• Crafts,  Session 7

    “Hana-Ami” Flower Loom

      What is it? – Have you ever had the desire to go head-to-head with Mother Nature in a flower making contest?  Okay, maybe not.  Perhaps you’re just in a creative mood and looking for some floral inspiration.  In either case Clover’s Hana-Ami Flower Loom is just what you need to put those perfect petals in place.  It has almost unlimited creative potential and it’s just plain fun to watch all that creativity be realized with a beautiful flower that you designed.  Most of the things we make with sewing,…

  • Crafts,  Session 7

    Pom-Pom Makers

    What is it? – Think of the stereotypical ski hat and you’ll realize that it just wouldn’t be complete without a pom-pom on the pointy tip.  Actually I think it’s a requirement.  But pom-poms are much more than funny hats emblazoned with snowflakes and deer heads.  Pom-poms are everywhere we look.  Home decor, jewelry, fashion accessories, bags or blankets are all pom-pom destinations.  Very popular today but oh so hard to make and even more difficult to make two or more that are identical.  Producing pom-poms that are durable and…

  • Session 7,  Sewing/Quilting

    Silk Threads

    What is it? – China, circa 3600 BC.  That’s where it all started.  A young Chinese empress expressed a desire for a luxurious new fiber and silk was the result.  Threads of different types had been around for many years but this was different.  In fact, silk was very different.  It had a texture and luster that set it way apart from anything else.  It rapidly became the luxury fiber distributed only among the powerful and wealthy.  But the appeal was too great to keep under wraps and its use…

  • Session 7,  Sewing/Quilting

    Scissors

    What is it? – Scissors.  It’s hard to imagine doing anything in sewing, knitting or crafts without them.  They are, in fact, one of the most common tools used universally by us humans.  They were even carried by Apollo 12 astronauts on the surface of the moon.  The earliest known scissors appeared in Mesopotamia 3,000 to 4,000 years ago and were a “spring style” scissor similar to the nippers we use today. The more familiar style scissors where the blades are pivoted at a point between the tips and handles…

  • Crafts,  Session 7

    Wonder Knitter

    What is it? – As children, most of us can remember having an old wooden spool with four rounded metal pegs protruding from one end.  By threading yarn up through the center and then wrapping the yarn around the pegs we could maneuver bottom loops over top loops.  As a result we were able to form some very cool woven strands or, as known to some, i-cords. The resulting knitted braids, or i-cords, were very attractive and actually had many applications.  These cords were used as fashion accessories and embellishments,…

  • Knitting/Crochet,  Session 7

    Top 5 Knitting Notions

      What is it? – When it comes to knitting and crochet it’s all about knitting needles and crochet hooks, right?  Not so fast.  Take a quick look in your knitting kits or visualize the process of completing any project.  Something simple or even very complex.  A quick inventory of what you will use will reveal several knitting or crochet accessories that significantly enhance the creative process.  These items are the most necessary notions, the most valued accessories to every knitting or crochet endeavor.  They are our most in demand,…