Day Four: Bags of Fun - 6KCBWDAY4

I've been knitting since about 2001, and by anyone's measure, that's a lot of time to accrue (read: hoard!) quite a collection of crafty bits and pieces. So it's really no surprise that I have rather a lot of yarn, bits of knitting and notions.

In this post from the second Knitting & Crochet Blog Week, I talked in a general way about how my collection was "organised" - this time I've decided to focus on my two favourites which have served me well over the years.

First up is my knitting bag - it's black and white, features polka dots (always a good thing in my book!) and a pretty printed design with dressmaker's dummy silouette illustrations. It kind of "winked" at me in the shop I was working in at the time (I was the Rowan Design Consultant for the Coats Crafts concession in Edinburgh's well-known and historic department store, Jenners) and I knew I had to have it. I love the detailing, measuring tape print along the top and its sturdy wooden handles.

It's perfect for carrying any work-in-progress pieces of knitting around - there's ample space for two or three projects, and it is currently home to my snowflake cardi WIP (in hibernation...!), one of my knitting needle rolls, some twinkly teal yarn and a bag full of 4ply in assorted colours which is a lovely blend of merino wool, microfibre and a touch of cashmere.

The other crafting companion I'm very fond of is this little number:

I constructed it much like a large pencil case, so it's really just a large, lined zippered pouch. First time I'd made something like it so I was pretty pleased and it has served me well ever since as a perfect place for storing my smaller tools and notions.

Here's what's inside it at the moment:

Essentially it's anything I might need while working on a project. I think the only thing missing there really is my measuring tape and/or a ruler of some sort. This oversized purse style bag is sometimes unceremoniously tipped out and the contents can be replaced with a smallish work in progress - ideal as a wee project bag for travel!

[Please note, I'm a bit behind schedule, so the post for Day 3 is coming later!]

Awash with Colour - 4KCBWDAY4

Day 4 - Colour Review

"What are your favourite colours for knitted 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 anyway - if you are in the house of peacock, for example, are your projects often multicoloured and bright?"



I feel that my favourite colours for knitted projects (and crafting generally) are more or less the same as my favourite colours overall: beautiful deep, rich jewel tones, as well as a sprinkling of neutrals and pastels to offset them.

Now to see if I'm right! (I imagine I'm not far off really, as I have a pretty good awareness of colour and frankly am quite obsessed with it.)

On reviewing the projects I recorded over the last year on Ravelry, I do think my initial assessment is about right. I'm not including in this review items I was commissioned to make as I do usually get requests for specific colourways when people order something!



I do know for a fact that my stash is dominated by reds, purples, violets, greens, teals, blues and greeny-blues - a veritable rainbow of saturated colour if you will.

This is tempered by my love of natural tones - many hues of soft greys, a hint of cream and a handful of inky blue and deep black. I also have a small collection of pastel yarns because I have a love for shades with a slightly retro feel - 1950s ice cream colours anyone?

[EDIT]

Just realised I neglected to cover the final part of the task! Ooops. In any case, thinking about the colours that appeal to me and that I tend to craft with, I supppose they do correlate in a way (other than perhaps the neutrals) to the sorts of colours a *real* bee might be attracted to in the world of flora. How fitting!

(Dis)organised Chaos

Day Three: Tidy mind, tidy stitches.

I have to say, in all honesty, Ravelry is one of the best things to happen to my knitting! I can actually use it to keep an eye on how my projects are progressing...
...and it has several useful tools to help you keep tabs. There's a virtual bookshelf/library which is quite fun and a nice reminder of the books you own...


...as well as a handy chart to record your knitting needles and/or crochet hooks. I quite like to keep track of my (ever-mounting) yarn stash and the Ravelry way is wonderfully visual, as you are able to upload photos of your fibrey finds.


Aside from the virtual world, I have so much yarn, it barely fits inside a (dedicated) wardrobe! Part of the problem is that not only do I hand knit, I also machine knit - I own two domestic, vintage mechanical Knitmaster machines - which means, yep, you guessed it - more yarn. In cones, and larger quantities...not to mention other equipment that goes with them. It's small wonder that I have a storage unit too!


I have a couple of knitting bags which I absolutely love - both for storage and as a way of carting my projects about with me when I'm on the go (or even just around the house!).


This was an absolute find - a super-cute vintage knitting bag! A great size for travelling too, as it fits inside my suitcase if need be:


For my pins, I have two pretty knitting needle rolls...


...and a little bag for notions that I made myself, like a giant purse or modified pencil case:


...but where's the yarn, you say? I have rather a lot, but some is kept in a unit with big plastic drawers. One of my favourite drawers is this one full of Rowan Kidsilk Haze (with a dash of Kidsilk Night thrown in for good measure!).


I generally like to keep similar fibre types or weights together. Here is my 4 ply bag:


I made the bag from one of my machine knitted fabrics, but I'm lazy and didn't line it! This is what the outside looks like:


Oh, and the kitten knitting bag is full of summery yarns too:


I have so much more yarn, in various bags and boxes but there simply aren't enough hours in the day! I think I might just have a *slight* yarn addiction, ha ha!

P.S. If you want to look me up, my Ravelry user name is catameringue :)

Happy Knitting Week!

Hurrah! It's National Knitting Week here in the UK - a chance to celebrate all that is fibrey and fabulous. It also feels like the perfect point in the year to start thinking about new knitting projects and doing a little bit of rummaging through The (ever-growing - well at least in my case) Stash. With that in mind, here are some lovely things to get those creative juices flowing!

These tags have a fun graphic knitting print on them - perfect for labelling your handiwork. Tags and 'I'm a Knitter' card above both by Tea and Ceremony.


I really like this pattern by Claire Crompton for a bag knitted on the bias, what a beautiful and useful way to use up leftover scraps of yarn.

For those who like a little side serving of sewing with their knitting, how about this?



Lovely vibrant print of some rather funky knitting needles from Stitch Me Lane Fabrics. Happy Knitting! :)

Yarn Love

Day Seven: 'What a Yarn'

Yarn. Where would we be without it? Well, we wouldn't have very much to wear without any, that's for sure!

I've been mulling over this topic for a few days now and I have to say, choosing just one yarn to mention is pretty tough, there are so many incredible fibres, colours, blends and brands out there in today's marketplace. I guess us crafty types are really lucky to have so much choice. Sometimes perhaps overwhelmingly too much choice, one might even say.

I studied textiles for four years, so as you can imagine I am always interested in hearing new developments in the kinds of fibre available to design and create with. There always seems to be some exciting new kind of yarn to play with, how wonderful. I could probably write an entire novel on my love of yarn (but I won't. At least not here.).


The yarn I have chosen to write about is bamboo. It's a really amazing fibre, and the plant grows exceedingly quickly, making it a truly sustainable resource. Did you know the growth rate of a bamboo plant can be up to a metre a day?! Regrowth occurs from offshoots, thus reducing the need to replant from scratch. Amazingly, compared to an equivalent amount of trees, bamboo produces 35% more oxygen and takes in nearly 5 times the amount of greenhouse gases.

I particularly love knitting with this fibre as it is lovely and soft with a natural sheen to it. It's got a very slinky feel when you wear it next to the skin, almost silk-like. Garments knitted up in bamboo also have a really nice drape too. As if that weren't enough, the fibres are very breathable and they are also thermal regulating!

The shawl above is my lace border wrap, knitted in the lushest blue Bamboo Soft. It's a Rowan Classic yarn and made of 100% Bamboo Viscose. This means it's produced in the same way as viscose, except with pulped up bamboo fibre and then extruded to create a dreamy soft yarn :)

Eyelet lace patterns seem to come out really well in this yarn, giving a nice stitch definition once the finished piece has been blocked.

February Fun

I'm not long back from a little trip up north to Stonehaven, partly to get away from it all, to catch up with a friend and also for its proximity to Aberdeen :)

On one particularly dreich day (no joke, it was raining cats & dogs!) I spent a happy half hour in a lovely craft shoppe in Stonehaven. Having seen some rather nice yarn in the window, my boyfriend knew it was inevitable that I would want to go in! I couldn't leave without having a good rummage and left with this little lot:



Additions to the ever-mounting stash, yay! :) The yarn is sooo soft and Rico Baby is a brand I haven't come across before - with some yummy colours in the aptly-named 'Lollipop' range. Just wish I'd had time to find at least one of the independent purveyors of yarn in the Granite City. Mind you, it's probably just as well since I have a bit of a problem walking out of such shops empty-handed!

For those of you who might fancy getting your mitts on some WildCat Designs handmade goodies, there's still time to enter my Prize Draw - plus, I've decided to extend the deadline to midnight (GMT) on Tuesday, 10th February 2009. What are you waiting for?!?