Want to add a little extra something something to your glass? Maybe some metal or perhaps bubbles? I was playing with bubbles today. Love bubbles. My favorite way to create bubbles in fused glass is to take two pieces of reeded glass and place them face to face, criss crossed and then fuse. Perfect bubbles. Rows and rows of perfect bubbles. But what if you want something more random? Try a bit of baking soda. Some people make a thin paste with baking soda and water, such as Susan Hutsko, or you can try what I did, which was sift it on. Tomorrow I’m going to try a thin paste too. I did let the glass get too hot and had some out of control, giant bubbles. Not good. Ask Mr. Google about it and you can find a few sites with information. And check out what some of them say about metals too…
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Pencil Knitting Patterns
Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!
I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.
If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.
Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.
If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.
There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.
If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.
Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.