Have Your Say

While many of our readers write to us in response to a specific article, we also receive correspondence about a general topic, an idea that popped into their head, or simply because they wanted to chat. We love receiving all your emails and endeavour to share as much as we can with the wider community, so this week Have Your Say is a beautiful potpourri of various themes. We don’t like to leave anyone out so we’re making an effort to dot all of the ‘I’s and cross the ‘T’s!

Elizabeth Braun was inspired by several previous articles and letters and wrote on a couple of topics. Over the past months we’ve been talking about storage so, although Elizabeth doesn’t have a big craft room to herself, she does have some nifty storage solutions.

She’s got space for containers, including an oversized repurposed cosmetics organiser which, we have to say, is enviable!

But it doesn’t mean she’s not thrifty. She made this cute card and box with ‘inchies’, which are tiny squares crafted either by hand or sewing machine. That looks like a perfect way to use up bits and pieces to us.

In All Stitched Up! issue #287 we shared Heather Grover’s clever technique for using up odds and ends that she calls ‘entrapment’. This is a way of making new fabric out of recycled materials. Julie wrote simply to say how much she loved this idea. We’re with you, Julie!

We’re always open to receiving handy tips and tricks on threading needles, and Cathy Lysnes pointed us to the website of Inspirations’ friend, Mary Corbet, who outlines the ‘Fold and Pinch’ method. If you’d like to learn about that method, you can read the full article HERE. Cathy then said that for smaller needles, she uses the Dritz Hummingbird needle threader that works like a charm. She says it is the best threader she has in her stash, and she’s tried many.

The term ‘Fika’ that we discussed in All Stitched Up! issue #290 is Swedish for taking a moment to slow down and appreciate the good things in life, which immediately resonated with Jennifer Davies. When Jennifer’s mother was in the advanced stages of dementia, Jennifer was looking for a project to immerse herself in to get her through the challenging season. She came across an article that talked about words in non-English languages that had meanings much larger than simply ‘happiness’. She decided to make a concertina book to express such words.

More than simply the making, Jennifer gained so much out of the research, designing and contemplation, all of which helped her through the difficult time.

The tablecloth had belonged to Jennifer’s grandmother, but it was too stained to use so found a new life in this beautiful project. Jennifer hopes her book can give other readers a real sense of the meaning of ‘Fika’ – a word we could really do with in the English language.

Doris Marie Gerard wanted to share with readers two Dutch Facebook groups that host crochet-alongs. They make traditional crochet sampler rolls in the group. Doris is a member of both groups and really enjoys all the projects, which are unlike anything she has come across before. Also, Doris has the added challenge of having to translate the Dutch language into English using Google Translate.

The patterns are free while the project is ongoing, then once they are completed by the group, you can still purchase the pattern for a very reasonable price. If you’re interested, the groups are called ‘De Haakrol’ and ‘Onze Haakrol’. If anyone gives them a try, we’d love to see pictures of your projects. 

And with that, we think we may have caught up… well, for now anyway! We hope that you all enjoy reading the thoughts and advice from your fellow stitchers, it’s our privilege to be a conduit for the wealth of knowledge and experience out there. Please keep sending in your messages; we’ll share them as quickly as we can and, in the meantime, keep stitching, and keep that kettle boiling so it’s ready for our next conversation.