Sunday, April 3, 2011

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week Day 7! 2KCBWDAY7


Your knitting and crochet time.

Write about your typical crafting time. When it is that you are likely to craft – alone or in more social environments, when watching TV or whilst taking bus journeys. What items do you like to surround yourself with whilst you twirl your hook like a majorette’s baton or work those needles like a skilled set of samurai swords. Do you always have snacks to hand, or are you a strictly ‘no crumbs near my yarn!’ kind of knitter.




The best way to start today's post is to freely admit that the biggest fear I have is to be bored...
Bearing this in mind (and the fact that I am a "do 5 things at once kinda gal"), you can see why I tend to knit/crochet everywheeeerrrreee...

Yes, I am the person that knits in church, waiting in the queue at the grocery store, crochets on the plane, Gautrain, at the kids school concerts, in my car when stuck in a traffic jam...everywhere that doesn't involve a life threatening situation.

However, because time is precious , I don't just knit or crochet...I have to listen to an audiobook (folks, Audible.com....go there! Your life will change...) while knitting. This means that when at home, I tend to spend most of my knitting time in the kitchen table area (you know, we have a perfectly good dining room, but we never eat there...yup, we eat in the kitchen). This is where my computer is s et up (Gerry also has all his techo gadgets set up here...), so it makes for perfect together time as well...we alternate between listening to an audiobook and listening to a conference (medical) talk etc.

That's why I have a little shelf with all my odds and ends ... everything I need close at hand...

I also always carry a ready to go bag in my car, so that no matter what happens, I can do something with my hands...I've often been stuck at a place where I didn't expect to be stuck at, and want to go ballistic if I can't do some knitting and crocheting... time wasting is the biggest crime :(

So...in a nutshell, the crazy lady with the knitting bag, yes, the one with the kitchen sink in her car, yes, that's me! Say Hi! when you next run into me :)

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week Day 6! 2KCBWDAY6

2KCBWDAY6


Day six: 2nd April. Something to aspire to.
Is there a pattern or skill that you don’t yet feel ready to tackle but which you hope to (or think you can only dream of) tackling in the future, near or distant? Is there a skill or project that makes your mind boggle at the sheer time, dedication and mastery of the craft? Maybe the skill or pattern is one that you don’t even personally want to make but can stand back and admire those that do. Maybe it is something you think you will never be bothered to actually make bu can admire the result of those that have.



Today's post was a lot easier than yesterday...I am so inspired by the wonderful designers and designs out there, that i could loads photos forever... however, here are some of my "wish I have done/will do..."



Firstly ...the holy grail of Fair Isle knitting (which I really enjoy doing), must surely be an Alice Starmore design. I have seen someone refer to this as the journey not the destination...it may well take you a generation to finish one. This design is called Henry VIII. Folks, just look at that detail! Never mind that the yarn used is a two ply!!!!! I mean, really...I don't even know if it would be possible for me to see the stitches towards the end of my life's work on this (nanogenerians do have some eyesight issues...)...
Yet...
why do I crave to make this ? Of course a simple pullover wouldn't be adequate. I need to make this in a mid calf length coat... I must be mad... (but ambitious! ;) )



Ok, so everybody that has a secret passion for pink, put up your hand...no, be honest now... how gorgeous is this dress? Oohhh...I just wanit, wanit, wanit! The design is a Cynthia Steffe design
and you can find a fabulous deconstruct here...

As dresses and tops go, I also love this. It's kinda LOTRish, and I can yet again see myself knitting forever, but heck people, how pretty and flattering it would be...



This is just simply Kaffe...iconic, bright, evergreen... I wish I had the time to knit up a huge blanket in this, in some divine yarn with cashmere in it... Oh, for extra arms...my kingdom for an extra pair of arms!!!!!

My favourite pattern of all time is the African Flower Crocheted Hexagon...it's so easy to make and simply beautiful. I am so inspired by this ...I have tweaked the picture a bit to show off the colours better...

Love this...want to make one using these colours....


Want a pair of these...


Want to make my godson this...it would suit him perfectly!


I love this shawl...pretty, easy to do and finishable (yes, word is my own...) this lifetime...

Maybe this year will see a start on at least two or three of these projects...I am working on the arms standby... ;)

Friday, April 1, 2011

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week Day 5! 2KCBWDAY5


Wildcard – Embellish the story

Embellishments come in all types and forms. Some are more than purely decorative and form a practical function – pretty buttons are as much part of holding a garment together as mere decoration, and some are just there to give a piece an extra ‘something’. Blog about an embellishment, be it a zipper, amigurumi eyes or applique patch which you are either saving to use or have in the past used to decorate a project with. Write about whether you are a very minimalist kind of knitter with classic lines and timeless plain knits or whether you love all the bells and whistles or sticking sewing and otherwise attaching decoration to your pieces.


Ok, so my post today is a bit of a cop out I admit...I have been busy working on a pattern that I intend to release next week, and it is a very labour intensive project, so that took up a whole lot of time....While I was busy with this project, I kept thinking about the prompt for today's installment of Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, and my brain froze, went into hiding, and refused to cooperate ... hence, I have opted for the wild card today ! Instead of discussing embellishments, I have made up a small crocheted rose tutorial that can serve as an embellishment...

I must say, I love crocheting roses...they are so quick and easy and add instant glamour to any knitted or crocheted item....so without further ado...here's the tutorial!

I used a divine sock yarn, and a size 2mm crochet hook.



I have presented the tutorial in a different format, hoping that it will be a bit easier to follow :)


1. Chain 50.
2. Skip 3 chain stitches...you will do a dc into the next stitch along.
3. Yarn around hook...
4. Insert crochet hook into next chain stitch...
5. dc completed.
6. Chain 1.
7. Make two more dc into the same chain space as before.
8. Miss one chain stitch...you will crochet into every second chain stitch from now on for this row.
9. Into the next chain stitch (arrowed), crochet the following...2dc, ch1, 2dc



10. After step 9, your work should look like this.
11. Continue in the same manner, all along the 50 chain stitches.
12. Where you see the little bumps along the outer edge of the curling work, you will see the chain stitch between the two sets of dc's sticking out...
13. When you get to the end of your chain rope, turn your work around.
14. Insert your hook into the chain space between the two sets of dc's ...yarn around hook and draw right through the chain stitch that was on your hook, leaving you with one chain on your hook (slip stitch...)
15. Slip stitch completed.
16. Chain 3.
17. Now make 8 dc into the same space.
18. Next crochet 9dc into the following chain space between the 2 sets of dc you made in the previous round. Continue in this manner until the end of the row.


19. You've reached the end of the row.
20. Turn your work around. Here you have a choice...you can continue using the same colour yarn, or (as I have done), you can join a new colour yarn (this will add a bit of depth to the edge of the rose). Insert hook into the first set of loops (of the stitch below), and draw through the new colour yarn.
21. A close-up.
22. Yarn around hook and draw through both stitches on hook. Now you only have one stitch on your hook and it's the new colour yarn.
23. Continue making sc into both loops of the stitch below (of dc's from previous row).
24. When you have made 9 sc's , you'll get to the space between the scallops of dc. Here you make a dc into the space below FROM THE FIRST ROW , as seen in the photo.
25. Continue in this manner all along your work, until you get to the end of the row.
26. At the end of the row (you've just ended with the 9th sc of the last scallop), make a dc into the dc below, as seen in the photo.
27. Turn work around. You'll have two yarn tails...tie them together.


Tie the yarn tails together, as seen in photos 28 and 29.

Your work will naturally curl on itself. Arrange the spirals in a pleasing rose shape, and using the tails, sew up the bottom of the rose, making sure to catch enough of the base row for the rose to hold it's shape. Cut yarn tails, and enjoy!

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week Day 4! 2KCBWDAY4


2KBCWDAY4

Day Four: 31st March. Where are they now?


Whatever happened to your __________?

Write about the fate of a past knitting project. Whether it be something that you crocheted or knitted for yourself or to give to another person. An item that lives with you or something which you sent off to charity.

There are a lot of different aspects to look at when looking back at a knitting project and it can make for interesting blogging, as much of the time we blog about items recently completed, new and freshly completed. It is not so often that we look back at what has happened to these items after they have been around for a while.

How has one of your past knits lived up to wear. Maybe an item has become lost. Maybe you spent weeks knitting your giant-footed dad a pair of socks in bright pink and green stripes which the then ‘lost’. If you have knit items to donate to a good cause, you could reflect on the was in which you hope that item is still doing good for it’s owner or the cause it was made to support.


... aka the sad misadventures of the incomplete Amour Fingerless Mittens...

I have found that when I am making something for someone else, my motivation and energy seem to be boundless, the excitement of creation the very driving force that spurs me to complete the object...however I am a miserable procrastinator when it comes to making something for myself... :(

The sad reality is that there are precious few things that have seen the light of the Big Reveal, when the intended recipient is little 'ol me...

These alpaca fingerless mittens have been a work in progress for two years now...yes, yes, I know that's pretty pathetic, but it must be said that the road to functionality has been paved with supreme intention... I have worked on them in more geographic locations than the average migrating bird travels. They went to Verbier with me when we went skiing...they have travelled to the coast numerous times...they have been to London on a trip last year...they have been to Zambia when we went for my daughter's birthday...they have snuggled up to me in cars, planes, buses, trains and on foot. I may have to get them a passport...


What is it about a WIP that just seems to stall and stall and stall...will I ever finish them? Really, there shouldn't be any reasonable reason...they are soft, warm, pretty, have *pink* in them, have been lovingly protected from M***s, the dog, the kids and elves in the night.... why can I just not focus and finish them? Next week we are going skiing in Val d'Isere, and they would have been both attractive and useful to have. So, I ask you? Why are they half finished still...

Human nature is indeed a mysterious thing...





Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week Day 3! 2KCBWDAY3


Day Three: 30th March. Tidy mind, tidy stitches.

How do you keep your yarn wrangling organised? It seems like an easy to answer question at first, but in fact organisation exists on many levels. Maybe you are truly not organised at all, in which case I am personally daring you to try and photograph your stash in whatever locations you can find the individual skeins. However, if you are organised, blog about an aspect of that organisation process, whether that be a particularly neat and tidy knitting bag, a decorative display of your crochet hooks, your organised stash or your project and stash pages on Ravelry.




Ok, so today's post is really late and the photos taken at night in a hurry, so not my finest work :(
However, I was determined to blog and keep up to date with blog week, so here it is...

Really, the photos are an exercise in how to make things look neater and tidier than they actually are...and also for the very first time, Ladies and Gentlemen...the reveal of the shamefully huge stash that I have amassed...yes, believe it or not, I have never posted/taken photos of this hoard before (partly out of shame, and partly out of a sense of fear that I will have to organise it...).


I have a very small guest bedroom that I have annexed as my stash room and have several wall units for books etc...and of course part of the yarn stash. It's all very cluttered, but in truth I actually like to be surrounded by clutter (clean clutter kind you...). No, I am certainly not minimalist in any sense of the word...
Above is the left hand side of the pure cottons, and on the right hand side the rest of the cotton, the mohair, cashmere, and of course my beloved sock yarn.


Above is the undyed yarn that still has to be packed into ziplock bags (with a bit of soap), so that the dreaded M***s cannot get to them...


Undyed yarn and some divine cotton above, nearly ready for packing away...


More yarn (the pinks on the right I dyed up last night...cashmere, silk, alpaca sock yarn...divine!), needing to be tucked safely into zippies....



On the other side of my hoarders cave, is a wall cupboard, again filled with yarn. Here I keep the pure merino, handspun merino, silks, more cashmere, angora, and my superwash DK merino. Also there are some odds and ends...


The plastic suitcases towards the lower shelves have an alpaca blend...the suitcases are great for storing...



Some of my needles and interchangeables I keep in a handy cutlery tray... as well as some other tools...


Knitting needles and crochet hooks are also stored in pretty tins and more cutlery holders...





There is still quite a bit of yarn all over the house, and here I have a small rack in the kitchen next to my seat at our kitchen table...I mostly sit here and knit and crochet...

Well, a whirlwind tour...it's really late here in SA, so I'll say goodnight ...

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week Day 2 2KCBWDAY2


2KCBWDAY2

Look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year. Have you learned any new skills or forms of knitting/crochet (can you crochet cable stitches now where you didn’t even know such things existed last year? Have you recently put a foot in the tiled world of entrelac? Had you even picked up a pair of needles or crochet hook this time last year?.



I have been avidly reading the blog posts from yesterday's first day of Knitting and Crochet Blog Week :) It's wonderful to see so many people uniting to blog about the stuff we love to do....knit and crochet! It's amazing to see how fibre lovers differ in tastes...one man's meat etc etc :) Today's post is all about newly acquired skills, and although one of the skills I am blogging about is fairly conventional, the other is probably wayyyyy out there...


This year has been a good learning curve in terms of my knitting and crochet. I decided many moons ago that there is simply nothing that cannot be done, or a solution to a problem found, as long as there is a will. So, even if I am paralysed with fear (...does occassionally happens folks...) before attempting something (...right before bungy jumping, as I seem to recall...), I plunge headlong and work it out until I get it right (...don't think I will be bungying again soon though...). With this in mind, I tackled a project that I have been weanting to do for a couple of weeks now.

I recently bought a chunky knitting machine, in an attempt to knit big blankets for my girls for winter. I wanted to use divine yarns, in lovely bright colours...something they can curl up under when having an afternoon nap, or watching tv. Sadly, I found that the average knitting machine bed is very small/narrow, and nowhere near the size I wanted to make.

So, I merrily called the manufacturer and asked if there was some way in which I could join up two machines to make a longer needle bed. "No, it cannot be done...", I was told. Ha! I thought, the magic words! So, I set myself the task of making it happen (didn't have any idea how yet...)

I spent the morning dismantling the two machines to find out how they were put together. The whole mechanism is actually very simple, with only a few moving bits.
I worked out that I needed to saw off a tiny bit of one of the needle beds (to slot into its neighbour and create the width of a needle), and drill a few small holes in the base plate (to have access to the screws that hold the needle count bar down)...really extremely easy and simple to do!

When I had finished the whole process, I had a knitting bed that was over 260 needles wide, capable of knitting up something nearly 2.5m wide...bliss!!!!



The other skill I felt is worthy of mention is learning to dye my own yarn. Again, quite easy to do, but opens up a whole world of possibilities...
I love that I can plan to use a specific colour and dye up any yarn type and weight to match what I want. It also means not running out of a colour... and above all it is addictive and fun!



Another skill that I have begun to understand and (...hopefully...) master, is to knit intarsia in the round. As you all know (if you've read any of my past posts), I HATE seaming anything and will avoid it at all cost.... so I Magic Loop virtually everything! Of course, the holy grail of circular knitting is doing intarsia, entrelec, double knitting all in the round, and I am happy to say, that all that is left of these is the entrelac...perhaps this year will bring the yarns of change and I will have the time to master that skill in full :)

Tomorrow...how I manage my shamefully huge yarn stash...

Monday, March 28, 2011

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week Day 1 is here! 2KCBWDAY1

2KCBWDAY1

Yay! Knitting and Crochet Blog Week has arrived! March was a really bad blogging month for me , but I am determined to blog every day for Blog Week :) A lot of stuff happened in March, and after blog week, I will devote some time to that...until then...here's Day 1 's post!



Let me start off by saying that I just LOVE yarn...I love the feel, the smell, the colours, the promise of something being created from it...I love that you can make an awesome FO from what comes down to sticks and string :)

That being said...I have to admit to being the most terrible yarn snob *blush*... I am of the opinion that if you are going to spend a long time making something, you better make it from a great quality yarn, or not bother at all...yes, I know...not an attitude shared by all, but works for me... :)

My favourite types of fibre are cashmere, alpaca, angora, silk and cotton and merino. I especially love a wonderful sock yarn from Fyberspates called Nef sock yarn. This is a wonderful blend of Cashmere, Alpaca and Silk, and is surely the softest yarn that I have ever touched. It is simply the ultimate in sock luxury...

When it comes to DK yarns, I adore Dana's hand-dyed superwash merino. This is a wonderfully soft, squishy , balanced yarn, with a fantastic twist...so no splitting my dears! I have way too much of this stuff in my stash, because it is so divine to knit with... I am making a huge blanket from this yarn...I will post photos of the completed blankie later this week. The stitch definition is fantastic, and it is available in a huge array of colours...




One type of yarn that I love for it's look and feel, but absolutely cannot knit with... is Bouclé Mohair. For some reason I always get my needle points stuck in the loops of yarn, making me pick up stitches, drop stitches, tear the yarn...a nightmare! So, although it is a wonderful yarn, I don't buy it anymore because of this problem...

Other yarn brands that I love are Rowan (Milk Cotton, Handknit Cotton, Kidsilk Mohair), Colourspun (DK Cotton and Aran Cotton), and Fyberspates (Angora/Merino Lace)...

Tomorrow I will tell you about a skill I learned recently, and why I am so pleased with it!