Sock it to ya!

I gave some of the family crocheted socks for Christmas.  They were better than others that I had done, but they didn't have the "je ne sais pas" thing that knitters produce.  (You know, the fact you can get them on and they're not as baggy... not bagging crocheted socks, I just can't get them to work)

And so I am attempting the knitted sock.  OMG! To start with, there are many many many different patterns, do I want to start at the top or the toe? What kind of heel do I want? What are short rows? And, did you know that there are different types of cast on methods which are looser?
And I haven't even mentioned the 4 double pointed needle method, the 2 circular needle method and the magic circle (these are the ones that I found, there are probably more!)

And so it has taken me 2 months to produce a pair of socks that are wearable...

They are far from perfect, but they have a heel and a toe.
And holes, and a ladder, and are very baggy around the tops, and they were knit with 3 different methods

I am wearing them proudly :-)

Hit and miss....

This is how I am describing my blogging style.

Been a wee while, but back at it now. Thought about it before the hols but i was making lots of my Xmas pressies and didn't want anyone to see.....

This past year has seen an up take in the needle space, and I have knitted 3 scarf/shawls and a new love for lace weight yarn.

Here are a couple of crocheted ones about to pop in the Felt shop.

Both with lace weight,  one of them is doubled and the other is a Touch yarn.

Spinning a yarn

Thanks to the lovely ladies at Creative Fibre and Red Hill Spinners and Weavers I am hooked on spinning.

One of the ladies has lent me a wheel to play with. I think it looks good as a present under the tree!  

I think having done the drop spindle for the last few months has given me a bit of an edge, I'm all about the drafting (its the lingo) and having just one peddle it means I don't have to overthink to much.

I sound like an expert already which is definitely not the case!  I still have a long way to go, there is consistency to master and then there is trying to ply.  And of course, what to make with it!

Taking Pictures

I think I finally did it.
I do believe that my felt shop looks quite professional.  And it was all in the pictures!.

As with most amateur online sellers I have read a lot about how important the picture is to views and then to sales.  I have tried playing with the macro button, taking pictures when it's not sunny, replicating how magazines take pictures (in situ), and have plastered flip chart paper over things to make a light box, and yet I have never been happy with the result.  No to say that these things didn't work, because my pictures have definitely improved over time, they were just never as good as everyone elses.  

And then I grabbed the chance to get a free mannequin top.  She is my new best friend. I love her.   Now she has taken over my felt shop, and I like it.

 So much cleaner and easy to look at, I wish I'd done a before and after :-)

The wrong yarn for the job

I've got some lovely yarns in my stash that I keep starting a project with and then tossing aside because they just don't quite work.

It's a bit like that strange thing other people do called swatching,  I tend to ignore suggestions of the types of yarns to use for certain things.  This has quite often turned out well, and just as often turned out wrong!   Its also why I shy away from motifs a bit, just in case it doesn't work, then I can't reuse the yarn as easily.

This is the 4th time I've tried to use this bamboo yarn to make something,  and it's not 4th time lucky.

With a renewed interest in Tunisian Crochet I think that this one might be good for that....  so a frogging we will go (again!)  :-)

Shrug Hug

Love the library:-)

Cool crochet books and other fab ideas to get the creative juices flowing.

I picked up this lovely yarn at the Creatve Fibre Festival the other weekend and have been looking out for a brill project that's not too hard and is easy to do on the ever crowded train.

So I have chosen this Shrug Hug from a book called Custom Crocheted Sweaters by Dora Ohrenstein.

I've tried shrugs before and I've always had to frog them because they just didn't look like the picture.   For this one there has been research.  Lots of great reviews.... so I guess if it doesn't work...... must be me.... :-D

Poppies

I saw a lovely poppy on a tv presenter that was made from organza type fabric, so I tried to replicate it.
So I pintrested the how to.

A wee hint... if its not organza type material don't try and burn the edges, it catches on fire!

I cut 8 circles from 4 different red fabrics, 2 the same size from each one.  Sewed a button in the middle and random black beeds around the center. (I also did the back pin at the same time)   Covered the whole thing in fabric stiffener (called 'stiffy' teenager snigger)  left it over night and then seperafed the layers and made it look more 3d.  I like it :-)