Craft | Kate's Twirl

I bequeath my stash to….

by Kate's Twirl

She who dies with the largest stash, wins!

Don’t worry, I’m not going all morbid on you and I have no intention of shuffling off this mortal coil just yet, it’s just that a couple of things have got me thinking about what happens to our stash when we do pop off…

I was working in the shop the other Friday (officially, I no longer work there, but to staff, Loop is like Hotel California – you can check out but you can never leave…) and got chatting with a fabulous American customer. She was desperate to get as much yarn as she could that would fit her luggage allowance (sadly not very much). In a shop filled to the rafters with gorgeous yarns and a deadline to catch a train, this is no easy feat. We were generally discussing the best yarns and her tastes etc, which of course leads to discussion of the stash – every knitter is always looking for ways to justify their ever-growing stash and this lady came up with the best I’ve heard yet “She who dies with the largest stash, wins!”

Last week, I was catching up on the Shinybees podcast and heard Jo talking about how horrified she was (initially) when talking with 2 best friends that one of them said she wouldn’t knit the other’s stash if her friend were to die! It wasn’t until Jo saw the size of the stash in question that she realised it would be impossible for the friend to knit it as well as her own, within her lifetime – quite possibly several lifetimes…

The Golden Skeins

As I’ve mentioned before on the blog, my stash is quite modest – at the moment! The problem is, the more you knit, the more you want to knit and there just isn’t the time to knit all those yarns that you want, but you still HAVE to buy them! I tend to be a little more restrained than some because I live so near to a great yarn store. This means that I only tend to buy yarns that I just adore, if I cannot get them there, or if I can only get them there for a limited period. The yarns above are Skein Queen bought at Unravel, Artisan Yarns bought at the Knitting and Stitching Show and 2 skeins of Skein‘s Cashmere blend which was at Loop for a limited period. Theses are my “Golden Skeins” – they are so beautiful that I had to have them and yet, they are too beautiful to knit – or rather finding the exactly perfect pattern for them is really hard!

So, I shall leave instructions that my stash will go to my funeral and all those who want skeins can take their pick each in turn (starting with the knitter who has know me longest) at the funeral tea with a glass of champagne in their hand! This way, no one friend will be given the daunting task of knitting up my stash, but all my friends will be given the chance to honour my stash by knitting up at least on of the skeins.

Leave me a comment to tell me about your golden skein and/or what your plans are for your stash when you snuff it! Join in the chatter with others on this topic on my NEW Ravelry group!

Craft Knitting

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My designing process – The Birthday Wrap

by Kate's Twirl

me, looking rather silly, but wearing The Birthday Wrap

I’ve been kind of designing ever since I started knitting, but I never thought of it as that. I remember making a head band when I was around 17/18. I used to just make myself stuff without really thinking. Remember cheerful chicken - I just made him up and then there’s the tiny i-cord mice and a hot water bottle cover that I made for several friends. It wasn’t until I made the shawl for Annette’s birthday (The Birthday Shawl) when my friends at Loop encouraged me to write it down and publish , that I thought why not!!

My mum was my inspiration for my latest design: she has always been one of my biggest supporters. My mum cannot knit or sew, but has encouraged my sister and me to be crafty. I knit and my sister sews. When I showed her the birthday shawl she was thrilled and thought it was really lovely. She emailed all her friends with pics. Now, my mum is in her 60s and a triangular shawl just doesn’t suit her style, so I couldn’t really make her one, so I resolved to knit her a longer version using the same lace-edging.

The project starts with a provisional cast on, so is worked from the centre out consisting of mainly garter stitch with leaves growing along its main body, in opposite directions from the centre and with a knitted-on leafy edging at each end. The result is a warm and elegant (just like my mum) oblong garter stitch and lace wrap with frilled lace ends.

The design process which I go through is very time consuming. I start with the basic idea and then swatch stitch patterns – this one was particularly hard because I wanted it to tie in with an existing lace edging, so I must’ve tried around 10 different “leaf” designs. Once I’d decided on the final stitch pattern, I then cast on and started to knit. After knitting around 3 pattern repeats I realised that I wanted to have the centre panel surrounded by a similar “holey” effect as the beginning of the border, so I frogged and started again! Thankfully I liked the new version.

Once I’ve knitted a design, whilst jotting down notes, I then have to write it up so that other people can follow my instructions and knit it too. This bit is not as easy as it may sound. I usually make a few changes based on what I learnt on the original knit, so the first one is always slightly different from the main pattern. I like to always use a chart and written instructions and, whilst it may seem simple, getting the two to actually mirror one another is never that easy (not to mention that the chart software I have isn’t that great). Also, I find that it’s not easy to spot your own errors, so this is often where my test knitters’ input is valued the most.

The sunny photoshoot

As part of the writing up process, there needs to be a photo shoot. No one wants to knit up a pattern if they don’t know what it looks like. For my first two patterns, I photographed the knit myself, but it’s much better to have pictures of someone wearing it. This time, I asked my lovely friend Annette (of the Birthday Shawl fame) if she would help me. It was coincidence that I was going to her home that weekend and that she has a beautiful garden. Annette was fantastic at taking the pictures, making suggestions and arranging me into position. We were extremely fortunate that the weather was gorgeous – the first nice day of the year!

So, once the pattern is written and has accompanying photos, I have to find test knitters – I usually post on Ravelry for this. The test knitters have their work cut out and do not get paid. I think this pattern has been amended 6 times during the test process – not major changes, but clarifications and corrections. I am very grateful to Vikki and Kerry for their hard work.

At the same time as the test knitters, I also knit the pattern again, following my own instructions. This helps to iron out any little glitches before publication. This whole process can take months. This time I gave myself a deadline, to coincide with a giveaway on the iMake blog. If you’d like to get one of my patterns for free, take a look at her site: iMake

Now you’d think that that would be the end of it, but knitters nearly always find some errors too. When they do, I like them to let me know. Every time I discover an error, I amend the pattern and then email new copies (update Ravelry libraries) with a corrected version. I think it is only fair when people have paid for a pattern that you keep them updated. There is an errata function on Ravelry, but you shouldn’t have to faff about looking in different areas to knit something.

Well, that’s about it, in a nutshell. This pattern is definitely my favourite so far. When I was knitting it, I thought it was ok – that was it, just ok – but when I un-pinned it afer blocking, I was stunned by just how gorgeous it was. The lightness and flow of the fabric are wonderful (even though I say so myself – whoops trumpet blowing again)! I do hope that you’ll like it. Please visit my Ravelry page and add it to your favourites: The Birthday Wrap

Take a look at my other designs here: Kate’s Twirl Raverly store

Craft Knitting

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Looking Forward – 4KCBWDAY7

by Kate's Twirl

Here we are at the end of the Fourth Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week (my second) and it’s time for me to take stock of where I want my crafting to go…

Day Seven (Sunday April 28th): Looking Forward

One year from now, when the 5th Knitting & Crochet Blog Week rolls around,
where do you hope your crafting will have taken you to? What new skills,
projects and experiences do you hope you might have conquered or tried?

This could be anything from mastering a technique (broomstick lace, entrelac,
etc), trying a new yarn or skill, or a long term wish to crochet only from your
stash, or knit every stitch in one of the Harmony Guides. Maybe you have no
desire or plans for your craft at all, no new element of knitting or crochet
that you dream of mastering, in which case write about why that might be. In a
year’s time participants will be asked to look back to see if they achieved any
goals, no matter how general, and see which house conquered the art of looking
forward.

Which way?

In general, I am not big on making plans. I tend to live each day as it comes my way. The thing with planning is that things happen that you don’t expect, some are good, some are bad, some you think are bad but turn out to be fabulous opportunities, but all will change your path, so I tend not to pick my path in advance but instead decide in which direction I wish to go at each junction. In keeping with coming from the House of Monkey, I love to discover new things, so I love any opportunity to do something new. I am sure there are lots of things out there that I’d love to do but which I haven’t discovered yet – how can you plan if you don’t know what the possibilities are!!

Ooh, sorry, I’ve gone all philosophical – now where we? Ah yes CRAFT!

Ok, so in the spirit of the post, I shall set myself 3 goals:

1 – Fair Isle colour-work. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while and already have the project (I wrote about it on day 2, here)

The fabulous Sheep Carousel by Kate Davies

2 - Publish more patterns. I love designing and want to keep doing it. There are 2 in the pipeline, but I want to have published at least 10 by this time next year – that means writing and testing 6 more patterns – ooh that sounds an awful lot of work…. perhaps I’d better make it 4 more. You can check on my Ravelry store to see how I’m getting on…

The Birthday Wrap (will be published on Wedesday 1 May 2013)

3 - Get to grips with my WIPs and finish those that have been languishing in project bags stashed around my home – there are four of them:

The cable cardigan I began in 2009!
Koh-I-Nor started in June 2012
My second Netherton, started in January 2013 and which only requires a tiny bit to finish it
Pop Spots which I started in February 2013

You’ll be able to check my progress on these now and again too by visiting my project page on Ravelry or, you can wait until next year’s Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week!

The unfinishables….. Noo! I WILL finish them…. promise…

So there we have it, the end of the blog week challenges. If you’d like to see other people’s plans for the coming year, put 4KCBWDAY7 into your browser and see what pops up! Or, for posts from earlier in the week:

4KCBWDAY1, 4KCBWDAY2, 4KCBWDAY3, 4KCBWDAY4, 4KCBWDAY5, 4KCBWDAY6

All bloggers love to get comments on their posts, so please leave a little message on any that you enjoy reading or give you pause for thought.

Craft Knitting Life

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My lovely crafty ladies – 4KCBWDAY6

by Kate's Twirl

My my, day 6 already . There’s only one more to go tomorrow and then I’ve successfully completed my 2nd knitting and crochet blog week!

Here’s the info from Eskimimi on today’s topic:

Day Six (Saturday April 27th): A Tool To Covet

Write about your favourite knitting or crochet (or spinning, etc) tool. It can
either be a tool directly involved in your craft (knitting needles or crochet
hook) or something that makes your craft more pleasurable – be it a special
lamp, or stitch markers.

Is it an item that you would recommend to others, and if so for which
applications/tasks do you think it is most suited. Conversely, do you have a
tool/accessory that you regret buying? Why does it not work for you?

One of the best things about having knitting as a hobby is that you don’t actually need a vast array of tools and gadgets. Anyone can learn to knit with just a pair of needles and some yarn. If you need a stitch marker you can make one with a scrap yarn tied around your needle and if you want to use a row counter, tallying with paper and pencil works just fine! obviously though, as you get more into your craft there are one or two things that just make it sooo much more pleasurable. Look at these gorgeous scissors:

Antique style bird scissors

Not only do they look beautiful, the are a lovely weight and are very very sharp which is perfect for snipping through yarn. My absolute favourite tool (tools really) is my ChaioGoo interchangeable needle set. Since I first tried a ChaioGoo circular (not an interchangeable) I was in love. The cable is fab and doesn’t wrap around itself, but the very best thing is the points. There are stainless steel, but they are not cold to the touch nor are they heavy, so if you prefer bamboo because they aren’t as heavy or cold as steel tips these would work for you. And, if you really like, they do do tips in bamboo too.

My heavenly ChaioGoo set

But, what I like about them most is that they make the most gorgeous noise and vibration when you slide the needles over one another – it’s just such a joy to knit with them. I know that this probably sounds really odd and a little petty to anyone who has never tried them, but I bet everyone who has, knows exactly what I’m talking about here!

Oh by the way, the title of my post relates to the name Chaio Goo (chau gu) which means Crafty Lady in Chinese…

Craft Knitting

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The Dreaded “Something Different” Post – #4KCBWDAY5

by Kate's Twirl

This is my least favourite day of blog week. It’s the day on which we are challenged to do something different form our usual blogging style. Last year I humiliated myself with a video cast. This year I was completely stuck. Here are Eskimimi’s suggestions:

Day Five (Friday April 26th): Something A Bit Different

It’s the annual challenge to blog in a way different to how you normally blog.
You may choose to create a podcast, or vlog, create a wordless post or write in
verse. You’ve already stretched your wings with an infographic, now it’s time
to freestyle. You can post on any topic you like, but be sure to post in a
style different from your usual blog presentation.

The fabulous Shineybees wrote a poem – I couldn’t write a poem if my life depended upon it… maah – maybe I could! I have chosen to audio boo – I have done one before but that was merely a Christmas message for my friends and dissolved into incontrolable laughter.

Goodness knows how this one will turn out – have a listen:

Hope you enjoyed it!

Craft Knitting

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Colour Colour Colour – #4KCBWDAY4

by Kate's Twirl

Here we go again, Ladies and Gentlemen…. Today’s topic is colour (or color if you’re from the other side of the pond). I feel like I have tackled this topic before but I can’t find a blog about it so I must have imagined it – or maybe I considered it when I did a stash review!

Anyway, here are today’s instructions from Eskimimimakes:

Day Four (Thursday April 25th): Colour Review

What are your favourite colours for knitted or crocheted projects. Have a think about what colours you seem to favour when yarn shopping and crafting.

Only after writing this part of your post should you then actually look to see what colours you have used in your projects. Make a quick tally of what colours you have used in your projects over the past year and compare it to the colours you have written about. Compare this, in turn, to the colours that are most dominant in your yarn stash – do they correlate?

Now think back to your house animal – do the colours you have chosen relate to your animal in any way - if you are in the house of peacock, for example, are your projects often multicoloured and bright?

Well, it will be no surprise to anyone who knows me that my favourite colour is blue – any kind of blue, sky blue, Royal blue, turquoise, teal, aqua bluey greens and even greeny blues – I don’t even mind a touch of mauve if it’s on the bluey side!

I was reading Shinybees‘ post on this topic this morning and she included a bit about the psychology of colour, which she found on the Care2 website. This was so fascinating, that I thought I’d share what blue says about me:

Blue: Soft, soothing, compassionate and caring, Blue is the color of deliberation and introspection, conservatism and duty. Patient, persevering, conscientious, sensitive and self-controlled, Blues like to be admired for their steady character and wisdom. They are faithful, but are often worriers with somewhat inflexible beliefs and can be too cautious, and suspicious of flamboyant behavior.

Blue-Green: Exacting, discriminating, poised and attractive, the Blue-Green person tends to be sensitive, intellectual and refined, persevering and stable if rather detached. Blue-Greens have excellent taste, and are usually courteous and charming, capable but often refusing help or guidance.

Turquoise: Complex, imaginative and original, Turquoise people drive themselves hard and may be in a state of turmoil under their outwardly cool exterior.

Want to know what your favourite colour says about you? Read about the other colours here: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/favorite-color-personality.html#ixzz2RU3UdEPM

I have long known that I am a knitter of blue yarns and that it is a little bit of a problem. I have made a concerted effort to not always buy blue, although it is very hard….. Over the last 12 months, I have started 22 projects, 13 of which were blue and 9 of which were other colours – I’m quite proud of that, it means I’m not such a blue-a-holic as I thought. Here’s a link to my project page on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/katestwirl You’ll also see that some of my blues have other colours mixed in – I am trying very hard!!

The stash, the whole stash and nothing but the stash!

And so, onto the stash… It appears that I may be getting better at picking other colours, I may even be looking balanced! I have 13 non-blue colours in my stash (one in the pic looks blue, but I assure you that is definitely green).

The Hurrah! We’re not blue stash

There are only 6 pure blues in the pack

The pure blues

but there are also 3 which aren’t true blues, 2 of which are clearly edging to the purple and one is a steely-grey-green-blue sought of colour!

The almost, but not quite blues

Craft Knitting

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Infographic Fail – Knitters & Cats – 4KCBWDAY3

by Kate's Twirl

Today’s challenge is to create an infographic:-

Day Three (Wednesday April 24th): Infographic There are many ways of conveying information on a blog; text and images being the two most widely used. Many infographics combine both these elements to provide a visual way of presenting text information.
Make your own infographic (no fancy imaging software needed, you can draw it on paper and photograph it if you want) to convey any element of your craft(s). It can be just for fun or a thoroughly researched presentation of an idea/finding.

Having never made an infographic before, I though this would be fun and I knew the purrfect topic…..

I have long noted that knitters tend to love cats – most knitters I know own a cat or want a cat. So here is an infographic showing my highly scientific research, based primarily on knitters I follow on Twitter!

Cats & knitters

Now, making the infographic was very very easy – putting into my blog was nigh-on impossible!! Failed! The only way you can see my highly technical and uber accurate infographic is to click the orange link above.

Mabel “helping” me knit

Craft Knitting

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Crafty Monkey #4KCBWDAY2

by Kate's Twirl

My Birthday present from Martine (teapot photographer’s own )

So, here we go with:

Day Two (Tuesday April 23rd): A Mascot Project.
Your task today is to either think of or research a project that embodies that house/animal. It could be a knitting or crochet pattern – either of the animal itself or something that makes you think of the qualities of that house.

You’ll remember from yesterday that I’m in the House of Monkey: Intelligent and with a fun-loving side, Monkeys like to be challenged with every project presenting them with something new and interesting.

I started today by reading other people’s blogs on this topic – This was a mistake. I now feel woefully inadequate and under prepared! Take a look at these two and see what I mean:

ShinyBees a really funny post (a Bee)

All She Wants to Do Is Knit - a surprisingly different angle (another Monkey)

A cheeky little monkey trying to see what I’m up to!

As I was saying yesterday, I love to do projects that teach me something new and I have chosen my next challenge of Fair Isle. My knitting style clearly shows, because Martine (of iMake fame) bought me the perfect “monkey” project for my birthday. Thank you so so much Martine! She bought me a kit from the wonderful people at Jamiesons and Smith of Kate Davies’ fabulously cute Sheep Carousel. The pattern is perfect for any monkey knitter, because although it is nice and small, it showcases lots and lots of different Shetland knitting techniques. The very clever Kate has designed it purposely for us monkey types so that we may learn an awful lot in just one project. When I knit this (my next project) I will learn:

Stranded colourwork

Steeks (scary – involves cutting up my knitting)

Vikkel braids (whatever they may be)

Corrugated ribbing (doesn’t sound too hard)

i-cord (ok I’ve done this one before – but cannot remember it) and

Centred Double Decreases (I must’ve done those before – right?)

So much to learn in something so tiny – as Kate puts it herself on the pattern ”Practice on your teapot before trying these things out on a sweater!” Plus it’s decorated with sheep on a fairground carousel – I’ve yet to meet a knitter that didn’t love sheep, old-fashioned fairgrounds and tea!!

I just can’t wait to get started…

Kate Davies’ picture of the Sheep Carousel tea cosy from her Flickr page

used with her very kind permission

Craft Knitting

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Monkey House #4KCBWDAY1

by Kate's Twirl

Wow, it seems forever since I participated in the my first knitting and crochet blog week, run by Eskimimimakes, but it is only a year. I’m hoping that you will agree that my blogging has got a bit better, even if my blogs are still rather intermittent! Something to address this year, I guess!

As a reminder, the annual knitting and crochet blog week, challenges knitting and crochet bloggers to write a blog each day on a specific topic. Today’s topic looks at the types of crafters we are – here’s an excerpt Eskimimi’s blog to explain:

“KCBWDAY1 The House Cup.
A bit like Harry Potter, but not quite, this year’s Knitting & Crochet Blog Week is split into 4 houses. Don your favourite knitted or crocheted hat and let it guide you to which house you will be in.

The House of Bee: Bees are busy and industrious, but can flit from one interesting project to the next as bright and shiny things capture their interest.
The House of Manatee: Manatees are gentle, calm and cuddly. Relaxed and unflashy they represent the comfort and soft side of knitting and crochet.
The House of Monkey: Intelligent and with a fun loving side, Monkeys like to be challenged with every project presenting them with something new and interesting.
The House of Peacock: Peacocks take something good and make it brilliant. Buttons, embellishments and a bit of sparkle prove that perfection lies in the details – like a Peacock’s Tail.” Eskimimimakes’ blog

As you’ll have guessed from my title, I sit in the monkey house! I love a challenge with my knitting. Right back when I picked up my needles again, some 13 years ago, I’ve wanted to learn more and more. I always chose patterns that had something in them that I’d never tried before. Back then, there was no YouTube to watch people’s video tutorials, you just had to do what the pattern said and hope for the best – I always found it miraculous that it worked – but it always did. Having faith in your knitting and the pattern was key.

It has to be said that if I’d spend the whole 13 years knitting the amount that I do now, I’d be a knitting guru – I, however, used to be very intermittent with my knitting – doing maybe one or two projects a year, so I still have loads to learn. The internet, particularly Ravelry, revolutionised my knitting. There’s just so much out there to learn!

My learning curve now is focused on pattern writing. I have published 2 so far; The Birthday Shawl and the, award-winning, Diamond Dot Scarf and have another 2 in the pipeline. By far my favourite, The Birthday Wrap, will be released on 1 May 2013.

P1040771

The Birthday Shawl and the Diamond Dot Scarf

The Birthday Wrap

My next learning project is to tackle Fair Isle…. more about that later in the week!

To read other people’s blogs on this topic, search 4KCBWDAY1 in your browser. Have fun

Craft Knitting

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Wool, Wool and more Wool

by Kate's Twirl

Yesterday, I went to the Wool House exhibition at Somerset House with a couple of friends. We had a great time. It was interesting, beautiful and inspriring and all for free. The display continues until 24 March, so if you get a chance, it is well worth a visit.

The joy starts with sheep in the courtyard:

Sheep in the Courtyard at Somerset House

There are 3 different breads there: Cotswold (the very wooly ones with mops of wool covering their eyes) Kerry Hill (with the cute black noses, ears and knees) and the Lleyn (the fella on the right with a lovely white face). Sadly, although the exhibition runs until 24 march, the sheep are only there for 3 days (the last day being tomorrow, Saturday 16 March). I was very pleased to see them. Sadly, although understandably, we were not allowed a cuddle! It you’d like to know more about sheep breads, take a look at this website: http://www.nationalsheep.org.uk/sheep-breeds.php

These installations were also outside:

The fleece balls on the topiary styled tree were really really soft – they allowed us to touch those!

The Wool House exhbition was curated by Arabella McNie for The Campaign for Wool and is a celebration of the beauty, versatility and durability of this wonderful natural fibre. Designers, such as Claudy Jongstra, Josephine Ryan, Anne Kyyrö-Quinn and Donna Wilson were all given a room to display their particular wooly passions. Here are some pics of my favourites: