I said I'd sort some photos out, and promise I will soon! But just wanted to say I've finished all of my granny squares! 120 granny squares in black, blue, green and 'flesh'. Now I just need to start fixing them all together...I do still have to tie in the ends of the 9 squares I did yesterday, but the actual squares are done, which is a great feeling :)
I also haven't said anything about the September Crafty Creatives box, hopefully that will be my next post.
Monday 30 September 2013
Friday 27 September 2013
Visit to the Black Sheep Wools
I feel like I haven't had much time to craft lately. I was away last weekend - 12 of us spent the weekend in 2 cabins at Sherwood Forest. It was brilliant! We did axe throwing, archery... and did quite a lot of relaxing in the outdoor hot tubs. Absolute bliss.
Before I went away, I went to an event at the Black Sheep Wools in Warrington. This is perhaps my favourite wool shop - they are always really friendly and helpful, and the yarn choice is amazing! Plus they have cross stitch supplies. The event was called "Behind the Scenes with the Sirdar Design team" and was fantastic. Upon arrival I was given a raffle ticket, glass of water (there was some lovely looking fizz but thought I'd better not as I was driving, and there was also orange juice - which I'm allergic to, so water it was!) and a goody bag. The goody bag was a lovely tote bag with the Sirdar brands on it, and inside was a new pattern book for the Giselle yarn, along with a pen and a retrostyled notebook.
They let everyone wander around the shop for a while, waiting for everyone to arrive, and then took us into a separate room in groups to learn more about the design team processes. It was really interesting to learn how the garments are designed and produced from start to finish and then photographed. There were some fantastic garments, and I fell in love with a jumper knitted in Giselle yarn. When other groups were in the room people were free to browse the shop and food was bought around by the staff (lovely sandwiches and nibbles). To end the evening, a raffle was drawn, and there were 2 lots of new Sirdar wool to be won. The whole evening was fantastic, and I'm hoping they do more events like this that I can make it to!
And yes, I did end up buying more yarn. Only 3 balls of Giselle in a beautiful blue/green colour though-and it has brown/copper sparkles in it, I couldn't resist! And some cross stitch supplies... And a new posh crochet hook... The Giselle is already on the needles, and I'm making the cowl from the pattern book using Purse Stitch, which is a new one for me. It's knitting up quickly and I'm excited to wear it already!
Poor photo, but you can see the copper sparkles! (I will start taking photos with a proper camera soon I promise - until then, I'll keep using the camera on my phone)
I will try to add some pics next week... but if you want to see the Black Sheep Wools, check out their website http://www.blacksheepwools.com/craft-barn
Before I went away, I went to an event at the Black Sheep Wools in Warrington. This is perhaps my favourite wool shop - they are always really friendly and helpful, and the yarn choice is amazing! Plus they have cross stitch supplies. The event was called "Behind the Scenes with the Sirdar Design team" and was fantastic. Upon arrival I was given a raffle ticket, glass of water (there was some lovely looking fizz but thought I'd better not as I was driving, and there was also orange juice - which I'm allergic to, so water it was!) and a goody bag. The goody bag was a lovely tote bag with the Sirdar brands on it, and inside was a new pattern book for the Giselle yarn, along with a pen and a retrostyled notebook.
They let everyone wander around the shop for a while, waiting for everyone to arrive, and then took us into a separate room in groups to learn more about the design team processes. It was really interesting to learn how the garments are designed and produced from start to finish and then photographed. There were some fantastic garments, and I fell in love with a jumper knitted in Giselle yarn. When other groups were in the room people were free to browse the shop and food was bought around by the staff (lovely sandwiches and nibbles). To end the evening, a raffle was drawn, and there were 2 lots of new Sirdar wool to be won. The whole evening was fantastic, and I'm hoping they do more events like this that I can make it to!
And yes, I did end up buying more yarn. Only 3 balls of Giselle in a beautiful blue/green colour though-and it has brown/copper sparkles in it, I couldn't resist! And some cross stitch supplies... And a new posh crochet hook... The Giselle is already on the needles, and I'm making the cowl from the pattern book using Purse Stitch, which is a new one for me. It's knitting up quickly and I'm excited to wear it already!
Poor photo, but you can see the copper sparkles! (I will start taking photos with a proper camera soon I promise - until then, I'll keep using the camera on my phone)
Wednesday 11 September 2013
Lean, mean, crafting machine
I've been crafting. And not just crafting, but actually getting somewhere with things! I have started and completed projects. A fantastic feeling!
I'm going to start with a quick project I did the other weekend while the boyfriend was in Tenerife enjoying the sun
Knitted wristwarmers. With scales. A lovely pattern, which I bought from Craftymutt. Nice, easy knit and they feel lovely (I used Wendy Fusion yarn as it was cheap in my local yarn shop) I'm just waiting for the colder weather so I can get some use out of them! In case you're wondering, the right hand wristwarmer wasn't sewn up when I took the picture.
I also had a go at 'repurposing' some old jeans. These belonged to the bf, but they're too short for him.
I tried to make a bag, and think it turned out quite well for a first attempt!
I even managed to line it with my beautiful camper van fabric! If you saw my last post about the CratyCreatives box14, the 'belt' trim and studs on the right might look familiar.
The thing on the left is a beaded button I had lying around and I thought it would look nice on the bag.
The bag is a good size, nice and deep, and I'm planning to use the jeans pockets as bag pockets, rather than trying to add my own. The strap was made using one of the jean legs, and there's still plenty of denim left over for me to use in the future. Everything was sewn by hand, as I didn't dare use the sewing machine on denim.
I also managed to sew up the bolero I knitted up in April (I really don't know why I waited so long to sew it up - it was pretty easy!) and hopefully I'll have pictures of that to put up soon.
The granny squares are coming along nicely as well - I've done 103 so far, and need another 17 for the Lemming blanket (at least) Hopefully I'll get all the squares done this month, and then I'll have to put them all together somehow!
DWSAL - all the embroidered squares are finished! Now I just need to put them together into some quilt-like form... I have the materials, and now just need the time.
I'm glad I've had lots of crafting time recently - the next few weeks are looking hectic, and I've just started an accounting course for work so will have homework to do on top of everything else.
And it's the Sprite Stitch swap again, Sept - Oct! I've got the details for my swappee, and now need to come up with something cunning. I have a couple of ideas in mind so we'll see what happens!
Oh, and did I mention I've started my latest knitting project? Pics to come next time hopefully!
I'm going to start with a quick project I did the other weekend while the boyfriend was in Tenerife enjoying the sun
Knitted wristwarmers. With scales. A lovely pattern, which I bought from Craftymutt. Nice, easy knit and they feel lovely (I used Wendy Fusion yarn as it was cheap in my local yarn shop) I'm just waiting for the colder weather so I can get some use out of them! In case you're wondering, the right hand wristwarmer wasn't sewn up when I took the picture.
I also had a go at 'repurposing' some old jeans. These belonged to the bf, but they're too short for him.
I tried to make a bag, and think it turned out quite well for a first attempt!
I even managed to line it with my beautiful camper van fabric! If you saw my last post about the CratyCreatives box14, the 'belt' trim and studs on the right might look familiar.
The thing on the left is a beaded button I had lying around and I thought it would look nice on the bag.
The bag is a good size, nice and deep, and I'm planning to use the jeans pockets as bag pockets, rather than trying to add my own. The strap was made using one of the jean legs, and there's still plenty of denim left over for me to use in the future. Everything was sewn by hand, as I didn't dare use the sewing machine on denim.
I also managed to sew up the bolero I knitted up in April (I really don't know why I waited so long to sew it up - it was pretty easy!) and hopefully I'll have pictures of that to put up soon.
The granny squares are coming along nicely as well - I've done 103 so far, and need another 17 for the Lemming blanket (at least) Hopefully I'll get all the squares done this month, and then I'll have to put them all together somehow!
DWSAL - all the embroidered squares are finished! Now I just need to put them together into some quilt-like form... I have the materials, and now just need the time.
I'm glad I've had lots of crafting time recently - the next few weeks are looking hectic, and I've just started an accounting course for work so will have homework to do on top of everything else.
And it's the Sprite Stitch swap again, Sept - Oct! I've got the details for my swappee, and now need to come up with something cunning. I have a couple of ideas in mind so we'll see what happens!
Oh, and did I mention I've started my latest knitting project? Pics to come next time hopefully!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)