Reading Time: 4 minutesThe question of how to straighten unravelled wool is something I’ve re-visited recently. I have several balls of unravelled wool which I’ve decided to use in a crochet afghan I’ve had on the go for a while now. These are years old, are pure wool, and were my grandmother’s (my Nan’s). I’ve had this yarn […]
Thrift
Unplanned Afghan Blanket- Don’t Plan, Just Jump Right In
Reading Time: 2 minutesHave you ever marvelled at beautiful afghan blankets made from crochet granny squares, or patchwork quilts made from a myriad of scrap pieces of fabric? A truly kaleidoscope effect can be made with some careful arrangement and planning of colours and shapes. Log cabin squares, with light strips of fabric on one side of the […]
Five Good Reasons to Keep a Craft Book Collection
Reading Time: 2 minutesAt our last local crafter’s get together some good reasons not to feel guilty about my craft book collection came to me. One of our members was casting around for crafty ideas to update the home, so I offered to bring along some books…as I have no shortage of them – brand new, my own […]
Year Of Traditional Textile Skills
Reading Time: 3 minutesLooking back over the year, it’s been a year for hopping about. I’ve delved into some knitting design (Elizabeth Zimmermann inspired), lots of scouring, or washing of my large stock of Ryeland fleece prior to spinning it, attempts at using up small quantities of hand-dyed and handspun yarn using crochet, an experiment in growing and […]
Mix It Up: Spinning With Carding Waste
Reading Time: 3 minutesCarding waste – I nearly threw it on the compost heap. I’d been spinning some hand-dyed fleece and was left with the shorter fibres. The little matted blobs and generally unhelpful stuff that was making spinning frustrating. I didn’t quite know what to do with it, but kept it for a while and hovered over […]
Five Thrifty Ways to Make Curtains
Reading Time: 3 minutesCurtains finish a room, as well as having obvious practical advantages for keeping drafts out and closing you off from the outside world. But, you need to be thrifty if you want plush curtains for a reasonable price. I’ve been thinking through ways of making mine on a budget. Following my large patchwork curtain experiment […]
