The Retired Hobby Shop

The Retired Hobby Shop Rolling thumbs is overrated. We help you turn free time into something meaningful. Beginner crochet kits for now, with more hobbies coming soon.

๐ŸคOn this Good Friday, we remember the depth of that sacrificeโ€ฆ a love so powerful it chose the cross.Today is not only a...
03/04/2026

๐ŸคOn this Good Friday, we remember the depth of that sacrificeโ€ฆ a love so powerful it chose the cross.

Today is not only about reflection, but about the quiet, unshakable hope that came through it.

โœจ Because of Him, even the darkest day carries the promise of healing and redemption.

๐Ÿงถ WEDNESDAY WORD OF THE WEEK ๐Ÿงถ๐Ÿ‘YARN BARFThat big, messy tangle of yarn that comes out when you try to pull from the midd...
25/03/2026

๐Ÿงถ WEDNESDAY WORD OF THE WEEK ๐Ÿงถ

๐Ÿ‘YARN BARF
That big, messy tangle of yarn that comes out when you try to pull from the middle of the ball.
You start with a simple planโ€ฆ just pull the yarn and get going.
But instead, out comes a whole clump of loops and knots ๐Ÿ˜…
Now youโ€™re sitting there, untangling before you can even begin.

Itโ€™s random. โ€ข Itโ€™s annoying. โ€ข And honestlyโ€ฆ completely unnecessary!
But somehow, it happens to all of us ๐Ÿงต

Monday Motivation ๐ŸŒฟA new week always arrives with a quiet kind of promiseโ€ฆ a chance to reset, refocus, and gently move f...
23/03/2026

Monday Motivation ๐ŸŒฟ

A new week always arrives with a quiet kind of promiseโ€ฆ a chance to reset, refocus, and gently move forward. Sometimes all it takes is a small step, a kind word, or a moment of courage to shift everything in a brighter direction.

Let this week be about leaning into what lifts you up, holding onto what matters most, and trusting that even the smallest progress is still progress. Thereโ€™s more ahead for you than you might see right nowโ€”keep going. โœจ

๐Ÿ› ๏ธ ๐“๐ก๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ ๐“๐จ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐œ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐จ๐š๐ซ๐Ever finished a crochet project and noticed itโ€™s a little wobbly or uneven? Thatโ€™s where ...
19/03/2026

๐Ÿ› ๏ธ ๐“๐ก๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ ๐“๐จ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ

๐๐ฅ๐จ๐œ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐จ๐š๐ซ๐

Ever finished a crochet project and noticed itโ€™s a little wobbly or uneven? Thatโ€™s where a blocking board comes to the rescue!

A ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐œ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐จ๐š๐ซ๐ is a flat surfaceโ€”usually foam, cork, or woodโ€”where you can pin your finished crochet piece into shape while it dries.

๐“๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ก๐ž๐ฅ๐ฉ๐ฌ:
โœ…Straighten edges โœ…Even out stitches โœ…Open up lace patterns โœ…Make your project the perfect size

๐‡๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ฌ:
1๏ธโƒฃWet or steam your crochet piece gently.
2๏ธโƒฃLay it on the board.
3๏ธโƒฃPin the edges to your desired shape.
4๏ธโƒฃLet it dry completely.

๐Ÿ‘‰๐–๐ก๐ž๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ง๐ฉ๐ข๐ง ๐ข๐ญ, ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐ž๐œ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐ง๐ž๐š๐ญ, ๐Ÿ๐ฅ๐š๐ญ, ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ-๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ . ๐๐ž๐ซ๐Ÿ๐ž๐œ๐ญ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐ ๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ง๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฎ๐š๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ, ๐ฌ๐ก๐š๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ฌ, ๐จ๐ซ ๐š๐ง๐ฒ ๐๐ž๐ฅ๐ข๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ž ๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค!

๐Ÿ’ก ๐๐ซ๐จ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฉ: Foam puzzle mats make a quick and affordable DIY blocking board!

๐Ÿงต ๐–๐ž๐๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ ๐–๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค ๐Ÿงต๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐ก๐š๐ ๐ญ๐จ โ€œ๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ ๐ข๐ญ, ๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ ๐ข๐ญโ€ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ? ๐Ÿธ ๐“๐ก๐ž๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎโ€™๐ฏ๐ž ๐›๐ž๐ž๐ง ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ !In the crochet world, froggi...
18/03/2026

๐Ÿงต ๐–๐ž๐๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ ๐–๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค ๐Ÿงต

๐„๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐ก๐š๐ ๐ญ๐จ โ€œ๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ ๐ข๐ญ, ๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ ๐ข๐ญโ€ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ? ๐Ÿธ ๐“๐ก๐ž๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎโ€™๐ฏ๐ž ๐›๐ž๐ž๐ง ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ !

In the crochet world, frogging means undoing your stitches when something hasnโ€™t gone quite right.

It can feel frustrating in the moment, but hereโ€™s the truth: every crocheter frogs sometimes. Even the very experienced ones.

๐Ÿ‘‰๐’๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐›๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐š๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐ฐ๐š๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐›๐š๐œ๐ค ๐š ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐š๐ ๐š๐ข๐ง. ๐€๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญโ€™๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐Ÿ๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐จ๐ค๐š๐ฒ.

Crochet is a journey, not perfection. ๐Ÿงถ

๐Ÿ’ฌ ๐‡๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐ก๐š๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐  ๐š ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐ž๐œ๐ญ?

๐Ÿงถ ๐“๐ฎ๐ž๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ ๐“๐ข๐ฉ ๐Ÿงถ๐Ÿ‘‰Buying a lot of yarn in the same colour? Donโ€™t forget to check the dye lot.When your project needs seve...
17/03/2026

๐Ÿงถ ๐“๐ฎ๐ž๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ ๐“๐ข๐ฉ ๐Ÿงถ

๐Ÿ‘‰Buying a lot of yarn in the same colour? Donโ€™t forget to check the dye lot.

When your project needs several balls of the same colour yarn, itโ€™s important to make sure ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ฒ ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ก๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฌ๐š๐ฆ๐ž ๐๐ฒ๐ž ๐ฅ๐จ๐ญ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฅ๐š๐›๐ž๐ฅ.

Yarn is dyed in batches, and even though the colour name is the same, different dye lots can have slightly different shades.

In a big project like a blanket or sweater, those small differences can suddenly appear as light and dark sections, even though you used the same colour.

โœ” Keeps your colour consistent from start to finish
โœ” Prevents visible shade changes in large projects
โœ” Saves you from undoing rows later

16/03/2026

๐Œ๐จ๐ง๐๐š๐ฒ ๐Œ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐Ÿงถ

Thereโ€™s something special about handmade gifts.

The time, the care, the quiet moments spent creating something just for someone else.
Thatโ€™s the magic of crochetโ€ฆ one stitch at a time. ๐Ÿงถ๐Ÿ’›

Whatโ€™s the last handmade gift you made for someone?

Thereโ€™s something special about handmade gifts.The time, the care, the quiet moments spent creating something just for s...
16/03/2026

Thereโ€™s something special about handmade gifts.

The time, the care, the quiet moments spent creating something just for someone else.
Thatโ€™s the magic of crochetโ€ฆ one stitch at a time. ๐Ÿงถ๐Ÿ’›

Whatโ€™s the last handmade gift you made for someone?

๐Ÿงถ ๐–๐ž๐๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ ๐–๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค ๐ŸงถWIP ~ WORK IN PROGRESS Got a crochet project waiting for โ€œjust a few more rowsโ€?A blanket ...
11/03/2026

๐Ÿงถ ๐–๐ž๐๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ ๐–๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค ๐Ÿงถ
WIP ~ WORK IN PROGRESS

Got a crochet project waiting for โ€œjust a few more rowsโ€?

A blanket that only needs a borderโ€ฆ but itโ€™s been sitting there for weeks?
Thatโ€™s your WIP, and trust us โ€” every crocheter has them!

In the world of crochet and yarn crafts, a WIP (Work In Progress) is any project youโ€™ve started but havenโ€™t finished yet.

Sometimes they move along quickly, sometimes they pause while a new project steals your attention โ€” and thatโ€™s all part of the creative journey.

๐Ÿ’ก Some WIPs turn into beautiful finished piecesโ€ฆ and some quietly become UFOs (UnFinished Objects) hiding in the yarn basket. ๐Ÿ˜…

๐Ÿงถ How many WIPs do YOU have right now?
Be honestโ€ฆ we wonโ€™t judge! Share in the comments ๐Ÿ‘‡

๐Ÿ’ก ๐“๐ฎ๐ž๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ ๐“๐ข๐ฉ ๐Ÿ’กALWAYS CHECK YOUR GAUGE before making clothing or any project with specific sizes.A gauge swatch is a sma...
10/03/2026

๐Ÿ’ก ๐“๐ฎ๐ž๐ฌ๐๐š๐ฒ ๐“๐ข๐ฉ ๐Ÿ’ก

ALWAYS CHECK YOUR GAUGE before making clothing or any project with specific sizes.
A gauge swatch is a small test square, usually 10 cm x 10 cm, made using the same yarn, hook, and stitch pattern as your project.

Checking your gauge helps make sure your finished piece turns out the correct size and fit.

๐Ÿ’ฌ๐†๐š๐ฎ๐ ๐ž ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฌ๐ž๐œ๐ซ๐ž๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐š ๐ ๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ญ ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ญ. Everyone crochets with slightly different tension, so skipping a gauge swatch can lead to garments that end up too big or too small.

๐Ÿ’ก ๐๐ซ๐จ ๐“๐ข๐ฉ:
โ€ข If your swatch is too small, try a larger hook.
โ€ข If your swatch is too large, try a smaller hook.

Small adjustments can make a big difference in the final result!

๐“๐‘๐‡๐’ ๐“๐‡๐”๐‘๐’๐ƒ๐€๐˜ ๐“๐Ž๐Ž๐‹ ๐“๐€๐‹๐Š: ๐Ÿ“ ๐Œ๐ž๐š๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐“๐š๐ฉ๐ž๐Ÿ“ It may look simpleโ€ฆ but a measuring tape is one of the most important tools i...
05/03/2026

๐“๐‘๐‡๐’ ๐“๐‡๐”๐‘๐’๐ƒ๐€๐˜ ๐“๐Ž๐Ž๐‹ ๐“๐€๐‹๐Š:

๐Ÿ“ ๐Œ๐ž๐š๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐“๐š๐ฉ๐ž๐Ÿ“
It may look simpleโ€ฆ but a measuring tape is one of the most important tools in your crochet or knitting basket.

๐Ÿ‘‰๐–๐ก๐ฒ? ๐๐ž๐œ๐š๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž ๐›๐ž๐š๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐š๐›๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ. ๐“๐ก๐ž๐ฒ ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐š๐›๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ญ.
โœ” Check your gauge before you start
โœ” Measure as you go
โœ” Adjust for your personal tension
โœ” Ensure sleeves, baby blankets, and garments come out the right size

A few centimeters can make the difference between โ€œperfect fitโ€ and โ€œwho is this for?โ€

At The Retired Hobby Shop, we believe the right tools make hobbies more enjoyable and far less frustrating. Make sure your toolbox is complete. Your future projects will thank you. ๐Ÿงถโœจ

Address

2 Siebert Street Fichardtpark, Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein
9317

Telephone

+27640134074

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