DIY Felted Stone Mat

Last night was one of those cool, clear, crisp late August evenings. I will not lament about the end of summer, let’s just enjoy what’s left and notice what is knocking on summer's door – autumn. Lovely! It is a rare weekend that my family (daughter, son and their boy/girlfriends) is all together. We have a late evening tradition of dipping into our wood-fired hot tub when the temps are not sweltering. All summer I’ve been padding around the hot tub barefoot. But, last night was chilly and I wished we had a mat next to the tub.

I’ve coveted the beautiful, earthy-colored Clustered Felted Mat (above) from VivaTerra for a while. How beautiful is that? It would be just perfect on my deck right next to the tub. While I have purchased items from VivaTerra in the past because I love their commitment to the environment and for using pure and stylish materials handcrafted by artisans, this mat is just too pricey to put next to the tub (large mat - $695). But...they can provide the inspiration for DIY possibilities to create something similar to this:

This tutorial from Craftster uses felted leftover yarn balls. The creator of the DIY rug explains her process:

“I started making balls out of my stash of leftover wool. (You know that stash of wool you can't bear to part with but don't have enough to actually knit/crochet a whole project?) I used a combination of hand and machine felting, and sewed the stones together by hand with a nylon twine."

Made in neutral stone-colored tones, I think this method for creating a similar mat, might just be what will keep my feet toasty after those evening dips. Certainly worth a try, don’t you think?

Credits: VivaTerra, Sea Otter Designs, Crafster

5 Cool And Unusual DIY Clocks

“Ticking away the moments that make up a dull dayYou fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town Waiting for someone or something to show you the way” ~ Pink Floyd

One of the 5 clocks, sale buy called the ‘365? (above), cialis I just had to share with my knitting readers because it knits! Yes, order you read that right. The ‘365? is a knitting clock, created by German designer Siren Else Wilhelmsen, will knit you a scarf a year. How cool is that?!?!

Time and trends don’t stand still, so let these 5 cool and unusual clocks be the inspiration to make fun, funky and functional clocks. CLICK HERE FOR MORE

Dishing About Dishrags: DIY Knitted Dishcloth

How do you like your dishrags? Do you care? Maybe not, viagra buy but while we are ditching the paper napkins why not just chuck the paper towels out too? And, order since we’re dishing about dishrags, I like my dishcloths thick and absorbent, thank you very much. There’s a bit of a buzz in the knitting world about dishrags. Kay Gardiner shared with the readers of her popular Mason-Dixon Knitting blog, her dishrag obsession, “‘Whatcha knitting?’ ‘Um, a….[muffled] dishrag….’ Somehow, even for me with my raised consciousness about the value of old-time domestic pursuits, knitting a dishrag is not something I’m eager to admit to some over-buffed woman on the beach. But I cannot tell a lie, I was knitting dishrag after dishrag. And loving it!”

Paper towels have become yet another symbol of waste. With over 90% of US households taking advantage of the convenience of paper towels, we produce over 3,000 tons of waste each day. Phasing paper towels out of the home can be more of a challenge than ditching paper napkins, and plastic bags. I’ve heard about using alternatives such as clean cloth diapers for paper towels and newspapers. But really, do they hold any appeal as cleaning cloths? Not so much for me.

Not ready to fess up to knitting dishrags? Just say you’re checking your stitch gauge and doing your part for  the environment by using leftover yarn...CLICK HERE FOR MORE (PATTERN)

Credit: Mason-Dixon Knitting

A Niche, A Knack and A Note

A Niche And A Knack The blogosphere is a curious place. Most bloggers happily tap away at their computers all day. People often ask me how I do it. My stock answer is, "I have a niche and a knack." I also have a Herman Miller Aeron Chair that supports my back, and a husband who watches it (spamers beware). The blogs I find most inspiring and click-worthy have two qualities - a niche and a knack. Great bloggers share their passion (niche), and their interactions with readers flow in a naturally upbeat manner (knack). Aesthetically appealing blog images don’t hurt either. A while back, I wrote an in depth article about blogging. You can read it here.

A Thank You Note

Being a blogger doesn't come with an expense account, but it has some perks – books to review, products to try out, interviews with stimulating people, being able to work in your pajamas, and sometimes a chance to review and visit an eco-resort in Jamaica. I am definitely following up on that last one.

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to meet and interview author, Dominique Browning. She is someone I came to admire when she was the editor of House and Garden magazine. Her latest book, Slow Love was delivered by my friendly UPS guy who said to me (again), “What do you do with all these books?” Well, this one I devoured. You can read my review and interview with Dominique here.

Here's how the blogosphere can work its magic: I was elated to see a recent post on Dominique’s, Slow Love Life blog, titled: Knit A Market Bag. It includes a link to my DIY Knitted Shopping Bag post. I can thank Dominique by asking you to check out her lovely blog. I think you’ll find that she has a niche and a knack worth signing up for.

Main Credit: Michael Maslin

Fly Fishing In The Environment

OK, fly fishers -- this one’s for you... I live with a few fly fishers. They are a passionate bunch. Passionate about their waterways, their love of nature, and they are passionate about how they fish -- catch and release. On any given day during the season, lifesize suspendered waders and heavy wading boots hang dripping from the rafters of the garage. Hooks, feathers and fishing line find their way into their tackle boxes and deposited onto the floor around their fly-tying spaces.

When this New York Times article, Fly Fishers Serving as Transports for Noxious Little Invaders flew across my computer, I ran to see if their boots were felt-soled. According to the article, “Growing scientific evidence suggests that felt, which helps anglers stay upright on slick rocks, is also a vehicle for noxious microorganisms that hitchhike to new places and disrupt freshwater ecosystems.”

Apparently, going feltless comes at a cost to the fly fisher. Rubber is slippery and dangerous for those who wade on rocks. Some fly fishers are reluctant to give up their felt (yay, not my guys), despite the havoc that “rock snot” imparts on the environment.

This may seem incidental in the scheme of our recent environmental disasters, but all of these small environmental threats caused by humans add up. So, let's join Orvis, the biggest fly-fishing retailer in saying, “Change your boots and help fight the spread of invasive species.”

(Also, anyone want to share more about "rock snot"? I'm a bit out of my league here.)

Credits: Ben Scott