Crafts – deeperrin.com

Knit 1, Purl 1

Published by dee on November 12, 2010

After a long day of cleaning up messes, dealing with a sick kid, trying to keep the non-sick kid entertained, finally getting this site launched, cooking a dinner that nobody would eat, and not feeling so good myself, I settled into my chair and grabbed some yarn to work on while I watched my favorite shows. My hands quickly fell into a nice knit 1, purl 1 rhythm, and for two hours while I watched my favorite shows I was the most relaxed that I have been all week. It is amazing how something so simple can sometimes have such a profound effect.

(I’ve added a new category to this site titled “gratitude”. This is my attempt at a 365 photo project, though I’ve already discovered that I can’t keep up with it on a daily basis. I’ll be posting to this when I can and most likely the photos will be from my iphone, as I always have it with me. Each post will contain something that I’m thankful for.)

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Slime!

Published by dee on September 16, 2010

It has been a rather rough week around our house, so after dinner last night I thought we needed to do something fun. In this case, fun = slime!

I came across a super easy recipe for making slime at home over on Our Best Bites a few days ago and decided we just had to make some. We already had all of the ingredients except for the Borax so I picked up a box when I was out running errands yesterday to have it on hand.

The kids both helped pour the ingredients in and then we watched as the liquid changed into clumps, and eventually a nice ball of slime. They thought it was SO! COOL! and played with it for quite a while afterward.

We’ll definitely be doing this again. Poor Evie was not happy with her brother’s color choice, so we’re going to have to make some red (or maybe PINK) slime next time around. I want to try it with the clear glue that it mentions in the post but we didn’t have any of that at home.

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For those following along regarding the bullying that I posted about yesterday, I was able to talk to Zach’s teacher this morning and am feeling much better about things. She already has plans for making some changes in the classroom (seating arrangements, etc.) that should help. Also, he’ll be sent to the restroom by himself rather than in a group to alleviate problems happening there. She expressed some concerns about things he is doing in class that we will both work on with him. All of the changes will take time, but I feel like we are moving in the right direction. I’m very thankful that he has a teacher that cares and wants him to be successful at school. I’m also very thankful for all of you, my incredibly supportive friends and family. Your comments both here and on Facebook really helped me get through the day yesterday without pulling my hair out.

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Knitted Snug As A Bug Sleepsack

Published by dee on May 9, 2010

I’ve been holding off on this post because these two Snug As A Bug Sleepsacks were knit as a baby gift for a friend who recently had twin boys. I’m hoping these little sleepers will help keep her boys warm during cold evenings and possibly make things just a little bit easier on her and her husband. I can’t even imagine having twins, especially when they have two other boys under five at home as well.

When I was trying to decide what to knit up for her, I remembered seeing this pattern and went searching for it. It was really fast to knit up and the first time I’ve ever done a 3rd needle bind off (which I loved). I have a lot of pregnant friends right now, so I’m guessing I’ll be making a lot more of these!

**Evie wasn’t very happy when I borrowed her doll to snap these pics! She kept running around saying “Where baby?”

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Chunky Knits for Babies and Photographers

Published by dee on March 4, 2010

Back in December, I finally got the DSLR camera that I’ve been wanting for years. Since then, my creative focus has drifted from knitting* and sewing to photography. It is unbelievable how much I have to learn. Not only do I have to learn the basics of photography, I also have to figure out how to apply that all to my camera. In order to learn as much as possible, I’ve been checking out some photography forums and finally found Clickin’ Moms, which seems to be the best fit for me.

As I’ve been browsing around the forum, I have seen some amazing newborn photos. Not only are they giving me some major baby fever (my baby is turning 2 in two weeks!), but also some baby knitting fever. Almost all of my favorite newborn photos I’ve seen recently feature some adorable chunky knitted and crocheted items. There have been some gorgeous hats, baby cocoons, stork slings, and blankets. This photo session in particular just killed me. And the yarn! The beautiful shades spun in a thick-thin mix are driving me insane. I have to find some of that!

All of this desire for chunky knitted baby items led me to search both Etsy and Ravelry. I did find a few patterns I want to try, but (so far) I haven’t found the yarn I want. I’m going to start looking around locally, but I do most of my yarn shopping at either Hobby Lobby or Joann’s and I don’t recall seeing anything like that. I guess it’s time for me to graduate to a real yarn shop.

So, now I need some advice. I need to find a good local yarn shop in the Kansas City area that would carry fun super chunky yarn and I need some fun patterns to go with it. Anyone have any suggestions?

*Yes, I am still knitting when I can find the time. I just keep forgetting to photograph my finished knits to post! Seems to be a bit of irony there considering the topic of this post, eh?

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Drop Stitch Scarf Update

Published by dee on January 21, 2010

Way back, almost 3 months ago, I started working on a Drop Stitch Scarf for a friend. I’ve worked on it off and on, taking breaks in between to work on other projects (Christmas gifts, etc.) and it is getting closer and closer to being finished. I absolutely love this scarf, but I kind of hate knitting it.

It is a very simple pattern, but I have to actually pay attention to what I’m doing and count stitches as I go along instead of mindlessly knitting while I watch TV as I usually do. The pattern is fun, and beautiful, and I love the effect of the dropped stitches. It just seems to be taking me forever to finish.

But, it is nearing the end. I’m so close to being done I can almost taste it. I may even finish it tonight while I watch my shows. I’ll be happy to have it done, but so sad to hand it over to my friend instead of wrapping it around my own neck.

P.S. In the nearly 3 months(!) since I’ve posted here, I’ve been keeping very busy. While I have been knitting, my focus has been on cleaning/organizing my house, learning how to use my new camera, building a new web site for my church, and spending every free moment I can find with my kids and husband. As life settles back into our normal winter routine, I hope to be updating more often here!

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Dropping Stitches Scares Me

Published by dee on October 29, 2009

In my last post I asked for scarf pattern recommendations and Marilyn suggested that I get on Ravelry and look up the Drop Stitch Scarf pattern. Since she’s all kinds of awesome, I took it to heart and jumped on Ravelry. There were lots of scarf patterns listed under “Drop Stitch Scarf” but I’m pretty sure this is the one she meant in her suggestion.

I took a look at the pattern, decided I could handle it and cast on that night. I cast on with size 9 circulars because apparently I don’t have any straight needles in that size, but it seems to be working out ok. I will admit to having to rip out a couple rows due to accidentally dropping the wrong stitch and not noticing until I was a couple rows past it, but overall this is a fun pattern. All of the yarn overs and stitch dropping can be a little scary at first but I think it will turn out great.

The only drawback is I think this one is going to require blocking when I’m all done and I’ve never blocked anything (Shhhh…don’t tell the knitters!) I guess I’ll have something new to learn, eh?

Anyway, this is as far as I’ve gotten on it so far because I was busy making Halloween cookies last night but I plan on working on it some more tonight while I watch my shows.

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Category: Crafts