Free Pattern & Kids’ Camps

Allison — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 13:58:05 +0000

I only have 7 more days until my sweet, darling, little boy is on summer vacation. I am not looking forward to the extra dishes in the sink or my house looking like a toy store exploded when I get home. He’ll be going to camp 3 days a week. I chose a mainly academic camp, with sporting activities in the afternoons. When doing my research, I found so many cool camps! Sports, acting, farming, and knitting! Unfortunately, I don’t meet the age requirements for any of them. Yes, I know I can take a class but there’s something about these camps that just sounds so fun.

I wanted to share some of the links I found about kids knitting camps all over the country. I’m trying to talk the boss into letting me review each one in person, individually. I don’t think he’s going for it! After the links, check out a free pattern for a one ball purse in Boku. A popular pattern for workshops and classes.

The Whole Nine Yarns, Woodstock, GA

Baskets of Yarn, Charlotte, NC

Kids Knitwork, CA

Stitch House, Dorchester, MA

Knit Picky, Winston-Salem, NC

Pattern F184 PDF Download

Pattern F184 Boku 1 Ball Purse

BOKU
Small 1-Ball Felted Purse

Size: Approx. Finished Measurements (after felting): 6” wide x 7” tall
Materials: Boku (shown in color 2): 1 – 50g ball
Gauge: 14 sts = 4” on a US 10 needle over stockinette st before felting.
Needles: US 10, or size necessary to obtain given gauge. Small amount of Galway for sewing needed.
Note: Use a flat wool yarn such as Galway to sew purse together.

With size 10 needles, cast on 30 sts.
Rows 1-8: Knit 8 rows.
Row 9: K7, bind off 16 sts, K7.
Row 10: K7, turn and using cable cast on technique, cast on 16 sts, turn back and finish knitting the row: 30 sts.
Row 11-16: Knit 6 rows.

Begin working in stockinette st: work 15½-16” in st st, leaving enough yarn to finish the handle at the other end. End st st section with a purl row.

Second handle:
Rows 1-6: Knit 6 rows.
Row 7: K7, bind off 16 sts, K7.
Row 8: K7, turn and using cable cast on technique, cast on 16 sts, turn back and finish knitting the row: 30 sts.
Row 9-16: Knit 8 rows.

Bind off.

Fold in half & sew up side seams using a flat wool yarn. (Use the Galway Worsted). Felt.

Felting:
Set the washer to hot wash, cold rinse, and lowest water level. Add a small bit of soap. Place purse flat in mesh lingerie bag. Do not put anything else in the machine. Check on the purse every 5 minutes. Felting could take 20-25 minutes or so. Keep setting back the timer to make the wash cycle longer. When desired felting is achieved, rinse and lightly spin. Excessive spinning can set in creases. Remove purse, lay flat and block out to a nice finished shape. Straighten handle section. Let dry. With scissors or a razor remove any excess fuzz.

Oh yeah, we love crafts too.

Allison — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:09:04 +0000

I started my Christmas knitting but I’m also planning which cookies I am making and starting to piece together some of my holiday cards. I realized there are probably lots of other knitters and crocheters out there just like me. Your craftiness doesn’t end with yarn and you aren’t always using it with hooks or needles. I was first introduced to yarn while making plastic canvas tissue box covers with my grandmother when I was 6. Then, a decade or so later, I used a furry, eyelash type of yarn and wrapped it around a large wreath form. That wreath, which is a bit tattered, still goes on my inside door every Christmas season. It wasn’t until my early days at Plymouth Yarn that I started knitting almost daily. I am always looking for deals on blocks of paper and scrapbook supplies. I’ve tried at least half of Martha Stewart’s recipes. I own hundreds of buttons but rarely use them in clothing. Finally, anytime I go on vacation I try to find a ceramic studio to take my son to, as they are few and far between where I live. My yarn stash lives down in my basement but I have 3 shelves of non-yarn goodies too.

Where am I going with this? Most of us who like to play with yarn, also like to craft, bake and create. We had a rare snow in Bucks County, PA over the weekend and it was a wet, cold, slushy mess. I opted to stay in and found a fun website that caters to all of my crafting needs. If you are looking for a project, of any type, check out Craftfoxes. I found this adorable free pattern for a crochet zombie from the book Crobots: 20 Amigurumi Robots To Make by Nelly Pailloux. Image by Andrew Perris. Encore DK would be perfect for this project.

Crobots: 20 Amigurumi Robots to Make

I also found this fun free pattern for a crochet sandwich from the book Yummy ‘Gurumi: Over 60 Gourmet Crochet Treats to Make by Christen Haden and Mariarosa Sala. Image by Jeremy Hopley. You’ll find the perfect colors in Encore Worsted. Everyone needs a crocheted sandwich, it has only a fraction of the calories a real sandwich has!

Yummy 'Gurumi: Over 60 Gourmet Crochet Treats to Make

I also found how-tos on recycling old books, DIY decor, recipes from pickles to cookies, and so much more. They even have instructions on coffee dying! So if you want to make your holiday gifts this year, craftfoxes is the place to start. Become their fan on facebook and follow them on twitter. Find a yarn shop near you to start with those knitting and crochet patterns!

Plymouth Yarn Blog » crafts

Free Pattern & Kids’ Camps

Oh yeah, we love crafts too.