Tools of the Trade

The first step in making my treasures is usually done while watching TV with my family or riding in the car. Although this this allows me to spend time with my family and hubby always does the driving, I have found that my space is always cluttered with the little things I need or there just isn't enough room in the car to have what I need surrounding me to get the job done.

When making two identical items, such as booties, I need to keep track of every row to ensure they come out the same size. I was constantly loosing track of my pen and paper and it would break my rhythum to stop and make a tick mark each row. And not to mention, my needles were stuck in the arm of the chair which my family avoided at all costs in fear of being stabbed.

With these challenges in mind, I set out to make something that would help me keep track of the rows and keep my needles at bay.

I crocheted a flat piece and tossed it in the washer to felt. I used soy yarn, which comes out extremely stiff and is incredibly cool! Once that was nice and stiff, I crocheted strings threaded with plastic beads. There are two rows of 10 beads each. (Perhaps I may need to add more rows for larger projects in the future, but for now it is working like a charm!)

Now while I am working, I just need to move the beads from one side to the other to keep track of my rows. I can do this easily with my left hand, so I don't need to actually stop each row and I always know exactly where I left off if I need to set the project down and walk away. Also, I can keep my needles neatly tucked into the side so my family won't fear sitting in the chair! I think I will add a little pouch on the back to hold a pair of sissors as well!

I whipped up a pair of booties last night and thoroughly enjoyed TV as I didn't have to count or pay attention to what row I was on. And they came out perfect!