Knitting Know How

FANTASTIC turn out last night at Mars Cafe for Knitting 101! Wow, I am totally impressed.


We spent the evening learning the basics of knitting. Casting on, knitting and the final... casting off. There was not a specific project that we worked on due to the large amount of beginners and lack of time. The basics were the most important to learn so hopefully everyone could then go on to making their own scarf, headband, washcloth and more.

We hope to do Knitting 102 very soon to refresh on what was learned last night as well as learn how to purl and make a pattern with the combination of purl and knit stitches.


Good luck to all the beginner knitters out there! Don't get discouraged over difficulties, just You Tube some instructions or give me a holler it you need any help or advice. Knitting takes time to learn and you just have to keep doing it.

Hope to see you at the next DIY!

Lisa Hannigan

Again thanks to Free People I now know who musician Lisa Hannigan is. I just loved this music video and wanted to share it with you.

Enjoy!

Knitting 101= DIY night

Come join us this next Tuesday night February 24th at Mars Cafe, 7 - 9 pm.

We will be having an evening of knitting!

I will be teaching knitting how to for beginners who have never knitted in their life, or have just the basic knowledge and need some help to get them going again.

If you already know how to knit you are welcome to bring our own project you are working on or just join in on conversation.

Here are the supplies that will be needed for the evening:

1. Knitting Needles (I recommend purchasing a pair of needles that are size 14 because it is easier to learn to knit on larger needles. The link here is for Bamboo needles which allot of beginners prefer using because they are not as slippery as metal or plastic.)

2. Yarn (Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick, from Michaels or Hobby Lobby) p.s. grab current week's 40% off coupon to get it for less! Hobby Lobby has theirs online here.

For those who want to just get a little head start on casting on before our evening class check this out!

Urbanestics meets Free People

If you stop on by the Free People blog you might notice something familiar. Check out this posting regarding the Free People Valentine Swap! Yes, that is my handy work!

Thanks to Angie at Mean Millies for helping me by getting this print screen shot of it!

Valentine Swap

Another year has come and gone that I participated in the Free People Valentine Swap. This will be the 3rd year as well as the best! I had a fantastic swap partner, we exchanged emails several times, got to know each other a little, as well as found out that her roommate was trading Valentines with another friend of mine!

So this is what I made:

A broach made out of recycled magazine pages

I block printed the card with the saying, "you make the cake!", and this is how I packaged the broach in a cellophane bag and some pink crinkle stuffing.

Then to finish it off I sent a cake t-shirt along as well to top off the cake theme.

I Heart You!

HAPPY VALENTINES EVERYONE!

Here is a picture for you to enjoy from last years heart cookies I made. Last night a made a batch of valentine cupcakes but forgot to take pictures. Woops!

Warm heart and hands on Valentines day!

You might not need hand warmers on a day like yesterday... 60 degrees. But just wait because I hear we are going to get snow tomorrow.

A small group of us got sewing to make some very cute little hand warmers last night at DIY/craft night at Mars Cafe. Erin of SoZealous brought some fabric samples from her work to re-use as her hand warmers. (How environmental conscious!) I did some screen and block printing on my fabric to personalize it to coordinate with my Valentine cards that have special sayings such as "Wood you be mine?" and "You take the cake!"
Some of the gentle men at Mars even tested them out on their faces for some heat therapy. So as you see there are many other ways these handy little rice packs can be used.


We also had a large group of people who joined us for great conversation. Alyssa from Vitea Design Collective and her Husband Josh joined us in conversation and we discusses all things DIY.


Please come join us for our next DIY night Tuesday February 24th, same time same place! For more pictures go here.

window display at Willow

One of the great things about having creative friends in many different places is that it gives you the opportunity to do something different when you take your weekend trip away from home. I love the fact I had no expectations of my weekend when I headed out of Des Moines on Friday. All I knew was that I had a car full of sewing, screen and block printing supplies and a small suitecase of clothes. We had only planned for this weekend to be a creative time that we could collaborate with each other.

Knowing Angie had gotten the opportunity to do a window display for a wonderful little store called Willow, I was excited that I would get the chance to see. What I didn't know was that I would also have the chance to actually help her DO it.

The theme of the window was to emphasize the eco friendly/green merchandise that Amy carries in her store. Angie saw the wooden gorillas and turned it into a jungle theme with a little bit of valentines mixed in. The moss hearts are my FAVORITE! (I am going to have to make some of these for myself. Don't know what I am going to do with them but I LOVE how cute they are.)



The new window display is now up just in time for this Friday's art show, called Puppy Love benefiting Chicago's Canine Rescue. You may see more pictures of the window on my flickr.

Valentine D.I.Y. Night

Come join us for an evening of creating at Mars Cafe Tuesday, February 10th from 7-9 pm.

You can learn something new as I show how to make re-usable hand warmers. Not only warm the heart of your special someone but keep their hands warm too. cheesy…I know :)

Or perhaps you would like to bring a project of your own that you are working on.

I always enjoy having a creative atmosphere to work on projects. Working side by side with someone else always motivates me! So, I hope you feel welcome to come join us or stop by and say hell0.

Here is a list of supplies you will need to create a hand warmer or several hand warmers

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Supplies:
1. Fabric of choice and size to create your little set of hand warmers. These can be of any size or shape, it's all up to you.

2. Needle and thread to sew your hand warmer together, pins to hold your packet together while you sew it.

4.Scissors

3. Bag of Rice (for warmer filling)

These are ones I had made so far, a layer cake and also a piece of wood. I have many more ideas of shapes I want to make!