*Featuring: YOUR Winter Whimsys!

Posted on February 8, 2010 by gettinitpegged

Here’s a look at all the Winter Whimsy’s that were completed and turned into me by Feb 5th… the deadline for the Loom Along Giveaway Drawing:

Karen Mentzer

Carol Williams

Jessica's

Kelly Jones'

Marcie Ponder's

Pam Sawyer's

Didn’t they all turn out so wonderfully cozy looking??

Everyone did such a beautiful job on their Winter Whimsys!  😀

I want to tell you how much I enjoyed having you all play yarn with me this last month…it was a lot of fun.

There were many others who joined us as well, but just didn’t have the chance yet to finish by the dead line.  But these ladies were able to squeeze in the fun, and now have been included in the giveaway drawing for playing and submitting their pictures to me!  🙂

The winning name drawn by the random generator is: (drumroll, please)

*Carol Williams*

Congratulations, Carol! 😀

I’ll be announcing the winning prizes in tomorrow’s post, both for this drawing, as well as the Chat Clique’s end of the year drawings… they’re all finished and ready to go, and I really am super excited to show them to you!

Until then…Happy Looming!

Bethany~

Posted in Contests, Free Loom Patterns, Loom Alongs, Loom Knitting | 6 Comments

The Road Ahead~

Posted on February 5, 2010 by gettinitpegged

I’ve really been taking this “contemplating the next stretch of time the new year inevitably brings” very seriously…as you can imagine, since it’s already February! I’ve taken the time to ponder what has already filled the hours of my days in recent history…and have decided that it’s been, as a whole, something to be proud of, if somewhat a little too manic at times.
I’ve come to the conclusion that this year I need to focus my energies, as well as having a little breathing room for the things that pop up unexpectedly in life that just should not, in any way, be dismissed. Just as I have taken the time to line up my previously “jammed hither and yon” stash into neat and orderly cubbies, I have found the need to fine tune my creative juices into much the same kind of package.
Life with both a middle schooler learning from home and soon to be both HS and AA graduate has been extremely time consuming this year. It has taken up all the time that I had previously spent on my own schooling pursuits, as well as holding down a regular job! Don’t get me wrong, for I am perfectly mindful of the importance of this change, and value it highly…I’m just genuinely surprised! My life has so utterly and completely changed this year from the last several, that it has really taken me some time and deep thought to find MY place in the whole…know what I mean? And in that, there needs to be balance.
This is the word I have been trying to overlay into our every day goings-on…BALANCE. Doesn’t it feel good to just say it? So soothing and simple. Yessssssss…. 🙂
I’m going to be making some changes to this little corner of the web. Rather than flitting from one thing to the next, in pursuit of having as much fun and excitement as can possibly be mustered, I’m going to be working privately, at home, looming up wonderful what-nots that have been sketched in my little planning pads for ages…I really feel the deep urge and necessity to bring these ideas into reality.

I’m going to write a book.
               …maybe a series of books.

I’ve wanted to do this since long before I started this website, but the actual building of the “Loom Knitter’s Clique” has taken me down paths, that although very fun and memorable and I wouldn’t trade them for the world, are separate from the one that my heart is calling me to take now.
I will still be here, updating you all on my progress and goings-on, just maybe not quite as regular as before. I will probably find little projects along the way that are just dying to be shared immediately right here, for the satisfying of your Freebie taste buds. 😉 Can’t leave you hanging too awfully much! …and of course I will still maintain the Yahoo Chat Clique as a means of keeping in touch with my wonderful loomy buds and a way we can discuss questions about all the projects still to be found here at the Clique.
I do have other plans in mind for this year, one of which I will announce this weekend…as a way of spreading some of the loomy love around. LOL! 😉 I’ve been working on some prizes for the most recent giveaways in the Chat Clique, and for the participants of the Winter Whimsy Loom Along. These prizes are actually going to be my way of introducing you all to a new corner of the Clique…an actual loomy product line! How cool will that be?! I can’t wait to show you all!
Speaking of which, I’d better get off line and get back to work so I’ll actually have something to show! Thanks for listening…and for the support and encouragement throughout the next phase of loominess around here that you’ve always been so generous to give…you guys are wonderful! 😀 I’m very blessed to call you friends.
Bethany~

Posted in Goals, Life, Loom Knitting | 9 Comments

*Winter Whimsy LAL: Part III*

Posted on January 27, 2010 by gettinitpegged

I have to say…I’ve been really enjoying this little loomy get-together and project!  😀  It’s just a straight forward little dealy-bob, but it’s very satisfying the way all those little pieces and steps just fall into place, isn’t it?  I hope you’re all enjoying it as much as I have been.

**As in the previous LAL entries, please make sure to drop a comment in this particular post’s comment section, remembering to check the box that says “notify me of follow up comments via email.”  In this way, we’ll all stay up to date and learning together!  😉

Remember those “options” I spoke about, way back in Part I?  Well, let me tell you that I’ve explored those options to the fullest in my most recent Winter Whimsy excursion, lol.  Remember this little baby?  This is something that has been lingering on my blue loom…I’m ashamed to admit…but, it’s been there since January 2008!  This is 2 years, folks.  😛  Well…I decided to rescue this very nice project, but neglected just the same, and put it to another purpose.

You guessed it!  I made this baby into a Whimsy!

Because it’s made with Lion Brand Thick and Quick, a super bulky #6 yarn, I definitely didn’t want a lot of extra layers to contend with, so I went with the option of having the 2nd panel made of fleece.  (A super cuteness choice of pattern on that fleece too!  You can’t get much cuter than monkeys, lol!)

Because I didn’t have a double layered panel, I didn’t have that “middle” allowance to thread my I-cord through invisibly, so I created 2 little casing (or tube) panels, in which the I-cord is threaded through, and can be pulled freely from one side to the other.

In case you want to know exactly how I did this, I pulled 5 stitches up through my loom and onto the pegs, from about 5 stitches in from the outside edges at my middle-2.5″ measurements (*see Part II), so that I would be knitting toward the direction of the outside edge.  Then I panel knit 6 rows.  I pulled up the stitches onto the loom that were directly in line from the original ones pulled up, at the 2nd stitch from the end (just like you would for the brim of a hat), and then I used a Basic BO on all pegs, lifting 2 loops over 1.  This is an excellent way to create a casing for any of your projects.  **Please Note!  The number of pegs used and rows knitted will need to be adjusted for different gauges of yarn!!

Alright…that brings us the the next steps for the actual Pattern Part III. 🙂

  • As you’ve probably noticed in the picture above, you’ll need to create a couple little anchor tubings for your I-cord to travel through at the top of the Whimsy, near the flap.  This step really helps stabilize your Whimsy when it’s being used as a Pocket Purse.  You’ll want to place the anchors about 1.5-2″ below the base of the flap, so that when the 2 panels are placed together, with the bottom (furthest away from flap) edges even, they will sit unseen, just under and inside the top edge of the Whimsy.
  • In order to create this anchor tubing, you may use just a simple crocheted chain, or a whipstitch tubing, as described in Part II…just make sure that your I-cord can still be pulled through all of the casings freely.
  • Assemble your panels, as hinted at above, with the bottom edges, which are the edges furthest away from the flap, aligned.  You will be stitching them together along the 2 long edges, leaving the ends open, and the I-cord free.  You may choose a variety of ways to do this:  you may single crochet them together (as in the original sample pictures), or whipstitch them together, or use a decorative blanket stitch (as I have used in my newest sample in the completed project pics below).

The neat thing about this process of blanket stitching for me this time, is that I’m intending on giving this Whimsy to my daughter on her 18th birthday coming up in April.  It will go perfect with these! This yellow embroidery thread I’m using was originally used to embroider her nursery items when I was still expecting her arrival!  How cool is that?  😀  Yes…I do tend to hang onto things for a long time.  Have I mentioned that I have a little pack-rat tendencies, lol?  But, I’m ever so glad in this particular case!

  • Now for the final touches… adding the buttons!  You’ll need to close up your Whimsy, as you would for both the bag, and the cowl, and decide on the best placement for your buttons.  Mark those places while your flap is held in place, so that it doesn’t get lost once you’ve repositioned for sewing.  Stitch your buttons on securely, making sure to only be sewing through the top panel.
  • You’re all done!  😀  It’s time to go try it on in front of the mirror, and play with all the different ways this project can be used…To use as a Bag, you just slide the strap out of it’s hide-y-hole and button the pockets closed.  To convert back into a snuggy Muff or Cowl, just pull the strap back inside by reaching up through the bottom edge and pulling the strap back into hiding…neat!
  • Now, it’s only up to your Whimsy how you’ll Wear it!

Enjoy!

Bethany~

Posted in Free Loom Patterns, Loom Alongs, Loom Knitting | 34 Comments