Going nowhere fast…

April 7, 2013 DW15 Comments

I don’t know what’s going on at the moment, but it’s taking me forever to get anything done! These poor monkeys have been waiting so patiently to be finished, I feel a little bit guilty. The joy of making two monkeys at once kind of hit a snag when I realised I had to make EIGHT LIMBS. E I G H T. And then sew them on. Every time I get to the sewing arms, legs and heads on I remember what it is I *don’t* like about amigurumi. That said, it is nice when they’re whole.

Look at them! They’re a really nice size actually. They fit comfortably in your hand, and feel oddly delicate, but firm. The fabric this cotton crochets into is pretty sturdy, but there’s something about the size of these fellas makes you feel a bit protective towards them.

One has a scarf, the other has a scarf-in-progess. The scarf in progress is a simple 2×2 rib. I do love the fact that I can knit them scarves now (Thank you, Mum!) It always felt like a bit of a cruel blow that you spend so much time making them and then you’re still not done – you have to crochet them a scarf as well. (Monkeys always need a little accessory. It’s a very unloved monkey that gets sent into the world without one).

Umm, yeah. This is a little family, it seems. The littlest one is here to stay, the orangey one does fit rather well on the bookshelf, although is considering leaving home, and the two green ones will be going somewhere, when I’ve decided where. I started making the green ones some drawstring trousers, but there was a hiccup with the sewing machine, so I need to do a little maintenance work first. These are all cotton, where as the yellow one I made recently was wool. Gawd. I said a long time ago that this blog should probably change its name to ‘Occasional Monkey’, perhaps I was right.

Anyway. Yesterday I went to the Creative stitches and Hobbycrafts show at ExCel, in London, because I was lucky enough to be given a free ticket. (Thank you, Mum!) My friend and I had fun – but it was nowhere near as good as the Alexandra Palace show, which I still think is the best of those kind of events. The stalls were all okay (not widly exciting) but I did enjoy the Royal Schools of Needlework display, which had examples of students’ sketches and works in progress. (My friend Jane took a lovely photo of the blackwork). I keep a sketchbook / notebook for work, but I’m starting to think I should work out a way to make one for fabric / thready things…

Then I’d have somewhere to put the odd things like this which end up stuffed in various boxes around the house. This was me trying to work out a smaller version of a vintage pattern, and then switching to something else entirely (above).

And this is me being an idiot and mis-reading a pattern. What do people *do* with things like this? Do any of you do scrapbooking, or have kids that would like less-than-perfect things to collage with? I dunno. Let me know. Anyway, I digress.

As well as the Royal School of Needlework display, there were some lovely quilts on show. I loved the rich colours on this one, which is actually evenly lit, but has a natural gradient in the fabrics, making it look like its moving from shadows to sunshine:

There was also a display of smocks and smocking, which I think was from a collection owned by the WI. They were absolutely beautiful, my favourites being all one colour, natural linen. It was hard to get a photo as the weren’t well lit, but this is the kind of thing:

Smocking is actually on my list of things to try. (It’s a long list, mind you). Oh – would you look at that, a nice tutorial! It was the work of this lady, who made me realise just how beautiful this kind of thing could be. Actually, looking at it now makes me want to chuck everything I’m working on out of the window, take a week off and learn how to do this *right now*.

We left the show, had lunch and then headed back to Somerset House for the the Walpole Crafted: Makers of the Exceptional 2013 show. (I say ‘headed back’ as we were only there a few weeks ago). This was a nice afternoon mooch – in the same space as the previous show we’d seen. Again there was some thought provoking work on display. I did love the colours on this Fair Isle Knitting, by Mati Ventrillon:

There’s so much stuff to try, isn’t there. Gah! As always, so much to do and so little time.

There was one other thing that was a feature of yesterday – and today. Sunshine! We had some sunshine. Yesterday finished off with a lovely long walk in the sun, through central London and Green Park, and today a lovely walk in the country side – I spotted primroses, daffodils and even a few lambs. I thought I should make note of it here – at least then if we don’t get any more for a while I can look back and remember how nice it was.

Actually, despite the worrying title of this post, I’ve had a lovely weekend. I hope you have too.

Heads will roll

March 17, 2013 DW7 Comments

Hello? Hello! I can’t believe it’s been so long since my last post. And so long since I’ve *finished* anything. Life’s been getting in the way a bit – a weekend visiting family, a couple of weekends working. A lot of work-reading on the commute, or worse, snow-chilled hands too cold to do any tatting. My tatting fingers are itching to get back into it, so hopefully this week I can pick things up again.

I have had these chaps on the go for a week or two. They’re made in Rowan siena cotton, which I really love. It’s got such solid, strong colours, and it does make nice tight shapes. I would say these aren’t really the most umm… I dunno – they’re not the softest monkeys, this kind of tight cotton crochet feels much more like it’s creating toys for the shelf of an adult, or perhaps just slightly gentler fingers. They’re quite small too, which I like. I’ve been meaning to make a pair of monkeys in opposite colours for ages, and so these are being made at the same time. Non-identical twins.

Unlike the yellow monkey, who looks rather uncertain I think, these fellas look pretty confident. They actually look a little bit like trouble, if you ask me. We’ll see what they’re like when they’re finished…

Yesterday I had the pleasure of going to Wool House, a showcase of wool at Somerset House, in London. It’s a collection of rooms, each decorated and designed by different designers. There’s some lovely work there, and it’s a nice place for a morning’s mooch. The first room by Kit Kemp was my favourite I think – or actually, that’s not strictly true. It had lots of things in it I liked, and was perhaps closest to my taste. Lovely colours, and a few nice things I could happily of run off with, like this chair and cushion:

And this was the wallpaper, which I also liked. (The ceilings were very high, and the repeat on the pattern isn’t too dense, so it wouldn’t drive you nuts). Again, nice colours, machine embroidery I guess:

The other room that really caught my attention was by Anne Kyyrö Quinn. Lots of interesting folded felt, creating textures and patterns with light. Also, bright vibrant colours that grabbed you by the throat and made you feel a little bit more alive:

I also liked these knitted samples – not too sure who they were by actually, or even what they were doing there…

And I also spotted this rather excellent stitch counter – there was no information about it, but it looks brilliant. Also like the kind of thing someone’s grandma might have knocking about in a cupboard? (If it’s your grandma and she and you don’t want it, can I have it 🙂 )

So all in all, it was a nice visit. Even better, I got to hang out with a very good, smart friend, squidge lots of yarn in John Lewis, and then go for afternoon tea. What an excellent way to spend a Saturday. And now look at the time! Just enough time to get one with… monkeys? tatting? *something*.

Hope you’re all well, warm, dry (it’s been chucking it down here) and having nice weekends too.

Stitching in the sunshine

February 9, 2013July 2, 2013 DW32 Comments

Ok, I take it back about yellow. At the end of my last post I said that if you buy yellow thread you’re hardly ever likely to use it. This post disproves all that I guess. Also, I really love that golden sunshine yellow, purely because it reminds me of sunny days, so lord knows what I was thinking. Sorry about that.

I had a little adventure last weekend. A friend and I rented a cottage for a couple of days. I arrived with a sewing machine, cutting board, various yarns, half a monkey’s head and wine. She arrived with weaving, fabric, different yarns – and scones and clotted cream. To be frank, I’m not sure its possible to arrive armed with anything better! We had a lovely weekend where she conquered (I think) her fear of sewing machines, and I made myself do some embroidery – and finish the monkey. This is our little front room – and on the sofa you’ll spot a blanket beautifully crocheted by my friend’s mum, which came along for the ride. (I can see where my friend gets her super-neat and even stitches from.)

I decided to fill the middle of the wreath (pattern link) I’d tatted with french knots. The joy of a cottage in the country complete with wi-fi means a quick look on You Tube and you’re off in no time. Then I kind of carried on – and actually I think, got carried away. I added the pink on a whim – the skeins of yellow and pink looked so good (and clashy) next to each other that I thought it would be alright. I think it’s a bit too much in reality, perhaps sticking with the yellow and blue alone would’ve been better? I dunno.

It’s all pretty messy, but I quite like the mix of embroidery and tatting, so I’ll try it again I think. This is the size 50 tatting thread. I think it works well for this kind of thing. I usually tat with size 80, but I think that could be too small. We’ll soon find out as I’m halfway through another version of this wreath.

This was the other option incidentally. I crocheted this rose ages ago, I think with DMC Perlé thread and found it in a jar! Good colour match, but I thought it really was Time To Tackle Embroidery. (That said, it looks rather tasteful by comparison. Oh well.)

The monkey in question arrived as a head and left as a fully formed monkey. It was him that took most of the time, to be honest – it’s amazing how long thy really take VS how long you *think* they take. I couldn’t get his mouth right AT ALL. This is probably the 4th or 5th mouth. In the end I used some linen thread, which was a bit random, but I’d tried embroidery thread and wool and both of them looked awful. Now he’s done, I think he’s quite sweet:

He looks kind of hopeful I think. I’ve said it before, and will no doubt say it again, but the placement of the mouth and eyes is everything when it comes to toys. Get that right and I swear it’s half the battle. And that’s a knitted scarf! The first ever scarf I’ve knitted for one of my toys. This monkey is a gift for my friend’s daughter who is one year old this week. She’s the one I crocheted a blanket for a year ago. I mentioned that it might be an idea for him to sit on the shelf for a bit, as I’m not sure how he’ll take to being chewed, but we’ll see 🙂

Right. Better get on with the weekend. Enjoy yours!

Colouring in

January 26, 2013January 26, 2013 DW10 Comments

You know I absolutely can’t wait for Spring. It doesn’t have to be warm, just sunny and bright with a few new shoots popping up here and there. Not sure where you’re reading from, but we’re all cloudy grey skies and snow in the UK at the moment. A few proper sunny days would be lovely…

I made this little chap last week. It’s actually an incorrectly tatted version of this pattern. I quickly memorised the pattern on the way in to work, but neglected to notice there should be a single stitch between each ring on the flower shapes. Missing the stitch means that when you get to the end of the flower shape, you only have one thread – to get the other on back in action, you have to close the flower. (Tatters – you’ll know what I mean… right?) Actually, I think it looks fine – although I had to block it to get it to lay flat.

My need for some spring colour led me to make it again (complete with mistake, as actually, I quite like it like it) in an HDT called ‘Summer Trail’.

It’s size 80, and the ecru (kindly gifted by Katy) is size 50. There’s quite a size difference. Coloured threads are so odd. I look at photos of everyone else’s coloured tatting and think it looks lovely. Often, when I use colour I think it looks a bit over the top. I must admit I’m not keen on the orange/yellow in this thread, I think it’s a bit too much. The green in the centre calms it down a bit, but… I dunno. I need to find the right colour to stitch it on to, perhaps. I think white might make it look a bit fresher.

There’s never a good time to buy yellow yarn, is there? I mean really, what are you going to use it for? Not much, I reckon. Luckily, I was with a friend wondering through Liberty’s sale (as you do… not very often!) and spotted a lovely, reduced price ball of yellow wool. I had to get it – and doesn’t it look nice? Just a wee bit in the centre of my daisy. I love this pattern – I’ve been meaning to make it for ages. It doesn’t take long, and I bashed out a very wonky cotton bag to hold the lavender for the inside. The back is a basic granny square. Actually, it’s not even remotely square as I made up the pattern as I went along, and didn’t count properly! I think alternating a plain square with a daisy square would make a lovely baby blanket though.

In other news, I still need a new knitting project – a TV one. I’ve been thinking of making another Guernsey Wrap, because I love the first one so much. I’ve been wearing it ALL the time! Any suggestions appreciated. I also need to crochet a toy. A friend’s daughter is having a first birthday soon, and I think it would be nice to make something.

Best stop rambling and get on with it.

Advance new year wishes

December 29, 2012December 29, 2012 DW7 Comments

Hello! Hope you had a good Christmas (I did!). I have a raging cold right now, and so this is a quick post to wish you well for the new year. Above are some little stockings I made as gifts (although the stripy one is wrong, so I remade it differently). They’re not too hard to do for an inexperienced knitter as they’re made flat and then stitched. Actually, the stitching might be the hardest part… It’s this pattern again, from Little Cotton Rabbits.

I’ve also been trying to knit in the round on 3 dpns – nothing as small as these stockings – but damn it’s hard! I think I’ve got it now, but I’ve frogged everything I’ve done so far. I’ve almost taken an eye out once! It’s gotta be said, crochet does have some things over knitting, and just using one hook for everything has to be the main one. Hopefully I’ll be able to report some progress soon.

I’ve also got a drop spindle! I’ve watched about 5000 YouTube videos so far, so I’m hoping to make some progress with that too. Frustratingly I was asleep in bed all day yesterday as I felt really rough, but it’ll be a short-ish work week this week, so next weekend should be the perfect time to get started.

That’s all for now. Hope you’re all safe, warm and well. Thanks for sticking with me this year – I’ve really appreciated your comments and encouragement. Hope you have a brilliant 2013!

Another wreath!

December 19, 2012December 20, 2012 DW10 Comments

Less speedy than the last one! This is a lavender bag, tatted as a thank you to Katy for the thread she gave me. I had a bit of a panic about what to tat actually. I need to look for new patterns! As I usually tat on the train though, it’s not always possible. I like to do things I have memorised already (much less of a faff) – also, I wanted to tat something I knew would look nice. I do like the colour of this thread. It’s really close to the colour of the linen, and I think it looks good with the beads.

Katy also gave me some white thread, if you recall, so on the reverse are the flowers I tatted with the two colours together.

The threads are actually different sizes – which on freeform stuff like this is fine, but I spotted it when another Mary Konior pattern I was tatting started looking a bit tight. I adjusted numbers of stitches though, so all good.

I tried extra hard with the sewing on this one – it’s always a bit nerve-wracking making things as gifts. I think it turned out ok though. Also, Katy has been decluttering her house this year, and I felt a bit bad about sending more clutter as she’s done so well, but I thought… well, it’s useful and will tuck in a drawer and make things smell nice 😉

Thanks again Katy. (Aren’t bloggers nice?)

Speed-tatted wreath

December 16, 2012December 16, 2012 DW3 Comments

One of the things I like about crafty stuff is the seasonal rhythm. It seems to happen more in Autumn and winter with tatters perhaps, but I love that around september tatters often switch to autumnal colours, and tat leaves and pumpkins and other things. In the winter of course everyone switches to snowflakes, because if there’s one thing tatting seems to be made for it’s snowflakes.

I’m not sure what’s happened this year, but time has run away with me completely! I’ve either not had a seat on my commute or it’s been really squished, or my hands have been too cold. I’ve been working late for the last month or so too, and so maybe I’ve just not had the right bit of my brain available by the time I get to the train. Anyway. No snowflakes. I also realised that I’ve not posted a single card as yet, and there’s one friend of my Mum’s to whom I usually send a snowflake. This year I thought I would finally get around to tatting this in green with beads and send this instead. It’s unblocked in this photo – I must admit I do like the organic shape of it like this. You can’t see how lovely and glowly the beads are in this photo, but they’re a really nice ruby red.

It’s tatted in size 80 dmc, and so there’s not stacks of beads. I know other people make this pattern with beads at every join, but it’s too hard to get a needle / double thread in a bead like this to attach beads to a joining picot. (I know if you don’t tat, that makes no sense, but just incase you do, that’s what’s going on).

Anyway. Just the one photo, as I need to get this blocked and try and see if I have any Xmas cards in the house at all. (It’s generally a blessing that I work away from shops, but occasionally a curse).

Happy Sunday! If you’re Christmas Crafting, hope it’s going well.

It’s a wrap!

December 11, 2012 DW10 Comments

Finished at last! I blocked this last night (no photos, sadly) but it took up two bath towels and most of the front room. I think I could’ve stretched it a bit further when I blocked it, but actually I like the size that it is – and the thickness. It was also my first time using blocking wires – which seemed to go ok.

It’s this pattern, if you’re wondering – and would like to see what it looks like on! If you’re thinking of making it – do! It’s not hard, and it’s not a bad TV project. As a beginner knitter I found it really satisfying. Not too challenging and looks much more complicated than it really is. It’s also a lovely thing to have at the end.

No pics of it on, as I can’t seem to find a good spot in the house to take a photo. Also, I have a day off and I look dreadful, because I know I don’t need to leave the house ;o)

I used Cascade 220 for this, based purely on what other people were using on Ravelry. It’s lovely and soft – not at all itchy. Also cosy and warm. I’d definitely use it again. Actually, I have to use it again, I have one spare skein. Was half thinking about some fingerless gloves, but I wonder if it’s too chunky for that… Will have a bit of a Ravelry session and see.

Anyway. Finished!

Umm, what on earth should I knit next?

Race against the dark

November 25, 2012 DW14 Comments

It’s almost dark, so I had to race to take these photos – and I must admit, I’m not quite ready! That one above is a massive cheat in Photoshop, but hey, it looks pretty at least! It’s a little piece of test tatting I’ve squeezed in this week on the occasions when I’ve managed to get a seat on the train. Not sure what’s up these days, but seats are becoming a bit less frequent.

Look at these! A huge treat and such a kind donation from lovely Katy at Creating Misericordia. They arrived in the post last week, so I got home at the end of a very long day at work to find them waiting for me. Instant smiles! I’m not 100% sure what sizes they translate to, but I’d say perhaps maybe 50? They’re not as thin as 80, but not as thick as 40, so I think something like 50 or 60. Anyway, super nice, and I love the more beige-y colours with the ecru…

This is a bit more of a realistic shot – I quite like the very subtle mix of the two colours together. This is a doodly pattern, but so enjoyable to do. I’ve started adding picots to every flower petal, which makes it more flexible to make up a pattern as you go along. Without them you get to the point where you quite fancy adding a join but have nothing to join to. As always, I could actually *plan* this, but… where’s the fun in that?! Hmm. I think I might actually plan the next one… perhaps. Thank you so much Katy, a donation very much appreciated 🙂

All the hard work on this is done – had it not been about to get dark, there’d be a shot of it finished. I just need to stuff it and sew up the side. It would also benefit from an iron too. For this one, I stitched three sized of the square and then sewed on the tatting. Much better idea on slightly larger pieces as there’s more chance of getting the tatting centred. It’s a bit fiddly stitching the tatting on, but I am pleased with the way this has turned out. I worked really hard to get it looking as neat as possible, and I think it’s paid off. (This is a very close up shot – it wont be this wrinkly by the end! It’s Valdani thread incidentally – slightly smaller than 80 but not as thin as 100. I went off it for a while and have no idea why. I love it on linen.)

I’m still knitting every chance I get, too. This is the wrap – don’t worry, blocking will fix the edges. I bought some blocking wires in preparation and I’m so desperate to get this finished! It’s been really cold at work, and if nothing else, I just want to wear it. This is a rubbish photo, but it does look nice is real life. A great pattern – and really good for beginners. It looks quite complicated, so you get all the satisfaction of that, but it’s just knitting and purling. I’ve got about 74 rows left… The plus about this is that it’s not too bad as a TV pattern, if you’re careful. (That said, I’ve unpicked a few rows!)

All this aside, other big news is that I changed the blade on my rotary cutter. Have you got a rotary cutter? When did you last change the blade? SERIOUSLY. It’s like the fabric just jumps up and cuts itself. Why did I leave it so long? Two things in life you probably shouldn’t skimp on. A taxi late at night and a new blade on yer knife. (Especially when it’s only £3.00).

Have a good week!

Hey monkey! Show us your sock…

November 11, 2012 DW10 Comments

I know you’re supposed to put the most enticing photo at the top of a blog post, but it’s been a long day and this one made me laugh the most. Hello! There’s been a bit of a pause on posts recently as I’ve had no chance to take photos of anything I’ve made. I leave for work in the dark and it’s dark when I get home, and my stroppy camera hates anything but sunshine. I did manage to grab a few snaps this morning though, and so here I am.

I made the monkey up there years ago. It’s the second toy I ever crocheted actually, and sits on my boyfriend’s desk. The sock I made about a week or two ago, and it’s a mini Christmas stocking, from the bottom pattern here. It’s so cute in real life! It’s probably not the best knitting you’ve ever seen in your life, but it’s the first time I’ve used DPNs and I actually managed to make a decent job of mattress stitching it together. If you’re a good knitter, I think you’ve have it done in no time. I know the colours aren’t very xmassy, but it was a test really, to see if I could do it.

I made another version of the pouch of pain. Still not great, but better than it was. Annoyingly this one seems to show up the tightness of the colour changes more than the other one (it’s actually a little better in real life than it looks here.) The pattern suggests that you go up in needle size when you start the leafy design, but I don’t have that many knitting needles yet, so I couldn’t do that. It’s quite a bit smaller than the first one… I was tempted to line it with fabric, but it’s just not that great, so I don’t think I will. Anyway! Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Oh – and I did the increases this time, so the base is rounded a bit. Again, looks better in the flesh.

I treated myself to these lovely hand dyed threads from Yarnplayer recently. They’re size 80, and for tatting. I’m really looking forward to using them, although I’m undecided yet as to what I’ll make. You have to be a bit careful with variegated threads – if the pattern is too complicated it can end up looking really confusing. I still think this is one of my favourites. That said, it’s getting to snowflake making time again. Gah! I was going to start early this year.

I’ve been making this again on my commute. Almost there, and then the ends to sew in. It’s in the Valdani quilting thread, which I do have a certain affection for. Occasionally I panic as I think it might snap, but that aside, I like the fact it’s ‘dull’ – there’s no sheen to the thread. I made a lavender bag earlier this year with the same pattern, and actually I love it. Something about this colourway on linen works really well.

Aside from all that, I’m still knitting my Guernsey Wrap (you can see the beginning of it here). I’ve become a bit desperate to get it finished now as winter really feels like it’s arrived, and I’d like to wear it! I’m over half way, but I need some dedicated time on it. I was hoping today would be the day, but I got sucked into day-job work instead. Haven’t managed to fit any sewing time in either, but I did buy some beautiful fabric a few weeks ago.

So much to do, and so little time! Better get on with it.

Occasional Crafter

Crafting, occasionally.

Author: DW