Step Into My Thimble

So I’ve been thinking about buying new custom-made sewing labels for my latest craft outputs. I already have some that say “Heidi Original” but the “Heidi” is stamped in ink while the “Original” is sewn so they look kind of dumb. I also have a few very precious others that I bought while in Japan that say “Radish-A Marked Man.” Those I use very sparingly because they are so funny! I wish I could get more.

I found this site which is a custom label manufacturer in Australia. They can make me 50 custom woven labels for about $18, plus $3 for postage. This is a much better deal–the only companies in the US want much more than that, and it’s very hard to find woven labels. Everyone wants to stamp the name on. I’m thinking of getting some from the Hobby Label section since they seem a bit more decorative than the ones in the Personal Label category. But a simple name tag wouldn’t be bad either.

Another thing I’ve been up to craftwise is felting. This idea comes directly from a getcrafty article [link dead as of 6/04]. I got a couple wool sweaters (ok so one has 13 percent nylon in it) at the Goodwill on Saturday, and washed them, once in the tub and then again in the washing machine. They still need another wash or two to really get dense enough to cut up.

One of the sweaters is a beautiful brown/navy/purple heather and the other is a multicolored stripe (from Abercrombie & Fitch, probably a $75 sweater and I’m killing it! ha.) I hope to make a bag out of them, though the article suggests a lot of other cool ideas like pot holders, toilet seat covers, hats, “anything requiring the durability, flexibility, density, and dangerous beauty of felt.” We’ll see what scraps are left!

Well I’ve been a knitter for like a week now. I have a few thoughts on it so far. It is as calming as people say, but I find it really hard to sit and do it endlessly. I can knit at most six or eight rows on Rodney’s scarf before I have to put it down, go walk around or organize something, and then start again. I guess I have always been like that, with things like homework or watching TV. My family is notorious for multi-tasking.
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So Rodney’s taking all these night classes, even on Friday nights. I’m happy I have his scarf to knit which is my first real project and it’s going well so far. But it is a little lonely. Me and the cat can only sit there and half-watch TV while playing with yarn so long.

Though I may never be able to knit anything like this guy does, I like it for inspiration. I have bought some of the fabric, namely the Swiss Chard and the Roman Glass. I’m doing a quilt that is kind of based on his color philosophy. Men who knit and design textiles rock.

Knitted balaclava for men

I got this from some site about vintage knitting projects that is pretty cool. I am a bad web logger because I can’t find the site today!