As you might have guessed, I have been doing alot of knitting lately. I have made several hats and a few purses. I have learned some new techniques on knitting but my projects still look… well… like everyone else’s. I wanted to make unique things that I might sell or that would make good gifts. I know that this isn’t new to alot of you but I am going to do beadwork and embroidery on my projects to make them my “own”. This incorporates several of my favorite hobbies. I am also learning how to do bobbin lace. It isn’t real hard but it does take concentration. I just love the bobbins and the beaded ends that give them their weight. They make such fine noises as the woods click together. So far, I have only made a couple of bookmarks, but I will learn new techniques as I finish different projects. A friend of mine from church is teaching me. She gave me some of the history of bobbin lace work from the days of King Louis and lace making was definitely one of the more secure types of work in that day. The Lace making was done alot by young girls who would work long, long hours in very small rooms. Laurel is by far the most multi-talented person I know or have ever heard of. From cooking to needlework to woodwork to languages to teaching. You name it and she has or will try to master it. She is a most loving person too. Now, as my knitting projects get larger I can add lace to the personalization of them.
I will be posting some before and after pictures of my personalized hats and purses in the near future.
November 1st, 2007
Posted by
Patricia |
Knitting, Embroidery, Beadwork |
3 comments
Finally got my invite from ravelry and have spent the last 2 days checking everything out and setting up my notebook that helps me organize my own knitting yarns and patterns, and projects, and favorites and books and just about anything else that you could imagine. All very useful and will make any project in the future a zip to set up. Put in a pattern and instantly find out how much yarn, what kind of yarn, needles, etc. needed to complete the project and what you have already for that project. You don’t have to go looking through all your yarn or checking to see if you have that size needle because it will all be right in front of you. They are still in the beta stage and are going to put even more amazing tools in for us to use. Definitely a must see for anyone who knits or crochets or even does any crafting.
October 17th, 2007
Posted by
Patricia |
Knitting |
no comments
As I mentioned in my last post, I have been introduced to felting and I really love it. I got online to look for yarn for felting. Everything I have made so far is 100% wool or a wool blend that was mostly wool. The stores in my area only carried a small variety of colors and only 100% wool, so when I exhaused those I went online and put felting yarn in my search box. Well, let me tell you, I found such a variety of yarn that I was totally blown away. Alpaca, baby alpaca, merino wool, silk, cashmere, highland wool, and more. I was in heaven and something else that knocked my socks off was the prices. I was paying twice what it cost for the online yarn!! Needless to say I picked out about 4 different yarns and ordered them. I got them and they feel soooooo very nice and soft that I don’t know if I want to felt them or not. I think I will just knit some lacy tanks or shawls or a little shell. I have been looking at patterns online and haven’t decided anything specific as yet. I ordered merino wool and it is great for socks. The warm wintry kind, not the everyday ones. I have a project going right now that I should finish before I start any others. I am making a purse with a bamboo handle that I will felt. I will post a pic when I have finished it. I got some ideas for using up my leftover yarn from another knitting blog. He made little bowls of all different sizes and felted them. They are really cute and could be used to store just about anything. I have several other creative ideas swirling around in my head but that will be for another day.
Happy crafting!
August 8th, 2007
Posted by
Patricia |
Knitting |
no comments
Well, I am back after quite an hiatus. I have quit smoking and can now get back on my computer without terrible withdrawal pangs. I have been trying to be real creative during my absence and have learned how to Felt (knit felting, I will go into more detail in another post). It is alot of fun and I have created 2 hats and a purse. I will post the pictures below. I am learning Journaling also but haven’t gotten past decorating my journal and a few little entries. I am not much of a creative writer so I will have to work on that. I do have several ideas on what to write and I have also asked all my family to come up with what I call “remember whens”. I asked them to think back and give me some things that have happened in the past that I can write about in my journal. I have a little glass box that I picked up at Hobby Lobby for them to slip thier ideas into whenever they come by. Hopefully they will remember to do this for me. My Grandsons have returned to live with thier mom. She is doing wonderful I am happy to say. She has gotten married to a really nice young man. He loves the boys and the boys have alot of fun with him. I must say that it has been really hard on me without them here but I will adapt. I get to see them often so that helps. Another thing that I have been contending with is weight gain. I have gained some weight with quitting smoking and it is finally starting to bother me. My Husband has quit smoking with me and both of us are going to war against our pot bellies! I have decided to start exercising. I have a few health restrictions, so at present I am only going to do walking(treadmill) and stationary bicycling. I am also going to start eating healthier. I don’t plan to go on a diet per se, but I am going to change my eating habits. The thing I am going to have the most problem with is the sweets. I have always had such a big sweet tooth that I have replaced smoking with sweets. For example, I suck on butterscotches almost nonstop at the computer. These have replaced my cigs. So, needless to say, I will have to find a healthier substitute.
That is about all I have for today. I will try to post a little more often now and let you know how all is going.
July 31st, 2007
Posted by
Patricia |
Uncategorized |
no comments
I just read a post on another blog about fashion for large, not necessarily tall, men. It kind of hit home with me as I am a large, not tall at all, over 50 woman. I have noticed that most fashions and patterns for larger people are proportionately large and alot of women are not proportionately large. Some are big on top and small around the hips and some are small on top and large around the hips and various others shapes. This being so, it makes it very difficult to find any sort of fashionable clothes that actually accent our robust figures. Being over 50, I usually opt for comfort rather than fashionable but there are times that I would actually like to dress up. I have only found one style of clothing that looks even halfway decent on me (see image below*) and that is a long tunic top that slims down the hips a little and slacks or a skirt. I would like to learn how to design my own patterns so I have a little more choice of what I wear. For the time being, I am happy with my ‘comfy clothes’.
*photo from McCalls #M4390
March 11th, 2007
Posted by
Patricia |
Sewing |
no comments
