Cool News For Scrappers

It's been a really long time ... A lot has happened in the world ... Even more in our personal lfe ... But I just had to share this for any readers who scrap:

You know when people look at your scrap book pages and then comment on how they would "love a copy" of that photo that's been glued/adhered down?

Now at Archivers (check their website for your nearest location) you can get full sized 12 inch copies ... Yes you can get a copy of the entire page! You can even get it shrunk down to a smaller 8 inch size if you want to make a sort of "souvenir" album.

I called my local store and they said that copies start at $3.49 a sheet ... I would assume (but I could very well be wrong) that to shrink it might cost a tad more.

I can see where this would come in handy for weddings - one main album for the bride/groom, and copies for the parents and the people who stood up - maybe even the officiate if they are a personal friend ...

Maybe that favorite aunt who couldn't make it ...
One for each of the kids later in your life ...
Or grandiose ...

How about baby books? Make the main one for your family and copies for each set of grandparents ...
Ones for the Godparents ...

What about bridal/ baby showers? Same thing ... Main one for mom/dad/baby ... Some for the grandparents .... Maybe a book that not only has pictures of things like baby's sonogram but also photos of mom &dad as kids thru the years for comparison ... What a precious gift this would be! Just make copies of the parents baby pictures so that the grandparents can get their photos back ... Most grandparents will have them either loose, in some of those albums where the photos just slide in, or in one of those albums that had the tiny sticky dot pages ...

HINT: if you do have photos on those old photo books with the sticky dots,be very careful removing them ... after being there for 20-30 years we found that they will be PERMENATELY stck and maybe damaged while trying to remove them from the page.

Check at Archivers (sorry but they are the experts on this one) and see if they have a product to dissolve the glue without damaging the photos.

I mean I know there is something out there - it's like Goop-Off or lighter fluid ( BUT DON'T USE THOSE) but it's a liquid that comes in a nozzle bottle that you squeeze on and it will gently eat the glue but the photo has minimum damage to it.

Any how ...

Just wanted to share about the copies ...

I think it's a wonderful idea ... Even if it is expensive - you are probably only to need/want this type of service so price will be a smaller factor in the long run.

Crafts to Share

If you find that you are getting a tad too cold at night then instead of turning up the furnace and running up your energy bill, and causing extra carbons to be released (yeah yeah, I know 'tree hugger' speak) ... perhaps all you need is a bit of wisdom from our Ancestors.

In the colonial days, and perhaps before that, people work hats to bed to hold in the extra body heat at night ... so here is a link as to how to make a simple Mob Hat from The American Girls.

Felicity's Mob Hat

You will need

a 20" piece of white cloth

18" of 1" wide ribbon

some scissors, needle, and thread - of course

that should get you started. Just think of the different patterns you can use -- experiment and see which materials work best for you.

P.S. - it will save your pillowcases as well as it will keep the caustic oils from your head from penitrating thru the threads ... and making you have to wash them so often.

Hogwarts Questionaire

Okay I saw this on several other blogs of other members so I think I may just not have gotten the email yet....so hey, I'll pull a Hermione and jump the gun! After all, she is the smartest witch in her class.

Hogwarts Sock Swap Questionnaire
1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into? Slytherin, with deliciously dreamy Professor Snape (I prefer the book colors of Silver & Emerald to the movie colors of Grey & Green)
2. Shoe size? Size 9 (or a loose size 8)
3. Foot Length? 9.5inches from heel to toe
4. Foot Circumference? 8.75 inches at ankle, 8.5 inches at the ball
5. List your three favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length.

• Boye 7 inches long, sizes 1-3 for socks depending on the yarn/pattern/look I want
• Susan Bates 7 inches long, size 0 (actually these came in a set of 5 different sizes, and are the only Bates needles I like)
• Boye (see above).....I very loyal to the Boye name---my crochet hooks are Boyes, my needles are Boyes, the majority of my tatting shuttles are Boyes.

6. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length? Well, I'm always up to try something new, I would like to try some wooden ones but I realize they are very expensive and don't expect them from my partner. Anything over 7" I think gets too long for socks, sometimes I wish my Boyes were an inch shorter. Any size is fine...right now I'm waiting for a set of 0000's to go on sale...I want to try some mini-knitting.

7. If you are a RAVENCLAW, do you prefer the colors in the film or the book? Do you have a strong preference? I do however prefer the Silver & Emerald (since it contrasts the Scarlet better than Green) to the Movies Grey & Green.

8. Allergies? Do you have any? Will your knitting be exposed to smoke or animals? I am allergic to cats and fish...very sensitive to the cat dander (my lips puff and my eyes swell)

9. Are you an international participant (outside US)? Are you willing to have an international Hogwarts Sock Pal? I am not an international participant (US) but I'm afraid going international right now is a bit outside of my funding, so not this round I'm afraid...sorry!

Well that's it for now....I wonder if I have to post this on the Swap page too? Maybe I'll stop in and put in a link.

Blessings and Twilight!!

Still Waiting....

Okay so I am really trying to keep myself busy waiting for a "yea" or "nay" from the sock swap....I've given hair cuts to son and hubby....I've fed the gargoyles....I even worked on my sock yesterday (some concerns here)...but this is really testing my will power not to send off yet ANOTHER plea to be let in.....how UNslytherin of me, if I give in I would suspect the others will really trounse me!

About my sock...

Well I noticed after I put up the photos of it that I was getting some pretty funky pooling of color suddenly. I rechecked my gauge, nope it was still the same....8sts/inch, 9rows/inch....so the color should have been the same. Then it dawned on me that what it could be is the dying sequence had changed....hmmm, why would they do that?

Because that was were/when they expected me to be at the HEEL...instead of the decrease of the calf! So now I had this really nice wide striping going on with a big muck of muddiness...but really that's not my issue with it...it doesn't look the best but I can live with it (so can my daughter for that matter)....by issue is:
what if there isn't enough to finish the foot!!!

I mean think of it....I could be most of the way done with the foot and suddenly run out! That would be disastrous because I only have 2 skeins of this yarn....the last two herrschner's had...and buying a new skein risks mismatching dye lots (even though bernat is usually really good about it, I ain't pushing it). I even thought of using a second yarn for the heel and toe decrease, but then I thought....well if there IS enough yarn I would have a bit left over from each ball and then I have to worry about matching the striping and working in ends on the other sock. yada, yada, yada.

That is the one thing I do NOT like about the Arachne sock calculator....it doesn't give you approximate yardage needed. I don't know why it couldn't....I mean its a simple mathematical equation...

(#of sts needed to complete) X (# of yds needed to make gauge swatch of specific portions)=yds needed

OR

(#of rows) X (yardage in 10 rows)=approximate yardage needed

since the calculator asks you to enter in your gauge anyways, all it would need to know is the international size of the yarn to give the best estimate of yardage (1-5, based on thickness).

I suppose I could figure it out on my own too, but it would be easier if I had one of those cool tools that you just pull the yarn thru and it tell you the yardage you have....that would really be SWEET for something like this.

Just think all I would have to do is make swatches for every size of yarn with all my different needles and then measure it out...viola! Instant yardage chart! But that seems like just too much work for this time of the morning.

Besides, it won't help with the problem I have now....although the number of yardage/sts. would be the best way to handle the decreases and increases....AHHHHGGG! Now that will be stuck in my head and rattling around all day.

But then.....it might be better than obsessing over the Sock Swap!

Waiting is the Toughest part

I don't know how the gargoyles do it....just sitting and waiting....being so patient. I have sent off my application to the Hogwart's Sock Swap (I'm a first year since I missed the deadline for the last one)....well okay I have sent 2 applications.

I would love to get in on this deal....as long as I don't have to spend a ton on sock yarn & needles. As you can probably tell from my other posts I am a bit cheap when it comes to paying full price for things. I was looking at some of the photos the original swap had and found that some of these ladies paid $25 a skein for their yarn!!! GET OUT!!!

Well at least that was the prices I came up with online, perhaps they had a better deal. Although I have to say they did make for some really pretty socks.

The other thing that worries me is that each person has to send a set of new, unused sock needles to their partner in their partners preferred size. Now I've seen some sets out there that cost as much as $14 or so and I'm sorry but that's a tad much....granted they were the ones made with the special woods...but for that money they should be gold plated in my mind!!!

Maybe I will get a partner who likes to use tw0 circulars....I wonder what you do then....do you have to get them two circs then? or will one cover your obligation? I would think two since that's what would be needed to finish a sock, but that could get costly as well....some circs can be $20.

I know hubby won't allow me to spend quite that much...okay not even close to that.
The stitch markers I'm not too worried about.....I can make those myself...as a matter of fact I should have everything I need to make a set for any house using genuine gemstones.

Well, off to knit and wait some more.

Waiting. waiting. waiting.

On My Needles

Not too shabby for two days worth of work and doing all the other stuff that has to be done at the cabin as well, huh? This is the test for the "Arachne Sock Calculator" that takes your measurements and makes a simple sock pattern for you. It can be found at:
http://www.panix.com/~ilaine/socks.html
This pattern is great for self striping yarns like the Bernat Sox that I'm using in Hot Tamale! I also thought I would challenge myself and broke out the size 0's for the ribbing, a single row in size 1 to step up to the size 2 dpns....normally I hate working with anything smaller than a 3 but I like the fabric made with the smaller sizes much better (I even make my washclothes with size 4s instead of the 7 or8 that's recommended).

I purchased the yarn last year when I was planning on making tons of socks for my niece who we dubbed "Dobby" because whenever you asked her what she wanted for Christmas or her Birthday the answer was always the same---SOCKS!!

The Sox yarn is made of 60% acrylic and 40% nylon which gives it a wonderful memory, it doesn't hurt my hands like wool tends to, but I know many sock enthusiasts are just dieing now yelling "NO USE WOOL"...I'm sorry my hands just can't take it, but then I've only used LB Wool-Ease yarn so who knows what other brands will be like.

Actually this is the second attempt at these socks....I was almost finished with the leg last week when I realized that I had been marking my rows wrong and I hadn't put enough rows before the decrease began and then had too many rows between the decreases. So I frogged it all and restarted it last Friday night and churned this much work out on Saturday (sunday was a travel day so nothing got done....I can't knit in the car).

New Stash Arrivals-2007Jul8-14, part4

This is actually my biggest weakness when it comes to sock yarn these days....Brownie Socks. My youngest is a Brownie scout (entering her second year) and I just refuse to pay the prices they want for the extended uniform parts. I know it goes to support the cause, but still I just can not bring myself to pay $5 a pair that she will just out grow and I can't recycle the yarn. At least if I make them myself I can "unstitch" them and then make them to fit her leg & foot again using the same yarn! AND each pair will only have cost me....get this....$1.94 with the Starlette Chocolate, and $3.98 with the Mellowspun Camel & Cocoa! And depending on how well they work up, I may even get two pair out of each....we will have to see. Both yarns are available at Mary Maxim's online.

I can't find a pattern online yet for the official Brownie pattern, but I don't think anyone in her troop will grimace if I find something close (currently the online GSA catalog are out of stock of them and they don't know when they will be coming in... So making is my only other option...the local store didn't have any either).
Well, that's it for stash adds for now! More next week....yep, more!
I've heard of ladies going on "yarn diets"....but remember....as Richard Simmon says "the first three letters in the word diet spell the word DIE!"

New Stash Arrivals-2007Jul8-14, part3

This RH stash is from herrschners.com and share the color "Crayon" but notice the difference? The RH Sport is so much darker than the worsted RH Kids yarn that I'm not sure the hat/mitten/cowl/liner set I had planned for my daughter will work--of course we just got the list required supplies for next year and it specified "Waterproof" mittens which means the really expensive ones that she will lose after a week or so anyways and then we will have to buy more...I've been wondering if felting would make a garment more waterproof. I know I can't do that with the RH because its acrylic, but http://www.knitpicks.com/ has some really nice wool for sale at a decent price...

New Stash Arrivals-2007Jul8-14, part2

Oh these I really like...the RH Soft Yarn is for an afghan I have been coveting in a book I have for about 10 years but I just couldn't find a yarn I thought it would look nice in. Each of the fall colors will be crocheted into filet panels depicting different types of leaves and then joined to make a beautiful Equinox Afghan! The colors are: Dark Leaf, Paprika, Paprika, Toast, Tangerine) the Sweet Pea on top is for my oldest daughter to "play" with...cost? $2.97 at Herrschners (reg. 3.19, so not a huge savings but still...). The other yarn, RH Sport is in Camouflage color to go with the worsted RH I used to make my youngest son's hat, cowl, and gloves (on the needle now) with...I thought a matching set of boot liners would be nice, but now that I have it I think it might be too thin for what I had planned so I may make him some slipper-socks instead.

New Stash Arrivals-2007Jul8-14, part1

Okay, so I was very naughty last week....but then when isn't a Slytherin naughty, right?....and ordered some more yarn (like I really needed more....but hey I got inspired).

Here are photos of what I got and what my plans are for each of them:

This is my Bernat Galaxy Yarn....this yarn has been discontinued so I've been having quite the time finding it at a decent price--I just refuse to pay $6 a skein for yarn! I thought it would be great to crochet an afghan that utilizes all the colors in the order of the solar system. So I bought (left to right) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Moon, Mars, and Neptune from Mary Maxim's @ $0.97 a skein (I pay full price for very little, let me tell you!). I have located several more colors at http://www.joann.com/ and http://www.herrschners.com/ (they have one called Deep Space, that I would love to use for the background color...I figure 10 skeins would cover me, but they still want about $4.50 a skein...I can wait them out)

Here we go again!

Okay, so here I go delving into the world of blogging again...this is actually blog number 3, well number 4 if you count my YouTube acct. The first is my private blog (invite only) and the other is one about old time radio/movies that my family like to listen to/watch together.

This blog will be dedicated to my crafting.

Actually this particular blog is being started because I am hoping to join an online sock exchange that requires its members to have an open blog account (that is public), but since the other blog on yahoo360 is my "venting" blog, more like a personal diary where I don't want just anyone to read it....I had been thinking about going public and posting crafting stuff with it but then I have just too much personal stuff on there.

So the next best solution was to take advantage of the free blog offered by Google which I have had at my disposal for years and just didn't realize it! How foolish to I feel? So now I have a blog just for my crafting.

So what kind of crafting do I do?
Well let's just say I am known all over the web as Maggie the Crochet-a-Holic (you may have ran across my website at http://dustbunnies.com/crochet.htm) which I have been doing since the young age of 4...in grade school, Motley Elementary decided to have a class in beginning crochet...we kids were allowed to choose 2 classes a quarter as an elective (it was supposed to prepare us for high-school)...so in fourth grade I took the crochet course (figuring I could always use an easy A and it gave me an hour a day when I was actually encouraged to crochet in school....otherwise I was constantly being told to wait for recess time).

You can imagine my surprise when I found the course was being taught by Mrs. Jorgenson...my mother had taught her how to crochet over the summer break and I had even taught her a few things. She instantly recruited me as class helper to show the other kids what to do--well that was a disaster! Get a group of girls together with crochet hooks, yarn, and a ton of gossip and well....very little got done. I guess the thing that really disappointed me was that when I did get time to myself I wasn't allowed to work on the Barbie clothes, the hair ties, the mittens & hats that I wanted to....I had to complete the required class project just like everyone else:

This Gods awful boring belt made three chained ropes (one each of a different color, each chain was to wrap around our waist three times before braiding)...it was so boring for me!!! I had a really tough time completing that project (it was torture for me)

In fact that one project almost made me fail because I just could NOT motivate myself.

Now I'm a mom and teaching my own kids to crochet (boys and girls a like) and what was the first project I gave them? That awful belt! Now that I've grown up I can see where it is the perfect beginners project...in fact you could finish it in a single weekend if you wanted to (and if you pick up on the chain stitch quick enough I bet you could do it in a single day).

I have never posted the "pattern" online (neither blog nor webpage) but if anyone is interested in a simple beginner's project I'd be happy to do so here.

Well that's it for my first post....I am sure I will post more later on.

OH WAIT!!! I forgot to mention what other crafts I do....are you ready?

• crochet
• tatting
• knitting (my latest passion is/are socks)
• cross stitch (stamped and counted)
• liquid embroidery
• machine embroidery
• polymer clay
• wire wrapping
• jewelry making
• decorative cakes (well cupcakes mostly)
• carving (wood & stones)
• painting
• loop knitting
• I'm learning to machine knit (although I'm having some problems)
• scrapbooking
• machine sewing (I love making costumes for my kids...maybe I'll post a few photos later of them)
• rune-carving/casting
• tea blending (okay, many would consider this more and art than craft)

I'm sure I've missed a bunch that I just do without thinking....LOL....but we all know how that goes!