WIP Wednesday

I recently joined a group on Ravelry called The Blog Hub. It has already introduced me to some great new blogs and brought a few people to visit me for the first time.  it seems a good group to belong to, where you can get help, advice and feedback about your blogging.  I'm not, what I would consider to be, a serious blogger.  I don't set myself posting goals and I certainly don't mind if I leave my blog empty for a week at a time.  I don't have any advertising on my blog, except for links to my own patterns.  However, despite being a blogging amateur I have found myself more and more feeling like blogging is part of my work.

When I use the word work, I don't mean what I do for a living, because, believe me when I tell you that, crafting costs me far more than I receive in pattern fees.  But work doesn't have to earn you income.  Work is something that is productive when you apply effort.  Some people who don't, or can't work, volunteer for things, or their work is raising their children.  For me, crafting is my work.  It is something that I am quite disciplined about, and I always feel strange without something crafty in my hands.  As time has gone by, blogging has felt more and more like a part of my crafting process.  The action of writing about my craft and photographing it is all one with the creative journey.  In other words, I don't feel like my projects are finished until I have taken photographs and written about it.

As my blogging has become more important to me, I have started to look at other people's blogs and wondering if I could use some of their ideas for my blog.  I have always used the internet to receive inspiration for my craft, but I didn't really use it for blogging ideas.  Joining The Blog Hub group is part of my move towards taking my writing more seriously.  If blogging has become part of my work, I should apply myself to it, in the same way I apply myself to learning new crafting skills.

One of the ideas on The Blog Hub Group is posting and linking up to other members of the group.  WIP Wednesday is definitely an area where I feel I can join in.  It is also a area that I don't really blog about very much.  I like to keep things to myself until I have something finished because some projects take a VERY long time to complete - yes I am talking about you KAL Blanket!  By only talking about a finished project I don't expose myself as the avoider of completions that I sometimes am.  So I'm going to take a risk and start joining in with WIP Wednesday.  Maybe starting to join in with this collective enterprise will give me the kick up the backside, I sometimes need, to finish things.

So after that rather lengthy introduction, here is my Work in Progress for this Wednesday:

This is the start of a Princess Squares Blanket, from Designer Knitting, Early Fall 2010, by Pam Allen.  I am once again using Rico Design Baby Classic DK yarn that I have used in my last couple of baby projects.  This yarn has such lovely clear colours and squishy softness for the baby and the ability to chuck it in the washing machine for the parents.

Here are the rest of the colours I plan on using.  This project was started this morning, but I'm already really enjoying the small pop of colour in each square.  It's going to be great tv knitting!  By the way, I knew that felted bag was going to come in handy!

So there you are, my work in progress this Wednesday.  I will join in with the links and hope that if you have never heard of the Blog Hub Group you might have a look at the links hosted at Tami's Amis.  There really are some great participants in this group and you might find someone new to follow.

Fuzzy Monster

As well as having a hectic time last week, I managed to impose another deadline on myself.  I undertook a test knit for someone on the Free Pattern Testers Group on Ravelry.  This group has really helped me with testing all my patterns.  I have learnt so much about pattern writing from the amazing testers on this group.  I have also tried to contribute to the group by undertaking test knits when ever possible.  I am currently getting a test knit carried out by this group, which will be revealed after testing is complete at the end of October, and felt it was time to do another test knit to balance the knitting karma.  Then I saw a pattern by Onnastick, called Fergus.

Fergus is a fluffy monster.  The fluffy yarn I had in my stash happened to be a pinky purple so I figured Fergus would actually be more like a Fergie.  Here is my finished monster.

She sits so prettily with her toes pointing outwards.

The pattern hasn't been released yet, but when it does, I would highly recommend it.  It was clearly written and I had great fun knitting it.  When the pattern is released I will link the pattern to my project page on Ravelry.

I used Wendy Frizzante for the fuzzy bits of the body and Sirdar Baby Bamboo DK for the smooth bits.  The pattern includes directions for adding safety eyes, but I didn't have any the right size, so Onnastick said I could embroider the face.  Other than that small change, I followed the pattern exactly and I'm really pleased with the result.

I know exactly who will be getting Fergie for Christmas, a little girl who loves pink and has tended to a previous knitted toy with great care and love.  I think Fergie will be going to a good home, but until December, I get to play with her ;-)

Suddenly I seem to have a social life (and another baby knit to complete)

I suddenly realised today that I hadn't posted in an age.  This is quite unusual, not the huge gap between posts (that happens quite often) but that I hadn't realised there was a gap.  I have been busy this week!  I am hardly ever busy except for in a self imposed crafting manner.  When listed as individual items it looks quite pathetic, but you have to remember, I have no social life and spend a couple of days recovering from most activities.

Tuesday:  My quilting class started again. (more about that later)

Wednesday: Lunch with a friend (where I was informed I had another friend who required a baby knit)  I feel like I'm destined to be knitting for babies for the next 2 years at this rate.  The only thing keeping me sane is that I don't know that many more women who could get even more pregnant than they already are, unless they are having twins. (I really shouldn't tempt fate I know, especially as two of the pregnant women are identical twins).

Thursday:  Knitting group which happens every Thursday, so this wasn't unusual, except for being tired after going out on both Tuesday and Wednesday.

Friday:  The dentist.  Its not technically a social event, but it required me to leave the house so I'm including it!  Apparently my teeth are fine, like they usually are, but it is nice to be reassured nonetheless.

So with all the busyness, I have been tired and sore, but not in the least bit bored.

Going back to Tuesday and my class.  It is good to be back at quilting class.  We are starting on the fundamentals of cutting fabric with a rotary cutter and piecing with the sewing machine. 

This weekend I set myself the task of completing my homework.  I was proud of myself for starting well in advance of the Tuesday deadline.  However, I don't think I really left myself enough time.  I was enjoying myself cutting my strips of fabric for the assigned block (log cabin) and sat myself down at the kitchen table, with my iron on one side, and my cutting mat on the other and my sewing machine in front and I started sewing, trimming and pressing.  It was all going mighty fine until I got to the end of the block and measured it.  My block was 1/2" too small all the way round.  I cursed out my poor teacher and did the maths and realised that the maths was ok and it was my sewing that was to blame.  Well strictly speaking it was my sewing machine that was to blame.  Apparently my sewing machine does NOT like to sew 1/4" seams.

My sewing machine needle only has two positions, central and to the left.  It does not sit to the right and therefore the edge of fabric, when a 1/4" seam is being sewed, sits smack bang in the middle of the right hand feed dog.  Because the fabric is not sited evenly over all the feed dogs it pulls, really badly, to the left.  To sew the seam, that nearly all quilt blocks require, involves me pushing quite firmly from the left towards the needle, stopping frequently to straighten the fabric and swearing a LOT.

I don't know what to do about this frankly quite major problem.  Most of the blocks we will be making in patchwork will require me to sew seams on the sewing machine.  In order to keep up I won't be able to do them by hand.  I don't know what to do to fix this problem.  If anyone has any suggestions, that work, I will fall down to the floor and give thanks to the kindness of the universe in sending you to my blog.

After ripping up my first really wrong block and doing lots of experiments with pressure to apply to fabric etc I finally managed to put together a block that measured the right size by the end of it.

As you can probably see the "logs" in my log cabin are not very straight.  I managed to get the correct final size by measuring the block after each round of logs was attached.  I then cut it to the right size using a square ruler.  So the final block is square but the internal lines are all a bit wonky. (The weird wonkiness of this photo is caused by the camera angle NOT my block being askew)

I still have another block to make which is made up of four smaller blocks with 1" wide logs.  I am practically in tears thinking about what a nightmare these will be to sew.  I'm thinking of begging my OH to give me my Christmas present a few months early (I'm getting a sewing machine).  I think he may be aware this begging will be coming soon after my mammoth swearing and wailing sessions this weekend.

I hope to get my next block completed in time for the class on Tuesday but I don't know if my body and my sanity can take it.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Another down only 2.5 to go!

I have finished another one of my FIVE baby knits that I have to accomplish in the next few months.  This was the biggest knit I have planned, so I was relieved to get it off the needles and into the growing pile of baby presents I have prepared.

The project in question was the OpArt baby blanket from Knitty.  You may recognise the name, as this isn't the first time I have knit this pattern.  Yes, this was the blanket that bled (sob).  I finally got myself together enough to have another go at this pattern.  I was not to be defeated by mere yarn!  So I bought something completely man made and specially designed for babies, the RICO Baby Design Classic DK that I used for the February Baby Jacket.  Obviously I used different colours as the premise of this design is that you use two highly contrasting yarns as babies can't see colour.  The colours I chose were a deep blue-green and a bright clear white.

I hope that these shades are gender neutral enough to be used for a baby of either sex. 

Before starting on this endeavour again, I decided to knit a stripey swatch and wash it vigorously.  There was no colour bleed and certainly no shrinkage!  YAY! I was a very happy bunny indeed.

I love how this project turned out.

The contrast between the colours is wonderfully crisp and clear, and the yarn is very soft.  However, I think the yarn might be a bit too resilient for this pattern.  You see, you are suppposed to block this blanket into oblivion, in order to get a nice even square shape.  I did as instructed and when I took it off the blocking boards I got this:

I wouldn't call it quite square.  I don't think it is that much of a problem, because this is a blanket and it is used for warmth and comfort. I don't think a baby will notice the funny looking corners.  I also think the new parents are going to be so tired they won't notice for the first six months either, and by then it is too late to complain (not that I think they would, but you get my drift).

It is a shame that the project didn't quite turn out perfectly, but I think the baby who gets this present will spend many happy hours staring at the swirly stripes, and that, my friends, is the most important thing to me.  My gifts are not only to show my friends that I welcome the new member of their family into the world, but also to ensure the baby is wrapped up in the love I want them to feel.  I feel like this is especially important for me because I live so far away from the majority of the people who are having these babies.  I might only get to see them a couple of times a year, but that doesn't mean they don't take up a big chunk of space in my heart.

I do love this project, and it is pretty fun and mindless, maybe one day I'll find the perfect yarn for this project, and try again.  I'm sure there will be more babies to come!

Felted Knitting Bag

After lots of knitting of Christmas gifts and sewing of birthday gifts, I decided it was time to treat myself to something new.  I decided that I needed a new large knitting bag, the sort that will hold the wool and knitting for larger projects, such as big jumpers or blankets.  I decided to use some Rowan Tapestry wool that I picked up for a song on eBay.

Originally around £4.25 a skein, I picked 10 balls up for around £10!  Normally I wouldn't use such nice wool for felting, but as it was such a bargain, I was happy to use it for a bag.  Tapestry is a self striping yarn made of 70% wool and 30% soy.  As it contained 70% animal fibres I was fairly sure it would felt, but I checked on Ravelry and found other felted projects using this yarn.

This yarn is a double knit weight and I thought about knitting with two strands, but decided that as my bag was only going to hold yarn and needles, the fabric didn't need to be particularly thick.

I didn't have a pattern in mind, but knew it would be simple to make one up. I cast on 100 stitches and knit in garter stitch until I used one skein up. Then I picked up and knit around the unattached edges of the rectangle and started knitting in stocking stitch on circular needles until I had used around a further 5 balls of yarn up. I used an i-cord cast off, around the top of the bag, and applied an i-cord up the four “corner” edges of the bag to give some strength and shaping.

The bag was enormous when I finished knitting and I was sure I would be able to live in my new tote when it was finished but of course I forgot the power of the felt.  When the bag came out of the washing machine after one cycle at 40 degrees it was reduced somewhat in size.  I used a box file and a stack of magazines to block the finished bag into shape and I was satisfied with the 15" long x 4.5" deep x 10" wide, finished measurements.

Once the bag was blocked dry I stitched polyester boning in each of the four corners, behind the applied i-cord.  I also stitched on more two pieces, horizontally along the top of the long sides. I used plastic canvas in the bottom, cut to the external measurements and then trimmed until the canvas could sit flat inside the bottom of the bag.  I also rounded the corners of the plastic canvas, so they did not pierce the felt fabric.

Using my new beloved book, The Bag Making Bible, I made my first attempt at making a concealed zipper casing, for the top of the bag.

I was pretty pleased with the way this turned out.  The zipper was a cheap open ended one I picked up at Mary Clare, so this technique of sewing a tab to fit around the end of the zipper worked well.

The zipper casings are not attached to the short ends of the bag, only the long edges.  This means that when the zip is opened, the top of the bag can fold out of the way.

I also used the instructions from the new book to make the straps and the internal pocket, with it's elasticated top.

This pocket is handy for things like scissors, or a purse and mobile phone, if I am taking the knitting bag out with me on my travels.

The new book definitely helped with making this bag much more elegant in design.  It helped me work out the fabric measurements for cutting and helped me work out the method for sewing before sitting at the machine.  There was much less ripping out of stitches than usual and I had just enough fabric in my 80cm remnant of fabric.

I love how light this bag feels and it sits beautifully on my nice wooden floor, while I knit away.  The size worked out perfectly for my needs and I used it for my knitting group last night.

It held the baby blanket I am currently knitting, and three completed shawls for show and tell.  I think this bag is going to get a lot of use.  I do love it when a plan comes together!!

Winner of Blogiversary Giveaway

After closing the comments thread on my Blogiversary Giveaway post, I can confirm that after numbering each commentator individually, I used the Random Number Generator and got this result:

The number 25 was allocated to knittingdancer who left the following comment:

Being a knitter, I usually make things for charities or relatives. I have made myself a few things. I would love to win the knitting prize. I love to get things someone else has made. I know how much time and effort goes in any hand craft. Thank you so much for letting your readers choose which prize they would like to win. Congratulations on your 2nd blogiversary.  

So knittingdancer, congratulations on your win and I'll be in touch via email to discuss your prize options.

Thank you so much to everyone for all the lovely comments and support I got this week.  I was stunned at how many people entered the giveaway.  I hope some of you will stick around!

Gleaming Scarf

I have just finished the most magnificent scarf I have ever seen.  It is a present for my mother in law (MIL) and it is so beautiful I don't want to part with it.  Earlier in the year I bought some Artist's Palette Gleam. It is very very beautiful, an exceptionally well named, as it catches the light as it moves.

The yarn is a sport weight yarn in 100% silk and the lovely old gold colour is perfect for my MIL's wardrobe.  She wears a lot of warm browns, golds and taupes.  I initially decided to knit a pattern from Kristen Kapur of Through the Loops, called Andrea's Shawl.  I got as far as half way through the edging then decided it wasn't going to look right.

I just felt that this yarn was not right for this pattern.  I really like the pattern, so I know I will use it again one day, but I think I will be using a yarn with at least some wool content, so it highlights the pattern properly.  After finally giving up I recycled my yarn.  I put it to one side and waited to find the right project.  I had to wait some time, but I knew this yarn was going to be for my MIL, so I wanted it to be special.  Finally I got an email from Knitting Daily, linking to a free pattern that was perfect.  It was the Wakefield Scarf, by Melissa LaBarre.  The pattern called for sport weight yarn that was 50% merino and 50% silk, so I was pretty sure that this pattern would work well for my yarn.  It exceeded all my expectations!

This quite simple stitch pattern causes the fabric of the scarf to gently bias, which gives it a beautiful drape.  I cast on 68 stitches and knit the 12 row pattern until I ran out of yarn.  I used almost all of the 100g of yarn that I had, and it blocked out to a scarf that measures 14" x 68", which is a great size for the scarf.

The fabric of the scarf is light but has substance so you don't feel like it will fly away in the first wind that comes along.  I love how it feels on your neck and imagine it would look lovely with a skimpy top on a summer evening, if you felt like exposing your shoulders.  I also imagine it would look equally glamorous with a polo neck for an evening in a nice pub.

Blocking this scarf really made quite a significant difference.  I had heard that silk doesn't particularly hold it's blocking well on lace projects, but this has opened up nicely.  I don't know if it will stay that way with wear, but I don't think it matters as much on this pattern as it did on the first one I tried.

I think this scarf will be well received because even when it's not being worn, it is still decorative as it lies around the house!

I love how this yarn feels once it is knitted up, it almost makes up for the splitty nature of it, and the few little snags and catches that occurred during the knitting process.  I quite enjoyed my first experience of knitting in 100% silk, but it would have to be a very special project to splash out so much again, one that matched this very elegant scarf.

Don't forget that you still have time to enter my blogiversary giveaway by leaving a comment on this post, before midnight (UK time) on 17th September.

Book Reviews

I recently treated myself to a couple of new craft books.  The first one, I mentioned here. 

As I mentioned, I might of accidentally ordered it while I was looking for the Amazon link, to put on my blog. I am so glad that I did. This book is brilliant and exactly the sort of thing you should buy if you want to make bags, or have made a few and want to try and make something a little bit more complicated.  There are 8 bag patterns in the book, starting with a simple zip up pouch and a tote bag and working up to a fabulous overnight bag.  All the designs are lovely and I can't wait to make them, but these designs are just the cherry on top.  The main body of the book is all the amazing explanations of the various techniques you can employ in your bag making.  There are different types of fastenings, pockets and handles, along with different bag structures.  Within the pages of this book are enough ideas to keep you busy for years as you change and develop your bag making ideas.

As you might have guessed, I am already a big fan of Lisa Lam and her tutorials.  If you can't decide whether you want to buy the book or not, read some of her free downloads and if you like them, you will love the book.  If the tutorials don't help you in any way then you should probably be writing your own book and this one will be dull as dish water for you.

The second book I bought, because if you are ordering from Amazon, then it is foolish not to get at least two books (well that is what I tell myself anyway).  The second book I bought was this one:

I decided to get this book because I have seriously fallen in love with lace knitting recently and I find myself wanting to have a go at designing my own shawl/scarf.  I don't have many stitch dictionaries and the ones that I do have are mainly part of a larger book and therefore quite limited in content.  I decided that this book would really help me if I wanted to design something with a bit more interest in my stitch patterns.

I have sat down and had a thorough look through the book and there seem to be a really good selection of lace patterns, with only a few duplications on those I already have.  The layout is fairly basic and it could take quite a while to find a specific pattern that you remember vaguely from before, as there don't seem to be very clear categories.  The other thing I didn't like was the lack of charts.  I like charts with my lace knitting.  I find it easier to memorise when I can see a chart.  If I was to use a stitch pattern from the book I would have to chart it first.

By the way if you want to create a chart, I use the free knitting font available here.  If you want something that is web based you can use either KnitChart or chartGen.  Personally I use OpenOffice and create a chart using the knitting font, it makes it easier to insert it into any patterns I might write.

Going back to the book, it will make a useful addition to my library, but I probably wouldn't have invested in it if I wasn't going to use it to write my own patterns.  I don't think it would be much use to a knitter who always sticks to the pattern, even if it might be nice to occassionally add a little lace edging to a plain stocking stitch sweater.

I hope you liked my little reviews, I thought I'd give them to you as I always find reviews on craft books very useful on other blogs I read.  There are so many out there, it is hard to know what is useful to me.  If you are interested, I have a page on the blog here, that lists all the books I own and rate quite highly.  If you know of any other "can't do without" craft books, please let me know, I'll add them to my Wish List for Christmas ;-)

Don't forget that you still have time to enter my blogiversary giveaway by leaving a comment on this post, before midnight (UK time) on 17th September.

MMmmmmalabrigo

 A few months ago I read a blog entry that captured my imagination.  A Girl in Winter laid out how wonderful Malabrigo yarn is, and showed pictures of the projects she had completed, using the yarn.  I fell in love with the appearance of the sock yarn and decided that I would splash out and buy a skein.

I bought a skein of Botticelli Red.

I loved this yarn the moment I opened the packet, but it wasn't what I was expecting.  The photo on the site that I bought it from, showed it being more red than rust, but the reality was a terracotta colour.  I think I wanted something more like the Tiziano colourway that A Girl in Winter used for her Clothide shawl.  Tiziano is a more blood red colour, which you may know is a shade I rather like.  Because I was disappointed I put the skein away until last week when my fingers brushed it in a search for some yarn.  The smooth squishiness of the yarn pulled me in and I had to knit with it.

I looked at all the projects on Ravelry that had used with yarn and finally settled on making the Aestlight Shawl.  This is designed by Gudren Johnston, better known as the Shetland Trader.  This pattern was designed with Malagrigo Sock in mind.  It uses less than one skein of sock wool to make a small shawlette.

This lovely simple design used a couple of techniques I hadn't used before, so I didn't begrudge the cost of the pattern.  I learnt how to knit on an edging and how to knit a triangular shawl in the traditional Shetland manner, of knitting a garter stitch triangle and then picking up edges to start knitting the lace pattern at the edges.  Both of these techniques are ones that I think I will use again.

The shawl is a decent size after blocking, despite being the size of a headscarf when it came off the needles, but I still think it will mainly get used for wearing as a neckerchief.

I would be quite happy to knit this shawl again, as it was fairly straight forward, but with enough interest to keep me focussed.  I didn't try to do the edging at knitting group, for example, as I knew it would involve ripping back anything knitted there.  I will certainly be buying the yarn again as it was a wonderful experience knitting in something so soft and bouncy.  Everyone who saw me knit with this yarn wanted to touch and squeeze the skein.  You know that is the mark of a great yarn, where everyone longs to touch it, even the non-knitters. 

I think this is another shawl for the gift pile, but I'm hoping secretly to have enough presents made before Christmas, for me to keep it for my own use when the cold weather comes!

Don't forget that you still have time to enter my blogiversary giveaway by leaving a comment on this post, before midnight (UK time) on 17th September.

Another Birthday Boy

I recently told you about a birthday boy. Well I had another one this week. My nephew reached the ripe old age of 7 years old - and I really don't know how that happened! His older brother had his birthday earlier in the year and I made him a bag. I always planned to make this birthday boy a bag - with a book inside - the way I did for his brother. I even bought the material, months ago.

I decided that this bag would be quite different, as each boy is very different.  My young nephew is a very active boy, who is constantly on the move.  I wanted to make sure that the bag I made for him would fit in with this aspect of his personality.  I bought fabric that was rugged and water resistant.  It was also camouflage fabric.

I decided to make this bag a rucksack.  I used tape for the straps and bought some plastic sliders.

It was only after trying on the bag for photography purposes that I found out that one of the sliders was put on upside down and I had to disassemble one of the straps.  At least I found out before I wrapped it up and sent it across the country.  I would have been gutted it it hadn't been usable.

The bag was a simple flat bottom structure, made from a tube of fabric.  I kept the seam at the back, so that pattern wasn't disrupted at the front.  The straps are attached at the bottom seam, and also at the top, under the casing.

The casing was made with a strip of fabric 2" wide, that I folded over like bias binding.  The casing covered the top of the bag, where the interior and exterior elements of the bag needed joining, along with the straps and bag flap.  It kept the top all neat and tidy and allowed for a space in which to thread the shoe lace I used to close the bag.

I also had cord sliders to hold the bag shut, or open it up.  I think the the cord and strap sliders added a touch of the commercial to the project.

The flap doesn't fasten down, but I think it is large enough to cover the top of the bag, even when it is full.  I curved the corners of the bag flap to follow the shape of the bag opening.

This bag should be tough enough to be thrown around in the rain, or used to hold football boots, so I hope that my nephew gets lots of fun use out of my creation.  I really enjoyed making it, and I think I found the perfect book for my little sporty guy.

As my nephew is a great a lover of football and of reading, I hope this will be a winning combination.

Don't forget that you still have time to enter my blogiversary giveaway by leaving a comment on this post, before midnight (UK time) on 17th September.

2nd Blogiversary

I can't believe this has come around again so quickly!  Two years ago today I posted my first entry on my new blog.  I don't think I ever realised how important my blog would become too me or how enmeshed I would feel in a world wide community of bloggers.

As you know, I suffer from chonic pain and don't get out as much as I would like.  My blog has become a gateway to a world I can reach even when I can't make it to the front door.  It started simply as a way to keep notes about my crafts and provide my Mum with an easy way of keeping up with what I was making, from a different county.  Now I have reached readers from as far away as Alaska and Japan.  I will probably never be able to visit those places in the flesh as the plane journey would be too much for me, but at least I know that I am touching those places through the web. 

I love the comments I get on my posts and have found some great friends through regular contact between our blogs.  I know my readership isn't huge, but every reader is treasured and each comment is valued as coming from someone who wants to reach out and connect with me.

To celebrate my 233rd post on my 2nd blogiversary, I would like to offer a little gift of a more tangible nature, than my gratitude.  I have tried to think hard about what to offer and I have come up with a plan that hopefully reflects the nature of my blog.  As a CraftyCripple I have many types of crafts materials scattered around my house and I know that different types of crafter read my blog, so I will let the winner of my giveaway specify the type of prize they wish to get.  The winner can choose ONE from the following:

1. Knitting Materials:  This will be comprised of at least two skeins of yarn from my stash, and I have some really lovely yarn.
2. Knitting Prize: I will knit a shawlette, in a pattern to be discussed with the winner, in a sock weight yarn.
3. Sewing Materials:  This will be comprised of at least 4 fat quarters from my stash, the winner can specify the general colours they are interested in, which I will TRY and match, though I can't guarantee I can achieve this, as my stash isn't that extensive yet.
4. Sewing Prize:  I will make an Amish Puzzle Ball, in your choice of colours, depending on availability in my stash.
5. Jewellery Materials:  This will be a selection of beads from my collection.  I'm afraid my collection isn't that big so I can't offer much choice on the colours.  Hopefully I will be able to provide enough to make at least a bracelet or possibly a necklace.
6. Jewellery Prize: This prize will be a set of earrings and a bracelet to match.  The winner will be invited to select colours from my collection.

I am only offering prizes that can be achieved from my own collection as most of my net worth is invested in crafting materials.  I hope that I can provide the winner with something that they will like and be able to use.   To reflect my love of international blogs I am prepared to post overseas, so you don't have to be in the UK to enter the giveaway.

 I wanted to offer the choice of having something made for the winner as I know, as a crafter, people rarely make me things and it is lovely to receive something hand made.  I also thought that offering a chance to receive something hand made would extend a prize option to people who aren't able to use the raw materials I am offering as a choice for crafters.

To enter the giveaway, please leave  a comment below, specifying which prize you would like to win and I will use the Random Number Generator to choose the winner, after the closing date of Middnight on 17th September 2010.  I will then contact the winner to discuss specific choices.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me, I hope I get to know even more of you over the next year.

Present for a Birthday Boy

This weekend there was a birthday party that we were invited to.  It was the first birthday of our friends' son, Logan.  Our friends live in a different city so it was the first time we met this adorable little chap.  This is because when we go and visit it is usually for partying purposes and Logan gets a sleep over at his grandparent's.  As we were yet to meet young master Logan I decided that a fabulous birthday gift was in order.  I knew it had to be hand made as his parents love to receive hand made gifts, and I knew it needed to be a bit quirky.  Enter the Amish Puzzle Ball!

I LOVE this project and I really enjoyed making it - from start to finish.  I even used mainly left over fabrics from other favorite projects: -  My First Trousers, A Bag for a Birthday Boy, A Flower Clutch and A Pink Felted Purse.  I loved all these projects and the fabrics, so it is wonderful to be able to use them for something else, just as lovely.  Being able to use every last scrap of fabric is one of the reasons I love patchwork and sewing so much.  Nothing is wasted.

Added to these fabrics I found a couple of fat quarters in my slowly growing collection and mixed them all up to create this:

I think my favorite fabric, which is very suitable for a little boy is this one:

I knew his goth loving mamma was going to love it too, and of course I was right!  The ball is around 10" across and is lovely and squidgy.  I love how it falls when you throw it.

I am pretty sure that Logan will barely get to play with this ball as I imagine it will be thrown more by his parents until he is big enough to steal it back, though he was grabbing onto it quite hard over the afternoon.  I hope this is a present which will stand the test of time and be played with even when he is a big and strong teenager and needs something to throw at someone's head!  I tried to make it soft enough to prevent injury even when being thrown by an angry teenager.

I love this project so much that I might just make another one - well I did cut an extra 12 purple segments by accident, so it would be a shame to let them go to waste wouldn't it?

One Less Christmas Present to Think About

The weekend of the NEC trip, I got a project off the blocking board.  It was a Lavalette Shawl, by Kirsten Kapur.  I have liked this pattern for some time and finally decided to use it with my newly purchased Noro Sekku yarn.

I fell in love with this new Noro lace weight yarn as soon as I saw the sample at Mary Clare. It has a high content of cotton which gives the yarn quite a lot of strength.  This would be a great yarn to use as a first attempt at knitting with lace weight as it feels like it won't snap if you pull to hard.  It also has such pretty colours that you don't need to use a complex lace pattern to make something lovely.  This is why I used the Lavalette Pattern.

I didn't stick rigidly to the pattern, which is pretty straight forward.  I have learnt that I prefer shawlettes that have increases at the ends of each row rather than on alternate rows.  This makes the shawlette wide and shallow, which means the ends of the shawl are less likely to uncoil when fastened.  I listed the altered stitch counts for the end of each section on my project page, if anyone is interested.

I quite like the way the skinny ends of the shawl twist around to form a coloured spiral.  Laid out, the resulting shawl measures around 64" wide x 20" deep.  It ties quite easily around the neck as well, but I didn't take a photo of that.

My favorite sections are the eyelets which make the stripes of colour deeper.  With the increased width of the shawl some of the outer rows have very shallow stripes of colour.

Back to the subject title - my sister in law clapped eyes on the shawl and tried it on.  She fell in love and has requested this as her Christmas present.  She wore the shawl all weekend and then handed it back.  She wants it wrapped and under her tree or she will feel like she didn't get a present.  I'm so pleased that she fell in love with this shawl as it is one less present to guess about.  Normally I worry that I haven't matched the right project to the right person.  Maybe I should email a photo catalogue in the run up to Christmas and everyone can chose their own present from those I've made?

Trip to the NEC

I have been away from my blog for quite some time now.  I have been rather busy, and I don't think I'm alone in that.  However, with a chronic pain condition like mine, it takes rather longer to recover from general busy-ness.  One of the great things that kept me busy was a visit from my brother and sister in law.  This trip had been arranged for some time as my SIL and I decided we wanted to visit the Quilt Show at the NEC.  My brother came along for the ride., well as far as Leicester anyway.

On the day of the show we were collected by my friend Linda and driven to the NEC.  My SIL did all the wheelchair driving, she's getting quite good at it now!  We saw some amazing quilts and I took a few photos before I realised that I didn't have a memory card in my camera ARGHGGHGHGHG!  So annoying.  Apparently Linda and Emma have taken some photos but I have yet to see evidence of these pics.  Here is my favorite of the few I took.

I don't have any details about this quilt, but it was amazing with superb quilting to accentuate the "feathers".  It was truely inspiring seeing what was achieveable with patchwork and quilting.  Some of the designs were even possibly within my ability to create.  Maybe not to the same standard, but at least I would know where to start.

We really enjoyed our day out and of course spent far too much money (as usual) but managed to get some great bargains.  I got a bargain Moda Charm Pack, called "Boutique" which I am particularly happy about and some bundles of fat quarters.  I also splashed out on some individual fat quarters.  Just look at my lovely loot!!!

I really want to get cracking with these lovely fabrics, but before that happens I have other quilts to finish.

There was so much to see at the the show that by the end of the day we were completely overwhelmed.  So overwhelmed that I forgot the one thing I had planned to do, which was to go to the Cotton Patch stand and get Lisa Lam's new book and get it signed.  I am a big fan of Lisa's tutorials and most of my bag making skills have been learnt from her website.  It was only when I was on my way out of the door that I remembered my intention, by which time it was too late.  Never mind they have it on Amazon.

Oops, may have bought it by accident while opening the page to get the link!!!

My day out at the NEC, was cripplingly exhausting, overwhelming in the extreme and quite expensive - but I wouldn't have missed it for the world.  I will definitely try and go again next year, only this time with a memory card for my camera!