OK so most of you know that my darling husband is the major yarn shopping right? LOL well for those who don't know Jorge about 6 months ago he went and paid $22 for a skein of yarn - dang nice yarn too.... So we have strict rules for him when ever we hit a fancy yarn store. And on this visit the rules where in place for both of us....
We did not purchase anything but our friend Sue did - beautiful skein of yarn in the most beautiful shades of pinks.... A gift she is making for a special member of her family - lucky duck she is!!
All the pictures consist of two visits and so I do hope you enjoy them and check out their store when your in the area - they are super great people and I think it's the daughter of the owner who really should be running the store. Beautiful, smart and friendly and I will always be thankful on the time she invested with us while there.
And my birthday present which will be bought early this year will be coming from this store - ahhhhh you'll have to wait and see!! I do indeed have the World's BEST husband EVER!!
Back to elementary terms and quotes kids. So I apologize if I get the name of stitches wrong and such. I am one of those who learn best by watching someone else crocheting/knitting/beading - you know stuff like that. However my art work by hand in wood burning is all me....
So two years ago I started teaching myself how to crochet. I really, really tried to learn from my mother in-law but the language barrier was too much for me. Her strong Cuban accent was just to hard for me to understand and her little fingers went way too fast. Two years later I think the sweet lady would be proud...
I have come a long, long ways from day one. LOL my squares where anything but squares. I couldn't get my ends to match to save my life. Oh I would cry (I am so not kidding) and throw my crochet hook on the floor or at my husband - today we laugh at those memories and his puck marks from the pings on poor Jorge. and the worst was when I was learning the granny square - I know I have mention this before here. And so with the reminder of my terrible crocheting fits now lets add knitting to the scene. But you know what? Knitting was so easy for me...
So why do I crochet more then I knit? It's easy - I enjoy it more and I can do so many cute little things faster - and faster means money... In the last two months I have made it a point to learn one new thing a week when it comes to the yarn world. I am so happy now because I am even starting to read patterns now without screaming because what the heck is a HDC? Ah-ha I know now Half Double Crochet.... LOL I know you crochet experts think I am a turd but these things do not come easy for me. Truly I work my hardest on my projects and pour my love into it.
Today I was watching a crocheting video and was repeating the steps in (which I got on the first try) out loud and my husband says "Wow honey you really know this stuff now - don't you?" And then follows with "I am so proud of you". Which brought up the talk, about how much I have improved over the last two years.
The one thing that any crocheter or knitter needs is support. No matter the level - really in any form of crafting, support is so needed. These things whether advanced or easy takes lots of time to make and I'm sorry we are paid so little for the labor that goes into any project. And so I ask myself "why do I put myself through this?" EASY I love yarns.... I love advancing - and I love when people ask me for to make them a handmade item. That about pride and pride is allow in the crafting world.
I love thinking about the "Past" of my crocheting world and have had many laughs on how silly I was and often enough say "Oh yeah I've made those same mistakes" and loving in the "Future" when someone calls out for advice or for help or even better a sale because they just had to have one of my treasures...
My newest item I now know how to make is.... A way cool flower!!
I can crochet and surf the web at the same time!! GIFTED...
tallulahg's Shop Announcement Spring Sale! From now till April 15th all Ring Bearer pillows will be 15% off! :) Type in Spring15 at checkout under Discount code! Happy Shopping...
QUESTION OF THE DAY:
What was your project? Was it easy or hard?
Share your comments for our newbies...
Oh I am so elementary when it comes to terms and techniques of the yarn world, but I'll give it a shot.
As it is often stated "Parts of any fiber enthusiast's hobby is an appreciation of yarns." And so I have broken down and thought about what yarns I respect and yarns that I don't. And remember finance plays a big part in my experiences with yarns. Purchasing a $65 skein of yarn would send me to the welfare office in a hurry. And so budgeting plays the ultimate finale decision - shopping the clearance rack in store as well as on-line stores, plus ordering on-line only, when free shipping is offered, and by all means using coupons when I can.
But first an important message from the top of the tops of the crocheting world.
Art of Crochet by Teresa, and in her blog she says this:
Novelty yarn should not be used anywhere near a baby or toddler in any type of crochet item. Think about the result from fibers and invisible particles building up in the air passages of a newborn baby! In fact, novelty yarn should have a warning label, "Not for use in items intended for age 13 and below". I am not saying not to use it but use it responsibly on adult items. You can visit her blog for the full article and other goodies here and tell her I said hello.. thanks! http://crochet-mania.blogspot.com/
Which if you read the article from the crocheting queen, then you will understand why I do not like working with Chenille in which I do carry in my inventory. It breaks real easy and is just terrible for me to work with.
All the yarn and products seen in the photos in this article is from MY inventory
I did find this Chenille on the clearance rack and got a real bargain for under a $1.00 a skein back in Bishop, CA at http://www.benfranklinstores.com/. I had bought all they had left and now it sits in my bin begging to be used and shipped off somewhere where it will be loved. But that project has not popped into my head yet and so it will sit and sit until ready to be used. And I do have to say I do love the feel of chenille, I just find it hard to work with.
My other choice of yarns that I do work with often but because of the whole not wanting to go on welfare fear is Red Heart and probably one of the most highly bought yarns of all times because hey - it won't bankrupt you. I do find if I crochet for more then 3 hours straight (and I have been know to work 8+ hours crocheting or knitting because that's a form of income for me and the faster things get done the faster I can sell it on my etys stores) then my skin become rash like for all the rubbing from the yarn - I find it scratchy to work but I press on. A real saver for me is buying the 1-pound skein when they go on sale and thank goodness they do. I buy all of my 1-pound skeins ONLY from http://www.joann.com/ and when free shipping is being offered then I am so in on the deal. Lets face it with the price of gas and being almost 40 minutes from the nearest store - the savings get put back in my pocket when I only have less then a 1/4 of mile to walk to the post office - no gas needed there and the money stays in my pocket.
Yarns that I just have to have because of the feel and texture and the omg choice of colors. My choice is tie between 3 top picks. Nob Hills, Vanna's Choice and Lion Brands Jiffy
And there you go. Just elementary choices - no rhyme or reason. Just my personal taste and thoughts and theories... And so now I'll add some pictures of my storage situation right here in my rig. People are simply amazed that...
A - wow we craft in a 24 ft motorhome (and remember we lose 3 feet just because of the front cab that we really can not use except to drive)..
B - How do we store our supplies and such? I will blog more as we get ready to head to Idaho for our summer work (Jorge is building a new bed and making some much needed progress in the RV to make our last summer living in "MrCrafty" as comfy as possible)...
So enjoy and don't forget to check out the feature of the day and the question of the day at the bottom!!
I have 6 bins full of yarns...
Did I mention I have 6 bins full of yarns?
My very first set of knitting needles that where given to me by a camper up in SaddleBag Lake Campground back in 2009 Thank you so much Sue - I still use them "All the Time"
Love my needles - my only plastic ones I own.. Bamboo is too expensive and so I have to wait...
Bottom draw is for Evielynne ONLY Jorge dies if enters... the secret to our marriage is organization!!
I Love my bins and now I can get all my little craft supplies organized... Thank you Charity You did GREAT!!
Oh you would laugh at the amount of crafts we have in the rig. Sometimes I am shocked!!
Vintage collectibles for Home and Office, Luggage, Cameras and Typewriters, Fabric, Crochet and Linens, Sewing Notions and Patterns, Vintage Books and Paper Doll Books, Antique Ads and Photos, Scrabble Tiles, Cards and Game Pieces, Lots of Supplies and Fun Inspiration Packs for Your Altered Art and Collage Projects.
I am an avid shopper of all things vintage. I shop garage sales, estate sales and thrift stores weekly to find lots of treasures to share with you.
Check back often to see what's new.
I am always happy to combine items for shipping to save you money!! Supplies and fabric items, especially, will fit together nicely to save on postage.
What is your favorite and dis-favorite yarn brand?
Leave your comment - sure would like to learn from my readers!!
Mar 1, 2011
Being a hard winter for us in the pocketbook this winter - we didn't eat out much in California. And it's still pretty much the same here in Oregon because hey it's still winter and we are still counting our pennies. But our wonderful friends took us out for an entire day to get chores done and to have some fun (their chores are fun). Went to the yarn store Jo-Ann http://www.joann.com/ to get my supplies for my custom etsy order of 10 infant hats and a set of shamrocks. I ended up spending $53.00 for yarns in which the order only paid for half of it - and so I will need to make that money back and hope to sell some more items real quick. It felt great to be back in a yarn store in which I didn't cringe at the prices. My husband not too long ago bought a $22.00 ball of yarn (yes that just one skein). I am amazed on the prices some times and need to bump my prices up on my items to off set my supply cost. Oh I try to make everyone happy with my crafting - I really do.
So then off to some fun... We went to Cousins Restaurant in which the atmosphere was so flipping cool. Before we went through the front door we where having some major fun... Check out the pic... We are goof balls for sure... The food was fit for an army and I went home with a doggie bag (I did salad and Jorge did a burger of some kind)... It was great. Being with company and good food made for an excellent day.
After that we head to the grocery store got some quick items and headed home which mean major crocheting work for me.... AWWWWWWW I need more sales...
OK so I am bored due to being stuck in the town of Bend, OR due to the snow and weather alert going on for this area till 4pm today. Which means we are staying another night here (remember we are RV full timers).
I floated around the Walmart Craft section looking for clearance items - a must do in any craft store to bang my bucks.... And today they seem to be wiped out in the good deals department - this tells me they get a lot of bad weather here and the house wife muck this department (for crying out loud there is a worn out walking path - lol).Now I am sitting at the McDonald's surfing the web to kill some time.... tic tock - tic tock for Pete sakes hurry time hurry...
Here is some other funny weird things I found... Enjoy! And if you get bord like I do - don't do what I do just shop at any of my 4 stores - and that will keep you busy for sure...
I do hope you enjoyed this BLOG enough to leave a comment! Often I wonder who looks and the only way to tell is when a wonderful person who took the time to read this places a comment in the comment feed box - a girls has to feel some kind of love from her followers!!
