Day Seven: Your Time, Your Place

Day Seven (Sunday 17th May): Your Time, Your Place
Where and how do you take time out to knit and/or crochet? Maybe you don’t take time out at all and instead have your needles twirling as you try to juggle a multitude of other tasks with no ‘spare’ time to think of. Maybe you enjoy nothing more than to crochet whilst winding down from a yoga session, chatting with some friends in a nearby cafe.

Whether social or solitary, tell readers about your crafting time and space, and where you either most enjoy (or can simply find a few snatched moments) to turn yarn into something even more beautiful.

There are two main places you will find me with hooks and needles. Either on my couch in my living room (probably watching Golden Girls) or in Mom’s chair at my parents’ place. Or on the deck in either place. But it’s very rare that I leave home without some project in tow. I’ve stitched during my son’s swimming lessons and soccer games. During his Christmas concert. Waiting to pick him up at school. At the doctor’s office. At the dentist’s office. At Tim Hortons. At the movies. Camping. By the waterfalls. From scenic lookouts. In other words, there isn’t a place I won’t stitch. I think it’s more rare to see me without something in my hands that it is with!

This makes sense though because fibre is my career. Of course I’ll probably never make the same amount I would with a conventional job, but I’ve come to accept that. I would rather work 16 hours at something I enjoy than 8 hours at a higher wage at something that will stress me out, send me into anxiety/panic attacks and flare up depression. I’ve been there, done that. I won’t do it again.

So this concludes the 6th Annual Knit and Crochet Blog Week. I had a blast! I hope to see you next year! Thank you for dropping by.

Knit and Crochet Blog Week, Day One: If You Were Yarn.

Day One: If You Were Yarn
If you were a type or brand of yarn, which would you be? Are you a classic pure wool? Is there extra tension but a bit of bounce in you because of your high twist? Would you be more like a high-maintainance, strictly hand-wash fluffy angora or a ‘bring it on’ acrylic, bravely heading into the world of possible baby-sick laundering disasters knowing that you will always come out bright and unharmed?

Spend some time browsing yarns and getting to know their qualities, and decide which yarn you think best matches your personality.

This one is pretty easy because of the spinning. I’m sure my answer will change as I discover more fibres on my spinning journey. But for now…

I would be a handspun Alpaca/Corriedale blend, with some Angelina. My colours would consist of all the colours of the rainbow in long blocks. I would be spun Z/S because as much as I love knitting, I think I would want to be a Crocodile Stitch item.

The Alpaca represents my softer side. While I love my day-to-day hippie/country girl thing, I do enjoy getting dressed up and being “fancy”. Fancy, yet functional.

The Corriedale represents my more durable side, the stability that I offer my son. While he needs to discover the world on his own, I’m always the strength quietly doing my job in the background. As with the Corriedale in this blend, it also offers strength and stability. It helps the alpaca hold its shape, just as I help my son hold his as he faces some of the injustices this world has to offer. I’m warm, soft and snuggly, yet durable and protective.

The Angelina… Well, you HAVE to have some bling! I’m a colour/sparkle freak. I think it makes the world just a little more interesting. This shows my fun-loving side. And is possible further proof that I may have been a bird in a former life.

As for the colours, they represent my many moods. But put them all together and it makes me very happy. I’m blown away with how colour affects me. When I’m down, I bust out a project with bright, vibrant colours. It helps pick me up. Add some sparkle to that, and oh my goodness! As for the long sections, while my moods vary, they don’t vary enough to be variegated (which I’m sure my loved ones are thankful for! hehehe)

I would want to spin myself. I have a lot of energy (and a lot of baggage) that only I can take care of. Only I would know how to handle all of that. And I would LOVE stitched up into this pattern.

This is a spinning project that I’ve been dreaming about for awhile. I’m hoping that I can make it a reality this summer (or at least dye the yarn). I don’t know if I’d be able to stitch it up though. I have a feeling that it may become a “petting skein” hehehe

6th Annual Knit and Crochet Blog Week

6th Annual Knit and Crochet Blog Week

Last year I dropped the ball, but I’m taking part again this year! I’m going to do my best to keep up with the posts. It would be a lot easier if my awesome designer friends weren’t on fire with some amazing new designs. But I’ll suck it up hehehe

If you would like to take part, you can find the details here at Eskimimi Makes’ blog.

5th Annunal Knitting and Crocheting Blog Week Launch!!!!

The announcement I’ve been waiting for!!!!

The 5th Annual Knitting and Crocheting Blog Week!!!!!!

I took part in this event for the first time last year. I really enjoyed it! It gave me a lot to think about. It was opportunity to reflect on why I enjoy these forms of fibre arts so much. And let’s face it… My blogging has been a serious fail lately.

For those who don’t know, I’ve recently lost Mom. It’s been killing me. I’m doing my best to keep my chin up, but it’s been a rough go. She was IS my best friend. I miss her like crazy, but I think I’ve been doing well at moving forward. I know that’s what she would want. And I KNOW this week is going to help me. So onward and upward!

The post says that the topics are going to be posted this week. I just hope that I can remember that the official week isn’t until May LOL

Day 7: Looking Forward

Looking Forward One year from now, when the 5th Knitting & Crochet Blog Week rolls around, where do you hope your crafting will have taken you to? What new skills, projects and experiences do you hope you might have conquered or tried?

One year from now, I will have completed the Intermediate Level spinning course at Fleming. I believe I will be a full-blown fibre snob by then. I’m also confident that I will have got the hang of of dyeing wool with food colouring.

As far as the projects on the hook and needles go, one thing I would REALLY love to try is thrummed mittens. They look so warm and cozy and they feel like Heaven. I can also see myself knitting a shawl/wrap out of yarn that I have dyed and spun.

I’m sure I’ll be in for quite a few surprises over the next year too. After being broken down by an abusive relationship, the rebuilding process has been a long, difficult process. But I believe I’m at the plateau now. After all of the hard work I have invested, things are falling into place nicely. I have two stores I’m putting my work into. I’m doing a knitting workshop this summer. I’ll also be doing spinning demos. In other words, this girl is living out her dreams.

Day 6: A Tool To Covet

A Tool To Covet Write about your favourite knitting or crochet (or spinning, etc) tool. It can either be a tool directly involved in your craft (knitting needles or crochet hook) or something that makes your craft more pleasurable – be it a special lamp, or stitch markers.

This one was a no-brainer for me!

I LOVE my Lendrum! I have to admit that I’ve been dragging my heels on working with my own yarn though. I have cupboards full of acrylic and I know that once I start using wool, those cupboards will get forgotten.

Honourable mention goes to my beautiful needle set, Harmony, by KnitPicks.

Day 5: Something a Bit Different

Something A Bit Different
It’s the annual challenge to blog in a way different to how you normally blog. You may choose to create a podcast, or vlog, create a wordless post or write in verse. You’ve already stretched your wings with an infographic, now it’s time to freestyle. You can post on any topic you like, but be sure to post in a style different from your usual blog presentation. There’s not too much guidance for this one simply because the more varied the posts are on this day, the wider the sources of information for other bloggers will be. Bonus points if you manage to work your house animal in somehow.

Day 4: Colour Review

4KCBWDAY4 Colour Review What are your favourite colours for knitted or crocheted projects. Have a think about what colours you seem to favour when yarn shopping and crafting.

Only after writing this part of your post should you then actually look to see what colours you have used in your projects. Make a quick tally of what colours you have used in your projects over the past year and compare it to the colours you have written about. Compare this, in turn, to the colours that are most dominant in your yarn stash – do they correlate?

Now think back to your house animal – do the colours you have chosen relate to your animal in anyway – if you are in the house of peacock, for example, are your projects often multicoloured and bright?

My favorite colours to work with are bright, variegated and rainbow. I work with them every opportunity that I get. This past year though, the colours I’ve worked with have been chosen by those who placed custom orders with me. Since I’ve had to close my order book (I burned myself out), I’ve been working with the colours that I want to work with.

Examples of orders:

As far as my yarn stash goes, I have just about every colour in worsted weight that there is out there. Most of the cotton I have is bright and vibrant.

As far as correlating to the House of Bees, I think it is. It may be lacking the shiny part, but these colours sure are bright!

Day 3: Infographic

Infographic
There are many ways of conveying information on a blog; text and images being the two most widely used. Many infographics combine both these elements to provide a visual way of presenting text information.

This post got me really thinking. I never thought of posting infographics on my blog before. This could come in hand to make me accountable for things such as inventory, stash, patterns… It could be a good thing or a bad thing hehehe

The graph is just a guess at how much time I spend on each medium. I’ve never really clocked it before. Perhaps I should start.

4kcbwday3

Day 2: A Mascot Project

Day Two (Tuesday April 23rd): A Mascot Project.
Your task today is to either think of or research a project that embodies that house/animal. It could be a knitting or crochet pattern – either of the animal itself or something that makes you think of the qualities of that house. Alternatively it could be a type or colour of yarn, or a single button. Whatever you choose, decide upon a project and blog about how and why it relates to your house/creature. You do not have to make this project! It is simply an exercise in blogging about how you come to decide upon what projects to make. Try and blog about the journey which inspiration and investigating patterns, yarns, stitches, (etc) can often guide you through. You may wish to make a collage or ‘mood board’ to present several ideas, or even sketch out your own design.

Yesterday I determined that I belonged to the House of the Bees. It didn’t take me long to figure out what kind of project I wanted to research. I’m a texture nut, so as soon as I saw this challenge I immediately turned to the page in my knitting stitch dictionary that I’d been eying up for awhile. As you can see, it’s for a honeycomb stitch. Well, my book (400 Knitting Stitches by Potter Craft) calls it the Wasp Stitch.

There is something in me that REALLY wants to make a pair of mittens with this texture. I can see myself rubbing them up against the side of my face just to feel the bumps and ripples. I would use the yarn I call “The Colour of Happy” in the inside pieces and black yarn (possibly commercial) for the outline. The other yarn that would work for this would be Louet’s Tropical Skittles (a Kimberly & Co favorite). But then again, so would Bernat’s Mosaic in any colour combination.

Why am I picturing multiple pairs of these mittens?

I haven’t decided if I’m going to try to write the pattern myself or just use a pattern by another artist (giving full credit of course!). I may end up using a pattern just so that I can enjoy the stitches without having to figure them out. Here are a few of the possible ones:

Honeycomb Mittens

Newfie Mitts

and the blatantly obvious…

Busy Bee Mitts (if I did do this one, the bees and honeycombs would be a different colour)

I LOVE the texture in these mittens. If I was to ever do a bright/light solid colour, these ones would be at the top of my list:

Winter Buzz

I glanced about one of the bonus posts for Knitting and Crocheting Blog Week was to actually make this project. Challenge accepted. That will be my “Me Project”. (“Me Project” are those projects that I do for fun just because they appeal to me. I may or may not keep them. Depends on how I feel about them. A lot of my spinning are examples of Me Projects)