Custom Orders

A couple custom orders I did a month or so ago and realized I hadn’t blogged about.

Custom order soda can cozy.  It’s actually blue but I didn’t have very good lighting in the picture.  Complete with a matching origami gift box. My friend also wanted a soda pop cozy.  This one is green.  It’s just a bit taller than the soda can cozy.  I love doing custom orders for good friends!

Taste the rainbow…

Went to a wedding a couple hours away on Sat. and on the way out the door I grabbed some yarn so I’d have something to work on in the car.  Usually I make the single crochet ribbed dish cloth like on the right but after making a couple of those I decided to switch over to granny squares.  And then on a couple of them I added a ruffled edge.  Not sure what I like best.  Some of the knitted dish rags I was given for my wedding two years ago are wearing out so I’ll probably keep a couple of these to replace them and use a couple of them for presents.  If you don’t use handmade dish cloths already I highly recommend them.  Nothing compares with them for making it easier to wash your dishes.

Crochenit U.F.O.

This past weekend I decided to rescue an unfinished object of my mother’s and try to finish it for her.  It’s a baby crochenit afghan that she started and never got back to.  I haven’t done crochenit for over 20 years so I didn’t remember what to do but figured I’d be able to find some help online and I did.  Luckily I came across their website complete with video tutorials that showed me exactly what I needed to do.  My mom gave me a couple pattern books she had as well.  Between those and the patterns on the website I could make a lot of different items using this technique but I’m not sure how much I’ll get into it.  Does seem like you could go pretty fast.  I’ll keep you posted how it goes.

There’s a hook on each end and you take turns with each color picking up stitches and then crocheting them off.  It’s an interesting combination of knitting and crocheting combined into one.

Eco Friendly Clutter Free Mother’s Day Gift Idea

You’ve probably heard that you shouldn’t use dryer sheets with your micro-fiber towels or other delicate items that you launder on a regular basis. Also, that the use of dryer sheets can cause a film to form over your lint screen that could potentially catch fire and that they can leave chemicals on your clothes that some people are sensitive to. So, if you would like to discontinue the use of dryer sheets what’s an eco-friendly alternative? Wool dryer balls may be the solution you are searching for.

They are quite easy to make. Start with a skein of 100% wool yarn (be sure to read the label)

I found this at Michael’s for $5.99 a skein.

Start by winding the yarn around a couple of fingers…

and then take the yarn off your fingers and continue wrapping alternating directions often (I put my yarn in a can so it didn’t roll all over the place while I was working)

until it’s about the size of a tennis ball. (With one skein I was able to make 2 wool balls).

When you get to the end use a crochet hook to pull the end through to the middle so it won’t unravel.

To felt them I boiled them on the stove for a while.

Then I placed them up in a pair of nylons and ran them through the washer and dryer with my clothes a couple of times to felt them some more.

They work great and supposedly help your clothes dry faster too which could decrease your electric bill.

Before & After shot

I’m excited about never having to buy dryer sheets ever again.

I'm giving away a bunch of them for Mother's Day & some upcoming birthdays.

Mug Cozies 2.0

I hadn’t made any soda can/water bottle mug cozies for a couple of months and I started making some new flowers the other day so I decided to make a couple and see what they looked like.  I think they turned out pretty cute.  I’ll probably make some more.

Eco Friendly Wool Dryer Balls

I'm running low on dryer sheets and was contemplating alternatives to purchasing another box. When I took care of my friend Jessica in NYC in January I noticed she had reuseable plastic dryer balls and was intrigued with this solution. They seemed to work well and she said they lasted a long time so I thought that might be the way to go but wasn't completely convinced. Then I noticed some etsy listings for reusable dryer sachets that are like beanbags made from recycled tshirts and are filled with herbs like lavender and are reusable. That sounded like a step in the right direction. And then this past weekend the answer was given to me. My aunt clipped out a newspaper article from the Salt Lake Tribune that pointed out concerns about the chemicals that dryer sheets and even these reusable dryer balls end up leaving on our clothes. The author recommended using wool dryer balls. She said they last for years, absorb static cling and prevent the waxy buildup in your dryer and on your clothes. While I was out yesterday I stopped at Joann's and purchased a skein of wool yarn with my 40% off coupon. I was able to make 4 balls from the yarn and they are currently in the dryer with the sheets for their first load. I can't wait to see how they work. I took lots of pics along the way and am contemplating writing up an in depth ehow article on them since the current articles are vague and don't include pictures.