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!

Pheeeeeeew!!

Yes, pheeeeeew!  I can't think of anything better to say - my laptop is back safe and sound, hurray!  I'm so happy to have it back on one piece - we put it into our local computer dealer and they returned it all shiny and working better than ever :)  Lesson learned though, and I think some serious backing up of files is required over the next week or so LOL :)

Anyway, back to tweedie/crafty business - I have been soooooooo busy this last week - a request for some tweedie keyrings for a wholsale order seems to have sparked off a whole new range of designs which I'm dying to show you but I'd better not bombard you with them in one post, so  hopefully over the next while I will reveal all :)   The shop is once again open - I've a few items for sale on there before I add my new stock, quite exciting!

Looks like commercial tweedie-work is back on the agenda - whoooop!

Sock-knitting progress is ongoing, halfway through the second 'Egyptian' sock - it's such a great pattern.  I was worried about any shaping/decreasing in colour-work knitting but it's all very simple with this sock . . .

I have, ahem, some errors in both socks - but I'm embracing them as part of their complete uniqueness and individuality, hehe!  Quite easy to miss a row of the pattern  or add an extra row but I don't think my mistakes are too obvious :)  I will have a 'grand' sock opening/launch, when they are finally complete - hope I don't run out of yarn, eeeks!

I'll be eating some of this lovely produce this weekend . . .

Yum!  Haggis and neeps, to celebrate Robbie Burns birthday - what better?  I'm looking forward to it - I will probably eat most of the haggis myself,  hehe :)  Shame no one else in the family really likes it :) :)

For a' that and 'a that, etc, etc!  Happy Robbie Burns night if you're celebrating D

'Speak' soon, hope to catch up on some bloggie-reading when I catch my breath!
Alison xx

Ooooops!

I've had a bit of an 'Oooooops!' moment this week, as in a laptop-crash 'oooooops' moment - Oh Dear!  I did have it coming to me - lack of computer housework, too many photos, lots of warnings - I didn't heed any of them, so entirely my own fault :-/  I've put my 'tweedie' shop offline for this week until I decide how to rectify matters and how to em, proceed with business in general.  In the meantime I have finished my first 'Egyptian' sock and I'm delighted with it . . . 

Thank goodness for sock-knitting - it's keeping me calm during this time of great disaster!  Never mind, I'm using one of my kiddos laptop today and I'll be able to keep in touch in any case.  I will probably have to take some time out from 'tweedie' business or perhaps just cut back to the bare minimum until I figure out what to do.

Back to my sock - far more fun!  I'm amazed how the colour-work came up - I have a very laborious method of doing it, as I haven't quite got the hang of holding two strands of wool simultaneously, but the result was fine so I'm happy.  It fits quite well, although I really think it is meant to be quite a rustic, ethnic style of sock as shown in the book illustration.  

I'll be yo-yo-ing between my kids' laptops/computers for the next little while, so if I'm not here I'll be doing all the stuff I should be doing like sorting out my cash-books, tidying my fabric cupboard, etc.  Perhaps some good will come out of my predicament, who knows!

Keep calm and carry on :)

Alison xx

my creative space . . . keeping me amused in January :)

Pheeeew, it's been a bit of a week this week - in between getting the house back to 'normal', sorting out two 'messy' boys' bedrooms (I couldn't safely walk through one of them!) and having to do my tax return (euuuugh, my pet hate), I really wanted something creative to do in the evenings just to keep me calm and amused at the same time!  'Tweedie' work has to wait until next week although I have got back on track, even in  a small way - more on that later . . .  

Santa was very  kind to me and brought two wonderful sock-knitting books to me this  year - I have PORED over both of them - they are both wonderful :) . . .

Sock Knitting Masterclass by Ann Budd and Folk Socks by Nancy Bush - these two ladies are the 'giants' of the sock-knitting world, hehe!  (I'm such a fan LOL)  Anyhow, cut a long story short, I chose a pattern in the latter book by Nancy Bush which I really fancied having a go at to while away the long winter evenings - they are Egyptian socks, "typical  of Islamic footwear of the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries" - I love the historical element of this book, really absorbing!  Here they are, sorry for the dark pic . . .

I started them (very tentatively!) last weekend using some new sock-knitting needles which are metal and I'm really not quite at home with them yet (VERY slippery!) and used the yarn recommended, 5 ply Guernsey, which is totally dreamy and very traditional . . . 

They are made using a colour stranded technique which I briefly experimented with last year - I'm really enjoying it and it's quite easy once you get the hang of following the colour chart - I'm amazed that I'm actually managing to do it - sometimes things that look very tricky to do are really quite simple once you get some practice.  I love how the reverse of the work looks as the  pattern builds up, it's almost like creating a woven piece of work, and creates a very dense fabric - awesome!

I'm giving myself a little deadline of a month to finish these socks so that I don't get distracted and go off doing something else (as I do!!) - so this is my January project :)  It's really nice to have something to pick up in a quiet moment and also very relaxing (once I got going with it!).  As usual Ravelry has been a fountain of knowledge and I had a good  look at other folk's versions of this pattern to glean  some tips before I got started.  Not sure who they will fit yet - they are a One Size pattern - we'll see ;-)

Well. that's my evenings sorted, now for the daytime work!  I've now finished that nasty tax return so I'll be getting back to 'tweedie' business next week.  My shop is now back up and running after the Xmas break with a little January sale to make way for new stock (which I have to make!!!).  My 'tweedie' beach ball finally made it into the shop . . . 

. . . it was supposed to go in before Christmas!  Ah, well, better late than  never - 'Hebridean time' syndrome, oooops!  It's there now anyway, hehe :)

I hope I'll be showing more 'tweedie' makes very soon as I get back into more 'commercial' work.    Sock-knitting is enormous fun and totally absorbing but alas it won't pay the bills, so onwards and upwards!  I have some 'tweedie' ideas in mind, so these will soon be revealed I hope :)

More 'creative' starts to 2013 over here - Bye for now!
Alison x

Bliadhna Mhath Ur/Happy New Year to one and all!

Thankyou to all for visiting my crafty space in the Outer Hebrides - here's to another year of crafty mayhem and discovery!   

Happy 2013 to all my blogging friends and I look forward to 'visiting' you again this year, and to EVERYONE of course who visit my blog - I appreciate it heaps!  Bliadhna Mhath Ur as we say in the Hebrides :)

Alison x