Stitch 'n Dish

Tag: happiness

  • The benefits of struggle

    The benefits of struggle

    I learned to sew on a Kenmore sewing machine, which I was using up until about 10 years ago when I purchased a Singer model at Joann’s. About a year ago I was offered a great deal on a used Brother sewing machine that had a (basic) embroidery option, which is why I bought it.…

  • The best things

    The best things

    This past weekend my sister surprised me with a little gift. It was something she made to support a treat I have been getting for myself. I have become a fan of the cold “refresher” drinks that many restaurants are tempting us with this Summer. I love the ones at Starbucks, but admit that at…

  • A question of value

    A question of value

    While browsing social media over the weekend, I came across an ad for a Coach handbag. It piqued my interest because it looked very much like a crocheted bag. I became curious about the price of it, due to recent conversations around the VALUE of handmade items, specifically crocheted ones. The bag, pictured here, is…

  • Analog knitting

    Analog knitting

    After a marathon of crocheting the granny stitch bags, including a couple mini ones pictured below, I decided to do some knitting. I had picked up 2 skeins of Wonderland Yarn, in blue. It’s a silk blend and a sock/finger weight that I picked up in McWalker Yarns final week. I decided to make a…

  • A new bag pattern

    A new bag pattern

    I haven’t sewed for a little while and frankly, I was missing it. I think the last time I sewed was back in March when my sister and I attended a Quilt Retreat. I had favorited a cute pattern on Etsy for a yarn bag, and yesterday, knowing I had several fabric options in my…

  • Life’s simple pleasures

    Life’s simple pleasures

    I periodically go off on a tangent as it relates to a craft – especially knitting or crocheting projects. I recently came across an item from one of these “projects” as I was cleaning out and organizing some space. The piece I found tonight, a crocheted drawstring bag (pictured below) was empty and I was…

  • Fighting the Winter doldrums

    Fighting the Winter doldrums

    January and February in the American Northeast/Mid-Atlantic can be challenging in terms of our emotional health. It’s COLD, with snow – which is lovely when it first falls but then gets DIRTY from all the salt and traffic, and the dirty snow hangs around for weeks, making the cold, gray, days even MORE depressing. In…

  • Tuesday evening

    Tuesday evening

    Lately, I have found myself browsing the patterns posted in a Facebook group dedicated to sewing pattern destashing. It’s amazing to me the sheer volume of patterns that exist out there, not in stores, but in sewing rooms and storage areas of people across the country . Last week, a woman I have purchased from…

  • Gifts from the heart

    Gifts from the heart

    [We] know from research in Psychology that gift giving is beneficial to us, in and of itself. Multiple studies have documented that “gift-giving, particularly when the giftee is someone with whom we have a close relationship, activates key reward pathways in our brain” (APA.org).

  • In the spooky spirit

    In the spooky spirit

    Tonight I made my (1st) Halloween cross-body bag following the pattern I have used to make several other bags. Since I’ve made multiple variations of it, this bag went together fairly quickly. Here are a few of my earlier iterations: I have also started to add charms to the zipper pulls as some added glitz…