When my dear friend Vickie Howell asked me to be a part of her blog tour to help promote her new line of yarn Sheep(ish) I said "hells to the yes" and then gulped about what I was going to make. My crochet skills are minimal at best and I make clocks out of knitting needles. What was I going to do with yarn? Once I got my hot little hands on a stash and saw all the fabulous colors my mind started churning. Caron sent this cute little embroidery hoop with "yarn swatches" from the line. I kept staring at all the colors and then I started waving the embroidery hoop in front of Baxter and he seemed to enjoy it even more than I did. Clearly I was not going to be whipping up a pair of booties with the yarn so I thought of another way Baxter could enjoy looking at the yarn - a mobile! All I needed was an antler and I was ready to roll. Yup, I said antler.
SUPPLIES
Small Antler
Pom Pom Maker
Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue
Drill
Vickie Howell Sheep(ish) yarn
Scissors
Clear Fishing Line
Large Eye Plastic Needle
The first thing to do is drill holes in your antler. I recommend doing this outside as it can be kind of stinky. If you have issues with using an antler you could also use a branch. I drilled a hole in each of the points of my antler.
Using the short yarn samples from the embroidery hoop I started wrapping and gluing them to my antler using Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue. The Fast Grab part is important or you could be holding yarn in place while your glue dries for a very long time.
I wrapped and glued and wrapped and glued until my antler was entirely covered with yarn stripes.
Using black and white Sheep(ish) yarn, a pom pom maker and scissors I made 4 pom poms to hang from the points of my yarn wrapped antler.
Using 4 different colors of Sheep(ish) yarn cut at 4 different lengths I strung them through the holes in my antler and tied a knot on the end. I used a large eye plastic needle for stringing. I gotta tell ya at this point I was tempted to just keep this on my kitchen table as a centerpiece it looked so colorful and arty.
Once my long yarn strings were attached to the mobile I tied them to my black and white pom poms.
The last step was to tie some monofilament around my antler so that I could hang it from the ceiling.
Baxter seems to enjoy his new mobile and spent a good 15 minutes laying bed looking at it this morning which in baby time is like hours.
You can find Sheep(ish) at select JoAnns stores and the Caron website. As you can see from the mobile it comes in a slew of fab colors all of which are 70% acrylic and 30% wool which makes it washable. I do own Baxter a blanket since I crocheted one for Tallulah. When I finally find the time I will be using Sheep(ish).
The Sheep(ish) blog tour continues tomorrow on Craft Zine. Check out more of my I Love to Create projects here. Also check out all these free patterns on Vickie's blog you can make with Sheep(ish).
P.S. I'm in the Skip to my Lou Link Party!
What a great idea for us non-knitters. I love how you used colorful yarn on the antler and then black and white for the pom poms. So where does one get an antler?
ReplyDeleteThanks Jessica, glad you like it. I swear I want to find a bigger antler to wrap and just leave out on the kitchen table.
ReplyDeleteAs to where to find an antler...my mom just happened to have one because she uses them in her mosaics from time to time. I see them at flea markets. Maybe a local taxidermy store? I'd also check eBay.
You know? I might have used an antler, if I could have found one . . . however, you're comment that it can be "kind of stinky" sounds so gross to me! Ha. Okay. So I'll use a branch . . .
ReplyDeleteBUT: you say "wrap and glue, wrap and glue," but what I'm picturing doesn't sound all that easy. I think I have memories of making god's eyes in girl scouts and having lots of smeary, dried Elmer's all over that sh*t. How to avoid? Do I just not know the glories of the glue you recommend?
Thank you! I am obsessed with the look of yarn-wrapped stuff . . . keep it coming!
Corbyn Hightower www.corbynhightower.com
Corbyn I too am obsessed with all things yarn wrapped. Check out Cathie Fillian's stop on the Sheep(ish) tour she made a cute yarn wrapped wreath.
ReplyDeleteYa branch would work just as well and be less stinky. Plus easier to find.
The glue dries clear. I'm not saying there were not messy spots and I didn't get frustrated from time to time. You could always use a hot glue gun too.
OK, I have to weigh in on the antlers. First, deers (also elk, moose and probably others) shed their antlers every year so a deer doesn't have to die in order for crafters to use them. As to the smell, antlers are a little like teeth and if you know the smell of a dentist drilling on your teeth, that's the smell you'll get. It's not awful but there will probably never be a drilled antler candle scent either. I find antlers at flea markets all the time. Pairs are more expensive but singles are generally cheap and sold according to the number of points. For me, antlers have endless crafting possibilities and no animal needs to be killed in the process.
ReplyDeleteI like how you think. You are such a good mama.
ReplyDeleteThis is GENIUS! I think the world is happy that you have no knitting skillz... necessity is the mother of invention, right? ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the articles, have book marked them and will definitely be taking forward some of their advice. Thanks again! I’ll be back for more tips next week!
ReplyDeleteThis soooo adorable!!!
ReplyDeleteJust LOVE it!!!
I thought of you yesterday....have you heard about the spinoff from Project Runway? Project Accessory.
If you have any interest ....check out the lifetime website for the audition locales!
I think you could be a wonderful cast member!
I really liked your Twister blog. I loved that game when I was little. That mat,if at all possible,would make a great raincoat. Shoots and Ladders was my daughter's favorite game when she was little. I think you can still get that one. Milton Bradely put that one out.
ReplyDeleteLoved your dining room,btw!
Diane