All Bingo

You know I'm always impressed with whatever you make!

From:

smallhobbit

You are very kind!

From:

Just honest. You tackle things that I wouldn't have the nerve to try! I know what I'm good at so I stay in my comfort zone.

From:

My Name (how I wish to be known): DD, Dialecticdreamer

Type(s) of Crafting that I’ve tried: The whole list spans more than fifty years. FAVORITES include crochet, knitting, sewing, quilting, cooking, paper collage, printmakign.

I consider myself a Beginner, Intermediate, Master, or Other: It depends entirely on the craft.

Crafting I’ve loved and/or loathed: Let's go for 'loathing' this time: woodcrafting with power tools. Actually, pretty much anything with a powered blade involved.

Project I’m particularly proud of: Being the overeager, curious person who, in the fourth month after learning to knit and purl, cast on a pair of two at a time socks which had absolutely DIVINE cabling all up the front. (Most people kept suggesting washcloths, not even hats, at the time!) OF COURSE I got it wrong, but that's a story for later in the list!

Something I learned the hard way: Those socks? Yeah, it turns out that I was wrapping the yarn around the needle incorrectly, and discovered that they were about as stretchy as a piece of paper halfway up from the toes to the heel. I had to frog (pull out all the work) all of it, of course, but getting that orientation right meant that my eventual first pair of socks came out perfectly.

Something I haven't done yet, but I'd like to try: There are powered rotary cutters or power scissors for cutting fabric, and I want to buy one or the other to continue crafting in cardboard. Arthritis won't take away my hobbies any more than the neuropathy did, and I am bound and determined to have a crafting project within ten feet of me when I eventually die of very old age.

Biggest crafting frustration(s): Having to relearn EVERYTHING due to neuropathy. Having to SLEEP and do pesky things like housework when there is so much more to LEARN and do!

Something else I'd like to share: Got a question, feel free to ask me!

Edited (typo) Date: 2026-03-01 03:51 pm (UTC)

From:

nsfwords

"I am bound and determined to have a crafting project within ten feet of me when I eventually die of very old age."

This is an incredibly relatable goal! If I can't go out while being wholly inappropriate with my aged Husbando, this will be my preferred second choice! LOL
⊹⊱•••《 ✮ 》•••⊰⊹

Edited Date: 2026-03-01 05:50 pm (UTC)

From:

Hubby had insufficient stamina, and I am now a widow. I wish you the greatest success with your plan, and will clip any news articles with whatever digital collator exists by then. (Many years from now, of course!)

From:

smallhobbit

I have never tried knitting socks, but since I wouldn't want to wear them it does seem a little pointless.

From:

That is why I never made quilts for my sons.

From:

When I first started knitting, many moons ago, I picked the most complicated pattern in the shop and kept trying until I figured it out. I always tell people, if you want to learn to knit, don't pick something simple that people yay you SHOULD make first as a beginner. Pick a pattern you really WANT to make, and then you'll be motivated to keep at it, however frustrated you might get. Well done with picking socks, and completing them!

From:

So much THIS!

One of the projects on my wish list is to make sanqhar gloves. These are some projects made with the same combination of squares, called "Fife and Drum," but there are DEFINITELY other patterns for each of the small squares. They're only worked in two colors, and only two patterns for the squares, not like working a sampler quilt at all.

https://www.sanquharknits.com/shop

From:

Total gorgeousness! I freely admit that while I CAN work in two (or three) colours, I don't do it because I'm a tight knitter and get frustrated by the slowness of trying not to knit too tight so that the finished doesn't end up out of shape. I applaud anyone with the patience to create such beautiful patterns. Also, might be a little envious...

From:

Because I'm a loose knitter, I've been tempted to pick up needles three or four sizes smaller than the ball band indicates, then use them to knit a very dense Fair Isle pattern for a laptop sleeve. Done densely enough it won't distort AND it will be more padding than something knit in gauge.

From:

100% agree! My first knitting project was an 'intermediate' level lace shawl with no rest rows. It took me ages and so much frogging but I finished it! I wanted to have that shawl.

I didn't even know lace *had* rest rows until much later.

From:

Some lace patterns do, some don't. My current project has pattern rows and purls rows, so I can read while I do the purl rows. Only have to pay attention on the pattern rows. It's a very simple pattern though. I didn't want anything too fancy because I'm working with black yarn, and it's a devil to see what I'm doing under artificial light.

Well done on completing your shawl! I hope you wear it with pride!

From:

I love your story about the socks. Picking something you really want to make is a great way to learn! I'm sure many a newbie knitter has been turned away forever my the garter stitch scarf that's the default newbie project.

From:

My Name (how I wish to be known): badly_knitted or BK
Type(s) of Crafting that I’ve tried: Knitting, cross stitch, card making, macrame, crochet
I consider myself a Beginner, Intermediate, Master, or Other: Reasonably experienced.
Crafting I’ve loved and/or loathed: Love most of what I've tried. Loathe sewing in general.
Project I’m particularly proud of: I cross stitched a Stonehenge design for a friend, on 20 hpi aida using a single thread. It took about 6 weeks but the result was so worth it.
Biggest crafting frustration(s): Running out of yarn halfway through a row, or thread with only a couple of stitches to complete.

From:

nsfwords

"Running out of yarn halfway through a row, or thread with only a couple of stitches to complete."

Sounds like losing Bobbin Chicken, which is also massively frustrating.

⊹⊱•••《 ✮ 》•••⊰⊹

From:

Losing at yarn chicken, for knitters. Especially annoying when I have to undo a complicated pattern row without dropping any stitches...

Interesting to realise how many crafts have their own version. It can be so difficult to judge how much is left and how far it will go. I hope it doesn't happen to you often.

From:

smallhobbit

How often do I find that in stitching a pattern and I just can't stretch the floss!

From:

A lot, if you're anything like me. It's maddening to realise their isn't quite enough thread in the needle to complete that last stitch...

From:

I can empathize with that shortage. Ever had a known brand with supposedly standardized dye lots come out WRONG after buying enough to finish a project? That was so annoying that I actually dumped that WIP and never touched it again.

From:

Yikes! I've been fortunate enough to never have that happen. It would be a nightmare!

From:

It was quite a common problem when everything was hand-dyed, but THIS long after the Industrial Revolution, it took me beyond surprise and well into utter shock.

From:

I am also not a fan of sewing. It's just... different from all the other crafts. More mechanical. I still do it because I like having sewn things (but that's a rubbish excuse, I mostly sew because I enjoy buying quilting fabric and then I need to do something with it).

From:

I love the look of quilts, but I'd never have the patience, and sewing machines and I do NOT see eye to eye. I look at them and they break down. I do hand sewing of small novelty items, but my mum made clothes and was good at it. I didn't inherit that gene. She was also better at crochet than I am.

From:

I love the process of knitting and crochet, which means that I've given away nearly every item I've ever created, because the process is the source of the enjoyment, more than the finished project. The exceptions are things that I intend to keep for my remaining lifetime.

From:

nsfwords

My Name (how I wish to be known): NSFWords, Brandy.

Type(s) of Crafting that I’ve tried: I've taken a shot at many different crafts but stuck with relatively few. My paternal grandmother taught me how to crochet; didn't stick. Same grandmother taught me to sew; much success! So, at this point in time, I focus on sewing/costuming as my main crafting outlet (other than writing) and when I decided a few years back that I wanted to get good at a second craft I looked for one I felt was sewing adjacent so they could work together. I choose to self-study hand embroidery and cross stitch. That way I could further embellish the costumes or decor I created with my sewing machine.

I consider myself a Beginner, Intermediate, Master, or Other: Intermediate sewing, beginner needlework.

Crafting I’ve loved and/or loathed: I adored watching my grandmother crochet. She could do it while watching TV and never once looking down at the incredible creation draped over her lap. How?! I hate that I'm not good at painting. I'm so-so with doing pencil drawings, but paints don't do what I want, the way that I want them to.

Project I’m particularly proud of: In 2024 I realized I hadn't actually touched my sewing machine since 2014. Depression had robbed me of my main crafting outlet, and I decided I HAD to return to it. So I made the 2025 intention to sew at least once a month. Not rush to finish something or achieve anything - literally just turn on and use the machine at least once a month! Using that as my goal I made 18 finished pieces last year!

Biggest crafting frustration(s): My body. I have Psoriatic Arthritis, and it keeps trying to interfere with everything.

From:

smallhobbit

That's an impressive number of finished pieces in one year!

From:

nsfwords

Several of them were simple things, like seasonal tablecloths, but a decent number were clothes for myself or my Framily.

This is my favorite completed piece of 2025- a Flannel Jacket lined with Minky for my Husbando:

From:

ysabetwordsmith

Wow, that looks awesome.

From:

Beautiful work!

How do you get past the moment of panic before cutting into fabric for the first time? I've been sewing for decades and that particular worry has stuck around like an unwelcome guest since my first project.

From:

Ouch, that sounds painful!

18? That's an amazing achievement! Well done!

From:

OH, GREAT going! Eighteen projects is fantastic success!

I can't draw a straight line with a ruler (this is in no way hyperbole), so I admire those skills far more than familiar ones. Creating art with thread is its own kind of beauty.

From:

Go you for getting back into doing something you love. 💜 That's a real achievement, yet alone making 18 items!

From: