From the category archives:

Yarn Crafts

Apparently, I am making a blanket. Can you help with colors?

August 22, 2010

So, back in the significantly-more-carefree month of June, I thought, “I need a crochet project.” I had this cone of stranded yarn that I’d picked up from Yarnia on clearance, and I thought I’d fulfill a longtime dream of mine – to make a scarf from small granny squares.

…But then I got curious to see [...]

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Quite possibly, the finest 3D needlepoint book ever published

July 20, 2010

Susan was lovely enough to grab this book for me on a recent thrifting trip. She knows what I like!

Needlepoint: The Third Dimension (Copyright 1979) is a freaking masterpiece of 1970’s needlepointy goodness – one which (dare I say it) goes way beyond plastic canvas.

Case in point: let me zoom in on the cover a [...]

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Review (Giveaway!): The Knitgrrl Guide to Professional Knitwear Design

July 5, 2010

Yaaay for indie craft publishing! Knitgrrl Shannon Okey has just released a new book in print and digital formats: The Knitgrrl Guide to Professional Knitwear Design. I’m honored to be the second stop on the blog tour.
This is a very comprehensive guide to taking your knitting (or crochet) to an income-earning level. There’s a whole [...]

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How to Make a Needlepoint Pendant (Yes! With Plastic Canvas!)

June 9, 2010
Thumbnail image for How to Make a Needlepoint Pendant (Yes! With Plastic Canvas!)

 

I get thousands of emails each week, begging me to offer more plastic canvas coverage on this blog.

(…Okay, well – perhaps that actually happens only in my mind. But still.)

I’ve been noodling with these needlepoint pendants lately, and liking both the process and finished product. They make up quickly, and use up odds and [...]

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CraftyPod #110: Teaching Your Craft, with Tara Swiger

February 27, 2010
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Image by Tara Swiger

 
 CraftyPod #110: Teaching Your Craft, with Tara Swiger: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In this show:

• An interview with Tara Swiger, an accomplished knitting teacher who has a lot of interesting things to say about teaching a craft.

• We talk about what it’s like to teach one-on-one vs. in a group setting.

• Some discussion of how different people’s learning styles affect their approach to crafting, [...]

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Phil? Phil, is that you?

February 2, 2010

Happy Groundhog Day! I finished my entry in the Groundhog-Along just in the nick of time.

There’s a lot of cute critters to see in the Flickr Group. And if you have a hankering to make your own, June’s pattern is just excellent.

Times like these, words fail to capture the excitement of a giant squirrel predicting [...]

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Giveaway: Leethal Connect the Dots Stitch Set

January 27, 2010

Woo-Hoo! The ever-talented Lee has offered up one of her Connect-the-Dots Stitch Sets to give away on this here blog.

I think these are absolutely brilliant. Part embroidery, part game. You begin with a piece of numbered cloth. Pop it in your hoop, stitch from one number to the next, and watch the image appear.

What’s even [...]

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My continuing mission to bring plastic canvas to the people…

January 21, 2010
Thumbnail image for My continuing mission to bring plastic canvas to the people…

There are many reasons to love CRAFT, but one of my biggest is that they let me do stuff like this. Check out my tutorial over there for this crafty storage box.

…Why yes, it is made of plastic canvas! But I added some fabric inserts to change up the look.

Also, days and days of cold, [...]

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Off to join the Groundhog-along?

January 13, 2010

(Photo by June Gilbank, used with permission.)
While we’re extolling the virtues of Twitter here, let me tell you about one of the funnest craft-alongs I’ve seen in a while. It was born from some seemingly-random chat on Twitter last week.
June Gilbank is a wonderful designer of crochet patterns, and she recently released one for the [...]

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Indie Publishing Stories, Part 4: The Learn to Knit Kit

December 8, 2009

This wonky knit swatch represents a huge accomplishment for me. Knitting is my crafty kryptonite – the one craft I have never been able to grasp.

So when Tara Swiger (of Blonde Chicken Boutique fame) contacted me about her new Learn to Knit ebook kit, I figured if anyone could test its educational value, it [...]

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