Big crafty post

[calzephyr]

I bought Mom a new pattern book for making dishcloths with both knitted and crocheted patterns. I really like this one that has a shell stitch. Crochet is challenging for Mom, but I'm hoping she'll give it a try! I also found a book for the knitting looms called Learn New Stitches on Circle Looms. I was really surprised to find this at Michaels, and I can't wait to try some of these new techniques. The basic knitting loom stitch is stockinette, which is all well and good, but I want to learn to purl!

And while it's not exactly Knifty, this is pretty neat - I bought a child's knitting machine a few weeks ago. Michaels coupons are often very sneaky, and this particular coupon came with a lot of conditions. It couldn't be used on books, so one a whim I went for the knitting machine. It produces only a stockinette stitch as well, but darn, it's fast. The main flaw with it is dropped stitches, which is probably why it came with 2 balls of eyelash wool. The dropped stitches can be fixed with a crochet hook and patience. There is a larger version by the same company called Innovations - and there are even YouTube videos and a YahooGroup for it. Really, all knitting machines come with a flaw of some sort - and it's possible to drop stitches with needles or a loom quite easily. It seems easier to make your own tension than rely on the machine's tension control. I can't wait to play with it more. It's too bad the needles aren't made out of metal - the plastic ones seem delicate. It's only good for sport weight or other thin wool.



We went to the Creative Stitches and Crafting Alive show and it proved quite fortuitous...a lady gave us her 2 for 1 entry pass, so we saved $8 on admission...we ran into an old friend...and we got coupons for $1 pizza slices at the Stampede Casino. It was a pretty good event, although it was the sort of thing one goes to every couple years. The main emphasis was on machine sewing and quilting, and there were lots of gorgeous quilts and quarters of fabric. I was quite good and only spent $40 - most of it being on an animal cross-stitch book. It had a whole page of budgies, so I couldn't pass that up!

There were a couple of booths with needle felting supplies, and I was really intrigued. One booth gave me a poor explanation of how it worked, so I was happy to come across another booth where a woman was demonstrating how to do it. It might be something I'll try down the road. It looks like it would be fun to make Christmas ornaments with. Her husband was selling Eleggant Hooks and both Mom and I bought a pair of "imperfect, but perfectly good" ones that were discounted along with extra hooks for $20. The wooden egg has a collet nut in it like a Dremel, and I pulled the hook out of one of my loom picks and it fits perfectly...I just have to cut off an inch or so to make it less awkward. It's definitely a lot easier to hold than the original loom pick.

Comments

[lonehowler.livejournal.com]

I was there Friday and I made sure that I only had access to 100$ otherwise I'm sure I would have spent much more.^^
As for needle felting I got into it last year from the craft show It's a fun hobby that not to many other people do most of what I spent at the show was new needle felting supplies, which I found hard to track down. perhaps next years show we can go together or we can get together some weekend and I can show you how it's done

[calzephyr77.livejournal.com]

Heheh! Yes, everywhere was an opportunity to spend!

That would be great if we could go next year, maybe I can get the Friday off. I would love it if you could come over and show me the magic of needle felting! I may not have the chance for a while though...I'm going to be busy every weekend in November with craft shows, but if you're free on a Sunday, just drop me a line!