Today was the only day I could wander around CHA, also known as the Craft and Hobby Association show. It’s usually held in Anaheim, CA, which can be a bit of a trek from Los Angeles, where I’m located. As luck would have it this year’s show was held in Los Angeles. Yea ha!! Just 15 minutes from my store and house. Lucky me!! S I walked the aisles searching for items I can use for fusing and mosaic and metal clay and I found a few things. I do need to go through my catalogs and brochures and business cards to find everything there is to write about. I do want to mention the bottle cutter at the Diamond Tech booth. It makes glass bottle cutting more precise and a whole lot safer. They also sell a wide variety of mosaic supplies as well as stuff for fusing, glass bead making and stained glass. They are going to require multiple postings to talk about all they do. And they’re the perfect place for the beginner. They even have microwave kilns…
Have you read?
Try it with the Kids: Finger Knitting
With summer coming on fast, parents who read this may have kids home from school more soon, or teachers who have a class in the summer may be looking for more crafty things to do with some of their time over the summer. I’m planning to share some general craft ideas and skills you can learn along with the kids if you don’t already know them so you can all make together this year.
First up: finger knitting. Kids love finger knitting (especially in late elementary school, but I think teens would love this too as a throwback) and it’s super easy to learn.
The only supply you need is yarn. I have a tutorial over at Our Daily Craft you can try, which shows you how to make a chunky bracelet, or check out this video from Red Ted Art that shows you how to make a finger knitting butterfly.
What else can you make with finger knitting? There are actually whole books on the topic, but here are some other ideas to get you started.
A finger knit snake is a classic, and this pattern from Vickie Howell (who also wrote the book mentioned above) is fun and easy.
Red Ted Art also has a cute bunny made with finger knitting. Imagine Childhood has a darling little finger knit basket.
Kids might enjoy making this finger knit garland from Sisters What to decorate their rooms. Or for a bigger project they can make a rug like this one from Meet Me at Mikes.
This finger knit ear warmer from Simply Maggie could be made into a headband by just working a single strip of knitting. You can also finger knit a hat with these instructions from Bean Creative (shared at Red Ted Art).
Or you can just make a long strand and turn it into a necklace, or sew strips together into a scarf. Hello Glow has a single strand infinity scarf project. Once you get kids started they are sure to think up their own ways to use the strips of finger knitting, too.
Do you know how to finger knit? I’d love to know what you or your kids do with your knitting!