Fresh start

 

I gave away all 87 Chapstick holders yesterday, so I started a fresh batch when I got home. I only passed them out to students and staff who could show me their Chapstick. It was great fun, but I know that there will be requests for many more Chapstick holders. One student even showed me that he was ordering a pack of Chapsticks from Amazon with the hopes of taking home a holder. No dice! Show me your Chapstick!

Losing track

I've been losing track of time and forgetting to post, but I've been busy!

Twisted headbands for daughter Joanne... Tropical

Dishcloths for daughter Alison

Twisted headbands for a teacher at the high school

More twisted headbands for daughter Joanne... Wildflower

Even more twisted headbands for daughter Joanne... Salt Water Taffy

Chapstick holders made with leftover yarn

Once again, twisted headbands for daughter Joanne... Springtime

I now have 18 headbands finished for Joanne. As of today, she needs 46. I may take a break from making hers and finish up the headbands for the high school boys. I'd really like to have them finished by Halloween. Can I do it? Only time will tell!

Morning Coffee

 

Today I finished three more twisted headbands for daughter Joanne. The yarn is Premier Colorfusion DK, Morning Coffee. The yarn is super soft, and I'm sorely tempted to keep one for myself!

For Joanne

 

Daughter Joanne has requested 40 twisted headbands for Christmas boxes she'll be packing in November. She loves the colorful ones, so I'm in for lots of fun!

These three were made in Premier Colorfusion DK, Neapolitan. They look like pumpkin to me!

Meeting goals

I spent the weekend meeting goals, mainly to finish making twisted headbands for all of the high school girls.

I used up all of my Forest and Spa yarn.

I also used up some leftover Sungold. The flat headband is a prototype for the boys at school. Yes, the boys are asking for ear warmers!

Mom has been busy knitting cabled headbands. They're quite popular!

Pink Night, the volleyball girls' annual fund raiser for the Beverly K. Roberts Foundation, is this Friday. This is spirit week at school, and today was Dynamic Duo day. Daughter Carol texted me this morning and asked if I wanted to be the other half of her duo. Of course I said yes! To make our outfits match a little more closely, I cranked out two drop stitch cowls this morning. They are so much fun to make!

These can be doubled for a closer fit. I have a little of the yarn left, so I think I'll crank out what's left and see what size cowl I get from it.

With my mass production of twisted headbands, my Sentro 40 became very cranky yesterday. I'm pretty sure I broke the casing that holds the crank. Some boys at school are going to take it apart and see if they can fix it. If they're successful, the machine will go in the art room. If not, the boys will use the parts of the machine to make a collage.

I do have another machine on order so that I can make twisted headbands for daughter Joanne. In the meantime, I'm using a 22 pin Addi to crank out flat headbands for the high school boys. They take about half as long to make as the twisted headbands. My goal is to have them made by Halloween. My goal is set. Let's see if I can achieve it!

Whole lot of crankin' goin' on!

I maddest my goal to see how many twisted headbands I could crank out today, and I really surprised myself.

 

I can make three twisted headbands out of one skein of a solid color I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby. This color is Spa, one I've used before.

With multi-colored or heathered yarns I can only get two headbands. This color is Sage Advice, another yarn that I have used before.

I did try a new yarn today, Premier Colorfusion DK, Blue Jeans. I really thought that a DK yarn would go through my Sentro 40 smoothly, but the machine was very clunky. Still, I've worked with yarns that were harder to crank, and I would use this one again. I do like that each of these headbands looks so different. 

I don't expect to get much done tomorrow. Dave and I are planning to start cleaning the house for the holidays. They'll be here before we know it!

Bonus!

Today I worked with a full skein of Lion Brand Re-Spun, Alpine. This is a wonderful yarn to use with my Sentro 40, and the bonus is that one skein makes six twisted headbands!

Just another Tuesday

Today was a sub day, so I had limited time for crafting.

 

I did make one twisted headband when I got home. This is in Big Twist Heather, Beige. I love the color of this yarn, but it is another that will be used only for hand knitting or crochet projects. My machine did not like it at all.

Dave came home while Mom and I were cranking, and he surprised me with this three foot tall gnome. He said he saw it a couple of weeks ago and decided I had to have it. Isn't he handsome? I do love my gnomes!

This is one of my mom's projects. She's cranking out cowls that can be twisted twice around the neck. The fabric is wonderful, and soon the females in the family will all have matching cowls!

Day off

We had the day off of school today, so Mom and I did some more yarn shopping. We are now set for years to come!

While Mom was napping, I sorted our stash so that we could more easily find what we want for projects. One of the new yarns I tried is Lion Brand Re-Spun, Aegean. This is listed as a worsted weight yarn, but it's finer than the yarns I've been using. It works beautifully in the machine! There's a whopping 658 yds on the skein. I stopped after one headband so that Mom can try making a hat with it if she wants to. I'm sure there's plenty for both of us.

Another yarn new to me is Loops & Threads, Blue Surf. This is also listed as a worsted weight. It is super soft, and with 364 yards I had no trouble making three headbands. I wasn't thrilled with the color choices, but it sure works up nicely.

I also tried and rejected three colors of I Love This Yarn. The yarns are beautiful, but I had trouble with them within the first couple of rows. Mom and I have started a bag of yarns that don't work well in the machines, but will be wonderful for hand knitting and crocheting. 

Dave said we're in for a stretch of rainy weather. I guess it's a good thing that Mom and I are prepared for indoor activities!

Over the weekend...

I managed to crank out several twisted headbands over the weekend with mixed results.

 

I love Red Tweed (I Love This Yarn). My machine does not. It was very hard to crank, so there will be no more of this color on the machine.

Sand Dunes (I Love This Yarn) went smoothly on the first one. Then there was a knot in the yarn just two rows in. After that, it was very difficult to crank. Look at the size difference! Both are from the same skein of yarn, same machine, same number of rows.

Shocking Violet (I Love This Yarn) was also a beast to crank. I love the color combination, but I won't put myself through that torture again.

Royal Gorge (I Love This Yarn) was smooth as silk to crank.

Just when I think I can tell if a yarn will work by the feel of it, I'm fooled. I guess all I can do is keep experimenting!

Four more

I managed to make four more twisted headbands today.

All four are made with I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby. This color is Be Still.

This one is called Amber Honey. I'm not sure how the blues fit in with Amber Honey, but I like the way this one looks!

Rebuilding

My supply of twisted headbands was getting ridiculously low, so I'm glad I haven't sold any in a few days. It's given me a chance to rebuild my supply!

This is another pretty color combination with a name that I think is ridiculous... The Struggle is Teal. I know that coming up with names can be difficult, but there must be a better name!

Forest is a really popular color with the high school girls. I prefer the multi-colored headbands, but I do see the appeal. 

Unless I get called in to sub, I have the day off tomorrow. Mom and I might go looking for some more Ivory Tweed. It's such a pretty yarn, and it works well with a cabled headband that Mom enjoys making. We may even go out to lunch!

Instant Classic

 

I don't know how they came up for the name for this color combination, Instant Classic. I like the colors, but I think the name is terrible!

Aggravation

I've been having trouble posting comments on some blogs for a few weeks now. I'll start typing a comment and the comment box will disappear. What's really aggravating is that I can't get back in to the blog post to try again.

I am reading your blog posts, dear tatting friends!

Leftover yarn

 

With all the twisted headbands I've been making, I'm starting to accumulate a good stash of leftovers. Yesterday I was asked if I could make Chapstick holders. I'd never made them before, but I figured it was worth a try. They work up pretty quickly, and the high school kids seem pretty excited about them.

Brighton Road is one of the color combos I really like. I wasn't going to buy any more yarn, but I just couldn't resist !

So much alike!

I worked with two colors of I Love This Yarn today that are so much alike.

Cypress Landing is one of the prettiest colors I've used so far.

I thought Floating Along looked similar, and I was right! I love them both.

Fund raiser update... I have now raised almost $700 for the drama club by selling these headbands. Yippee!

Losing track

By not posting since Thursday, I've lost track of what I've done! Needless to say, there's been a whole lot of cranking going on.

My sister Janet arrived Friday afternoon. She helped Mom and me untangle some yarn, so on Saturday I helped her in the yard. Fair is fair!

Mom is still working on her hat project on the Sentro 48.

Mom did some experimenting with fingering weight acrylic on the Sentro 48, and made this beautiful cowl for my sister Janet. We all liked it so much, that Mom has starting taking orders from granddaughters.

Mom had this beautiful yarn that just did not work well in the machine, but she was able to hand knit this gorgeous cable headband for Janet. I'm next in line!

I can't remember the order in which these were made, and I may have even posted some of the pics before.  This is Lion Brand Mandala Ombre, Joy.

I have no idea what this one is! Let's just call it pretty. I just found the tag! It's called Mint Tea.

This is I Love This Yarn, Moody Mosaic.

This is I Love This Yarn, Strawberry Jam.

My order of Dakota (I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby) arrived yesterday. One headband is for daughter Andrea, and the other is for a former student. Luckily, I ordered several skeins of this. This is probably the most popular color I've made, and I do plan to make more!