January photo journey

The first month of the year is behind us, no idea how that happened but happy to say goodbye to January and hopefully leave the worst of the winter behind. If you follow my blog you will know I have some resolutions for this year, and thought it might be good to share some of my progress with you.

I am proud to say I have been meeting my goals for the year, including number 4: Take more photographs, go on a photo journey around town once a month.

A couple of weeks ago I woke up early on a Saturday morning, excited to start my day because I had planned to go on my first photo journey of the year. I decided to go to the Water of Leith since it is one of my favourite walks in Edinburgh. It was a frosty but sunny morning, and even though I was a bit shy at first I soon became quite relaxed and really enjoyed it. Here are some of the pictures I took:

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Having the blog has definitely helped to keep my resolutions and I am happy to share them with you. I have been listening to many podcasts lately and have enjoyed listening to the journey of such amazing crafty people. This has made me realise how important it is to give yourself time to be inspired, to be creative, to be in awe of life and everything around you. I would have never considered myself a creative person before but I have come to find how much I love to have creative escapes in my life, how much I love colour, textures and shapes and how great it is to feel inspired by them.

It is strange but lately I have been feeling as if I’ve finally started to settle in to… well, me. I am realising what it is that I truly like and don’t like, even if it is unexpected or if it doesn’t fit with the way I have always been. I am sure it will keep on changing but that is alright, I just need to keep filling my life with what makes me feel good, happy and relaxed and I will know I am on the right track.

Everything is a journey I guess, a crochet journey, a life journey.

x

Sol

 

 

Cobbled Street Cowl Ta-dah!

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Hello my dear readers! How did January treat you? This month went incredibly fast for me, despite the bad weather and short days. I did get quite a lot of crochet time with all the travelling that my work requires, many train rides to just relax, crochet and listen to podcasts.

I have realised that crocheting in trains is where I enjoy it the most, and thinking about this today I realised there is a very simple reason for this: there is nothing else I have to be doing. We all have busy lives and you probably struggle just like me to fit in some crochet time in the day. Even if we managed this there is always something in the back of our minds that is screaming for our attention like laundry to fold, plates to clean, or sometimes in my case even having to make myself some food. When I am on the train, there is nothing else that I could be doing. I couldn’t possible use that time to clean or cook, or anything else for that matter and I think that is why crocheting on the train is such a bliss, because it gets all my attention and it fills up a time that otherwise would be “wasted”. I always want to be productive, can’t help it, its the engineer in me.

By the way, I am obsessed with a few podcasts lately, specially Woolful and Knit British. They are quite different, Woolful is the podcast of Ashley, in each episode she shares interviews with people in the fibre industry and you get to hear their fibre journey which is always so inspiring. Knit British is the podcast of Louise, and here she shares her love of yarn produced, spun or dyed in the UK. Be sure to check them out if you are looking for a new podcast.

The reason for this post is that my cobbled street inspired cowl is finished! This cowl was, as many of my projects recently, a lovely train companion. It is worked in tunisian crochet using only two stitches, it was very easy to work and the yarn is lovely. It really does remind me of cobbled streets so I am very pleased with how this turned out. It uses only one skein so it is a great little project if you want to start with tunisian crochet.

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The only problem I had with this project was that the yarn (Madelinetosh Merino Light 4ply) smelled a bit like vinegar when I bought it. It went away while I was crocheting with it but when I blocked it (just spraying some water)  it came back and it smelled awful! Had to do an intense wet blocking to get the smell off but it is all good now.

I will post this pattern soon, need to do a chart for it so may take a bit. I am not a fan of opening Excel when I am not in the office but will do it for you guys 🙂

Hope all is good with you, I am working on a couple more tutorials and of course some more patterns. I will share my progress of that Moroccan-inspired bag soon 🙂

Have a great day!

x

Sol

 

Yarn cake love and giveaway winner

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Hello there! I am having a lazy Saturday night and thought I should write a few blog posts for you. The lovely yarn cakes in the picture were my activity of last Saturday night (you can see how wild my weekends are) after I purchased a yarn winder and swift.

It took a few tries to get it right and I still manage to get everything tangled every now and then but this yarn winding thing is very addictive, I must warn you! It was frustrating when I couldn’t get a nice cake but after getting one right I couldn’t stop. I am not even showing all the ones I did that night in the picture, there were four more I believe.

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I am predicting there will be loads more yarn winding in my future after the Edinburgh Yarn Festival so I am trying to get all my current skeins done in preparation 🙂

Weekends are lonely sometimes in this new city I call home, so my yarn and crochet keep me company. I am very thankful to have this craft and this blog in my life and for you lovely readers who stop by to read my words or see my patterns. I shared with you in my resolutions post that I wanted to start appreciating the good things in my life and I have actually kept my promise, I have a little notebook that goes with me everywhere and I have been writing down a few things when they come to me. I will share a post with more detail of this every month, the January one will come soon.

Finally I wanted to announce the winner for the #crochet giveaway (chosen using random.org):

Pamela!

I really did get a number 2 on random.org, it is not because you said you liked my pattern, I swear! Thank you for your comment, I will be contacting you through email to ask your details and get that magazine sent to you soon. Thank you to all others who left a comment, love reading them 🙂

Hope you all have a great week!

x

Sol

Tunisian crochet vest: Lessons learned

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I have been trying to remember when I started this tunisian vest but can’t remember and I am too lazy today to look for the post, anyway it was a while ago! I worked this pattern alongside a Craftsy class about custom-fitting where you learn how to adapt this pattern to make sure it fits even if you don’t match any of the sizes provided.

This was my second crochet garment ever, and even though it is not my favourite project I did learn A LOT about custom-fitting with it and I am definitely glad I took the class and finished it. I used the yarn called on the pattern, simply because gauge is so important when it comes to garments and I wanted to give myself the best chance to achieve the gauge in the pattern (which of course never happened but more on that later). The yarn was Cascade 220 Superwash, a very nice and snuggly yarn and I used two colours even though the pattern was only in one.

So… the most important question is: did it fit?

Oh yes it did! It actually did and just the way I wanted… except for the length. I could never get the right row gauge and I just kept on going with the pattern even though I knew it was much shorter, I just kept telling myself I would fix it when blocked but this wasn’t enough. I tried to make it longer by adding a few rows of ribbing with normal crochet, and I was fine with it until I showed it to my boyfriend and asked if he liked it, at which point he said: “Yes… but is it not supposed to be longer?”

Men. Can’t live with them, can’t live without them.

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I have worn this but mostly because I put so much work in it, not because I like how I look in it. It is a bit of a shame, but I still liked many things about this project that I would like to share:

1. It fits! I learned how to measure myself and how to adapt a pattern and that is such an important skill. This will give me so much more confidence to tackle the garment patterns still in my queue for this year.

2. I have been crocheting for many years and this was the first project in a long time which had to be ripped off and started again more than once, it was very frustrating. However, I still finished it! I am so proud of myself for sticking to it, even if the results weren’t perfect.

3. This project showed me the importance of making the right swatch. I mentioned this before in a previous post but one of the big issues with my initial swatch was that I was trying to get the right gauge by crocheting in a way that wasn’t natural to me, which of course led to a lot of problems when I actually started the project.

So people: when making your swatch you should crochet as you normally would and don’t do the entire swatch at once, pick it up again on a different day since our tension changes a lot depending on how we are feeling that day. Also block it to see how much the yarn will stretch, specially if its something you plan on washing at some point. 

4. Another big thing I learned with this project was to not make things more complicated for myself for no real reason. I am not sure why but since I consider myself an experienced crocheter I am usually trying to make things harder for myself and adapt patterns to make them more challenging. Now, this could work on some projects but not when I am learning a whole new skill. For this pattern I decided to go with two colours instead of one, and even though it didn’t add much complexity it was rather unnecessary and the finishing with the two colours wasn’t as neat as it would’ve been with just one. It also made the ripping off a lot harder. Simpler is better sometimes!

Of course there were some things I wasn’t happy about with this pattern and I thought I should share those as well:

1. Stripes are not the most flattering thing. I know I should’ve known this but again, I was trying to complicate things for myself. One colour would’ve looked a lot better.

2. I am not crazy about the yarn used in this pattern, it is too heavy and bulky and it shows when you are wearing it, it adds quite a big layer because of that extra fabric that tunisian crochet creates in the back. If I were to do this again (not very likely but you never know) I would use something much lighter, probably a 4 ply and would make it more of a mid-season vest.

So a lot of learning so far in this new year, and I am sure there is loads more to come! Have a great day everyone.

x

Sol

Free pattern: Vintage Chunky Cowl

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This is my second chunky cowl design of this winter, it is an oversized cowl using vintage colours which goes well with many things in my (and hopefully your) wardrobe. It is quite big, so if you don’t like too much fabric around your neck I would make this less wide and maybe a bit longer. It is up to you!

If you are looking for a quick and warm project for this winter then you should give this a try, the yarn is quite affordable, easy to work with and lovely colours available.

Enjoy 🙂

Vintage Cunky Cowl Pattern

This tunisian crochet pattern is worked flat and then folded and sown to make it double. The inside of the fabric is therefore not shown so there is no need to weave ends since they can be left inside. It uses only two stitches and it works up very quickly.

If you don’t know the stitches or how to change colours with tunisian crochet please refer to my tutorials page where you will find everything you need to work this pattern. The two stitches used for the sample in the picture are tunisian reverse simple stitch and tunisian twisted knit stitch, though I will replace this last one in the following pattern for the normal tunisian knit stitch since I don’t have a tutorial for the twisted version. If you like the look of the twisted knit stitch please give it a try, it is a bit slower to work but it looks very nice, there are several tutorials online you can search for.

The cowl measures 40cm wide and 85cm long when flat (before sewing) but you should make it as wide and long as you prefer, it is quite big as you can see in the picture. My gauge for this yarn is 10sts and 10 rows in the stitch pattern in 4inx4in, however gauge is not essential since you can just adjust the amount of stitches to get the width you want for the yarn you wish to use.

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Materials

Deramores Vintage Chunky Yarn:

  • 2 x 100g Chalk (Colour A)
  • 1 x 100g Rose (Colour B)
  • 1 x 100g Barley (Colour C)

9mm tunisian crochet hook with extension

Needle to sew ends together if you prefer this instead of slip stitching.

Abbreviations

ch – chain

st – stitch

Tks – tunisian knit stitch

Trss – tunisian reverse simple stitch

lp – loop(s)

sl st – slip stitch

yo – yarn over

end st – last stitch of forward pass (see stitch guide below)

Stitch Guide

Foundation Row – Forward Pass: Chain number of stitches needed. Skip first chain, insert hook under back strand of next chain, yarn over and pull up a loop. Repeat until last chain.

Return Pass: Yarn over pull through one loop on hook, (yarn over and pull through two loops on hook) until you have one loop left on hook.

Last stitch of any forward pass (End st): Insert hook under last vertical bar and strand behind it, yarn over and pull up a loop.

Tunisian Knit Stitch (Tks): Skip first st, insert hook between front and back vertical bars, yarn over and pull up a loop. Continue this way until last stitch, work last stitch normally. Work return pass normally.

Tunisian Reverse Simple Stitch (Trss): Skip first st, insert hook from right to left under back vertical bar, yarn over and pull up a loop. Work last stitch normally. Work return pass normally.

To change colours at the start of next forward pass: work previous return pass normally until you have two loops left on your hook. Drop old colour and pick up new colour, yarn over and pull through two loops on hook.

Slip st as in Tks: Insert hook between front and back vertical bars, pull through two loops on hook.

Slip st End st: Insert hook under last vertical bar and strand behind it, yarn over and pull through both loops on hook.

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Instructions

With A ch 40. Work foundation forward pass, you should have 40 sts, each loop in the hook counts as a st. Work return pass.

Row 1: Skip first vertical bar, Tks in next st and each st across until last st, work End st. Work return pass.

Row 2 – 6: Repeat Row 1.

Row 7: Skip first vertical bar, Tks in next st and each st across until last st, work End st. Work return pass, change to B at the end of return pass. No need to cut yarns, you can carry it along on the back.

Row 8: Skip first vertical bar, Trss in next st and each st across until last st, work End st. Work return pass.

Row 9: Repeat Row 8.

Row 10: Skip first vertical bar, Trss in next st and each st across until last st, work End st. Work return pass, change to A at the end of return pass. No need to cut yarns, you can carry it along on the back.

Rows 10 to 100: Repeat Rows 1 to 10 alternating colours B and C.

Row 101: Skip first vertical bar, slip st as in Tks in next st and each st across until last st, slip st End st.

Fold the fabric lengthways so that the wrong side of the fabric is facing you and sew in the long edge to make a tube. You can use slip st or any other joining method you like. Turn the fabric over so that the right side is facing (make sure all the ends remain inside the tube) and close the tube to turn it into a cowl by sewing both edges together. You will be sewing one circumference against another so that you end up with something like a donut (I am not sure I am making any sense so please ask if you are totally lost!). Don’t sew the four layers together or you won’t be able to hide the seams on the inside of the cowl when you are wearing it.

Let me know if you have any questions!

x

Sol

 

Tunisian Crochet 101: Reverse Simple Stitch

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*You can find the previous tutorials in this series on my Tutorials page.

I am back with another tunisian crochet tutorial, this time we will learn how to work the tunisian reverse simple stitch. The look of this stitch is very similar to a purl stitch in knitting and also to the tunisian purl stitch which I will teach you on a future tutorial. It creates a lot of texture in the fabric and it sits “higher” than other stitches which creates a nice effect such as in my latest chunky cowl where I used it to create colour stripes against a tunisian knit stitch background.

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So, we will add this stitch to our tunisian sampler, which I have to say I am hating at the moment because cotton was probably not the best choice to demonstrate some stitches that look a lot better in something like wool and also because that yellow is not the nicest colour in the world… I almost started a new sample but I though I should keep the same one to avoid confusions but I do apologise if its not looking great, I am sure yours is looking a lot better!

This is how my (sad) sampler is looking at the moment, we left off with a colour change back to yellow and we have an undefined row ready to be worked.

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To work this stitch we need to go back to understanding the anatomy of the undefined row. Remember we have front and back vertical bars and a horizontal chain going through them, as the picture shows.

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For the tunisian reverse simple stitch (Trss) we need to work on those back vertical bars, which you can see better if you turn the wrong side of your work towards you.

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Identify the back vertical bar for the second stitch.

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With your hook on the back of the fabric and your yarn behind your hook: insert under back vertical bar from right to left. Yarn over and pull through.

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This brings that back of the work towards the front, giving it that “purl look”. Keep on going with the rest of the stitches the same way, making sure your yarn is on the back of your hook and not at the front.

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Work the last stitch normally (check this tutorial if you don’t know how to work the last stitch). Once you finish the forward pass you will get something like this.

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Work the return pass normally, work as many rows as you need to get comfortable with the stitch.

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And that is it people! Easy and nice stitch, I will post the tutorial for that cowl soon now that you know how to work it. Our sample is getting bigger, I think I have three more stitches to show you and then we will have learned more than enough to work any tunisian pattern you want to try or even create your own.

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Stitch Guide

Foundation Row – Forward Pass: Chain number of stitches needed. Skip first chain, insert hook under back strand of next chain, yarn over and pull up a loop. Repeat until last chain.

Return Pass: Yarn over pull through one loop on hook, yarn over and pull through two loops on hook until you have one loop left on hook.

Last stitch of any forward pass: Insert hook under last vertical bar and strand behind it, yarn over and pull up a loop.

Tunisian Simple Stitch: Skip first st, insert hook from right to left under next front vertical bar, yarn over and pull up a loop. Continue this way until last stitch, work last stitch normally. Work return pass normally.

Tunisian Knit Stitch: Skip first st, insert hook between front and back vertical bars, yarn over and pull up a loop. Continue this way until last stitch, work last stitch normally. Work return pass normally.

Tunisian Reverse Simple Stitch: Skip first st, insert hook from right to left under back vertical bar, yarn over and pull up a loop. Work last stitch normally. Work return pass normally.

Until the next one!

x

Sol

 

#crochet Review and Giveaway! *Closed*

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Hello there! How are you? It has been very cold here in the last few days so I am writing this post from my bed with a hot water bottle next to my feet 🙂

Today I bring you a quick review for a new magazine I purchased a few weeks ago and I will also be doing my first giveaway! I know this is something that more popular blogs do but I thought it would be nice and a smaller following means more chances of you winning so I am sure you are OK with it 🙂

The magazine is #crochet and it is published in the UK by Immediate Media. It is a quarterly magazine and they only recently published their third issue so it is quite new. I purchased the second issue which has the astounding amount of 63 patterns from garments, to accessories and amigurumis.

I really enjoyed this magazine, not only because there are some nice patterns but also because there are some great recommendations of blogs, Etsy shops, books, yarn and more. Even though there were a few garments in there what really catches your attention are the lovely accesories for your wardrobe and your home, starting with the beautiful cowl featured on the cover. It was nice to buy a magazine with more than one pattern that I really liked! Of course I have no time at all to add any more projects to my queue but you can’t tell me those cake decorations aren’t the most adorable thing you have ever seen!

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There were also some features on designers, on this issue of Kat Goldin and Mola Mills and those were nice to read as well, it is always interesting to know a bit more about the people behind gorgeous patterns.

So if you are looking to try a new crochet magazine I definitely recommend to check this one out, you can buy it for £7.99 at buysuscriptions with free UK postage and you can also win a copy of this issue if you enter my giveaway. All you need to do is leave a comment on this post telling me what has been your favourite crochet pattern/project to date and why. You have until the 30th January at midday (UK time) to enter and it is open to my international readers as well, I will post it wherever you are 🙂

Good luck!

x

Sol

WIPs

I would like to thank the nice comments I got for my resolution’s post, I really appreciate the support! I have made some progress there and will share it in due time. Today I would like to share what is in my hook these days or my works in progress (WIPs).

I usually love most of my crochet projects but I am particularly happy with my WIPs this month since they all happen to be my own designs and have worked out great (so far).

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The first is this cowl inspired on the beautiful cobbled streets you can find in Edinburgh. Even though I am always tripping or getting my shoe in between the stones I am in love with cobbled streets and this is my tribute! I am not sure if this will be a very short cowl or more like an infinity scarf, I will work on the pattern until I ran out of yarn and then decide.

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I am using that lovely Madelinetosh yarn I shared with you recently and I think it gives the exact effect I was looking for: that change in colour but also a bit of shine which reminds me of cobbled streets after the rain (which of course happens very often in Scotland). Once it is finished I will post pictures of the finished sample and a picture of my inspiration as well. This has been my “train project” lately and it has been such a joy to work on, simple pattern in a beautiful yarn.

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That gorgeous yarn bowl in the pictures is a present I received from my sister for Christmas. Isn’t the most beautiful thing ever? I love it! If you are interested in buying one of these beauties here is the Etsy shop where my sister bought it from, I had a little browse and wanted to buy everything to be honest. *I just found out that my sister actually asked the shop owner to make this baby seal yarn bowl specially for me! She has the design on other products but not yarn bowls, best sister ever 🙂

Also, I am working on a bag pattern, my first bag! It is very early on but so far it is turning out as planned. It uses tapestry crochet and is inspired on this picture I found on Pinterest.

Royal Design Studio Stencils
Royal Design Studio Stencils

No pictures of this WIP yet but will keep you updated as usual.

I am also working on a pattern for a workshop, I am so excited and scared at the same time when it comes to teaching, definitely more excitement than fear though so I think we are good! It will be a very simple pattern to learn how to crochet basic tunisian stitches and a couple of more advanced ones, it is blocking at the moment so almost finished.

Also on my blocking mat is… my tunisian vest! This vest… OMG, it really needs to get done. It is looking good, though I will probably have to add a bit of length to it with a few rows of ribbed crochet to make sure I actually wear it. Just some sewing and those few rows to add length and I’ll be done. Pictures coming soon!

Those are my WIPs at the moment, I will start swatching soon for a sweater by Doris Chan for a new Interweave class I purchased, and I bought the yarn for that Piped Petals pattern that I shared on my queue post so I will have to start that soon as well.

A lot of crochet in my life as usual but so happy with all my projects. The whole process from the inspiration for a pattern, to choosing the yarn and then making a sample is just so satisfying and it is definitely the kind of things that I try to fill my mind with when I start getting too worried or anxious. I just go to my happy place where I am just crocheting away, surrounded by beautiful yarn and with not a worry in the world.

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

x

Sol

New year, new page

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Every blog, magazine and newspaper I have read in the last couple of weeks has featured something about new year’s resolutions, how to stay healthy, how to keep your stress down and much more. A new year is indeed a new beginning even if resolutions are usually out of our minds by February.

To be honest I have never followed the trend of doing resolutions or to treat January any differently than the year before, but this year I am feeling a bit more positive (and maybe wiser) so I don’t mind joining the crowds and follow the masses. I turned 29 yesterday so maybe it is just the nostalgia of leaving my 20’s behind, but who cares? Sometimes you try so hard to be different and unique when you should just do what makes you happy, no matter if anyone or no one is doing it.

I don’t want to look back on this year and realise I didn’t accomplish anything because I was too broad with my resolutions, so I will try to be quite specific about what I want to achieve and hopefully that will make it a bit easier. They are still quite challenging, but of course they should be. So… here are my resolutions, or maybe wishes, for 2015:

1. Appreciate the wonderful things in my life more often and write them down at least once a month: I am a very pessimist person, I always see the black in life and fail to see the bright things around me. I have been so fortunate in life and want to keep this present more often to help me on those dark times. It sounds a bit silly but I am sure I read somewhere that it is helpful to put it on writing… well if not then I’m doing it anyway!

2. Give a real try to yoga: 2014 was marked by an increasing anxiety that still overwhelms me. I have always been anxious about anything and everything, sometimes I can’t logically understand why a certain situation gets me that way and this is really difficult for my logical mind. So when I felt like it was just too much I looked for help and it has given me hope. I have been recommended to try out yoga and meditation so I want to give it a real try since my body is craving for some relaxation. By a real try I mean not bolting after one class!

3. Make this blog more personal: I love posting patterns and it drives most of my readers but whenever I read blogs I am always drawn to the ones that a are a bit more personal. The posts that share the good times and the bad times, the ones that share love, not only for their craft but for life. This post is my first try at making this resolution a reality, I would like to share a bit about life in general in all my posts and not only yarn and crochet (though there will always be plenty of that don’t worry!)

4. Take more photographs, go on a photo journey around town once a month: I really like photography, I am always in awe by the quality of photographs of blogs nowadays and how people take their camera everywhere and capture beautiful moments and places. I never take pictures, not even of my boyfriend and I! I don’t know why but I am a bit embarrassed about going out by myself with my camera around my neck or taking my camera out in social occasions. I really don’t know why 😛 So it is a really good reason to do it just because of that.

5. Throw a dinner party for friends: This sounds so lame! I used to invite people over to my flat in my home country all the time, for a movie, for dinner, for ice cream in front of the TV, anything! Ever since I moved to the UK I have been a bit less social and also the culture here is different and people don’t invite to each other’s homes as often as in South America. However, I should make an effort and throw at least one dinner party in my flat this year, it will be an excuse to clean my flat at least! 🙂

6. Participate more in the wooly, knitty and crochet world: I think the knitting/crochet community is one of the most awesome things ever. I have met so many nice people through my knit club and have received such beautiful comments from readers that I can’t be anything than grateful to be part of it. However, I haven’t been interacting in this world enough: through comments in other blogs, twitter, instagram or Ravelry forums so I really want to make an effort to get to know this crafty world even better and participate in more groups on Ravelry. I have just become a member of the Knit British group, if you haven’t heard Louise’s podcast I truly recommend it even though there is no crochet in it 😛

So there you have it, I think six is a good number and it doesn’t seem impossible to achieve. I could even share some of this here in the blog if you guys are interested, let me know! And if you have any resolutions of your own I would love to hear about them, just leave a comment 🙂

Hope you have a great weekend!

x

Sol

Yarn and more yarn

Hello my dear readers! How is 2015 treating you? Life has been quiet around here, it was hard to get back to work and the routine after the holidays but I think I am finally settling in again.

I did a bit of yarn shopping in December so wanted to share my latest buys with you. I have decided not to buy any more yarn until the Edinburgh Yarn Festival (EYF), the vendors have been announced and there are so many stalls (so exciting!!!) so I want to save some money to get some lovely things there. Now, I won’t buy more yarn but I will use a gift voucher for a local yarn shop that my lovely boyfriend gave me for Christmas. I think that now that yarn is taking over the flat he finally realised that really all I want in life is yarn 🙂

If you are planning to go to the Edinburgh Yarn Festival let me know if you would like to meet up, we can do some yarn shopping together, wouldn’t that be lovely 🙂 I am also thinking to take one of the crochet classes so give me a shout if you are thinking the same, a class buddy is always necessary!

Now, about my latest yarn buys, I will begin with this beautiful Madelinetosh yarn, is Merino Light 4ply in a lovely greyish colour. I bought this at Be Inspired Fibres, there are so many beautiful yarns from all over the world in this shop and they will be at the EYF as well. It is already being worked into a cowl and I am loving how this looks with tunisian crochet. The cowl is inspired in the beautiful cobbled streets in Edinburgh, will post pictures and pattern soon!

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At Be Inspired I also got a bit of Artesano Alpaca and Alpaca Silk in 4ply, I believe this will become that honeycomb cowl that sparked the idea to start my tunisian crochet tutorials, the colours are the same as my tunisian vest and of course only realised once I got home… 😛

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As part of a yarn exchange we did at my knitting group Christmas party I got this lovely Noro yarn, I see some tunisian fingerless gloves in the future! I think tunisian simple stitch would look great with the colour changes in this yarn.

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I also got this lovely Brigantia yarn in DK weight at Ginger Twist Studio, I have been eyeing this yarn for some time so happy to finally get to work with it. I am doing a sample for a class project, this New Year may bring some teaching opportunities so will keep you updated but it is all so very exciting!

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Finally I also got this from Jess at Ginger Twist: an adorable crochet for my keys! I love it, for me it is only decorative but you could actually use it in those times of crochet emergency 😛

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I’ve been hooking away these days and loving every minute of it. It has given me a lot of time to think about what I hope for this year, do you think a New Year resolutions post is too late? I think getting it in writing will help and one of my resolutions is to expand this blog and talk a bit more about life in my corner of the world. I think I will just start working on it and hope you will forgive me for being a little late to the party (or boarding the bus using the back door as we would say where I come from).

I have enjoyed every minute of this blog journey and want it to grow (and me alongside it), I hope to continue to interest you with patterns, colours and yarn goodness if you allow me since it is an honour to have my blog be a small part of your day or of your own crafty journey. Will be back soon with those resolutions…

Hope you have a lovely day!

x

Sol