Free Father's Day Patterns Round Up

Crochet Laptop Cover Crochet Pattern from Red Heart designed by Sarah Blalock.

Do you ever go-go-go and then start feeling under the weather?  Me too!  I've been a little run down with a really bad throat thing since the weekend.  Herbal therapies and rest seem to be helping. I've still been working on knitting projects and patterns. I like to call it knitting therapy.

This will probably be the blog of the week here and I wanted to share with you some great free knit, crochet and crafty projects for Father's Day (June 17, 2012) that are available for you before I run out of upmh.  Many of them will also work year round so give them a look.

11 Knit Father's Day Gifts, By: Caitlin Kavanaugh,
Editor for AllFreeKnitting.com

40+ iPad & Kindle Covers, Cases To Make at Tipnut.com 

Crochet Laptop Cover Crochet Pattern

Ipad Knitting Patterns

Go Dad's!

Margaret (I miss my Dad's great stories)

Keep it handcrafted for Mother's Day

Mother's Day is fast approaching...Sunday, May 13,2012.  Think about keeping things simple, fun and handcrafted.

Here are a few places to find patterns,  a handcrafted item from a handmade shop, or just explore new ideas for gift giving.

Ravelry.com is always a great source for knit and crochet patterns for any occassion.  You can search various ways...by designer, pattern type, etc.

Etsy.com is the place to discover handcrafted or vintage items of all types.  It's user friendly and you will be able to search easily and even find a crafter locally.  Perhaps Mom has a fav color.   No problem!  You can even do a color search.  Ahhhh!

Craftbits.com is always a great source of inspiration and the patterns and projects are free.

Craftstylish.com is a favorite stop for me any day of the week.  Pick your favorite craft and enjoy a variety of creativity for months to come.

Spud & Choloe has an adorable and free knit pattern for Mother's Day, Cupcake Pincushion – Free Pattern! It's too cute!  You have to check it out.  It's mouthwateringly knitty.

the Purl bee has an array of Mother's Day Gift Ideas  to create or give just waiting for you, so do stop by. 

I hope you're happy, creative, and super sassy today,

Knit this Knitavian Shruggle from Knit Knitavian Style for Spring 2012.

Margaret
Faith, love, and a wee bit of craftiness makes a situation a little brighter.

©Margaret Nock.

Does this ever happen to you?

Today, I was planning to share with you some of my latest projects for Autumn but I can't seem to find my Flip so while I rummage around, do take a look at some knitting news...

Do you love Chic Knits? Who wouldn't love them?  Check out this info from Noble Knits here and get the full blown scoop on the patterns,  new arrivals and meet Bonnie Marie Burns.  So fun!

I'm currently taking special orders again on my Etsy shop, margknittinaround. Please check the announcement section for my current items available for special order and convo or email before ordering. If you're not on Etsy, and would still like one of the items available for special order, please contact me at knit1fortheroad@gmail.com.  \

While you're there, check out my pattern books, kits, knit patterns and ready to wear (by me, in a non-smoking environment with good vibes) knit and crochet items at affordable prices.  Thanks to all of you who have stopped by, purchased, left feedback and emailed... kiss,kiss, hug,hug.  I love it when a customer is happy.  Can you see me twirling with glee?

Still not on Creating The Hive?  What are you waiting for?  You don't have to be a professional crafter or artists to enjoy the site, you just have to love creativity.  It's full of inspiration, insightful creative projects and talented people.  Join in the community and feel the love - the love of creativity, that is.

Hope you're safe, happy, and able to locate your stuff when you need it this week.

Stay tuned...
Marg (on the rummage merry-go-round)

©Margaret Nock, 2010. All rights reserved.

Grrrrrrr!  Coffee makes it better.  Chocolate makes it divine

 -M's thought for today.

Do you ContainYaCrafts? Interview Day!

I'm so pleased that Marlo Letterle is here today to share with us informaiton about her organizers and totes for crafters. Marlo is a CreatingTheHive member,successful founder/owner/manufacturer of Scrap'n Tote and ContainYaCrafts. It doesn't matter what kind of crafting you enjoy, Marlo has something for everyone. Sit back and embrace all of the organizing options and learn how necessity truly is the mother of invention.

Q. Marlo, how did you become interested in organizing and containers?


A. Margaret, when you can't create you sell the containers to those who can. Selling these items allows me to be close to the "action" of all the lovely, creative, and inspiring work of others. Just because I can't create these items doesn't mean I don't admire them!!!


After I purchased my Cricut Expression I did what everyone does. I purchased dozens of Cricut Cartridges. When I looked for a storage system I could not find what I was looking for so I had it manufactured LOL. I call "her" Scrap'n Tote!!! The rest just followed. I decided I could offer Crafters a "one stop shop" for all their storage needs.

Q. I was drawn immediately to the Needle Crafts section and the Scrap’n Tote when I visited your web site, ContainYaCrafts. Can you tell us about some of these wonderful items?

A. The Yarn Drum Tote is a new item this year. It was so hot for the first six months I could not even get my hands on one. I finally got some in for the CHA SuperShow in July. The Yarn Drum Tote is my favorite needle craft item. The bottom is vinyl so you don't have to worry where you set it down. It has three different carrying positions and holds 7-8 skeins of yarn. Also, it has 4 pass through holes on top so you can easily work with multiple colors. It is a real gem. I also love the Hook & Needle Folio!! Great place to store all your hooks and needles. (Yarn Drum & Hook & Needle Folio)

Q. What inspired you Marlo, to start the business and do you have any advice for anyone beginning a craft business?

A. I guess "necessity is the mother of invention" I needed a place to store all my Cricut cartridges and that got me thinking about storage items for other crafts, i.e., needle work, sewing and quilting, scrapbooking, and storage items for artists. I am pretty busy with Scrap'n Tote right now, but I have big plans for adding more storage items to ContainYa Crafts!!!


Q. I watched the CHA Craft Supershow July 2010 videos on your homepage. Do you often travel with the business and are you passing your passion for crafting onto your grandaughter?


A. No, I don't travel too much. I have an 11 acre horse farm and a small Equestrian Riding Facility. That keeps me pretty close to home. I try to use the internet and social marketing to get the work out about my products. I loved doing the CHA and plan on participating again next summer. The CHA SuperShow is in Chicago and that is only 40 miles from me. And, yes, I do teach my granddaughter what I know about knitting and crocheting. And that unfortunately, is not very much LOL. She loves it but she is still struggling with her tension. She is only 11 year old so I think it will come . . . it will just take some time. We stay pretty busy in our barn and my grandaughter works in the barn more than I do. We crochet and knit more in the winter months.

Q. Can you give us the scoop on any new products or events coming up this year?

A. There are some great storage products I want to add to the ContainYa Crafts line. One of these manufacturers is in my community. I hope to add some of their products in January. I am too busy with Scrap'n tote right now and need to get through the holiday rush before I can work on that. Also, all of my ContainYa Crafts product line is "always" 15% under the manufacturer's retail price.

I am currently working on different products that will be compatible or easily integrated into Scrap'n Tote. I expect to offer my Scrap'n Tote customers some alternative storage capabilities after the first of the year as well.

We all struggle with finding good products to help us stay organized and portable.  Thank you Marlo, for sharing with us information about your business and products. 

Here are links where you can find ContainYaCrafts products and Marlo's blog.
http://creatingthehive.com/marlol
http://twitter.com/MyScrapnTote
http://www.containyacrafts.com/
http://www.cricutcartridgestorage.com/

Support your local spinner...

Last week we had a chance to go to St. Mary's.  While we were visiting, we saw the Craft Guild of St. Mary's, a group of crafters and artisans from the area, who were there to spin, weave, and sell their crafts.  The Guild also has classes available.  Naturally, I was drawn to their tent and sale table.  I snagged a wonderful handpun wool by Tracey Pintell Quade, a member of the Craft Guild.  I came home with my prized handspun wool and created the ribbed scarf pictured above.  I added a strand of Patons SWS in Natural Earth to create some accenting colors to the already beautiful color of the wool.

Wherever you roam, I hope you find the knitty, crafty, and yarnie and support their efforts any way you can. 

Happy Tuesday!
Marg (enjoying historical Maryland)
The Legends of Sotterley

Serious SlingSax Attack!

Another sax attack is on!  Crafters have an on going love for sacks, bags, and totes for their crafty needs.  Wait, maybe it's just me.  Anyway, arriving just in time for summer, here comes the colorful SlingSax from Envirosax to make our day.  They're a hands-free accessory perfect for everyone.  Check out the mini sax version, too. The Sling Sax is created by incorporating recycled plastic bottles and other plastic waste into fabric.  Isn't that some good news for the planet for a change? 

I hope you'll consider recycling, donating, reusing, and upcycling items in your home.  Lately, I've been switching to green recipes for home cleaners and have noticed less allerigic reactions. Yay!  Your pets and children will thank you, too.

Lately, there has been so much trash left on the ground in the park, on the street and dog poo left by summer visitors that I've been carrying extra bags for clean up when I'm out walking the dogs. 'Tis the season, and this year has already been a record breaker. There's no money for any cleanup crews in a lot of areas, so please be mindful and spread the word if you see anyone dumping their trash or not picking up after their dogs. Some people just didn't get the memo, but I know you did.  The holiday weekend will bring out the best and worst in people so I'm putting my eco-knitty mask on and considering a green cape with an emerald tiara to go with it, how 'bout you?  I'm picturing us all showing up that way at the park right now.  You look stunning recycling that glass bottle!

Happy planet, happy people - it's a no brainer.

Marg(wishing everyone saw the big picture like you)

Natural Alternatives for You and Your Home: 175 Recipes to Make Eco-Friendly Products

2010 Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival

It's hard to believe it's that time again.  The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival is coming this weekend. 

The 37th Annual!!! Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival
Saturday May 1, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM and
Sunday 2, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, 2010
at the Howard County Fairgrounds
2210 Fairground Road
West Friendship, MD 21794-9604


Schedule for 2010


This is a wonderful event for the whole family.  Come early and stay late, visit over 250 vendors, demos, and more.  There's everything for yarn lovers, knitters, spinners, crocheters and all things fiberfantastic.


Stop by the website for the full scoop.  Carpool with some of your friends - take the family along and enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend.


Marg (wishing I had a yarn barn of my own)





Rowan Knitting Magazine 44


Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine Number 37

Need Last Mintute Valentine's Day Gift Project Ideas?

Are you having trouble finding a quick, easy and loving hand made Valentine's Day gift project?  Try some of these ideas and start feeling the love.

http://vickiehowell.blogspot.com/2010/02/i-love-to-create-love-lyric-photo-mat.html

http://www.craftstylish.com/item/59009/valentines-day-crochet-hearts-in-a-shadowbox

http://www.craftstylish.com/item/59425/love-on-a-limb-valentines-day-table-topper-runner-or-doll-quilt-tutorial

http://www.craftbits.com/ 

Let the lovefest begin!

Marg (seeing hearts)

Crafty, Spooky and Fun Roundup!

Halloween Mummy Pail from KidsCraftZone





Are you a Halloween geek? It'a ok, I love this time too. You're safe here. Embrace your spooky side and visit these sites chocked full of Halloween fun and celebration.

Party Down at Celebrations and let them help you create an spooktacular Halloween bash. (I know- I probably shouldn't have said spooktacular, but I couldn't resist). You'll find tips on costumes, haunted houses for adults, food & drinks, music and more. Check out PopCulture tab for what's hot on the Halloween Red Carpet.

Etsy, Etsy! Start here for all the season's most wonderful handmade items. Search by name, item, and discover sellers in your area!

Do you live in the kid zone? Check fun ideas for the kiddies at KidsCraftZone.



Need free Halloween knitting patterns? Check KnittingPatternCentral and LionBrand.






Crochet Crazy-Fun ahead at Crochet Pattern Central

AND

the motherload of various crafts for Hallween is at AllCrafts.net

Spook out!

Marg (enjoying the geekery of all things Halloweenie)




Boolicious Molly and me getting ready for trick or treaters last year.

Monday Craftiness Makes Me Smile

While I was blogging on WeLoveEtsy I discovered this amazingly adorable owl cut out - and guess what people! It's a free downloadable pattern on We Love Etsy from John W. Golden . Be sure and visit his blog - I know you will find it interesting.

Thank you John Golden for making our Monday a bit brighter! We salute your craftiness.

Marg (feeling better but so not supposed to be on the computer today!)

Create, Restyle, Get Your Fashion On!

It's summer, and time for a little restyle with CraftStylish Magazine. You don't have to sew to love this mag - it's knit and crochet friendly, as well. There are plenty of projects to choose from that will help you reuse materials and restyle your wardrobe and/or home. Two of my favs are the Recycled Wrap Skirt which is a project made from strips of T-shirts and Knit Knack, a project to felt an old sweater and create a cropped vest. Do stop by Craftsylish.com and check out all the new crafting ideas, patterns and articles. There is something for every crafter here. You can also set up your own gallery and receive their newsletter.

Moving on to a little slice of life...as we know,needleworkers come in all shapes, sizes and genders. Over the weekend, I encountered an avid needleworker and employee in Home Depot while we were getting a refresher demo regarding leveling and tying off some blinds. Our demo guy - we'll call him Mr. J- said he used one of his many crochet hooks to catch and pull the cord through. My husband and I exchanged that "omg!" look and smiled. We knew where this was headed. Now I know more men are into needlearts - hooray! but this caught me off guard because he has been our go-to dude for two years (as he is also known as the Google of the store) and the subject never came up. We had a delightful conversation about how he began his needlework in the hospital as a small boy and moved on to when he was in college, he saved the day when a costume designer needed tatting for a dress. Way to go Mr. J!

Marg (never overlooking the potential to be pleasantly surprised again)

Molly & Marg at ObservatoryPark concert last weekend.

What's Crafty, JUMBOlicious & COLORific?

Time to get crafty with Issue 9 of Mix Tape ...

the hip, crafty, eco-friendly craft mag (zine) (in case you've been in the knitting cave a long time and missed this treasure) is NOW AVAILABLE and in COLOR and it's time to make a mad dash to order your issue today! Woohoo!

The cover image is by the fabulous Lisa Solomon and some contributors in this isssue (including myself, with an article called Crafting from the Heart) that you will enjoy are...
"Craftism Handmade Help Selvedge Queen: Jodie Carleton Crafty Lady: Kitty Speer (kittyskaboodle.blogspot.com) and a WICKED pull out poster designed by Black Pio." and there's more so...

Please don't miss out on this jam packed, jumbolicious COLORific issue...and if you haven't seen this wonderful zine before, you will be hooked on the crafty enthusiasm, tips, articles, reviews, and interviews. There's something for everyone- crafting of all kinds, and it's some serious eye candy for those of us who enjoy and admire graphics when we're sipping our double mochas...and I know you do.

Hats off to Justine Telfer (the heart, brain and all round wizard behind MixTape Zine) will be having some giveaways and blogging 3 times a week on the mixtape blog, "writing weekly posts for Living Creatively and Whip up." So check in often.

What a way to start the week...color, craft and creativity...feels sooo good.

Marg (soaring high today and loving the view)

CELEBRATE EARTH DAY!

April 22nd is just around the corner. It's a great day to celebrate our lives and our earth, as well as share our creativity with others. If you're looking for some projects to help your children learn more about being more eco-friendly then you will want to visit AllCrafts.net for projects and ideas.

LionBrandYarn has some free EarthDay projects to get you ready.

Crochet Market Bag

Knit Market Bag

Crochet Spring Cleaning Scrubbies

CRAFTSTYLISH.COM also offers a variety of fun projects to help you celebrate.

A great project that is happening in our neighborhood is a new community garden.

Think green and enjoy living on the blue planet everyone-

Marg

MUST BE A SELF STARTER w/ ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS

Dream it - Do it Department



This week has been all about getting caught up and organized - I know! - you probably thought I had it all together, blah-blah -blah but it's been a zoo around here folks since we've all had the flu, freakishly cold weather and a bad case of cabin fever.

Monday started off with a bang and a huge burst of energy, but it's now Wed and I'm starting to lose my warp speed ahead attitude. (a StarTrek reference for sure-but don't hold it against me) My mind tends to wander over to the yarn stash and half-finished projects fallen by the wayside. Does this happen to anyone else or is it just me?

One of the things on the top of my "to do" list has been to reorganize my website knit1fortheroad.com. I'm updating and rearranging at all hours and will be adding some new features for you. You will notice the spiffy trademark that has been added, fresh from the trademark office (another oz like journey in itself). I've also added an RSS link and a link to knit1fortheroad on blogger, as well as paypal for purchasing Knit 1 for the Road directly from the site. More features coming, but the same basic info on links, help, books, etc are still there and I will be adding more, pinky swear.

I have another book in progress that will hopefully be ready for publication this summer and interviews are in the works behind the scenes for this blog, also.

I found an article this morning called Living with Less: Getting Creative During the Recession that I think you will find interesting. Crafting is still going strong!

Marg (looking forward to happier days, finished projects, and a can do crafty attitude)

Note: You know you're blogging too much when you wake up and your first thought is OH NO-A TYPO!

TAKE NOTE!

New Year - New Month, another chance to get organized out there in knitting land.

Knit Witty Knitter's Organizer helps you do that with a stylish notebook to help you out, no matter what craft. It's 6"x9", perfectly portable for your purse or tote, with room for business cards, pockets, notepad, needle tracker and more...and how about the colors!!! AppleGreen, RoyalBlue, Black and Fuschia are your fashionista colors of choice.

VISIT the website and get the full effect!

Happy Organizing!

Marg (getting organized in 09!)