All Felt Up

I was alerted by Sheila's post this morning over there at The Hooker's Haven about one of the most recommended websites I send people to with stitch problems.  It is gone! Gone! Gone!  Yes. Sadly we've had our first bit of sad crochet news for the new year.  StitchGuild.com is no longer with us.  Instead of finding stitch help with relative ease you'll now need to visit the Annie's Attic website and do a little searching until you find the video clips we've come to love from the StitchGuide.com website.  As Sheila states, "there was no warning."  The website worked fine last week, so this does seem rather sudden.  (Like when Patternworks suddenly closed their doors in 2002 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and later showed up in NH with new owners.)  If I hear of any "official word" I'll post it.

Since I'm still over here on "Camp Couch" (I know! Enough of this already!!), I've been spending my time experimenting in preparation for my new winter classes I'll be teaching.  I wanted to come up with the right pattern, and this is not always so easy.  Sometimes this requires many stitch "rippings" (also known as "frogging"), and completed samples.  I then hand felt up the samples to see if the patterns gave the desired results.   One design out performed the others and I've got to say that I'm really loving the end product, and more importantly I'm sure my students who will be taking the class in February will love it too!  Yes, I've been crocheting & felting hearts! 

Add that today is a snow day (5-12 inches are expected in my area due to the high elevation), I plan on spending another day at Camp Couch decorating the hearts.  I plan on taking pictures once all the class displays are done.  :)

For those interested in  getting hooked on the felting technique there are two ways to do it ... by hand or by machine -- bottom loading washing machine, that is.  If you opted to add exercise to your 2006 New Years Resolution, then you'll want to give the hand felting technique a try.  Both create interesting results!  If this topic interests you then check out these other blogs, books & websites:

              * felt so good: Cher is the present VP of the CGOA and does her felting in Texas!!
              * Felted Crochet by Jane Davis:  is now a treasured book in my personal  library!
              * A Loom With A View: be sure to also check out Linda's studio; it's to drool over!
              * Simply Felt, by Margaret Docherty and Jayne Emerson is the book I drooled over so much last January!

 

UPDATE:  I received word that StitchGuide.com has always been a part of the Anne's Attic world -- apparently I was too busy watching those little video clips to notice!   The StitchGuide site was operated separately until sadly the webmaster for it died in an auto accident last year.  Anne's Attic opted to move the StitchGuide website onto theirs to make maintenance easier. 

Thank you, Donna, for this information!  And condolences to the webmaster's family ... the StitchGuide website was appreciated by many fiber artists through the years!  Thankfully all that hard work is preserved at Annies Attic!   ~Dee.