1) keeping first ch loose ch 8, sl st into first ch made going through both loops of ch, ch 1 ... Check to see if loop goes around your button, you're looking for a easy slide over but not too loose, adjust loop size as needed
Life Is Good
Knit and crochet patterns, bead charts and random crafting tips... with a few reviews tossed in
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
Simple cord keeper crochet pattern
1) keeping first ch loose ch 8, sl st into first ch made going through both loops of ch, ch 1 ... Check to see if loop goes around your button, you're looking for a easy slide over but not too loose, adjust loop size as needed
Sunday, August 11, 2024
Thrift store bead find
Saturday, August 3, 2024
Sequin harvest
The sequins are in beautiful shape.... Only issue I ran in to was having to wash it by hand 3 or 4 times... to remove the starch....????
The sequins were on mesh, that after removal is definitely still usable
Got a fair amount of usable sequins plus just over two yards of mesh and knit fabric for around $3.00
This piece of brown sequin fabric also came from a thrift store, over two yards of knit fabric with golden brown running through out.. both this one and the blue scarf were on fairly elastic fabric, with the sequins stitched in straight lines.. making it much easier to remove them with the fabric intact.. the fabric will make beautiful liners for smaller crochet bags where I want to keep the bag on the stretchy side...
They are more difficult to remove the sequins from but I plan on using the elastic that's in the blue one and the cord that runs through the pink as well as the other strands of floss on some freeform projects.. the sequence are larger center hole probably 8 mm as much as I am getting off of these they were definitely a good deal, I'm not sure how many yards I have 10 or 12 and these were less than $10 for sure but I don't remember exactly they've been sitting since last summer in storage waiting for me to get around to them..
After opening the seam, I realize the center was a fluffy pillow and along one seam was a long zipper that wasn't exposed I'm guessing they decided to go with something different after placing the zipper and just closed over top of it either way it is an excellent condition and will definitely get used ... the back satin from the outside cover of the pillow is in really good shape and will make a nice liner or background for broach
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
Dollar tree diamond painting keychain
I had no clue how any of this worked or if this is even how other kits do it...
I assume do you use the tweezers or something like that to pick up the little rhinestones, but you actually just put a little bit of the wax / silicone play on the tip of the pen and it picks them up rather nicely, then just lightly touch the spot where you want them to be on the design that's it, super easy and surprisingly relaxing .. I can see why people like these kits, no real thought involved it really good mindless project that gives you something cute in the end..
I have no clue how well these will stay stuck on there if used as a keychain so I might try to add something over it... I think I'll do a little research into these projects before I try anything LOL
Sunday, July 14, 2024
How I set out my embroidery floss scraps for easy use
It's so much easier that trying to wrap so many small lengths around floss cards.
With many of these being from kits the colors are a shade or two different.. this makes that slight difference easier to spot as well ..
When I finish with the project I rebag the floss and put the felt back with the rest of my felt stock... No waste .. but even if I didn't have the felt on hand I would go grab some from the dollar tree .. as much time as I save with the ease of it it is definitely worth it to me..I do save the pieces that are too short for stitching as well .... for small tassels and such, the smaller ones I use with making scrapy fabric bags.. the texture and interest it adds .. love it...
It's been a good year since I did any real embroidery other than an embellishment here and there... was running out of smaller scraps.. so that is a bright side lol...
Thursday, May 2, 2024
Dollar tree crochet kit
Have almost everything you need to make it, yarn, stuffing, crochet hook that looks to be about a 3 mm, embroidery floss where the facial features, plastic needle, and safety eyes.. a couple of the other kids I had picked up we're a bit different the crochet hook was marked as a 3 mm and made out of aluminum instead of plastic and it had a stitch marker as well as the needle being just a little bit bigger, the instructions were still a little bit lacking so I wouldn't call those a beginner kit either... But they are definitely fun and worth the $1.25
And added a pom-pom tail, also worked in spirals as it is my preferred method for making toys or in this case a charm for my mother to clip on to one of her bags ..
I have plenty of yarn to work it up and more than half of the stuffing left over after making a few different ones I was able to make several other projects from the yard and stuff and leftover
Needle felted monster thingys
In my scrap yarn stash I've had a baggie full of light worsted weight scraps ( Mainstay ) from an inkle weaving project.. used a few bits here and there but didn't want to use it for stuffing or tie the ends together to add to my yarn ball... I swear I will get back to that some day 😁... as the pieces were fairly long and seamed like they could be more useful... how I had no clue... until
I came across a needle felting video about adding hair to a project.. she called it a monster... so cute..
After seeing some super realistic looking needle felting, I did want to try adding hair to something, but I will admit the super realistic looking critters .... they kind of creep me out....
I personally prefer not so realistic looking little critters sitting on my shelf ..
the talent and skill that go into these is just amazing and awe-inspiring.. I find it fascinating to watch... just not something I want to do at least not at this point.. but that monster oh yeah I had to try a few of those...
Set that aside going back to the core stuff I rolled it nice and tight .. as tight as I could with it puffing out every where..
I used a eyebrow brush/comb that I had purchased from yep the Dollar tree to use with my amigurumi doll hair... to smooth it out a bit as I went along, this particular yarn was full of static and tended to be very fly away, so I was moistening my fingers with a light mist of water as needed .. this really helped speed things up which was kind of nice as this is a very long and sort of tedious process ... but so worth it ... it turned out so cute