For my Needle-fondling friends
I decided we need to share some of our favorite web links and projects and stuff.
I'll start.
First off, my favorite pattern source: Annie's Attic.
My mom subscribed to several Annie's Attic monthly newsletters throughout the '80's and '90's. I now own her entire stash. Update the colors and fibers a bit and they don't look so dated. But I love that their patterns are so clear to read, come with full color photos, and are reasonably priced.
A fun forum for support and inspiration: Craftster.org
They cover all KINDS of crafts, but there are forums just for knitters and crocehters too.
For fresh projects: Crochet! Magazine
I've been getting this for just over a year now, I think. I've made several projects and I'm pretty happy with the quality of their patterns, although I have run into a few typos here and there.
A decent retail source for patterns and yarns: Mary Maxim
Nothing over-the-top available here, but their shipping is FAST and their own brand of yarn is nicer than the Red Heart crap at the store, plus you can always buy as much as you actually need instead of playing the hunt down every last skein game.
Alas, I don't play much with natural fibers because so many of them irritate my skin. Somewhere in my SCA SCHTUFF I hope I haven't lost the card of the nice Pennsic merchant that let me fondle all the different animal fibers she had. The Alpaca seemed promising, provided it had been processed in Europe, where they use a different set of chemical treatments than what's used here in the USA.
And, a slideshow of some of my projects... I made lots of kids toys and sold them either on Ebay or through word of mouth while I was a stay-at-home-mom. The Octopus Garden is my own design.
I'll start.
First off, my favorite pattern source: Annie's Attic.
My mom subscribed to several Annie's Attic monthly newsletters throughout the '80's and '90's. I now own her entire stash. Update the colors and fibers a bit and they don't look so dated. But I love that their patterns are so clear to read, come with full color photos, and are reasonably priced.
A fun forum for support and inspiration: Craftster.org
They cover all KINDS of crafts, but there are forums just for knitters and crocehters too.
For fresh projects: Crochet! Magazine
I've been getting this for just over a year now, I think. I've made several projects and I'm pretty happy with the quality of their patterns, although I have run into a few typos here and there.
A decent retail source for patterns and yarns: Mary Maxim
Nothing over-the-top available here, but their shipping is FAST and their own brand of yarn is nicer than the Red Heart crap at the store, plus you can always buy as much as you actually need instead of playing the hunt down every last skein game.
Alas, I don't play much with natural fibers because so many of them irritate my skin. Somewhere in my SCA SCHTUFF I hope I haven't lost the card of the nice Pennsic merchant that let me fondle all the different animal fibers she had. The Alpaca seemed promising, provided it had been processed in Europe, where they use a different set of chemical treatments than what's used here in the USA.
And, a slideshow of some of my projects... I made lots of kids toys and sold them either on Ebay or through word of mouth while I was a stay-at-home-mom. The Octopus Garden is my own design.