Time suck!

August 27, 2012August 27, 2012 DW2 Comments

I am still alive! When I started this blog, I didn’t used to do *that* much crafty stuff – hence the name. Then I gradually got more and more hooked. At the beginning of this year I was trying to post every week (or so) and now look. A month’s gone by and not a word. Well, it’s been a busy month I guess – I went to Venice to see a friend, (and ride in a helicopter) and work’s been busy. But enough of that.

Knitting! I’m absolutely in love with this pattern, by Jared Flood (which you can see above). It’s pretty clear I’m not alone – if you look it up on Ravelry you’ll find everyone else loves it too. It’s such a good beginners pattern! It’s just knitting and purling – and watching the patterns form is really addictive. I’ve seen some people stress with getting to grips with the chart – but just incase you’re going to make it, I think the most important thing to know is that every row starts with knit 3. Once you understand that, you’re off. It’s really so nice to knit.

I followed the advice of other Ravellers in terms of yarn, and I’m making it in Cascade 220 wool, in charcoal grey. I bought the yarn a while back, but have been forcing myself to finish this first…

This is the Waffle scarf I made, with the massive ball of yarn I got for Easter, from my mum. It’s not a brilliant scarf, but it’s certainly the very best I could do. It was also really good practise for getting to grips with knitting. I used an adaptation of a simple repeat pattern on Ravelry – and you can find it here. If you dig about to see what other people think, everyone says the same thing – it curls up at the edges like crazy! Still it’a great pattern for a beggining beginner.

The Guernsey Wrap needs to be blocked to within an inch of its life, I believe. That’s what everyone says – and it should make the edges nice and neat. I’ve got a hell of a long way to go before I get there, but I’m excited to see how it all turns out. So stay tuned.

In other crafting news – I got a Kindle for my birthday. There are two things about this (well, three if you count me telling you how much I like it). The first, it stopped me train tatting which is very bad. That said, recent busy times at work have made me start again. Sometimes when my head is whirring with the day’s events I can’t read a book, digital or otherwise. That’s when train tatting comes to the rescue. It’s brilliant for calming a buzzing brain. I’m making a pattern I make all the time, so all I have to do is count. It’s perfect.

The second Kindle thing; I need to make it a case! Trouble is, knitting has just eaten up my weekend time. I also have lovely fabric I got for Christmas which I need to make a crafting bag/tidy with. There’s just never enough time, is there?

EDIT: PS – By the time I came to start the wrap, I’d forgotten how to cast on. The pattern suggested the Long Tail method, which is handy, because my mum taught me that. Or it would’ve been handy if I could’ve remembered it! You Tube helped out – and this video is quite good.

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!

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.

Monkeys, crochet, tatting, sewing, triumph and failure

April 15, 2012 DW10 Comments

Yes, this post has something for everyone. Or at least something for everyone who likes a bit of craft – otherwise, look away now.

I was of course making a pig, last time I posted. It’s still at the head stage, because the Ipad refuses to display the second page of the pattern, and I’ve not really been sitting at my other mac, which displays it perfectly. I will finish it, but over Easter as I was away visiting family, I grabbed two balls of yarn and a hook and decided I’d try out some yarn I bought for monkey making a while back.

(Look at her there – relaxing mid-photoshoot! Honestly. It was quite hard to get her to pay any attentional at all.)

The yarn was £2.00 a ball and is Rowan hand knit cotton. I must admit, I don’t love it for this kind of thing, I’ve decided. Two main reasons:
• I crochet really tightly anyway (which is actually very good for making toys) but it makes some yarns tough on the fingers – and this is one of them.
• The stitch definition is a bit too good! Its an odd negative, I know, but I think sometimes the fact it shouts ‘I’ve been crocheted!’ can really get in the way of the character of the toy. Something a little fuzzier is probably better.
While I was away, I made all the boring no-brainer bits: ears, mouth, hands, feet and I started on the rest of the head. I finished the head in the week and today I forced myself to make all the limbs and sew it together. Sewing of course, being the worst job of all.

Usually I put scarves on my monkeys, but today, with sore fingers, I couldn’t face crocheting anything else. Out of the blue I decided to make a dress instead. The monkey is actually an odd colour in real life, and just as I was about to chop up some linen, my head said ‘umm, you’re doing this in a rush, with no idea what you’re doing. Use something you don’t care about’. For once I listened and used a bit of old sheet instead. I must admit, I’ve done a dreadful job on the dress sewing! It’s appalling – and worse – the monkey is trapped inside. I had to sew her in, which is something I really don’t like (it’s sloppy, I think). Having said that – Look at her! She’s hilarious. As I sat down to sew her in, I spotted the crochet flower – it’s been knocking about on my desk for ages – I crocheted it in tatting thread a while back.

I makes a big difference I think. Without it, she looks like she’s in very drab school uniform. Having said all that, I quite like the overall effect, and so I’m going to ponder on it all and probably remake the dress, but better. I did a quick google search before hand incidentally, and found this tutorial. It’s not brilliant, but gave me enough confidence to have a go. I didn’t pin anything or measure anything… it shows. Next time.

If you wanted to crochet your own monkey, I used this pattern again, and just personalised it a bit as I went. So that’s the crochet – and the sort of triumph, on to the tatting / sewing / failure next.

Before Easter I thought I would try making a ‘lunch bag’ style bag, to put tatting on. Most of the tutorials I’ve seen have all been for bags in one colour, but I wanted side panels on mine.

Only thing is, I also lined it, and by the time I’d finished, it doesn’t really fold over properly, which is really annoying. I think it’s all too small for the thickness of the fabric.

I know it needs a button – but even with it, it’s a very clumsy looking thing – so back to the drawing board on that one.

Also, I’ve been trying out using tatting for a brooch – and I’m not keen on that either!

This is it 3/4 done – but I’m still thinking about whether to finish it or take it apart. I made the edging in the week (my own pattern, for once) – but it’s really there to hide the fact the circle isn’t perfect. So… how do people make and hem circular brooches? Actually, even as I typed that I think I probably know the answer to that one. They’re better at sewing than me 🙂

Never mind. You don’t know these things till you try ’em.

In other more exciting news – I’m learning to knit! I asked specifically for no chocolate this Easter, and so instead of an egg, my mum gave me a massive ball of practise yarn, a pair of needles and some of her time in teaching me. She’s a brilliant knitter, but doesn’t enjoy it, so it was very sweet of her to put herself through it. What a lovely present. I’ve been forcing myself to get that monkey finished all week, so I can get on with trying to knit a scarf! I’ve got the basics of knit and perl, and I can just about cast on and off (with a bit of prompting). Needless to say I have grand ambitions but like all these things, *trying* to take it one step at a time.

Phew.

Occasional Crafter

Crafting, occasionally.

Category: knitting