So Pretty AND So Practical

We just love oilcloth in all of its retro glory. It fills an important niche in home decorating: You want your table/chair/floor to look beautiful, but your child wants to use it as a plate/stool/easel. For those of us with *busy* households, oilcloth saves the day. It is incredibly useful to have a few large pieces at hand to use as table clothes, art mats, and under-the-highchair food catchers. Oilcloth is the height of old-school practicality, yet your company will invariably comment, "how pretty!"

Feeling inspired? We just love Heather Cameron's oilcloth chair cushion tutorial for her HGTV blog.




What else can you do with oilcloth? Check out these ideas from Oilcloth International:




What is your favorite use for oilcloth? Leave us a comment and let us know!

An Abundance of Leaves

Brooklyn General Store is located just outside of Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, arguably one of the greenest neighborhoods in New York City. It boasts a natural display rare in an urban landscape: large front yards and garden beds filled with trees and flowering plants. The showy springtime blooms have fallen from the cherry blossom and magnolia trees, and a beautiful, verdant wall of ginkgos, London planes, maples, mimosas and oaks now blankets the neighborhood's industrial waterfront, softening the edges of the shipping yards and inspiring this leaf-motif round-up.

Try one of these small, fresh projects (most are free patterns!) in our suggested yarn--perfect for when the weather gets warm and you just can't bear to lug around that bulky sweater project.


Satchels



photo credits (clockwise from upper left): Gale Zucker, Pam Powers, Geminime (on Ravelry), Mindy Lewis

We love these sweet bags--wooden handles seem to be a natural choice for leaf satchels. The delicate Leafy Reticule (upper left) by Ann Hahn Buechner from Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines calls for a DK yarn--we recommend one of the soft springtime colors of Rowan Pima Cotton. The latest edition of Interweave Knits features a romantic, fabric-lined satchel (upper right) by Pam Powers in a worsted cotton--try Lana Grossa's Linea Pura Organico. The Leaf Satchel (lower left) by Teva Durham from Loop-d-Loop, Volume 2, is fashioned with a double-strand of DK-weight yarn such as Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool, and the Cop Cat Bag (lower right) by Mindy Lewis will work up nicely in the worsted-weight Cascade 220 .


Small Comforts


photo credits: Cybele (on Ravelry), NorwayKate (on Ravelry)

Bring nature indoors with an elegant tea cozy from Sublime Book #614, (also a perfect project for trying out one of the many, many beautiful colors of Rauma Strikkegarn) and lacy summer-weight socks by Corey Laflamme (try Rauma Babygarn or Claudia Hand-Painted).


Delicate Washclothes



photo credits (clockwise from upper left): Eva Skulbru Eriksen (both top photos), Smariek (on Ravelry), MissMandiGirl (on Ravelry)

A handmade cotton washcloth is a small project, but a big luxury. The patterns for Leafy Cloth, Apple Leaf Cloth, Twin Leaf Cloth, and Vignes (Vineyard) Dishcloth are all available as free downloads on Ravelry and are a great way to try out a new cotton yarn!


For Baby


photo credit: Rowena Sweeney

It's never too early to encourage a love of nature! This aptly named baby blanket, Ready for the Floor by Rowena Sweeney looks beautifully fresh and modern while giving baby a soft space to explore.


Beautiful Leaves



photo credits (clockwise from upper left): Midorisan (on Ravelry), RaeA (on Ravelry), Colleen Teerling, Monique Boonstra

Knitted and crocheted leaves have their own appeal as embellishment, or jewelry, or just as pretty objects. Have fun experimenting with different weights and styles of yarn to create your own Mountain Laurel Leaf, Feuille de Ginkgo, Lacy Leaf, or Leaf Lace Cotton Cuff.


Finally, for an inspiring read, check out the article in Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine #47 about knitting outdoors, and then take your project outside!

And the winners are...

We had a great time on Saturday night celebrating the end of our Squirrel Contest.  The squirrels came down from the tree for the judging and stayed for the live bluegrass music, good company, and salted almonds.  While we certainly love a good party, the highlight of the night was finding out which squirrels took home which prizes.  So, without further ado, we'd like to announce the winners of our Handmade Squirrel Contest!

First prize was awarded to Abernathy Bland's minimalist, expressive squirrel, seen here mourning the unexpected loss of another contestant (crocheted by The Dark Side of Cute):

We have a sneaking suspicion our Second Prize winner, a fox in squirrel's clothing knit by Kusi Merello, was probably to blame:

Thankfully, our Third Prize winners (there were two--we had a tie!) were having a much more peaceful time in the mushroom patch.  Lara Allen's sleek, modern, embroidered squirrel spent a pleasant evening relaxing with Pamela Marshall's tiny, tiny submission knit on toothpicks (really--it's about the size of a very small grape!):

Because we were so impressed by the creativity and craftsmanship displayed by all of our entries, we went a little nuts ourselves and awarded a few extra prizes.  Honorable Mentions went the following squirrels, from left to right: Stephanie Rall's knit squirrel with a bagel, Jo Cogan's crocheted mama and baby squirrels, Elizabeth Smith's sewn orange squirrel holding an acorn, and Amy Plew's felted cutie.

A very big thank you goes out to everyone who entered to contest--we wanted to give every one of them a prize.  We'd also like to thank everyone who came out to the party for supporting the contest and joining in the fun!

All of the squirrels will be on display in the window of Brooklyn General Store until mid June. Stay tuned--we will be announcing the details of our next contest here soon!

Eat, Drink & Be Nutty This Saturday Night

Please join us at Brooklyn General Store this Saturday, May 15, for a party to mark the end of our Handmade Squirrel Contest and to hear us announce the winners. There will be live music, beer, wine, nutty treats, and a craft to entertain the kids. We're excited to spend some time relaxing with old friends and making new ones too, so we hope you'll come out!

There is still one more week to enter your squirrel in the contest. Entries must be received by noon on May 15 in order to be judged, so get crafting. Remember to get the kids involved--separate prizes will be awarded to youth entries.

Squirrel Party!
Saturday, May 15
7 pm-10 pm
Brooklyn General Store
128 Union St.
Btwn Columbia & Hicks
718-237-7753