Your Knitting Or Crochet Hero

... or KCBWDAY3 (I'm catching up, ever so slowly!)

*

"Oh bother," Pooh Bear said.

Indeed.

There are just so many nominations for this one.

For starters, there's Lucy at attic24 who has A LOT going for her.  She's great - check out the link if you've not already visited her blog.

There are also all of the lovely ladies on my Rav friends list (who you can wave at from here).  They're my heroes not only because they're awesome crafters in their own rights, but also because they're also there with tons of moral support and encouragement when things like lacework have driven me to the brink of unnescessary frogging!

And then there's all of the brill stuff I find when playing "Rav Roulette" (if you've never played this: start a project search, and then mess with the search parameters at random, you will almost certainly find something breathtaking to look at).  To date, the absolute winner of this game has GOT to be this:



holofernes' "Journey to the Other End of My Stash"
PLEASE DO NOT REPOST THIS IMAGE WITHOUT HOLOFERNES' PERMISSION!!

 But, hard as it might be to pick a single one out of the 100s of talented folks out there, my actual craft hero is a properly easy choice.

I know a 9 year old who knits, crochets, dyes and plies like a pro.  When I last saw her, she completely blew my mind with her mad skills on the spinning wheel.  I figured she must have had loads of practice, but when I asked:

"Oh, I started about a week ago..."

PICK ME UP OFF THE FLOOR!

She is my real wool hero - an incredibly talented young lady, with a wonderful knack for ignoring the scarier parts of learning something new in favour of simply just enjoying it.  A lesson for us all I think!

[Also, if you want to check out some pics of her spinning - have a look on the Llyn Guild's blog - just prepare to be gobsmacked! :P]

Photograph Challenge

...or 3KCBWDAY2

YES: it is blog week!  I'm slightly behind schedule (ahem), so I'm not sure whether this will count as an entry for the competitions going on or not, but I figured I'd post it anyway :)

You possibly already know that I live in the Wilderness (well, Anglesey), and that the field directly outside my house is populated by lovely lovely sheep.  I was out trying to juxtapose the sheep with some handspun merino (and failing, mostly because sheep refuse to pose for the camera) when I spotted something UNBELIEVABLE!  Honestly, when this goes live, I fully expect Attenborough to be on the phone.

Well, maybe Chris Packham at least.

A real life Mini-Merino IN THE WILD!  Golly!



More Socks

Oh dear - it's happened!  I'm in love with socks!

Wooo-yeah!!

This is the first of my pair of Harvest Dew socks (the design is by Rose Hiver - and even if you don't usually click on links, click on this one - it's a page of pure sock-based beauty, I tell you!!).

I cast on the second of the pair straight after taking this photo.  And if you know me and my tendency towards 'second-ANYTHING syndrome', you'll know that this is praise indeed!

I've been following moogsmum's lead and making the small size using some Regia 6 ply.  I LOVE THIS STUFF!  The pattern and the yarn go together wonderfully.  So so sad to discover that the 6ply has now been discontinued.  Luckily it's pay day soon, so I'll be able to buy up as much stock as I can before it all disappears... ;)

So.  A question.  Now that I've been bitten by the sock bug I can ask: what's your absolute favourite sock pattern ever?

x

"Simple" Sock Shocker!

...or "Why You Shouldn't Listen to Other People All That Often"

Huzzah!!

They're finally finished!

Well, actually I have a confession.  Followers on twitter (there's a link over there --> if you'd like in on this sort of hot-off-the-press action!) will already know that I actually finished these last week.  Dunno what's put me off blogging about them...

So, what was it like making my first proper actual pair of socks (as opposed to the lonely, tatty numbers I usually end up with)?

It was, er, uneventful.

Hmm, that's not fair.  I liked knitting them.  I enjoy wearing them, and I ADORE the colours.  But, meh.  This sort of project just really isn't for me it seems.  No bother.

But I've been inspired by the lovely katyja who normally knits her socks top-down on dpns, but is currently making a pair toe-up using magic loop.

Time to mix things up!  She's given me a simple top-down, heel flap pattern to try and I. AM. LOVING. IT!!

Turns out that for all that time I was feeling pretty lethargic about knitted footwear, it was actually the construction I had issues with!  So the moral of my little tale is that when someone says "oh, but this is the ABSOLUTE best/easiest/most efficient way to do them!" - ignore them completely.  Hardly a new knitting moral (and it beats me why I clung onto it so long in this case), but one worth repeating.

I don't have any pics of the new socks yet, but expect some soon - they are flying by!

Kim x

Caribbean Custard

Socks.

I have an issue with knitting them that I really can't fathom.  When I look at it logically, they're just a pair of mitts with one less opening.  But while I LOVE making mitts, making socks has always seemed at bit of an ordeal.  Strange, no?

Well anyway, here I am - socks on the circs and I'm getting there!  Who knows whether this will be another loner sock destined only to be worn when I can't find anything else.  I admit it - I do sometimes wear one shop-bought, one-handmade sock.  I'm not proud.  BUT, this will be the turning point.  Right here.  No more sock-neglect.  My toes deserve better!!

Plus, the combo of the colourways "Caribbean" for the blue and "Custard" for the yellow is enough to keep me entertained all by itself!

Same Old

 

Who would have thought it? - I'm sticking to the resolutions I made!!

I've been working on this new pair of Nadolig as the first in what will hopefully be a long line of my "stuff to sell" branch of knitting projects.  Please excuse the crappy photos -I tried waiting for some better light, but by about 1 o clock I realised that was as good as it was going to get.

I'm pretty pleased with how the colours have come out together.  I wasn't sure if there'd be enough contrast between the red and pink but hurray!

If you'd like to make a pair of Nadolig for yourself, you can find the pattern by clicking on the "knitting" tab above.  Please remember though that the pattern should be for your own personal use.

As well as knitting, I also got out the graph paper as promised and have been working on a new colourwork pattern.  Unfortunately I only own one pair of 3.25mm circs, and they're stuck with the second Nadolig at the mo.  Still, it makes the suspense a little more exciting, eh?!

Kim x

Resolutions 2012

If you follow me on twitter you've probably already seen me desperately trying to get my head round last night's Sherlock (if you don't know what I'm on about, put everything else on hold and get yourself over to iPlayer).  [PS.  Don't tell me how it was done.  I'm on a spoiler diet.]

If you follow me in real life (??!!) then you've probably seen me embarrass friends by stopping to take photos of wallpaper and soft furnishings in various bars and cafes (you haven't seen anything till you've seen me in B&Q).


An absolute corker, I'm sure you'll agree!

And if you want to know what links these two rather odd little observations, it's this: The Wallpaper Had it Coming by beforesunrise.  It's nice to know I'm not the only wallpaper-spotter out there ;)  I've already threatened to transform this motif into a deerstalker, which on reflection is probs a tad ambitious... A pipe case perhaps?

Anyway, I digress.  It's a bit late to the party, I know, but this is a resolutions post!  Apparently 20% of people broke theirs in the first week of January, but I've cleverly avoided this statistic by only just coming up with some.  See- procrastination is a GOOD thing!!

Here they are:

My blog-specific promises for 2012 go as follows:

1. Post more often. Easier said than done at the moment, but there it is.

2. Stop trying to emulate other blogs. I’m here to do my own thing.

3. Worry less about what to post. Stick to things that inspire/reflect my creativity.

My craft-specific promises for 2012 go as follows:

1. Stop doubting my ideas. Perfectionism can get fairly self-destructive if not kept in check.

2. The BIG one: Participate in at least one craft fair in 2012.

That last one makes me feel a bit giddy if I think about it for too long. But if I assume that said craft fair will happen for next Christmas then there’s PLENTY of time to prepare.

I’m relying on you guys to make sure I stay on track with this lot!

Have any of you made any resolutions? I’m also curious about any 12 in 2012s that are going on… what are your crafty plans for the year?

Until next time,

Kim x