Dress-up Crowns!

I found this pattern in a Creative Knitting Magazine and just had to make up a few my girls. So I found some lovely purple singles yarn from Brown Sheep. I think I ordered from the US with some green yarn I intended to turn into a felted coat (it hasn't happened yet).The red trim is some discount yarn I got from Micheal's many years ago. I had bagged it at one point to be donated but of course like a true hoarder I just couldn't get rid of it. I think it did a good job.

I ended up making one as a present for a friend of my oldest daughter who loves to play dress-up. 

The bombs

I made these several months ago - I was and am still not happy with the photos but I wanted get back into my blog!

My 4 year old daughter requested I make her a rocket bomb. And below is what I came up with. It is made with wool yarn, of course, from my stash! She wanted something that looked like the rocket that Sid used on Buzz Lightyear in the first Toy Story.

While attending a craft night in my neighbourhood and discussing the rocket a friend suggested making a classic cartoon bomb (she also thought it would like sweet with an 'F' embroidered on). Below are the two versions my stash enabled me to create.

The classic cartoon bomb lead my hubby to suggest a stick of dynamit which in the photo I admit does not look all that much like dynamit but it still is fun to throw!

A little Cat

I was originally planning on making this cat as a gift for a little girl my oldest daughter goes to preschool with but now my girls and myself are rather taken with the little cat. We call her Shamco. She made out pure wool yarn all from the stash and her nose is some crafting felt from stash too!

The pattern is from the book called "Hello my Name is Amineko: The Story of a Crafty Crochet Cat" by Nekoyama. The pattern was easy to follow even though the directions are not written in the classic North Amercan style. I think if I was a less experienced crocheter it might have been a little intimidating. 

She looks happy in the sun but...

This was the attitude I was given after I walked away.

Once I apologized she returned to her nap.

The designer of Shamco warned that the cat can have attitude. There was also a warning about making these cats being addictive and I can see it - I do want to make more. I feel also my version could have used more body stuffing and less stuffing in the limbs so she would be more poseable.

UFO Complete

Some of my stash is comprised of UnFinished Objects (UFOs/UFO). I have many purses/bags, some toys, a quilt or two, and even some garments waiting to be completed.
So a couple of weeks ago I was digging around in my craft room and I opened up my serger bag and found a UFO stuffed in there. I think the original plan hatched with a friend maybe 6 or 7 years ago during our undergrad was to turn felted second hand wool sweater finds into something new. I think we were focused on purses or bags. My friend maybe did end up making a purse...I am not sure if she still has it as she moved to Vancouver after finishing her undergrad.

I remember being disappointed with my creation which is likely why I stuffed it away unfinished. But when I saw it again I decided to make something useful out it. It is now a pillow and I rather like it!

I did finish it in such away that I could still turn it into a bag if I wanted to.

The stuffing is recycled too. It's from a pillow that got all bungled up in the washing machine so I decided to take it apart and reuse the stuffing.

I think you can still see some of the sweater details in the pillow. Each square is flat felled serged together.

I'm happy with it for now...

Another confession already...

Yep, I bought some yarn while I was in Banff and Calgary last week. Maybe I should change the blog name to Stashing Up. I justified my purchases because I will likely not go back to those stores again in a very long time. I feel a little like a yarn junkie - there's always a reason to justify that little skein or rope of beautifully dyed roving.

So the first purchase was in Banff, a blend of Qiviuk blended with silk (50% Qiviuk 50% Mulberry silk). The silk seemed to make qiviuk halo to glow. The sales woman made sure to let me know that all green items were 10% off for St. Patrick's Day and I love green yarn. I got this stuff from Jacques Cartier Clothier - I found a Qiviuk blend crochet cardigan there retailing for a whooping $850.00!

I am contemplating making gloves or a scarf. Whatever this turns into is it going to be super warm.

In Calgary I went to Make One Yarn Studio where I bought some roving and a skein of lace weight yarn. They specialize in independent dyers and spinners . This roving is from Rocky Mountain Dyeworks - I have such a hard time resisting pretty green colours - especially with how gray the Edmonton winter still is. The colour is called Pine Drops and the wool is 100% super wash Blue Face Leicester (one of my favorite sheep breeds to spin and knit with). Perhaps once spun they may become mittens for me or one of my girls.

The lace weight yarn is from Tanis Fiber Arts in Montreal (or that's what the store owner told me). It is 100% Merino wool. The store owner told that when it is knitted up the final pieces look like Velvet!

I like to crochet lace weight yarn into graments - a dress for one of my daughters. It gives the final project lovely drape without being bulky. Perhaps that is what this yarn is destined for...

Stash Out

eating through it

Recently I have been crocheting more food. I plan to crochet more and knit some too. I also want to create some of my own.

I Love Tomatoes...

Milk and Cookies anyone?

I want to make more and different kinds so there is lots of cookies to share! 

How about some breakfast?

There's also a pattern for bacon I want to make.

I plan to create some sausages too because I looove sausages!

Or something for lunch?

I love this burger pattern it's from Amigrumi: Super Happy Crochet Cute. I am currently making one for a little boy's 4th birthday but I ran out of some of the bun yarn so I will need to add a little to my stash again. I don't want the bun to look moldy or something from using the wrong colour!

And lastly some dessert!

Next to fudgesicles ice cream sandwiches are one of my favorite summer desserts. I should make some fudgesicles! I also have been dreaming about creating some ice cream cones with interchangeable scoops of ice cream (like the Melissa and Doug ice cream set my daughters have).

Confession

So on the weekend I bought two balls of yarn. I needed it to make an 'ice cream drumstick' look more real. The attempt I made using what was in my stash according to my hubby looked 'inedible'. The cone part looked off.

The drumstick is a gift so it needed to look like it could be eaten right? Below is the one that 'no one would eat'. It's worked in pure wool (the pattern is from Tasty Crochet).

The improved one, made with acrylic yarn:

A comparison...

A justifiable purchase? I do plan to use the acrylic yarn to make some other food that will be presents too.

Introduction - Part one - my stashing history and my stashing spot

I have been stashing now for close to 15 years in earnest - since I bought my first sewing machine (I still have some plastic canvas kits and cross stitch kits from when I was 10years old). At first I bought sale fabric to make clothes and home decor items, then in 2001 (the year my first niece was born) I started quilting which opened up a whole new area for stashing.

Then around 2004 I remember my love of crocheting and of course my yarn stash starting to accumulate. In 2007 I finally learned how to knit and then my yarn stash really exploded. But all this crocheting and knitting lead to wonder about the construction of yarn so I learned to spin in 2008 resulting in the hording of fibre for spinning and pretty tools to spin with.

I have occasionally purged. First it was the odd ball of arcylic yarn or the weird fabric some handed down to me. But my last move was embarrassing - there had to have been a least dozen bags of fabric and close to equal amounts of yarn (I can't disclose the exact amount as my shame will not allow me). So I purged a 'tonne' of fabric that was once planned to turn into clothes or pillow covers. I attempted to purged some of the arcylic yarn (it still sits in black garbage bags) but realized it could be turned into beautiful public art a some point in time.

My purging goal was to fit all of my crafting stuff into my 'new' crafting room in the basement of my first home. I was not successful - there is some yarn stashed in my living room and storage room. I still managed to stuff a lot in my craft room though!

For my next post I plan to explore just what is in my stash and who or which companies I can thank for my stash.