Stitch 'n Dish

Tag: handmade gifts

  • Bridges of yarn

    Bridges of yarn

    I’ve noted in a number of blogs – here and on my other site – the many healing benefits gleaned by crafting, and especially by crocheting and knitting. In today’s post I am going to share a different story on this topic. Many years ago, I had a situation where I was the new kid…

  • Ties that bind

    Ties that bind

    Earlier this week, one of my cousins came into town for a couple days, and we were able to catch up, reminisce about long-gone relatives and recall good times from the past. We had a wonderful visit over a few days and it got me thinking about those relatives and their lives. As children, it…

  • Weaving yarns ends and life

    Weaving yarns ends and life

    Crocheters and knitters generally DREAD the task of weaving in the yarn ends on any project – ESPECIALLY larger ones. This blog post is not about those challenges, but the metaphor applies (and who doesn’t love a great crochet or knitting metaphor?!) I speak often at conferences and professional meetings (I have done this regularly…

  • Untitled post 764

    This past week I have been thinking about the way yarn, and more specifically, things knitted or crocheted with yarn, can serve as agents of kindness. I wrote before about the healing power of yarn, and in that blog post the healing came in the passing down of the art of crochet to a new…

  • Dragonflies

    Dragonflies

    A few years back, I began to appreciate dragonflies. I was on vacation with my family at the Outer Banks in North Carolina and realized that these creatures were more than just “bugs“. These were beautiful, multi-colored, many-sized and tempered (some friendlier than others) critters! One Summer in particular, there were so many that I…

  • One more

    One more

    This MIGHT be the last sunglasses pouch,… we’ll see (smile). I was on a roll using up odds and ends of yarn, and I had some Sandcastle (color) yarn leftover from another shawl project (pictured here). Once again this was Juniper Moon Farms “Cirrus” yarn (Color #301 – Sandcastle). The shawl I made followed the…

  • Variation on a theme

    Variation on a theme

    In a previous blog, I shared a pattern I wrote for a quick crochet project: a sunglasses pouch. That post resulted in a special request for the same item in a yarn I had used to make a virus shawl. Luckily, I did have a little yarn left so I was able to make 2…

  • A different kind of yarn excursion

    A different kind of yarn excursion

    One challenge for those of us who like to knit and crochet (and sew, quilt or engage in other crafting) is the sedentary nature of these activities. To combat this I take time every day to walk or bike so that I can stay healthy and enjoy many more years of knitting and crocheting. This…

  • Thoughts after yarn-crawling

    Thoughts after yarn-crawling

    After finishing my 3rd yarn crawl ever, I wanted to share some of my thoughts on the process along with some personal insights, and more. Back in 2021, the only crawls I had ever heard of were Pub crawls, and by the time I learned about those I was too old to be interested. When…

  • Sunglasses pouch

    Sunglasses pouch

    I recently watched a YouTube video on how to make a sunglasses case/pouch and it reminded me of other patterns I have seen over the years. As often happens with ALL of us who knit or crochet for any length of time, I wanted to make edits here and changes there. I ended up with…