2012

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Louise

Today I want to introduce you to a very sweet lady from Chicago! Vanessa Uttaro and her etsy shop The big city Bumpkin! She makes the cutest map necklaces ever!!!

But here is Vanessa in her own words:

Anyone who creates or crafts knows what it means to get the itch — you’ve been idle or stagnant for too long, and you don’t just WANT to create something, you NEED to create something, anything! As a seasonal employee at Wrigley Field, I have long off-season to do exactly that, but I had reached a point in my creative journey that felt like a dead-end. I didn’t know what to make, any more, I just knew that I had to do something.

One laundry night, as I was sifting through our apartment buildings “giveaway table” (where tenants leave things they can’t use any more for other tenants to take), I found this neat laminated map of Chicago. It got me thinking about all of the different neighbourhoods in the city, and how people love to represent where they’re from, and I had a “Wouldn’t it be neat…?” moment. I thought it would be so cool to wear your neighbourhood on a necklace, but this was an all new arena for me — I had never really made jewelry before! I went to a craft store the next morning to see what I could find, and picked up a few bezels and some epoxy resin, and got to work. The first few pendants were rough – cool, but rough — and that particular craft store was going to make me go bankrupt if I kept buying my supplies there, so I ran to Etsy.com. I found a fellow crafter who sold supplies, and took the leap of faith and ordered 25 pendant frames. Believe me, it was a leap, because I had about $30 to my name at the time!

I couldn’t believe how quickly these pendants took off! People all over the city, and even in other cities, loved them, and started requesting custom pieces. After one big order of custom key-chains for a customer in Southern Illinois, I was able to start investing my profits back into the “business”, and building up a stock of different maps and styles of pendants.

I’ve only been at it for about two months, but the feedback has been fantastic! I started a Facebook fan page (facebook.com/thebigcitybumpkin), where I met the lovely host of this blog. I’m planning on doing a big craft show in Chicago this Autumn. My boyfriend even got in on the fun, and we’ve started making Official Game Used Major League Baseball pendants, with balls hit out of Wrigley Field that he catches on the street! You can find my pendants at thebigcitybumpkin.etsy.com, and in auctions on tophatter.com. Oh, and I’m on Twitter @vuttaro, and I blog at thebigcitybumpkin.blogspot.com Phew!

I’m back at work now, so most of my time making the pendants is on the weekends, but it’s so great to see the feedback I’m getting, and I can’t wait to see how this project will grow over the next year!

If you are an artist, and would like to be featured, please send an email to spinndiva@gmail.com with a few paragraphs about yourself and what you do and attach a few pics. For sure, you will go on the list of Featured Artists and we will let you know when you are scheduled and where…And where? Well, read on…..

When you are listed to be featured, you will first be featured on Bridgett’s blog and then you will go on to be featured on three more blogs within one week’s time. First, on Louise’s blog then, on the Indie Mosaic blog! So you get maximum exposure! Since we all do different arts you will reach different readers on each of our blogs and you really get your name out there! It’s really great! And best of all: It’s FREE!

(We do reserve the right to censor what we feature. We have a family friendly blog and WILL keep it that way! We hope you understand! )

Now, go check out Vanessa and show her some love!!!

Thank you, Vanessa, for the opportunity to learn all about a very intriguing art form!!!!

~Louise

One-Of-A-Kind Custom Hand-Made Featured Artist–05/11/2012

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Louise

I have Debbie and Richard over today! Alpaca breeder extraordinary!

My wife Debbie and I live on a farm in Alhambra Township, Madison County Illinois. We are about 45 minutes outside of St Louis, Mo. In addition to our day jobs at the phone company in St Louis, we work on our farm at Circle B Alpacas. After raising 2 kids we were looking for a new project so we purchased our first alpaca in 2009. We now have 11 alpacas with 2 babies due in the fall. Alpacas are from South America and were bred by the ancient Inca’s as fiber animals. Only Inca royalty were allowed to wear alpaca so it is sometimes referred to as “Fiber of the Gods”.

Our main goal is to provide the highest quality fiber on the planet and to accomplish this we have a breeding program with 3 different aspects, genetics, science and nutrition.

Genetics: A lot of research is done before we purchase a breeding female. We only buy alpacas listed in the national database of alpacas called the Alpaca Registry. We research previous generations all the way back to the 1980s when the importation of alpacas was halted. At this time we are breeding our females to a herdsire that we own but sometimes we purchase breedings from other farms. Alpaca Veterinarians are telling us we should only be using the top 2% of male alpacas in the country in our breeding program. Science: We use skin biopsies to get a glimpse of the fiber producing capabilities of an alpaca. We send this skin sample to an alpaca veterinarian and he sends back a report with metrics on many different aspects of the fiber characteristics. Nutrition: A lot of alpaca farms tend to skimp here and buy less expensive hay and feed. I have found this to be important enough that you can see the difference in a fleece when you compare one that has been fed Mazuri Ultimate to a fleece off an animal that has been fed cheap feed. I call it “ Well Nourished Fleece”, you will see me using this phrase a lot.

In the past we have been sending fleece to small fiber mills in the Midwest but we have decided to start processing our fiber by hand on “cottage industry” milling equipment we have recently purchased. After this years shearing all of our fiber will be grown and processed locally.

Thank you for this opportunity to get to know us a little better. Please feel free to contact us with your questions or if you would like a custom fiber order.

Rich Brandt 618-401-3398 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 618-401-3398 end_of_the_skype_highlighting o http://twitter.com/circlebalpacas Debbie Brandt 618-401-3398 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 618-401-3398 end_of_the_skype_highlighting o http://twitter.com/circlebdeb

Http://circlebalpacas.com/

http://etsy.com/shop/circlebalpacas

(We do reserve the right to censor what we feature. We have a family friendly blog and WILL keep it that way! We hope you understand! )

Now, go check out Debbie and Richard and show her some love!!!

Thank you, Debbie and Richard, for the opportunity to learn all about a very intriguing art form!!!!

~Louise

One-Of-A-Kind Custom Hand-Made Featured Artist-5/4/2012

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Louise

Oh do I have a treat for you this week!!! May I present: Christiane Knight!

Ok first here is a bit about her and a few photos to drive you crazy with:

I’m Christiane “Xiane” Knight of Threeravens Yarns and Fibres, and I got to this fibery place through an interesting journey! As a DJ with a weekly night club, the co-host of the night and I decided that starting a knitting circle in the slow opening hours would be a fun thing to do. We were both total newbies, chicks with mohawks and bright hair sitting around in a dark bar and dropping stitches. It was fun! I was hooked. This naturally progressed to the realisation for me that, even more than the knitting process, it was touching the soft yarns that I loved the most. I decided that I needed to learn how to spin. This was the best decision of my life. I was a natural, and I slowly transitioned from spinning tunes to spinning yarn.

My claim to fame: ” I blend amazing fibres, colours, and textures into a tactile rainbow of awesome.” Whee!

I favour fun, unusual, and eye-catching colours, textures, and techniques. I specialise in artistic and conceptual yarns, art batts, hand-dyed fibres, and couture fibre jewelry. In other words, I like things bright and shiny and lumpy-bumpy and wild and fun – just like me!

Other fun facts: I have been dyeing my hair funny colours since 1985. I love goats and take weekly trips to a farm to feed and pet some local rascally goat-friends. I’ve lived in three different states in the US, yet I’ve never managed to move above the Mason-Dixon line. I went to college for Theatre Arts with a minor in Dance. I didn’t last a year. I’m incredibly handy at many things, all of which are not very good at bringing steady pay. I was the singer of a Goth Rock band, and a radio DJ as well as a club DJ. [see the last statement about getting paid regularly, ha!]

Here are a few more pictures for you to look at from Xiane!

When you are listed to be featured, you will first be featured on Bridgett’s blog and then you will go on to be featured on two more blogs within one week’s time. First, on Louise’s blog then, on the Indie Mosaic blog! So you get maximum exposure! Since we all do different arts you will reach different readers on each of our blogs and you really get your name out there! It’s really great! And best of all: It’s FREE!

~Louise

(We do reserve the right to censor what we feature. We have a family friendly blog and WILL keep it that way! We hope you understand! )

Now, go check out ’Xiane’ and show her some love!!!

Thank you, Xiane, for the opportunity to learn all about a very intriguing art form!!!!

One-Of-A-Kind Custom Hand-Made Featured Artist–4/27/2012

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Louise

Here is our Featured Artist for this week! LLRoden Jewelery.

I’m a wife, mother and grandmother. I have two grown sons and six grandchildren with another on the way. I live in a small Midwest town in Illinois, north-east of St. Louis. All my immediate family members have several afghans and my sons have taken their camouflage afghans with them to Iraq. It’s tradition to make afghans for new babies and I’ve made quite a few. My crochet projects have slowed down simply because I’ve flooded the family. However, I do have a new grand baby on the way so of course a new afghan in the works. I also use sewing and crochet in my jewelery making.

I’ve been doing handcrafts since I was a child. My mother taught me to sew, knit, crochet and embroider as a way to keep me busy. It worked! I’m almost always busy. Most of my sewing is for my family. I frequently make shirts for my husband from funky material we find while browsing fabric stores. He’s frequently asked where he got the shirt and when he tells them I made it they always want to know if I’ll make more. I’ve thought about it but usually once I’ve made the shirt that’s all the material and I usually can’t find any more. As any one that sews knows, material can be expensive and when you add in your time most people wouldn’t want to pay the cost. With that in mind I stick to sewing for family. I especially enjoy sewing for my grandchildren and Halloween costumes are a favorite. My most recent really cool costume was Glenda for my Granddaughter.

My art work is a part time thing. During the week I’m a secretary in a local accounting office. This time of year is fairly crazy at work. My stress release is in my basement with my tools and toys. My husband frequently complains that I spend too much time in my cave and that it sounds like a black smith shop. I make jewelery to sell and for gifts and of course for myself. My jewelery is anything from bead work, metal work, glass work, lapidary and multimedia. Lately, I’ve been working with copper plumbing pipe to make hammered cuff bracelets. What I make depends on my mood. Sometimes a good bout of hammering is just the thing to release daily stress. In my quieter moods I’ll do bead work. Some of it is simple and some very detailed and time consuming. I love the mix of colors and textures in the mix of beads, metal and stones. I’m always trying for the “Oh Wow” thing and always trying something new. I don’t particularly like following instructions for the jewelery making. I see instructions as a starting point and will usually incorporate a twist in the pattern. So many things inspire a new design. Since I don’t like following instructions I also don’t like to do custom orders. To me taking orders takes away the fun and brings on more stress. I’m looking at this as something to do when I eventually retire from the public workforce.

Linda L. Roden

http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/bio/llrodenjewelry http://handmadeartists.com/shop/LLRodenJewelry http://llrodenjewelry.blogspot.com http://twitter.com/llrodenjewelry

When you are listed to be featured, you will first be featured on Bridgett’s blog and then you will go on to be featured on three more blogs within one week’s time. First, on Louise’s blog then, on Karen’s blog, and then, on the Indie Mosaic blog! So you get maximum exposure! Since we all do different arts you will reach different readers on each of our blogs and you really get your name out there! It’s really great! And best of all: It’s FREE!

(We do reserve the right to censor what we feature. We have a family friendly blog and WILL keep it that way! We hope you understand! )

Now, go check out Linda and show her some love!!!

Thank you, Linda, for the opportunity to learn all about a very intriguing art form!!!!

One-Of-A-Kind Custom Hand-Made Featured Artist–4/20/2012

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Louise

I have Desiree over today!

Welcome, Desiree!!!

In 2007 I needed a birthday gift for my very bohemian sister. Being an avid quilter and lover of color, I had a bunch of batik fabric scraps lying around and I got the idea to piece them into a simple tote-all style bag. It was such a big hit I began making them by request and listing them in my etsy shop: Hamncheezr.

My inner hippy wants this bag so bad!!!!!

After a while I began to make and list bags at random; sometimes a certain fabric would catch my eye and I’d make a bag just to be able to use it as a lining, or sometimes certain scraps looked good to me. Making my batik bags is very freeing as no real planning goes into each bag, just a desire to have a well made, beautiful and unique finished product. No two bags are ever absolutely alike. Each bag is hand made by me and is machine pieced and quilted on the outside, then it is lined with cotton quilt-quality fabric. The straps or handles are all different as well, and a lot of times I will create a closure for the bag with a tab and vintage button.

This one is hilarious!

Over the years I’ve branched out from just tote bags to small lap or wall quilts and “Busy Bags” as I call them. Another brain child of a needed birthday gift, the Busy Bag is a small, educational accessory designed for little girls ages 2-6. The various button, zipper, tie, Velcro and snap features help hone fine motor skills and the cuteness of each bag just can’t be beat! Everything is very securely sewn on and attached, making these little bags absolutely machine washable.

CUUUUTE!

My family is very crafty, my Mom is an artist and she taught all my brothers and sisters and myself to quilt, sew and knit at an early age. I craft as a hobby and stress reliever (because as a stay at home Mom sometimes you just have to do something for yourself) but I love that I’m able to share a little bit of my creativity with others and I love when I hear from people who have used and enjoyed my items.

I so love this one!!!

Here are a few more pictures of Desiree’s items! All of them are just so pretty and you can tell they are made with love and care! The fabrics are just to die for!!! I love her use of colour as well! If you want to keep up with Desiree and her busy needles, you should definitely follow her blog!

This one is hilarious!

CUUUUTE!

I so love this one!!!

When you are listed to be featured, you will first be featured on Bridgett’s blog and then you will go on to be featured on three more blogs within one week’s time. First, on Louise’s blog then, on Karen’s blog, and then, on the Indie Mosaic blog! So you get maximum exposure! Since we all do different arts you will reach different readers on each of our blogs and you really get your name out there! It’s really great! And best of all: It’s FREE!

(We do reserve the right to censor what we feature. We have a family friendly blog and WILL keep it that way! We hope you understand! )

Now, go check out Desiree and show her some love!!!

Thank you, Desiree, for the opportunity to learn all about a very intriguing art form!!!!

~Louise

One-Of-A-Kind Custom Hand-Made Featured Artist–4/13/2012

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Louise

I have Arlene here today! Most of you may know her as the “spinartiste”

She has a stash game going on right now! Go check it out!!!!

Anyway, here is Arlene!

“Hi, my name is Arlene Ciroula and I’m the owner and publisher at www.spinartiste.com, an online publication that focuses on the making and using hand-crafted fibers and yarns. I started the site about a year ago because I wanted more information about the indie fiber scene (mainly hand spinning) and didn’t feel like there was anything out there giving me what I was craving. The site includes weekly featured indie fiber artist profiles, a gallery page, free patterns for using hand spun yarns, and an extensive library of links for spinning and dyeing related instruction.

For 2012, we launched a brand new feature known as the Secret Stash Game which is like “Top Chef” for fiber artists. Every other month, 20 fiber artists have the opportunity to receive a game kit containing very similar materials. They have four weeks to produce a project and send in images. They must use something of everything in the kit and nothing is to be added.

The images are posted for the readers to select their favourite. The response to the first round of the game far exceeded my hopes and sold out very quickly! There are many other exciting developments in store for this site this year as well.”

When you are listed to be featured, you will first be featured on Bridgett’s blog and then you will go on to be featured on three more blogs within one week’s time. First, on Louise’s blog then, on Karen’s blog, and then, on the Indie Mosaic blog! So you get maximum exposure! Since we all do different arts you will reach different readers on each of our blogs and you really get your name out there! It’s really great! And best of all: It’s FREE!

(We do reserve the right to censor what we feature. We have a family friendly blog and WILL keep it that way! We hope you understand! )

Now, go check out Arlene and show her some love!!!

Thank you, Arlene, for the opportunity to learn all about a very intriguing art form!!!!

~Louise

One-Of-A-Kind Custom Hand-Made Featured Artist 04/06/2012

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Louise

Look! A fellow knitter!!! YAYYYY!

Grandma Sue is here this week to show us a bit of what she makes and tell us about herself!

So here she is:

Hi my name is Sue

I am a Great Grandma with lots of grandkids and I have been knitting and crocheting for a very long time. My web site is GrandmamaSue.Etsy.com I invite you to check out my site.

LOVE this hat!!!

What I really like to do is make custom orders. I will make just about anything you want. I really love making Christmas Stockings and have made lots of them. I have made lots of hats, mittens ,scarf’s. I recently made a gold and maroon scarf from Harry potter. Don’t much like making gloves but love mittens and fingerless mittens. I have made lots of sweaters also.

If you want anything send me a request at Grandmamasue.Etsy.com I will reply to you very quickly.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Sue

Thank you, Grandma Sue for sharing all your beautiful work with us.

When you are listed to be featured, you will first be featured on Bridgett’s blog and then you will go on to be featured on three more blogs within one week’s time. First, on Louise’s blog then, on Karen’s blog, and then, on the Indie Mosaic blog! So you get maximum exposure! Since we all do different arts you will reach different readers on each of our blogs and you really get your name out there! It’s really great! And best of all: It’s FREE!

We would also recommend that you check out the upcoming featured artists in the calendar on the Indie Mosaic board and while you are there, register as an artist and/or buyer and find the category under Library of Artists that best suits your art and tell people about yourself and what you do. If you have a custom request you would like filled, post it with as many details as possible under the Custom Requests category.

(We do reserve the right to censor what we feature. We have a family friendly blog and WILL keep it that way! We hope you understand! )

Now, go check out Grandma Sue and show her some love!!!

Thank you, Grandma Sue, for the opportunity to learn all about a very intriguing art form!!!!

~Louise

Where Did Our Bulletin Board Go????

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Louise

Good morning!

Well, it has been a while since I have had any time to post here. Today, I have news!

When IndieMosaic.com was started it was my hope that artists who had nowhere to go to post their work and availability would have a place where customers would have found a place to post their custom requests. As a component of the blog, I incorporated a bulletin board where artists could register and tell us about themselves and what they do as well as customers being able to post custom requests. The bulletin board calendar was a place to check which artist would be featured on what day in which blog (there was the opportunity to be featured four times on four different blogs with different interests, within one week’s time, including this blog.

The news, today, is unfortunate!!!! The bulletin board is hosted by Hostgator.com. During the last week of March, they did one of their regularly scheduled back ups and something happened to our bulletin board….When I logged in I kept getting an Error Message telling me that this page was no longer or never was available. I immediately contacted HostGator who immediately responded with the explanation that apparently during the back up some information was lost and if I wanted them to they would be happy to restore to the most recent back up date for a fee of $15. I hesitated doing this but decided I would go ahead because for the people who had registered, it should not disappear without notice! This morning, I wanted to go to the calendar to finish entering featured artists for the last couple weeks of this month and I got the same error message. I immediately contacted HostGator and they were quick to tell me that another back up was performed on Monday, April 2. This means, in order to get the bulletin board restored again, I will have to pay another $15. I promptly told them that I had no intention of paying them $15 every time they did a back up, which obviously, now was a problem and causing me problems. It appears back ups are done weekly ($60/mo. to restore because their back up program has a glitch?).

So, the bad news is there will no longer be a bulletin board to access and I sincerely apologize for that and hope you all understand it is out of my control, unless I pay them $15 or back it up myself and then if there is a problem they will not charge me to restore. First of all, I do not believe that they will not include our BB in their back up and I firmly believe there will be more problems. They, in my opinion, are not at all user-friendly or appreciative of their clients.

In the near future, I will be moving the site in its entirety over to WordPress who I find much more reliable and much less expensive. When this happens I will be sure to inform you.

I appreciate the following and hope that will not change. Please, be sure that I am determined to get this right for all of us. When it does move, I will be adding an Artists Registry, and Custom Requests page.

I am also considering an IndieMosaicCustomRequest group on Facebook in the near future….so keep your eyes open, here, for many new changes. I would love to hear what your interest in a FB group of artists and customers who might have custom requests. Leave a comment, if you have an interest or an opinion or a better idea to get us all working and getting the one-of-a-kind things we imagine made for us.

I guess since all my home Spring Cleaning was done early due to new carpeting throughout, it is time for Website and Blog Spring Cleaning.

If you were registered on the Bulletin Board please leave a comment here with your info or privately email me at slavetomyneedles@comcast.net.

I appreciate your patience and understanding, with these issues and hope you will continue following and move over with me, when I am able to make the changes and be sure we are in a place where we will be safe, uninterrupted and productive.

In the meantime, please have a wonderful Easter holiday, and keep following to know the newest changes.

There will also be a giveaway just prior to the move and right after the move!!!

~Louise

P.S. If anyone has any interest in reviewing my communications with HostGator please feel free to send me an email at slavetomyneedles@comcast.net and I will forward them all to you.

Free Range Sock Knitting, Part 8

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Louise

Well, here is the last of the series…I know it is April Fool’s Day, but this is no joke. The following is very important information to keep your socks looking good and wearable for a long time. After all, you did a lot of work to get them, might as well take good care of them. Here is Bridgett!!!

***********************************************************************************************

Hello again! Here we are for our last Sunday get-together. Sort of sad isn’t it? But fun too, because now you are the proud owner of a new, designed by you pair of hand-knitted socks. YAYYY YOU!!!

Today will have nothing to do with knitting. We will have a look at how we can keep those wonderful works of art looking their best and how we can fix them if they should break down.

You have invested so much time and effort into designing and working up these wonderful socks of yours! Keep them looking good!

Some tips for care:

Always, always keep the part of the ball band that gives you the care instructions (or figure out a way to mark your hand-wash only socks). The care instructions given on the labels are very important information! I have lots of hand-knitted socks. I have some in superwash wool and some in cotton. Those can go into the washer. I have to admit though that even if a sock is worked in superwash, if it has a lot of patterning, braids, lace, then I wash it by hand. It is much better for the sock. You can lay it flat to dry and pull the patterns in shape.
Keep the leftovers of your sock-yarn in a little plastic baggie/box/envelope in your sock-drawer! You will be thankful you did when you have a sock to darn! Put some moth repellent herbs with it and you are safe to keep it for some time without anything nibbling on it. (It’s always a good thing to have a sachet with any of the following, or a combination thereof in your sock drawer and with the hand-knits: lavender, cedar chips, cloves, rosemary, mint, thyme, cinnamon sticks, eucalyptus, peppercorn, dried lemon peel. Remember that cedar chips are poisonous, so keep out of reach of small children and pets!)
I do throw Plain Jane socks in the washer/dryer if they are done in superwash. Without batting an eye. Only the heavily patterned ones get coddled. They do come out nicer then in the machine!
Sock blockers are nice. I had a very pretty wooden pair, handmade by a woodworker, but I lost them in a move. I have to admit, I did not use them very often. Wooden, or plastic sock blockers are only one size! It’s great if they happen to be YOUR size, or the size you knit the most socks in, but if you happen to have a smaller foot, then a sock blocker that brings the socks out to about a woman’s size US 9 will not help you much. In fact it will rather harm your socks. I have not replaced mine after I lost them. When I knit socks for me or my DH, I don’t block them. I wear them. Period. If I knit socks to give away, I block them by washing them by hand, then laying them flat to dry, making sure to pull the patterns into shape and making them look their best! There are adjustable sock blockers out there. I personally have never used them, so I can’t say much about them. I assume they are a bit better than the non-adjustable ones, but I am really no big help on that one. Really, if you ask me they are not a necessary expense.
I don’t have wool wash. I’m on a budget and wool wash is expensive. I have it now and then, when a friend gives it to me for my birthday, other than that I make do. I use shampoo. It does the trick in a pinch. I’m not saying don’t buy wool wash! I’m just saying remember shampoo, if you should run out of the wash and are on a deadline!
I normally lay store-bought socks on top of each other and fold over the cuff of one with the other, so they stick together! I don’t really care if the elastic wears out…However, I never ever do that for my hand-knitted socks! They get rolled! No folding for them!
Invest in a darning egg! It’s worth it!

How to darn a hand-knitted sock.

Darning will extend the life of your hand-knitted socks! It is well worth the while! I learned it from my mother and grandmother. Both were rather efficient in darning socks (at that time we even darned store-bought socks!) My mother’s sister was so good at darning socks, you were almost incapable of telling where the darn was!!! I have yet to reach this level of excellence…LOL

Thankfully, I don’t have any holes in any of my socks at the moment. As much as I love you guys and want to help, but I won’t cut up a perfectly good sock for this…. I have gathered a few links for you instead…. hope those help!

I really like this tutorial at HJS Studio. I think it shows really nicely how to darn with the duplicate stitch. I prefer this method since it is almost invisible.
Here, at zig zag stitch is a tutorial on darning with the weaving method.
There is a tutorial on knitting daily as well!
And one in Knitty Magazine. I like this one a lot as well. It also shows how to reinforce the heel after you are done knitting!
I only found ONE video tutorial made by Greenfibers!

Now, lets move on to reinforcing the heels of your socks. If they are thicker, the chance of them rubbing down and getting holes will be less, so this is certainly something to consider!

There are different ways to reinforce the heel. You can do it while knitting it. There are a few slip stitch patterns out there that will pad the heels a bit. Or you can take the yarn double while knitting the heel.

Or you can reinforce it when you are done. As an afterthought so to speak, simply by weaving yarn through the stockinette heel.

I have found a link for you…

This one from Osborne Fibre Studio is an awesome link! It has both ways demonstrated for you!

Now, there may come a time when you have to replace a heel or a cuff on a sock, because darning is just not going to do it any more… and here is how you do that!

I have replaced the cuff on my husband’s sock not long ago… this is how I did it.

Now, I recommend you do not do this on the fly, like I did…..

What you need:

A bit of contrasting yarn
sharp embroidery scissors
your knitting needles
a yarn needle

First off (sadly I don’t have a picture of it, since I did it on the fly…) Find the row in your knitting that you want to “go back to”. The last row, that is still good, that has no broken stitches in it. You will need 2 rows after that. So the THIRD row with no holes. Now thread the contrasting yarn on your yarn needle and thread it through the stitches in that row.This will act like a “lifeline” in lace knitting. It will tell you where you are and keep the stitches from running any further down than this when you unravel!

Next grab your scissors. This next part may sound a bit scary, but trust me, it’s going to be fine! CUT the thread in the last row without a hole. Just a little snip through one stitch will do! You can now carefully pull the thread out of the stitches. first up, away from the contrasting thread. You can then wind up the yarn and re-use it if need be to re-knit the part you are replacing. Or you can cut every stitch around the sock as I did, since I don’t have the patience to fiddle it all apart LOL Then you can just take the offending part off (If you are fixing a short row heel, then thread a contrasting yarn through both ends of the heel!!!)

I cut the entire cuff off.

If you cut all the stitches, then clean your edge now. the little cut bits will make it hard to unravel…

Cleaned out the bits

Now that the broken part is gone, grab your needles and frog the loose end back to where the contrasting yarn is in the stitches. Take the yarn out as you put the stitches on your needles.Don’t worry, if you don’t remember where the beginning of the round originally was in the sock! It’s really not important for this. Nobody will be able to tell..

Since I did not put in the waste yarn I left the bits in to keep the stitches from running… I do recommend you do the waste yarn thing though!

Knit the cuff back up from that row and presto! DONE!

All I have to do is cast off!

Nobody will be the wiser, or can you tell which sock it was, that I fixed?

DONE

I found a tutorial here on replacing a sock heel by Judith Newman!

All right then! This is it! This is Good Bye! I will let you go on to knit your own socks and revel in the compliments you get on them!

Have fun! Be creative! The sky is now the limit for you guys! I am rather proud of all of you, that hung in there and made it through! Please do upload pictures to our Flickr Group. I would love to see them! So get knitting!

Happy knitting,

Bridgett

Thank you, Bridgett….We should all be able to knit some awesome socks now and repair them so they will last a long, long time….You are a genius!!!! Hugs to you and we can’t wait to see your next series of who knows what????

~Louise

One-Of-A-Kind Custom Hand-Made Featured Artist-3/30/2012

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Louise

Welcome to our Featured Artist segment of our blog. We hope these posts will help you get to know our artists, some of which are registered at Indie Mosaic’s forum, where you are welcome to register as a buyer to place your custom requests and/or an artist so people can get to know you and what you offer.

We will be featuring a new artist every Friday….So sign up to get all our posts right into your inbox.

This week’s featured artist is Trish Sharp!!!

My granddaughters would love these!

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For as long as I can remember I always had a fascination with creating things, be it jewelry, clothing or something that doesn’t exactly resemble anything. I believe full-heartedly that I got my crafting “gene” from my Grandmother, Nana and Mother, they nurtured the creative side I possessed and encouraged me to go for what I dream of. If I wanted to create a purple horse with green stripes, by the gods, I would create a purple horse with green stripes. They taught me my imagination is my most unique and powerful tool and it’s something that has aided my love of crafts for years to come.

I opened my store “Trisha’s little Craftings” back in June 2011, thanks to Storenvy’s fee-free store fronts and though my business has been slow it has not deterred me from putting my dreams into a reality. I want to share my unique jewelry and crocheting style with the world, sharing of a culture and of a lifestyle. Both my main crafts (crochet and macramé) I picked up in my teen years, I was taught to crochet at a younger age, when I was visiting my Nana but I had no need to crochet when I was younger. Both were a way to deal with stress at the time, high school is never easy, and I found I enjoyed both. Crochet allowed me to make blankets, mitts, hats for the warmth I needed in the winter months and macramé allowed me to make unique pieces of jewelry that no one else in my classes had. Now, with micro-macramé growing in popularity with friendship bracelets it gives me a chance to share a new generation of weaving with the world.

Check out my store’s Facebook Page! help me reach 50 likes and be entered into a draw for a custom Peruvian Wave bracelet.

You can talk to Trish on Twitter too!

When you are listed to be featured, you will first be featured on Bridgett’s blog and then you will go on to be featured on three more blogs within one week’s time. First, on Louise’s blog then, on Karen’s blog, and then, on the Indie Mosaic blog! So you get maximum exposure! Since we all do different arts you will reach different readers on each of our blogs and you really get your name out there! It’s really great! And best of all: It’s FREE!

(We do reserve the right to censor what we feature. We have a family friendly blog and WILL keep it that way! We hope you understand! )

Now, go check out Trish and show her some love!!!

Thank you, Trish, for the opportunity to learn all about a very intriguing art form!!!!

~Louise