dishcloth yarn comparison sugar and creme vs sugarwheel vs berroco linsey

A little yarn geekery.  I am comparing three different types of dishcloth yarn I used in the past few months.  I used the same basic pattern for three of the cloths, and one of them is my 'seed stitch' variant I use for oven mitts.

They were all knitted with a 5 to 7 size knitting needle.  I prefer my bamboo 5's or my metal 7's for knitting dishcloths.

The Contestants
Yarn A : Hobby Lobby Sugarwheel cotton
Yarn B : Mix of Berroco Linsey and Rowan Creative Linen
Yarn C : 'thick weight' ombre version of Sugar and Creme
Yarn D : 'thin weight' ombre version of Sugar and Creme

The Winner (to me): thin weight ombre version of Sugar and Creme

Yarn A : Hobby Lobby Sugarwheel cotton

The green yarn was the last bit I had left - there are like five other cloths from a previous post wandering around the house.  It was very fun to knit with, especially on smaller needles... and the color shifts were nice, green to purple, blue to grey etc.

HOWEVER... they don't make great washcloths (or dishcloths, whichever you call them).  They are not very scrubby.  Maybe for a baby, they would be nice, or for delicate skin.  But I like to use these washcloths because they are scrubby - and exfoliate.  When we use different ones for the sink, they scrub the dishes well.  I make larger cloths sometimes for 'mop-up' and cleaning, and it is important that they are good scrubbing cloths, too.

This yarn stretches, instead of compressing tightly, even when knitted on the same needles.  So, even though the yarn is very tempting and pretty - I don't think it is a good yarn for making washcloths.  With that stretch, it has a nice drape, and could make pretty shirts or shrugs, if knitted or crocheted to work with the bias.

Yarn B : Berroco Linsey and Rowan Creative Linen

Yarn B is something I bought on clearance, and intended to weave with.  It is Berroco 'Linsey', a cotton and linen blend yarn.  It is kind of expensive when not on clearance, and I wouldn't buy it specifically to make washcloths.  But, it is the project that called to me to test it out.  I knitted with two colors (the other was actually Rowan Creative Linen, which is very similar.. so take this with a grain of salt across both brands.  I made two washcloths, one green and yellow even and one mostly yellow with a few stripes of the green (rowan)... and like them both.  My husband says it has a hard core, with a softer outside - and it is scrubby enough, without being rough.  So, yes, I like this one.  It was a little tougher to knit on the smooth needles, but it came out nicely.  It stretches a little, doesn't compress to the tight square as much, but washes up well.

Yarn C : the cheap but heavyweight Sugar and Creme
Yarn D : the slightly more expensive thin weight Sugar and Creme

Yarn C and D are two weights of the same 'cheap' yarn available at Wal-Mart and such... sugar and creme or peaches and creme.  It is the most basic cotton available.  D is a finer grade weight that they had on offer last year, and I snagged about five balls of that ombre (it is usually the ombres that are fine weight) and knit them up into lots of cloths.  I love that yarn.  It knit beautifully (as fun as the sugarwheel) and it actually inspired me to try lighter weight yarns for this purpose.  It is scrubby, and compresses tightly to the square and holds well wash after wash.  The ends I wove in are coming out a little - but it is on several of the others, too.  I throw them in with the towels and other clothing so they are not treated with kid gloves!

The oven mitt is a thicker seed-stitch variant in a slightly thicker-weight ombre Sugar and Creme.

Cloths A, B and D are made with 'Grandmother's Favorite' simple dishcloth pattern - you can find it easily online with a search.  It is one of the very first things I learned how to knit and does a good job of teaching increase, decrease and yarn over.

Pattern for Cloth C
To knit the oven mitt / dishwashing sink variant :

Cast on 36 to 50 stitches, depending on how wide you would like it to be.  My husband likes the 36 for dishwashing, fits the hand better without being too large.  We leave one of these draped over the kitchen sink for washing utensils and other things.  The 50 stitches are better for the oven mitt / mop up type cloth because then you want it bigger than your hand.  It is also important to use a yarn with a good compression, the stitches hold tight to each other, for the oven mitt type.  A yarn like Sugarwheel would not be good at ALL for this use.

Knit three rows of garter stitch.
Switch to this pattern for the rest of the cloth:
Knit three, seed stitch nearly to end, knit three
If you would like, knit every fifth or sixth row throw in three rows of plain garter stitch.  This will give a ripply effect to the cloth and lots of grip.  You can see I have done that in the peach and brown 'C' cloth.
End with three rows of garter stitch then cast off.


The next yarn I would like to try out is Knitpicks Cotlin dishcloth yarn.  I think it would combine a lot of these qualities.  However, I am just using up what I have - because the best part about knitting dishcloths is that it can be done while you are doing anything else, watching tv, reading articles, reading a book, listening to music, sitting in the garden, talking on the phone, waiting for something to timer ding that you are cooking etc etc... 

Easter eggs 2020

Our chickens are laying about five eggs a day,  so we blew the yolks out of these eggs (by piercing both ends with a small hole, and blowing on one end over a cup), and the insides of the eggs can be used for food, while keeping the shells mostly intact for decorating.

We mixed a few colors of craft paint and each of us painted two or three eggs.  The shells would have just gone to compost, but we had a little fun with them :)

Next time I would like to try some of the natural dye methods, using turmeric powder, beets or blueberries, to see what colors the brown eggs will give with the natural dyes.

Art and Cold

I've been taking the art practice more seriously.. and here is my most recent painting

10x12 inches, cafe in Provence Alpes Cote d'Azur

visit here for more details

This image came from Google Maps - and I wandered street after street around Nice, France until I landed in front of this place and said 'That's it.'  The colors of the chairs and the buildings (which were very similar to shown) and all the little railing and window details cinched it.

I think I spent about three hours on it last night, finishing just before midnight.  I pushed myself and wasn't 100% happy with the result (mostly the motorbikes) but was extremely happy that I finished it entirely and didn't give up.  That last stroke when you know its done... that feels nice.   I can see a common style emerging again, and have noticed a few things about my painting process that rings bells with years and years ago.  1.) I tend to use one brush throughout.  2.)  My color choices - even when trying to be true to life - tend to cluster around a few specific hues. 

The temperature is really dropping lately!  It's cold!  I got Esme a new sweatshirt and am focusing on making sure she has warm things to wear for the next few months.  She is so happy to have her birthday boots.

Now I am going to kick my tail into crocheting some new winter hats while sitting warmly in the bed with the rest of Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon.

Stencil paint a tea towel with fabric medium and cardstock

 I am using fabric medium, which is a clear fluid meant to be mixed with regular acrylic paints in order to turn them into 'fabric paints'.  You could use straight fabric paints if that is what you have.  Remember to heat set them as directed.

I chose an old tea towel that had been through the wash quite a few times - for practice, and to see how long this fabric medium will wash.  Since I could not find my Xacto knife, I cut a simple botanic border in chunky geometric shapes using a pair of craft scissors.

I painted along the edge of the bottom between the 'leaves' and 'flowers' to create a border stripe and to help to line them up so I could repeat the pattern across the bottom of the towel.

When it dries, I will heat set it and throw it through the wash with something that won't matter if it bleeds through - like garden jeans etc etc.  I really like it, and hope it lasts well.  Wondering if maybe to mix up a second color and make some splotches and dots in a few of the shapes, or to leave it all one color.

a second time around, with a straight piece of paper laid out to create the border diagonally across the corner of a worn teatowel.  Use a good flat brush and place something absorbent behind the towel, like cardboard - or something tough, (as shown) like the top of a Sterilite or Rubbermaid container.  I used the container top because it is easy to wash off and as it is used for fabric storage, doesn't need to be pretty and perfect anyway.

Be creative, Enjoy!

 Esme helping out after she came home from school.

 

Thanks to Daddy for sweet pictures :) 

I am drawn to pattern... perhaps I am a gypsy?

The striped knitted blanket I've been working on since December, and a patchwork quilt that gets a few rows put on it every few months or so... it's about two or three years old now.  Today I may be finally ready to put the yellow diamond/triangle area onto the square part of the quilt.  It has been in progress for the past month or so and finally got to the proper width.

I can say I am drawn to the 'Bohemian' pattern and decorating style.   When I search through home decorating catalogs and websites I always end up saving the things that are full of intricate pattern and color.   It really isn't a surprise.  We live in the middle of the woods with ten dogs, live close to the land all summer and make as much of what we own as I can.  I am always telling Esme we can make that - or do something like that... and she also appreciates how much of the house has been made by 'us'.

Everything I make ends up being so brightly colored, unique and full of pattern and details that sometimes take much longer than anyone else would spend on them..... I get bored with one pattern in something - I start another.. and it all seems to fall together.  My art is like this, as well - intricate pen drawings that curl and squiggle and burst into color here and there...telling stories with animals and flowers and geometries that blend into each other as they move from one side of the page, to another.  Layers on layers of meaning... histories... time and thought encapsulated into craft.

Oh, and I wove more on the rug last night, added several more color bands.  Esme said it would be her rug - as the one she had in her room (that was made on the loom last year) was trashed in the water incident in January.  I had been planning to make a chair cushion cover out of it... but I think it is probably about the right size for her room in front of her bed.

Also, because of the weaving I felt like I was beaten this morning - had forgotten how much my arms and shoulder muscles - and back and hip muscles as well - used to hurt from the sitting upright, balancing the loom and moving the yarn back and forth again and again... it is a workout these muscles aren't used to anymore...

//note for later
Esme is outgrowing everything again.  I need to patch a few pairs of pants that have now become capris (highwater by two inches or more!) and go through the fabric stash to see what is available to make her some more.  measurements 25ch, 22w with 24 inch outer hip-ankle measurement - hemmed pants to 26 inch total length from Simplicity 8717 size 6.

drummer girl and plastic twine bag

 A coffee can, some string and a pair of pencils and we have a little drummer girl.

It was her idea, Daddy made the holes in the can and helped her with the knot.

She was also very excited about snow, today.  But, there really wasn't enough to sled or do anything with.

In the very few spare minutes I get between everything else this week I've been adding rows onto this plastic twine bag.  I hope to have a full workshop day tomorrow - several toys to make.

Cardboard stove

 Cardboard stove made from three boxes in our recycling pile in the garage.

Esme's sixth birthday is coming up, and I was thinking about toys or gifts.. and thought, hey - that doesn't need to be bought, or a birthday present.. we can whip one of those up tonight, boxes willing.

 A little paper, tape, a spool that is on the inside with the dial attached to it, and voila, one child sized cardboard stove.  The door handle I am a little proud of - it is from an airbed box that is the back part of the stove.  It was too perfect not to make use for something I was wondering how I would do!  Esme said no painting- because it takes so long to dry.    She wanted to play with it right away - no more of the waiting.  Then she made pretend tea and threw hot dogs in the oven.  *heh*.

I wrote her name and the year on top of it we will see how long it lasts as a toy.  Her Magic Theater Box from when we moved her to her room is over a year old and still in use,  played with every couple of days.  It is getting in rough shape - but I had been able to paint that one with semi-gloss so it has lived through a lot of humidity and rough play.

Further ideas:
pot holders sewn especially for her
used a 1/2 egg carton to make a muffin/cupcake pan for her - now she wants felt muffins as toys
felt birthday cake?  She loves to pretend to make cakes alerady
cheap spatula - she was trying to turn pancakes with a knife and having a hard time

We talked about finding a box the right size to make a cradle for her baby doll, with a pillow and the blanket I had made for it.  This is the first time she has really played with a baby doll for years - I think it is because she met a little girl at school who likes dolls.  It is really sweet though, especially since we mostly skipped over this stage before.  She named the doll Billy - and it is a boy or a girl as she wishes... we found a Duplo block piece in her collection that was perfect to use as a bottle and I took some scraps from my table to make a blanket for it.  She has insisted on tucking it in and feeding it for about three days in a row, and has been receptive on how to pick it up 'properly' and to learn not to mistreat it because you would not do that to a real baby etc.. she said 'oh, that's right', and carried it properly, set it down nicely and then pretended it cried a little while later for food.

She is also taking another try at learning the rules of checkers... played a decent game against me last night and I let her 'win' during the middle, so she did win at the end but I made it harder as the pieces dwindled so she had to really think.

New book holders for childrens room decor out of product boxes from the store

 These boxes once held a kind of tool at my store and were left empty on the shelf.  I picked them up and was impressed by how sturdy and clean feeling they were .. they deserved a second life before they would eventually go to rubbish...  I could see Esme's lighter weight magazines and books going in them on the shelf instead of stacked as she has been want to do.  And, she loves to paint like I do.  I started to paint the blue one myself and she came in from playing outside and volunteered for the second one, with suggestions for decor on the blue one.  She decided to leave the bottom of the sides on her pink box white so they look like clouds in the sky.  That was intentional.

I'll see what she paints on hers for decoration tomorrow... it was late and I put her to bed while the pink layer dries.  We also got a large display board that she has drawn stick figures on, but I hope she will use for writing her sight words on and/or make a landscape in to use as a backdrop screen in her room.  One of my days off next week I'll ask her about it.

Note:
Last night I told Esme I still want to be a scientist when I grow up... she did the 'wait what?' look at me and started to argue I was grown up tall already I couldn't grow up anymore.. so we talked about grown ups might still learn things they want to do after they grow up tall... and she told me I needed to go learn in my books, and she would learn too and be a scientist rockstar astronaut cowboy who goes bounce on the moon with a guitar. Ok, then. Let's shoot for that.

 

All finished with hers with no help from me.  

She is really growing up :)

She is comparing the design pictures and realizing hers is different now, I have four - this has six.  

Me: Yes... but they are both awesome. 

 Esme:  They are!  They match!

We did a little homeschool before I went to work today.  I made her a checklist for what she did on the box and she read the words and checked them off.  Then we made a grocery map of our store and she helped me make a list of things she wanted, we looked at the map to find out where they were in the store and marked numbers on the map and the list so we knew which item was where.

Her list: bananas, strawberries, apples, oranges, juice, chicken soup.  Most of that is in the produce section!

Weaving a primitive rag rug

Very primitive.. but it will get use for the few hours that was put into the making of it.  I thought I could string up the wooden frame that was rescued from some packaging for a tight woven item I would hate to put on the floor whenever it was finally done - or do this with some old flannel shirts and be done in a few hours.  The product is thick and warm - not great to look at... but a good learning experiment.  All of the cotton flannel was cut 'spiral' so the back of each shirt and each sleeve etc etc.. became one long strip each.  That also made a 'ruffled' look to the outcome as the spiral made interesting fluffy areas here and there. I added a little crochet yarn to the edges and a few strings along the middle and it became much more compacted and sturdy.  I told Mark it almost looks like a saddle - he said Esme wouldn't get very far trying to ride the dogs so a rug is a better use for it :)

 

on the loom

36 by 18 inches
after tying up the ends and running a few lines of crochet through it.

These are three flannel shirts and a little bit of extra strip cloth left over from clothing projects recently. Scraps are as scraps are, but with some care to color choices this kind of project could look very neat and decorative.  This one being '80s country' colors are not really what I would decorate with - but for practicality it is much more use than the fabric might have gotten otherwise - it was coming apart at seams and probably not a good investment for a patchwork as it might come apart more after all of that work.
  I have that happening to one part of our bed quilt and it is awful - I want to fix it, but I hate to just slap a patch on it... also hate to take it apart and redo that area... *sigh* I honestly had a nightmare the other night about that part of my quilt coming apart... odd how that goes.

Now I will get back to the other project (not pictured), which is a knit cotton netting material... It is on my circular needle strung about five foot wide, and I have about six inches of length on it.  I was knitting on that last night while Esme was in the bath and at my lunch hour at work.  Mr. Harold at work said I was 'going to town on it' - but the open network means it goes twice as fast and is half as heavy as the afghan I knit last.  That afghan is the purple and green and blue one shown in the pictures - and it is getting a lot of use.

Esme and Daddy clowning around by the loom while it was hung up - give Daddy a hug :)  Sweet.

 

Here's looking at you, kid...

She had to try to look through the loom at me here.

Christmas deer and a secret present in the making..

Mom and Dad are working on something big... it is a secret, for the big holiday coming up! 

Esme has seen this - but thinks it is an oven or a house.. she does not know yet. Do you remember what she asked for Santa for? She told the librarian he was bringing it when we were there today.. we went to story hour and to McDonalds afterwards. She was so good.. and Daddy had this great idea for making something 'substantial' with some items we already had in the house. I think it is sizing up great! 

Take me to your leader! That is a big clue, huh? We may have to tell Esme eventually that Santa sent us the plans but we had to make it oursekves.. that'll work, right?  I have to pick up more supplies tomorrow, and we will be further along! I have also been making these Christmas Deer for the KnitOwl shop. I have one up and another on the way... 

Available at the Shop 

Handmade from my own drafted pattern

//////////////////Language://///////////// Things I've heard lately:  'Yes, your highness', 'I'll be a Rapunzel and you'll be a Rapunzel, and we'll be two Rapunzels, and there is no witch, no witch like pretend to be a Mama, and this bed will be the tower and the prince will come (what is his name?  Prince boy.. but maybe Jamie) and he is here he says 'Rapunzel Rapunzel, let down your hair!' Are you there?  Are you gone at a Chuckie Cheese birthday party?  (quiet)  She's gone.  But, she is back now.'

''I didn't see it, I was sleeping or I was at school?' (when I told her Daddy told me something that she wasn't present for')  'Is it for me or is it for you? (about a toy I was making), 'But my Mama said, my Mama said!' (about Daddy saying it was too early to call Grandma and I told her we would try)  '

We live in the earth, and we are going to the Paris, to the library..' (I remind that Paris is still in the earth, too) 'I will have a little pet, and I have this kitten is a pet!  But, I'm gonna go, I'm going to take this to my room and play, just like that.' I'm going to grow up, and I'll be a Mama, I told you just like that, and I will drive, and go to work and do the work things, and I will come home.

On the computer game:  'Yes, I got it, I really really got it.  .... Yes, two points!'

(working on the computer) I am going to teach you, you go up there and you push ALT like that.',  'I am not shutting it down, it is coming up, it is waking up. (about the computer)', You just shoot the bad guys and then I will play like that, you better drive it (the car in the game), I will go to the drawbridge and you will fight the bad guys.  You will use the helicopter and you will float and go way high, and you will jump, and use the parachute and you will be alright.  You better do that.  Hey, I will play with this, and I will jump into the grass. (No - get those guys! - I was playing the grass running around the grass (as she makes Daddy fight the bad guys)...

I was a baby, and you were a mama, and I go waaa, and you give me the baby bottle and I grow up, and now I am a kid!  I have two kid dogs, a Loula and a Daphne, and they are kids.  I love my family, I really really love my family.  We will go in the store, they have it at the Walmart - you better buy it in the WalMart, with the toy cartoons and movies, I saw it.  (about a cartoon she had previously only seen at Grandma's house and I told her we did not have at our house).

This is for Santy, I make it for Santy, and he will see it.  (to the librarian) : I love Santa, he is going to bring me a spaceship!  'Can you bring me to the flowers?  And I will run with them and walk them around and hey - can I play with it?  You better get those bad guys!  Can't see it, where did it go?  Can't see the helicopter.  I was going to play with the grass and flowers. There he is, go get him, go get him, you big helicopter, go away you helicopter, BOOM.  You gotta shoot those bad guys and Ill play with the flowers, like that!  Oh.  wow.

Where's the flowers, on the mountain? Get the bad guys, but I can't, I'm too small. I was going to play and swing the trees, and just like that. I only shoot one bad guy, and I see the red thing, and I shoot he was really bad, like that... '  Don't run, dude.  Don't run.  I'm looking the people from their names and to... get those bad guys, I'm going to watch them go boom and I'll ride on the cars and I'll get off of them, like that - get me to the road and I'll get off those cars and I'll jump on them, like that.. I'm brave, really brave,  but I only shoot one bad guy, like that.   I can't look, I need help.  Can you get me to a beach?((Just Cause II Daddy's game))

chicken bits and footies are nearly done

6 pm
I'm still working on the footies, they'll take me a bit. I've thought I could alter her pants pattern mishmash with the footies pattern to have feet, and line the feet with some extra flannel or muslin fabric and she'd have a warm pair of pajama pants and socks at the same time :) With a little tiny elastic around the ankles and the regular elastic around the waist that might work really well.

Mark went to town this morning while I got Esme up and rolling with her breakfast. He got cat food - so the cats would not eat us - and some other basics of what he and Esme will eat over the next few weeks. He fried up the chicken and froze it in bags for easy meals for them, and did all the dishes afterwards. Major kudos to him for getting all that done!

I have one more day 'on' tomorrow and then Friday off. We're going to go see what we can do Friday about straightening out some financials. We've been working all week on what can be trimmed and how to get some majorly needed insulation in the house before the winter heating bills start to hit. I'm doing the footed pajamas as an extension on that - if I know Esme is warm even without her blankets on all night then we won't have to turn the heat on so early etc etc... Always looking forward so it can't get the best of us.

In other news our poor Ninja cat, who was spayed last month, has some sort of terrible wound on her neck. We're worried about her even more because the usual treatments are not working on it. Mark is worried about staph or something she could have caught at the vet. We're watching it and may have to scrape things even harder at the moment if we need to take her in... such bad timing and a big source of underlying worry for me - but not sure what else to do.

---

LATER: about 11 pm here now... I took my sewing machine to the kitchen and Esme blew bubbles for about an hour while I worked on the footies. Then she dumped the bubble solution on the floor (poor girl) and I made her come upstairs and talk to Daddy for a little bit... then she played blocks downstairs near my feet and had a cookie and some milk.. then she threw a fit over the cat not enjoying being chased with a rollerskate, and I put her to bed. She went to sleep pretty quickly and has been asleep for more than an hour. WOW. She usually stays up until eleven herself!

And I am NEARLY done with this complicated project. I never want to use this knit fabric again.. unless I get an overlock machine. I had to stitch nearly every seam three times. So I wanted to say I've moved from 'beginner' level clothing to 'intermediate' - but Mark says it is definitely "advanced sewing" after these footed pajamas! At least by modern standards..he said. But then - with a 1940s pattern, do modern standards count? *ha* I only have the zipper and a bit of inside finishing left to do and it looks good! I think I want to sew some 'naugahyde' vinyl stuff to the feet on the outside, too.. so they hold up longer. I have a little bit of it somebody at work gave me (leftover from a pillow project of hers.. really, a fake snakeskin vinyl pillow?) that will do the trick nicely. The whole thing might even fit her -- or be too big.. not sure yet. Initial measurements with a flexible tape said the length wasn't bad. Then a few minutes ago I laid it down on her while she slept and it looks like it is going to fit .. holding it up in my hand it looks LONG and HUGE.... maybe she is just getting bigger? Mark says that happens. He's right. ;)

Bag organizers now in the KnitOwl Etsy Shop

Two types of simple bag organizer for sale in the KnitOwl Etsy shop.

Keep those important items from migrating to the bottom of the purse or from wandering around your workspace with the help of little hands etc...

There are a few things like this on Etsy that are almost like putting a second purse inside your purse - when really just a few things need to be kept track of.


Tall for scissors, pens and crochet hooks.


Horizontal for cell phone, lipstick, tweezers, nail clippers etc...

There will be a few other longer and more complicated sizes later - and working on a few other organizational boxes and booklets etc. Come see the shop!

Finished making the second pinafore dress for Esme

I weep for literate humanity when I read articles like this one on 'how to make clothes for your toddler' But then, I know there have to be some people who need the precautionary elements like 'don't let your toddler sew clothes, it can be dangerous'... so maybe they're on to something. And for those that this kind of information is common knowledge, along with 'you will need scissors sharp enough to cut fabric' - we can have a giggle or two.

I finished the second pinnie dress, all but the buttonholes again. I put Esme in it to visit her grandparents and it fits much better than the first one - still some gape at the armholes but not as much. They said she looked like 'a real little girl' in a dress - she is a real little girl ;) but she did look like Gretel or Heidi wearing it, very cute and 'storybook'. Next thing will probably be some more shorts again. I like having a hobby that is productive.

There are a few things about making that dress that would make a USEFUL article - like how the inner facing of the bodice attaches to the frilly sleeve in such a way you can hardly see it yet it seals the edges in nicely. The same thing with the waistline but I haven't made that happen perfectly yet. There is a lot to learn from these older patterns.


details on the second pinnie dress

I only had a 'fat quarter' of the teddy bear and locomotive fabric. I've been saving my piece for a while - I bought it as part of a set of fat quarters last December. It's Japanese, but it says in French on it 'The train has arrived, we are going on a trip' and 'We will end and exit the train in a forest of apples' My translations are not perfect ;) but I think that is the gist of what it says! The plaid fabric was a pair of curtains in the remnants box from the yard sales. I used red thread on the cream bedskirt fabric to make fancy details on the sleeves and the waistband was hand sewn onto the bodice.

made with this vintage pattern

New fabric store in Huntingdon

We were on our way to the grocery store and I had heard of a new 'yarn shop' that was supposed to open near the Huntingdon historical museum. We stopped in for a look and it was a new quilt and fabric shop.

I got some of the alphabet fabric from the Dick and Jane series and told the lady I was glad to see some brighter, less-stodgy selections. I plan to make some placemats for Esme's table with the alphabet fabric so she can point out letters to me and have somewhere to put her crackers etc... while we're in the kitchen without washing the table down every time.

The name of the store is Mockingbird Threads, and she has some nice children's prints, quilting fabrics and lots of handmade clothes, bags etc... It is also a closer drive for me than Camden - so I might actually stop by more than once every few months.

Local craft stores - and the lack of

I'm pretty upset at the Camden, TN WalMart's craft section. They no longer carry fabric. I couldn't even buy a roll of rick-rack there. Scrapbooking and 'holiday celebrations' have taken over. Very bad. I don't think I have a reason to even go there anymore now.

Paris, TN is closer - and they still have some fabric. The selection is not very good though - mostly flannels and character stuff, very few new items coming and going. Their prices have gone up by 50 cents and a dollar a yard just in the past few months. There are rumors they are going to do away with the fabric too - which is bad news all around.

There is a new fabric store called the Quilting Bee in Camden - with a small selection of designer collections. I don't often see anything I want to buy in there - and it is such a long drive to go take a look. I might have to end up buying fabric entirely online or wait months to go to Jackson, TN. Jackson has a Hancock fabric store as well as a Hobby Lobby. I usually find something I want at one or the other - and it is nice to actually be able to touch the fabric and match it up to something else to coordinate with. Jackson is an hour's drive away from here though - and it isn't somewhere I go often.

This area really needs a better craft store. I'm not the person to open one up right now though.

Sometimes you have to play with the scraps

Even when you know you should be doing something else - the scraps of fabric sometimes call out. These are scraps of fabric from making the dragon pillow, and they want to be a 'bedbug.'

Mark took some beautiful pictures of the kittens outside today. And I've been knitting during my lunch hour at work. I have a VERY long scarf that is nearly done. We have an old dressmaker's dummy coming sometime next week by UPS which will be a great place to display knitting and other whimsies for the shop.


Bed Bug Caterpillar Pillow


Shop Feedback: I love it when feedback comes back on the shop items. The rattly cat ball aliens and the striped sherbert colored zebra are happy in their new home. Also, the lady I made mousebear twins for a while back is happy and says they are perfect for little hands :) The lady who bought the last bassinet quilt (the michael miller carnival bloom one) is thrilled and says it is awesome. I included a homeless cotton flopsy bunny inside the quilt when I sent it to her.

Not too much else at the moment - but lots of things are still in progress.

Dragon Pillow

One of my workshop items was this dragon pillow. I'd planned a large bed pillow out of this nice red and white striped fabric. But not just any boring rectangular pillow - it had to be special and interesting, something unique. Mark helped me evolve the idea into something worth it's stuffing ;) This 30 inch wide dragon took about two hours to make and one yard each of the front and back fabrics. With 100% cotton ticking fabrics and good seams he should also survive the washing machine.


Shown on top of our plushy dragon blanket which also helped inspire it


Esme thinks it's an interesting toy too, with his curly tail, floppy arm and mouth full of teeth. Here she makes for good scale as she pages through a new board book.

I've been using the dragon as a head pillow at night the past few days as well. It makes me happy to make something that actually gets used. I think this dragon bears repeating. A couple of times maybe... in slightly different incarnations. Mark already says he needs one of his own because I'm monopolizing this one :)

Next: Purple bassinet quilt, more aliens and lots of fabric!

A Handmade Dress for Esme

I love how the light catches her eyes here.

I saw a handmade dress similar to this one on Etsy - but it was far out of my price range. Plus, I can sew... so I found a pattern similar to it at the local store and made this up out of flea market fabric.

The buttonholes are handsewn, which was the most difficult part. I could do them on the machine if I could figure out which parts to interchange. Somehow I never get around to that and instead spend an extra 10 minutes to an hour handsewing them.



It is a 'swing dress', that is put on over her feet and then brought up and buttoned over the shoulders.



and, even in a 'real-world shot' (not the best lighting etc) you can see the dress still allows her to move around, standing or sitting and playing with her toes. She can even crawl in it without it hindering her movement - although the middle looks a little funny in some positions. It should fit her as a dress for another few months and then graduate to more of a shirt with a simple alteration of where the buttons are placed.

Also: The pants I made Esme a few months ago are still fitting and are in and out of the wash all of the time. Soon I'll need to make a few more pairs in the next size up! I also bought some Alexander Henry dragon fabric like the dress I saw online -- and hope to get a dress and a pair of pants out of it for a nice outfit :)

More Cotton Slug Attack pictures

More pictures of Mark and Esme with the cotton toy slug the other night. I really need to make more but won't get more time until this weekend. I've also got a request to make a 'plush foot' for a sandal company... which I've done one mockup for and need to make another.

Esme likes a slug

Rhiannon asked if the slugs were washable by hand or in the machine. To be honest I haven't tried to wash the felt slugs - but worry a bit about them looking 'pilled' when they come out. However, the pattern transfers easily into cotton cloth as well! Here is Esme trying out the first cotton slug :) I'm not quite sure what to do with the eyes though -- may leave them off or put felt ones on anyway.

Rhiannon's little boy Lowan has GROWN! And Esme is almost walking. Wow time flies!