T-Shirt Yarn

November 3, 2012November 3, 2012 | Verónica

This is what I have been up to lately. Rather than toss out old t-shirts or convert them to rags, I decided to give t-shirt yarn a try.

The white, blue and gray ones are my husband’s old t-shirts.

This colorful yarn came from a tie-dye t-shirt my son made in summer camp and never wore. He thought it was pretty cool that I made yarn from it.

The plan is to crochet a round cotton throw rug. I don’t have quite enough yarn but I’m getting there.

There are many how-to videos on the web for making yarn out of t-shirts. I liked these step-by-step instructions the best from Let Birds Fly. This video tutorial from Knit Picks shows you how to join the ends of t-shirt yarn.

giving thanks

November 1, 2012November 10, 2012 | Verónica

ever since my first tentative taps on the keyboard to create this blog, i was never sure where it would take me. i’m not trying to sell anything, i just enjoy knitting and writing and thought it might be fun to share with others. i’ve “met” knitters, crocheters, weavers and other artists from all over the world. i derive pleasure from seeing the wonderful items made by so many hands. i have much for which to give thanks.

it was therefore a treat to learn that agujas was nominated for a couple of awards. so, first of all, muchas gracias to sue at fibercrush and to hannah at not your average crochet for the reader appreciation award.

here are the award questions and answers:

your favourite colour? purple!
your favourite animal? scottish terrier
your favourite non-alcoholic drink? orange juice – so refreshing
facebook or twitter? both but leaning toward twitter
your favourite pattern? chunky cables
getting or giving presents? giving, definitely giving
your favourite number? 2, something about the symmetry
your favourite day of the week? friday, nice to wrap up the week
your favourite flower? burning heart tulips
what is your passion? travel

now the best part, nominating blogs i appreciate:

yalotar – an actively engaged citizen of finland, and a crocheter
grim dreaming – musings from the night shift (now day shift) in dublin
the solipsist – steve will probably not give a hoot about blog awards, but i’m nominating his blog anyway. witty viewpoints and great pics from an expat in san miguel de allende
coco j. ginger says – clever prose with a dash of poetry
while out riding – a photo-story from the back of a bike
doodlemum – a drawing is worth a thousand words
victor melendez – a graphic artist
view from casita colibrí – another expat, this time in oaxaca

p.s. double thanks to hannah at not your average crochet for the dual nomination for the beautiful blogger award.

Yarn Cakes

October 26, 2012October 26, 2012 | Verónica

Of Festivals, Knitting and Migraines

October 21, 2012 | Verónica

Here is a pictorial view of an otherwise wonderful weekend. It started off with yarn purchases. Now how can that not put a smile on anyone’s face? There are a couple of hand warmer requests in my knitting queue – one pair is for the husband. I tried the yarn stash first but didn’t have any masculine colors. I wanted a nice dark gray/charcoal color. Then I found this black-gray-white multi-ply in the gauge I needed. It’s Heritage Quatro by Cascade Yarns and I should be able to make two pairs of hand warmers from this hank. As I was searching in bin after bin of yarn, I found this luscious Squishy by Anzula in Teal and knew it was meant for me. The explosion of miniature roses came from the husband. Of course, I will knit him a pair of hand warmers.

On Sunday, we all took off to the annual Fall Fiesta put on by our church and school. My son attended this wonderful school up through 8th grade. It’s amazing to see all those little boys and girls my son went to elementary school with becoming young men and women. My son and his friend each devoured a humongous turkey leg, while my husband and I stood in line for the funnel cakes. There were fajitas with pico de gallo, empanadas, and meatball subs. There was live music, pony rides for the little ones, and all sorts of carnival rides and games. The smaller kids love buying cartons of cascarones and popping them on each other’s heads. There was confetti everywhere!

My favorite festival booth is Vintage Values. It’s basically a huge garage sale. You never know what treasures one will find. I found this cute little silver sugar bowl. Engraved on the bottom is a crown with the numbers 18 and 83 on each side. I looked it up and learned it was produced by the F.B. Rogers Silver Co. which was established in Massachusetts in 1883. I also picked up a $1 bag of wooden nutcracker Christmas ornaments and this little tea towel with a sheep decked out for the holidays.

I gave the sugar bowl a quick polish at home. It still needs a little more elbow grease but I like it.

Despite a lovely weekend, I had a migraine on Saturday that kept me up half the night. I’ve had migraines since I was a teenager. I can be in a room without windows and can tell you if the day is overcast and whether it’s going to rain with startling accuracy. I usually work my way through the migraine but sometimes they do get the best of me. Last night, after tossing in bed from the pain, I made my way to the living room and started knitting. I had gone through all my tried-and-true home remedies and had even succumbed to medication, but still it persisted. Something about the soothing rhythm of the needles made me forget about the pain. I knit several rows of a blanket I am making in garter stitch, which those who knit know is a somewhat boring endeavor. But it’s just what I needed at 1:33 in the morning. After a while, I looked up and realized the headache was gone. I slipped into bed and fell asleep.

Have a wonderful week ahead everyone.

Autumn

October 17, 2012October 17, 2012 | Verónica

After the humid heat of summer, autumn ushers in cooler days and bursts of color.

Just in time for the cool weather, I made up this chunky cabled hat from the Wooli yarn in my stash using this pattern (sans pompom).

Here it is in progress. The top two photos taken with my phone are fuzzier than I would like but I had to show the circular work in progress. I chuckled as I thought of Obey Crochet and hook’s smug comment about how many needles it takes to make a circle.