Crocheted Charger Cord

I saw this pattern on Through the Loops and since I had a very small portion of Koigu yarn left I  decided my charger cord needed embellishment. It wasn't quite enough to cover the whole cord, but it still brightens up the cord, uses up a tiny scrap of yarn, and makes me smile. It also makes it much easier to find on my creatively crazy desk.

Turmeric Pillowcases

This was a pair of lavender flannel pillowcases that were quite old and worn which I dyed with turmeric. One of them had a hole in them, so I wasn't worried about ruining them in the least. I loved the coloring. They actually look much more yellow in person than they do on-screen. The triangular embroidery pattern was done with 3 strands of DMC and took an inordinately long amount of time to complete. I tried drawing the pattern with several different marking pencils, but none of them showed up well and left me trying to guess where each stitch should go.

The bottom pillowcase I finished in less than an hour. I used a single strand of indivisible cotton thread and just did 3 rows of running stitches. I think I like how it looks better than the other one, too. The red also looks better with the yellow in person. The pillowcases don't seem so washed out when I look at them as they do in the picture. But, updating the pillowcases was pretty easy and worked out well so it was worth it.

Hollyhocks

The last of the summer hollyhocks. So pretty and pink. And, I just love saying the name. Maybe it's because I always liked Holly Hobby, but hollyhocks are just so much fun. We had such a cool summer it seems as if it's already been fall for a few months. But, these lovelies are proof that summer was here even if it slipped by unnoticed between spring and fall this year.

Turmeric Dye

 Boiling turmeric powder in water on the stove.

 Steaming the yarn.

 Pillowcases and Aida in the simmering water.

Turmeric yellow is such a happy color! Now, what to do with all my yummy yellow goodness!

I used about a 1/2 cup of turmeric powder and steamed/simmered my items for approximately 30 minutes. I didn't use any kind of mordant so I'm not too sure how lasting the color will be, but we'll see.

A Wooly Pincushion

A few years ago, one of my best friends presented me with a large bag full of thrifted wool sweaters. I added to it and then felted all of them and cut out squares to make a large, felted wool blanket for the bed. Later, I added a flannel backing and tied the whole thing into a quilt. That blanket is the coziest thing ever.

Well, I saved the bottom ribbed section from one of them to turn into a pincushion. Would you believe that I just now got around to doing just that? I never could quite get the look I wanted until now.

The ribbed sweater bottom was from a man's sweater, so even felted it was almost 3 feet in length. I rolled it up with each edge slightly lower than the last to form a domed shape. Then I sewed the edge to hold it in place.

I used thread from my large spool instead of color coordinating thread. I bring good thread with me, so I save it for special projects and a scrap pincushion did not make the cut. But, the visible stitches just give it a homemade scrappy feel that I actually like.

I cut a round out of another, thinner, felted sweater sleeve and rolled the edges as I stitched it to the bottom. The crocheted motif I used for the top, was a crocheted hexagon I tried to make that came out more circular. It has been laying in my scrap basket for a few years until I decided it would make the perfect pincushion top. I also added a small, crocheted flower to the top.

Finally, I sewed some recycled lace to the top edge and doesn't it look like a scrumptious albeit woolly cupcake? The moral of the story? Never, EVER, throw away scraps, because you never know when they will make the perfect addition to a project.

I'm really loving this pincushion, too. It's got a bit of weight to it that makes it stay put. Also, I don't have to worry about poking myself with a pin while I'm trying to hold the pincushion in place.