Saturday, June 28, 2014

Frozen Treats Cool Our Winding Skeins

Don't you just love summertime?
Even if you're shaking your head no, I'm sure you wouldn't refuse that tasty drink to the right.

And I'm equally sure your head would be nodding yes, if this layered watermelon and coconut treat with salted lime landed in your hands after a few hours of heavy knitting/crocheting.  Uh-huh, that's what I thought.

One of the challenges of knitting in the summer months is the humidity that often wreak havoc on our bamboo needles.  (If that's your needle of choice.)  Even with metal and plastic needles, the heat does something weird to both them and the yarn.  One summer, I literally had to place my yarn and needles in the refrigerator so I could finish a baby afghan.  Refrigerating them did the trick. (Crochet Popsicle)

What about air conditioning, you may ask?  That year, my air was on the blink.  I had to finish my afghan before I could shell out money for a new air conditioner. 

Summer Craft Love

Hey, it's summertime.  If you're like me, your needles and yarn go wherever you go. You may be at the beach or at a park at any given 90 degree day when the knitting/crocheting urge strikes you.   Yes, you understand.

So as you craft your heart out during the dog days of summer, why not cool off with these delicious and eye-appealing frozen treats.  Just for fun, I'll connect a favorite stitch or yarn to the frozen treat.  Did I just confuse you?  That's okay, you'll see what I mean in a sec.

And away we go! 


Alice's Baby Afghan

 

Yummy for the Tummy 
1. Layered Watermelon Coconut Frozen Drink with Salty Lime.  This tasty treat would go down well as you Entrelac. It also reminds me of the Entrelac stitch style.  It combines the unexpected with a sweet design.  

You have the unexpected coconut with the watermelon and topped off with another surprise ...salty lime.  So you have the bitter with the sweet.  

Knit/Crochet Stitch
Entrelac - Since the Entrelac is so precise and challenging, it can be a bittersweet journey.

Buy extra coconut to make this next treat.



2.  Mango Cardamon and Sweet Coconut Popsicles - from a cozy kitchen
You start with a mango puree mixed with sugar and fresh orange juice.  Add coconut milk spiked with cardamon and a little more sugar for more sweetness and that's it.  You can get A Cozy Kitchen's diagonal design by tilting the plastic popsicle molds on their side.  A few Ramekins can help position it. 



Knit Stitch
Knitting on the Diagonal
It's food and fashion forward, since retro is the New Millennium's cool.  They both revisit the sixties when homemade popsicles and diagonal designs made the "in" crowd.  
(Handbag - Classic Elite Yarns)





 


3. Sherbet or Ice Cream in Lemon Bowls
Hollow out lemons and fill them with your favorite sherbet or ice cream.  They're colorful and pleasing to the tastebuds!



Knit/Crochet Stitch
I'm seeing the Tunisian Strawberry Stitch and sherbet colored yarn in these sherbet lemon cups.  (below - moogly)



Like the sherbet cups, these stitches are unique and playful, and also give you a yearning for something sweet.  

You can't tell me this yarn doesn't remind you of sherbet.





4. Frozen Fruit Cups
I don't know about you, but I'm craving a frozen treat right now.  The above frozen fruit cup photos are pretty self-explanatory.  Cut up the fruit of your choice, fill a plastic cup, then add Simply Orange Juice, insert a popsicle stick and freeze.  Voila!  You've got a delicious, healthy frozen fruit cup that's easy on the waistline.

With this treat, I think of the cable stitch.  At first you have nothing but yarn and needles or cut up fruit in a cup.  Then you twist the yarn so they connect to a specific pattern, like the fruit floating in the orange juice.  When it comes together, you have a beautiful design that you can wear or eat.
(Knitting Daily) 



 Our "Little Girl's Summer Vest" below is the frozen fruit's colorful counterpart.    (Little Girl's Summer Vest)




5. Yogurt-Covered Strawberries
I'm sure you've enjoyed your share of chocolate-covered strawberries.  Just dip plump strawberries into yogurt and freeze, and once again, you'll treat yourself to a tasty, healthy snack.

With these, cabbage roses come to mind.  I can see lighter pink yarn making up the outside rose petals.  What stitch comes to your mind?


You deserve these frozen treats!  Your fingers still enjoy winding yarn over your needle/needles, even through soaring temperatures.  Why not finish off a long crocheting/knitting session with a cool summer treat that's healthy and easy to make?  Bon Appetite!




First Tuesday-Third Wednesday Knitting & Crocheting Club


Can you believe July 4th is almost here?  We had a great June 18th knitting session at our Third Wednesday Knitting & Crocheting Club on June 18 at Elkins Park Free Library.  

We welcomed Tamar Granor,  Karen Leslie-Henry and  14-year-old Samir Arrington, our second 14-year-old boy to join our group.  This impressive young man came prepared with a circle needle in a wooden box.  (Toni's afghan - left)

Thank you, Mary for bringing us those delicious mini cupcakes.  We especially appreciated that they were minis.  We're looking into our next Chat & Chew in the Fall.  Cherie showed us a menu for Da Bistro on County Line Road in the Huntingon Valley Justa Farm Shopping Center.  It's a major contender.  They have a nice $6 lunch special and offer soups, salads, paninis, kabobs, Italian dishes -- stromboli, pizza, parmigiana and chicken entrees, Mediterranean and vegetarian.  We'll keep you posted. 

Our next First Tuesday Knitting & Crocheting Club is on Tuesday, July 1.   Well, that's it for now.  Don't forget to enjoy a frozen treat.


  


 









Monday, June 9, 2014

Host a Knitting/Crocheting or Sewing Party!

A Sweet Career Spot in the Shade Awaits You... 
Find out why new writers are in such demand in this 2.3 trillion dollar market -- crafting letters that trigger responses.  Get Your Free Report Today! The Barefoot Writer - Video Promotion 


I love a great party!  And when it includes one or more of my passions i.e., knitting/crocheting, eating and dancing ...I'm so there. Perhaps I'm inspired by First Tuesday-Third Wednesday Knitting & Crocheting Club's first Chat & Chew that we hosted on Saturday 6/7 at the Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet.   We had a great time.  I'll admit it, now I've got craft parties on the brain.

Wouldn't it be fun to host a knitting/crocheting, sewing, jewelry-making ...okay let's just call it a craft party, with your specific passion as a subhead?

What's that?  You've been wanting to host a craft party for a while, but the idea never took root?

Say no more!  We're kicking procrastination to the curb, and giving you tips to plan your very own craft party.  So join us as we travel the superhighway with stops along the way for great party ideas that will get your craft on. 

Don't Re-Invent the Sewing Wheel
Pinterest and Etsy are great first stops for party ideas.

1.  Decide on Your Theme.  
Center the gathering around one craft or keep it under the general craft party theme and add your specific style motif.

Breakfast at Tiffany's


 
For my dream craft party, I would do a Breakfast at Tiffany's theme.  I'd combine my love for old romantic movies, knitting, the color Tiffany blue, the perfect little black dress, hats and handbags -- and turn it into a knitting/crocheting/sewing soiree.


Party Theme
Design Sponge blogger decided to host a winter to spring knitting party for knitters-to-be.  They partied with warm bowls of chili, homemade short bread cookies, chai tea and winter whites.

She gave each guest instructions for a simple knitting project, yarn in winter whites, knitting needles, a tapestry needle and a DIY knitting needle case. (Needle Case Tutorial)

With the host as the instructor, guests worked on a pattern for fingerless mittens, which gave them a good start at finishing it.




2. Create Your Guest List 
Invite guests who love your specific craft, and/or love crafting in a closely related niche.  Keep in mind, non-crafters may get bored, so only invite non-crafting guests who would like to pick up a new hobby.  Also, invite guests who are at various craft levels, and a few who love teaching for those who want to venture out of their comfort zone.


Invitations
Create cute E-Vites, incorporating your theme.


3. Party Decor - Let Your Creativity Run Wild!

From yarn ball walls, yarn chandeliers to yarn centerpieces -- there's no limit to what you can create.  

Your imagination is your pilot on this craft-astic journey. 
One Sheepish Girl created the cute yarn wall below. Unfortunately, I couldn't find info. on how she secured the skeins to the wall.  

Knitters usually don't waste yarn, so I don't think they were glued to the wall.  I'd secure the skeins with self-adhesive hooks, making sure they stay hidden.  


There's nothing like a yarn centerpiece that's useful too.



4. Favor Guests with Craft Kits You Create
Beginners will love low-cost basic needles, one or two skeins of yarn, an easy pattern, scissors and a tape measure tucked away in a small to medium hat box or decorated storage box. 
 (Hat Box)  

Gift your veteran crafters with double pointed or circular needles, a tapestry needle, some stitch markers and a DIY needle case.  Here's another DIY needle case design from Stitch This! 


  (Stitch This!)



5. Food - Finger Food for Easy Crafting

I was going to say keep it simple, until I saw these cute yarn ball cup cakes.  

I'm also digging these granny square cookies and mini chicken cordon bleus.  Yummy!



Individual chicken pot pies coupled with a chilled salad in a jar can work well in the spring, early summer and fall.  

We all know that pot pies are a great comfort food for the winter months.  You can switch out the salad for a hot cauliflower or tortellini soup.


















For beverages, serve a nice peach lemonade with sliced peaches or chai with cinnamon, depending on the season.





A Sewing Party
Do you have an old dress form collecting dust?  Is there a neglected vintage sewing machine and/or retro Simplicity patterns taking up prime basement space?  Why not put them to good use, incorporating them into your party decor.  In the beginning of our blog, one hostess used an antique sewing machine as a serving buffet.  Great Idea!  




Plan for guests to make a fabric headband.  Provide the fabric and materials they need and place it in a DIY sewing kit that you made and pass out as favors.
Check out the headband tutorial below.



Oda May from Moda Bakeshop made patchwork tote bags for her daughter's 10th birthday, using Momo's, Just Wing It! collection. She also made hair accessories with the leftover fabric scraps. Ingenious!  This would work for big girls too.


Here's Oda May's  tote bag tutorial  you can use for your next sewing party.


Craft Party Ideas
Knitting & Crocheting 
Sewing
Jewelry-Making
Pottery
Scrapbooking
Millinery
Handbag-Making
Quilting

First Tuesday-Third Wednesday Knitting & Crocheting Club

Tuesday, June 3 -- Once again, we welcomed three new members to our knitting/crocheting fold:  mother and daughter team, Dianne and Elizabeth Donahoe, and Beverly Maisley.  A hearty welcome to you all.  

We're going to miss one of our youngest members, Tanya, who will be traveling abroad this summer.  She'll return to our knitting/crocheting fold this fall.  

Tanya, YouTube has wonderful knitting tutorials that will keep you moving forward in your knitting.  Good Job!  Here's a photo of her, modeling her first finished knitting project, a sharp bracelet.  
Audrey, thanks again for instructing her.

Our First Chat & Chew

We had a wonderful luncheon at the Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet.  Everything was tasty and the conversation was equally enjoyable.  For those who missed it, we will have another Chat & Chew at a different restaurant in late fall.  I'll keep you posted.

Our Compassion Quilt

Don't forget to work on your 1 or 2 10x10 knitted or crocheted blocks in dark or light blue.  You can use any stitch, but the weight should be 4 or 5, preferably in acrylic, but you can use wool.  The deadlines are 10/7 for First Tuesday's members and 10/22 for Third Wednesday's members. They'll need to be stitched together in November and presented to a dialysis patient by early December.
Thank you so much!

Just a Reminder!  
We'll continue meeting throughout the summer.  Feel free to send me your summer vacation photos.  

Happy Knitting & Crocheting!  I look forward to seeing you at our Third Wednesday session 6/18 at Elkins Park Free Library.













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