Acrylic has a purpose and in this situation its definitely the best since it will last, and store easily. Plus it will be easier to find matching yarn when there's a new family member.
Acrylic definitely has its place. It allows me to knit coats for my dog who loves mud and sticks and dirt and save the wool for the chihuahua who is a bit precious. It allows my uni student daughter to afford to crochet blankets for new cousins.
Eeeevieeeee is baaaaaack!! The last several episodes have been a joy to watch. Your joy is on display and I’m sure we all rejoice to be part of your journey. You are a true warrior woman and so proud of you!! 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
I also struggled with getting rid of books. Something that has helped me clear out my book shelf a little was learning how to make tiny books. So I can still have a tiny reminder of the books I loved but wont read again. Plus you get to have a tiny book shelf on your big book shelf 😂
When I was growing up my mom had a HUGE reader’s digest book about different types of needlepoint and other crafting skills like tatting and crochet lace. I taught myself to crochet and knit from that book and had several projects earmarked for my “hope chest”. It unfortunately got lost in a move. Every time I go to a used book store I try to find another copy 😂
I LOVE cochineal. I use it all the time. My coch with iron comes out an almost black purple. A difference in water gives me scarlet or vermillion using exact same fleece, mordant & dye amounts. Dyeing in the fleece gives differences than dyeing yarns. I love your show & the information you give.
My absolute go to book in my library is the "The Complete DMC Encyclopedia of Needlework" by deDillmont. I have loved the poor book into pieces and it is now being held together with yarn and rubber bands
Acrylic is part of the vintage of this particular project. I used the same when I made a stocking for my sister's daughter-in-law. My sister's MIL passed and my sister wanted a stocking to match the rest of the family. ❤
I agree with your choice of acrylic for a project to stand the test of time. I almost never use it but for the kids' soft toys, which are not going to be washed and worn regularly and aren't going to be contributing too much to the microplastic problem, I have.
Love the books. Nice to see the fiber arts considered and valued in education. Advanced degrees and undergraduate too offered in these fields. The historical topics are endless and fascinating to me. Sadly when I was at the university it was a struggle to keep a studio degree on the curriculum. Had to write our own some years. When it was considered that the arts were academically and financially unnecessary and were not offered; broke my heart. Short sited at the time. I discovered the area of designing your own degree. I love to find young people pursuing these areas and keeping it alive beyond self taught and passing it down through generations even though it is education at the roots. Hope to hear more on the books.
I also just bought some Redheart! I LOVE wool and almost never buy acrylic but there is a time and place for it. My occasion is my adult kid asked if we could crochet a granny square blanket together. You don't need to ask me twice to craft with the kid.
I love Custom Socks: Knit to Fit Your Feet by Kate Atherley, I've used the methods in that book multiple times to knit gift socks for other people and it really deepened my understanding of sock construction and fit
Great book about fiber history is “Worn: A People’s History of Clothing by Sofi Thanhauser”. Politics, women’s rights, environmental impact - it has it all.
I’m loving your vlogmas! Honestly, it’s the only one I’ve watched. My mom knit stockings very similar to the one your grandmother made. I made one for my husband. As much as I am a bit of a natural fiber only person, the acrylic is 100% the way to go.
I have been searching for a dye to produce the color "ox blood". I wonder if your darker shade if cochineal yarn is that color. I knitted a cardigan in ox blood acrylic yarn back in 1985 but lost the label over time. It sure would be wonderful to have that color for my handspun yarns now.
I am currently knitting Christmas stocking with acrylic yarn too! I intentionally chose acrylic because I want them to last in the basement storage (ugh moths!). Plus my local thrift shop had a bunch of it.
I’m really enjoying your vlogmas. My most interesting reference books are All About Cotton, all About Wool, and I think the other one is silk. It is about the types of fabric created with the fiber along with swatches of each fabric. By the way you looked so lovely in that deep purple!
We did purge our books. With all the intends to donate our books. And it is still in a box in our living room. So purging books is not recommended, because you will end up with more boxes everywhere haha
Most of my crocheting has been in acrylic. I do not regret it. Wool stresses me out, everything I own has some moth damage. I think the thing I'm happiest to have on the shelf is a printout of the PDF of my 1914 hand crank sewing machine. I suppose as for real reference books, the Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing is probably the craft one, but the reference book I refer to most is a cookbook called "The New Basics" by Rosso and Lukins and it's my go-to when I've got an ingredient I don't know what to do with.
Re: books, I recently got Yarnitecture by Jillian Moreno from the library, and it was so thorough and eye-opening that I might end up getting my own copy for reference. It explained so much about how to spin specific yarns for specific purposes to achieve specific effects. Reading it was like putting a bunch of little scraps of information together that I had haphazardly gathered in my brain, and then added even more information I had never even thought to wonder about. An incredibly useful book!
Purple is definitely your color. I love a used book store. Doing secret santa with my bookclub and I have specifically said that used books are my jam.
"The History of Handknitting" by Bishop Richard Rutt. It took me a while to even find a used copy several years ago, but it's a great book, albeit UK-centric. Don't know if it is on everyone's shelf or not? I think acrylic yarn is a good choice for ornaments! But... now I'm wondering what a stocking would look like in a 2-ply handspun? In muted colours? 😇
Not a yarn snob here. Sometimes I use wool, sometimes I use acrylic. I all brings me joy, which is why I craft. I want to be a good steward of the earth and make mindful choices. My best efforts are -my/ personal best efforts. Some people may be better, some may be worse. The good news is it’s not a zero sum game
Evie, I just moved after 19 years in the same house. By far, the most and heaviest stuff I moved were about fifty boxes of books. 😄 I also have trouble purging mine. 🙂
I adore having the Janet Arnold books on sewing patterns for the different time periods. With regards to your Red Heart purchase...you have valid reasons. I, personally, reach for the Caron's Simply Soft when allergies prevent me from making a wool sweater for someone. I'm a Yarn Sensualist: I want something soft if I'm going to hours of my life with it in my hands. 😉
I am a long term novice with spinning and knitting but am a pretty avid quilter. Some of my favorites are journals from women who lived long ago. Aunt Arie in the Foxfire books enjoyed spinning 😊
The choice of acrylic yarn is fine, you've given it much consideration as being best for purpose. I've picked up "Vogue Sewing" by Harper & Row from a library book sale. It's a very interesting read, though I am far more a mender than a tailor.
That bookstore looks amazing!! I had a bookstore like that when I was a kid, my grandma would take me there and I was allowed to get basically anything I wanted because all the books were $1 or so. I'll have to keep my eye out for the books you shared!
Many of my reference books were given to me when someone was doing a purge of their coffee table books. My favorite for general inspiration are a book on colors in interior design, a book about Monet's garden design, a book of Southern Living articles about gardens, and a book about John Singer Sargent. Most of the time when I am feeling blah, I can open to any page in those books and feel like I can settle into the pictures. Most of my fiber related reference books are the popular ones, but I am hoping to stumble across some more niche ones.
A woman at work had a baby girl this year, so I knit a Christmas stocking for her first Christmas. I went to Joann’s and bought acrylic, hoping that it would hold up and become a family heirloom.
My favorite reference book are the Knitter's guide books (knitter's guide of top down sweaters, knitter's guide of patterns, etc). Great because you can knit the pattern in all sorts of gauges and sizes!
Bells, try pet bird supplies for the open type. The closed ones are a trapping birdy toes risk so open ones are the way to go. Also budgies can't wear the round ones as a hat 😊
Recently I listened on audiobook "Unraveling: What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World's Ugliest Sweater'' by Peggy Orenstein and can't recommend it enough, I'm so in love with that book!
Good video, Evie! You made a thoughtful and informed yarn choice. One that suits the project. I find no fault there. Looks like some wonderful books! Enjoy! Hugs
Great book recommendations! Adding to my crafting audiobook list. Definitely not a problem with acrylic, but do get better bells. The magic of your childhood from hearing the crystal clear tinkling is something you want to share with your family for generations to come.
HI, History nerd here. Erin Parsons did a video on Cochineal and its introduction and history with the makeup industry. She makes some amazing OLD recipes with some of the craziest ingredients that were used back then. I think she even goes into the history as well.
Hi Evie! I used that same exact yarn to crochet stockings for my daughters 30 & 29 years ago and they still look brand new! I have a little book of crocheted Xmas stockings if you would like the patterns, much faster than knitting, just let me know! There's definitely something to be said for acrylic yarn!
Thank you for yet another inspiring video, I learned so much watching you ^^ The book I'm happy to have on my shelf is Sheep and Wool in Europe: A Comprehensive Reference Work for Breeders, Shearers and Wool Processors. While I enjoyed the fleece and fiber sourcebook I got a bit frustrated at times, not finding information on sheeps grazing closer to where I live :) It was writen in Dutch and translated in French, English and German. The author is Betty Stikkers. Greetings from Belgium!
😂 the stocking my Grandma D made my family is acrylic... Let me tell you if it were wool.. it would have NEVER survived the torture mine has seen. 😂 I lost track of how many places I've moved before I joined the military, during the military, and after the military. Grandma's stocking for me still lives as if it were yesterday I got it... Not almost 50 years ago. So I don't blame you for going acrylic for family stockings! Great choice!
There is nothing wrong with using acrylic yarn for a project like this and many people can’t afford wool anyway so it’s great to see this in your video. Your vlogs are amazing I prefer the videos that are just calming and not overly edited. I think sometimes creators can get overly worried that they have to produce something really different each time. However I love the videos that just feel like I’m sharing space with someone in their real life if you know what I mean ❤ love from England x
When you showed your stocking in the last video and told about knitting more of them for your family, I thought "that could be a very good purpose for acrylic yarn". Great choice you made for all the reasons you said ;) And whenever you stumble over some nicer bells, you can replace them with a handful of stitches if stitched on at the end. We don't always find what we are searching for exactly when we are searching for it. We can't always go with the best choice, sometimes it's just good enough, good, better and maybe sometimes best. But there's always an option best fitting for the situation right now even if it's not the best of all times :)
I really enjoyed the book No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting by Anne L. Macdonald. Also I haven't read it yet, but it sounds very interesting: The Fabric of Civilization and How Textiles Made the World by Virginia Postrel
You look good Jillian, purple 👍💜 Acrylics last and are more comfortable to wear next to my skin. Take care of your wool and natural fibres and they will last. The last book sounded interesting.
Just me combing through the comments for more books that I don’t have room for lol I think acrylic has a place, completely depends on the project and recipient. I make a lot of stuffed animals for my kiddo and nieces so I do have a decent stash of it. And I used it for the stockings that I made several years ago, and continue to make for each new pet we get.
Good Morning! Reference Books: All things Sandra Betzina!!!! i don't sew as much as i used to. That said, her approach is as important to me as the new information I've learned over the years. I look for similar styles and here you are! Have a fabulous today, Steph😁
I also chose acrylic yarn for our stockings this year! It’s just not a project I think is practical in wool. I have to put my partners wool stocking in the freezer for several weeks every couple of years just to be sure it’s not bringing in anything from our garage that could get into my fiber stash! Plus when my kids are moms and have their stockings I doubt they’re going to follow care instructions! Acrylic has its place
I have alooot of books... in terms of reference books I am excited to read a 1997 book called 'A Calendar of Common Dye Plants, no.10' by Dee Duke and Rowena Edlin-White, published by Woolgatherings for Dyers and Spinsters.
I just bought the yarn book. I enjoy books about arts and crafts period. I have lots of history of quilting and making quilts. I have some needlework references. My house looks like a library that I live in.
I love using cochineal. I can even grow it on my cactus...well, i will be able to grow it as soon as i find a new start and my new cacti get growing well. moving messes things up quite a bit.
it's a good reason to use acrylic :) for my reference book, not many might have I would say I have "The Human Figure in Motion" by Muybridge, its old film scanned of people doing different movement like walking, running, climbing,etc ,great tool for an animator :)
Sometimes acrylic is the right yarn and in this case, it is. Some of my treasured crafting resources are my binder full of Elizabeth Zimmerman's newsletters (circa 1958-1968), Interaction of Colour by Josef Albers, and On Weaving by Anni Albers. Actually anything by either of the Albers is welcome in my library.
I agree. Books are sacred. And as for cheep acrylic yarn. "There is a place for everything and everything in its place." OK, so I mangled the quote. You get the idea.
Knit with whatever gives you joy. No justification required. Arts and Crafts movement was such a fabulous design period. Men/women, an amazing period in art architecture pottery jewelry clothing all in reaction to industrialization. What will we do in reaction to robotics?? So far just cheap, throw away, and growing landfills!?!? TY for the video!
While I love my fiber related books, my favorite one is related to drawing: expeditie schetsboek (expedition sketchbook) by Cyarin/Laura Brouwers. It's a lovely book filled with tips for experienced visual artists. Idk if it has been translated unfortunately, but I originally found it at the library, not expecting much like most books about the subject, but it's wonderful. Very accessible without assuming you don't know anything. Then I moved and my new local library doesn't have it so I got it for myself.
Acrylic definitely has it's place. At this time of year, I generally knit around 50 to 100 charity hats on the machine. I don't use acrylic generally, but I do for charity hats for 2 main reasons. 1. It's easy to wash. The people receiving these hats are either houseless, recieving food bank boxes, or refugees depending on which charity they're sent too. 2. I use the wool I'm given, and it's usually acrylic. People know I'm a knitter so I tend to inherit yarn stashes and usually it's 100% synthetic. If it doesn't become charity hats throughout the year I'm unlikely to ever use it.
Eve we are addicted to Books. I got my new Spinning Wheel which is the Kromski Minstrel and I need to work on the tension of it and I am not going to get the chance to as I am working a lot this Month. I have a good reference book on Norse & Germanic Folkore Mythologhy & Magic. I recently picked up The NorthWomen by Heather Pringle it's the Untold Stories from the other half of the Viking World I haven't read it but I did look through it and it does have some weaving in it.
I do think acrylic has its place, and it’s projects like this! I am making another blanket for my nephew (he’s only a few months) because the one I made with premium fibers is not holding up. So I’m using acrylic! 😂
Book recommendation! I love my copy of A Weaver's Garden by Rita Buchanan. It covers growing fiber plants, dye plants, cleaning/soap plants, plants to make fiber related tools, & how to set up a garden! I like to look at it sometimes & daydream about the day I have room for a garden. (I think the author also has a book specifically for dyeing, but I've heard A Weaver's Garden is considered the more valuable resource.)
There are absolutely things that could eat plastic and probably acrylic yarn. However, unless you're going into beekeeping, I highly doubt you'll encounter the beetle I'm thinking of. Edit: A Weaver's Garden by Rita Buchannon The Weaving Primer by Nina Holland - This latter book i got from a library book sale. It's a reprint from the 70s of a book from the 30s. So a very beaten up treasure.
Is that... a Fanny loom? Retrofitted with texsolv heddles? Have you told us about that? I know you're midwest but I have to say your Canadian vintage textile gear representation is very strong. I'm going to look for that Indigo book.
You are correct about the loom. I haven't done a video on it yet though. I think lots of Canadian textile gear has trickled down to us Midwesterners. 😊🍁
On one hand, I totally understand the durablilty and lack of maintenance of acrylic yarn items. But on the other hand, as an environmental scientist I wonder if our decendants will look back on plastic items (especially plastic clothing and yarn, which shed lots of microplastics with every wash) like we look back on historic arsenic-based synthetic dyes like Emerald (Paris) Green, amd London Purple. It's a great video regardless
I wonder that as well. It's why I share how deliberate my choice is when I choose acrylic, especially because I have a large platform. It's especially complex to put the pressure to fix the problems on ourselves as individual consumers. So much to the conversation...
Totally agree. To be honest, I avoid acrylic as much as I can. I have very old items that still look wonderful, and they’re completely of natural fibers. The maintenance of non-plastic clothing is not as simple as plastic, but I personally think it’s worth it. Allergies are a different story. If one basically doesn’t have a choice, use what works. I like that you don’t shy away from controversial topics! 👍🏻 Concerning books: I’m definitely hunting and gathering. My oldest book on crafts is more than 100 years old and in German. I love it so much!
Acrylic has its place, and it’s precisely where you are going to put it.
And I’ve read both the Indigo and the Red books, they’re wonderful!
Acrylic has a purpose and in this situation its definitely the best since it will last, and store easily. Plus it will be easier to find matching yarn when there's a new family member.
Acrylic definitely has its place. It allows me to knit coats for my dog who loves mud and sticks and dirt and save the wool for the chihuahua who is a bit precious. It allows my uni student daughter to afford to crochet blankets for new cousins.
That makes perfect sense for the purpose! 🐶
Use whichever yarn is right for the project! No shade here. And used books are amazing- I always feel like I rescued them.
I love that color purple on you! It looks so good.
It is a favorite of mine too! 💜
agreed on the acrylic!❤ i'm 59 and still have things like this my mom made for me as a kid
The owl in the background is looking into my soul 👀 he sees yarn, of course.
🦉🦉🦉
Eeeevieeeee is baaaaaack!! The last several episodes have been a joy to watch. Your joy is on display and I’m sure we all rejoice to be part of your journey. You are a true warrior woman and so proud of you!! 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
I also struggled with getting rid of books. Something that has helped me clear out my book shelf a little was learning how to make tiny books. So I can still have a tiny reminder of the books I loved but wont read again. Plus you get to have a tiny book shelf on your big book shelf 😂
That's sounds amazing! I'm so into tiny things. I've been thinking about spinning some "micro art yarn"...
When I was growing up my mom had a HUGE reader’s digest book about different types of needlepoint and other crafting skills like tatting and crochet lace. I taught myself to crochet and knit from that book and had several projects earmarked for my “hope chest”. It unfortunately got lost in a move. Every time I go to a used book store I try to find another copy 😂
I bet you can find it in a thrift store. Don't give up, you are on a book quest!
I am a bit of a book hoarder myself.
I LOVE cochineal. I use it all the time. My coch with iron comes out an almost black purple. A difference in water gives me scarlet or vermillion using exact same fleece, mordant & dye amounts. Dyeing in the fleece gives differences than dyeing yarns. I love your show & the information you give.
My absolute go to book in my library is the "The Complete DMC Encyclopedia of Needlework" by deDillmont. I have loved the poor book into pieces and it is now being held together with yarn and rubber bands
Acrylic is part of the vintage of this particular project. I used the same when I made a stocking for my sister's daughter-in-law. My sister's MIL passed and my sister wanted a stocking to match the rest of the family. ❤
I agree with your choice of acrylic for a project to stand the test of time. I almost never use it but for the kids' soft toys, which are not going to be washed and worn regularly and aren't going to be contributing too much to the microplastic problem, I have.
Love the books. Nice to see the fiber arts considered and valued in education. Advanced degrees and undergraduate too offered in these fields. The historical topics are endless and fascinating to me.
Sadly when I was at the university it was a struggle to keep a studio degree on the curriculum. Had to write our own some years. When it was considered that the arts were academically and financially unnecessary and were not offered; broke my heart. Short sited at the time. I discovered the area of designing your own degree. I love to find young people pursuing these areas and keeping it alive beyond self taught and passing it down through generations even though it is education at the roots.
Hope to hear more on the books.
Evie, you are absolutely stunning! Your thumbnail literally stopped me in my tracks. You look so good!
I also just bought some Redheart! I LOVE wool and almost never buy acrylic but there is a time and place for it. My occasion is my adult kid asked if we could crochet a granny square blanket together. You don't need to ask me twice to craft with the kid.
I love Custom Socks: Knit to Fit Your Feet by Kate Atherley, I've used the methods in that book multiple times to knit gift socks for other people and it really deepened my understanding of sock construction and fit
Great book about fiber history is “Worn: A People’s History of Clothing by Sofi Thanhauser”. Politics, women’s rights, environmental impact - it has it all.
Your used bookstore rocks!
Also listened to A Perfect Red on audible and loved it ❤
I’m loving your vlogmas! Honestly, it’s the only one I’ve watched. My mom knit stockings very similar to the one your grandmother made. I made one for my husband. As much as I am a bit of a natural fiber only person, the acrylic is 100% the way to go.
I have been searching for a dye to produce the color "ox blood". I wonder if your darker shade if cochineal yarn is that color.
I knitted a cardigan in ox blood acrylic yarn back in 1985 but lost the label over time. It sure would be wonderful to have that color for my handspun yarns now.
I am currently knitting Christmas stocking with acrylic yarn too! I intentionally chose acrylic because I want them to last in the basement storage (ugh moths!). Plus my local thrift shop had a bunch of it.
Your yarn choices are sound! No worries. We love used books too.
I loved A Perfect Red! I'll have to check out the Indigo book.
I’m really enjoying your vlogmas. My most interesting reference books are All About Cotton, all About Wool, and I think the other one is silk. It is about the types of fabric created with the fiber along with swatches of each fabric. By the way you looked so lovely in that deep purple!
That meme was everything! Happy volgmas 🎄! Happy creating 💚🧶🩷
We did purge our books. With all the intends to donate our books. And it is still in a box in our living room. So purging books is not recommended, because you will end up with more boxes everywhere haha
I have a Thérèse de Dillmont vintage book as a reference one :D
I picked up the principles of knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt at a thrift store a few years ago and it has been one of my favorites!
I recommend Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years by Elizabeth Wayland Barber all the time. It was so good.
yes, I recommend this book too and it sits proudly on my shelf
I am loving this clog as series ! So warm, real and interesting. Does fiber addiction go hand in hand with book obsession? 9:18
I have used indigo in my soapmaking, great color!
I have really been enjoying your Vlogmas this year!! Thank you for just taking the time to share your time with us! ♥️♥️♥️
Most of my crocheting has been in acrylic. I do not regret it. Wool stresses me out, everything I own has some moth damage.
I think the thing I'm happiest to have on the shelf is a printout of the PDF of my 1914 hand crank sewing machine. I suppose as for real reference books, the Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing is probably the craft one, but the reference book I refer to most is a cookbook called "The New Basics" by Rosso and Lukins and it's my go-to when I've got an ingredient I don't know what to do with.
Re: books, I recently got Yarnitecture by Jillian Moreno from the library, and it was so thorough and eye-opening that I might end up getting my own copy for reference. It explained so much about how to spin specific yarns for specific purposes to achieve specific effects. Reading it was like putting a bunch of little scraps of information together that I had haphazardly gathered in my brain, and then added even more information I had never even thought to wonder about. An incredibly useful book!
Do a report on the color books for sure!
It's so fun to see you doing vlogmas again love it!!!!
Yay!! Glad you're enjoying it.
Purple is definitely your color. I love a used book store. Doing secret santa with my bookclub and I have specifically said that used books are my jam.
"The History of Handknitting" by Bishop Richard Rutt. It took me a while to even find a used copy several years ago, but it's a great book, albeit UK-centric. Don't know if it is on everyone's shelf or not?
I think acrylic yarn is a good choice for ornaments! But... now I'm wondering what a stocking would look like in a 2-ply handspun? In muted colours? 😇
Not a yarn snob here. Sometimes I use wool, sometimes I use acrylic. I all brings me joy, which is why I craft. I want to be a good steward of the earth and make mindful choices. My best efforts are -my/ personal best efforts. Some people may be better, some may be worse. The good news is it’s not a zero sum game
Evie, I just moved after 19 years in the same house. By far, the most and heaviest stuff I moved were about fifty boxes of books. 😄 I also have trouble purging mine. 🙂
I adore having the Janet Arnold books on sewing patterns for the different time periods. With regards to your Red Heart purchase...you have valid reasons. I, personally, reach for the Caron's Simply Soft when allergies prevent me from making a wool sweater for someone. I'm a Yarn Sensualist: I want something soft if I'm going to hours of my life with it in my hands. 😉
❤ thank you Evie, you’re a younger version of me and it’s lovely to see you enjoying your craft and books!
INDIGO is a wonderful book!
Enjoy😊
Hair is on point againnn 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I am a long term novice with spinning and knitting but am a pretty avid quilter. Some of my favorites are journals from women who lived long ago.
Aunt Arie in the Foxfire books enjoyed spinning 😊
The Foxfire books are fantastic!
The choice of acrylic yarn is fine, you've given it much consideration as being best for purpose.
I've picked up "Vogue Sewing" by Harper & Row from a library book sale. It's a very interesting read, though I am far more a mender than a tailor.
That bookstore looks amazing!! I had a bookstore like that when I was a kid, my grandma would take me there and I was allowed to get basically anything I wanted because all the books were $1 or so. I'll have to keep my eye out for the books you shared!
Many of my reference books were given to me when someone was doing a purge of their coffee table books. My favorite for general inspiration are a book on colors in interior design, a book about Monet's garden design, a book of Southern Living articles about gardens, and a book about John Singer Sargent. Most of the time when I am feeling blah, I can open to any page in those books and feel like I can settle into the pictures. Most of my fiber related reference books are the popular ones, but I am hoping to stumble across some more niche ones.
No one should have to apologize for using acrylic yarn. Just choose it mindfully like you did. Sometimes it's the best yarn for the job.
one of my favourite reference books for my textile art is "Van Gogh, the complete paintings" by Tachen :)
A woman at work had a baby girl this year, so I knit a Christmas stocking for her first Christmas. I went to Joann’s and bought acrylic, hoping that it would hold up and become a family heirloom.
My favorite reference book are the Knitter's guide books (knitter's guide of top down sweaters, knitter's guide of patterns, etc). Great because you can knit the pattern in all sorts of gauges and sizes!
Bells, try pet bird supplies for the open type. The closed ones are a trapping birdy toes risk so open ones are the way to go. Also budgies can't wear the round ones as a hat 😊
Great idea! I'll try the pet supply and see what I find!
Recently I listened on audiobook "Unraveling: What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World's Ugliest Sweater'' by Peggy Orenstein and can't recommend it enough, I'm so in love with that book!
I read that one too! It was so fun to, in a way, enter the world of yarn crafting again through the perspective of a new fiber friend!
Yup Acrylic can and should be used sometimes. I'm all for it.
Good video, Evie! You made a thoughtful and informed yarn choice. One that suits the project. I find no fault there. Looks like some wonderful books! Enjoy! Hugs
Great book recommendations! Adding to my crafting audiobook list. Definitely not a problem with acrylic, but do get better bells. The magic of your childhood from hearing the crystal clear tinkling is something you want to share with your family for generations to come.
Great video. I’m going to look on audible now ❤
If the choice for acrylic is the best for the situation, choose it. Fabulous book finds!
HI, History nerd here. Erin Parsons did a video on Cochineal and its introduction and history with the makeup industry. She makes some amazing OLD recipes with some of the craziest ingredients that were used back then. I think she even goes into the history as well.
Hi Evie! I used that same exact yarn to crochet stockings for my daughters 30 & 29 years ago and they still look brand new! I have a little book of crocheted Xmas stockings if you would like the patterns, much faster than knitting, just let me know! There's definitely something to be said for acrylic yarn!
I will never understand why acrylic is controversial. All types of yarn have their place!
It's plastic fiber and sheads plastic into waterways and is just a pollutant from what I understand. I still use it as it's all I can afford.
Thank you for yet another inspiring video, I learned so much watching you ^^ The book I'm happy to have on my shelf is Sheep and Wool in Europe: A Comprehensive Reference Work for Breeders, Shearers and Wool Processors. While I enjoyed the fleece and fiber sourcebook I got a bit frustrated at times, not finding information on sheeps grazing closer to where I live :) It was writen in Dutch and translated in French, English and German. The author is Betty Stikkers. Greetings from Belgium!
😂 the stocking my Grandma D made my family is acrylic... Let me tell you if it were wool.. it would have NEVER survived the torture mine has seen. 😂 I lost track of how many places I've moved before I joined the military, during the military, and after the military. Grandma's stocking for me still lives as if it were yesterday I got it... Not almost 50 years ago. So I don't blame you for going acrylic for family stockings! Great choice!
There is nothing wrong with using acrylic yarn for a project like this and many people can’t afford wool anyway so it’s great to see this in your video. Your vlogs are amazing I prefer the videos that are just calming and not overly edited. I think sometimes creators can get overly worried that they have to produce something really different each time. However I love the videos that just feel like I’m sharing space with someone in their real life if you know what I mean ❤ love from England x
When you showed your stocking in the last video and told about knitting more of them for your family, I thought "that could be a very good purpose for acrylic yarn".
Great choice you made for all the reasons you said ;)
And whenever you stumble over some nicer bells, you can replace them with a handful of stitches if stitched on at the end. We don't always find what we are searching for exactly when we are searching for it. We can't always go with the best choice, sometimes it's just good enough, good, better and maybe sometimes best. But there's always an option best fitting for the situation right now even if it's not the best of all times :)
Spinning for softness and speed by paula simmons helped me get much better at long draw. Its my go to right now
My dye practice reference shelf includes thesame bay area forager by mia andler and kevin feinstein
I really enjoyed the book No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting by Anne L. Macdonald. Also I haven't read it yet, but it sounds very interesting: The Fabric of Civilization and How Textiles Made the World by Virginia Postrel
No Idle Hands is an amazing book! I've read it several times! Which is an effort cause the book is huge!
@@spunknit7851 definitely worth it!
You look good Jillian, purple 👍💜
Acrylics last and are more comfortable to wear next to my skin. Take care of your wool and natural fibres and they will last.
The last book sounded interesting.
Just me combing through the comments for more books that I don’t have room for lol
I think acrylic has a place, completely depends on the project and recipient.
I make a lot of stuffed animals for my kiddo and nieces so I do have a decent stash of it. And I used it for the stockings that I made several years ago, and continue to make for each new pet we get.
same on the books. I can't even really read anymore because of the eyestrain, but I just can't get rid of books. They are treasures.
Listening further, maybe it's a case of rejecting "disposable knowledge". Hardcopy just feels more permanent.
Good Morning! Reference Books: All things Sandra Betzina!!!! i don't sew as much as i used to. That said, her approach is as important to me as the new information I've learned over the years. I look for similar styles and here you are! Have a fabulous today, Steph😁
I also chose acrylic yarn for our stockings this year! It’s just not a project I think is practical in wool. I have to put my partners wool stocking in the freezer for several weeks every couple of years just to be sure it’s not bringing in anything from our garage that could get into my fiber stash! Plus when my kids are moms and have their stockings I doubt they’re going to follow care instructions! Acrylic has its place
I have alooot of books... in terms of reference books I am excited to read a 1997 book called 'A Calendar of Common Dye Plants, no.10' by Dee Duke and Rowena Edlin-White, published by Woolgatherings for Dyers and Spinsters.
I just bought the yarn book. I enjoy books about arts and crafts period. I have lots of history of quilting and making quilts. I have some needlework references. My house looks like a library that I live in.
I love using cochineal. I can even grow it on my cactus...well, i will be able to grow it as soon as i find a new start and my new cacti get growing well. moving messes things up quite a bit.
I hope your move goes smoothly and you get your cochineal growing soon! 😄
My most beloved and used reference book is The Vogue Sewing Book from the 70s
I have the issue from 1982… great book, I agree!
2:48 Ding Dong Merrily on High vs Jingle Bells
it's a good reason to use acrylic :)
for my reference book, not many might have I would say I have "The Human Figure in Motion" by Muybridge, its old film scanned of people doing different movement like walking, running, climbing,etc ,great tool for an animator :)
Sometimes acrylic is the right yarn and in this case, it is. Some of my treasured crafting resources are my binder full of Elizabeth Zimmerman's newsletters (circa 1958-1968), Interaction of Colour by Josef Albers, and On Weaving by Anni Albers. Actually anything by either of the Albers is welcome in my library.
I agree. Books are sacred. And as for cheep acrylic yarn. "There is a place for everything and everything in its place." OK, so I mangled the quote. You get the idea.
No shame, I use the red heart on my stockings too 😊. I recently got Wild Color by Jenny Dean and it is an amazing natural dye book.
i love the book Punished by Rewards
Knit with whatever gives you joy. No justification required. Arts and Crafts movement was such a fabulous design period. Men/women, an amazing period in art architecture pottery jewelry clothing all in reaction to industrialization. What will we do in reaction to robotics?? So far just cheap, throw away, and growing landfills!?!? TY for the video!
I can't wait to really dive in! I've listened to some podcast/lectures by people who really studied that movement and I'm finding it so interesting!
While I love my fiber related books, my favorite one is related to drawing: expeditie schetsboek (expedition sketchbook) by Cyarin/Laura Brouwers. It's a lovely book filled with tips for experienced visual artists. Idk if it has been translated unfortunately, but I originally found it at the library, not expecting much like most books about the subject, but it's wonderful. Very accessible without assuming you don't know anything. Then I moved and my new local library doesn't have it so I got it for myself.
Acrylic definitely has it's place. At this time of year, I generally knit around 50 to 100 charity hats on the machine. I don't use acrylic generally, but I do for charity hats for 2 main reasons.
1. It's easy to wash. The people receiving these hats are either houseless, recieving food bank boxes, or refugees depending on which charity they're sent too.
2. I use the wool I'm given, and it's usually acrylic. People know I'm a knitter so I tend to inherit yarn stashes and usually it's 100% synthetic.
If it doesn't become charity hats throughout the year I'm unlikely to ever use it.
Acrylic has its place. No fiber shaming from me. Ever.
The stockings i made like that were red heart yarn.
Eve we are addicted to Books. I got my new Spinning Wheel which is the Kromski Minstrel and I need to work on the tension of it and I am not going to get the chance to as I am working a lot this Month. I have a good reference book on Norse & Germanic Folkore Mythologhy & Magic. I recently picked up The NorthWomen by Heather Pringle it's the Untold Stories from the other half of the Viking World I haven't read it but I did look through it and it does have some weaving in it.
North Women is queued up in my reading list too.
I do think acrylic has its place, and it’s projects like this! I am making another blanket for my nephew (he’s only a few months) because the one I made with premium fibers is not holding up. So I’m using acrylic! 😂
Book recommendation! I love my copy of A Weaver's Garden by Rita Buchanan. It covers growing fiber plants, dye plants, cleaning/soap plants, plants to make fiber related tools, & how to set up a garden! I like to look at it sometimes & daydream about the day I have room for a garden.
(I think the author also has a book specifically for dyeing, but I've heard A Weaver's Garden is considered the more valuable resource.)
There are absolutely things that could eat plastic and probably acrylic yarn. However, unless you're going into beekeeping, I highly doubt you'll encounter the beetle I'm thinking of.
Edit: A Weaver's Garden by Rita Buchannon
The Weaving Primer by Nina Holland - This latter book i got from a library book sale. It's a reprint from the 70s of a book from the 30s. So a very beaten up treasure.
Is that... a Fanny loom? Retrofitted with texsolv heddles? Have you told us about that? I know you're midwest but I have to say your Canadian vintage textile gear representation is very strong. I'm going to look for that Indigo book.
You are correct about the loom. I haven't done a video on it yet though. I think lots of Canadian textile gear has trickled down to us Midwesterners. 😊🍁
@ On behalf of Canada, we appreciate you. 🇨🇦
This isn’t necessarily a reference for crafting but I absolutely love The Fabric of Civilization. It is 🧑🍳 💋 for history, sociology and fiber nerds!
On one hand, I totally understand the durablilty and lack of maintenance of acrylic yarn items. But on the other hand, as an environmental scientist I wonder if our decendants will look back on plastic items (especially plastic clothing and yarn, which shed lots of microplastics with every wash) like we look back on historic arsenic-based synthetic dyes like Emerald (Paris) Green, amd London Purple. It's a great video regardless
I wonder that as well. It's why I share how deliberate my choice is when I choose acrylic, especially because I have a large platform. It's especially complex to put the pressure to fix the problems on ourselves as individual consumers. So much to the conversation...
Totally agree. To be honest, I avoid acrylic as much as I can. I have very old items that still look wonderful, and they’re completely of natural fibers. The maintenance of non-plastic clothing is not as simple as plastic, but I personally think it’s worth it.
Allergies are a different story. If one basically doesn’t have a choice, use what works.
I like that you don’t shy away from controversial topics! 👍🏻
Concerning books: I’m definitely hunting and gathering.
My oldest book on crafts is more than 100 years old and in German. I love it so much!