Hankering for Yarn » crafts

Baskets in the studio

Noreen Crone-Findlay — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:59:57 +0000

My daughter, Chloe Findlay-Harder, has been organizing some things in her studio.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Bless her heart,

she gave me a couple more

of the fab wire baskets

that she made a few years ago.

Here’s one of the

new ones,

sitting on the

shelf that lives

on my knitting machine

table.

When I was

busy admiring

the new baskets,

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I realized how much

I love using baskets

for organizing studio

stuff, and that I have

baskets by the dozens.

(There’s another one of

Chloe’s baskets in this

pic, too)

So, I started taking

photos of some of

the baskets in

my studio,

and before long

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I had taken

almost 50 photos….

I won’t bore you

with photos of

all the studio

baskets, but

there are a few

baskets that are

dear to my heart…..

The blue wicker basket

is an old one that I bought

when I was a teenager. I painted a sheet of masonite with a homage to oriental carpets, and wired it to the top and used the basket as a table. Now, it holds a huge whopper of a melon basket that I found at a garage sale this summer. They are both great for yarn storage.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I thought that I would

also include a pic

of Ms Kitty examining

a couple baskets

that I have just recently

made.

I posted a tutorial

on how to spool knit

the basket that is full

of spool knitters.

The crocheted basket is made

with yarn that I spun from

paper streamers from the Blue Man Group show last month.

Baskets are one of the most ancient ways of organizing the stuff of our lives. They are also a wonderful way of expressing creativity, because every handmade basket is, by it’s very nature, completely unique.

Do you have any favorite baskets?

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Do you craft in groups?

Del — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 00:02:10 +0000

Well before the Internet came along and encouraged a virtual togetherness among crafters, people routinely knitted, quilted, tatted and crocheted in groups. Your local yarn shop may have a regular day or evening when crafters get together, over food, fun and fiber.

Do you enjoy craft groups? Do you belong to one at your LYS or do you attend one in someone’s home? If so, what do you like best about getting together with like-minded people?

Image: Photos.com

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Your crafty resolutions

Del — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:14:57 +0000

It doesn’t matter whether you’ve been knitting or crocheting for 50 years, or whether you just started. There’s always something to learn.

With this new year still fresh and full of possibilities, have you made any crafty resolutions for 2009?

Maybe you want to try a new technique, but have always been worried about the results. It’s only yarn — you can unravel it and start over. If there’s something you haven’t tried yet, come on…what’s the worst that can happen?

Join a local knitting or crochet circle. Take a class if you’re a beginner and you just can’t figure something out. Teach someone the craft.

What are you going to do this year that you haven’t done before?

Image: Photos.com

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Making crafty resolutions for the new year

Del — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 10:03:45 +0000

With so many people vowing to start off the new year doing something differently, I wonder how many of us make resolutions related to our crafts.

I made several resolutions at the beginning of 2008 and I didn’t really meet them, so I’m steering clear this year (I think). Still, for others, writing resolutions down is a good motivation tool to:

Try something new
Use a yarn you’ve never used before
Use a different technique in place of the one you’ve used forever

Are you making any crafty resolutions for the new year? What kind?

Image: Photos.com

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Bloggy giveaway- Red cord from Kreinik

Noreen Crone-Findlay — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:55:54 +0000

Bloggy giveaway carnival is over….

This red color cord is Kreinik’s 3/8″ Trim with wire embellishment cord.

You can make all kinds of wonderful jewelry and other crafts with it. I love it and am so pleased that the lovely folks at Kreinik gave this to me for the contest!

Michelle, who was #23 in the comments won this prize

Congratulations!

The contest is now over……

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I am no longer writing hankering for yarn. You can catch up with me at www.tottietalkscrafts.com

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Bloggy giveaway- Gold color cord from Kreinik

Noreen Crone-Findlay — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:45:39 +0000

Bloggy giveaway carnival is over….

This gold color cord is Kreinik’s 3/8″ Trim with wire embellishment cord.

You can make all kinds of wonderful jewelry and other crafts with it. I love it and am so pleased that the lovely folks at Kreinik have given this to me to give to you!

Jenna, who was #31 in the comments won this prize

Congratulations!

The contest is now over……

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I am no longer writing hankering for yarn. You can catch up with me at www.tottietalkscrafts.com

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Bloggy giveaway- Silver cord from Kreinik

Noreen Crone-Findlay — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 10:38:51 +0000

Bloggy giveaway carnival is over.

This silver color cord is Kreinik’s 3/8″ Trim with wire embellishment cord.

You can make all kinds of wonderful jewelry and other crafts with it. I love it and am so pleased that the lovely folks at Kreinik have given this to me to give to you!

It was one of the prizes in this week’s Bloggy giveaway carnival.

Mannequin #42 in the comments won this prize Congratulations!

The contest is now over……

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I am no longer writing hankering for yarn. You can catch up with me at www.tottietalkscrafts.com

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Artsy Bloggers Roundup from last week – Oct 13 2008

Noreen Crone-Findlay — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 02:41:40 +0000

Things have been chaotic around our house, as we are in the middle of family health crises with 2 of our nearest and dearest, so it means that I am playing a scrambly catch up game….

anyhow… here are the links for last week’s Artsy Bloggers Roundup. (I didn’t manage to get a link in, but I’ll aim to do that this week)

Celebrate WA, My Place Photos Check out the inspiring photos from WA
Layers Upon Layers Darlene Wilkinson shares her secrets to creativity!
Q & A with Joanna Goldman Read about her original character designs and more.
Remember to Smell the Flowers One of the nicest things about digital scrapbooking is that you can always do a makeover. As your skills and design sense improve or change, you’ll look at your earlier work and think, “Now I know just what that needs!” Here’s one by Eileen that needs just a tiny tweak … when she can find the time!

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

De cluttering – Organize and optimize your stash of yarn

Noreen Crone-Findlay — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:31:56 +0000

I am in the middle of trying to re-configure my studio so that the spaces work better.

I want to be able to get at my yarn and tools quickly and easily, but keep them away from mischevious cats and small wicked dogs (yarnaholic animal companions are a pain in the skein!).

I am blessed with a large studio that we heat with a wood burning stove in winter and big south facing windows.

This is great, but oh so dusty, so I can’t have my yarn displayed openly.

Having a big studio means we have a tiny bedroom. That’s mostly okay, as I spend my waking hours in the studio, and don’t need much room to sleep- )

BUT that also means storage in the bedroom is just about non existant. erg.

So, when closet organizing popped up from Martha Stewart’s website, I went to have a look.

Her expensive options are totally out of the question for us, but the cheapest option looks kind of useful…..

here’s the link: closet makeover

Do you have some good ways of organizing your stash?

and yes, I know – give away give away give away…… I’m working on it!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Artsy bloggers roundup for Oct 4-2009

Noreen Crone-Findlay — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:56:25 +0000


Homecoming Mum Ribbon Weaves It’s homecoming season! Find illustrated instructions for love chain weaves at The Artful Crafter – award winning site (Yahoo Buzz, Knol & Wikipedia) for Homecoming Mums. http://the-artful-crafter.blogspot.com/2008/09/homecoming-mum-ribbon-weaves.htmlJuicy Pens, Thirsty Paper Heather has just ordered SARK’s new book. Have you read it? http://www.acreativejournal.com/juicy-pens-thirsty-paper/
Layers Upon Layers Learn to combine texture shots into a whole new digital image! http://www.layersuponlayers.com/making-ghost-in-the-wall-digital-steps/
Milk Bottle Artist Steps Forward Find out who’s been surprising folks with milk bottle art. http://www.junkcreation.com/milk-bottle-artist-steps-forward
The 4-Patch – Quilt Patch of the Week Check out the 4-patch quilt pattern for an easy one for beginning quilters. Mary Emma, blogger at Quilting and Patchwork, learned to quilt with her grandmother, using this pattern. http://www.quiltingandpatchwork.com/2008/09/28/quilt-patch-of-the-week-the-4-patch/
Vintage treasure or worthless scrap? Recently,my sister-in-law and I found a wonderful vintage lace collar in a second hand store. The shop lady didn’t see it that way. To her it was a worthless piece of junk. It’s another case of trash becoming treasure- what do you think?http://www.blisstree.com/hankeringforyarn/vintage-lace-collar-or-worthless-scrap Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

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