I got a new gadget....

Gravity Battery Operated Pepper Mill

Sleek and stylish, this battery operated chrome and acrylic pepper mill is one of the greatest gadgets I have. It makes grinding pepper easy as could be

Uses six AAA batteries and you turn it upside down and it grinds as easy as that. . Measures 7 1/2" tall. I'm ready to buy a second one in case they stop making them, you know how when you find something you really love and it breaks and you can never find it again. I got it at Bed Bath & Beyond, of course I went there to get something else then I spotted this thing and was sold on the idea of not having to twist or turn. Sometimes my hands are so tired from all that knitting and felting I do......


I love this!

Felted large purse.

I have a birthday this month and I made myself a present. I love the handles, here is the link for handmade leather handles. Knitted in the round no particular pattern and left over wool just washed in the machine until it wouldn't shrink any more.

My felting tips of course depends on the project but generally speaking I use the washing machine method. I use dishwater detergent, baking soda and I place "dryer balls"
and and old jean jacket with metal buttons.

The idea is to beat up the knitted piece as much as possible it's not really the heat that shrinks but the combination of high alkaline soap and agitation. Then I rinse with cold water. I do check after a few minutes to see how it's progressing.

Again this depends on the project and the fiber it's knitted out of and how it's knitted also if I'm wanting the piece to be exact etc. Felting is a lot of fun I did a lot of projects about a year ago, I think I'll do some more this year. I just looked up what I blogged about felting http://bananaknits.blogspot.com/search?q=felting

and yes it was fun, and lots of creative stuff can be done.


Leather Handles

I just got my Knit Picks catalog and they have a whole section in it on felting. Some really good tips they have two pdf files as a felting tutorial on their site looks good check it out. http://www.knitpicks.com/content/index.php/cat/felting/

Summer Knitting

Finished at last and have had it's "virgin wearing"... it's comfy and perfect for a little something for summer evenings. Each time I've worn it I've had lots of compliments so I feel it's a hit.

The yarn I used is cotton and I doubled the green lace weight mercerized cotton and the yellow is a textured sort of light cotton. Short sleeves, and a crochet edge, the gusset is crochet and allowed to have "vent" holes... and a nice mock mandarin collar.