I've been shortlisted for a prize!

A little while ago, during the frenzy of moving house, I managed to take part in Eskimimi's Knitting and Crochet Blog Week. I really enjoyed doing it last year, and with the added excitement of prizes, this year's week was a definite on my list of things to do.

One of the competitions was for the day five topic "Do Something Different". I had the idea for my post weeks before, realising that the theme of moving house was something I could incorporate into my post, as my amigurumis would all need to find a new place to live in the new house. The idea of a comic strip was born.

You can see my original post here. I had loads of fun doing it, and everyone seemed to like it once it was published. But in a field of almost one hundred entries, I didn't think I would get very far in the competition.

You can imagine my surprise then, when today I saw Mimi had posted the list of ten finalists for the most creative prize, and my little comic strip has made the cut! I am honoured to be part of a fantastic line up of posts vying for the prizes, so hop on over to Eskimimimakes.com and check out my competition. I'm very pleased to see that the Day 5 post from my friend Stitched Together is also shortlisted!

I'd be really pleased if you decided that you liked my post the best out of the ten choices and voted for me, but don't worry, I won't feel bad if you decide someone else's post was better.

Climbing the learning curve

Today's Knitting and Crochet Blog Week topic is all about skills. What do I have left to learn?

Well, the answer to that is quite a lot, actually. I have only been seriously crocheting and knitting for less than two years, and while I've come a long way since I started, I still have a long way to go.

One thing that has really pushed me this past year in terms of learning new skills has been the Year of Projects. I designed my list of projects with the express aim of improving my knitting skills. Before starting the project, the only knit items I'd done were a few basic garter stitch scarves. While the first few items on the list were scarves, they were lacy scarves that introduced me to new stitches.

Thinking of You scarf

Victorian scarf

I also started learning how to use charted patterns, rather than written instructions only. A major leap forward in my ability to knit came with my first ever triangular shawl, 198yds of heaven:

I've learned to knit in the round on DPNs and circular needles, mastering hats and gloves. I am about to embark on my first ever knit garment, a shrug called Eleonora.

Looking forward to the next Year of Projects (which will kick off in July), I already have big plans to add more skills to my growing repertoire:

• Stranded colourwork
• More things that fit
• Judy's magic cast on
• Intarsia (in crochet, at least)
• Possibly even sock knitting!

One of the things I love about knitting and crochet is that once you've mastered the basics, everything else follows on really naturally. Nothing is scary for me any more, although some patterns I choose will be challenging, the end results are always worth the effort. I love being able to create useable items that I can be proud to wear and use. Having resources like Ravelry and all the wonderful blogs that I read makes the whole process a lot easier as well!

Search 3KCBWDAY6 to see what everyone else has done with today's topic. Also, please check back to see my post for yesterday's "Something Different" topic, if you haven't already seen it!

Something different...

Search 3KCBWDAY5 to see what everyone else has come up with for today's "Something Different" theme!

Seasonal knitting?

Back on track with Day 4 of Eskimimi's Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, and today's topic is all about seasonal knitting.

It will be a theme for the day for any British blogger taking part, in which we complain massively about the unseasonable weather we have been having for the last couple of years. This makes it pretty difficult to predict what we should be knitting, because you have no idea when you cast on what the weather is going to be like when the project is finished!

Like Chrissy and Nat, I'm starting to think that cardigans and wraps are the only way forward to get around this changeable weather. I started the Cherry Wrap in September last year, hoping to get it finished quickly and to have it as an extra layer for the office. As you saw yesterday, it still isn't finished! I don't really mind though, because air conditioning means you need layers in the office all year round.

I've only been knitting and crocheting for a couple of years, so I haven't yet settled into a proper seasonal cycle. I'm still at the point where I just knit or crochet things because I want to! I also have a bit of a scarf and glove obsession, so even in the middle of summer I will be casting on gloves. The top five items in my Ravelry queue are warm woolly gloves, a warm woolly hat, a cardigan and two shawls!

I don't think seasonal knitting really matters, if all you make is accessories though. I haven't really branched out too much into clothing yet; I'm still a little wary of things like getting it to fit, and choosing appropriate yarn for the project. I'm hoping Eleonora will cure me of this.

Check out other (probably more interesting) day 4 posts by searching for 3KCBWDAY4 in the search engine of your choice. Definitely come back tomorrow for day 5, I've got something awesome planned for the "something different" topic (provided I have the energy to finish preparing it today!).

Wildcard Wednesday

I'm not too keen on today's KCBW topic, as I don't really have any knitting/crocheting heroes to speak of! So I'm going to use the wildcard topic today, which should tie neatly into Tami's WIP Wednesday meme as well.

Craft Your Perfect Day

Plan your fantasy day with your craft, It might just take up one hour of your day or be the entire focus of the day, but tell your readers where you'd love to craft, whether you'd craft alone or with friends, knitting or crocheting something simple or spending a day learning new skills. 

It's been less than a week since I moved into my new house and while the stash is unpacked and ready to go, I simply don't have the time to craft at the moment. There is far too much unpacking to do (don't you go looking upstairs in my house anytime soon!) and the old house to be completely cleaned today as well (otherwise known as "losing the will to live so I can get my deposit back" day).

But with all this space available to me, a lovely comfy and cosy living room corner and a fully extended dining table crying out to be used for sewing, is it any wonder I am already daydreaming about all the amazing things I will be able to do here once I have the time?

For starters, I need to get some serious blocking on.

Fern Cowl

I still haven't figured out the best way to approach blocking this cowl! I'm sure it will be fiddly and irritating, but worth it once it's done and I can start wearing it (hopefully before it warms up too much and it is relegated to the winter wardrobe for six months).

Cherry Wrap

I put off blocking the pieces for my Cherry Wrap, because I simply did not have the room to do all three panels at once. I figured it would be kind of important to do them all side by side, to ensure I block them all out to the same dimensions. Now, I can lay them out on the floor and still be able to walk through the room!

Poncho Resurrection

In a perfect world, I would open up my bag of poncho motifs and discover that the End Weaving In Fairies had visited during the night, and I was ready to start crocheting them all together.

Blink

I'd finish this damn dishcloth just to get the needles back for something else! For some reason it really hasn't gripped my imagination, although I am sure I will love the finished object when I am done.

Granny Square

Those End Weaving In Fairies need to work their magic on this blanket too.

Hypernova

While I waited for all that blocking to dry, I'd dig out my Hypernova scarf and knit furiously until I was done. Since the blocking boards and wires would be out, I could then block it straight away and have a fabulous new scarf (not that I need more scarves - you have no idea just how many scarves I found in wardrobes when I was packing last weekend!).

Of course, in a perfect world, it wouldn't be raining so heavily like it actually is today. It would be warm and sunny, and I could be doing all of this outside on the lawn. I'd take a stereo outside, and listen to classical music while I knit. I'd pop to town and buy the yarn for Eleonora (if you recall, I had to wait until we moved because there was no space for a cardigan-worth of yarn in the old house) so as soon as Hypernova was pinned out, I could cast on my cardigan.

Although, finishing off Hypernova would probably fill me back up with so much love and enthusiasm for the Wollmeise, that I'd be tempted to cast on my second skein and start knitting Momijigari. Perhaps if I had two pairs of arms, I could knit both at once? But then I'd need a third pair, because I'm also really excited to start the Lazy Katy shawl.

Of course, I'm never going to have the time to just sit and spend an entire day with my yarn. As I said, today is cleaning the old house day. Tomorrow I have to empty and repack the garage, so I can get to the washing machine and tumble dryer. Friday I really need to focus on the upstairs of the house, get the rest of the clothes away and sort out the random boxes of tat that have accumulated over the years.

Hopefully this weekend I will have time to knit again! It's been a couple of weeks now and I am really starting to miss it.

To find posts on today's topic, search for 3KCBWDAY3. To see if anyone has used the wildcard, search for 3KCBWWC.

Photography Challenge Day!

When the topics were first announced for Knitting and Crochet Blog week, I got very excited about today's post. A first chance to test out the capabilities of my replacement camera for something fun.

Sadly, I haven't had a lot of time, or the right sort of weather, to get anything done recently. I'm hoping that my new house and garden will provide far more opportunity to stage interesting pics of my projects. There'll certainly be a lot more light, and at the very least, nice plain white walls to use as a backdrop!

I've already seen a few amazing entries for today's topic, and I'm sure my previous efforts wont even compare, but in the spirit of getting involved, here's my two most interesting FO photos:

I'd seriously recommend searching for "3KCBWDAY2" on the internet search engine of your choice, to check out the other posts from today.

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week Day One - Colour Lovers

I'm so excited to be taking part in Knitting and Crochet Blog week again this year. I'm just a bit cross that the house move timing has meant I've had less time than I really wanted to prepare for it. I'm hoping I can still do full justice to the suggested post topics, but I'll let you all be the judge of that!

For more information about Knitting and Crochet Blog week, head on over to Eskimimimakes.com to read all about it. To find more of today's posts, search the internet for 3KCBWDAY1.

Colour Lovers

Today we are posting about our love of colour. It comes as no surprise that practitioners of the fibre arts are lovers of colour. The right or wrong colour choice can make or break a project. And it is oh so easy to get stuck in a colour rut. We all have favourite colours that we reach for even without thinking.

To demonstrate, I have made a chart (lets face it, knitters are massive geeks).

I looked at everything I've made (just things that you wear, so scarves, hats, gloves, clothing) and it's pretty obvious where my colour sympathies lie!

A selection of my purple/pink projects

I really have to push myself to choose something other than purple. It's been my favourite colour for years. When I was a kid, and was given free reign to decorate my bedroom in whatever colour scheme I chose, I opted for two different shades of purple on the walls and a pink ceiling!

However, more recently I have been branching out. My sole yarn purchase at Unravel was a Zauberball for a Lazy Katy shawl, and I think I surprised everyone by choosing blue.

I surprised myself when I finally allowed myself to order some Candy Skein for myself. The other skeins I'd bought for prizes/swap parcels were in shades of purple, but for myself I selected two different blues.

Alright, I know blue isn't exactly too far a leap away from purple, but it's a start!

Of course, I'll really be breaking the purple cycle when I finally cast on my second skein of Wollmeise. I think I've finally settled on a pattern (this one).

Wollmeise 20:20 Twin in colourway Sonne

I think part of the reason I've gone for Momijigari is because the sample on the pattern page is knit in similar colours. I have a real hard time visualising how the colours in a skein of variegated yarn will knit up, and having trawled the project page for Wollmeise in Sonne no end of times I think it will look alright as this shawl.

Photo copyright Beth Kling, used with permission

As I have a lot of black in my wardrobe I am sure it will look fabulous in bright yellow and orange!