In the Crafting Corner

I’ve been knitting more lately and working on some other craft projects. My elbow feels fine, so I hope to continue at it! There’s an ailment called “tennis elbow” one can get from excessive knitting, but thankfully, I have rested enough and stretched my arm muscles to avoid it for right now. One thing I’m making is a sock. It’s going to be a thick one because I’m knitting it from the yarn in an old failure of a crochet sweater. The colors are perfect for me, and it’s going to be better off as some chunky slipper socks, I think. I decided not to even bother unraveling the sweater this time, I’m just knitting directly off the sleeve. 

Sashiko is not a craft I’ve tried before, I’ve never even seen it in person, only in amazing images online. It’s a kind of Japanese embroidery that can be used for mending holes in clothing. My favorite denim jacket is being worn down in a spot, and I’ve been thinking about putting a patch there with sashiko stitching. I like to wear the jacket in spring and summer, and I want to fix it before it’s completely busted through- so this is causing me some anxiety. Before I can make the repair, I need to practice the sewing technique and buy some supplies. I tried to wing it with what materials I had at home and it went ok for a first try with the wrong equipment. I don’t have any extra denim fabric laying around, so I’ll get jeans from a thrift store later to create the patch. I think that embroidery floss looks nice, but it only comes with a few yards in each color. So a shopping trip for thick cotton thread and discarded denim are my weekend plans. 

Quilting is fun and blankets are important so this craft project is very satisfying. I’m making a quilted blanket for my daughter. There are many methods to make fabric blocks into a blanket, and this one is called Quilt-As-You-Go. The main idea is that each square is created like it’s a fully bound and finished blanket on it’s own. There is never a huge piece of backing fabric nor batting needed at the end, and neither are you left stitching long lines over a large area. I wish I had learned about it sooner and never stressed myself out with other ways of quilting! If there is anyone reading who thinks they might get started at quilting on a home sewing machine (or by hand!), please consider looking into QAYG to see if it seems more appealing.

I think that’s it for my current works in progress. I don’t work on them all every day, but they have each helped me try to “stay sane” lately. A therapist long ago suggested I try to avoid anxiety by keeping myself mentally stimulated and physically occupied, and she was right. 

There are many more ideas I have for things I want to make and artforms I wish to try, but I’ll post about them another day. Please feel free to drop any advice if you’re experienced with these crafts or want to share about your own crafting hobbies! Have a great weekend ❤️