Loom Knitting ~ Another craft to learn

Do you remember the old cotton reels with four nails in the top that we used to use many years ago to do French Knitting? Well, recently I saw a friend's post on Instagram where she showed the gorgeous beanies she has been knitting on a loom. I didn't even realise the looms could be used for that purpose.

A festival for yarn lovers

Today I visited Warwick's Jumpers and Jazz in July Festival with a couple of friends and the event is getting bigger every year. If you had the time you could easily spend a couple of days there. As today was a Monday it was probably quieter in town than it would be on the weekend but there were still a lot of visitors about.

Dishcloths and Sew Alongs

There seemed to be a lot of interest in the Garden Dishcloths to Knit book that I mentioned recently. So far I have only knitted one of the dishcloths in the book but plan to knit some more when my brain isn't being pickled by this protracted heat wave. If I survive the 38C days coming up on Sunday and Monday I will start on another one. It is a bit hard to concentrate when you have sweat pouring off you during such hot days :-) So now I have finished my dishcloths for January and February in the Down to Earth forum's Dishcloth Challenge as I am knitting one a month.

A Dishcloth Challenge

Over on the Down to Earth Forums one of the members started up a Dishcloth Challenge this month and some of the keen knitters are going to knit a dishcloth a week. Well, I am a slow knitter so decided to just knit one a month which is enough for me. I said I was slow :-) Anyway one of our experienced knitters showed us a photo of twelve dishcloths she has made recently and said she got the patterns from a book called Garden Dishcloths to Knit by Melissa Bergland Burnham. The dishcloths looked really nice so I took the plunge and ordered the book which was approximately $10 and was pleasantly surprised when it arrived to find that all the patterns are just plain and purl. Just up my alley and good patterns for beginners.

Easy Knitted Fingerless Mittens

One of the members on the Down to Earth Simple Living Forum knitted some fingerless mittens recently and very generously gave us the pattern so we could make our own and she has given me permission to put it on my blog. I am no expert when it comes to knitting so these would be a good project for beginners.

 

A Festival for Yarn Lovers:Part 2

This is a continuation of my last post about the Jumpers and Jazz Festival in Warwick which we visited on Monday. I took too many photos to put into one post so I hope you don't get bored with them. 

This is the statue of Thomas Joseph Byrnes who was the Premier of Queensland for a few months in 1898 until he contracted measles and then pneumonia and died at the age of just 38. He represented Warwick in the Legislative Assembly which I guess is why his statue sits in the main street in the middle of the traffic. I grew up in that town and wasn't even aware of his story until I just did a little bit of research. I always thought he was an old man. How sad that he died so young. Anyway, his statue sports a beanie and scarf during the festival and when I look at it the next time I am visiting I will think of him in a different light.

A Festival for Yarn Lovers

Yesterday we drove to Warwick for the annual Jumpers and Jazz in July Festival. I used to have a look at the yarnbombed trees many years ago when we were visiting our mum and when the festival first began but since then it has gone from strength to strength and is now held for 10 days during winter each year.

A cold, windy and rainy Sunday

Well the forecast was for a wet winter and the Weather Bureau just might be right! It was fascinating watching the radar over the weekend and seeing the rain band move from the North West of Queensland to the South East then over the border into New South Wales. The Mt.Isa Show was on last Saturday and I believe some events had to be cancelled after the rain arrived. I did warn my son-in-law it was coming :-) He calls me his weatherman/lady. Anyway, I think the children did have a few hours there before it got too wet. It was just overcast here in the South East but you could tell there was rain coming.

Twiddlemuffs or Calming Mitts for dementia sufferers

One of the really nice things about blogging is that you get to meet other bloggers online and recently I 'met' Maria from The Next Stage which is a blog about her next stage of life after retirement. I am always particularly interested in blogs written by people much the same age as myself as I like to see how they are adjusting to no longer being in the paid workforce due to retirement. Maria is a very talented person and shows some gorgeous craftwork on her blog. Recently in a post she showed  photos of craft items she has been collecting to give to local charities and I was intrigued when she mentioned someone had knitted Twiddlemuffs which are calming mitts for people who suffer from dementia. What a great idea!

Five sleeps to go

Well, there are only five sleeps before I head up to the North West of the state to visit my grandchildren and celebrate the sixth birthday of one of my granddaughters.  Hers is the only birthday I am normally there for as the others are in the hotter months and this Nanna just can't cope with the 40C+  temperatures. As most ladies would know there are a few things to do before leaving the nest for 10 days.

More UFOs finished!

If I just sat down and spent a day sewing I would have most of my UFOs finished off in no time. Unfortunately I don't get a whole day to myself to do that and as I don't have a craft room anything I work on has to be packed up at the end of the session which is a bit of a deterrent when one tends to procrastinate anyway. I have finished off a couple more little skirts which I cut out ages ago.

So many UFOs!!!

Does anyone else have a lot of UFOs? I am sure I am not the only one. I decided I would take note of what projects I have started that need to be finished otherwise I will start some more and just leave them to be finished 'one day'.

A nice surprise in the mail

Just before Easter I received a parcel containing some lovely swap items. My swap partner had been unwell at the time of the swap a few months ago so I was in no hurry for her to finish her items until she felt she was on top of things once again.

A cute little knitted bunny

Last week a friend linked to a tutorial on how to make a really cute knitted bunny from a square. They are really easy to make and would even be suitable for a child who can do basic knitting and sewing to make. The full instructions can be found on Jo So and Sew.

Would you like to learn how to sew?

Being the start of a brand new year many of us decide to learn a new skill or resurrect one that we haven't used for a number of years. Personally I want to learn more about knitting than just how to knit plain and purl so have enrolled in a Craftsy course starting with the basics. Mind you, I didn't realise that the young girl running the course knitted a different way from how I had been taught and does Continental knitting not English knitting like I do. So that was the first shock I got. Then when teaching how to cast on she used the Long Tail Cast-on method so that absolutely threw me as I knew nothing about it. Then I was worried as I had taught my granddaughter how to cast on using a completely different method and had taught her English knitting. However, I don't think it matters and we all have to start somewhere and as she learned how to knit garter stitch at the age of 6 I think she will easily pick up all the methods eventually. Perhaps quicker than her Nanna though:-)

...and a good chinwag was had by all!

This morning I had the pleasure of catching up with a group of lovely ladies I have met online through the Down to Earth Simple Living Forums and also our Simple Living Toowoomba group.

Is knitting socks good for the brain?

Have you ever knitted socks? If so, was it difficult to complete your first pair? When I started knitting mine I had no idea about how to use double pointed needles and had never knitted anything more complicated than a dishcloth in recent years. I have vague memories of knitting when I was a teenager but that is a long, long time ago. So I was very relieved today to actually finish my first pair of socks even though there were a few mistakes along the way but the instructions I followed said that that was probably par for the course.

Ta Da...we have a sock!

It is with much excitement that I present to you....drumroll....my first finished sock!!!!

The Sock Saga

Am I alone in discovering that knitting one's first pair of socks can turn into a bit of a saga? :-) I suspect not. On the Down to Earth Simple Living Forums one of the other beginner sock knitters who has actually finished her socks was kind enough to do a basic Knit Along for the rest of us. However, I needed really detailed instructions as I had absolutely no idea of how to knit with double pointed needles as I have enough trouble with two never mind four so printed out the One Sock on Four Double Pointed Needles Tutorial which had been recommended for absolute beginners....which I am where socks are concerned...no doubt about that!

Can you knit socks?

On the Down to Earth forum some of us would like to knit our first pair of socks so one member who has finished knitting one sock is doing a Knit Along as she knits her second sock for the rest of us who are beginners so that we can all learn together. She is also a beginner so that gives us hope that it isn't going to be too complicated.