{Knitting} A Manly Herringbone Scarf

I just finished this Manly Herringbone Scarf I started in October for my Hubby. I haven't finished a knitted project in A WHILE, so this one felt really great to finish. 

The yarn I used is Dirty Water Dye Works "Edna" yarn in a great mustardy yellow color. I bought the yarn on a trip to Burlington, Vermont in September at a shop called Nido.

The needle size recommended by the yarn label was a size 5-7, but I wanted a super thick and warm scarf, so I used a size 4 (circular needles). I went through almost 2 skeins of this yarn, at 380 yards be skein! NO WONDER IT TOOK SO LONG! 

The scarf is about 14x70 inches and it looks GREAT on my Hubby with his dark charcoal wool coat. Considering it took me almost 2 months of seemingly constant knitting, if he loses this thing I am definitely going to make him suffer!

Then, because my husband wouldn't pose for the camera, I attempted a shameful selfie. I know it is a sad attempt and I apologize for subjecting you to it. Also, my forehead isn't 300 shades darker than the rest of my face. I promise. 

That's another finished project off of My Bucket List! Check out My Bucket List for all of the projects I want to complete, and check out My Finished Projects for everything I've completed so far (including lots of food!). Also, check out My Flickr Page for another summary of my finished projects!


Thanks for checking in! 

HOLLER!

Giveaway Winner!

Hi All,

Based on a selection using random.org, the winner is of my Blogiversary Giveaway... 

Nupur who said "How generous of you- thanks for the giveaway! As a new quilter I would use this gratefully."

Check your email Nupur, I will send you a message requesting your address, etc so I can get this package along to you quickly.

HOLLER!

Giveaway!!!

Hiiii!

This November is my 3rd Blogiversary! 

To commemorate the special occasion, I did a little Craft Room Cleaning Out. I gathered all of the supplies that have been hanging around in the stash for far too long (like 3 years) and I just haven't found the right project to use it up. I guess if I haven't found the right project in 3 years the likelihood of me finding it in the near future is not high, thus, its gotta go!

I've been gathering all of my extra supplies into a nice pile under my ironing board. The stack looks small from this point of view, but it is a lot of stuff, it must weigh 30 lbs!

 (Outdoor upholstery fabric scraps from this project!)

 (About 1/2 yard of each print from the Joel Dewberry Heirloom collection, from this project)

 (Batting scraps, both warm and white and warm and natural)

 (Terrycloth, flannel, and Insulbright scraps)

 (About 6 yards of a tone on tone white floral quilting cotton fabric)

 

 (A few yards of this tapestry fabric)

 (The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt and all of the templates cut and laminated)

 (All of the pieces from this quilt that I never finished ...)

 (Some upholstery fabric scraps)

 (Soul Blossoms scraps from this Bento Box Quilt)

 (Lots of yardage from this Anna Maria Horner Garden Party print, maybe about 5 yards total)

 (About 6 yards of this Ikea panel, they are very cute and would make a great motif quilt)

(Last but not least, a rainbow of fabrics from pinks to yellows to green, blue, and purple. These fabrics all came from my Aunt's stash and I am passing them along to someone who can use them up!)

DETAILS:

- The winner of the giveaway wins ALL of the items above! 

- To enter the giveaway you can either become a follower, leave a comment on this post, or both for 2 entries to win.

- I will randomly choose the winner on Friday November 12th and I will e-mail you.

- Obviously I will pay for shipping and whatnot. 

Feel free to e-mail me with any questions about the giveaway items. 

HOLLER :)

{From Scratch Club Guest Post} Found Kitchen Chalkboard

Those of you following this blog for a while may know that I am a blog contributor over at the amazing and wonderful From Scratch Club blog on a monthly basis. 

Here is a little excerpt from FSC's about page to give you some insight into what the FSC is all about:

"WE ARE {MAKING} FOOD MATTER, TOGETHER

We live within the Capital Region of New York State (Albany, Troy, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs) striving for a sustained connection to our kitchens, our gardens and our communities by inspiring people to jump back into the kitchen, their gardens and food communities as a daily way of life regardless of income, space & time. We host community food swaps, a podcast on iTunes, virtual food-focused book club on Goodreads and lastly, we teach DIY classes around the area. The rest of the month we are here, on the blog, sharing stories, recipes, DIY projects, homesteading tutorials, kitchen tips & tricks and food policy news."

I have been dubbed the FSC Crafter and on a monthly basis I post a crafting project for all of the FSC members and readers to recreate. I try to maintain a utilitarian focus when it comes to the craft projects that I choose to write about, as the men and women of the FSC really like to get stuff done!

This month's post was a project where I showed the readers how to re-purpose an unloved mirror or picture frame and turn it into a chalkboard for the Kitchen. I use my mainly for menu planning! 

Scoot on over to the FSC blog for the complete post and instructions!

My past posts have included:

• Crocheted Face Cloths
• Thrifted Silverware Garden Markers
• A Mug Rug
• Embroidered Jar Lids

I hope you check out my posts over at the FSC Blog and also take a look at the recipes and projects blogged about by other FSC Contributors. The website is a wealth of knowledge! 

HOLLER!

Circular Knitting Needle Roll

I have made it a goal of mine this year to make myself "Tool Rolls" for all of my knitting and crocheting needles and hooks. 

I started off with the smallest of the rolls, a crochet hook roll.

Then I moved onto a knitting needle roll, a pattern which I might want to revise a little bit in the future so that the flap is more stable, maybe just interfacing the flap. 

Then, I racked my brain for months on how to make the best circular knitting needle holder, and I think I finally found the answer for my perfect circular needle "roll". The problem with circular needles is that 1 pair takes up SO MUCH space, I knew that this roll was going to be huge and eat up a lot of fabric and be pretty big. 

I tried three different patterns and they were all terrible. I wish I kept them but I was so irritated that I just threw them in the garbage. I probably should have taken pictures. One of them involved me buying a grommet-er and did a lot of grommet-ing, and other were even worse failures.

HOWEVER, I think I've finally got it! 

First, after A LOT OF MEASURING AND I MEAN A LOT, way too much math for this accounting during off-work hours, I cut all of the fabric pieces for the roll. 

 
To give you a better idea of the different cuts I took this side shot, most pieces are stacked and have many many layers.

These are the additional supplies that I used for my project. I used a 50 weight mercerized cotton thread, Schmetz MICROTEX needles (which are flipping phenomenal, you need to get them now), and my AMAZING Bernina Binder Attachment. Have you guys used this yet? It is so amazing. Depending on the size attachment you get, it takes a 1.5 inch strip of fabric, and turns it into binding effortlessly. You can make binding strips themselves, or bind and edge of fabric or a quilt. Maybe I'll do a tutorial on that later :)


Some progress shots of me putting the roll together:

I had some MAJOR difficulty with the "Binding" of this little Circular Needle Book. I originally anticipated running the whole center spine through my machine, then once I realized that its like 25 layers of fabric and interfacing I knew there was no way, even with my trusty Bernina. 

To combat that, I used a wicked thick and sharp tapestry needle, purl embroidery floss and a metal thimble, and tried to create binding.  I do admit that this does not look perfect, but I will work on my binding techniques and a few other enhancements when I make this again. For my purposes, it is totally sufficient. I think in the future a leather punch or something that actual book binders use would be more effective than the tapestry needle. 

 Glam Shots:

The Collection so far:

That's another item off the Bucket List, wooohooo! Check out my Finished Projects page as well as my Flickr page for completed projects. 

Hope you enjoyed :)

HOLLER!