I have often looked at the traditional crochet granny square and thought that one day I would like to make a blanket using the simple pattern. The one drawback from it it though, was I didn't love the idea of continually joining each new colour.
While I was surfing the net, looking for some inspiration for another project (because we all know I need to start yet another project lol), I came across the never ending granny square on Youtube. So like you do when you want try something, I grab my bag of scrap yarns and a hook and followed along.
I was quite happy with the result and I must admit that while I thought that the colours were funny together in the beginning, I was on the hunt for some more balls of the same colour when I ran out of the pink. But I had no luck so now I'm not quite sure how to finish it off as it isn't quite big enough for a blanket, even a small one.
But in my hunt I did find a few balls of blue, pink and white in a nice singles so I am making another one :) I would to see your favorite rug pattern, as I am on the hunt for something different.
Happy Crafting! :)
I have often in the past looked at knitted items that were reversible and thought to myself that they were too hard to knit. After surfing the net for some inspiration, I came across a reversible knitted scarf and decided that it was time to have a go at this double knitting technique.
After a few attempts at casting on some thick yarn onto my 9mm needles, I started the process of picking up stitches to introduce my second colour and them began the sequence of knit, purl, knit, purl. I then went searching for a simple pattern to try and found a flower one.
I must say that I like the results and discovered that once you got the hang of it, it was quite straight forward. I am now on the hunt for another pattern to have another go.
Happy Knitting! :)
I have had a bit of fun over the last few days trying some new techniques and also some new patterns. As with many knitters and crocheters, when it comes to following a pattern you have to be careful selecting the correct hook/knitting needle for the correct gauge of the pattern. Not only is gauge important for following some patterns but it is also plays a part in designing your own articles too. You don't want to spend hours knitting or crocheting to have the fabric of your article to be too stretchy or too stiff!
How often do you pick up a ball of yarn that you haven't use before (hand spun or commercial) and want to use it for a certain pattern that calls for a certain gauge? And how quickly do you get sick of making 15cmx15cm squares to determine your gauge because you have forgotten from the last time you used a similar yarn. I must admit that I thought doing tension squares was a waste of time, until I came to designing some of my own patterns and quickly ran into trouble.
As I use a variety of yarns of various thicknesses, I couldn't see the point of doing a tension square for every yarn type I have in my stash. So going back to the drawing board as I often do, I came across a little exercise in a very old knitting and crochet book that went towards helping with this little problem I had with designing.
The exercise call for a ball of standard 8ply yarn and a complete set of knitting needles, starting from 2.5mm up to and including 12mm (or what ever range you have at home in your collection that you use most often). The idea was then to knit (in stocking stitch) the same amount of rows for each needle size, finishing with a purl row in each section, forming one continuous strip of knitting.
I did each section of mine 25 stitches across for 11 rows, followed by a purl row before changing to the next size up needles and continuing with kitting. By knitting without changing the number of stitches or row count, you can get an idea what your personal tension is in relation to each size needle using the same yarn. I got a little side tacked when I was finishing mine and I mucked up the last section with the 12mm needles, doing a few rows, purling, and then doing another 11 rows.
I also missed the line in the exercise that said "purl every second and second-to-last stitch to stop it from curling". But that is ok because I was thinking of doing one in 4ply baby yarn, so when I do I will remember this bit! Also, I had the thought that you could apply the same exercise to crochet, working 3-4 rows of each stitch, to understand how the hook size affects the same 8ply yarn. This is especially helpful when doing free form work.
So I hope that helps. I know it will not be exact for every brand of 8ply yarn, but it will give you an idea of what to expect with similar yarns. It also gives you a chance to experiment and feel the results. I guess you could always make a rug out of your tension squares, you might just have to add a bit around the smaller ones to make joining easier!
Happy Crafting! :)
After an inspiring session on tatting at craft group last month, again and again my mind has turned back to tatting and my current projects there of. Now as you can imagine, the nature of lace making is generally fine and intricate in nature. Being vision impaired definitely makes this intricate art even more challenging. So, I adapted the craft and its techniques to suit, producing some surprising results.
I have purchased over the years and found in various op-shops the traditional small tatting shuttles and have a few in my collection. However, while I can painstakingly work with the traditional fine No.20 thread, it takes a massive amount of time and concentration, feeling each tiny knot with my fingers. But if I was to continue with my tatting, I had to go back to the drawing board and re-assess how to make it easier, quicker and more enjoyable.
The concept of enlarging the whole craft isn't an entirely new one to me. As demonstrated previously I have and do work with large crochet hooks and knitting needles in my various projects to make things easier. So I searched for larger tatting shuttles and finding none, I made my own.
With my own large tatting shuttles in hand, I up-scaled my work with a thicker 4, 5, 6 even 8 ply thread and I have had fun creating quick and large pieces. I have also experimented with other types of threads and yarns with some interesting, even if undesired, results.
It just goes to show that if there is a barrier preventing you from doing something, or if something is proving to get the better of you, don't give up. A simple adaption to the process might be the only thing needed that could make things that little bit simpler and easier to undertake.
Happy Tatting! :)
It has been a really crazy two weeks with my fingers occupied with the busy task of preparing entries for the Bairnsdale Show. I didn't get a chance to take some photo's before they were sent to the show grounds yesterday for judging, but I should get a chance next week to take some photo's.
With the crazy frenzy of show over, I of course did a little op-shopping, on a hunt for some new things to inspire my next project. I was rewarded and didn't have to search far. The first little project I found was a latch hook kit for a 12"x12" square with a butterfly on it with only the boarder completed. It surprises me how many latch hook projects I find at the op-shop half finished, probably due to the fact that it does take quite some time to knot each short piece of wool onto the mesh cloth.
So I eagerly bought it to take home to have a play. I then managed to surprise myself by doing some when I got home and then finishing it this morning. Amazing that I started a project and finished it the next day!
So on such a roll, and now wondering what crafty project I was going to do for the rest of the afternoon, I found a bag full of crochet squares in amongst my stash. I will point out that, like the latch hook project, I often find little snap lock bags with half a dozen crochet squares in it at the op-shop. I often think people crochet a few squares with intentions of making a rug and then realise how much work is involved in creating all the little squares for the rug. I had intended to collect squares to make into a rug, adding a few of my own to the mix. But a project from craft group floated into my mind and I suddenly found a new use for the squares. With a wool needle and some odd pieces of yarn I started to sew.
I must say that I quite like the cube-like soft toys that were the result of the afternoon's sewing and stuffing. I have a fare few squares left in my bag so I might make some more tomorrow when I go to craft.
The other thing I have been doing now that the weather is warmer is dyeing some more merino wool tops. I think I have done about 1.5kg in the last two weeks in the warmer weather. But despite the cooler days in there it is now all dry. Now I just have to come up with some good projects for it once I have spun it up :)
I hope you have a good weekend crafting where you are, I know I will as always :) I will also have to show you what I have been doing in a workshop I did last week, but considering the time, it will have to wait till tomorrow :)
Well the rain has come again and with the miserable weather outside the only thing left to do is to find something crafty to do.
My collection of recycled yarns and papers have been growing over the few months with only the odd project in mind to use them. So I have spent some time over the last few days making Christmas cards, both for sale and ready to send off. I am taking orders for Christmas cards if anyone is after some so feel free to drop me an email and I can put together a package for you with some bulk price options.
I have also been making some bags of late using some of my recycled yarn stash. This is one I have crocheted and is quite thick and chunky. I am happy to take order's for these too if anyone is interested.
Aside from that, my hand dyed sessions have been halted but with the last lot of tops now dry, I have quite a few braids available for sale as well.
With nothing else to do, I'm off to go and create something. I hope you have a chance to do some crafting where ever you are, so Happy Crafting! :)
It was a beautiful sunny day Tuesday, perfect for some more dyeing. I must say that the more I do the more I love the results that are coming out.
I managed to finish spinning a couple of skeins yesterday in preparation for the upcoming show, but they will have to be a surprise for after the show. I also spent all day yesterday weaving up something for the show which I am really excited about, but again, you will just have to wait to see it :)
I have been doing a bit of knitting on my domino scrap rug and it is starting to take shape. There are still to many stitches for me to spread it out properly, but you get the idea.
I have also been playing around with some Tunisian crochet techniques and this is my play so far. It has an interesting effects when I use a hand spun thick-thin yarn but I like where it is heading. I will keep you posted on this projects progress.
And where would I be without my spindle :) This is the progression of my spinning on my Turkish Delight. I might add that the spindle is only 26g and the main shaft is about 13cm long. It is a really small spindle but I love it because I can spin in the car with it as a drop spindle or even supported.
Well I seem to have started about 6 or 7 different projects in the last few days but I have managed to finish a few too, so that is something I guess :) Happy Crafting! :)
It has been another busy few weeks but finally there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel. A long awaited and major crafting session has finally arrived and the last couple of days has been a good start to a promising week of craft.
Teaching tatting lessons at Craft Group on Saturday was great fun and it was nice to share some crafting techniques with other people. There is nothing like watching the excitement and joy of others when they learn to do something for the first time.
It has really inspired me to take my tatting up a notch to the next level, and also to finish the tatting project I started but have not yet finished. I must say I love tatting for it's simplicity. It is fairly inexpensive too, just time consuming, and makes a good traveling craft due to it's compact size.
A wool dyeing session yesterday produced some very interesting colours. I am just waiting for the last batch to dry and then I will add some photos. I must admit, it is hard sometime when I do a dye run to not keep all of the lovely coloured wool for myself, as they are sometimes so very yummy. But then again, that would mean more projects to design and finish ... and a heap of fun doing it!
Until then, Happy Crafting! :)
I have to apologise for not posting in nearly a month. It is surprising how much less time one has when they undertake a little part-time work as a fill in. Needless to say, the couple of crafting session that I have had, didn't quite make it to the blog.
August was an interesting month with the end showing that while I didn't complete a great deal of my unfinished projects, I did finish more than I started. I like the idea of finishing off projects as my monthly task and while I know September has just about been and gone, I have decided that that is what I am going to do for the rest of this year.
But I know you want to see what I have been up to in my craft sessions so I will stop babbling and show you some photos. This is what I have been spinning on my new Turkish spindle.
This is a sampler square on some different patterns that I am thinking of using to make a Ruana.
This is a project that I have been working on with some of my hand dyed, hand spun singles. I think it will be a shawl when it is finished, but then again sometimes things have a mind of their own.
This project is one I have been working on in my spare time. It is a large scale Tatting project and as you can imagine, it takes a while for all the simple knots to add up.
I have finished the first ball on my baby Turkish spindle and have started spinning the second ball. I'm not sure what i am going to make with it yet.
And another magic square project that I have designed and now working on. I have found a few little snares but that is what making a sample is all about.
I have also done a dyeing session and I will post a photo once the wool is dry :) Untill then, Happy Crafting! :)
I love it when you have one of those days where all you feel like doing all day is smiling (and in my case, giggle). It also helped that the sun was out for a change and it was warm, a great day for productivity so decided to spend some of the day sorting and cleaning up my stash.
As every crafter would know, sometimes things in the studio get a bit too cluttered and you just have to bit the bullet, and some times be a bit ruthless, and just have a big clean out and organising day.
Often, like many people, I have this bright idea for a project and I start pulling things out. The trouble is, I often get distracted by another project (or two or three), and forget to put things away, leading to this great big pile of wool, yarn, beads, paper and other micellanious craft supplies all piled up on the table. Great for inspiration in small doses but very overwhelming sometimes. I think sometimes too that when it does get over whelming like that it tends to prevent effective creativity, and it also indicates a serious craft addiction!
So like everyone I have tried a few different approaches to my overwhelming stash. Here are just a couple of the things that I have tried to help "sort it out":
- I made a promise with a friend that neither of us were allowed to buy any more stash until we had used most of it up - that lasted all of about two days (the first time!), one of the first signs of a serious craft addiction! Subsequent promises have however lasted up to two weeks, so some progress has been made.
- I only purchased things with a project in mind and not just because I liked them - this works most of the time, but if I really liked something I found I was searching for a project as an excuse to buy it! Not exactly the idea.
- collect up the bits and pieces for a project and put each project in it's own bag, with details of the proposed project - this was hugely effective, except I have a couple of bags that I didn't get the chance to add the project details to and I am now left wondering what it was I was going to make!
- I talked to people and went in search for project ideas to try and use up the stash I already have - this worked effectively too, except I now have piles of bags with projects in them and not enough hours in the day to do them all! The other thing was, I also kept running out of bags!
I know there are a few other ideas out there to deal with a growing or overwhelming stash and I would love to hear from you about how you deal with too much stash.
One of the positives of cleaning up and organising stash is that I often find things in my sorting out that I forgot that I had. The good thing is I often get re-inspired to do something with it, the bad thing is in the process of being re-inspired I get distracted and get very little done.
So after spending some time sorting and cleaning, I decided it was time for some craft, especially since I was re-inspired to do something. So I have been doing a bit of crochet work on another "yarn eater" rug (my scrap rug pattern, also called Catherine Wheel) from when I did a workshop on it at Woollies Group. I think next I will do a few rows on my shawl from last month. Happy Crafting! :)
I know it has been a week since I last wrote, and the reason why was because I was feeling guilty. I had been tripping around the country side and the only project I had manage to finish up til Wednesday was a simple knitted headband (which I might add I started on the 1st of August). I finally had a chance to breathe on Wednesday and do something for me. It was then that for the first time I started to not feel so guilty about life getting in the way of craft. Instead of procrastinating about having done nothing (which I tend to do sometimes), I sat down and just did something about it and started to knit.
I will admit that as it was a lovely day Wednesday, so I did spend most of the afternoon in the garden, especially since it has been too cold and miserable for gardening these last two months. But while I was lying in the sun in the hammock having my morning cup of tea, I did do a couple of rows on my socks, a couple of rows closer to finishing them.
Yesterday (Thursday) was a complete opposite to Wednesday and like today, it has been cold, windy and raining on and off both days. The perfect opportunity to sit down and start to finish off my projects. So yesterday morning I finished the two squares for our group project.
In the afternoon I finally got around to the group's knitting challenge (for the last few months I might add) and knitted just about all the pieces to two knitted toys. The only part I didn't get to yesterday was the cute little hat pieces so I finished them both off this morning. It was only then when I went to sew them up and stuff them that I realised I didn't have anything to stuff them with, so I shall have to finish them off tomorrow at craft group.
This afternoon I am going to do a few more rows on my socks as I'm almost up to the ribbed top. I also have a few things to organise for the wedding so all in all, I am finally starting to feel like I'm finishing off more projects than I am starting. Until then, happy crafting :)
Projects started this month: 1
Projects finished this month: 2
Well I didn't quite manage to finish the tassels on my scarf last night because it was so late. But I did manage to finish them this morning which finishes another project for this month. And here is the photo as promised.
The other project that I have been adding the finishing touches to today is my first attempt at Hardanger Embroidery. This book mark has been a bit of a challenge under magnification but surprisingly I can feel the threads through the needle when counting which has helped.
I still seem to have quite a few projects still to finish, too many to finish off this month, I have only started one new project. So while I feel like I haven't done a great deal this month, I have so far finished more projects than I have started and that is something! Until next time, happy crafting! :)
Projects Started: 1
Projects Finished: 5
Well I almost finished another project today at Woollies (the craft group I go to) but not quite. I have been finishing off a crochet flower scarf, that is from my own original pattern, and just have the tassels to go. I am hoping that I will have it finished tonight and I will try and get a photo uploaded onto the blog tomorrow.
On to more exciting news, the Woollies craft group I go to, has just launched their new blog today. So please go over and have a look at egwoolcraftgroup.blogspot.com.au and show them some support. They also have some information on there about their Annual Open Day in September which is in a few weeks.
It was an exciting day at Woolies and as always I have come home with lots of enthusiasm and a mind exploding with ideas of things to do. But as I have been designing all afternoon and have just realised it's after 9pm, I will have to share them with you tomorrow and go and have something to eat!
It is moments like these that I wish I could craft all day and all night. But while I think sleep is a bit over-rated in this moment of enthusiasm, I should get some rest. So until then, Happy Crafting!
I don't have a lot of exciting things to
share today with you as it has been a horrible week. I must say that when
Friday night came around I was comforted by the fact that the chaos would at
least stop for two days until Monday morning arrived. I did manage to finish
one project last weekend, which I'm sorry I haven't been able to get around to
showing you before now. I managed to finish my first knitted toy.
Unfortunately during the week I have been too
exhausted to do anything more than a couple of rows on my socks. But today is
Saturday and the sun is out so I am going to sit and do something crafty.
Projects Completed: 3
Projects Started: 1
So after spending most of yesterday trying to figure out if I was going to extend my July monthly project into August, I came up with a much better idea. My traveling shawl from last month's project isn't the only project I still have to finish, I still have my socks! ... and many, many more ...
Ok, so just about every crafter I know has this
"cupboard" full of UFO's or Un-Finished Objects. I have a feeling,
particularly with the massive amounts of designing that has been going
on this last month, my "cupboard" of UFO's has grown to the point of
ridiculous, overflowing onto the floor and is fast filling up every
available space in the studio!
I
mean, seriously, how many different projects does one person need to
have on the go? Well, personally I would say that you can never have too
many projects on the go, but I think my friends and family very much
think otherwise. So I have decided that instead of having a monthly project for August, I would make my August project my "Finishing Off" month.
So to start of the month I am going to finish my socks! I have a couple of inches of stockinet stitch and then a couple of inches of double ribbing and then they are done! So that is my task for today, one project to focus on to finish and not touch anything else until I have finished it.
This isn't going to be easy for me. I think this month will be very much a challenge as I have a tendency, as demonstrated on this blog, of jumping from one project and craft to another. So it will be very much a month of discipline in learning to do one project at a time until it is finished. I guess only looking back at the end of the month will show how successful I have been, so wish me luck and we will see how I go. So until then, Happy Crafting! :)
It has been a crazy weekend and week so far with a huge show and tell at craft group on the weekend and many things on the go with our up and coming open day.
I have been madly spinning on my new spindles and now have a fair amount on my Spotted Gum spindle. I'm not quite sure what I am going to use the finished yarn for yet, but I love spinning it all the same.
I have been madly knitting my shawl but I have to face the fact that I'm just not quite going to get it done today. I have also been doing a bit of knitting on the Domino scarp rug and it is starting to come along nicely.
I also have the craft group knit-along to do before our next meet. The current project is a cute knitted toy which I thought I would have a go at making. What are people's thoughts about having a knit-along and crochet-along group on the blog? Email me you thoughts, I would love to hear them.
I also managed to get around to crocheting a sampler of a row by row scrap rug pattern that someone had suggested as a challenge. It took me a few goes to get the pattern right but I think it is coming along nicely.
Other than that I have been re-organising my studio space and now have a large area to play in. There are so many things I want to do at the moment but there just isn't enough hours in the day to do it all, unless I don't sleep that is. No matter, I will just have to do as much craft as I can in the time I have in between the "housework" and running around. So until the next crafting session, happy crafting! :)
So I am back in the studio, a bit earlier than yesterday, and It is only after reviewing yesterday's post that I realised the photo's didn't load. So take two.
Here is the crochet sampler, my slowly growing shawl and the stitched together squares for my wagga-patchwork quilt.
Today I have added some more rounds on my shawl while I waited for the postie this morning and having the all important first cuppa of the day. I also stitched together a large piece of cloth for my wagga-patchwork backing and found an old blanket that had seen better days for my middle "stuffing". I must admit it's quite big as I went through a whole packet of patchwork pins, and that is with only one pin per square!
Then the most exciting part of the day, my friend who went to the Bendigo Sheep & Wool Show bought me in my goodies. :) I have a few different fibers and bags of fluff to play with and three new spindles to play with, a Russian Supported Spindle, Turkish Spindle and another nice "normal" top whorl spindle. :) As promised, here is the photo.
Well I think I might go and play with the new spindles and see if I can spin on the Russian one. Until then, happy crafting! :)
While the week might have started out a bit slow, it is starting to pick up again. Like the other week when all I wanted to do was knit, this week all I seem to be doing is sewing ... and a little bit of everything else too.
I spent all day Tuesday in town so all I managed for the day was a few rounds of knitting on my shawl and a little bit of Quaker Tapestry. I may not have done as much as I would have liked to, but I did do something crafty for the day and that is all that matters really.
Wednesday I spent the whole day sewing. I don't have any photos to share as I was working on my wedding dress all day. Once the wedding has been and gone, then I will show you a photo of the dress, so you will just have to wait until then.
And today was no exception for the sewing bug. I found a couple of old table cloths in my mending pile that had holes in them. After assessing the damage and the potential for repair, I decided it just wasn't going to survive the other end. So I cut them up into squares and stitched them all together to make a "wagga" styled patchwork quilt.
Then I got a bit stuck on what I was going to do next with this stitched up material piece, so I finished off my crochet sample square which will be used for a group project at the Woolies craft group.
That finished, what to do next ... so I jumped on the internet and searched "Wagga" and started doing a bit more research into what it actually was. So of course, I now have more ideas running through my head so I went back to my squares to experiment!
I shall keep you posted, until then, happy crafting! :)
Well I didn't quite get to my crochet challenge yesterday. I will admit that when I woke up I did have all intentions of tackling the crochet challenge I had been given, but it was windy. Now I know you are thinking that a windy day is a good excuse to stay inside and craft, but windy days are also good for wind-sports with a promise of a day of fun.
So I was taken on a mystery drive with my new BloKart and learned for the first time how to use it. What can I say, I love it and I really can't wait for the next windy day to have some more fun. If you have never heard about them, check them out, they really are good fun.
Today I have been thinking about how I am going to undertake this new challenge. There are so many people who have commented on my scrap rug and the pattern that used, that someone has challenged me to make a beanie and scarf with the same look. While the concept is simple enough, the original pattern is done in a rounds, not rows, so I am in the middle of re-vamping the pattern.
In the mean time, what else would I be doing but knitting. My project for the month, The Traveling Shawl, is slowly growing. With the month 2/3's gone, I will admit that the shawl isn't quite 2/3's done, but it is getting there. I haven't got the camera with me today so I can't post a photo of it today, but I will have another photo for you by the end of the week. After all, August isn't that far away!
Happy crafting! :)
So once again the weekend is here and I have a chance to have some fun in the studio. Today I tried a few different things as I just couldn't decide what to do first.
My friend is at the Bendigo Wool & Sheep Show and after getting off the phone to her I felt inspired to spin. She is bringing me back some yummy things to play with, including some new spindles, so I shall post a photo once I get them.
I have a few wheels, four at my current count, and I have been playing with my Tara wheel this morning. It is a beautiful wheel to spin on, but I can't seem to get the tension right today, so I have swapped to my good old Ashford.
To continue the inspired spinning, and for something a bit different, I then did a little bit of spindle spinning on my Turkish Delight. The merino tops I am using on my Turkish Delight I hand dyed and after falling in love with the colours I decided that I would make a lace weight yarn out of it. What I am going to do with the ridiculously fine yarn when I have finished spinning it, I have no idea, but I am sure something will come to me.
The knitting craze continues with a few rows added to my scrap rug. I must admit I am tempted at the moment to just sit down all day with my tub of scrap blue wool and just knit and knit and knit ... but then I wouldn't have anything to knit later - HA! Then a few more rows on my pair of socks, which are now starting to grow more quickly now that I am past the heel.
I have also had an inspiration to crochet again. I thought I would make a couple of baby rugs. I like crocheting rugs but at the moment I have no inclination to make anything massive, so I thought a baby rug was a good start as I have had a few people ask if I have any available for purchase. So I have been having a bit of a play this afternoon with a couple of new crochet patterns to find a nice one to start with.
And to finish the day off, I decided to add a little bit more to my Quaker Tapestry square for the joint project at craft group. I am enjoying the textural aspect of this style of tapestry embroidery and I think I might use this style for a larger project I have in mind. But I think at the moment the idea will stay in my project book as I think I might have just a few too many projects on the go, Lol.
Until next time, happy crafting! :)
P.S. I have been given a crochet challenge by a friend, so I might just have to have a play with it tomorrow. If you have a challenge for me, please feel free to email it to lizgreenarts@gmail.com as I am always up for something new! Thanks, Liz :)
Well what can I say, I have been busy again and once more forgotten to update my blog on a weekly basis. So I have decided that perhaps it would be more interesting to post about what it is I am doing at the time here, rather than just on the pages above.
So last week, as you can tell from the knitting page, I did a lot of knitting. needless to say, the last couple of days when I have been traveling into town on the bus I have also done a lot of knitting!
Today I have been knitting my socks again after having knitted the heals on the weekend. Hopefully, fingers crossed, this time next week I should have a pair of nice warm wool socks that I can wear. :)
Yesterday I did a bit of knitting on the dog coat and it is now quiet large. Shall keep you posted.
So until next time, Happy CRAFTING! :)
I have managed to get totally hooked into making scarves that I have only just realised that I haven't done my weekly up date, now 3 days late. Well I can't control my crafting flare and I have been busy! But here is the week's update, even though it's late. :)
- Monday I managed to finish my Mum's knitted wrap that was her Mothers Day present back in May. Just a little bit late but I have it on good authority that it was worth waiting for.
- Tuesday I finished the crochet scrap rug that i started many years ago. I finally decided that it was big enough (not to mention it took forever to do one row!), and I can now start another one.
- Wednesday I decided I couldn't stay away from the Entrelac technique so I have started a scarf.
- Thursday I decided to start the knitted shawl as the project for the month. Inspired by Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac.
- Friday I warped up my loom again and wove a scarf...
- Saturday I wove another scarf...
- And Sunday another one! :) Like I said, I got hooked on weaving scarves! :)
I
have also made some progress with my Tapestry Dairy, so keep checking
the weaving page for updates. While I did miss 2 days this last week, I'm still trying to do some most days, and that is something.
Until next week, happy crafting! :)
Well I know I have been a bit quiet on here this week, still getting used to the idea of the blog, but I have been busy.
- Monday I did some weaving and finished a scarf that I had warped up some time ago. I also found and started again my Tapestry Diary.
- Tuesday I managed to do some of my Tapestry Diary and wind all of the skeins I had sitting on my table into balls.
- Wednesday I warped up, wove and washed another scarf that was an order for a customer.
- Thursday I had a play with a knitted drop stitch lace pattern and made a prototype scarf out of some recycled wool. I was happy with the technique after a few miss starts and much un-knitting!
- Friday I spent most of the day knitting some rows on a wrap that I started for my Mum but didn't quite get finished in time for Mother's Day.
- Yesterday I spent the day with a friend threading beads onto wire to make some beaded roses.
- Today I have done some spinning on my new wheel and I have finally finished the pair of socks I started.
I have also made some progress with my Tapestry Dairy, so keep checking the weaving page for updates. While I did miss a day this last week, I have still managed to do some most days, and that is something.
Until next week, happy crafting! :)
Well despite all the rain and cold weather, I have managed to find some time to play in my new studio.
It has taken me a few months to finally unpack the boxes and organise the new space to some resemblance of organised chaos. I have found the two tables I set up in the middle of the studio and I can see the floor for the first time in months. I will admit though, it didn't last long and I now have bags of fleece everywhere from my hunt to spin some more sock wool and a pile of freshly dyed skeins on the table ready to be wound into balls. But then anyone who knows me well would say "that's normal!"
So this week, aside from making a mess in the studio, I have managed to get some dying done, finish spinning the wool for my socks and found a large selection of recycled yarns for my scrap blanket.
Tomorrow marks the beginning of another week of working in the new studio and I wonder what it will bring. Until then, happy crafting! :)
