Author: horsenettle

Kreativ Blogger

No Comments
Kreativbloggeraward
Kreativbloggeraward

Thank you, Brenda of Loom Lore! Brenda, an creative expert in all-things looming (just check out these loomy-licious cupcakes!), nominated me for this award, which I've seen being passed around the looming and knitting blogs. I've visited Brenda's blog numerous times, and she's always willing to answer questions. Plus, she offers a ton of innovative patterns. So, thanks again, Brenda.

As I understand it, the rule to this crazy Kreativ Blogger Award is that I have to "nominate" seven blogs I really enjoy, even non-crafty ones. Some of these are very popular blogs, but if you haven't visited them, please do. Here are a few of my favorite, never-miss bloggers:

  • Crazy Aunt Purl: Laurie is super funny and yes, she knits. Plus, she has a bunch of cats.
  • Chickens in the Road: Author Suzanne McMinn posts about life on her rural West Virigina farm. She loves to write about her chickens.
  • Chez Larsson: I like this daily glimpse into Benita Larsson's cool Swedish home; she cleans, organizes, and crafts like a Swedish Martha Stewart!
  • Polka Dot Cottage: Lisa Clarke's neat ideas with looming, and she does a wealth of other crafts–check out the polymer clay jewelry and buttons.
  • Avalanche Looms: Susan Johnson's lovely weaving.
  • Dangling Threads: Cady May's blog–she spins, she knits!
  • Knitting-and.com: Sarah Bradberry's loaded site. I found this during my frenzied search for anything flower-loom related–and she has the best site out there for those little looms.

 

Categories: Resources

Tags: ,

Flowers and an amazing find

1 Comment

 

  • image from www.flickr.com
  • image from www.flickr.com
  • image from www.flickr.com
  • image from www.flickr.com
  • image from www.flickr.com
image from www.flickr.com

I've been busy making flowers, both with my Crazy Daisy Winder and my trusty Knifty Knitter flower loom. It's funny that I needed to find another flower loom–the Crazy Daisy–to realize I already owned one. So far, I'm doing fine with the wrapping, using yarn or embroidery floss (more on that later) but the stitching of the middle is a bit tough. I'm getting there, however, and have big plans for my flowers. You can see I'm using different wraps. On the Knifty Knitter loom, I wrap the pegs between two to four times, but the little Daisy loom only takes once or twice to make a full flower.

This week, I decided to buy some embroidery thread for the Daisy loom. The yarn I was using just wasn't fine enough, plus I thought the bright colors and smooth texture of floss would make for some pretty flowers. One night I stopped at the only store that's on the drive home–Walmart–and found they no longer carry floss! I was just a little shocked. The next night, we stopped to browse in a local thrift/discount store in town and I was thrilled to find a big tin of embroidery floss for about $9.00. Once I got home, I started looking through the stash and realized it was even more special than I first thought.

The floss is old, but the colors are still vivid. Many of them are marked two cents ($.02) but most are priced at eight cents ($.08). When was the last time embroidery floss sold for two cents?? I realized that this was a very old collection, put together by someone who really loved to embroider. Most of the collection was carefully stored in plastic bags, but there was a bunch tangled together. Somewhere from within that colorful nest I found a few needles, a strand of pefectly teeny tiny red beads (can you imagine the care it would take to embroider beads that size?!), and a big clue to the time/place of the collector: an ad from a Wisconsin newspaper with the date of 1932 on the bottom.

Many of the embroidery threads are marked from J.C. Penney, but most say France. I've been carefully selecting some accent colors from this tin to highlight my flowers. I have a feeling it will last a long time, and I'm so pleased to have found it.

Categories: Vintage

Tags: , , ,

Crazy Daisy Winder

No Comments

This winter I ventured outside of loom knitting by first purchasing a cheap, plastic potholder loom and then, after a few disasterous attempts at making my own, a professionally-made 4" square loom from Hazel Rose. With the potholder loom, I made a potholder (gasp!) and also a scarf. With the Hazel Rose 4" multiloom, I made several squares with different yarns, but then became focused and made a hat from the 1936 Weave-It pattern book. I also made several dolls.

Along the way, I discovered this cool, retro plastic loom in a thrift store, the 4" Wonder Weave! I liked it so much that my  husband and I made a video, which is nearing 6,000 hits on Youtube. I know that isn't a huge number, but considering I didn't think it would have 100 hits, it's pretty remarkable.

The idea of looms got me dreaming enough that my Christmas present was a 2' triloom from Hideaway Homestead. It's lovely, and it works like a charm. Within just a few days, I made a shawl!

So, that all led into my new interest–flower looms. The first time I saw flower looms, I yawned and turned away. But then… I just became interested, all at once. Much to my surprise I realized I owned one–the small flower loom Knifty Knitter. (So that's why the pegs come out!) And then, while walking through an antique store yesterday, I saw this interesting little box marked Crazy Daisy Winder. It was $.10. Yes, that's ten cents… a dime. The small, round brass disc has a knob in the center that, when twisted, makes 12 tiny metal rods come out. Those little spikes hold your yarn/thread/metal while you wind on your "petals." Then, you secure the center with a series of clever stitches (the backstitch), and viola! You have a flower. A second twist of the knob, the metal spikes disappear, and the flower comes off the loom. Pretty nifty. From what I can find out, these tiny flower looms were made in the 1940's.

Because my box and loom were missing instructions, my first attempts are pretty sad, so I'll share them with you another day. In the meantime, I've I discovered many wonderful sites dedicated to flower looms. Here are a few:

Coming soon: A Winter Recap (those felted mittens, a really floppy hat, a real picture of my shawl, and a slanted cupcake.)

Categories: Loom Knitting Vintage Weave-It Loom Weaving

Tags: , , , , ,

Mittens, pre-felting

1 Comment

image from www.flickr.com

I knit mittens on my blue Knifty Knitter loom, using the one loom mitten pattern. I changed the cuff by doing two rows of the garter stitch, plus I knitted a few extra rows. Because I used 100% wool, I then felted them.

They shrunk, a little. I'll post another picture soon.

They'll need another good wash/dry to get to the perfect size. The good thing about these is that I'm not really fond of them–if I lose one (which has been my habit this winter–I've lost one mitten and two gloves), then I'll have an excuse to make another pair, maybe in a better color. I bought one of those huge fisherman's wool skeins two years ago, and I've been using it for projects since then. Now, it's nearly gone. Hooray!

Categories: Finished Object Loom Knitting

Tags: , , , ,