Put me in front of a scrapbooking package, and I could stare at the stickers and papers for hours without a blip of inspiration. Ask me what I’m going to craft with my ever-growing collection of toilet paper tubes, and I couldn’t name a single project. I tried to make the most simplistic pair of earrings last week, and it took me about an hour and several broken findings. I am not what we call a “hard crafter.” But give me a skein of yarn or a bolt of fabric, and I’m bursting with ideas. I love fiber and the way it feels between your fingers and the way it drapes around your body. I love the repetitive motion of stitching, purling, hooking, tatting, and whatever else you can do with a bit of string. That’s why I was so excited to see this weekend’s CutRateCrafts newsletter collection. The editors of AllFreeKnitting, AllFreeCrochet, and AllFreeSewing hand-picked the items in this collection just for my fellow “soft crafters” and fiber artists. I’m so excited to show you this collection that I wanted to share my absolute favorite products with you. That’s why I’m calling this post the best of the best. The items featured below are my picks from the knitting, crochet, and sewing editors’ favorite items on CutRateCrafts. Enjoy!
Quilting Tools: If you’ve been paying close attention, you might know that I’m the editor of our new sister site that’s all about quilting: FaveQuilts.com. I’ve been diving into quilting headfirst lately, and I can’t get enough of the handy quilting supplies in this collection. First, if you’re going to be doing any patchwork or quilting, you need to have a rotary cutter and a good quilting ruler. When you get a bit farther along, a large supply of quilting pins will be very useful. Basting with a needle and thread drives me batty!
Sewing Supplies: Once I finish my latest quilt…and two sweaters, a scarf, and a set of curtains…I’ve got a whole list of summer sewing projects I want to jump into. My biggest challenge is staying organized. That why I love these thread boxes and bobbin organizers for keeping my spools handy and visible. I’m also drooling over these scissors, which are bent for cutting fabric flat.
Crochet Cache: I’m craving crochet lately. After a long knitting stint, the instant gratification of crochet is irresistible to me! Since I haven’t seen half my crochet hooks in over a year (time to crochet that hook organizer yet?), I’m thinking of replenishing with this Crystalites Hook Set, which comes with a cute, transparent case so I always know where my hooks are. I also sometimes have trouble with crochet because I don’t find it as intuitive as I do knitting (must be the way my brain is wired), so I’m going to get my hands on an all-encompassing Crochet Answer Book for those times when I just can’t decipher my patterns. And of course, I’ll be livening up my stash with some new shades of yarn. This Simply Soft yarn (my favorite!) in Iris is calling my name!
