Creating A Home... Free Thread Holder Tutorial

One of the most popular posts on this blog concerns a thread holder that my sweet DH made for me a few years ago.  It's made of wood and is really good for use with a side table.... However, if there is no side table and you have to either hold the thread/yarn in your lap or on the floor, this may not work too well.

 Jim, from Creating A Home , has posted a wonderful tute using the most basic thing on the kitchen shelf... a coffee container.    I had to make me one.  I use it not only for crocheting, but also for needle tatting, holding the thread/yarn when I am warping my Kromski Harp, when I'm measuring thread/yarn for my tablet weaving loom..and any other time I need to pull a continuous length of thread/yarn.  Love it...

I think the heat has finally pushed my bad mood buttons.  Been a little funky for the last few days... my poor sweetie..sigh  So I think in response to the cold wave pushing through that will bring the temps down to 97° (we can only hope) today, I will be looking around and appreciating all that I have... my sweet DH, those warm snuggles in bed in the mornings, even the gray in my hair.. ;o)  Soooo.... for a few days we will be playing Pollyanna around here... it never fails to make me realize that bad moods are just that... not even a reality... just a passing fancy...

Have a really good day.. ;o)

The Winter Guest

I was working hard on finishing up the cards, shuttles and thread packets for the last Tablet Weaving Class at the RR Historical Museum tomorrow.  DH was gone to coffee...the house was quiet.  I began to scan through the guide on the television and came across a movie starring Emma Thompson... she's one of my very favorites.  I had never heard of the movie, but decided to watch it anyway just because she was in it.  And another thing... this was the Directorial debut for Alan Rickman... another of my favorites.

I have to say that it was one of the best movies I have seen in a very long time.  The depth of the personal insights for all the characters reached out and  touched me. Emma portrayed a relatively young widow with a 17 y/o son... the visitor was her mother who was portrayed by Emma's real mother, Phyllida Law... and their interactions were so deeply true to life.  I cannot tell you about the movie... if I did I would only make it sound trite.  I am unable to verbalize how it affected me... It may not do the same for you. But I have to give this movie an absolute 10..

Have a wonderful day.. ;o)

Kitchen Towel Holder Pattern

I was wandering the web the other day looking at some of my favorite craft sites and came across a pattern for something almost like this.  For the life of me I cannot remember where it was.. sigh  If any of you know where to find that pattern, please let me know and I will give the author of that post the credit she deserves.

I did make one change to the pattern, but this one is almost completely the same...

What I needed:

1 metal clothes hanger
Cotton yarn ... I used Sugar and Cream Cotton  Yarn by Lily but this pattern would work with acrylic or wool in either sport or worsted weight
Crochet Hook  size I

The first thing I did was have my DH cut a metal clothes hanger to a length of approx. 10 inches.  Then we curled the 10 inch length into a circle with the ends overlapping about 1 inch.  I used tape to hold the ends together.

Row 1:  Starting anywhere on the circle, attach the yarn.  SC as many stitches around  the metal circle as it takes to hide the metal circle. Join with a slip stitch to first sc.

Row 2:  Ch 1, sc in same stitch and in each sc around the circle.  Join last sc with a sl st to first sc of round.  Ch 1, turn,

Row 3: sc in same stitch, sc in next 11sc,  ch 1, turn.

Row 4 thru 14: , sc in same stitch, sc in next 11 sc,  ch1, turn,

Row 15: sc in same stitch,  sc in next 4 sc, ch 2, skip next 2 sc, sc in next 5 sc, ch 1, turn, (The skip 2 sc and the 2 ch stitches make your buttonhole.)

Row 15: sc in same st, sc in next 11 st, ch 1, turn,

Row 16:  sc in same st, sc in next 11 st. ch 1, but do not turn.
 Now sc in each stitch completely around the piece.  Fasten off.

I used a button about 1" across.  Fold the top of the piece down until it just touches the circle.  Find the button hole and use that as a guide to place your button.  Sew the button on using either the same yarn as what was used in the piece or any sewing thread that you like.

Now sit back and enjoy your Kitchen Towel Holder.. ;o)

This is a really quick project.  This was crocheted in about an hour last night while watching tv.  I hope you enjoy it.  It would make great quick gifts for Christmas... throw in a couple of kitchen towels, a few hand knitted dish cloths and there ya' go.. ;o)

The summer sun is still hanging in there giving up 100+ temps every day.  Even the birds get all their running around done in the morning or evening..

Have much to do today... Hope your day is good and that you are staying cool.. ;o)

Still can't put any comments up on my own blog...?????

First of all... thanks to Kristy of This Bean Knits for trying and succeeding to comment on my blog.. ;o)  However... I have not been able to post a single answering comment or any other comment since I changed the look of my blog... Still wondering what's up with that and having a dickens of a time trying to contact Blogger Support... Oh well... will keep trying.  Just wanted everyone to know that I am aware of the problem and trying to fix it... sigh

I need to buy some folders.....

Some days it just seems like the piles of paper on my desk are out to get me... Ever have a day like that?  And things like my camera and usb port bone seem to be magnets for things like my DHs 16' tape measure and my granddaughter's ball that was left here when she visited.  Now add in my crochet books, calculator, sale flyers from JoAnn's, a list of "Things to Blog", a list of harmful ingredients in OTC drugs that I promised my DH I would research online, my coffee cup and hand lotion and well... it finally gets hard to even find my pencil cup!  And the question is.... How Does This Happen?!!  I have concluded that this is as insidious as weight gain!  I looked for folders to file some of this "stuff" away and .. just as I thought... there are none.   Oh well... it's just a short trip to Office Depot... sigh

Of Clocks, Eggs and Darn! It's Hot!

My sweet DH has been working in the shop for a while now.  He finished his clock and it's lovely.  He's made 11 clocks and there are only 5 here in the house.  I told him that this one is mine.. ;o) ... and not to be given away...lol   Every clock he makes is lovely.  This one is solid oak...as are most of the clocks he designs and builds.  There is more oak in the shop... and he's already planning the next clock.. ;o)

When I started spinning I began to learn to knit socks.  Now I knit "sleep socks" for my DH to keep his feet warm at night.  This prevents the "charlie horses" and cramps that send him on his midnight prowls  through the house in search of relief. 

Of course, with all the scooting of the heels and sides of the socks across the sheets, pretty soon little holes begin to appear that are pretty rapidly followed by big holes.  I found a You Tube video ... here ... that showed me how to darn socks.  I bought a couple of darning eggs...alas they were too small.  I found that the only thing that was big enough and easy enough to use was an incandescent light bulb.

Now I know that my hands are strong ... sort of... but not really strong enough to crunch an incandescent light bulb.  (I hope not anyway).  But I never could quite get past the sensation that if I wasn't careful I'd be picking tiny pieces of glass out of his sock...and possibly my hands... Sooo.. when he came across these 3" finials on one of his wood shop odds and ends sites online and asked me if I could use them for my painted eggs hobby... I immediately thought of darning eggs.

While he worked on his clock, I was drawing, wood burning and painting this egg.  It has several coats of polyurethane on it to help protect it from the needle, but I will have to use it for a while to see how well it works.  It fits perfectly in the heel of his socks and is easy for me to hold and control while I'm darning... loving it.  Keeping my fingers crossed that the finish holds.. ;o)

Here in North Texas it's supposed to be 105° today and tomorrow.  They are telling us that the humidity should only be around 30%, so perhaps it will only feel like 105°... we can only hope...  This will be a really good time for air conditioned spinning... ;o)

I hope all have a good day today.. and... as my grandmother used to say...
"When you have a flat on your car...relax.. It's God's way of protecting you from that big truck that's down the road."