I have loved pom pom makers since I was a kid.

The blue pom pom makers on the left are ones that I have had since I was knee high to a grasshopper.

The red/blue/yellow ones are  new Lion Brand pom pom makers and the tan/red ones are Susan Bates.

Pom poms are a classic trim or embellishment. But!

They don’t have to just be mild mannered trims.

I often design and make wild and wonderful dolls with them:

Like this one that I made with recycled/reclaimed objects for hands/feet and head.  The head for this doll is a bamboo tea whisk.

Thumbs up for pom pom makers. You can use yarn scraps to make great embellishments and neat dolls and toys.
What’s your favorite yarnie gadget?

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

I’ve just become acquainted with some wonderful new spool knitters:Crystalite French Knitters from Susan Bates. They’re 4 and 6 peg spool knitters and are very sturdy.

I really like them! They’re solidly made and are very nice to work with.

One of the things that is really neat is being able to see the cord while it’s still inside the spool knitter. They come with a wonderful little tool (Sylvalume Handi tool) that has a hook on one end and a point on the other.

Definitely thumbs up on these ones!

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

About 10 years ago, I was thrilled to bits to see a very special spool knitter on eBay. I have always loved spool knitting, but until then, hadn’t seen a spool knitter that looked like a doll.

I was so excited to see a spool knitter that was painted to look like Little Orphan Annie. I bid on her and won the auction.

Boy, was I ticked off when the seller decided that the price hadn’t gone high enough and refused to honor the auction. Humph!

I was really annoyed. But, I always figure:

Why get mad? Why not get creative?

So I asked my husband to turn me a spool knitter on the lathe, so I could burn it and embellish it the way I wanted.

Little did I know that one thing would lead to another.

And, so…. over the last decade, we have made countless spool knitters – each one totally unique and one of a kind.

The spool knitter on the right in the pic above, is the very first spool knitter that we made.

The one on the left is a vintage Spears spool knitter that a friend sent me. I would have LOVED to have had one like that when I was a child!

I am still completely in love with spool knitting and am still designing for the spool knitter. It’s such a delight!

Here are links for lots of spool knitted projects that I have designed. Have fun with them!

AND

Happy news for people who would like charming little spool knitter people at a very reasonable price:

Lion Brand makes darling little 4 peg spool knitter dollies.

They are really sturdy and very pleasant to work with.

My next posting is about some more new spool knitters that I really like.

(PS: I don’t profit by telling you about them- I just really like them.)

Happy Spool knitting!

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Crazy Daizy winders are really beautifully made. They are a solidly built tool that lasts for decades.

I was quite upset when I took my cherished old Crazy Daisy maker to a workshop that I was teaching, and somebody pinched it!

Luckily, my darlin’ sister in law was on the lookout and found me another one, complete with it’s vintage box:

The flowers in these pics were all made with the Crazy Daisy winder. You can also use spool knitted cord with the winder, to make more substantial flowers.

The thing that strikes me as being odd is that line that says: ‘For Finer Handweaving‘.

Eh? This is a kewl little flower maker, but it sure as beans is beans has NOTHING to do with weaving. Let alone ‘finer’ handweaving at that!

Although of course, you can embellish handweaving with the flower motifs…..

Anyhow, I vote ‘keepers’ for this nifty little vintage tool.

If you find one for sale, I’d say ‘goferit’.  But, don’t take it to any workshops! 

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

I am a wuss. Or is that ‘woos’?

I can’t stand the thought of writing a negative review of a tool or gadget or yarn or whatever.  I think: ‘How would the person who put all kinds of energy into creating this FEEL if I said I thought it stank?’

So…. I usually only write about things I really like. That way,  can avoid the uncomfortable feeling of ‘erg…. that’s gotta hurt….’

But, today I am going to talk about a gadget that doesn’t work for me. I figure, it’s probably older than I am, so its designer isn’t likely  to  be giving too many hoots about what anyone thinks.

My darlin’ sister-in-law keeps her eye peeled for wonderful old fiber arts gadgets for me. She found this Spears Kwiknit and sent it off to me.

I LOVE the box,the booklets, and even the way the funky little knitter looks….. but I just don’t like the way it works.

I’m not sure why exactly I don’t like this gadget.

It is, after all, basically a cross between a spool knitter and a manual knitting machine.

I find it clumsy to work with. There are little prongie things that get in the way when I am lifting stitches.

And, at the end of each row, you’re supposed to open up 1/2 of it and give it a flickieflip.

It’s charming, but it doesn’t work for me.

If you saw one at a garage sale or in a second hand store, I’d say, sure, pick it up if you’re not dropping a lot of change on it.

But would I invite you to go berserk on eBay for it?Nah.

(LOL! I guess you can tell that I wouldn’t be trying to sell this on eBay, would I?)

image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay 

Post from: Hankering for Yarn