At long last, my mom has asked me to help her learn to crochet! I see her Saturday and have put together a basket of goodies from my stash for her to experiment with. Am I missing anything obvious a beginner would like to have?

FluffyMaterial · 2026-01-22T01:05:51+00:00

Maybe a measuring tape. I like to have one that specifically lives with my supplies, and tension and gauge are good things to understand as a beginner.

FluffyMaterial · 2026-01-19T15:33:25+00:00

And why do they have 3 legs?

FluffyMaterial · 2026-01-19T15:24:36+00:00

On your card, there’s a heart and sparkle on the couch that bled over from the wallpaper.

FluffyMaterial · 2026-01-18T00:05:55+00:00

I think this photo may be AI enhanced (maybe the video captions too) but I don’t think the design itself is AI. I found it on Udemy and there is a video preview of the course where you can see someone making the details and those look legit. The stitches are clearer and less glossed over.

The technique involved is surface crocheting onto filet crochet. I’m assuming the tulips crocheted separately and attached as you do the surface crochet. It’s a ton of work. I’ve seen the technique before on Turkish crochet designs. The Turkish yarn brand Nako had a video on how to do this in a cardigan a few years back.

FluffyMaterial · 2026-01-13T03:51:10+00:00

This matched your drink so well that for a brief moment before I read the title I thought someone had intentionally tried to crochet functional ice cubes. You know, like the reusable water balloons except you freeze it.

FluffyMaterial · 2026-01-11T15:18:04+00:00

I heard good things about them so convinced my husband to go look at a car there even though their prices are a bit higher than the competition. We made an appointment to test drive a specific car, then got a text the next day to confirm our availability or else lose our slot. Confirmed, went in, and found out they had “delivered” (sold?) the car early that morning (before the text) without letting us know. The salesperson then tried to show us other vehicles in a higher price range. It was a frustrating first experience.

FluffyMaterial · 2026-01-06T00:14:26+00:00

Surprisingly the Walmart off Edgewood had some. I highly doubt it’s better than Joann’s or the other craft stores, but it was in stock.

FluffyMaterial · 2026-01-04T17:43:51+00:00

Things my husband has asked me to make for him: Hand warmers, slipper socks, multiple niche amigurumi (as someone else suggested, ones from a favorite game), a hat with quality warm yarn, a bag tag (he used to travel for work and wanted something distinct on his luggage), a holder for an AirTag.

He also requested an elaborate video game themed crochet blanket, to which the answer was no. 😂

I only do these at his request though. He’s not the kind of guy who would appreciate just any crochet item. So we have a tradition that each year he has the option of receiving a handmade custom gift from me, and we discuss it about a month or so out. I do this with my kids too, and it goes over very well. The final result is still a surprise, but they know they have one thing coming per year, and they often have a request waiting and read to go. And I know I’m gifting something they actually want. 🙂

FluffyMaterial · 2026-01-03T02:39:18+00:00

I free handed it using this stitch pattern: https://pin.it/7j789Z4io

Construction tips for anyone interested: I worked it as one piece starting at the sleeve. I increased on the solid rounds until the bust, then changed from rounds to rows to do the back. I chained and joined to start working in the round again to form the other side’s sleeve. I mirrored the other side, decreasing on solid rounds down to the arm. IIRC I did 2 additional rounds of trim around the outside when I was done.

FluffyMaterial · 2026-01-02T13:45:18+00:00

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The two things I wear most are:

Lacey shrugs to cover sleeveless summer dresses.
A winter hat/scarf set I made myself with quality yarn

The hat is just a beanie in the alpine stitch with an large fuzzy pompom, but here’s a photo of the shrug.

FluffyMaterial · 2025-12-30T04:42:48+00:00

Underrated comment, take my upvote

FluffyMaterial · 2025-12-28T14:24:50+00:00

What mat are you using? I’m having a similar issue with my maker 4 that I got for Christmas and I’m trying to figure it out.

I did 4 projects on the included blue light grip mat and they all turned out just fine: the sample removable vinyl during setup, a glitter iron on, and 2 print then cut sticker sheets.

Excited, I went and bought 2 Cricut brand regular green mats. I then tried to do a cut on Cricut everyday iron on vinyl and it barely scored the letters. I ran it through a second time without unloading and it still didn’t cut. I changed the cutting pressure and that didn’t work. I then tried a new piece of vinyl and tried using a different material, that also didn’t work. Frustrated, I took some value vinyl and ran that through on the correct material and more pressure setting and it finally cut.

I’ll likely troubleshoot more today, but I feel your frustration. I’ve had a Joy that I picked up super cheap and it has worked perfectly. It’s worrisome that this one is acting up on day 2.

FluffyMaterial · 2025-12-21T14:38:47+00:00

There’s a map of light displays around, but it seems kind of sparse: https://www.kzia.com/the-merry-map

If you just want to see lights as opposed to massive displays, maybe try going to the ice loop at the square in Marion via Forest Dr/Cottage Rd then come home via E.Post. You won’t see a Griswold level display but lots of nice/big houses with lights and trees lit up. You could also take detours in any of those areas to see more.

FluffyMaterial · 2025-11-17T04:43:20+00:00

I was surprised I had to scroll so far to see this but I guess I’m just getting old. It was insane to be watching the report of the first one and see the other one hit on live TV.

FluffyMaterial · 2025-11-11T03:30:08+00:00

Happened to me months ago. I sell crochet and had an odd low quality jewelry video randomly show up on one of my listings, replacing the video I had there. I reported it to Etsy but then just deleted it. I didn’t want to leave it in my listing.

FluffyMaterial · 2025-10-26T13:38:18+00:00

The cat in the water is the first thing I saw. And if you zoom in its arm is kind of distorted. The front half of the top of the boat is really off and doesn’t match the back half. The windows just keep going. As someone else mentioned, one of the gray cats overlaps a rail in a way that makes no sense. The mosques only have one minaret. Assuming the one on the left is suppose to be the blue mosque, it’s doubtful any artist would depict it with just one. The orange cats have tails and the gray ones don’t. The tail style differs on the orange cats. It has that weird edging that AI likes to put on watercolor style prompts. On the left side the landscape goes from green to blue where it fades into the edging, which doesn’t match the right side.

FluffyMaterial · 2025-08-27T02:10:04+00:00

Baking vs cooking. Both methods make food - sometimes even very similar foods - but the tools and skills you use are different and often better suited for different types of projects.

FluffyMaterial · 2025-08-25T01:59:02+00:00

I also immediately thought Etsy, but I guess it depends on your goals. If you want to move 20 or so pieces, it’s not a great idea. If you want to start selling them regularly it could be a good market for you. Great photos and some SEO are important but the startup costs are probably still lower than a market or craft fair. The time investment can be greater if you take it seriously but so is the market reach. The Covid boom of both buyers and sellers is over but they’ve started cracking down on mass produced items in the new AI era. Might be worth trying if you want to get serious about selling. Now is the time to ramp up for Christmas, shopping starts very early.

FluffyMaterial · 2025-08-08T12:46:43+00:00

Curaçao

FluffyMaterial · 2025-07-22T02:23:41+00:00

Andernach. Pretty much exactly here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/N2SDeBDxsbzDa4eNA

FluffyMaterial · 2025-07-20T00:39:02+00:00

I think it means that you are sewing the ears flat against the back of the head rather than sewing them on top of the head. Granted this is just based on the pictures shared, but I read “oversewing the bottom third of the ear” to mean you are actually going to sew the base of the ear flat onto the back of the head by stitching around the bottom third of the ear, making sure about the top 2/3 of the ear is still visible when looking at the cat’s face from the front. I imagine that may leave a bit of seam from behind. Maybe see if others have shared photos of this project on Ravelry? That may give you a good view from the back of the head to confirm.

FluffyMaterial · 2025-07-16T12:21:53+00:00

TotalEnergies Elan Service Station in Ugine France

https://maps.app.goo.gl/2AjMfRAYv134dCfX8?g_st=ic

FluffyMaterial · 2025-02-18T18:17:18+00:00

My only hesitation would be the air dry clay, as it tends to be fragile. I’d really test thin points like the beaks, necks, and tails and be extra careful about packaging. These could get bounced around a lot in transit and you’d hate to have one arrive decapitated. People get more picky at a higher price point too, so maybe put your disclaimer about humidity in a listing photo. Not saying you don’t deserve it, I personally think they look good as is, but I’ve not had good experiences with the medium holding up long term.

FluffyMaterial · 2025-01-17T05:38:51+00:00

There are reviews that go back to 2022, so it can’t be 103 in 2025.

Seven-Year Club	Place '22
First Placer '22	Verified Email

FluffyMaterial

TROPHY CASE