Taking up needlework again?
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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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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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@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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@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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@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?
https://www.etsy.com/listing/725544588/row-of-cats-kittens-afghan-crochet?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_all&utm_custom1=k_EAIaIQobChMIkIDfuZCSigMVqkd_AB1_vyQKEAQYAiABEgKA2fD_BwE_k&utm_content=go_21500569332_164907277083_707558291651_pla-293946777986_c__725544588_101943559&utm_custom2=21500569332&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkIDfuZCSigMVqkd_AB1_vyQKEAQYAiABEgKA2fD_BwE
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@Mary-Anna Sweet! I’ve never seen that particular stitch before but it seems to be popular. I think this scarf uses the same stitch.
https://loopsandramblings.blogspot.com/2012/02/kittens-in-row-scarf.html
Maybe the scarf would be a good way to see how difficult the stitch is to do, and to get a sample you can see in real life before you get rolling on a bigger version.
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I had a chance to look at the scarf pattern more closely and from quick perusal it seems to be reasonably well-written. Sometimes they are really sketchy and unless you are a very experienced crocheter, it can be hard to figure out what the author was trying to describe!
I don't think the stitch is too hard to master, but I don't know your skill level; the project is rated Easy to Intermediate.
I like the explanation in the pattern about carrying forward the color, which means you don't have a lot of ends to deal with when you're finished.
I was looking around for other things you could make in that stitch ("kittens in a row" seems to be the descriptor), and came across this completely different afghan done in Tunisian stitches. I thought it was really cute:
https://knitterknotter.com/free-tunisian-crochet-blanket-pattern-kittens/
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I've never done Tunisian crochet, but it doesn't look too hard and it might be fun to do something different.
I'm a reasonably experienced crocheter, in that I'm comfortable with all the standard stitches and can follow a pattern to make the fancy ones. I haven't done much that has to be fitted, though. I've been more of a blanket-and-scarf crocheter, but I can make fairly intricate patterns for those. The cat pattern I posted looks very straightforward at whatever level I am. I think that the Tunisian one would be straightforward once I learned the stitch.
The main thing about the one I posted is that I think it mainly just shows you how to make the cat stitch. The more challenging thing will be to decide the dimensions and do a test row to decide the size of hook and the type/thickness of yarn. Until I know those things, I won't know how much yarn to buy.
In other words, I'm going to have to first turn my art project into an engineering problem. lol
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@Mary-Anna Like you, I'm a reasonably experienced crocheter when it comes to blankets and scarves. I tried a Tunisian crochet project years ago and it was very easy to pick up. From what you described about your experience level, you would have no problem.
In other words, I'm going to have to first turn my art project into an engineering problem. lol
Is there any other way?
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@Bernard said in Taking up needlework again?:
Your slipper socks look terrific! I make similar ones in knitting using rug wool.
I thought these were cute. They're crocheted. And felted. I downloaded the pattern so I could see how they're worked. Seems pretty straightforward.
https://hobbii.com/product-patterns/hobbii-design/felted-slippers-crochet
I've never tried felting. Have you done it? Is it as easy as that pattern makes it look?
