3KCBW Day 7 -- Crafting Balance

Crafting Balance
Are you a knitter or a crocheter, or are you a bit of both?  If you are monogamous in your yarn-based crafting, is it because you do not enjoy the other craft or have you simply never given yourself the push to learn it?  Is it because the items that you best enjoy crafting are more suited to the needles or the hook?  Do you plan on ever trying to take up and fully learn the other craft?


A little known fact about me is that I learned to crochet before I ever attempted to knit.  When I was in high school we went to visit some family friends, one of whom, Mary, was extremely crafty.  The woman could craft anything.  As a kid when my parents desperately needed to get a night away we would be deposited with Mary and her husband for fun-filled crafting, activities, and old movies.  I learned a lot of different crafting skills from Mary.  And just like card-making, the crochet never stuck.

I have tried my hand at many crafts.  I experimented and dabbled with just about every crafty thing you can think of -- but only knitting has survived.  I don't even know where my old crochet pieces are, but I still have all my knitting, right down to the hideous and embarrassing.  As a consequence, I have no crafting balance.  Whenever I can, I'm knitting.  When I can't I am talking about knitting.  Or thinking about knitting.  Or devising ways to be able to knit next time I am stuck in this situation.  People who find this a bit overwhelming and obsessive (and there are a lot of these) did not know the child Faith, who tried to sit still and be good but was constantly fidgeting and doodling and getting herself into trouble.

In a lot of ways you could say that knitting provides it's own sense of balance.  I may not balance it out with another activity, but I don't need to because the knitting is already creating a balance.  Just take my knitting away during my lunch break and you'll understand -- the knitting is not there because I am a balanced, patient person.  It is there to balance out the crazy person who is unable to hold still, let alone stop biting her fingernails.

The above is a hint at what I have been working on this week.  I've really enjoyed participating again this year in Knitting and Crochet Blog Week and I cannot believe that it is over!  I hope all of you continue to come back to this space.  It has been awesome getting to know other bloggers over the week and finding new ways to communicate.  A big thank you to Eskimimi for pulling all of this together yet again for another year of fun! To read more on this last topic round search for 3KCBWDay7.

3KCBW Day 6 -- Improving Skillset

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?


I don't know if I will ever consider myself to be a proficient knitter.  I joined Ravelry in the fall of 2008 and that is when I feel I became a Knitter rather than someone who knit garter stitch scarves with hanging ends because I never learned to bind off (yeah, I was that person).  One of the nice things about teaching myself to knit is that I had no concept of what was "hard."  For me everything was hard and maybe that was just because I had no idea what I was doing.  I've had some spectacular failures -- there's an alpaca lace halter top of which we do not speak.  Do not immerse alpaca.  Lesson learned.  But there have also been some great triumphs when something just clicked and I realized what I was doing made absolute sense.  Those moments are not super frequent, but they do happen more often (expect a fabulous screw up sometime soon -- I set myself up for that one).

One thing I really want to do but that I have only dabbled in is colorwork.  I've done some striped shawls and hats, and I knit the Cairn hat and mitts which use mosaic knitting, but I want to do more.  Really, I want to do a sweater in more than one color.  The dream is to one day do intarsia (complete with steeks), but stripes would be just grand.  Like say Allyson Dukhuizen's new Umbre Lovre?

Striped, mod, and done in Knit Picks.  It looks like something I'd see in a magazine and wish I had a pattern.  I have the pattern, I just don't have the yarn.

Then there's the idea of colorwork socks.  Like the Crystal Socklet pattern by Lynn DT Hershberger.  They look perfect for using up some leftovers.

But probably the only thing I will actually make in the next year or so is Ysolda Teague's Hendreary.

It's a hat with a knitted button.  It must be mine.

Don't forget to read other Knitting and Crochet Blog Week posts by searching 3KCBWDay6!  And thanks to everyone for the positive comments left on yesterday's video post.  It was a lot of fun to make!

3KCBW Day Five -- Something a Bit Different

Something a Bit Different
This is an experimental blogging day to try and push your creativity in blogging to the same level that you perhaps push your creativity in the items you create. There are no rules of a topic to blog about but this post should look at a different way to present content on your blog.

Last year's "something different" post was a rousing success with Mr Irish Bear's great Yarn Heist. This year, in an effort to step once again out of my comfort zone I decided to do something I have absolutely never done -- video

Knit and Crochet Blog Week 2012 Day 5 from Faith tVS on Vimeo.

If you like what you see please let me know by way of a comment. And if you think I'm deserving, feel free to nominate me for today's prize here.

3KCBW Day Four -- A Knitter for All Seasons

A Knitter or Crocheter For All Season?
As spring is in the air in the northern hemisphere and those in the southern hemisphere start setting their sights for the arrival of winter, a lot of crocheters and knitters find that their crafting changes along with their wardrobe.  Have a look through your finished projects and explain the seasonality of your craft to your readers.  Do you make warm woolens the whole yer through in preparation for the colder months, or do you live somewhere that never feels the chill and so invest your time in beautiful homewares and delicate lace items. How does your local seasonal weather affect your craft?


My philosophy on knitting is to knit as inspiration strikes.  Actually, this is not true, I usually have a plan of things I intend to make, but I never stick with them.  Instead I get myself sucked into things like the Great Cowl KAL or sidetracked by some pretty yarn that I must knit RIGHT NOW.  But as a whole, I tend to knit whatever I feel like, regardless of the season.

As a caveat, I do live in North Carolina.  Nine months out of the year I do not knit with bulky wool.  It just isn't fun.  Instead I knit mostly lighter weight sweaters and smaller items like socks, shawls, and hats.  I hear a lot of knitters, even those who love to knit socks, claim that they cannot wear their socks in the warmer months.  I work at a place that requires socks and shoes, so I've always got some on.  And to keep ahead of any blow outs, I've pretty much become a year round sock knitter.

I keep playing with the idea that I am going to knit ahead by a season, but that really is not practical around here.  I might feel like knitting a worsted weight hoodie, but only if I drape myself over an air conditioning unit in the middle of the night and have a lot of ice standing at the ready.  Looking at last year's knitting I can tell you exactly when we went from chilly to hot.

I knit Rondeur in April and did not go back to warm knits until October when I knit up Twisty Frosted Violets.

As we are moving into summer I have already pulled out my tank tops and skirts, put away my sweaters, and settled my Rocky Coast Cardi on the wip shelf until I am ready to work with worsted weight again.

To learn more about knitting in other climates, search for 3KCBWDay4 on Google.

3KCBW Day 3 -- Knitting Hero

Your Knitting or Crochet Hero
Blog about someone in the fiber crafts who truly inspires you.

I am one of a breed of knitter who seems to be unique to the internet age.  Or at least that's the impression I get when I meet people.  I taught myself how to knit with pattern kits and dusty library books.  I can't remember the name of the book I actually used, but it taught me how to bind off -- after a year of attempts can you imagine how magical that was?  There are many people who were lucky enough to be taught by a family member.  A grandmother, an aunt, a cousin, their mother.  I had no such concept of a knitting heritage.  Until my mother gave me this.

Taken in California in the late sixties/early seventies, this is a snapshot of my grandmother.  Knitting.  Evidently when my mom was a kid my grandmother was always knitting, in the same way that I am now knitting in every spare moment.  I have vague memories of my grandmother before she was diagnosed with a debilitating disease that slowly took her memories of who we were.  Put into context, these are memories from when my sister was learning to walk -- she's now turning 21 on Friday (do not get me started, I can't handle it).  But after she died I started to learn more and more about the crafting legacy that I unknowingly inherited.

For example, my grandmother was a very thrifty lady.  After she had made the year's woolies, she would take her leftovers to make mittens.  My mom talks about them every year  and she was thrilled when I made my Sparkly Skid (above) and told her it was knit from shawl leftovers.  Evidently I am fitting into a pattern I did not realize existed.  Like a fairytale character who cannot figure out why she is so different until she finds out that she is a princess and had been living with the kind woodcutter's wife all this time to keep her safe.

I do not have any of my grandmother's knitting, but I do have a scarf knitted by my mom.  Turns out that she was the only one of the four daughters to refuse to knit.  But a few years ago she asked me  to teach her.  And she's not the only one returning to her knitting roots.  All three of her sisters have once again picked up needles and hooks.  My aunt, who made the bag below, described it as a way to connect with their mother who is now gone.  She might have left us several years ago, but they find tactile ways to remember her -- and the sense memories are strong.

They might not have returned to knitting until later in life, but the women of my family -- even those who do not knit -- are a crafty lot.  My one aunt was an artistic quilter, the other two create beaded jewelry that sells in craft shows in the North East.  Even my sister and several cousins have caught the bug.

Even though I barely knew her, I do think my grandmother inspired this legacy of creation.  I keep this photo in the center of my inspiration board so that I'll always connect back to my roots.  Because even in this internet age of self-taught knitters there is still heritage -- you just have to look.

Find other knitting and crochet heroes by searching 3KCBWDay3 in Google.

3KCBW Day 2 -- Photography Challenge Day

For today's photography challenge, Mr. Irish Bear returns with another photo story all about the trials of learning to knit.

Find more great photography by searching 3KCBWDay2 or clicking here.

3KCBW Day 1 -- Colour Lovers

Colour Lovers
Colour is one of our greatest expressions of ourselves when we choose to knit or crochet, so how do you choose what colours you buy and crochet or knit with?  Have a look through your stash and see if there is a predominance of one colour.  Do the same with your finished projects -- do they match?  Do you love a rainbow of bright hues, or more subdued tones?  How much attention do you pay to the original colour that a garment is knit in when you see a pattern?  Tell readers about your love or confusion over colour.


First of all, right off the bat I think I need to point out that even though I am an American I adore the UK spelling of "color" as "colour".  It gives the word so much more flavor.  And that is what colour is really about for me -- flavor.

I'll be the first to admit that I may not be the most colour coordinated person around.  I like to take colour risks.  Sometimes it works and I feel very fashion forward.  Sometimes it fails and I am quick to blame the fact that I really don't have any fashion sense.  I wore uniforms for six years of my life and nothing will make you crave colour in your life more than navy, khaki, and maroon plaid skirts.  If you visit my high school today there are several nit-picky rules that apply to colour and come with the footnote "you can blame Faith for this one."  My favorite ways to get colour in my days was through my socks, which is something you can still say for my handknit ones today (they look much more sedate sitting together, but they're all bright and crazy when viewed solo).

A quick flip through the stash does not turn up a predominance of any one colour.  Looking at the stash I've acquired just this year shows a wide variety of shades -- and these are just the skeins waiting to be knit.

I am one of those people who looks at what they have before they buy more stash.  I don't have a large disposable income, so I have to make my purchases count.  The exception to the rule is when yarn is named after certain geeky things. This really is how I have started making my purchase decisions.  Yes it is pretty, but what is it named after?

With regards to a colour preference, I don't really have one.  As long as there is colour, I'm happy.  I did go through a red phase last year -- probably an unforseen consequence of spending so long deep in Soviet research -- and I have recently dabbled in more sedate hues, but I am fast moving back to bright colours, verigation, and maybe even just a tad bit of neon.  I have a wedding coming up, so you'd think I'd be interested in whites and pale pale pinks, but no -- I may not be able to pull off tangerine without becoming as white as a china doll, but I can rock a most shocking shade of blue.

#March

It is the first day of March and man does this month have a lot of group activities included. At midnight last night/this morning, anxious knitters around the globe cast on carefully planned and strategized projects for Malabrigo March (kind of like March Madness here in the States only better, because it's yarn not college basketball). Malabrigo is a highly valued and hoarded yarn that the knitting community celebrates every year by knitting as much as possible in a single month. I didn't think I was going to participate because I don't really have any Malabrigo in my stash. But last night I was playing around on Knitty, as I am wont to do at times, and noticed Quest for the first time. It's a really pretty cloche pattern that I instantly realized would be beautiful in this one lone little skein I had sitting in the closet.

I have not really had this yarn for very long. It was a Christmas present this year that my knitterly friend bought for me because she could not justify buying it for herself. She told me she could not leave it behind because it is the perfect shade of Tardis blue.

And it totally is! I have been saving it for something special and that something special has appeared! So now that I'm suddenly participating in Malabrigo March I think I'm going to pull out my leftovers and see what else I can knit up.

March is also a big month in the world of Dollhouse fans. On Wednesday March 30, the first of the new Dollhouse comics will hit stores. In celebration of this fact, we over at Echo Alert have issued a challenge -- to watch both seasons in 4 weeks. So, maybe if you're like me this isn't really a challenge because I often go through a tv season a day. But this is a community effort. Frank and I will be tweeting as we watch the episodes and are encouraging listeners to tweet and email in their thoughts no matter if it's their first viewing or fiftieth. Then every Saturday I will write up a blog post incorporating everyone's thoughts on that week's episodes. If you'd like to join us, you can find all the information in the shownotes of our latest episode.

Speaking of community efforts, March 28 will mark the kick off of the second annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week!

I discovered the knitting blog community through last year's blog-a-long and so am very excited to participate this year. If you are a knitting or crochet blogger you can find all the information on the ever lovely Eskimimi's blog and in the Blog Hub Ravelry group.

Ok, so March is going to have a lot involved in addition to my normal writing and midterm grading life. But it's going to be soft Malabrigo and the stunning Eliza Dushku, so I think I am up for the added "work" load.