Yarn Crafters

Danswife_OR:

I also enjoy the selection of yarns offered at Knitpicks.com. They have some wonderful yarns for those projects you want to take to the next level from Red Heart, etc. and the prices are reasonable.

Thanks for this information!  I am going to have to check out that website.  I am fortunate that our Joannes here is one of the big super stores!  I love that place!  

Gkids, I used to knit but kinda forgot about it.... in 1976, I was expecting a baby and took up knitting.. I found these gorgeous little outfits that  I knitted up.. Didn't piece together but had them all together to sew when I was ready to... well, I lost the baby at birth and just boxed it all up and put it away..... . for years I told myself I could not knit!  Then I came across this box of knitted goodies.. MINUS all the directions unfortunately... I was able to figure out how a couple of them went togeter, so I finished what I could and they were so darling..... I wish I could find those books I used .. they were some kind of french knitting book .. odd sized.. tall and more slendar.. anyway, I had gotten out of the habit by then... and still haven't picked it back up!  I need to do that because there are some darling patterns out there.  These were some of the cutest knit outfits for baby... tops with shorts.. and one bunting that I put a zipper in the front.  I was able to give most of what I put together away as gifts... Knitting seems to take more hands on practice than crochet for me... I was just tidying up my craft room and I found a set of needles and put them in a tall continer for keeping.. I guess I should take that as a hint that I am suppose to get back into it!  lol...   I have never worked with circular needles and would like to try my hand at that some day.  I had a friend that knitted using them.

 Hmm, guess I was a little long winded... lol.

My local Hancock's went belly up several months ago.  The local JoAnne's makes me shudder to visit...it's sooo messy and disorganized.  But it is the only fabric store here!  The nearest Wally World has a limited fabric dept.  Not much selection in fabrics, buttons or anything.  Only the Red Heart brand of yarn.  But there is a yarn shop, tiny as all get out, but carries the most exquisite yarns you can imagine.  I take lessons there...it's actually an evening of knit & chat for about 5 ladies.  We get a 25% discount when we take the classes.

 

I've perused various websites for fabrics, but I like to feel the fabric before buying it.  I know I can order swatches, but that takes so long & costs $$.  I guess I'll have to bite the bullet & visit JoAnne's.

 

You talk about a scrap yarn afgan.  Like all sewers, I have a stash.  I also have a stash of leftovers...too small to make anything, too large to toss.  I was cutting out squares of leftovers and stitching them up into a scrap fabric quilt.  I envisioned sitting on my bed looking at a particular patch & remembering the outfit it came from!  ARG  My sewer backed up & soaked my almost finished patchwork quilt top [:'(] so now I'm back to square one!  However, my stash is probably bigger now!

 

Nice to hear about all of you.  If you know of any websites for yarns or fabrics let me know!

 

Cathy

cathyat:

ARG  My sewer backed up & soaked my almost finished patchwork quilt top

LOL  I know I shouldn't laugh, but my first quilt project was a wall hanging. It was finally all pieced, and I was pleased! I tacked the batting and back to the top. Then, started to quilt it in a hand held very large hoop. I laid it in a large basket by my chair and went to check on the kids. meanwhile, my collie sensed something new in the house and MARKED it. (Yep, polite for peed all over it)  I could not work on it with the urine odor. I could not wash it because the batting would be a mess since it was not yet quilted. I pitched it, because I did not want to rip out all my quilting stitches.

 

Hmmm. Now that I think of it, I guess that was also my last quilt project.......other than a few  potholders and pillow tops.

I just love this post. I wish I could knit better than I do. I always seem to make a mistake and then I am lost on how to correct it. Crochet you just pull the yarn and correct the mistake. I order alot of yarns on line at Joann's. They have a lot of free shipping offers so that makes it not so bad. I love crocheting for my two grandchildren who are now both 1 and I have one due in March. My son in law is in Iraq and my daughter and granddaughter are living with us and she is expecting in March. Marcia sent me the cutest sweater pattern. That is my next project. I made both my grandchildren blankets from baby chenille yarn from Hobby Lobby and they love them. I made them a travel size too so they don't have to cart the big blanket all over. So I am currently working on the next babies. The colors in that yarn are so bright. But the yarn is a bit pricy but washes up really good. Jeanette

Hi all!! I have had good look with www.herrschners.com they have a huge collection and have been really fast at getting my order to me.I had a meeting at church last night so I didn't get to start my new project but I am itching to its another shawl for the cancer patients I have to bring my finished ones in on Friday.

Our replies are slacking off.  We need to keep up this thread!

 

But it's so hard.  Just how many x-stitch projects or knitting projects or crocheting patterns can we talk about?  I mean it takes so long to complete one, then go thru the "finishing" process.  Years, if you are like me!  Just how many pictures can you hang up?  I had to do double time knitting, so I could finish a sweater for one of my kids before he outgrew it!!!  I won't do quilting, no shape, matter or form...very personal reasons.

 

A story.  My mom...the queen of crafters, who took up stained glass toward her end, left a lot of "stuff" around her craft room.  My dad sent all her leftover stuff to me, her crafting heir!  Stashed some, finished some, cried about some.  Well, my sewer backed up.  HAD to go thru craft/sewing room.  Found a rolled up "thingie".  Not damaged.  Unrolled it, & it was a completed needlepoint picture my mom completed days before her passing!  I had it framed & sent it to my sister for her birthday complements from "Dad, who found it, Mom, who made it, Me, who framed it"!  She hung it in a place of honor in her home!

 

Let's keep the thread going.  I do counted x-stitch from kits & I'm looking to branch out to taking a kit picture and redoing the suggested colors/yarn types to fit better with what I want to achieve.  Anyone out there have done this sort of thing?  Does anyone have experience with painting their own needlepoint canvases?  My sister is an artist & I would like to get her to paint one of her originals onto a canvas that I could needlepoint.  But neither of us had experience doing that sort of thing.  Suggestions?  Ideas?

 

Cathy

Thank you for sharing your storie, Cathy. What a neat gift for your sister!

Fructose Free, Thanks for the info re Herrschners . I'll definately be checking it out!

I have a bit of a pet peeve, and am wondering how others may deal with the problem. I have a real "thing" about knots in my work. Something my Grandmother stressed to me years ago when she was teaching me to crochet, and it irks me to no end when I pay good money ffor yarn, go to roll it up before starting my project and find they have joined another piece of yarn by knotting it, sometimes more than once in a skein!

How do you deal with this problem? Is it possible to find yarn that does not pose this problem? I've found it happens in the higher quality fibers, as well as the more "budget" minded yarn.   

cathyat:

A story.  My mom...the queen of crafters, who took up stained glass toward her end, left a lot of "stuff" around her craft room.  My dad sent all her leftover stuff to me, her crafting heir!  Stashed some, finished some, cried about some.  Well, my sewer backed up.  HAD to go thru craft/sewing room.  Found a rolled up "thingie".  Not damaged.  Unrolled it, & it was a completed needlepoint picture my mom completed days before her passing!  I had it framed & sent it to my sister for her birthday complements from "Dad, who found it, Mom, who made it, Me, who framed it"!  She hung it in a place of honor in her home!

 

Kathy that is REALLY special!

My grandmas passed away before my brother was born in 1947.  She had started a quilt for him that my mom always said she was going to finish. Mom never did .. and when she passed away, I found it.. I have it and I, too, was going to finish it BUT fabrics are so different today than they were back then.  I have been trying to find a way to display the baby quilt (maybe on the wall??) in my spare room.. but haven't come up with perfection yet! lol.. I have thought about some sort of display frame... just don't know.. I am sure willing to take ideas!  

 

Cathyat, I know what you mean about wanting to keep the thread going, but how many knit/purl conversations can you have, right? 

This is the beauty of a thread like this. You hit on exactly what keeps a thread going. Allow people into your life! The story of your Mom's needlework opens story lines of anyone's favorite piece that was handed down.

The story about the sewer backing up and wetting your quilt was another invitation to share. (Though I read sewer as 'one who sews,' rather than a "suuuuuueeerrrrrrrr" like waste products. At first, I thought you had a rude seamstress who wet your quilt when she wasn't looking where she was going)

My favorite heirloom crochet was a group of doilies from my paternal grandmother, and pineapple pattern dresser scarfs from my maternal grandmother. My paternal grandmother taught me to single crochet. She passed away when I was 10, so I relearned as an adult.

Personal info about me...My daughter lives in UT with her 2 sons, age 6 and 7, while their father is in Afghanistan. She homeschools the older one, and volunteers with many groups. Being left handed, she has trouble with yarn crafts.......I think she is too busy to relax and learn)

 One son lives with his wife in Ohio. (He is involved with 2 cartoon shows on CBS on Saturdays.......(artist and soon to be producer)  The other son, wife, and my granddaughter, age 16, live in VA. He works for an internet company.

I am soon 61, been married to same man 40 years, live in Meadville, PA, about 40 miles from Lake Erie.

 

Over at Miss Lizzy's we talk as much or more about each other's family and lives than we do about scrapbooking and stamping. But, scrapbooking and stamping are our 'common thread' and our hobby that we all share.

As to keeping this thread, on Sunday morning, if I get online first, I will post an entry entitled "Yarn Crafters Jan 13-19."   If anyone gets up before me, then they can open it. Each person after that adds to the same thread until the next Sunday.  At Miss Lizzy's, 2 of us end up simultaneously open sometimes. We just let one die out while we all post to the other.

Now, if you choose, you can change weeks on Wednesday, or whenever. But, posting all on the same thread widens the group of friends, and increases the 'weaving' of ideas. many people only open one or two threads. This way, you know where to find Cathyat, and HD Mac, and even me. Yes, we are other places too, but this is a starting point.

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Marcia, I have a similar problem with a quilt piece I inherited from my Paternal Grandmother. It was pieced together by my GGGrandmother. She even embroidered her name into one "square". It's a crazy quilt pattern made with the most beautiful fabrics, with such rich and varied textures and colors. It was suggested that I cut it into pieces to be shared with other family members, but I just couldn't bear to do it. Since the fabrics are so varied I'm wary of having it cleaned, and would like to find a way to display it which would protect it from dust, humidity, etc. One option I've considered is to mount it on acid free paper, in a beveled frame (so the glass wouldn't be touching it, and perhaps to allow some air circulation) Thoughts? 

Marcia, is the quilt top all pieced?  Maybe you can go to a quilt shop or  a framing shop for advice. I know a shop here that frames many needlework items, mostly cross stitch. If the top isn't done being pieced or appliqued, maybe you can get some 100 % cotton and set it by your washer to be thrown in each time you do laundry until the color washes out, and the 'soft' washes in. I used to get 'old type' fabrics from a mail order company, but I truly have no idea what their name was. Maybe someone else knows.

It may be a long shot, but you can keep your eyes open at auctions, estate sales, and thrift shops for old garments, or even old boxes of scraps from former quilters?

If the quilt is finished, they make special wood hangers that hold the quilt with just pressure from a set of wooden balls.......no need to sew a placket on the back of the quilt.

Good Luck. It sounds very special.

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Some helpful thoughts so far!

The quilt is just the top and it is all pieced and sewn together.    I am liking the idea of opening it completely up (not sure of the dimensions right off hand - is a baby quilt) and having it attached to a backing and framed and glassed in.. I think that it might fit over the top of the bed that way... It is special.  ... My DH has a completed and somewhat worn quilt that his grandmother made for him.. I would like to display that one also but thought about a quilt hook on the wall and draping it over since it is finished... :)  keep the thoughts and ideas coming!  lol.

Hi everyone!  Still getting used to everything on here and I noticed I must have been "grandgathered" in to this group.  I posted for a little while before we got the new bb.  Any one who posted before the change must have been an automatic member?

I do love crafting and just discovered this yarn thread.  I crochet.  My grandmother taught me when I was a young girl in the early 70's.  My cousin and I were the only ones that picked up on the craft.  My grandmother had 3 daughters and surprisingly none of them picked up on it.  I remember how I used to aggravate Grandma when I wouldn't hold my needle the way she did.  I hold it "over handed" (only way I know to describe it) and she always held it kind of like a pencil. 

I'm working on a fisherman's sampler, a free pattern I printed from lion brand.  January always seems like a good time to start a crochet project.

I crochet mostly afghans and scarves.  I have dabbled in baby clothes when my family was younger.  I would love to share a photo of my oldest ds's christening gown I crocheted about 20 years ago.  I'll hunt it down and post it for sharing soon.

I hope to visit here more often.  I am also an animal lover so I hang around the Critter Chat thread on the KC bb.

                              

I do like the idea of getting personal I have tried a couple other boards with not much luck conecting with people. I always wonder about people name on here for example I sign in under fructose free but my name is sherri what are others names and why did you choose that sign on. ANgel food Is it because you love angel food cake. I do its my favorite. I think people are really creative when they make up there names. ALso angel food what critter room do you go into I am also a animal lover.

ANyway I better get supper going my kids are bugging me lol.

SHerri

I have been called cookie for 45 years. No creativity for me. I had to insert the (_) in coo_kie because someone had  cookie already. Then along came c_oo_kie. Luckily we don't get too confused unless we are writing to each other......then people assume we have multiple personality disorder or something.