The Ruthless Crafter

Knit, Crochet & Quilts by Elizabeth theruthlesscrafter.wordpress.com It has been far too long since I have been here. I needed a bit of breathing room to re-evaluate where this blog was going and what I am going to do now that next month my baby is entering grade one and my eldest is entering grade 3!! I am still doing my home daycare business but I feel that I need something *more*. Ever feel like that? After months (yes, I realise it has been 6 months!!) of brainstorming I have finally decided to open an online eBoutique as well as

Knit Sweater Whoopsie

I have a bit of a knitting story to share. Since October I have been working on knitting a sweater for a client’s son for Christmas. I worked the front and back with both panels on my circular needles to maintain consistency. Finally at the armpits I decided to re-measure against a sweater she gave me that fit him well. This is what I discovered. Yep, 14 inches too wide. On the front AND the back panels. Yep, I wanted to cry. The kids (ages 5 and 7) were so great that they hugged me and helped me unwind it. Thankfully

Craft Schedule

I set monthly goals of crafts I want to complete. Some months are better than others for actually completing them. This month I not only set the goals on my Crafts page, I also added them to my Outlook Calendar. I took the time to spread them out, taking into consideration the time I would have to dedicate to it per day. Generally I plan to crochet, knit or organize digital photos (this month) during the week and sew or quilt on the weekends. So far last weekend was mostly planning but I did get a few things done. The beginning of the

2013 Colour of the Year

Did you know that years have colors? Emerald green has been named the 2013 color of the year. Here are two beautiful quilts that are inspiring me to make one!! “Celtic Jewel” by Happy Stash QuiltsYou can buy the pattern here. Mariners Quilt I don’t know about you but I’m inspired to try my hand at an emerald green quilt this year! What projects will you make this year that pay homage to this colour?

Ryan Gosling Knitting Love

For my knitting friends, if you like Ryan gosling he will appear even more adorable when you discover that his perfect day activity is knitting! Read more about it here…

Christmas Gifts Reveal

I’ve been a busy crafter. I have been cranking out the Christmas gifts too. I want to have a bit of a show-and-tell. You can find all these patterns for FREE on Ravelry. One Row Handspun Scarf (knit) Lacey Crochet Scarf Pattern Tea Wrap / Sea Shell Wrap (crochet) South Bay Shawlette (crochet using mohair yarn) Tea Wrap / Sea Shell Wrap (crochet)

Knitting Projects

I’ve been having a great time doing projects. A lot of projects. I am never one to start a project and then start another one while still knitting the first. At present I have several (almost done Halloween costumes, sweater for myself, shawl, just cast-on a scarf). The shawl is proving difficult as it is a lace pattern with 301 stitches cast-on. I have had to frog (rippit, rippit for those of you unfamiliar with this term) the scarf 4 times. It takes me 30 minutes just to cast on that many stitches so it hurt my heart to do

Finished, New and Ongoing Project Updates

I’ve been accomplishing quite a few projects lately, some of which were not on the “to do list” but were so cute I had to do them! I did a baby blanket to give to new baby Adam (a future daycare client!). Great stash-buster of my baby yarns. I also “whipped up” a crayon wreath for the front door. To make the wreath, I purchased a pressed board wreath circle, hot glued a pack of 64 crayons. I added a few school cutouts (apple, school house, school bus) to the top and voila! Instant front door and Back-To-School wreath. My

Rocket Ship

I found a fantastic rocket ship knitting pattern from Petite Purls and knew that it would both be a great stash buster AND something my son (3 years old) would adore. For the pattern, visit Petite Purls Blast Off. Don’t you just love how kids learn to catch with their faces?! Here is my version.

Birthday Dress and Cloche Hat

Here are the knit birthday dress and crochet hat I made for Ava’s 5th birthday next week. It’s a cotton summer outfit but she has a March birthday so we added tights and a long-sleeved shirt to make it season-appropriate. I’m so pleased with how it turned out, especially after the mishaps of the original attempts (read about it here). Parties I’m joining …

Posts You'll Love

knit

The Ruthless Crafter

Knit Sweater Whoopsie

Craft Schedule

2013 Colour of the Year

Ryan Gosling Knitting Love

Christmas Gifts Reveal

Knitting Projects

Finished, New and Ongoing Project Updates

Rocket Ship

Birthday Dress and Cloche Hat

Hi! I'm Elizabeth

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