Crafty Finds

I went on a crafty errand for my church on Thursday. We needed to purchase supplies for our Advent Wreath-making workshop from Fall River Floral Supply. It is strictly a wholesale operation, so you basically shop the warehouse. It was so much fun! I brought my own tax paperwork so I picked up a couple of things. And I can't wait to go back again. This is one of three aisles of ribbon!

As we were driving through rural Rhode Island today, we stumbled upon an alpaca event at a yarn store. Aren't they cute?

I had to buy a skein to try. I'm allergic to some animals, so I'm hoping I'm not allergic to alpacas! I want to be able to wear the scarf I make from this luscious yarn! Sabrina contributed the fiber for this skein. I hope to bring my Girl Scouts on a field trip to the farm as part of their Textile Arts badge.

What crafty goodness did you find this week?

T-shirt Yarn

What fun! In the process of cleaning the "studio" I found several bags and a big bin of old t-shirts being saved for t-shirt quilts. I remembered seeing Arlette's tutorial for how to make yarn out of t-shirts. So I started cutting.


Since all of the t-shirts had printed images we wanted to save, I only cut the bottom portion of the shirts into yarn. I used an old June Tailor Short Cut ruler to quickly cut 1" strips. Use Arlette's instructions to make a continuous strip. I've used this technique before to make yarn out of plastic grocery bags.


When you stretch the strip, it rolls onto itself. Julia took a break from homework to pull some yarn for me. She said she could do that all day! Roll into balls and start knitting or crocheting.


I decided a tote bag would be useful, since one can never have too many tote bags! The yarn is not easy to work with, and a blister is forming on my thumb. But it's worth it. I have this great new stash of yarn from something I would have thrown away. Now what to do with the sleeves?


Have a crafty day!
Tina

P.S. Don't you love my grandmother's enamel table I unearthed in the studio?