Knit or Go Home

So how cute - a crochet baby dragon! I saw this pattern months ago and just loved it, so when my mom’s birthday was coming around I decided it was the perfect gift (especially during my crochet animal binge at the time!). My mom has always had a love for the mystical and metaphysical, and dragons are a favorite. Tada!

Pattern source: Baby Snow Dragon

He’s made of Sugar n’ Cream cotton, in a cool sea foam green color. I know in the picture he looks a bit of a sad grey, but I promise, he’s green. The only thing I’m not happy about are his eyes, as my embroidery skills leave much to be desired, but for the future I have purchased tiny black plastic eyes, as I used for the crochet horse. They give a much nicer finish - live and learn I guess. My next adventure is making this little guy take flight - my mom and I decided he would be even cuter with wings, so that will be an experiment for sure!

Hopefully by now you’ve heard how we all need to do our part to turn our environmental crisis around - if you haven’t, it’s time to start thinking about what you can do. Join the Green movement!

It may seem silly, but with Starbucks on every corner and the daily needs that people have for coffee, why not knit your very own drink sleeve so you don’t have to use the paper ones that come with your drink? Not only does it work better than the paper ones and keeps your drink hotter for longer, you can save some waste while looking stylish. (=

Knits up super fast and so far I’ve gotten a lot of unexpected compliments on it. I’ll probably be making them for everyone I know. All you have to do is slip it in your purse, backpack, briefcase, car, or whatever else you have with you day to day (or make many and keep them everywhere!) so you always have one handy.

I make mine from Sassy Stripes, a fabulous, self-striping light (3) weight yarn. It can sometimes be tricky to track down, but I’ve found it at some Michael’s. Sometimes it is a little frustrating to not be in control of how it stripes, but it sure beats changing colors and is kinda fun to constantly be surprised as to what color is coming next. I also found that the green pattern is the best, as it starts and ends with seed stitch, which helps with the rolling, as does the crochet lash yarn border (I trimmed the edges so you aren’t drinking fur!)

Pattern from: Mag Knits

I changed the pattern quite a bit, but certainly got the idea from this site. I found that 50 stitches made it too loose, but then I didn’t check my gauge either.

When your drink sleeve inspires you to go green in other ways, check out these sites I found about how else you can play your part - we only have one planet - let’s make it better!

How to Go Green

Ten Way to Go Green

Meet Bob the Asian and Harry Gnu. Bob is my friend Colleen’s bed buddy, and Harry is mine. These guys have fancy little pockets to hold your bedtime necessities - such as my felted eye mask! (= Convenient, huh? A functional stuffed animal to decorate your bed! The best part, is the fun you and some felt can have making the face - we even improvised and made some wings for little Harry.

Bob:

Harry:

The pattern for these adorable, owl-like creatures is from Naughty Needles. Bob and Harry both have secrets, but you’ll have to buy the book to find out what it is. (= A girl can’t tell all of her secrets.

So there may be doubters out there, but the following crochet shrug was my first-ever completed crochet project.

I had tried to learn how to crochet a few times, and given up. Couldn’t even complete a hat. Sad huh? When it said, “Double crochet into the ring,” I just couldn’t get it. Then when my friend demonstrated for me, my words were, “Oh they mean that ring? Oh, that’s how you do a double crochet??” Not good. I didn’t like that your stitches weren’t sitting there on your needle waiting for you to do something with them. I have to hunt for my stitches? Huh? Not for me - way to compulsive and uptight for this nonsense.

Then I had a wedding to go and needed something to complete my outfit - but it had to be just right. I saw the following pattern in the BEST crochet book, The Happy Hooker, by Debbie Stoller of Stitch n Bitch. I just had to have it for my outfit. And I had one week.

While not perfect, it certainly turned out good enough, although I was definitely weaving in ends still on the drive to the wedding. And I have been a crochet advocate ever since. While knitting is still my first love, there is something about the freedom of crochet that I just adore. I like that it wasn’t easy for me to pick up though, as I feel it is a good teaching annecdote when I teach my crochet classes, since I understand the awkwardness and frustration of learning to crochet.

If you haven’t tried it yet, what are you waiting for???

If you don’t already know about this site, I’m about the rock your yarn world. The best patterns (and completely free!!) and great articles. My newest favorite article is here, and is about why do we always start beginners with scarves, when they take forever and are completely repetitive! I don’t even like making scarves because they reach that point about half-way through where they never seem to get longer. (=

But devote some time to checking out this site: Knitty

It has been a while since the last update - spring break from school meant good times lying poolside and way too much shopping, and a sore wrist from all the knit and crochet that ensued. The flip side, is the house didn’t have internet. But I’m back! And this is my absolute favorite - a knit clock!!! I used Sugar n Cream yarn (took less than a ball), a cheap wooden picture frame, clock parts from a craft store, and beer bottle caps! And I’m so proud. (=

Very simple - seed stitch the sides, and stockinette stitch the center to make a square. Then I used a staple gun to attach it to the frame and hot glued the bottle caps. All it took was assembling the clock face and voila! A knit clock for my wall.

Idea modified from: Book knit.101 (but mine is much cuter!!!)

Currently working on a crochet version. My apartment will be covered in clocks! If you are interested in one, I will be selling them for $20 plus shipping. I can take custom color and number design (bottle caps, buttons, numbers, etc) orders. Email me with the “Email Me” link above, or leave a comment. Thanks!