Crafting Balance - 3KCBWDAY7

So, this is it -  the final topic for our Knitting and Crochet Blog Week 2012.

I have enjoyed reading other bloggers' thoughts and look at their photographs and I do hope that there were a few who also enjoyed reading my posts as much as I enjoyed writing them.

While I am thankful that I can take a blogging breather again (usually I only blog about two or three times each week), I am already looking forward to next years.

Thank you very much to Eskimimimakes for coming up with this great idea!

But here is one last topic for all us all to enjoy:

Crafting Balance 

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Are you a knitter or a crocheter, or are you a bit of both? If you are monogamous in your yarn-based crafting, is it because you do not enjoy the other craft or have you simply never given yourself the push to learn it? Is it because the items that you best enjoy crafting are more suited to the needles or the hook? Do you plan on ever trying to take up and fully learn the other craft? If you are equally comfortable knitting as you are crocheting, how do you balance both crafts? Do you always have projects of each on the go, or do you go through periods of favouring one over the other? How did you come to learn and love your craft(s)?

I totally swing both ways :)

Both crafts have their pro's and con's which incidentally pretty much go hand in hand. Things I dislike about one craft are a positive about the other, for example:


Casting on
Knitting: I find it easier to stop and recount as you have all the loops on your needle.
Crocheting: Depending on the yarn it can be extremely difficult to recount your loops if you lost count along the way. I tend to place stitch markers at 50 loop intervals.


Drop a stitch
Knitting: That can become a real bitch, especially when you only notice it ten rows after....you have to either knit backwards or if you have an easy pattern without a myriad of YON/YRN just frog away until you can pick all your stitches up again (we could be talking 100+, depending on what you are working on).
Crocheting: You only ever have one stitch on your hook, so who cares if you dropped it, just carry on as normal. Even if for whatever reason you need to frog a few rows back, you only have to pick up one stitch. Yeah, baby, yeah!

The creative process
Knitting: I get bored easy when a pattern is plain. Knitting seems kind of endless, you don't have the gratification of a completed project at your fingertips. Your very seldom get your needles out when you fancy a "quickie" project.
Crocheting: Many of my favourite crochet projects consist of smaller sections being brought together. For example blankets made from granny squares. One square can be finished within 30 - 60 minutes, so you have almost instant gratifying of having completed something.

The look of the finished projects
Knitting: There is no doubt in my mind that clothing is much nicer when it is knitted, as it feels softer and appears to be more comfortable to wear
Crocheting: Blankets, pillow cases, scarves and wraps are gorgeous when crocheted, but jumpers and cardigans just feel heavy and bulky as crocheting will be much more sturdy.

Truly, I love doing both and generally have one of each on the go at the same time - I am so glad that I rediscovered both knitting and crocheting in 2011.

I started knitting when I was in school, so around 40 years ago (yikes!!!!) and we were also shown how to crochet loop chains - but knitting was more the way to go in those days.
In the 80's and early 90's I used to knit a lot and almost all my jumpers were handmade. I only wish I would have kept them as most of those patterns have now come back into fashion!!! At some stage I was so good at knitting that I created my own patterns. But then from one day to the next I fell out of love with this craft.

Crocheting only came into my life in earnest at the beginning of 2011 because I saw THIS post by Michelle Clement that got me interested in crocheting and I started to look around the www. for more inspiration. After a few month of checking out what people created with a hook and some yarn I started to teach myself in January 2011 and I haven't looked back since.

Other craft's fell by the wayside - such as my scrapbooking and cardmaking, but I am cool with that. Right know knitting and crocheting is what makes me happy, and that is really all that matters

Improving Your Skillset - 3KCBWDAY6

I can't believe that we are almost at the end of the 2012 Knitting and Crochet Blog Week. It has been great so far and I really enjoyed working with a different topic each day.

So, what have we got in store for today? Well, this of course:

Improving Your Skillset

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How far down the road to learning your craft do you believe yourself to be? Are you comfortable with what you know or are you always striving to learn new skills and add to your knowledge base? Take a look at a few knitting or crochet books and have a look at some of the skills mentioned in the patterns. Can you start your amigurumi pieces with a magic circle, have you ever tried double knitting, how's your intarsia? If you are feeling brave, make a list of some of the skills which you have not yet tried but would like to have a go at, and perhaps even set yourself a deadline of when you'd like to have tried them by.

I am always looking at improving my skills.

When you consider that I actually started knitting about 40 years ago I should pretty much be an expert, right? But I am not, because my once loved craft fell by the wayside when I hit my late twenties and I only re-discovered it last year.

As a crocheter I would still class myself as beginner as there are many ordinary stitches I still cannot do. But every year I progress in my skills and look at improving what I am already capable of doing plus add some new techniques to try.

If I don't challenge myself I get bored. There is nothing I detest more than becoming stagnant.

I can still recall last year when I tried so hard to get my head around a Granny Square.

Don't laugh, folks - I was incapable of creating the easiest stitch pattern around and I was in tears about it. I looked at You Tube tutorials, step by step photo patterns, charts, etc but I just did not get it. The worst part was that I was able to follow instructions that were classed as intermediate or advanced really easy, but the humble Granny had me stumped. But I did not give up, I tried again and again and again and after one month of continuous attempts I was there and finally cracked the Granny Square.

The problem I had was that it was too easy...I was used following more complex instructions and the sheer simplicity completely threw me, isn't that just the weirdest thing ever?

But I digress - there are still so many techniques and skills and I wish to learn in knitting and crocheting and to keep it at an achievable target, here is what I am hoping to learn in 2012:

• Crocheting - Broomstick Lace

I love the look of the garments that are created with this technique and I am sure I should be able to master this one at some stage this year

• Knitting - a pair of socks

Actually I have knitted one pair of socks before - in 1992 and they were too big, so this is definitely a MUST do for me this year

Craft Your Perfect Day - 3KCBWWC

Well, today's topic was again not calling out to me - Something A Bit Different, which is asking for a most creative post. 

M'eh...that ain't me - I am too old to get all fancy schmancy with pod casts, videos and all that jazz. So, I am taking the wild card entry for the boring old farts like me, who are content with the way they are blogging and do not want to push their creativity in that respect. 

Here we go with the Wildcard Topic:

Craft Your Perfect Day

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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.

I would say that I am actually very blessed and experience the prefect crafting day, every day :)

My typical work day looks like this:

6:00am - Get up and ready to go to work
6:40/6:45am - Leave the house/arrive a the ferry to take me to work
6:50 - 8:10am - Knit/crochet during the ferry ride (so very nice and relaxing when in the winter months you can view the most spectacular sunrises and in the summer time you can watch all the sailing boats going out)
8:30am - 5:30pm - Work
5:45 - 7:00pm - Knit/crochet during the ferry ride back home
7:05 - 7:30 pm - Prepare dinner and eat
7:30 until bedtime (usually between 10:00/11:00pm depending on how many episodes of the different CSI's are on) - watch telly and knit/crochet

Of course I do not ignore Mr P when I come home. We chat about or day and discuss plans for the weekend, but I am clever enough to be able to knit/crochet and talk at the same time :)))

Weekends are usually filled with short trips or relaxing on the balcony. But as soon as I plonk my behind on the couch and have the TV on, my knitting/crochet WIP's will join me :)

A Knitter or Crocheter for all seasons - 3KCBWDAY4

Do you enjoy browsing all the different blogs who participate in this week's topics? Granted, I do not have the time to read all of them but I already found some really cool ones I have now added to my reader list.

Today we are all nattering away about the following topic:

A Knitter or Crocheter For All Seasons?

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As spring is in the air in the northern hemisphere and those in the southern hemisphere start setting their sights for the arrival of winter, a lot of crocheters and knitters find that their crafting changes along with their wardrobe. Have a look through your finished projects and explain the seasonality of your craft to your readers. Do you make warm woollens the whole year through in preparation for the colder months, or do you live somewhere that never feels the chill and so invest your time in beautiful homewares and delicate lace items. How does your local seasonal weather affect your craft?

What an interesting topic, which made me sit back and think hard about it.

Do I craft seasonal ?
Well, I can honestly say that I really do not have a preference for any season when it comes to knitting or crocheting. This may also be the case because for the last year I mainly created pillow cases and blankets and only the occasional scarf/cowl.
Currently I have two projects on the go which could be worn in colder and warmer months and the only reason why I chose them was that I liked the pattern.

Does the local seasonal weather affect my craft?
Not too much, only in the way that when it is really hot I do not craft full stop as my hands will get too sticky after working with the yarn and needles/hook. And also I do not like the added warmth from the project when it is resting on my lap.

In retrospect though I would say that I am more tempted to knit/crochet hats and scarves when it is colder outside, but generally I just go with what I fancy at the time. If I come across a fabulous pattern for a cable jumper in spring, I will go ahead and knit it - even though I may not be wearing of for many months to come.
As with anything, I have to be inspired by it at the time I see it and then I will commit to it then and there. I am not someone who can pre-plan knitting or crocheting.

Your Knitting or Crochet Hero - 3KCBWDAY3

Did you all miss me yesterday?

Yeah, yeah - I know, like a hole in the head...

Anyway, today's topic is something I am happy to contribute to, so let's see what we will be talking about:

Your Knitting Or Crochet Hero

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Blog about someone in the fibre crafts who truly inspires you. There are not too many guidelines for this, it's really about introducing your readers to someone who they might not know who is an inspiration to you. It might be a family member or friend, a specific designer or writer, indie dyer or another blogger. If you are writing about a knitting designer and you have knitted some of their designs, don't forget to show them off. Remember to get permission from the owner if you wish to use another person's pictures. 

To be honest I have not any specific person that I would class as my knitting or crocheting hero/guru.
There is so much inspiration out there in the www and I take delight in many little things from here, there and everywhere.

I have blogged before about the artwork that Marcel Wanders and Joana Vasconelos crochet and if there is anyone around I would class as my "I-am-in-awe-at-what-you-do" guys, they'd be it. I just love to look at their creations but I would not want to try to do anything similar.

There are oodles of blogs I look to for inspiration, which I faithfully follow through my Google Reader. But I have noticed that a number of them only inspire me for a certain amount of time and then get bored on move onto others.

Currently I am always excited when I see new posts popping up on these blogs (in no particular order)

• Pumpkin Spins
• The Rainey Sisters
• Signed With an Owl
• According to Matt
• AnaZard Atelier

Colour Lovers - 3KCBWDAY1

I am so excited that we are kick starting the Knitting and Crochet Blog Week 2012 today.

The idea came from Eskimimimakes who gave everyone who liked to participate topics to play with for each day.

Today's topic is this:

Colour Lovers  
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Colour is one of our greatest expressions of ourselves when we choose to knit or crochet, so how do you choose what colours you buy and crochet or knit with. Have a look through your stash and see if there is a predominance of one colour. Do the same with your finished projects - do they match? Do you love a rainbow of bright hues, or more subdued tones. How much attention do you pay to the original colour that a garment is knit in when you see a pattern? Tell readers about your love or confusion over colour.

Colour is so important and is one of my main reasons for purchasing anything - clothes, every day items, bedding - the colour just has to be right.
I have always been drawn to pinks for some reason, maybe because I use to be such a tomboy. I used to wear proper Lederhosen and dress in earth tones, hanging around with the boys, climbing trees rather than playing with girls and dolls.
But even though I am always buying pink things, you hardly find me wear that colour...weird, no? The majority of my wardrobe consists of black clothes. Maybe a little beige thrown on occasions, but certainly not pink.

For even stranger reasons, when I look to knit or crochet items of clothing I never choose black. I wonder why that is, seeing that I don't really wear colourful clothes...
When I look at a pattern I am not influenced at all by the colour, it is generally the style or the technique that draws me in and I start to look at my favourite online stores to check out colour ways that would appeal to me.

Oddly enough though, the other day when I was looking for some inspiration, I came across a Sirdar pattern for a cardigan and I loved the colour combination so much that I bought - for the first time ever - the exact colours and yarns as given in the pattern.

As for pillow covers or blankets that I crochet for our front room, well they all have to feature mainly purple tones as our room looks like this:

So, what would you expect to find in my yarn stash colour wise? I honestly thought that I had mainly pinks, blues and greens in there, but imagine my surprise when  the first layer revealed this:

and the bottom layer told this story:

What have I learned today by looking in more depth at what colour I choose for my knitting and crocheting?
It looks to me like I am an earth tone kinda girl and if in doubt I go for the neutral beige tones.

• I want to change that and set myself a target of using at least one bright colour this year which with I am either knitting or crocheting an item of clothing.

P.S. - Just in case you may want to know, I am sitting out tomorrow post as a photography challenge is not if interest to me