5 Shawls, 5 Days Experience

Francoise Denoy of Aroha Knits put on a challenge last week called 5 Shawls, 5 Days. I think this is her second time running the challenge, but it was the first time I’ve heard of it and I was so excited to participate. It taught me so much about shawl construction techniques, but these techniques help to build the general construction techniques that every designer needs. The more you practice with different types of stitches like yarn overs, k2tog, and variations of these the more you learn how to transform yarn as you knit.

Over the next couple months I’ll be starting, designing, and knitting a lace project, so this extra practice with yarn overs was definitely helpful. If you’re interested in the challenge, here is the link to the web page for it:

http://www.arohaknits.com/5-shawls-5-days/

Take Me to the Mountains

These small mountain-inspired ornaments can be used to make pins, brooches, and necklaces. The set includes instructions for a mountain, a pine tree, and a big horned sheep. My favourite way to use these is to attach a safety pin onto the back of each one and decorate my project bags with them.

You can find this pattern on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/take-me-to-the-mountains

Laiya Peak

I published my very first pattern in January 2014, named Chevron Cowl. I originally knit the cowl in bright colours and lately I find myself wearing neutrals and less saturated colours so I wanted to re-knit the cowl in yarn that I would wear more. 

I chose Knitpick’s Chroma worsted weight yarn in the colour Sandpiper for one of my chevron colours and then I went with white and black yarn for the other two colours to keep it neutral.

I’ve also decided to rename the pattern. After reading a very good article on the Love Knitting blog by Kate Atherly (linked below) about naming patterns I decided that I want to switch to more unique pattern names. Laila Peak is a beautiful mountain in Pakistan that the peaks of the chevron design remind me of.

Laila Peak on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/laila-peak

Choosing a name for your pattern by Kate Atherly: http://blog.loveknitting.com/choosing-a-name-for-your-pattern-by-kate-atherley/?blog_page=/

Preserving Eucalyptus (2 ways) - Part 1

Some links in this blog post may be affiliate links. This means if you click through and purchase the product, I earn a small commision at no additional cost to you. Thank-you.

I bought Eucalyptus once before on a whim. I ended up loving the way it looked in my kitchen, and it photographed so beautifully as well. Eucalyptus is a pretty hardy plant, and it actually lasted a couple weeks in a vase full of water in my kitchen, but after a couple weeks I was sad to see it go. 

It’s been a couple months since the first time I bought Eucalyptus, and a couple days ago was the first time I found it again at a flower market. I want to try preserving it this time, so I always have it in my apartment. I don’t have much experience preserving plants, just a couple failed attempts at pressing flowers in my journal, but because this plant is so hardy I think it will do well. 

Reading online it looks like there are two common ways to preserve it. The first is just hanging to dry, and the second is using a vegetable glycerin mixture. The second method is supposed to give the leaves a waxier feel, whereas following the first method will produce a dryer and more brittle result. I decided to split my bunch in half and test out both methods.

For the first method of drying all I needed was some Eucalyptus, an elastic band, and some twine. I first secured the Eucalyptus stems with an elastic band. You could omit this and just use the twine, but the elastic band will keep the bunch tight, because the branches will shrink a little as they dry. After securing the elastic band, wrap over the elastic with some twine, tie a knot, and leave a long end for hanging your bunch. Hang the Eucalyptus in a cool dry area for 2-6 weeks, until dry.

For the second method I used vegetable glycerin (affiliate link). I first cut the ends of the Eucalyptus to the length I wanted, and then I gently smashed the ends with a hammer (this helps the stem absorb the mixture better). I mixed 1 part vegetable glycerin with 2 parts boiling water in a mason jar and then placed the Eucalyptus bunch in the mixture. The Eucalyptus should stay in this mixture for a couple weeks.

I’ll post a follow up to this blog post in a month or so, showing the differences between the two methods that I tried, so make sure you subscribe!

Follow up post: Preserving Eucalyptus (2 ways) - Part 2

Some recent blog posts for you to check out:

January Etcetera

““Do whatever brings you to life, then. Follow your own fascinations, obsessions, and compulsions. Trust them. Create whatever causes a revolution in your heart.””

— Elizabeth Gilbert

The Woolful podcasts have been around for some time now, and I've heard lovely things about them from people in this community for a while. It took me much too long to finally make time to listen, but now that I have, I'm addicted. I started from episode 1 and I still have a ways to go before I'm all caught up. My favourite part is discovering new people in the community, there are so many people out there doing creative things.

This month I think I've been really into listening, rather than watching. I used to always have a movie on while I knit, but things like podcasts and audiobooks I have found are perfect for knitting. You can watch what you're doing with your hands while still falling into a story. The audiobook I listened to this month was Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. The book focuses on creating even when you are fearful, and while I wouldn't say the word 'fear' perfectly describes how I feel when I post a pattern, the message still really spoke to me.

Some patterns and collections I'm loving:

• The Brooklyn Tweed Winter Collection
• Shawls! I still haven't knit a shawl, so I think that might be one of my next projects. Some of my favourites are Summer Flies by Donna Griffin and Glacier Sweep by Stephen West

And last, my new craft obsession has been doll making. It wasn't something I ever thought I would be interested in but after trying out a Kiriki Press doll kit I became so intrigued by both doll making and embroidery. There are tons of doll makers on Instagram who make such breath-taking creations, some of my favourites so far are @danceypantsdiscomakes, @shopbonbonsito, and @_megan_makes_. Not that I need anymore hobbies but I even started designing and making my own doll.

Links:

• Woolful Podcasts: http://woolful.com/category/woolful-podcast/
• Big Magic: http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/
• Brooklyn Tweed Winter Collection: https://www.brooklyntweed.com/lookbook/bt-winter-2016/
• Summer Flies: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/summer-flies
• Glacier Sweep: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/glacier-sweep
• Kiriki Press: http://www.kirikipress.com/
• Dancey Pants Disco: https://www.instagram.com/danceypantsdiscomakes/
• Bonbonsito: https://www.instagram.com/shopbonbonsito/
• Megan Makes: https://www.instagram.com/_megan_makes_/