Crafts after BC is good for the soul

Thank all of you ladies for the great tips! You all are very helpful! Do any of you work with the fancy yarns like fun furs.  I crocheted a great scarf and did not realize that it was in the basket of laundry. Yep, I washed it and it is matted now. I am wondering if anyone knows how to unmat it??

Lefty,

If you can work with the long Knifty Knitter, the round ones will be a cinch. I have made loads of hats to match my crocheted scarves.  I have to watch myself with any of them to keep from dropping a stitch. I have gotten lots of compliments on my scarves and hats.  I have the oblong yellow knifty knitter. After I finish my niece's afghan, I will attempt a scarf using it.

EWB & Lv2qult,

Thanks for the ideas. I am thinking of handpiecing the quilt. I may have to break down and use the machine. It depends on my hands.  I like the idea of the Quick Quilts. I really do not feel comfortable taking on a large full size quilt for my first attempt. 

I am looking forward to trying it this winter. I am hoping that I will have made enough scarves and hats to last a lifetime. LOL!

 Spar,

The round knifty knitters make great hats, cowls for the winter, hoods, etc. The large ones can even make skirts for the younger set. My niece loves the cowls and the skirts. The oblong ones will make scarves. I am not sure of what else they make. There are lots of patterns out there. I think the smallest round ones will make things like cell phone holders. 

Lucy,

You are a dear! You are so generous and compassionate. I have read lots of your posts. I crocheted a couple of the open mesh shopping bags and a couple of purses, not sure that anyone else would like them but I find them useful.

If I can figure out the easiest way to get pix with my webcam, I will post some pix of my crafts.

Thansk again to all of you ladies!

C

I was fortunate enough that my grandmother set me down at her treadle sewing maching when I was going into the 4th grade and I sewed together scraps to make a rag doll and clothes for it. I was active in the 4-H sewing club from 6th-9th grade and won several ribbons for my clothing projects. I would say that I started getting interested in quilting about 15 yrs ago but did help my grandmother before then with some of her quilting projects. My mom and sis-in-law became active in the Hickory quilt guild about 10 yrs ago and when my husband started driving long haul truck I found the Hudson guild and really got more involved with quilting. For me I started my hand quilting with 'cheater cloth' wall hangings. They are pre-printed panels (45x36) that I sandwiched with my backing and batting, basted together under my mom's guidance and started hand quilting. You can tell on my first one, my stitches wern't even where I started but as I went along, my stitches became nice and even. Then as I finished them I bind them with a pocket to put a curtain rod in to hang them in my office. The one I have finished hand quilting but need the binding, is made from paper-pieced blocks for Easter. The blocks were machine pieced but the all the quilting is by hand and the binding will be done on the machine. I am currently working on vintage Dresden Plate blocks given to me by my sister-in-law that was sewn together with crochet cotton thread. I am re-sewing them by hand and pulling out the crochet cotton. After I get them re-sewn, I am going to applique them on some 1940's white feed sack fabric and then quilt it using cotton batting and white feedsack on the back to make it as original as I possibly can. I keep a quilting bag with my pocket book and take it with me when I am going to doctor's appointments or any place I will have a wait. Pulling it out makes the time go faster while I am waiting.

Sheila

Love2quilt,

My sister sews a lot and loves her treadle machine. She moved away 40 yrs ago when she married and we are not as close as I would like. She tats, crochets, and sews. Unfortunately, I didn't have the Home Ec classes that she had. I opted for college prep courses. They came in handy, but I think I missed out on a lot by having to teach myself.

I have some vintage hand pieced quilt "blocks"  that I have wanted to piece together to make a small lap quilt. I do not know the pattern names. One set is, I think a flower pattern. the pieces are octagonals that are pieced together with one color inside for the center and then outer layers like petals? maybe. Anyway, the "blocks are all irregular shapes due to the octagonal pieces. I have about 20? i think. I have one vintage quilt that I am trying to restore. I restored two other quilts that had holes or worn out sections. Then I have a few very simple blocks that are square in shape.Unfortunately, the fat quarters that I bought are a more modern pattern and are not "in keeping" with the vintage look of the "blocks" that I have. I need to take one with me and do some more shopping I guess. But I want "a plan of attack" first.

I used to haunt flea markets, yard sales, and estate sales for anything that looked like an interesting project to finish. Now I finally have the time to do something with them. I really need to do something since my house has become a cluttered mess. LOL I am truly ashamed to have someone come in my house. Disability doesn't help. I keep saying, "one day...." LOL

C

C - the block you described with the octogons is called 'grandmothers flower garden'. Those can be appliqued onto muslin blocks and put into the quilt. By putting it on the muslin, you won't lose the design of the 'flower' if put on a printed fabric block. Muslin is either bleached (white) or unbleached (natural color) and not that expensive to purchase. The other blocks that you are restoring, when you go to the fabric store ask about the reproduction 1930's - 1940's fabric section. Those prints are designs from the 1930-1940's some of them were feedsack designs. By using the prints from the reproduction section, you should find something that will keep the project 'look' original.

About home ec classes, one teacher I had in High School, I knew more about sewing than she did.

Sheila

Arniw I love that. You made it so cute. Thanks for sharing .Your friend is blessed with a  friend like you.

Nancy,

I love those purses but it looks like you would need HUGE bras! LOL

Sheila,

Thanks so much for all of the information about quilting! I thought that pattern was called flower garden or something like that.  I will have toa sk my niece about the fabric. She works for Joanne Fabrics.  She found me some nice fabrics for some 1880's praire outfits that I was making. 

Did I tell y'all I love costuming, too. I have all kinds of costumes! 

Lucy,

I think we could work out some kind of deal. I would need to know what type of purse you might want. I am still trying to figure out how to get a picture on my computer so that I can post it.  Maybe we can get together sometime and compare notes since we are just a few hours apart.

Arnie,

Love that wreath! 

Happy crafting to all,

Connie

Arnie, love that wreath!!!

I just love reading this thread...thanks sisters!

I found this thread and love it,  you ladies have so much talent.   I like to do just abstract watercolors, they just relax me.  Hope you ladies keep on crafting and keep on posting them because a lot of us love looking and reading.  Thanks to all of you.

Arnie - HI

Lucy,

What colors do you like? I have one started in yellows and oranges, a variegated yarn. That one I should be able to finish up quickly. But if you have a different color in mind that is OK. Like alot of us, I have all kinds of yarn in many colors.

Connie

I am not sure why Spar was banned but look up her avatar and you will see that both her posts concerning health care vs other countries were removed "by the community."

Hi and Hugs for all of you crafty ladies.   I made some can covers for a friend and am taking a break from crafting and doing a jig saw puzzle.   Have a good week.   Nancy

Glad to see you back SPAR. I have been working on my art bras. The guidlines I set up stated that they were to be finished and taken to the wig bank by Sept 1 so I could get the order of the show layed out but neither of mine are finished yet . I am hoping to get them finished by next week, I can always work on them Labor day while I am home from work.

Sheila