Knitting Dragonflies

How many times have you bought all of the supplies for a project to knit, and then changed your mind about the yarn, or pattern? This seems to happen to me all too often. The above was a purchase several years ago. Somewhere along the line I decided I didn’t want to use the pattern I bought. I think it was due to the fact that I detest knitting a sweater in separate pieces and putting it together. I love to knit in the round. I discovered this after finding my first Elizabeth Zimmerman book, Knitting without Tears ! Her techniques and insistence on swatching for your gauge, turned me into a super sweater knitter. Her patterns were the first I could actually wear! Usually I would have to gift my knitted sweater to someone, anyone that was the size the sweater was. And while this had a certain excitement, and drama, I actually wanted a sweater for myself. Elizabeth's in depth explanation of gauge and how to calculate your size, finally made me realize how important gauge was, and

I was looking for a small gift to give a large number of people. After quite a bit of shopping and thinking I decided to “make” something. I had one ornament that was an angel made out of clothespins. That was the inspiration for this toy solider! It was easy and fun to make, once I got started I kept adding details, but you could make it very simple and I think it would be a fun project for children. Materials needed: Clip clothespins (one for each ornament, I found these at the Dollar Store) Craft glue (white, I did use a glue gun to attach the ribbon to hang it with) Pompoms, a small bag of assorted colors or black, seems to run about 99 cents (again Dollar Store) Acrylic paint (red, black and blue, and gold) and small brushes, I experimented with markers and that worked well also, (this might be a better option for children?) Toothpicks Popsicle sticks Sharpie markers (in black and red) Sequins (I also picked up a small package of these at the Dollar Store 99 cents Very

Ice storm here last night, and I’m sitting here with my coffee, and list of things to get done. Before I start, I’ll share some great Etsy items that I found, enjoy! This is so cute! A knitted cocoon for the baby from 4aSong’sShop This knitted tea cozy full of mice is adorable from PeriwinkleParksShop From BitsyBlossoms a knitted head warmer , I especially like the two buttons for size adjustment.   These personalized yarn labels are great, from MountainStreetArts And for those  needles you get for Christmas try this knitting needle organizer for interchangeable needles from SarahKincheloe’sshop Enjoy your shopping!