Looming Lady Blog
Eyes on glasses case One nice thing about the ability to work with yarn is it gives you a chance to solve problems. On Tuesday morning this week I woke up and could not find my eyeglasses. I’m lost without them. I felt all over the cabinet that I thought I had laid them on. Then I carefully stepped over to my work table where I had been on Monday evening. They weren’t there. I turned my attention to the floor around my bed and bedside cabinet. No luck. Now I was beginning to panic. I felt through the beside trash can. Was I going to have to call someone into my bedroom to help me look? I wake early and enjoy the quiet of the day before the rest of the household rises. But I could do very little without my second set of eyes. I got an empty plastic bag and dumped the trash into it. Ahah. My pretty blue glasses had sunk to the bottom of tissues and papers and wrappers. I wiped them off and stuck them on my face with a smile. It’s always a good morning to see the world around me in more than vague shapes with uncertain distances. After I dressed and got ready for the work day I sat down in my chair with my workbasket beside me. I found an 24 peg loom, blue yarn, black yarn, green yarn, white yarn, a loom hook, and a crochet hook. On second thought, I pulled out my large eyed yarn needle as well. I made a reversible eyeglasses case. One side is for fun, the other is formal. It hangs around my neck so I should never lose my glasses while I’m awake and moving around. (That’s been happening a lot to me lately. I put the specs down and then don’t remember where I put them.) The case will hang on my bedpost overnight. Problem solved, as long as I remember to put the glasses in the case when I take them off! This project took me 30 minutes and was worth the time for me after spending over that same amount of time seeking my second pair of eyes. Here’s how to do it. Double e-wrap all the pegs on the loom with blue yarn. Knit off the first 6 loops, then go back and u-wrap them from peg one. Knit off those stitches. You have done 2 rows on the first 6 loops – repeat from * around to finish your first 2 rows. This is your pattern – e-wrap, knit 1 round, u-wrap, flat knit 2nd round. Continue around for 24 rounds – knitting 1 round – flat knitting 1 round at the same time. Attach black yarn. Purl around 1 round. Cut a 3 in tail of blue. U-wrap one round, flat knit that round. You will reverse now to e-wrap and knit one round, u-wrap and flat knit one round for 24 rounds. Bring the stitches from round 1 of the blue panel up onto the pegs and knit off to the last stitch to make a double sided case. Knit the last stitch in black for 95 rows, and knit off, leaving a long tail. To make the eyes, e-wrap the first 3 pegs in white, flat knit back, flat knit the 3 stitches again. E-wrap to peg 13, turn, knit last 3 stitches, turn, knit 3 stitches again. E-wrap to end. U-wrap and flat knit around in white. Attach green. Cut white, leaving at least a 1-inch tail. U-wrap and flat knit around for iris. Weave your white tail in as you work by bringing it behind your work. Attach black. Cut green tail at least 1-inch long. E-wrap and knit black all around, weaving in the green tail. Cut long tail and pull it through the stitches, pulling the work off the loom. Carefully pull the eye closed by the tail. Smooth and sew to the blue side of your case. Use the black thread to make eyelashes or an eyebrow. My niece tells me that eyelashes define a girl and eyebrows define a boy. Works for me. Use the bottom tail to sew the case closed at the bottom. Sew the handle side on the 12th stitch at the top. Weave in all threads to tidy the case. It’s done!
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Into every yarn worker’s life some time periods occur where we just can’t or don’t get much done. This week was such a time for me. I started a beautiful hat for my blessing bags project but had to frog it. So I made a headband instead. I started a dog jacket on a hat loom but it’s not done yet. This year I am testing different looms. The knifty knitter set is probably always going to be my favorite. But I am finding lots of good reasons to try others. They come in an variety shapes, sizes, and gauges. The opportunities are incredible. As I said, this week was not a good loom knitting week for me. It was just too full of other things to get done. But I wanted to make something, so I made a headband on my Martha Steward loom. This is a wonderful set that can be put together in many ways. I used a basic rectangle in a hat configuration. I also used the small pegs for a tighter gauge. It turned out well. To make a headband on this loom you need a loom hook and small amount of yarn. I used the e-wrap, which takes less yarn, but small gauge pegs. It still took less than half a skein. I plan to try the other half on a different loom next week. I double e-wrapped all 62 pegs and knit around. Then I knit 13 rounds, purled 1 round, knit 14 more rounds, brought the first round of stitches onto the pegs and knit all stitches off. I used the long tails from the beginning and end and wrapped them around the sides to create the bow. Finally, I trimmed the edges. It isn’t much but it’s pretty, and it warms my ears. That is the goal. I plan to do much more with my Martha Stewart loom set this year. It is versatile and easy to work with. The oval shape threw me off stride for a while, but I am getting more comfortable with it now. It is a nice set to work with. The soap sack off the loomI find it very hard to pass up yarn, especially on sale. Scrubby, by Red Heart, was such a deal. It was $2.50 instead of $5 at JoAnns over Christmas and I got some. It looked perfect to make a spa basket. Then I got some soap for Christmas. Very pretty lavender soap. I love lavender. So I made myself my very first spa basket. I started with a soap sack. I made face pads. “You will need, for this project, scrubby yarn, 18 peg loom, yarn needle, and a loom hook. Start by double e-wrapping all the pegs on the loom.” Complete wrapping. “Knit off all the lower loops for round 1. As you knit off, u-wrap and lift the now bottom loops over the upper loops. You have completed 2 rounds in 1!” “E=wrap around. Repeat our recent step of lifting the lower loop over the top loop, then unwrapping and lift the lower loop over the top loop.” Repeat these 2 rows 14 more times. knit off. cut a long tail and use it to close the bottom flap with the yarn needle. The sack is simple, and works well. The yarn is soft despite it’s “scrubbiness”. It doesn’t dry quickly as I would expect. I am pleased with my final product, though. That’s what matters. |
AuthorI am an office worker by day but a writer and crafter in my free time. My books can be found on Amazon in print or on Kindle. Archives
October 2022
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