Skip to main content

3KCBWDAY6- Improving you skillset

 

I’m about 100% certain I published this Saturday but seeing as it’s not showing up you get it today instead.

Improving Your Skillset
How far down the road to learning your craft do you believe yourself to be? Are you comfortable with what you know or are you always striving to learn new skills and add to your knowledge base? Take a look at a few knitting or crochet books and have a look at some of the skills mentioned in the patterns. Can you start your amigurumi pieces with a magic circle, have you ever tried double knitting, how's your intarsia? If you are feeling brave, make a list of some of the skills which you have not yet tried but would like to have a go at, and perhaps even set yourself a deadline of when you'd like to have tried them by.

Today will be a short one. I went to Wonderwool! It was AMAZING and I spent all my pennies and know that next year I need to save even more. I missed out on some stuff I would have loved but to be honest would have needed lots to do what I wanted to do and I didn’t have the budget for that. There was some lace that was beautiful, but would have been 1/2 my budget- just not happening at the moment I’m afraid.

Knitting wise I am NEVER afraid to try something. I think I could try something new each year for as long as I live and still have things to do. On my wishlist at the moment is the Knitters Life List which would be an ideal companion for this list.

I *can * start my crochet with a magic loop

and with a floop,

I’ve tried double knitting and not got on particularly well so it’s on my “come back too” list,

I can say I’ve never done intarsia, but my stranded colourwork aint half bad.

After completing Sylvi cables are my bitch,

I knit in the round whenever I can, magic loop is my favourite but I can do plain circular knitting on an appropriate sized cable (Thank you Interchangeable needles!) DPN’s hold no mystery for me and I can even do 2 circs, but it’s by far my least preferred method because finding 2 sets of circs not in projects can be a hard thing for me to do.

Enterlac was a skill I learned at Christmas.

I duplicate stitched the collars on a Westie cardigan for my Nephew this year.

I also spin, but poorly.

I knit socks from the toe up and the cuff down. I knit 2 at a time normally as well.

I’ve knit a jumper from the top down

How dirty was my mirror and how dark was my hair! (Amused, knit Summer of 2010)

And from the bottom up (Sylvi)

I’m adapting a flat jumper pattern to in the round (up until the armpits anyway)

I’m pretty good with different cast ons (Cable being prefered) and I’m okay with some bind offs, (Traditional and JSSBO) but I’d also like to learn more!

I’ve felted some slippers

Things I would like to do

Lace- I wouldn’t say anything in knitting *scares* me but lace is something I would love to do but have a slight fear of. I have a hank of Laceweight in yellow which I think would make an amazing Swallowtail; and yes BEADING also counts as another thing I would like to do. I also would like to knit my shawl for my wedding and potentially Bridesmaid shawls for my Sister and my Sister in law. Luckily it’s a long way away so I’ll have plenty of time.

Ami – I would like to make at least one full toy this year. I have the skill sets, just not really had the ambition so far. I can see me making more after the nephew is born and as he gets older- boys are so hard to knit for but everyone likes toys.

Spinning- I would like to get better at spinning, I know that this simply comes from time. I do not put enough hours in at my wheel for me to be a good spinner. I’m hoping that if we do move house we will have a proper room for me to sit and spin in. Although I currently have my attic it is clogged with clothes, exercise machines that get no use (They will be sold before we move!) and the tumble dryer.

Dying! I actually bought a dye kit, sock blank and 2 skeins of sock yarn today. I am incredibly excited about dying that I might just have to clean the kitchen tomorrow and make a mess on Monday! I wanted pink and brown self striping and couldn’t find any.

Afterthought Heels- I actually also bought some plain un-dyed (cream) sock yarn today to do the toes and heels of my Time Traveller socks. The yarn stripes up like Tom Bakers Scarf from Dr Who and I really don’t want to interrupt the stripes.

Steeks- Already part way through Rams and Yowes I’m dreading the day when out come the scissors to snippedy snip!

General things I would like to learn but are not a priority this year- Crochet Intarsia and Crochet colourwork in general, true finishing techniques instead of muddling though, writing my own patterns and charts, Needle felting.

Thing is, despite this long list of things I can do, things I can’t do (yet!) is just the overwhelming desire to learn! I promise you now if I wasn’t so tired I would be up at my wheel plowing away at some roving. That sounds like a belting idea for tomorrow actually.

The next few posts will be pic heavy with very little words because I have probably bored you all to death. Sorry <3

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Corwin

  I was hoping I wouldn’t have to write this post for a while. I’d hoped at least not this side of Christmas; but he had other plans. Last Thursday Rhys came home from work to find him laid up in the cage, dehydrated and not interested in moving. Rhys tried tempting him with Peanut butter and he turned his nose up a it. Corwin… not accepting food meant it was a bad sign. A few weeks ago he’d started to loose movement in his hind quarters – as can happen in old rats. He was still moving around reasonably well; eating, drinking and snuggling and we agreed to take each day as it came. We took him to the vets that evening, and all agreed that the best thing to do for him was to let him go easily, peacefully and quietly in his sleep. Corwin came to us from SPA Vets in Gloucester. This was our vets before we moved to Newport and one I would heartily recommend to anyone in the area. He’d wandered in through someone’s cat flap and realising (thank goodness!) that he was...
1 comment
Read more

Thinking about 2017 goals!

I'm currently laid up with what we think is Slapped Cheek. Slapped cheek is a thing that kids get, and my bosses daughter had a case. When it affects adults it shows up as joint pain and swelling and flu like symptoms. Ouch. As a result I can't do much knitting or spinning or crochet. What else can I do but have a think about what my goals for 2017 should be? My goals for 2016 were fairly simple 80/20 Yarn used to yarn bought ratio (We’ll see how this goes!) Finish using 2015’s Wonderwool yarn before 2016’s WW (Faberge, Sunny Days Shawlette, Pink Topaz)  12 pairs of Socks in 2016  So I managed 2 and 3, and the less said about goal 1 the better I suppose. I must have added at least 100 skeins or balls of yarn to the stash this year. To be fair, I did go to Canada (where I bought lots of yarn) and have a fortuitous year with Wonderwool this year. By comparison, I've used up around 60; which really is no mean feat. Proposed Goals!* 1) Yarn Management! I'm st...
1 comment
Read more

Crafty Little Rat - Episode 19

Show Notes FO Frenzy Advent Calendar Shawl                Rosie’s Moments Advent Calendar kit – A Shawl for Jos – Rosemary Davis – 3.5mm needle Lights Camera Action Socks Plain Sock, 64 stitch. V shaped Heel. Cascade Yarns Heritage Prints – 26 Holidays 2.26mm needles Tiger Socks Plain Sock, 64 Stitch, V shaped Heel. Easyknits.co.uk Dusted Dreams – Firestorm. 2.25mm needles Fox Point – Laura Aylor Knoll Yarns Kilcarra Tweed – Raphoe, Muff and Gara. 4,5mm needle Brioche Practice Piece 4.5 mm needle – Gara and Raphoe – Very Pink Knits tutorial New Year New Socks Stylecraft Head over heels – 3101 Fuji . 2.25mm needles, 64 stitch sock, Rounder Heel. Waiting for Rainbows Syliva McFadden Owl about Yarn – Sparkle Owl, Aberavon Harbour 175g   4.0mm needle You're Still working on that Hermionie’s Every Day Socks – Erica Lueder Rico Design Superba ...
Post a Comment
Read more