Owl Giveaway! Day 3

After making the Owl Mobile, I just had to do more things involving owls. I am not obsessed with owls myself, so owl things would just sit around, neglected, if I kept them. This is where you come in.

The Rules
Each day from September 24 to September 26, I will be posting owly things that I have made, that you could win. That is right, there will be three prizes that you could potentially win. To win, follow the instructions at the bottom of the page for each item. Each item will have its own drawing. I will close comments on Sunday, September 30, 2012. On Monday, 1 October, 2012 I will draw names for each of the prizes using a random number generator. Once the names are drawn, I will announce it in the blog and attempt to contact the winner of each item to obtain shipping information. If I do not hear from a winner withing 48 hours, I will draw a new name. The prizes will be sent off later that week, depending on getting my kids and the weather to cooperate for the 45 minute walk it takes to get to and from the post office.

Phew. Okay, are you ready to see the third prize? Here it is:

Prize 3: Black and White Owl Mobile

This mobile is made with acrylic yarn, bamboo rods, 4 plastic beads, and owls cut from magazine pages. It is approximately 3 feet long and 7 inches across. 

How to enter:
You can do as many or as few of the instructions below as you would like. Each item on the list counts as a separate entry. Be sure to leave a separate comment for each instruction.

1. Leave me a comment saying you love the bird.
2. Subscribe to the blog using the button in the column at the right. Leave me a comment about it.
3. Like my facebook shop page: BunniPhishCrafts. Leave me a comment about it.
4. Share the BunniPhishCrafts facebook post about the giveaway. Leave me a comment about it.
5. Visit my etsy shop. Leave me a comment about what item is your favorite, and what types of things you would be interested in seeing, even if you don't think I can make them.

If you are not able to leave a comment, send me an email at etsybunniphish@gmail.com - one email for each instruction.

Did you miss the first two prizes? See Day 1 and Day 2

Ready? Set? GO!!!

Owl Giveaway! Day 2

After making the Owl Mobile, I just had to do more things involving owls. I am not obsessed with owls myself, so owl things would just sit around, neglected, if I kept them. This is where you come in.

The Rules
Each day from September 24 to September 26, I will be posting owly things that I have made, that you could win. That is right, there will be three prizes that you could potentially win. To win, follow the instructions at the bottom of the page for each item. Each item will have its own drawing. I will close comments on Sunday, September 30, 2012. On Monday, 1 October, 2012 I will draw names for each of the prizes using a random number generator. Once the names are drawn, I will announce it in the blog and attempt to contact the winner of each item to obtain shipping information. If I do not hear from a winner withing 48 hours, I will draw a new name. The prizes will be sent off later that week, depending on getting my kids and the weather to cooperate for the 45 minute walk it takes to get to and from the post office.

Phew. Okay, are you ready to see the second prize? Here it is:

Prize 1: Black and White Owl Mini-Pillow

This little owl is made from 100% cotton fabric and handmade button eyes. I think it is the perfect Halloween Owl - look at the floral-skeleton fabric. It is 4.75"x3.5"1.5" and weighs 20g. 

How to enter:
You can do as many or as few of the instructions below as you would like. Each item on the list counts as a separate entry. Be sure to leave a separate comment for each instruction.

1. Leave me a comment saying you love the bird.
2. Subscribe to the blog using the button in the column at the right. Leave me a comment about it.
3. Like my facebook shop page: BunniPhishCrafts. Leave me a comment about it.
4. Share the BunniPhishCrafts facebook post about the giveaway. Leave me a comment about it.
5. Visit my etsy shop. Leave me a comment about what item is your favorite, and what types of things you would be interested in seeing, even if you don't think I can make them.

If you are not able to leave a comment, send me an email at etsybunniphish@gmail.com - one email for each instruction.

In case you missed the giveaway information yesterday, you can find it here.

Ready? Set? GO!!!

Owl Giveaway! Day 1

After making the Owl Mobile, I just had to do more things involving owls. I am not obsessed with owls myself, so owl things would just sit around, neglected, if I kept them. This is where you come in.

The Rules
Over the next three days, I will be posting owly things that I have made, that you could win. That is right, there will be three prizes that you could potentially win. To win, follow the instructions at the bottom of the page for each item. Each item will have its own drawing. I will close comments on Sunday, September 30, 2012. On Monday, 1 October, 2012 I will draw names for each of the prizes using a random number generator. Once the names are drawn, I will announce it in the blog and attempt to contact the winner of each item to obtain shipping information. If I do not hear from a winner withing 48 hours, I will draw a new name. The prizes will be sent off later that week, depending on getting my kids and the weather to cooperate for the 45 minute walk it takes to get to and from the post office.

Phew. Okay, are you ready to see the first prize? Here it is:

Prize 1: Black and White Owl Plush

This little owl is made from 100% acrylic yarn, with a cotton beak, felt, and safety eyes. This means you can hand it off to a child without worrying about the eyes coming off, or fretting over how to clean it - drop it in the laundry. It is 5.5"x3"x2.5" and weighs 38g. I improvised the design based off of the knitted owls I made.

How to enter:
You can do as many or as few of the instructions below as you would like. Each item on the list counts as a separate entry. Be sure to leave a separate comment for each instruction.

1. Leave me a comment saying you love the bird.
2. Subscribe to the blog using the button in the column at the right. Leave me a comment about it.
3. Like my facebook shop page: BunniPhishCrafts. Leave me a comment about it.
4. Share the BunniPhishCrafts facebook post about the giveaway. Leave me a comment about it.
5. Visit my etsy shop. Leave me a comment about what item is your favorite, and what types of things you would be interested in seeing, even if you don't think I can make them.

ETA: The giveaway for Day Two is up.

Ready? Set? GO!!!

EDIT: Some people seem to be having a hard time leaving comments. I don't know why this is, but if comments are not working for you, send me an email at etsybunniphish@gmail.com - one email for each instruction.

Weekly Check in

Happy Sunday! Did you have a good week? I hope so; I did.

Blog Stuff: How did you like the week based on a theme? It was really fun for me, but I'd love to hear your opinions.

New from the babies: Mara's high chair has been cleaned and put away, waiting for one of my pregnant friends to claim it for their own. It was just becoming more of a nuisance than anything. She still can't jump, but she will knock herself over trying.

Gabriel can put his straw in his juice box all by himself. Maybe you are not impressed, but I can remember fighting with those stupid straws when I was older than he is now.

Crafty things:

I did not make any CAL squares, and I still have an inch to go on both socks before I can start the toe decreases. They should have been done, I know, but... I got distracted. With this:

I found the pattern for these ADORABLE Owl Puffs by Jenna Krupar on ravelry, and I needed to make something with them. I immediately thought of my friend Katie, who is having a baby in February, and is decorating the nursery in owls. I asked if she had a mobile yet, and she didn't. So I made this:

Much more important than socks and squares, right? This week, though, the socks will be finished. Because I want to start a pair of for myself, and I need the needles. I will also try to squeeze in a few CAL squares. And a unicorn shirt/dress for my niece whose birthday is next month.

Books:
I finished reading "Sock Innovation" by Cookie A. This book has definitely found its way onto my holiday wishlist this year. The first half of the book is all about how to design a sock - discussing the components of a sock and how they can be manipulated with new ideas. It is brilliant. After reading it, I kind of want to design a pair of socks for myself... Maybe in the new year, when all the personal sock yarn club yarn belongs to me.

Also, I am in love with the Kai Mei socks. I will definitely be using that pattern for me.

I am in various stages of reading four of my other library books. I am pretty sure I will finish two in the next week, but maybe three.

The Saturday Seven - Week 5

Every month, the Vietnam Veterans on America send an envelope containing a yellow bag, asking for donations. I try to donate every other month - my storage room has boxes that I haven't opened since college, so I am sure there are always things I can get rid of. 

This month, the pickup was Wednesday, September 19. I had half a bag I started last month (1 thing):

 To that I added 6 stuffed animals that I have had since before Gabriel was born (I got the white bear when I was in middle school); 2 promotional hats Steve got from work last year (we don't wear hats); a blue sweatshirt that may have come from Mandi; a long-sleeve red sweater and a short sleeve black sweater, both with rode up while worn that either came from Mandi or Mer when I was in Michigan last month ; a grey t-shirt that I've had since before Kentucky that Becka occasionally wore, but didn't take (it has always been to small for my boobs); a green and white jumper thing that was terry cloth and obviously made for someone much younger than me - got this from Mer right before I got pregnant with Mara, I think; a black tank top that was in a box of random stuff Mer sent home with me from Michigan, and a phone from that same box.

This week's total: 15 things
Overall total: 69 things

Blanket Project Thursday - Weeks 1&2

I want this:

Shelly Kang's sock yarn blanket

More accurately, I want to make a version of this for myself. I saw this pattern about a year ago, and decided I needed to knit socks in order to be able to make a blanket from the scraps. I don't want to buy yarn specifically for the blanket, so that means I need to make a lot of socks, or things out of sock weight yarn. Maybe I can convince Becka's mom to give me her sock yarn leftovers?

Shelly Kang put the instructions to make a blanket like this on her blog.

Details on her blanket:

The finished dimensions are 53″ X 72.5″, or 134 X 184 cm (diamond point to diamond point.)

The finished weight is 2 lbs, 13 oz or 1.282 kg.

That’s about 5960 yards/5450 meters – or 3.3 miles/5.4 kilometers of yarn.

512 sts per square times 736 squares (counting each of the large squares as four) adds up to 376,832 stitches in the squares alone.

I want my blanket to be 60"x84". This will take 776 squares measuring 3 1/2" on the diagonal. The average weight of the squares I have made so far is 2.5g, so I estimate needing about 2kg of yarn.

My collection of sock yarn scraps so far is pretty small:

I have two pairs of socks on the needles right now:

and I am in a Personal Sock Yarn Club on ravelry where my goal is to make a pair of socks every month for the next year using stash - I had just enough sock yarn in my stash to do one pair a month for the next year.

My personal sock yarn club picks for the next year. The yarns on the left are for my mom, 
to be made before Christmas 2012. The yarn in the middle will make
 sporty socks for Becka, and the yarn on the right will all be for me!

I have a few skeins of sock yarn that are not enough to make a pair of socks on their own, but I am thinking of making a pair of helical stripe socks using coordinating colors. That will give me scraps in two more colorways, maybe three or four. I want my blanket to have squares in many colorways, like Shelly's. So far, I have made 15 squares (each large square counts as four). My goal is to make one square a day. If I keep up with that pace, my blanket will be done in a little over 2 years. I could probably finish it in less time, if I had all the sock yarn scraps needed. Hopefully 2 years will give me time to knit enough other sock weight projects to create the necessary leftovers.

How does all this fit into the theme for the week? I know it this is stretching the concept a little (or a lot), but since I am only using leftovers, I think I can rationalize this into the "make do" category. Some of the scraps I will be using are only a few yards long - not much good for projects other than this. Rather than throwing them out, I will be giving them purpose. Also, the scraps will not be sitting in the back of my stash, growing increasingly neglected and forlorn.

The "Make Do and Mend" movement came about during WWII, when not only food but also clothing was rationed. You can read more about this here and here. I was inspired by Cast-On series 8 to work on this theme for the week.

Make Do and Knit

Today's installment is brought to you by my irritation with my sponge falling apart this morning. One corner fell off while I was washing out a pot. 

I'm tired of spending money on sponges that fall apart in a few months. When I was growing up, we used wash cloths for dishes. I have a few dishcloths, but... I'm just not a fan. They get the job done, but there is something I don't like about them. I don't like using wash cloths, either. I thought about it for a couple hours, and realized I like the size of sponges. With that enlightenment, I knit up a quick garter stitch dish cloth, but made it sponge sized:

 

It didn't feel thick enough, though. So I used a heel stitch across the body of the sponge. Still not thick enough.

Then I listened to a podcast that mentioned using multiple strands of yarn held together to knit thicker fabric. I knew about this, of course, but it didn't occur to me to use this technique until I heard someone talking about it. An "ah-ha" moment, some sticks and string later, I have two sponges that are almost as thick as kitchen sponges. And if knitted dish cloths are anything to go off of, these sponges will not be falling apart any time soon.

The sponges are easy to make, but if you are not knitting inclined, you can find them in my Etsy shop.