Thursday, February 16, 2017

Knitting in miniature made easier

 The question that I am asked all the time about my mini knitting is : how do you handle those tiny knitting needles ?


 Over the years I have tried many type of needles and found that the ones that are most readily available do not work for me. Often they look like this :


They are not made out of steel or aluminum like normal knitting needles but out of something that is called piano wire. There are lots of people who can knit with them but I am not too happy with them

The good thing is that they are cheap. The less good things are ( but this is just my experience so you do not have to agree !) :
1. They are very hard to hold.
2. They bend like crazy so your needles will not be straight after a few rows.
3. The points are very sharp and will damage your yarn or hurt your fingers.

For many years I have used needles that looked like this :

A friend made them for me . They are made out of steel and the handles are wood. For me they work very well. The handles make it easier to hold on to the needles and to balace them. The needle part is steel so hardly any bending and they do not have the sharp points.


I have found out how I can make them myself now and  I have two sizes of them 1 mm and 0,75 mm . They work perfectly well for most of my patterns . I like to use DMC tatting thread no .80 with the 1 mm needles and  and silk Gutterman with the thinner ones.


If you would like to have some of these needles I would be happy to make some of them for you to buy. They will cost more than the piano wire ones but I think you will love them. Do contact me if you are interested.



Sunday, February 12, 2017

New in my Etsy shop Chenille bears


I have made some new bears for the shop.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/499098780/vintage-bear-in-shabby-box?ref=shop_home_active_1



Egg shaped critters for Easter ( crochet)


The basic shape of these little critters is an egg. With some little details added they make lovely decorations for Easter .  Without the decorations they could be little toys as well.








Same chick pattern, different yarn .
Same bunnies made with very thin thread.