V-A-C-A-TION in the summer sun!

I've got Connie Francis on my mind b/c, well, I'm headed out on vacation shortly but I thought that I'd leave you with a challenge before I go - I'm talking a Special Olympics challenge!


Each year, the Special Olympics USA organizers ask crafters and hobbiests to knit and crochet scarves for the athletes. Here's the official scarf project website and it's sorted by state. Basically, make a scarf (6 inches wide, 54-60 inches long) out of Red Heart yarn in Cherry Red/Really Red and Soft Navy (has to include both colors) and send it to your state's scarf program by the due date (VA is Jan 16, 2012 so we've got time but get on this)

So, my gift in this challenge is that I will walk you thru my planning for the scarf I'm going to make and include a knitting pattern for the year.

So my friend Leigh puts a link on Facebook about this scarves for the Special Olympics program for 2011 but they're due in 2 weeks and I'm already swamped. So I don't do it but I keep it in my mind for the next year. Leigh posts again when 2012 colors are posted - I head to JoAnn's. I get the last SuperSaver of Soft Navy (I also get a supersaver of cherry red but there's plenty of these in stock). I run into Leigh - guess she's going to start after me when more soft navy comes in.

I have a million ideas for different scarves (mostly crochet since I do it up faster) but really think that it'd be nice to put the date on the scarf so I remember Kris Patay's knitting blog where she has washcloth patterns (love me a mystery KAL) including a 2010 1/2 sized cloth! PERFECT! I'll do a 2012 one in similar style. I've modified other people's charted patterns before and written in my stockinette knitting (almost done with my cousin's wedding present - knitted their names, a shamrock - they were married in Ireland, and the date). So I find a graph paper template on the internet and I'm off!

First I draw out my numbers



Then I write out the pattern (Kris reverses hers but I always go wrong)



I used #4 needles and several stitch markers
This ended up measuring 4.5 inches tall and 9.5 inches long before blocking

co 39 stitches

R1-4: seed stitch (K1P1 across) really, this can be done for a wider border - 6 rows would probably be better - but I was worried about keeping with the 6" width. turns out, not a problem

R5: seed stitch first 4 stitches (I think it's K1P1K1P1 but might be P1K1P1K1), place first stitch marker, P32, place next stitch marker, seed stitch last 4 stitches (K1P1K1P1)

R6 and all evens to row 30): seed first 4 stitches, knit across, slipping stitch markers onto other needle as you go, to last 4 stitches, seed stitch last 4 stitches

R7: seed stitch first 4 stitches, P32, seed stitch last 4 stitches

R9: seed stitch first 4 stitches, P2, add stitch marker, K6, P1 add stitch marker, P2, K2, P3 add stitch marker, K6, P1 add stitch marker, K6, P2, seed stitch last 4 stitches

R11: seed stitch first 4 stitches, P2, K6, P2, K4, P2, K6, P1, K6, P2, seed stitch last 4 stitches

R13: seed stitch first 4 stitches, P2, K2, P5, K2, P2, K2, P3, K2, P3, K2, P6, seed stitch last 4 stitches

R15: seed stitch first 4 stitches, P3, K2, P4, K2, P2, K2, P3, K2, P4, K2, P5, seed stitch last 4 stitches

R17: seed stitch first 4 stitches, P4, K2, P3, K2, P2, K2, P3, K2, P5, K2, P4, seed stitch last 4 stitches

R19: seed stitch first 4 stitches, P5, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P3, K2, P6, K2, P3, seed stitch last 4 stitches

R21: seed stitch first 4 stitches, P6, K2, P1, K2, P2, K2, P3, K2, P7, K2, P2, seed stitch last 4 stitches

R23: seed stitch first 4 stitches, P2, K2, P2, K2, P1, K2, P2, K2, P1, K4, P3, K2, P2, K2, P2, seed stitch last 4 stitches

R25: seed stitch first 4 stitches, P3, K4, P3, K4, P3, K3, P4, K4, P3, seed stitch last 4 stitches

R27: seed stitch first 4 stitches, P4, K2, P5, K2, P5, K2, P5, K2, P4, seed stitch last 4 stitches

R29: seed stitch first 4 stitches, P32, seed stitch last 4 stitches

R31: seed stitch first 4 stitches, P32, seed stitch last 4 stitchesseed stitch first 4 stitches, P32, seed stitch last 4 stitches

R32-35: Seed stitch across

Cast off in pattern I personally don't like how it seed stitch cast off looks so I just cast off the way I'm most comfortable

Now I'm going to use the Soft Navy (and a really big crochet hook) to crochet the rest of the scarf - this piece inset on one side and a cell phone/camera pocket on the other side.



Have fun and send me links to your scarf projects! Link a hosted picture in the comments, tag me or post on my wall on facebook, or send me a message on Ravelry (I'm Hamburke) but most importantly - SPREAD THE WORD!

<3, Karin

Has it really been that long?

I guess it has... I did the same thing to my diary in junior high - wrote in it sporadically. Oh well!

Anyway, among this heat wave, the fall fashion season is upon us...









yeah, that's what I said! I just figured out the hot pink crab and I haven't even listed it yet! Maybe it will be a Beach-For-Christmas instead of a Christmas-in-July thing...


I mean, I get that Back-To-School is approaching (much faster in some parts of the country then here where we start after Labor Day).


And immediately following that is Halloween and Thanksgiving...




but who the heck is going to buy a ski hat when the heat index 128 degrees Fahrenheit? Hopefully one of my lovely readers, of course! Gotta favorite color scheme?

Internet Sales and Taxes

Okay, today, I'm not writing a fluffy craft piece (b/c we all know that I'm so good about writing those regularly). Today is the 4th of July, Independence Day and I'm writing something a bit more - um - political - yeah, that's a good word for it.

The internet is a great marketplace - you can find what you want at the best price and have it shipped to you without getting out of your PJ's or at 2 AM! But with our government in financial distress (National debt ceiling will be reached Aug 2), they are looking for ways to boost revenues through manipulation of various tax laws. This isn't just happening on the National front. Take for example, state sales tax. Now I know that the whole Boston Tea Party thingy was about the stamp tax on tea so sales tax has been around for a LONG time and it sort of makes rational sense (although I can see it as also taxing money twice since that money was taxed as income already).

So with that thought, how do you get around paying sales tax? Buy something from a merchant that does not have a physical presence within your state. uh... well, that's not all together true - you aren't subject to sales tax upon payment but you actually ARE supposed to pay a tax on those items. It's called Use Tax. It is only very recently that I have figured out what it is when TurboTax asks me about it. Basically, this varies state to state a little bit but you should keep track of everything you buy out of state - whether online or while traveling and record any taxes you pay on those purchases. If you did not pay taxes on an item, you are responsible for paying use tax (which is generally equal to sales tax) to your state on your annual tax return. If you did pay sales tax on an item, you owe your state the difference if your state charges more tax than where you bought it. However, this tax isn't well-enforced and most people just plain don't know about it. More info and some tax remittance forms are available on GoTo's blog

Here's the kicker now - Some states want to apply sales tax to internet purchases made out of state to in-state businesses. California is the most vocal about pushing it through but they aren't alone in exploring this. Will this help increase revenues? I'm sure it will. Is this a good solution? Is it fair? I'm not sure about that.

There is another movement called Streamlined Sales Tax Project thathttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif seeks to unify tax rules and definitions across the states. This seems a bit like Canada's HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) which Canadian Etsy sellers say is fairly easy to do. Hmmm... much to think about! Now, to keep track of my online purchases so I can comply with Use Taxes...

Happy 4th of July!

Summer product - Cozy!

Okay, I have no idea how to spell it and the more I search for a standard, the more I realize that there isn't one - maybe it's regional or maybe not - anyway, here's a picture of my latest product only available this summer - water bottle koozie kozy koozy coozie cozie cozy sleeve:



Also, I have hot pink, bright blue and neon green "sleeves" available - I'm working on getting flowers and bows to match these colors (yay! a trip to JoAnn's!)

More Fabric Flowers (b/c I don't have enough variety)

My sister is getting married! Yay! and I even like my soon-to-be brother-in-law, popped collar, colored jeans and all (yes, he's much more fashion-y than I am)! So while the bride-to-be (henceforth: B2B) was studying for final exams for her LAST semester of grad school (congrats to the Wagner grad!!), my other sister, my mom and I went to a local bridal show. Somehow B2B got a year subscription to Brides magazine (hehe). So yesterday, I get a notecard in the mail from NYC with a page from the May 2011 magazine enclosed (I know you're thinking, "You get real mail?" yup!


Woohoo! Boutonnieres! and I can make most of them!


So here's the tutorial:
First, cut out 5 squares of fabric. Heat up iron and get out the starch!






Next, spray the squares with starch and press in half.


Fold up the tips to form a smaller square.





Open the triangles and press them out.






Tuck the tips in.







Fold the triangles back into the center to re-make the square.




Fold the square in half.



Stick needle thru the tip - make sure to get all the layers!



Repeat and add to the same needle









Stick a second needle and thread thru the bottom of the flower.




Pull both threads snug and (separately) knot tightly (I use a surgeon's knot).


Turn the creation around, shape, fluff and VOILA!


I haven't figured out how to mount the above to the clips so they look nice but these here are now available in my Etsy Shop.





oh, and don't let your kids do you manicure the day before you take pictures for a tutorial. It's so -yeah- that even the camera didn't want to focus on it!

Recycled Art

Earth Day was last week and my daugther's 1st grade class is putting on a recycled art project. She wanted to use plastic stuff from the recycling bin to make a cow so I bought some not so environmentally friendly glue (ahem - epoxy, not glue)- E6000. It's a VOC (volatile organic chemical - I'm letting my previous life as a lab rat out) and pretty much indestructible and doesn't decay over time. People use it to hold countertops on. Perhaps it was overkill but it's holding!

I tried really hard to let her do it herself but as it's due tomorrow and she was only making a mess by pulling things out of the recycling bin and putting it in a pile for the last 10 days, I decided to help her. We started with a plastic (#1 PETE aka polyethylene terephthalate) strawberry container for the body...



and cut out 4 "legs" from an egg carton (also #1 PETE aka polyethylene terephthalate).



Then we used a crushed Pepsi can (Aluminum) for the neck.



Strung the tabs from some soda cans (aluminum on several pieces of yarn (acrylic) and attached it to the body.


She then begged me to go to the store to buy AquaPods for the head. Um... no... this is a recycling project, not a collect art supplies project - use what we have. So I cut a waterbottle (also #1 PETE aka polyethylene terephthalate) that she had taken on a field trip last week in half and she got to choose what side she'd use for the head and we used a Coke can for the horns. This, of course, makes the head side heavy so we put a bag of rice in it to keep it standing up. I would have used a recycled piece of muslin for the bag but Emily doesn't have the sewing skills to pull that one off so we used a baggie that had something non-food in it previously (I keep these around for my supplies - appliques, buttons, half-finished projects).



We got it all expoxied together last night (has to sit without touching anything for 2-10 minutes and then held together for about 10 minutes and it stinks to high heaven - I still have a headache from it 15 hours later) and let it cure overnight. We have to paint it (or maybe paper mache!) tonight.

This morning, Emily says to me, "That doesn't look like horns Mommy!". oh well! I actually think it looks like a cat. Maybe I can convince her to grab some ribbon from my scrap pile and put a bow on top!

So that's why I haven't added anything new to get to 100 listings on Etsy - I'm at 98 listings! Come and visit to see my latest - kanzashi roses


UPDATE! Emily decided that it does, in fact, look more like a cat and she "pennted" (painted) her pink and named her Kitty the Cat!

more crochet

Hairbows aren't exactly the more "take with you" craft you can find. Actually, the thought of using my hot glue gun in the car is tempting but I'm afraid that the leak we can't pinpoint might short it out and I'd have to buy yet another glue gun (on #3 since Christmas...) not to mention that a short stop might cause a burn... and can you imagine using some E6000 and getting stuck to the car... that's my luck! I do cut ribbon in advance and sew the bows up while I'm out but the more complicated ones need a bit of glue in the middle of the process (or the whole darn thing!).

So I've been bringing my crochet with me. Last time I posted (cough, cough, it wasn't that long ago, cough, cough), I showed you the "Nana" pattern that I created. I'm attempting to get that into good form and sell the pattern - it's coming along but I need to take pictures as I go. I bought this one pattern that used a contrasting color to point to the instructions - I like this and will employ it as it was thoroughly helpful. I also showed the "PopPop" hat that I made for A's gymnastics teacher's new baby boy - not sure I can sell it - definitely not as a pattern since I (rather substantially) modified a pattern rather than create my own - but I'm working on developing my own version.









No, what I've done today is take white yarn to a farm the day after a heavy rain storm... I made a tried and true baby bonnet for spring/Easter/Baptism.

What's left now? Making this brimmed one again and prepping to sell it... I bought the pattern and know that I can use it but I remember that she had specific wording that I needed to use in order to sell.