Things old ladies do...

[Emher]

Now, my mom is crocheting me an afghan, and my sister is knitting me a sweater! And it's a sweater you guys might get a laugh out of. It's not done yet, but she texted me this photo of her progress. She's wearing it here, it'll fit me a bit better, as she has bigger boobs than me and I have a smaller waist:

Okay, that is actually turning out really nice. Much better then the original.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Unfortunately, I am rather far away from Minnesota. Some 6000 miles, I'd estimate. I'm Bavarian

Contrary to the US, pancakes are not part of a regular breakfast but a sweet lunch here in Germany. If you make them more often than once a month you might experience some resistance from the meat-loving fraction of the family

Nice.

 

[teya]

I know how to make an afghan, and I'm in my 20s.

And that makes me happy. However, I feel that it is a skill that is slowly disappearing, and that makes me sad.

Knitting & crocheting go through boom & bust periods. Currently we're in a boom period, and much credit for that has to go to the internet & social media. Fiber artisans are no longer isolated--the internet has expanded our markets beyond our local yarn stores.

ravelry.com is a network specifically for knitters, crocheters & hand-spinners. The site is 5 years old and has over 2 million members worldwide.

I knit, crochet, spin (both spindle & with a wheel), sew. I design my own patterns. Since I'm ADD, they have to be complicated in some way, either lots of colors or a complicated stitch. Otherwise, I get bored.

Swatch, sketch & beginning of a summer lace pullover (knit):

Detail from a crocheted cotton blanket:

 

[thestrangequark]

Now, my mom is crocheting me an afghan, and my sister is knitting me a sweater! And it's a sweater you guys might get a laugh out of. It's not done yet, but she texted me this photo of her progress. She's wearing it here, it'll fit me a bit better, as she has bigger boobs than me and I have a smaller waist:

Okay, that is actually turning out really nice. Much better then the original.

Thanks, and to everyone else who complimented her! I'm passing on the comments to my sister. I've been trying to encourage her to set up an Etsy shop for ages! There are a lot of things going on right now that are making it difficult for her to get a job, but I think she has enough talent to be at least somewhat successful, and that could be the boost her confidence needs. I've even offered for her to use my Etsy shop space, and to redo my shop to reflect dual ownership and cover all her posting fees for her (she's pretty short on cash). I think it's finally starting to get through, though! Yesterday on Facebook she asked people what they thought a reasonable price was for a hand knit, uniquely designed sweater!

 

[Tora Ziyal]

Y'all inspired me to photograph a corner of the afghan I made years ago.

 

[Mary Ann]

That looks like a variation of traditional feather and fan patterning. It works very well with that yarn.

EDIT: While we're on the subject, here's a scarf-in-progress in feather-and-fan knit in a very yummy sock yarn. K'Ehleyr is the owner of the finished product.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

^I don't remember what it was called, but it does look very similar to your scarf pattern. I love the colors of the yarn you used. And the knitting needle!

 

[Emher]

Now, my mom is crocheting me an afghan, and my sister is knitting me a sweater! And it's a sweater you guys might get a laugh out of. It's not done yet, but she texted me this photo of her progress. She's wearing it here, it'll fit me a bit better, as she has bigger boobs than me and I have a smaller waist:

Okay, that is actually turning out really nice. Much better then the original.

Thanks, and to everyone else who complimented her! I'm passing on the comments to my sister. I've been trying to encourage her to set up an Etsy shop for ages! There are a lot of things going on right now that are making it difficult for her to get a job, but I think she has enough talent to be at least somewhat successful, and that could be the boost her confidence needs. I've even offered for her to use my Etsy shop space, and to redo my shop to reflect dual ownership and cover all her posting fees for her (she's pretty short on cash). I think it's finally starting to get through, though! Yesterday on Facebook she asked people what they thought a reasonable price was for a hand knit, uniquely designed sweater!

Yeah I saw that, but I have no idea what I'd pay (I only by clothes that are large enough for me so price almost never a factor) so I refrained from chiming in. Well, pass along that this is really some great stuff. Very well made.

 

[thestrangequark]

For xmas my sister knitted my nephews mock motorcycle jackets. You can't tell in the picture, but the front has a diagonal zipper and looks just like a leather biker jacket. The baby's is the same, but has the classic "MOM" heart and banner tattoo design on the back:

 

[KimMH]

What beautiful work from so many talented people! It almost makes me want to dig out one of my unfinished projects. Almost

Unfortunately, I am rather far away from Minnesota. Some 6000 miles, I'd estimate. I'm Bavarian

Ot, hubs was stationed in Bamberg in the late 1990s. We really enjoyed living there, it was beautiful and a wonderful experience!

 

[rhubarbodendron]

oooh, the town with the excellent pork sausages! *drool* Have you ever tried been to the "Schlenkerla"? They have the best ones in Bamberg.
It's only about 230 km from my place. I'm about 70 km east of Regensburg. =)

 

[KimMH]

It has been so long I no longer remember names. I confess after a couple trips to a couple rathskellers I couldn't have told you the location at the moment!

Oktoberfest in Munich is one of the events my hubs and I will remember forever! I also remember the yarn shops! Before then I had only known about dime store acrylics. The yarn stores there opened a whole new world for me! Real wool? From actual sheep? Are you kidding me? Oh, it was wonderful!

 

[rhubarbodendron]

Schachenmair has a new type of wool now: sock wool that won't felt. Fully machine-washable and 75% sheep wool. I got about 30 pairs of handknitted socks now

It is dyed so that the pattern emerges all by itself when you knit. No jaquard technique required, just plain knit stitches.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Those look so lovely and warm!

 

[Spot's Meow]

Recently I listened to a podcast very relevant to this thread topic. It's from Stuff Mom Never Told You and is about the "cult of new domesticity" and this trend towards a crafting and homemade, do-it-yourself lifestyle. It talks about the revival of domestic arts associated with our great-grandparents' generation.

You can listen here

It's about half an hour long, but if you don't want to sit through the whole thing I recommend at least the first 10 minutes. It is very interesting and thought-provoking given the conversation in this thread.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

I'm at my office atm so I can't listen to itright now, but I do a lot of knitting, stitching, sewing and home-cooking because I like pretty/tasty things and buying them is far more expensive than making them myself.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

my parents started clearing out the attic and found tons of little leaflets with patterns for crotcheted handkerchief laces!
I just couldn't resist and ordered yarn and a dozen hankies. Now it can rain and snow all weekend - I won't mind! =)

If anyone is interested in that kind of stuff, I can post pictures for you to choose from and then translate the ones you'd like to have into English.

 

[thestrangequark]

The Wesley Sweater is complete, and it fits me like a glove! My sister is selling these, so PM me if you want one!

 

[rhubarbodendron]

that's awesome!! I particularly like the detail on the left shoulder

 

[thestrangequark]

^Just like the original!