Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Afghan Square Sewing-Now or Later?

If I'm going to knit or crochet an afghan, I do prefer to make it in one piece. But that's not always the case.

A lot of patterns are geared for just stitching squares and sewing them together. Well, as I said in one previous post regarding your tail stitching.....you can sew them in while you go or you can sew them all when you're finished (not me!)

My suggestion is to create several squares, and sew them together. Then after each square is completed, sew it to the other squares. This way you don't have all the tails to put in AND sew ALL the squares together. Do this for each row as you go and when your next row is completed, sew that to the previous row. When all the squares are finished, you will be almost home free! You may think that it took longer to complete, but not really.....you don't have to sew much more to complete it!!!

Some projects may even ask you to crochet around the whole afghan as well. Imagine if you HADN'T sew them as I suggested? You would have a LOT of work ahead of you! This way all you have is the final finishing!!

HAPPY STITCHING, my Friends!

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

'I'm going to cry because I have to tear out all the work that I just did' . That's some of the issues we come across in our shop.

What I like to tell everyone who has to TINK (knit spelled backwords) their work (meaning to tear out their stitches) is that don't sweat the small stuff. Your knitting or crocheting is there for you to enjoy....it has nothing to do with world peace, splitting the atom or putting the first person on Mars. It's stitching. Period!

When it comes to matters of real importance....your health, family, etc., then get crazy.

There's a line from the movie A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, where Tom Hanks, who plays the girls' manager says: 'There's no crying in baseball!' I agree.....no crying when it comes to our handwork. We can manage anything. Look at it as a learning experience. You made a mistake, correct it, and move on!! Here, that boo-boo goes into what I like to call your LIBRARY OF KNOWLEDGE. You know you WON'T make that mistake again! Again, it's truly a learning experience.

So, if you have a problem with your knit/crochet project....put it down for awhile...pick it up and I'm sure you can figure it out. If not, Mama is always here to help you!

HAPPY STITCHING, my Friends!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Relax, think and Knit

I just finished reading KNIT ONE, KILL TWO by Maggie Sefton and while reading the book, they came up with a good idea that I wanted to share with everyone.

Sometimes life can be stressful, we all know that. There are even times when I would tell a client that she/he should never stitch while upset or angry. Well, after reading the book, I have changed my thoughts.

Since I don't want to give any info regarding this great mystery, I will say that the employees of the yarn shop told the main character to basically "chill out" while she knits. This way her mind could find some answers to questions that were bothering her.

I find that when I sit and either knit or crochet, I do find myself coming up with either answers to some problems or ideas for the shop.

So, if you're stressed, etc., pick up your hook or needles and start stitching. My only advice is that you don't use it as a weapon to your yarn!!! Be kind to the yarn, don't strangle it....at this moment it's basically your only friend.

I hope that as you read this, you are not experiencing any stress, etc., in your life, but if you are try it.......it does work!!

HAPPY STITCHING, my friends!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

GAUGING A SWATCH

This is going to be short and to the point:
When making a gauge it's important that you gauge with the same needles that you are going to knit with or crochet.
Why? Remember a few blogs ago, where I stated that you can't start knitting with brand X and change to brand Y? The same holds true for a gauge. If you're knitting or crocheting with brand X, then you CAN'T gauge with brand Y because they happen to be available to you at the time. If you're at a shop and you're going to use the shop's needles or hook, just make sure they are the same needles or hook you're going to stitch with!!! The difference between brands may be minimal, but it may be a difference of a half of a stitch which may throw your whole gauge off!!
Just be careful!!!!!
HAPPY STITCHING, my friends!!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Project Yarn VS Play Yarn

Have I got you altogether confused? Well, read on!!

A customer came in and she was having trouble reading her crochet pattern AS WELL AS crocheting with the yarn that it called for.

Since the yarn she was using was a ribbon yarn - ZEN from Berroco Inc., I showed her the stitch that she was having some problems with in another yarn so she could see it better.

So, what's the solution: You're not sure how to stitch this project and the yarn that you're using is beautiful, but it's giving you some trouble. Take some scrap yarn, preferably worsted weight and a light color, and try the pattern. It's easier when you can see exactly what you're doing!! Then when you have it down pat, then go back to the original yarn. If you can see it with "normal" yarn, then you'll understand better with your fancy yarn!!

HAPPY STITCHING, my friends!