Friday, March 23, 2012
Friday, December 29, 2006
I am a Knitting Addict
If you are a passionate knitter; you know who you are…..you are the person who, just for a fleeting second, wonder if it might be worth taking your knitting into the bathroom with you instead of a magazine. You are also the person who feels a smidgen guilty you spend too much time fondling yarn.
Recently there was a topic thread on a knitting forum I visit asking how much time we all spend knitting every day. I lied. It was a forum; I didn't know any one personally on it….and I lied. I believe I recorded a quarter of the time I actually do knit every day. That was a clear cry for help.
That was also the day I started to think about my knitting passion and how it affects my life.
I am lucky enough to be a stay at home wife. My children are grown and have homes of their own, so I also have a lot more free time than I have had at any other point in my life.
You might think my house is clean, orderly and well run; that I make a point of keeping in touch with good friends; spend time nurturing my relationship with my children and projecting the essence of grandmothering onto my eight grandchildren by making and mailing them cookies as a treat. You'd think my husband would be greeted by a delicious home cooked meal every night when he came home from work and that my gardens are visual delights for neighbors who stroll by my yard. You'd think……but……I knit. I knit all the time. When I'm not knitting I'm reading about knitting, or I'm in knitting chat rooms talking about knitting.
I don't know how many people out there might be quite as addicted as I am, but it's a serious issue. If I were drinking or doing drugs there would be a number of well intended folks interested in stopping me and helping me to develop a more well balanced and productive life. But, I knit. It looks harmless. I sit in my rocker, and click needles. No apparent need for intervention. There appears to be no hope for a cure either.
I knit a few rows, leap up, put in a load of clothes in the washer, take the vacuum out of the closet and set it in the parlor….then, sit back down and knit. A few rows later I take the clothes out of the washer put them in the dryer and dust the parlor. The parlor gets vacuumed a couple of rows later. Now it's mid-morning and I finally think about taking a shower and getting dressed, unless I'm turning a heel on a sock, which really can't be interrupted. Exchange these chores for others and my days all pretty much follow this routine.
It is far worse in the warm months when I can sit on the screened porch or out on the patio….hours can pass. Also, during this period I am too far from the house to do any chores.
I have a knitting bag in the car for those long trips to the corner grocery store. I sat in a meeting last week in church trying to work up the courage to ask the minister if he really truly would find it vexing if I knitted during services on Sundays. If he were just going to be a little annoyed….well, then I think I might knit. After all, from time to time he annoys me too.
How do some knitters do it? How do they reasonably allot time to their knitting and maintain the rest of their lives appropriately? I have no will power or self discipline; to suggest I work this out on my own would be like expecting I'm only going to take one potato chip from the bag….right…..that's going to happen.
If my Grandmother was right and we should always look for the silver lining, I do have to say, my husband and I have drawers full of wool socks for the winter, my grandchildren have warm sweaters in every imaginable color and style and even the cats have a hand knit wool pad in their bed.
The dust bunnies under the beds….well….does anyone know if they can be spun and knit?
Article by:
Holly Burnham is a self admitted yarn addict. The addiction will be life long and there is no hope of remission. Her constant knitting has put the cleanliness of her home in peril. Her yarn stashes are havens for generations of moths. At the risk of contracting this affliction, visit her at www.knittinghaven.com
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Primitive Candle Craft Project: Canning Jar Candles
To start all you need are some narrow-mouth canning jars, wire ribbon, potpourri, votive candles, small glass votive candle holders, and craft glue or a hot glue gun.
If you don't have any old canning jars, you can find some very inexpensively at thrift stores and yard sales. Wire ribbon can be a little expensive. Look for it at yard sales and at craft store clearance sales. The after-Christmas sales a great time to stock up. One roll of ribbon will make several canning jar candles. Potpourri you can make yourself or buy on sale. Votive candles are inexpensive at stores like Target or Walmart, and you can also find glass votive candle holders very inexpensively at Walmart. You want one that will set in the rim of the canning jar.
You can fill the canning jar with whatever you wish. Potpourri is one of the easiest fillers. I bought a nice autumn-scented potpourri and added some orange slices I'd dried in my food dehydrator. You can also add dried cranberries, apple slices, or cinnamon sticks.
After you fill the jar, you set the candle holder inside the mouth of the jar. The top of the candle holder should be even with the top of the jar. You might have a little trial and error before you find just the right candle holder. Place the candle in the holder and then use the ribbon to tie a big bow around the neck of the jar. That's it! (You might want to use a little craft glue or your glue gun to tack the ribbon in place).
You can glue some dried fruit, flowers, or other decorations on the bow for a more decorative look. You can also put other things in the jar besides potpourri. I've seen one half filled with white sugar with a short white taper candle set down in the sugar. Very pretty! And that one doesn't require the candle holder.
At Christmas you can purchase small ornaments and place them in the jar instead of the potpourri. Any small figurine would do--in the spring you could use little bunnies.
Maybe fill a jar with marbles or layers of colored sand. Even pennies! Use your imagination. These candles make great gifts and are also fun to make for yourself. If you get tired of one just empty it out and start again!
Originally published at Suite 101. Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of four. For scrapbooking, card making, gift-giving ideas, and more family memory-making activities, visit http://www.crafty-moms.com.
Primitive Craft Project:How to Make a Tin Can Luminary
I chose to make luminaries for Christmas this year. You can choose any simple design to transfer onto your tin can. I used a favorite clip art program on my computer to look for easy Christmas designs to print out. I chose a Christmas tree, a snowman, and a pair of gingerbread men.
Here's what you need to get started:
- Empty tin cans (washed and labels removed)
- Design to transfer onto can
- Hammer
- Large nail
- Tape
- Dish towel
It is easiest to punch the holes in your tin can if you freeze some water in it first. Fill the can with water, leaving 1/4 inch space at the top for the ice to expand. Place in freezer until frozen. Your can may bulge a little at the bottom while in the freezer, but after you remove the ice you can use the hammer to flatten out the bottom of the can.
You might want to freeze a couple more cans then you think you'll need in case you make a mistake and have to start over again.
After the ice has frozen, take the tin can from the freezer and tape your design to the can. I used packing tape, but you can also use duct tape. The tape won't stick to the cold can, but you can wrap the tape all the way around the can so it will stick to the paper.
If you don't have a design on paper, you can also draw a design on the can freehand with a permanent marker. You can also just punch the design freehand without drawing it first.
Lay the can on a folded dish towel so the towel will catch the ice chips that try to escape. It will also hold the can in place. Using the hammer and nail, tap holes around the border of your design, trying to punch holes evenly and not too close together. You want a simple design so that when you see only the holes in the can you will be able to tell what it is!
After punching the holes, remove the paper and tape and admire your design. It is really so easy! If you plan to hang your luminary, also punch two holes at the top of the can. You can make a handle out of wire (from a craft store) or a wire coat hanger.
Place the tin can under running warm water to melt the ice. Dry the can with a towel and place a votive candle in the bottom. You will need a long lighter or match to light the candle.
To further decorate your tin can luminary, you can spray paint the can any color you wish. Be creative!
This is a great family project. Just make sure kids have adult supervision while using the hammer and nails. Have fun!
Photos of project: http://www.crafty-moms.com/tin-can-luminary.shtml
Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What's for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For more recipes, organizing tips, home decorating, crafts, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Meet Alice Moseley: Nationally Known Folk Artist
Miss Alice, as the locals called her, became a nationally known folk artist after she began painting in her early sixties. She first picked up a paint brush as a way to cope with the slow loss of her mother to Alzheimer's Disease. Miss Alice never had formal training as an artist. She only followed the guidance of her heart.
One of Miss Alice’s most famous paintings is entitled, “The House Is Blue But The Old Lady Ain’t!” This painting of the house she lived in includes a likeness of herself doing a little jig on the sidewalk. The image goes a long way toward capturing the essence of Miss Alice who focused on living with joy and zest.
As I sat in Miss Alice’s small, cluttered house and listened to her talk freely about her life, I was filled with deep admiration for her resilience and determination to live fully. In that moment, she became living proof for me that it is never too late to pursue a passion or a dream.
Miss Alice touched many people through her paintings, her friendliness and her down to earth nature. Her life story was recently made into a documentary which will be freely distributed to every public and private high school, every university and every public library system in Mississippi. Miss Alice’s legacy will continue to grow even though she passed away in July 2004 at the age of ninety-four.
Different people will learn different things from Miss Alice as they watch the documentary of her life. Here is what I learned from Miss Alice: It is never too late to start over, begin something new or to change the course of our lives. We get to choose how we want to be in life. We can consciously create from unlimited opportunities at every moment.
Is the “it’s too late or I’m too old” excuse preventing you from moving forward and living more fully? What is this costing you? What could you gain by taking at least one step this week toward the direction of a dream you gave up on because you thought it was too late?
As George Eliot said, It is never too late to be what you might have been.
(c) 2006 Beverly Keaton Smith
Beverly Keaton Smith, CPCC owns and operates Embrace Your Gifts and Soar! She is a certified life coach who offers individual life coaching, group coaching, workshops, classes and retreats to women who are ready to discover and embrace their unique gifts so they can live more athentically and joyfully. To learn more, see http://www.embraceyourgifts.com