Tools

Mostly I just took this picture to show you some of my cool stuff. Everything except the Sajou needles and thread holders (gifts from Jody) has been with me for a while and each has a little story.

There's two darning eggs (one more "egg" than the other) The first one was my Mom, the second is from Sweden.

Two crochet hooks. The big wooden one is from Sweden and it certainly looks it! The little ivory one is actually a set of two that I bought in an antique shop years ago and use all the time.

The little booklet is a needle case sent to us when I was a kid, as a gift from our local oil company. Interesting concept and much better than a calendar!

The magnifying glass with the Bakelite was my Mom's. I remember her using it to take splinters out of my fingers. Not a pleasant memory, but I still use it all the time for sewing or reading teeny tiny labels.

Those spools of thread (and there are more) are from my Mom as well. They are at least from the 40's perhaps before. I remember hand sewing doll clothes with them.

And, nestled in there are some crocheted buttons which are a part of my extensive button collection. Some are from Mom and some, like these were bought at antique stores.

A sentimental day. I have such strong feelings about passing down needlework supplies. What are we using today that will be considered "retro" and "cool" or quaint? Is the high-tech of our world, breeding it all out of us?

If you treasure these things, hold onto them or pass them to someone else who will use and care for them. Yes, I do use a darning egg!

Craft Monogamy?

Snowflake bookmark designed with the knitter in mind.

Don't even go there with me!
Yeah, we joke about it all the time.We have to "control" ourselves so that we don't "spread ourselves too thin" among our "hobbies". I seriously dislike the work "hobby" to begin with. It deems such a diminutive word. Oh yes, you"dabble" in several hobbies.

Most of us in the fiber-arts would even use the word "hobby" or "dabble". In fact, we own our skills in a serious way. We say, "I'm a knitter. I"m a spinner." "I'm a sewer." Perhaps that's where this idea of of craft monogamy comes from. We are afraid of our identities becoming "diluted" in some way.

I say this: You are a Fiber Artist.

When I was a kid, it never occurred to me that I should focus on one particular craft, become really good it and and then...? This concept of focusing on one thing only came along when I hit college, and then, it wasn't very popular with me.

We started this company because we believe in the idea of "cross-training" fiber arts people. Knowing how to sew will positively affect your knitting skills. Knowing needlepoint will help you to create knitting graphs. It's endless.

We advertise monthly in Piecework magazine from Interweave. If you're not familiar with it, you should be! It's about the history of what we do as fiber artists and projects that are just unbelievable. Some are pretty ambitious, and many them marry several different fiber skills. There's always something for me to reach for in its pages. To grow in my Craft. My Art.

Spinning like a Top

I came to spinning by way of the drop spindle, but unlike many other spinners I now, I spent at least a year using just that. I did not go out and drop some bucks on a spinning wheel. Spinning came to me with "restrained passion". I wanted to do it all the time, but I had no real vision of what would come to it. I just knew it was WAY fun. It was different than all the other things I was doing fiber-wise in terms of motor skills and attention span.

This is some of the first "presentable" yarn I turned out on my first spindle.

Now I have a weird old one-of-a-kind wheel and another one on loan. But, by way of the drop spindle, I have become a bit of an "enabler extraordinaire". I take my spindle with me to the park in the Spring and Summer and kids always ask to touch and watch and learn. I see people trying to learn to drop spindle with the old CD and dowel method. There's really not enough weight to make it work well. When one tries a new craft, I think that using the best materials you can afford is the way to go.

This is some of the last yarn I spun.

We had plenty of offers for a drop spindle kit when we started. They all looked like something else out there.: Kinda boring. Basic can still be pretty! So, we found this one and I, the spinner, just fell in love. It's top whorl, which means that the round disk is on the top and the yarn gets wound below it as it gets spun. It's really balanced which means you get it to spin pretty fast and for a long time. AND it comes with some alpaca and a book. What more do you need?
If you've been thinking about trying your hand at spinning for a while, this is the perfect place to start. And if at anytime you folks out there need help with any of our kits, all you have to do is email us and we'll be glad to help you out. We've tested everything we sell, personally and feel confident that you'll have crafting success with all our projects.!

Why Bookmarks?

Some years ago when I was very much wanting to do knitted lace but was quite afraid of it, someone suggested I create a bookmark from a random lace pattern. Seriously? It didn't do too well. The needle size was all off, I don't think I used the right yarn. The point about bookmarks being a good place to start did make sense though.

When Laura and I started out, the first kit idea that I had was a lace bookmark. We ended up trying different patterns, different yarns and needle sizes and finally came up with a couple that we really really like. There's a density to the lace that allows it to hold up to actually be used as a bookmark. I created graphs for each one and finally, we got some beautiful little Palmwood needles from Laurel Hill.
I realized though that a lot of the more time intensive fiber arts that one might want to try have the same issue. How do I create something beautiful, satisfying and usable?

Our needlepoint kits are 20 stitches to the inch using pearle cotton threads. Tiny stitches like this are not printed on canvas, but a graph, just like a knitting graph is used to create the pattern. You start in one corner and move forward in any direction, counting as you go, much like a colorwork sweater.

Hmmmm. That's where I went next with it by creating the snowflake bookmark from an Alice Starmore knitting book. A simple snowflake that I could color any way I wanted.
There is something infinitely relaxing and focused about needlepoint. When I learned as a child with heavier canvas and wool, I liked the process but not the product. These shiny little cotton jewels are quite another thing. I dare you to not love it and become obsessed!
Lastly, we had an entry of a kit that was knitted cotton with beads. I had always wanted to use beads in knitting but just didn't want to bother with stringing the beads and finding all the right materials. This kit comes with the beads already strung on! Now the interesting trick is that the beads always want to fall the the bottom, or purl side of your work. This heart design is actually worked with beads on the front and back. Ingenious! It gives it more weight and drape and there's no "wrong side".
Have I convinced you? Well, we so much want you to try these kits that we're having a sale on them right now. Give them a go, give them as a really really cool gift and marvel at the new thing you can do.

A Whiter Shade of Pale

The start of the white theme was really this little silvery tree.

Then, while the Macy's Parade was on, I made this (the white is actually pearlized paper)

Then this is all there was left!

We don't do paper kits (so far). I my my neighborhood there's a Paper Source. One of the reasons I go there is to get rolls of double-faced satin ribbon for my knitting projects. Oh, and scissors...and...um...stuff. Last week I bought a paper wreath kit and make it today. It was everything I adore about kits. It was just all there. In this case, a lot of die-cut pieces paper and a cardboard wreath form to attach it all to. I honestly think it came out better than on the package.

Yes, kits. I understand that not everyone lives in this big yarn, bead and craft store I call my apartment. But don't just sit there and be envious, buy a kit! This is what we're all about. I may not do any paper crafts that don't include pre-cut paper. But heck, when I'm doing it I feel like I've been handed that first little pile of construction paper scraps in kindergarten.

I've been so busy focused on the whole DIY thing these past months, I thought it would be really really boring, not to mention bad form, for me to use the same old tree ornaments. I also thought about my 19 year old cat with dementia, Brahms who has been getting into all sorts of odd trouble. She gets into dangerous things and causes me a fair amount of worry.

The tree I usually put up is a four foot artificial tree that goes up on a desk in the window. It's long since lost it's pre-strung lights. So, this year I bit the bullet and bought some LEDs. They seem to have come along a bit in the quality of the light they produce. So, white it was. I've always kinda made fun (in my head) of folks who do "theme" trees. I think they look great in stores, but they seem pretty impersonal.

This year I changed my mind. A year of big change and I wanted my tree to express that. Here we have the white satin bow, white glitter butterfly tree. It's best not to over-think these things. If is needs more pizazz by light of day, I may add something but now it's just right.

Whatta Doll

These images are in reverse, but they tell the story of a kit.

When we first started, Krafti-kit I was really looking hard for cloth doll kits. For a child, I assumed. Then we came across these wee dolls from Dorothy Christian. It was only after I made my first one, that I went: WOW. This is fun. This is the kind of fun I haven't had in a really long time. These babies are for me.

Little pieces of cloth, little shiny bits. LOTS of little shiny bits. They are somehow the Talisman for the missing whimsy in our lives, I think. I used to have a friend who said, when in doubt, make a cake. Like, when all is going south, remember, you know this: I can bake a cake.

That's entirely how I feel about these little dolls. Laura has to keep me away from the inventory but I got this one in blue to make, just for this post. Happy! Each kit is different in fabric but we've grouped them in colorings. The surprise is a good thing. Trust me. They're all great.

Oh, and what do you do with them when you're done? Place them somewhere to remind you to smile!

Rockin the Blockin

This is the "fulled" Nordic Shawl/Scarf that we are featuring in our store right now. I wish I had taken a "before" picture, because it was a long roll of a stockinette scarf, a bit on the rough side.
I put it in a gentle cycle wash with other stuff and it came out soft and relatively flat! I decided to give it a quick blocking and in my apartment that only took a couple of hours. Voila!
Didn't Emily do a lovely job with her mattress stitch seaming?