The question I see most often popping up on knitting/crochet discussion forums is: Are knitting needles/crochet hooks allowed on airplanes? There’s some helpful advice out there, but also a lot of advice that ranges from weird to just plain wrong. So, let’s clear it all up, shall we? Today, I’ll talk about (and link to!) […]
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Achieve Mindfulness in 7 Easy Crochet Steps
If you’re a super-regular reader of this blog, you may know that I adore yoga. I love the physical difficulty paired with working on increasing my flexibility. But let me tell you… I’m not so good at the meditation & ‘quieting the mind’ part. I’ve read about all of the great meditation research that’s going […]
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Rachael Oglesby’s 6 super-fabulous crochet style tips
I’m never going to be one of those girls who buys a new wardrobe every season to stay on trend. But, do you know what I can do? I’m perfectly happy to throw a stylish accessory on top of my ‘standard’ wardrobe to spice things up. Rachael Oglesby is the author of Crochet Boutique: a […]
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The Zen of Quitting
Quitter. Ooooh… it’s such an ugly word, isn’t it? Who likes to be called a quitter? It makes you feel unworthy… like you’re just not good enough, right? How often has the fear of being called a ‘quitter’ gotten you stuck in a rut? Is it the reason you won’t frog that knitting project that […]
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Add a sweater to (almost) any crocheted animal!
Today, I’m sharing a tip that Mariana (from Chile!) came up with while taking my Amigurumi Woodland Animals Class. Is it a pattern for a crocheted sweater? Nope… it’s way more clever than that! It’s a way of making your animal look like he’s wearing a sweater, by following the pattern and just adding in […]
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Where does silk come from?
From a silkworm, of course! Well, we call them silkworms, but they’re actually caterpillars… About Silk Let’s step back a little bit. Have you met my friend, silk? Silk is an astonishing fiber that has many dazzling features. Silk: Is super-smooth and shiny. This is because it’s a protein that is extruded by the silk […]
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Fun at the Finger Lakes Fiber Festival
Giggle… the first time, I accidentally typed the title of this blog post as ‘the Fiber Lakes…’! I’ve been living in Ithaca, NY (which is at the bottom of one of the Finger Lakes, Cayuga) all summer long, and let me tell you- there’s a lot of fiber happening! So, it seemed appropriate to hit […]
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When knitting headed to the factories…
In yesterday’s blog post, I asked you to imagine: how many sweaters would you own if you had to spin the wool for (and then knit) each one? Your answer, I assume was, ‘not that many’! Life in the mid-19th century In the mid-1800’s, this guy was a familiar member of the (very cramped) American […]
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In the not-too-distant past…
All yarn was handspun. Think about that for a minute… yarn that’s been spun up at a mill is a relatively modern invention! I’ve been thinking a lot about our recent history with textiles for two reasons. One, I just finished reading Over-dressed, a book that reviews our history with clothes from the time they […]
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Save yourself a knot by working your yarn from both ends of the skein!
Has this ever happened to you: you’re crocheting along, but discover that you need to use your yarn for another piece? Do you have to cut the yarn? Not if you know this little trick! This one will work for both crocheting & knitting. As you can see here, I’ve been crocheting with the yarn […]
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