Crafting Balance 3KCBWDAY7

Today's topic is about the balance you strike between your yarn based crafts.

Well, mine is very much weighted towards crochet. I do an occasional bit of knitting. I'll often have a knitting project on the go that I pick up every now and again. This is true of the Simple Shawl

Simple Shawl

Perhaps the clue is in the title of that project, simple shawl. You see my knitting is very much at the beginner level. I can cast on, knit, purl, cast off. I have to use You Tube to remind myself how to do most other things. I struggle to get my tension right. In fact I cannot use straight needles, all my flat knitting is still done on circulars. I'm scared of double pointed needles. As much as I would love to BE a knitter, I'm just not.

My knitting is slow, no matter how much I try. I feel awkward when I knit. In comparison, crochet feels natural. I picked crochet up so much faster. I love how quickly things work up in crochet.

If I had all the time in the world I'd focus more on knitting, on improving my tension, on getting faster because there are some fantastic knitting patterns out there. The reality is that when it comes down to it I just can't make myself spend a week making a pair of bootees (yes, it did take me that long to knit bootees!) when I can make so much more if I crochet (a blanket tends to take me about 4 weeks).

 

Improving Your Skillset 3KCBWDAY6

I feel very confident in my crochet skills. I suppose I must because I teach other people. I do have a confession to make though - I have NEVER used crochet cotton. I don't have the patience to use such tiny hooks and thin thread.

I can use magic ring and foundation single crochet and often do. I can use the American terms and the British terms in the same class, switching between the two depending on which the student prefers.

But then I think about my knitting skills and I wonder how accurate it is to list skills. I can knit flat and on circulars. I can magic loop. Yet I still can't pick up dropped stitches...if I drop a stitch I have to frog it :-o

So, I shall simply list the things I'd like to learn this year:
How to pick up dropped stitches when knitting!
How to take knitting back a row (this is so simple in crochet but terrifies me in knitting)
Something new - maybe Tunisian crochet

 

A bit of crafting

Having lots of fun at the moment making things for me & my family. When you run a craft business from home it's so easy to end up spending all your time making for other people but August is often a slow month so I took the opportunity to chill out and do my own thing!

First off I taught myself to knit. I've always struggled with knitting as I knit far too tight so about 3 rows in I can't do anymore. A few years ago I decided to practice by making bootees for premature babies and a week later I had a pair of tiny bootees. I proudly showed my mum who then knit a pair in about 15 mins that turned our twice the size of mine. That was when I decided crochet was more my thing! Recently though someone mentioned they prefer circular needles. My mum refuses to knit on circulars because she "can't use them" I've avoided them, but now I have a growing stash of KnitPro Symphonies. My first project was the Oriental Lily dress by Georgie Hallam. It starts off flat, then you join it and knit the rest in the round. It's a fab pattern for learning to knit and I really enjoyed it. Here's it is before I added short sleeves:

I also managed to crochet a scarf for myself. The yarn for this was gifted to me in a craft swap and is handspun. It was called Pebble Beach.

Excuse the orientation of the picture. This was a lovely pattern to make, really quick. It would be perfect for last minute Christmas gifts. It's the Winter in London Scarf by Emily Turner. Using handspun I was slightly worried I might run our of yardage but I actually had some left so I crocheted them up into granny squares along with some leftovers from a baby hat & bootees set I've made for a friend.

I also made myself a hat with earflaps from the Happy Hooker book. My 4 year old loved it and wanted me to make her one so I adjusted the pattern a bit and made hers with the same yarn. Here's the 2 year old modelling it. The yarn is Dazzle DK from the . I still have to add buttons for the ear flaps.

I went the a quilt exhibition at the V&A a while ago, where I purchased 3 FQs of limited edition fabric. I was reminded I had this when a friend posted on facebook to say she'd been married a year. I'd bought the fabric on her weekend hen do in London. Given my recent knitting success I decided to make myself a project bag from two of the fat quarters and I love it.

This photo doesn't really do the colours justice. Both fabrics are bright modern prints and the bag is reversible. It holds lots too. I recently took it away with me for a week and it held my tumbling blocks patchwork pieces, needlecase, 200g of yarn, crochet hooks, pattern and some yarn scraps for granny squares.

My 4 year old is starting Reception this month and I decided to make her a PE bag. I let her choose her own fabric and after liking all the children's fabric I had she finally settled on my Cath Kidston fabric. What can I say, she has expensive taste ;-) . I was originally planning on lining it but decided the fabric was a bit thick and lining it would make it quite bulky so I made up an extra one for Erin's best friend. Each one has their initial appliqued on.

Worldwide Knit in Public Day

Do you knit?

If the answer is yes, then I'm impressed because I can't! But whether or not you can knit, you can still take part in Worldwide Knit in Public Day. There's many events around the country but if you're in Leeds, or willing to travel here, then there's The Big Knit on Saturday 12th June 2010.

Grab your chance to learn to knit or crochet for free. There's stalls and entertainment. Latest news is live sheep shearing on the day! How fantastic is that?!?

We'll have a stall there too, with felting demonstrations. You'll be able to buy our hand dyed yarn and fibre, as well as felting kits. So come along and say hello.