Tried Something New This Time....

This is a very short posting this month. The online charity group to which I belong presented members with two opportunities to help others in June. I chose to create some items which will be sent to the northern Canadian territory and given to new Inuit mothers.

Inuits used to be widely known as Eskimos, and yes; these were the same people who used to live in igloos. In modern times, they choose to be called Inuits, and the 'western world' has required them to live in permanent communities now instead of living in three different residences as the seasons changed.

I didn't know much about the Inuits except for a few documentaries looked at over the years, but in writing this post I went to Google and tried to gather good sources of information and visuals so that you will have some idea of how life goes in the land of the Inuits.

I found one source on Wikipedia. Here is the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuit, but I found an even better source from a man named John Tyman. Mr Tyman actually lived with an Inuit family for a while and got to know first hand about Inuit life. There are two links I would like you to look at that I think you will find very much informative. The first one gives a short bio and can be found here: http://www.johntyman.com/, but the real knitty gritty visuals can be found here:
http://www.johntyman.com/arctic/

Have a look; I don't think you will be disappointed. As I looked at the captions under the photos, I realized that like most indigenous peoples who shift into living the 'westernized' way of life; there are always the same problems. I felt like I was looking at what has occur ed with the Native Americans in the United States. The same bad habits of drinking excessive sugary drinks, smoking, and heavy alcohol consumption is causing health problems such as diabetes and domestic violence. Children being made to attend school and trained for jobs that are non-existent in their corner of the world causes youths to become bored, and you know what happens when youths have very little to do.

Trash is now a big problem because very little of their waste is biodegradable and just like in the so-called modern world, disposable diapers now litter back yards and waste dumps where they will sit for thousands of years.

Enough of my yammering...... on with photos of what I have knitted.

The most widely used method of transportation, especially in the winter months is the dogsled. Snowmobiles are also used after the snow has melted, and some have all-terrain vehicles.

Here is a photo of an Inuit mother and baby.

Here is an overview of what I've knitted. As you can see, there is a sweater, hat with earflaps, a pair of socks and mittens. The sack-shaped article is a baby Cocoon. Rather than putting a blanket around a baby and trying to keep the legs and arms wrapped up snuggly, you simply insert baby in the sack and that's it.

Here is a close-up of the sweater. As you can see, I have used my old batwinged baby sweater pattern, but I gave it a collar for warmth and embellished the collar and one side of the sweater with little 'nubbies' for decoration and to keep me from getting bored.

Here is a slightly different angle. I also added a little extra do-hickey shape along the bottom hem of the sweater. I altered the baby Cocoon pattern as well. It was supposed to be knitted in two colors and have a smooth stockinette stitch throughout. I knitted it with four or six rows of purl stitches then switched to two or three knitted rows. It gives a wavy look to the pattern, and I also placed some of the 'nubby' decorations and embellished with clay buttons just for "creation's sake."

How To Make Buttons Made of Clay & My Latest Projects on the Needles

A few of my fellow crafters have admired my clay buttons and some wanted to know if it is something easily done; so instead of giving my usual written reply, a lightbulb suddenly came on in my head to show how it is done in photos and place them on my Blog....

So here it is! You will have to forgive me. A few of the photos came out a bit fuzzy. For some reason, I cannot always get my digital camera to focus sharply when I need it to, and I did not feel like getting out the instruction manual to figure it out. It's like digging into an encyclopedia.

First, let's look at the basic equipment.....

Here is the clay I use. It is made by Sculpey Bake in the Oven Clay and used to be available at WalMart. It still might be, I haven't checked in a few years. I purchased my 'Starter Pack' from Walmart which included various cakes of clay and two sculpting tools which you will see later. The problem with the Starter Pack is the color range. You only get basic colors. If you like colors with a capital "C" you have to find a store that sells art supplies. I found what I needed at AC Moore. I have to make it clear that Sculpey makes a variety of clays. The larger packs you see above named Studio does not to my knowledge come in a 'variety pack' like the smaller packs of SculpeyIII. If you do a "Google" you can visit the Sculpey website where you can see their entire line of products and they also have creative ideas for you to try as well.

Here is another photo showing the two sculpting tools included with the Starter Pack. I suppose you can purchase these tools separately. I've never noticed because I didn't have a need.

Here's a close-up of the clay tools.

The clay is 'scored' into sections. So here; I have broken off a scored section and I am getting ready to 'work it.' You have to soften the clay and make it malleable. You're pretty much working the clay like you would pie crust, except you won't get your hands all messy and sticky.

Work the clay with your fingers to get it soft and bendable. Only takes about two minutes.

Here is a yellow piece after working it between my fingers, squeezing it flat, folding it over, working it flat again. It just needs to feel your body heat to do this.

Fold the clay over and 'work it'

Fold it over again...

Here is the general shape the clay should take to make your button. It can be larger. It depends upon how much clay you are using. Just make sure it is smooth across the entire surface. You can do this with your fingertips. Make pretend you are shaping dough to make biscuits. The thickness would be about a quarter of an inch. It can be adjustable, depending upon your needs. You will need to experiment the first time to get your fingers and creative juices used to working with the clay. My buttons are chunky. I call them "Freddy Flintstone Buttons."

Put your penny or dime on the clay.

You will need a penny or a dime to use as a guide for the size of the button. Nichels and quarters are just too large unless you are making them as a decorative button for an adult garment.

Just as in biscuit making, after you have rolled out the dough and are ready to use your cutter, place the penny or dime on top of the dough, and use your clay tool (the one with the edge shaped like a knife) to trace around the coin. This will give you a general shape. Use your fingertips to perfect the shape along the rim.

Now you are ready to make the buttonholes.

If you knit or crochet, you will always have a sewing needle for yarn. Get yours out and decide where on the face of the button you would like to make two buttonholes. Stick it in. Push the needle in from front to back until the eye of the needle has travelled out the other end, and while the eye of the needle is making its way through the clay gently twirl the needle around to make sure that once the clay has baked, the hole will be large enough to get that same needle through when you are trying to sew it onto the garment.

It doesn't have to be perfect, just functional. These are for babies. Babies and children like things a little 'odd.' It's more interesting to their psyche (mine too!).

Here are two buttons with holes. The pink shows the 'right' side of the button. The yellow one shows the back of the buttonhole. The back will always have that 'puckered' look. Don't worry about it. It's the back!

I just know someone is going to be curious as to how I mix my colors and come out with those great looking wild buttons; so here it is.

First of all; it you can't find a specific shade or color you need, don't be afraid to mix two or three colors of clay together. It's just like in school when you mixed paints or crayons to get a color: blue and yellow make green, etc.

Just break off the colors of clay and work each color separately to make it flat and soft. Then mix the two together like a pancake and squeeze and bend and roll, then flatten out again. You will see a different color as the two merge together.

You can join two colors together, but not fully merge them. In that case, you get a candy-cane effect like the photo above.

You can take that flat shape and roll it like a Tootsie Roll in the palm of your hand and make a cigar shape as shown above.

Take a flattened sheet of clay the thickness and color of your choice and place the cigar shaped clay as pictured above.

Roll that bad boy like you are making "pigs in a blanket." But make sure there are no air pockets. Roll it tightly. You'll know once you work with it and are able to look at it in person

Here's an example of clay not rolled tightly enough. You can see some air pockets after cutting the clay.

Here is where I merged orange clay around another color.

Here is what it looks like after cutting the clay. You just roll and shape into a jelly-roll shape and cut just like you are making sugar cookies.

A slightly closer view..........

A view of a button next to a penny....

Finally, we are ready to bake these bad boys! You will need a glass pyrex plate as shown above. The shape does not matter, just make sure it is glass. Place the buttons face up in the glass baking dish and make sure they are not touching. They can be closer together than what is shown in the photo above.

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees (American) and bake your buttons for about 20 minutes minimum. Bake longer if they are more than one-quarter inch thick. The instructions on the clay wrapper will give more detailed baking instructions. The important thing is that you not burn the clay. I haven't had such a total disaster, but they will deepen in color if left in the oven too long.

Put the buttons in and bake.

Now! Last but not least, as they say, are two knitting projects I am working on at the present time. Wish me "God-speed" in completing them soon. I'm in one of those moods where "I have to do something" and haven't found the perfect pattern to really excite me, so this is 'a better than nothing' project.

This is a scarf. Not for warmth. This would be more of an early Spring or early Fall scarf. The yarn is mercerized cotton from Elann.com
The Free pattern can be found here: http://shop.thescarfer.net/blog/?p=82#more-82

This is a baby blanket. I like basketweave, but it can have a boring look about it; therefore, I always stay away from knitting it. This pattern is different as you can see. The edge of the blanket is bordered with a miniature basketweave pattern and gives it just enough 'excitement' to keep me interested, and keeps you on your toes. The free pattern can be found here:

http://www.debbiemacomber.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=nnp&pageID=194

I'm Late Again..

I had two 'unexpected' babies to knit for these past few months. Well, one was unexpected. The other one was placed on my agenda, but I thought I had a few more months (like until this Fall) to get my gift together; but the baby was born prematurely and a sudden baby shower fell out of the plain blue sky, and my plans went out the window! I intended to do my usual of a sweater, hat, mittens and car seat blanket for the cold months of fall and winter but had to come up with something quick; so much for intentions! A sweater, a few hats and a baby washcloth was all I had time for.

Of course, of all the clay buttons I had in my stash, nothing matched to my satisfaction; so that meant pulling out the clay and making new ones.

Here is the latest batch of buttons. Good thing these sweaters are for newborns, because my buttons look like tempting pieces of candy.

Here's a close-up:

Here are photos of the sweater, hats and washcloths:

A slightly better view of the hats

And last, but not least is a photo of the Little One being fed by his Mom:

The unexpected birth was from a young woman near my town who shovels snow off my roof in the winter. I called to make sure she would still be available for winter and discovered she had given birth to a baby girl. Out of the blue, I asked if she would like a sweater and hat for her child, and of course; she said Yes. So here is the sweater and hat. The hat is from a purchased pattern and called "Porcupine," and can be found here:

http://www.woollywormhead.com/wee-woolly-toppers/

Another view of the hat

I guess by now you must be wondering why I tend to use the same sweater pattern when there are countless others out there.

I have a fondness for this one because it is a densely knitted fabric (all garter stitch) and the batwing shaped sleeves are great for trapping and retaining body heat. In the cool and cold months you need all the warmth you can get.

The pattern isn't supposed to have a collar, but I added one for extra neck warmth. I just don't like the idea of a baby being cold or chilly. The pattern only calls for 4 buttons, but I added an extra one to make sure the sweater traps in the warmth.

Whew..... It's Been A While

Whew! It's been a while since I have posted, and I don't know where the time goes, but it goes by so swiftly these days, yet you seem to be less productive. It seems like I never manage to "get finished" and stay that way.

I love knitting for my Babies, and there is always another new one to add to the 'fold.' Plans to knit something for myself never happens. I might experiment on a hat just to take a break; but whether it is wearable or not is another story.

I knitted a shawl for a woman whom I've known since I was 4 years old, and just got it into the mail a few weeks ago only to receive news that she passed away from damage received from a stroke. I forgot to take photos, so have nothing to show you in my Blog. I also knitted a scarf for her daughter, who was her mother's devoted caretaker the past 3 or 4 years. My Spirit kept telling me to "hurry up" and get this shawl to her while she could still appreciate it, and I dragged my feet thinking she would 'be there' because she always was....


I don't know where the summer went. The Fall is travelling swiftly by and winter is a breath away. My 'adopted babies' need new sweaters and hats because they have grown since last year. Two newbies entered the scene this year; and one little one who was born in California is making the move to live in St. Louis the first of the year; so car seat blanket, warm sweater, hats and mittens will be made for her. This entry is to share photos of what I have been doing this late spring, summer and fall. And I'm still not finished......


Where are those extra eight arms when you need them??


Here is a hooded sweater I knitted for Baby Carter who was born in August and lives in Vermont.


Here is his Car Seat Blanket. You know living in Vermont means cold winters.....


Here are three-quarters of Carter's ensemble. I did knit some mittens, but neglected to take a snapshot..


Here is a Car Seat Blanket for little Micala who arrived as a New Year's present to her parents. I did not have the pleasure of meeting her until she was 6 months old. Since she lives in my town, and I know how cold winters can be, she gets "the works."


Here is a sweater for Micala with my oven-baked clay buttons


This sweater was knitted this past winter (it's a Baby Surprise Sweater), and at the time I had no one to give it to. Just wait a short while and babies always pop up....


Here is a hat and thumbless mittens for Micala as well.


The whole kit and kaboodle...


This sweater and hat was knitted for little Ruth who lives in my town. She's a 'regular.' I've been knitting for her for three years now.


This sweater is for Ruth's brother who turns a year old this month. This is a little shy of what I plan to knit for him, so he's also getting another sweater, hat, and mittens by the end of this month, or early next.


This is a Car Seat Blanket for little Selena, who will be moving from California to St Louis in a few months. If all goes well, two sweaters and hats will accompany this.


As you can tell; I just love this pattern. It gives striking patterns to focus on and makes the most of variegated yarn. I always avoided using variegated yarn before I learned this knitting technique.

A variety of yarn brands were used to create the above articles. In the mix were Red Heart Kids, I Love This Yarn (still the best of them all for softness, weight, warmth and cost), and Vanna White's Yarn.
For the knit-aholics who will read this, I now have a yarn stash in two states: Maine and Massachusetts! No matter where you roam, being at home means nothing without your stash of yarn close by to pick up and begin using.