Saturday, September 21, 2013

Let's Yarn Bomb a Little Bottle!


Have you ever had a bottle or container that was just too neat to throw away - but you didn't know what to do with it??


Well, that's what I thought! I've seen lots of stories about all the yarn bombing going on around the world (crafty folk knit or crochet great lots of things and cover bridges, statues, who knows what! Just google it and see what you'll find!)- so I thought thread bombing would work for this tiny bottle!

Here's how I proceeded!

I made a chain long enough to fit around the of the bottom edge of the bottle snugly.

Then I added rows of double and single crochet randomly up the side of the bottle - under Cheeto's supervision. He was asleep in my lap as I puzzled this whole thing out!

I decreased every other stitch to make the turn up to the narrow part of the bottle. When I reached that part, I did a row of single crochet to stabilize the stitches before proceeding up this narrow part. I might add that I worked on the piece off the bottle and only slipped it on when I needed to check the fit. I figured the stitches should be snugger going up this last part. The stitches can stretch apart too allowing some of the bottle to show through.
I decreased again on the top row which was single crocheted just for two stitches and that made it fit just perfectly. I added a piece of dried blossom so no water is needed for the tiny vase. Of course, water would be fine and the cover can be slipped off to wash if necessary.

So! How simple is that! Just use your eye for decreasing as necessary and pick the color thread which would compliment your room or the flowers going in! I didn't count any stitches - just raveled 'em out when there were too many and added more when there were too few. Hope you'll give it a try. Bigger yarn can be used on bigger vessels. I first tried sock yarn on this little bottle and it was way too big. The thread I used here was #10 cotton thread used for tatting and crochet by Lizbeth.  It comes in great colors!


Thursday, September 5, 2013

Flowers Everywhere

 Taking this photo after just coming out of air conditioning, I had an impressionistic shot of my hybrid tea rose called Rio Samba. The lens was fogged! I rather like the effect - no filters required!


 Close by, I have petunias and lantana in the same hue - looks like they were cut out of the same dye lot!

 And as the fog cleared, the exciting Rio Samba came into view. One of the most exciting features about
this rose is that there can be yellow and orange blossoms at the same time AND the flowers change color as they mature. It's one of those things in my little patch of sun close to my mailbox.

And my favorite is this magnificent sunflower which I bought as a mature plant at Trader Joe's. It provided weeks of joy as each bloom came open at a different time. Surely my favorite flower ..... or one of them.


And More flowers blooming from my crochet hook - as my bear/bunny sewing gear is packed away while we are having fun with renovations, I can grab a ball of yarn or thread and a hook just about anytime. This flower is done in what has to be one of my favorite (well, I have a lot of favorites) colors of yarn - called "Chicory" and is one of Knitpicks Pallet yarns. You can find it along with over a hundred other colors here:www.knitpicks.com I've also been working with their crochet thread and you'll see that in a moment or two.

Here's one in the color called "Columbine" and is in the Wool of the Andes lot from Knitpicks.


I found a pattern for a little girl's purse and thought it was really big enough to hold just those things one needs for a quick trip to the store. I used a yarn that I can't identify as the label when missing.


and then we found two beautiful blues - one was a Pallet yarn (that's a fingering weight) and another darker blue that Kim had bought in Pittsburgh in a sport weight.
and they looked great together!! I will line the bag in a wool felt, I think.

and finally: though it has no bear to wear it yet....
fit for a wee princess, I've just finished this bluebell of a dress made of thread in two luscious colors of blue. There are two ruffles under the main skirt. I LOVE it!!! I have already started one in red for the online Christmas show!!
Wishing you all bouquets of flowers of every kind!!! My favorite!!