What smiley describes how you are feeling today - 2024

[cassiopea]

 

[neely]

 

[Kwik]

 

[neely]

 

[cassiopea]

 

[neely]

 

[Kwik]

 

[cassiopea]

 

[catloverfromwayback]

Did a half-hour drive to a maker's market in Portarlington (coastal Victoria). Utter waste of time - not even a dozen stalls, and the same sort of ho-hum stuff (baby clothes, knitted beanies, and the like) one always sees at these things. The one item I liked was a marcasite necklace, but at $300, it wasn't happening. (NB I don't begrudge the maker charging that for her work, but it's way out of my budget range.)

At least it's a good run down there, which will have done my car's battery some good.

 

[Kwik]

Did a half-hour drive to a maker's market in Portarlington (coastal Victoria). Utter waste of time - not even a dozen stalls, and the same sort of ho-hum stuff (baby clothes, knitted beanies, and the like) one always sees at these things. The one item I liked was a marcasite necklace, but at $300, it wasn't happening. (NB I don't begrudge the maker charging that for her work, but it's way out of my budget range.)

At least it's a good run down there, which will have done my car's battery some good.

I've always loved marcasite but that seems a bit high even for hand made .....that's the thing with hand making things (these days)- it's hard to make a profit for your time and effort with everything done machine made and looks just as good to the naked eye

 

[catloverfromwayback]

I've always loved marcasite but that seems a bit high even for hand made .....that's the thing with hand making things (these days)- it's hard to make a profit for your time and effort with everything done machine made and looks just as good to the naked eye

I agree. It's why I'd never try selling my knitting for a living (don't even take commissions now, they turn it into a chore). I try to avoid expensive yarns, but it's hard to get good quality ones that don't cost a packet. I saw a lovely jumper pattern in Rowan Felted Tweed last year. That stuff's about $25 a ball. It would have cost over $200 to make the thing. Now imagine adding the cost of my labour on top of that!

 

[Kwik]

I agree. It's why I'd never try selling my knitting for a living (don't even take commissions now, they turn it into a chore). I try to avoid expensive yarns, but it's hard to get good quality ones that don't cost a packet. I saw a lovely jumper pattern in Rowan Felted Tweed last year. That stuff's about $25 a ball. It would have cost over $200 to make the thing. Now imagine adding the cost of my labour on top of that!

WOW!!!! Once upon a time you could make a living selling knitted items- they're beautiful. The prices of those yarns is absurd plus everything is synthetic,machine made and should be far less than it is -doesnt make sense,our grandparents used to make their own clothes to save money- that's a thing of the past,isn't it? It always took time and effort but the materials cost was virtually nothing- everything is upside down

 

[catloverfromwayback]

WOW!!!! Once upon a time you could make a living selling knitted items- they're beautiful. The prices of those yarns is absurd plus everything is synthetic,machine made and should be far less than it is -doesnt make sense,our grandparents used to make their own clothes to save money- that's a thing of the past,isn't it? It always took time and effort but the materials cost was virtually nothing- everything is upside down

Yes, knitting hasn't been a cheap pastime for years - and like everything else, it's far worse since Covid. It's still possible to get reasonably economical skeins, but they're likely to be acrylic rather than natural fibres (the Rowan I mentioned is pure wool) and will inevitably come from overseas. (It's a fairly safe bet if acrylic yarn is made in Turkey it will be good quality.) Fiddlesticks brand have very soft acrylic I've used a couple of times and is about $7-$8 a ball iirc. I'm glad I can get it from my LYS, though their suppliers all seem to be in a mess at present!

 

[Kwik]

Yes, knitting hasn't been a cheap pastime for years - and like everything else, it's far worse since Covid. It's still possible to get reasonably economical skeins, but they're likely to be acrylic rather than natural fibres (the Rowan I mentioned is pure wool) and will inevitably come from overseas. (It's a fairly safe bet if acrylic yarn is made in Turkey it will be good quality.) Fiddlesticks brand have very soft acrylic I've used a couple of times and is about $7-$8 a ball iirc. I'm glad I can get it from my LYS, though their suppliers all seem to be in a mess at present!

What's LYS( local yarn shoppe?) .... trying to guess,don't make fun lol

 

[Lennybells]

I don’t knit, but I do crochet. The amount of work and money for yarn, it can really add up. Not including stuffing or eyes when crocheting stuffies (stuffed animals). It does pay off though. What kind of stuff do you like to knit? I prefer my little animals, though I did make a giant blanket (took months and was $50 in yarn)

 

[neely]

 

[Kwik]

 

[catloverfromwayback]

What's LYS( local yarn shoppe?) .... trying to guess,don't make fun lol

Local yarn shop or store is exactly what it is! (Sorry, using knitters' abbreviations on the wrong site!)

 

[catloverfromwayback]

I don’t knit, but I do crochet. The amount of work and money for yarn, it can really add up. Not including stuffing or eyes when crocheting stuffies (stuffed animals). It does pay off though. What kind of stuff do you like to knit? I prefer my little animals, though I did make a giant blanket (took months and was $50 in yarn)

I knit clothes for myself (and am running out of drawer space, dammit). Crochet uses even more yarn than knitting, doesn't it? I've never learned crochet, it looks remarkably difficult from the lessons I've seen, and there isn't anything I want to make that way, so no incentive to learn.

This is one of my favourite jumpers, the Daisydins (named for guess-who). Pattern from Ravelry.

And to get back more or less on topic, this makes me feel !

 

[neely]

This is one of my favourite jumpers, the Daisydins (named for guess-who).

That's absolutely lovely especially Daisy's paw print. I knew how to crochet but always liked knitting better. A teacher I worked with also knits clothes and encouraged me to start knitting again. She gave me a large bag with two sizes of needles, a bunch of yarn and even a booklet. I started to knit one evening since it all came back to me so I didn't need to look at the booklet. Unfortunately I didn't follow through.