invite anyone / everyone he wanted.  Since he really wanted to have a table top game (board games, dice games, card games) party, this would be a great time to do the big party thing!

Never a Dull Moment

I recently wrote a detailed account about what was going on with my ferret, Pandora, in another post.  In between all that drama I had other things going on, of course.  Nothing is ever simple around here!  Did I mention that I finally caught my kid's cold over the weekend?  (Frequently going out in the storm washing helping things.)  Blur and Anna both came down with a second cold, too, so we were all miserable.  'Tis the season!  This threw Blur's new schedule all out of whack, and he had been making great progress with his sleep / wake cycle. 

I started knitting a stocking cap for my nephew while I was visiting family in June.  He requested a slouchy black beanie with a symbol from his favorite anime, Fairy Tail, on it.  He has a large head and sock yarn with size 3 needles takes a long time to knit a beanie.  So unfortunately I didn't get it finished while I was there.  I did finish knitting it sometime after I got home, however when I found a model with a similarly sized head I found that the hat fit perfectly... not slouchy.  So I was going to have to frog out the decreases and knit about 3 inches more.  Well I finally got around to doing that last week and finished the hat a second time.

Next came the hard part; duplicate stitching.  I had in my mind that the emblem was going to be fairly

Pandora Out of the Box

I know I've said in the past that I've had a hard week.  I have a lot of those.  I have a lot of mental, emotional and physical demands in my life.  Some weeks take it to another level.  This was one of them.

This is my furbaby, Pandora.  In her youth I would call my baby a feisty princess.  She had an attitude and wanted things her way.  I reorganized her cage?  Well it wasn't how she liked it so she's going to re-reorganize!  lol 

 I've had this girl since she was little and I've comforted her through pain, sickness, and loss.  There's

Carpet & Tinking

This last week I have been very busy doing non-crafting things.  I am now watching one of Thomas' classmates, and his sister, before and after school.  I had to do a bunch of setup to start our routine off right!  First I bought a carpet cleaner and started cleaning the carpets!  They still need a second (and maybe a third) round of cleaning, but at least it no longer looks like I'm running a zoo!  (No more monkeys spilling milk, etc, all over the floor, please!  Ick!)  I'm monitoring closer than ever to make sure Thomas and Anna behave with their food, however still somehow a banana peel made its way under the couch.  Grrr.

After I started the carpets I went and bought a small cabinet, too.  I assembled it and put in puzzles, activity books, Playmobile people, games, etc, in it.  The kiddos are supposed to ask before they dive in so I can make sure all the pieces get put back away.   So far so good.   I'm thinking about getting a second cabinet.

I picked up my nephew's hat this week again.  I started it in June when I was on vacation visiting family but didn't finish before I left.  He wanted a slouchy hat but I underestimated the length and finished it too early.  I decided to pick it up again and rip back to the decreases.  Lots of tiny black stitches on size 3 needles.

Then on Monday it was knit night at West Slope Community Library.  I trouble shoot and teach basic knitting.  We had three new people this time!  Two were new knitters and one was teaching the other (the best way to learn is to teach!)  I backed them up as they had questions.  Another woman had put down knitting for about 3 years as she dealt with various life stuff and wanted help figuring out where she was on the pattern of a gorgeous scarf she was working on.  I helped her figure out which row she was at by "tink" ing (that is "knit"ing backwards) the last couple of rows.  She was having trouble getting back into the groove so I suggested that she get some plain yarn (the  scarf was textured) and practice the pattern on that for a couple of repeats.  Then when she found her groove again she could jump back into the scarf. :)

I've been taking the hat as my travel knitting this week.  I took it when I went to lunch with a friend and now I've finally re-knit all the yarn that was attached, which is about 2" past where I ripped out to, and need to connect more yarn, .  I think I might go another half-inch or so before I start decreasing again.  (The altoids are because I ate a lot of onions and didn't want to make my friend pass out! lol)

Other than that, I've been busy with kids, cleaning, and reading!  Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series is fun!  I'm reading the second book, Lost in a Good Book, with my sister for our Friday Night knit club.

By the way, I *did* start writing this on Thursday, and I've been pretty good about doing so.  I just don't always finish editing and publishing on Thursday, so perhaps its better to say that I'll publish weekly by Friday, though I'll still be aiming for Thursdays. :)

My back is very fatigued from the week's work so I hope to get back into knitting more and rest a bit this weekend.

TTFN.  Ta ta for now! ;)

In The Bag

It's time for my weekly breakdown of crafting and crazy!  This week has another busy one with several things done in "in the bag"!

30 September, Friday
Last Friday I finished sewing the two bags that I was working on.  I must say that I really like how they turned out.  I had picked up this weird pink and clear button and I was wondering what it would eventually end up with.  It turns out that it was *perfect* for the smaller of the two bags.  The more I look at it, the more I love it. :)  So here they are!  They are both for sale; click the links if you are interested.

 

Cleansing the Confused (Beetle)

I apologize for not writing on Thursday this week. I've been fighting a bout if depression and was having a rough day.  More on that later.

Last Thursday night I sewed together Thomas' birthday gift - a blizzard fleece blanket. He had picked out the fabrics he wanted but didn't know I'd bought them.

First I looked up the size of a twin bed blanket.  It is suggested to be 66" x 90".  Two and a half yards is 90".  The blizzard fleece is only 60" wide, but it is close enough for the way that Thomas sleeps.  If it is a problem I'll add some sort of boarder later.   So with coupons in hand I went to the store (at two different times) and picked up the fabric.

Are you blind yet?  Yes, Thomas' favorite color is highlighter pink.  For my own personal safety I

Is September Over Yet?

You know it's been a busy week when you have to look back at your own Instagram feed to remember what you've done for the last seven days! lol  Not every week is this overwhelmingly full, but for now you get to enjoy all the juicy details!

15th Thursday

After I finished writing my blog last week I started working on my mending basket.  My husband needed one of his belt loops reattached.  I did this by cutting a small scrap of denim from the stash and pinning it to the inside of the jeans.  I then used matching blue thread and sewed over the hole, using a denim needle in my machine, in multiple directions to create a new bit of secure fabric.  I then trimmed the excess of the patch, then VERY slowly sewed the belt loop down.  About half the time I was manually walking the foot to make sure it wouldn't break.

After that I fixed my daughter's leggings.  She wore a hold in the knee of one pair and experimented with scissors on another pair.  I happened to keep the bottom part of another pair of leggings that I cut off at the knee.  I cut out cute shapes and attached them with fabric spray adhesive before sewing them on.  The patches on the knees I had to sew by hand as they were too tiny of tubes to fit around my machine.

I also started cutting the drapes for Blur's bed.  I planned on just making a tube at 1 end and running

The Peanut Purge

My husband has been having... (clears throat)... digestive issues lately.  It happens on occasion, but it's been really bad the last month or so.  He's allergic to peanuts, so I figured maybe one of the kids stuck a butter knife full of peanut butter into the dishwasher.  So I started having the kids use plastic knives to make their sandwiches.

It is normally Blur's job to load and unload the dishwasher but he had a bad insomnia night a few nights ago so I was doing the dishes.  His verbal filter was off and he was rambling and complaining about how every time he ran the dishwasher he had to clean out the filter because of the pumpkin soup.  This was really odd to me as no one had eaten the pumpkin soup for more than a week and therefore there shouldn't be any soup dishes to cause any issue.

I pulled out the filter and Blur pointed at the small bit of debris complaining how filthy it was.  I really wasn't bad.  As I was looking around it and trying to explain that it wasn't a big deal I saw it, and I groaned.  At just that moment my husband walked in the front door, heard me and asked what was the matter. 

The inner dome of the filter, where my fingers couldn't reach, was coated in a suspicious brown sticking something.  I got a swap scrubber thing and check it; peanut butter.

I don't know how long it had been going on, but for weeks every load of dishes had been inundated with a indiscernible coating of peanut butter.  Indiscernible unless you're allergic, that is.

So began the Great Peanut Purge of 2016.

First we had to get the peanut butter out of the plastic filter.  We boiled water and tried to melt it off.  It mostly worked.  Eventually Blur was able to get the filter apart (it was really tricky!) and we got it clean.  Then I changed the dishwasher settings from the 1 hour wash to the full wash with extra hot water and a  sanitizing rinse.  Then I ran it again.

Since I found it late in the day that was the only load I was able to get finished right then.  I pulled out disposable cups, plates, and flatware and had Mike eat off of those.  I also have changed the peanut butter routine.  It should be on paper plates / paper towels, and the plastic knives are NEVER to go into the dishwasher.  At some point I got interrupted and I had Blur finish loading the dishwasher.

The next morning I found a blue plastic knife that was used for peanut butter in the dishwasher.  Sigh.

So now I have put up large obnoxious construction paper signs above the sink and on the dishwasher.  - NO PEANUT butter EVER!  Hopefully they'll remember now.  :/  If they don't I'll have to ban peanut butter from the house.

So my other projects are currently on hold until I get it all clean.  Yesterday I systematically started working through the cupboards.  I got all the lunch plates and bowls first.  Then the silverware and glasses.  Next my hubby's favored water mugs and the dinner plates, etc. 

While I was working on the dishes I figured I'd better bleach all the kitchen towels.  My kids often wipe their unwashed hands on them (ew!) and could possibly be contaminated with peanut butter.  There was only half a load of whites so I went searching around the house for other things I could toss in to fill the load.  I grabbed my daughter's pillow and one of my husband's pillows to balance it. 

The saying goes; when it rains, it pours!  I should have known better.  This is my husband's pillow out of the washing machine:

This Week

It has been a long couple of weeks for me.

I am working on setting up a new schedule.  Thomas started school last week and Anna started preschool this week.  Blur is still having sleep issues.  Since my husband works swing shift I'm the only parent two of my kids see M-F; I have to make it all work somehow and still get my work done.

My big project right now is trying to solve Blur's sleep problems.  I've been selling our old

Stories

Thomas and Anna both love to make up stories.  The sillier, or more absurd,  the better!  Here are some stories that they've written for you today.

Anna's story:
Once upon a time a little girl named Anna went to a pond and fed the ducks and they didn't want any food.  And she laughed and laughed at the letters.  They were set in a funny name; Seme. And then

New Elastic Sanity Segment

Hello!  I've been hoping to get blogging here more frequently but it just didn't happen over the summer.  My life exploded, as it seems to every summer! lol.  Of course I should have predicted that, but I seem to have selective memory. :P

My tagline is "Crafting daily to retain sanity in a stressful world."  Every wonder what has me so stressed?  I used to do a blog for a while about all the weird random stuff that happens in my home

I decided that I didn't like the gauge if my In Time And Space cabled shawl. It was going to be rather small for me and I made plenty of handspun / handdyed yarn for this project. I set it aside and I cast on again, this time with size 8 needles. I'm happy that the cables are still promenant but the shawl

Socks again!

I loved knitting my last pair of socks so much that I cast on another pair. I'd been overworking myself so I'm taking a day or two to take it easier than I normally do. This means mindless knitting and binge watching tv shows. :). 

Socks -finished!

Huray!  I finished my socks and now I have 5 pairs of socks for my drawer!  

Socks

I had been on hiatus from listening to my favorite podcasts for a while.  I recently started listening again.  One of my favorite podcasts is The Knitmore Girls and they have an ongoing contest called #OperationSockDrawer .  Hearing this again resounded with my love for sock knitting and desire to get more than three pairs of hand-knit socks in my drawer, so I got to knitting.  Unfortunately I've been extremely busy with my kids and family life recently so I've not had the time for knitting that I'd like.  These socks have mostly made progress on-the-go.  But today I am finally turning the heal on the second sock!  A new finished pair is just around the corner. :)

Tutorial: Making Real Jewelry With Wool and Wire

 Have you ever come across some wool or yarn that is so absolutely gorgeous, so shiny, that you think it really deserves to be jewelry?  I have!  The Leicester longwool locks from Quirky Bits n Pieces are that beautiful.  However, I didn't want it to look like like some diy Pinterest Fail.  I want real jewelry!

I spent several weeks researching for ideas for classy jewelry that can be made with wool.  I've spent the last month playing with ideas and having a lot of fun making very pretty things.  The secret is that most of them use a wire core!  If you want to know how to spin wool fiber over wool, check out my previous blog post: Core Spinning Over Wire.  If you're not into working with wire or handspinning, there are some cool things for you, too!

Choosing wire

 

For most of these pieces the wire choice is flexible but it helps if you have a basic knowledge of wire to help make your decisions.

1) Gauge
The smaller the gauge number, the thicker the wire.  For the people who like numbers, there are a whole bunch of them explaining gauge here.  The less mathematical version is that the number has to do with how many times the wire was drawn through the machine which makes the wire smaller.  So the bigger the number, the more times it has been squished, the finer the wire.

2) Soft vs Hard
Soft wire is more flexible and hard wire is very difficult to work with.  Different metal types have different softness levels.  They also stiffen/  harden the more you work with them and can become brittle to the point of breaking.  There is a really great explanation of the differences here. Just to save you a few dollars I want to mention that the 7strand (etc) beading wire does not hold its shape for these projects!  You could possibly get away with it for the amethyst necklace, but it will not work for the other jewelry here that holds it shape.  All the wire I use here are going to have a copper core.

3) Purchasing Wire
I personally have purchased Artist Wire brand (dead soft) and generic jewelry wire (half hard) from my local craft stores.  I found that Joann's had a limited variety, Michael's had more, but Craft Warehouse had the best selection for wire options.  However, during my research I have become rather enamored with CSLDesigns's videos.  This woman really knows what she is doing!  She gets all of her wire from www.jewellerymaker.com/ You can be sure I'll be check them out in the future!

 

Simple Bangles

 

These first two bracelets are the easiest, most forgiving, and don't require special tools.  For the first bracelet (right), I spun fiber fairly smoothly and thinly over five yards 22g wire Artistic Wire.  For the second (left) I core plied over 20g regular wire from the jewelry section (half hard).  For these you don't really need the softer wires but it helps if you are learning.  Anywhere in the 22-18g range should be fine.   While you are at your wheel, spin yard or two of yarn, too.

I then found a jar that had a circumference that would allow me to slip the bandle over my hands.  I used an old mayonnaise jar that was 9 1/2" in circumference.  Carefully slip the wire off the jar, being sure to retain the shape.  Your wires are not guaranteed to end on the same side, but if they do; bonus!  Decide which part you want to be hidden under your wrist.  There will be about a 1 - 2" section that we will bind it over.  Clip your wires about 1/2" longer and then you really want them and bending them back on itself with pliers before wrapping with yarn.  This will make the wire catch on the yarn and discourage it from slipping out.  Wrap the binding area with matching yarn quite a bit.  Then go over to your sink, add a dab of dish soap and rub it vigorously until the binding is felted. 

Getting Playful with Art Yarn

At this point it is helpful if you have some simple jewelry tools; regular pliers, round nose pliers, and flush cutters.  I bought a set of basic jewelry tools at Michael's for $10.  I find them just fine for what I want to do.  I may in future invest in Tool Magic, or equivalent, to keep from scratching wire.

TOOLS

For this bracelet you will need about 10" of 20g wire.  Medium soft is fine as we're not going to do a lot to it.  You will also need some jump rings and a clasp in coordinating metal colors. 

We're going to prepare the wire *before* we spin on it.  You will need to make a loop and wrap it at one end for attaching your bracelet fasteners.  Here is a photo tutorial for how to do that.  (Videos further on in this tutorial will demonstrate it as well.)  Figure out how long you want your bracelet, making sure to account for your fastener's length.  I chose to have mine be about 8" long.  So at that mark, make sure to line up with the first loop and make a bend in the wire; finish your wire-wrapped loop.  You bracelet should look something like this.

Now take this wire over to your wheel.  Hook the loop onto the wire leader, turn the bobbin tension all the way off,  and get creative.  You can create a smooth bracelet, or you can create a fun lumpy, bumpy one; your imagination is the limit!  Once your design is done, lick your fingers and rub them over the spinning bracelet to felt the fibers into place.  Open up a jump ring and hook it on one end of the bracelet and one part of your fastener.  Close the ring; I find it easier to use two pairs of pliers to do this.  Slowly bend your bracelet into shape, working the wire with your fingers or bending it around a jar.

Wrapped Bracelet 

 

I found this one very creative.  This woman took a rubber tube and wrapped wire around it.  Here is her tutorial.  This makes a chunky piece of jewelry that is still very light!  While I didn't find the same tube she had access to, I found a few other easily accessible alternatives.  I found fuel tubing at a hobby store, and plumbing tubing at Home Depot in the sink section.  Both tubes are inexpensive and sturdy.  For this bracelet, I used the fuel tubing which I could buy by the foot.

You will need 6" of tubing, ~20 g wire for findings, jump rings, beads, a clasp, super glue, and about 2-3 yards of corespun wire (soft or 1/2 hard).  You can spin thick or then, but consistent diameter is best so there are no gaps to expose the wrapped tube.  Any wire in the 22-28 gauge range can work; I used 26.  You will also need something that you can pierce the tube with; I used an awl.

Her tutorial is actually pretty great.  The only things I have to add is a photo of how I attached the wire loops and how I covered the ends.

I chose to start my wrapping buy putting 1 end through the findings loop and folding it down on the other side of the tube.  Then I lined up my wire with the edge of the tube and wrapped it around.  I wrapped a second and third circle right on top of the first to fill up and hide the end of the tube.  Once it was thick enough that it built up over the lip of the tube I started slowly spiraling down the tube careful to keep the wire snug against each other.  At the other end, I did my best to create the end spiral again, then I snipped of the end and pinched it against the twisted wire.  If you want you can use super glue to secure the fiber into place on either end of the bracelet.  Use jump rings to attach beads, if desired, and your fastener.

Put a Bead On It

 

This necklace is actually simpler than it looks.  The classiness comes from the beads and findings that you choose.  I chose amethyst stone beads that look really good with my fiber colors.  I also chose some small silver beads that coordinate with my cord ends with a similar antiqued finish look.

You will need two bead styles that will fit over your wire, 2 kumihimo / cord end caps (estimate size needed, go large if in doubt),  jump rings, and an even-number of pieces of wire the length of your choosing; I did  4 x 45" wires.  For this necklace you will want thin wire for a flexible drape.  I used 28g beading wire.  A dead soft wire may have given it an even better drape.  I got my beads at Michael's and my cord ends at Craft Warehouse.

Before you do your core spinning, decide how many beads you want and where you want them to lie on the necklace.  I liked mine about the distance from my fingertip to the crease of my second knuckle.  Using my finger as a measuring tool made it easier to place the beads while spinning.  THIS video shows how to add and secure the beads while you are core spinning.  This spinning doesn't have to be even if you would rather have it textured.  However you should have contrasting colors on your wires that you will twist together.  You may also choose to leave some bare to show off the metal.  You get to really design your jewelry here!

Once you have your wires prepared, pair them up.  I have one wire with beads paired with a plain wire spun with a contrasting color.  I hold them together and twist together the tips.  Then I lay the first section of wire on my thigh and gently roll it down my tight with my hand, twisting it together until it has the amount of twist desired.  Continue doing this down the length of the wire, evening it out as needed.  Repeat with the other sets of wire.

When all your wires are twisted together its time to put them together.  lay them out and decide how you want the lengths of wire to interact with one another.  I chose to have one slightly shorter than the other.  Find where the ends meet and twist them all together; trim off the excess.   Use your pliers to spread out the wire edges so there are crevices for the glue to adhere to.  Make sure your ends will fit into your cord end cap.  Apply super glue to both the inside of the cord end and to the ends of the wire; push them together and hold for several seconds to secure; repeat for the other side.  Let it fully dry and test your connections.  Add a short chain or several jump rings to connect.

Statement Necklace

Funky yet classy seems to be very trendy right now so this wire-word is an instant hit!  I chose the word "yarn" because it just seemed too perfect. :)

You'll need about a foot of evenly core spun wire using 18 - 20 gauge dead soft wire.  You'll want it to be very flexible!  You'll also need some beads with some sparkle, and a nice matching chain and fastener.

Here is a link to the tutorial and video.  The hostess is hilarious! I want to watch more now. :)

The tutorial calls for wrapping the wire with embroidery floss so you don't have to spin if you don't want to.  It just seams easier to me to stick the wire on my wheel!  :)  Another difference I did  was that I did not start at the end of my wire; I gave myself some fudge room to adjust at the beginning of the word.  I just trimmed off the fiber I didn't want and then finger felted it after.

Getting Fancy 

 

This piece is one that I really fell in love with.  The more I watched CSLdesigns's videos, the more I want to make them all.  They are all really that fantastic.  I didn't have time to do them all right now as I wanted to keep a variety going, so I just did this one.  However, I know I will be making more very soon!

For this bracelet you will need 4 lengths of wire about 30" long.  I core spun over two of them in the same color and felted it onto the wire right there at my wheel.  The wool must be smooth and secure or it will tear off as you pull in in and out of the disk.  The other two wires I left plain.  You will also need one additional length of wire about 10".    Other tools, materials, and instructions are given in the video.

For my bracelet, I made a matching stitch marker as a charm and added it to the chain.

 

Waste Wool Jewelry

I have to say that these pieces were surprisingly fun to make!  My kids wanted to join me in making them so they became family projects.  :D   They are both some good messy fun!

Bead Cage Oil Diffuser

 

This idea actually is a combination of 3 different tutorials that I found!  :)   Since the wool is on the inside, I left the wire bare to give contrast.  

First make a felted bead with  your wool waste.  If you can, put some smoother bits on the outside of your rolled ball; it will help it form more smoothly.  I was able to successfully make several similarly sized ~1" felted balls.  My kids wanted to join in, too!  They each happily made two before they got bored and started making them into funky "hot dog" shapes. lol

 Next you will want to make a bead cage to fit your felted ball.  You could also buy a bead cage if you can find one.  I couldn't so I decided to use the tools I have. :)

Now attach your new pendant to a chain and add your favorite essential oil!  You have have a trendy diffuser necklace!

Paux-Glass Bracelet

 

I did mine slightly different than the original tutorial.  You will need some yarn or waste wool, aquarium tubing, baby oil, a wooden skewer, and a candle.  Optional; medicine dropper / syringe.

Pour some of the baby oil into a little bowl.  Take some of your waste wool soak and it in the oil and set it aside..

Aquarium tubing is flexible and the plastic is thin.   Light a candle and hover the tube end about 2-3 inches above the flame; turn it as if you are roasting a marshmallow for up to 10 seconds and remove it.  the end should have expanded and is quite hot to the touch!  It will cool down fairly quickly though.  If you scorched the end, no big deal; cut it off and try again.  (It took me three or four tries to find the right spot.)  Once you've got it, blow out the candle and we can do the next part.

Measure your wrist and choose your bangle size.  Add half an inch to that length.  Lets say 9.5" for example.  measure out your tubing now, including the end you expanded.  Cut it at an angle at 9.5".  Set aside the remaining tubing.  

Get your bowl of soaked wool.  Get a small pinch of it and twist it thin, sort of like yarn.  Use the skewer to push it down into the tube.  Get it all the way to the middle if you can.  Keep working at it.  Once you get it all the way down in there, add a little bit of oil to the tube (a syringe will make it a little less messy).  Repeat at the other end of the tube.  Keep doing this, alternating colors if available, and keep stuffing until your bracelet is full.  Then stuff the slanted end into the bigger end and push it in as far as you can.  Optionally, "finish" it by heating the overlapped end with a hot hair drier then letting it cool.  When your bracelet making session is over, make sure to wash them, and yourself, with some grease cutting soap!

Non-Wire Jewelry Ideas

Here's a couple more bracelets I made using a simple icord and the traditional kumihimo technique.

I separated out two of the coordinating colors of locks and navajo pied the yarn for strength.  For these Mommy and Me bracelets, I just followed this kumihimo tutorial, but let my daughter help take turns so these bracelets are something that we did together.   Now my son is requesting one, too! 

For this i-cord bracelet, I spun my yarn a bit different than the normal way.  I first plied my singles back onto itself with a center pull ball, but then I plied it back on itself a second time for a 4-ply cabled yarn.  This gives the yarn a complex color combination that makes it more elegant than a standard variegated yarn.

I then knit the bulk yarn with size 7 needles for tight, full-bodied icord.  I attached a bold bead over the knotted ends.

Knit and Crochet Jewelry?

Did you notice that I didn't really do much knitting or crochet jewelry?  That is a whole other can of worms that I am super excited to play with BUT I don't see the fine wire I need locally!  I'll have to buy it online and then I can do something with this stack of library books I've checked out on knit and crochet jewelry!

Core Spinning Over Wire

 

 

The wonderful ladies of Quirky Bits-n-Pieces sent me some gorgeous Leicester Longwool locks from Deborah's new dye lot to play with.  (I'll include the color name as soon as I have it.)  You can find all the available color ways in her online Craft Emporium.

As part of the 2016 Creative Team, and as an OCD artist, it is my job to create something beautiful with them.  It's easy when I have such lovely materials to work with!  The gorgeous colors and luster of these locks inspired me to show it off by making fiber jewelry and the very first step is to corespin over wire!

Fiber mail!

Researching Corespinning

I never do anything the easy way; I'd never corespun before this project!  I don't let little things like that shop my inspiration, however, so now I needed to learn the basics of corespinning.  I went to my go-to source of YouTube to learn the technical aspects before I started at my wheel.  I have made a playlist on YouTube of spinning techniques.  Below are the three corespinning videos that I found most helpful.

Bringing in the Wire

Okay, so now I understand the basics of corespinning.  But what differences does the wire bring in?  In the above videos there was a large emphasis on how to handle the twist of the core but wont wire break?  How do I handle that?  There are surprisingly few videos on wire corespinning on YouTube but below are the ones I found.  I also have a YouTube playlist about Wire.

Hands On

So now that I've done my research it is time for me to get my hands involved.  Nothing will replace the knowledge that working with my own hands (or yours!) will bring.  What wire you use will depend on what you want to do with it, of course, but for now I'll say that you can corespin over any wire that you can get onto your wheel.

One of the very first things I learned was that we need to have a strong, wire leader!  If it isn't strong enough it wont have the umph to twist the wire core.  I solved this by dedicating one of my spools to wire spinning.  I took off my cotton leader and wrapped some 20 gauge wire around it.  The only way I could find to keep the wire from twisting around the bobbin was to duct tape it on.  (If you find another way, please let me know!)  I used a small piece on either side of the of the center.  Be careful about spinning this back and fourth as it will be a breaking point.  I've had to replace my wire leader a few times.

At the Wheel: Corespinning

Here's my video showing you what I do from start to finish!  I'm using 26g Artistic Wire and some random wool I had in my stash in this video.




Attach your wire core via bending a hook in both the leader and core.  If your leader is strong enough you wont need to do anything else.  Keep the tension low to none at the beginning.  To get the fiber started, I found it very difficult to start over the smooth wire.  Spinning directly over the hook, hence texture, made it a snap.  If I don't want the lumpy loop at the end, which I generally don't, once the spinning is established I stop treadling.  I'll have about an inch of yarn at this point; I gently tug the fiber towards me and off of the hook, then I slip it back up under the hook and pinch it closed a bit more.  Now you can crank up your tension setting pretty high to encourage the wire to feed onto your spool; adjust it to your preferences.  Depending on your wheel and thickness / softness of your wire, you may need to "feed" the wire onto the spool.

You can work with an art batt for a wonderfully textured yarn; its all kinds of random fun!   If you want it smooth, I found it easiest to have my fiber mostly pre-drafted,  then I gently cup my wire with my thumb and two forefingers with the wool strand feeding the core from between my fingers.

If at any point you draft too thinly, you can always feed the yarn back up the core and then continue back down the wire core.  This is also how I end the spinning when I get to the end of my wire!  When I see the end coming I break the wool.  I treadle slower and carefully corespin to the end (without going past! a tiny bit short is okay) and then spin back up the wire I've already spun.  Then I lick my fingers and gently hold the tip between my wet fingers, still spinning, to felt it a tiny bit with the friction.

If you want to see a blooper of my first version of this video, click here!  My son is hilarious! I was using Quirk Bits n Pieces fiber in the blooper. :)

Leicester longwool core spun over wire

Core Plying

 The main difference between corespinning and core plying is that the pre-drafted fiber has twist in it. :)  That's pretty much it as far as technique goes.  You can ply smoothly, or play with a bit of texture.  I like plying onto wire with the Wrap and Roll technique.





Me again!  This time using 20g medium soft wire and Quirky Bits n Pieces's Leicester longwool.




I've been spinning and plying over wire for several weeks now and I absolutely love it.  I see so many possibilities to play with this yarn that keeps it shape!  In my next post I'll show you several pieces of jewelry that I designed using core spinning over wire!  For now I'll leave you with this teaser.

Instructions coming soon!

DIY Multi-Sized PVC Pipe Niddy Noddy

I just built a niddy noddy that measures 1/2 yard, 3/4 yard, 1 yard, 1 1/2 yard and 2 yard hanks for less than $5 in about 5 minutes!

Your shopping list:
4 feet of pvc 1/2" diameter pipe
2 1/2" T joints
4 1/2" caps (optional, but gives it a finished look)

Tools:
Measuring Tape
Sharpie
Pvc cutters / hacksaw / friendly hardware store employee
Pliers, optional (handy if a pipe gets stuck)

If you get a different diameter, my measurements wont work and you'll have to work out your own.  I found that the 10-foot  pieces were really cheap, around $2.  My hardware store did have 2-foot sections of pvc pipe for $1 if you are more comfortable working with that.

I have a ratcheting pvc cutter at home, but you can cut them with a hacksaw, too. If you don't want to cut yours at home, you may wish to ask if they'd be willing to do the 7 cuts (see below) for you or if you can borrow their tool for a minute.  (They might charge a fee, or they may just want you to be nice to them.  That is up to the individual store and employee.)  I found an employee and asked him to cut the 10' pipe in half for me just so it would fit in my car. :)

Grab a measuring tape and a permanent marker.   Measure out and mark these measurement onto the pipe and then cut them out as straight as possible:  15, 4" (four times), 5 3/4", and 10 1/2".

Take your caps and put one on each of the four 4" pieces.  Now insert them onto either side of the T joints.  Lastly, join your Ts with the pipe size of your choice, perpendicularly! 

The length of your hank depends on which center pipe you use and how you wrap it.  If you wrap around only two of the ends (from top to bottom and back to top) then you will get half the length of the traditional wrapping method.

Pipe	Half Wrap	Full Wrap
5 3/4"	1/2 yard	1 yard
10 1/2"	3/4 yard	1 1/2 yards
15"	1 yard	2 yards

After you wrap your hank, make sure to secure it with 2 - 4 ties.  To remove your yarn, just pull one of the capped ends out of the T.

To store your niddy noddy, just disconnect the center pipe from the Ts.  It stores flat and takes up very little space.   A bag would be hand to keep it together.

Quirky Bits n Pieces Design Team

The fabulous Kristen over at Quirky Bits n Pieces sell gorgeous dyed fiber locks, handspun yarn, woven scarfs, and yarn bowls.  She put out a Design Team call for artists to create beautiful things with her lovely things and blog / post in social media about them.  Well, isn't that exactly what I already do?  lol  I had to submit my application!  I was so happy (and still am!) to find out that I was accepted onto the team!  (I think the official page is still being built so I'll link that for you when it is ready.)

Well, I am in the first round of artists to receive her goodies.  Oh. My. Goodness.  These locks are SO beautiful!  Her color combinations are phenomenal!  I didn't capture all the shine that they have in this quick snapshot but I hope to get better pictures as I work with them more.

What a cute business card!

She gave the extra touch of doodling on the package. :)

I'm drooling over here!

 
You want to know where my mind is going? So here's a peek into my head: 

I want to spin semi-smoothly onto wire and knit fairy wings. That's been a goal of mine for a long time. :) I also want to play with jewelry shapes, with smoother texture and with rougher textures. I also want to lock spin (remember that blue mohair?) and ply that onto the wire for some thickness and texture to make something chunky / significant presence. I also want to incorporate the locks themselves into a piece, either by lock spinning, or tying, or some other way to feature them. (Similar to those FABULOUS necklaces she's been featuring). And lastly, I want to do something soft to exhibit the shininess of the wool.

And for the next three months there will be MORE to come, too. :D  So keep out for it!

Mystery Yarn Game

Are you ready for some laughs at your next knit night?  Try out my fiber-themed game!

Some 2016 Yarn-Related Goals

I posted some de-stash goals in a Ravelry group earlier this year.  I'd been thinking about it more recently as I've been making progress on dishcloths.  I have other yarn related goals as well so I figured I'd share my list with you all here. :)

• Two major commitments at a time should be my limit this year:
• 1) the MKAL I’m running [still in progress]
• 2) my pet ferret'€™s health [done!]
• 3) Working on next pattern
• Write at least 2 more patterns
• To try to use some of my current lovely yarns for my new pattern designs
• Spin enough of my stash to knit myself Awilda B.’s In Time and Space [starting combing]
• To start to sew together larger hexagons out of my itty bitty hexis for my the beekeeper’s quilt
• Continue to use up the excessive amount of acrylic yarn in my stash
• Make a stash of dishcloths out of my existing stash of dishcloth cotton [Current count is 4]

Is life going the way you thought it would?

A friend asked me a random question today. I felt moved to share my answer with all of you:
"Is life going the way you thought it would?"

I hadn't thought about it for quite a while but I immediately knew how to answer:
  
My life in general? Nope, not even close.  I thought I would be working full time at some graphic design place, living middle class.  Where am I actually?  I'm a full time homemaker taking care of my special-needs kids, homeschooling my oldest while my husband works very hard at a job that covers our basic needs.  Anything extra we have to work doubly hard at.  Both of us have tiny businesses that we are trying to get going so we can improve our situation.

Have I been disappointed in my life? Many times yes, many times no. 

What it comes down to is that God has a plan. I made my own wishful thinking as a kid:  "What do *I* want to do when I grow up?"  Instead I should have asked: "What does GOD want me to do?"  Once I stopped fighting his vision for my life it got a lot easier. :)  

Because this what me wants me to be: flexible, creative, a helper.

How can I be available to help people the way he wants me to if I'm busying working a 9-5 job?

He gives me the gift of learning. I can pick things up pretty quickly and learn entirely new skills. If I was well-off would I have practice being so resourceful?

As for helping; he gave me a heart to help others. Sure I get hurt a lot, but I also gain huge satisfaction and love by building relationships with others. smile emoticon




This is *my* journey that he has sent me on. Each of our journeys will be different.  Your
walk will look very different than mine.  They're supposed to!  Embrace the plan the Holy Spirit is whispering to you and you may find rich satisfaction and joy in your own life.

 

Sale!

Hello, everyone!  

I'm in a generous mood (not rare) and feeling un-modest (very rare.).   ;)  

I know my designs are fun and enjoyable otherwise I wouldn't have bothered making them.  lol  I have a high standard for myself and have included ALL the goodies in these patterns, including how-to videos on all the techniques required.

I want you to be able to join in the fun, too!  So to that end, I've made a code "LUCKYME" that will get you 25% off any/all of my patterns on Ravelry though St. Patrick's Day, March 17th.  

(This won't get you a discount on Etsy, though, sorry.)

I am half way through the MKAL for Stitch & Story: The Case of the Missing Yarn.  It is a mystery knit along like no other; there is an actual accompanying mystery story!  

Rachel's Cozy Knits & Designs on Ravelry