Quite some time ago saw a craft idea on one of the blogs I read. I can't really remember exactly which one it was now. The craft was an arrangement of crochet flowers attached to thin dowels with tiny clothespins. I bought the dowels and clothes pins, but never got around to crocheting the flowers.
Today a new twist on this craft idea came to me. I got out my supplies and created a whimsical birch tree!
I love birch trees and they aren't as common here in the mid-Atlantic states as they are in New England. I love the beautiful yellow color the leaves turn in the fall. Down here the birches are small (scrawny in fact) and seen mostly as ornamental trees in lawns rather than the tall rows of birches that line the highways up north.
So, here is how I created my bit of whimsy:
I crocheted some cute little leaves.
I hot-glued the little clothes pins to the backs.
Since the clothes pins had to clip to the dowel at a right angle...
...I glued the leaves at various angles onto the clothes pins. That way the leaves would "dance" on the branches and not all be sticking out at the same angle.
Then I went looking for a vase or vessel to hold my "branches". I found a mason jar that had a vented lid that once held potpourri. Perfect! The vented lid would hold the dowels in place just right.
In my travels I also ran across a ball of yarn, white with black flecks, just like birch bark.
I unwound the ball of yarn into the glass jar.
I arranged my little crocheted leaves onto the branches...
...and added the branches to the jar.
I love the way it turned out. It brings a brightness to my craft room and it makes me smile.
I believe the last time I posted about the Dr. Who Scarf that I'm making, it was about a foot long. That was back in January. I haven't really given much attention to the scarf for a while (much to one young man's dismay) and yet as I look at it now, I have made some progress on it. It is now a little bit longer than 3 feet.
The large basket of yarn was temporarily put into hiding- out of the way of the living space. Since things have quieted down around here, it's been brought out again and is residing in the dining room where I will see it everyday and be inspired to knit up a few rows here and there. Let's see if the scarf grows a little faster now.
I must say, I don't really mind having it hang out here... the colors coordinate nicely with my living room/dining room decor! (See the placemats in the next photo.)
Although I've got several projects on the knitting needles right now, I've been distracted lately by a serious crocheting jag. I suddenly had the need to crochet some quick items that would give me some instant gratification and add a bit of whimsy to my life, as well as a smile to my face.
I shared with you the start of the bacon and eggs pillow. It's almost finished:
I just need to attach the eggs and purchase a pillow form or stuffing and stitch up the side. I'm not sure which one of my bacon loving family members I'm going to give it to, but I'm sure that when the others see it there will be some equity issues and I'll have to make a couple more!
Here's a project I've been wanting to do for a long time. They are the mugs that you can get a craft stores with the inserts for kids to color. I made crocheted inserts. I made them to hang from hooks near the water cooler in our house.
This set is crocheted in the colors of our everyday dishes, but I plan to knit or crochet more inserts to coordinate with the various holidays and seasons.
I can't wait to knit some cabled ones in deep red, green, gold, and blue for Christmas time. Now I just need to get the perfect thing to hang them from, I envision a small shelf with hooks beneath it.
As I was slowly packing away the winter decorations over the past few weeks (snowmen get left out long after the Christmas decorations are put away), I was struck with the need to make something in red for the Valentine's Day season. Just a little something to add some red to the table.
I had it on the kitchen table for a few weeks (making me smile) and now it's moved to the coffee table where it has overstayed it's welcome, but I don't have anything in shamrock green to replace it with yet!
That's all the sharing for today. See you soon with some finished knitted projects.
