I thought i'd share with you some of the latest offerings from various publishers around the knitting globe. While these are cute, unfortunately there aren't enough good patterns in each of the books/magazines they come from for me to buy it. Nonetheless, it's always worth a looksie, and who knows, i might be able to adapt another pattern anyways :)
From Kim Hargreaves:
Previously, I had posted about the exciting things that I was doing to my new house and one of the big things that I wanted was a dedicated craft room.
At the moment, the said craft room is still being used as a guest room as we have intermittent guests coming in and out but eventually, i want to convert it into a fully fledged craft room (don't worry, we still will have a guest room, just not in the same place as my craft room!).
While I've bought a few bits and pieces that I want in my craft room, those pieces are still sitting in the boot of my car as I am still unsure of how I want the overall craft room layout. And so, I have been trawling the internet for ideas, and have come across some awesome craft rooms. For your viewing pleasure:
Having renewed my interest in sewing, I enrolled and attended my first dressmaking/patternmaking class on Tuesday night. I intended to make a simple skirt from a commercial pattern that I already had, but decided that I'd much rather use it as a class to actually learn how to make my own patterns and learn the finer points of dressmaking.
And so, armed with my bee fabric and gingham, I etched up a design and took it into class. And boy was it a great class! The teacher looked at the pattern that I had attempted to draft, got rid of it and showed my the basics of pattern making. In 2.5 hours, we covered everything from the basic block form, grading a pattern (still coming to terms with it and most probably will forget by the next class) to tracing and marking out on fabric. It was so much to take in, but at the end of the class, I had my drafted pattern, and was armed with homework to pin and cut the fabric. Unfortunately my pin cushions are looking a little worse for wear..
There's a whole heap of stuff to learn, and i'm extremely excited at what this class can bring to my crafting. No longer will I have to rely on "hoping" that a commercial pattern fits, now (well, eventually) I will be able to dream of something and hopefully draft it myself!
Apologies for the lack of posts, but there actually isn't too much to post about!!
There has been some rather slow progress on Martha, but nothing terribly exciting that warranted lots of photos or lots of detail . I'm up to the right front panel, and still have two sleeves and finishing to go so we might be in for a longer haul.
It's not that it's a boring knit, it's just that I have other things on my to do list at the moment!
I've decided to get started on some of the Rowan 44 projects that I have on my list, and as such have been busy selecting colours, reading comments, and reading pattern reviews. I figured that given Rowan loves to use dk or fingering weight yarn, it would be better that I be prepared than to be quick on the money, and waste hours knitting something that doesn't fit or doesn't quite turn out.
Additionally, with the return of Gossip Girl season 2 and the adventures of Lil J and her internship, my interest in sewing has also been revived. My SO is rather pleased with this as he always did like the things I sewed, and this time round, I've enrolled in a dressmaking + patternmaking class, and even ordered myself a dressmakers dummy. So expect to see some sewing posts littered in amongst the knitting from here on in.
For my first project, i've picked out some cute bee print cotton and some matching gingham for a very cute top that i've dreamt up. Fingers crossed it turns out well :)
A finished red scarf for my sister - something she's been asking for for a million years, and has finally eventuated.
Project Details
Pattern:Bainbridge scarf by Minty Fresh, available here
Yarn: I barely used anything of the 2/3 ball of Bendigo Woollen Mills Colonial 5 ply that I had left over from my Cranberry Rose Cardigan. I could probably make another 5 scarves with what I have left in my yarn ball!
I'm sure Ive mentioned it before but I don't like the yarn at all. The crepe construction leaves a very rough looking finished surface, and knits up pretty ugly. Additionally, it's a little itchy and very unsoft to touch. I won't ever buy this again unless I was knitting something to be felted or requires a bit more texture , sturdiness and roughness.
Needles: I used 4.00mm 16" circulars. The pattern (and yarn) recommends 3.75mm needles to get a gauge of 6st/inch but I lost one of my 3.75 needle connectors so had to make do.
My sister is one of the most loveliest, sweetest, cutest people that ever roamed this earth. She's thoughtful, helpful and very considerate.
But yesterday, she got bossy.
She demanded I knit her a scarf. In red. In 12 hours.
If someone else had demanded it, I would've thumped them (and then while on the floor, I would've elbowed them a little further).
But luckily for her, she's nice. And my sister. And I found a pattern that is very quick to knit, and will be done in less than no time.
I'm using my leftover Bendigo Woollen Mills 5 ply in Cranberry from my Cranberry Rose Cardigan (which she has also stolen and made her own). I hate this yarn. Because of it's crepe construction, it knits up ugly, and roughly. But she likes it, and I have it, so it'll do...
When I was a kid, I loved going to the Royal Show because it meant showbags , games, goodies galore, prizes, and of course, tummy churning death defying rides. As I grew up, I went less and less to the show, partially because the price jumped something crazy ($12 for a ride?!) and partially because the novelty of showbags, wore off, I no longer wanted the plush toys, and the weaker tummy set in.
The last time I went to the show was about 5 years ago.
This year, something inside me felt the urge to go. While half of it was simply to do with the fact that I had a R&R break and was in need of relax time, and the other half was fueled by my growing love of knitting and all things woolly.
So off we (my pal and I) trotted..there was food galore...
And games...
And shows...
And sheep galore..
But despite all the wonderful "agricultural" things they had, there was no wool to be found. Only remnants to touch and feel, nothing spun (except for two drabs of 4 ply i spotted in the pavillion), and nothing yarn-ie.
Nonetheless, it was a bit of fun, and perhaps next year they might feel the need to sell some yarn at the show? *pretty please*
