March is a wonderful time of the year.Winter is making way for spring.Buds are getting ready to burst.And, of course, March is National Craft Month and National Crochet Month!As a lover of both crafts and crochet, I like to honor these worthy pursuits by doing projects that satisfy both.So today, I hunkered down and got crafty for the purpose of restocking my yarn stash for future crochet projects.It was a yarn dyeing day!If you love to crochet, what natural progression but to “create” your own yarns.And the easiest place to start is dye your own.Some people shy away from hand dyeing yarn because they find it intimidating, especially when trying to make sense of supplies and techniques.(Where do I get dye kits?What’s a mordant?What yarn do I use?And so on.)In fact, basic hand dyeing yarn is easy, as long as you stick to simple rules.For a beginner, I recommend that you use wool (it easily absorbs dyes; cottons and synthetic require different dyes and mordant), a simple dye, and a...
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With the Right Tool, Everyone Can Craft! More thoughts on “adaptive” crafting for people of all abilities.
January 26, 2012
“Crafting“ as a form of therapy is not a new idea. Using “creative media” is a wonderful way to help people express and heal themselves. Focusing on one particular media - YARN (my specialty) is a wonderful, yet frequently overlooked, creative medium that can be used in helping persons of all abilities and/special needs explore one’s ability to express and challenge themselves. For me, yarn gives one the power to express oneself in unique and concrete ways. It stimulates multiple senses as it is tactical, visual and even fragrant. It is soothing and forgiving. While being “basic” in form and nature, yarn offers infinite possibilities of uses and outcomes. I have frequently addressed teaching knitting, crocheting and other fiber arts to persons with special needs or unique challenges, which is an area of great interest to me. I have found sharing my love of these crafts with others very rewarding and am always looking for methods to show people of all abilities that they too can create with this wonderful medium. The goal is that other people will find a hobby that will bring them joy in their lives by developing the skills needed for recreational activities. Can anyone learn...
Ah August. Summer is winding down and vacations are coming to an end, which can bring the proverbial tear to one’s eye. So what is the cure for the vacation “fait accompli”? Why a “Yarncation” of course! What better way to look forward to Fall, but to immerse yourself in all things yarn. As the seasons change, so do our projects. With the turning of the leaves, our yarns take on new texture and color. Celebrate the upcoming autumnal equinox with some homegrown yarn celebration.
Make a day of it! Yarn Hopping! Take a tour of your local yarn shops. You cannot beat the discount box stores to pick up the standard skeins at a reasonable price. However, the local yarn specialty shops offer wonderful divergence from the everyday skein and take you a little journey to exotic. The specialty shops are great places to find novelty and luxury fibers when you are looking for something a little special. Always wall strewn with wonderful yarn creations, they offer the shopper a wonderful opportunity to draw inspiration for new colors, textures, and techniques. They are also great resources for guidance and instruction. Here’s some of my local Bergen County, NJ favorites....
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