Saturday, March 28, 2015

Felted Knitting

I love knitting, but as often shown in this blog, I rarely have time to make anything very complicated.   Baby caps and scarves are my specialty! Every now and then, though, I need some magic in my knitting. That's where a project from a great little book called OneSkein comes in handy! I used 100% wool yarn, not super wash, just lovely pure wool, to knit what looks like a floppy hat?? 


A loose sack??

The wool I used has a bit of variation in the colour so that's why you see a subtle striping on the top and bottom.


So what happens when you put the knitted item in a pillow case, tie the case closed, then throw it in a washing machine (it is helpful to add a couple of heavy items such as a pair of jeans) with hot soapy water?


You get a bit of magic! The floppy knitted item gets transformed into a thick, felted bowl. How cool is that? You can't even see any of the stitches anymore. Doesn't the darker striped area around the brim look lovely now? 

 

You can control the shape and size of the bowl by taking it out of the washing machine partway through the agitation cycle to check it. Don't allow it to go through the spin cycle. When you are happy with the size and shape, rinse it well in cold water and squeeze out the extra water with a towel. You may need to smooth the edges of the bowl. Place it on a heat register or in the sunshine for a day or two to dry. It might start out smelling a little like a wet dog,
but it will smell just fine once it is dry. 


I haven't decided yet what I'll put in my new bowl. 
Buttons? Beads? Chocolates? 
Lots of possibilities!

Happy crafting,

Judy Ann

Friday, March 20, 2015

Book + matching fabric = fun!

Mo Willems is a very entertaining author/illustrator currently popular with young children. His books are very funny and sweet. I was lucky to find fabric with art showing one of his most popular characters, Pigeon. I decided to make a couple of pillow cases out of the fabric for two very loveable kids. I used the rolled method to make the pillow cases and you can find the instructions here. It's quite easy and almost seems like magic that it works!


I made one pillow case with a green band and the other with a purple band.


Way too much fun!


 Have a creative day,

Judy Ann

Monday, March 16, 2015

Shamrocks!

We had fun at the little Glanworth library on Saturday morning making shamrock necklaces to help celebrate St. Patrick's day. The idea came from here. I changed it a little by using foam shamrocks and adding ribbon and stickers. 


Cute!


We have such sweet kids at our little library!


Have a creative day,

Judy Ann

Monday, March 9, 2015

Let Us Eat Cake!

We celebrated my mom-in-law's 85th birthday yesterday with many loving family members and lots of cake!


I baked a two-layer buttermilk cake and a three layer carrot cake, both from Martha Stewart's Cakes cookbook available at your local library or Chapters/Indigo. I also baked a four-layer buttermilk chocolate cake from Canadian Living


 I forgot to buy extra candles so I added up 8 plus 5 and got 13 and that's the number of candles we used!



Can you tell which cake was most popular? 


And speaking of sweet treats, look who I got to hold!


Enjoy your day,

Judy Ann

Monday, March 2, 2015

Bookmarks and a Baby

We had fun making bookmarks at our little Glanworth library on Saturday.


 Bears in striped pjs are very sweet!


Finished!


Ta-da!

 

Our littlest patron wasn't into crafting, just dozing...


...book in hand.

 Z-z-z-z-z-z


Have a creative day,

Judy Ann