What kind of hand crafts are popular where you live?

i think that here in Canada, we pretty much do the same stuff that you all do in the US. maybe the only thing different would be the soapstone carving that is done by the Inuits (Eskimos) here but down where i am (about an hour away from the US border), we have Michaels and i am sure that they stock pretty much everything that is sold in the US. as for crafts i would like to learn, i am interested in learning to weave. i have an old metal octagonal shaped loom but would love to learn on a big one. i also would love to learn how to do pottery. that would be cool. i enjoy doing cross stitch, crocheting, collage, card making, wood working, jewelry making and painting that sort of thing.

I live in northeastern usa. I ejoy crocheting as well. I usually make blankets, hats and scarfs. I'm trying to teach myself to knit so far all that I can do is scarfs. Its hard to get use to the two needles. Alot of people here quilt also. I've tried sewing but I'm not very good at it.

Hi GG...you know, I haven't the faintest idea what is selling here these days. I haven't been to a craft show in a couple of years. I know my girlfriend does knit and sews and does the cutest items, but no one was buying them at that time. I guess they feel it's cheaper to just go to the store and buy booties, hats, etc. It's a shame as her stuff is well done too. I'm not good at sewing so I don't think I'd like knitting. I used to do miniature crafting and re-furbishing older items into pretty one's or something useful. I haven't done it in a while. I was doing the miniature candles for a while but have since stopped. I guess I'd better get back into the swing of things again.

This is a good question and I am looking forward to reading some of the questions. Since I am from the same country as you are I imagine it is pretty much the same here where I live as it is for you. I believe Afgans and quilts are and have been for a long time very popular. I am not much of a crafter I am more of a baker, cook, and candy maker.

there are many like croquery items and also thin tatting device and many more,Infact i dont get the sufficient time to explore them now

In Hungary, the older generations knit, crochet or do embroidery mostly, and males make furniture if they do any kind of DIY projects. The younger generations enjoy easier clothing item-making or altering DIY projects or scrapbooking.

I Love to crochet and have sold a lot of the items I have made at work, on other sites online, and via Shows here in the area. I have made potholders, afghans, scarves, hats, purses, etc. It is a lot of Fun and seeing someone else using something I have made as in wearing it makes my day even better. In the past I have learned to knit, and used to do a lot of counted cross stitch. To me, doing crafts is quite relaxing and a Great way to take your mind off of things as well.

using regular thread I chrochet a bedspread took me a year later someone stole it out of shed where I had it storedwhile we traveled after that I lot interest not done much since guess I aught to pickit up so I can pass it on to grand daughter, crafts are good to pass time and make things but what we call crats might be other womans way of life to make money to live on and thats got to be hard haveing to work o what ever they do to make a living dont you say?

My mom tried to teach us (my sister and I) to crochet; I never really caught on to it though. My Girl Scout troop had someone come in and teach us quilting; we each made our own squares. My mom and I took a stained-glass class at Boscov's (a local department store)-that I had a lot of fun doing. And my sister and I took home ec in school, so we did learn how to use a sewing machine. My aunt made a quilt of clothing taken from different family members; she gave it away in a raffle one year. I'd like to try stained-glass again, but don't know of any place around here that has supplies (we had a stained glass studio/supply place a couple of miles from home when we took the class). I also want to get back into teaching myself some basic furniture refinishing, but we need more room than we have here. But what I DO know is how to develop my own film (B&W as well as color, even slide film) and my own photographs-but since everything has gone to digital, I can reprint my own pictures and frame them as art around the house. I have a few planned for a mixed media piece (photo image with acrylic paint, or pencil and pen & ink) to hang in Jim's train room.

Here in Australia we do all kinds of knitting, crochet and embroidery. There is tapestry, appliqué for quilts and the most amazing quilts to see. Women in the country sometimes spin wool and they even have sheep with various coloured fleece for this purpose. Cake decorating is huge as is floral art and decorating with flowers. I make jewellery and I hope to enter some pieces in the local show (like your local fairs) next year. Pottery is still in vogue and of course cake baking and jam making. There are contests for who can grow the biggest pumpkin, tomato and various other veggies as well. I've probably left some things out.

Wow... you are really good with all this hand crafts. Keep it up. I have tried doing needle work on predesigned cloth and once completed, framed up and hang it on the wall. Since Chinese New Year is around the corner, I do lanterns using Chinese New Year red packets. In Malaysia, the handcraft that is popular are rattan works, weaving baskets etc.

I know cross stitch..(my favorite), crocheting, and a little bit of knitting. :) I would love to learn tatting, even at this age..:) That is so delicate...I think when we are gone ...say 500 years from hence, they will discover the tatting works done by womenfolk and display them in museum ...telling everybody that once upon a time, people used to manually produce such things. :) I saw beautiful large embroideries in art galaries...almost 10 ft by 6 ft or so. Double filling stitch. They sure had patience in the good old days. :)

The crafts that you mentioned are all common here too. But the younger generation is not seen with these activities these days. I only hope that we will not see their end. It could be the same fate there too GG? Do you see youngsters there who have taken to these activities?

I live in southern USA and so, quilting is popular here. Not so much knitting and crocheting because there isn't a need for warm knitted or crocheted hats and scarfs but there are some that enjoy knitting and crocheting here. I belong to a charity group that knits and crochets. We make hats for the homeless because it does get cold at night in the winter and some of the homeless sleep under bridges, etc. We also make blankets for children with AIDs in Africa. I don't quilt but I do enjoy the beautiful handcrafted quilts. I am teaching myself how to knit, I have been crocheting for many years and now, want to know how to knit as well. It is interesting to learn a new craft. Just keeps life more interesting.

Here in the Philippines we do have lots of hand crafts and we do make money on it. I do crochet and cross stitch as a hobby but the people in another town who has been known for their work and for their living making handy crafts. We normally use our own material from trees or from fruits or leaves. Like the handwoven mat (banig) that we used for sleeping this mat is made from a palm leaves or sea grass leaves. Our national costume (Barong Tagalog) is made from Pineapple leaf fibers. We still have many more hand crafts made here that are known for tourist. Some of our products are already exported from other countries like US.

You really opened a flood gate for me! I keep trying to cut down on the number of crafts I do, without much success! I love throwing pots (making clay pots on the potter's wheel...although once when I got upset at my daughter I threw a lot of plates, cups, bowls etc that I had bought at the thrift store for doing a mosaic in my fishpond), knitting, sewing (clothing and teddy bears), photography, Kumihimo (that's a new craft in America it is a form of Japanese braiding that is done on a soft foam disc), jewelry making, stenciling, etching, felting, paper beading and tons more! I also crochet some and if something interests me I take it on in a heartbeat! My Mom started me crafting when I was three and the "sickness" () took! My house is full of craft stuff and crafting books. I can't seem to part with much of the stuff, even though I try. OH, and then I also do machine embroidery, which I used to make a set of embroidered sheets for Bill for Christmas. I found that crafting keeps me somewhat sane...in a totally insane house! But that is my next post.

I would like to learn how to make homemade soaps. I will never get there as I have so many different crafts that I already do. I bought myself 2 paint by number sets---when do you think I would ever take time out to work on them?? Not crafts, but I also have a stack of jigsaw puzzles in the closet. I love doing them...just impossible around here. No place would be safe to even attempt to put one together with 2 crazy cats that are constantly running and jumping. Marsha

Since moving here in September I've noticed that the crafts people do here tend to be leather crafts - moccasins & beading, vests - using seal and moose hide, Carving - some sort of stone and tusks they use, dream catchers, Fur gloves and mitts - coyote, bunny, Of course the beading crafts from the moccasins and such seems to be on wallets, lighter covers etc as well. Dreamcatchers. I think it would be neat to learn to make and bead moccasins.

I tried so hard to crochet but just coudn't get the hang of it. I do embroider though but haven't done it for years. The people here are very talented from intuitive paintings to wood carvings. Tatting is also carried out but not quilting or lace making to my knowledge. Macrame is also popular and definitely hand made pottery. If I had the talent for it then I would still like to learn how to crochet. I feel so idle if I watch tv and my hands are idle

15 Kilometers away south from my city, we have something called chandua - which is a hand craft where people do stitching and make quite good looking stuff using mirrors stitched on cloth and also some good embroidery. Almost all families of this now township are involved in this and they have quite big markets in the west. (see pic attached). Though there are lots of things they make - starting from wall hangings to garden umbrellas, I have uploaded a pic of a wall hanging. The close up depicts the work and all is hand done, mo machines are used for embroidery etc. Then 30 kilometers away north of my city we have something called Applique work where people work on items of silver and bronze.