Tidy mind, tidy stitches - 2KCBWDAY3

How do you keep your yarn wrangling organised? 

That is todays topic for discussion. The quick answer to this is.... I don't. If you are a regular reader of this blog you may have noticed that I there is a total lack of pictures of my house. This is because despite my bestest efforts I am UNTIDY. My house seems to reflect my brain, cluttered. Clean but cluttered.

My yarn addiction is out of control. Any kind of bag, cupboard or shelf is seen by me as a good place to keep my yarn.  The rest of the family may disagree but if it's there I'll shove yarn onto or into it.

I have tried to be organised. I have a studio where all of my craft materials are meant to be stored. Notice that I said meant? There are huge bags, boxes and baskets in there full of yarn but that hasn't stopped the yarn from taking over the house. You see I have to go outside to get to my studio so if its raining then thats not good. Therefore much of the yarn must be stored in the house. Sometimes I go into the studio, look into my huge stash and find yarn that I totally forgot I had. That's not good is it?

Miu Miu is so embarrassed by the explosion of yarn in the bedroom that she tries to hide it with the curtain.

I would love to be organised but the older I get the more I realize that it just isn't me. I have seen many bloggers who have cupboards or shelves that are dedicated to yarn and they look fabulous. Maybe if I had such a cupboard I could keep my yarn under control, I don't hold out much hope though.

Ps. Thank you for your kind comments. I loved reading about what you would like to learn.

x

Skill + 1UP – 2KCBWDAY2

Skill + 1UP – 2KCBWDAY2
Look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year.

I was a bit concerned after reading todays topic as I don't really think that I have learnt any new skills over the past year. Instead I think that I have been fine tuning the skills I already have. For example it was around this time last year that I started to work with Japanese crochet patterns. I bought the book Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts - Lacy Crochet and began working on patterns using the diagrams rather than written step by step instructions. 

Kyuuto! was a wonderful book for a beginner because it had basic written instructions. The blanket that I made recently was from another Japanese book, this time with no English whatsoever. Although the patterns look daunting at first I now find them easier to follow than written ones. I do still struggle occasionally with small parts that I don't quite understand but so far have been successful in just winging it.

As for the coming year I would like to learn stitches such as the front post double crochet. Every time I come across a pattern that has such stitches I am put off. Maybe this is a touch of laziness on my part because I understand what I am supposed to do but have convinced myself that its too complicated.


I would also like to try some freeform crochet. I had a go once and it was fun so I would like to do some more. It would be good for me to loosen up a bit.


Is there anything that you would like to learn? Or is anything that you think that I should learn? I would really like to hear your thoughts on this.


Much love.
 x

Ps. If you are interested in learning to work from diagrams as opposed to written patterns, may I suggest Crochet Adorned by Linda Permann. The reason I would suggest this is because it has written instructions as well as diagrams. It also has information explaining the different symbols. I just wish that I had found it earlier, it could have been very helpful.

A Tale of Two Yarns - 2KCBWDAY1

Hello my lovelies. Happy Spring! I love Spring, a time of new growth and freshness all around.

Today is day one of the Knitting and Crochet Blog Week. If you fancy joining in just click on the buttony thing in the sidebar and hopefully it will take you to all the details.

The topic for today is A Tale of Two Yarns, in which we are asked to discuss two yarns that we have used and either like or dislike. When I first learnt to crochet I wasn't sure if I would succeed or not so I chose to use acrylic yarn from the local pound shop. It was great for learning with but I soon wanted to try new and more interesting yarns. This is when I went onto using yarn that was mainly natural. Cotton, 100% wool, mohair, angora etc. I tried many brands and didn't have any problems that I can remember.

My favourite of the natural yarns is the merino wool that I used for the Indecisive Project. It is so soft, thick, cozy and snuggly that I just love it. I think it is by Sublime but can't remember the full name of it.

One of problems with natural yarns though is that it can work out to be a wee bit expensive especially for large projects such as blankets. As is the case with a great many households, budgets are being stretched more and more and ours is no exception. So, towards the end of last year I started to look out for cheaper alternatives. Lucy of the wonderful Attic 24 posted that she had been using Stylecraft Special Dk and that she highly recommended it. 

I tried it and couldn't believe the difference between the Stylecraft and the acrylic that I had used from the poundshop. The Stylecraft is soft, easy to use and most of all cheap compared to the natural yarns. It also has an abundance of colours to choose from. I have added a few extra colours of other brands of DK that I have spotted while I have been out and about but they are not as soft or easy to crochet with. 

The Stylcraft Dk is great for all types of project although I am yet to make anything wearable so I don't how it would hold up for that. An added bonus is that it is washable too, great if you have children and/or animals.

Now, I would like to add that this is only my opinion and that other people may feel completely differently. I would love to hear which yarns you love to work with and maybe any that you don't like much. In future I would like to have a go with some of the Noro yarns that I have seen bloggers using. It looks so soft and yummy... maybe when our budget grows.

Thanks for stopping by, ttfn x

Oooops

Hello there, if there is anybody still there. I have to apologize for being a bad blogger so far this year. I have no real reason for my lack of posts just that life got in the way as it so often does.
Anyway, in an effort to make it up, I am planning to take part in the 2nd annual knitting and crochet blog week.

If you would like to join in, clicky here for the details.

x

Pray for Japan

Image via You.Are.Beautiful

Thoughts

My thoughts today are with the people of Japan.

x

Happy Hexagons

Hello my lovies, how are you today? I hope you are well.

It is very dark and dreary today in my neck of the woods. Not good picture taking weather at all. Luckily the sun came out yesterday and I used the time to take some pics of my recently finished project. I have been longing for colour and brightness to counteract the greyness of winter here in the UK and decided to make a colourful throw. I found a pattern in the same Japanese book that the pattern for the flowers came from.

When I posted about the flowers a couple of you lovely readers asked which book they were from. Now, I am usually very careful about letting you know where I get my ideas and patterns from but for some reason I forgot to say in that post. The book is called PRETTY COLOR CROCHET and KNIT GOODS 2...

And it is available from a lovely seller here.

There are many lovely, colourful patterns in the book and I fell in love with this image...

...and decided that I had to make my own. How could I resist?

I added a white border as I like to have a little bit of white to make the colours pop and here is how it came out...

It's not a very big throw, just a nice size to put over your legs whilst watching tv and doing a bit of crochet. The hexagons are quite easy after you have done the 1st one so it's quite a quick project and a good way to use lots of yummy colours.

If you are having a grey day today I hope that the colours have cheered things up a bit. 

Take care, much love.

x