Picot + Peek 2

pi·cot/ˈpēkō/
Noun: A small loop or series of small loops of twisted thread in lace or embroidery, typically decorating the border of a fabric.



Loving this simple border! To make: first sc all the way around the edge of the project, putting 3 sc in each corner. Then comes the fun part: ch 2, sl in 2nd ch from hook, skip one sc and sl in the next 2 sc. Repeat, repeat, repeat and you have a sweet little edge for a sweet little project. ;)

Sneak Peek

I'm making something for someone...
...maybe it's for you!



I brought home a giant bag of yarn from the Spinrite Tent Sale today. I'm a big fan of cotton and found lotsa different cotton yarns in different weights to play around with...for amazing prices. I've already started on project #1 with new yarn, which means yet another project is in the UFO (unfinished object) pile for now! I'm hoping to have this project done by Friday and gifted by early next week, so stay tuned and you might see finished pictures soon.

On Sunday, I made my first visit to Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft when I was in Flagstaff, Arizona and it was raining. (You have no idea how happy I was to see a little rain. Rain = indoor activities = shopping!) A certain little magazine was calling my name at the checkout: greencraft costs $14.99, but Jo Ann offers a 10% discount AND I was on vacation, so I splurged on some light reading. Looks like the crochet craze might die down for a little while so that I can try out some of the neat ideas from this book. I'm still happily hooking, however, so who knows? ;)

Back From Vacation - Historical Craft "Snippet"

Back from our whirlwind tour of Nevada, Utah, and Arizona! One of our stops was a spontaneous visit to Cove Fort, an historic Mormon site on the drive between St. George and Salt Lake City. The restored fort is a combination of history preserved and an opportunity to teach tourists about Mormon beliefs. It was all very respectful, even if it was a little bit different from what we're used to. The thing that made me raise my eyebrows the highest, however, had nothing to do with religion.

See the box on the mantle? It's a box for collecting human hair. For crafts. (Waste not, want not!)





And the silhouette on the wall? Yep, that's human hair in action as a craft.

I'm all for green crafting, but I'm not going to go quite that far. ;) I'm off to the Spinrite Tent Sale to get myself some bargain yarn!

Slouchy Market Bag

This kept me busy during my unable-to-sleep-alone-in-the-hotel-room nights last week. The pattern is for Linda Permann's "Flea Market Bag." I made it in worsted cotton (some that I picked up super cheap at last year's tent sale). The cotton made it nice and sturdy. I'll have to try it out on my next fruit-and-veggies shopping trip!




Yarn: (? something similar to Bernat Handicrafter Cotton) - approx. 1/2 of the 1lb. bag of mill-ends
Estimated cost of materials: $2.50-$3.00
Estimated time invested: 10 hours?

Oh, and I made a camera pouch, too. The yarn is from a 1970s ball of RedHeart Luster Sheen that I bought at the thrift store for $1.00 and the lining comes from a 50-cent fabric scrap I found at the same place. I haven't finished it (needs something cute appliqued on the front) but I'm taking it on vacation anyway! :)

Crochet Flowers Card

The pattern for the flowers and the idea for this card came from a Spring issue of Crochet Today. Here's my take on it.




(I now have two big balls of crochet thread and these flowers hardly take any materials to make, so I'm looking for some other ideas to help use it up!)

Dresser Collection

I can't take full credit for this idea. It's based on a suggestion I found in some magazine, somewhere, at some time! One of my favourite little bits of my dressing room/our guest room is my dresser collection of blues and greens. Nothing on the dresser cost more than $5.00 (the jar of beach glass from Nova Scotia) and most things cost less than $1.00. Every so often, I see something interesting and add it in and/or swap something out. A simple way to add a little cottagey-kitsch to our cozy home. :)

Crafty Genes

Just a quick post for today, but as I was making my bed, I thought that the summer quilt we have on it was good proof that I was born to be crafty. Pieced by my Dad's mom with painstakingly tiny stitches and quilted by my Mom's mom and her cackling posse of quilting 'hens,' this quilt is a treasure. Probably sleeping under it is the reason why I wake up itchy with new crafting ideas!