Home How - to videos with Martha!

I love sewing and making things but recently I've been wishing that in addition to learning the
 " Home Arts " that I had learned woodworking and all that goes with it- the drilling, the hammering, the spackling, the repairs, the plumbing. (OK maybe not plumbing.)

Life would be so much easier if I could just fix/paint/create things for the house instead of having to hire someone.... Now Martha Stewart (of course) is making that possible by partnering with....
Home Depot

photo: courtesy Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

 The Home How-to series debuts on April 25.  Martha and her peeps will demonstrate DIY projects, dispatch advice, provide product expertise and Martha will even answer some of our questions.   

So here's the plug :   Sign up now and get a $5 coupon from Home Depot !  Just click the link below.

http://ebm.cheetahmail.com/r/regf2?a=0&aid=2075731129&n=31

 Every Thursday, a link to the latest "how to" video will be emailed to you.

 I can't wait to see what Martha and her gang have in store for us.   For now, I'm going to charge up my drill so I can actually use it!

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Co-producer Fall Fashion Show

Pouf Pouf Baby!

This is my second try at the pouf.  My first attempt was back in May where you can see the results here.  So far I have used  Burly Spun  yarn and used 4 strands of yarn as one strand.   I used the biggest crochet hook I could find. For the first pouf I noticed that the more the kids played with it and rolled it around there was  lots of pilling and it was getting kind of worn out looking . It was also stretching out and I  could see the foam pillow inside.  It wasn't dense enough.

These are photos of my new version using single crochet pre-felting.  I already like this better because I used single crochet throughout instead of double so it's much more dense. I also made the reverse side the outside of the poof.

 

views of the poof

Could even use it as a dog bed...

I had sewn most of it together and left an opening for the foam pillow insert before throwing it in the hottest water possible in my washing machine.  I had created a woolly mass of wet wool. After taking (actually felt like I was dragging) it out  of the washer it gave off an odeur de farm...  It literally smelled like a barn every time I passed our little laundry room.   I have a ridiculous, delicate, vent-less dryer which was pathetic for drying this thing.... I finally decided to just put our bathroom radiator on high and put the wool blob on it.  Two days to dry!! Thankfully there was no mildew smell... Now here is the end result after washing and felting it:

It's much denser and less likely to pill.  I still have to sew in the foam pillow on the first pillow I made (it is now also felted ) but this is what they look like stacked.  Just have to make a 3rd to finish the stack... (Any collection or grouping should be an odd number.  It always looks better!)

I'm seeing more poufs in my future. Everybody who sees them likes them - especially the kiddies that come to visit on play dates....

Have a good weekend!

Xo S.

My poof/lozenge

 So I finally finished my poof (sp?) I had this idea of big lozenge-y things you could pile in the corner and when the kids want to sit in a circle or watch TV or just play around they could sit comfortably or just roll these things around. I bought this extra thick yarn and did this pretty imperfect circles.  I loved the color combination and had been wondering where to use it.... I'd like to make 2 more and pile them up to see how they look. I finished this last night and really didn't like it until I brought it to the living room and the kids couldn't keep their hands off of it!!  L and J had a friend over and I had to take it away because they were all getting bratty about it. Guess I have
 to make some more.... but I'm going to try all single crochet. not sure why on the orange side there are all those gaps and hardly any on the pink side.   I think I need to add a handle of some sort on the side as well. The kids immediately started dragging it around on the floor and rough- housing.  One down, lots more projects to go!!!

The finished product!!

Purl has opened its new store!!

Yesterday I was out in Soho and able to stop in to my new obsession- Purl on Broome Street. They just moved there and now their 2 small stores have been combined into one large one. So exciting and it gave me lots of ideas.  I just don't have enough hours in the day. At the moment I am catching up on mending and fixing stuff that I have in a pile for AGES! Nothing like procrastination!!

 In the meantime I finally taught myself how to do the tunisian simple stitch. It is so cool. It looks like knitting and weaving all at the same time but its CROCHET. I've been making all sorts of little samples. Now I have to figure out what to make with it!  Here are some of the samples:

 I can't quite figure out how to add the last sentence at the bottom so it's here for tonight.  I've almost finished my granny square pillow. It's pretty cool... I think. maybe ?  not sure but it feels great to be doing stuff with my hands again and I finally took out my sewing maching and am leaving it out for good -- otherwise I will never use it.  And a good sewing machine is a terrible thing to waste!!

I LOVE this new stitch I learned. I want to make cozies for everything in my house now!!