Craft Gossip

Independent craft blog since 2007

Valentine Candle in a Mug

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Valentine MugWe previously made some personalized mugs for Christmas presents and I was thinking they would also make wonderful valentine candle gifts. Creating a candle in a mug is the same as using any other container.

Shown here is one my daughter created for her Grandma. I’m sure she won’t mind designing a couple more and I will melt the wax for them.

You can find pretabbed wicks everywhere now that will stand up on their own. You don’t have to worry about your wick falling over or looking crooked. Village Candle Supply is where I usually get my wicks. My mom brought me there on my birthday and I could have stayed and looked around for hours.

For another fun valentine candle idea, check out Homeschool Zone’s family project with heart shaped cookie cutters.

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Knit a Blanket with the Texture of a Ceiling

Knitwear designers can get inspiration from almost anything when it comes to re-creating a color scheme, an image or a texture in stitches. Sometimes the inspiration isn’t always obvious in the finished project, but sometimes it’s more literal. 

That’s the way it is with the Tin Ceiling Blanket from Purl Soho. Not just because the inspiration is in the name, but if you’ve ever seen one of these old ceilings you can see that the design of the blanket is quite similar to the pattern of the tin tiles. 

This is also a good example of the idea that you don’t have to use fancy stitch patterns or lots of color to make a big impact with your knits. This single-color blanket (designed by Gianna Mueller and inspired by a washcloth and towel set designed by Sandi Rosner) is made completely with knits and purls, other than slipped stitches at the beginning of rows to make neater edges. 

The pattern is written out row by row, but there’s also a chart, which means this project is a great opportunity to practice reading a chart where you can check your work against the written pattern if you need to. 

It comes in two sizes, a crib blanket and a throw. The yarn used in the sample is an organic cotton sold by the cone, which is a great way to get a large quantity of yarn and have fewer ends to weave in. In fact, you can knit either size of the blanket with just one cone of yarn, which isn’t inexpensive but makes you a great, sturdy, heirloom quality but still washable blanket you’ll use for years to come. (Of course you can use any sport weight yarn you like to make this blanket.)

Check out all the details and grab the free pattern from Purl Soho. 

[Photo: Purl Soho]