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Thursday, December 26, 2013

Technical Thursday: Toilet paper tube Pom Poms

And I figured today would be a great time for the years first(and last) Technical Thursday :D As we prepared for the holidays, I saw a lot of random pictures and tutorials that I'll never see again, or be able to credit, but the one that stuck with me was a picture of someone making a pom pom with toilet paper rolls. A couple dozen of which I currently have stashed for future kid projects. So as I was finishing my father in law's present(did I mention I got married 2 months ago?) I grabbed my cell phone and started snapping pictures. Again, some day I will own my very own Canon Rebel camera and assorted lenses, but until then, we're stuck with what we've got available, lol. 

So this is how I made the pom pom. 

You need yarn, 2 toilet paper rolls, and scissors. Liquid stitch is optional, I just like to soak the center of my pom poms in hopes that they won't fall apart as easily as they normally do. It's just their nature to fall apart. 


1. Cut 2 12-16" lengths of whatever color you want your ties to be. 

2. Hold the tails of your yarn and begin winding around both tubes

3. Overlap on your tails a bit so you don't have keep your finger holding them down

4. Keep wrapping- the thicker the wrap, the fluffier the pompom. 

5. Once you've reached your desired thickness, work one of your tail lengths of yarn UNDER all the wrapped yarn(I used a crochet hook) 


6. Center the tail and TIE TIGHTLY. Then work the yarn underneath again and TIE IT AGAIN. 

7. Flip it over, and repeat step 6. 

 8. Now slide the tubes most of the way out, and tie the two tails together. Gently remove the tubes and tie the centers together carefully and repeatedly. I tied them together, then wound the tails around again and tied twice more. Bulky knots will not be visible once you fluff, just take care to leave enough tail to attach to what you are working on. 


9. Optional: Coat your center ties and knots with liquid stitch for durability. 

10. Gently insert your scissors and begin cutting the loops. Take care to avoid cutting your tails, but do snip your working yarn off. 

11. Repeat on the other side. Fluff and let dry. 


12. Attach to your project and enjoy. 


Before I saw the picture that sparked this idea, I was using a double wide DVD case and doing essentially the same thing. I find that the toilet paper tubes are a little more forgiving and easier to work with because I wasn't worried about scraping the cover ;) 

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Technical Tuesday will be on Thursdays ;)

So I'm quite busy these days, who says stay at home moms do nothing? I co-lead our daughter's GS troop, deal with ADHD/mood disorder in our 4 year old, cook, clean and crochet.

We had a really hard month in October, with 2 ER visits, a 3 day hospital stay, a postponed wedding, a cancelled reception, mandatory time off, a wedding, a broken van, a truck that needed extra repairs to pass inspection and more.

I also created a logo for fun, it's simple and stylistic, but I like it:


I also had my first REAL order from a non-family member! I put it in the mail yesterday and am hoping she likes it ;) A school chum, but still she purchased 2 hats and a headband(and got one free since I didn't particularly care for the way the one she ordered turned out). 


I worked up the headband on my own taking pieces of other free patterns I found on the web after the original pattern turned out being completely incomprehensible to me. It was a combination of UK terminology and implied rows that weren't written out.

So needless to say, I won't be posting this week. Or maybe I will. But it'll be Thanksgiving and I am hosting, so I just might not get around to it.


Thursday, September 5, 2013

Busy busy busy!

I feel the need to apologize. I do end up letting the blog slide when I get busy with the kids and their activities. I've had a crazy day today, even, but have great news! My baby will be starting Head Start this next monday, so I'll have 20 free hours a week to actually crochet and work on the blog ;) It's a bittersweet event, and it'll probably take me a few weeks to scrape all the accumulated toddler contamination off of everything, LOL. I'm still testing for Crafting Friends and Crochet by Jennifer, though I haven't had time to work on swaps, I suppose I'll have more time soon to do that too. I'm a Brownie girl-scout leader as well- just a crazy crocheting housewife :D I've been crocheting a lot, so I'll add pictures that I can find of stuff too. Sorry for the picture dump!



















Sunday, January 6, 2013

2013

I think I'm sufficiently recovered from the flood of holidays and birthdays that come our way during the last 6 weeks of the year. (3 holidays and 4, yes, 4! birthdays in our family between mid November and the end of the year).

So I'll be back soon. I've been cheating on my hooks, and doing other crafty things. I'm currently waiting on a big box o' fun (fur!) from Herrschner's, and I'll be working on some fun stuff when that arrives. It's complicated, but a short version could be that serendipity decided to intervene after my mother in law played with my daughter's Furby all of Christmas Day, and I was gifted a free pattern to match, and she's been known to complain about my crocheting, so guess what she's getting for her birthday in a couple weeks? *Insert evil gigglesnort here* I think I'll make her a hat and put the actual creature in the hat so it's doubly crazy.

I've been spending a lot of time down at the bus stop, and I'm thinking I need a big ole cowl that I can wear as a hood AND twist over my face for a ski mask or veil effect. I also need to make my son the tow truck hat (cough*mater* cough cough) because he now accompanies us seeing as Daddy finally found another job and has started back on the road. Not so good for my Valentine's day options, but way healthier on the budget and definitely a winner in the "OMG Get out of my house for 20 freaking minutes!" department(I love him. But we've literally been at each other's side for two months. Even retirees go play golf for 4+ hours at a time!) Alrighty, that seems like enough of a welcome back ramble.

Keep on Hookin'!  Happy 2013~