Eggbird Tweets! (And gets excited about colourful stuff)

Yip!  Eggbird is spreading her wings technology-wise.  You can now follow @EggbirdDesigns on twitter.  So far the vast majority of tweetings have been cake/yarn based, and I don't think you can go much wrong with cake and/or yarn!!  If you're on twitter too, pop by and say hello!  I'd love to hear from you :)

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So anyway, back to this blogging business ;)

I've been at a bit of a loss for things to post recently...  So many things on the needles - so many ideas on the brain! - but nothing quite there enough to share.  But then I was sorting through my photos and had a flash of inspiration!  There was just so much colour - it was oozing out of every picture - colours enough to grab hold and give you a jolly good talking to!!  This, coupled with recently finishing Through The Language Glass by Guy Deutscher (a book which focusses on linguistic colour theories), prompted me to put together a sort of "greatest hits" of colours.  I plan to use these collages as a sort of aid to yarn-buying, since I sometimes struggle to visualise how one colour might look against another... You can click on any collage to make it larger

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I really recommend the language book btw, even if you have only a passing interest in language or linguistics.  It's a fascinating read and unlike a lot of the non-specialist books in this field it actually gives an accurate account of current linguistic thought.

Patterns Patterns Patterns

Oh blimey I'm excited.  Very VERY excited in fact.  I've been promising it for a while, and leaving you teensy tiny clues here and there.  But today my newest pattern is FINALLY ready for testing!

Check it out:

Honeycomb fingerless mitts!  I'm actually quite shocked at how well they worked out.  This is my first glove design using anything more complicated than stockinette stitch.

The pattern will be released soon (look forward to another bout of giddiness when that happens!), but for now I've just put the pattern up for testing on Ravelry's Free Testers group.  If you'd like to test knit these, you can do so by following the link!

That's all for now - I already have a few ideas buzzing around for my next project which are shouting out to be noted down before they're forgotten!

Kim x

It's A Stash Thing

Great British Yarns are AMAZING!  Not only are they the only UK-based company to stock a massive range of Knit Picks yarns (that I know of anyway), their service is absolutely astounding.  I ordered 2 balls of Palette yesterday, and this morning, there was a happy looking envelope waiting on the windowsill (ALSO - IT'S SUNNY ENOUGH TODAY FOR ENVELOPES TO BE LEFT ON WINDOWSILLS!  :D).  Super-fast delivery is my kind of delivery!

As you can see, I managed to find my mustard colour.  I've been pottering away designing some autumnal gloves, and I think this yellow-y orange is the perfect colour for autumn.  It compliments the turning of the leaves rather well I think :)

Here is a little sneaky preview of the pattern:

I absolutely cannot wait until it's time to share the finished thing with you all!  It's taking a lot of determination not to just type out all the details now!  I think part of my problem is that I struggle ever-so-slightly with the mathematics involved in designing knitted patterns.  In order to try and convince myself that I'm a professional (HA!!), I did my first ever test swatch to try and work out the number of stitches to cast on.  Oh dear, oh dear!  What a disaster THAT was!  It would have been like knitting gloves for an elephant!

Still, I'm enjoying the challenge of all this maths and logic.  And as a treat for sticking with it, I also added another colour to my online yarn basket yesterday, then promptly forgot which extra colour I'd ordered.  Imagine my delight when I opened the envelope this morning to discover this little beauty!

Lucy over at Attic24 recently blogged about colour, and talked about "soul colours" - those ones we are instinctively drawn to.  This is definitely mine; a deep stormy grey.  Grey gets a lot of stick for being dull or boring, but I really don't see it that way at all (and to my relief, I've also discovered that there are plenty of other grey souls out there!).

That said, I'm also a fan of brightness and less moody colours...  My little stash-busting blanket is coming along well, and I'm actually quite surprised at how well the colours are holding together...

I'm not following any particular pattern as far as the striping is concerned, but just trying to balance out the light and dark.  My plan is to edge it in a creamy colour - probably in crochet rather than knit - so hopefully that will help the whole thing look more "together".

Anyway, the needles are calling (they miss me when I'm not there you know...).  But if you do have any idea what you're meant to do with a test swatch once you've made one, then do leave a comment and let me know!  I'd love to feel a tad more profesh!  ;)

Until next time!

Kim x

Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On

In honour of World Mental Health Day, Rosie-Posie is having a week-long blog party.  Combining people's stories, recipes for delish cakes, and resources for mental health wellbeing and awareness is such a fab idea, I really can't believe I didn't think of it myself!

Fortunately, Rosie offered me the chance to get involved by writing up my own story.  It sort of follows on from the post I made a couple of weeks ago about creativity and mental health, and reflects on my experiences with the two.  If you like, you can read my guest post here.

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I'll be back again soon with updates on what I've been up to recently (by way of a preview, I spent all yesterday with my designing hat on... not that I have a designing-specific hat, but now that you mention it that is a brill idea!... aaaaand, shock horror, it wasn't crochet I was designing, but knitting!!)

So, as soon as I've found some suitable mustard coloured yarn, I'll be back here to show you my progress!  Until then, keep well :)

Much love,
Kim

Hip Hip Hurray!

Guess what?!  I’ve only gone and cracked it!  Well, I think so.  What do you reckon?

I’m feeling pretty proud of what I’ve decided to call my First Proper Handspun :)  Although it’s anyone’s guess what I might actually make with it.  There’s about 50m of merino though, so perhaps these cute little butterflies might be the perfect use?

So far I’ve been using my Ashford “beginner’s” spindle to spin, which is pretty heavy.  When I bought it, I didn’t know whether I’d get into spinning or not and I had no idea about weights or other specifications, so I went (as all beginners do) for something cheap and simple.  Even though I’m still very new to spinning, I’ve grown pretty fond of my spindle – I’m getting used to the way it drops, the amount of spin needed, the general “feel” of it.

All of this is of course a Very Good Sign.  I’m glad that I find such pleasure in another part of the wool-making process.  I’m also taking it as a good sign that I’m still hankering after some of the more ornate and elaborate spindles out there.  Like this and this and this.  Beautiful aren’t they?  I can’t wait until I have enough spinning experience to justify owning such handsome tools.

But actually, that’s not entirely true, because during the course of my lusting after artistic spindles, I stumbled upon a giveaway by The Woolery on Facebook.  Up for grabs was an impossibly beautiful Butterfly Girl spindle.  All I needed to do was to leave a comment saying what I’d spin if I won.  Nothing to lose, I thought.  I already have some BFL waiting patiently, and I’d been thinking of ordering some Wensleydale.  I left my comment, and thought nothing more of it, until I got an email informing me that I’d won!  Goodness knows what it must have been like to live with me over the next week or so while I waited ever so (im)patiently for the delivery.  But it was worth it.  Just look:

It’s absolutely lovely, but so SO different to the Ashford.  Mind you, even if I never get the hang of using it properly, it’ll be enough for me just to have it on display!

Crafting for Mental Health

Phew!  Am back now in jolly ol' Blighty, all prepared to adjust back to Welsh temperatures, only to find myself in the middle of a heatwave!  Good timing or what?!

Even better, upon my return to the UK I also moved house (we'll ignore the house-move-on-top-of-travel-tiredness-equals-exhausted-Kim and skip straight to the good bits eh?).  Just LOOK at my new views:

I LIVE NEXT DOOR TO A LOAD OF SHEEP!!  Oh happy happy days :D  I'm so blessed to be able to call Anglesey my home.

It's so strange to compare my life now to where I was this time a year ago.  Last September I had a pretty severe flare up of anxiety disorder which left me more or less unable to function, even at a very basic level.  It's taken a lot of hard work but I'm so much happier now, so much more settled and at peace with myself.  A lot has changed for me, and I think things will continue to change (I hope these changes will all be for the better!)  For now I am embracing my life and celebrating my achievements, however small they may seem.

...Which brings me neatly to the more on-topic reason for this post.  As creative people, do you ever notice how often your creativity is a reflection of your health (mental or physical)?  I realised this week that my 'road to recovery' has been documented in the projects I take on.  A year ago for example - when I was at my worst - I lost my ability to knit (or rather my tired brain couldn't cope with the task).  It was a frightening time.  But slowly, I managed to get back into it, until it became my therapy - a time to think.  I delved into BIG projects - blankets and afghans - which ate away the time I would otherwise spend anxious.

As the anxiety gave way to depression, and I started to look inwards, my creativity focussed more on the small.  I was seeing the world in the tiniest of details...

But then my confidence started to grow, and I began to design patterns for myself.  Making something completely from scratch helped me to relearn how to trust my decisions, how to solve my own problems, how to express myself.  It gave me back my voice.

And now, I'm well on the way to recovery.  A year ago I could not cope with the 'stress' of knitting.  Today, I have 6 WIPs (that I can remember!); I can knit, sew, crochet, spin, or draw until my heart's content (and here are a couple of previews to prove it!)

Looking back over this post, I'm quite taken aback at how much beauty there is - how much colour and light.  It certainly didn't seem that way at the time.  But I can now see the steps I've taken, reflected in these photos, and I'm proud of each and every one - even the tiny ones!

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This post has sort of turned into something a little deeper than I imagined it.  Perhaps in a couple of days I'll be back to edit it, but for now I'm happy to see my progress collected together, and to be able to share that progress with others.  I've got a fair few ideas buzzing around at the moment - and I'll be back over the next few days to share what's on the hook and needles with you properly.  Until then, keep well and enjoy this fabulous weather!

Kim x

Willow [Free Pattern]

Good morning, folks!  I don't know about where you are, but it's absolutely tipping it down in Central Portugal. Not that I'm complaining - I've always said that rain makes the best soundtrack for creativity!  ;)

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Do you remember the handspun I got from Scott and Lynn at willowvalept?  It was by pottering around with this yarn that I came up with this potholder/coaster pattern.  For a first attempt at working with handspun, I'm pretty pleased with the results :)

Willow

For this pattern I used a 5.5mm hook.  The yarn was comparable to a chunky weight, and the finished project measured approx 13.5cm across.

The pattern is written using American notations throughout.

Before I start with the pattern proper, I'd just like to take you through the cluster stitches used in round 6.  To be honest, I'm not even sure if they are cluster stitches (beyond SCs and DCs, terminology really isn’t something I’ve grasped), but to make things easier I’m going to keep calling them that, rather than cluttering up the pattern instructions with too much jargon…

Start by making a dc (in the first cluster stitch of round 6, the first ch2 counts as the dc) [see pic 1]

Next, YO and insert hook into stitch.  YO again and bring to the front.  YO and pull through 2 loops.  You have 2 loops on the hook [see pic 2]

Now YO and insert hook into next stitch.  YO and bring to the front.  YO and pull through 2 loops.  You have 3 loops on the hook [see pic 3]

Finally, YO and insert hook into same stitch.  YO and bring to the front.  YO and pull through 2 loops.  You have 4 loops on the hook [see pic 4]

To finish the stitch, YO and pull through all 4 loops [pic 5], then ch1 and sl st into the base of the cluster.

(This is all a lot simpler than it sounds, promise!)

For the pattern proper:

Round 1: Ch4, join to make a circle

Round 2: 8sc into the centre of the circle.  Join with sl st (8) [see pic 1]

Round 3: 2sc in each st.  Join with sl st (16) [see pic 2]

Round 4: Ch2 (counts as first dc), 1dc in same sp [see pic 3], *ch1, skip a stitch, 2dc in next st*.  Repeat between * 6 more times.  Join with a sl st to top of initial ch2.  (8 petals) [see pic 4]

Round 5: Ch2, 1dc in the space to the right of this ch [see pic 5].  *Sc in the second dc sp from the previous round, 2dc in the gap*.  Repeat between * 6 more times.  Join with a sl st to the top of the initial ch2 (8 petals) [see pic 6]

Round 6: Ch2 (counts as the first dc) and complete the cluster [see above], ch2.  *In the next dc space from the previous round, Cluster as directed above, then ch2* [see pic 7].  Repeat between * 6 more times.  Join with a sl st to the top of the cluster.

Round 7: *5dc into the next gap [see pic 8], and sl st into the top of the clusters*.  Repeat between * 8 times total.  Join with a sl st into the top of the first dc of the round.

And there you have it!

To finish, darn in your ends, block and enjoy!