Knitting and crafty adventures

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Knitting and crafty adventures

Hobbies on a Sailing Vessel….

When we started our journey in 2012, I was determined to keep up with my arty, crafty endeavors. I stocked our boat with watercolors, chalk, pastels, crayons, paper, pencils in every color and shade, floss for cross stitch, charts, yarn, thread, scissors, glue, tape- you can see the trend. If the mood struck I could create something. As we traveled I passed on bookmarks, and Christmas ornaments, then we entered cooler weather and I found some wonderful yarn shops in North and South Carolina and I started to knit in earnest.

I thought I would write this blog about a few things that I have found to be of great help in my crafting quest.

First there is a book called Fiber & Fabric Manual… A travel Guide. www.NeedleTravel.Com. This book lists independent retailers who carry yarn, material, and needle art supplies. It has been a great source for finding wonderful shops, filled with fantastic product and great women who share my love for creating. My recent find in Fort Lauderdale Fl. Yarn and Arts, was a perfect example of a local store that welcomes strangers, making me feel at home while I shopped their abundant selection of yarns. If you travel this is a must have.

Second was pattern keeping… and I found a great APP Knit Companion. Mine is on an I mini, you can try the program for a while before investing in a full version. I download E-magazines to it and then pull out the patterns I specifically want. I also down load patterns directly to it, can convert to projects with information on yarns and supplies, keep track of time spent, and it has 5 different counters so you can track rows, repeats, or anything else that a pattern calls for. I back it up to I cloud so I will not lose anything.

I also use a program called Ewe Stash. This program lets you keep track of yarn and needles. When I purchase a new yarn I list it by name, brand, weight, yards per skein, total yardage, (you can use metric) fiber content, and a place for notes where I record where I purchase, pattern I intended it for and a review as to how it knitted up and what I knitted with it.

There are JknitHDpro, and Yarn GPS in Apps also, I occasionally use. I also found Pages is a great word processing program where I can copy patterns, add pictures then turn into PDF files for my Knit Companion program. I only do this for patterns that are listed as free.

Of course the Raverly Web site is my favorite go to for patterns. I purchase yarns on line for Knit Picks and Jimmy Beans Wool. They have had the quickest mailing times. With traveling from marina to marina, waiting for a package can get expensive. I also use Webs, and Fiesta Yarns, but generally have the product shipped to my daughter and she sends with our mail drop. Amazon is a great source for books, needles and other craft supplies and with Prime you can get two day shipping.

So… everyone get your creative caps on and start a project. Christmas is coming and personally made items are still treasured. They will have their flaws, for instance the pot holders knit during an overnight voyage, or post cards painted in rough seas, but that is the fun and challenge.

Stay Creative….