Camp Loopy 2 - Complete

The Hitchhiker is complete, posted to the Loopy Ewe gallery and ready to wear as soon as the weather gets cooler.

I like the way this knits up and will make another one, next time on a needle one size larger to get more drape.

Little Loopy likes it as a lounge spot and he is sharing with his little green bunny friend.

I hope all my fellow campers are having luck getting this project finished.

My Day at the County Fair

 

I made my first trip to the county fair today. It was early morning so the rides were quiet.

 

My mission was to see the arts and crafts building and all of the entries for this year. The plan is to create something to enter next year. I found many lovely things like the Navy memory/honor quilt above.

And the cross-stitched Santa Claus, very intricate and with beads.

 



 

The knit shawl was lovely with the addition of beads.

 

And I got to see the Gypsy Time Travelers perform. Fun show.

 

And I went to see the critters, starting with the dairy and fiber goats. Here is one momma with her kids.

 

And there were fuzzy chickens that looked like they would have a difficult time seeing their way around.

 

And this was Handsome Ham. He was resting before the big livestock sale. I hope he brought a good price for his 4-H handler. Those kids work really hard and that money goes to their college fund, so it says on the paperwork.

All in all, it was a fun morning. I have ideas of what to do for next year and will begin organizing that project soon so the year does not get away from me.

 

Tween Bags

Another set of snappies that were requested by a co-worker for her daughter and the daughter's best friend are these pictured.

I sent a fabric list with the mom and she took the girls shopping to pick out their own combinations. It was great fun to see what they came up with and what zipper color choice they made for the zippered bag.

I created the zipper bag from the Lollipop design by Atkinson and the snappy bag comes from the Snap Happy designer's pattern.

I think they will have lots of fun with their "creations". I can hardly wait to get a picture of the girls with their bags.

Also in July - Movies

What else do I do, remember my secret passion? Movies!

This month I went to see The Lone Ranger movie at the theater complete with popcorn. I had not been since Christmas and had forgotten how much fun it is to take that kind of a break from the world outside. I did take my knitting for the preview section of the film, then put it away when the theater got really dark. It is a great movie, Johnny Depp is too fun in his role of Tonto and I got to see one of the extras that lives in Crestone; local celebrity.

From Netflix I got the movie Chasing Mavericks which I think is a great movie about a real life surfer that conquered the BIG waves that occur under certain conditions on the coast of northern California.

And from my streaming Netflix I have discovered the show Flying Wild Alaska. So far, I have seen the first two episodes and I am hooked as it combines history, stories of bush flying and incredible scenery. I highly recommend that one.

Now, back to my crafting, have to have balance, you know~!

More Snappy Gifts

 

These snappy bags are destined for a potluck event that includes celebration of friends' birthdays. One lady loves owls, and the other loves aqua colors. I think these will fit the bill. f

The keychain and key hanger items came from Hobby Lobby and I could not have been luckier in finding them as they match so well.

I hope all are finding great ways to use their crafting~!

Owl Snappies

These bags are lots of fun to make. I realize I may have said this about the last few designs I have done, but these are super.
The set of three can be created out of just over a fat quarter of each top and lining, with a scrap of fabric to make the prairie point pulls. The magic is metal tape measure pieces and electrical tape to make the snapping closure.

One big lesson learned: do not use double sided fusible web interfacing in the casings at the top of the bag. It makes it very difficult to slide the tape measure pieces through.

There are more of these cut out and laying on my table ready to assemble for birthday gifts for my senior lady friends.

I hope everyone is finding fabulous projects to craft while this summer goes along.

Raw Edge Appliques - Another Test Drive

This is another test of the thread sketching. I drew some basic shapes to practice my stitching on the lines and then added other elements.

Next time I will add fabric to outlines, like the kite and heart and birds, both or one, and the flower.

This is lots of fun, will be gathering more applique ideas and doing more of this after my gift sewing is done next month.

Happy Crafting to All~!

It All Began with A Hippo

To pursue my new interest in raw edge applique, I took a class with Jackie at Fabric Bliss yesterday.

The project is the cutest little hippo on a zippered bag. I had the purple polka dot fabric that I knew had to be the hippo, then I chose Kona grey as the background and a piece of green plaid for the inside.

The bird is fashioned out of a scrap that was colorful hearts.

It was a fun class to learn how to do the (what I am calling) thread sketching. We practiced first on a scrap piece that had lines drawn on it, to learn how to control the darning needle's progress across the fabric. It was a bit disconcerting to have a needle that went whatever way you wanted, after so many years of forward or back sewing; a liberating experience.

I like the results and will be making more of these, maybe not all hippos. Am off to look for design ideas. Happy Crafting to All~!

The Hitchhiker Has 30 Teeth

While you are reviewing your memory for where that horror movie reference might come from, let me assure you it has nothing to do with horror films, unless you count that most of this Camp Loopy project has been knit while watching episodes of Supernatural. Fun show, however my warning is: not before bedtime.

The Hitchhiker is 12 teeth away from what the pattern calls for, this is about 96 rows of knitting. Since the goal is to knit 500+ yards I may have to go beyond the 42 teeth, I am not sure of that yet.

I think if I decide to knit another one of these I will plan to go up a needle size. And I really like the flow of this pattern so I probably will plan to do just that. I better note that in my Ravelry project page so I can reference it later. Does anyone else use their project pages to note pattern modifications?

I hope all are enjoying their camp experience so far this summer. I am enjoying knitting on one project while I sew like the wind. Happy crafting to all~!

First Bag Added to My Etsy Shop

Look to the left column where is shows what is in my Etsy shop, you will see the first of my L'il Project Bags that I have added to the shop today.

The description I used for this is as follows:
This bag is sewn up as a knitting tote; great for a small project:
The bag is 81/2 inches high by 8 inches wide by 2 inches deep with handles that are 81/2 inches tall. It has a soft closure designed to keep the top of the bag from gapping however it will not snag your yarn. It was created from leftover charms from the Kate Spain Cuzco fabric line for a bright, one of a kind creation.

This makes a great bag to take to knit night because you can put your small, "vanilla" project in it along with your wallet, cell phone and keys. So now you only have to take one bag in the door of that favorite meeting place for your knitting group.

I will be adding the other two bags this evening, hopefully. My biggest challenges is proper lighting and background to photograph these in.

The next test bag will be one that can be used as a knitting notions bag. I have some great fabric combinations to make fun, bright, and covetable bags to share with your friends for any occasion.

Happy summer crafting to all~!

This Weekend - It's Pillowcase Time

I purchased these pillowcase kits from Snappy Quilts in Denver. It was not because they were pillowcases per se, it was because of the fabric combinations. One is done with Cuzco and the other done with Flirt.

The Million Pillowcase challenge started a craze of pillowcase makers to provide them for charities to give to children. Currently they have collected just over 500k pillowcases for the cause.

With the help of the Missouri Star Quilt Company how-to video, I was able to assemble these pretty quickly. I may be making some later this summer to donate myself. I want to pick out some really fun kid-themed fabrics to accomplish that.

I finished two pillowcases for me - no need for them to match my sheets just a fun thing to have for my pillow.

It was nice to actually use the kits I purchased. Now I am off to find something else in my pre-planned projects basket. Have to make room for new future projects.

Happy Fourth of July

 

 

 

 

 

Camp Loopy - Project 2 - Go!

And GO!

I cast on late yesterday and have accomplished about 10 repeats of the pattern (the picture was taken a few days later so looks larger). I like it so far. It is a fun knit, almost have it memorized and it is one that keeps growing so you want to keep adding to it.

The yarn is making a lovely blended color that will go with nearly anything.

I hope everyone is having a great time with their new camp project~!