Unpinning Pinterest 7/26/12

It’s a bonus post this week, because there’s just too much fun stuff I can’t wait to share! How could I forgive myself if you needed one of these tips and didn’t have it?! Oh sure,I’d muddle along, but let’s not take the risk.

1. On A Girl and her Needle, there’s a great way to Soften Scratchy Yarn – brilliant! This is also great for those skeins that you find at garage sales and thrift stores that would be fine except for a funky smell. So smart!
2. At Craftybegonia’s Pursenality Shoppe, there’s a great tutorial on making Kelly’s Braid – a 5 strand braid made with crocheted or knitted i-cord (or rope, or ribbon…). It would make a great purse handle, embellishments, faux cables, or even a very cool headband! 
3. Over on the Lion Brand blog, they’ve got a great list of 12 Tips on How to Organize Your Yarn Stash. These are all great! I do a lot of them myself, but my absolute favorite thing to do is use gallon sized zip-top freezer bags. I can keep like yarns together, I can line them up on shelves to see exactly what I have at a glance, and they yarn stays bug, dust, and odor free! Plus, the bags are completely re-usable – I’ve been working with the same box of bags for a year now. Too many empty bags just beg for a trip to the yarn store… 😉
4. Crochet Concupiscence is a fantastic resource for crocheters, and this post of 20 Inspiring Ideas for Combining Crochet with Fabric is so smart! These are such lovely projects! I know I’m inspired!
5. I also have been so happy to find Free Vintage Crochet – it’s amazing! A little quote from their home page:
   

   All of the free crochet patterns that appear on this website have passed into the public domain. That means that these designs are no longer protected by copyright and you are free to do whatever you would like to do with them! Copy them, share them, make finished items from them and sell them – let your imagination run wild!

   There are so very many cute things here! Vintage and retro pot holders, blankets, baby clothes, socks, aprons, you name it. Classic, whimsical, and ridiculously fun! One note: vintage patterns do often assume a little more expertise and expect the crocheter to figure a lot of it out on their own. But don’t let that stop you from diving in! Patterns like this are worth it!

6. *BONUS PIN* I made the Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken Recipe from busymommy yesterday for dinner, and it was SO easy and very tasty. It fed 3 adults and 6 kids and we took it down to the bone. The rub was so delicious! One problem with the way the recipe is written however – just placing the chicken straight into the crock means a lot of the juice was in the bottom and the chicken was sitting in it as it cooked. Still tasty, but not too much like a rotisserie chicken. If you want the dry, crispy skin, I think you’d have to raise it up on a rack inside the pot, and even then I don’t know if it’d be “crispy.” But either way I recommend this recipe – so good!

That’s it for this week –  I’ve got to get to work on tomorrow’s free pattern! Hope there’s something here that helps you out or makes your life easier, softer, more organized… or more tasty!

Be sure to check out and like the moogly Facebook page to get the latest updates, links, sneak peeks, and to order your own ooak moogly items – I’m taking commissions! Moogly is also on Pinterest, Twitter, and now Tumblr – come join the fun!