[Cat75]

I crochet some. Although I haven’t much the last couple of years. My gauge is always off (really big.) I made my daughter a sweater vest that I could fit into. It discouraged me. Now, I stick to baby blankets.

Lately I have been trying to learn to embroider. I am a little frustrated right now. I just read somewhere online that I am not supposed to make knots to start or tie off the threads. Why not? It seems so much easier. There is probably a perfectly good reason. I am just a little frustrated because that’s what I have been doing. I have been working on putting flowers around the edge of a pillowcase I already had. It has knots every time I change colors. Oh, well. I figure I am starting out so I can get away with things like that.

I want to try adding felt and embroidery together. The items I have seen with that are so pretty.

[Kim]

Sarvi I love the Addi Turbo circular needles for hats. I use wooden 4 double pointed needles too to finish all the tops. I always feel better using wood but I think the Addi Turbo needles are easier on my hands. I would encourage anyone beginning to knit to start with hats. Once you get the basic pattern they knit up fast and you can make all kinds of hats from a basic pattern.

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Kim.

[Robin]

@Cat75, get yourself a copy of the A-Z of Embroidery stitches. It will teach you pretty much everything you could ever want to know. The written instructions and pictures are brilliant. http://www.amazon.com/A-Z-Embroidery-Stitches-Sue-Gardner/dp/0957715986

The rest of the books in the series are really good.

[meleliza]

I used to knit all the time. It was nice for the boys when they were little as sewing boy stuff is just less fun. I made them some really beautiful sweaters back in the day. However, now, they grow too fast and need way too much yarn. A sweater for oldest son would need 800 yards and take me a year. Bleh. I also grew frustrated with how difficult (too much math and you can’t exactly make a muslin) it is to get a good fit for myself in knitting and that no matter how nicely I could do it, it always looked sort of hand made – in the bad way. I eventually gave up on sweaters altogether. After all, I can spend a year of my life and $300 knitting one that may not even fit in the end or just buy one at Anthro for $200. I do enjoy the motions though, and will work on scarves and hats in the soccer and outdoor seasons when I’m too on the go to get much sewing done. If there were babies to knit for I would happily do tiny sweaters. They’re wonderful for babies.

I love cross stitch, though there’s only so much of that you can hang in your house before it looks goofy. I’m doing a Christmas reed work sampler now, but my put it aside again until next Christmas. I like embroidery and am trying to get better.

[vothgirl]

I will be making a Christmas stocking for Olivia this year – it didn’t hit me until November that this was her first Christmas, and by that point I just didn’t have the time to sew her one. Fortunately I had a spare stocking we could use and will make her one for her 2nd Christmas 😉 (I’m the “stocking lady” in my family – starting in high school, I handmade stockings for everyone in my immediate family using different techniques [applique, paper piecing, cross stitch, candlewicking, etc], and as we added to our family through marriage and having our own babies, I have made additional stockings for my husband, brother-in-law, nieces, and my older daughter). @meleliza redwork sounds interesting, I haven’t tried that yet so I’m going to look into it and perhaps give it a go! 😉

[jay_1965vw]

I’ll join the Fibre Club! I do a bit of everything (except I’m really bad at photographing my projects). I’m knitting at the moment, finishing off a vintage pattern cardigan for myself. I embroider and needle turn applique to add detail to garments, and I crochet,mostly when I need it to finish the edges on my knitting, but I have made a granny square quilt for Audrey’s bed (cot sized). I started a lap blanket with granny squares, but I lost inspiration and its now in storage in Australia. Maybe I’ll finish it when we get home in three years…

[Sarvi]

That was my main area of interest with crochet, decorative edgings and closures for knitted garments. I’d love to see photos of everybody’s work! Maybe we can start a Crafter’s Auxiliary group for sharing our non-sewing projects.

I also wanted to tell you guys about a great experience I had with Brooklyn Tweed. I’d ordered a pattern without looking carefully and when I got the file and printed it, realized it wasn’t what I wanted. I tried writing to them through their website’s form but got no response. Frankly I was expecting a no, since how could they know I’d really delete the PDF and throw out the paper copy? I was hoping they’d look through my order history and see I was a long time customer with no previous complaints, and was writing to them now the day after purchase.

A few days later I got the loveliest, most thorough response to a survey I’d taken and took a chance and wrote back asking about the pattern I’d mis-ordered, and sure enough, they’d had a website glitch and they offered to exchange the pattern, even suggesting another pattern that would more closely match what I wanted. These guys should give lessons in customer service. I was already happy to recommend them based on their product quality but now I can something else, something that matters a lot to me — being treated well. I wouldn’t have minded if they’d said they couldn’t do, but the courtesy and thoughtfulness of the interactions was just wonderful. That’s how you do it, customer for life.

[Tamara]

I started off with cross stitch too! I had heaps of books and patterns that I would work with. When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I cross stitched a heap of Jemima Puddleduck pictures and made it into a quilt – we are now using it for Chloe.

I love stumpwork and other forms of raised embroidery. I also love smocking (well I think many of you know that already). I was lucky enough to attend the Beating around the Bush convention in Adelaide a few years ago (it was hosted by Country Bumpkin which is now just the publishing company for Inspirations magazine and the attached store is called Create in Stitch). I took a class with Gail Doane who is quite well known in SAGA circles. Because I am also left handed, she had me sit opposite her when learning to stitch brazillian embroidered flowers. It worked out well.

Knitting is something I attempt yet don’t get far with. I have always wanted to make a baby cardigan and have one in the works at the moment. I hope to increase it to two before winter hits.

[Linda]

I used to work for Rowan Yarns until a year ago until pressures from my other job meant I couldn’t do both jobs. I was a Rowan Design Consultant, which basically means that I was based at a John Lewis department store in Cardiff (Wales) and helped customers when they needed advice. I also ran a monthly knitting group. So- I LOVE knitting! I knit every single evening and one of my favourite things to knit is socks. I also knit for all my family, presents for friends and myself. You should see my yarn stock- and knitting book stock-its very naughty. If anyone has any knitting queries I would be glad to try and give you some support, though my job and family keep me busy. Just give me a shout and I’ll try to help you.
Knitting had been my first love until I saw my first ever Oliver+s pattern (Ice cream dress) and one of my daughters had a baby girl. The flood gates opened and now knitting has been replaced with sewing in terms of stimulating me creatively. And this forum is brilliant- I’ve tried to find a similar one for patterns from other designers, but apart from sew a longs I have been unsuccessful.Though I must admit Curvy Collective are excellent and I also read Collette blog etc avidly.

I also crochet though fairly basic stuff.
I also like hand sewing very much, from hemming skirts to embroidery. Used to do cross stitch and tapestry but eye sight rubbish.

Wish we all lived close to each other- imagine how great a craft club we could have!

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Linda.

[Linda]

I wrote a long, rambling reply to Cat75 about how to adjust knitting needle sizes to make sure garments come out the right size, when I realised she was talking about crochet…

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Linda.

[Linda]

Ooh, just looked at child patterns on Brooklyn Tweed! Must get some and the owl is so cute!

[katybellabug]

I like to dabble with knitting although my finished project count is pretty low. I am a slow, methodical knitter and often things get put aside until I am in the mood to pick them up again. I currently have a cardigan in a nearly completed state but for the hood and one sleeve.
I sat down yesterday and practised the magic loop method because I have a serious aversion to using DPN’s. I feel like I am wrestling with them.

My 6 year old is currently learning how to do cross stitch. She expressed an interest and even though I have never done it before, we are doing quite well!

At the moment I feel like knitting more than sewing. I think it might be due to the cold weather. I want to snuggle and work with something on my lap. Shortly arriving in the post are 5 skeins of Cascade Quattro yarn for a cable blanket.
I have just finished a hat for Boo to wear when she is out late in the evening. It is made from a yarn with a luminous thread running through it, so cars headlights light it up! http://www.woolwarehouse.co.uk/yarn/schachenmayr-lumio-all-colours

[needlewoman]

Cross-stitch, and quilting are my alternative activities to sewing for children. Above is my clumsy attempt to ‘show off’ ‘B is for Banksia’, completed for some dear friends with the surname ‘Brown’, in time for Christmas. I hope you can see the picture.

Currently, I’ve begun work on a single bed quilt for my aunt (and godmother) using a pattern by Kate Spain called “Horizon”. I offered this quilt a few years ago now, and am determined to finish it asap so that she can enjoy it in her spare bedroom. I also need to complete two sofa size quilts, and a cot quilt, soon. This is the main reason I’ve temporarily suspended my Oliver + S kidz sewing. My constant wish is for more energy, and more than one pair of hands.

[Deb]

Linda: I’m glad you have made the offer of knitting help on this forum. I’m new to knitting so I’m quite sure I will have a few queries for you!

My love of handwork and anything fibre related began as a child.
Over the years I’ve attempted just about every type of needlework from stumpwork to tatting to smocking. At one point I was totally hooked on crazy quilting which is a perfect platform for using all sorts of embroidery techniques.

In my early 20’s I experimented with weaving even making my own primitive looms aside from renting a huge counter balanced loom. But when my children came along my interest quickly switched to sewing for them.

Rug hooking is on my bucket list of handwork projects to try out as I have inherited a wool cutting machine, hooks and a few bags of wool all ready to go. All I need is a little instruction.

I’ve taken classes on wet and needle felting which drove me to learn knitting in order to make other felted projects.
Knitting had always eluded me and reading a pattern seemed impossible. Last winter I took a knitting class and now I’m away to the races, well, sort of. Over the past 2 months I’ve been trying to master DPN’s by making a pair of socks but the tiny needles (3.75mm) is a problem and have ripped apart the project many, many times. Needless to say, no one got any hand knit socks from me at Christmas!

At some point I would dearly love to try my hand at millinery. What fun it would be to make a fedora, oh and fascinators too!

[needlewoman]

Goodness, I didn’t realise that was going to happen. Still, I suppose it saves time following a link – which is what I was trying to provide to my photostream.