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Monthly Fiber Arts Thread November 1-30, 2019
November 1, 2019 | Diana in Wisconsin

Posted on 11/02/2019 6:22:29 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin

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To: Jamestown1630
I love crocheted snowflakes ..... my future goal is to be able to tat snowflakes!! I have a book of patterns, but haven't tackled it yet. Some day .....

Anyway, a friend taught me some "needle" tatting and this is what I did several years ago & gave to people in Christmas cards. The snowflakes are shuttle tatting which is a bit more complicated.


121 posted on 11/19/2019 8:11:12 AM PST by Qiviut (Support the country you live in or live in the country you support.)
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To: Qiviut

Some of the tatted ones are really pretty. I have a book on tatting, but have never learned it.


122 posted on 11/19/2019 8:31:43 AM PST by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it")
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To: Qiviut

This will probably wait for the December thread. My mom taught me how to make a cute decoration using the plastic ring from a milk jug. It’s a very small wreath, can be used as an ornament but I made many and stuck them on the center of my kitchen cupboard doors. Will have to unpack them to get a picture.


123 posted on 11/19/2019 9:54:19 AM PST by MomwithHope (Forever grateful to all our patriots, past, present and future.)
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To: MomwithHope

Sounds great! Will look forward to seeing them on the December thread! :-)


124 posted on 11/19/2019 10:59:40 AM PST by Qiviut (Support the country you live in or live in the country you support.)
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To: All
Here's a cool & very useful project that I found on-line, today. I saw one in a magazine and thought, 'I could sew that!' I probably won't do the quilting/piecing required, but I would find this VERY useful when I'm cooking, wiping down a countertop or taking something hot out of the oven or microwave.

Wear and Wipe Kitchen Towel Scarf

https://sew4home.com/projects/kitchen-linens/wear-%E2%80%99n%E2%80%99-wipe-kitchen-towel-scarf


125 posted on 11/21/2019 2:41:33 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'hobbies.' I'm developing a robust post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
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Hot link:

https://sew4home.com/projects/kitchen-linens/wear-%E2%80%99n%E2%80%99-wipe-kitchen-towel-scarf


126 posted on 11/21/2019 2:42:00 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'hobbies.' I'm developing a robust post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
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To: Qiviut

Part two of the “Frosted Petals Poncho” in comment 104:

https://furlscrochet.com/blogs/crochet-tutorials/free-crochet-poncho-frosted-petals

This link includes both part 1 & part 2.


127 posted on 11/21/2019 5:07:31 PM PST by Qiviut (Support the country you live in or live in the country you support.)
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To: All

Tom Hanks’ sweaters for Mister Rogers movie took 9 weeks to knit

Yasemin Esmek has fixed Adrienne Warren’s costumes in “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical,” dressed Rockettes for Radio City’s “Christmas Spectacular” and altered Glenda Jackson’s suit in “King Lear.” But with “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” the new Tom Hanks film about the beloved public-television host Fred Rogers, her handiwork practically has a starring role.

Esmek knitted all the sweaters Hanks sports in the film: re-creations of Mr. Rogers’ signature zip-up cardigans, which he wore for every episode of his show, including the bright red version housed at the Smithsonian.

“I’m a big fan of Tom Hanks,” the Maplewood, NJ, resident tells The Post. “And knitting for a movie, it just sounded like so much fun. I knew I had to do it.”

Esmek, in her 50s, was altering calico dresses and aprons for Broadway’s 2018 revival of “Carousel” when she heard from costume designer Arjun Bhasin, who was looking for an expert knitter to take on Hanks’ sweaters for the Rogers film.

“It was of the utmost importance that Fred Rogers’ sweaters be hand-knit and duplicated perfectly,” Bhasin tells The Post. The cardigans have become inseparable from the TV host’s persona, a symbol of his humility and down-to-earth sensibility. They had zippers instead of buttons — making them easier to take on and off — and were hand-knit by Rogers’ mother, who would give her son a new variation every Christmas. Rogers wore them until they were almost threadbare, and in later years, after his mother’s death, his crew finally found a suitable substitute for his mom’s originals, from the company that supplied the sweaters for the US Postal Service.

“Yasemin’s artistry is undeniable,” he adds. “I’m so happy to have been able to collaborate with her.”

Esmek grew up in Hanover, Germany, and learned how to knit in first grade.

She studied knitwear design at Manhattan’s Fashion Institute of Technology — where she met her husband, a fashion production manager — and even had her own line of woolens that she sold at Barneys in the early 1990s.

Esmek took a break in the 2000s to raise her children — one’s now a biologist, the other is studying shoe design at FIT, and both knit — but began working in costume shops as a tailor. Six years ago, Esmek took a job altering fashions at the Metropolitan Opera, eventually landing gigs at the New York City Ballet as well as several Broadway shows.

She wasn’t very familiar with Mr. Rogers before she began knitting those cardigans. “My kids watched a little bit, but they’re almost a little too young for it,” she says. So she had to do a lot of research, studying photos and watching the 2018 documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”

More:

https://nypost.com/2019/11/21/tom-hanks-sweaters-for-mr-rogers-movie-took-9-weeks-to-knit/?fbclid=IwAR0fFIjpxxlnBfMhiEopAIMGdnN1EKi7pJQyVC1AaHDUgOO7ZTDaWrZzFec


128 posted on 11/23/2019 7:45:56 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'hobbies.' I'm developing a robust post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin; All

NOOOOOOOO ......... juar got an AC Moore store 5 minutes from my house & their coupons are SO good .... the Michaels store up the road is somewhat inconvenient. Maybe they’ll move that Michaels out to the ACM location near me?? (Fingers crossed!). I buy 95% of my yarn from ACM.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Arts and crafts retailer A.C. Moore is shutting down, Michaels taking over some stores
https://www.fastcompany.com/90436496/arts-and-crafts-retailer-a-c-moore-is-shutting-down-michaels-taking-over-some-stores?partner=feedburner

Arts and crafts retailer A.C. Moore has announced it is closing all of its 145 stores. The A.C. More chain is owned by Nicole Crafts, which is closing down the 34-year-old chain because it is exiting retail sales due to the “headwinds facing many retailers” today. Some good news for A.C. Moore customers, however, is that arts and crafts retail giant Michaels has announced they will take over 40 of the A.C. Moore locations, keeping those stores open under the Michaels brand.

In a press release, Michaels CEO Mark Cosby said, “This transaction enables us to further expand our presence in strategic markets and serve even more customers both online and in store. We are looking forward to reopening these stores under the Michaels name in 2020 and welcoming new team members.”

In the same release Anthony Piperno, CEO of A.C. Moore, said, “For over 30 years, our stores have been servicing the creative community with a vast selection of art and craft materials, with one common focus, the customer. Unfortunately, given the headwinds facing many retailers in today’s environment, it made it very difficult for us to operate and compete on a national level.”

As of now, A.C. Moore has stopped taking orders on its online site, but previously placed orders will ship to customers. A.C. Moore also says specific store locations that are closing for good (i.e., not transitioning to a Michaels) will be listed on its website in the coming weeks. A.C. Moore has more than 5,000 employees across its 145 stores, corporate offices, and distribution centers.


129 posted on 11/26/2019 11:26:39 AM PST by Qiviut (Support the country you live in or live in the country you support.)
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To: Qiviut

Oh, that is sad news!

I indulged myself at Wisconsin Craft Market the other day and it was great. It’s in a mall...and I hope they can stay in business, too!

They anchor one end and a Hy-Vee is on the other...and all the stores between are EMPTY! :(


130 posted on 11/26/2019 11:47:46 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'hobbies.' I'm developing a robust post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
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To: All
The Wartime Spies Who Used Knitting as an Espionage Tool

Grandma was just making a sweater. Or was she?

During World War I, a grandmother in Belgium knitted at her window, watching the passing trains. As one train chugged by, she made a bumpy stitch in the fabric with her two needles. Another passed, and she dropped a stitch from the fabric, making an intentional hole. Later, she would risk her life by handing the fabric to a soldier—a fellow spy in the Belgian resistance, working to defeat the occupying German force.

Whether women knitted codes into fabric or used stereotypes of knitting women as a cover, there’s a history between knitting and espionage. “Spies have been known to work code messages into knitting, embroidery, hooked rugs, etc,” according to the 1942 book A Guide to Codes and Signals. During wartime, where there were knitters, there were often spies; a pair of eyes, watching between the click of two needles.

When knitters used knitting to encode messages, the message was a form of steganography, a way to hide a message physically (which includes, for example, hiding morse code somewhere on a postcard, or digitally disguising one image within another). If the message must be low-tech, knitting is great for this; every knitted garment is made of different combinations of just two stitches: a knit stitch, which is smooth and looks like a “v”, and a purl stitch, which looks like a horizontal line or a little bump. By making a specific combination of knits and purls in a predetermined pattern, spies could pass on a custom piece of fabric and read the secret message, buried in the innocent warmth of a scarf or hat.


131 posted on 11/29/2019 6:48:10 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'hobbies.' I'm developing a robust post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
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Article continues at:

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-wartime-spies-who-used-knitting-as-an-espionage-tool?utm_source=pocket-newtab


132 posted on 11/29/2019 6:49:18 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'hobbies.' I'm developing a robust post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

Thinking of returning to weaving. Thank you for putting me on your ping list.


133 posted on 11/29/2019 6:58:19 AM PST by Hiskid (Jesus is Lord)
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To: Hiskid

You’re on! :)


134 posted on 11/29/2019 7:37:13 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'hobbies.' I'm developing a robust post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
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135 posted on 11/29/2019 8:25:57 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'hobbies.' I'm developing a robust post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
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