our creative space 'hooking & knitting'

Greetings all,

Wow, what a fantastic lesson with Kylie from Mealy&i - i can officially crochet a Granny Square!!  I have a lot to master - tension, shape, consistency . . . but how exciting, it's so much fun & we made good use of my new selection of hooks & bundles of yarn.

Look at these cute 'stage' examples Kylie made for the lesson demonstration & my very first square, glee!!

 It's so darn magical how a circle becomes a square!!

 Kylie had to teach us to knit before i finished my square, so i am not 100% certain i finished it off properly, might have to consult a tutorial + it's a great excuse to catch up with Kylie again & build on my crochet skill set??

 Pretty pleased with myself, it was so much fun!!

 The purpley one is Kylie's handy work, note tension perfection & man she's speedy!!

 All the children got involved, some stopping at chain stitch & making bracelets as their current crochet lesson limit for the school holidays. 

 Then the knitting lesson commenced in the early afternoon - yes, middle daughter declared it a pyjama day & remained in her Peter Alexanders, knitting in comfort.

 My keen French knitting 3rd daughter was very excited to learn knitting too.  Children really only need those 20cm long needles, the ones i brought along were way too long, she's not knitting a blanket, just learning!!

I soon discovered, even after a good 20 years of zero knitting to my name, i picked it up like riding a bike!!  I'm just playing, i want the skills to share with my children, not to knit commercially.  I was thrilled with how quickly it came back to me, even casting on with my hands (Kylie showed me how to cast on with my thumb & 1 needle, which i excelled at, handy when i have to cast on for 4 children too!!)   
Thank you Kylie, you are a delightful teacher & dear patient friend, i'm loving my new lounge craft hobby.  No doubt there is more crochet & knitting action over at Kootoyoo & Our Creative Space this Thursday.  Special mention to Kirsty at Kootoyoo (Queen of tiny crochet perfection) - my youngest daughter wanted to start crochet with a 2mm hook & i said "oh, you're aiming at Kootoyoo dizzy heights already".  Love Posie   

social commentary Sunday . . . 'teaching an old dog new craft tricks'

Greetings all,

I'm always impressed when people acquire new skills, later this week i'll be all impressed with myself, i hope!!  I'm SO excited . . . i'm re-learning how to knit & from chain stitch beginner level . . . how to crochet!!  Kylie from Mealy&i is an absolute sweetheart & offered to teach me (& my 4 children, not sure she knew that was part of the deal but i'm guessing they'll be re-teaching me a few minutes after Kylie leaves).  What a great school holiday activity (yes, we in Canberra have another whole week to go). 

Today i went shopping for the 'tools & equipment' - i guess in time i'll use every one of these different sizes??  The bulk packs were too good a deal to refuse. 

 Art Viva Tasmanian Oak knitting needles from my stock at Shop Handmade.

 I could only find ugly wool on sale, so i sucked up the price & bought what i thought was pretty.  I guessed which would be suitable ply & acrylic balance of the yarns (so many variations).

I just find crochet hooks the strangest things - to me they look like they are ready to have a chat to you.  I assume all crafters talk to themselves, i do, i'm very agreeable, just like these 9mm & 10mm hooks. 

So wish me well, i am prone to not hold things correctly & i'm sure adding knitting & crochet to my skill set will only make my carpal tunnel syndrome groan (in both hands, since my mid 20s, i like to overachieve like that).  Oh well, sleeping in metal hand splints for the last 10 years is just one of sexier boudoir looks i covet.  Have crafty weeks & do try something new soon.  I'll be back with some results for show & tell, i hope.  Eeek, love Posie