Taking up needlework again?
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I've done a number of needle arts over the years--crocheting, crewel embroidery, cross-stitch, sewing--but I never got really good at any of them. (This is a metaphor for my life.) Knitting was beyond me, though. Somehow, a single crochet hook is easier for me to handle and, more importantly, crochet stitches are more intuitive for me in terms of shaping the item into something three-dimensional.
There's a yarn shop a couple of blocks from the new house and I have a yen to start a new project after I finish unpacking. (So not any time soon.) It will probably be a scarf and hat, since I've moved to the Great White North and making gloves and mittens scares me.
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Oh - you’ve moved! Which means your project must be done! If you mentioned it somewhere I must have missed it.
How did it all go? What do you think so far?
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I was looking at Bernard's website a while back and he had a link to this woman's site. I really like this pattern for a crocheted slipper, something I could use myself or give away. Plus it's so easy and super fast.
Here's her blog post:
https://auntekristy.blogspot.com/2016/03/free-crochet-pattern-ahh-spa-slippers_26.html
And here's the printable pattern:
@wtg said in Taking up needlework again?:
I was looking at a website a while back which had a link to this woman's site. I really like this pattern for a crocheted slipper, something I could use myself or give away. Plus it's so easy and super fast.
Here's her blog post:
https://auntekristy.blogspot.com/2016/03/free-crochet-pattern-ahh-spa-slippers_26.html
And here's the printable pattern:
First slipper socks:
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Once I figured out the pattern it was no problem to customize the fit as I crocheted. Also, because of how they're worked, it's easy to make the heel a different color. I think that could be kind of cute. It's a great way to use up smaller quantities of yarn that I have in my stash that I originally bought for hats and scarves or that are left over from other projects. Trying to clean house, ya know!
I plan to make a bunch of these slippers and donate them to the gift shop at the senior home where my Mom used to live. I'd like to be able to tag them with some kind of sizing information. I've been calling friends to ask them for their foot measurements and shoe size so I have some idea of what size they are once I finish them.
@AdagioM - I still plan to try out knitting again. I've located the knitting needles, which is an important first step!
Stay tuned...
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Once I figured out the pattern it was no problem to customize the fit as I crocheted. Also, because of how they're worked, it's easy to make the heel a different color. I think that could be kind of cute. It's a great way to use up smaller quantities of yarn that I have in my stash that I originally bought for hats and scarves or that are left over from other projects. Trying to clean house, ya know!
I plan to make a bunch of these slippers and donate them to the gift shop at the senior home where my Mom used to live. I'd like to be able to tag them with some kind of sizing information. I've been calling friends to ask them for their foot measurements and shoe size so I have some idea of what size they are once I finish them.
@AdagioM - I still plan to try out knitting again. I've located the knitting needles, which is an important first step!
Stay tuned...
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Next up...I bought some closeout fingering yarn a ways back. I found a couple of patterns for crocheted socks that I'm going to try. I thought about trying to knit them, but I'm so much more comfortable with crocheting and it's my first try at both socks and a fingering weight yarn, so I figure I better keep the complications to a minimum.
I'm also putting together a listing for craigslist to see if I can find homes for some of the cross stitch kits that I know I'll never get to. I also have a ton of graphs for pieces I've finished. If anyone is interested, I can post pics here. All free to a good WTF home.
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Oh, and @AdagioM ... I found a pattern for a crocheted brioche hat that is up next after the socks....
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Talking of socks...
I have a practical wife who loves knitting/crotcheting and recycling stuff.
And two pairs of pretty old thick hiking socks probably bought before 1990 (Brasher, & Smart Wool).
Unbelievably both brands are still available to buy new at about £30 per pair.
In excellent condition but washed and shrunk from 8-10 to 6-8 size so dont fit me anymore.Three needed small toe holes darning and MrsA swung into action taking less than half an hour to find suitable wool (actually her grandmother's wool from the 1960's !) and fix them.
We have a niece working in the Lake District who wants them. She's aiming to climb all 214 Wainrights.
In my old socks
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I somehow missed this thread when it first started, but I just got done watching @Bernard ’s sewing video. You all are so very talented!
When I was little, an Italian aunt who spoke almost no English taught me to embroider. I loved sitting with her and imitating her stitches while she talked in a seemingly endless stream. We did several flowers and shapes and then did a pretty handkerchief.
Then I almost never did it again. I think it wasn’t the embroidery that interested me so much as it was being with her.
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Talking of socks...
I have a practical wife who loves knitting/crotcheting and recycling stuff.
And two pairs of pretty old thick hiking socks probably bought before 1990 (Brasher, & Smart Wool).
Unbelievably both brands are still available to buy new at about £30 per pair.
In excellent condition but washed and shrunk from 8-10 to 6-8 size so dont fit me anymore.Three needed small toe holes darning and MrsA swung into action taking less than half an hour to find suitable wool (actually her grandmother's wool from the 1960's !) and fix them.
We have a niece working in the Lake District who wants them. She's aiming to climb all 214 Wainrights.
In my old socks@AndyD That's great. People don't mend socks much these days. They just throw them out.
Did MrsA use a Speedweve?
For those who are not familiar with it:
Link to videoWhen the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier
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I somehow missed this thread when it first started, but I just got done watching @Bernard ’s sewing video. You all are so very talented!
When I was little, an Italian aunt who spoke almost no English taught me to embroider. I loved sitting with her and imitating her stitches while she talked in a seemingly endless stream. We did several flowers and shapes and then did a pretty handkerchief.
Then I almost never did it again. I think it wasn’t the embroidery that interested me so much as it was being with her.
@ShiroKuro said in Taking up needlework again?:
then did a pretty handkerchief.
My mom and my grandmother used to embroider handkerchiefs and/or crochet a border on them. Ditto for pillowcases.
This cotton pillowcase is soooo soft from years of being washed.
I have stacks of linens stashed away that I'm going through and finding homes for. I'll keep a few items but it's time to let go of many of them. Still trying to figure out what to do with the linen table cloths and matching napkins that my mom embroidered. We don't entertain in that fashion anymore. Hell, we don't entertain anymore! The eBay and Etsy markets are flooded with this kind of stuff, but I'll still see if I can find a good home for them.
When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier
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@AndyD That's great. People don't mend socks much these days. They just throw them out.
Did MrsA use a Speedweve?
For those who are not familiar with it:
Link to video -
@wtg said in Taking up needlework again?:
I was looking at a website a while back which had a link to this woman's site. I really like this pattern for a crocheted slipper, something I could use myself or give away. Plus it's so easy and super fast.
Here's her blog post:
https://auntekristy.blogspot.com/2016/03/free-crochet-pattern-ahh-spa-slippers_26.html
And here's the printable pattern:
First slipper socks:
@wtg Your slipper socks look terrific! I make similar ones in knitting using rug wool.
Your aunt's crocheted edgings are beautiful. One of my aunts use to make tatted edgings for her handkerchiefs. I can still picture her with the oblong shuttle (she didn't do the needle type of tatting).
I have never seen Speedweve! Cool!
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I'm thinking about starting a crocheting project over the winter break. My oldest grandson, Stud Muffin, will graduate from high school in a year and a half, which gives me hope that I could finish an afghan in time for his graduation. I was kinda thinking about this pattern, which looks like cat faces when you study the stitch, but just looks like an afghan from a distance. He likes cats, but this pattern looks less childish than some, and it doesn't look hard. What say ye, fellow crocheters?
