Your Talents?

Well, I will try to get to Russvegas this weekend and go to Hobby Lobby to see if they have what has been suggested to me. I have no idea what I am doing, I can't even sew, but I suppose someone has to start somewhere, right?

Also, what is the main difference between knitting and crocheting? When I think of crocheting, I think of those hoop things where my grandmother used to stretch out the fabric and make home made table runners. Am I thinking of the wrong thing?

Embroidery. My father used to make beautiful embroidery of flowers. His aunt taught him when he was a little boy. :)
 
Embroidery. My father used to make beautiful embroidery of flowers. His aunt taught him when he was a little boy. :)

Well that shows you how much I know about sewing now doesn't it? :lol:
 
I can tap dance but that's not really a marketable skill. Besides, my balance is shot. :lol:
 
You can give me all the wines you have experimented. I am sure I will enjoy them!

If I have any when we meet up I will bring you a bottle! Right now I am almost out and I need to start a new batch which won't be ready until Jan/Feb time frame (assuming I start now).
 
For all those who knit, how about knitting cat sweaters?

(bwa-ha-ha, they would HATE it!) :lol:
 
I'm good at fixing computers though I really don't enjoy it so much since that's what I do all day at work.

I love to make wine, but I am not really all that good at it just yet. The more I make, the better I get! *hick* excuse me! :giggle:

What is your process? Do you use grape concentrate or crush everything old school? How much do you make? I really want to start making my own wine. I already make my own beer. Lots of it . . .

I do make sparkling apple wine for the holidays. It is very dry and tastes similar to a demi-sec champagne. I'm getting a late start this year though. Still waiting for the yeast to arrive. Hopefully two months will be enough aging before Christmas.

Ever try homebrewing?
 
I can tap dance but that's not really a marketable skill. Besides, my balance is shot. :lol:

I checked. There is wheelchair tap dancing. :lol:

We could start a league for all the deaf people with vestibular balance issues! :applause:
 
Is it normal if you're laying in bed at night and you are able to compose tracks in your head but yet it's been so long since you've taken music that you can't write the music out?

I wish I could take these and write them out on paper as music, but alas it has been so long since I took any music that I have forgotten a lot of it. I do remember the scales, notes, and notations, but anything else, forget it.
 
What is your process? Do you use grape concentrate or crush everything old school? How much do you make? I really want to start making my own wine. I already make my own beer. Lots of it . . .

I do make sparkling apple wine for the holidays. It is very dry and tastes similar to a demi-sec champagne. I'm getting a late start this year though. Still waiting for the yeast to arrive. Hopefully two months will be enough aging before Christmas.

Ever try homebrewing?

I basically make from kits. the grape juice is often concentrated. The yeast and all the components are included. The only thing I need is everything else. (primary fermentation bucket, secondary fermentation carboy, an extra carboy (for removing sedamints), siphoning tools, testing kits, cleaning tools, wine bottles, cleaners for the wine bottles, new cork, rent a corker, paper for bottle lables... and more. It cost me about $200 for the basic supplies and $70 ~ $150 for the grape juice/kit.

My last batch I made I dumped... I ruined it... *sob* I was going through my divorce and... well you know... :cry:
 
Dixie, did you say there was a Michael's craft store near you, or not?

For some easy starter projects, you might try getting a book of patterns of dishcloths, and start with that. Buy yourself a few balls of cotton yarn in different colors, or one big cone, maybe in Christmas colors if you like that, and have fun learning. Cotton yarn is very inexpensive, it's fun to use, and hand-knit or crocheted dishcloths make fun little presents to give. You can experiment with different patterns very quickly and easily.

As others have pointed out, knitting involves two needles; you work the stitches from one needle on to the other. That's why it can be tricky to correct mistakes; you can't just rip it all out, you have to carefully undo the stitches and move them back to the other needle until you get to the mistake, and then start over.

Your project goes back and forth between the two needles, and always remains on one of them while you are working on it. (In other words, when you put it aside before you're finished, you cannot use that pair of needles for anything else, and you have to store it in such a way that the stitches won't slide off the needle.)

Crochet involves using a hook and bringing the yarn through the loops on the hook. You make it "in the air," so to speak. You have one loop on the hook at all times, but that's it. You can put the project down, pull up the last loop, set the work aside, and use that same hook on another project if you want.

If you make a mistake, you just pull the yarn, which will undo all the stitches, back to the point of the mistake, and then proceed again.

The whole process of crochet is much, much faster than knitting.

You may see references to Continental style knitting. That refers to a different way of holding the needles; it is faster than the American method, but some people find it awkward. Others instantly take to it and find the American method of "throwing" the yarn very tedious. It's good to try both methods and see which one suits you.

Michael's I think has classes from time to time. If you have an independent yarn store near you, you may find that they offer classes or a weekly "stitch 'n' bitch" session or other get-togethers where you can learn.

It's possible to learn from a book, but if possible, it's better to have a real live person show you how to do it.

That said, if you look for "beginning knitting" or "beginning crochet" on Youtube, you will find a lot of tutorials there, too.

Incidentally, don't even think twice about not knowing how to sew. I hate sewing, myself, love crochet, and like knitting. Athough sometimes you do have to sew seams together for a knit or crocheted project, in general the skills of sewing vs. knitting or crocheting are just a whole different thing.
 
I basically make from kits. the grape juice is often concentrated. The yeast and all the components are included. The only thing I need is everything else. (primary fermentation bucket, secondary fermentation carboy, an extra carboy (for removing sedamints), siphoning tools, testing kits, cleaning tools, wine bottles, cleaners for the wine bottles, new cork, rent a corker, paper for bottle lables... and more. It cost me about $200 for the basic supplies and $70 ~ $150 for the grape juice/kit.

My last batch I made I dumped... I ruined it... *sob* I was going through my divorce and... well you know... :cry:

Ah man, I feel ya. I hate having to dump homemade alcohol. I had to do that with a batch of beer one time. And more recently, I lost five gallons of an excellent petite saison because the tap handle on my kegerator slipped up and emptied the keg onto the kitchen floor while I was outside. :cry:

Check out the wine kits from William's Brewing, fine homebrewing since 1979. @ Williams Brewing. They're reasonably priced and have a good reputation. They're my favorite homebrew supplier because of the quality. Wish I still lived in CA to get the cheaper shipping costs. Nowadays, I mostly order from Northern Brewer.
 
Sometimes, I pick up scrapbook supplies at Tuesday Morning. They have some knitting stuff, too. Lots cheaper.
 
Dixie, did you say there was a Michael's craft store near you, or not?

For some easy starter projects, you might try getting a book of patterns of dishcloths, and start with that. Buy yourself a few balls of cotton yarn in different colors, or one big cone, maybe in Christmas colors if you like that, and have fun learning. Cotton yarn is very inexpensive, it's fun to use, and hand-knit or crocheted dishcloths make fun little presents to give. You can experiment with different patterns very quickly and easily.

As others have pointed out, knitting involves two needles; you work the stitches from one needle on to the other. That's why it can be tricky to correct mistakes; you can't just rip it all out, you have to carefully undo the stitches and move them back to the other needle until you get to the mistake, and then start over.

Your project goes back and forth between the two needles, and always remains on one of them while you are working on it. (In other words, when you put it aside before you're finished, you cannot use that pair of needles for anything else, and you have to store it in such a way that the stitches won't slide off the needle.)

Crochet involves using a hook and bringing the yarn through the loops on the hook. You make it "in the air," so to speak. You have one loop on the hook at all times, but that's it. You can put the project down, pull up the last loop, set the work aside, and use that same hook on another project if you want.

If you make a mistake, you just pull the yarn, which will undo all the stitches, back to the point of the mistake, and then proceed again.

The whole process of crochet is much, much faster than knitting.

You may see references to Continental style knitting. That refers to a different way of holding the needles; it is faster than the American method, but some people find it awkward. Others instantly take to it and find the American method of "throwing" the yarn very tedious. It's good to try both methods and see which one suits you.

Michael's I think has classes from time to time. If you have an independent yarn store near you, you may find that they offer classes or a weekly "stitch 'n' bitch" session or other get-togethers where you can learn.

It's possible to learn from a book, but if possible, it's better to have a real live person show you how to do it.

That said, if you look for "beginning knitting" or "beginning crochet" on Youtube, you will find a lot of tutorials there, too.

Incidentally, don't even think twice about not knowing how to sew. I hate sewing, myself, love crochet, and like knitting. Athough sometimes you do have to sew seams together for a knit or crocheted project, in general the skills of sewing vs. knitting or crocheting are just a whole different thing.

No, there is not a Micheal's store near me. I am closer to Hobby Lobby. I have made plans to go to Hobby Lobby this weekend and see what.

I'm leaning more towards crocheting for now though. Seems like it would be easier to learn crochet first then maybe take up knitting later.

Hopefully I will have one of those simple patterns that can be done in a couple of hours and I can see what my work looks like.
 
Hopefully I will have one of those simple patterns that can be done in a couple of hours and I can see what my work looks like.

Pictures! Good or bad, want to see what you make.
 
Sometimes, I pick up scrapbook supplies at Tuesday Morning. They have some knitting stuff, too. Lots cheaper.

Yup. I bought - guess what! - cotton yarn there this summer, and made a bunch of beach-themed dishcloths to give as presents. You never know what you'll find there but that's part of the fun.

What yarn they have is about half-price off what you would pay for the same thing in a yarn store. They typically don't have much of any one color or type, but for fun little things, definitely worth a look.
 
Jillio, if you're reading here - sounds like you've done a lot of kid things for your niece. What would you say is a good length for a child's scarf? I'm doing one for a 6 year old girl right this minute, a scaled-down version of one I did for her mom. Mom's is long enough to wrap around the neck and trail down, so it's about 65" inches. How long should the child's be? 50 inches, roughly?
 
Jillio, if you're reading here - sounds like you've done a lot of kid things for your niece. What would you say is a good length for a child's scarf? I'm doing one for a 6 year old girl right this minute, a scaled-down version of one I did for her mom. Mom's is long enough to wrap around the neck and trail down, so it's about 65" inches. How long should the child's be? 50 inches, roughly?

Make it 72 inches, then of its too long, send it to me!!!!!!! :giggle:
 
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