Review of The Knit Show

There's just one more week of our Back to School Sweater CAL left so the perfect thing to binge-watch on YouTube while you're finishing off those sleeves is The Knit Show with Vickie Howell. This publicly-funded studio quality series, launched just last month and is so inspiring! Just watching the show makes you a member of the Knit Hive. The definition taken from the website is:  "A nod to the knitting bees of old and the modern, “hive mind” mentality that refers to the gathering of stitchers, either physically or virtually, for the purpose of supporting and sharing a common passion for knitting, crochet, crafts and creativity."

I meant to donate but I totally forgot and I must admit that the name "The Knit Show" put me off (I can and do knit but I don't like crochet being left out). But I was being a bit silly really because I know that Vickie Howell loves her crochet and knitting equally. The show is SO much more than just knitting. There is plenty of crochet content too.

The ten themed episodes last around 30 minutes each. I flew through them and found so much inspiration. Each episode features mini tutorials, famous yarn industry guests, free patterns....  and much more. It's has been fascinating to watch and the content feels so on trend. I am hopeful there will be a second season.

The highlights for me were:

• The Trends Episode - Pompom socks
• The Big Knits Episode - Aster Flower knit stitch pattern
• The Global Episode - scarf and sweater patterns
• The Lace Episode - the Visit to the Furls crochet hook workshop and Kristen Omdahl demoing a new stitch for me
• The Bags Episode - Drew Emborsky demoing his crochet bag design & the visit to the Independence Fiber Mill
• The Color Episode - the brioche fix and bargello knit stitch pattern
• The Amigurumi Episode - Twinkie Chan
• The Multicraftual Episode - the crochet/woven purse
• The Vintage Touches Episode - Granny squares!
• The Handmade Holiday Episode - The visit to Hill Country Weavers
  

If you've already watched the show please do let me know what your highlights were. If not, what's stopping you!

Listen to the Audio Podcast

Spinning at the Scottish Crannog Center

Each summer I take my kids back to the UK to visit family and friends, leaving my hubby behind with the dog. I do enjoy being a tourist and this year, while staying with my folks in Perthshire, we visited the Scottish Crannog Center. I didn't know very much about this place before our visit, thinking Crannog was the name of a place rather than an actual thing but seeing a real Scottish loch appealed to me - the center is based at the beautiful Loch Tay.

I now know that a crannog is a man made dwelling built on water. They have been around for 5000 years in Scotland and were still being build and lived in in the 17th century. There are hundreds of unexplored crannogs in Scotland and we had a guided tour of a replica of a 2,500 year old crannog that had been discovered in the 1990s submerged in Loch Tay. Underground archeology has revealed how these early Iron Age people lived and what technologies they used in their everyday life. And this is when it got even more fascinating for me!

Weaving and spinning were two of the technologies we were able to have a go at in the hands on second part of our tour. I bought a drop spindle at Houston Fiber Fest encouraged by my spinning and weaving friends and it has languished with my yarn collection but I was able to have a go! The hat and cloak were not my own - the center provided them because it was a little chilly on the loch!

I was awful at spinning only managing a few centimeters before the yarn split but I am not disheartened. My lovely crafty friend Catherine Peacher, @Craftingoasisbykat on Instagram, has provided me with a link to a helpful video Basic Drop Spindle Tutorial by MeganERiskTutorials and I got a book out from the library to help me too - Spinning and Dyeing Yarn by Ashley Martineau. I will report back on my progress at a later date. I'd love to know if you've had a go at spinning or if you are indeed proficient! 

Listen to the Audio Podcast

Ten Tunisian Crochet tips

In preparation for the Crochet Circle Podcast's CAL starting March 3rd I've been reading up on the technique. I was lucky enough to find FOUR Tunisian Crochet books in my public library. Houston is a huge city and our library downtown has over 90 individual titles on crochet. Wow! Although I do love a YouTube video for the specifics of a stitch I prefer to read a comprehensive overview of a technique.

 

Here are some tips I found useful as a relative newcomer to Tunisian Crochet gleaned from my reading this week. I thought you might find these useful if you're a newbie too.

1. Hook length: Your hook can hold a project width three times its length.  For wider projects select a hook with a flexible cable attached.
2. In Tunisian Crochet the front is always facing you so you don't need to turn. 
3. Count the stitches on your hook after the forward row. I know from experience that it's easy to lose a stitch! 
4. In Tunisian Simple Stitch there are the same number of stitches on your hook as on your starting chain.
5. Pull the yarn tight at the start of each forward row to prevent a loose stitch.
6. Work into the vertical AND horizontal bars of the last stitch of the forward row to stabilize the row. I wish I'd known this when I was doing my CYC swatch (see below)!
7. To prevent curl: Work into the back bump of your chain.
8. To prevent curl: Go up a hook size.
9. To prevent curl: At the beginning of your work, crochet a row of Tunisian purl stitch to redistribute the weight.
10. To prevent curl: Block your work.

Making a swatch for my second Craft Yarn Council certificate I remember really struggling with the placement of the last stitch of the forward row of my Tunisian Crochet square. I just couldn't figure it out and the swatch was frogged over and over. I was NOT enjoying myself AT ALL and didn't feel like EVER doing Tunisian Crochet again. But I changed my mind after discovering Entrelac last year. One of my current WIPs is the Tunisian Entrelac Yoga Top and I'm so looking forward to the upcoming CAL!

I had heard of Tunisan knit and purl stitch but there is a whole world of Tunisian crochet stitches and stitch patterns out there. The Honeycomb skirt by Sharon Hernes Silverman  is made in a variegated yarn and is simply stunning! Have a look at the project page on Ravelry.

Anyway, before I get carried away I will start with a simple project for the CAL which is the fantastic looking Cobbled Street Cowl. If you're interested in joining in check out the Ravelry group/thread and use #tccTunisianCAL to see the fun on Instagram!

Hooky hat wearing weather

Hats have dominated the last week or so. I had my first Yak & Yarn meeting of the year and had a tip off that a new member had made numerous hats (while I was away she emailed me to ask if she could bring them to my house - this was a bit of a giveaway). I had to stop making my second Take Two Crochet project and hook up a few hats for the homeless to show willing. She made sevens (yay!) and I managed three. I'm not competitive, honestly! 

 

I received an e-newsletter from the inspirational Betsy Greer, the godmother of the Craftivism, who I have met in person and written about here. She interviews fellow craftivist heroes on her blog (love it!) and sends links to related projects. Anyway, one of the links was to the Pussy Hat Project so I've found some pink yarn in my stash and selected the crochet pattern with the cable ribbing. I'm just about to  join up the sides with crab stitch, my favorite seaming stitch, which is functional but decorative. And I should meet the deadline to mail it to Washington for the march. I do like taking part in a Craftivism project for a good cause.

I love seeing something in the crochet world go viral in the world of non-crafters. Right now  it's all about the Messy Bun Hat or Ponytail Hat. Last week a non- crafter was in the yarn store where I work looking for yarn for a friend to make one for her. I've also spotted it coming up on my Twitter feed. I have short hair but if I can see my daughter looking gorgeous in one of these free crochet patterns: It's All About the Messy Bun by June Nemeth!

Anyway, I do hope you're having a wonderful week y'all whatever you're crafting!! If you don't want to miss my blog articles and you're reading on your desktop computer please do sign up to receive an email with a link. It should be top right. And I'm on Twitter and Instagram too. If you've been making hats this month please do let me know in the comments below!

Lining my peacock tail bag

I have finally lined my peacock tail bag! Hurray! I put it off for several weeks after the CAL ended making up ridiculous excuses because I'm not as passionate about sewing as I am about crocheting. I have made so many crochet and knitted bags over the years and I just don't use them as much as I should because they are not fully functioning bags without a lining. It wasn't going to happen this time. Of course, I ambitiously decided to insert a zipper making the exercise even more daunting and leading to further delay. 

 
The lining is leftover Kaffe Fasset material purchased five years ago from quilting shop Poppy Patchwork in my old neighborhood of Westbury on Trym in Bristol. I bought this glorious fabric to line a knitted Debbie Bliss cable bag that I made in 2011 Fiddly Fushia Bag. This was the last and only other time I have lined a bag!

I told my Friday workshop students that I was going to line the bag making up a whole host of excuses for the delay and they teasingly told me "challenge yourself" - a phrase that I am very fond of saying to them! My sweet crochet friend Jodie who writes the wonderful Lupey Loops blog also encouraged me. I do find telling fellow crafters about my plans stops me from procrastinating quite as much! 

I started with the peacock tail bag cal lining tutorial from Lilla Bjorn Crochet for a general idea and then visited my local sewing studio Thimblefingers to buy my interface and zipper so that I could get a few more tips on how exactly I was going to go about making the liner with the zipper. The best tip from the extremely helpful owner was where exactly I should attach my liner. I had envisaged sewing it an inch or so below the opening but I was told that the seam would be more robust if I chose the existing natural seam between the colorful rounds and the band around the top. My lining isn't perfect but I am very pleased. I know that I will take my bag out far more now that it has a zippered lining. I even added a cellphone-sized inside pocket. Go me!

I found two helpful online tutorials for adding zippered linings to crochet bags if you're feeling inspired to have a go. Fab crochet designer and blogger Stephanie of All About Ami has a tutorial for a lining with a zipper and a circular base: Crochet Zipper Pouch. Stephanie gave a link to a second helpful photo tutorial from super crochet designer Jesseyz of Chocolate Mints in a Jar Zippered Lining Tutorial.

Well now that I've achieved this I'm feeling confident enough to make a project bag or two. I'm going to use this super cute project bag tutorial from the talented Sam, crochet designer, blogger and podcaster from Betsy Makes.

If you'd like to tell me about your experiences with lining a bag, please do let me know in the comments below. Anyway, do have a wonderful week y'all.

How to locate a yarn store while away

I get rather agitated when I'm packing to go on holiday. I panic about being separated from my stash and running out of yarn. It takes me several days to decide on what projects to take whereas the clothes are decided upon in a stress-free half an hour. Of course I am NOT going to run out of yarn. I don't sit around crocheting all day long on holiday. There are other holiday activities taking place. And I also assume I will crochet at ten times my normal rate which I don't. But just in case, it's good to be able to locate a nearby yarn store and it's also fascinating to have a little nosy around the different yarns that they sell. 
 

• Ravelry is my usual go to place to locate a yarn store. Once you've logged in, click on the "yarn" tab and on the left hand side half way down there is a search box entitled "local yarn shop directory". 
• Knit Map is a second searchable database for locating yarn stores worldwide which allows readers to rate, review and update yarn store information. 
• Find a yarn shop on the UK Hand Knitting Association website is another site for UK shops.

Marie Segares on her Underground Crafter blog has a great article on How to find great yarn stores on your next trip with lots more tips and two more sites to search for stores in the US: 

• Yarn places has yarn stores as well as yarn farms and yarn events.
• Yarn shop locator on the Daily Knitter website.

I managed to persuade my family to do a city tour of Norwich which included visits to two yarn stores Crafty Ewe, Norfolk Yarn AND the haberdashery department of the John Lewis store. Restocked!

Hope these resources are helpful if you are travelling this summer. Craft on everyone!

I've fallen for Noro

I am a recent convert to Noro yarn. I took it to the beach at Galveston State Park with me. If you look very closely you'll see my hubby and two kids out there in the surf.

 

The yarn store where I work has a wall of Noro yarn from Japan. I had stayed away from it until very recently with three main objections:

1. It feels itchy to me. People tell me "it softens up when you work with it" but I have refused to believe them.
2. It's pricey and I just can't help being the thrifty Brit. I don't really enjoy spending money.
3. In my mind it's mainly self-striping yarn and historically I just haven't had good experiences with finding a pattern I like which suits multi colored yarn.

I have a brand new way of building my stash after reading a super article on the Crochet Unites website building a yarn stash on a budget. I go for the bulk buy - purchasing large quantities of just one type of yarn in the same color when on sale. In the past, I have often been one skein short of completing my pattern. How frustrating! 

And last month I found soft Noro yarn Shiraito containing cashmere in large quantities on sale totally overcoming the above objections #1 and #2. I bought all 11 skeins in the same dye lot. I picked two very simple patterns that would work with the stripes. I AM getting better at picking patterns. I found a moss stitch scarf pattern in one of my all time favorite books The Gentle Art of Knitting by Jane Brocket and have just finished a quick and easy traditional granny square crochet blanket. I don't need a pattern for the latter I can practically hook it in my sleep.

I am really loving working with Noro yarn. The colorful stripes are gorgeous. There is aqua and turquoise in there, two colors I am always drawn to. It's extremely soft to work with. I have learned to deal with the thick and thin bits which can split by being very gentle with the yarn. A fellow knitter and Noro lover told me "Don't pull!" I am enjoying the experience immensely and I am a total Noro yarn convert! Yay!

And I just discovered one my Twitter buddies the super talented knitwear designer, tech editor and blogger Kephren Pritchett has a design in the most recent edition of the latest Noro magazine. It's gorgeous!! And it isn't even in self-striping yarn. Check out her Leaf Lace Shrug on Ravelry. Beautiful!!

 
I predict I will be looking out for more Noro very soon.....

How to untangle yarn [try it yourself or find a yarn wrangler]

Every now and then a yarn-related story will hit the mainstream news, be shared around social media and become a topic of conversation even amongst your non-yarny friends. How fun! In late December, the Wall Street Journal published "Knitters with hopelessly knotted yarn call 'Detanglers' for help".

"Many knitters find their craft a tranquil and even meditative pastime - until knots and tangles in their yarn send them into a fury. But for one group of fanatics, there is nothing more satisfying than a hopelessly tangled web. Daphne of Melbourne, Australia, once paid about $50 on eBay for a 25-pound box of snarled yarn, simply for the pleasure of untangling it."

I loved reading this article and was already aware of the therapeutic benefits of untangling yarn for some. However at the time of reading I thought I'm not one of those silly people who would ever get my yarn in a tangle. I'm far too careful.

But last month I was merrily winding a skein of expensive lace weight yarn on my swift and ball winder. I've never worked with lace weight yarn before I realize. Then the yarn breaks and I start a new ball. And then it breaks again. And in one of those rather vacant moments I just decide rather than start a new ball I'll wind on top of the ball and all will be well. Later when I start to crochet with the yarn the ball collapses leaving me with the worst tangle I've ever witnessed (see above). Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I now realize I should have wound my yarn very slowly because lace weight yarn is so very delicate. And winding a ball on top of a ball was just downright silliness that I will not repeat.

Anyway I decided I would see if detangling was relaxing for me and found the following tips on what to do:

Jessie Rayot from Jessie at Home has a helpful photo tutorial that I rather like on how to untangle yarn. Katrin Kania gives tips on how to untangle yarn using your swift how to untangle a skein of yarn I particularly love Katrin's instruction on how to calculate the time required:

"To get an estimation of how long it will take you, make a wild guess. Then multiply the time of your wild guess by two - that's the pessimistic wild guess. Now multiply that by ten, and you have an estimate."

I spent several evenings on my untangling project and I can report that it was very absorbing. But now it has been put aside, still on my swift, looking just as tangled as when I started. Perhaps I will need to bring in a Yarn Wrangler from the Knot a Problem group on Ravelry. Roving Crafters describe how to get the experts involved in their article: never fear the yarn wranglers are here

Getting a little better all the time [crochet and knit tutorial links]

I have completed making swatch samples for my Craft Yarn Council knitting 1 certificate. Hurray! Other yarn projects have taken a back seat for a while but that's OK because rotating projects are entirely acceptable for yarn addicted people such as ourselves. I love how learning to teach makes you learn new techniques and improve your existing ones. I've learnt "european" knitting, cable cast on, feather and fan stitch and also discovered what I should improve.

I've realized that my purl stitch is far looser than my knit stitch working on the first two swatches which call for 5" garter stitch squares in knit and purl. My purl swatch is simply sloppy requiring far fewer stitches than my neat knitted candidate. But according to one of my proficient knitting friends (she can knit Fox Paws without assistance) this is not unusual and can be fixed. A quick online search led to a solution. Hurray for Ysolda Teague!

We all love to learn new techniques so I thought I'd share a few online resources for this. My list is a tad biased towards crochet since my return to knitting is very recent:

Knitting designer, Ysolda Teague, has a collection of excellent photo tutorials on her Technique Thursday page. This is where I found out how to make my purl stitches tighter.
 
At knitting designers Tin Can Knits, 2016 is the Year to Learn Something New and they even have a hashtag #TCKnewtricksKAL How fun!

Blogger, designer and teacher Marie Segares of Underground Crafter has a great archive on her blog Tips Tuesdays the most recent being how to join your first (or next) CAL (crochet along) - always a great way to improve your skills!

Blogger, writer and crocheter Kathryn Vercillo of Crochet Concupiscence provides very clear photo tutorials of crochet stitches and also gives a link to other crochet tutorials if you'd like more!

Craft media company Interweave gives free crochet tips articles on it's online store including making amigurumi, sizing your afghans etc

New York store and online resource for "needlecrafters of every ilk" Purl Soho provides both knit tutorials and crochet tutorials on their beautifully presented site.

I know this is just a tiny selection (and I haven't even delved into the world of video tutorials), so I'd love to hear from you if you have a particular favorite place to learn new techniques online. Just let me know in the comments section below!

How to substitute yarn

One of the most frequent questions we are asked in the yarn store is "What yarn do I need for this pattern?" and we don't always stock the specified yarn so we need to recommend a similar one.

Fortunately, the Craft Yarn Council publishes a set of yarn standards (see www.yarnstandards.com) so first of all I refer to the top of their handy dandy chart of standard yarn weight system (see below) to figure out as much as I can about the recommended yarn.

Sometimes the pattern will specify the type of yarn e.g. DK weight. If this isn't given I look at the recommended needle/hook size and also the gauge for knitting patterns (i.e. a certain number of stitches per 4 inches / 10 cm) which often appears on yarn labels.

So armed with this information, I'll look on our shelves at similar weights of yarn and scrutinize the labels for something to suit. If the pattern doesn't give a weight, hook/needle size or gauge I'll look it up on the yarn page of the always helpful Ravelry site.

I'll also try to make sure the fiber content is similar e.g. cotton will not drape as well as wool. Finally I'll look at yardage so that they have a sufficient amount. And of course if you don't fancy going through all this palaver, just ask the yarn store staff for advice!

For further reading on matching yarn beyond gauge see this fantastic guidance on how to substitute from newish website Yarnsub. And you've guessed it, they provide a really useful tool to look for yarn substitutions on their site so if you're not in the yarn store but at home you could take a gander at this. I could spend quite a few hours typing in different yarns and looking at the substitutions "wow, how fascinating - I never knew those two were a 93% match". It's almost like dating for yarn, but perhaps that's just me!

Still on topic, I bought the magazine Love of Crochet for the first time and just love the fact that for every pattern they provide three additional yarn substitutions based on whether you want to save, spend or splurge. Marvelous!