Pretty button rings

I haven't posted about my favourite topic in a while... you know, rings?

I recently attended a wireworks ring class at Shiney Rocks in Bristol. I haven't done much wire work before so this was a good way of perfecting my technique while also getting some new inspiration.

We got to make six rings of two different types: button rings or cluster rings.

I have made cluster rings before, at the London Jewellery School, but the method we used here was slightly different which is interesting.

I have loved making the button rings and I'm definitely going to make more of those!

Many of us have loads of unwanted buttons hanging around. Buttons that came as spares to jackets, coats, shirts, etc. or buttons we've inherited from someone or buttons we bought for a specific project that never materialised... This is a great way to recycle or "upcycle" those unwanted buttons. And I think they'll be a great seller at craft fairs.

If you were considering getting rid of your buttons, please think of me. I promise that for any load of buttons you send/give me, I'll make you a ring in return. Send me a message if you're interested.

After the class, I used the techniques learnt to make a couple of very different rings. I've even entered the bottom one, with the sew-on Swarovski crystal in a competition, so fingers crossed!

To Russia with love

My darling husband is off to Russia and has asked whether I could knit him a scarf to keep him warm.

He already has a scarf from me, in fact it's that scarf given to him on Valentine's day a few years ago that got me back into knitting and re-ignited my passion for crafts. But that scarf was knitted in a super chunky yarn and I had made it extra long so it's rather bulky and cumbersome to take with you in a suitcase. Hubby finds it too warm as well so it's barely been worn.

I agreed to make him a new scarf but this time I got him involved in the choice of yarn and the pattern and the final length to make sure this one doesn't sit abandoned at the bottom of a drawer.

We settled on a beautiful Noro Yuzen yarn bought in the sale at Black Sheep Wools. Hubby didn't want a thick scarf so that determined the choice of pattern. I would have loved to knit the whole thing in stockinette but I knew that no amount of blocking would stop the scarf curling inwards if I did. So eventually we settled for a simple two by three rib.

The yarn was a bit scratchy to work with but once knitted, the fabric isn't that scratchy at all. The colours are truly beautiful and will suit Mr Goose's blue eyes perfectly!

While I was knitting the scarf, I remembered these few lines from a book by Ann Hood called The Knitting Circle. They seemed so appropriate for this project:

"... I pick up my needles and I knit. Every stitch is a letter. A row spells out 'I love you'. I knit 'I love you' into everything I make. Like a prayer, or a wish, I send it out to you, hoping you can hear me. (...) Hoping, that my love reaches you somehow."

Post-it heart

My first ever craft love was origamis. So with Valentine's day on our doorstep, I thought I'd teach you one of my favourite little folded wonders: Post-it hearts.

To make a heart, you'll need a 38mm x 51mm Post-it in the colour of your choice. For demonstration purposes only, the tutorial below uses larger Post-its that I cut down the side to get to the right proportions. It's not easier to use larger Post-its, it just photographes better!

So here's how you do it in 10 easy steps:

1. make sure the sticky strip on the Post-it is facing you and is at the bottom

2. Fold the Post-it along the midline then unfold it, use the fold as guidance in the next two steps

3. Fold the bottom corners using the fold line as a marker

4. Snip on the fold in the top making sure you stop where those corners meet up

5. Fold the inner corners in

6. Fold the top edges so they meet the edges of the folded up bottom corners

7. Fold the outer edges in as demonstrated

8. Fold the top corners in and press the fold so it stays in place

9. Fold the bottom corners back out so that the sticky edge shows

10. Turn over your heart and stick, you're done!

The key to successful origamis is precision and making sure you press each and every fold neatly so they stay in place.

Now make a load of those and make sure you let that someone special know how you feel about them!

Oversized knitting

When I went to the Knitting and Stitching show at Ally Pally in October, I picked up two skeins of Gedifra Easywear. I just fell in love with the colour blend and the feel of the yarn.

What I soon found out was that having just two skeins was going to be pretty limiting and with the yarn being discontinued, there was very little chance of finding more. I tried, but even Ebay brought me no joy.

The other thing I'd not quite factored in when buying the yarn was that it's to be knitted on 20mm needles. I had a look on Ravelry and after reading a number of comments that said the yarn really calls for the huge needles, I resigned myself and ordered a pair.

I decided to knit a simple snood, inspired by another snood I bought at a high street outlet at the beginning of the winter which has been keeping me toasty and has been admired by a number of friends.

Manipulating the humongous needles was rather awkward at first. Hubby thought it was hilarious and took the following picture to demonstrate just how oversized those needles are compared to my hands.

The good news is that it took me just an hour to knit a snood and I had just enough yarn for it. I worked it with one row of knitting with a yarn over in between each stitch followed by a purl row where I let the yarn overs slide off the needle. This makes a row of loose stitches followed by a row of tight stitches. It's actually quite nice.

The bad news is that as much as I liked the colour mix on the skein, I'm not feeling it so much now that it's been knitted :-( Ah well, this would make a great gift for someone, in fact,  I may just know who!