Well I haven't posted anything on my crafty hobbies blog for ages (more than a year actually), and haven't actually had a lot of time for making things. In January one of my best friends (Hannah @circustonichandmade) was staying nearby in Adelaide for a couple of weeks and it was awesome because we got to hang out and catch up properly, eat lots of yummy treats and talk a lot about yarn and knitting and crafts! Hannah and I have been friends since undergrad uni and we both did honours in molecular biology at UNSW what feels like a lifetime ago. Hannah has recently left her lab job and set herself up as an indie yarn dyer and has an etsy business selling her beautiful creations (
Circus Tonic Handmade on Etsy, also on Ravelry and Instagram if you want to check her work out). All her yarn colours are inspired by Australian nature, currently Australian birds, so apart from having awesome colourway names like "Spangled Drongo" and "Cape Barren Goose" the yarn colours are just amazing. Anyway, after hanging out with Hannah I got re-inspired to pick up my knitting needles and even try some new stitches and patterns. Knitting is a great way to relax while doing something productive and creative at the same time, so I'm trying to make a bit more time to regularly knit, even if only for 20mins at night after dinner.
Another factor that also contributed to me getting my knitting mojo back was discovering knitting podcast blogs online! Hannah has recommended a few to me, but by far my favourite so far is the "
Brooklyn Knitfolk" podcast on YouTube. It's hosted by Jaclyn Salem (she's also on Instagram @jaclynsalem), a graphic designer living in New York who has recently discovered knitting. She has the most wonderful friendly personality, and it just feels like you are sitting across a coffee table from her having a chat about knitting projects, yarn, and plenty of other things. I feel like if Hannah, Jaclyn and I ever got together in the real world we would get on like a house on fire. Anyway, despite being new to knitting, Jaclyn has been knitting quite interesting and beautiful patterns, and it has really inspired me to give some trickier patterns a go this year. I also decided that I will try to maintain this blog a bit better, with a regular monthly post about my progress and any other crafty related things :-) So here we go...
Finished Objects for February:
Unicorn quilted cushion cover.
I have had three cushion inserts sitting in my little flat for over a year waiting for me to find time to cover them and replace the exhausted cushions that I made years ago. Finally I got some crafty mojo back this month and spent an afternoon with my sewing machine, iron and lots of beautiful fabric, and made this cushion cover! I didn't follow a quilting pattern, instead I just freestyle quilted, randomly cutting fabric into sizes and shapes I felt like without the painstaking measuring and careful cutting that quilting normally demands. It was so liberating and fun to just 'wing it' and quilt freestyle and I LOVE the finished product. :-) Almost all the fabric I used had been given to me over the years by Hannah (as we share a love of quilting too...). A lot of the pastel fabrics were handprinted by Maze & Vale, and the beautiful unicorn and bright yellow flower fabrics are by Heather Ross. I love the unicorn fabric, it reminds me of the beautiful medieval tapestry "La Dame a la Licorne" that hangs in the Musee National du Moyen Age in Paris. One cushion down, two more to make. Although I used up all the Maze & Vale fabric I had so I'm trying to decide whether to use one of the other fabrics that I have a bit left over of as a common fabric in all three cushions, or buy some more Maze & Vale fabric or else make each of the 3 cushions completely different themes. Time will tell.
Work in Progress for February:
Peacock Scarf.
When I was in New York in December I had a non-negotiable visit to Purl Soho. I tried to be good and not buy myself any yarn from that beautiful shop, but I compromised with myself and bought 2 skeins of Madeline Tosh to make an infinity scarf for my Mum. I found a colour that reminds me of a peacock feather and I'm sure my Mum will love it. I've been knitting the scarf since Christmas, and been taking it with me and knitting when I get spare time :-)
Guernsey Wrap.
After watching Jaclyn's Brooklyn Knitfolk podcast and seeing how beautiful the Guernsey Wrap was that she made for her sister, I decided I would challenge myself and attempt my first ever pattern using a knitting chart! I modified the pattern so it would be about half the width and be more scarf-like by doing only 2 instead of 4 repeats of the central pattern motif. I am using the Circus Tonic Handmade DK yarn in "Cape Barren Goose" colourway to make this, and so far I'm loving it. The stitch definition is good so you can really see the stitch patterns, which I'm very pleased about. And the colour is a nice neutral colour that should go with lots of things. I needed to learn a new cast-on method to start the wrap - the "long tail cast on". Luckily YouTube is full of helpful knitting tutorials these days, and I found the Wool and the Gang 2min
video was easy to follow if anyone else is needing to learn how to do this. So far I've only done the first 20 rows or so, as it requires concentration to follow the pattern so I can't knit while watching a DVD yet as I can with garter stitch projects. Hopefully this will change as I get more confident with the pattern :-)
Acquisitions:
Not sure whether having this section is a good idea or if it will just highlight how bad a splurger I can be over the year. Hehe.
Yarn.
I bought some yarn from Hannah's Etsy shop of course, not just to be a supportive friend but because her yarn is amazing! :-) I will definitely be buying more in the future. So far I have bought 2 skeins of the Carousal DK 8ply yarn (100% Australian superwash merino) in the "Cape Barren Goose" colour, and 2 skeins in the "Mallee Emu Wren" colour.
Project Bag.
This was given to me as a surprise present by Hannah in January when she saw I was carrying my knitting projects around in clip-lock bags. This gorgeous little project bag is made by the "Stitch Pixie" and is the perfect size for a ball of yarn and one of my scarf projects, and lets me bring my work in progress with me in style. It's also more convenient that clip-lock bags which always seemed to have the needles poke holes in them. :-)
