Hey Everyone! I’m blogging from sunny St Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands for the next three weeks. I thought I would have to throw John’s (husband) clothes out to get all my crafting items in the suitcase but we worked it out.  Let’s just say my carry-on was probably close to  50 lbs but I was able to get everything I will need to make this the best of all vacations. I have my applique quilt blocks to work on, two strand mittens to knit, crochet thread for a tablecloth…

The National Needlework Association @ Long Beach, CA The National Needlework Show is the event from which we draw inspiration and creative energy for knitting, crocheting, needlepoint and other yarn-related crafts. Those of us that have a yarn addiction have been known to stand in front of a yarn booth and break out in a sweat and start to shake. The textures and colors are overwhelming and the model garments and other projects cause us to consider giving up our jobs and spending our days doing little but knitting. Then reality sets in and…

LILY CHIN We at CLOVER were fortunate to have the opportunity to visit with the this dynamic knitter and crocheter at the TNNA show. Lily won the WORLD’S FASTEST CROCHETER contest and has been named Master Knitter by Vogue Knitting International. She loves to work with Clover’s needles and hooks. Lily Chin, named a “Master Knitter” by Vogue Knitting International, has designed knitwear for magazines and yarn companies for nearly 25 years, and she has worked with designers Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang, Diane von Furstenberg, and Isaac Mizrahi. Her work…

Hoo Wee! Remember all those days I have complained about how cold it is here in the Northwest? Well those days are long gone. We rarely have temps in the 90s and when we do “they” start talking about water rationing for lawns and washing cars … like I wash my car. We actually turned on the air conditioner once we found the manual and learned how to change from heat to cool. As you probably gathered from our needing the manual we don’t use the air conditioning very often. We’ve had 4 days in a row of…

I continue to work with the drop spindle and “spin” some yarn each night. As with all things practice works the kinks out of whatever you are doing … most of the time. My first attempts were oooookay but I wanted better than okay and have been working to get my yarn down to sock weight. I’m thinking I have a better chance at a sock than a sweater as slow at producing finished product as I am.

I am “playing” with the new items Clover will be introducing this fall at FALL QUILT MARKET trade show in Houston, TX, October 28th – November 1. Can’t tell you what they are just yet but quilters and especially appliquer’s will love this new template. I have had so much fun working with it and find that it lends itself to many facets of crafting and needlework. Keep checking to see what it is. The sunshine is calling so I’m heading out to the deck to work on some models for…

This is so exciting I’m thinking of calling CNN or maybe Oprah and let them know that I am taking a SPINNING CLASS!  My Dr. will probably be excited to hear….hopefully she will think I mean the bicycle class that involves E-X-E-R-C-I-S-E! As a child I watched my grandmother “card” cotton in the evenings on the front porch of her rural Mississippi home.  Once I learned to knit and crochet I equated carding cotton or wool with spinning yarn but never could remember her doing that.  My Mother reminded me…

For the Craft and Hobby Association Show Being from the cool Northwest I usually dig in the back of my closet for “summer” clothes to pack for this show. Chicago is an energizing city to visit so it’s with great expectations that I pack and prepare to head out for the CHA show. Who wouldn’t be excited to get to wander around in the land of magic for crafters? Although the lobby looked deserted on set up day, the next morning, bright and early it was filled with thousands of excited craft…

The most common questions I receive regarding this form of lace making is: 1.  How do I accurately measure my strips of lace? The best way to measure your hairpin lace strips is by counting the loops on one side of the strip as you push it onto the waste yarn (check your hairpin lace instruction sheet)  holding the strip as you form the loops. 2.  How do I join my strips of hairpin lace? There are several ways to join your strips and this is what makes the project…

Another beautiful morning to wake to .. our last!  We quickly packed and headed out paying fond farewell to the Lady of the Lake as we hit the road. Remember I mentioned earlier that all pictures were taken from a moving car….well….this day the car was moving even faster.  We returned home through eastern Oregon which is absolutely beautiful.  The wildflowers were in full bloom and I could not get Hubby to slow down ( heaven forbid we should actually stop) to get pictures.  I did get one shot when…