2012 knitting events

It’s a new year, and so time for my annual round-up of the big fibre events in the UK.  Below you’ll find a list of the events that are coming up this year; there are some others in the works but I won’t post details until exact dates are confirmed.

Get your diaries out, here goes:

25-26 Feb        Unravel Farnham Maltings, Farnham, Surrey

28-29 April     Wonderwool Wales Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells, Powys, Wales

22-23 June     Woolfest Mitchells Lakeland Livestock Centre, near Cockermouth, Cumbria

14-15 July       Fibre-East Scald End Farm, Mill Rd, Thurleigh, Bedford

1-2 Sept           British Wool Weekend Harrogate

11-14 Oct         Knitting and Stitching Show Ally Pally, London

1-4 Nov           Knitting and Stitching Show RDS, Dublin

22-25 Nov      Knitting and Stitching Show Harrogate

I downscaled my knitting event attendance a bit in 2011 (but still made it to one or two events), so reckon it might be time to ramp it up again.   Tell me, what are you all saving your pennies for this year?

2012 (non)resolutions

After a lifetime of not making new year’s resolutions, for some reason I decided to make a few last year.  What a disaster!  Here’s a quick re-cap on last year’s efforts:

Round-up of 2011 resolutions:

• To finish 11 projects in 2011.  My emphasis in this goal is to clear out some old lurking UFOs, and I have plenty to chose from.  If I really can’t face finishing them, they need to be frogged.

Well, this didn’t happen.  I’ve still got half a dozen bags of UFOs, sitting next to my bookshelf, completely untouched.  I think I may have frogged a couple, but there are still plenty left.  I haven’t counted how many projects I’ve completed this year, but I imagine it’s somewhere around half of my goal figure.  I don’t even want to go back and count.

• To get my hand-dyed yarns up for sale.  I’ve been thinking about this for, oooh, maybe the past year or so, but if it’s here in writing, then I actually have to do it, right?  I’ve realised that I actually like playing with woolly stuff more than just knitting it, and dyeing yarn captures what I love most: texture and colour.

Hey, I actually got this one done!  I’m struggling to get much stock up in my etsy shop though (oh, the joys of photography under grey London skies) but I actually really enjoy doing markets, so I’m stocking up in preparation for another stall in the spring.

• To blog once a week.

Er, no.  I’ll say no more on that.

After the disaster that was 2011, I’m going to try a different approach for 2012:  I’ll be making resolutions about the things that I won’t be doing. I’m doing the opposite of setting SMART goals, as we’re supposed to.   This is all in aid of simplifying my life, reducing stress, so that I’ve got time and energy to spend doing the things that I want to do.  There’s nothing like health problems to make you stop and re-evaluate.

So, what I won’t be doing in 2012:

• No more extra studying.  I have two more pieces of work to hand in for my current course, including a portfolio with a final final final date of some time in February.  Once that’s done, there will be no more courses of any kind.  I have more than enough qualifications for someone on a mediocre income.  And please, my dear friends, hold me to this one.

• Closely related to this: no more long hours at work (well, not on a regular basis).  I’ve prioritised work far too much, and my body has finally called time on this.  My doctor would agree.

• No more credit card debt.  I’ve had an expensive year, but I don’t need the stress anymore.  My credit card debt will be gone by June.  (I might be living on tinned spaghetti and toast for a while, but needs must).

Things I will be doing:

• Having lots more free time.  Weekends to do whatever I want!  Spending time with friends!

• More short trips around the UK.  I love it here, and there are so many more places I want to go.

• More knitting!  This has been sorely neglected, but I’m not going to set myself any goals or challenges.

• It should therefore follow on that with my extra free time, energy, travel, and knitting, that I will blog more frequently.  However, it the interests of a stress-free year, I’m not going to set myself a deadline.

And the best thing about my 2012 non-resolutions?  They’re completely doable.

a playful giveaway

It’s the season for giving, and also the season for warm woolly stuff here in the northern hemisphere, so there’s no better time to give away some yarn.

Some of you might be aware of the knitting blog and podcast known as A Playful Day (you might remember that I was interviewed for the podcast back at the Spitalfields Sheep and Wool Fayre).  It’s hosted by the lovely GreenTriangleGirl, who has put together a fantastic giveaway palooza.  There are loads of great prizes to be one, including a skein of yarn dyed by yours truly:

This is a skein of one of my favourite bases, 50% Superwash Falkland Merino/ 50% Silk.  It’s a 4-ply weight, and is beautifully soft and shiny.  Definitely recommended for the purpose of draping around the neck!  The colourway is Ruby Ruby, and I hope it cheers up someone’s grey winter day.

The competition closes on 7th January, so be sure to drop by and enter the competition here.

I’d also like to say a huge thanks to those of you who have already bought yarn from my little shop – I’ve been having so much fun sending little parcels of goodies all around the world.  I love the idea of my yarn travelling from my London flat to far flung lands!

I’d love to see photos of what people have been making with it though, so I’ve got a little promotion running: update your Ravelry with a photo of travelknitter yarn, or link to a project you’re making with it,  and I’ll send you a coupon code for a discount off your next order.  Hurrah!

emergency travel knitting

When I travel somewhere, a key feature of my planning is working out what knitting to take.  It’s right up there with decanting my toiletries into little travel bottles and checking the local weather forecast.  For me, planning what knitting to take is far more serious than what clothes to take.

For my latest trip to Australia, my usual routine was all out of sync (thank you, work-induced migraines), and I hadn’t planned a thing.  To make matters worse, it was to be my niece’s third birthday during my visit, and I hadn’t even had time to get her a pressie.

On the morning of my flight, I woke up and suddenly decided to knit my niece Sophie a polar bear.  Of course, who wouldn’t decide such a thing a few hours before travelling to the other side of the world?

I only had half a skein of suitable yarn, so I did a mad dash to my local department store.  My heart sank when the yarn was no longer on display, but I found a small stash on clearance.  Hurrah for finding the yarn at a discount!  But boo for it being discontinued by the store.

Anyway, it was a night flight, so I mostly snoozed on the plane and didn’t start knitting until the day I arrived in Australia.  It was a bit of a frantic push to get it finished in time.  I had to catch a 14 hour bus ride to visit my niece (ooh, love those Australian distances!) and I used that time to finish off the knitting.  It all went pretty smoothly.  The only difficulty was trying to do the embroidery for Otto’s face.

I mean, what do I know about embroidery?  Nothing.  I had to do some research to find out what french knots and satin stitch are, and my results weren’t brilliant.  I think my main difficulty arose from working the embroidery on a knitted, rather than woven, fabric.  One of the eyes worked really well, but for some reason I just couldn’t get the second eye to attach properly!  And poor Otto’s nose was overstitched about a zillion times, because I couldn’t figure out how to get a nice smooth edge when working with the v-shape of knitted stitches.

Luckily the end result was very cute, and no-one would ever know the difference:

Pattern: Otto by Ysolda

Yarn: Sublime Extra Fine Merino DK, less than 2 skeins.  Incredibly soft yarn, and perfect for snuggling.

Modifications:

I made very few changes to the pattern actually.  Like lots of other knitters, I found that the snout as written came out too long, so I ripped back and worked the increases every round, to get a shorter, snoutier snout.  I wasn’t overly thrilled with the design of the leg gusset, and I was left with a few gaps to sew up.  I’d use a more traditional method for the legs if I re-did the pattern.

I finished off with a garter stitch scarf made from some leftover alpaca/silk.  I added a little buttonhole and spent ages buying just the right button for it.  I got to my SIL’s place, asked to borrow a sewing needle, to be told that she doesn’t own one.  Can you believe it?  Yep, if something is torn or loses a button, she throws it out!  Clearly, we’re only related by marriage…

I solved the scarf problem by folding over one end to make a little loop to hold the scarf closed.  I mean, a polar bear surely doesn’t want to get a cold neck in a gust of wind?

Although Sophie really wasn’t all that fussed about the bear, she is clearly well-practised at being photographed, and she posed perfectly for me:

I was the only gift-giver who stayed away from things stereotypically pink and sparkly, so I’m quite happy to be the quirky aunt who gives home-made stuff.  Hopefully she’ll appreciate it one day.

here and there

It’s been a bit quiet over here, largely due to illness and subsequent exhaustion, but my absence over the past three weeks has had a much more interesting reason: I’ve been back to Australia!  I had a great time (as always) and once I get used to being on the other side of the planet again I’ll post about my craft-related exploits.

In the meantime, I’d like to open up this blog to suggestions that you might have on the topics of travelling and/or knitting.  Is there anything you’d like to find out about?  Perhaps you’re interested on the thorny topic of knitting on airplanes, or you’re wondering what to pack for your next trip, or trying to decide on a location for a next crafty holiday, or maybe you’d like to know where the best button shops are.

Whatever your random queries are, please post a comment and I’ll address them all in upcoming blog posts.