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.

#BHS2012: Day Seven

Today's parcel, the final parcel in my box, was well worth the wait.

According to Manni the Magnificent's note it is a Pennsylvania Dutch Hex Sign.  This particular one is meant to bring good luck to a married couple -- like, say, myself in six months?  I'm pretty excited to hang this up somewhere to be admired.  I feel like I recognize the actual artwork from somewhere.  I don't know if maybe my mom had some remnants of her time spent in PA sitting out when I was a child or maybe someone we went to visit had it in their home.  I seem to have a family connection to every part of this package, which has made it that much more interesting to open and explore.

I'm sure that it will come as no surprise that I am a little bummed to be done with my part of this swap.  It was so much fun and well worth the wait.  I'm already casting about looking for something similar to do.  Many thanks to Vivianne for organizing this international effort and to Manni the Magnificent,  for giving me a tour of her part of the world -- a place it just so happens has a lot of sentimental value to my family, and thus to me.  It has been a blast!

#BHS2012: Day Six

I can't believe my part of the Blog Hub Swap is almost over.  It has been so much fun!  Fortunately I get to relive it all once my package reaches its destination (it's going in the mail tomorrow provided the shipping is affordable).  I have been having a ton of fun and am definitely looking for more swaps and such in which to participate in the near future.

So for today's parcel Manni the Magnificent displays too much confidence in my abilities.

Or maybe not enough?  It's a pie mix in a box!  I have to tell you, when the box of goodies arrived last week I picked up and shook each parcel trying to figure out what it was.  This one had me stumped!  I've never had Shoofly pie, but I'm sure it will be delicious (plus it gives me an excuse to sing "Shoo Fly" all day).  Also, I'm ashamed to admit that I've actually never made a pie.  I've helped my mom make pies, but I've never done it myself.  Depending on how it goes, I may be eating the entire pie on my own out of fear that no one else will like it.  Either way, I see kitchen adventures in my future!

#BHS2012: Day Five

For Day five Manni the Magnificent has truly outdone herself and spoken directly to my heart in a way the flowers and trappings of impending Valentine's Day cannot.

Coffee!  I know many of my readers are farther from their student days than I am and several are from countries that are not as obsessed with coffee as mine, so let me explain my enthusiasm a little.  Actually, it's quite simple.  Along with knitting and a functional bathroom, I cannot live without coffee.  The past five years have seen my caffeine intake rise from the occasional soda to multiple pots of coffee a day.  I have started to scale back a bit and switch to lower caffeine content teas later in the day.  But my true love is still a good cup of strong black coffee.

The great thing about this coffee that Manni has sent is that it is local to her.  With the trend in consumer products moving towards free-trade and locally sourced goods, it has become just as fun to shop for coffee as it is for yarn (well maybe not quite, there is no Etsy dyed coffee -- yet).  I'm looking forward to getting home tonight and grinding up some of this for use in my coffee press.  Just close your eyes and think of the smell.  Mmmm...

#BHS2012: Day Four

I'm cutting it really close with this post.  It's after 8 o'clock here in North Carolina and Covergirl just aired their Taylor Swift commercial.  "Rock on, Covergirl."  But the question on everyone's mind is . . . what did Manni the Magnificent send for package number 4?

Seriously, how can I editorialize beyond the title?  You don't have to be an historian to appreciate period satire.  And more of Benjamin Franklin's often odd writings?  This will sit proudly next to my book of General Chamberlain quotations.

#BHS2012: Day Three

It's day three and I'm now halfway through my box.

For today's stop on our tour of Southeastern PA, Manni the Magnificent has taken us to . . .

Amish country!  I'm pretty sure I am going to have a hard time getting this little goodie home with me.  As soon as I opened the package my mom squealed because she recognized the brand from when she taught in Lancaster county.  Evidently this stuff is the bomb.  I've had apple butter before, but just on toast and things.  Manni recommends using it in tea, which sounds really good.  Can't wait to try it!

In the meantime I've been hanging out with the family.  My brother made his debut as Doctor Ted E Bear, our hospital "mascot" for children's events, at a community fundraiser for the devastation wreaked by a recent tornado.  Just so happens that this fundraiser was a zumba-a-thon.  In which he participated.  In the suit.

I've never seen a bear move his hips so well.

#BHS2012: Day Two

Day two of the Blog Hub swap.  I apologize for the quality of the pictures today, but I got no sleep last night because of course I had to go see Star Wars: Episode 1 in 3D at midnight.  Had too.  There was no choice for this fangirl.  And now I am exhausted and running way late.  But back to the point . . .

How could it possibly get any better than the delicious candy bar from yesterday?

Purple sock yarn, that's how!  One of the package requirements for each swapee was a skein of yarn.  I mentioned in my questionnaire that I don't have a really big stash like a lot of those involved in our online community and also that I would really like to receive local items.  The knitting world is a very big place and it is impossible to visit every location.  In response, Manni the Magnificent sent me a skein of Saucon Sock by Kraemer Yarns.  According to the enclosed note, Kraemer Yarns is located in Nazareth, PA, and is a very well known yarn shop.  I'm really excited to give this yarn a go.  I've never used a cotton acrylic blend for socks before, but from what I read this makes a very good summer sock.  And I happen to have used a gift card to order Socktopus earlier this week.  A perfect new pair of socks for work?  I think so!

I'm leaving this afternoon for my parent's house to deal with some wedding stuff, run a 5K, and pick up the last local items for the swap package I am sending.  I'll take packages 3-5 with me so I'll stay on track.  Hopefully if there are any more edible goodies I can hide them from the family so that I can keep them all to myself.  I'm such a greedy thing.

#BHS2012: Day One

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this on the blog, but I am participating in the Blog Hub's second annual international swap.  I have been working very hard on my swap partner's package and due to my enthusiasm have had to put myself on lockdown to keep from spoiling anything (when your boss asks if you have sent your "knitting secret santa box" yet, you know you are just too enthusiastic).

But yesterday I received my package sent from the far distant land of Southeastern Pennsylvania by one Manni, who I will now refer to as Manni the Magnificent.  According to the nice postcard on the top of the box, Manni has organized the package as a tour of her region, which is a totally cool idea.  As an aside, I was really excited to see that Manni is from PA because I have so much family history tied up in the state but I don't know the area much aside from using Harrisburg as a halfway point when driving to Syracuse, New York.

So what lovely item did Manni the Magnificent deem worthy of my first introduction to PA?

Chocolate!

How did she know?  But wait... this isn't just any chocolate bar.  This is a Hershey bar from the great town of Hershey, PA!  What's better, it is one of the few Hershey bars that still come wrapped in the traditional foil and paper, a part of the Hershey bar experience that I mourned as a kid when they changed to standard plastic.  Hey, I was an odd child.  I had weird passions.  Opening a Hershey bar without ripping the foil and being able to put it back in the paper missing a piece with no visible signs was one of my many talents.

Along with the chocolate bar, Manni the Magnificent included a small explanation of the gift.

So cool.  I can't wait to see where tomorrow will take us.  In the meantime I'm going to be the one running around with a sugar high from eating this entire chocolate bar.