Straighten Up Round Needles

unikatissima Straighten Up Round Needles
I suppose that you know the trick already, but if not: here it is:

If you have round knitting needles that stubbornly curl so that the work is no more fun anymore, lay them in hot (not boiling) water.
The plastic thread straightens up and the knitting is fun again.

I have very different needles (from plastic, wood, metal) and therefore I lay them in the hot water only for a very short time and see then whether it was enough. If not I repeat the procedure until the plastic threads lay flat.
But this way nothing can get in pieces.

Happy knitting! ;-))

Altered Books Simplified

unikatissima Altered Books Simplified

Links of entry

One method to simplify the work on an altered book is to use children’s cardboard books as base. They often have the advantage, too, to have interesting shapes.
Once I began such a book (on the picture you see the original book).

 

unikatissima Altered Books Simplified
These are the first two pages. I used amongst others (just as for the artist book) self-dyed paper, packing tape transfers, embroidery on paper and dried flowers and leaves.

Because of the embroidery I don’t immediately glue the papers in but I finish the pages first.

The following pages aren’t finished yet – just another UFO (unfinished object) ;-)


Links:
Altered Books Simplified

Here at unikatissima:
Artist-Book
Packing Tape Transfers
Entries with the tags ‘paper’ and ’embroidery’
How to Press Flowers, Leaves and Herbs

Packing Tape Transfers

unikatissima Packing Tape Transfers a

Links of entry

Packing tape transfers are wonderful ;-)

You can see how it looks e.g. at the flexagons or at my artist book.

In the instruction they are using laser prints that they sell but I’ve made already all sorts of papers (more or less) ‘transparent’: articles from Arabic and Chinese newspapers, pictures from old comic books, patterns from some ads or my beloved travel brochure, pages from old music books or old books written in Fraktur.
Self-printed pictures (I have an inkjet) didn’t work and the quality of my packing tape transfers was differing strongly.
Therefore it’s true again: The proof of the pudding is in the eating ;-))


Links:
Transfers With Packing Tape

Wikipedia entry for ‘Fraktur’ (English)
Wikipedia entry for ‘Fraktur’ (German)

Here at unikatissima:
Flexagons
Artist-Book
Paper Shopping Bag

Brioche Pattern Knitting

unikatissima Brioche Pattern Knitting

Links of entry

Recently I busied myself with something very special: brioche pattern knitting.
And now you can try it, too :)))

You can see on the picture a scarf that I knitted with the instruction further below.

 

unikatissima Brioche Pattern Knitting As you can clearly see the pattern is ‘normal’ on one side and inverted on the other.
Because it is brioche knitting nothing curls and the fabric is wonderfully soft.

 

I find brioche pattern knitting fun, even interesting and amazingly fast (but perhaps I only became a much faster knitter with more practice ;-)))

By the way I used one of my random squares as template ;-)


Links:
Brioche Pattern Knitting – Pattern Jade (unikatissima’s brioche pattern jade) (English) – PDF file(~ 620 KB)

Here at unikatissima:
Random Squares Pattern Generator

I have still more brioche knitting patterns in unikatissima’s shop, partly free, partly for purchase.
You may find there something that you like, too :)

You can find my designs now at ravelry

DIY Postal Scale

Toys from Trash DIY Postal Scale

Links of entry

Linking is wonderful: I found a self-made postal scale, inspired by a self-made postal scale, inspired on its part by another self-made postal scale ;-)))
And we have now the chance to choose the self-made postal scale that we like best or where we have the material for at hand ;-))


Links:
DIY Postal Scale (Postal Balance)
via: DIY postal scale
via: Pretty Good Postal Scale from Old CDs
via: A 67 Cent Postal Scale

For Europeans:
Wikipedia entry ‘Euro coins’ (English)
Wikipedia entry ‘Euromünzen’ (German)