Let Us Introduce Ourselves

I continue to invite others to join us (and I hope you all do also), so I thought it might be good to introduce ourselves for any newcomers or curious others who might be stopping by. I'm pretty sure we are all multi-faceted crafters and artisans, and I know I love hearing about the other things people are into.

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I'm avaland, Lois, and my husband (dukedom_enough) and I live about 35 miles outside of Boston (though that will change in the coming year). I have three grown children between the ages of 29 and 34. I'm currently a full-time domestic engineer readying our house for sale in the spring, which includes culling the 6 - 7,000 volume combined his and her libraries.

Currently, I am primarily a quilter, but in the past I have made many clothes (lots of clothes for my children and myself in the 80s and 90s), costumes, special occasion dresses, home decorating projects..etc. I started sewing, knitting and embroidering probably around age 10 (just a guess). I still knit but infrequently as it bothers my hands. I still sew (other than quilt) when needed, or when the mood strikes. I do little embroidery at the moment, but it was last used during a bout of Victorian crazy quilting.

I started quilting after I married for the first time in the very late 70s and "settled down." What with 3 small children, working full time at night, and a very tight budget, I didn't get that many large quilts made, but I did keep at it, exploring many different approaches and styles (i.e. watercolor, convergence, Victorian crazy quilting). I have hand-quilted in the distant past, but nowadays mostly will either machine quilt a smaller quilt myself or pay someone else to do it. I yearn to work a little more of my creative side into my work....

I am a serious fabriholic and have amassed quite a stash, so it will not surprise anyone that I've been playing with crazy scrap quilts. I am always willing to swap some scraps if you are working on a project and need some variety or something specific (my scraps are loose, or cut in 2 1/2 strips, and 5 and 4 inch squares -- some smaller). And I love incorporating other scraps into my own.

I also read heavily (though it's lighter stuff right now), garden, make things (decoupage end tables, wreaths....whatever), home decorate, and I used to write poetry, paint (oils) and sculpt in clay (which seems like ancient history now).

My current 2013 thread in this group is HERE.

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I hope the rest of you will share with us where you are from and what your hobbies and passions are....

Oh, great thread idea, Lois!

I'm Amber, one-time Classics professor turned stay-at-home mom/Lady of Leisure. I sew (or at least make a fair attempt at it) all sorts of stuff, quilt, knit, cross stitch and otherwise engage in various crafts. My mom is an amazing seamstress and an all-round crafty lady (she used to make most of my clothes when I was younger), and I try my best to be like her, although am generally bemused at how abysmally I tend to fail at that. When I'm not sewing/crafting, I'm either reading to my 4-year-old, Charlie, or myself, or baking something (my third hobby). Here's my 2013 Thread:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/147492

My name is Tui and I have been making things, in one form or another, for almost 60 years now. Retired lo these last 5 years from a busy and stress-filled job at a very good Canadian university, I am at last fulfilling that lifetime dream of exploring my creative self. It is very fine to have the time to read again but some part of me must also be doing.

In high school, during the 60s, Carnaby Street and the Mod look was in full swing but we couldn't get those clothes in small town Ontario. We could, however, get Vogue patterns, so I sewed my own clothes, everything from Mary Quant to wild flowered bell bottoms, double-breasted pea coats to full length tweed capes. I picked up knitting along the way and made all of my own sweaters. I guess I had some innate desire not to look like everyone else back then. I carried on with sweaters for my family, including my two lads and the in-laws. Afghans are a somewhat regular occurrence. I have done crewel work and cross-stitch, pottery and sculpting, oil and acrylic painting. I never mastered water colour enough to be happy with it.

I have always loved fabric so it was wonderful to discover quilting and I think that will be the art form which will carry me through to old age. That and knitting socks. I hope to be making something to my last gasp, both for the joy in the doing and in the giving. I owe my discovery of quilting to Lois, who encouraged me by her example(s) and moral support.

>2 scaifea: Do you miss teaching? I had to work (nights) when my children were small, financially there was no other choice. I sometimes wonder what I would have chosen if I had had the choice.

I bet your mom has a nice stash of fabric (if she kept it...)

>3 tiffin: I made several pairs of low-slung, wide bell hip huggers, Tui...and remember the halter tops made from bandanas? And I embroidered all over a pair of jeans I had. I made some of my clothes because we couldn't afford them.

I know what you are are saying in "part of me must also being doing."

Lois: I lied just a smidge about being a Lady of Leisure - I've been teaching an online Latin course. But, yes, otherwise I would miss it (although that doesn't mean I regret my decision to stay home with Charlie one bit!). And, yes, my mom has a significant stockpile of fabric, from which she lets me pillage often.

I didn't make one of those bandana tops, Lois. I got interested in the designer line of patterns because of their complex piecing....must have been the foreshadowing of quilt making, eh?

>6 tiffin: Yes, there was a couple of designer lines I was interested in (this would have been early 70s). One was John Kloss, who designed dresses with a wide, scoop neckline like Linda Ronstadt used to wear. There was another, but I forget the name (and my patterns are now in storage), very complex patterns that I loved. In the late 70s I was into Jessica McClintock's Gunne Sax, designs I couldn't even afford to reproduce though I scraped and saved to buy one dress. I wish I had taken pictures of some of these outfits. I think my first dress was a keyhole dress...around '68.

>5 scaifea: My girls aren't very interested in rummaging through my stash, though they are quite happy to have me make them quilts...etc. My oldest daughter used to make medieval costumes, now she makes them for her hobby announcing for roller derby bouts. My middle daughter took up knitting and now knits much better than I ever did (though she doesn't like to make big projects). My son will come down and use my sewing machine, most recently to afix letters on the back of his or his girl friend's referee shirt (again, roller derby), but also used it to make a larger-the-life sock monkey costume he wore a few Halloweens ago. So, I've no complaints, really. I have let a young cousin rummage a bit.

>7 avaland:: Your family sounds like it's filled with amazing people! I love the idea that your son sews, too. Charlie loves to pretend-play at sewing along side me while I work, so I snatched up a child's Singer machine the spring when Joann Fabrics had them on sale - it'll either be a birthday (next month) or Christmas present this year... My mom has a refurbished rug loom and she's using up some of her stash making rag rugs, so I try not to take too much too freely (she'd let me have the whole shebang if I asked for it!).

Love hearing about crafty families! My nephew loves watching me stitch, and I think this winter I may try to get him knitting. My parents have both always been very crafty and artistic, and most of my siblings are as well. All my childhood I felt so far behind them in terms of artistic talent (they are 5-14 years older than me), and I'm pleased that I found my own arts.

I'm Meredith, I live in Charleston, WV. I've been disabled for eight years and crafting really saved my life in a lot of ways. I have severe chronic pain, and while my crafts make the pain worse it's a good trade for keeping my brain busy and letting me feel a bit more productive (I'm in pain no matter what I do, and I'm happier being in more pain and doing something than just watching TV).

I learned to knit before I got sick and continued after, pretty much as a coping mechanism. After getting to the point of making a new hat every other day I started feeling a bit burnt out on knitting. After dabbling in linoleum stamp carving, I started doing some non-counted embroidery and really enjoyed it. Then there was a piece of Aida from some random box of craft supplies given to me by a friend and I thought "Well, I know how to make an X..." and started up with that. It allowed me to be so much more creative than knitting did, but was less intense than the non-counted stuff I was doing. Now I sell snarky/bookish/traditional/pop culture cross-stitch patterns on Etsy.

I'm really hoping to work on some mini-quilts this year, and do some traditional crazy quilting. I can't sit at a sewing machine for more than five minutes, but my hand sewing is good and I'm happy just doing some small wall pieces (for now!). I seem to have switched back to non-counted embroidery now, mostly because I found a transfer method that works for me. Having the pattern printed on the fabric makes it go SO quickly.

Hello everyone!! I'm new here, but I've been crafting and needleworking for years now. I'm Rita, and I'm a 40-something widowed mom of one son. The kid goes to college in just over a week, so at some point I may have time to create. I work as an admin assistant at an engineering firm, and have been trying to squeeze in some creative stuff on the side.

Mostly it's crochet now, as it is portable and easy to pick up and set down. I learned to quilt from my grandmothers, and I've done a few of those, and need to get cracking on another one. My sewing is mostly costumes for the children's ministry at church, which involves keep the Christmas pageant costumes repaired and creating the random "great ideas" the children's minister comes up with when there's no budget. Fortunately I have a large stash.

I used to do cross-stitch almost exclusively, but after my husband passed, for some reason I've never picked it up again. My other big thing was polymer clay sculpting--before dh took sick I was learning from Katherine Dewey's books and web tutorials. I actually sold a couple of Christmas ornaments at a charity auction. One day I hope to get back to it. My house is a disaster currently, so my first projects after the kid gets out will be to organize, prioritze, and declutter.

I mostly hang out in the Green Dragon here on LT, but look forward to this group also.

#9 Hey Mabith--I grew up near Charleston! Hi to a fellow Mountaineer! I live in KY now.

>9 mabith: Meredith, that's an amazing story, and I'm glad you have found something to help you cope with the pain. Linoleum block printing! I used to do that once upon a time. MaggieO made a crazy quilt by hand a few years ago. I saw it in the needlework show her guild put on. Perhaps we can lure her back in here to tell us how she approached it.

My hubby has some cousins in Charleston. We were out that way to visit them some years ago. We stayed in Ashland as it was more or less central to all the relatives we needed to visit.

Miniature quilting is big with some people. There's a woman I run into that also volunteers at the quilt museum and she's part of a guild in Florida each winter who only do miniatures. She says they get their buzz from taking a traditional quilt pattern and seeing how small they can make it.

>10 RitaFaye: Welcome, Rita! (hey, that aforementioned hubby of mine lived in Lexington for a good part of his early life. Where do you live in KY?) We are much more docile here than the Green Dragon ;-) Would love to see some pictures of your projects.

>9 mabith: You got me thinking about my siblings...of the four, one sister did a lot of cross stitch for a number of years, but no longer. The others aren't crafty or artistic, but I have a sister-in-law who is very crafty and does stained glass, beading, knitting, quilting and all kinds of clever stuff. I love seeing what she is doing.

Meredith, doing with your hands to do a pain override sounds like a really positive and useful thing to do but geesh, I'm sorry you have to do it. You amaze me with how much humour there is in your work.

Hi Rita! Do you have any plans to carve out a creative space for yourself in your urge to purge project?

Lois, I can't imagine trying to do a miniature quilt! Tackling ones that fit on beds is all I can handle right now.

I swear I can't go anywhere without running into West Virginia connections! I grew up in Jackson county, but have been in Charleston for thirteen years now.

Nice to meet you Rita! Polymer clay sculpting is so neat. This is a really lovely group to be a part of.

Lois, Tui - thanks. It is how it is. Not pleasant, but you either find ways to cope or drive yourself and everyone around you crazy. I'm lucky in that I already had a very Pollyanna attitude (and a high pain tolerance).

My mini-quilt desires are more in the art-quilt line than the "see how small a traditional pattern can go" sort. Precision is definitely not my strong suit, which is part of why I've stayed away from quilting.

Tiffin, I am planning to convert the current disaster that is the home office into home office/craft area. My current craft room is in the basement, next to the late dh's train room. He insisted we buy a ranch with a walkout basement so he could have a train room, and thought it would be nice if our play areas were next to each other. (I nixed his grand idea to cut holes in the wall and run extra staging tracks around the walls of my craft room.) But he's gone, and I have a bad knee, so I need to get everything possible up on one floor and get rid of what I don't need. I've warned my son that sometime between now and his college graduation, I will be downsizing to a smaller place. It's just too big for just me.

Avaland, I will try to get some pictures uploaded once I get the kid out. I have been trying to do better about recording my projects and stuff.

Mabith, it's because West Virginians have a zillion relatives AND we keep track of them. We've had 6th cousins show up at reunions, and I knew people in the area that were 8th or more cousins, but were still included as family.

Rita, ha, I guess so. My parents aren't from WV so none of my extended family live near me (well, technically one aunt and cousins live JUST in WV, but near Wheeling, and we all know that doesn't count). Though, actually... Dallas Pike, WV, every third house contains a cousin of some sort (my dad only had 23 first cousins...).

Hi all,

My name is Debbi and I live in Huntsville, AL although I was born and raised in South Dakota. I have also lived in Texas, Northern Virginia, southern Virginia and Florida. I am a civil engineer by training, but I worked for a software company for the last 20 years of my career. I retired a little over 3 years ago. My husband and I have two grown sons who live nearby. The oldest is a wireless software engineer and the youngest is also a civil engineer but has gone back to school for his computer science degree since he couldn't find a job in his profession. Ding dang economy!

My passion is counted cross stitch which I started in 1983. Nearly everything I have stitched has been given away, although I do have quite a selection on my walls, too! I like intricate, heirloom-quality designs the best.

I also crochet, knit, sew, and needlepoint as well as beading, jewelry-making, and whatever other craft grabs my attention on that particular day! My mom didn't know how to do all the needle crafts, but she wanted to make sure I could, so she took me to knitting classes when I was only 6 years old, sitting outside in the car for an hour while I was learning! My classmates were little old ladies, as was the teacher! But I learned well, and then when I learned how to sew when I was in high school, I went home and taught her and my little sister how. My little sister has made her living with various forms of sewing ever since.

My other hobby these days is digital colorization of images. I also spend quite a bit of time on genealogy and I read voraciously! I am also a runner, although my knees are complaining more every day, so I've been riding my bike more lately. In the past, I ran three marathons (26.2 miles), but I do believe my marathon days are over.

My LibraryThing thread is here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/144337#3923522

#16 Yep, that's about right. I have 25 first cousins. My poor kid doesn't know what he's missing--he only has 3.

Hi Debbi!

RitaFaye, I have one and I seldom see or hear from him. Migosh: 25!

One of my friend's mom's has 61 first cousins!

I only have eight and never lived near any of them, though I have four older siblings and that makes up for a lot...

#19 Actually, it was 26 I think, but one died as an infant before I was born. My one grandma lived right behind us, and the other lived less than 2 hours away, so when everyone came to visit, they stayed with us. So I know all of them to one degree or another. One is practically another sister, and others we try to see every couple of years. My poor dh had 4 that he stayed in contact with--he was completely shell-shocked the first time he visited my parents.

Mabith, I only have one sibling, though we are very close. 61 one FIRST cousins--wow!!

I also have 23 first cousins, but I didn't like quite a few of them! ;-)

The eight on my Dad's side grew up near me, and we always had the biggest and best birthday parties, plus my three older female cousins handed down their clothes to me, which then got handed down to my two sisters. Their mom bought them much more expensive clothes than we could afford. It was so fun to have stylish things. We also had huge Thanksgiving dinners with about 150 relatives and tables and tables of Norwegian food! I loved being able to see those cousins a lot.

The 15 on my Mom's side...not so much.

Oh, also:

Hi back, RitaFaye!

I used to tell people I had 23 first cousins, but I was always including me and my 4 siblings in the count (so, really it's only 18). We also were as close to some of our 2nd cousins because of proximity (my father's cousins). Our generation is scattered from Maine to Mississippi to California, so I haven't seen most for ages.

Hi, I've been meaning to post here for a while, but . . .

Anyway, I'm Judy. It looks like I'm the only non US person here! I live on the outskirts of Melbourne (Australia) on a few acres with my husband and youngest son, the dogs and the cat and the chooks. My other two children moved out a few years ago. I was a preschool teacher for many years, then became a call centre manager and am now a librarian. I loved to study and did a number of degrees and masters degrees in order to do these jobs. I am working in a casual position at the moment so have lots of time when I can be at home.

When I was young I made a lot of my clothes with my mother's help. She was a crafty lady and often had me going with her to classes for macrame, copper work, leather work, etc. (yes, it was the 70s!) We used to joke that my grandmother could knit in the bath, in the dark, with the house on fire! I think I got the bug from them. My sisters are useless and can't even sew a hem. My daughter is the same. Maybe it skips a generation??

I knit and occasionally crochet. I have a rather large stash of paper which I have scrapbooked with and made cards, but sadly, it is languishing at the moment. I cannot sit and watch TV without something in my hands, and I love to watch TV, so I do a lot of crossstitch. I like complex ones. Too easy and I get bored. I have started to quilt. Just putting together my first quilt ever now. I also made felt wall hangings in the past. Alphabets and names for children and so on. A friend asked me to make one for her new grandson, so the interest there has piqued again.

Apart from all of that I like to read (there's a surprise!!) and spend a lot of time thinking up ways to change my house with paint and fabrics etc, and I also spend some time in the garden. It sounds like a busy life, but I still have time to do nothing occasionally. I like doing nothing sometimes :O)

Judy, I'm Canadian, from central Ontario.

I'm sorry I missed that. I don't feel so alone now :O)

And sometimes the Amanda you know joins us (Sydney); and on rare occasions, Alex a.k.a. primlil, (used to be near Perth but now I think she's on the other coast) will pop in. Maybe I'll go give Amanda a kick in the pants and see if she'll update us:-)

Hi, I'm Karin7 here, KarinContinental on Ravelry (but rarely go there, I mainly have been an active member of the book site Shelfari, which is closing in March). However, on all other book sites I simply go by Karin.

Currently the only needle arts I'm doing is knitting (mainly in the round, and I like to knit left handed sometimes for a change). As my Ravelry moniker indicates, I knit in a more or less Continental style that is a mix of Scandinavian and Eastern European (my 2 grandmothers' styles of knitting). However, I used to do a great deal of crewel work, particularly the original way with wool on linen, but also with other threads and fabrics. But I don't have the patience to do the x's in cross stitch, etc (ironic, I know).

I am originally Canadian, but now am a dual citizen living in the States (Canadian for USA).

Hi, I'm Alison. I live in southern Ohio and I do mostly counted cross-stitch. (when I'm not reading other stuff!) But I love seeing your quilts and knitting projects!! They are so creative. I joined because I finished my cross-stictch tapestry and wanted to share. :) (Pictures on my profile). I have another cross-stitch project in the works, a female lion, but I have been unmotivated lately. Really need to get back to it, it's about half done.

I'm Lori. Marianne mentioned this group on the 75 group so I decided to come over here and visit. I have a lot of cross-stitch stash that I want to conquer. We used to have a wonderful LNS (local needlework shop), but the owner retired a little over a year ago so my best options are in nearby Sevier County. I purchased fibers and fabrics (and patterns) for several projects back when One More Stitch was open. Oh, how I miss that shop! I found one UFO (unfinished object) in my stash when I decided to resume cross-stitching before Christmas. I'm working on it and will be taking it on the plane trip with me tomorrow (along with the cheapest pair of needlework scissors I own -- I don't want to lose the Dovo ones). I'm currently working on a couple of projects with two more projects coming up soon. I may not always be able to post photos of projects that I'm gifting until after they are gifted.

My thread is here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/217445

Welcome all you newcomers! I introduced myself up in post #17.

I had both of my knees replaced just after Christmas, and one would think this would be an excellent time for stitching, but I find myself with almost zero motivation to do anything! I have been working on some beaded Christmas ornaments, but even those aren't inspiring me. I need some mojo!

Hi, my name is Shelley. I'm a librarian by trade, and have been doing assorted crafts since I was a kid; I knit, crochet, do beadwork, and lots and lots of sewing, mainly historical costumes and accessories. I do a bit of quilting, and am just about to start a crazy quilted tea cosy!

I've been reading this group for a while, but never got around to posting. It has been very enjoyable to see all the lovely things people do!

Hi, my name is Betty. I joined last year after Sandy (sjmccreary) mentioned in the 15 challenge group that she had a thread here. I lurked all last year and just put up a thread this year:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/213099

I'm mostly a quilter now, although I've tried all kinds of needlework over the years: knitting, crocheting, hardanger, counted cross stitch, embroidery. This year I'm hoping to finish a lot of UFOs I have hanging around.

Nice to have some new blood here! I introduced myself back up at #1 and would only amend it to say that two years ago we moved north into New Hampshire (a moving back for me). I, more or less, work with fabric now, mostly quilting though not exclusively, but occasionally produce a rare knitted project.

>35 avaland: - when I was reading this thread, I got all excited that you were only up in Boston until you mentioned you were moving and noticed it was a couple of years ago. I'm only in RI and had the thought that maybe we could meet sometime. Still - this is New England - nothing is very far away.

Hello everyone, my name is Laura. I was active in this group for a short time in my early LT days but wasn't really doing much needlework at the time so I dropped out. Four years ago I caught the knitting bug and it's now my primary hobby after reading.

I live in southeastern Pennsylvania which means, at the moment, we are gearing up for our first winter storm which is expected Friday night through Saturday. I don't much care for winter storms, but I am secretly looking forward to a day of knitting and reading!

Here's my thread.

Lovely to have some new faces! My intro is up on >9 mabith:

>36 dudes22: I'm just across the border in Hollis (just west of Nashua)

Once the knee recovers we should meet someplace like the Fabric Basement in Framingham. I have been hearing about it for years but have never made it there.

I left a note for fasciknitting who lives north of me, hoping to lure her to this group. She both knits and quilts. Alas, she has very young children so may be up to her eyeballs in diapers and whatnot. We used to talk about a meetup back when I was in MA

>37 lauralkeet: That didn't sound secret to me!

>39 avaland: - Sounds good. Maybe in the spring when the weather is better. Not that I need more fabric, but that's never stopped me yet.

Hi I'm Becky, newly moved back to my home state of Colorado after 25 years in Missouri (which we loved), retired and living in a small town near the mountains.

I started quilting after my MIL gave me a basic sewing machine when she learned I didn't know how to sew a straight seam. My mother had amazing sewing skills (she could make anything without a pattern), but she didn't have the patience to teach me anything. She never had a designated sewing room or space of her own. She could have, but I guess she just wasn't interested.

I took up quilting in the 1980s when it was becoming "the thing" to do. I quilted for 20 or 25 years and then put it all away because I had too many other things going on in my life. Now I've brought it all out again so that I can make my son and his wife-to-be a Double Wedding Ring quilt. Wish me luck--ha.

I've always wanted to learn to knit. My future DIL is a talented knitter--so good choice! She's also adorable, kind, and smart. How lucky am I?

I look forward to meeting a lot of you here on this thread and hearing about your ongoing projects!

My thread is here.

I joined the group up there in post number 25. Two and a half years ago! A few things have changed. I'm still cross stitching and occasioanlly knitting and now getting very keen on the quilting. The home renovations are on hold. After complaining of sore knee for some time and expecting it was just old knee syndrome :-) I finally complained to the doctor and tests revealed bone cancer. So almost a year later and all appears well but my mobility is still a bit limited. I have attempted to return to work, just a few hours a week and that is going well, so life is getting back to normal at last. So I am happy to be back in this group and happy to be back in the stitching world again!

>43 judylou: And we are certainly glad to have you back, Judy. You have had some tough times. I'm glad all appears well.

>43 judylou: welcome back. I'm glad your health has stabilized.

>43 judylou: Wow. So glad you are back with this group. Who would have expected a sore knee to turn out to be something so dire.

I'm so glad you went to the doctor for it, Judy! And that your doctor didn't brush it off as just due to old knees. Some family friends of mine have had some close calls due to doctors not taking pain seriously just because they were aging.

Thanks everyone. I am very lucky to have the doctor I have. The family has been seeing him for more than 20 years now. I (literally) trust him with my life!!!!

>43 judylou: Glad your outlook is improving! Sorry to hear about your struggles with bone cancer.

Hi, I just opened a thread here, although I'm a fixture in the 75 Book Challenge group with my books and my crafts (pottery, wirework, and crochet).

This is my book thread, but it also has pictures of all my crafts.
http://www.librarything.com/topic/265555

And this is my new thread in this group: http://www.librarything.com/topic/267525

>50 ronincats: I just said hello over on your thread, but I'll say it again. :-}

It's nice to see another crocheter here; I have projects that have been set aside while it's gardening time, but I'll return to them in a couple of months.