Posted on 01/01/2021 8:28:08 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
The Monthly Fiber Arts Thread is a monthly gathering of people that love yarn and fabric of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first project, to experienced fiber artists and beyond, we would love to hear from you.
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I have been crocheting up a storm and will post pictures later after I get my act together for the day. Or tomorrow, LOL!
Baby blankets, scrap-busting 7” squares for afghans, lap robes, etc.
Beau is impressed! I have a crochet project going in THREE separate rooms of the house, LOL! He had me interpret a crochet pattern for him, yesterday. At least he’s making an effort. He knits, but hasn’t in many years. I’m just planting the seeds...
LOL!
I’m getting ready to move to AR and “moving” my yarn stash into plastic storage bins is bittersweet. I mean, I have to leave one open for my current projects, but when they’re done and the lids are on, I’ll need another one, as well as more yarn!! ;o])
I know that feeling! My older sister gave me hanks of wool yarn that she had spun and after I rolled them into balls, I began knitting them into afghan squares. The raw wool is so beautiful to work with!
Three main shades, with the odd color, size and type of yarns in smaller skeins. My favorite is a skein of silk that she spun that will never be worked into anything.
“My favorite is a skein of silk that she spun that will never be worked into anything.”
I have some skeins like that, too. I keep them in a pretty old basket for decoration. Silks, some wool my MIL brought back for me from Ireland, and some expensive yarns I’d never pay top dollar for, found at thrift stores. ;)
I’d better check to see if the February Yarn Sale will be going on at my local St. Vincent De Paul Thrift store! Something many of us in the area look forward to each year!
My 2021 project was sprung on me when Mom came to TN to visit for Christmas. She brought a “friendship” quilt the church members had given to her and Dad when they retired from the ministry in 1991, each family having made a block with embroidery or applique.
It never was put together well, only “tied off”, and is coming apart. And, to Mom’s discredit, it wasn’t well cared for. I washed it (gently), and now am ripping seams so I can re-assemble, and quilt it. She’s 96, so I don’t know if she’ll ever see the finished product. My sister and brothers were young enough to have attended that church, so I believe one of them will appreciate having it.
Trying to get motivated to do SOMETHING with yarn ... either a project or re-organize.
Instead, I’m eating a pound of bacon - not kidding. The last 5 slices are in the toaster oven. Rain expected in this afternoon & through the night. Later this afternoon, I think I’ll make some hard-boiled egg eggnog - the bird feeders are currently mobbed .... the feeding frenzy must be rubbing off on me.
Tomorrow, after the rain moves out, it’s supposed to be 60 degrees. Our mailbox just got swacked for the 3rd time & is all but facing sideways so I’ll be repairing the post, after I remove the box (remarkably not damaged) & dig the post up, & before relocating it to the other side of the driveway. Currently, it is directly across the street from the neighbor’s driveway. The road is narrow. He and his wife (from experience) know to look out for the box when backing out, but delivery drivers, etc. to their house, don’t. Too bad I can’t fix the situation with a crochet hook or knitting needles. Instead, I’ll be out there with a post hole digger, drill (for taking out bent screws & putting in new ones), hammer, & my biceps ... after digging the dirt & filling my 4 3’x6’x12” new raised beds this fall, I actually have some biceps showing. :-) All the men are hunting (last weekend of deer season) so no help. Hopefully, I can get the post back in the ground & the box on before the mail lady comes.
Maybe something with yarn will be more appealing after the mailbox ‘adventure’ (it’s likely to be one). Happy New Year to all .... fasten your seat belts, I think we’ll need them in 2021.
I have been a crocheting fool for the last several weeks. I have made lace like bookmarks for the women in the family (and several friends), an alligator hat for my grandson and a constellation beanie for my grand daughter.... all for Christmas.
I have one more bookmark to make, and I believe I will make just an alligator for my friend who is a big “gators: fan. It sure would be helpful if I started more than 2 weeks before Christmas!
Yes, this silk and some of the smaller, fine-weight yarns are on display in a couple of heart-shaped Alaska Clay pieces that that she made for me. Beautiful stuff, but I don’t allow anyone to touch them.
They can’t be replaced. The clay is very unusual — rust red, and when it’s fired it has cream-colored streaks in it. So the entire display is a tribute to her.
I just wish we lived closer, since there are only 15 months between our birthdays.
I found this pattern today, which calls for this exact yarn, two skeins:
Easy Crochet Infinity Scarf - Half-Double Crochet
(Yes, Please! Help!)
You’ve just returned from the craft store with bags full of great deals on yarn, books, and other crafting items. The euphoria of the shopping and getting deals is waning as you look at your craft space and wonder where you’re putting it all. While the yarn is squishy, you still need a place to put it. Whether you have a closet, under-the-bed storage, or an entire room, getting your crafts organized is a task that can seem daunting.
My craft room was a hodgepodge of shelving, baskets, containers, and other items that didn’t belong there. While my yarn was sort of organized by type and color, there were a lot of items randomly put around the room. I couldn’t find what I wanted and would go buy more rather than face the frustration of trying to figure out where something was stashed. This meant I needed to tackle the room and get it organized.
Think It Through
Organizing is like putting together a huge puzzle. In my craft room, I had to figure out the categories before I could figure out how and where I would store things. What did I want easy access to and what could be stored away? Which supplies did I use the most? Once I had these questions answered, it was a matter of measuring everything – the closet, the room, the windows, and the bigger storage I already had.
More at link below...
Man accidentally starts knitting club at treatment facility and helps people like him recover from addiction
For over two decades, Nelson Mendonca struggled with drug addiction, a lifestyle that caused him to go and in out of prison.
No matter how hard he tried to fight it, he found himself succumbing time and time again to the whims of his inner demons.
There came a time when he had lost all hope, thinking that this was going to be his life forever.
That’s until he picked up an unlikely hobby that ended up changing his life: knitting.
While he was imprisoned in British Columbia, Canada, during the coronavirus pandemic, the 41-year-old got hold of a loom hook—a knitting tool—as part of art therapy. He then joined a program where he learned to knit and spent months making toques for the homeless.
When he got out of prison in July, Nelson went into the Phoenix Society, a treatment facility with integrated addiction services center, to join their 90-day live-in treatment program. There, he returned to loom knitting as a way to cope with the loneliness and anxiety he was feeling.
“The first thing that came into my head was I just wanted to go get some yarn and a loom. I started making a toque. Everybody was wondering what I was doing since it kind of looks weird at first,” he explained.
Nelson’s unique hobby caught the attention of several people at the facility. Other men started asking what he was doing and eventually tried it for themselves.
Before he knew it, there were over 10 guys on his treatment floor knitting colorful toques. Nelson’s solo hobby had turned into a little community!
“It just became a little knitting club on our floor,” he said.
As the men got better at knitting, they were able to create more elaborate designs, incorporating pompoms and even taking requests for sports-themed bonnets.
So far, the knitting group has created over 200 toques to donate to people in need, including people in homeless shelters and women in recovery homes. They’ve even made tiny toques for newborns which will be given to babies at Surrey Memorial Hospital when the pandemic protocols allow it.
Aside from being able to help others and serving as a healthy distraction, the men from this treatment facility also benefit from knitting in more personal ways.
“It helps them open up to be focused on something: you’re not thinking about what you’re saying,” Nelson said. “It makes it easier for them to open up and dig deep about certain things.”
Nelson’s favorite thing about all of this is getting to finish a toque and giving it to someone. He said the act ”sparked joy” in him he had never felt before.
“It’s the one thing in my life I can’t cheat, manipulate, cut corners, or find a loophole, because I’ve tried to make it faster and easier,” he told CNN. “But you just have to follow every step, one at a time over and over again.”
Knitting is also like a picture of how Nelson wants his life to become.
“I have to follow each peg one at a time. It’s kind of like a routine of how I want to live my life from here on out.”
Nelson said he used to be the guy who starts things but never finishes them. All of that changed when he found purpose in knitting.
He has passed through the 90-day addiction program and now lives in his own suite at the treatment facility.
As for the knitting club, they’re planning to expand into scarves and take a stab at socks as well.
If you would like to help these “toquers” make more hats for people in need, you may donate to this fundraiser launched by Phoenix Society.
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