At the End of My Yarn

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Heather

Oh, dear. I’ve run out of yarn and I still have half a foot to knit! I’m having bad luck, aren’t I?

Diamond Shreddies - no foot

Diamond Shreddies – no foot

The socks are Diamond Shreddies by Carrie Van Kessel, and they were the round 3 socks from Sock Madness 8. You may remember I had to drop out of Sock Madness this year because of my knitters/tennis elbow. Thankfully, it is feeling a little better right now, and so I’ve been sock knitting again. Unfortunately, these socks took more yarn than I expected.

One and a half socks

One and a half socks

The good news is that I have another skein of this yarn, in the same dye lot. Yay! The bad news is, that skein is currently in my in-laws basement, and I won’t see it again until after we move in August. Ugh. It seems like everything I’ve been looking for in the past couple of weeks has been packed up and shipped off to their basement. Our moving day can’t some soon enough.

Diamond Shreddies cable

Diamond Shreddies cable

Look at that cable, though. These socks will be well worth the wait.

 

5 Comments | Posted in Knitting | Tagged , ,

Running Out

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Heather

I have mixed feelings about kits. On one hand, I love being able to get started without having to fuss around gathering supplies. On the other hand, I seem to run out of floss all the time. It must be the way I stitch…

Love, designed by Laura Dickson of Enchanting Lair

Love, designed by Laura Dickson of Enchanting Lair

The other day I started Love, a kit that I picked up from Enchanting Lair ages ago. Laura is always very generous with her kits, so I have no idea why I ran out of the Needle Necessities Sweet Peas for the centre hearts. And, as you may know, Needle Necessities closed down years ago. Ugh.

Anyway, I’ll be ordering some Threadworx in Roxy, which is supposed to be the equivalent colourway. It will be interesting to see how close a match it actually is. I know I will need to make allowances for dye lot differences, but I still wonder how similar it will actually be. Hopefully I won’t need to rip out any of the stitching I’ve already done.

Do you have experience mixing Needle Necessities and Threadworx of equivalent colourways? If so, how did it go for you?

7 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged , ,

Maggie and Mildred

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Heather

I was poking around through some old files and posts and came across this super cute video. Enjoy!

Maggie and Mildred from Holly Klein on Vimeo.

Also, if you haven’t already voted, please head over to this post and let us all know which stitch you stitch. I’ll be posting about the results shortly. And, I may be posting a couple of more polls. The discussion about stitching direction has raised some interesting questions.

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Kitty Cat

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Heather

There are lots of reasons I’m looking forward to moving back into a house. Having a backyard, for example, or not hearing my neighbour flush their toilet in the middle of the night. High on my list of things to do when we moved was get another cat. Our beautiful (and very grumpy) Isis passed away about four and a half years ago and I still miss her a lot.

Isis (2002)

Isis (2002)

Unfortunately, the little man’s latest round of allergy testing not only confirmed his allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, trees, grass and mould (ugh!), but he also appears to be very allergic to cats and dogs. Ugh, again. So, no cat for us right now. Instead, I knit myself a purple cat.

Purple Greta

Purple Greta

Okay, it isn’t the same, but knitting this little cutie helped my feel a little better. The pattern is Greta the Captivating Cat from Rebecca Danger. The yarn is Cascade’s Luna Prints in colourway Wild Violets. Once I have my craft stash back, she will be getting a ribbon around her neck and around her tail.

Greta the Captivating Cat, 2011 edition

Greta the Captivating Cat, 2011 edition

This isn’t the first time I’ve made this great pattern. Back in 2011, I knit her for a partner exchange on Ravelry, and I had been intending to make another one for me ever since. And now that I know I can’t have a real cat, I sense several more knitted cats in my future.

6 Comments | Posted in Knitting | Tagged , ,

Which Stitch do You Stitch?

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Heather

Last week, one of the British cross stitch magazines posted a message on Facebook asking people which way they made their stitches. Now, I was aware that I made my stitches differently from many of the people I know, but I had no idea that so few people stitch the way I do. So, in an effort to be wholly unscientific, tell me: which way do you make your stitches?

Which stitch do you stitch?

Which stitch do you stitch?

Do you make your stitches like the top row, with the top leg of your X going like this /, or does the top leg of your X go like this \? Please let me know in the poll below.

[poll id=”3″]

I’m hoping that the poll shows that I’m not that unusual. 😉

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Needlework News

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Heather

I’ve been poking around on the Internet looking for some more interesting needlework-related news to share with you. Here is the best of what I’ve come across lately:

  • Harry Styles knits – To be honest, I am only vaguely aware of One Direction. I get the feeling that they are this generations New Kids on the Block, or something. Apparently the cute one likes to knit. Share that with your favourite tween today to raise your own level of cool.
  • Cross stitch portraits at New York gallery – Nathan Plung suffers from cerebral palsy and cross stitches as a way to express his creativity. His work will be featured at New York’s Agora Gallery in June.
  • Crafty Party! – Etsy is hosting craft parties all over the place. Four will take place here in Toronto on June 6th (they are all sold out), and you can check out the link to see if any are happening near you.
  • But I am listening! – Heather Ordover has looked at research and believes that  “automatic hand movements, like those made by knitters, crocheters, and doodlers, help practitioners stay focused and attentive–and perhaps more importantly, help them remember up to 29% more than non-knitters/crocheters/doodlers.” See? Told you so.
  • 1000 – Sally Crandall of Wilmington, NC has put those automatic hand movements to good use and knit 1000 blankets for a local charity.

Do you have an interesting needlework-related news to share? Leave a comment below!

1 Comment | Posted in Cross Stitch, Knitting, The Outside World | Tagged

TUSAL Check-In – May

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Heather

Yes, I am late with the Totally Useless Stitch-Along (TUSAL) check-in, but I have an excuse. Wednesday was the Smalls SAL check-in, and I can only manage so much in a week! 😉

tusalLook at all these pretty colours. This month I worked on my Cutwork Compass Rose, which I shared with you on Wednesday, and on La Pensée Positive.

TUSAL - May 2014

TUSAL – May 2014

Unfortunately, my large jar has already been packed up. I was sure I kept it (just like my knitting needles and crochet hooks), but it seems that I haven’t. So, I’m going to weird and keep a little nest of orts until I can add them to my jar.

Speaking of check-in, if you are taking part in the Smalls SAL, or would like too, don’t forget to go back and post your link on Wednesday’s check-in post. For every month you check in, you get an entry into the year-end draw. What’s the prize? I’m not telling, but it is good. 🙂

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