Crafters and Needleworkers, Check In

Cafe Society
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It’s been a while since I’ve seen one of these, so I just figured I’d see what the other crafters and needleworkers around here are up to. Besides, I’m between major projects and I’m looking for ideas.

Dopers who do needlework or crafts of any kind, what do you do and what are you working on? Throw in anything you’ve just finished if you like. I usually knit with the odd foray into counted cross-stitch or other sewing for variety. My last major project was a knit hat, scarf, and mittens for an old friend for Christmas, which led to me making another pair of mittens. The current project is a baby sweater for my boss’s daughter. There’s also a pi shawl I’ve been working on for a while, but I don’t think you want me to finish that. You see, thanks to a Pit thread several months ago, Polycarp and I now have a running joke that, when I finish it, he will die. :eek: I’m waiting for needles for the Nature Scene Shawl from The Best of Knitter’s Magazine Shawls and Scarves, the same place I got the other two from.

So, ideas? Projects? Plans? Good websites with cool patterns? Oh, and while I’m asking questions, what’s the strangest thing you’ve ever made?

I’m looking forward to reading your responses!
CJ

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Baby quilts for my new niece and nephew. (Sunshine/shadows pattern for niece, Four Patch with antique squares cut out by great-great-grandma for nephew.) And my daughter and I just finished making a sock monkey. Fun!!

ggurl

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I sew and knit, but I’m sort of between projects right now.

I have the yarn and needle to make a hat for flodjunior, I should start that sometime soon…

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I’m a handspinner, an accidental knitter, and a missionary for all fibers natural. I just received 2 lbs of alpaca fiber for Christmas, so I’ll be abandoning my “Tequila Sunrise” socks (knitted from Merino/Rambouillet wool I dyed in various shades of red, orange and yellow before blending and spinning) to scrounge around for a lux pattern…sweater? hat/glove/scarf? This stuff is so soft, I may decide to knit some underwear out of it.

The strangest thing I ever made would have to be this.

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I knit, crochet, tat (though not lately), sew, and embroider. Right now I’m currently tearing my hair out over a counted cross stitch project for my mother. It has five nearly identical shades of beigy brown, it’s a picture of Praying Hands (she’s very religious, and has always liked pictures of the Praying Hands). The strangest thing I’ve ever made would actually probably be one of my wood shop projects, but you didn’t ask about THAT. Strangest needlecraft…probably a crocheted belt, in bright yellow, back in the 1960s. It had a pouch dangling from it. The last thing I made was a baby blanket, knitted on the diagonal. One of my cats was MOST displeased that I gave it away, she thought it was for HER. I just hope that baby isn’t allergic to cat hair and dander.

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Guess what I’m working on? About to finish a queen-size quilt top in the Around-the-World pattern. For Christmas I sewed four items as gifts: bathrobe, nightgown, a hooded fleece pullover and a fringed fleece jacket. Have to put my studio back into some semblance of order so I can get onto new projects: a memorial quilt and a wedding quilt [six months overdue.] Strangest thing I ever made was a quilt [a challenge my guild had] depicting the life of the late 19th century and early 20th century anti-alcohol activist Carrie Nation[and what an unconventional lady she was]

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I don’t knit myself but my sister has been making some pretty funky hats and mittens. She uses regular yarn along with an eyelash yarn called “FIZZ” that’s carried along. I got some red ones for Christmas.

This isn’t me

I may have to learn to knit.

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I’ve done tons of counted cross stitch projects, I have two started but not yet finished going on right now. I have knitted and crocheted, once made a beautiful lap afghan for a friend which had a diamond pattern in it created by dropping and adding stitches. Right now I am in the middle of sewing curtains for the living room. We are repainting the ceiling and walls. We just scraped the “popcorn” off the ceiling, spackled and primed it. We will put a buff color on the ceiling and paint the walls a cavern moss green. We have a beautiful South West print that I am currently sewing into panels. I have the two ends done, just need to sew the center panels now. I made the curtains for our renovated kitchen and adjoining dining area out of a purchased set of drapes. Just had to cut the fabric and resew. They came out pretty good. Now if I could just get around to hemming some pants I bought months ago, I’ll be set, even though I’ve lost weight since then.
The strangest thing I ever made was a crocheted gear shift cover for my previous car, a Saturn SL2. The knob was too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. The cover worked perfectly. Left it on the stick when I traded in the car.

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I’m actively working on kntting the Clock Vest from “Folk Vests” I don’t really like vests, but I really want this one.
Less actively working on finally finishing a sweater for my dad - I need to block it and then sew it together…I hate doing that part. I’ve started a pi shawl, but I’m not sure where I’m going with it (there was an idea. that’s never a good thing). And I’m doing just a plain scarf in black when I don’t want to look at or think about patterns anymore.

BTW, anyone do hardanger? I’m terribly pissed right now at a cross stitch shop. I saw a pattern, thought it was cool, got the material and thread, with the woman at the store’s help… and found out later that the project is too big. It’s the right size according to the pattern, but it’s impossible to get stretcher bars for something that’s 29"x29". They just don’t exist. I can get them custom made for a huge amount of money, but I can’t just go to the store and buy them. She “didn’t know” this when I initially bought the fabric/thread. She merely said that they were out…it was only after I returned to the store (too late to return the stuff I’d already bought) that she “knew” it. Very annoyed.

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I recently finished up a sweater for a little girl. Now I’m just playing around with different ideas.

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I knit. In the December issue of Family Circle Easy Knitting, they showed a technique called mosaic knitting, basically an incredible easy way to form complex patterns using two different colored yarns. I did a potholder as a practice, and now I’m making arm covers for my MIL’s sofa and loveseat. I made a copy of a pattern from Barbara Thompson’s book, Mosaic Knitting.

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I’m currently working on a Faroese shawl with a lacy pattern at the bottom, from a Knitter’s magazine from the '80s. I wanted to do it to get used to working lace from a chart again and to use up some yarn from my stash.

My next project will be the Song of Hiawatha lace stole. I’ve already got the yarn (JaggerSpun Zephyr).

Pray for me – I’ve never done a lace project like that before!

The stuff I did for Christmas is here.

I don’t think I’ve ever done anything that was weird enough to be noteworthy. :frowning:

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Crochet, needlepoint, counted cross-stitch, embroidery, some sewing, a little quilting. (Also papercraft, polymer clay, candlemaking, soapmaking, jewelry craft and “junk” crafting.) For Christmas I crocheted several dozen long, boa-like scarves out of funky eyelash and fuzzy yarns for the many teenage and pre-teen girls among my family and friends, and a few slightly classier ones for the grown-up girls. Then the WryGuy requested a scarf, so I made one for him out of a soft, fine boucle yarn, and his best friend asked for one, too, and now I am working on that. After that, I have plans for a granny square afghan and a striped afghan for ME!

I have a crazy quilt in progress - it’s all pieced and a little more than half-embroidered. Lynn Bodoni and quiltguy154 would be extremely jealous if they could see what I “inherited” from my mother-in-law recently: seven big underbed storage boxes full of cotton quilting fabrics and a trunk-sized box of “fancies” for more crazy quilts, plus a big plastic box full of lace and ribbon.

I have charted about 25 of my own counted cross-stitch sampler patterns, but have yet to stitch any of them - turns out I like to color even more than I like to stitch :slight_smile: .

Goofiest thing I ever attempted was a bunch of plastic canvas needlepoint purse accessories. Cute idea, but plastic canvas has extreme tackiness potential these days.

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Knitter checking in. Haven’t made anything really weird…yet. Currently working on a felted purse and a mosaic wrap and a couple other pieces. Just discovered the joys of making your own knitting needles out of wooden dowels (needed big dpns) so now I can have even more unfinished masterpieces in the works! Knitty is great for new free patterns (new issue quarterly) as well as the yarn producers Berroco, Bernat , Lion’s ,Adriafil and Ornaghi (need to register to dl patterns here). Lots of inspirations online :slight_smile:

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I used to be a professional knitter; now I’m only semi-professional. We all know how hard it is to make a living with hand craft.

I’m currently working on a couple pair of socks, a sweater for a two year old, an a couple hats. Was gonna do a sweater for myself, but due to the acreage that’s an expensive proposition yarnwise, and I just lost my job, so that ain’t gonna happen any time soon. And there’s a commission in the talking stages.

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Needlework and textile-arts talent runs in my family…I’m 38, and have been a handworker since age 5!

I spin any fibre, and have prepared wool from the hoof to finished yarn, and cotton and flax from seed to fibre. I also weave, sew; embroider, fancy-work cross stitch, cut work, black work, white work, hardanger, paper; knit and crochet; quilt (have made patchwork, applique, trapunto, etc)…I’ve tried needle tatting…the only thing I’ve not done is lacemaking – the end results are lovely, but I think I would go stark staring if I tried it myself!
I’ve made many clothes & ‘things for around the home’ mostly from original designs, from bought and hand woven fabrics.

Nuttiest thing…hmmm…it’s hard to say! When I was at school, and they would pass out construction paper to make Easter eggs or Christmas trees, instead of colouring, I would always embroider my things…I once made a pillow for a friend when I was 12, and embroidered the whole lot of our signatures on it…I’ve rendered family and friends in charicture form on Christmas ornaments…

Recently my mum gave me about 20 mid-60s era patterns she bought at a carboot, and I’ve just bought 10 yards of vintage hippie psychedelic black-light fabric off eBay, so I will be making a couple of repro ‘swinging 60s’ dresses off the patterns in a few weeks (I’d put the link to the fabric, but I’m not certain that is allowed – when I get it, I can always take a photo – it’s eye popping!)

I think I love commissions more than just messing about on my own projects…to talk to someone, and help them realise what they want…

I think the weirdest thing is if you met me, you would not believe I was a sock knitter (or any of this stuff)…
This is such a lovely topic!

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caricature

:smack:

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Sorry, missed the thing about the “strangest thing.”

Well, when I had hats at Bendel’s and Barney’s, each was one of a kind, and some of them were pretty strange. I don’t used patterns or ever repeat a piece, so I’ve produced some interesting experiments.

The outright strangest, though, would have to be a 3-D macrame elephant sculpture I made in highschool. Or the sweater whose title was “Wound.”
It turned out beautifully, but it did have a dark red gash running asymmetrically from throat to waist (most of my sweaters are asymmetric).

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I’m a needlepointer – for the last five years or so, I’ve been designing my own patterns. Unlike my shared-birthday pal LifeOnWry, however, I just kind of rough out the pattern then wing it as I work.

Strangest? nothing comes to mind.

Currently working on a bolster for my bed – 5-inch squares, five by ten, for fifty squares total, each of which is a different stitch and/or pattern. I’m using four shades of purple, two blues, a magenta, and two greens.

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(Oops, shouldn’t post and have an IM conversation at the same time – meant to add…)

I’m finishing the 13th square now (boring striped thing, it’s hard to get motivated), so figure this will take another couple years.