August 5, 2016 · 4:02 pm

It’s all about the birds

Resting Bird Progress

Resting Bird Progress

So every Friday I go to an embroidery class here – it is run by the amazing Ann-Marie. I love going to this class – although I am not the best student – I enjoy the chance to just sit and chat and occasionally pull a needle through my canvas.

The class is full of women of different ages, backgrounds and interests and it is a joy to spend time with them.

My project is the least ambitious (painted canvas and tent stitch), but there is something comforting in the process. There is so much action, busyness and stress in the rest of my life I like the chance to sit and do something simple.

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July 19, 2016 · 4:19 pm

Scarf Progress

A bit more progress...

A bit more progress…

I have been away to somewhere warm and sunny (here). There was quite a bit of sitting by the pool – reading and knitting.

The above was taken early on – I haven’t made much progress since the previous photo, however, I have probably knitted those few rows a million times (only a slight exaggeration).

I am a bit loathe to write this, but I think I have the hang of it now.

Some success!

Some success!

I have even managed to fix some mistakes…

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July 1, 2016 · 8:05 am

Easy Knitting Project?

Start of my 'Favourite Scarf Ever'

Start of my ‘Favourite Scarf Ever’

I wanted an easy project – something that was portable and that doesn’t require concentration. Favourite Scarf Ever from Lisa Bruce (sunshinewalks) seemed perfect.

Here’s the pattern page in ravelry

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/favorite-scarf-ever

It uses one ball of (extremely beautiful) misti alpaca sock yarn – perfect (I have quite a few of those on my stash). This one is colourway 46.

What you see above is my third attempt (maybe fourth – I am losing track). It is an easy project, but I get to the end of a row and realise I haven’t done the double decrease properly and my attempts to undo one row always end in disaster. Or I forget to P2Tog at the end and get half-way through the next row before I realise everything is slightly out of alignment. I need to learn how to fix mistakes – is there any course on that?

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June 21, 2016 · 3:26 pm

Slow Quilt Progress

Two more blocks of the sampler quilt quilted

Two more blocks of the sampler quilt quilted

I have found a bit of renewed enthusiasm for this quilt. So 11 down and 37 more to go…

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June 16, 2016 · 4:49 pm

Journal Cover Finished

 

Front Cover!

Front Cover!

Inside

Inside

I finished my journal cover-I used a silk dupion (has a beautiful lustre). It frayed like made though and I didn’t want to trim the corners in case it just frays away (I did zig-zag all of the raw edges).

I think the embroidery it too large for the cover, but that is what I made it for and realistically I am not going to use a bigger journal.

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June 9, 2016 · 2:34 pm

Journal Cover – Machine Embroidery

Journal Cover - Front

Journal Cover – Front

Journal Cover - Open

Journal Cover – Open

Journal Cover - Inside

Journal Cover – Inside

This is my first attempt at constructing a book cover in the hoop. There were three hoopings; front, back and then joining them together. It works quite well – I am happy with the size – it could do with a bit of top stitching around the edges (but that would have to happen afterwards and not in the hoop). I have joined the two halves using a wide zig-zag and then hidden that under a grosgrain ribbon. This bit doesn’t work so well, so I am thinking of other options – bias binding or an embroidered strip – plus I think the cover of the zig-zag needs to be a bit wider.

I put a silk dupion to use with my canvas work. I am still thinking about the best way of inserting the canvas work – I don’t want any raw edges showing.

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May 30, 2016 · 1:46 pm

How We Spend Our Time

A Work in Progress

A Work in Progress

It isn’t what we say or think that defines us, but what we do

Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen

I have been thinking a lot about what I say (and buy) as opposed to what I do.  I read a lot of blogs, buy a lot of craft materials and look at a lot of pretty things on pinterest, but my out put is minimal. I think about craft, but there always seems to be something more pressing to be done. Craft feels like an indulgence that has to be done in the margins, which makes no real sense because the amount of money I spend on craft suggests it is extremely important to me. However, I know the way I spend my time says something about my priorities and what is important to me.  It is time to think about my time and how to best spend it. Sometimes you just have to get on with it – there is never going to be a perfect time and there is always going to be something that needs to be done at home.

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May 26, 2016 · 4:09 pm

New Sewing Machine

Janome MC500e

Janome MC500e

I bought myself a new sewing machine (that’s the photo from the Janome site…). It’s a Janome MC 500e. I had hoop envy – the biggest hoop on my MC 350e was 200mm by 140mm now I have 230mm by 280mm!

I want to explore two things – making an all over embroidered fabric that I can then use to make other things and constructing things in the hoop.

Zip Pouch - Made completely in the hoop

Zip Pouch – Made completely in the hoop

I made the above zip pouch thing, but it had strange construction techniques – I think I have a better way of doing it. And I think the zip needs to be a bit lower, so the top can have crisper corners.

I upgraded my Embird Studio and started digitising again.

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May 17, 2016 · 12:22 pm

So many projects so little time

Just some of the current projects

Just some of the current projects

There are too many good things to do and not enough time! I have my bird cushion – I mostly work on this at my embroidery class with Ann-Marie (although I have done a bit at home while watching Murdoch Mysteries – neither requires much concentration). I have my February jumper, which after many false starts is going well, but it does require concentration. Which is why I have a third project – I wanted something small (unlike the bird cushion) and easy to do. I decided on a scarf (Favourite Scarf Ever), which uses a ball of misti alpaca sock yarn (I have a lot of misti alpaca sock yarn and it seems a shame to hide it away in my shoes). This is a deceptively easy pattern – I’m getting lots of compliments on my high level of knitting skill!

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May 10, 2016 · 10:22 am

Knitlandia – Clara Parkes

Knitlandia - Clara Parkes

Knitlandia – Clara Parkes

I do like a book of essays about knitting – things like Sweater Quest and Yarn and Yarn Whisperer (also by Clara Parkes), so I was super-keen to read this one.

Here is the blurb …

Knitting aficionado and notable artisan Clara Parkes delves into her storied travels with this inspiring and witty memoir on a creative life enriched by her adventures around the world.

Building on the success of The Yarn Whisperer, Parkes’s rich personal essays invite readers and devoted crafters on excursions to be savored, from a guide who quickly comes to feel like a trusted confidante. In Knitlandia, she takes readers along on 17 of her most memorable journeys across the globe over the last 15 years, with stories spanning from the fjords of Iceland to a cozy yarn shop in Paris’s 13th arrondissement.

Also known for her PBS television appearances and hugely popular line of small-batch handcrafted yarns, Parkes weaves her personal blend of wisdom and humor into this eloquently down-to-earth guide that is part personal travel narrative and part cultural history, touching the heart of what it means to live creatively. Join Parkes as she ventures to locales both foreign and familiar in chapters like:

Chasing a Legend in Taos
Glass, Grass, and the Power of Place: Tacoma, Washington
A Thing for Socks and a Very Big Plan: Portland, Oregon
Autumn on the Hudson: The New York Sheep & Wool Festival
Cashmere Dreams and British Breeds: A Last-Minute Visit to Edinburgh, Scotland

Fans of travel writing, as well as knitters, crocheters, designers, and fiber artists alike, will enjoy the masterful narrative in these intimate tales from a life well crafted. Whether you’ve committed to exploring your own wanderlust or are an armchair traveler curled up in your coziest slippers, Knitlandia is sure to inspire laughter, tears, and maybe some travel plans of your own.

This gave me an insight into ‘knitting tourism’ or all of the knitting festivals that now take place. It was definitely interesting, but I think I prefer more emotional or personal life stories – plus all of the places she visits are so far away from me that I am unlikely to ever visit them (not that that is a fault in the book).

Another review …

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/knitlandia-a-knitter-sees-the-world-review/2016/02/08/2b163de0-ce63-11e5-88cd-753e80cd29ad_story.html

 

 

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