Stacey | FreshStitches

Try adding pupils to your amigurumi eyes!

by Stacey on July 31, 2012

They say that ‘eyes are the window to the soul’… maybe your crocheted stuffed animals don’t have souls, but the eyes add quite a bit of character! Today I’m going to share a great tip for giving your crocheted eyes some extra pizazz. Eye Options You have lots of options for eyes on your amigurumi! […]

Wanna peek inside my finished studio?

by Stacey on July 30, 2012

Exciting news… this weekend, I hung the last picture and unpacked our last box from our move! So… do you want to see my finished studio? Okie dokie! Come in and have a look around! I’ve set up one of my favorite pieces of furniture: an old icebox from my grandmother’s house (yes! it’s really […]

Store Spotlight: Kraemer Yarns

by Stacey on July 29, 2012

store: Kraemer Yarns address: 240 South Main Street Nazareth, PA 18064 website: www.kraemeryarns.com date of visit: July, 2012 Kraemer Textiles is located in Nazareth, PA and spins thousands of pounds of yarn a week for various textiles markets. Their factory has been spinning since 1907, and the company started producing yarns for hand-knitters in 2005. […]

Learning Bead Crochet

by Stacey on July 28, 2012

Goals for Bead Crochet I got a copy of Bead Crochet Jewelry, and the jewelry looks amazing! Bead crochet is a little different than regular crochet, and gives you a piece with a totally unique look. To bead crochet, you pre-string a lot of beads, and then (basically) slip stitch around a 4 stitch round […]

How to attach felt to your amigurumi

by Stacey on July 24, 2012

Adding a small piece of felt decoration can be a quick and easy way to add character to your amigurumi faces! In today’s blog post, I’ll show you how to do it! The Glue Basically, any glue that works on fabrics will work for yarn, as well. I use Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue. The glue […]

Picking needles for knitting your sock…

by Stacey on July 22, 2012

A lot of folks get intimidated by sock knitting… and one of the things that’s so scary is picking what kind of needles to use! There are so many choices! The truth is that the choice of which needles to use is completely personal preference, so you’ll probably have to try out a few. In […]

What’s a pinkie do while crocheting? Tension the yarn!

by Stacey on July 17, 2012

There’s no right way to hold your yarn while crocheting. Whatever works for you is the way you should do it! But, I’m often asked how I hold my yarn… so I’ll tell you! You may like it, you may not. My feelings won’t be hurt if it’s not for you! I’m right-handed, so I […]

Insights on Expertise and Learning Knitting & Crochet

by Stacey on July 12, 2012

Right now, I’m reading Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything. Want to know one thing I’ve learned? Experts can’t store more individual items in memory than beginners… but they can store more information overall because they divide content up into useful chunks. What experts look like Ever heard someone describe their […]

Tips for stuffing your amigurumi’s head & body…

by Stacey on July 10, 2012

I’ve crocheted all of my cow pieces, and attached his features… the only thing left to do is stuff his head & body and attach them! Stuffing the head and body can be a little tricky, since they’re large pieces. You want to be sure to add plenty of stuffing (to compensate for compression over […]

Tips for attaching amigurumi features

by Stacey on July 8, 2012

Attaching facial features can be one of the trickiest parts of making stuffed animals… but it’s also what brings your cutie to life! With just a few tricks, you’ll be positioning and attaching features with ease… and love your finished result! Using Locking Stitch Markers for positioning I’ve already talked about how to use locking […]