Other Crafty Things | Love Is All You Knit

May 01 2014

What I’m loving lately

Not much to show on the what-I’m-knitting-lately front. If you picture 1.5″ of 1×1 ribbing for the start of a hat, there you have it. I did want to pop in and share a few things I’m loving lately:

Knitter Badges by True Brit Knits

These appeal to my Harry Potter loving, wishing I had grown up going to a British boarding school wearing badass blazers self. I imagine this would be a pin that most people wouldn’t bother looking close enough to even read the words on the pin… except for other knitters! I love finding kindred spirits in this world, and having a cute little preppy pin to make that even easier is right up my alley.

This Top-Down Poncho by Pickles

I love the relaxed look of ponchos, but end up feeling ridiculously impractical anytime I’ve ever attempted to wear one. They either make it impossible to raise your arms, or make you look like you are wearing a blanket. This one with its nicely fitted sleeves seems like a poncho I could handle.

These Rice Baskets from Fringe Supply Co.

Admittedly, I love everything in the Fringe Supply Co. shop, but these baskets are on my “must get soon” list. I love that they fold over on themselves to create nice little bowls and can quickly transition to a yarn tote. I think they’d be perfect for bringing a project to the beach, or for carrying anything to the beach to that matter.

Feb 28 2014

Leave a comment

Antics, designing, Dogs, gloves/mittens, Hats, knitting, Music, Other Crafty Things, travel

Insta Janu-February

Bet you didn’t notice that I forgot to post an Instagram roundup of my January goings-on. I didn’t notice either, so this time you get January and February smashed into one Insta-double-whammy. (I promise it’s not as painful as it sounds).

During the first part of January we were in Aspen, CO where the band played a couple of shows, one of them was a big New Year’s eve bash. The shows were excellent and we toasted the new year in grand fashion. It was such a fun trip and we were even able to squeeze in a visit to a natural hot springs pool nestled in the mountains, and a couple of days of skiing. Back home in Texas, I’ve spent the past month and a half working, working, working, with a few stolen moments here and there for doggie snuggles and knitting and crafting. I released my Wayfinder Mitts pattern, re-released my Hill Country Hat pattern, and am wrapping up a new design submission that I’m super excited about. I had a birthday just a few days ago and celebrated with lots of sweet treats, good friends, and wonderful mail surprises from Joey, who is already back out on tour. Now I’m getting ready for some warmer weather (aren’t we all?) and looking forward to casting on a couple of new knitting projects.

Feb 24 2014

2 Comments

Antics, Dogs, Other Crafty Things

The Pup Tent

I had a crazy bout of inspiration this past weekend which resulted in this ridiculous and adorable doggie teepee. I’ve seen teepees and tents cropping up a lot online lately and always thought they were kind of cute, but I figured it would be silly to make myself a teepee. (I still really want a backyard yurt, but that’s for “someday.”)

Then I saw a doggie teepee in one of the instagram feeds I follow and I decided that yes, of course, my Henry dog definitely needed a teepee.

I just decided to wing it on the construction- I grabbed a few 38” long dowels, some jute twine and a canvas drop cloth at the hardware store. The hardest part was figuring out how to do the cover. I didn’t want to just drape the fabric over the frame so I decided to bring out the sewing machine and sew a bunch of triangles together. I also decided to paint some black stripes along the bottom and stitch on a few reinforcements above the slit for the opening.

It’s not perfect- I’m too impatient when it comes to sewing to care about making sure my seams are lined up. Heck I didn’t even properly measure before I started cutting out the fabric pieces. Such is life when it comes to inspiration. No stopping to plan or measure, just make, make, make.

I think it turned out really cute and it looks like Henry likes it too. Now off to plan for that yurt.

Tagged diy, dog tent, teepee, tent, tipi

Dec 26 2013

1 Comment

Antics, CRAFT!, Family, Other Crafty Things

Christmas Craft Show-Off

This is the week when everyone can finally reveal what crafty things they’ve been making for Christmas gifts, right?

I only have one small handcrafted Christmas gift to show, but I was really pleased with the way it came out. I made my parents a set of coffee mugs emblazoned with their Sandybrook Ranch cattle brand. I created the brand in Illustrator and then printed it out and traced it onto the mugs using graphite paper and then filled in the design with black porcelain pen. I baked them in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes to set the ink and that was it!

My parents really liked the gift and I’m sure next time we go to visit they’ll be sipping their morning coffee out of their new Sandybrook Ranch mugs.

Tagged diy mugs, porcelain pen mugs

Sep 23 2013

Leave a comment

Antics, baby knits, CRAFT!, Embroidery, Hats, knitting, Other Crafty Things, Scarves/Cowls, Texas, Yarn

A Crafty Saturday

The Autumnal Equinox arrived this weekend, and here in Texas we finally felt the first break from our 90+ degree heat. Saturday was such a lovely day with temps in the 60s in the morning and peaking in the mid 80s in the afternoon. I met up with some lady friends for a nice brunch and all around crafty day.

We stopped by The DIME Store, a brick and mortar store born out of the Etsy Denton collective. DIME (Denton Independent Maker Exchange) opened up shop this spring and I have been really wanting to visit and take a peek at their handmade wares.

These burlap pillows by Home Again were really cute, and even though the “I heart US” is surely referring to the United States, I really loved the idea of a pillow that says “I love Us” referring to the identity of a couple.

There were some really adorable bags and clutches made by Rachel Elise that I was too busy drooling over to get a picture of and these cute little knitted baby hats by Cassie Arnold Art.

Afterwards, we went back to my friend Felicia’s house for a little bit of knitting ourselves. Felicia cast on for a Hill Country Hat, and Bri started up a slightly modded version of my Infinity Cowl pattern, having given the one she previously knit away to a good friend.

We had such a good time talking knitting all day and I look forward to seeing their finished knits.

Tagged cowls, denton, DIME, diy, etsy, etsy denton, hats, knitted baby hats, knitting, wool, yarn

Aug 02 2013

2 Comments

Antics, baby knits, designing, Dogs, Family, gloves/mittens, Hats, knitting, Other Crafty Things, wool

Insta July

July brought the birth of our nephew Healy, who was promptly snuggled in a handknit wool blankie and has been bringing us all love and happiness nonstop ever since. I’ve also been spending lots of time with Joey as he gets ready to start touring with Midlake again soon. There have been lots of stolen moments between his rehearsals and my work schedule to get in as much time together as we can before he leaves. I was able to catch one of their production rehearsals the other day and I was blown away… I welled up with emotion and pride at how beautiful everything sounds and how hard these guys have been working to get this album to fruition, and its almost time! There’s even been a little bit of knitting and crafting in the wee hours before I go to sleep. I have some secret knitty-type things I’m planning that I’m super excited about but I just need to find a little more time to get them going. And of course I can always count on Henry’s silly antics. He’s such a ridiculously sweet and goofy dog and he just makes us laugh and smile every single day.

May 22 2013

2 Comments

Antics, CRAFT!, Other Crafty Things

Ladies’ Domestic Arts Society: DIY Porcelain Mugs

I have quite a few crafty lady-friends and we’ve always talked about getting together and just making stuff- one of us would show the others how to make jewelry, another would teach us all how to sew, another would show us how to bake awesome deserts, and so on and so on. And so we formed the Ladies’ Domestic Arts Society, a monthly meetup with the sole purpose of making crafty things together. Recently, we gathered at my home and decorated coffee mugs with porcelain pens while catching up on each others’ lives and sipping mimosas. It was a really fabulous time and I’m already looking forward to our next meetup.

Tagged coffee mugs, decorated mugs, diy, mugs, porcelain pens

May 05 2013

1 Comment

Antics, Other Crafty Things, wool, Yarn

Creative Reuse: Yarn-Wrapped Jars

I’ve collected quite a few of these glass jars over the years, thinking they were too useful to just toss into the recycle bin. I use them for drinking glasses, loose change catch-alls, bud vases and of course, storage for my double pointed knitting needles. I decided to snazz these up a bit with a little leftover yarn. It’s super quick and easy- I just taped the beginning of the yarn towards the top of the jar and then used small dot of super glue to secure at the bottom end. Hooray for reusing instead of tossing and hooray for sprucing things up with wool!

Tagged dpn storage, knitting, knitting needles, mason jars, wool, yarn

Apr 30 2013

Leave a comment

Antics, baby knits, bunnies, Cooking, designing, Dogs, Family, knitting, Music, NYC, Other Crafty Things, shawls/wraps, Texas, wool, Yarn

Insta April

This April, Joey and I were up to our usual escapades and getting out to enjoy the pretty spring weather a little more. I bought some pretty yarn for a new knitting project, enjoyed some wine on a Friday afternoon at work, and spent some good times with good friends at our favorite bar. We spent a weekend at the Ranch and met my parents’ sweet new cow dog, Camo, and had a fabulously fun time at a Louisiana-style crawfish boil with the band. My friend Felicia and I did a woodsy photoshoot for my new knitting pattern and we came across a snake while trying to get a good shot. I started up my new knitting project while sitting at Redwood Studios and listening to some really great violin being recorded for one of Joey’s new projects. We have had plenty of new bunny sightings in our back yard and one time Henry even sat next to me, the two of us spying on them together. Joey invented a delicious new apple flavored New York Whiskey cocktail for the bar that I named The Big Apple Sour, and I got to listen to a sneak preview of the new Midlake album that is coming out later this year. I marveled at the prettiness of brown speckled eggs in my new egg tray, and had an epic fail when I attempted to bake my own pizza dough. Joey bought me a pretty gardenia plant to cheer me up after the pizza incident, and we spent many an afternoon on the tennis courts having a blast and enjoying each other’s company. And as always, love was all around us.

Tagged cooking, crawfish, dogs, knitting, pizza, tennis, wine, yarn

Apr 01 2013

Leave a comment

Antics, Cooking, designing, Family, Hats, knitting, Music, Other Crafty Things, Texas, travel

Insta-March

March was a busy and music-filled month. We kicked things off with the 35 Denton music festival, where Redwood Studios played host to tons of bands over the course of three days, and the next weekend we went to the SXSW music festival in Austin, where Joey played a showcase with Israel Nash. We were introduced to Laura and Israel’s brand new baby and spent a couple of great nights around a giant fire pit while the guys made some great new music. I went to a fabulous ladies’ champagne and tea party, and knitted a new wooly hat while I was sick in bed with bronchitis for a couple of days. We also saw the first signs of spring with budding trees, blue skies and an Easter celebration, where I tested out my crafty cooking skills by dyeing Easter eggs and baking bread. Next up: I’m looking forward to April’s nice weather, Joey’s birthday and getting back into some knitting!

Tagged 35denton, cooking, dogs, eggs, knitting, march, music, spring, sxsw

Category Archives: Other Crafty Things