Cashmere Upcycled Mittens

I finally posted some more cozy winter mittens. I made some purple wool and cream mittens from an embroidered wool cardigan, purple wool sweater, and a cream wool sweater. I usually got a full pair out of each sweater with a few extra pieces so two sweaters could make three pairs of mittens, etc. It all depends on the size of the sweater, of course. And style. A wool sweater with an odd cut to it will barely yield a full pair of mittens. The cashmere are incredibly soft. I like working with it because it's so soft. It even looks soft in the pictures. It's not always easy to find cashmere sweaters at the discount stores but they do felt as nicely as the wool and make awesome mittens. I was going to wait to post what I had because I have more waiting to be sewn but time is moving along so I thought I should get what I have posted.

I've been working out designing a wallet style that incorporates pockets for credit cards but isn't large and bulky. The first experiment last turned out all right but it's a good thing I chose to only put a zipper in the one pocket because even though I left space it wasn't quite enough to allow the wallet to fold neatly. But I think I have it workable, just requiring some tweaking. So I have to finish sewing the cut outs for mittens I have waiting and then a few wallets this week and I will post right away this time. A purple wallet is my final goal.

New Spiral Stitch

I really like the spiral herringbone stitch but it takes too long with size 11 beads and is a little dramatic and thick for size 6 beads. The Russian spiral takes less thread (not going around all the beads multile times) and creates a medium spiral that I really like. It took awhile to figure out the pattern. I guess counting to 3 is beyond my abilities some days. That's all it is, counting to 3. Once I could see the pattern it worked and went well. I still have to pay close attention the first two or three rounds but once I get going I can "see" where the next stitch needs to go. Quite a lovely little stitch. It has a springy action as well, so will work well as a bangle. I've only gotten a few bracelets done as I just learned it Friday night and I had a lot of things going on this weekend besides jewelry making. The herringbone doesn't require full concentration so it's a good tv project but this stitch is a little more attention demanding. I like it though. I bought a lot of combinations of seed beads in size 6 and size 10/11 and am looking forward to experimenting with a lot of colors. It's amazing how much a difference one little switch can make. For example, I used size 6 aqua sead beads with size 11 crystal seed beads and it reminds me of christimas, the blue looking like a frozen lake and the crystal looking like tinsel winding between the ice. Used the same aqua beads with a deep, sapphire blue size 11 and it's a whole different flavor. The aqua doesn't even look like it's the same bead. I'll post a picture soon. I had finished up the herringbone spirals in what I thought looked like a nice, finished way and then I tried bead caps and boy does that give it a completed look. It's not easy finding those though, they have to be deep enough and be a style I like. Will look for me.

Needle Felting

Needle Felting is truly the simplest project I've ever done with such lovely results. All you need is a foundation, probably felt works the best. I used felt. You can use wool or any yarn type. I mixed them. I used a wool roving and a synthetic around the edges. You pretty much just draw with the yarn and then attack it with a needle tool. You'll see the color start to fill in on the back side, which is the fibers embedding within the wool.

For this I knit and felted two bags. One I did heart flowers. The other I did a contemporary sunflower. I just love the sunflower one. I can't get over how easy it was. The tool is a little on the spendy side, in my opinion, but worth the initial investment. I've done a lot of needle felting and I see a lot more doable with the tool before ever having to change needles. I originally considered experimenting with just one needle but couldn't find a single one so got the multi-needle tool and recommend that as it takes some time even with multiple needles. It's a tv watching project. Sit down and go to town during commercials sort of project. It's relaxing and stress relieving at the same time and I like the ability to mix materials. It doesn't take very much yarn either. I used some super, super soft baby yarn I had left over from a baby sweater for the triangles around the sunflower center and it remained incredibly soft and since it was a fibery yarn it bonded well and quickly.

Making Fabric Labels for Handmade Projects

I have a semi simple method of creating fabric/ribbon labels for handmade sewn projects, or at least to sew into projects. What you'll need is iron on transfer paper, ribbon 1-1 1/2" wide, and an image. This is where PS Elements comes in handy but I think Paint or some similar tool would work. Create image. What I did was use text as a reverse mask over lilacs. To print the image there are two ways to do it, that I tried. Either copy the image into Word and then set margins and copy multiple times. This is to fill the page so as to not waste the iron on transfer. Or you can just open the label template in Word and put the image in there and it will automatically fill page depending on which template you choose.

Now, with the white iron-on transfer paper you will need to reverse your image. I did that in PSE but I think most printers give that option. If you use iron-on transfer paper for dark fabric you don't need to reverse the image. I don't like doing the dark simply because it's a pain to peel off the paper after transfering. If you use the white then you'll want to stick with a light colored ribbon. I prefer the ivory color. I still get my color from my image but it's not startling white. I tried it with some light green ribbon and that worked all right also but with a light beige the color sort of got lost.

Looking at the image, the label in reverse on white iron-on transfer paper after cutting from full sheet is to the left. The label with the name ironed on. I cut 3" strips of ribbon and fold it in half. Now sew label to project. I use this label for purses so insert it behind the pocket when sewing it to the lining. If you aren't going to have rough edge sewn into a project like this then I recommend using some fray-check.

The result is a beautiful, professional looking label that is unobtrusive and yet tags your handcrafted project as definately yours. I use 1 1/4" ribbon and set my margins in Word so that each image is 1 1/4" wide and it matches perfectly. I do not really worry if it's facing up or down when ironing it to ribbon, as you'll probably notice in image but you can be consistent if you want.

Preemie Hats with Scrap Yarn

At an art show a year or so ago I heard a woman ask what does one do with the leftover bits of yarn from projects. The woman was a vendor cranking out crocheted hats. At the time the answer was obvious to me, use them to make stripes in the hats. She gave me a facial expression that I'm sure what meant, surprise that she hadn't thought of that already, surprise that I would state the obvious, or that confused surprised look of but with the little scrap balls you never quite know how much is on there so it's a guessing game to know if the stripe will make a full circuit but didn't want to get into that topic, or maybe the odd expression on her face was that she just remembered she'd left the iron on at home or the water running...

Here's a perfect project to use up all that leftover yarn. I'm sure there are more ways to use up bits of yarn but I like this one. Preemie or newborn hats. They don't take much yarn. You can go for the striped look or the half and half look or all sorts of options. It's a good way to experiment with color, actually. They're small and whip up real fast. And then you can take them to the local hospital or clinic or charity for newborns and/or premature babies.

For the preemie hats using Homespun yarn or similar heavy weight yarn I cast on 12 stitches per needle for a newborn and 10 stitches per needle for a preemie hat, using size 8 double pointed needles and knitting in the round. I love knitting in the round with wood double pointed needles. For smaller weight yarn you can go smaller in needle size and more stitches per needle but will probably end up using the metal needles then. I don't mind the metal needles once you get a few rows done but until then they always feel like they're sliding off. Once you get two or three rows done then it tightens up and holds in place. You can do a ribbing also, which seems to have faded from modern photo prop baby knit hats but which is done to allow some stretch. I suppose for the photo prop hats they're only on a few minutes while the baby is being posed, compared to real world. But babies in general really don't move around a whole lot when they're that small so ribbing is definitely optional. I like going back and forth and back and forth with knit-purl--except on metal needles in the first row or two or three. Experiment, play, be daring, do what you feel like. After all, it's about having fun and in the end there is a delicate, delicious little cap for a preemie or newborn.

I avoided using wool and stuck with yarns that are washable.

Leather Hobo Purses Are Posted

I've been working with the leather bags for awhile and finally got them posted on the shop at Etsy. Love the purple. Love the turquoise. The coral leather flower on the turquoise bag just gives it such an added punch but I left the rest simple and unadorned. Purple, green, cognac, and turquoise went on today, in the leather. I made some others that weren't leather and liked enough to post. I have enough leather to make two more hobo bags, another light brown and a dark brown that matches the very first one that I made and kept to use to make sure everything works as it should. I stumbled on the most wonderful sage green with oversized simple flowers piece of tapestry today. I was walking past and it caught my eye and made me stop in my tracks so I had to get it. I will hopefully get a bag made out of that this week. With summer there's so much to do that it isn't always easy to get to the sewing and knitting and wire twisting, as much as I'd like to do it all day long.

I also managed to post several leather coin purses. I really like those. I can usually get one or two at least out of the hide after making the full-size purse. I have more cut out but I am doing the applique with those and that's sort of a bit of a pain in the rear but I like the end result. Stamping turned out to be loads of fun. The ink is for leather so is permanent and non-smearing. Embossing works all right. The embossing ink I got I can't see once I stamp the leather and I think it might have dried up after the initial use even though it's got a cover so I used the leather ink and it worked but I ended up losing some leather I had cut for the coin purses because it made a bit of a mess on some of them. I tried the embossing on scrap and it worked but then when I went to dive right into putting it on the bags a few days after experimenting it didn't work and I had to turn to the leather ink so not happy about wasting those pieces. Leather isn't something I like to waste.

Details Make All the Difference

I'm so excited. Always new discoveries and new methods of doing things. I've been making labels by printing in reverse on iron-on transfer paper, cutting out the image, and then ironing the image onto ribbon, then ironing the ribbon in half and sewing into project. They look lovely and work well, though they are a bit of work to make. The disadvantage is that if I forget to sew it in at the right point while making the project then the project doesn't get a tag. I saw on some show a woman demonstrated how to make labels with printable fabric, iron on interfacing, and then iron onto project. Handy. Spendy. Limited fabric selection. Went to local store to get some printable fabric to give it a try and the wonderful salesclerk was very helpful and we started talking and she said, oh, just iron fabric onto wax paper and it will go through the printer. I'm so eager to try it. A lot cheaper. Great color selection, as I can use any cotton or cotton/poly blend. I'm so impatient to give it a try. How exciting. It's amazing how exciting little things like professional looking tags can be. But it's true. It's all in the detail. And if the detail costs pennies instead of dollars then the details are exciting instead of a burden or drain. Will try it tonight and let you know how it turned out.

On another note, embossing leather. Tried the method of wetting down the leather and putting object on leather then adding weight and letting it sit overnight. Image came out all right on the depressed side, not so well on the raised side, and made the leather stiff and dry and darker. Have an embossing gun and will give it a try next weekend. I suspect heating the leather will be hard on it and not sure how well the embossing glue and powder will stick to leather but have some scraps I can try to experiment with so will at least play.

Have a new hobo bag pattern that has turned out so well. Very simple and straightforward and I like the simplicity of the end result. It does need a tad of bling and embellishing though, thus the experminting with embossing leather. Where the magnetic snap sits I want to add a patch of leather to reinforce it and I want it to be embossed and I plan on hanging a few strands of beads from it, sewn in when I attach the patch. Should be just enough embellishing to relieve the severity yet leave it a simple, classic line of purse.

I have figured out the secret of sewing leather. New needle and going slow. I hear it all the time and it's so true, a new needle, a new needle, a new needle. With leather it's like night and day. A seam bunchs, slides, and has a life of its own. Put in a new needle and take a relaxed pace and it's like sewing cotton.

Newborn Baby Hat Model

My neice was after me to make baby things and/or teach her how to crochet so she could make baby things for her photography business. She's a very awesome photographer and her business is growing. I found this doll while waiting for her to get newborns to take shots in of some of my stuff. I just love him. I'm assuming he's a boy. With babies and boys all there is to go by is the color of the clothes and he had blue and white clothes and hat. While in the store I took him over to the baby department and tried on a newborn hat to make sure he was the right size and he is. I did the photo shoot for posting some hats on the shop and every time I look at those photos I smile. So he might have a job modeling hats for awhile even after Jamie gets some shots of actual newborns.

Cosmic Pony on Facebook

I've set up a Facebook account for Cosmic Pony. More to follow soon.

Cosmic Pony Business Card

It was an interesting, often frustrating, endeavor to successfully create and print business cards. PSE is the most wonderful tool to play with. It was the printing that created the bit of frustration and delays. But it's done now and I'm very happy with it.

Hair Tie Bling

I saw this idea in a magazine. Giving a boring hair tie some zing seemed like a good idea. Scrunchies are definately out of style though I still use them around the house. This is the modern step to scrunchies, I guess. Whenever I make something I have to use it to see if it works, is usable, and holds up to wear and tear so I haven't posted this on the shop yet. I decided to give it a try this week, make sure it doesn't catch in the hair, etc. I like it. I might have to make some more and post them. It didn't catch in my hair at all, which was my main concern. The only problem I have encountered so far is that the second time I used it the beads went to the bottom but that's a simple enough fix, just a matter of holding the beads in place when wrapping the tie or sliding the beads up to the top once the tie is on.

I Love Bags

I do love bags. It seems like there could be a bag for every need. Just some examples, a bag for my iPod and charger, monthly supplies, passport, and coin purse. The bigger red tapestry bag holds my iPod (which is in a leather-lined Altoids tin with the ear buds) with my portable charger. The charger is even in a leather bag inside the tapestry bag. Keeps my big daily work tote all nice and neat and organized. The brown bag with little dainty embroidered flowers is just the right size for carrying supplies for monthly needs. When not in use for that it doubles as a cosmetic bag. It's just the right size. The reason it does double duty is that I don't use cosmetics daily. If I did, I'd just devote another bag to cosmetics. The green leather is just the perfect size for a passport. It's handy. No digging when approaching the security desk. The black faux leather coin purse is what I use for coins and little bills in my purse. If there's a need I can think of another new bag to fill it. Sometimes I make a bag that sings to me and I must keep it so I have to think up a task for it. The only drawback is that they last and last and last and last and I like them so much that I hang onto them. I love bags.

Lots of Color

The colors are so fun and eye catching. What a wonderful burst of color in the middle of a gray winter.

Super Fun Fleece Mittens

Let there be color! These mittens were so fun to make. I tried all sorts of color combinations and it seemed there wasn't a wrong decision that could be made.

I took a basic mitten pattern and had to adjust the length a bit. Mittens still wanted to run small when making them with fleece though the same pattern was just the right size with wool.

Start with any basic pattern, lower front, upper front, back, and cuff. Use a different color for every piece or use the same for all or make the front two pieces the same and the back piece different. I mostly used solid colors for the front pieces but you can use any combination. The lining is the same pattern minus the cuff piece. I found some super soft fleece that made slipping your hand into the mitten almost as wonderful as if it was a fur. Slip the lining inside before sewing on the cuff. I started out sewing the cuff onto both lining and outside at same time and hand sewing the other side of the cuff, then ran across instructions for making the wool mittens with the cuff sewn onto the lining and just attached to the front with the button. Worked well for the fleece as well.