Sunday, May 7, 2017

Five High Tech Ways to Enjoy Crafting

1. Classes -- I signed up for a Craftsy class called Mastering Foundation Stitches. Say what? you ask. You know how annoying it is to make a chain to start a crochet project? The loops have so little give. They twist as you go along. When you're done, they stick out funny. But this class promised a better, faster way to start your crochet projects without that bother.

I bought the class on sale for $10. Best ten bucks I've spend in a long, long time. The teacher was obviously skilled and, best of all, she's taught enough in real life that she anticipated the sorts of problems I would have. Here's a look at my first try.



I'm really eager to translate this to miniature projects. As you might imagine, the thread you use for a tiny afghan has no give at all, which means this should result in a much, much better product.

2. Customized fabric -- I wanted a way to take Jax, my Havanese pup, with me wherever I go. I'd seen dog pillows offered on Etsy, but the price was pretty steep. Instead, I cropped one of my favorite puppy photos of Jax, loaded it onto Spoonflower, and they printed it on fabric. You can have fabric made for as little as $20 a yard plus shipping and handling. https://www.spoonflower.com/

Gives a whole new meaning to "doggy bag" doesn't it?


3. Floss on demand -- I hate it when I go into a store for a specific DMC floss, only to discover they have every color under the sun but that one. I discovered this wonderful service from Heirlooms Forever. Using their website, I can go online and order each skein I need, by the color or the DMC code. The cost? Only 77 cents per skein plus shipping and handling. Here's their website http://www.sews.com/ and be sure to tell them I said, Hi.

4. Virtual cropping -- As Christina shared earlier, May 5 was National Scrapbook Day. A bunch of fun ladies in Collinsville, Illinois, asked if I'd like to be a part of their crop. It wasn't feasible for me to travel, so I did a remote event with them via Facetime on my iPhone.

5. Small inspirations -- I subscribe to the Alpha Stamps newsletter. I might need to give up eating, because every newsletter shares the coolest projects ever and I want everything they sell. In duplicate. There are tons of ideas here. Enough to keep my little fingers busy until the wee hours of the night. And what crafter doesn't need more stash? You have to see this little collector's room box-- http://www.alphastamps.com/blog/?p=16758C

Okay, have you tried any of this high tech ways to feel your low tech crafting addiction? Would you like to?

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6 comments:

Unknown said...

I loved that crochet tutorial on building a foundation row without a chain - we're so lucky to live in this digital age.

servedogmom said...

I have copied photos to transfer for a variety of projects (works very well when making pet memorial pillows). Also tried different methods to make soap and bath salts.

Anonymous said...

Hi! I also tried a class on Craftsy, it was about short rows in knitting - it was great, and it was free! Good luck with your miniature afghan!

sacvoter said...

After buying a beautiful hand painted needle point in the French Quarter I realized back home in Sacramento that over the years I forgot how to needlepoint. Do you think it might help?

Anonymous said...

Do you mean, would taking a class online help? Absolutely. They're not every expensive, you can attend in your undies, and most of them allow you to revisit the class whenever.

Unknown said...

Hey, I just became "Anonymous." LOL

And Anonymous who offered me "good luck" on my miniature afghan, thanks so much.