ReePin Crafts

Learning something new

by Joanne Piner

This week I have been learning something new. As you may or may not know I spin wool and alpaca fibre but I have an admission to make – I’m not that good at using it for a couple of reasons. Firstly I know this sounds like ‘well why do you spin in the first place’  – I can’t wear wool next to my skin and even alpaca fibre makes me really itchy and secondly I’m not that good at knitting. I have finished a tank top with knitting which I was and still am super proud of but I’m not fast. I am better at crocheting and have made fingerless gloves, a couple of ponchos and a massive king-size cover that goes over my bed. But that is about it…

So as I love spinning so much I thought to myself I need another way of learning to make things. That is where Tunisian Crochet comes in. I found Toni from TL Yarn Crafts on YouTube and through her videos and blog I have learned Tunisian Simple Stitch. I decided I wanted to make something with this stitch, so I am making a cowl. I’m also going to add that even though I spin wool, I still buy commercial wool and with this project I am making it from one of them. I chose a yarn that is self striping as I thought it would add to the project. As you can see below I have a way to go.

Thoughts about Tunisian Crochet

So what are my thoughts on Tunisian Crochet? I love it! It creates a dense fabric which reminds me of knitting but I have the ability to rectify mistakes quickly like crochet, which I have to be honest is very much needed. I have Knitpro knitting needles with detachable cables which I love and I have now added to my collection Knitpro Tunisian Crochet hooks which can be used in conjunction with them. I had some birthday money left over so I treated myself to a set from 5mm – 8mm hooks. You are only working off one hook and going back over the same row twice which produces the density I was talking about earlier. But the texture is lovely and in particular with this cowl will be warm and very cosy. 

Finding New Like Minded People – TL Yarn Crafts

In my last blog ‘Finding Your People’ I talked about going out or indeed as I have this last week searching online for people or maybe a community that speaks to you in some way. This week I truly feel I have been able to do this as I have joined TL Yarn Crafts ‘Yarn Hive’ community, it has stopped my incessant need to scroll through social media. It is a paid subscription and I have included the details below for you to be able to check it out for yourself. NB. I am not being paid for this endorsement it is genuinely a lovely place to connect with other people who crochet, Tunisian Crochet and Knit. The difference I found has been trying to connect with people who are too busy, to then be able to immediately talk to people all over the world about something I am very passionate about and this has proved very cathartic and inclusive.

Everyone is so welcoming and you are able to connect in many different ways from looking at other peoples work and also being able to have people look at your work and feel like you matter – this is something I do not always feel on social media. In fact on Thursday I joined a Zoom call with a few ladies from America. It was 8pm our time and 3pm in the afternoon for them. We were all working on different projects and chatting about what we like to do. So I have another new community which this week put their arms around me and made me feel one of them. That is what I was talking about in my last blog, I can truly say it is what I needed after feeling deflated by the endless scrolling and trying to find someone who is genuinely interested in what I am trying to do. 

Below I have included the video I watched to help me to learn Tunisian Crochet Simple Stitch. Toni’s instructions are very clear and I was able to follow along (of course with some pauses). This is not the cowl project just the instructions for starting Tunisian Crochet, (the Nightfall Cowl pattern is available to be able to rent out so to speak from TL Yarn Crafts Website below, its free if you’re subscribed and $14.99 for a PDF pattern and video tutorial). As you can see from my picture above I still have some way to go before I finish my project but so far I am very happy with what I have completed.

https://tlyarncrafts.com/?srsltid=AfmBOopBFt1S_yx4E65_lFtMp7ETr_VJyvW6MdjaRun6Hd8T7YZ3r_BB

Above is a link to Toni’s (TL Yarn Crafts) website where you can read her blog posts and look for patterns and other videos to watch.

If you wanted to have a look at the Yarn Hive Community you can click on the link below to find out more. You are not charged any money for looking and in fact you are given three free days to help you decide whether it is for you or not. Excuse the pun I was ‘hooked’ from the start.

https://yarnhivecommunity.com/

What else have I been doing this week?

Here is some of the spinning I’ve been working on this last week. The blend is 15% Alpaca, 15% Seacell and 70% Blue Faced Leicester (BFL). It feels lovely to spin and I love the colours, they remind me of Scottish Heather. I am unsure what to ply it with yet so watch this space to find out.

ReePin Crafts Videos

If you are interested in watching any of our videos on YouTube here is one we made about my mum making a crumb quilt. This technique uses up scraps of material any size and then joining them together to make a bigger piece of useable fabric.

Thanks for looking at my latest blog post. It would be great if you could try and subscribe and then my blogs ares posted to your email when I publish them. Also if you think someone may be interested in my ponderings then by all means share either to social media or ask them to look up reepincrafts.co.uk – any help to get the word out there for this community of like minded people would be very much appreciated.