yarn about yarn

Cupric

2011-12-11T09:40:00.000+11:00

Cupric comes from the Latin word for copper. Cupric is the name of my latest design, published in Issue 24 of Yarn magazine.

The yarn is Qoperfina supplied by Ecoyarns. It is an amazing blend of organic baby alpaca, organic pima cotton & pure copper fibre. The copper fibre is not obvious in the yarn, and the yarn is soft and has a wonderful drape.

Because of the lovely drape and the shape, Cupric can be worn in numerous ways on the body.

Copper has long been regarded as having many health benefits, particularly when worn against the skin. Cupric is a lightweight wrap, perfect for when a 'little something' is needed about the back & shoulders; or draped around the neck as a scarf.

Tapestry Weaving

2011-12-04T11:01:00.000+11:00

I've been looking into Tapestry Weaving...borrowing books from the local libraries, (I've since ordered one of the books), reading blogs, looking at looms. The looms I'm looking at (from cheapest to most expensive) are:

the Ashford Weaving frame which is basically a wooden frame with notches cut top & bottom. Am I correct in thinking that because of these notches that the closeness of the warp threads (is this epi??)can not be changed? The frame also limits the dimensions of the finished tapestry.
the Schacht portable tapestry loom with optional A frame stand. This has 4 heddles. It is 25" wide but allows for a continuous warp around the frame so the length can be up to 60". I can't find a supplier in Australia as yet so have an "order" with Dick Blick. I'm waiting to see how much the shipping is on this and then can either confirm or cancel the order.
the Ashford Tapestry Loom. This is a big investment loom.

I'm opting for the actual looms over the frame as I think the frame may be too limited & I could quickly outgrow it. I don't understand the differences between the Ashford & the Schacht. Any Tapestry Weavers out there who can offer some advice?

Undulating Leaves

2011-11-27T09:47:00.000+11:00

You might think that after my last post I wouldn't be participating in any more knit-a-longs, especially for shawls. Wrong.
I think I first saw the Undulating Leaves shawl on the Artyarns facebook page. I found the first part of the pattern via the link in Ravelry. Basically this knit-a-long requires that you use Artyarns yarn and post a pic of part 1 finished before December 31 (part 1 only takes an hour or so). After you complete each part & post a photo on your ravelry project page then iris will send a link to the next part.
I had to order the yarn from overseas as I couldn't find a supplier here in Australia. I nearly didn't bother as the postage that some US stores were going to charge for one skein of yarn was ridiculous!
Part 1 is now complete:

The yarn is super soft. The photo doesn't really show it but there is a fine silver thread as well as the mohair & silk. The mohair is so delicate that it doesn't seem to be bothering me at all (not like some mohair yarns in the past) but I'm being extra careful not to make any mistakes, as it's grabby enough to make ripping back a bit tricky (ask me how I know). Mohair & silk .... super soft & light, even though it knits to a DK.

I'm keen to get started on part 2 but there is a little matter of some bookwork to be done first, more knitting/designing on the interior assessment piece for my C&G course and some sketching for my landscape painting (we've started having an art lesson one lunchtime at work, so I've got homework to do).

What Do You Call A Group of Frogs??

2011-11-23T17:43:00.000+11:00

I've decided that it is OK to frog, not one but 2 projects. Funny (ironic?) but they are both Mystery KALs & both shawls (which I don't really wear) ... hmm maybe I should have known better.
Anyway the first to hit the frog pond was Tuck .... I wasn't feeling the love for this project. I didn't like the (lack of) drape & going up a needle size may/may not have been the answer to that issue, but I just didn't really like the design.

The second project is the Stephen West Mystery KAL shawl, Earth & Sky. I was hesitant to frog this because so many people were taking part in the KAL, so many people love Stephen West designs (I do too, just not this one). It was only on the way to work this morning listening to a podcast that I realised it was OK to frog this. The podcaster was saying that she too had signed up for the mystery KAL, after all it was Stephen West, over 2000 knitters can't be wrong can they??? Then she too realised that she didn't like this design & if she'd seen it first would never had started knitting it. I realised that I felt the same way.

I'll just need to find another project for this gorgeous yarn.

Shop re-opens

2011-11-16T07:08:00.000+11:00

Just a quick note to let you know my etsy shop has re-opened. My goal is to have it brimming with goodies again, but I've been making slow progress in that direction, so I've decided to re-open it now. I'm hoping that having it open will "encourage" me to finish some pieces I started a long time ago.
www.etsy.com/shop/yarnaboutyarn

Finish or Frog??

2011-11-15T21:58:00.000+11:00

I finished the mini KAL "Oh Delilah" and am really pleased with how the shawlette/scarf turned out. It's purple & fringey! .... and has a nice drape

I think this is part of the problem I'm having with the mystery KAL ... I'm not sure it's drapey enough. The yarn is really nice, it's the Coffee House kit colourway from Studio June.

But I'm not sure how I feel about the pattern, and I think it's lack of drape is a big part of this. I don't know whether to keep going with the KAL (since this photo I've completed Clue #2 and am ready to start Clue #3), put it aside & see how some finished ones look in a few weeks or just frog it & move on.

What do you think?

Saturday Chillax

2011-10-30T07:48:00.000+11:00

Just lately it seems that every Friday is spent half at work then coming home at lunch time (so appreciate that I've been given study leave) to spend the afternoon and into the night finishing an assignment, to be submitted by midnight. This Friday was no different...and just like last Saturday, I spent this Saturday chillaxing (as my kids would say). I knit, I drew.

I found a drawing from last October that I'd done in graphite pencil and decided to add some colour & more shading. I left the graphite there but did change a couple of things where I could.

And my go to for relaxing ... knitting.

I signed up a couple of weeks ago for the latest mystery KAL with Sharon of She-Knits. It's for a shawlette called Tuck. I order one of the prepared kits & received some yummy yarn (I'll take pictures of the yarn and get the details of the yarn store). Tuck starts the beginning of November (Nov 2 I think) so in the meantime Sharon surprised us all with a free mini KAL (called Oh Delilah!) for those who had signed up. Clues were given every 3 days or so & of course with work & study I haven't been keeping up. There are 4 clues & I'm just about up to Clue 3. I did include the extra rows to make it a bit longer and I'm adding the optional beads to the fringing, so that's all taking extra time. It should go a lot quicker as soon as I get to the decreases.

It's not photographing true to colour. The yarn is more a purple. It's a gorgeous soft alpaca, silk, cashmere blend called Caress from evoke.
I also ordered the new book by Alana Dakos & Hannah Fettig (2 of my favourite designers!), Coastal Knits. I'll do a little review after it arrives.

Creative Updates

2011-10-22T13:53:00.000+11:00

Finally module 8 has been completed and posted to the UK. I heard from Loraine that she has received it (always a relief!) and will assess it over the weekend. I forgot to take more pictures but I'll do that when it comes back home.

A big uni assignment has been interfering with most other things these last couple of weeks but I submitted it last night. I still have 2 more assignments to get done & then sit the exam but I decided to have some time out this morning. Ages ago I signed up for 21 Secrets and started a few of the classes. I got back to it this morning & chose to do Tam's Collage , Paint & Soul lesson. What a fabulous technique. Here's my before & after pics (grrr blogger is being a pain & not letting me put these side by side):

The Change Part II

2011-09-26T23:29:00.000+10:00

Well the change in the weather I mentioned continued. Out of nowhere we were hit by a massive hail storm. Our street was transformed within a couple of minutes into a winter wonderland (well, almost).

I also made a lot of changes to the watercolour mixed media page (it was on the theme "There once was a girl who....." and was to contain some lolly legs if possible.)

A Change

2011-09-25T07:55:00.000+10:00

Well the weather has certainly changed. The last few days were very summer-like...warm &, well, sunny. I guess the change was summer-like as well ... we had a thunderstorm overnight that continued early this morning.

The temperature is definitely cooler today (but it's only 7.30 am & the sun is making the effort to "try" and peak through the clouds, so here's hoping.)

The other change is in my post subject, back to knitting.

Here is the (what I thought) was the last board of blocking lace swatches, but I decided last night to knit one more ... working on scale, so that's not shown here. My plan is to block that last one today & then get them mounted/labelled during the week.

The latest homework for the Supplies Me! class is a watercolour/mixed media page.. I've done the watercolour but that's as far as I've got. I'm not sure whether I've gone too far with the face or not far enough, but I'm not completely happy with it yet.

Blending/shading week

2011-09-23T13:24:00.001+10:00

This week was all about face shading & blending colour, using coloured pencils. The first one is a close up using my old pencils that didn't want to smoosh together too well & quickly built up, meaning I couldn't add any more colour.

With my new Prisma portrait set:

And, yes I have been knitting. I'm still knitting lace swatches in an effort to get module 8 complete (pics soon)

Katwise

2011-09-23T09:21:00.000+10:00

I can't remember where I first heard of Katwise but her success on Etsy is phenomenal. No sooner are her gorgeous sweater coats loaded in her shop & they are sold out within minutes! Check out her etsy shop to see examples of her amazing art. This is upcycling at its best!

Kat is also selling tutorials so you can make your own sweater coat.

The latest from Kat is this video showing how to construct a sweater coat ... watch it right to the end to see the fabulous house of many colours that Kat lives in & her bus to match.

Mixed Media Backs & Bottoms Homework

2011-09-20T11:32:00.000+10:00

Take time to just sit

Faces in colour pencil

2011-09-18T22:33:00.000+10:00

I've had a busy few days with an intensive school at the uni. This meant travelling away from home for 6 days & spending long days in the lab. I've also taken next week off work to complete the 5 prac write ups, one assignment & the research project write up. I'm feeling fairly confident but it's going to take time.

While I've been away the Supplies Me class has been powering ahead. I feel a bit left behind but I think there is a make up week coming up. I practised a few faces tonight & posted them to the group. The next homework challenge is up so I'm hoping to make a start on that in the next couple of days ... I've got an idea but we'll see.

I'm most happy with the 2 in the middle row.....they feel more like my drawings.

Supplies Me!

2011-09-11T09:08:00.000+10:00

Feeling a renewed interest in art I have signed up with local artist Jane Davenport & joined her online class Supplies Me. Considering Jane only lives 20 minutes up the road I have yet to meet her in person, but her online persona is sweet & energetic.
The class has been amazing so far (less than a week in). There is some fabulous talent in the group & everyone is very supportive & encouraging. Ages range from preteen to grandmas.
Here is my first spread & my little hand size journal I'm working in:

Can you tell I was inspired my garden I showed in the last post.

Demise of the ABC

2011-09-08T20:30:00.000+10:00

Anyone following my blog may have noticed that I have not kept up with my ABC posts. A combination of computer problems, a backlog of work, a repeat dose of the flu & some intense study have left little time for much else.
I've barely touched my knitting this last week but am feeling the need to start drawing again, so I picked up a little purse size journal that fits nicely in my bag....maybe I can find 5 minutes in the day for a quick sketch or doodle.
In the meantime it looks like Spring has arrived!

N is for ... New Zealand project

2011-08-09T21:26:00.000+10:00

I recently heard about a community knitting project being organized in New Zealand for the International Year of Chemistry (which happens to be this year apparently).

The project involves knitters each knitting a part of the periodic table. Now, working & studying in the field of Chemistry and being a knitter I just had to participate.

Unfortunately I didn't hear about it soon enough & I've missed out on contributing an element but I am knitting a plain square. The finished periodic table will be displayed at the 2011 New Zealand Institute of Chemistry Conference to be held later this year at the Victoria University in Wellington.

If you want to become involved by knitting a square or just want to see what other events are planned, then visit the website: http://yearofchemistry.org.nz/

My square will be knit in Biggan Design DK, colour 330 ( which is Safron) ...... keep an eye out for it!

M is for ...Mystery KAL & Madeline Tosh

2011-08-03T17:48:00.000+10:00

I received some Madeline Tosh yarn from a destash a few weeks ago and love it! I haven't found the pattern I'm going to knit but I'm looking forward to working with it.

So, when I heard about the Stephen West Mystery KAL & somehow found myself signing up for it I decided to use Madeline Tosh Merino Light. Some googling didn't find me an Aussie seller, so I looked further afield, finally ordering from Eat.Sleep.Knit.

August 1 saw the first clue released so I cast on last knit & so far, so good. I'm loving the colours I chose (not too keen on intarsia, but coping).

From left to right: cherry, gossamer, blackberry

Last time I looked there were over 1900 particpants in the Mystery KAL. Are you one of them?

Fringe Tutorial

2011-07-27T06:58:00.001+10:00

I'm going to be adding a fringe to the bottom of the garment body. I want to cut my yarn into lengths that are at least double what the finished fringe length will be. In this case I am cutting 9" lengths.

And because I want 10 'ends' to each fringe, I will cut 5 lengths.

Next I'm going to gather these lengths together & fold them in half.

I'm using a 4mm crochet hook for this fringe. Use whatever size suits your yarn. The hook will need to be small enough to insert into the garment but large enough to pull all the yarn ends through.
Insert the crochet hook from the inside of the garment to the right side, either just under the bind off edge or in the first row.

Place the middle of the yarn lengths over the hook

and pull them through, but not all the way. Just out enough so you have a loop big enough to pull the tails through.

OK, gather up the tails over the end of the crochet hook

and pull all the ends through the loop on the hook

pull them all the way through and remove the hook

hold the garment close to where the fringe is inserted with one hand. Use the other hand to pull the tails through the loop and snugly into place.

Don't pull too tight. You may need to pull on individual tails to adjust it so it lays smoothly.

Add more fringing as desired around the body. Once all the fringing is on, hold up the garment & give it a light shake to straighten the fringe. Some ends may need a little trim if they are very uneven.

L is for ...Lace

2011-07-25T08:43:00.000+10:00

This week I have been swatching lace for my course.

Lots of lace & lots more to come.

I really enjoy knitting lace as it can look way more complicated than what is really is.

Basically it is just decreasing & increasing stitches in order to get the eyelet holes and the changes in stitch direction.

Lots of swatch knitting also means lots of pinning out & blocking, lots of ends to weave in.

This week I'll be getting these samples mounted & labelled, and swatching some more.

One thing I've learnt is to keep good, clear notes. Notes that I can still understand if a couple of weeks passes between swatching & labelling the mounted swatch.

Painting Backgrounds

2011-07-22T17:58:00.002+10:00

I've started painting the backgrounds for my owls. More layers have been added since I took this photo and there is now some stenciling & a bit of image transfer. Hopefully the next lesson will be posted shortly.

Needles At The Ready

2011-07-18T06:31:00.001+10:00

A large part of the course is knitting samples using yarns of varying fibres and weights. To make this easier I recently bought a set of needles from ebay.

There are 15 pairs of needles in the set, made of bamboo, ranging in size from 2mm to 10mm. The reason I went for these is their shorter length. They are 20cm, which makes swatching easy. The size is written on both the length of the needle & on the end. The seller is UK based which means the sizes are in mm (which I use) and they ship worldwide for a very reasonable cost.

The downside: I dislike wooden knitting needles, mostly because I find the tips are not as sharp as I'd like, particularly in the larger sizes. As I'm knitting lace swatches at the moment this is really noticeable (to me anyway, some people love bamboo neeedles).

This could also make a great set for a young beginner (although the thinner needles may be prone to breakage at a tight tension, 2mm is quite tiny).

Yarn U app

2011-07-17T10:24:00.000+10:00

Disclaimer: I was supplied this app for free to review.

This week I've been having a look at the Yarn U app for iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad.
Basically it is a source of information on yarn. The database has been growing with each update and contains over 100 yarns and links to free patterns. (you will need internet access for this feature).

Yarns can be searched by weight, brand, hand dyed, hand wash, machine wash, those with links to free patterns, etc.

Once you select a yarn you are given a picture of the yarn with some basic information. The page also includes the brand, weight, gauge, fibre content & yardage. There are pros & cons listed (such as felts well, splitty, contains knots etc) and links to free patterns (if available) and a website selling the yarn. There is the ability to share this information by emailing to a friend, add a comment to the page or to favourite the page.

As well as browsing the yarns you can also look at all the comments together or access photos. As a visual person I loved the photo option. Either scroll through page after page of luscious photos of yarn and knitted & crocheted items or narrow your options by filtering using the same options as you did for the yarns. Once you see a photo you like you can click on it & it takes you to a larger image with information such as the yarn used, the pattern and website.

Yes this information is available in other places, but what makes this app worth having is that someone else has gone to the trouble of getting it together, the database is not huge but it is quite large & is growing with each update, it is so portable & convenient and the images are beautiful (have a look at some screenshots here). I will certainly be keeping this app & making use of it.

K is for ... Karin

2011-07-16T17:36:00.000+10:00

K is for Karin....Karin Taylor, a very talented artist who I am lucky enough to call a friend. I've been fortunate to have known Karin for about 10 years now & in that time I have seen her style develop & the direction of her creativity change & grow. She is such a prolific artist and I am constantly amazed at the quantity of work she produces.

Karin has worked in oils, acrylics, pastels, inks, collage and more recently has produced amazing digital artworks.
I'm going to include some images of Karin's artwork (with permission) but you really need to follow the links & see the big image and read the info on each to fully appreciate the talent of this artist.

When I had the idea to combine artwork with a photo for the cover of the Arwen skirt pattern of course I turned to Karin.

I was so pleased with how it turned out & also the variation of the design that Karin came up with.

You can read more about the process of creating this mix of photo & artwork here.

This would have to be one of my new favourites: Teabag Couture. It combines leaves, bark & actual teabags into the work.

Another mixed media, "Thoughts become things"

Very cute, "down by the riverside"

Gorgeous owls in three wise owls

and not forgetting the knitting. How amazing is lost and found !

Have you noticed how much is included in each piece of art that Karin produces? The more I look, the more I find. Often there are butterflies, fish, birds, flowers.....

The links I've provided will take you to Karins Red Bubble pages where you can read more about each piece, find out more about Karin and also purchase cards, prints, etc of the artwork.

J is for ... July 18

2011-07-11T07:11:00.005+10:00

July 18 marks the date of something new. Well, maybe not entirely new but the start of some extra things in my life.
For the past few months I have been working in an analytical chemistry lab. I have a degree in Biomedical Science. You know, Biology, how animals & plants function, not Chemistry.
I've always had an interest in how the human body works and what goes wrong when it doesn't, an interest in all things medical. I've studied some Biochemistry but avoided taking subjects in "real" chemistry, so no analytical chemistry.
I thought maybe I'd like to work in pathology or in a hospital involved in medical research.
But no, I get a job in a Chemistry lab! And the thing is, I'm liking it. However, I want a greater understanding of what I'm doing & maybe the chance of promotion. So, starting July 18, I begin studying again. Not a full degree this time, or even a post graduate qualification. I'm enrolled in one class only, Analytical Chemistry. Wish me luck.
To balance the study & also commencing July 18 is an online art course I've signed up for.
(Someone remind me there are only 24 hours in the day)

I is for ... Interview

2011-07-04T07:34:00.000+10:00

Want to know how I got started in designing? what I eat for breakfast?

All the goss is over on Jasmine's blog.

A Year of Projects

2011-07-01T07:01:00.003+10:00

It seems like ages ago that I enrolled in the City & Guilds Hand Knit Textiles course. I have 12 modules to complete and am currently working on module 8 (as well as finishing off the first assessment piece, due in module 7). My goal is to finish the course within the next 12 months. Achieveable, and necessary, to meet the requirements. But I am behind schedule....I really should have completed module 9 by now.

So,....in order to achieve my goal I have committed to the Year of Projects being held on Ravelry in the Come Blog-A-Long group. Other people in the group have chosen to complete a list of projects from their queues, to work through a particular pattern book or some other list of projects. I'll be working my way through the remaining 4 & a bit modules and the four assessment pieces. Wish me luck.

H is for ... Home

2011-06-27T07:00:00.001+10:00

What makes a house a home? For me it's those little things that make me smile.

my front garden

a collection

artwork by talented friends

my art & craft books

a wallhanging with knitting

a statue

my creative space

my dinner (soup)

G is for ... Groups

2011-06-20T06:49:00.002+10:00

Groups on Ravelry that is.

I love Ravelry for so many reasons. I've learnt new things, met new people from all over the world, knit designs I probably would never had known about otherwise, watched 100s (if not 1000s) of other people knit a design gone viral (thinking Clapotis, February Lady Sweater etc here), got my first designs published and watched in excitement as others actually knit what I had put out there.

One of the great things about Ravelry are all the different groups. There must be a group for everybody & everything. I quickly joined groups that had some interest for me & became involved in the group for some time. The amount of time I gave each group soon became apparent & I organised my groups accordingly. I had group tabs that read "everyday", "nearly everyday", "not so often" along with "Australian", "designing" and "spinning"

Although not as much a groupie as some others, I did belong to well over 100 groups at one point. Much too many to be involved in.

A recent comment (along the lines of: you should have known about this because you belong to "..." group) caused me to look at my participation in my groups. Well, yes I do belong to that group (along with 100+ others) but um no, I didn't know about .... because I'm not an active member... oops.

So I've left quite a number of groups. I'm hoping that now belonging to only 29 groups (this could change anyday) will make me a more responsible group member.

How do others handle all their Ravelry groups?

And a couple of photos, because every good blog post needs a picture.

then & now

F is for ... Finish, Frog or Flick!

2011-06-13T07:00:00.009+10:00

I used to be a monogamous knitter. I suppose this was before the days of Ravelry & other online sites that showed us daily just what was available to us. Ooh shiny!
Or sometimes I'd just cast on to see if I liked how it was knitting up, only to find that "meh" it wasn't quite right. But I didn't always have the heart to frog it, just in case.
I've decided it's time to go through my UFOs (unfinished objects), WIPs (works in progress), PhDs (projects half done) ... whatever you want to call them & make some tough decisions.
It's time to Finish, Frog or give it the Flick!

First up is the Weekend Getaway Satchel. This Mary Poppins bag came to my attention in 2005. Yep 6 years ago! I ordered yarn from the US, along with the hardware for completing the bag.

An easy knit? Yes. And I still love the bag but I didn't enjoy the knitting, and so I never finished.
This project was taking up a whole wire basket/drawer in my craft room......time for it to be finished, frogged or given the flick.

I had completed (knit & felted) the back and side gussets. I'd also knit the 2 long red straps, they were waiting patiently to be felted. I had knit more than half of the intarsia front.

So what has stopped me from finishing?

this yarn sheds like crazy

I knit at night, in front of the TV. Because of the shedding this is best knit outside with a towel over my lap.
I got rid of my old washer that felted so well and replaced it with a more gentle water saving machine. I don't know if I could have felted the straps & front to match the back & gussets.
I wish I'd known more about knitting & felting/fulling before I started this project. I hate how it is knit separately, felted separately & then stitched together.

The verdict: FLICK!

Being practical I was never going to finish this, I couldn't frog the felted pieces & didn't want to deal with frogging the intarsia-yarn-shedding-like-crazy front piece. I've kept the hardware (feet, buckles etc), I'm donating the yarn and the rest ... disappeared. Feels good. (Wonder what's next on the finish, frog or flick list?)

E is for ... Exciting news!!

2011-06-06T06:55:00.001+10:00

Just a short ABC post this week. E was such a difficult letter ... hmm, could I blog about eggs? elephants? emus?

Then I got the word. My submission had been accepted! E is for exciting news.

My first overseas submission (to the US) last year was rejected. Secretly I was pleased. If accepted it would have meant casting on nearly 1000 stitches! Twice! What was I thinking. Who would want to knit this?
(I will say I still love the concept and..maybe..one day.)

Anyway, with a couple more designs under my belt and feeling more confident I thought I'd try again. This time: success! I received word this week that yes my design will be included and yarn will soon be winging it's way to me.

E is for ...exciting news!

Finished

2011-06-04T11:31:00.000+10:00

I haven't posted any finished objects for a while now. Not that there have been many that I could show here. I've just completed a "something" that is for publication, so that will have to stay under wraps until the magazine comes out. I'm hoping I've made it in time for the photoshoot for the September issue, but it's doubtful.

Other finished objects include a Chevron scarf and my African KAL vest.

The Chevron scarf was a birthday gift for a special friend (who I'll be telling you about in one of the ABC posts).

I knit it using Handmaiden Sea Silk in the Woodland colourway which is a lovely blend of blues, greens & browns. The pattern is the Jaywalker scarf by Jody Scofield. If you're not a Ravelry member then you can also access the free pattern from Jody's blog.

The Out of Africa vest I knit as part of the Jane Thornley KAL on Ravelry. You can see more of the vests here on Jane's website.

D is for ....Drawing

2011-05-29T11:06:00.001+10:00

I remember sitting in class. I was about 12, sitting next to my best friend & our regular teacher was away. For some reason we were drawing. My friend suggested we draw a turtle. I attempted to draw a realistic looking turtle, looking down at it from above so you could see mostly shell, with legs, head & tail just poking out. My friend drew her turtle side on, with a lovely domed shell on it's back. I think it also had a hat & there was a flower (or a balloon) somewhere as well.
My drawing was badly done. Hers was something I had never really noticed before. I thought drawing a turtle meant drawing a (real) turtle (maybe that was the scientist coming out in me even then). She has drawn a turtle with character, almost cartoonish. A friendly, cheeky looking turtle. The substitute teacher walked past, noticed us drawing & stopped to comment. She looked briefly at my page ... no comment. Then she saw my friend's drawing of the turtle. Well! She raved about what obvious talent my friend had & told her about these drawing classes that she must attend.

Well, that's how I remembered it happening anyway. That's my 12 year olds reality. I finished high school, dismissing any idea of taking art as a subject. "Oh no, me take art? I can't draw!"

Now I know better. Of course I couldn't draw. I'd never been shown, I'd never practiced. I also didn't know how to drive a car, change a nappy or make fried rice.

As it is I still can't draw as well as I'd like. I know I don't practice enough. But I enjoy the process and every now & again I take out my pencils and sketchbooks and just draw. Just for fun.

And sometimes I paint.

C is for.......Congratulations!

2011-05-23T17:27:00.000+10:00

Using a random number generator we have winners for a couple of the books in the giveaway.

Congratulations to pinkundine who wins A Knitting Wrapsody.

Congratulations to Emma, who wins The Creative Entrepreneur

I'll be in touch shortly to get your postal details. Thanks everyone for stopping by & leaving a comment & look out for further book giveaways.

Colour Combinations

2011-05-21T10:35:00.000+10:00

Well I searched my stash for some possible yarns to combine with my yarn swap yarn and came up a bit short. I have a large amount of odd skeins & balls but not much in fingering weight it would seem.

Here's a couple of possibilities:

an olivey green, keeping it all in the same colour family. Or for a bit of contrast:

What do you think?
At this stage I'm heading towards knitting Chadwick by Stephen West

Yarn Swap pattern

2011-05-20T22:51:00.000+10:00

As soon as I received my lovely green yarn I've been thinking about what I should make with it. Socks? Lacy mitts? A cowl, a scarf?

Naturally I turned to Ravelry to see what others had made with this yarn. At last count there were 2147 projects, wow! OK, maybe if I narrowed the search. So, I searched for patterns, then knitted patterns with a photo, in up to 300 yards of fingering weight. Hmm, 95 pages.

I'm leaning towards some kind of scarf, maybe. So I narrowed the field even more, by searching accessories, neck/torso, scarf. Yay! Now down to 248 possibilities. You've got to love Ravelry.

My latest idea is to combine the green with another yarn, maybe a variegated or maybe black and knit a scarf/shawlette. How about Baktus? or something by Stephen West, maybe Daybreak or Chadwick?
I'll see what I can find in my stash tomorrow ~

BTW, don't forget the book giveaway. You've got a couple more days to enter. I might even be tempted to give away 2 or even all 3 books if there are enough entries.

Blog Hub Yarn Swap/Project Adventure

2011-05-20T07:39:00.000+10:00

Over in the Blog Hub group on Ravelry we've been involved in a yarn swap. The idea was to take a skein/ball of yarn from your stash & send to your swap partner. My swap partner hasn't received her parcel yet so I can't reveal who she is or what I sent.

However I had a lovely surprise when I got home from work yesterday...a parcel from the UK! Inside was a gorgeous apple green yarn

and check out those sweet faces peeking out from behind. Too cute.

My yarn came from a dragon! a wooly green dragon who blogs here: http://www.callofthewoolygreendragon.blogspot.com/

I'm not sure what this yarn will become, but I have a few ideas.......

B is for ..........Book Giveaway!!!!

2011-05-15T16:37:00.001+10:00

I love books and have far too many. So, I'm having a giveaway.

There are 3 books to choose from. These books are off my personal bookshelf but are in excellent condition.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post: let me know how you found this blog post (eg from facebook, Ravelry or ?), let me know which book you'd like & why. Also make sure I have some way of getting in contact with you ... leave an email address, a link to your blog or your Ravelry ID. Simple. The hardest part may be choosing which book you'd like.

I'll do a random number generator just before next Monday's post (that's my Aussie time).

Now, here are the books (I'll add some links so you can read more about each one):

The Creative Entrepreneur

A Knitting Wrapsody (includes DVD)

The Artist's Way

A is for ....... Accidental Knitter ABC , Africa & alpaca

2011-05-09T10:40:00.008+10:00

An Accidental Knitter ABC.

I'll be joining Charlotte and other bloggers as we blog through the alphabet. Here's how Charlotte explains it:

"...Every Monday, bloggers around the world write about a topic beginning with a letter of the alphabet (We will be doing this in order, so A for the first week, B for the second etc). "

Not sure I can commit to every Monday, so I'll be taking Charlotte's advice & writing posts when I can & schedule their release for the Monday.

The Africa KAL vest was coming along really well. I'm onto the left front & would have had it finished but something else needed my urgent attention....the other A....alpaca. I have some super secret knitting that needs to be finished ASAP. Sssh, it's a secret!

Sakuna Shrug is Live!

2011-05-04T21:50:00.000+10:00

The Sakuna Shrug pattern is now available, either through the pattern tab on this website or via Ravelry.

Test post

2011-05-03T19:45:00.001+10:00

Just doing a test post using Blogsy on my iPad

Zimbabwe Vest

2011-04-30T10:23:00.000+10:00

Wow, what a quick knit. Once I got started on the Zimbabwe Vest it was hard to put down & I finished the back in one day.

Check out all those ends I'm going to have to deal with.

The Safari & Savannahs guide contains 3 patterns. I have chosen the Great Zimbabwe Vest because of the shape. I think this will suit my body shape the best. The Not-a-poncho I have attempted once before and found it too shapeless for me, although maybe if I'd knit a drapier fabric it would have been ok, so I may have to re-visit this one day. The other pattern is another vest, with a basket weave pattern. It is very nice but not my style as it comes straight across the chest area with no shaping.

The back panel has a charted pattern down the middle. In the guide Jane says to work this in intarsia but I didn't want to deal with a heap of little balls/bobbins of yarn so worked this part in fair isle and it was fine.

I'm going to incorporate some beads onto the front, nothing too obvious.

An African Adventure

2011-04-29T09:12:00.000+10:00

No, unfortunately I am not going to Africa. I have decided to join in the African KAL in the Jane Thornley group on Ravelry. The KAL is based on Jane's latest Evocative Guide, Safari & Savannahs.

Jane's guides contain more a recipe than a pattern. Instead of the usual knitting pattern that says you should probably use this yarn, or at least a substitute yarn of this blend that will get you this gauge on these needles and you must do this, step by step, etc. Jane doesn't do as much 'hand holding'. Her patterns are more along the lines of: select yarns that you can knit on this range of needles, gather different blends, weights, colours, cast on around this number of stitches, or more or less depending on your particular body, knit these stitch patterns in whatever order you want, etc. If you're the kind of knitter who requires more step by step instructions then you can still follow Jane as she does tell you what yarns she used and will include charts etc but for the knitter who isn't so caught up in exact numbers Jane's patterns are wonderfully freeing. They give you the courage to go out on your own and just pick up needles and yarn and knit. Does it really matter if one side has a row or two extra, if you knit a DK weight then a worsted, then a ribbon yarn all on the same size needle with the gauge changing as you do? Does it really matter?

Now Janes' designs are not for everyone. But then whose are? I've had some great success with using Jane's guides and also some not so good outcomes.

I'm a bit late starting the KAL, I think the 'official' start was April 18. Today I did some stash diving & these are the yarns I've come up with. There is a mixture of blends, quality and weights. Everything from a nylon/polyester/lurex blend that I picked up for $1.59 (called Fragile Sahara) to a Manos Silk Blend and a 100% angora.

I'm using a 5.5mm needle (as suggested by Jane) and will cast on soon. I'll keep you posted. Oh, by the way, I've chosen the Great Zimbabwe Vest.

Blog Revival?

2011-04-27T22:59:00.000+10:00

When I first started blogging it was a place to keep track of the freeform handbags I was knitting and any other projects. Then Ravelry came along & provided a one stop shop for my projects, WIPs, UFOs, stash, queue, etc. The blog got neglected a bit.

Once I started down the design road the blog suffered even more. It became difficult to blog about everything I cast on. What if I wanted to submit the design for publication? Anything appearing on the blog was disallowed. What if my attempt at a new design was yet another failure? So the blog developed into a place to let you know when a new design was released. Short, irregular posts.

I miss my old blog.

Let me know what you think............ what do you want to see here?

In the meantime I decided to revive the blog, try & post more often, more regularly. But what to post about?
I've joined a group on Ravelry, The Blog Hub, hoping to get motivated, get some tips & inspiration for interesting posts and, as a bonus, find some new & interesting blogs to follow.

Sakuna Progress

2011-04-09T10:16:00.000+10:00

Test knitting for Sakuna is underway and going well. I've still got spots left for plus size testers if anyone is interested. The tech editor is lined up for later in the month & the photographer has taken some fabulous shots. One thing I loved with the photo shoot was that the model used was a lot smaller than me so the shrugs are shown with a fair bit of positive ease. I really like this look as well as the more 'snug shrug'.
The pattern is written so the knitter can decide how much ease they want where. Maybe you'd like it to fit across the back snugly but have looser fitting sleeves ... I think my 'goth' version will be like this.
A sneak peak at one of the shots:

Photography by Heather Walker http://www.walkerphotography.com.au/

What's Your Interior Style?

2011-03-30T22:15:00.000+11:00

I took this online quiz a while back http://www.iscd.edu.au/personal-style-quiz/ and found out my personal decorating style is Eastern Boho. What's yours?

Eastern Boho/Western Hobo ? It can be a fine line :)

Travel Tips

2011-03-29T07:25:00.000+11:00

Sarah has some great travel tips here on her blog. Now I just need to go somewhere.

Test Knitting

2011-03-26T14:56:00.002+11:00

Anyone interested in a test knit? I'm currently calling for test knitters on Ravelry for Sakuna. Sakuna is a pretty shrug knit in worsted weight with lace weight (or fingering weight cuffs). It's very feminine but I could also imagine it looking very goth if anyone would like to knit it in black (or black with red trim?) ... might have to do this myself if I don't get any takers.

And to see what it looked like in a variegated yarn (slightly bigger size). I love how the movement of the stitches show up in this yarn.

What I love about this pattern is that it can be knit in a lot of different sizes. The sizing is based on a combination of measurements, so there are something like 25 different size combinations possible ..... hopefully something to fit just about everybody.

Friday Feature

2011-02-13T09:05:00.000+11:00

I was featured in Natalie's Vanillery Garden.

Wholesale available

2011-02-05T11:19:00.000+11:00

My patterns are now available for wholesale purchase by store owners; either contact me for hard copies (lovely new layout on heavier weight paper especially for stores) or see the new feature available via Ravelry.

Arwen, Flamenco & Jamesina are now available in store at Evoke. If you're in Lismore check it out, it's a lovely store & I'm proud to have my patterns there.

Queensland Premier's Flood Relief Appeal

2011-01-14T23:04:00.000+11:00

Until the end of January I will be donating all proceeds from the sales of my patterns to the Queenland Premier's Flood Relief Appeal

Flamenco Now Available

2011-01-10T16:38:00.000+11:00

The Flamenco mobius cowl, previously published in Yarn magazine is now available for immediate download via Ravelry or through the patterns page here.

Free Cowl Pattern

2011-01-08T19:07:00.001+11:00

The pattern appears in this post or click the download link on the Patterns page

DUAL - a cowl made in 2 parts that can be worn together or separately.

Size: 28cm (11 inches) wide X 16cm (6.3 inches) high (after blocking & measured flat/folded)

Approximate circumference 57 cm measured relaxed

Yarn: I used Biggan Design First Cross Merino DK, used double throughout. A thicker yarn may be used single stranded if desired

Inner cowl used 3 balls of Biggan (345 yards/315 metres).

Outer cowl used 2 balls of Biggan (230 yards/210 metres).

Needle: 6mm (US 10) circular needle 60cm (24”) long

A thinner needle (such as a cable needle) or a smaller size crochet hook is useful for completing the K5 together step in making the bobbles.

Gauge: 16 sts x 24 rows over 10cm (4”) in stocking stitch knit in the round with yarn held double using 6mm needle, measured after blocking.

**Yarn is held double throughout**

To make bobble: K1, P1, K1, P1, K1 into next stitch making 5 stitches, turn, P5, turn, K5, turn, P5, turn, K5 together. It is easier to use a smaller needle or crochet hook for the K5 together and then transfer the resulting stitch back to the working needle.

INNER COWL

Using 6mm needle cast on 88 stitches and join for knitting in the round, placing a stitch marker to denote beginning/end of round.

K5 rounds

Round 6: K4, make bobble (MB), *K10, MB; repeat from * to last 6sts, K6.

K5 rounds

Round 12: K7, MB, *K10, MB; rep from * to last 3 sts, K3.

K5 rounds

Round 18: *K10, MB; rep from * to end.

K5 rounds

Round 24: K2, MB, *K10, MB; rep from * to last 8 sts, K8.

K5 rounds

Round 30: K5, MB, *k10, MB; rep from * to last 5 sts, K5.

K5 rounds

Round 36: K8, MB, *K10, MB; rep from * to last 2 sts, K2.

K5 rounds

Round 42: *MB, K10; rep from * to end.

K5 rounds

Bind off.

OUTER COWL

Using 6mm needle cast on 88 stitches and join for knitting in the round, placing a stitch marker to denote beginning/end of round.

Round 1: knit

Round 2: purl

Round 3: K3, bind off 3 sts, *K8, bind off 3 sts; rep from * to last 5 sts, K5.

Round 4: P3, cast on 3 sts, *P8, cast on 3 sts; rep from * to last 5 sts, P5.

Round 5: knit

Round 6: purl

Round 7: knit

Round 8: purl

Round 9: K6, bind off 3 sts, *K8, bind off 3 sts; rep from * to last 2 sts, K2.

Round 10: P6, cast on 3 sts, *P8, cast on 3 sts; rep from * to last 2 sts, P2.

Round 11 – 14: repeat rounds 5 – 8

Round 15: K9, bind off 3 sts, *K8, bind off 3 sts; rep from * to end, last rpt ends with bind off 2 sts. Remove stitch marker.

Round 16: Bind off 1 st, *P8, cast on 3 sts; rep from * to last 8 sts, P8, cast on 2 sts. Replace marker.

Round 17: Cast on 1 st, knit to end.

Round 18: purl

Round 19 & 20: rep round 1 & 2

Round 21: K1, bind off 3 sts, *K8, bind off 3 sts; rep from * to last 7 sts, K7.

Round 22: P1, cast on 3 sts, *P8, cast on 3 sts; rep from * to last 7 sts, P7

Rounds 23 – 26: rep rounds 5 – 8

Round 27: K4, bind off 3 sts, *K8, bind off 3 sts; rep from * to last 4 sts, K4.

Round 28: P4, cast on 3 sts, *P8, cast on 3 sts; rep from * to last 4 sts, P4.

Round 29 – 32: rep rounds 5 – 8

Round 33: K7, bind off 3 sts, *K8, bind off 3 sts; rep from * to last st, K1

Round 34: P7, cast on 3 sts, *P8, cast on 3 sts; rep from * to last st, P1

Rounds 35 – 38: rep rounds 5 – 8

Bind off.

Block cowls and weave in ends.

Place outer cowl over the inner cowl, arranging them so that the bobbles protrude through the slits.

Don't Forget To Breathe

2010-12-19T09:33:00.000+11:00

Every year is the same: I can't believe it's December already, it's nearly Christmas, how did that happen, do the years really go faster as you get older or does it just seem that way because you have more responsibilities, more things to get done, more things you want to do & less time to do them in?

Yesterday I made snowflakes:

Yes snowflakes! In December, in Australia, in 80+ degrees F heat, a week before Christmas, when my 'to-do' list is increasing exponentially every day. But mostly I got to sit with friends, in a lovely store filled with beautiful yarns & fabrics and drink tea & chat & relax.
It's the Sunday before Christmas, I have washing piling up, beds to be be stripped & remade, 4 days of work that will fill my days & leave little time for anything else, last minute gifts to buy, a special gift to wrap, grocery shopping, baking, packing ...... So really, my life is no different from yours.

As long as I find time to stop & breathe everything will be ok. In the blink of an eye it will be over & the new year upon us.

Happy Holidays.

Sleeveless Cardi Modifications

2010-12-06T22:53:00.000+11:00

My latest "design" is on the cover of Yarn magazine, Issue 20.

Well, it's not really my design as such. The original pattern was published in Issue 19 and is a short sleeveless cardigan, designed by Wendy Knight.

The idea behind my contribution is to show knitters how they can take a pattern and by doing some simple modifications, combined with yarn substitution, make it their own. I'm looking forward to the next issue to see how another designer has also approached this pattern, it is so versatile.
Special thanks to the team at Artwear Publications for the use of these fab photos.

Art : in the eye of the beholder

2010-11-05T19:45:00.000+11:00

Lately I've been wanting to do more art classes. There's nothing local that interests me & is available when I am, so I've turned to online classes. I've done art classes online before & found they have their advantages & disadvantages (just like anything else). Not having to dress up & travel to class, then try & be creative when I just don't feel like it. On the flip side, there's no-one to make sure I keep up with the lessons & do my homework either. Most of the time I'm pretty self-motivated, so the pros outweigh the cons. They must, because at the moment I've found myself signed up (& participating) in a few classes. 3? 4?
Don't worry, I'm still knitting & doing a bit of designing. I'm hoping to get module 6 of the Knit Design Online course completed on the weekend ready to send off early next week. Module 7 means working on my first assessment piece & have an idea I'm keen to get started on.

But now for art.
As well as the Sketchbook & Watercolor: Journal Style class with Jane LaFazio through Joggles, I'm also doing the Paint Free class with Wyanne. It's all about discovering your own style. Wyanne has had the class try a few different things over the last couple of weeks. Here's my latest exercise (make of it what you will)

All Grown Up

2010-10-30T14:27:00.000+11:00

Less than a month ago I posted about the nest of Tawny Frogmouths outside my work window. Then they were mere little white fluff balls peaking out from under dad.

How quickly they've grown! I remembered my camera yesterday and was able to grab this shot ...... not ideal but you can see how they've all but grown up (that's dad on the right & the 2 chicks to the left). I wonder if they're already having flying lessons after dark?

Sketchbook & Watercolor: Journal Style

2010-10-23T14:50:00.000+11:00

The Sketchbook & Watercolor: Journal Style class by Jane La Fazio is into it's second week. I haven't done as much painting as I'd like...I'm still waiting for some supplies I ordered from Joggles. In the meantime I'm using a few scraps of cold pressed water colour paper and odd brushes I have at home. On the supply list is a special type of brush which I've ordered (along with a hot pressed water colour paper block). I have tried something similar before & wasn't really fussed about it, but this one is a different brand & I'm hoping it's better. A lot of people in the class have said they really like the brush so I'm looking forward to it arriving (hopefully next week so I can make some progress & do more painting).

Watershed

2010-10-11T23:05:00.000+11:00

Watershed by Amy Swenson. A quick knit with interesting construction, this whips up in no time. I used Debbie Bliss Eco Cotton which was lovely to knit with. My row gauge was off so I added another pattern repeat to the body. If I had more yarn I would have liked it longer (but that's just me....I like long sweaters & cardigans). The worst part was weaving in the ends (not enjoyable when I'm using a cotton yarn).

Room With A View

2010-10-06T18:06:00.000+11:00

I recently started working full time. It's a 3 month casual position that I'm hoping will turn into something more permanent. After working part time from home to commuting and being out 5 days a week has been a shock to the system and required some re-organising (like trying to schedule appointments and finding time to knit) ...BUT...I have the best view!

A Tawny Frogmouth is nesting right outside my window.

Transcending: Words on Women and Strength by Kelly Corrigan

2010-09-23T22:40:00.000+10:00

Kelly Rae Roberts

2010-09-22T22:26:00.000+10:00

Kelly Rae Roberts is an artist I've admired for a while now. I love her whimsical style and have watched her develop over the last few years, both in her creative talent and in pursuing her business. Kelly Rae was determined to make a name for herself and she has. I recently purchased one of Kelly's e-books (yes, I was wondering if it'd be value for money) and wasn't disappointed. I'd looked at her e-books before and decided not to buy...but the little voice in my head kept leading me back. I'm glad I decided to listen.

There is so much information packed into the e-book, over 200 pages of information, hints and tips. Sometimes it can seem overwhelming, the wealth of information and not knowing where to start and how much to do...but Kelly guides you through this as well. The beauty of having the e-book is that I can go back to it any time I want...whenever I need to refresh my memory of something or need a boost of motivation to keep going. Even though Kelly and I are creative in different ways, I've been able to take what Kelly has to say & think how I can apply it to my business. I'm so impressed I decided to join Kelly's affiliate program...that's why you see a link to Kelly's site on my sidebar (yes I get a few dollars if you click through using this link and then decide to purchase but I'd be recommending the e-book regardless).

Joggles Time Again

2010-09-15T22:07:00.000+10:00

3 years ago I was doing quite a few online classes through Joggles.

One class was an Art Quilt class taught by Jane LaFazio and I still have some of those little quilts.

I remember being very impressed with Jane at the time. Now Jane is teaching a Sketchbook and Watercolour: Journal Style class, again through Joggles and I've signed up. It's been a while since I've done any online art classes...Instead I've been concentrating more on my knitting & designing. Lately, though, I've been wanting to learn more "art" type skills. My Saturday Beginner's Drawing class has finished (I know, I still have more pics to take & post of my drawing from each week) & I'm waiting to hear if there is enough interest for them to run Part II next term. So, in the meantime I decided to check out the Joggles website again. I've got about 4 weeks before class starts so I'd like to finish up module 6 of the KDO C&G course before then, and I have a skirt design I'd like to get out of my head & either onto the needles or onto paper soon.

Quick Knit

2010-09-12T18:38:00.001+10:00

Off the needles is Rosa's Sleeveless Cardi - Jumper, designed by Emma Fassio...and I just discovered that Emma has a new design, Wrapigan.

I'm not sure why the Sleeveless Cardi is called a cardi:

I used Rowan Cotton Tape that I picked up in a Ravelry de-stash. I've got it on a hanger to see if it will drop at all...if not I might rip back to before the increases and knit some more length, then do the increases. I still have plenty of this yarn, so that won't be a problem. I'd also like to knit this again in a finer weight, more drapey yarn. In the meantime I've added Wrapigan to my queue and am about to cast on a little cardi in Noro Taiyo. I'm enjoying knitting these quick layering pieces...perfect for our north coast weather.

First Vox, Now Bloglines

2010-09-12T09:05:00.000+10:00

First I heard that Vox was closing so I moved my Vox posts (luckily not many) over here. Now it seems that Bloglines will be closing October 1. I subscribe to over 200 blogs via Bloglines ! I've found it quick & simple to use.......any suggestions? How do you keep track of blogs you like & get notifications of new blog posts?

from Aug 4, 2010: Slow & Steady Wins The Race... (I hope)

2010-09-06T23:06:00.000+10:00

Working through the C&G exercises I am definitely not the hare! Progress through module 6 has been slow, but there has been some progress. I'd really like a week to myself ...so I can immerse myself in it.
I'm finding I start with an idea & knit a sample then this leads me to think 'ok, now what if...' but before I can get too far down the creative path it's time to return to my real life as mum & wife & employee. Then when I get back to it the process has to start again. I've found it helps to have a notebook handy & jot down ideas as they come to me, before they are lost forever. Doing this has helped my ideas to flow ... just need my fingers to knit faster.
Monday is my dedicated C&G day and what other snippets of time I can find during the week. My plan is to 'tackle' the body block next Monday.

And a picture so this post isn't totally boring :)

from April 26, 2010: Kaleidoscope Tool

2010-09-06T23:03:00.001+10:00

Here's a nifty online tool I've played with before (a couple of years ago) but just found it again. It's for making a kaleidoscope image. I have always loved kaleidoscopes. I was fascinated by them as a child & I can still play with one for hours even now.

This online tool is nearly as good as the real thing and I think it may make a great tool to use in designing. You can use it to play with colour & to get inspiring shapes and pattern repeats.

Basically you add the url of the image you want to use, click a button & the image is transformed into something you may see looking down a kaleidoscope. Once the image is transformed by the tool then you can place your mouse over the image, click and drag & the image changes just like you were turning the kaleidoscope.

from April 15, 2010: It's Been Much Too Long

2010-09-06T22:57:00.000+10:00

It's taken me far longer than I wanted but module 5 is finally complete & on the way to the UK.

Here is a peek at what I included:

I quite like knitting Aran designs. It takes me longer than plain knitting of course...seeing what stitch is next, passing yarn back & forth, juggling a cable needle...but the end result is definitely worth it.

I loved the wall paper samples that Loraine sent. I haven't seen anything like that around here. I do live in a bit of a rural area so sometimes it's hard to source interesting materials.

The knitted on embellishment exercise was fun, so I chose to use bright, fun colours as well.

Now for module 6..........

(slightly out of order) from Jan 23, 2009: Texture & Colour

2010-09-06T22:52:00.000+10:00

Last weekend I flew to Sydney to attend a workshop with Jane Thornley. Jane is a designer from Nova Scotia who calls her style "free range knitting". Using the feather and fan pattern we explored texture & colour.

from Nov 27, 2009: M5 Paper Manipulation Exercises

2010-09-06T22:46:00.000+10:00

Here are a few samples of the paper exercises I have been doing. Great fun...it's like being back at school.......concertina folds, origami, paper weaving, etc. There are lots more samples that I've done & more that I want to try.

I've also been thinking about how this relates to garment construction by suggesting folds & pleats.

from Oct 10, 2009: My Cat Ate My Homework

2010-09-06T22:42:00.000+10:00

Need I say more. Think the teacher will believe me?

from Oct 3, 2009: More Inspiration Photos

2010-09-06T22:39:00.000+10:00

I was putting the garbage into the bin outside & noticed the colours on the paling fence separating our house from the neighbours.

from Oct 3, 2009: Blocking Cables

2010-09-06T22:37:00.000+10:00

I've started blocking my cable samples before I forget what's what. For the most part I haven't been too adventurous in my yarn choices...the cables just don't show up well if the wrong choice is made. I'm using a variety of weights & fibre contents but no novelty yarns as yet.

This would be my favourite so far:

I really like complex cables. They look fantastic but I have to keep alert when I'm knitting them. They also don't suit me in most traditional jumper/sweater designs as I don't need the extra bulk but I have been thinking about placement & where I CAN use them.
In other knitting, I've cast on Liesl, a feather and fan top down cardigan by Ysolda Teague. I'm using Cascade 220 in a deep rich red. A lot of people have knit this & nearly everyone seems very happy with the pattern & have commented that it's a quick knit. So far, so good. I'm past the armholes and I only cast on a couple of nights ago (it's my evening TV knitting)

from Sept 23: Workshop Pictures

2010-09-06T22:23:00.000+10:00

Here are some pictures from the 3 day Adrienne Sloane workshop I attended in Sydney.

Denise demonstrating hand knitting:

Class samples (learning how to do protusions, folds, inserts, short rows, fringes & ruffles.

We learnt to knit a globe in one piece (lots of short rows).

Some of Adriennes work:

Adrienne does a lot of her pieces on a knitting machine. The coloured squares above are all done on a machine.

from Sept 20: Day 2

2010-09-06T22:09:00.000+10:00

Today was another great day with Adrienne Sloane.

We talked about directionality of knitting....thinking about what we wanted to achieve & then thinking about HOW to achieve it. There was lots of sampling of protrusions (made various ways), and making holes. I also learnt a cool new edge to try.

Lots of short rowing, discussions on how to make various shapes and then we knit a ball/globe shape. We also did some ruffles and fringing.

I wonder what tomorrow has in store.

from Sept 19, 2009: Day 1 Adrienne Sloane workshop

2010-09-06T22:08:00.000+10:00

Today was day 1 of a 3 day workshop with Adrienne Sloane who has travelled from the Boston area in the US for workshops in Australia & New Zealand.

For me to attend it means leaving behind my family for the better part of 5 days, with a day by day list of what to do & when to do it, catching a flight to Sydney, then 2 trains & 1 taxi cab (& the reverse when I leave on Tuesday) and paying an exorbitant price for nearby accommodation. Luckily one of the other participants has offered to give me a lift to the workshop & back each day, other wise it would be more cab fares. But it's worth it!

I get to spend 3 days with like minded people, being inspired by someone I had read about online & in books but never dreamed I'd ever meet or be touching her sculptural knit pieces in my own hands and being able to pick her brain on concepts & construction (returning each evening to a gin & tonic, a spa bath & someone else cooking my meals also has its benefits!).

Today, (after the usual introduction/tell us a bit about yourself & Adriennes talk about her background), we began by experimenting using "different linear elements".....basically knitting with 'stuff' we normally wouldn't knit with( I'll get some pics up when I return home as I don't have my camera cable etc with me.)

I was knitting with plastic tubing of various diameters, some tinselly ribbon tie, fishing line, video tape, different strings & twines, wire, raffia etc. We looked at a power point presentation of works by different artists who knit using some of these materials & who do sculptural knitting. There was a great display of books and other publications to look through.....a couple more to add to my wish list.

We looked at the construction of the knit stitch and what happens when we twist the stitch, different ways to knit a square were discussed & we practised a mitred square, moving stitches (cables), knitting backwards and short rows.

Tomorrow Adrienne's plan is to venture into openings, slashings, protusions & ...........

from Sept 14, 2009: Started M5

2010-09-06T22:01:00.001+10:00

M5 cable samples I've made a start on module 5. Here is a sample of my cable samples, still to be blocked & mounted. There's lots more of these to be done. I think I'm going to really enjoy knitting the sample exercises for this module. In each module so far there have been things that I've enjoyed & others that I've "endured". M5 looks to contain everything I really enjoy. The fibre study this module is Linen and boy did I learn a lot! I guess I've never really thought much about the process of making linen before. I knew it came from the flax plant & that was the limit of my knowledge. So that part of the module was interesting as well.

I ordered a new book from The Book Depository this month. The Essential Guide to Colour Knitting Techniques by Margaret Radcliffe. I ordered the soft cover edition. It's over 300 pages, about A4 size. I've just started to read through it but it looks good. Lots of great pics too. The contents are color basics (I found it interesting that the title of the book has colour spelt the British way but in the contents it's spelt the US way), stripes, pattern stitches, multicolor yarns, stranded knitting, intarsia, other techniques,finishing touches, design workshop. Then there is the appendix that has a glossary of techniques, using charts, garment-sizing guidelines, abbreviations and symbols.
Whilst waiting for the picture of the book to load I noticed that the swatches in most chapters are colour coded. So as well as learning a technique you can also see how different colours combine. For example, the chapter on stripes is in purples, pattern stitches is in greens, stranded knitting in blues, intarsia in gold/orange, other techniques in purple & green and finishing touches in pinks. Very nice.

Vox is closing

2010-09-06T21:55:00.000+10:00

As part of the Hand Knit Textiles course I am doing through Knit Design Online, and like many of the other students, I have been keeping a Vox blog. Recently Vox announced that it was closing at the end of September. So, in order to have some record of my postings, I will be attempting to move my Vox blog posts over here. Vox can assist with moving blogs to Typepad & Wordpress but no mention of Blogger, so for now I will be doing this manually.

Comfy Cardigan

2010-08-13T07:24:00.000+10:00

A slightly modified Jo Sharp Loose Textured Cardigan. I'm still looking for the perfect shawl pin or stick so I can wear it closed.

The shedding mohair in this is starting to drive me crazy. I usually can't knit with any mohair but can tolerate working with the Jo Sharp & Rowan mohair yarns. And as long as I have a shirt on under this that isn't too thin, I can wear it ok without any annoyance. But once it's on I can't take it off...my t shirt is covered in bits of mohair fibre!

The Sketchbook Project

2010-08-09T09:08:00.000+10:00

This morning whilst enjoying my first cup of tea for the day I caught up on some blogs that I follow. Whilst reading Jennevieve's blog House Inside Out I discovered the Sketchbook Project. Over 11,000 participants have signed up so far. Basically what it's about is that you pay $US25 (plus $US3 postage to Australia) for a 5.5 x 8.5 inch Moleskine Cahier sketchbook. The book is catalogued with a barcode. You pick a theme (or have one randomly chosen for you), fill the book with sketches etc & send it back. All the books go on a tour. If someone views your book you get an email notification letting you know & also telling you what city your book is in. What a fabulous idea! At first I was going to be a passive bystander but after reading more about the project I found it is not just for 'proper' artists... it's for anyone, it's about being creative & involved. Let me know if you decide to join. Sign ups continue until Oct 31, books are to be returned by Jan 15 2012.

Beginner Drawing Week 1

2010-08-08T09:29:00.002+10:00

Yesterday was the first of 6 beginner drawing classes I've signed up for. Let's just say as an artist I make a pretty good knitter!

A couple of years ago I developed an interest in drawing & painting and even started a blog about it, My Art Journey. Looking back, that was in 2006....I wish I'd kept up the daily practice from then.

Yesterday's lesson was great....an enthusiastic teacher and a small class of 8. At one point the teacher commented that he could tell about our personalities from our drawing...how we made our lines, how much space we used on the paper, etc. Me ... apparently he gets the impression that I'm confident & enjoy a challenge.

My Ray of Sunshine

2010-08-02T09:22:00.000+10:00

I've used the Free Pattern Testers group on Ravelry when I needed testers for both Arwen and Jamesina. I also recently held another test for Dual, a two piece cowl. I had one great tester for Dual but am not sure whether to release the pattern or not. I thought the concept was good (otherwise I wouldn't have written the pattern), but maybe I was off on this one. I think I'll reknit in worsted weight (& re-write the pattern based on this) and perhaps try again later in the year (when the northern hemisphere is getting colder weather & perhaps thinking about holiday gift knitting).

Anyway, because the Free Pattern Testers group has been invaluable to me I decided to 'give something back' and offer myself as a tester for someone. The test knit I was involved in was for Umme Yusuf's Sunburst Cardigan. It was a great experience to "see" things from the other side. The pattern was well written and a really quick knit. I'm now the owner of a warm, well fitting cardigan.

One day I hope I'm in the position of being able to compensate my test knitters (great test knitters and tech editors are worth their weight in gold!); in the meantime I'll use the Free Pattern Testers group, both as a designer & a tester.

Facebook

2010-07-21T22:35:00.001+10:00

As of this afternoon yarnaboutyarn now has a Facebook page. Come join us and keep up to date with new designs and who's knitting what.

Designing With Shirley Paden

2010-06-17T10:01:00.000+10:00

When I heard that designer Shirley Paden had written a book I immediately pre-ordered. I love Shirley's designs. The book arrived & I wasn't disappointed. It's a large spiral bound workshop/class/pattern book in a hardcover.
Then by chance I stumbled across a group on Ravelry of Shirley fans who were embarking on a KAL. I had missed the initial webinar held by Shirley so was a bit unsure of all the details but I signed up anyway. I'm so glad I did!
Shirley supplied us with a lovely lacey stitch motif and we are designing our own garments based on this, either a classic body garment or a scarf. I decided that I would knit a sweater in the round using the lace pattern all over, with a low round neckline and probably 3/4 sleeves.
Swatching began

My first swatch was using Jo Sharp Soho Summer 100% cotton DK in Calico. It was very drapey & open and the yarn was horribly splitty so I tried something else.

The second swatch was done with a favourite of mine Filatura Di Crosa Zara. It has great stitch definition but the lace pattern didn't show up too well in the black. While I looked around at the other colours available in the quantity I needed (having to order online) I started crunching numbers.
In the meantime Shirley organised to hold webinars with us in small groups to discuss our designs, go through our calculations and offer advice. I can't believe how generous she has been, in both her time & her knowledge.

I've had a few setbacks...like twisting the cast on, not once but twice, confusing my k2togs & ssks, making the mistake of swatching flat and then knitting in the round (my stitch gauge was different by 1.5 stitches) so I had to number crunch all over again, next I had a needle tip snap!
Thankfully it seems I'm back on track (& it helps that Shirley has extended the deadline for having the body section complete before we tackle the sleeves & sleeve caps).

I decided to go with a denim colour in the Zara and love it.

Dual

2010-06-12T00:27:00.000+10:00

Something new off the needles is Dual. Dual is a 2 piece cowl that can be knit in different colours and then mixed & matched to suit your wardrobe. I'm calling for test knitters now & getting the pattern organised.

Lately I've been feeling a strong need to leave behind structured patterns and return to some freeform style knitting. I have visions of long jackets and cropped cardis in lots of different yarns and stitch patterns .... might have something to do with the current exercises I'm working on for the Handknit Design course or just a need for some knitting that's not restrained by numbers and row counts.

One thing that is apparent in my knitting lately is wanting to use more colour ... to use lots of colours in the one project. This started when I designed Arwen and I now have plans to combine more of the Biggan DK yarn colours in a Missoni inspired skirt.

Arwen KAL Winner

2010-05-02T12:43:00.000+10:00

March saw the Budding Designers Downunder Ravelry group nominate my Arwen skirt pattern for their monthly KAL.

There were some lovely Arwens finished during March and I thought I might have to resort to a random drawing to decide the winner between them.

One, however, did stand out (in my mind) from the rest. I awarded the prize of a Tangled Yarns gift certificate to Shannon.

I chose Shannon's Arwen because of her "innovative use of colour".

As she does a lot of her projects, Shannon chose to knit Arwen in black & black/rainbow yarns with stunning results:

Project Yarnway Fizzles

2010-04-25T23:57:00.000+10:00

I fizzled, not the group. I was hoping I could keep up with the Project Yarnway challenges. My March attempt ended up in the frog pond. The t-shirts I chose shed unbelieveably. I couldn't stand it. My design was nothing special so I also wasn't getting that WOW factor. Combine that with having to get the vacuum/broom out everytime I worked on it & it had to go.
No worries, I thought, I'll join back in on the fun with the April challenge.
Um...no I didn't. The challenge for April was to design and knit/crochet a bag. I've done a lot of bags over the last few years so maybe that's why I couldn't get excited about this challenge either.
I just hope I can get it together for May.

But I did finish something-

The Loose Textured Sweater from Jo Sharp Knit Issue 7. It's one that's been in my queue for a while (after all Knit Issue 8 is now available). So when Yay! for Yarn had discounted kits for sale I grabbed one.
It's not the best written pattern, some parts are a bit vague etc but it's a quick knit on big needles with yarn and stitch changes to keep it interesting. There was a bit of shedding along the way and an itchy nose but I persevered (even with a discount the yarn is not exactly cheap).
The result is just what I wanted: a comfy, oversize sweater for a rainy Sunday (too bad it was 30 degrees Celsius here today - middle of Autumn!)

New Look

2010-04-24T07:45:00.000+10:00

I'm so excited to have a new look for Yarn About Yarn. I've changed the blog template making it less cluttered and "cleaner" looking.

There are new pages to visit: Patterns where I'll list all my patterns for sale, with links to the Ravelry page where you can buy the pattern using Paypal and it will be available for immediate download in .pdf form. You don't need to be a member of Ravelry to use this feature.

An Errata page where pattern errors will be listed. Now I hate a pattern with errors and do all I can to prevent this from happening. My patterns are knit many times, test knit & tech-edited but we are all human. If you do find an error please let me know so I can correct it.

The Links page where you'll find links to other things of interest. It may be a technique I've used in a pattern or a gallery page of knits or something else.

The About page is where you'll find a little bit about me. This will probably change as I think of something more interesting to say & find a better picture.

The Contact page has links to my email address and my Ravelry page so you can get in touch with me or leave a comment on the blog.

The other big news is that I've been working with a graphic designer to come up with a new banner for my blog. I love it! What do you think?

You will see this appearing on my patterns and I also have a logo:

I can highly recommend Adrianna if you're looking for any graphics work. She was very helpful and worked out exactly the look I was going for. The turn around time was quick and she was easy to work with. You can find more of Adrianna's work on her portfolio here or on her website.

Who Am I?

2010-03-29T22:06:00.000+11:00

The test knitting of Jamesina is over and there has been a preliminary tech-edit. I'm putting the finishing touches to the pattern before the final tech-edit prior to publishing. Part of this process involves coming up with a 'better' pattern template. I've made a few changes to my style sheet since publishing Arwen, including adding a short bio. Here's where I'm stuck. Who am I? What do I say in 50 words or less that's interesting. Ideas?

Arwen KAL

2010-03-08T15:35:00.000+11:00

Over on the "Budding Designers Downunder" group on Ravelry they hold a monthly KAL that features a designer from Australia or New Zealand. For the month of March I was nominated & it was decided the members joining the KAL this month will knit Arwen.

Here are the rules:

"Every person that starts and completes an Arwen skirt during this KAL, and takes a photograph of the finished product and posts a picture in this thread and links their project page to the pattern page will be entitled to the entire purchase price of the pattern refunded upon the conclusion of the KAL. This offer only applies if you have purchased a copy of Arwen - those that were gifted a copy by me or others (ie for test knitting) will not get the purchase price back.

If you already have a copy of Arwen that you have purchased in the past, you are still eligible to enter - you do NOT need to buy another copy.
In addition, I am also offering a prize (of yet to be determined contents!), for the Arwen I judge to be the BEST created throughout the course of the KAL. The prize will consist of yarny related goodness……….."

There's still plenty of time to join if you'd like.

It's A Testing Time

2010-03-08T08:43:00.000+11:00

Test knitters have started work on Jamesina. They have until March 22 to complete the hat. It only takes 8 - 10 hours all up so this should give them plenty of time to get it done. In the meantime I am knitting another version using Cascade 220. I still have to organise a photo shoot (I have an idea of the type of images I'd like...just hope I can pull it off), tidy up the chart, edit the pattern if necessary after the test knitters give me feedback and then get it tech-edited. It's not multi-sized and it's a quick knit so hopefully it won't take too long before the pattern is ready.

Once the pattern for Jamesina is finished I can concentrate on the lace shawl I'm designing. This will take a while. There are 4 charts and a much longer test knit period. At the moment I'm still swatching patterns and tweaking stitch counts to fit.

I've started knitting my design for Project Yarnway. It's a bit messy & I have to get the broom out each time I work on it. I might have to save it for afternoon knitting on the back verandah. Pictures soon.

Project Yarnway Take 2

2010-03-05T23:15:00.000+11:00

After the first month of the Project Yarnway went so well....no swatching, the hat just flowed from the needles, I should have known that the next challenge would be, well, more challenging.

I thought about the materials I could use for this challenge....raffia, wire, plastic cord, etc but kept coming back to tshirt fabric. I want the result to be something I will wear so I'm hoping the tshirt yarn will be soft enough, drapey enough and look really interesting.

I enrolled in an online class a few weeks ago with Stephanie Japel, "UPcycled Tshirt Yarn Class". Part of the class was how to go about cutting up the shirts & making the yarn. I've been collecting a few shirts in preparation for starting one of the projects but hadn't got around to it as yet. This challenge was the perfect opportunity to put into practice what I learnt from Stephanie about preparing the tshirt yarn for knitting. Apart from my blunt scissors and the mess of little bits of black fluff everywhere the cutting up bit wasn't too bad. (I've only cut 1 shirt until I can buy some new scissors).

I thought I'd try a top down style. Just cast on and see what happens. Well first off I forgot to add stitches for sleeves; so after 4 inches or so I unpicked it all.

Cast on again. Then, another 6 inches in, I realised the fabric was going to be too stiff. I was knitting on 8mm circulars......the next size I have is 15mm. A big jump I know but it doesn't look too bad (4 rows in). It's nearly midnight so I'm giving up for the night & hope the morning brings better results.

Project Yarnway

2010-03-03T08:52:00.001+11:00

Last month I discovered a new group on Ravelry...Project Yarnway. Each month a theme is announced & we come up with a design based on that theme. Over the month we develop the idea & complete it...knit or crochet. The theme for February was Stash Happy. Create using materials in the stash.

"Hello, designers, and welcome to your first challenge!
Today your challenge is: using only yarn, hooks, needles, notions, and materials that you already own, create a design that expresses who you are as a designer. The materials in your stash already say something about you - now’s your chance to put them together and make something spectacular. There is no limitation on the type of object to be made in this challenge. From puppets to pullovers, it’s your call!"

As I've had a design published and for sale I am in the professional category....up against some stiff competition.
Here is my entry for February:

Jamesina used just over one ball of the Superwash Bamboo I had in my stash, along with an old button out of my button box.

Jamesina is named after my grandmother (nanna). Nanna was the creative one in the family & I like to think that I take after her & that she would be proud of me. Just like her namesake, Jamesina is a little bit vintage, a little bit modern, a little bit of fun, a whole lot of style.

This represents who I am as a designer in many ways:

the design just came to me, there was no swatching, I just grabbed the yarn that I thought would be nice & drapey and the needles I thought would give a nice drape and cast on - I like to think that nanna was there guiding me & lending a helping hand, when I finished I noticed there is a little ruffle/frill (around the button)…my last 3 designs now have ruffles/frills…. (maybe this is my niche/signature design feature)

Voting is open. I'm doing quite well in the votes with 30 so far. There is one outstanding design that is well out in front (& deserves to be) with a massive 44 votes. You can see that design over on Nikki's blog.

The response to Jamesina has been favourable so I'm tweaking the pattern & testing it. I'll let you know when it's available for download.

Now to start thinking about the challenge for March:

"The name of this challenge is Innovation.

(groans from the crowd)
Come on, you knew this was coming! It’s Project Yarnway! You may make any design of any type you like, but for your materials, you must use something not sold for the purpose of knitting or crocheting. Be creative. Look around. (Some materials are more easily adapted for these crafts than others, but as long as it is not sold to knit or crochet with, it is allowed.) The news is not all bad, though - around twenty percent of your design may be made with conventional materials AKA yarn."

Closing Down Sale

2010-03-02T20:55:00.000+11:00

I've made the decision to close my etsy store. All prices have been reduced by 50%. If you've had your eye on something, now's the time to get it. http://www.etsy.com/shop/yarnaboutyarn

Minor Hiccough

2010-03-02T07:19:00.000+11:00

Done! After my post last night I decided I may as well go ahead with scrapping my website and having everything here on my blog. I crossed my fingers & attempted to re-route my domain name to point to the blog. At first both yarnaboutyarn.com and yarnaboutyarn.blogspot.com led me to the website...I thought I may have lost access to my blog!! But I went to bed to give the wonders of the internet time to do it's magic & lo & behold this morning my blog is back.
So you can change the url to www.yarnaboutyarn.com or apparently blogger will still get you here with the old blogspot addy.

Static Pages

2010-03-01T23:29:00.002+11:00

Blogger now supports static pages; and you can have up to 10 static pages. I've created a new page, titled Patterns. This is where I'll be adding new patterns as they become available.

My poor blog has been neglected lately. If you take notice of information on marketing & online business lately it seems to stress the importance of social networking. To be successful, it seems you have to blog, have a website, myspace, facebook, tweet regularly & probably a dozen more things I've neglected to mention. Well my blog has been going for a while now but lately the posts have been few & far between. There's a couple of reasons for that. The blog started as an outlet for me to record my freeform handbags & offer them for sale. Well along came etsy & the bags were posted there in my shop, which grew to offer more variety of knit, crochet, woven, felted & mixed media goods. Ravelry appeared & became my preferred format for recording my knitting projects. As I've started designing more knitwear rather than knit from patterns created by others, I seem to have less finished items to blog about. Also by concentrating on my designing I have not been dipping into other classes...the result is, again, less to blog about.

Anyway back to the social networking I mentioned before. I tried them, I "think" I had a myspace, I have a facebook profile that I still visit occasionally (more to keep up to date with distant friends/family than to post my status), I tried twitter but found it very time consuming. I set up the website and the etsy shop. In the meantime, I have a family, a job & am studying (2 courses).......not to mention trying to fit in time to actually design. It seems I must be doomed to fail this new age business stuff as I can't keep up with all the social networking we are told is a must for our businesses. But I really don't care. I like my blog & the contact I've had with other bloggers around the world. I'm seriously thinking of shutting shop over on etsy; and now that blogger supports static pages I think I'll transfer what little is on my website over here to the blog.
So it won't be long before it's just me & my little blog (hopefully with more regular postings) and Ravelry (love Ravelry...don't know what I did without it!). Stayed tuned.......& special thanks to those followers who have hung in there for the unexpected posts that appear here.

Arwen Skirt Pattern Now Available

2010-01-27T16:00:00.003+11:00

The Arwen skirt pattern is now available after test knitting & tech editing. At the moment it is available from my etsy store. There may be a delay in receiving the PDF depending upon when you purchase it due to me having to physically send it to you. The alternative (where it is an immediate download) will be available on Ravelry in the next 24 hours. If you're not a member of Ravelry you will still be able to access pattern downloads via a link I will put on the blog and website.

500 Pencils

2009-12-17T07:21:00.003+11:00

I stumbled across this website last night.
How amazing would they look displayed across a wall!

I'm not drawing much these days but can't stop thinking about having 500 pencils & how inspirational it would be........I'm so close to clicking that "buy now" button..........just over $1/day includes shipping........ so close.

Let me know if you do.

Simple Yet effective

2009-12-16T15:06:00.004+11:00

Tangled Yarns has been having monthly KALs with each participant in the draw for a prize.

Last month the KAL was the Simple Yet Effective Shawl by CosmicPluto. I purchased the kit from the stores website and started knitting. The kit contained Noro Silk Garden Sock, the pattern calls for Noro Kureyon Sock or at least 400yds of other sock yarn.

I've only just realised that this is where the problem was. Silk Garden Sock contains 328 yards (not 400). The result is a lovely scarf but it is very small.

I've just ordered another ball of the sock yarn. I'm going to unpick my cast off, unpick the few rows of lace edging and knit it a few more inches bigger & add a nice edging. This will make it a more wearable size.

My other problem is it is December 16 & I have done NO (!!!!!) Christmas shopping.

Etsy News

2009-12-14T08:21:00.005+11:00

It's been a while since I blogged. I've decided today would be an etsy update. My poor etsy shop has been a bit neglected lately. I was hoping to have a stack of new altered journals ready in time for Christmas shopping....but only one was completed.

It's a journal suitable for a fisherman or woman. Somewhere to write their special secret fishing spots, baits & lures to try or just a journal for writing notes, shopping lists, etc.

In other etsy news I sold my recently listed Handwoven Wrap.

I hope the new owner gets as much pleasure out of wearing it as I did making it. I really enjoy weaving & am feeling the urge to get my loom warped ready for a new wrap. I uncovered lots of special bits & pieces in a big clear out of my studio so they might just find their way into a freeform piece on the loom.