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.

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.

Monkey hat!

September 23, 2012September 23, 2012 DW12 Comments

I’ve had a few balls of nice yarn sitting about for *ages*. I bought them for a crochet project and then changed my mind. Then I saw this sweet pattern on Little Cotton Rabbits site, and wondered if I was capable of making it… Then I thought I should quickly see if I could walk before I could run for a change, and make something easy with two colours first. (No, I haven’t finished my Guernsey wrap yet – it has doubled in size though!)

This is the Innocent Smoothies Big Knit Pattern, with a few adaptations. I wanted the rib to be a bit more obvious, so I knit 2 / purl 2 for 4 rows – which made each rib wider and longer than they suggested. Then because their language is a bit chatty I couldn’t work out how many rows I was actually supposed to do, so I made it 12 in total before the decreases (was that right?). The rest of the instructions I followed as suggested.

I’m actually away from a Post office between now and their 1st October deadline, and so Monkey gets a new hat, and I’ve learnt how to make them for next year. (I hope they wont mind). It’s a nice little pattern to learn stripes with. I looked at a few You Tube videos for help and this one seemed to do the trick.

Also HOW CUTE are these photos?! It’s my partners camera – which he says cannot fail to take a good photo. I think for once, monkey was the perfect model! (He can pull a slightly sarcastic expression at times.)

Odds n’ ends

June 10, 2012June 10, 2012 DW14 Comments

Hello! I’ve had a few days off, weekends away, and various house guests, which is why I’ve been a bit quiet recently. I have been tatting a tiny bit, although not as much as I’d like – mainly as I can’t always get a seat on the train, which is where I usually tat. Spare evenings are still taken up with The Knitted Scarf, which is coming along nicely. (Although not without a fair bit of unpicking, whilst trying to watch Alien in the dark. Unpicking knitting is quite frustrating, isn’t it? Not so with crochet.)

Above is the trusty Stormtrooper, engaged in a bit of a scrap with some train end-of-shuttle doodles. I do like these daisy chains…

These are size 80 thread… I’ve not really decided what to do with them yet.

They’re not that big. Perhaps the right size for a bracelet or a necklace, but a bit delicate. I’ll stitch them on to something, I think. Not sure what yet, but it would be nice to use them for something.

This little piggy is currently in transit. He lived on the shelf for a little while, and then decided it was time to head out. I love making things for people – but I just can’t make them to order! Ages ago, after a lot of not-so-subtle hints, I made my friend and elephant. Her mum and I were with her when she opened it, and her mum really seemed to love it. I always meant to make her one too, and then time wore on and I forgot. As I was wondering what should become of the pig, it dawned on me that maybe she would like it, so off he popped in the post. Hopefully she’ll get it next week. It’s always a bit tricky as they’re not *that* sturdy, so they’re not really toys for very little kids. They’re shelf dwellers really, but they do like to be loved. I hope she likes him.

In other news, I went to Yorkshire for a few days which was lovely. I had a brilliant time (seaside, countryside, cream teas and brilliant company!). We went to Nunnington Hall, and spotted this lovely crewel work:

There were three panels, all quite large and they were beautifully done. They had chunky stitching and felt quite free-form, although they were carefully planned out with lighter stitches before they were filled in. I loved the feel of them though (visual – I didn’t touch them!) As I’ve said before, I’m not a needle worker, but I would potentially make an exception for something like this… Like I need another hobby!

Body of Evidence

May 23, 2012May 23, 2012 DW15 Comments

…aaaaaaand relax. The little piggy has a brand new body, and I think we can safely say, everyone is much happier. Or at least I am. Thank you for your comments on my last post. You were right. As much as it would’ve been great for everyone to say it was fine, it wasn’t, and I felt his body really didn’t do his head justice. There’s nothing more unsatisfying than a half done pig, is there?

This was the idea, before I got started. (I sketched it in a meeting. Bad habit.) I think it wasn’t a bad likeness in the end. No belly button of course, but I do like the two wooden buttons, I think they add a bit more interest. I still love this yarn – the Simply Recycled cotton. It’s really soft and the colours are so nice and muted.

And here we are from the side…

And here’s the other side, with his tail peeking out. Phew. All done. Believe it or not, as I have more yarn, I’m tempted to make another one.

A mixed bag (may not contain bags)

May 13, 2012May 13, 2012 DW15 Comments

This little piggy has been a bit frustrating. I’m not sure what to do with him/her, but I think it’s not over yet. This is body number two – I actually finished the whole thing once, lived with it for a week or two and then took it apart. This is the body as written in the pattern, but I think it’s a bit messy. Too many decreases, which just don’t look good. It’s a shame as the head is such a great shape and so nicely written up, but I just think the body doesn’t do it justice. It also doesn’t suit a scarf – or anything else I can think of as yet – to distract you from the not-very nice shape. Will think on. Any suggestions appreciated! Poor little piggy!

I’m a fan of the yarn though – it’s lovely! It’s the Sidar Simply Recycled, and is lovely and soft. The colours are also really nice, quite muted – a bit more natural looking. I’d definitely use it for making toys again. This little chap is much bigger than the last one.

This is an experiment, made the other week. It’s tatted in size 40 thread, and is actually the pattern for a bracelet. The thread is much thicker than I would normally use – but probably a bit more of an appropriate size for jewellery – that said, as a bracelet I think it would drive you nuts! I love the idea of tatted daisy chains, but maybe just not this one. Rather than waste it I made yet another lavender bag. (I think I underfilled it too – after all my months of overfilling I’ve tipped back too far in the other direction!)

But look at this – it’s knitting! A waffle scarf (ravelry link), and it seems to be going ok (she says, touching wood, with crossed fingers). Now I’ve got the hang of it, I’m really enjoying it. It’s a very simple pattern of course, but nice for a beginner, and a great TV project. I’ve already planned my next project – bought the pattern and the yarn, but I’m going to be good and finish this first. Very exciting!

Brilliant things mums give kids

April 26, 2012 DW12 Comments

There’s no pictures in this post I’m afraid, but I hope you’ll read it anyway – especially if you’re a mum.

I was tatting on the train on the way home from work tonight, thinking about things to make. My mind wondered to hair accessories – and then to a hairslide my mum made for me when I was little. What a hairslide! I loved it.

As a child I always had my hair in a bob. It was between chin and shoulder length, and quite ‘swishy’ – I’ve got very thick hair. One day my mum made me a special hairslide – I’m not sure what prompted that, now I think about it. It was platted in green and white cord across the top, stitched on to a flat metal hair slide, but with long pieces of cord that dangled into my hair, with beads on the end. Wait – I’ll draw it. Ignore the no pictures thing.

See what I mean? I can still feel it in my hair now. All dangly and brilliant. I thought it was the best thing ever. It WAS the best thing ever. It’s not the only thing my mum has ever made me of course.

She also made me dresses (when I was really little) an aran jumper (which she hated knitting, but was very well done), cakes and biscuits, a hot water bottle cover, cushions, some beautiful embroideries and lots of other things. (She also instilled the deep love of a good book).

Of course the very best thing she gave me, was her time.

We both enjoy crafty stuff, but mostly different crafty stuff. She does the most incredible embroidery, cross stitch, Hardanger and she’s really practical – so if there’s a need for a *thing* in fabric, she’ll figure a way to make it. Boxes, decorations, aprons, peg bags, iPod cases, that kind of thing. I’m not at all the same. I think I’m still working out what I like doing – tatting, for sure – and I’m liking learning to knit and use my sewing machine.

Growing up with a major part of my youth in the 80s, there was a real rejection of craft. Somehow, my family still had hobbies. I just grew up thinking that there was more to life than TV. Now I’m older, I can really appreciate what a gift that is to give to your children. I’m rarely bored – when I listen to friends who suddenly find them selves alone on a Saturday, or stuck in on a weeknight and forced to watch TV, I think how nice a spare evening to yourself sounds — a chance to *do* something! (Not to watch TV.)

So, Mum – thank you. Thank you for all the things you’ve made me, all the things I’ve made with your help, and all the things I’m thinking of making.

—
And apologies – for the lack of pictorial evidence, I just felt like posting this tonight.

Occasional Crafter

Crafting, occasionally.

Category: crochet