Twine Pompom Garland Tutorial : :

I'm home from a wonderful long weekend away and I thought it would be the perfect day to share a "no sew" (well, almost) tutorial with you today, since I'm up to my ears in laundry and it just happens to make a sweet Easter decoration. There's still time, right!?



What you'll need : :

• Whisker Graphics Divine Twine in a variety of colors
• Circle template or object to trace for pompom maker making
• Pen/pencil for tracing
• Sharp scissors
• Cardboard or heavy weight card stock
• Fabric Scraps (optional)

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1. Trace the circle template or object onto cardboard/card stock to make your pompom maker (this is the perfect job for kiddos or you can purchase pompom makers, too)  2. Add a smaller center circle and draw a line connecting outer cicrcle to the inner circle  3. Cut out the circles, cutting the line and removing the center circle, as well. (This might be a job just for the adults, depending on how old and handy with scissors the children are.)  4. Each pompom maker will require two of the cut out circle cardboard pieces layered together

5. Slip twine end through the cut line of your "doughnut shaped" cardboard pieces and hold the end tightly  6. Continue wrapping the twine around the cardboard by slipping it through the cut line, covering up the cardboard as you go

7. Continue until you have covered the cardboard nicely. You can use less or more depending on how full you want your pompom to be  8. Now it's time to cut! Run the scissors up through the two cardboard pompom makers. Cut carefully to create the fringed edge all the way around  9. Keep the cardboard in place and run a length of twine measuring several inches up in between the two pieces of cardboard. Secure twine by tying a double knot rather tightly  10. Once the twine pieces are secure, remove cardboard pieces, trim away excess twine

Voila! You now have a cute little twine pompom!

Repeat with the other colors of twine. We played around with the fullness and size of the pompoms. Simply, wrap extra twine around the cardboard pompom makers, to make some nice and full, and/or cut out smaller pompom makers from the cardboard to make a variety of pompom sizes.

When you're finished making the pompoms, add them to a long long length of twine

and you'll have a super cute and simple strand of garland to hang!

You can also stitch on several pieces of fabric scraps in coordinating colors to create more of a banner!

I think this makes a very sweet Spring and Easter decoration. Enjoy!!

Good Things : :

Sorry for my absence yesterday! I had every intention of getting this post together in time to share just before I left for my Dr's appointment in Erie, but it turned out to be one of those mornings. You know the kind, where you feel yourself rushing around and moving in slow-motion all at the same time. Today, well I am feeling a little bummed about yesterday, so it turns out that it's great that I have this post full of good, stitchy things that are making me happy right now!

After my last Bottled Ranbows Quilt post, I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about how I'm going to finish off this quilt. It's been up in the air for me, going back and forth between adding some dark with grey sashing and quilting thread or keeping it light? I think either option would make me happy, but then I saw Angela's photo of this wonderful, colorful bunting fabric come through flickr and I knew that it would be the perfect fabric to finish off this quilt of mine. It arrived Saturday from Cotton Blossom Farm and I love it!



Here's the newest member of my BRQ family -- My Pink Flower Dance quilt block.



Realizing I am getting close to finishing this quilt, I think I only have four blocks to go, I decided to stash some new pretty solids. Possibly for a new quilt, but mostly just to have handy. I love seeing that stack of solids on the shelf! This is the Blogger Bundle from Pink Castle Fabrics.



This past weekend all of my sewing time, and then some, was spent making more Birthday Crowns. I think there are eleven here! I am expecting a HUGE wholesale delivery of new wool blend felt any day now and I can't wait to begin all the making! This Friday I am also planning an exciting new giveaway for a lovely stack of felt, along with a chance to win Betz White's new Fab Felt Holiday workshop, so be sure to stop back for that!!!



Today, I plan to take an easy and finally finish off a winter scarf for me!! This one has been on the needles long enough!



Happy stitching, friends!

Wool.Easter.Basket : :

Well it certainly had been a while since I made one of these! Afterall, making felted items for children is where it all started for me. This project request came to me from a mother who wanted similar Easter baskets for her two little boys, and I had already made a basket for her first son -- how could I say no? Really, I couldn't. And I am really glad I didn't. I have had the same barely started project on the needles for quite some time now and with Easter around the corner, this really forced me to jump in. It seems as I get more and more into sewing, the knitting and felting that I use to just love, just keeps getting further and further away. This project made me think of {bunnies, fox, owls, trees, bees, butterflies, and Spring -- of course} but also about balance. How could knitting, something I was SO passionate about, be replaced by a new passion? Well, it shouldn't be. I love to knit! I love to sew! There you have it.

So, here is a little wool, nature themed Easter basket that required a lot of knitting, some felting, needle felting, embroidery, hand stitching, and just a little bit of sewing, too.






Here's hoping there is a lot of passion and a bit of balance in your life, too!

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Handmade Holidays ♥ Busy Elving : :

This post, inspired by Soulemama. Christmas Garland, inspired by Dottie Angel...

Now it's your turn - tell me what you're busy Elving....

Destashing Giveaway --- For the Knitter : :

What you'll win : : 

--- Itty-Bitty Toys by Susan B. Anderson
--- 4 skeins of Perfection Worsted in Marble by Kraemer Yarns
     ( what's left of the sweater I made here.)
--- 4 skeins of Mosaic FX by Berroco
--- 2 skeins of Hush in Kookaburra and Willy Winky by Berroco
--- 2 skeins of Sari Ribbon Yarn by Kertzer
--- One vintage pair of blue size 4. Knitting Needles
--- One brand new pair of Bamboo size 5 Double Pointed Needles
--- One brand new pair of Bamboo size 6 -13" Knitting Needles
--- One vintage pair of green size 8 - 28"Circular Knitting Needles
--- One vintage pair of red size 10 1/2 Knitting Needles
--- One brand new pair of Bamboo size 13 Circular Knitting Needles

One lucky winner will win it all...all you have to do is leave a comment to win! I'd love to hear a knitting story or for you to share a link to something that you are working on or are inspired by.

For extra entries --- Let me know if you (by leaving a separate comment for each) : :

1) Follow my blog
2) Subscribe to my blog by email
3) "Like" Maureen Cracknell Handmade on Facebook
4) Favorite my shop on Etsy
5) Blog about this giveaway with a link back to me
6) Tweet this giveaway with a link back to me

This giveaway will end at midnight on 10/31/10 and is open to the US only. (Only because of the cost to ship all this stuff!!! If you a have a friend in the States who will ship to you, by all means enter!) The winner will be chosen at random. Feel free to enter My Sewing Giveaway above, too!!!

Thanks everyone! ~ Maureen

Knitting, knitting, and more knitting : :

I spent a good part of this past weekend knitting. Now that it’s Fall and much cooler, it’s so easy to turn to the yarns. Every year at this time I want to knit everything, so that is what I'm doing. A dozen new dolls, several new dollhouses, and a couple mini totes are all waiting to be felted and I can't wait to show you all! 

I don’t know what it is about picking up my needles that creates such an all-consuming effect. It's been this way since the day I learned. When I begin a knitting project I'm either happy as one can be, starting out with a new idea and so excited or I'm in the deep, dark throes of trying to finish it as fast as I can and feeling like it’s never going to end. Once I start, I don't like to stop until I'm done. Thankfully my husband and children are all very used to me saying, "Just let me finish this row first...." If you're a knitter --- you know what  I mean. : )

I hope you had a lovely and productive weekend, too! ~ Maureen

Hello Blog, I've missed you : :

I've been away for a little while, certainly longer than I expected. When we got home from our vacation I found myself still in vacation mode for a while. I had such a wonderful time with my family and knowing that soon Summer would end and we would be thrust back into routine, I decided to hold on as long as I could. Everything else was forgotten --- my dolls (which are still just arms and legs), my quilt, my large bag of "stuff" to work on while on vacation (that is still neatly packed). It was nice to have that time with the kids, with nothing else pulling me away. Now, the boys are back in school, soon Haila will begin her first year of pre-school, and I -- for the first time since Motherhood, will experience a few hours of "alone time" a few days a week. I'm expecting bitter sweet bliss and hoping for lots of new creations to share here and here.

During a stretch of cool days, that felt like Fall was already here, I began work on Haila's new Fall sweater. It was her turn, since Jacob still fits nicely into his sweater and Kaiden into his. Most of Haila's new dresses have a coral-y -- bright peachy, pink color in the print, so I was thrilled when we found this yarn in my old stash bin of novelty yarns. She was too.

So, what began by the water...

ended there too...

Happy to be back ~ Maureen

My Creative Space : :

We've been spending lots of time this week at the pool cooling off. When I'm not swimming, I've been watching the kiddos poolside with my feet in the water and my hands busy knitting up lots of legs and arms for future dolls --- aliens, elves, elephants,  and oh yes - more owls.

I'd love to see what you are making, so feel free to add a link in the comments for me to visit you. For more on my creative space visit kootoyoo.

Flickr and Blankets : :

I just joined Flickr and stayed up WAY too late last night uploading photos. If there's a secret out there to speeding that whole process up - I'd love to hear it??? Anywho, so you now can view a little slide-show to your right and visit me there. If you are a member or have a group that I should know about and join, send me that info - PLEASE! - As I am still trying to figure it all out.

This week one of my projects was to make a simple baby blanket for an expecting friend. I used some of my old new Anna Maria in a patchwork pattern for the front. For the back - an old, very soft, receiving blanket from when my Haila was just a little babe. Like usual, I wasn't quite sure what I was doing. I kept it simple, making a simple brick pattern with a little stripe of pink to break up all the lovely good folks fabrics and match the pale pink of the receiving blanket. I really hope she loves it!

While looking through photos of old projects to add to my Flickr, I found lots of this old blanket. I made it maybe two-three years ago. It was when I was first starting to knit things other than scarves and simple shawls and I wasn't 100% confident yet in making my own creations, with my own yarn choices, so I picked these yarns based on a sample poncho that was in the yarn shop.
Some are novelty yarns, but most of the yarns I used are silk skeins made of recycled sari's and I just fell in love with the texture, color, and beauty of those yarns.

The blanket is definitely too funky for me, but it's perfect for Haila and perfect for twirling.

Weekend Knitting : : Jacob's New Sweater

After completing Kaiden's newest sweater, Jacob immediately asked "where's my new sweater?" After promising that he would "help me" make it, I decided a new sweater for Jacob was in order. So, after finishing a few other projects we had going, Friday night we began to work. He picked out the yarn all by himself, giving me specific instructions on how he wanted it to look. He had big plans!

The designing ...
Saturday night at, about 2 a.m....
Blocking and buttons...
Sunday morning, finished!
And, he is thrilled...(it was so worth getting nothing else done this weekend)...
He calls it "my star wars sweater" and I am not sure I totally get that, but it doesn't matter...
He is so proud he picked out the buttons and helped sew them on...
And it even has a place for "all the secret stuff" ...
We LOVE it!!!