Day 7: Crafting Balance (3KCBWDAY7)

I can hardly believe that this is the last post of the week!  This has been such a great experience and I want to thank everyone who visited me and especially to those of you who took the time to comment.  I have found so many new blogs to follow and gotten to know some great new people, so I would certainly call this week a success!

and moving on....

I'm certainly a knitter, not a crocheter.  I don't have anything against crochet, it's just that I've always struggled with learning it (year and a half later, still can't figure out the granny square).  I definitely learn the best from other people, I learned to knit from my mother and I learned to spin from a teacher at Webs.

So, at this point crochet simply serves as a useful tool I use while steeking or as a part of a cast on or a cast off.  However, after reading a great crochet series by Fig (figknits) a few weeks ago, my desire to learn has come back and learning to crochet is certainly on my list of things to do this summer.

Speaking of steeking, that is definitely an adventure I want to have again in the near future:

I do however, certainly struggle with balancing spinning and knitting, and always have project going for each.  Lucky for me, spinning yields yarn to knit with!

I definitely have some of those days where I only have a short amount of free time and I really want to work on that sweater, but I also really want to spin some more of that fluffy merino!  If only I had more hours in a day.

Speaking of spinning and knitting, I certainly have some catching up to do and some fun things to show you in the upcoming days!

This post is written for Day 7 of Knitting and Crocheting Blog Week 2012 hosted by Eskimimi. To find other posts like this one, check out the website or click here for a complete listing.

Day 6: Improving Your Skill Set (3KCBWDAY6)

This post happens to be right down my alley! I'm definitely one of those people who believes that you can never know everything there is to know about a particular subject. You can always improve, always innovate, and always combine one area of knowledge with another for interesting results. So, I'm definitely always trying to learn more about the fiber arts.

That drive to learn more was definitely what made me want to learn how to spin, it was just a natural progression from knitting.


In fact, in an effort to improve our skill sets, Lisa and I each made a list Fiber Goals for 2012 back in January.  I suppose it has been a while since I have posted about them, so here is an update (for more information, see the Fiber Goals for 2012 tab above).  Bold type indicates a goal in progress.

Knitting:
- Knit a pair of CookieA socks
- Complete a colorwork sweater
- Complete an entrelac project
- Knit a tea pot cosy
- Conquer fear of short rows
- Knit a decent looking toy
- Try knitting with a new type of fiber
- Finish a spin-to-knit project

Spinning:
- Buy or make a wheel (Mr. Engineering is working to help me design an e-spinner)
- Learn to spin on a different type of spindle
- Learn to Navajo ply
- Learn to spin attractive relaxed singles
- Master spinning with a silk hankie
- Spin a new type of fiber 

Misc:
- Learn to shear a sheep
- Dye fiber/yarn with tea
- Design a pattern and publish
- Make three knitting/dyeing/spinning tutorials for blog

I've been moving a little slowly on these goals lately, but this summer I'll have a lot more time to focus on them.  I even have a list in the works for next year, which includes learning how to crochet.  I know that lists don't work for everyone, but they certainly help me to get things done!

Do you have any knitting/crochet/spinning resolutions?

This post is written for Day 6 of Knitting and Crocheting Blog Week 2012 hosted by Eskimimi. To find other posts like this one, check out the website or click here for a complete listing.

Day 5 - Something a Bit Different (3KCBWDAY5)

Lately I've been really interested in the creative process (that's what happens when you take an engineering class), and one of the tools I've been learning to work with is mind mapping.  It is a really useful skill to help structure ideas or brainstorm. 

Lately I've also been stuck on the idea of why do I create?  I've always been interested in learning new things, but up until now, I had never really developed a creative skill.  So, there must be a reason for why I have continued not only to knit, but to learn new skills related to knitting. 

Eager to practice my new mind mapping skill, I decided to explore why it is that I feel the need to create.  Why is it that producing handmade objects has become a priority in my life?

Obviously, this is a difficult question to answer, but the fiber arts continue to have such a positive effect on my life and I'm glad that I stuck with it and continued to explore. 

This post is written for Day 5 of Knitting and Crocheting Blog Week 2012 hosted by Eskimimi. To find other posts like this one, check out the website or click here for a complete listing.

Day 4 - A Knitter For All Seasons (3KCBWDAY4)

I had to think about this prompt for a long time, because I simply didn't have an answer to it. Basically, I had never really thought about it before.

I've always been the kind of knitter who just picks out a project simply because I like it.
For example, hats.  I love knitting hats, but I very rarely like to actually wear them.

I also love knitting sweaters no matter how warm it is!  Also, note that these pictures were taken last year when I was apparently going through an awkward photo phase.

I do, however, get very excited for new spring and summer knits, as I mentioned in this past post.

I suppose that I tend to spin more in spring and summer, but I'm not sure if that has any actual relation to the seasons.  These two lovelies were finished last summer!

So, no.  No trends to see here people!  I'm just a crazy knitter without a method to my madness.  If I like it, I knit it.  Plain and simple!

This post is written for Day 4 of Knitting and Crocheting Blog Week 2012 hosted by Eskimimi. To find other posts like this one, check out the website or click here for a complete listing.

Day 3 - Your Knitting or Crochet Hero (3KCBWDAY3)

I had a really difficult time with this prompt because there are so many people in the fiber crafts community who inspire me every day, especially many of you who blog.  If I were to mention everyone who is a fiber craft hero of mine, this would be a huge post!

I have met so many amazing people by being a part of this community of people from Ravelry who blog.  I'm so inspired by every single one of blogs that I follow and I'm glad that you all work so hard to share your amazing work via blog.  I truly look forward to getting to know you all better, and please continue producing such wonderful posts, I'll certainly continue to read them!

There are a few bloggers who I have been getting to know for several months now and who have really inspired me in my own fiber and blogging adventures.  I really hope that you will get a chance to get to know them too:

Lisa from Wicked Artsy: I met Lisa through the Ravelry board, Random Acts of Kindness and we have been pen pals for a year now.  She is a knitter and spinner just like me and produces creative fiber projects while being a full time student.  I cannot even begin to say how amazing Lisa is, she is a budding artist, dedicated volunteer (some of you may have even contributed to her work for Relay For Life by buying her handmade stitch markers), and an amazing friend.

Andi from My Sister's Knitter: I've also been following Andi's blog for several months.  Andi is a enormously kind knitter with amazing taste in yarn (seriously, check out her blog).  She is also a wonderful photographer, every project update is a treat, especially when combined with the colors of yarn she picks out for her projects.

Sara from A Year at the Wheel: I've been following Sara ever since she started her blog in January and am pretty much convenced that we are the same person considering we like the same TV shows, video games, and so on.  Sara is a very talented spinner and also knits.  She somehow finds the time to update daily and it is such a treat to see what projects she is working on each day.

Evelyn from Project: Stash: Last but certainly not least, Evelyn is a constant inspiration to me, and is also incredibly kind (she is currently hosting a KAL for a great cause).  Her blog is mostly focused on her beautiful knitting projects and frequent pictures of yarn from her stash.  I would jump at the chance to go yarn shopping with her because she has such an eye for matching yarn with the perfect pattern and has great taste in color.


Also, to make up for a largely picture-less post, I want to share my progress on my scrap blanket.  It continues to grow dramatically every day even when I only have a few minutes to work on it each day and I feel so productive using up all of my scraps!

Here are the scraps I have left to knit up, I've still got a ways to go:

This post is written for Day 3 of Knitting and Crocheting Blog Week 2012 hosted by Eskimimi. To find other posts like this one, check out the website or click here for a complete listing.

Day 2: Photography Challenge Day (3KCBWDAY2)

I have really enjoyed planning for this particular post, it is definitely a great exercise in creativity and I came up with so many ideas (some of which I am definitely going to come back to when I have a better space to take photos in!).

Being an organization and productivity junkie, I began to pair the planning of this post with being able to cross something off my to-do list.  I have been meaning to wind my stash into nice, stackable cakes for a while now in order to make more room on my bookcase.

So, I thought I would show off my stash (plus three skeins of my handspun) in my favorite curve:

Now my arm aches from winding, but the next time I'm itching to start working on a new project, I'll be ready to go!

Also, my stash looks wonderful neatly ordered on my bookcase shelf now:

This post is written for Day 2 of Knitting and Crocheting Blog Week 2012 hosted by Eskimimi.        To find other posts like this one, check out the website or click here for a complete listing.

Day 1: Color Lovers (3KCBWDAY1)

Today is the first day of Knitting and Crochet Blog Week 2012!  This is going to be such an exciting week, and I cannot wait to meet new bloggers and get to know my blogging friends a little bit better!

I love working with color, which is part of the reason why I love knitting, and spinning in particular.  There are so many amazing colors available between yarn companies and indie dyers.  Essentially the possibilities for yarn and the projects which can come from yarn are endless, isn't that fantastic? 

Whenever possible, I like to dye my own fiber to spin, because it gives me full control over the product.  I always seem to start a dyeing project by finding inspiration from somewhere and doing a color study in one of my journals.  I usually start by trying to replicate the color study in my journal, but usually I get a little derailed (what would happen if I added a touch of this color?) 

I love the idea of combining colors in combinations that you don't often see together while I dye:

I also love combining colors together in crazy combinations while spinning just to see the interesting results that can come from it:

I'm also really interested in all the possible (often vibrant) color combinations you can get from interesting dye sources.

Such as food dyes from the grocery store: 

Or from plants, such as tea leaves:

I also love combining color while knitting in colorwork projects, because such rich patterns can be produced this way:

In honor of this post, I actually pulled out all of my hand knit socks that I didn't gift, which I think really speaks to my taste in color (as well as my apparent love for socks):

I can certainly say without a doubt that color is one of the most enjoyable parts of knitting and spinning.  

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week 2012

I don't know about all of you, but I am super excited about taking part in the Knitting and Crochet Blog Week 2012!

This time last year my little blog was not yet in existence, so I was not able to contribute.  I certainly give props to Eskimimi for putting together such a huge project like this!

I cannot wait to not only be apart of such a fun, exciting week of crafting, but to also get to see what everyone else is doing.  I'm hoping to stumble across some great new blogs as well!

I hope you all will think about joining in too!