Portable Crafting

For the past several days I've been nursing a sore back.  I haven't been very mobile and just the thought of sitting at a sewing machine has me wishing for pain medication.  It got me thinking about all the crafts I could do while resting my back in bed.  These crafts are not only great for those on bed rest, but for any crafter on the go. 

1. Knitting/Crocheting

This is a great craft for portability.  All you really need is a set of needles (or a hook) and some yarn and you've got hours of crafting pleasure. 

I always have a portable knitting project on hand in my purse or car for those spare moments.  They can really add up and before you know it, you have a completed project!

2. Needlework

Embroidery and cross stitch are fun and (mostly) portable projects.  I wouldn't want to bring an 18" X 20" cross stitch pattern into my bed or try and carry it around in my purse, but for some smaller projects, this is totally feasible. 

The project to the right was a good example.  I did this pattern on a tote bag.  It was perfect to carry around because I could put all of my supplies in the bag while I was working on it! 

  3.  Friendship Bracelets

I can't forget to mention these beauties!  This is the ultimate portable craft!  I started making these when I would ride the bus to school. 

For this craft you need a safety pin and some embroidery floss.  So portable you can fit all of that in your pocket!

4. Drawing/Doodling

I don't really do much drawing but I love to doodle.  With a sketchbook and your favorite pens/pencils, this is an activity that can go anywhere.  I like to sketch out ideas for crafts on paper and while my drawings aren't great, I enjoy doing it. 

What are your favorite portable crafts? 

Stuff I Like. Cross Stitch Patterns on Etsy

I've been thinking a lot about cross stitch lately. I have a lot of embroidery floss and I've always enjoyed doing cross stitch. The problem? It is difficult to find cool, up to date patterns. I've been on the lookout for a while for some modern cross stitch patterns and have several in my etsy favorites now so I thought I'd share!

This etsy mini has been replaced with a screen shot.

Learn. How To Use Stitch on Plastic Canvas.

This past week I needed to make my husband a keychain.  You see, it was his birthday and the last present he bought me was this keychain from NASA.  It is now a bit of a joke in the family.  Some friends suggested I make him one for his birthday. 

His keychain was solar powered.  I tried to mimic that by using glow in the dark yarn.  It works surprisingly well.  I wouldn't want to use this yarn on a very big project though.  It smells funny. 

I stitched this using plastic canvas.  I had a sheet in my stash.  Mine was about 10" X 12" and cost less than a dollar.  I cut out two identical pieces because I wanted the keychain to look nice on both sides.  We may live in Husker country now but once a Sooner, always a Sooner. 

I thought I'd work up a little tutorial on how to work with plastic canvas.  It is really easy to do, inexpensive, and something the kids can do as well!

 

The only supplies you need are:

• plastic canvas
• tapestry needle
• yarn

Cut your plastic canvas to the size you want for your project. 

 

When you do your own project, you'll want to start in the far left corner.  I started in a spot where it would be easier to show on the tutorial. 

Leave a tail of yarn as your thread the yarn up through one of the holes. 

As you work your stitches, you can place your tail along the back so it gets caught in the stitches.

 

Work diagonally across the row. 

This stitch is called the continental stitch.  It is the easiest and most common stitch used on plastic canvas.

On the bookmark, I did the letters using cross stitch.  Same principle, you just cross back over the stitch you made to make an "x".

 

Continue working across your rows until finished.  Now you're ready to work the whipstitch. 

To work the whipstitch, work up through an edge stitch.  Wrap your yarn around the edge and come back up through the same hole. 

Wrap your yarn around the edge and then come up through the next hole.  Continue until finished.