I am notoriously picky about what I’ll knit. I think it’s because I know I’ll invest so much of my time that I have to be happy with the end result. I like a challenge, but not all the time, so my projects are usually a mix of simple to complex. Plus, if I don’t want to think one day, I’ll pick an easy project out of the bag.  
So, how do you select projects to work on? Do you work on multiple items at a time? How do they differ? Do you keep an easy one on hand for …read more

I know some people who knit or crochet every single day. I’m envious of that, although I know the reason I can’t sit and knit every day is because I work at home, I have three young kids who need my help and attention, I have other hobbies, etc. But still, I’m envious.
I know I’d complete more projects if I worked on them more (or had the time to work on them more), but there are also times I get immersed in a good book or just enjoy getting out into the fresh air more than I feel like picking …read more

Unlike previous years, I didn’t ask for yarn as a gift this Christmas. For one, I really do have a lot of yarn (it takes quite a lot of guts to admit that!), yarn that I probably won’t use all up in 2009.
Right now, I’m trying to see how I’m going to approach 2009 as far as being crafty. I want to try some new things; I want to use yarn I already own…and not just to make more room for new yarn.
Pictured is part of my stash (I’ll discuss proper storage for yarn another time), so as you can see, …read more

When Ravelry hit the craft scene, it caused a sensation. There was some controversy (it was “clique-y”, why did you have to be invited in, etc.), but it has definitely changed the online world of knitting and crocheting.
While there was some buzzing that Ravelry led to the demise of some craft blogs, that may have happened to some bloggers anyway. Blogging is still evolving, after all. What Ravelry did kill for me was my knitting journal.
A few years back, I bought this nifty little journal and I treated it like my knitting diary of sorts. I recorded what I wanted to …read more

Hi everyone, especially my yarn-loving comrades. I’m the new Hankering for Yarn blogger and I couldn’t be more excited than to talk every day about one of my favorite pastimes: knitting.
I’ve been knitting since 2003 — not a really long time when compared to many knitters I know, who learned as young kids. But I had a lifelong desire to learn and when I happened upon a book in the bookstore one day, I decided to take a chance and finally figure it out. It’s been quite a journey since that first day I sat with wooden needles and cheap dark blue yarn …read more

I am sad to say that today is my last day blogging at hankering for yarn.
I’ve been blogging with b5 media, the company that owns hankering for yarn for 2 1/2 years now, and it’s been a slice.
But we are at a crossroads, and so are parting company. It’s been a difficult and painful choice to make, but sometimes, that’s the way the cookie crumbles and the yarn tangles……
I absolutely love my readers and have enjoyed our interaction so much!
I am still blogging – you can catch me at www.tottietalkscrafts.com
THANK YOU SO MUCH for being such lovely companions!
hugs and love …read more

My daughter, Chloë, has just posted the most heartmelting entry on her blog. (click the link below to see her pics)
She has written about what it has been like for her to do the sewing of the memorial textiles (called antependia) that we have co-created in memory of her Nana, my precious mother in law….. we both found it to be very stirring to put huge effort into creating a loving memorial to a marvelous woman who was central in our lives.
Here’s her entry: Chloë  and the memorial textiles
Here’s what I wrote about this process:
1] Starting the weaving 
2] a not …read more