We have just about a month here until the kiddos are back in school. We’ve even had a couple of cool evenings.  EEK! I’m not ready for summer to be over yet, it feels like it just began! I have been working on lots of small projects. I’ve found some great patterns on Ravelry to make for some of my favorite kids so they can go back to school in style with a little something made just for them. Here are just a few of the things I’m working on….these are just some fun, quick projects that you can easily get done before the first day!

I just love this Minions Tablet/iPad cover by Stana D. Sortor, photo courtesy of Stana D. Sortor.  Free Ravelry Download. Some yarn choices for this one could be Encore Worsted, Jeannee Worsted, or Galway Worsted just to name a few.

Minions tablet or I-pad cover by Stana D.Sortor

How about a pencil case to go with it?  This Minion Pencil Case by Debbie Colon is just the thing! Free crochet Ravelry download. Photo courtesy of Debbie Colon.

Minion Pencil Case by Debbie Colon

Don’t worry, we have your older children covered too! Gina Worsted, Encore Worsted, Jeannee Worsted and Galway are some of the yarns we suggest you try with these patterns

Mobile Device Cover by Rebecca Langford, photo courtesy of Little Monkeys Crochet 2015.

Mobile Device Cover by Rebecca Langford

How about an Easypeasy Pencil Pouch by HandmadeHandsome? Photo courtesy of HandmadeHandsome

Easypeasy Pencil Pouch by HandmadeHandsome

This is an apple my son would not want to give to his teacher but as long as he doesn’t throw it out….he would love to open his lunch box and find it on his apple! It’s a Pokéball Apple Jacket by Fallon Cortis, photo courtesy of Fallon Cortis, made with Galway.

Pokéball Apple Jacket by Fallon Cortis

Here are some must haves for your college-bound student.  Toss these in their box and let them know that mom always wants them to feel warm and loved.

Those football games get chilly! Keep ’em warm with this Team Colors Reversible Cabled & Ribbed Scarf by Beverly Tilton made with Encore Chunky, photo courtesy of Beverly Tilton.

Team Colors Reversible Cabled & Ribbed Scarf
by Beverly Tilton

How about a hat to match? Made using Encore Worsted….Team Colors Beanie by Jennifer Lopez, photo courtesy of Jennifer Lopez.

Team Colors Beanie by Jennifer Lopez

Keep their toes warm in the dorm with Warm and Cozy Socks
by Linden Down.  Photo courtesy of Linden Heflin.

Warm and Cozy Socks by Linden Down

And finally, in Encore Dk Silly Socks by Karen Hodge! Photo courtesy of by K2Karen on Flickr.

Silly Socks by Karen Hodge

The post Back to school countdown! appeared first on Plymouth Yarn Magazine | Your One Stop Yarn Blog.

This last weekend I was weeding in my garden and remembering when I did this as a child. I didn’t like it then because my mother made it a chore! And who likes chores…?!It got me thinking about my childhood in the summers.

Growing up in Minnesota, along the Mississippi River, we swam day and night! Literally! My fingers and toes would be shriveled from being in the water from 8 AM to 8 PM with breaks for lunch, one hour of reading time (mandatory with my parents-don’t want to get cramps-must wait at least one hour before you swim after a meal…).  Then a break for dinner and do the dishes.  Back on my bike and pedaled back to the beach to swim more!

Well, by the time August rolled around, the river water was becoming a bit murky, and the novelty of jumping off the diving board was wearing thin.

So at home in the back yard, Mrs. Kenitz tried to entertain a few of us girls in the neighborhood.  We would be sitting under an apple tree in the heat of the day and she was teaching us how to knit.  The other girls became bored and ran off. But I kept going to back to Mrs. Kenitz and asking for me assistance.

Fast forward almost a half century (!!!?? YUP!) and here I am working at Plymouth Yarn, still playing with yarn.

I recently found Mrs. Kenitz in the old neighborhood and I stopped and thanked her for her lessons. She was aware of what I had done with knitting from what my father told her.  She had a sweet smile on her face. And  I left feeling I had done my best to thank her for her patience so many years ago. I felt completed and content that she understood how much of an impact she had on my life.

So the moral of this story-? (Yeah! Get to it!)  Teach a child to knit.  You never know when it might stick and what doors it will open up for this person 50 years later.

The post Reflecting Back (and the moral of the story….) appeared first on Plymouth Yarn Magazine | Your One Stop Yarn Blog.

I wanted to share some of the links I found about kids knitting camps all over the country.  I’m trying to talk the boss into letting me review each one in person, individually.  I don’t think he’s going for it! After the links, check out a free pattern for a one ball purse in Boku.  A popular pattern for workshops and classes.

The Whole Nine Yarns, Woodstock, GA

Baskets of Yarn, Charlotte, NC

Kids Knitwork, CA

Stitch House, Dorchester, MA

Knit Picky, Winston-Salem, NC

Pattern F184 PDF Download

Pattern F184 Boku 1 Ball Purse

BOKU
Small 1-Ball Felted Purse

Size: Approx. Finished Measurements (after felting): 6” wide x 7” tall
Materials: Boku (shown in color 2): 1 – 50g ball
Gauge:  14 sts = 4” on a US 10 needle over stockinette st before felting.
Needles: US 10, or size necessary to obtain given gauge.  Small amount of Galway for sewing needed.
Note: Use a flat wool yarn such as Galway to sew purse together.

With size 10 needles, cast on 30 sts.
Rows 1-8:  Knit 8 rows.
Row 9:  K7, bind off 16 sts, K7.
Row 10:  K7, turn and using cable cast on technique, cast on 16 sts, turn back and finish knitting the row: 30 sts.
Row 11-16: Knit 6 rows.

Begin working in stockinette st: work 15½-16” in st st, leaving enough yarn to finish the handle at the other end.  End st st section with a purl row.

Second handle:
Rows 1-6:  Knit 6 rows.
Row 7:  K7, bind off 16 sts, K7.
Row 8: K7, turn and using cable cast on technique, cast on 16 sts, turn back and finish knitting the row: 30 sts.
Row 9-16:  Knit 8 rows.

Bind off.

Fold in half & sew up side seams using a flat wool yarn. (Use the Galway Worsted).  Felt.

Felting:
Set the washer to hot wash, cold rinse, and lowest water level.  Add a small bit of soap.  Place purse flat in mesh lingerie bag.  Do not put anything else in the machine.  Check on the purse every 5 minutes.  Felting could take 20-25 minutes or so.  Keep setting back the timer to make the wash cycle longer.  When desired felting is achieved, rinse and lightly spin.  Excessive spinning can set in creases.  Remove purse, lay flat and block out to a nice finished shape.  Straighten handle section.  Let dry.  With scissors or a razor remove any excess fuzz.

©2006 Plymouth Yarn Company.  Design by JoAnne Turcotte. All rights reserved.

The post Free Pattern & Kids’ Camps appeared first on Plymouth Yarn Magazine | Your One Stop Yarn Blog.

This little cutie came across my desk via email the other day.

Wal, the tiny fish

His name is Wal and he is the brain child of the vary talented Stacey at freshstitches.com.  For this tiny fish, she used about 60 yards of Galway in color 154 and just 5 yards of the white, color 8.  After I met Wal, I visited the website and met lots of other cuties.  You can purchase Wal and Stacey’s other “Amigurumi” patterns here.  There are also free patterns available here.

Stacey loves to hear from her customers and you can reach her just about any way imaginable!

stacey@freshstitches.com

FreshStitches on facebook

Find Stacey on  twitter

Stacy Trock on Ravelry

FreshStitches Etsy store

Find items featuring her adorable crochet amigurumi designs at CafePress

Buy the 5 star rated book Cuddly Crochet on amazon!

The post Catch of the Day appeared first on Plymouth Yarn Magazine | Your One Stop Yarn Blog.