What new skills do you want to learn this year?

Happy New Year everyone! Now that Christmas is over and we can hopefully find a bit more time are there any new skills you’re hoping to master? I took advantage of yesterday’s Bank Holiday to finally try out screen printing on glass. The first attempt came out well so I’m already planning my next make!

Here’s hoping you can find some time to learn something new this year!

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Not craft related at all! But, I aim to finish my canine behaviour course with the hope of following up with a dog training course.
If I could afford it, I would love an embroidery machine and learn how to make my own garment label too.

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Those have come out beautifully @MissyMacGlass! I love screen printing, there are so many different things you can do with it. I’d really like to be able to expose my own screens but I don’t think that will happen any time soon… but there are so many new things I want to try this year, first up cast glass blocks…

Oh yes, exposing your own screens looks really fun. It’s only a matter of time until we both give it a go! I hope you get to cast some glass blocks soon!

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Totally not crafty either but I want to learn to play the piano. I learned guitar as a child as I wasn’t really interested in the piano but my tastes have changed a lot and I now much prefer the sound of the piano.
I work in a very musical school whereby more than half of our students (and staff) can play an instrument- so I won’t need to look far for tuition. But that’s my aim this year! :grinning: To begin to learn anyway!!

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I’m hoping to master the skills of writing up a few of my crochet patterns.

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Are you doing any crochet patterns for beginners Eileen?

Id like to make soldered embellishments using moulds, I cant work out how to make the solder unblobby, it tends to act like mercury and just sit in a ball in the mould. I need to do some research.

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I’ve recently been researching handmade leather work on youtube. Fascinating watching the experts cut, work and sew leather into handbags etc. I now realise why handmade leather bags have to cost so much, as the work involved justifies the cost. I would love to try it, but don’t think I can afford the tools and leather, might try a small purse though.

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I’m getting a silhouette cameo cutter for my january birthday - eeee!!! I’ve already downloaded the software and am just trying to get my head around it. I’m pretty computer literate but it frustrates me that icons look different and are in different places to do the same things. But I’m looking forward to really ramping up the personalisation part of my business - this lovely machine should cut my prep steps for appliqué in half. Half! and those steps should be individually quicker too. Personalised bunting is my big thing locally, but I haven’t tried selling it on Folksy yet . . .

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I’ve almost mastered the magic loop method of knitting. Next will be fair isle, my tensions not quite goid enough yet, so lots more practice needed.

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I’ve not really decided which ones to write up properly yet but I think the first one or two will be more for beginners.
Although I’ve been crocheting from a very young age, I’d never learnt to read a crochet pattern or the names/terms for the stitches.
I would write down a few notes with my own words for what I was doing with measurements and photo’s of what I was doing that I could refer back to.

Then 4 summers ago I was on holiday with a young couple from our car club and she asked me to teach her to crochet. Which was find expect I realized she needed to know what the stitches where called so I bought a crochet book with the diagrams in the back with the stitch termonogly both in UK and USA terms. I’d no idea that the USA had different names for crochet stitches to us in the UK.

Now I can read a crochet pattern and I think it’s about time I wrote up a few of my crochet patterns properly or at least try to :smile:

I will keep an eye out for them :smile:

I’d love to hear how you get on with the silhouette cutter @SaskiaN - I’ve been umming and aahing about getting one for making stencils for sandblasting and screenprinting (see beginning of thread!)

Will do! It is expensive but it will be my one present. Plus I found it on Amazon.com as a bundle for $199! (Same bundle on Amazon.co.uk was £311. How depressing is that?) Even with shipping and import it was £100 cheaper (and still cheaper than just the cameo on its own over here). So I threw in some other bits and bobs (like a 12inx24in mat) which were also cheaper - and didn’t up my tax and shipping any.

I was looking at the portrait which seems to be smaller and cheaper but otherwise much the same? Will have to save up though, I spent my ‘machinery budget’ before Christmas on a particularly expensive bit of kit (although I did get a discount so I was happy :slight_smile: )

This thread is ever so interesting, I think it would be good to keep it going and see how everyone gets on. I think my new thing will be distressed painted furniture pieces. I did an occasional table in Farrow and Ball Light Blue to put my christmas branches on and really enjoyed doing it. So I think I’m going to be looking out for small pieces of stuff to paint.

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I have just learnt to knit… I made a plain cushion (boring) followed by 3 fairilse ski bands. Tomorrow I’m going to buy the wool to make these, which certainly won’t be boring!

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I think the basic difference is that the portrait is 8inches at its widest, instead of 12. Since I want to use mine to cut out my bunting, etc, as well as appliqué, I need it as wide as I can get!

It’s cleared customs now (not that I’ve been stalking it on the Amazon tracking :slight_smile: )!!

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Thank you! I think 8" would be fine for my purposes. Hmmm…