Passing down the skills: backwards edition

Back when I began knitting and crocheting, I realised things were backward for me. A lot of people talked about the link with the past; they learned to knit or crochet from their mother, or perhaps their grandmother. Their aunt. Someone in their family.

I learnt through friends and youtube, which was perfect for me but didn’t foster that link. I felt for a while as though I was missing some part of the learning process. I had no tips or tricks passed down from previous generations, and I still have no idea if any of my grandparents could knit. I assume they could, but the only story I remember involves a great aunt I never met, so I’m not certain.

Then my mum asked me to teach her to crochet.

She said she knew how to do it before, but teaching her was basically from scratch. She came along to one of my Stitch ‘n’ Bitches, picked up a hook and some acrylic, and off she went.

It turns out teaching her was great for both of us; for her because she’s been doing it on and off ever since, and for me because when I visited her she revealed that she’d crocheted me a version of the Doctor’s scarf. Yes, that enormous Doctor Who scarf.

Found on Pinterest; credit goes to BBC.

I don’t have pictures yet because she had to sew in the millions of ends, but it will be with me soon. It’s okay, I won’t be able to use it until the winter anyway, but you better bet it will be used all the damn time.

And I will look just as happy as he does. Guaranteed.

Featured Store: Pleasant Plushies

Are you looking for somewhere to buy some adorable plushies just in time for the holidays? Of course you are, in which case you should check out Pleasant Plushies, full of geeky-adorable gifts for yourself or others.

You’ll have the added bonus of supporting an independent creator who helped support this blog during the Kickstarter. Rachel has been creating plushies in the amigurumi style since 2012, saddened by the lack of plushies that she was craving. Her creations are adorable and interesting.

Take a look at some that are on sale now:

SO CUTE JIGGLYPUFF

JIGGLYPUFF! ($35 USD)

I really love Pokemon. I might be biased, but this is super.

Omg a tamagotchi

Tamagotchi “Tarakotchi” ($15 USD)

When I was a kid I spent hours playing with my tamagotchi and this makes me all nostalgic.

Oooh it’s No Face

Spirited Away Inspired “No Face” ($25 USD)

A few years ago my girlfriend had me watch Spirited Away and I loved it. This was one of the best characters.

As you can see Rachel is creating a whole bunch of interesting, complex amigurumi that’s perfect for the geek in your life (especially if that geek is you). I could post every one of her creations and show them all off. So cute!

If you want to see more from Rachel head over to her blog, also named Pleasant Plushies.

Thank you again Rachel for your support!

In Pursuit of Distraction

I’ve got a good thing going at work these days.

Earlier I mentioned that I have been crocheting covers for the chair’s armrests at work since they’re a little bedraggled. My chair is bright and cheerful in green and yellow acrylic (complete with a little flower) and it’s catching on.

First a co-worker crocheted her own for one of her arm-rests. Then people started asking me to make them for their chairs.

However much I like my co-workers, I don’t mass-produce even these things for free. As a result I’m getting a cup of coffee and a snack for every arm-cover that I make. It’s great. I drink a cup of decaff every morning (and quite often another later in the day) and it is how I let my brain know to get going, even if I can’t drink the caffeine. The snack is just a bonus.

So far I’ve finished two other sets and I’m about to start a third. It’s a great way to get the hang of new stitches and to play around with patterns. I’ve figured out a way to crochet it so it stays on itself without having to crouch on the floor and tie it on.

I love crochet for how adaptable it is. Even more, I love it for how many free coffees it’s getting me!

When Crochet Attacks

I’m in the middle of knitting a baby blanket for my future nephew. It’s going well; though I’m only using acrylic (I’m only a part-time yarn snob), it’s coming out just how I wanted it to. It’s not from a pattern either and I’m thinking of writing it up when I’m done.

It started taking its toll on my tendons yesterday so I put it down and picked up the crochet hook instead.

At work we have office chairs that are not brand new (to say the least). I switched mine because it was wonky and this one has a crack in the arm, so I crocheted a cover for it and tied it on. It works really well.

No pictures since we are not allowed cameras in our office.

This is one of the things I love about crochet. It is so easy to look at something and make an object to fit it. It’s versatile and quick. Sure it’s not usually as pretty as knitting but it has its place and I’m glad to be bi-craftual.

Do you make little useful objects like this?

Beauty in Chaos: Free-form Crochet

When I look into my drawer at work I see a little nest of leftover sock yarn from my many finished projects, especially with my sock obsession lately. I have loads of half-skeins and piddly little bits that aren’t much good for anything.

Looking at these clashing and interesting yarns that I love as socks but don’t care much about for smaller projects, I began to consider ideas for it.

A while ago – I’m speaking at least two years – someone mentioned free-form crochet to me. I looked into it and was fascinated. The idea of just picking up a hook and yarn and making something disordered and random was very appealing to me.

Click image for source.

A lot of what I see when I look at freeform crochet projects on Pinterest and Ravelry is actually Irish crochet which is a style all of its own – however the techniques learned through Irish crochet can be used for free-form crochet as it’s full of all sorts of unusual and interesting motifs.

The difference is that Irish crochet in its traditional form is quite regular and standard in its use, even though it is unusual in appearance for those used to regular crochet.

Click picture for source

The idea is to pick up yarn and a hook and see where it takes you. This is a daunting idea for many people, including myself. I like order even if sometimes I choose to ignore it.

Still, I thought that maybe I should try something like this. I have loads of scraps and I could make a free-form crochet blanket for my lap at work. It could be something to work on in fits and starts whenever I’m bored of whatever else I’m making.

I’ll be sure to post any updates to see whether I can let go of conventions and rules and make something completely random.

So far… it’s looking worryingly rectangular!

Learning to Read Your Knitting

When I started this blog it was with the intention of tracking my progress in becoming a better knitter – or, back at that time, a knitter at all. I found the biggest hurdle in the early stages is learning to read your knitting.

What do I mean by that?

Back when I started knitting and crocheting I had real problems if I made a mistake. I would stare down at the scrap of fabric and have no idea what I’d done or why there weren’t the right amount of stitches in place.

It was infuriating. For a long time I didn’t like knitting at all, preferring instead to stick to my hooks. A big part of that is the fact it was much easier to see the difference in the stitches with crochet, at least for me.

Now when I make a mistake in my knitting I can see where I went wrong by reading the stitches along the row. I don’t think there’s a trick to it – it’s something that comes with making a whole bunch of mistakes! I have seen plenty of images on Pinterest showing different types of stitches and what they look like but unless you’re checking them throughout the process, they’re not as useful as experience. I don’t know about you but I struggle to remember what I saw in an image some time a few months ago!

I guess what I’m saying here is that it’s heartening after all this time to realise how far I’ve come. I don’t look at my lace knitting and burst into tears (most days). I don’t want to throw my crochet out of the moving bus (usually). It’s satisfying to realise that I can read the stitches on my needle or hook.

Can you read your knitting? How did you get to that point? Sheer luck like me or did you study hard to get all that knowledge together?

What Do You Like Least About Knitting/Crochet?

My least favourite thing to do when knitting, for no reason whatsoever, is kitchener stitch. It’s not that I don’t enjoy it once I start. It’s quick enough and I can do it without thinking too much. Still every time I get to the end of a sock I stare at that ungrafted toe and sigh.

Last time I actually put the last few stitches on some scrap yarn and started the next sock instead. How does this make sense? Now I have to kitchener two toes at the same time. Three, in fact, since I have since knitted another sock – although at least that is worsted and has fewer stitches to do.

I also hate sewing things together but that at least can be avoided by knitting sweaters etc in the round.

What do you hate most about knitting/crochet?