Month: May 2019

Stash Dash – aka Crazy Knitting Goals

| Sonia Knits

Stash Dash has just kicked off and I’m going to participate this year. Stash Dash is a 3 month knitting event hosted by The Knit Girllls where participants knit/crochet/spin etc as much of their stash as they possibly can. The rules are pretty flexible; which is fine, because you’re only completing against yourself.

I’m going to set myself the goal of using 5k of my stash, which seems like a small goal in comparison to the 15k+ cateogory, but I’m being realistic. If I complete my epic crochet granny stripe blanket, I’ll have reached my goal and then some. I’ll have used up the self-striping sock yarn I couldn’t use in socks, and I’ll have finished this long term project, hooray!

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But I also have some other ‘crazy’ goals. I want to finish Wool & Honey before Bendigo

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and I’m also resurrecting this project… I’m hoping to have it finished in time to wear to Bendigo… just 2 months to go!

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This sweater began whilst taking an Improvised Sweater class with the fabulous Anna Maltz more than 3 years ago (!). It came to a halt when I didn’t like where the lace body was heading. I have a new plan now and I will rip back to the end of the yoke.

It is a sweater that has the right amount of ‘loud’ that you can only get away with at a sheep and wool show, but I’m also hoping to wear it amongst the muggles too.

 

 

 

 

Birthday Month

| Sonia Knits

Wow, it’s been a month, my birthday month in fact. Yes, despite my advancing years, I still celebrate my birthdays for as long as I can get away with.

img_9178As part of Birthday month, I went to see the Harry Potter Cursed Child play. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I hope to see it again in another year or so, it was truly spectacular.

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I got treated to dinner by my loving husband.

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I got to celebrate my birthday with some of my adorable nephews and nieces. Can you spot the allergy free cake? Not as good as my usual Burch & Purchese birthday cake, but at least all the kids could partake in this creation by Tidbit Cakes.

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Quite a bit of ‘alternative’ crafting happened this month.

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I’m still working on the layout of my pinwheel quilt.

Have I even told you about this project? After a crafting weekend away with my quilting friends in March, the quilting bug finally bit.

I haven’t absolutely decided whether or not to put sashing between the blocks (which I would make a pale blue). I don’t think I could possibly make more than the 121 pinwheel blocks already in the works…

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Last weekend I took a Polymer Clay class with The Polly Collective. It was a super fun day. Sheree is a great teacher.

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This is my first ‘slab’ piece. Looks kind of like a pizza.

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Before squishing…

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This is the slab after squishing…

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And these are all my cut-outs. The fronts of future pairs of stud earrings. So much fun.

This ‘cane’ slab was my next sample. The pieces are cut from a ‘candy cane’ made up of different colours then laid over the top of a thin slab of clay.

This is the slab pre-squishing

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Sheree described how her design process is like riding a train, and how you just have to stay on board even if you’re hating how it’s going (to the bitter end). i.e. a train wreck… but then there’s always foil and that makes anything look better. I kind of felt like that when I was making this ‘caned’ piece. I felt like I had taken my cane too far (the details got too small), but then I mixed it up with some of the original cane off-cuts and then it didn’t look quite as shite. I even got compliments!

The slab after squishing.

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There were a few other techniques demonstrated in the afternoon, that I’m going to try at home. I got a few supplies and tools to take-away to have a play.

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Oh ooo – a new craft…