Art, Craft and Needlework, April, 2025

[Harriet]

It's the quarter-mark of the year for 2025!

Have you enjoyed some creativity, or have BIG PLANS for starting soon?

Do you ever wonder what the current trends are for creative folks?

A glance over at best-selling books in craft categories hints that watercolor seems to be tops for painting (btw, who knew metallic watercolor painting was a thing?). But all kinds of meditative grown-up coloring and "by-number" type books are very popular, with cottage-like homey scenes and even new sticker-by-number crafting. In textiles, crochet seems to have lots of attention right now, with very (very) small projects like flowers and decorations to add onto larger traditional ones.

Take a look at last month's thread, busy with lots of interesting projects. Kittykatt even gave a link to her dollhouse project.

[Nancy]

I have started a new hot pad to go with dish cloths I did last month.
Less focus on this with gardening season upon us & new glasses on the way.
I did look on you tube on how to change sewing machine needle.
Embarrassed to say the machine is 8 ish years old and after doing up denim quilt mending this is way past due!
But I am reluctant to try to thread a needle yet.

Bagged up a knit baby blanket today for my first grand baby shower this weekend.
Crocheted a few rounds and used up one ball of yarn added the next and got my 5 rows in.
About half way on this one. I should rip it out to make the stripe more centered but doubt I will.
This one is for me.

[Gma]

Hi, Nancy.
Harriet, Thanks for starting the new month!
I didn't know that crochet is the "new thing". I guess I'm right in style without knowing it.
I brought my finished prayer shawl to church.
And am working on 2 others. Both in pink, one solid and one with purple accents.
What do you do with the items you make? Are they for you, your personal use? For gifts? For selling- for craft fairs, or just individual sales?

[Lauralind]

Thanks for the month start again. This list is all of my hobbies. Well reading not so much but I would like to get there. That book is still waiting to be read.. along with more that I should. I just struggle with keeping interest and have a hard time finishing.

Then there are a few mending fixing projects that have been sitting there forever.

I am trying to make myself do some fun things and productive things when I'm resting after work. My exhaustion and mental health got to a point of no interest at all no motivation and all I would do is scroll useless stuff till I fall asleep on the couch. Finally managed to get crochet to start again.



Rest and relaxation

Read the book I kept from bible study
Devotional time
Piano time - find a new book other one never came
Finish my idea of edging on one of my knitted blankets I didn't hide all the ends
Experiment and paint a summer side on my porch leaner
Make baby blanket for ddil
Finish brown and red afghan so close

Mend and repair

Hem dh new work pants
Fix buttons on a couple of shirts
Fix side seam of ds too small winter jacket that would be good for donation
Fix the lace loop on my new shoe or return them?

[Nancy]

I have good news I got a cone of white cotton yarn for yarn projects.
I looked for it just in case I did not need one this week and found it!
I was excited about this.

I have several that I need to do with striped in it to go with dish cloths sets.
It's good to get ideas for summer that are projects that are smaller.

I did knit a few rows today yea!
That dish cloth is done now.

Crocheted on a hot pad it is nearly done now.

Most of what I make are for gifts.
Some are for charity like the sets of hot pads and dish cloths in the food baskets in Nov. ahead of turkey day here in the US.
Prayer shawls I never really know where they are going but most find a home.
I did up one for me last year.
The one I did up this year is still undecided.
The blue shawl went to Dgd at the shower today the reveal was she's having a boy! Perfect!
The knit one was pink and blue so that was great too.

[Gma]

Mother woke me at 0330, adn I went to sit with her at the NH. Took my crochet project with me, and did a few rows.

[Kittykatt]

We had rain all morning today, so instead of of gardening, I used my "free" morning to work on my blog. I've got the kitchen page done, and I've rewritten the earlier page I wrote about the history of furniture to give some more details, adding more examples and pictures to make it more interesting!

Kittykatt's Dolls House Project

[Nancy]

At the great grand baby shower yesterday I was impressed with the talent the family members had.
Dgd that I taught to knit and crochet had surpassed me in crochet talent and made a zig sag crochet blanket with bobbles in the pattern.
That zig zag had eluded me in skill I had trouble keeping count on those.
Her mil sewed up burp towels and made a one-zie too
D's / SO made the quilt like I want to learn how with the frayed edges so lovely.

For fun they had us paint on onesies with stencils and put our names on em and they could be made in to a quilt
when the baby boy has out grown them.

It was at a new motel in a conference room very nice I was impressed.
Fresh flowers were in pint jars.
The reveal was balloons released from a large box in a balloon bouquet!

[Gma]

Nancy, that sounds like a really fun party!

[Nancy]

Gma yes it was!

Last night I finished up another hot pads got two done this weekend & started two more.
So excited I'm to the last hot pads on one set and then one last set of hot pads for the
food baskets in the fall.