Knitted gifts

I wanted to make a present for a special friend who was about to have her 3rd baby...not just a present for her baby but also something little for my friend. When I followed a link from the Tiny Happy blog and saw the gorgeous free drop-stitch cowl pattern by Spiderwomanknits, I decided that this is what I would make for her! Then I found this gorgeous vibrant chunky yarn at the knitting shop in Glenelg. The yarn is "Katia Ushuaia", it's really chunky, I had to knit using 10mm needles.

The pattern is quite easy, although it had some new techniques for me to learn, such as the 'drop-stitch' which I really love. However it was meant to be knitted in the round, but when I joined up the circle I must have somehow twisted the stitches and when I got to the end I had to unravel it all and start again which was a bit disheartening. So I decided to attempt it again, but without knitting 'in the round', and instead sewed up the seam at the end to make the tube-shape of the cowl. I'm pretty happy how it turned out, and so I was glad to realise I had enough yarn left over to make a second one for myself! I really do need to figure out how to 'knit in the round' though...there's lots of good patterns that call for this, but somehow I haven't managed to get it right yet!

For my friend's baby, I knitted these little charcoal coloured booties. I know it's my go-to pattern, but I really like it, and each pair is different depending on the yarn. The yarn I chose for this pair was from New Zealand, and is a blend of merino wool and possum fur (Possum's being a pest in NZ, unlike in Australia, they are allowed to make yarn out of them...and it's very nice and soft).

It feels so good to be knitting and crafting again! :-) I'm going to try to get on a roll again, and also branch out and try a few new techniques/patterns as well as my trusty favourites. I have signed up for Dry July (No alcohol for a month, trying to raise money to help support adult cancer sufferers)...it's not going to be easy/fun to give up alcohol for a month as I do enjoy a glass of wine most nights while preparing dinner, but it's for a very worthy cause, and as a reward/distraction for myself I've decided I'm going to try to do a bit of craft each night or read a book. So hopefully I'll be updating this blog with some new projects soon! :-)

Lotus Seed Pod Lino Cut

I have been wanting to make my own stamps for ages (years, really) but somehow have never tried to do it until now. I make a lot of my own gift cards, but I usually decorate them using stamps I have bought or been given over the years, or by sticking photos I have taken onto cards. I always get inspired to make my own stamps whenever I look at the simple but beautiful designs on the Tiny Happy blog, or the more intricate ones on Geninne's Art Blog. Today I decided to try my hand at lino cutting, and set out to try to make my own stamps! The last (and only) time I have done any lino cutting would have been back in my Year 8 art class at high school (more than 15 years ago!! eeek).

I decided my first homemade stamp would be of a lotus seed pod...I am always fascinated by these seed pods whenever I see them, and am always drawn towards the lotus pond at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens every time I visit.

 First step, I sketched my impression of a lotus seed pod on paper. Then transferred it on to the lino by pressing really hard with a pen and going over the original pencil lines a few times with a lot of pressure. Then I drew in the impressions with a lead pencil so it was easier to see the outlines. Next step...start carving the shape out of the lino. This was fun, but also required a lot of concentration and fiddly maneuvering with the lino tools. My hand was quite sore by the end of it, probably because I'm unfamiliar with using these tools! Hopefully it will get easier with practice :-)

Once I was happy with my carving efforts, it was time to ink it up and see if it actually worked as a stamp! And to my utmost delight....it worked really well!! Much better than I had imagined, so I'm thrilled with this first attempt at stamp making. I think I'll be doing a lot more in future.

I have now used my lotus seed pod stamp to make a whole bunch of gift cards. I had been neglecting my card making for a while, but making my own unique stamps has inspired me to make a small stash so now I will have a few on hand when I want to send a special homemade card but don't have the time to make one.

Picking up the needles again

I really have neglected my crafty activities this year, including updating this blog. I have decided to pick up my knitting needles again - it's a therapeutic and productive way to combat stress, and it brings me such joy to make something handmade and special  to give to my friends, or to wear myself. Above is a little pair of booties I made using some of the Manos Del Uruguay yarn I bought earlier this year. The colour is called "abalone", and it is a merino/silk blend, very soft and beautiful to work with. I made these booties for my best friend's sister, who recently had her second child.

I have also been (very slowly) working on a garter stitch infinity scarf for myself, also using Manos Del Uruguay merino/silk' yarn, this time in a colour called "olivewood" (see below). Last year I made myself a similar scarf using "wildflowers" yarn, and it has become one of my most favourite accessories...I wear it everywhere. So I thought I might make a few more in different shades :-)

I have also been working on (and finished) two other knitting projects, but as both of them are presents and I haven't given them to the friend I made them for yet, I'd better not post any photos here yet! I hope to put pictures up soon though :-)

My First Crochet Blanket finished!! :-)

My first crochet blanket finished (25 squares). A lot of love and time has gone into making this, and lots of remembering my Nanna Garland, who used to knit and crochet a lot of special things for me and her other grandchildren. I was initially making these crochet squares in order to make a bed blanket for myself. Then a friend at work who is a member of the Zonta women's club told me that her club was knitting baby blankets to give to refugee/migrant women in Adelaide with young babies.

I decided to make the crochet squares into a baby blanket for the Zonta club to give to a migrant or refugee woman in Adelaide. I know my blanket is far from perfect, but it is the first time I have crocheted anything, and I put a lot of love into it, it's actually quite hard to part with, and I really hope it makes the woman who receives it and her baby happy :-) and makes them feel more welcome in Australia.

Beautiful Manos del Uruguay yarn

Very excited to discover an Australian company who re-sells the beautiful Manos del Uruguay silk/merino blend yarn - "Wool & Flax" (www.woolandflaxyarns.com.au). This is my favourite yarn that I have ever worked with, beautiful, soft, shiny, unique colours. And an added bonus, Manos del Uruguay is not for profit and supports artesian and rural women in South America. Previously I bought this yarn from Purl Soho in New York, but the shipping is quite expensive, and Wool & Flax are slightly cheaper per skein of yarn, and the postage is much cheaper, and you are supporting an Aussie company too.

I can't wait to start knitting with this yarn!! :-)

Baby quilt finished :-)

I have rather neglected this crafty blog over the last 6-months or so. In 2013 I really had much less time for doing anything crafty like knitting or quilting. I think this is partially because previously I used to do a lot of my craft while I was bored while my ex watched crap tv shows, or as an excuse not to attend various car shows on weekends. 2013 was an awesome year for me in terms of re-inventing myself, finding more time for fitness and being healthy and happy, (which is awesome) but as a result my craft time was quite diminished from previous years. Hopefully I will pick up a bit more craft time in 2014 :-)

This quilt was initially planned to be a queen bed quilt for myself, but due partially to the change in my life in 2013, I decided to abandon this project, and instead realised that this fabric would make the perfect baby quilt with all the pastel colours and bunny prints. So I decided to make a baby quilt for a long time friend who lives interstate near Lismore in NSW whose 2nd baby was due in 2013. :-) My friend is awesome at sewing, and much more of a perfectionist than me, so I spent a lot of time on this quilt, and even had to re-do the binding as I wasn't happy the first time. I sent her this quilt for her baby Bonnie in the first week of January 2014 :-) This is the first time I have made a quilt for someone else, apart from the one I made for my cats.

Winter knitting

It is definitely winter in Adelaide now...we have had lots of rain, gusty wind, storms, even hail and snow in places! It has also been very cold. Perfect weather for knitting warm things like scarves and gloves! I made some fingerless gloves to match my wildflowers infinity scarf, using a simple pattern from Tiny Happy's blog, with a bit of improvisation to make seed stitch cuffs on one edge. I still have about half of one 50g ball of this lovely merino/silk yarn, even after making the scarf and the gloves. Not sure what I will use that for yet.

The next project was made with a couple of 50g balls of very chunky warm wool (100% merino superwash; Katia Fabula, Colour 98, dye 26213A) that my friend Hannah gave me :-) I had intended to make another infinity scarf but there wasnt quite enough wool to do that so I make a kind of neck-warmer, like a mini infinity scarf instead. I cast on 14 stitches, then mainly knitted in garter stitch (on 8mm needles), with a few sections of seed stitch thrown in for fun. The wool seems to be self-striping, at least with 14 stitches per row and the tension I was using, which was quite tight. It feels nice and warm to wear, perfect size to wear poking out the top of a winter jacket.