Lazy Mama Designs

Manly-Man Scarf

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 20:22:00 +0000

There are times when you have to knit a plain scarf for someone with a conservative sense of style. But "plain" does not have to equal "boring!" Pick the right yarn, like the subtly-fuzzy Aran weight Concept by Katia Cotton-Merino (which comes in several neutral colors and a few with subtle stripes) and you'll be done in no time and enjoy the process, too! Look how happy I am to be working on it ... and how cute those stripes look when they're knit up!

Materials:
2 balls Concept by Katia Cotton-Merino in color 205
US size 10 knitting needles (straight or circular, your choice)

Directions:
Cast on 28 stitches.
(Knit 1, purl 1) across.

Pattern row: Slip first stitch of row as if to knit with yarn in back, purl 1, then (knit 1, purl 1) across.

Repeat pattern row until you have a few yards of yarn left, then bind off LOOSELY in pattern.

VVVVVery Quick V-Stitch Cowl

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 12:57:00 +0000

Sometimes you have a skein of fingering-weight yarn that doesn't want to be socks, either because it's too delicate to care for or too special to relegate to something you're just going to stick inside shoes anyway. Single-ply yarns, cashmere blends, hand-dyed souvenir yarns from trips to far-flung yarn stores ... all of these can be showcased beautifully in this V-stitch crochet cowl. The pattern is simple and easy to start and stop, making this the perfect on-the-go project, especially as gift-giving season approaches.

Materials:

4.0 mm crochet hook (US size G)
4.5 mm crochet hook (US size 7)
about 60 gm fingering weight yarn (I used Hedgehog Fibers' Skinny Singles from River Colors Studio in color Opalite)

Abbreviations:

SC - single crochet ch - chain

DC - double crochet sl st - slip stitch

Technique:

Using the 4.5 mm hook, chain 84. Join with a sl st, being careful not to twist.
Using the 4.0 mm hook, chain 4. DC in same chain as sl st. [Skip chain, (DC, chain 1, DC) in next chain] around. End round with sl st in 3rd chain of beginning of round, then sl st in the resulting ch-1 space to the left of where you just joined.
Chain 4. DC in same ch-1 space as sl st. [DC, chain 1, DC) in next ch-1 space] around. End with a sl st in 3rd chain of beginning of round, and sl st in the resulting ch-1 space to the left of where you just joined.
Repeat step 3 until cowl is desired length or you are not quite out of yarn (sample repeated the round 27 times).
Using the 4.5 mm hook, chain 2. [SC loosely in space between next 2 DC stitches] around. End with a sl st in second stitch of beginning of round. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Notes:

There's no reason this pattern has to be confined to fingering weight yarns. Just adjust the hook sizes to match your yarn choice (when in doubt, go bigger than you think you need, because you want the stitches to be flexible and soft). Chain an even number of stitches that's big enough to slip over your head once it's joined into a circle, and get going! For reference, I used 62 stitches with aran/chunky yarn (super fast project!) and 100 chains with heavy lace weight yarn (much slower going, but a totally awesome way to use the qiviut yarn I bought in Alaska).

Simple and Beautiful Sampler Afghan

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Tue, 15 Mar 2016 15:17:00 +0000

Patterns are funny things. Sometimes they spring into life, fully formed, like they've been lurking in my brain all along. And sometimes I need to play around with some yarn and a hook and see what the fiber "wants" to be.

I had a supply of Malabrigo Rios leftover from another project, and I knew I wanted to make an afghan. The colorway I had - Piedras - varies A LOT between hanks, so I knew that making one big blanket wasn't the best option. So it would be done in blocks ... and I'd been meaning to come up with a sampler pattern for my not-quite-experienced crochet students to use ... and Erika is always up for holding new classes at the shop ...

After a few hours of digging around, I found the wonderful block-of-the-month afghan designed by Ren Murphy (http://theinspiredwren.blogspot.com/p/crochet-along.html). It had many of the traits I wanted - it was reversible, textured, and relatively easy. But not all of the blocks were exactly what I had in mind, so I designed a couple blocks based on some of my own favorite textures. After getting Ren's permission to use her designs for the class, I rearranged her blocks in order so that they go from easiest - nothing but single crochet - to the most complicated - some very straightforward front-post double crochet. Voila! A new pattern (and class) is born!

The class is offered at River Colors Studio, and I'm teaching two new blocks each month. I'll post the previous month's instructions here periodically, in case you're not in the Cleveland area but want to play along with us. Feel free to post links to pictures of your own projects in the comments!

And now, without further ado, here's the first handout:

Simple and Beautiful Sampler Afghan

Materials needed:

Size I (5.5mm) crochet hook
Washable, worsted-weight yarn in two colors - about 50 gm of each for one class, about 600 grams of each for the entire throw-sized afghan (but you can purchase as you go along, if you want), or about 300 grams of each for the baby blanket. Shop sample used Malabrigo Rios in colorways Pocion and Piedras.

Time to pick your project size!

If you want to make a 36” square baby blanket, you’ll be making one block using each stitch pattern.
If you want to make a 54”x44” throw, you’ll need a total of two blocks in each stitch pattern.

Class 1: March 6, 2016

Abbreviations to know this month:

st: stitch

ch: chain

sc: single crochet

sc blo: single crochet back loop only

Block One: Rib-It! Rib-It!

(inspired by http://theinspiredwren.blogspot.com/2015/01/announcing-crochet-along-afghan-sampler.html)

Instructions:

Row 1: Ch 39, sc in second stitch from hook and each ch across; 38 stitches

Rows 2-55: ch 1 (does not count as a st), turn, sc blo in each st across (including 1st st); 38 stitches

Border: *work 38 sc along one side of the square, ch 1 (does not count as stitch), repeat from * on each side of the square. Fasten off and weave in ends

Block 2: Tiramisu

(inspired by the stitch pattern in http://rosylittlethings.typepad.com/TiramisuBlanket.pdf)

Instructions:

Row 1: Ch 38, sc in second stitch from hook and each ch across; 37 stitches

Row 2: Ch 1 (does not count as a st), turn, [make 2 sc in next st, skip a st] across, ending with ONE sc in the last st of the row.

Repeat Row 2 until block is approximately square.

Border: *work 38 sc along one side of the square, ch 1 (does not count as stitch), repeat from * on each side of the square. Fasten off and weave in ends

Crocheted Shoulder Cozy

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Thu, 14 May 2015 17:06:00 +0000

Crocheted Shoulder Cozy

A free pattern from River Colors Studio and Lazy Mama Designs

You will need:

2 skeins Noro Silk Garden Sock (store sample used color S272)

1 crochet hook, size G

Reminder: A single crochet decrease turns two stitches from the previous row into one stitch in the row you are making. In this pattern it is worked as follows: insert hook in next chain-1 space, yarn over and pull up a loop; insert hook in following chain-1 space, yarn over and pull up a loop (there should now be three loops on hook); yarn over and pull through all three loops on hook.

Pattern:

Chain 204 stitches. Being careful not to twist the chain, join the ends of the chain together with a slip stitch.

Setup Round: Chain 4, double crochet in second stitch from where you joined. Chain 1, [skip a stitch, double crochet in the following stitch, chain 1] around to the beginning of the round, then slip stitch into the third of the beginning four chains.

Round 1: Chain 2, [single crochet in next chain-1 space, chain 1] around to the beginning of the round, then slip stitch in first chain of the beginning two chains.

Round 2: Chain 4, [double crochet in next chain-1 space, chain 1] around to the beginning of the round, then slip stitch into the third of the beginning four chains.

Repeat rounds 1 and 2 for a total of about 8”, ending with round 2.

First decrease round: Chain 2, [single crochet in next chain-1 space, chain 1; single crochet in next chain-1 space, chain 1; work a single crochet decrease (see above directions) using the next two chain-1 spaces, chain 1] around to the beginning of the round, then slip stitch in first of the beginning two chains.

Beginning with round 2, work rounds 1 and 2 until piece measures about 12” from the beginning chain, ending with round 2.

Second decrease round: Chain 2, [single crochet in next chain-1 space, chain 1; work a single crochet decrease using the next two chain-1 spaces, chain 1] around to the beginning of the round, then slip stitch in first of the beginning two chains.

Beginning with round 2, work rounds 1 and 2 until piece measures about 16” from the beginning chain, ending with round 1. Fasten off, then use a crochet hook or darning needle to weave ends in. Wash and block, gently stretching the fabric to maximize its length or width, depending on your preference. After being washed and blocked to be wider, the store sample measures approximately 14”x 27” when laid flat (about 54” around at bottom).

Check it out - I'm getting paid to actually use my degree!

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Thu, 18 Sep 2014 15:22:00 +0000

First, my boss asked me to start writing ad copy for our online store:

Debbie Bliss Fine Donegal is a luscious fingering weight wool with just enough cashmere to make it something special. A tweedy single-ply, this yarn is both lofty (read: warm) and easy to work with. Try a versatile neutral like Snowdrift, which has a cream base and touches of blue and yellow in the tweedy bits ... or go for the wilder Blackberry with its black base and flashes of bright primary colors. And check out the pattern support Debbie Bliss has provided - you can use Fine Donegal to make beautiful garments, accessories, and more!

Then she asked me to make some tutorials to post on the shop blog and newsletter:

And design some projects and write up the patterns to use in the shop. So, after only like 10 years, I'm finally getting paid to do the subject in which I got a master's degree!

Reincarnation Sock Pattern

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 03:02:00 +0000

After a lapse of, well, way too long, I'm back in the pattern-writing saddle again! First up: Reincarnation Socks, the socks with a (replaceable) sole!

I got sick of having to throw out my handknit socks when I wore holes under the balls of my feet - it just didn't make sense to try to repair something that badly damaged. But with this new construction technique, I can easily replace the toes, soles, and heels of any socks, with any yarn. Sweet!

Plus, the pattern is in worsted weight wool on size 5 needles, so it goes zippy-quick. And the Liberty Wool I used for the sample pair looks sooo cool when this technique is used - definitely an eye-catcher!

If you're interested in purchasing a pattern, you have three choices:
- visit River Colors Studio, either online or in person, and pick up a copy there.
- order one from my etsy shop.
- in a hurry? Download one NOW from my Ravelry page.

As always, I am available for moral and technical support while you're working on your project. Just contact me through the blog, etsy, or Ravelry and let me know what's on your mind!

Skipping Stones Afghan

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 02:17:00 +0000

It's gonna be a biiiiiig blanket if I use all this yarn .... Of course, since I can make one of these circles in one night, at least the giant project won't take forever to complete (I hope).

Eleven down, three to go!

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 00:24:00 +0000

Today was my turn to drive on the Yarn Discovery Tour (no time to knit in the car! Boo!). We visited Pepper Pike, Cleveland, Chardon, Chagrin Falls, and Aurora (not in that order), which despite being all on the "east side" of town STILL took almost 8 hours.

I'm 11-for-11 on finding sock yarns that coordinate to use in my official blanket project. It was harder today - not all of the shops are sock-centric, and I had to be pickier about colors to keep things balanced. I think I made good choices, though, with the help of my friend and some employees who were well versed in color theory. Thanks, ladies - I can't wait to see how this turns out (and whether I can get that odd blue I picked yesterday to ever work with the rest - or whether it will become some very nice thank-you socks for my friend!).

Anyway, here's today's haul, including the awesome clown-barf roving I found, all of the free patterns (wow, you guys made BOOKLETS to give out?!?), and all of the sock yarn project selections for today. I'm taking tomorrow off, then finishing up on Monday with the Akron-area shops, and my own workplace on Tuesday.

Six in one blow!

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 02:36:00 +0000

That's right - my friend and I hit 3 stores, I visited 1 after I dropped her off, and I went to 2 more with LazyKid. The West Side is done - and I have a somewhat ludicrous amount of yarn to hide before my husband comes home.

If you're doing the tour tomorrow, look for me and my friend on the East Side!

Let's discover

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 11:36:00 +0000

I'm pleased to announce that this year River Colors Studio will be offering two exclusive Lazy Mama patterns as giveaways during the Yarn Discovery Tour! "Tourists" will have their choice of two patterns being debuted during the tour - a new and improved version of the knit Mario's Brother Scarf, and a crochet pattern I'm calling the Mario's Cousin Scarf (because it's in the same family, but looks a little different).

Both patterns are easy to memorize and can be made using just about any weight of yarn you'd like use - we've got shop samples and swatches made from everything from laceweight up through bulky, and the patterns look cool in every one!

So if you're Touring, make sure to include River Colors Studio on your itinerary ... and if you're there on a Tuesday or Thursday, be sure to say hi to me, as I'll be working those days!
-------

In the flurry of getting the patterns and the shop ready for the Tour, I almost forgot to mention that I'm a Tourist, too! My friend and I spent a long time this weekend plotting which shops to hit when to make this the most streamlined event we could, because both of our schedules are crazy this time of year.

I'm hitting the road in about 15 minutes to pick up my friend, and we're visiting all of the far west shops today. Then we swing back to her house, drop her off, I go pick up my daughter from school, and since she asked me soooo nicely, LazyKid and I will be hitting a couple more shops after school, too. Then Saturday the friend and I hit the road again for shops on the far east side of town (while LazyHusband looks after our kids), and Monday we're scheduled to visit the shops down near Akron. That leaves us with a couple shops scattered in the area near where we live to pick up on our own over the next two weeks ... so we actually stand a chance of completely filling our passports this year!

Wish us luck ... and if you see a pair of almost-40 ladies with a GPS in one hand, a large dose of caffeine in the other, and yarn balanced on top of their heads, that'll be us! Stop by and say howdy, okay? (and maybe offer to carry that yarn for us ... as long as you don't try to swipe it and buy it for yourselves!)

Camp Mom, week 2

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 13:11:00 +0000

This week we're working with pencils. We've checked out 8 billion books about manga, comics, colored pencil techniques, botanical illustration, etc.

I've taught her how to use the side of a pencil to reveal secret messages indented in a "blank" piece of paper. We've learned about the wonders of colorless blending pencils, and how they can make even badly-colored stuff look much more polished.

We have blank books to make comics and/or flip books. We have kneadable erasers and wood-free graphite sticks and a whole bag of artist-grade colored pencil stubs (courtesy of Lazy Grandma's mad yardsale skills).

What we don't have are any pictures of our projects - I guess I'll have to take some later this week.

Camp Mom, day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 22:36:00 +0000

Rolled paper beads, courtesy of one page of a Penzey's catalog, some glue, and some sparkly but clear nail polish. We'll string them with some "normal" beads in a future project.

Lots of other stuff in the works, which can't be revealed until after Sunday

Camp Mom, day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 15:52:00 +0000

In an effort to keep from going crazy this summer, LazyKid and I have planned out 11 weeks of art projects to try.

This week's focus is on glue - decoupage, paper mâché, etc. So far we've decoupaged some of her artwork onto a notebook, primed 3 projects for future decoupage use, and made rolled paper beads. I'm pretty sure my table is going to be a disaster area all week, if not all summer.

Sounds like fun to me!

I've been a bit busy in the yard

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:14:00 +0000

Before:

After:

(not pictured: me collapsed in a heap on the couch afterwards)

Lazy Kid room overhaul

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 19:31:00 +0000

Lazy Kid's birthday is coming up this weekend, and we decided it was time for her to have a bit more "grown up" looking room. First up: troll Craig's List for weeks to locate a non-ugly loft bed set we could afford.

Next up: Paint the walls and drawer fronts in Lazy-Kid-mandated colors. Note: the polka-dot things are storage buckets we screwed to the side of the loft so she'd have someplace to put her alarm clock and box of kleenex. I was pretty excited to find something that matched ALL of the colors the kid had already chosen. Yay, Target!

We picked out some coordinating fabrics and used it to cover some foam-core to make bulletin boards to display her artwork.

We repainted her shelf, and the ladder rungs to the loft.

We finally cut her curtains off so they don't drag on the floor, bought some of the easy-fill picture frames for kid artwork, and got a desk chair.

We fixed her bookcase so the back doesn't fall off anymore, and I reorganized her books so that she can find them more easily.

We're also testing a super-secret product for Lazy Husband's work, which I can't talk about here, but it's super cool and I can't wait to show you the shots of that.

At any rate, the room is ostensibly "done," with only a few things here and there that need to be fixed (like I really should HEM the curtains, not just whack them off with a pair of shears and say they're good enough). The kid loves it so much that she actually keeps it clean, I love that the part you can see from the hallway looks much nicer than it did before, and Lazy Husband loves that the whole shebang only cost about $500, including the bed, dresser, new desk, chair, etc. That's a win-win-win situation!

March (cleaning) madness

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 14:49:00 +0000

Before and after shots from this week's kitchen cleanup. Order of photos will be wacky until I can edit this post at home tonight, but you should be able to get the drift.

The back corner is like a black hole - it sucks in everything that doesn't have a home elsewhere. So I found homes for lots of miscellaneous stuff.

Before:

After:

Under the sink isn't that bad - we can't store cleaning chemicals down there because the cats or kid could get into them, so it's just disposable storage stuff and plastic bag storage. But it could still use a tidying.

Before:

After:

Another black hole: when the dish towels come out of the dryer, we open the door quickly, shove them in, and hope that the pile doesn't fall on our heads. Not anymore!

Before:

After:

Ah, the junk drawer. Not terribly junky, and we can always find what we need in it, but it's not particularly pretty. Let's fix that, shall we?

Before:

After:

I still want to clean the fridge shelves and the kid plasticware shelves. But that won't take long, right? Right?

Dollhouse update

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 03:32:00 +0000

We finally had a snowy Saturday when I could devote the day to futzing around with the dollhouse kit I'm building. It's a frustrating project for me because I like to be able to sit down and make PROGRESS, lots of progress, all at one go - and the dollhouse requires lots of waiting for glue to dry and paint layers to finally cover the plywood. Grrrr. And if I have to sand one more minuscule little window frame I will lose my everlovin' mind!

But today things started to finally make visible progress. Walls got wallpapered, window trim got last coats of paint, and the base of the house got a flooring makeover (ballpoint pen lines + stain = fake hardwood). Still LOTS to do before it's even remotely house-like, but at least I can check a few things off the list!

Free Pattern: Mario's Brother's Scarf

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:31:00 +0000

It all started when I tried making the Biryani Shawl, designed by MMario (Ravelry link). I liked how the stacked yarnovers made an interesting design, but doing that in an ever-increasing triangle required too much pattern-reading for it to be an easy project. After fiddling around with different yarns and gauges, I found a combination I really liked. Erika at River Colors Studio donated the yarn to make the prototype, I knit like a maniac for a few days, and voila! A scarf!

(before and after blocking)

This is a great pattern to show off a yarn with long color changes - and it's an almost totally mindless project that's easy to memorize and easy to accomplish. It's a win-win-win situation! So, without further ado, I give you ...

Mario's Brother's Shawl
a free pattern by Lazy Mama Designs

Supplies:

4.5 mm needles (straight or circular)
about 400 yards laceweight yarn (I used half a ball of Schoppel Wolle Lace Ball, in color Fuchsianbeet)
stitch marker

Instructions:

LOOSELY cast on 37 stitches - you may want to go up several needle sizes in order to get the cast on loose enough to block properly.

Note: You may find it's easiest to keep track of where you are in the pattern if you place a stitch marker near the beginning of Row 1, so that every time you start a row with the marker you know you're on the row where you do the [K2 together through back loop].

Row 1: Slip 1 as if to purl, K1, (K2, YO, [K2 together through back loop]) across to last three stitches, K3
Row 2: Slip 1 as if to purl, K2, (K1, YO, [K2 together], K1) across to last two stitches, K2

Repeat rows 1 and 2 until scarf is desired length. I made mine about 60" long (unblocked).

Bind off LOOSELY, treating each YO stitch as follows: [K the YO stitch, bind it off loosely, move the loop from the right needle to the left needle, K1 through the back loop loosely].

Wet block severely to open the stitches. Depending on whether you stretch it width-wise or length-wise, you can end up with a longer or wider scarf. I blocked mine mainly for length, and ended up with a scarf that was 65"x10" after blocking.

***

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have another half of that skein left to play with for another pattern I dreamed up ...

Making things unnecessarily complicated

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:51:00 +0000

When LazyKid wanted a pair of plain socks out of solid colored worsted weight yarn, I finally had an excuse to try an unnecessarily complex way of making socks - one inside the other, at the same time, on the same needles! If all goes well, when I'm finished I'll be able to magically pull out a completed sock from inside another completed sock. If things go badly I'll end up with 2 completed socks that are linked together because I screwed up which yarn went with which sock. I live for danger like that!

Anyway, here they are in process (in one shot I pulled the second sock down so it looks like some weird sort of proto-sock for people with 2 legs and no feet):

No mermaids here

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 03:48:00 +0000

This year I decided to pull the mermaid costume listings from my etsy shop so that I could concentrate on training my intern on the finer points of ninja-costume-sewing:

She ran the accelerator, I steered. And nobody ended up bleeding on the costume - bonus!

I've been working at the yarn store ...

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 01:04:00 +0000

... all the live-long day (on Tuesdays and Thursdays while LazyKid is at school)

I've been working at the yarn store

Trying to put some wool away ...

(I had the easy job - Cathy - or is it Kathy? - had to put all of the inventory in the computer and put price stickers on all of it)

Did I mention I'm growing potatoes this year?

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 19:08:00 +0000

Okay, so my "potato condo" is actually a collapsible yard waste bin from Target, and about four bags of potting soil ...

Who cares? I still grew potatoes!

Today is my daughter's first day of school, so I'm going to wait until she's home to harvest the rest. I can't wait to see how many we got in that little container!

And speaking of little containers, did you know you can grow awesome carrots in a deep flower pot in your front yard, and nobody will ever know (until you harvest them)?

Trufax.

New class in development: Super-size Scrappy Square Blanket

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:11:00 +0000

My most recent attempt to use up scrap sock yarn generated a lot of interest, both in the Muggle public and at sit-and-knit at my local yarn store.

I'm guessing that there are a lot of people like me who save oddball amounts of leftover yarn with the intention of doing "something" with it someday, but they have a hard time finding a pattern that doesn't end up looking like something the cat barfed up. With truly random color choices, there's always an unfortunate possibility that your project will turn out to look significantly less than awesome.

I'm thinking of writing up the patterns for both the solid square blanket (above) and a super-sized granny square afghan (which would be along the lines of this one on Ravelry). Or maybe a rectangular one in stripes? These projects have all the hallmarks of being a Lazy Mama favorite:

You design the color progression to avoid unfortunate color neighbors
Uses yarn you've already got on hand
Works with any gauge and thickness of yarn
Pattern lets you keep working until you get bored - makes an infinite number of sizes.
No seams, and it's easy to work in the ends as you go, so practically no finishing.

I'll need to work up some samples this weekend to get my instructions ironed out, but I think these patterns show a lot of promise.

Upcoming class - crocheting rag rugs

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 15:56:00 +0000

A lot of people love the look of traditional rag rugs, but they're not thrilled with the idea of having to sew together miles and miles of braid with stiff thread and a heavy duty needle. Luckily, you can get a similar result with the same materials much more easily - with crochet!

And better yet, it doesn't require any special stitches or equipment - just single crochet and a size Q hook.

On Sunday, September 11, I'll be teaching a class on the rag rug crochet technique at River Colors Studio. I'll cover fabric selection and preparation, different shapes you can make, how to make an extra-reinforced version that will stand up to heavy wear, and more! I'll provide a written pattern to make a circular rug, and in class we'll work on a project that can either be the beginning of a rug, or a chair pad or trivet if you don't want to make something quite so large.

Call soon to register - there's been a LOT of interest in this project when I've brought it to the sit-and-knits on Saturday afternoons.

Having my own craft show

noreply@blogger.com (Gretchen) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 15:40:00 +0000

We're having a garage sale today, and I figured that since I had a captive audience anyway, I'd try to convince them to Gsee things as a Lazy Mama. Translation: I set up a table of items from my etsy shops in the middle of my garage sale.

It's not beautiful, but it gets the job done, and I've already sold more SWAK blankets in 2 hours than I have all year on etsy.

So if you've ever had a hankering to check out my stuff in person (and you're near Cleveland, Ohio today), come on by and chat!