Resweater craft show right here!

I am not doing craft shows anymore, for a variety of reasons, but I still have inventory to sell, so I am having a craft show right here on my blog! My prices all include shipping (free shipping on everything to the continental US!), and are lower than my craft show prices, so get 'em while they last! Take an additional $1 off each item after the first (example: buy 5 items, and get an additional $4 off)! Please excuse any wrinkles or wonkiness... these items have been in storage totes since my last craft show, but will come back to life with use! :)

If you wish to purchase something(s), please email me ( resweatercontacts [at] gmail [dot] com ) with the item #(s), brief description, and an email address to send the Paypal invoice to. Please understand that I cannot hold these items. If you want them, please pay right away. Thanks!


recycled wool and cashmere ornaments, handmade by me.  $5 for the first one, ($4 per additional, when you take off the $1 per item). Please specify whether you'd like Christmas colors, girly colors, earthy colors, colorful, or "surprise me"...
 Item #1

recycled wool dryer balls. These are handmade by me from recycled wool. These naturally help your laundry dry faster, reduce static, and soften your laundry. These eliminate the need for chemical laden dryer sheets and laundry softener. These pay for themselves in the energy they save, and the products they replace, plus they make a unique gift for those hard to shop for people on your list! I will do my best to fill color requests, but I am limited to what I have on hand. $10 each or $18/pair (pair counts as 1 item for $1 off discount). Using these in pairs is recommended.
Item # 2

Throw pillows (approximately 11"-13" square). All covers (removeable) handmade by me, made from recycled wool or recycled cashmere. The pillow inserts inside are new, prices below pictures....

#3 lavender cashmere with travel trailer (like Scamp) wool applique, $25
#4 gray wool with sheep applique, $18 [sold]
#5 brown wool with sock monkey applique, $18 [sold]
#6 purple owl with feet, $18 [sold]  This one is sold, but I do have a similar owl pillow in taupe/browns. You can see a picture of it here.
#7 aqua cashmere with travel trailer applique, $25 [sold]
#8 red winged black bird [was a bad camera angle- is not crooked], $15


#9  green and plum lambswool fair isle, $10
#10 neutrals patterned merino wool, $10 [sold]
#11 green with stripes lambswool, $10 [sold]
#12 blue/gray plaid merino wool, $10
#13 red/green patterned wool, $10 [sold]
#14 green paisley wool, $10 [sold]


#15 red fair isle lambswool
#16 red/green patterned wool, $10

Recycled wool and cashmere "funky hats". These are stretchy, so they fit a variety of head sizes. Some of the headbands are looser and best for adults only, but I think you can tell in the pictures which ones are. If in doubt, just email me and ask. Wool are $10, cashmere are $13...

 

#17 blue/pink fair isle/green, #18 cream/green fair isle/green, #19 purple/coral/pink
#20 gold/multi/moss [sold], #21 navy/orange/navy [Bears colors!], #22 tan/fair isle/magenta [sold]

 
  [these are all wool, $10]
#23 black/blue snowflakes/gray [sold], #24 tan/orange stripe/green, #25 green/purple/orange stripe
#26 pink/striped/pink, #27 lavender/striped/purple [sold], #28 blue/red & pink/purple


[these are all wool, $10]
#29 purple/striped/coral striped, #30 brown/multi/gold, #31navy/orange/navy [Bear's colors!]
#32 cream/fair isle/tan, #33 tan/fair isle/magenta, #34 lavender/stripes/tan


[these are all wool, $10]
#35 tan/brown stripe/brown, #36 cream/green fair isle/gray, #37 maroon/patterned/maroon
#38 maroon/patterned/navy, #39 blue/striped/gray, #40 rust/brown fair isle/brown


[these are all cashmere, $13]
#41 brown/pink argyle/pink, #42 light orange/orange/tan, #43 magenta/pink/raspberry [sold]
#44 raspberry/stripe/dk. pink, #45 plum/pink/pink argyle, #46 tan/coral/brown

Recycled wool and cashmere mittens. These are one size, and tend to run big, so not great for tiny hands, but great for average to large sized hands. Each pair comes with a pair of "mitten doublers", which are removable inside liners (wool for the wool mittens, and cashmere for the cashmere mittens), or take off $3 if you do not want the doublers. $15/pair for wool or $18/pair for cashmere ($12 and $15 without the doublers). I only have 2 pairs of cashmere doublers, so when those are sold out you can either use wool doublers in the cashmere mittens or buy them without the doublers.

 [wools: shorter style on top row, longer style on bottom row]
#47 coral/tan/green, #48 multi/pink/blue [sold], #49 blue fair isle/green/blue
#50 maroon orange stripe/blue/orange, #51 navy pink stripe/navy/pink, #52 pink fair isle/lt green/green


  [wools: shorter style on top row, longer style on bottom row]
 #53 blue stripe/navy/maroon, #54 purple/pink/blue, #55 aqua/green/purple
 #56 green/maroon/tan, #57 multi stripe/tan/tan, #58 stripe/brown/burgundy



[wools: shorter style on top row, longer style on bottom row. Example of mitten doublers on right]
#59 green/coral/pink, #60 multi stripe/plum/gray
#61 blue stripe/gray/green [sold], #62 gray/green/pink

















[cashmere: shorter style on top row & bottom left, longer style on bottom row right]
#63 maroon/magenta/maroon, #64 green/moss/coral, #65 moss/yellow/moss,
 #66 yellow/moss/yellow, #67 blue/blue/gray, #68 maroon/plum/gray,
#69 yellow/tan/tan

Recycled merino wool runner's mittens. These thin, soft, breathable, moisture wicking mittens are perfect for runners. These versatile mittens are also great for errand running, and can also be used as an inside lining for other mittens. $10/pair

#70 tan, #71 tan, #72 gray, #73 black, #74 charcoal

Recycled wool draft stoppers (place on threshhold to keep drafts from coming in), filled with recycled wool scraps for natural insulation, all 40-45" long. $12.

[***pictures of draft stoppers to come soon***]

#75 scrappy gray/burgundy/fair isle, #76 brown/ends look like cut logs, #77 scrappy brown/gray/patterned, #78 scrappy rust/brown/striped

#79 scrappy with gray bug face, #80 scrappy with blue bug face


Please don't hesitate to email me with any questions... ( resweatercontacts [at] gmail [dot] com ) !

It's What I've Been Working on Wednesday!

This week, this post should be called "What haven't I been working on". I have the last of my 2 shows on Saturday, so i've been busy making things for it. Since I already had a lot of appliqued throw pillows that I have spent a lot of time on, I wanted to have some more affordable options, so I made some patterned pillows without appliques. I thought neck cowls, and scarves would be nice, so I made some of those too. While I wasn't busy at the Fiber in The Park, I made dryer ball cores, and I finished them up over the last couple of days. So, what have you been working on? As always, feel free to post pictures of your finished recycled wool projects on my Facebook page!

It's What I've Been Working on Wednesday!

We just celebrated a birthday for my sister in law that I love, and I made her this pillow. She loves Noah's Ark, so Noah's Ark it was! Here it is flat, so you can see it better.



Don't ever expect me to duplicate this one, lol! It took a lot of work, but luckily my husband helped me on this one by making some of the patterns for me (the ark, the giraffe), and brainstorming with me on the rest.




I was pretty happy with how it turned out! The birds & elephants got wonky on me, because they moved while I was sewing them on, but that was the worst of it. I didn't have a big enough blue piece to go across the bottom, so I thought it would be ok if it had a seam. I was wrong. It looked terrible. The whale is covering the seam :).



I have also been making dryer balls over the last few weeks. I like to work on them while I watch tv in bed at night (yes, I watch tv & sew in bed) They were in various stages, so I completed them. If you are interested in purchasing any, I sell them here.



I finished a diaper cover that I had cut the pieces for months ago, but just never got around to sewing.



I made one patterned pillow. I just love this pattern!



I think that's it for this week! What have you been working on? As always, feel free to post your finished recycled wool projects on my Facebook page!

It's What I've Been Working on Wednesday!

Whew, what haven't I been working on this week?! Lol! It has been a busy, busy week, but I managed to sneak in some crafting. This week it was all "project bag work"... stuff I can take in my bag on the go, or when i'm watching tv at the end of the night, & hand sew. I made the button pins for future hats, and always the dryer balls. I didn't make all those dryer balls this week, but they were all in various stages, and I finished them this week. That's it. What did you work on this week? Feel free, as always, to post your finished products on my Facebook page!

What I've Been Working on Wednesday

This week I haven't been doing a whole lot of sewing, because i've been trying to get to all the housework that I neglected over the last month or so due to my craft shows. I did manage to make a few dryer balls, since most of it is done by hand, and it's a good in-front-of-the-tv craft (I can't watch tv without working on something). If you are interested in any of my dryer balls, they can be purchased here, or if you prefer to make them my explaination is here.

I also made 2 hats to test the new sewing machine...


Though I love my old Singer, i'm glad that my hat band seams will now look like this...


instead of this...


What have you been working on this past week? Feel free to brag about your latest project, or promote your shop on my Facebook page!

Gettin' ready for the fiber fair!

My last show of the year, Fiber in the Park, is coming up in just a little over 2 weeks, so i've been busy! Thanks to Kid's Play World, I have have gotten a TON of work done this week, while my son had a blast. I am able to work, while watching my son have fun with his friends & get his energy out. Now that's a win-win! Here's what i've been up to, and what you will see at the fiber fair along with my sweaters:

Dryer balls


hats. I have been trying to use very stretchy ribbing on most of the headbands, so most of them will fit a 4 year old on up to an adult! Next, by the request of a few friends of mine, I will be working on boy colors!


Ornaments. These are made from the scraps from other projects. I need to make some in Christmas colors now!

What i've been up to

I've been doing a lot of sewing lately, so I thought i'd show you what i've been up to. I've been making dryer balls (I really thought i'd get tired of making them, but I still enjoy it!) to sell at this summer's fiber fairs. They are great for keeping my hands busy. I cut the wool and wind the balls while I watch tv, and I like to do the final hand sewn seam while i'm waiting places, like my son's hour long gymnastics class. Ever since I posted that blanket tutorial last week, i've also started on a blanket. I have been making "bricks", 6" x 12" pieces, that I will make into 1' squares for my blanket when I have enough of them. I plan to use a vintage wool blanket as the backing, so it will be super warm!

Dryer ball pieces, and finished dryer balls (I have over 40 completed!):



The blanket "bricks", and an "egg" I need to improve on. I want to make an Easter basket for my son, and sew egg appliques to the side, made from this sweater with fair isle stripes.


Here is where it all happens, my beautiful antique sewing machine. My mom sewed, and taught me to sew when I was little. I also took Home Ec classes when I was little, but it had been so long since then. When my elderly neighbor's wife passed away, he gave me her sewing machine, so it means a lot to me. I had no clue how to use it, but I was not going to let it sit unused. I took a private sewing lesson a little over a year ago, and now i'm a sewing fool, as apposed to just a fool ;) !

Christmas gifts I made, dryer balls

Wool dryer balls rock! I have several, and love them. Those awful PVC dryer balls they sell on tv are toxic, noisy, and tear up your clothes. Wool dryer balls are quiet, natural, gently soften your clothes, reduce static, and cut down on drying time. You save money by not having to buy laundry softener, and cutting down on dry time reduces energy!

I have great admiration for those that make large quantities of dryer balls! These hurt the joints in my fingers, & I had to keep taking breaks with each one, but I liked the way they came out, so I pressed on! I used strips of wool scraps, and wound them tightly into a ball, overlapping them as I went along to keep them in place, and stuck a pin in it to save my place whenever my fingers got tired. I learned that using chunky knits bulk up your ball fast, then using merino scraps at the end helps smooth out your ball for a perfect circle. For the covers, I used this pattern I found online, but tapered the ends a bit more. Since these turned out heavy & huge (about the size of a small grapefruit), and required so much work, I gave them individually instead of in pairs. I was pretty happy with how these turned out. The only problem with these is that a couple of friends reported that their kids claimed them as "my ball!", and they are unable to try them out in the dryer yet ;)

ETA:
Since I had questions on these, I am adding this picture of some "naked" dryer balls that i'm working on. These are just waiting for covers. After I wind the scraps tightly I loosely baste stitch around them, so they don't unravel. This is what they look like, patiently waiting for their new outfits :)

ETA again: FYI... the tighter they are, the heavier they are, and the heavier they are, the better they work. For a reference, my dryer balls weigh over 8 oz. each. They may seem hard at first, but when you run them through a wash/dry, they become a tad squishier. Mine are so tight that they can bounce!

Eco Sisters recycled wool dryer balls

I have been gathering a variety of recycled wool items to take with me to my fiber fair next month, to show examples of how useful recycled wool is, and to promote fellow recycled wool enthusiasts. I will have a table of these things, along with the business cards of the artists. Eco Sisters' dryer balls will be one of those things. The picture on top are mine (sorry I forgot to remove the "pills" before taking the picture), and the ones below are from their website. I have been using them nonstop since I got them a few weeks ago, and they are great. I had a wool dryer ball, but wanted a couple more. These are very well made, solid, and I don't foresee them ever coming apart. Why would you ever want to use those chemical laden, clothes ripping, ugly, noisy, made in China, mass produced, aweful PVC dryer balls, when you could have these gentle, quiet, natural fiber, recycled, visually appealing, hand made ones? Dying to get your hands on some? Check out their website!

Hyena Cart recycled wool shops - Sheep In A Heap

This fantastic Hyena Cart shop carries a wide variety of recycled wooly goods, and all of them are great! You will find dryer balls (If you don't have wool dryer balls already you have to get some!), diaper covers, coffee sleeves, hats, slippers, & more. Bekah, owner of Sheep in a Heap, sure knows her way around a wool sweater! I highly recommend you check out her gallery :)