The Craft Sessions 2015

September 14, 2015 | Sonia Knits

I’ve just arrived back from attending The Craft Sessions 2015. This is the third year the weekend has run, but it was my very first time to attend. I felt very lucky to have scored a spot, especially after finding out the event was a sell-out within 2 hours of the registration opening.

Whilst I couldn’t convince any of my friends to join me on the weekend, I need not have worried… everyone was super friendly. I met a whole lot of new crafters, boy did we have a lot to talk about!

I’m so inspired by the entire weekend, I feel like casting on EVERYTHING, and of course finishing everything. I can hardly wait to see what classes will be held next year…

All packed, can you believe I’m taking this much for just 2 nights?

Saturday morning class, Knitting for Speed and Comfort with Jules

Can you believe this blanket is 100% handspun Samoyed!

Purchasing from the mini market, (I didn’t buy yarn!)

Georgie Hallam’s class, ‘The Beauty of Circular Yokes’

I so want to make a Vitamin D cardigan now…

Felicia saying thanks and goodbye for another year

One more sleep!

September 10, 2015September 9, 2015 | Sonia Knits

One more sleep until it is Craft Sessions weekend, boy am I excited! Sign-up was so long ago, but wow how time has flown!

I’ve crammed in my homework in the last week, as you do.

• I’ve knitted a 25cm (squarish, not really square) stocking stitch swatch for my Darning class with Jules a.k.a. Wollenflower; one guess what I’ll be doing with that swatch?! I’m also going to take along some socks that need darning, no moth holes here, just good-old fashioned wear and tear.

• I had to swatch for Georgie Hallam’s class The Beauty of Circular Yokes, I’ve selected my yarn and swatched on Monday night at the Richmond Knitter’s knit night.

The class project is to knit a baby circular yoked cardigan, just the thing for a niece that is due to arrive at any minute.

• My 3rd class is with Jules, where I’ll learn how to knit for Speed and Comfort. Because we all need to know how to knit faster… I didn’t need to do any homework for this class!

Now I just need to pack and decide what projects to take with me outside class hours. Do I take my spinning wheel? Or is 4 WIPs enough?

Wednesday WIPs – A weekend gathering

September 2, 2015August 30, 2015 | Sonia Knits

This weeks post is brought to you by a social knitting gathering at a friend’s home, where there were several WIPs in progress other than my blanket.

There was a baby blanket…

Another long-term blanket of squares, there was crochet bowls and crochet washcloths (not pictured)

Of course there was food…

And my hexagons.

Only 5 more balls to go, or (just!) 50 hexagons to make before I start the arranging and then sewing.

I’m still listening to Anne Tyler’s A Spool of Blue Thread, it’s not a favourite, I even thought about pulling the plug on it. But I’m hanging in there for a little while longer.

Pattern Consumption

September 1, 2015 | Sonia Knits

Apart from yarn consumption, there’s another consumption I indulge in and it doesn’t take up any room in my house whatsoever. The digital knitting pattern.

It’s been a little while since the last ‘Knit-along e-book’ has popped up on Ravelry, or at least knit-along e-books by my favourite designers. The thing that I love most about them as compared to just a single digital knitting pattern, is the slow release of a pattern or set of patterns. It’s the surprise element, and if you know the designer well-enough, you know you are not going to be disappointed by what comes after the initial pattern release. That’s always good. The anticipation and the joy!

So I was fairly excited to see Ysolda has just released the first pattern in Knitworthy 2. I signed up for Knitworthy 1 last year and all the patterns were wonderful… even though I’ve only made the first pattern thus far…

I’m sort of on hiatus from buying yarn for a little while, but buying a pattern e-book is not going to hurt anyone!

What I love most about a knit-along e-book collection is the dreaming… of a new pattern, or pattern clue (in the case of a mystery knit-along), every week or fortnight. It’s the gift that keeps on giving. Whilst its fair to say I have not knit most of these patterns, I certainly have dreamed about them, have thought about what yarn I would use from my stash, and who I possibly would be making the item for. I always have the intention of joining in and keeping up with the knit-along, but stuff just happens. Babies are born, birthdays arrive and before you know it, it’s Christmas.

So who’s with me, who’s casting on for Liebevoll? Mental cast-ons begin now.

Sweater saver

August 30, 2015 | Sonia Knits

You may recall my utter happiness and joy of knitting my Grace cardigan; the pattern and the gorgeous soft wool made my heart sing.

This glee turned to a touch of sorrow with for each subsequent wear (and there was only 3 wears), my luxurious organic merino cardigan was PILLING!

Pilling EVERYWHERE

My gorgeous cardigan was turning into one big fluff ball. And I stopped wearing it for a few weeks…

Then, entered this marvellous machine:

It’s been in my toolkit for a few years, but it’s never been more needed than now.

I turned it on and:

The fluff balls have magically disappeared.

I’m a little weary of wearing it again so soon. I’m no fool, I know those balls will return and then I’ll be in an endless cycle of joy and sadness. That’s life I guess.

Wednesday WIPs – Gap-tastic

August 19, 2015August 18, 2015 | Sonia Knits

I whipped up a GAP-tastic cowl for mum, finishing it at the weekend. Intentionally, it was meant for her birthday in September… but it’s still cold now and I thought it would make more sense to give it to her right away.

This is some of the White Gum Wool Boucle, which I purchased from the Bendigo Sheep Show with the exact purpose of making something for my mum. I’ve never knit with something so quickly from Bendigo, I still have yarn from the first year of my very first Bendigo Show!

The colour is more blue/green than blue. The colour name is Fairy Wren. I used 2 full balls.Altogether, it was a pretty mindless pattern, and sometimes that can be thoroughly enjoyable.

My mum loved it! I’m now on a mission to finish some of my long-standing WIPs that have been languishing on my Projects page on Ravelry. Next up, our (my) hexagon crochet blanket…

Wednesday WIPs – New beginnings

August 12, 2015August 9, 2015 | Sonia Knits

This week, I taught a friend how to spin!

I was so inspired and excited by how well she took to it, I had to go home and jump on my wheel right after.

I’m currently spinning up some Thylacine BFL mixed with camel. A couple of weeks ago, I discovered I had 2 similar colour ways of 200 grams each; so I thought perhaps I could ply the 2 colour ways together, in something of a 4 or 5 ply and have enough to knit myself a vest of some description. Stay tuned for that.

The baby blanket was completed and blocked last week. It is a relief to get it done before the baby arrives. I’m pretty pleased with the result too! The yarn was stash yarn, mainly made up of Jo Sharp classic DK wool, with a bit of this and that thrown in. The pattern: Honeycomb Stroller Blanket is free and is pretty nifty if you ask me. The slip stitch pattern forms the hexagons therefore there are no patches to sew together (just lots of ends). If I were to make it again, (and that’s a possibility if more babies arrive in my family), I would do a provisional cast on at the start, to make the border easier to pick up and knit. The other alt that I made was to make the border a garter stitch one, and rather than picking up all the way around, I did each side individually, increasing at the edges each right side row to make the mitred corners. There will be some better ‘glamour’ photos taken when the cute baby arrives.

I’ve cast on a new project, this is Cookie A’s June sock club. I’m making the Apollonia socks. I’m enjoying knitting from the sock lace chart, and knit a fair bit of the leg in one evening. I find knitting from lace charts so soothing and fun.I’m also itching to begin a garment for me, but I thought I should look at one of my Use It Or Lose It projects first.

I picked up my Safire cardigan, which had only been literally cast on. In theory I’m liking how this is working, but I am wondering whether this yarn is more appropriate for niece M, due to it’s ‘blingy’ nature. Only time will tell.

I’m still listening to The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, I can’t recommend it enough. I only have 10 hours left to go!

Wednesday WIPs – Hibernation

August 5, 2015August 3, 2015 | Sonia Knits

I stayed at home this weekend, all weekend.

I began reading Anna Zilboorg’s ‘Knitting for Anarchists’ and I knew I’d like it from the very first page (see brackets).

I listened to podcasts. I’ve begun listening to Craftlit, and it’s fabulous.

My Cookie A sock club instalment arrived last week, coincidently it matched one of Damian’s birthday gifts (yes I can buy him cookware for his birthday and he loves it).

I knitted full-time on my sister’s forthcoming baby blanket.

And I did nothing else (apart from a spot of housework).

I expect the blanket to be blocking by the end of this week. Deadlines, shmedlines, that baby can arrive early if it wants, but not until the end of the week.

Taking Stock – Stash Count

August 1, 2015 | Sonia Knits

It’s only been 7 months since the last stash count, but a lot has happened since then and one major thing, Stitches WEST! Normally I like to do a stash count approximately once a year, kind of like a Spring Clean, but I know a couple of you are eager for an update; and I was kind of interested too.

In order for me to get my stash total, I downloaded my Stash Excel spreadsheet from Ravelry (such an awesome function for those who like to get down to nuts and bolts). But in order to get my total meterage I needed to pass the spreadsheet to my husband (who has excel) to add it up for me. His response, ‘you have a lot of yarn Sonia’. For those playing along at home, I recommend you don’t pass your spreadsheet to your significant other to do the math. Next time I’ll just email it to myself at work…

Just a reminder of all the glorious editions to my stash this year…