Crochet.............

It's a buy it, use it, throw it away world that we live in. If you need a new dishcloth, you go to the store and buy a big bundle for $3.94. It's cheap, simple and quick. But do those dishcloths give you a sense of pride and accomplishment every time you use them? Do want to display them on rack in your kitchen for your guests to see and use? Are they nice enough to give as gifts to friends and family?
I'm guessing...not! What if you could MAKE your dishcloths yourself? If you could learn the art of crochet you could make dishcloths and a whole lot more!
It's not that hard to learn and once you get started, the skies the limit...potholders, pillows, afghans, sweaters, and gifts for your friends and family. All it takes is yarn, a hook, and a little bit of your time.
My Mother crocheted when I was a little girl. I remember watching those white balls of string gradually become a beautiful tablecloth. When I became a teen I decided I wanted to crochet some house slippers for my Mother for a gift. I bought a pretty skein of yarn and a hook, I found a pattern I liked and began. I taught myself the art of crochet with a little bit of advise here and there from my Mom.
The slippers I made turned out okay, but soon I found myself crocheting afghans. From there I went to baby booties, sweaters, and other articles of clothing. Those are items made from different types of yarn. The use of crochet thread opens up a whole new world of crochet. You can make doilies, tablecloths and beautiful, lacy works of art to wear.
I have seen wedding dresses the were entirely crocheted...just beautiful!
You can do this, too! It's a wonderful pastime. I find it can be very calming, also.
I am listing a couple of sites that are great for learning the beginner's basics.

http://crochet.about.com/od/learnbasics/a/beginners.htm
http://www.craftown.com/crolesson.htm

I have found that the dishcloth is the easiest item to start with when teaching someone to crochet. It's simple and gives a sense of a job well done in a short amount of time. You can find literally thousands of patterns online. These are a couple of my favorites.

http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/directory/dishcloths.php
http://www.crochetnmore.com/kitchen.htm

I have taught several of my friends and family the basics of crochet. The first thing you learn is to make the chain. It's the beginning point of any crochet item you will make. This is the time that you will learn how to hold the hook and get comfortable with the yarn and how to hold them both. Everyone is taught the same basic on how to hold the hook and guide the yarn but most people soon discover the best way to do this for themselves.
Everyone I've taught caught on quickly to this and would have happily crocheted a mile-long chain but was soon anxious to go on to the next step. You will learn single crochet, double, half double and treble crochet stitches. There are fancier stitches to learn later on, but with these basics you can crochet just about anything! The cool thing is, after a while you will soon be creating your own patterns!
Yes, it CAN be done! Now isn't that a lot more satisfying that a $3.94 bundle of dishcloths?

Crochet

It's a buy it, use it, throw it away world that we live in. If you need a new dishcloth, you go to the store and buy a big bundle for $3.94. It's cheap, simple and quick. But do those dishcloths give you a sense of pride and accomplishment every time you use them? Do want to display them on rack in your kitchen for your guests to see and use? Are they nice enough to give as gifts to friends and family?
I'm guessing...not! What if you could MAKE your dishcloths yourself? If you could learn the art of crochet you could make dishcloths and a whole lot more!
It's not that hard to learn and once you get started, the skies the limit...potholders, pillows, afghans, sweaters, and gifts for your friends and family. All it takes is yarn, a hook, and a little bit of your time.
My Mother crocheted when I was a little girl. I remember watching those white balls of string gradually become a beautiful tablecloth. When I became a teen I decided I wanted to crochet some house slippers for my Mother for a gift. I bought a pretty skein of yarn and a hook, I found a pattern I liked and began. I taught myself the art of crochet with a little bit of advise here and there from my Mom.
The slippers I made turned out okay, but soon I found myself crocheting afghans. From there I went to baby booties, sweaters, and other articles of clothing. Those are items made from different types of yarn. The use of crochet thread opens up a whole new world of crochet. You can make doilies, tablecloths and beautiful, lacy works of art to wear.
I have seen wedding dresses the were entirely crocheted...just beautiful!
You can do this, too! It's a wonderful pastime. I find it can be very calming, also.
I am listing a couple of sites that are great for learning the beginner's basics.

http://crochet.about.com/od/learnbasics/a/beginners.htm
http://www.craftown.com/crolesson.htm

I have found that the dishcloth is the easiest item to start with when teaching someone to crochet. It's simple and gives a sense of a job well done in a short amount of time. You can find literally thousands of patterns online. These are a couple of my favorites.

http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/directory/dishcloths.php
http://www.crochetnmore.com/kitchen.htm

I have taught several of my friends and family the basics of crochet. The first thing you learn is to make the chain. It's the beginning point of any crochet item you will make. This is the time that you will learn how to hold the hook and get comfortable with the yarn and how to hold them both. Everyone is taught the same basic on how to hold the hook and guide the yarn but most people soon discover the best way to do this for themselves.
Everyone I've taught caught on quickly to this and would have happily crocheted a mile-long chain but was soon anxious to go on to the next step. You will learn single crochet, double, half double and treble crochet stitches. There are fancier stitches to learn later on, but with these basics you can crochet just about anything! The cool thing is, after a while you will soon be creating your own patterns!
Yes, it CAN be done! Now isn't that a lot more satisfying that a $3.94 bundle of dishcloths?

WELCOME!!

Welcome to my new Blog!!
Heart and Soul Handcrafts is the name of my handmade crafts "shop." I don't have an actual shop, I work out of my home...the dining room, living room and the kitchen. The front porch is also a favorite place of mine for crafting when the weather is nice!
My crafts include sewing, crochet, knitting, cross stitch, photography and anything else that looks interesting. I also love to garden and bake.
Please bear with me as I get this all set up!
(And I welcome constructive opinions!)
Have a great day!!
sharon