things by t.

inspirational

 

There was a knitting café yesterday evening at my LYS and I was invited to show some of my amigurumis. As always, a wonderful time was had by all.

huzzah

What a wonderful weekend!

I had the privilege of spending my time with nine lovely and talented beginner knitters of varying age - and there was even a man attending the class!

I am still not quite well from last week's cold, so I will blog more tomorrow. I just wanted to check in and give a little cheer. Next week will also be full of handicraft and creating, but of a different kind.

Main focus will be on finishing five mixed media bunnies for my Etsy store, but I also need to swatch for the two Sticksalongen projects I think I mentioned before.

shopping and working

Well, I mean, if you're holding a workshop at a craft fair it is inevitable that you will also go shopping. No?

I am having a great time! It's exhausting and fun and inspiring and challenging, all at once. Today I even taught someone the basics of granny squares in English (UK terms, to be precise)! It really is a wonderful learning experience for me too, I must add. When people make mistakes or misunderstand my instructions it is a good opportunity for me to look at how I can improve my teaching skills.

Deep breath. One more day to go. Then it's time to prepare for next weekend's beginner's class in crochet...

getting ready

I am working diligently to finish 2 crochet kits that will be on sale at my workshops at Syfestivalen (Craft fair in Stockholm). One is a cotton set of two small bags with flower decorations. The other is a simple granny square cushion cover in beautiful gradient sock yarn.

I am holding the workshops everyday at 11 am, 1 pm and 3 pm in collaboration with Nysta, one of my favourite yarn shops that is now only operating online. At the fair there will be ready-assembled kits in various colour schemes, but you will also be able to buy the yarn separately from Nysta at the fair or online. I will probably publish the patterns here afterwards (or on Ravelry, whichever seems more convenient).

Two of my other crochet classes (for Folkuniversitetet) have also been confirmed: beginner's crochet and granny squares.

I feel a little more confident this time, although I know there are still things to improve and perhaps change. I got some great inspiration in the post just yesterday!

an outing

I confess.

I have been part of a secret society. A group of people dedicated to taking over the world and using yarn to create world peace!

Er, not quite...

We're just a group of dedicated knitters (and crocheters) who have been meeting on a regular basis for about a year or more, discussing the craft and creating a platform for development of various techniques. We have all taken turns giving "lectures" on our specialities: fair isle, cables, lace knitting, crochet... We have had guests just joining us for a fun evening or for further educating us in a specific area of interest.

Our name is Sticksalongen, i.e. The Knitting Parlour.

Lately we have been talking about creating a library of patterns, perhaps as a paper publication, perhaps only for download. And right now, this is what is occupying my mind mostly.

I will try to share the process of creating here in my blog over the coming months. So far we haven't set a deadline for our project. But once there is a set date, rest assured I will let you know!

concerned

Just had a chat with a fellow crafter: one of the local shopkeepers, actually. We were talking about the upcoming Crafts Fair and learning new things. She told me she had attended a course in another yarn related subject at the same place where I have classes, but that the teacher had scourned her for wanting to use acrylic yarn and had also been generally strict about the right way and the wrong way of doing things.

So I want to make some things clear.

In my classes I will never be derogatory or tell anyone they're doing something wrong. I strongly believe that handicraft is about the joy of creating with your own hands!

Yes, there are techniques you can learn and use to increase your knowledge and capability. And yes, every crafter will tell you they have their favourite fibre they love to work with. But it is all about individual choices and ways to make the material work for you.

I know from reviews of my classes that I still have a lot to learn, but one thing that I get consistently good feedback on is that I am always cheerful and patient. To me that is one of the most important factors to being a teacher of any kind: you want to bring enthusiasm to the classroom! You want your students to feel happy that they've accomplished something, however small. And you must never ever laugh or make fun of their technique or choice of material.

Even if it's acrylic yarn.

No, really. Not even if it's acrylic yarn.

somewhat

...of a let down today.

I was to be Ms Knitting Lady at an Open House event organised by the organisation that hosts my crochet courses.

It was all very nice and fairly well-organised, but not a lot of people showed up at my "knitting café" table. I think the main reason was that it was payday weekend here in Sweden and perhaps also that my whereabouts wasn't so well advertised. I was downstairs in the real café area, but there was no sign at the entrance, only the text in the programme. I think it was a little bit too easy to miss.

Also, I didn't even have a sign at my table, so I had to make my own. Plus my name tag.

Um...so maybe not so well-organised after all.

But I did enjoy myself anyway. I got a few hours uninterrupted knitting/crochet time. Tried out some ideas I've sketched out recently. Talked to a few people, but noone sat down to join me.

new knitty

There's a new Knitty out, but I hadn't noticed because the banner is still the same here in my right-hand column.

Anyway, a short review is due! I like:
- Cartouche, a lace shawl inspired by a Japanese pattern
- Lady Lovelace, another one of Teva Durham's interesting designs using thicker yarn and lace patterns
- Constantine, because I am fond of capes, although it's never really the weather for it here in Sweden
- Shelburne, lovely mittens in all sizes
- Chrystanthemums, beautiful colourwork mittens. I keep collecting these kind of patterns, but have yet to make myself a pair.

a stitch in time

Last Thursday I attended a stitching/embroidery café for the first time. The meeting was improvised by blogger Elin and has quickly gathered an enthusiatic crowd of people, who have perhaps felt a little left out by all the knitting cafés going on around Sweden.

I brought a small project along, a little square in red wool/cotton. My plan was to do a little doodle-like picture inspired by a Japanese stitching book I recently bought. But I can't say that I was particularly happy with the result. It's been such a long time since I used a thread and needle, the stitches were all uneven and sort of insecure.

I suppose I need to practice more.

In other news, Sticka! is holding a wonderful knitalong this holiday! Hop on over to their blog and read about Stjärnhop, the two-colour shawl inspired by Pinneguri's Mrs Barista shawl. And with Google translator it looks like this.

yes, indeedio

I dare say the Christmas market was a small success! I sold a few things and got good exposure. It was a nice event with lots of other fun crafters around. The remaining stock will soon appear in my Etsy shop: Kakflickan.

(The table looks a little barren here, because I hadn't quite finished all the decorating and also had a few more chockers still being sewn together while waiting for the market to open.)