What's on my needle??

Thought I would pop in here occasionally to show you what I am knitting/crocheting in my free time. (Man do I wish I had more time for that!)I can't have idle hands for too long,and whether I am knitting or crocheting, it calms my body and my mind. That my friend, is why I am always carrying yarn with me. If there is ever a free moment, yarn is usually in my hands!

I recently finished a yoga mat bag:




This was my first crochet project I have worked on in awhile.It was quick, easy, and fun!

Currently on my knitting needles is the Honey Cowl:



I have had this project in mind for awhile and it is the perfect thing to work on while catching up on the dvr!

We are heading out on a road trip soon, so of course I had to plan my knitting project for that. I will be working on my first sweater! I am a little nervous about this, but am up for the challenge! (See I told you that challenges motivate me!) I did some online yarn research and called several local yarn stores, trying to find the right yarn, but no one in the area had the right amount or color I was looking for. I finally ended up ordering it from Jimmy Beans Wool.


All eight skeins are successfully wound and ready to head out on the road with me!


What crafting things are you currently working on??

XOXO
Amber

A Knitting Fool

Sometime before Christmas, I decided that I was getting bored with crocheting and needed a challenge. I decided to dust off my knitting needles and give it another go. This time I went into it with an open mind and a little more knowledge (thanks to my momma) on the basic knitting and purling! I became hooked instantly and haven't looked back. I still crochet, don't get me wrong, but these days I can mostly be found carrying around a knitting project or two with me everywhere I go. I am known by some in my family as the bag lady. Lol!

Here are a few projects I have completed over the past few months:


A hat for our dear friend Mark for Christmas.


Blythe sized hats and scarves or new kitty accessories!


I made a few of these knitted cowls for Christmas gifts too.


Completed my first knitted baby blanket!


My first project with a cable stitch. This little pink beauty is going to be a cowl for myself! I am so close to finishing it!


A fun lacy shawl/cowl!

I think I am now ready to tackle socks and sweaters. Fingers crossed that I can figure it out. I have found several great patterns on Ravelry, as well as several books that I hope will guide me along the way.

What have you been crafting lately? If you are on Ravelry look me up! My username on there is Ambercox. If you are a crocheter or knitter and are not on Ravelry, you need to go sign up now!!!! It is such an amazing FREE site full of patterns, fellow crafters, and yarns for sale!

XOXO,
Amber

New Craft Obsession

Because I needed a new hobby.... I decided to try my hand at cross stitching. I found a cute free pattern from Heidi at My Paper Crane and gave it a go!

I decided to make the kitty look like our little Boomer who is black and white. I am still not done with him yet, but when I finish him I have to make one of Ms. Babakeenya.

Money was tight for our three year anniversary, so I made this to add to Poot's growing collection of art from me. He has everything I have made him hanging on his side of the bed! Awww...

Our friend Keith loves Batman so I couldn't resist stitching him up a cute Batman and Robin...

As you can tell.... I love it!!! I have a list of patterns I want to do for gifts this year! Yes... I have actually started my handmade Christmas list already! I am determined to not wait until the last minute this year!! Now I just need to start working on that list. Ha!

What craft have you been working on lately? Anything new you have been dying to try??
XOXO
Amber

What's on my Hook?

While on vacation I was able to complete two projects! One of my favorite places to crochet is in the car, especially long road trips. I am sooo thankful I didn't get my mother's motion sickness, because I get so much accomplished.


I was able to start and finish a case for my sunnies!

I found the free pattern on the cutest blog! She has a lot of amazing crochet goodies!!!

I also started a windowpane stitched scarf! I found the pattern on Ravelry. Oh man have you joined this site?? If not do so NOW!! I will be doing a post on it soon!! I have found so many amazing patterns and friends from there!

I decided to make it an infinity scarf instead of a normal scarf. I also treated myself to this fancy yarn while visting Becky in Tampa. I don't splurge and buy expensive yarn very often, but man was this a dream to work with. It is Mini Mochi and I want to buy more now!

What do you currently have on your hook or needles??
XOXO
Amber

Kool Aid Yarn Dyeing

A few weeks ago I tried my hand at Kool Aid Yarn Dyeing. This was my first attempt at yarn dyeing and I would have to say it was a success! This technique is very simple and a great way to experiment if you want to give yarn dyeing a try. Here is what you will need:

**Kool Aid Packets
**Glass bowls/containers
**Unbleached Wool yarn (or white/light colored wool yarn)
**water


I wanted to do four colors(pink,blue,orange, and yellow) on my skein of yearn, so before begining I wound my yarn around a box of cereal, in order to section off where I would put the colors.

I sectioned off where the colors would go by tieing scraps of yarn in four different sections.

Next I boiled some water to mix with the Kool Aid.

I really didn't measure out how much water. I just filled each glass bowl with maybe a cup of bowling water each.

I then dipped each section of the yarn in the four colors. I used a spoon to push the yarn into the dye, making sure to saturate it all the way through. Where I tied off the sections on the skein, allowed for a little section of the natural yarn to show through. I ended up really liking the end result.

After the yarn is the desired color, hand rinse it and then allow to air dry.

Here are a few extra tips:

**The actual color of the Kool Aid is NOT the color of the packet. It is the color of the Kool Aid in Mr. Kool Aid's pitcher on the package.
**I only used one packet of each color. Next time I would use at least two for a deeper color.
**The four packets of Kool Aid I used was only enough to do one skein of yarn.
**I have read that you can use a wool blend yarn but synthetic fibers do not hold the color, therefore your color might bleed or not take as well.
**I used Hobby Lobby's I love this Wool yarn in an off white.

Happy Yarn Dyeing! If you try this technique I would love to see what it looks like. Please leave a comment with a link below!

XOXO
Amber

What's on My Hook??

This past week I finally finished up a giant granny square afghan for our friends Trevor and Audra. I had given them a tiny granny square for Christmas with a little note saying that it would eventually become an afghan, so please return to me promplty. Well...it was Christmas in July for them!


Merry Christmas Trevor and Audra...Lol!



I think I might do a little tutorial on crocheting a giant granny square afghan. Would anyone be interested?? What is on your hook/needle this week??

XOXO,
Amber

Craft Day...Bleach Painting

This past Saturday I had a little Craft Day get together at Poot Manor. I had two projects I wanted to work on and I can proudly say that I completed both of them!! The first project was bleach painting a tshirt! I had seen this all over Pinterest and a few blogs and knew that I wanted to create my own unique tshirt. It took a little time and patience but it was worth it.

Supplies Needed:
**plain tshirt or tank
**cardboard
**glass container
**fabric safe bleach
**a couple of old paint brushes
**safety pins
**chalk

Place a piece of cardboard in between your tshirt and secure the tshirt tightly in the back with safety pins. Decide what you want to draw or write on your shirt and sketch it on with chalk. Pour some bleach into your glass container. Dip brush into bleach and run it up the side of the jar to get off any excess bleach (keeps it from dripping). Slowly start painting over what you drew, reloading your brush often. Let your desing dry and continue to go back over your design until it is the color you want. I had to go over mine several times. Once you are done, handwash and air dry. Your design should be set now.

Here is my finished design:


I will be posting soon about my other project...yarn dyeing with Kool Aid.

My friend Shannon decided to make a little tree art out of the tree that uprooted this Spring in our back yard. She is making prints for several wedding gifts this summer! I can't wait to make a little something for Poot Manor out of our tree too!


I just love that she was able to make something pretty out of something that caused so much damage! Lol!

I look forward to more Craft Days soon!!!
XOXO
Amber

What's on my hook??

This is going to be a new weekly post here on Hoot-n-Annie. I have so many projects in the works right now, so I thought this would be a great way to show you what I am working on. Plus... I am hoping it will give me a little push to actually finish some of these projects that have been sitting around here for way too long!



I have been making lots and lots of cute hair bows lately! What have you been crocheting/knitting lately??

XOXO
Amber