Adventures with Audrey: Making Crayons

One of the great blessings of working from home is that I make my own schedule.  That allows me to spend lots of time with this cutie!

She is always asking me if she can help make stuff too!  Today was her day!

Her older sister had made these owl shaped crayons for a few close friends as part of a Valentine’s gift.  And Audrey was very jealous that she didn’t get to help.  So this morning on our way home from taking the big kids to school I ran into the dollar store and picked up some crayons.

She was so excited to do crafts with Mommy!  

And determined to peel the paper off the crayons all by herself.

And break the crayons into pieces!

I had planned to make solid colors but that quickly changed.

The wait for the crayons to melt while in the oven was tortuous.

But the wait for them to cool was worse.

So bad in fact that Audrey rummaged through the cabinet to find a mini muffin pan.  She decided she wanted circle crayons too!

The finished result was a lot of crayons!

But the process was great!  We spent time talking, just the two of us (with no older sibling interruptions).  And we talked about colors.

Audrey says this one looks like a planet.

I think this one looks like a piece of chocolate.

And these look like tie-dye!

If you want to make your own shaped crayons at home it is super easy.

Materials:

Crayons (you can either buy a pack at the dollar store or use up those broken pieces you already have laying around the house)

A non-stick muffin pan to melt the crayons

An oven

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 F.

Peel paper from crayons.

Break into pieces and place in the muffin pan.

Place pan in preheated oven.

Set timer for 20 minutes. (It may take a few minutes more or less depending on your oven.)

Let crayons cool completely. (about 30 minutes is usually enough)

Flip over pan and crayons should fall out.

Audrey says coloring is fun, but it is even better when you make them yourself!

Adapting Your Favorite Pattern Is Easier Than You Think

Sometimes I love being able to create cute things for my kids!

The project shown used Caron Simply Soft in the colors Watermelon, Black, and Gray Heather.  It was knit using US size 6 (4.00 mm)  16” circular needles and US size 6 (4.00 mm) DPNs.

This tunic/dress is absolutely adorable on Little Bit and it was so easy.

Often I get people who ask me what pattern I used and I’m glad to share. But I have no pattern for this.  I just pieced it together as I knit.

So I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to talk about how easy it can be to alter your favorite patterns to fit your needs.

Quite honestly when I began this project I had planned to just do a basic raglan sweater, but as it began to take shape I just wanted something different.

I used a basic raglan sweater pattern to start this tunic.  I just went to Ravelry and searched for a top down raglan pattern knit in the round.  There are a ton to choose from!!!!

I chose one with a rolled collar and hem because I just liked the look.

 

I also knew I wanted to do stripes because I was working out of my stash and didn’t have enough of any one color to complete the project. After I knit the collar I knit the first stripe until it was about 1 1/2 inches. Then I counted my rows and used that number as my stripe repeat.

(I ended up using 8 rows asmy repeat.)

Now remember I had planned to do a sweater but when it was shirt length I didn’t care for it all that much.  Rather than frog the whole project I decided to just keep knitting to tunic length.  I ended up doing a couple extra stripes after I reached the length I thought I wanted because I am a little OCD when it comes to the stripe pattern. I knew I wanted the rolled hem to be in black like the collar.  But the extra length turned out to be perfect and gives her a little growing room.

(After you’ve spent the time and energy creating that special gift, you hope they can wear it for awhile!)

I also decided that I didn’t want to do the long sleeves that I had originally planned so I finished the stripe pattern to black for a rolled hem.  It is the perfect edging!

If you have a go to pattern that you use for a sweater, try these adaptations for it.  Or better yet try your own!  And share pictures of your projects with me!  I would love to feature some of your projects on the blog!

The above post is not meant to be a pattern but simply a description of my process.  But I do ask that if you share the ideas with your friends, etc that you refer them to my blog.  Thanks!

A Study in Color.....

Wow!  That post title sounds rather academic doesn’t it?

I promise today’s post is definitely not academic.  Instead it is just a few thoughts that have come to me as I look through the pictures of projects I have posted on this blog.

Two days ago someone posted pictures of her newest knitting addiction in a Facebook group I follow.  It was the Mad For Plaid hat pattern.  It is a paid pattern on Ravelry and can be found here.

(I do not know the designer and am linking to her pattern for reference. But I do love the pattern!)

I immediately purchased the pattern (not something I often do) and cast on my first one.

This morning I finished my second.

As I was knitting the second I noticed how different it looked from the first one.  I even double checked the pattern and the chart numerous times to make sure I was knitting it properly.  

I was.

So what made the difference?

The color made the difference.  The first one was bold and somewhat earthy.  It reminds me of the lumberjack trend that has been all the rage.   But the second one is soft and almost hazy. 

I have noticed on some of my own designs a similar occurrence as I knit samples.  For example take a look at my Swirly Leaves Beanie.

The leaves and swirls are knitted with the same yarn in both samples, but the difference in the black versus the tan background yarn  is amazing.

 Then I took a look back at my Rooster Beanie.

I originally knitted the Rooster design as a mascot beanie for my children’s school.  But I had so many people ask me for a pattern that I knitted up samples in other colors as I was editing my pattern notes.

Here’s a look at the back side of the Rooster beanie.

The red and black is a bold statement while the other more muted colors are soothing.

I’m not always sure of my color combinations as I’m designing.  But I’m even more hesitant to venture far from another designer’s sample colors.  But after my photo journey down knitting memory lane, I feel much more confident about choosing colors.  My advice to you would be to just jump in and try it.  Keep in mind the boldness of contrast versus the soothing complimentary colors when choosing your yarns. Take pictures!  And date them if possible. It’s always great to look back at your creations for inspiration, even years after they’ve been gifted. I think the next time you flip through those pictures looking for a muse, you will discover that your color choices correspond with your moods.

And if you are searching for my published patterns you can find them all on my Ravelry page.

Thanks for looking!

Swirly Leaves Beanie

Last night we had to turn the heat on.  This morning when I drove the kids to school I used my heated seats.  That can only mean one thing......It’s Fall!!!

Fall means many things to different people.  For some it’s football season, for my kids it’s marching band season.  For some it’s all things pumpkin, for others it’s all things apple.

One thing that we generally all agree on is leaves!

I live just miles away from the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and every October we are overrun with people who come to see the leaves change colors.

I love to see the mountains alive with color but in my own yard I love to see swirling, dancing leaves as they perform their yearly ballet from the tree limbs to the ground.

(My husband says I love them because I’m not the one who rakes them, but whatever.)

It is inevitable that as much as I love the falling of the leaves that I would design a hat that could simulate the feeling.

The result is my Swirly Leaves Beanie.

After I finished all my Red Regiment orders I was still in the mood to do a few more beanies.  But I was definitely a little tired of working with red and black.  I needed some of those beautiful colors of nature.

I also wanted to give the design movement like the dancing of swirling leaves.

I love the effect of the color changes of the yarn and the swirls of the design together.

My samples were knit with Caron Simply Soft.  The black is in the Solids line, the oatmeal is in their Heathers?, and the orange is an Ombre.

I hope you love it as much I loved designing it.

If you are interested, the pattern is available for purchase in my Etsy shop or on Ravelry.

Now I’m off to reclaim a beanie from one of my girls and maybe, just maybe I’ll venture out to help my husband with those leaves.  Or maybe not (most of them are still on the trees right now). 

Maybe he’ll join me for a cup of hot apple cider on the back porch and watch the leaves dance for us.

I think that’s a much better idea.

Inspiration

I'm in the process of designing several projects at once.  Normally this would be an overload of the senses especially as I am finishing up my last semester of a graduate program.

So how do I get myself into such a creative blitz.   

I think it's a combination of having a new baby to create for as well as the dangerous website known as Google.  Especially image search.

I love owls.  There is just something that appeals to me about them.  I was googling images looking for possible prints to frame for the nursery when I found these images.

The colors in this one just reminded me of a quilt.  My brain went straight from there to possible patterns. 

The eyes on this one are just too cute for words.   Hmmmm possible plush toy for baby.

There are lots of owls being created in my craft space right now.  Be on the look out for the finished projects here and in our Etsy shop.

What about you?  What inspires you to create?  Is it an image, a written pattern, or something as abstract as a color?

Focus, focus, focus

This time of year easily becomes chaos for my life.   It is research paper time, which for a graduate student usually means it is focus on grades time.   It is the end of fall sports (and thankfully this year no winter sports).   It is the beginning of the holiday season both at church and with family.   For a crafter that also means it is crunch time on finishing all those gifts that I intended to start back in January.  To add to that my oldest has a birthday this Friday.  My middle child has a birthday 2 weeks after Christmas.   So.......

I have decided that the only way to work through this is to focus on one thing at a time.   I can't ignore any of these areas but I need to give full attention to each thing when I am working on it.

So far this morning, I have completed a project for my seminar class and contacted a few people concerning the church-wide Thanksgiving meal.

On the craft front I have chosen to focus this week on knitting.   My oldest asked for a sweater last year.  He chose the pattern, the yarn,and we bought all the supplies.   I even knitted about 50 % of it.   Monday he asked me if he could at least get it by his birthday.   Wow!  Now that one hit home.  So I am working towards completion.  I am working on the Wonderful Wallaby.   He chose a blue Red Heart yarn.   Now I'm a bit of a yarn snob so working with Red Heart SuperSaver is probably why this project is taking so long.   But keep tuned.   I have the body and 1.5 sleeved finished.   All that remains is .5 sleeve, the placket, and the hood.   I think I can, I think I can.

Oh did I say his birthday is Friday?