What crafts do you do? What would you like to learn?

[Gaerr]

Its been a fascinating journey reading what you have all put and it has reminded me of what I do.

Scrapbooking
Photographing trees
Felt making, jewellery and just learnt how to make goassamer felt scarves
I used to do a lot of spinning and have my own wheel
Embroidery of all kinds
Quilting
Beadwork
Jam and chutney making
Drawing nature based things
Card making
Applique work
I am at the moment on a 4 year Creative Textile course which mainly focuses on embroidery. Its wonderful but an amazing amount of wotk. I am always in trouble with the tutor because I dont want to make what she suggests and what is on the ciriculum. We have to make a 3D object and I decided to make a felt hare to sew on my cloak and embroider it. This is fine but not NORMAL! It will be about 2 feet high . Wow!
I also want to make a new Crane bag possibly in canvas work with celtic symbols on it and a chakra necklace out of felt balls.
I am also into makeing a ogham quilt which is black and then has shades of various colours to the beige end. Its about the transformation of the dark to the light and I want wanting to put a hidden ogham message couched onto the edge. The tutor is a bit alarmed about this but I have told her I will make it my wall hanging! and she has calmed down a bit.
My reasoning is if I am going to make sometimng then I want it to be useful and important to me.
Oh also I have made The Salmon of Wisdom in Italian quiting, it looks like stained glass. But unfortunately my computor skills arent good enough to put a picture on the site. Can anyone tell me how to do this easily?

I send all my communications to my ovate tutor in the form of art work. Its full of words and pictures  some done in caligrams. I am also not good at spelling!!!!!!!
I want to learn wood carving adn do some more weaving. My brother is a wood turner so I am hoping to learn from him
Bright Blessings
Gaerr

[Gaerr]

Its been a fascinating journey reading what you have all put and it has reminded me of what I do.

Scrapbooking
Photographing trees
Felt making, jewellery and just learnt how to make goassamer felt scarves
I used to do a lot of spinning and have my own wheel
Embroidery of all kinds
Quilting
Beadwork
Jam and chutney making
Drawing nature based things
Card making
Applique work
I am at the moment on a 4 year Creative Textile course which mainly focuses on embroidery. Its wonderful but an amazing amount of wotk. I am always in trouble with the tutor because I dont want to make what she suggests and what is on the ciriculum. We have to make a 3D object and I decided to make a felt hare to sew on my cloak and embroider it. This is fine but not NORMAL! It will be about 2 feet high . Wow!
I also want to make a new Crane bag possibly in canvas work with celtic symbols on it and a chakra necklace out of felt balls.
I am also into makeing a ogham quilt which is black and then has shades of various colours to the beige end. Its about the transformation of the dark to the light and I want wanting to put a hidden ogham message couched onto the edge. The tutor is a bit alarmed about this but I have told her I will make it my wall hanging! and she has calmed down a bit.
My reasoning is if I am going to make sometimng then I want it to be useful and important to me.
Oh also I have made The Salmon of Wisdom in Italian quiting, it looks like stained glass. But unfortunately my computor skills arent good enough to put a picture on the site. Can anyone tell me how to do this easily?

I send all my communications to my ovate tutor in the form of art work. Its full of words and pictures  some done in caligrams. I am also not good at spelling!!!!!!!
I want to learn wood carving adn do some more weaving. My brother is a wood turner so I am hoping to learn from him
Bright Blessings
Gaerr

[Aylyn]

I used to do a lot of spinning and have my own wheel

This is interesting - I have often wanted to start spinning. I have a spindle, but are not very good at it, and getting unspun wool is a quest - are you a member of the spinners guild? Or have any ideas where I can get unspun wool? I assume Yorkshire is a bit easier - lots of sheep up there  :-)

[shirley mclaren]

I would like to have the time and money to finish my OU degree and to have the time and money to study herbalism/Bach flower remedies.

BB

Shirley

[Seabhag]

hi

i make bracelets and i am considering making other kinds of jewelery. i also draw and paint using acrylics (should do more) and have begun writing poetry.

bright blessings

seabhag

[ennys]

hi
Handcrafting is cool - I always love to make my own stuff and to create something concrete.
This is my list:
Knitting
crochet
handspinning (with a spindle)
bandweaving
cooking and baking (I LOve food, and I love to make it myself with all pure&healthy&yummy ingredients)
writing (poetry and non-fiction prose like columns and university stuff, yes I consider that a craft)
drawing and painting (I would love to do an oil painting again, but Oh the money..)
creating tunes for flute

[Morchid]

I don't do any =(
Am I very uncreative?

[Aurora]

Not at all Morchid. Maybe you haven't found anything to do that inspires you yet.

[SilverStorm]

I love crafts! Right now I am pretty good at

Scrapbooking
Cross Stitch
Card making
Photography

I would love to learn to knit and weave though. Just haven't found the time.

[DaRC]

Like Kernos I would love to sculpt / work wood.
It's on my to do list - and I don't want to be like my father who only really got the chance once he was terminally ill.

[Silver Owl]

I loooove creating stuff, at the moment this is my list but it grows constantly:

Jewellery design/ making
cross stitch
photography
Digital art using Terragen, Vue d' Esprit etc
woodwork
making shampoos, creams etc (due to allergic reactions)
I re-upholstered my dining room chairs
drawing
painting
sewing
mosaics
clay modelling
bead and wire work
At the moment I am attempting willow weaving and Im also working on a staff and a couple of wands, pendants etc using carving and pyrography.

Blessings
Silver Owl

[*spiritofold*]

I'd like to learn more bushcraft, to have a better understanding of native trees and plants. Im quite good now, but i'd like to be better Pyrography is something else i'd like to master, my wood burnings a bit amateur still.

[Celtic3Horse]

spriritofold - you would enjoy the book "Stalking the Wild Asparagus" by Euell Gibbons.

I too like to cook...and eat, which isn't always a good thing! Also candymaking - baking is too exacting for me.

Every now and then, I purchase a coloring book and crayons, just to have some fun.

Other craft/hobbies:

Lampwork (melting glass)
silver wireweaving (the hubby makes chainmaille that I also like to work with)
jewelry craft (no casting)
"Fine Arts" - painting (oil/acrylic/watercolour), drawing (pen & ink, pencil, pastels), calligraphy (including making oak gall iron ink), illumination (re-creating illuminated manuscript pages in original and modern formats), clay sculpting, photography
natural dying
felting wool (tried spinning, failed miserably )
cross stitch
quilting (not the piecing though)
floral crafts - flower arranging, potpourri
gardening - herbs, landscape/silviculture, veggie, rose
dance (latin and belly dance)
poi - learning to firespin (still at the tennis ball stage though)
animal husbandry

would like to learn:
weaving
woodcarving
stone carving/sculpting
metalwork - casting

[*spiritofold*]

Thanks, i'll keep a lookout for that book

Casting, i keep thinking about that. I'd like to try bronze casting, but the ancient way.
I like the idea of casting a bronze age sword, or dirk, or anything really. Theres lots of courses around for this, but they get very over subscribed!

One day...

Andy

[Griffin]

I do lots.

Making and painting drums,
Crafting staffs and wands,
Leather tooling and embossing,
Pyrography,
Feather fans,
Bags .....

Just about anything, really, that doesn't involve knitting!!!

I love it.

[Gaerr]

One of the best plaes I have found for buying fibres, wool, silk,merino with silk and alpacha with silk etc. in the UK is to be found at http://www.winghamwoolwork.co.uk Its a brilliant website . They have a facility where you can go and spend the day with them and play with there machines and fabrics and its free. They are based in Rotheram South Yorkshire. I also use Adelaide Walker supplies in Otley West Yorkshire. She has a web site too.
I make a lot of felt and have just bought A LOT of silk hankies to make some Gossamer Scarves.
Blessings
Gaerr

[Aylyn]

Thanks for the links and the pm, I really got a lot of ideas when I looked at the websites. As soon as life returns to normal (whatever that is), I will start on some projects. I need some training in spinning, though, so might look at one of the courses they offer...

[Silberdistel]

I do photography and picture editing, cooking, pyrorgraphy and I am starting in "cold" metal working, like engraving and beadwork/jewellry.

I would like to learn the "hot" techniques of metal working, but I don´t have the right room for that at the moment.

[Mijan]

I noticed that a lot of people wanted to learn to work with wood.

I taught myself to carve/whittle a few years ago, and now, I make hand-carved wands. I didn't learn from anyone, and the tools aren't expensive to start.

Get yourself a sharp jackknife or pocket-knife. Find a fallen branch, or, if the tree is willing, cull a branch. Then, begin!

Until you become very confident with your hands, ONLY cut away from yourself. I've gotten to the point where I can cut in any direction, but it took me a while. It's not hard, it's not expensive, and it's a wonderfully rewarding and fulfilling craft.

I've been told my some people that I should try wood-turning, or that I should use a lathe to produce my wands faster and sell more, but honestly, that would completely ruin what makes my wands unique. I wouldn't be holding the wood as I craft it. I'd lose the connection with the medium. I'd actually find myself more limited in what I can do. Yes, whittling takes longer, but it's worth it.

So, to all of you who want to learn to craft wood... just begin!

[Spirit Bear]

I love crafts too.

What I do: photography, painting/drawing ink and gouache,painting designs on fabric and furniture,digital arts, making zampoñas ( South American panpipes), when my grandfather was still alive: blacksmithing and at the academy I did renovation of old stained glass windows, but that's a long time ago.

What I like to learn: pottery, stonecutting, working with flint and making silver/copper jewelry.
Making your own clothes, embroiderie, knitting... sounds all great to me too, but I really have 2 left hands for those.