My craftwork is crap!
- Thread starter Miss Chicken
- Start date
The snake is cute, and so is the turtle (but it needs a tail).
You can find all kinds of how-to articles on about.com, and they're free. Some even include videos.
You can get instruction books and patterns a lot cheaper on eBay (or at least Canadians can; those Amazon shipping charges are insane!).
You can find all kinds of how-to articles on about.com, and they're free. Some even include videos.
You can get instruction books and patterns a lot cheaper on eBay (or at least Canadians can; those Amazon shipping charges are insane!).
I only search for books on Amazon but I nearly always end up buying them on Book Depository. BD is a little bit dearer than Amazon but they offer free postage worldwide. I check both Book Depository UK and Book Depository US and but which ever is the cheapest (usually US is, but not always).
I also look each book up on Abebooks in case I can get it cheaper secondhand.
I also look each book up on Abebooks in case I can get it cheaper secondhand.
Miss Chicken, this is unrelated to your crafts (which are adorable and much better than anything I could do), but everytime I go to the store across the street I see little rubber ducks and think of you. They say Chicago on them and I always look for a Zorro one but sadly, have not seen one yet. Sorry for the off-topic but I went there tonight and thought of you. 
I saw a Zorro duck on Flickr and I asked the owner where she got him. She said he was an ordinary duck and she made his costume so maybe that is what I will have to do.
The toys are cute...my cats would love that fish, especially if you dipped him in catnip 
I make cloth dolls. I found my old patterns the other day and decided to make another. It's been years, and now I have to sew everything by hand. My legs aren't strong enough to use my treadle sewing machine. I always backstitch the seams; they seem to hold up better that way.
Since I love to embroider, too, I spend a lot of time at Crossstitch.com and embroider.com...I think that's what they're called, anyway. I just asked google for embroidery sites. You could do the same for soft toys or maybe cloth toys places. You should get sites that give you patterns that way.
I always embroider my dolls faces, that way no child or pet who gets hold of them can swallow the eyes...it's much safer that way.
I make cloth dolls. I found my old patterns the other day and decided to make another. It's been years, and now I have to sew everything by hand. My legs aren't strong enough to use my treadle sewing machine. I always backstitch the seams; they seem to hold up better that way.
Since I love to embroider, too, I spend a lot of time at Crossstitch.com and embroider.com...I think that's what they're called, anyway. I just asked google for embroidery sites. You could do the same for soft toys or maybe cloth toys places. You should get sites that give you patterns that way.
I always embroider my dolls faces, that way no child or pet who gets hold of them can swallow the eyes...it's much safer that way.
Last night I made a small snake using a child's sock. Today I think I will make a caterpillar which is the only one of the easy patterns from the book I haven't made.
Tomorrow I might look at some crochet videos on You Tube. I know crocheting used to be reasonably easy for me to do but I have forgotten most of the basics.
Tomorrow I might look at some crochet videos on You Tube. I know crocheting used to be reasonably easy for me to do but I have forgotten most of the basics.
I think crochet is cool. And apparently knitting is having a huge revival. All my friend are now knitting all kinds of groovy things. Me, I knitted a blanket over 20 years ago and that was enough for me
I did see some fantastic knitted Kirk and Spock faces scarfs at a con I went to. Oh and I knew these people who were participating in a hue project to.. knit the Great Barrier Reef. It's going to be an art exhibit or something.. you can volunteer and you get given patterns for anemones, coral etc.. it's fantastic!
I did see some fantastic knitted Kirk and Spock faces scarfs at a con I went to. Oh and I knew these people who were participating in a hue project to.. knit the Great Barrier Reef. It's going to be an art exhibit or something.. you can volunteer and you get given patterns for anemones, coral etc.. it's fantastic!
Your dolls are so cute! I can't hand-sew for beans, and I'm almost as bad with a sewing machine.
Crochet is awesome. LionBrand.com and Ravelry have been great resources for me (for crochet and knitting both).
This is my latest project:
Cell phone pic doesn't do the colors justice, but trust me, it's very spring-like.
Crochet is awesome. LionBrand.com and Ravelry have been great resources for me (for crochet and knitting both).
This is my latest project:
Cell phone pic doesn't do the colors justice, but trust me, it's very spring-like.
I like your bag. Hopefully one day I will be able to crochet something similar. The only things I have ever crocheted are rugs.
Unfortunately my cats don't play with toys, not even one filled/dipped in catnip. This is because the vast majority of Australian cats are not affected by catnip. It has to do with most cats in Australia being descendants of a small group of founder cats who were genetically immuned to the effects of catnip.
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Mari, very nice work! The flower is very cute. Now that I've gotten back into crochet there are so many things I want to make, hats, purses, blankets, socks, scarves...not enough time in the day! I just finished a gift for my sister's wedding (less than a week away), a large white and aqua colored blanket with heart designs on it...it took me quite a long time to make.
I found that when I was learning to crochet (my grandma taught me when I was much younger but I didn't really pick it up then) a couple of years ago, I found still pictures to be more useful in learning the stitches. For some reason I just could not follow along with the videos, even though they went slowly. I preferred to have written instructions next to the pictures, especially because they often include little tips and tricks that I never would have thought of on my own. It still didn't really click in my mind until I bought one of those "learn to crochet" books at a craft store, which had big colorful glossy photos for every step.
I guess my point is that if one method of learning isn't working for you, don't give up. Try a different way and it might be easier to understand.
I found that when I was learning to crochet (my grandma taught me when I was much younger but I didn't really pick it up then) a couple of years ago, I found still pictures to be more useful in learning the stitches. For some reason I just could not follow along with the videos, even though they went slowly. I preferred to have written instructions next to the pictures, especially because they often include little tips and tricks that I never would have thought of on my own. It still didn't really click in my mind until I bought one of those "learn to crochet" books at a craft store, which had big colorful glossy photos for every step.
I guess my point is that if one method of learning isn't working for you, don't give up. Try a different way and it might be easier to understand.
The snake is awesome.
Agreed! The bag is lovely.
I'm also a visual learner. I taught myself crochet from a book because I'm left-handed and my mother was right-handed. She tried to teach me by having me sit facing her and telling me to mirror her actions, but my brain doesn't work like that. Though I knit right-handed I still taught myself as once again I simply couldn't learn to do it from my mom. When I'm knitting patterns, though, I prefer written instructions over charts, possibly because I learned from written instructions. There are many excellent teaching blogs and videos on the 'net that cater to every style of learning. I've learned more knitting techniques in the past 5 years than in the previous 20.
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