One of the cool things about having a blog is being able to share interesting craft products with others.
Yesterday Brittany and I made a trip to Hobby Lobby. While I really like Michaels, there are items that Michaels doesn't carry or only has a limited selection. Hobby Lobby carries almost everything craft related from fabric to scrap booking supplies. I found these Susan's Garden flower dies by Sizzix along the free project instruction sheet. I also found pre-drilled glass blocks and mini lights for a night light project. You can also order supplies on line from Hobby Lobby.
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| Susan's Garden Sunflower and Tulip dies and instruction sheet. | |
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Today at Michaels, I found Tim Holtz idea-ology tissue wrap. The wrap is a printed coated tissue paper for use in collages and other art projects or it can be used to wrap gifts. I envisioned using this for cards, sketch books, etc.
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| Tim Holtz idea-ology tissue wrap. |
Craft Tip: This tip comes from my husband. He found that Charmin freshmates wipes easily remove ink, especially Sharpie, from hands or surfaces. Today a bottle of Dylusions spray ink leaked all over my hands. I used the Charmin wipes to clean my hands. The wipes easily removed the dark purple ink from my hands with no staining. I grabbed another wipe and cleaned the ink from my work surfaces. I now keep a box of Charmin wipes in my studio for clean up tasks.
Interweave has just released the Unofficial Harry Potter Knits. This, like the Jane Austen Knits, is part of Interweave's literary knits. The magazines feature knits inspired by the Jane Austen and Harry Potter novels. The new Jane Austen magazine is due to come out in October. Brittany and I love several of the designs in the Harry Potter magazine. The magazine has something for everyone. In addition to the Owl cardigan on the cover (a definite must knit for me), there are socks, the beautiful Mermaid shawl, and my favorite the Tracery vest. This vest would look great with a white shirt and jeans. I love the colors of the vest in the magazine so I did not want to substitute yarns. The vest is knit in Plymouth Happy Feet sock yarn in colors #500 (black) and #27 (variegated rust/blue blend). The black yarn was readily available from WEBS and other on line retailers, but I had to search for about 2 hours before finally finding color #27. It's available from Amazon.
I recently discovered the Jordana Paige knitting bags. These bags have been featured in Vogue Knitting Magazine. The people who own the bags love them and rave about them. I have had mine for 2 weeks and I can understand why everyone loves these bags. My bag is more than just a knitting bag, it's my craft bag. The bag was designed by a knitter for knitters, but it functions well as an art bag. It will hold my large sketch book, pencil case and other sketching supplies. I bought the Rio bag in Lapis blue. The Rio has three sections. The back section holds a book or knitting pattern (purple notebook), yarn, knitting and Lantern Moon tool case. There are snap rings that keep the yarn from getting tangled in the bag. The back wall has a small zip pocket and a detachable zip pouch. The bag has a large zip divider that separates the front from the back. The divider can hold a wallet and any other items that you want to keep secure. The front section of the bag has a key holder, a padded eyeglass holder, a credit card pocket and pockets for knitting tools and pens. There is plenty of room in this section for personal items (cosmetic case, phone, book). It's amazing how much stuff this bag holds. I can carry my knitting, personal items and an I Pad and still have room to spare. The best part is that the bag looks and functions like a handbag (several people have commented on it's style as a handbag not knowing that it was actually a knitting bag). The bag is not bulky (even though it holds a lot) and can be worn like a shoulder bag.
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| Jordana Paige Rio bag/ |
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| Back section with knitting pattern, yarn and sweater in progress. |
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| Back wall with zip pocket and detachable pouch. |
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| Center zip divider and front wall with pockets and key holder. |
I found Lantern Moon's silk knitting tool case in my local knitting shop. This beautiful, well made case holds small scissors, markers, cable needles, knitting gauge and my little sheep tape measure. I tied a pink bow around my sheep's neck to dress her up so Brittany wouldn't confuse my sheep for hers (she also has the black sheep).
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Lantern Moon silk knitter's tool case.
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