I've done a lot of it in the past, but tired of it. Cross stitch, needlepoint and embroidery. I still have the first homemade apron my mom and I made on the sewing machine. I embroidered a butterfly, tulip, grass and probably a few more things.

I have several hand pulled handkerchiefs and a dresser piece my great grandmother made framed between glass.

Both of my grandmothers knitted, but neither taught me. I think me being left handed had something to do with it.

I went to my first weaving class today. I don't even sew on buttons . Our compassionate friends group at our UU fellowship are going to make 2 shawl /wraps that are " comforters" in the real sense of the word. I am going to learn to weave and help contribute to the pieces we are making.

If I like it as much as I think I will then I am going to continue on and learn more. They have classes and it is 2 blocks from my house . I can ride my bike :) I saw really nice dishtowels and shawls in progress. I am excited to try this...have already looked at small looms...

Will be interesting to see who responds. I have very old crochet pieces that I treasure. Maybe someday someone will value what I hope to make. Great thread !! c

I used to knit when the kids were little, hats, mitts, sweaters, you name it;
you're making me long it, I should try my hand at a throw or something this winter while I'm in Florida. I still have some old school Beehive patterns,
I showed them to my daughter recently. Most nice wool stores have closed in my area, I'll have to look up online if there are some I could get to.
If I'm going to start a throw, I want some fantastic yarn to be motivated!

I also did needlepoint for a while but I was not very good at it, not patient enough.

trail, I did weaving for a bit in the 70's ; we made purses. Mounting the loom was the most tedious part but actually weaving the piece was fun !!

This is a trip down memory lane for me, thanks nancy for starting this topic.

Needlepoint never was my thing, though I did try it.

I used to do a lot of crewel embroidery. In fact, just came across a couple of pieces that I did years ago that I am going to frame for my re-do of older DS's bedroom as my hang out space and guest room now that he is living in Kansas City.

I have tried to learn crochet, but being left-handed it seems to fight me. Need to spend more concentrated time with someone who knows how to do it.

My grandmother did tatting, and a I have a number of her pieces. I was inspired to buy a more current method of instruction and tools for needle tatting, which I did work on. She did shuttle tatting. She also embroidered, and so I have some pieces she did. She used to buy flour sack dishtowels and embroider those with designs! My mom used those every day, and unfortunately none of those survive because my mom threw them out when they got old.

Yes, I do crossstitch and crewel, and recently taught myself embroidery so I could embroider some of the dresses I sew for my granddaughters. Garment sewing is my first love, though. I'm pretty good, but I'll never be as good as my mother and grandmothers were, though. Their work is stunning and flawless,and I love using their pieces in my home.

I quilt, needlepoint and embroider but prefer counted cross stitch.

From my grandmother I inherited crocheted tablecloths, bedspreads, doilies, embroidered linens, quilts etc. and it amazes me how she managed to make so much (I only have a fraction) and still help her husband run a general store/gas station in a little town in NM.... and raise 7 kids and get a teaching degree.

I like to cross stitch. My husband doesn't understand how I can sit and do it for so long, but it is relaxing (much more rewarding than just watching TV).

My mom bought me a kit when I was really young and I always liked it. I made a couple of pieces for my kids when I was pregnant. They have the poem about fingerprints being on everything. When my boys were newborn I put their hand prints on the cross stitch pieces and had them framed. I love those tiny prints!

I've always wanted to learn to knit but I don't know anyone who does it. My grand-MIL made blankets and was going to show me the basics, but she fell ill and passed away before I made the time to learn. I have a closet FULL of baby blankets from her and some that her mother made!

I embroider, knit, crochet and sew. The only thing I do well or enjoy however is embroider. When I was a kid, I'd make girls tops, embroider a floral print on them and sell them to my friends but the only fancy knot I know is that french knot. :c)

My Grandmother was amazing. She knew it all but preferred crochet and knitting. We had some of the most beautiful afghans and every year she'd make us new sweaters, hats and slipper socks. She could even french crochet which was amazing to see her do. My favorite was the doilies she'd make and I still have some of the smaller sized ones. I was fortunate in that we were both left handed because even though she tried to teach us all, it was much easier for me to learn.

My mother is also excellent with crochet & knitting, she's an amazing seamstress and quilter and dapples a bit with cross stitch. She made all of our clothes growing up (for 5 girls) and now makes sure all the grand kids have new pajamas each year. She's always happy when one of us shows an interest in learning and has mentored all of us at some point. One of my favorite memories during a visit was watching her teach my daughter to sew.

I knit, embroider, tat, make lace, spin, quilt, do cut-work, and sew.

I also repair textiles (re-weave, darn, and patch).

Of them all I love knitting the best, but enjoy sewing next-best.

I would like to get a floor loom. I look at looms the way my DH looks at sportscars, maybe someday!

L.

I used to cross stitch and crochet, though it's been years since I did either. I bought the yarn and a pattern to make a blanket for my now-8-year-old grandson before he was born, but I never got beyond a few rows. I always wanted to learn to knit but never did.

I have some arthritis in my hands now so I'm not sure how easy it would be to take it back up, or maybe it would be good for the arthritis??

Dee

It was fun reading these! A lot of talent here. And it seems like there's a common theme (or thread!) of our grandmothers doing it, and how precious those items are to us. Maybe someday the things we make will hold memories of us to someone.

Dee, I'm sorry about the arthritis in your hands- I don't know if cross stitch and crochet would be bad or good for your hands-

nancy...exactly why I am going to do this. I want to make something for each of the kids to wrap around themselves...I want them to feel me there when I no longer am physically present. I can hardly wait to complete a first project.

My maternal grandmother and my aunts were great seamstresses. we also had a lady that helped my Mom and helped raise us. Maude was a wonderful seamstress. I don't have anything left that they made. All the doll clothes were lost in a move. Someone threw out the box. I think there may be a couple little doll things upstairs. But my dresses etc are long gone. Oh I do have a quilt that one aunt made me. Wish I had more. c

I would love to learn to quilt. Has anyone taken the quilting class offered by Joann's? Is it a good place to start (since I don't know anybody who can show me the basics)?

Dee,

Depending on your type of arthritis knitting might be good for your hands. Osteoarthritis is sometimes made a little better by moving the joints without any strain, which is what knitting does. I dunno about rheumatoid, though. Using circular needles (even if you're knitting something flat) is easier on the wrists.

I wish you were near me. I LOVE to teach people to knit. It's the earliest form of human-created textile, you know. Much older than weaving. When you think about that, it makes sense because it's just an organized form of playing with fibers/strings like cats-cradle. I wish I could watch the first people (it was more than one person in different areas) who discovered that just looping loops together would make something useful.

I, too, learned most of my skills, especially knitting, from (maternal) Grandmother. She lived with us the last six months of her life, when I was 6 or 7. That summer my Mother organized things so I spent a regular two-hour afternoon visit in her room. We talked and she told me family stories and taught me to sew, knit, crochet, embroider and make lace while we chatted. I didn't know, of course, that she was dying and sometimes I'm sure I complained a bit at the time -being no doubt busy with my own plans; I can only hope I wasn't too obnoxious about it! My Mother, wisely, insisted and I'm sure it gave her a bit of a break, too. Looking back, though I treasure those times, especially the stories she told me about her childhood in the late 1800's. Afterward I didn't pick up needles again for a long time, but when I did I semed to magically know how to knit which puzzled me until my Mother reminded me about sitting with Granny.

My other Grandmother was a keen tatter and she taught me and I still have her shuttles.

L

liriodendron: What a wonderful story about your grandmother, and how sweet you are! As an avid genealogist, (I think Nancy started that thread too, if I remember correctly) I encourage you to make sure those stories of your grandmother are written down.

I may try my hand at crocheting again. I always meant to make a bed coverlet, and have a great pattern, but never did.

When my DD was little, I made a canopy top for her, similar to the fishermen's knit ones, and that and the little tassles nearly killed me. It was gorgeous, though!

My grandmother also crocheted, though only small items. She loved trimming hankerchiefs, and I have several. I gave my DIL one trimmed in purple (her favorite color) on her wedding day and she tucked it in her bodice. I have one tucked in a drawer in yellow for my DD (her favorite color) for her wedding day.

liriodendron, I'd love to learn knitting from you! A much older woman I worked with taught me to crochet when I was in my early 20's, and I'll always remember her for her gift of time to me.

And thanks, Nancy, for the empathy. Getting old is a real b***h.

Dee

I used to do a lot of needlepoint and crewel embroidery. But when I started rug hooking I knew immediately it was the fiber craft for me, and gave up the others. I do the traditional kind of hooking, using old woolen clothing cut into strips. Here's an example.....I made this small rug for my new grandson:

alisande, that is truly wonderful. It's obvious a lot of love (and skill) went into that piece. Thank you so much for sharing that!

Love that rug. I used to do rug hooking when my girls were tiny, but that went by the wayside. I also used to embroider, I remember in Jr. High, all the girls would embroider all kind of things on our PE shirts.

Never learned to knit or crochet, tried to learn knitting, but couldn't get the hang of it for the life of me.

I've done needlepoint, but again, it didn't stick. A friend got me a punch crewelwork kit, but I've yet to pick it up.

I would like to quilt, but I've taken up papercrafting for the time being. My grandmother did all the needlecrafts, and up until the last couple years, had always embroidered dish towels for all her grandchildren. She found out we weren't using them so she threatened to stop making them. So I started using them, but I DO have many pairs put away.

My mom used to crochet, she'd made baby blankets for my girls; and my great-grandmother crocheted booties for all the babies. I felt so bad that I didn't know how to make those things, so when I was at a bazaar, I purchased four pairs of crocheted booties & bibs from an elderly lady for some grandchildren I may someday (maybe) have.

I have done cross stitch, embroidery,and needlepoint. Then I found quilting. I took my first quilting class at the adult ed program at the high school, 20 some years ago. Its cool that most of us in the class are still friends and see each other regularly.
I taught hand applique at a quilt shop for a good while. But after I got cancer, for some reason, my interest in quilting waned. I think I didnt want to be involved with anything that took me away from giving my full attention to my children.So even 14 years later, I no longer consider myself a quilter at heart. But I do go to quilt shops with some of the girls - I hold onto the bolts, or help them pick colors. I dont buy a scrap of fabric.
I still have my fabric stash, and of course some unfinished projects, so one day I will do some machine piecing, and try my hand at quilting. I can't feel the quilting needles anymore because of my spine, but I can feel the big quilting pins so at least I can piece.
I may try to use a big quilt needle and try my hand at quilting in my hoop stand. I have to realize that my stitched are gonna be toenail catchers if I can hold onto that needle.
So yes you can learn at Joannes adult ed or a local quilt shop. It is wonderful.
I may take up knitting for my hands- I also have arthritis and maybe that will be good for them.

alisande . that is beautiful. I don't know how you made that but it certainly looks so professional.

I went on Sat. to my 1st weaving class. We used a floor loom to start making the shawl. I really liked what we did and it all made sense to me from the get go. The warp was already done by the shop owner.

I decided to try private lessons so I start on Thursday. I will start on a rigid heddle loom and see how that goes first. After I use their looms for a few projects and make sure I want to continue with this I will then see about getting a floor loom. I don't want a table loom...go big or go home DH always says. I will post pics of my endeavors when I have something to show. I am so glad this thread was started. c

cooperbailey, thanks for sharing that. I hope you will be able to quilt again and knit.

trail, I was hoping you wouldn't miss alisande's rug! It is beautiful, isn't it!

can't wait to see pics of your shawl and I hope others post pics of their creations.

Trailrunner, traditional rug hooking involves cutting wool fabric (I use old clothes) into strips (in the rug above, about 1/8" wide) and using a rug hook (like a crochet hook with a wooden handle) to pull up loops through a backing (in this case linen burlap). I dyed most of the wool in this rug. I'm a hit-or-miss dyer, but the design was very forgiving of my errors.

I'm going to go look at your weaving thread.

alisande...so you have a backing and pull up through that. My Mom made an afghan for my DD when she was born. She pulled the yarn through something called " monk's cloth" I believe or something like that. A neutral beige heavy open weave material for the backing. I love it. I could post a pic . I am going to look into the rug thing...I would love to make rigs from rags !! c

Monks cloth is one of the popular backings for rug hooking. "Rugs from rags".....yes! The frugality of the craft--making something beautiful from discarded old clothes--has always appealed to me.

I'd love to see a picture.

I was in a stitching group that met twice a month for ten years, although my forte was entertaining and cooking, I didn't get much stitching done!

I did counted cross stitch but gave that up for needlepoint.
It's been seven years but recently agreed to start a small group with my friends and pick back up with needlepoint.

Many friends quilted, but I just wasn't interested enough to learn quilting.

I did learn Hardanger from a Swedish friend and enjoyed that.

Alisande..thanks for the corrected spelling LOL...rigged up rugs from rags...or something :)

demi: I hope you will post pics too of what you are doing. I don't know what Hardanger is . c

You know what? I read it as "rugs." Sometimes it pays to be a fast reader. :-)