Hook Case

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Are you storing your crochet hooks in a glass or vase? Is it frustrating to find the right size of hook when you're in a hurry?

Sew Bitter Sweet's tutorial for a crochet hook case, with great photos, provides a way to organize your hooks for easy access and convenient storage.

Getting Hooked

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Twist Collective breaks down the process of crocheting in the Getting Hooked post. The post provides clear photos of how to hold a crochet hook and how to do the basic stitches.

Crochet is also a skill that many knitters use for provisional cast on, adding trim to knit items, and even picking up stitches.

Umbrella Swift

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An umbrella swift is a useful tool for those who spin or knit. The swift makes is easy to wind hanks of yarn into balls/cakes, but it is also useful in winding yarn into hanks.

Heart Strings Fiber Arts shares some tips on the use of umbrella swifts on their website.  The tips include how to reduce the tension on the yarn when using the swift.

A printable pdf of the information is also available here.

Felting Sweaters

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Yesterday's post used felted sweaters to make cozy mittens.

Felting old sweaters for the mittens is easy and explained on this Stumbles and Stitches Felt Week post.

Go through the closet or storage bins and find sweaters (past their prime) to felt and let your imagination and creativity loose.

Sweater Mittens

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Turn an old, felted sweater into some cozy mittens for the cold weather that will be here in a few months.

A complete photo tutorial can be found on this Make and Do Crew's post.

Big Batch HSTs

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Quilters, if you've dreaded making multiple half-square triangles (HSTs), then the tutorial on A Quilter's Table may be just what you've been seeking.

The method demonstrates how to make eighteen HSTs from two squares of fabric.

DIY Laundry Color Catchers

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While commercial color catcher products are available, you may prefer to make your own after reading the post on One Good Thing.

Color catchers are useful in everyday loads of laundry with "mystery" fabrics that look like the colors may bleed or when washing items like quilts with a mixture of many dark colors like purple, red, blue, combined with white.

They also work when laundering knit or crocheted items - by hand or in a machine.

** I've only used manufactured color catchers, so I don't know if the DIY ones work as well.

Plant Fibers

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Twist Collective gives an excellent overview of the plant fibers of cotton, linen, and hemp and how the yarn made from these fibers is distinctive.

The article can be found here.

Spinning with Plastic

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Plastic is not a natural fiber, but it can be turned into yarn for knitting and crocheting and weaving.

Michelle Baggerman who lives in the Netherlands has created many projects from grocery store plastic bags - a craft she calls 'Precious Waste.' Michelle weaves with the recycled "yarn" that she spins. 

An interview with Michelle Baggerman can be found on the Crafts from the Cwtch. A video of Michelle spinning the plastic yarn is at the end of the post. 

Resources for Dyeing

Interested in dyeing yarn, roving, or even fabric but don't have a clue where to start?

Of course, you can search the Internet, but Robin Spady has already done some searching for you and created a post entitled, Resources for Dyeing Yarn and Fabric.

Care Instruction Tags

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Need some labels for your knit, crochet or sewing gifts? Eskimimi Makes has a variety free labels available.

Some labels are humorous and others serious. Whichever style you choose, the recipient of your gift will appreciate the care information.

Meeting Reminder

Fiber Guild meeting

Saturday, July 16, 2016 

10 A.M.

at

REACH Foundation

   622 N. 8th W.

   Riverton, WY 82501 

Please bring:

•   $1.00 for use of building

•   items for the Fiber Fest Silent Auction 

(give items to Nancy S. or Mary H.)

Weaving eBooks

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Weaving Today has a wealth of free eBooks available on their website - link provided above.

•  Projects

•  Basics of Weaving

•  Types of Yarn

Loop Braiding

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Loop Braider is an excellent source of information on this technique. The site has pages on tips and tricks, tutorials, color patterns, and history and general information.

Weaving Designs

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Weavers, if you're looking for some inspiration for weaving designs, look no further than The Large Book of Textile Designs by Frank Donat that is available free online.

It was scanned by Ralph Griswold and is available at the On-Line Digital Archive of Documents on Weaving and Related Topics - link provided above.

The designs could also be helpful for Fair Isle knitters.

More information and documents can be found here on the University of Arizona website.

Crochet Yarn Bowl

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Simply Notable shares a free pattern for a Crochet Yarn Bowl with a button loop that allows the yarn ball to be removed mid-project and replaced with a different yarn.

Unlike the typical pottery yarn bowl, this one is light-weight and can easily be packed into your project bag and taken with you.

Color Change in Crochet

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Jess at ChaleurLife shares a short photo tutorial on how to make a clean color change in crochet.

At the end of the tips, she also provides links to free crochet patterns.

Guide to Raising Alpacas

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Modern Farmer gives advice for those considering raising alpacas.

   •  General information
   •  Different breeds
   •  Price
   •  Life span
   •  Fiber and color

It's a good place to find some basic information on the adorable creatures with the long eyelashes.

Sew a Fabric Rug

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Jodie at Rick-Rac blog shares a photo tutorial for turning fabric and some cotton cording into a colorful rug. It would be a wonderful way to use scraps and strings or various colors. Not interested in making a rug, then try making a hot pad.

Complete directions are given here

Patriotic Sewing

Brenda H., Nancy L, Mary H. and Nancy S. work together on a Quilt of Valor
May 2015

Guild members (Nancy S., Mary H., and Brenda H.) joined by Nancy L. worked together on two Quilts of Valor. The finished quilts can be seen here and here.

In May 2016, the Lander Sew Sistas met to make flag blocks for another Quilt of Valor. The finished quilt can be seen here.

Using Pinterest to Find Patterns

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At a recent Guild meeting, members learned how to use Ravelry to find knitting and crochet patterns, but another online source is also helpful in finding available patterns - Pinterest.

A photo tutorial - How to Use Pinterest to Find Knit and Crochet Patterns can be found here.