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Eyelets and Grommets

I’ve had some great questions since posting my felting tutorial yesterday.

Kelly wanted to know what the difference is between eyelets and grommets?

Glad you asked, since I just found out myself!

Eyelets have two pieces: a washer with a barrel attached (much like a grommet), and a washer with teeth…

One eyelet set

Grommets, on the other hand, have sets containing washer/barrel combos and domed washers with no teeth…

One grommet set

From what I can surmise, eyelets are useful for “grabbing” and adhering to material.  Grommet parts get “smooshed” onto the items they are being attached to and adhere by being crimped together.

Kelly also asked why one of the bags required more yarn than the other.

Hmmm…I wondered that myself.  I think that one reason was that the strap of one bag was shorter than the other bag.

Maybe.

I did weigh the bags before they were felted, so I know my numbers are correct.

It could be that the difference in the yardage/weight was due to the varying thickness of the yarn.  Noro Kureyon is notorious for having thick and thin sections.  It can take a little getting used to, but when things are felted, it really doesn’t matter a whole lot as far as appearance goes.

Another reason could be tension.

I might have had a tighter tension for the second bag (I was subbing when I knit half of it).  When you knit tighter, you use less yarn…especially when you’re making multiple projects using the same pattern and are going by round count instead of measured “done-ness.”  By that, I mean that I didn’t knit the bag (unfelted) to certain dimensions.

Three skeins will give you ample yarn for your project.  I suggest knitting the straps a full six feet in length.  It’s a pain to do i-cord for that long, but it ensures you get one suitable to hang over your shoulder.

Another reader commented that it was too bad I couldn’t sell these bags.

Yep…it is too bad, but I’m going to honor the designer’s requirements.  She freely offers this pattern — at no cost to the knitter.  One of the main requirements is that the project is not made for resale.

If you are looking for a place to purchase the yarn, I suggest Hook ‘n Needle.  I purchased the pink Noro during one of my soccer trips to South Carolina.

The owner does not have a website, but she gladly takes phone or email orders.  She is a lovely lady…does business the old way.  She said she gladly ships without taking payment first.  She uses the honor system and asks the buyer to add on the cost of shipping when sending payment (she includes an invoice in the package without factoring in the shipping).

Talk about trust!

Here’s the contact info for the shop:

Hook ‘n Needle
28 Diamond Lane
Intersection Center
Columbia, SC 29210
803-772 1335

One last piece of advice.

Before you begin this project, I suggest you wind all three skeins of yarn into one big yarn cake.  These were the first two bags I did this for, and I found it much easier to match up the striping, tie the yarn ends together, and go from there.  I stuck the yarn cake in a large, plastic storage bag and knit from there to keep dog hair off of my project.

Good luck to you and let me know if you have any questions!

Pre-Game Rituals

Every athlete has a ritual he/she performs before a game.

The parents are no different.  We either busy ourselves with filling coolers with ice or caffeinate ourselves with Starbucks.

I have developed a unique pre-game ritual.

I go yarn shopping.

Because all of our games are played out-of-town, I have had many opportunities to find new yarn shops.

This weekend, Chicky and I are in South Carolina.  We left Friday for our nine-hour drive with one of Chicky’s teammates riding along.

Now, you’d think that after playing travel soccer for over ten years, Chicky would have this packing thing down pat.

Think again.

When we got to Chicky’s teammate’s house, I offhandedly asked if Chicky had packed her soccer bag.

She said, “Hmmm” before her eyes got big.

She had left it at home.

Thank goodness I asked!

We drove the ten minutes back to the house and found it waiting patiently in the garage, right where she had put it.

Lovely start to the weekend, eh?  We wound up leaving 45 minutes behind schedule.

The delay was a sign of things to come.

After hitting the highway, we saw this…

Construction.

More delays.

For lunch, the girls decided they wanted Chick-fil-A.  The GPS first took us to a hospital.  Maybe the employees can buy Chick-fil-A sandwiches there?  I don’t know.

We managed to get the GPS to lead us to another location…the mall…

No shopping allowed though!  We went straight in, grabbed our stuff to-go, and left.

We encountered more construction…forcing us to go 45 miles per hour.

I must have been the only person who read the traffic signs.  Everybody passed me, including an old man who honked.

Sometimes you fly solo when you follow the law (I’ve learned this as a Christian as well).

The rest of our trip proceeded without any more delays.  We eagerly watched the signs that told us how much farther…

Nine and a half hours later, we arrived at our destination…Columbia, South Carolina.

At least the weather was clear and sunny.  Perfect for the drive…

We were very pleased with the hotel and its proximity to great shopping and yummy eating.

This morning we arose at a decent hour…ready for a busy day.

First things first…dropping off the girls at the mall…

And then my pre-game ritual…yarn shopping!!

I only planned on visiting one store, although I had mapped the locations of two.

The first one wasn’t open when I got there…

So I headed to the other store…

This store was located in a beautiful section of downtown Columbia, and I had high hopes.

However, it was a little small, and the assortment of yarn just wasn’t for me.  The owner had lots of Noro, which I like but wasn’t in the mood for, and lots of another brand that I can’t remember.  But nothing hollered out my name, so I left without buying anything.

The girls and I had a quick chat on the phone, and we arranged for a later pickup than originally planned.

I was thrilled because I had an extra thirty minutes to shop.

Guess where I went?

Back to the first shop.

Now, I’ll admit that I really didn’t think there would be much in the store.  It was not located in the quaintest of areas.

Folks, do not judge a store by its location.

When I walked in, look at what I saw…

And…

And…

And…

The owner was sooo friendly, putting me right at ease and giving me time to love on her yarn.

Two yarns leapt into my arms, begging to be taken home.  I’ve got a soft spot for sock yarn, so I didn’t say no…

Oh boy, I could have stayed in that store for a long time, but I had to go pick up the girls.

We had to get lunch…my favorite…

And one more stop for my pre-game ritual…

One of the biggest Michaels Ive ever been in!

One of the biggest Michael's I've ever been in!

I didn’t buy anything at Michael’s, being a good girl for once.

And then it was time to head for the game…

More on that tomorrow or Monday.