Creative Mom Cafe

Here are some great St. Patrick’s day ideas for the knitters in your house. I love finding fun things to create with a little yarn and my favorite needles.

• Knit Shamrock Cloth - This could be used as a pot holder, dish cloth, or just a decorative piece to hang up. What ever your do it brings a little luck of the Irish.
• Frolicking Shamrocks Socks - The pattern is $5, but these socks are so cute it’s hard to pass it by. A little St. Patrick’s Day fun for your feet.
• Shamrock Pillow or Sachet - Here’s a fun pattern to knit a small shamrock shaped pillow. Very cute!
• St. Patrick’s Day “Necklace” - This fun little knit necklace takes almost no time to create and even beginners can do it.

For those who like to crochet here are some great patterns to get into before St. Patrick’s day.

• Pot ‘O Gold - This fun little crochet pot is the perfect place to hide your treasures.
• Four Leaf Clover coaster - You can whip up some of these to place around if you are planning a St. Patrick’s day party. Be sure to use green yarn to hide the spills from the green beer.
• Shamrock - This cute little crocheted shamrock would look adorable pinned to your jacket.
• St. Patrick’s Day hat - This little green hat is so cute I can’t resist it. It is certainly not for beginners, but worth the effort.

If anyone knows of any other fun patterns online for St. Patrick’s day please leave them in the comments. Thanks!

knitting, crocheting, St. Patrick’s day, crafts

Who doesn’t love a chance to win free yarn? I know I’m already drooling over the idea. Head over to Knitting Misadventures and enter to win some very politically incorrect yet still gorgeous fiber or yarn. If you’re a knitter, like me, or a spinner you have a chance to win something wonderful. And don’t worry about the date mentioned on the contest, due to a slip-up she’s giving everyone until Tuesday night to get entered.

Swing by her etsy shop and check out the goodies she has for sale. I’m in love with Man Whore and Beer Goggles myself. Hey, I told you they were very un PC! But don’t let the names turn you off, the colors are amazing and definitely worth checking out.

While you’re checking out gorgeous new things have you visited Ravelry yet? The coolest knitting and crocheting community online right now. So cool that they even have rope and a door man to keep the riff-raff out. OK, so it’s just a waiting list before you can join. They are allowing on 800-1000 new members each day, but the current wait is over 6,000. So you should add your name to the list now, who knows how much longer it might get. Check out their news blog to see what awesome updates they are adding, and get antsy about joining in the fun yourself.

*No, I don’t have a Ravelry account yet either. I’m on the list though! Once I’m in I’ll be sure to brag, er I mean share.

knitting, yarn, fiber, contest, free

Since I’m practically done with my pink and black purse (I still need a button though!) I’ve started working on another purse. This one is a simple striped purse that I’m putting together.

When I was looking for a free pattern online I found several that were almost what I wanted, but none that were just right. So I decided to mix and match and come up with a pattern that fits what I wanted. Because it’s so simple there really wasn’t much to creating the pattern. But it creates a cute little purse that looks fine as it is or you can felt it. I’ve also toyed with the idea of adding some beads to the stripe, though I’m not sure yet if simple beads or something that dangles would look cuter. I’m doing it in autumn colors, so I’m leaning towards dangling some glass leaves off. But I haven’t decided yet.

I thought I would share the pattern here if anyone else wanted to knit up a quick purse. It is a simple design, a long rectangle done with straight needs that you fold in half and sew. You can either knit a long chain for the handle or buy a purse handle at a craft shop to sew on.

You will need:

• US 7 needles
• US 8 needles
• Color A 200 yards wool yarn
• Color B 100 yards wool yarn
• Color C 80 yards wool yarn

Cast on 60 with US 7 needles using Color C and knit 2 rows of garter stitch.

Switch to US 8 needles. Stockinette stitch Color A for 3 1/2 inches. Switch to Color B for 3 1/2 inches. Switch to Color C and knit 2 rows. Back to stockinette stitch Color A for 2 1/2 inches. Knit Color C two rows again. Then stockinette stitch Color A for 9 1/2 inches. Now just reverse the pattern starting with 2 knit rows of Color C, 2 1/2 inches of Color A, knit two rows of Color C, 3 1/2 inches of Color B, then 3 1/2 inches of Color A.

Switch back to the US 7 needles and knit two rows of Color C then cast off.

Once you have the long rectangle done you simple fold it in half, right sides together, and sew the two side edges together. Add your handle and it’s all done. A fun and simple purse.

knitting, pattern, purse

I actually did this project back before Christmas and had planned to share it, but kept forgetting to. I had posted before about finding some cute fabric in my stash and wanting to do something with the scraps. I had enough to make a large tote bag for my oldest to use to carry his stuff in and with the scraps made three small bean bags.

Because I was using scrap pieces of material and I wanted to make the frogs the center of attention on each side of the bags the peices were cut into some unusual shapes. So far that hasn’t affected how fun they are to play with. The filling is lentils, from an old bag I found hiding in the back of the cubbard. I did not follow an exact pattern on making these. I sewed up three sides, turned them right sides out, filled with the lentils, and hand stitched them shut. It took about 15 minutes for the machine sewing and filling, then an additional half and hour to hand stitch them closed. It was a really quick and simple project that both of my boys have gotten hours of fun out of.

And it used up scrap material and that half finished bag of lentils that I had forgotten I had. So it scores one for reusing. (more…)

I know that a lot of people are resolving to be more eco-friendly this year. Going green is a huge trend that everyone seems to be jumping on. Though I cringe at calling it a trend, that does seem to be what it has become. So to help any wanna-be greenies out there with a knitting habit I have to share an Etsy shop I recently found.

Crafty is a fun little shop that sells recycled yarn. That’s right it’s all recycled. The seller searches for great sweaters at the thrift shop and carefully unravels them to sell the yarn. It is a perfect example of reusing rather than buying new. There are tons of old sweaters still in good shape that no one wants to wear. Why not use that yarn to make something new and fun? Besides being better for the environment you will also be saving yourself a lot of money. The cost of a thrift store sweater is often a fraction of what you would pay for the same amount of yarn new, especially if it is wool.

It is a wonderful idea for someone looking to open their own Etsy shop. If you have the time and patience to scout through the thrift shops and carefully undo the sweaters, vests, and anything else knitted or crocheted you find this could be for you. Or you could start now building up a collection of yarn balls from thrifted sweaters and make all of your knitting friends happy next holiday season.

Here are some links with how-tos on unraveling and caring for used yarn.

• Recycling Yarn
• Turtleneck No More
• Recycled Yarn Tutorial
• How Not To Unravel a Sweater

(photo from Yarn Tomato, post title from Weezer)

yarn, thrift, sweater, unraveling a sweater

We are down to the weekend before the big holiday. Are you ready? How about the cookies?

One of my favorite memories as a little girl was having cookies every year. I thikn that every older woman in my grandmother’s church would make piles of cookies to pass out to anyone. Every day there would be some sweet holiday treats coming my way. So you can tell I am feeling the holiday spirit when Home Ec 101 is sharing a cookie a day recipe. Especially these oh so yummy White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies. However I’m making these no bake oatmeal cookies instead. Mama don’t share her white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Never. If you have special dietary needs to consider here is a great recipes for Gluten Free and Casein Free Holiday Cookies that you can make instead. My trick: run to your local thrift shop and pick up cute holiday tins. You can usually find them for a dime a piece, sometimes less. Wrap the cookies up nice, place into the tins, and give as last minute gifts.

And just in case you are down to the wire but can’t bake they also have some simple last minute gift ideas you can crochet this weekend. You can also find a lot of easy knit patterns here for some last minute gift ideas. Like this 1 hour scarf.

No matter what you are doing, or not doing, this weekend before to take some time to relax and breath deep. Don’t let the stress of the holidays burn you out before the big day even gets here. Happy Holidays!

cookies, gifts, crochet, knitting

When you are a crafty mom it’s hard for most of your projects not to be kid-focused. If I’m not making something for the kids then it’s something about them, such as my scrapbooking. My next project is going to be a version of these super cool bunting flags. I’m already making the plans in my head for both of my sons and my nieces and nephew to get one with their name. Of course it will most likely be a while off as I’m already up to my eyeballs in projects and I’m broke. Why does all of this crafty stuff have to cost so much money?

Being that I am broke most of the time I try to cut costs on my crafts without cutting quality. Of course the best way to cut the costs is to do it right the first time. You know the old saying “Measure twice, cut once”. Well it applies to knitting also. I began working on a scarf for myself, one of the rare selfish crafts, only to realise I was running low on yarn. Luckily it was fixable, I had to take it apart but making the scarf more narrow extended my yarn usage perfectly. Luckily I’m not the only one who has knitting issues. Take her advice, buy extra yarn just in case!

Oh, and a great tip for those of you who sell your crafts. Use Flickr to get noticed more. It’s definitely something to try out and see if it helps.

crafts, Flickr, yarn, knitting, sewing, projects

Everyone knows how to make fleece hats or knit wool hats, and making a fleece scarf or knitting one is just as simple. But what if your kids need gloves? Can you make simple gloves from warm fleece or knit a pair for your kids to use this winter?

There are several patterns out there for knitting gloves. Including thse adorable mini mittens that would make cute tree decorations. But for functional gloves you will need something bigger. These basic mittens are simple to make and perfect for keeping little hands warm. Here is another pattern for knitting some warm gloves and a matching hat. You can also make yourself some fingerless gloves to keep your hands warm without getting in the way of knitting.

If you would rather sew than knit making warm fleece gloves is no problem. These simple mittens are perfect for keeping hands warm and can be made in no time. And here is great step by step instructions for making a fleece hat and gloves. If you’re feeling really crafty you can try using your own gloves as a pattern to work with. Just be sure to add extra room around for the seams.

If you are wanting a great project that your kids can do this time of year to learn aobut giving this could b the perfect one. Making several fleece hats, scarves, and sets of mittens to donate to your local homeless shelter, church, or any charity that will give them to those in need this winter is a wonderful way to help your children really get into the giving parts of this season. You can reuse old fleece sweaters or blankets to make everything with as a great way to show how to recycle too!

gloves, knitting, fleece

It’s officially December, are you pulling out the Christmas sweaters yet? You know, the tacky, bejeweled, sparkly sweaters. Usually covered in bells, ornaments, and glitter. Blech! I know that some people might like them, but I’m not one of those people. Give me a plain, simple sweater any day.

My friend Christine showed off her mad recon skills by turning a cute sweater into something more fab. I don’t have any sweaters in my closet that are ready to be converted into something cool, so I’m plotting a thrift shop run. There’s nothing like getting a bag of old sweaters for a few dollars to turn into fun. Earlier this year I got a gorgeous, nearly new wool sweater for pocket change and turned it into wool pants for my youngest son. Any moms that use cloth diapers know the joys of wool pants, or wool longies, during the winter months.

Though, if you’re looking for something much cooler to do with a sweater I’d suggest you head over to Threadbanger. Here’s an awesome video from them on turning a plain sweater into a cute shrug and matching skirt. I know some preteen girls who would LOVE this! Are you pulling out the sweaters yet? Or are you attempting to make one?

sweaters, reconstructed clothes

Do you know a mom that wears her baby or toddler in a carrier? If so you might know how difficult it is to wrap a normal sized jacket or coat around both mother and baby during the cold winter months. I know I always had trouble keeping us both warm and snuggly when the wind was blasting.

Browsing around online I found the perfect thing! It’s called Seaweed, a name that fits with the color and clumpy design. Basically it is a large, thick knitted square that buttons directly onto your coat. The mother puts her child in the carrier as normal, then places on her jacket. Then she buttons on this extra patch that covers the child where the jacket doesn’t. Instant snuggly warmth on the cold days when you have to get out of the house.

The pattern is designed for a double breasted coat, however there are instructions that allow you to addapt it to be worn with a single breasted jacket. You will need matching buttons to help attach it it on that way.

This is a great gift idea for any moms in your family. Pair it up with a good sling and you have the perfect new mom gift to give. Come back tomorrow when I share how to make a ring sling yourself. It is easy to do, low cost, and a great gift to give!

baby carriers, winter, cold, baby, 30 Gifts in 30 Days