F i E L D y

Diversion Tactics.

You know how when it is really important that you buckle down and address important issues to do with your life, you manage to find other stuff to do that prevents you from dealing with those issues? Yes, we've all been there!
We all find ways of avoiding 'dealing' with stuff and diverting our attention from the really important matters. In case someone out there is running short of ideas on how to do this, why not try some of the following ideas - I have found them to be very useful over the past week or so..............

make some cards and tags from last years calendars/diaries.............

make some nosebands for working horses and donkeys abroad.....

crochet yet more mitts..........

or alternatively knit some mitts (I saw some on Gigibird's blog and thought how nice they looked!)

Or you could sit and admire the print you have finally managed to frame and hang in the kitchen whilst drinking far too much coffee....

After all that perhaps you might be in the right place to deal with tax, bills, health issues, cash flow etc etc etc. 

I am delighted to announce that the first name out of the hat for the draw for the wool was Claire so she gets to choose which colour she would like and Frogdancer will receive the other ball - Congrats ladies!

I meant to mention that Isobel has posted a few pictures of our trip to Harris over on her blog if you would like to visit - more coming soon I hope!

Neccessity is the Mother of Invention.

So , around June last year I was part of the way through working on a rather large crochet project and had already started looking for my next big project to tackle. I came across this Flickr Pool and decided that I HAD to make a Babette blanket. I bought the PDF pattern from  here. The recommended yarn was Koigu KPM  but I wanted to use Colinette yarn as I love the vibrant colours (and the funky names - who wouldn't love a yarn called Salty Dog?) plus I like to buy British when I can. However having been unemployed for some time I didn't have the means to buy any yarn anyway so I contented myself with working out which Colinette colours would replace the Koigu colours. I was shocked at how much the yarn for one blanket would cost as there were around 17 colours and I would need 19 skeins! As Colinette skeins are much longer than Koigu I would probably have enough for 2 blankets or for another project using the same yarn so pretty good value in the long run?

Around this time my Dad came to stay for a few days and after he had gone I discovered that he had left me a cheque for my birthday which was the following month. Then I received an email from Loop alerting me to the fact that they were about to have a 20% off all yarns sale. Fate? Serendipity? Call it what you will - to cut a long story short the amount of the cheque equated to the required 19 skeins at the reduced price and the postage, so basically it cost me nothing! Fantastic!

These skeins have been sitting in a plastic bag artfully arranged in a wicker basket waiting for me to have the time to wind them into balls ready to be used............

Aren't they just lovely!? It makes me happy just to look at them.

I don't know about you but winding skeins into a ball is my least favourite pastime as I always get into a fankle so I decided that I needed to get a Swift/skein winder. Have you seen how expensive they are!? Plus they seem to be really difficult to get in the UK for some reason. After being pipped at the post on a couple of eBay auctions I realised that I had to get my thinking cap on and slowly a cunning plan was formed involving an expanding wine rack that I had bought a year ago in a local charity shop (1.50) and a Lazy Susan bought at Ikea (5.49).............

Put them together and you have got a swift/skein winder!

Ideal if you would rather spend your cash on yarn. You also end up with 2 useful objects in their own right at the end. It works brilliantly with the Colinette skeins (not sure if it would suit all skeins though) and it has taken the misery out of ball winding. I can do a bit now and then until I am ready to embark on the actual crocheting of the blanket.

Has anybody else out there come up with a budget friendly solution to a problem? I would love to hear about it!

Have a great weekendx

I ad-mitt it - I'm Hooked!

Not content with the several pairs of mittens I have already made I have made another pair which I feel are the perfect fit and style for me. Having learned alot from the previous attempts I now have a pair of mitts that are not too baggy and longer both in the finger area and up the wrist.

I used the Crafty Beaver pattern again (I love the texture of the pattern) but added a double crochet cuff to them. I was going to do a loop and button fastening using wooden buttons but I found these lovely red buttons that I bought from Craftitis some time ago....

they look like cherry tomatoes! I really like the colour combination and the little opening at the cuff - these two little details just give these basic mitts a little lift above the ordinary and make them 'mine'.

I have loads of this New Lanark wool from a trip I made to the mill several months ago and although I used quite alot of it crocheting a massive blanket I don't seem to have made a dent in it. I predict more mitts in the future. 

Not content with that I have started yet another pair in Artesano Alpaca from my stash......

it is so lovely and soft to work with. I am making the design up as I go along and I have even crocheted a thumb hole into the fabric so that the seam runs up the outside of the hand. I am also making a scarflet to match. The reason for this is that I wanted to make some accessories to match my dream coat  (NW3 Heath Jaquard Coat) which arrived in the post this week. I have been stalking this coat for weeks and finally got it half price in the sales from Hobbs Online!

I think after this spate of mitten making I will be ready to move on to other projects that involve trying to read patterns rather just 'busking' it.

From time to time I am going to put links to sites that I find interesting, but wouldn't necessarily visit much, into my posts. Sharing information is, for me,  one of the best aspects of blogging so I would like to share the following:

Horse riding Holidays - try something different!

The Big Draw Event - why not find out what is happening near you?

Low Impact Living - useful tips for a more sustainable way of life

The Crafts Council - find out what is happening in your area

Crochet Pattern Central - For lots of free mitt patterns!

Finally, if you would like to do something practical to help ease the suffering of equines abroad please take some time to make one (or more) of these simple nosebands. Or join the WSPA and support their work with all animals worldwide.

Have a great weekend!

It's (S)no Joke.

Ok. Enough is enough. I want it to stop snowing now. I have had enough of slippery pavements and freezing winds. As I type I am wrapped in a shawl whilst wearing fingerless mitts and hugging a wheat bag!! My flat is usually pretty snug but at the moment I just can't seem to get warm. As the whole country appears to be gripped in the icy fingers of winter I thought I would share some of my crochet mitt projects with you - maybe you too could whip up a pair of mitts to wear in the house!!!

Last year I did a crochet course at K1 Yarns which involved crocheting a pair of long wrist warmers/mitts from Fybrespates handpainted yarn. At the end of 4 hours tuition and a couple of weeks of 'home work' we all ended up with a pair of these that can be worn long.....

or folded to be worn short........

Please excuse the cadavar like quality of the hands in the photos - until I started trying to take pics I didn't appreciate how difficult it is to take pics of your own hands in mitts (impossible to get both hands!)

Doing this course really opened my eyes to the possibilities of crochet as I had , up until then, thought that it was all a bit granny/lacy for my liking. This stitch produced a rather nice chunky rib which is really stretchy. Buoyed up with this minor success I started to experiment with different stitches and produced these mitts to my own design using Lambs Pride Wool which comes in a lovely array of colours.............

I really love the stitch definition on these...

and so simple (and quick) to make!  I used the bulky wool and they are a little chunky and itchy but it's all a learning process isn't it?

I also made a scarf in Colinette Point5 in colourway Vincents Apron......

which has a really lovely texture too.

Then I tried another type of stitch and came up with this Ruff style neck warmer ( Colinette Point5 in Wasabi Squeeze)which is secured by a vintage button..........

which was inspired by my love of polo necks (I am welded to them in the winter)This ruff can be worn with crew neck jumpers and cardies to turn them into a polo neck! I have only worn it in the house so far as it is a little bizarre. Having gained a little confidence by making up my own things I thought it would be a good idea to try and work from a simple pattern and having found a lovely skein of Noro Cashmere Island in my stash I went online to find a pattern. After a little bit of searching I settled on this pattern from The Crafty Beaver

I made these especially for my trip to Harris in October and was very pleased that I did as it was a little chilly. The colours seem to echo the colours in the landscape up there.........

Although I love the colours I felt that the stitch pattern was a little lost and the wool was so soft it stretched out of shape very quickly (so much so that I might have a go at felting them to shrink them) so I made another pair in a firmer Aran weight wool from my collection of New Lanark wool....

which keep their shape better. I changed the pattern slightly in that I added a couple of rows of double crochet at the cuff as I felt they fitted better that way....

I love mitts as you get something wearable very quickly and from just one skein/ball of wool (I have a very short attention span) It is a great way to use up odds and ends and they also make very nice gifts! So why not give it a go? Loads of patterns can be found here and all for free! Or maybe try a short course - see if there is one in your area. They are a great way to get started or even to decide if it is something you would like to pursue. Go on - get mitting!

Hope you are all keeping warm this weekendx

Finally........

some crafting content on this blog!

I finished work yesterday so this morning I had the opportunity to take some snaps of the blanket (or afghan) I finished quite some time ago. It has been very gloomy here in Glasgow and my workroom/guestroom only gets good light in the morning so it is difficult to get decent pics (plus it has been hellishly untidy for weeks!!). Last night it snowed heavily so this morning the snow was acting like a giant light reflector and the imminent arrival of guests forced me to tidy up so conditions for a quick photoshoot were ideal.

I started this project way back in May/June and worked on it all through the very hot summer which at the time seemed a bit crazy but boy am I glad I did. This little baby has been keeping me toasty warm since the temperature has taken a dive!!

It is made almost entirely of scottish wool from Skye, Shetland and New Lanark (some cut price Debbie Bliss Chunky Tweed snuck in there too!) which I have either been given or collected over the past 2 years. I wanted to do something mindless that I could work on a bit at a time and this was ideal. I made 80 squares - all double crochet and then I just crocheted them together with black/brown wool with the pattern of the squares going in alternate directions.. I love the finished effect as the black really makes the colours really bold. I also like the way the blanket goes with the wall colour which is just as well as it was made for use in this room! 

The colours in the photos have come out pretty much exactly as in the finished article..

and I am really liking the raised grid effect that happened when the pieces were crocheted together...

I have got the crochet bug now and I have got all the materials together for my next big project which will be the Babette blanket which I will be making with Colinette Jitterbug (tiny hook at the ready!!).

I have also been going a bit mad on the crocheting of mittens and accessories (some of my own design and some from free patterns off the internet) as they appeal to my need for the almost immediate gratification of a finished project. I will hopefully put up some pics of soon, light permitting!

Hope you are all enjoying the run up to Xmas and not stressing - I am so looking forward to it!! Lots of board games will be played!!

Afghan Progress.

Although there has been alot of sewing going on around here it is of the 'sewing multiples' variety and, as such, not very interesting. I have been making good progress with my 'Furrows' afghan and it is noe getting to an exciting stage (you can tell that I don't get out much these days!)
I have crocheted all 81 squares and I am now in the process of crocheting the black edge on each of them and I am almost half way through....

and I am loving the way that the black edge makes the colours sing out......

and I can't wait to lay all the squares out to arrange them as the finished blanket will be. I was intending to sew all the suqares together so that the overall blanket was flat.....

but I now think that it would look great crocheted together so that there is a 3d ridge creating a grid effect on the surface - I CAN'T WAIT!!
I have been getting alot of inspiration from the Granny Square Pool on Flickr - so many talented people out there!
In other news, yesterday I attended a half day seminar run by the Cultural Enterprise Office on running a creative business  which was thoroughly enjoyable and very useful. I met a variety of people from all sorts of diciplines and there was a great rapport between us all as a group. I am hoping to go to a follow up seminar in August about how to take things futher. There is also a Marketing module that I am definately going to do - I need to get focused and these things help enormously. All these seminars are entirely free and open to everyone engaged in creative businesses - such a great resource! Business Gateway also run some great courses which I have done in the past - again entirely free.

WARNING - the following post contains actual crafting content.

Yes indeed. I have recently embarked on a major project that will take some time to complete. I was ferreting around in the cupboard recently and came across this box of wool yarn.....

I have been adding to this box over the past 18 months with the idea of making an Afghan (why are they called that?) and I had originally intended to knit lots of squares in different stitch patterns as a way to teach myself to knit properly but...
Most of it is Jamiesons of Shetland Shetland Heather but there is a skein of Shilasdair from Skye (thanks Caireen), some yellow,mauve and grey Debbie Bliss Donegal Chunky Tweed bought in the sales at John Lewis ages ago and a ball of what I think is also Debbie Bliss that I recycled from a handknit sweater I was given. I had intended to knit an Afghan entirely from Scottish wool but I had to compromise due to the expense and use whatever I can get my hands on. I am not getting on too well with the knitting thing but I am really enjoying crochet so I decided to crochet an Afghan, again using different stitches. I tried a few different things but eventually decided that I wanted to do the entire thing in double crochet as I really like the density and texture of that stitch for this project. I have made good progress......

you can just see the rough design there (if you can call it that). Loads of different coloured squares that will have black borders to create a grid effect - it will have a thicker black border around the entire outer edge too. I have added in some of the wool that I bought from New Lanark  as I need to crochet 81 squares!! The finished product will end up around 2 metres square. It seems crazy to start a woolly blanket when we are experiencing a mini heatwave but at least it should be finished by the time it will be needed! I am finding the repetitiveness quite restful and I am not bored yet. Every time my enthusiasm starts to waver I lay out all the squares and play with all the possible colour combinations and get excited about the finished product.

These sort of things are always given a name so I am going to call it my 'Furrows' blanket as it reminds me of the texture of newly ploughed fields.
I am already plotting my next big project - the 'Babette' blanket. The original pattern uses Koigu but I intend to substitute it with Colinette Jitterbug. I love Colinette's colours and it would be a great excuse for another wool fondling trip to Wales plus I am on a Buy British crusade at the moment.
I have also been doing a fair bit of sewing and have a few new Fieldy products to share but I need to take some pics so until then..............

Creative Stitches.

Hmmmm - the title of the exhibition promises much but the reality is rather dissappointing, although there were a huge amount of people there who would probably beg to differ. However, there were a couple of things that caught my eye and it was lovely to catch up with Isobel and talk about crafting and blogging amongst other things. I felt sufficiently enthused to go home and plan a little for the upcoming year with regards to selling my tweedy goods - I have been woefully disorganised with regards to this so this year is the year I intend to cast my net a little wider. I was contacted by Craft Fairs Scotland recently to see if I would be interested in participating in some of their events and I am tempted. There is one at Langside Halls - within spitting distance of my house! - which I am going to check out (March 21st for any locals reading) with a view to doing their Christmas Fair. There are also ones in Edinburgh that I am going to look at. I am also thinking about taking a stall at the Craft Market during the Edinburgh Festival, just for a couple of days to see how it goes.
Anyway, these were the highlights of the show - for me at least...........

tucked away to one side of the hall was an exhibition of items made from recycled goods. I love the lump of knitted and crocheted coral.........

by Inga Hamilton. I am fascinated by the whole idea of the Hyperbolic Coral Reef that has been doing the rounds recently.
I also loved these spoons/kitchen utensils. The first made from paper and cardboard pulp....

ad these made from recycled childrens books................

by Magie Hollingworth. Lovely.

New Stuff.

As I mentioned in a previous post I have been trying out a few new things involving the lovely Colinette yarn - I really can't stress how much I love this yarn - the colours, the texture even the names are just so gorgeous!
I recently learnt to do some basic crochet and have made lots of these corsages.........

I thought it would be nice to combine the yarn with Harris Tweed leaves. The plain yarns would have patterned tweed leaves and the patterned yarns would have plain tweed leaves. I have already changed my mind about that as the patterned tweed looks good with the patterned yarn too. In the picture there are two Colinette corsages in colourways 'Salty Dog' and 'Ginger Cinnabar' - both have proved to be popular (I personally love the Salty Dog colourway) the pink is a Fybrespates handdyed yarn bought from K1 Yarns in colourway 'Cutie Pink' (limited edition - apparently chunky yarns are not popular! I must be in the minority!) Bottom left is a corsage in Folktale Fibre handspun OOAK in colourway 'Heirloom' and on the right the corsage in made from Nessie Knits handspun OOAK in colourway 'Springling'The two Colinette corsages have made their way into my shop and the others will follow shortly - it's a major feat to get any type of half-decent photo these days as we get about 2 hours of daylight in Glasgow per day.
I have also been working on these felted hearts....

made from pieces of a handknit jumper that were given to me by a friend. Her Mum had started knitting it 15 years ago and never finished it! It has made great felt....

I love the fact that is is made from Shetland Wool. I have added tartan ribbon and some crochet
flowers which I think look really sweet (they are also stuffed with kapok and organic lavender) These too will eventually make it to the shop although I have sold 4 of the 10 I made and still have a couple of Xmas fairs to go. There is already one in the shop - if anyone is interested in them.
Of course I have been making lots of the wee scotties, hotties and tea cosies too but have posted pics of those so many times before that I am not going to inflict yet more onto you!
Maybe one more heart though............

Just because.
I have recently done a mega shop update - God it's laborious and time consuming!- maybe I should try to do little and often. Back soon with more new stuff hopefully and a peek at The Writers Bag.

Crochet.

I have been doing a little bit of crochet for myself as I recently acquired this book......

which is full of really beautiful projects. It is rare that I find a book that I want to make several of the projects but this book is great. At the moment I am working on this crocheted bag....

It is a bit of an experiment as I am not using the recommended yarn. The pattern uses cotton yarn but I am using this worsted weight wool from The Brown Sheep Company in the colourway 'Kiwi' ordered from Get Knitted (such a great shop). I am planning to felt it a little once I am finished to make it a bit more robust. It could be a disaster but that's part of the challenge. Also very challenging is the pattern! I struggled with it for ages as it didn't seem to work out. Eventually I worked out that if I did a row of double crochet between each bobble row it worked out OK. It was only later that I went back to Monicas' blog to look at the bag that she had made (it is where I first saw it and knew I had to make one for myself!) that I realised that there had been an error in the book and that I wasn't completely useless after all! Although my solution isn't the same as the pattern I am quite far on with it so cannot be arsed to rip it all out!
I have also been doing a little crochet for other people. I made this corsage for Caireen as part of her birthday present..........

it was made from a handspun yarn by Folktale Fibers in colourway 'Heirloom' - really love all the different colours of this yarn and it has a little bit of shiney in it too.
Most exciting though I have received something crocheted as a gift for my birthday! My friend MJ crocheted this crochet hook case for me - I absolutely love it!!

The case came wrapped in pink tissue tied with the bobble flower on a long length of yarn. I slip stitched the long tail and it is now doing a sterling job as a bookmark!

Two presents in one!
On the subject of crochet I have been marvelling at the amazing work of Suili I think you will agree that she is a crochet master!

A Lethargic Post.

Just a quickie with a peek at a couple of the things I have been working on for the craft fair on Saturday. Hand crocheted flowers with recycled felt leaves........

I have made other things. I have even photographed them and sucked them into the computer. However I can't seem to summon up the energy to make them suitable for posting. It seems to be the way at the moment - short bursts of energy and frantic activity interspersed with long stretches of lethargy. Ah well..............back to my book and a comforting hot chocolate - I'm shattered!

Crochetbot.

I. Am. A. Crochetbot. Must crochet, must crochet, must crochet.......yes I have turned into a caffeine and chocolate fuelled crocheting crazyhawk.

A couple of weeks ago the Wednesday Knit Nite was given over to a crochet 'Master Class' given by MJ. There were 5 of us in total, all blogless except Susan and all of us crochet virgins. It was great fun - drinking wine, stuffing our faces with Portuguese custard tarts and we even did some crochet!
After a few false starts and a few sweary words I feel I have got the hang of the basics and now I CANNOT STOP. I have signed up for a craft fair and need to make some things for the stall and also try out some new ideas but I can't seem to get motivated - all I want to do is crochet, crochet, crochet. Which is great because I have wanted to make corsages for ages and now I have the perfect accompaniement (is that how you spell it?) to my felted Harris Tweed and recycled felted jumpers. I just hope the good people of Killearn are as into corsages as I am - Rose corsages at that, as that is all I know how to do at the moment!
I have been collecting the odd ball of Twilleys 'Spirit' for a while with the intention of making more of these as gifts. I have found that this particular yarn lends itself to crocheted flowers big style. I love all the colours and how they accentuate the stitch pattern...

(apologies for the rubbish photo - must work on my photography skills)
I have also used some of the New Lanark Yarn...

I must get this out of my system or else that is all I will have to offer at the craft fair is a table full of corsages!
I have been finishing off a few things as well including (for all you felting junkies out there - yes, you Monica) these felted bowls.
Here they are on their formers drying in the sun .....

and the finished articles........

I am pleased with them as a first effort but they are still quite squishy. I personally like felt when it is really dense so I have bought some yarn that is 85% wool/15% mohair to try. I am hoping that the 'hairier' yarn will felt more. Any advice on this would be appreciated!
Now, where did I put that crochet hook?

Basking in the Reflected Glory of Others.

I have hardly had time to blog recently let alone make anything to blog about so, luckily for me, my friend MJ has been crocheting up a storm! A couple of weeks ago I gave her a ball of yarn reclaimed from a jumper I had been given and what was left of some Noro Korchoran left over from the Enormous Blue Scarf. A few days later she turned up with a variety of crocheted rosettes which I made into these with the help of some brooche pins and some fluffy balls bought from the Art Store. This from the reclaimed yarn......

...these from some yarn she bought to make a bag...

..this black one - I can't decide which colour centre looks best with it - each gives it a different look...

..and finally these three made from the Korchoran. Originally it was to be one big rose but the yarn was too thick so I felted it, cut it into 3 pieces and made these....

ROSE

POPPY

PANSY

I'm in love with them all - they are all so pretty!! It is so nice to collaborate in this way - hopefully we can do more things like this! MJ is now crocheting me a curly scarf out of what is left of the Korchoran - Lucky me!!!!