One of the best things about the return of warmer weather is getting to plant new flowers and starting the vegetable garden if you have one. Off to the Nursery by Alice Oehr is subtitled “a celebration of gardening, … Read More...
Add a Little Lace to Your Knitting Patterns
If you’re new to lace knitting or just aren’t sure how to incorporate the technique into garments, check out these tops and sweaters that use lace as a decorative element.
The easiest lace out there is eyelets, and you can … Read More...
Spring Outdoor Activities for Kids
I hope if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere that it’s getting warm enough where you live to add in some outdoor activities with the kids. It’s easy to do a lot of learning outside when the weather is nice; my … Read More...
Designer Spotlight: Natalka Studio
Natalka Studio is an Etsy shop based in Ukraine with a wide variety of cross stitch designs, including realistic, detailed designs with women doing various things, holiday patterns, geometrics and more.
One of the biggest categories in the shop is … Read More...
Another Great Shawl to Use Your Leftovers
I am always a fan of stash busting projects that allow you to use all the little bits and pieces left from other projects or the balls of yarn you just aren’t sure what to do with. And if you … Read More...
Learning about Chad for Kids – Lesson Plan
Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked Central African nation bordered by Lybia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger. It is the fifth largest country in Africa and is one of the poorest and … Read More...
Yarn Cozy Knitting Patterns
I’ve been toying with the idea of making a yarn cozy or yarn ball holder on the circular knitting machine, but I haven’t gotten to it yet. In the meantime, here are some yarn cozy knitting patterns you can make … Read More...
Cheerful Sun Cross Stitch Patterns
As I write this, we’re on day three of an expected four days full of rain, so it’s no wonder I wanted to share some sunny cross stitch patterns.
This pretty sun from Anchor via Yarnspirations uses five different shades … Read More...
Dog Themed Learning Activities
I read that May is National Pet Month, so I thought it would be fun to share some animal related learning and craft activities this month. First up is dogs (not because they’re my favorite, just the easiest LOL).
Animal … Read More...
Knit a Cowl Full of Variations
I love to see variations on knitting patterns. It’s fun to see what knitters do with a designer’s ideas, and as a designer sometimes it’s fun to think about different ways that you could do things and change the look … Read More...
How to Cross Stitch Napkin Rings
I like small projects in all my crafts, and I’ve been spending some time this year coming up with little cross stitch projects that I can do to build my skills and also not be working on a gigantic project … Read More...
End of the Year Teacher Gift Ideas
We haven’t done end of the year gifts for my daughter’s teachers in a long time, but I remember it being important when she was in lower grades and had the same teacher for most of the day.
Most teachers … Read More...
Get Your Summer Knitting Started with this Fun Top
I decided last fall that I actually have enough knit sweaters. Maybe even a few too many if we’re being honest with how rarely I wear some of them.
Of course I don’t want to stop knitting garments, so I’ve … Read More...
Book Review: Cross Stitch Flowers
The Dover Pocketbook Collection book Cross Stitch Flowers is a collection of floral designs by Gerda Bengtosson, reflecting the handworks of the Danish embroidery tradition. Haandarbejdets Fremme, known elsewhere as Danish Design, was a movement begun in 1928 to … Read More...
Gonk Gnome Knitting Patterns
Sometimes I find interesting things in the terms that people are searching on the website. Most of the time them make sense, but other times I’m scratching my head. When “gonk gnomes” turned up, I had to search it to … Read More...
The Best Roundup Of Minecraft Cross Stitch Patterns
With a new Minecraft movie out in theaters, it seems like a great time to share some Minecraft cross stitch patterns. I’ve never known much about Minecraft but I know a lot of people love it, so let’s see what … Read More...
Flower Crafts for Kids
The other day I shared some flower learning activities for kids, and admittedly the line between learning and crafts is a little fuzzy, but here are some more flower craft activities you can do in the classroom or at home.… Read More...
Knit Flowers on Your Sweater
I feel like I’ve knit most things that you can knit through my many years of knitting and designing, but one thing I’ve never done is a sweater worked in fingering weight yarn. It just sounds like too much commitment … Read More...
Reviews of Cross Stitch Charting Software
I have been doing a little more cross stitch design this year, and while I generally start by drawing out my patterns by hand on graph paper, eventually I want them to be prettier and easier to read than a … Read More...
Designer Spotlight: LilyMae Stitching
If you are looking for adorable cross stitch patterns for a baby or little one’s room, LilyMae Stitching on Etsy is a great place to start. From adorable animal alphabets (in regular and mini sizes!) to sweet little animals and … Read More...