The trouble with textiles sewn with a serger is that if I pull on just the wrong thread, it unravels, undoing a seam very quickly. (This is bad for mending.)
The good thing about textiles sewn with a serger is that if I pull on just the right thread, it unravels, undoing a seam very quickly. (This is good for taking it apart.)
Sometimes when it’s time for my kid to feed the cat, Shadow and I go stand in front of their door and meow a duet together until the kid acknowledges they’ve heard.
After all, it’s time to shout at the kid, and who am I to flout feline propriety?
When I was small, my aunt spent some time in Guatemala. She gave me a very large doll tea set she bought there. Large as in many pieces. A couple dozen hand made cups and saucers, some plates and bowls, a cream pitcher, and a teapot. Alas, almost all of it has been lost over the decades, but I still have the tea pot and the cream pitcher. The tea pot has been broken and carefully mended, but I still have the lid!
Note to self: this is not an excuse to buy one of those graph paper notebooks at the co-op, even though the school supply craving is upon you.
I have lots of graph paper and I know how to make a Coptic stitch notebook, which would be perfect for this. Yes, it’s another project to start, but using up craft supplies is a current goal. And if I don’t make a super fancy cover, it won’t take long.
I already had startitis, so why did I get library books that would make me want to start an embroidery stitch sampler?!
Oh wait, probably because I’m already excited about embroidery and had been vaguely considering a sampler anyway.
A sampler could be good regardless, especially in combination with a notebook to document the stitches.
Browsed the library for embroidery and hand sewing books. Here’s a couple I want to buy for myself:
- *Make, Sew, and Mend*, by Bernadette Banner (of youtube fame). Several hand sewing techniques I wasn’t familiar with already, and has good advice on a number of sewing topics. (Some I agree with already, which suggests the things I’m not already familiar with are worth trying.)
- *The Geometry of Hand-Sewing*, by Natalie Chanin. starts with basic stitches and then builds embroidery stitches from them in what looks like a natural progression. It’s got some plastic template cards for practicing the stitches (or marking the stitches on fabric). (Don’t be scared by the word “geometry”; it’s nothing like a math textbook.)
I think I just saw a cardinal eat a coral honeysuckle flower! I didn’t expect that at all
I wrote something long on my tablet for the first time in a while, and so I got out my keyboard. What a relief! Sometimes I forget how much I prefer actual keyboards to typing on screen, even though I can mostly touch type on the screen keyboard (I was shocked when I realized). Though now I get to be annoyed at the lack of useful keyboard sequences in some tablet apps.
I know I’ve seen a flow chart of simple self-care questions for neurodivergent people trying to figure out why they don’t feel quite right.
Does that sound familiar?
Edit: it was https://youfeellikeshit.com, but if you know of something that doesn’t have expletives or the shit emoji, that might be better for my friend who needs it.
Good morning!
I went to the library yesterday and checked out a bunch of books about embroidery. I’ve been enjoying browsing them to decide what looks most useful; there’s a few stitches I want to try.
I need more tea before I do anything else.
A new mattress was delivered today, and now the cat has an extremely long box with crinkly paper inside it. I can hear her rearranging the crinkly stuff to her satisfaction.
Things must be proper. I don’t make the rules.
I went to the local creative reuse shop, and saw this snowberry clearwing moth just sitting on a wall.
I’m more used to seeing them looking like hummingbirds or bees sipping from flowers.
Good morning!
It’s so good to have my yarn-spinning oomph again. Making myself take regular breaks, though, so I don’t overdo it and hurt myself.
Is it time for more tea yet?maaaaybe 🫖
I dropped into the thrift shop to see if they might have a suitable bag for my eSpinner. Turns out they did, though it needs some easy additions, in the form of pockets and handles.
For fiber artists, a list of signs that a set of instructions is probably llm-slop. The article is by a crochet designer, but the signs are relevant beyond crochet.
#knitting #crochet #FiberArts no advice please
https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/community/how-to-spot-ai-fake-pattern/
I really prefer spinning yarn on spindles, but my wrists no longer allow me to use a support spindle. This is obnoxious because I’m trying to get better at long draw and also want to spin cotton.
Thus, a spinning wheel it is, and an eSpinner was the best choice for me.
So far, the Fold has been my best spinning wheel experience
ever! Very pleased, even though I still miss my spindles.
(I have an emergency spindle whorl in my knitting bag, just in case. It can be jammed on a pencil or knitting needle as needed)
I tried out my new EEW Fold electric spinning wheel today, using some random blue wool fiber.
I kickstarted the Fold after borrowing a friend’s EEW Nano. The Nano gave me a sense of what an EEW is like, but I was slightly frustrated by a few things (small bobbins, no way to easily get the same speed every time I started spinning, and it doesn’t really go fast enough to spin cotton).
The Fold fixes all three of those things. It also has a foot switch so I can stop and start it without having to drop what I’m doing.
It’s made so the maidens (the vertical bits that hold up the flyer* and bobbin) can be folded under the base after removing the bobbin. This is great for travel. I’m not likely to use this feature often, but I think I’ll appreciate it if I do.
(I didn’t realize my fiber and bobbin would match the summer bedspread in the background, but it amuses me!)
*flyer: the structure with hooks on that holds the bobbin. It’s the part that adds twist to the yarn and wraps it around the bobbin.
#SpinningWheel #Yarn #EEWFold #FiberArts
Favorite bumper sticker seen recently:
“I brake for turtles, frogs, sticks and big leaves”
Good morning!
The urge to make a bag for my new spinning toy is strong (for one thing, I have a bunch of pockets from old cargo shorts that I think would be useful). However, I must keep these three things in mind:
1. I have too many projects in progress already
2. Just because I can make something doesn’t mean it’s sensible to do so
3. The small business that designs and sells the gadget has a suitable bag, just with fewer small pockets than I’d like.
…huh. Maybe I could buy the bag and then sew the cargo pockets to the outside? 🤔
Must drink tea and ponder the possibility! 🫖
My Electric Eel Wheel Fold arrived today! This is an eSpinner (for making yarn) that folds up smaller to make it even more portable.
I was troubled to discover that the top flap of the box came open during shipping, but all the parts (including the spares) are present and accounted for. Assembly was straightforward.