Apr
Library Musing
My blog has been hijacked again! Heheh no not really. I asked my twitter friend @BlackCat_GrimR to do a guest post on here because she’s started to get interested in blogging. So… leave her lots of nice comments and stuff so that she makes her own blog and the world is treated to a little more awesome-ness <3
By Livi
So I had to load up WriteOrDie so I could concentrate, shame one me, but the distractions were winning. A tid-bit about Livi here; I love small, I love cute. Spoil me! 
There are times I get a craft itch and I need to make something fast. A quick fix to stop the jitters 
Now small and cute are my drugs of choice but the dose can be adjusted to suit anyone’s needs.
♥Mini Origami Bookshelf
Here is something that can’t help but put a smile on your face I dare you to say no. You’re not enticed by the wonder of paper folding? Into a bookshelf?
Origami paper comes in all kinds of too amazing designs; floral, pastel, foil! The list goes on and includes solids for doodling on your before stacking!
Cereal boxes, cardboard and wood are some firmer substitutes for paper and the blank surface is excellent for adding that personal touch David Brill’s video is clear and nicely paced so no worries about mistakes.
♥Mini Origami Book
The compliment to Mr Brill’s bookcase; the most adorable books and folded out of a single sheet of paper *gasp*
The folds seem daunting but again the video is easy to follow.
♥Mini Book
I don’t know anything about Death Note but I’m sold on this mini book. I found lots of tutorials for these itty-bitty things but this one spoke to my heart and gooey center.
For those like me with few mentionable skills with needle and thread, the amount of sewing in this project is minimal. When fancy is what tickles you there is real no limit to designs or sewn in contents.
♥Mini Photo Album or Scrapbook
“Put me on the bookshelf!”
This book tutorial I’ve used to make a mother’s day photo album for my mum and a karate scrapbook for a cousin, both were big hits
Nicely patterned or solid card stock is perfect for the weight of pictures in a photo album and with a nice ribbon (or whatever you choose) around it, the peek-a-book cover is more perfection. For more of a journal, lighter patterned paper make nice pages.
It pleases me to the ends of the earth to share these mini treats and know there are a lot more little things to share
Until The Light Finds Us Again
xoxox
Livi
Apr
Simple Garter Stitch Headband
Welcome to the first guest post of the blog! I am certainly not the most crafty person I know… I am friends with many amazingly creative people. One of these is the lovely @aceangelcake whose posts about knitting and my replies to it eventually pushed me into gear to start this blog. Anyways, she tweeted the other night about knitting a headband and I thought it was something I would like to try… so here’s the pattern.
Only one lil hitch, no photo of it! Be the first to send me a picture of the completed headband, preferably with it on! 
and I shall edit this post to include it! Yay for interwebz fame for j00. Bonus points if you tell me how many cups of coffee it took you to finish it.
Anyways, without any further ado… the pattern!
By Marissa
I actually got this pattern from a series of books I’m reading called “Chicks with Sticks” by Elizabeth Lenhard. It’s in the third one, “KnitWise.”
This is a super easy, garter stitch with a few increases and decreases headband. It only took me a couple of hours, and it would have taken me less than that if I hadn’t been reading at the same time
I made mine with basic cotton yarn, but the pattern says any yarn will work.
CO 6.
Work in garter stitch for about 2 inches.
K1, kf&b (knit front and back of the stitch), k all – there should be 7 stitches.
Repeat on the next row — there should be 8 stitches.
K four rows.
K1, kf&b, k all — there should be 9 stitches.
Repeat on the next row — there should be 10 stitches.
K four rows.
K1, kf&b, k all — 11 stitches.
Repeat — 12 stitches.
K four rows.
K1, kf&b, k all — 13 stitches.
Repeat — 14 stitches.
Knit all rows for 4 inches.
K1, ssk (slip, slip, knit), k all — 13 stitches.
Repeat next row — 12 stitches.
K four rows.
K1, ssk, k all — 11 stitches.
Repeat — 10 stitches.
K four rows.
K1, ssk, k all — 9 stitches.
Repeat — 8 stitches.
K four rows.
K1, ssk, k all — 7 stitches.
Repeat — 6 stitches.
K all until tail is desired length for fit.
BO all stitches.
Whipstitch ends together.
I don’t have a picture (mainly because I screwed up my headband trying to edge it all prettily), but other than that it does turn out really nice.
But I do have a little tip… On the end, where you knit 6 stitches until desired length, make it a little bit shorter than you’d expect. If it wraps all the way around your head and the ends touch, I’ve found that it’s just not tight enough. I forgot that garter stitch stretches that much *laughs.*
Jan
A Simple Knitted Blanket
Currently listening to: The sound of the rain
Currently drinking: French Vanilla coffee
A twitter discussion with the lovely @aceangelcake who possesses the amazing ability to both read and knit at the same time (very jealous!) prompted the offer of a pattern for the knitted blanket I’ve been working on. Then came, how best to send her the pattern, email is just so… boring! So here is, yet another, blog from me, Asheyna… blogaholic. Other places you may have seen me:
I love crafting of all kinds, from hemp knotting to cross-stitch to sewing… to everything! So why not blog about it, as you can see I blog about almost everything else!
Anyways, on to the pattern. In true coffee-powered fashion, I have been distracted from this project many times by other smaller projects, scarves, hats, mittens, wrist warmers, taking over the world (that one is a secret ok?)
That… was several hair colors ago. I have been: red head, brunet, blond, red again, and back to brunet 
But enough chat, on to the pattern!
All you need for this one is the ability to cast on, knit, purl and then of course, bind off. Oh yeah, and you’ll need knitting needles and yarn To get the most out of this pattern you’re going to want to use a normal yarn, nothing fuzzy or fancy because this pattern is all about the contrast between the knit and purl.
You can make it any size you want, as long as the stitch number is a multiple of 9 because we will be working in squares that are 9 stitches by 12 rows. It’s going to look complicated when you read it, but it’s not! Especially with large doses of Irish Cream flavored coffee Read the whole thing, check out the picture, and you’ll see what I’m getting at and probably won’t even need the pattern!
Last note for this pattern, I didn’t make it up, my Oma taught it to me and I know she learned it from somewhere else. If you recognize it please let me know whose it is so I can give them the proper credit and stuff <3
Variegated Hides a Multitude of Sins!
The Pattern – Finally
Cast on stitches (as I said, any multiple of 9)
K3 P3 ~ repeat for the entire row
Now repeat that three times (so a total of 4 rows)
P3 K3 ~ repeat for the entire row
Now repeat that three times.
K3 P3 ~ repeat for the entire row
And… you guessed it! Repeat that three times.
Make a coffee, let’s check out what we have. Should be a neat little alternating square pattern of knits and purls that are 9 across and 12 high giving us almost a woven look. This is going to be the border.
Now, we are going to start the pattern of the body of the blanket, start with the border:
P3 K3 P3
Then K9 P9 until you reach the last 9 stitches. This is the “trickiest” part of the whole pattern. Look at the row underneath. If it’s a purl, you want to knit, if it’s a knit, you want to purl. This will change depending on how many multiples of 9 you picked. Just think of a checkered pattern.
You’ll repeat this until you have 12 rows, and then switch!
See how the checkered knit-purl pattern works?
Summary
What you’re going to wind up with is a blanket that has, around it’s edges, a square-checkered K3 P3 pattern. Then the center is made up of larger K9 P9 squares.
And there it is! The pattern in all it’s counting glory hehe.
Just remember, crafting always goes better if it’s coffee-powered <3
xoxox
Ash