Tag Archives: Knifty Knitter

misc thoughts & hints for yarnies & loomers

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t6027t6028

This blog post is a few miscellaneous thoughts and hints for yarnies like me. I hope one of them  may help make your yarn crafting adventures more enjoyable.

The Knifty Knitter cord loom is a fun little gadget. It makes a nice cord with 5 pegs, but if you want a smaller cord you can use 3 pegs.
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Jute or grass twine makes a lovely cord for trivets or even little baskets.
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I find that alot of times my Martha Stewart loom pegs don’t want to stay put. It’s a major irritation.
I first tried yarn stuffed in the holes, then tried bits of paper, then masking tape, they worked but I wasn’t happy with them. Then I tried painter’s tape and I haven’t looked back.
I use a layer(or 2) of painter’s tape over the loom holes.
I use a toothpick to break the tape over the hole and then push the peg in.
This method works really well for me.
loomtape

I had My first experience at rolling a ball of yarn that wasn’t end fed like the 4 ply skeins I usually use.
t0473I got frustrated at first with the skein tumbling and capturing everything including the attention of (our dog) Sheli. He and I got into a bit of a kerfuffle for a few seconds.
I stuffed the skein into a plastic grocery bag and hung it on my arm. I quickly discovered that not only was it protected from Sheli, but it fed easy and rolled beautifully.
I do love accidental discoveries. 🙂
lbrolling

I bought my first couple skeins ever of bulky yarn. It’s Lion Brand Hometown USA
It’s a bulky yarn and is 81 yards long
I wanted to see how big a square made with 81 yards would be, so I crocheted a solid granny square. I used a size N crochet hook. The square came out to be about 12 inches x 12 inches
I decided to try a regular granny square and was amazed that it too came out to be about 12 inches x 12 inches… I would’ve thought that it would have been bigger. :/
lb81yardsAnyway, this was a pretty good experiment because now if I want to make an blanket of granny squares out of bulky yarn, I can better guess how much yarn I need.
I’m envisioning a big bulky blanket of 12 inch squares. I think it would be fun to try. I may make one sometime.

This is all my thoughts and hints for the moment.
I hope they’ll help make your yarn crafting more enjoyable.

You’re welcome to share your hints if you want too.

Here’s wishing you happy
adventures in crafting!
t6027t6028
🙂
spcr1

February Wreath

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IMG_7229My ‘Wreath of the Month‘ for February,
is dressed up in traditional hearts and flowers
in red, pink and white in honor of Valentine’s Day.

Here’s wishing you all a wonderful February
filled with happiness and smiles.

Happy Early Valentine’s Day to you all.

🙂

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My February wreath, pictured at the top of this post, is made with Red Heart yarn on a Knifty Knitter cord loom and some flower looms that I don’t know what their brand is.
As extra decor, I crocheted the rose and the hearts.

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Related posts:
January Wreath

~*~
Here’s why I’m making a ‘Wreath of the Month’ for every month of 2014.
~*~
spcr1

Handmade Bean Pot Cord Loom

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Sunday morning I woke up wanting to make some knitted cording, but I wanted it to be smaller than my Knifty Knitter cord loom makes. Some days I’m not real patient and Sunday morning was one of those times, so ordering a new loom wasn’t an option. I didn’t feel like going shopping, so I decided to make one of my own. 

Making a loom is somewhat simple if you have the right materials.
We have finishing nails which work well for loom pegs.
And after an hour of brain storming and rummaging through my craft supplies, I settled on a wooden bean pot candle holder for the base of the loom. I figured it’d be easy to drill and put nails in.

My husband is a good sport whenever I have an idea for a new creation. He’s always right there to help. I rely on his knowledge of what I call ‘Guy Stuff’ when it comes to using power tools or building anything.
We went straight to work on it at 5 am…

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The finishing nails were originally 2 inches long and way too
long to use, so my husband cut them down to about 1 1/8 inch.bpcl2

I drew around a penny and drew a star in the middle to
use for a pattern for the placement of the nailsbpcl3

We marked where the nail pegs go.bpcl4

First drill or bore out the center hole to 1/2 inch,
then drill small holes for the nail pegs,
Lightly sand any splintery or rough spots,
make sure the center hole is smooth.

Carefully tamp the nail pegs in place.

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It took about 30 minutes to get my little cord loom made.
I got some yarn and began to use it immediately.
I was pleased to discover that the upside-down bean pot shape fits
in my hand almost perfectly & made looming the cord more enjoyable.

My new cord loom turned out better than I’d hope
(and saved me some money too. I like that. 😉 )

I hope your weekend was a pleasant one.
Wishing you all a week of successful
and fun creating & crafting.
🙂

spcr1

January Wreath

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IMG_7482My blogging buddy Charlotte is an amazing talented lady. For the past few years she’s set up a challenge for the year to make a blog post about each month. In 2012 she posted gorgeous doll quilts, in 2013 she posted charming aprons. This year she’s chosen ‘Hope Chest’ as her theme. Each month she’ll post about an item or items that she adds to the chest. Charlotte’s first addition to the chest for this year is a set of Lovely Redwork Dishtowels. I highly recommend that you go and see her Redwork. It’s so neat and pretty. While you’re there, surf through her blog posts for a journey into wholesome farm life and also see her gorgeous quilts.

Charlotte’s idea of a challenge for a monthly post inspires me. I’ve decided to set a challenge for my self for the year. It took a bit of brain-storming to think of something, but I think I’ve came up with a fairly good idea. I enjoy making wreaths and have wanted to make some to change with the seasons, so it’s not that big a leap to make a wreath to celebrate each month. I look forward to making the wreaths and hopefully it’ll help keep my blog active after I finish my Redwork. Some month’s I may post more than one wreath.

My January wreath, pictured at the top of this post, is made with Red Heart yarn on a Knifty Knitter cord loom and some flower looms that I don’t know what their name is.
IMG_7474Several of my wreaths will be made using these looms. I really enjoy making the cords as time fillers and the flowers are just fun to make.

sewmiconThank you Charlotte for being my inspiration.

🙂

Wishing each month of this year to be a happy one for you all.
🙂
spcr1