Crafting

Submitted by mpd on Sun, 13/03/2011 - 09:42

My mother has always been the creative crafty type and as a child I spent many years on her work room with her playing with yarn, fabric scraps and the like. As I grew older though the fascination died down and by high school, I was so disinterested in sewing my mom had to finish my sewing projects for Home Economics so I would be allowed to do the cooking bit (which I also had no interest in at the time.)

I started to crochet again when I found myself on my own in Durban and looking for something to keep me busy as I felt I was losing my mind. I played with some yarn and hooks I had with me and then committed to a project for a friend's new baby. It was fun and also a great way to ease the wrists after too much keyboard time.

I did a number of crochet projects and then moved on to knitting but that was slow going at first and it was killing me. I finished a few small projects and then moved back to crochet as that gave more "accomplishment" satisfaction. Crochet and scarves work but not nearly as nicely as knitted scarves do, so I moved back to knitting and taught myself how to knit continental-style, purl norwegian-style and eventually how to knit/purl combination-stryle, which to me is the fastest way to knit, and I have been mainly knitting ever since.

Good to know:

  • I own an Empisal non-motorised knitting machine that can handle 4 ply and has both ribbing and lace/weaving attachments
  • I own a sewing machine and an overlocker and years back when I was unemployed for the first time, I was using them to make some pocket money by making pagan robes for the local coven.
  • My mother owns two different embroidery machines which I do have use of but prefer not to touch as together they cost more than my car is worth. I can also embroider by hand, not that I have done so in years.
  • Many of the painted table cloths in my home were painted by me during my early 20s. The fairy one is my favourite and too several months to complete with all the shading.

These days I tend to knit more and do the others less but they are all skills that I do still have and can use (even if they are a bit rusty and I may need my mother or the internet's help to get started again.)