What's Growing in Your Garden?

What's Growing in Your Garden?

Well, in my case, what I mean is: what's growing in your garden besides weeds!

I have one garden in particular that gets overrun with weeds - and it seems it happens the day after I finish weeding it!  Our plan is to make that garden smaller some day, so hopefully when we do that we can somehow find a way to get rid of those pesky weeds.

I do like my gardens ... I'm not a big fan of gardening though.

My lilacs have bloomed and I've trimmed them back.  And the lily of the valley, tulips and such are finished too.  Right now I still have some peonies, bleeding heart and my rose bush.

I'm looking forward to the lilies, clematis and rose of sharon ... and possibly some other plants I've forgotten are there. oh, like the hostas - their flowers are so nice, too!

If you'd like a chance to own a piece of my garden, I have photographic prints available at this link.

Where are your Needles and Hooks?

Where are your needles and hooks?

I received this beautiful flower pot from my daughter and it's the perfect size for my crochet hooks, shorter knitting needles and various tools needed for knit/crochet work.  And that adorable fairy watches over them to be sure that when I use them, I won't lose stitches or mess up the pattern.

My dpns are stored inside this tin - the Victorian-esque print on the tin is Christmas-themed, but I like it and keep it on display year round.

I was thrilled to find these see-through cases at a yard sale!  I had no idea what they were but knew I'd find a use for them. Originally I thought I'd use them for mini first aid kits for Girl Guides, but when I needed something to carry my essential knitting tools, I realized their true purpose in life!  I now have two of them ready to go into any knitting project bag.  They hold my stitch markers, measuring tape, small scissors, stitch holders and anything else that fits. 

And see the little tube with the blue ends?  This holds my blunt end needles for sewing up the ends of my projects - and it originally stored "jumbo erasers for automatic pencils" - I think leads for pencils come in similar containers. 

Another gift from my daughter was this amazing metal vase - perfect for knitting needles! 

How have you recycled items to store your crafting supplies and tools?

What ideas do you have for similar storage gems?

Leave a comment and share with us!

Knit In Public Day

Happy Knit in Public Day! 

Knit everywhere from today until June 19th to celebrate!

And if you need a new pattern to knit, check out the knitting patterns I recently added to my PatternsAndSuch shop on etsy!

EASY Way to Fold Fitted Sheets!

So Simple!

So Easy!

Why did I not know this before?

 

Tips for taking your knitting travelling

I receive the Knitting Daily newsletter (subscribe at http://www.knittingdaily.com/) and a recent newsletter contained these great tips for taking your knitting (and I'm sure, crochet, too) travelling!

This is a summarized version ... if you'd like full version, visit Knitting Daily here. (you may need to login to view)

1. Pick easy projects. "Easy" here is a relative term ... be honest with yourself about your skill level and choose projects that you can knit without having to give a lot of attention.

2. Pick small-ish projects. The smaller the project, the easier it will be to knit while you're traveling.

3. Choose your tools wisely. Socks are my number one project for knitting on the go ... for longer travel, I usually opt for Magic-Loop — nothing like making friends with everyone on an airplane as you attempt to chase down a dropped dpn.

4. Organize everything. ... whatever you use, make sure it has some sort of closure. Placing your knitting projects in bags also protects them from getting roughed up in transit.

5. Keep a notebook handy.Having your notebook and pen or pencil nearby ensures that you can make a quick note of your stopping point, or jot down any modifications you make on the go.

6.  Most importantly, relax!