One of the hot crochet-related items on many crocheters Christmas list this year was a spindle for hand-spinning yarn. Spindles come in a plethora of types, styles, and models. Many are a mini-art pieces, with beautiful woodwork, designs, and colors. Hand spinning yarn, for me, has become a sister addiction to my out-of-hand crochet addiction! This is the first post in a series that plans to explore hand spindles from around the world. I’m so excited to be writing about a new passion of mine- hand spinning yarn!

Photo by Dan & Jo Stanbrough

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Do you love the look of knitting but don’t have the desire to pick up the needles? Tunisian Crochet offers many gorgeous stitches that have a similar look to knitting, but what if you don’t want to dip into the Tunisian waters yet? Here comes the Camel Stitch, a crochet stitch that looks remarkably like knitting.

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For me, the worse part of the Christmas season is the day we have to put away all of our festive and beloved holiday decorations. I mean, who wants to be the people with a Christmas tree up in April? The holiday season is over and here it comes- the winter ennui (that’s my “Vocabulary Word of the Day” and it means boredom)! I look around, and within an hour my formerly happy, cozy home looks empty and sullen, with a pile of dead pine needles covering the floor! So this year, when I take down the Christmas décor, I am going to hang up winter décor!

Yes, in our house, January will be the month to decorate and celebrate the winter season with a variety of fabulous winter-themed décor such as snowmen, snowflakes, and snow, snow, snow!
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As a crochet-addict and mother of three, I am constantly trying to find ways to get my kids crocheting. The Chain Stitch Christmas Garland was perfect for us! This project is a great way to use the kids’ Christmas season excitement to teach them a few crocheting fundamentals. The garland is worked entirely in the crochet chain stitch, and the end result is a colorful, braided garland to hang on your tree, mantle piece, or anywhere else you wish. My kids chose to hand there’s on the cat; but that’s another story.

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Okay, I have a confession to make. For many, many years I have been having a love affair. Yes, it’s true. I have been in love with cotton yarn, and not the high-end organic cotton sold in little yarn shops in the trendy section of town. I have been having a love affair with Sugar-n-cream and Peaches-n-cream yarn, the cotton used by crocheters to make dish cloths, bath scrubbies and other household items. Alright, maybe “love affair” is a bit melodramatic. Just a bit. Cotton yarn has a huge place in my home, not to make dishcloths and other small items, but to make afghans. “You make afghans out of ‘kitchen cotton’?!” you say. Yes, I absolutely do. And my afghans are the warmest, coziest afghans this side of the Mississippi. Well, maybe not this entire side of the Mississippi, but this part of Arizona.

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