Back to 'normal'?

Well, I think I'm finally ready to start 'normal' crafting/blogging etc. activities once again - whatever 'normal' is!!

During my little tidy-up this little doll's outfit pattern slipped out from some family oddments I inherited recently.  My late mother had knitted one of the outfits for me when I was little . . .

I think it was the middle one that she knitted - it was funny to see this again after probably almost 40 years ago!

Aw, isn't she sweet with her little plastic pony beside her, hehe!

I'll hold onto this one for another 40 years maybe :)

I'm all ready to start 'tweedying' again - not quite sure of my direction - craft fairs?, shops or just online - who knows yet!  I'm just going to get going and see where it takes me - I like an adventure!

Took a quick snap of a  view out towards the moor this morning - we've  had such  lovely weather recently - only today is a little 'soggy and damp' but still lovely and mild . . .

Rona sent me this lovely crochet headband this month as a Giveaway prize - isn't it sweet - love the colours . . . 

Check out her fairisle treats in her Etsy shop here :)

Okey - dokey!  Better get going - with whatever it is I'm going to get going with!  I'm going with the flow at the moment and it feels OK to do that - absolutely no plan whatsover LOL :)  There's more creative tales over here.

Speak soon
Alison x

Scrub-a-dub-dub . . . and other crafty stuff!

I've been busy getting my little house in order the last week after enjoying a lovely, relaxing (but productive!) long weekend off with the boys.   I got into cleaning (and decluttering) mode so thought I'd better continue while I was 'in the zone' so to speak!  Now that the website is ready to go with some new softies and  a variety of other new 'tweedie' gifts, I want to be ready to make up some stock.  

But first, cleaning and clearing out!!!  I was getting a little frustrated through the week that I had so little time for crafting, so took a notion to make some crochet washcloths to fill the creative void . . . 

. . . they do look lovely against the white ceramics in a bathroom . . .

I'm showing them in the best possible light here, and although the stitch pattern turned out OK - I used a 6.5 mm hook to get a stretchy, nubbly, effect fabric which I love - they DID NOT turn out perfect squares which infuriated me!  So they look lovely draped over the sink but are not quite good enough as gifts eg. with a nice soap, smellies, etc.  Never mind, I have two serviceable washcloths for myself!  

I'm still coveting these lovely neat piles of hand-crochet washcloths I see everywhere online which I'm sure ARE perfectly square!   This stitch is called Grit Stitch - it certainly made me go Grrrrrrrr!! (only because of my own crochet inadequacies though, NOT the pattern's fault - it's lovely!)  I used this free Ravelry pattern.   

Talking of Grrrrrrr!,  I've reinstated my 'tweedie'  dinosaurs, with a little patchworky effect too . . . 

I hope he doesn't frighten off my 'tweedie' Scottie dogs . . .

They don't look too bothered though LOL :)

Looks like I'll  be ready to go by the end of this month to start stock-making - so nice to get going again!  I'm looking forward to making some different versions of my Harris Tweed  matryoshka dolls - lots of doodles in my notebooks, here's the one on my website which can be made to order . . . 

Onwards and upwards -  might have made a few more more crochet washcloths yet before I've finished my 'early' Spring Cleaning - I'm striking while the iron is hot, hehe!

Have a lovely weekend :)
Alison x

All 'patch-worky'!

I have no idea if there's such a word as 'patch-worky' but I've just made it up anyway!  I've been promising for long enough to showcase my new 'tweedie' designs, so at last I've managed to update the shop today.  I'll  try and 'eeek' them out over the next few days.  So here is the 'patchworky'/colour-block selection - some are older designs revitalised, some are brand new . . . 

Colour-block wash-bag/toilet-bag (whatever you  choose to call  it!), has a peacock blue PVC fabric lining . . .

and patch-work coin purse and patch-work egg-cosy,both with funky designer linings . . .

I think that's probably enough 'tweedie' patchworky for one day!  But there's more to come :)

All three designs can be made-to-order from my website - I may put some finished  'ready-to-ship' items in my Etsy shop if time permits. 

On the sock-knitting  front, I started making a pair of work-wear 'bobban' socks for Other Half at the weekend.  They are made from locally purchased Harris Wool which is the same yarn used to make Harris Tweed - just yummy stuff that smells like the inside of a weaving shed, hehe!  I loved this brown ochre colour and had a couple of attempts before I got the sizing right . . . 

They're designed to fit over another pair of socks and large enough to tuck your jeans into inside your wellington boots - perfect for the croft or for going fishing.  I think I deserve a lot of 'brownie' points for making these!!!  I'll show them both when they're finished - perhaps in true style, tucked in, ready for the wellie boots!

Happy Monday :)
Alison xx

My Creative Space: where I'm at . . . . .

Sorry!  I have been a bad blogger these last few weeks - sooooooo much to do, to make, to discover . . . .

On my desk still are the leftover tools from my order of keyrings (which  was a little bit intensive for me - but a learning curve nonetheless) . . .

I really enjoy working with hand-tools, getting the hammer out, having a go with the pliers, etc.   Very therapeutic, hehe :)  In the background is my latest copy of Handmade Living - I really enjoy this magazine.  I'm still poring over  the last one I bought in December, so that says a lot!  I think long and hard before buying craft magazines as they are on the whole VERY expensive for a poor crafter like me!  These ones I find are a real  investment though :)

Here's a little pile of the keyrings I was working on - they've been handed over now so I guess it's OK to post about them!  They had to be in uni-sex colours so it was lovely to get back to working with some strong, earthy colours - definitely inspiring for me . . .

In the background while I was making these I was working on my tweedie  designs which I WILL post about next week and hopefully will be taking some photographs of them today to add to the shop.  Also on the leisurely front I've been  continuing learning more about colour-stranded knitting which has been great fun.  I can definitely recommend it.  I came across this lovely blogpost about it recently, worth a read if you are interested:  

http://blog.bygumbygolly.com/2011/11/vkc-getting-started-with-stranded-fair.html

I've been playing around with little swatches of colour-work the last few days - the funny little gadget on the left is called a yarn guide which theoretically helps to keep yarns  separate while knitting with two colours - I've yet to experiment with it properly as it only arrived in the post yesterday.  However, while waiting for it to arrive I finally managed to get the hang of knitting with my left hand eg. continental style knitting - WOW, this was a relevation to me as I never even knew there were two methods  of knitting having been taught English style - who knew?????  I'm now trying to practice colour work knitting in both styles - my tension has gone all over the place LOL   I made my Egyptian socks by laboriously picking up and dropping the yarn as I went - they are now FINISHED!  Here they are . . .

I was really pleased how they turned out.  They took a  month to make and towards the end of the sock I decided to try knitting using both styles (English and continental) so that I could speed up a bit - it was very tricky and I'll need a whole lot more practice!!!  Time for a nice easy project now I think :)

Sorry, so much in this post - I'm trying to cover my 3 weeks(?) absence!

Back to more regular (and less erratic!) blog posting hopefully :)

Alison xxx

P.S.  Here's another video link to colour-stranded knitting techniques, just for info! : http://www.examiner.com/video/beginning-fair-isle-knitting

P.P.S:  Talking of knitting projects, Rona has a  lovely giveaway over on her blog, Fairislerona.blogspot.co.uk, which you can  see here:  http://fairislerona.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/a-warming-headband-and-giveaway.html  With my recent interest in  colour-work knitting, I'm always inspired by her lovely fairisle creations.  You can share the giveaway on Facebook or become a follower of her blog to enter :)  I'm off to put in my entry!