Cryptic Crafts
Whenever people learn, I knit, crochet, and cross stitch, the first thing I hear is, “That’s a dying art.” To anyone who does any or all these crafts, it’s far from a dying art but a very living passion. So, I’ve included a section on my website dedicated to these hobbies.
A Brief History
I’m ‘technically’ left-handed, but I’m right hand dominant. Some things I do with both hands. Unravel this mystery: I’m left-handed, but I learned how to knit from a right-handed by a woman who was born left-handed but grew up in a time when that was evil and was forced to do everything right-handed. I crochet left-handed (but I can do it right-handed, just slower). I cross stitch with both hands. Whew! Insanity, thy name is Confusion.
So, I learned how to knit when I was ten years old. I enjoyed it, but I was very slow. Still, I was able to make mittens for my foster brother (his hands were little, which equaled a faster project) and later I whipped up a baby set (cap and booties) for a teacher as a gift. You’d think I was off to a strong start. Then I knitted a sweater for myself. A life lesson: never knit a sweater for yourself when you are slow at knitting and are still growing. Yep, you guessed it. I outgrew the sweater for I even finished it. My needles were temporarily banished to a dark corner to teach them a lesson.
I took up crocheting in high school, teaching myself from a friend’s 4-H book. Another friend taught me how to read patterns. But, ooh, the irony, the “left hand, right hand” thing raised its ugly head again! I started crocheting doilies (because that’s what you did with crocheting at that time) only to have the designs to be in reverse of the pictures in the magazines. Certain patterns I couldn’t even accomplish because their written directions were made for right-handed crocheters. What a tangled web we crochet!
I learned embroidery as a child (taught by the same left-handed/right-handed lady.). When I picked up cross stitch as an adult, it wasn’t completely foreign to me. The ladies in the local group I joined were nice, and like me, knew multiple crafts. Imagine their surprise that I could do that craft equally well with either hand.
I hope you enjoy the posts and photos of my projects. Sometimes they’ll be about crochet, knitting, or cross stitch. Even diamond painting. If I’m feeling like testing myself, you’ll also see tatting in there as well. Don’t worry, I’ll curb the swearing that usually accompanies my tatting projects. I have a lot more learning to do before I’ll even consider myself a beginner in that craft. You never know, maybe you’ll be inspired to pick up a new hobby.
Have a great day!
Jenni
Current Crafts
It’s February. The month of my very first book release. I swear, this has felt like the longest month of my life! Besides editing and revising book two of the Pond Investigations Mystery series, I’ve put my crafty hands to work.
A couple of projects shown below, the Knitted Fingerless Mittens and the Knitted Leaf Pattern afghan, that is currently on my knitting needles, are just two of the projects I’ve been using to keep myself sane lately. I just now realized that both patterns came from books authored by the talented Tanis Gray. I’m building quite the collection of her pattern books. Here’s a link to her website if you want to check them out for yourself: https://www.tanisknits.com/books
The other projects I made for a friend. The cute octopus and the baby blanket. She needed a gift and provided the yarn. I put in the time. It was so much fun, as always.
Tag me (@Jenni_Stand on X; https://www.instagram.com/jenni.stand/) so I can see pictures your current projects.
Happy crafting!
Jenni
