Just a quick reminder that this month’s Lab is on tonight between 6pm and 8pm at Velocity’s showroom and is going to feature Kristen of Plush You and Schmancy, Hansi of Hansigurumi, and Moxie of Made by Moxie, talking about the rise of the plush movement and crafting in general.
I’m hoping very much to attend, though I’m currently mainlining echinacea and zinc in an attempt to stave off an increasingly spluttery cold. But if you’re in the Seattle area it should be a really fun evening as usual.
Someone invite me to a wedding quick, so I can get one of these scrumptious hats.
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From British milliner Georgie Carss.
So I’m working on my next pair of socks – since I’m still in the throes of my obsession. I got another yarn from Violet Green which looked like this when it was in the skein.
I was assuming, based on my previous experience, that it would come out softly variegated, or perhaps in some nice stripes.
Instead I seem to be creating splodges of colour which make them look a bit as if I’ve been treading grapes in turquoise socks, which I’m not entirely convinced is the look I’m after.
The good news is that I’m absolutely adoring the Jaywalker sock pattern I found online – complex enough to be interesting and easy enough not to be a complete and utter PITA. It’s a shame that the yarn doesn’t show off the intriguing zigzags though. But definitely a pattern I will try again.
Here is a gratuitous pic of my knitting on our new bedroom chair – a bit of a bargain from Urban Outfitters – of which more later when the bedroom is tidier. 
I’ve just knitted a small green hat. It is the very first article I’ve ever knitted on circular needles and it knitted up incredibly easily and quickly as I used big fat needles and big fat wool (Lamb’s Pride Bulky in Pistachio). I can’t believe that on the couple of occasions I’ve knitted hats before, I’ve had to sew seams. This is so much the better way.
Except that actually, it’s not really a hat. If you turn it upside down, bit becomes a, currently rather porous, bowl. These felted woollen bowls were mentioned on Design Sponge a few weeks ago and I was completely intrigued. They are from the book Oneskein, which also gives instructions.on how to felt it in the washing machine And that’s where I’m a bit stuck at the moment as felting sounds a bit tricky. Is it really possible to turn my hat into this?
Image from Design*Sponge
The sock obsession has been continuing unabated and I have actually finished my first pair of socks. They were a very plain pattern (from Violet Green which comes free with their sock yarn, though I can’t find it on their site) and are riddled with mistakes, but hugely fun and I now own the most comfortable pair of socks in the history of the planet. Note they’re already slightly fluffy as I have been wearing them all weekend.
I’m a complete novice at ‘reading’ sock yarn, so I had no idea they would end up looking like this. Really quite subtle. I actually love them, though next time I do a variegated yarn I might try a slightly more textured pattern. Because yes, there’s definitely going to be a ‘next time’.
It was a little embarrassing lying on my back on the lawn like a stranded beetle while I photographed my feet. The neighbours can’t laugh though, because the other night we watched them film a zombie movie in their back yard. The bit when the ‘body’ emerged from the hole they’d dug was really very effective.
I think there comes a time in every knitter’s life when they consider whether to knit socks.
I think socks come more naturally to Americans than the British because Americans are far more used to knitting ‘in the round’ on circular needles. In the UK I think I’m right in saying that more people knit, as I do, on long straight needles (which are very difficult to find here). So the idea of knitting on four tiny double pointed needles scared the heebie jeebies out of me.
But one of the things which is so inspiring about Yarnstorm’s book/blog are the fabulous socks she turns out and when I came across this crazy yarn, I decided that the time had come for me to learn.
Thank god for YouTube. The basic sock pattern they sent with the wool was completely incomprehensible to me as I’d never even watched anyone knit socks before and couldn’t even fathom out how to set up the needles. YouTube truly is a fabulous resource for knitters and I found this series of tutorials particularly clear and useful.
I’m loving watching the yarn resolve itself into skinny stripes. The colours graduate through all the warm colours of the spectrum and I love the way they play off each other to create different, unexpected, combinations and textures. I thought the socks might end up too garish for words but they’re actually almost subtle. And the Minx is very, very jealous indeed.
I’ve actually nearly finished the first sock and am totally addicted. There’s enough mindless knitting around the circle that I can knit in front of dreadful reality TV and enough complicated stuff to ensure that I don’t lose my mind with boredom. And they’re small enough to pander to my project ADD.
In general I’ve found it better to use words like ‘elevator’ and ‘eggplant’ (rather than lift and aubergine) round these parts in order to have any chance of being understood. I still though, find myself far too embarrassed to say ‘bangs’ (the American word for a fringe of hair over your forehead). I mean, where on earth did that come from?
I’ve just finished the Minx’s little messenger bag – and contrary to normal experience, I’m not so very fed up of knitting that I never wish to pick up needles again. In fact I’ve just started a new project.
The bag was the perfect way to get back into knitting – easy enough to knit mindlessly, while the moss stich embellishment I added was just enough to stop it becoming unbelievably tedious. The best bit though was making the fringe (PLEASE don’t tell me Americans call a fringe on a thing ‘bangs’ as well), which I’d never done before.
After knotting it all up I was supposed to give the bag a hair cut and make the fringe even round the bottom. As you can see I didn’t really succeed (the right hand side is definitely longer than the left) but I was terrified of getting into one of those haircutting situations where you keep cutting at it to make it even and end up with a fringe (or indeed bangs) that look like Herman Munster’s (the Minx has a permanently wonky fringe for the same reason).
The only downside with this bag is the garter stitch strap. The Minx’s first action was to put a heavy jigsaw puzzle into the bag and it stretched so much that it hung somewhere around her knees…
I’ll try and get a photo of Minx and bag to post up, so you can see the full effect.
Look what I made the other night! Yes, I know they’re not terribly exciting but you’re supposed to be focusing on the little loops with twizzly bits round them above the dark blue beads (actually just focus on the left hand one, which is much better than the one on the right). Oh I am so proud of my little self.
This is what we learned at ‘Beginning Wire Wrapping’ at Fusion Beads and I will never be able to look at a piece of jewellery in the same way again.
I went out the other day and bought the stuff to do a couple of projects from Fusion Beads’ fabulous inspiration gallery. The problem with jewellery making – unlike knitting, which can be done in front of dreadful reality TV programmes – is that I need to set aside a few hours of free time just to focus on the project and a few hours of completely free time doesn’t happen round here very often. So my pretty new beads are currently sitting quietly waiting for me to interact with them.
I suppose I could always stop reading blogs…
I’ve finally got round to reading a book which has been on my list for ages but which has been scaring me a bit. I found the tweeness of the title and the cover picture tremendously off-putting, but have recently been enjoying Yarnstorm – the blog that inspired the book, and thought I’d give it a go.
It’s been the subject of quite a lot of controversy in the UK, mostly from those who think doing stuff around the house, indulging in crafts and enjoying cooking is somehow a betrayal of the feminist movement. But as you know, I like to cook and potter in my house and garden and have tremendous admiration for people who can actually DO crafts, so I persevered beyond the horrible title and cover.
First the good bits. The book is sumptuously produced and a hugely pleasurable read. The chapters are short, so it’s very easy to dip in and out of, and the book is absolutely chock-a-block full of photos, which are, actually, the best bit. Jane’s photos are gorgeous and inspiring and I would post lots up here, but apparently I have to get her express written permission and I really couldn’t be bothered, so just check out her blog instead. But it is to her enormous credit that most of the photos in the book are taken by her and not by some anonymous stylist.
Jane’s prose is also utterly beautiful, she has a very visual way of describing things and writes in a very intelligent and thoughtful way. And the book is not just about knitting and baking and quilting, it also talks about domesticity in film and art and books, which is fascinating. It also contains an excellent list of ‘Resources’ at the back, including inspirational books, blogs and materials stockists. Oh and there are lots of ideas about how to get kids involved in crafts and domestic projects.
So what didn’t I like? Well the book is very personal to Jane. It is by no means an instruction manual, it is all about how she thinks about craft, how she gains inspiration, and the creative process behind her craft projects, though with no detailed instructions beyond a few recipes. And unfortunately her aesthetic is just a bit too genteel and Radio 4 for me – the pink heart-shaped mousse on the front cover does absolutely sum it up (though the colour balance on the front cover is ghastly, there’s a more subdued and nicer photo of it in the book itself). I’m a sure a ton of people will absolutely adore the stuff she makes but I’m just not an embroidered crinoline ladies sort of person.
Does anyone know of crafters out there who are doing stuff which is a bit more well, ‘fierce’? Not knitting plastic bags sort of fierce, but stuff you might want to put into a more contemporary home.
On the plus side, the book has inspired to pick up my knitting again! Knitting is the only craft I can do. Here’s the beginnings of a bag for the Minx. Pattern, with tweaks, courtesy of this book. Colour choice courtesy of the Minx (and only because they didn’t do this yarn in bright eyeball-searing red).
I also got this gorgeous little necklace from Hannah Made, which features a tiny photo of a collage made by Michelle Caplan for her Collage Lab project (I have to admit that the Husband needed to be gently led in this direction).
I just love how this is a collaboration between two different artists in very different media, but who have combined to make something so unusual and pretty. It’s currently hanging on my inspiration board just so I can look at it.
The postcards are from UK photographer Donna Compton, who takes the sort of flower photos that I aspire to take (found via Decor8) and the marble magnets in Amy Butler prints are from the Purple Pear.
