Life

Wow.....life really gets in the way of my hobbies! (Broken arm, house broken into, holidays, birthdays, school, FarmVille, etc.) I had to completely stop my ropework. I haven't touched my cross-stitch. I did make a really cute hat for my youngest kid. I hope to post a picture of that soon.

Two Desert Camouflage Hats

I made 2 different desert camo hats using the same yarn, but 2 different techniques. The yarn is Bernat Outback. I think they've added more camouflage colors to their line and changed some of the names. When I bought this yarn several years ago, they only had the green army camo, desert army camo, and a blue camo.



This was made on the round green knifty knitter loom. I used 2 strands of yarn as one. The technique was the regular e-wrap, knitting one over one. I knit 16 rows and then made the brim. After making the brim, I continued knitting until the hat was about 8" long.

This hat was also made on the round green knifty knitter loom. Using one strand of yarn, I e-wrapped around the loom 4 times and then knit 2 over 2. (You need to always have 4 e-wraps on each peg before knitting the 2 over 2.) I knit 16 rows and then made the brim. After making the brim, I continued knitting until the hat was about 8" long.

As you can see, the 2 different techniques produced vastly different results. I like the 2nd hat best. It definitely looks more "camouflagey." The 4 time around e-wrap is a pain and takes longer, but the results are worth it.

Monkey's Fist Knot

This was the first Monkey's Fist knot I made. I think they look pretty neat. I like the looks of a lot of different globe knots, but this is the only one I've learned so far. I used a plastic bead from a necklace for the core (about the size of a marble). The cording is something I found at REI. It has some reflective stripes in it which made it a little difficult to photograph since the camera flash kept reflecting off it.

I'm using this as a keychain.

(the penny is just for size comparison)

Christmas Hat and Scarf

I made this Christmas Hat and Scarf for one of my kids when she was in a play at school. She was a caroler.

The hat was made on the round green Knifty Knitter Loom. I used one strand each of Red Heart Super Saver White, Red Heart Super Saver Green, and Fun Fur in red. I used the regular e-wrap and knit one over one.

The scarf was mad on the round red Knifty Knitter Loom. I used the same yarn as above. I think that I used all of the pegs on the loom, knitting back and forth. I used the regular e-wrap and knit one over one.



**Note: you hold the 3 strands of yarn together and count them as one yarn

Sailor's Bracelet

I've recently become interested in knot-tying after my kid received a sailor's bracelet a a gift. I
was intrigued with how it was made and wanted to figure it out for myself. After a lot of online research, I did, indeed, figure it out. It turns out that the hardest part of the entire process is finding decent cotton cord. Anyway, here's my first Sailor's Bracelet. BTW, these are also known as Turk's Head Bracelets and Surfer Bracelets.

How to Crack a Master Lock Combination

Okay, I didn't make this, but it is sooooo cool that I had to share. I found a LOCKED Master Combination Lock in a parking lot. I immediately thought to myself that I HAD to see if I could get it open. I found this site online.... http://www.wikihow.com/Crack-a-%22Master-Lock%22-Combination-Lock, followed the directions and it worked! The first time I did it, I had messed up the last number, so I went through the process again. It opened on the third possible combo. It's not love or money, but dang it sure felt awesome when it clicked open!!

Market Bag

Yes, you CAN make stuff besides hats on a loom. Here is a Market Bag that I made. The pattern is simply called Market Bag by Rowena. I used the Peaches and Creme cotton yarn sold in a 1lb cone. I then dyed it with Dylon Permanent Fabric Dye. I used the blue Knifty Knitter long loom.

The bag is quite stretchy. It's good for taking stuff to the pool, carrying some paperback books, etc.