Learn to crochet?

BOD46 said:
I would be interested in what you think of it, I looked at it and still not decided on a cheap new one or a better quality 2nd hand one. Does not say how much it weighs. I do have an old Lidl one which sews badly, is very heavy and sounds like a steamroller:(
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Having not had a machine for years, when I decided to start quilting I bought a very cheap machine (?£79) from Aldi . Before I even started my first quilt I'd upgraded to a £500 janome as the other machine was just too basic and clunky.
Hope that helps!
 
@movan I'm impressed, especially the cake. It probably took as long to make that as it would have to crochet the animals etc.

Good idea about Pinterest and Ravelry. I'd forgotten about them. Derek's hat is finished and he's wearing it - indoors! I told him to put the heating on..............:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Keep up the good work Anne @davanne - that baby will soon be here :LOL:
 
BOD46 said:
I would be interested in what you think of it, I looked at it and still not decided on a cheap new one or a better quality 2nd hand one. Does not say how much it weighs. I do have an old Lidl one which sews badly, is very heavy and sounds like a steamroller:(
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I have a Lidl one that I bought in Spain that is exactly the same it’s very temperamental and sews badly so I thought I’d give the ALDI one a try @Puddleduck Helen says she has the ALDI one that she uses when travelling ....I’ll try it and see what it’s like.
 
Been into Carmarthen and called in the sewing machine shop bought 1 large and 2 small reels of guiterman thread and a pair of pinking shears as I can’t find mine ( think my stepdaughter borrowed them )
Guess the price!!!
 
snailtrailer said:
@movan I'm impressed, especially the cake. It probably took as long to make that as it would have to crochet the animals etc.

Good idea about Pinterest and Ravelry. I'd forgotten about them. Derek's hat is finished and he's wearing it - indoors! I told him to put the heating on..............:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Keep up the good work Anne @davanne - that baby will soon be here :LOL:
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I know Pam can’t believe how quickly time has gone by.
I remember those scarves that you want to make I’m sure I had one when I was young ....sounds like Derek is enjoying his hat.

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davanne said:
Been into Carmarthen and called in the sewing machine shop bought 1 large and 2 small reels of guiterman thread and a pair of pinking shears as I can’t find mine ( think my stepdaughter borrowed them )
Guess the price!!!
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The thread could cost almost anything depending on it's composition and length but in a shop a reel of 1000m cotton is usually around £10.
A decent pair of pinking shears anything between £10 and £20.
I'll guess £40.
 
davanne said:
I have a Lidl one that I bought in Spain that is exactly the same it’s very temperamental and sews badly so I thought I’d give the ALDI one a try @Puddleduck Helen says she has the ALDI one that she uses when travelling ....I’ll try it and see what it’s like.
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I've had a few of the cheap machines for travelling and as stand byes. Some from Lidl and some from Aldi. As a machine service costs about £100 if it lasts a year I've had my monies worth.

Strangely the machines vary from year to year. The one I have now is not as good as the one they had 6 or 8 years ago which was quite sturdy but still light enough to travel, I bought two, one for me and one for my student daughter. The one in between was rubbish and I took it back, then swapped the machine I had been using with the one my daughter hadn't been using :) to even out the wear. Eventually the one I was using wore out. The feed dogs on the earlier one dropped as required (a lever inside the bobbin area) but the current machine has a flimsy plastic cover.

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Aly1 said:
I just got a bottom of the range Brother when I first started quilting. I then bought a second hand Pfaff and the difference is amazing. I love my Pfaff.
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That is the trouble - my daughter (lives with me) has a Pfaff machine which I use all the time, as I don't have a usable one of my own ATM and I love it. So quiet and sews beautifully, I have never done quilting, I only make clothes. Not sure about the wisdom of splashing out on a Pfaff for it to be bounced around in the back of a PVC, when I get one. Think it might be more sensible to try the Aldi one, if I don't like it I can take it back.

Thanks @Offagain @davanne @Puddleduck for your input, very helpful.
 
What is it like shopping for fabric, wool & craft supplies in Spain and Portugal? Are there many shops that sell that sort of thing there and what are the prices like? I know France is good for supplies. Thanks

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SWMBO has just completed this shawl off all things shetland, including lighthouses,crofts, rams,sheep, Shetland ponies and flora
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Well here it is girls ....I’m quite impressed with it so far after working out how to thread the bobbin and top thread as they are different from my other machine ...I’ve already altered two pairs of Max’s trousers and repaired a seam on one of his jumpers:) it’s a lot quieter than my old Lidl machine.
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BOD46 said:
What is it like shopping for fabric, wool & craft supplies in Spain and Portugal? Are there many shops that sell that sort of thing there and what are the prices like? I know France is good for supplies. Thanks
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My only experience of buying fabric is when we rented a flat in Seville for five weeks in Jan/Feb 2017. It's cheaper but the way of doing it is different. In big stores you have to take a number and wait your turn for an assistant to be available to help you. Then you indicate which fabric / thread/ buttons etc you want (not allowed to get them yourself) and they do the honours. In my case I was buying several different fabrics for a quilt so she trailed round the shop after me whilst I chose. Then she cut the amount of each fabric I wanted , wrote the price on a ticket and pinned it to the piece of fabric then when I'd finished, took them all to the cash desk. Where another assistant whose job it was to just do that, totalled them and I paid.
In smaller stores it's the same but no number, you just wait for the assistant to be free. Things like thread, buttons needles etc are often kept behind the counter so you have to be able to ask for what you want.
 
Offagain said:
My only experience of buying fabric is when we rented a flat in Seville for five weeks in Jan/Feb 2017. It's cheaper but the way of doing it is different. In big stores you have to take a number and wait your turn for an assistant to be available to help you. Then you indicate which fabric / thread/ buttons etc you want (not allowed to get them yourself) and they do the honours. In my case I was buying several different fabrics for a quilt so she trailed round the shop after me whilst I chose. Then she cut the amount of each fabric I wanted , wrote the price on a ticket and pinned it to the piece of fabric then when I'd finished, took them all to the cash desk. Where another assistant whose job it was to just do that, totalled them and I paid.
In smaller stores it's the same but no number, you just wait for the assistant to be free. Things like thread, buttons needles etc are often kept behind the counter so you have to be able to ask for what you want.
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Thanks for the info. The shops here were like that, my Mum was a professional dressmaker so I spent a lot of my childhood in fabric shops or sat watching her sewing whilst listening to Woman's Hour in the afternoon.

Will be a steep learning curve having to ask for everything but in these days of mobile phones & internet you can if needs be show a pic of what you want.
 
Currently in the Alps and in between skiing I have been knitting cardigans for our local hospitals premature baby unit.

Modelled on a very cold day by our resident rabbit.

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Jenben said:
Currently in the Alps and in between skiing I have been knitting cardigans for our local hospitals premature baby unit.

Modelled on a very cold day by our resident rabbit.

View attachment 281322
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I quite fancy doing this. Do you use a particular pattern and yarn or just whatever you fancy? And do you have a coordinator or charity you give them to or do you just take them in yourself?
Before I got involved with the octopus project I was knitting tiny hats for our local unit but found them boring. Easy and quick, but very boring.
 
Offagain said:
I quite fancy doing this. Do you use a particular pattern and yarn or just whatever you fancy? And do you have a coordinator or charity you give them to or do you just take them in yourself?
Before I got involved with the octopus project I was knitting tiny hats for our local unit but found them boring. Easy and quick, but very boring.
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I have a pattern Anthea which was given to me as a ‘simple’ one I can photo it and pm it to you.

I am in the WI and the local hospital contacted us asking us if we would knit them, you may find a local fb group do it ?

I have quite a lot of spare fabric at home and have joined a fb group who sew mastectomy pillows and drain bags which are posted out to individuals and hospitals.
 
Good idea! I was involved with Knitted Knockers (knitted prostheses for ladies who didn't want or couldn't get on with the silicone nhs ones) for a while but because I'm often away couldn't commit to taking specific orders and delivering them within a certain timescale.
You might be interested in https://pyjamafairies.org.
Someone I know makes for them and once I've finished the quilt I'm half way through at home I'm going to contact them.
I emailed our local WI a couple of years ago asking about joining details but nobody got back to me. So I didn't bother chasing them.

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