Winter

Lovely January! My favorite time of the year: to organize my cluttered storage areas tossing out or giving away stuff I don't use or need; to clean out all my downloads, bookmarks, and photos deleting tons of stuff I no longer want on my computer; to set up the blog calendar for the coming year; and to finish making a few tree ornaments I didn't get to make during the holidays.

Best of all I plan fiber-y projects for the coming cold, dreary months remaining before spring.

Making my sweetie a knitted hat is top priority!

And finishing two projects on the needles (barely touched since fall) - a pair of socks and a scarf.

And definitely finishing the snowy white weaving still on my loom!

Practice, practice, practice crochet!

I guess it could be said that January is fiber month at my house! And pretty much on Gingerbread Snowflakes too!

One of my favorite Yarnia Yarns - Persues!

So it is time again for a Yarnia Giveaway!

The winner will receive a $25.00 gift certificate to use in the online shop or in the custom yarn shop.

At Yarnia, this amount goes a long way! (The giveaway winner last year - Nancy Kelly who blogs as Zuzu's Petals - knit this beautiful pair of heavy weight "garden socks" and still had yarn left over for headbands.)

  In the online shop, the winner can choose a pre-made cone like this one - Sweet Kisses - one of the favorite shop yarns last year...

or create a unique blend of fiber goodness using the custom yarn creator in the Custom Yarn Shop.

All you must do to enter is make a comment on this post!

Internationals are welcome as long as you are willing to cover the cost of shipping. (Shipping to the continental USA will be covered my me!)

The giveaway will end at 6:00pm PST February 3rd and the winner announced on February 4th.

Curious about what it is like to play with Yarnia yarns? Now is the perfect opportunity to satisfy your curiosity!

This idea may or may not be terribly revolutionary in knitting circles. But it sure has been working great for me!

Wanting to block several cowls and not wanting to block them flat, I came up with this idea. And it works so well I thought I would share. All that is needed - bath towels and steam!

The roll of bath towels can be made to fit almost any size and the loops work great to gently hold the wool in place. (Pins could be used if desired but in my case - absolutely NOT necessary.)

Steam irons work for steam blocking; however, I have an even better tool! A "vintage", I suppose, Steamstress II - see image here! No hot surfaces - just lovely steam! I originally purchased this tool when I was sewing every garment I wore and used it a great deal when setting seams in wool fabrics and when sewing with velvet.

Don't know it something similar is still available - mine still is working like a champ so no need to find out! Many of my brides are using "commercial type" steamers on their gowns and I suppose those would work too.

Technique!

Roll bath towels to the circumference of the cowl. Don't make it so small the stitches bunch up or so big that it stretches the stitches.

Place the cowl on the rolled towel as shown above, nudging the edges into shape so that the width of the cowl is nice and even all the way around.

Place the rolled towel on a flat surface in the position shown above. Thoroughly steam one half of the roll and let the knitted fabric sit until it feels mostly dry. Roll over, steam the other side and let sit until it feels dry. 

At this point, I will usually set the towel roll on one end and let the cowl dry completely overnight. In case you are thinking the cowl will slide off - the lovely little towel loops will hold your cowl in place.

It really does a great job of wrangling those stitches into sweet symmetry!

I used the same technique on Diane's market bag. This is the after felting before blocking shot when I was testing how much produce the bag would hold. 40 lbs of fruit and veggie goodness in case you are wondering!

After felting, I filled the bag with plastic baggies and let it dry. It really didn't look so great! So I built an oval roll of bath towels and placed the bag on the towels so that the bottom was facing up.

Then I steamed away! I think the results speak for themselves!

And if anyone owns or knows of a newer steam tool that works without getting hot like an iron, please let me know because this much loved Steamstress may not last forever!

Me learning to crochet! No longer impossible, improbable, unimaginable, or 'not going to happen'!

I am thrilled, and totally surprised, to share my very first crochet project!

A whole finished project!

Diane is amazing - I mean it - AMAZINGLY thorough and thoughtful teacher! She presented the whole process logically and so clearly that my mind had no problem grasping the stitches.

And my fears that my hands could never adapt to one hooked needle - totally unfounded! Apparently they have become quite nimble over the past two + years of knitting, knitting, knitting.

To get me started at a place where she felt I would be most comfortable, Diane made the magic ring and the first row of stitches (top photo). The rest is my work.

She used this pattern for crocheted snowballs (which I found on Holly Days Closet) as a guide for the stitches to teach me. I believe she had simply intended to share how to make basic stitches and let me practice on a swatch.

However, once she saw how simple this pattern is, she decided to use it as the basis for teaching me stitches!  I am so glad she did because I LOVE making projects!  I hate to practice!  And she knows that about her mother!

I am quite happy with the first 2/3 of the ball - basically single crochet and increases. The last third of the pattern calls for a series of decreases which were so much fun and I was so relaxed with it that apparently my tension got sloppy!

So I am not too crazy about the holes on one side - you can see them quite clearly in the second image! (Diane was not nearby when I finished the ball or I am SURE she would have caught my uneven stitching!)

But it is not so bad - and it is ready to claim it's rightful place on my Christmas tree right next to my very first knitted sock!

Diane tells me I have a lot left to learn. On darn! So I can't really say I can crochet yet?

But - I did realize my goal for the "Imagine the Impossibilities Challenge" going on over on Karah's blog thespacebetween.

And that was - to get over my fear and my firmly held belief that I can't crochet.

Now I am going to practice, practice, practice so I can make these most beautiful crocheted balls designed by Greta Tulner at ATERGcrochet.

No longer impossible!

Gorgeous hand spun yarn rescued at a thrift.

Treasures left to be discovered on my path by crows, jays, sea gulls, robins and chickadees.

Inspiration from Susan, a reader who shared a picture of a gift she made a good friend.

The seeds of a new God's Eye (Ojos de Dios) to add to my collection.

I have never outgrown my absolute enjoyment of weaving a God's Eye. Perhaps it has to do with something Susan said about "the symmetry and intent of protection of the God's Eye".

I still remember learning to weave my first - at Girl Scout camp - sitting at a long table placed near a smoldering fire in the huge, old stone fireplace which also served in winter to keep skiers warm and toasty after a day on the slopes. (My summertime Girl Scout camp was a ski "resort" in winter!)

We were each given two pine twigs and allowed to select our favorite yarn from the supply at hand.

Sitting down at a spot bathed in New Mexico sunshine, I struggled to follow the instructors words - "bind the two twigs together with a half hitch" (or was it a clove hitch). They wobbled and twisted out of place at first, seeming quite unruly and impossible. But slowly, as winding began and continued, the twigs settled down into their proper place and the pattern emerged. And a young girl found herself completely enchanted.

Some of you who are new to Gingerbread Snowflakes may not know that I have made three tutorials to share the enchantment. Links are included at the end of the post!

Susan Burnett, a reader who lives in Houston, Texas (and fellow ex-pait of New Mexico - yay!), left me a comment last summer telling me she had just made her first four God's Eyes. She gave them as gifts and the happy result - one of the recipients immediately took her to a craft shop to get her more dowels and yarn!

A month or so later she sent this picture of a God's Eye made for a very dear friend. I responded first to the yarn - muted, natural colors with interesting texture - and then to the little gather of feathers.

Something deep within began stirring. Not to make a God's Eye exactly - I have tons of colorful yarns for that! But something was stirring.

What I did know for certain was that my treasured feather gifts, picked from many paths and gently carried home, would definitely be a part of it. A beautiful way to honor the gift givers.

During a quick trip to a thrift last month,  I happened upon this gorgeous stash of hand spun wool yarn - the natural, slightly silky/sticky feel of lanolin still clinging to the fibers.

$1.00 - including the plastic bin! How could this be? No way would I leave it there buried in piles of unwanted cast-offs. I brought it home where it would be appreciated! I know many of you reading understand.

And now that stirring again. And I knew!

I needed to create a God's Eye using this beautiful hand made yarn and my feather gifts.

Had it not been for Susan, I might have never have noticed.

Thank you Susan. Enchantment is back.

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For those of you wanting to seek your own enchantment making God's Eyes:

*Basic instructions for making a simple God's Eye

*Adding Beads to a God's Eye

*God's Eyes as a display frame for found treasures (perfect for children who find treasure while at the beach or in the forest)

You can find links to Susan Burnett here

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Added January 21, 2012:  I received a comment today (thank you Annette) linking me to Jay Mohler.  I do not publish link posts from people I do not know and usually not even when I do know them.

However, I was thrilled to have his name and so now I am adding the following links to Jay's site Ojo de Dios by Jay Mohler because I had intended to leave you with a link to his incredible Ojos yesterday but neither an internet search or my brain would give up the information!

Go visit Jay's site.  He is has devoted a good deal of his adult life to making Ojo de Dios and has become a master.

Ojos de Dios by Jay Mohler

Jay's Story

Free instructional PDF

Jay's Etsy shop

If you are into embroidery - any kind of embroidery - or hand stitching for that matter - I am willing to bet that you are going to love this brand new e-zine "&Stitches" published by Carina (Carina's Craftblog and Polka and Bloom Shop) and Nicole (Follow the White Bunny blog and Follow the White Bunny Shop.

Since I own and love both of Carina's e-books - "Small Stitches" and "Stitching Borders and Beyond", I absolutely knew the new magazine would not disappoint! The very first issue, "Colour &Stitches" is packed full (48 pages worth) of excellent, well written and thorough content that is generously and beautifully illustrated.

"&Stitches" will be published quarterly and each issue will be built around a specific theme - this first issue - all about color!

I am ready to sign up for a whole year as soon as they make that option available!

Take a minute to read more about "&Stitches" right here and also on the &Stitches blog here. Or go here to order!

Carina and Nicole are graciously allowing me to give away a copy of the very first issue of "Colour &Stitches" to one very lucky reader!

Simply leave a comment on this post before 6:00pm PST,  Saturday January 21st to be included in the drawing. Winner will be announced on Sunday, January 22nd.

Good luck everyone!