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Are You a Crafty College Student? Apply Fast!

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jimmy beans schoalrshipI was just cleaning out my e-mail and realized I hadn’t yet shared with you that the application period for the Beans for Brains scholarship from Jimmy Beans Wool closes on Sunday, March 31.

The scholarship, in its fourth year, is a merit-based scholarship of $3,200 and is awarded to five crafty students at accredited institutions of higher learning (undergrad or graduate). You don’t have to be currently attending school if you’re planning to enroll, say, in the fall.

To apply students must write an essay and create something knit, crocheted or sewn (or a combination) and send in a photo along with their application. Sewing is a new addition to the scholarship this year.

This is such a cool idea. One scholarship will go to someone local to the store, and one each will be awarded in the four geographical areas of the United States. If you apply, I’d love to hear about it!

Thanks, Jimmy Beans, for supporting craft and scholarship.

 

Comments

  1. Oh wow. I received an honors transfer scholarship this year, but was disqualified because I changed universities. It was a big hit to my $ plans for the school year. And I’m past deadline for most other scholarships. (Last minute decisions are not a good idea when transferring to a university).

    I will definitely be applying for this! Wish I had known about it sooner, but I’ll whip up some kind of project before Sunday!

    Thanks for sharing! I never would have known something like this even existed.

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Have you read?

Stitch a Play Mat with a Gorgeous Butterfly

The butterfly on this piece — the Owl Butterfly Playmat by Sophie’s Stitches — caught my eye before I even knew what the project was. Now that I’ve give it a closer look I’m still not 100 percent sure what it is meant to be for, but I still love it. 

I think it’s maybe to give you a flat surface to roll dice or play cards on, but there are no images of the project in use so I’m just speculating on that. If you know what it is, be sure to let me know!

What it physically is is a worsted weight mat (the sample is worked in cotton) that measures 14 by 24 inches, or 35.5 by 61 cm. The impression I get from the pattern notes and the photos is that you knit the rectangle plain and the butterfly is stitched on after using duplicate stitch, which is provided as a chart. 

Of course you could choose to knit some of the colorwork as you go, either using stranded knitting or intarsia techniques, or maybe some of both. It just looks like a lot of duplicate stitch (and it is!) so knowing me if I were making this project I’d probably try to knit some of it instead of stitching it all. 

The pattern also suggests that you can knit a second plain mat to sew on the back and cover up all the yarn ends, as well as making the mat thicker and a little more stable. There’s also a photo that shows fabric sewn to the back, which is also a good option if you have some fabric that has a bit of grip. 

I like the graphic on this one enough I might just make it as a table pad for our entry way table. You can always make the mat part a different dimension, just make sure you’re centering the image if you do. 

You can find this pattern on Ravelry. 

[Photo: Sophie’s Stitches]