Waste-Not Garland & other bits

NEWS FLASH:  I love makin' stuff.  There is particular excitement with the hey I've got that stuff right here and I could make it into something else variety of making stuff.  Enter my Waste-Not Garland made of small bits of fabric and scrap lengths of 3 harmonious yarns.

These particular harmonious yarns are actually skeins of Anchor's Tapestry Wool, but lengths of any unused skein would do fine. (A real news flash is that I will actually be introducing some palette packs of these beautiful wools similar to my other palettes of perle cotton and embroidery floss at the beginning of the year!  Eight different palettes with 16 skeins in each! Can't wait. Anyway.)

I learned to slipknot very early in life so this process gives me the childhood warm fuzzies.  I didn't know until years later that a slipknot chain is actually the first step in crochet.  This is easy enough to do without a hook, but go ahead and use one if you'd like.

The process is like this:
:: Cut fabric scraps in strips about 1-1.5" wide, maybe about 7-8" long.
:: Trim 3 yarns each to same length of about 10-12 yards and treat them as one
:: Tie a common knot at one end of the yarns, then perform your first slip knot
:: Continue slipping through each knot by reaching your forefinger and thumb through the existing loop to pull up a new knot from the long slack of yarn, some tightening will be necessary as you goto keep the loops small
:: Every 7 or 8" you can slide a fabric strip through the current loop, then slip the next knot so that it tightens the strip of fabric well enough to cinch it in place.

I paired like prints of fabric wrong sides together and used them together so that there wouldn't be much wrong side showing anywhere- not an issue with the solids.  This is fun and pretty much free if you have enough fabric and yarn laying around like me.

Also pretty addictive.

Other bits:
:: I am happy to report that I ran the WHOLE five mile race on Thanksgiving morning.
:: I have never run that far.
:: Right after my near tears of joy I almost immediately assumed the route plotters got it wrong, bc there is no way that I can run 5 straight miles.
:: No way
:: Jeff suggested something like maybe I should just be proud of myself
:: Assuming someone did something wrong just comes more naturally
:: However ever since, when someone asks me how Thanksgiving was they get an earful of bragging about my 5 mile run
:: I'll bet they're really wanting to know how the cooking, family, relaxing, blah blah boring was
:: It was all lovely
:: But mostly because I ran 5 miles first
:: Today after Jeff and I ate at our very most absolute favorite vegetarian Indian all you can eat buffet place in town called Woodlands (which I know of course there are few competitors in that category) we were so full that we got into the car and reclined the seats and just laid there like a couple of satiated lions after a huge kill for about 20 minutes.  Couldn't even drive anywhere.

We are so weird.
Have a great weekend.
Scrap bags come free in my shop with any purchase of 50$ or more starting tomorrow through the end of the year.
lots of lovey, xo, AM