crafting during christmas

quilling, now that is unusual, it sounds like a nice relaxing craft, also small and compact and nice end products

I finished my last afterlight re-knit, the sewing together and neckband took me all afternoon and evening. I am going to wash it today and let it dry flat, no blocking.

This is my project starting today
www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/liberty-ferry
I am using exmoor zwartbles, 3 hanks which I have wound ready, very pouffy and warm yarn. From John Arbon, he runs a very small mill in devon, rescued and old machinery. Love his yarns and ethos and now have several stashes, all presents to myself. The shawl has an icord edge, which I have never done in 68 years of knitting, in fact knitting completely changed once the internet came and the likes of ravelry, knitters from over the pond were really inspiring with their ways and ideas, circular needles, top down etc

Mosaic crochet does indeed sound wonderful, I have only ever done simple crochet as in doubles, trebles and singles

UFOs would be the bane of my life, if I let them, they can sit around for a very long time and then I can never remember the pattern. I am very strict with myself these days, UFOs kind of make me feel guily, the yarn I use now is expensive and natural and I have a fear of moths, everything I have is bagged so moths cannot get in, my garments need to be on the needles or finished

I'll b crocheting all over Christmas - although, mind you, I crochet every day anyway!! I'm half way through a Christmas present for one of my best friends. Panic not! I'm getting a head start for Christmas 2022, the 2021 offering is already wrapped.

I'm best at crocheting blankets - currently a big fan of Helen Shrimpton's creations at crystalsandcrochet.com, a very talented lady, - my efforts at soft toys are rather scary.

I am another who is determined to use up my yarn stash. Have made knitted and crocheted blankets, which seem popular. The problem is I always think my item needs a splash of a colour I don’t have so end up with more oddments!

hand on head!! I cannot absorb patterns as quickly as I used to when younger. I have done 20 rows of pattern and it looks lovely but there are different cables to put in here and there and I haven`t worked it out yet. This is going to be like the book called niksen, dead slow and stop. However it will be worth it but not the sort of knitting I can do with eyes on tv. It is absorbing and I keep getting up to do washing, lunch prep etc. Later I am going to see if I can work out where to do pattern changes. The row counter is a lifeline

I started off with the long cable wires on 2 needles but they were getting in my way, shorter wires and end stoppers on, I can change to longer wires later. I am not a fan of charts, thank goodness the rows are written as well as charted

I bought the full set of chiaogoo lace interchangeables when they first came out and have added extra wires etc. They are my go-to these days

my sister and I, we both bought loads of sock yarn from hobii, in their sale. Was made in italy and half price, I also got a knitting bag for £14 instead of £34. Its worth getting onto their newletter list. The sale was tremendous, yes ok, I added to my sock yarn stash but the socks make very good presents and people appreciate them

liberty shawl is 2/3 finished and is a lovely knit, I know the row sequence now but need to concentrate a bit more at times. I looked at the plainer section yesterday and saw 3 areas with stitch mistakes, grhhh, I am one of those who has to fix mistakes, so I backtracked and dropped a stitch for many rows before managing to right the mistake. Did that three times but very satisfying afterwards, to make the mistakes disappear. I decided to gently wash by hand when I have finished, it will make the yarn fluff even more, strengthen any joins and completely even out any stitch imperfections. I may block slightly but it wont need much, probably just steam from overhead and hand patting

My equipment for blocking is inaccessible as I am waiting for the decorator. I very much love using the zwartbles yarn and will buy it again

I have been eyeing up a project to be done for next christmas, maybe in john arbon devonia, which I have used twice before. I love the composition of it, prefer that to merino which has shorter staples and hence can bobble. Watching JA videos and seeing the very short staples on lambswool, now understanding why my woolover lambswool sweaters always bobbled so badly.

I also treated myself to the wool marketing board British sheep and wool book, found it for £15.60 which included postage, it will help me with yarn composition and fleece choices for my spinning

The project for next year

www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/betty--judy-lodge-sweater

It looked beautiful on people, slightly festive but not over the top. It has no positive ease, so is clingy but should be fine on me, if my weight loss continues after new year.

I treated myself to a new, to me, magazine, expansive at £20 but it arrived and is worth it, small writing, several designer patterns, chat sections and is very thick. I found the issue I wanted from a yarn shop in frome and it arrived, I liked it and the cost was forgotten

I did a browse around the shop site last week, bought 2 more patterns and a few bits, including a project bag, which I could have made myself but I do like to support the smaller craft shops. I also enrolled on a knitting course, colour work, including yarn, lunch and company. Held in lovely countryside. I am needing breaks really, been confined for far too long.

mission accomplished, liberty shawl is finished with just a few m of yarn over. Made from sheepy wool, so I washed ie squeezed gently, in lukewarm water with eucalan. This is no different to me treating my own spun skeins. Washing takes residual dirt out and causes the bloom to happen. Two lukewarm rinses, rolled up in a towel and squeezed the roll

Now spread out to dry on 2 towels on the kitchen worktops, while I go visiting for the day, I shaped the shawl a bit and patted it and it looks perfect.

Tomorrow I intend to prep for pandora`s love which will be made in yarnadelic, it is corriedale, which is a lovely soft crimpy fleece. I chose black gold of the sun and the beautiful ones as my 2 colours. That will be a perfect top for my many hand sewn tops and dresses

Wow! That Liberty shawl is gorgeous, it would take me forever to knit something like that (my concentration isn’t what it once was)!
I was looking at knitting courses around here (Wiltshire) but there don’t seem to be many). I would love to do colour work but I think I need someone to show me! I vaguely remember knitting my dd a fair isle jumper with multicoloured yarn for the yoke about 35 years ago! It obviously didn’t match up to the real version.

Bluebalou, investigate colourwark on youtube, I am addicted to watching people knit, love the chat and am interested in what they make. Wiltshire is full of crafters, it was a big sheep county in the past, so knitting, felting, weaving is still going on in groups

My shawl is laid on a towel on my heated floor now, will be bone dry by lunchtime. I knit that shawl fast because it will be a very useful garment for me this winter. I intend to work on pandora at a much slower pace, will have to fit on me, or my dressform, as I go but today it will only be a swatch

I will definitely explore YouTube! Thank you x
I think Covid has clobbered a lot of the craft activities, hasn’t it? Hopefully next year there will be more opportunities.

I’ve neglected it just lately, but my big stashbuster blanket is all I’m going to do until it’s finished. 3 x 2 foot sections, double DK strands of random colours, just one GS row each, ends made into tassels.
About 240 sts IIRC, 4.5 mm circular needle.
I’ve finished the first section and about half of the second.

It will ultimately go to a charity that dishes them out to refugees, etc.
I was hoping to have it finished before the worst of the winter was over, but that’s not looking likely now.

It’s brilliant for mindless TV knitting, though - no thought needed, except for deciding on the next 2 colours from my mega-stash bag.

I've completed the two shawls, and have an order for another.
The yoga blanket will be started as soon as the local wool shop opens after the New Year.
This one of the shawls.

minimoon, that shawl is gorgeous. What is the pattern?

I think knitting is psychologically good for us, besides the rhythmn of it. It gives us something to look forward to with each new project and we can sit, drink tea and not feel guilty because we are doing something constructive and it is a means by which we can get out and sit with others.

I did not swatch for pandora, it is knit in the round and swatching would have meant knitting a small round, cutting it so it can lay flat and wasting yarn that might be needed. Knitting in the round only involves knit stitches, knitting flat involves K and P and they have different tensions. The suggested needle was 2.5, so I am using 2.25. In a few more rows, I will screw on an extra wire, so that I can slip it over my dressform and I will be able to work out if it is too big or tension is too loose. It looks fine but I want to check. I could frog and go down to size 2 (yikes) or make a smaller size. Its beautiful yarn to knit with

I don't knit karmalady, everything I make is crocheted. These shawls make up in about four or five evenings.
I love having something to do with my hands while watching the TV.
here is a link to the pattern.

MiniMoon

I've completed the two shawls, and have an order for another.
The yoga blanket will be started as soon as the local wool shop opens after the New Year.
This one of the shawls.

That is lovely