Making Knitting Needle Knobs

While knitting, fun looking needles gild the lily when working your mojo with pretty yarns.

This site, Flying Fingers, sells knitting accessories galore, and some with pretty embellishments on the tops of their needles. Lots of those unusual looking needles can be seen here.

Would you like to make some yourself? It is easy and inexpensive (about $1 per pair if you already own the wooden needles, and you will have lots of clay left over).

I looked up some references on making those pricey looking needle knobs and found a nice tutorial here: handmade_knitting_needles.

So I made a couple of knobs just for fun, and came up with a few unusual designs, one of which is shown in the photo on right.

Steps for Making Knobs:
1) purchase modeling clay in color(s) you desire (Sculpey is readily available;
2) work the clay until pliable and then mold in any desired shape;
3) place clay bobber on non-working end of wooden knitting needle;
4) bake in preheated oven at 265 degrees for 25 minutes, having knobs lay over edge of cookie sheet;
5) cool and polish with wet, fine sand paper, if desired

Be creative; you could go wild and your knitting buddies might take over your stock.

Making a Mosaic from Digital Pictures

Photographic mosaics can be made on this site: Mosaics; the process is free and explained fairly simply.

You DO need to establish a Flickr account (free), or have pictures previously uploaded to a URL to use this program.

After uploading your favorite pictures, the program runs your personalized mosaic. Here is what MOSAICS generated for me from my Flickr "knitting stream":

Then I decided to be a bit more adventurous in making another mosaic, and used digital photos containing pictures of only flowers. Again, I uploaded my floral pictures of to Flickr from a previously saved file and created a new summer mosaic.
There are a number of applications where this program might come in handy. For instance, Mosaics would be a good source for making a Christmas card of favorite family pictures.

Stay tuned. Christmas is just around the corner.

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A new painting completed!!

Here is a newly finished house-warming gift in oils which I finished yesterday for my sister-in-law, Kathy Kinsey. It is painted on a 16" x 20" canvas, framed in white wood (frame not shown). Belated congratulations on your new house, Kathy!

Smocking and How to make Shell Smocking Ribbon trim

Craftside shows how to turn flat ribbon into a 3-dimensional look with a simple stitch to draw up the ribbon. This type finish for ribbon

... can be used on just about anything from a fun party dress to home decor like a pillow or edge of a curtain.

Click on the picture at the right to enlarge and read directions about how to draw up the ribbon for smocking. It creates an unusual and dressy effect for sewn edgings.

In 2004, my friend Kathy's daughter was welcomed and blessed into her church in a formal ceremony. I made a sweet white christening dress for little Ellen with a matching under-dress. The smocking method of drawing up fabric on the collar was used, with further embroidery on the collar and lots of lace eyelet added. (If I had known how to make shell smocking with ribbon back then, you can bet I would have employed that technique on Ellen's dress.)

Here is a picture of Kathy and Ellen in her christening dress (above), and then a close up (below) of the smocked collar.

It was lots of fun making this dress for a close friend and her very special daughter, who is now seven years old.

Kathy and Ellen, I'm coming to see you soon, and bringing clay for us to play with!