Until recently, I have never considered myself a *crafter*. At the age of five, I was a young first grader. And who would have thought that I would have picked up a skill, a crafting skill, at that age, that would stick with me for life. Now, almost thirty-five years later, I am still knitting and crocheting. And, I think that I don’t knit and crochet for the finished product. Sure, I like to finish creations, but I have come to the realization that I knit and crochet for the pure joy of knitting and crocheting. I like to feel yarns…gaze over patterns…

Sometime, ’round about eighteen years ago, I discovered beads. All shapes, all sizes, all materials. Findings were magical, clasps were divine. Honestly, when I look back at the items I made that long ago, I can see where my designs were flawed. Amazing how age matures our vision.

Three years later, I attended a scrapbooking party. Here was a practical hobby. I could take all those pictures I have hiding away in a box, and put them into some sort of historical order, with stories to go with them, before I got too old to remember them. It’s funny how I spent money on things like scrapbooks, and die-cuts, and stickers and markers, and here we are, fifteen years later, and they are still in their packaging…pictures still in their storage box.

About 4 years ago, I started stamping…took a class…went to a workshop to create greeting cards…the world of paper crafts had opened up to me. The results were beautiful, and after a reasonable investment in tools, I lost the time to invest in my new-found hobby.

Now, I regularly knit and crochet, as well as design beaded jewelry. But my latest foray into crafting trials is needle felting. I have attended one of two classes with my nine year old daughter, and needle felting appears to be one of those hidden hobbies. You know people do it. You don’t know how they do it. But their creations are wonderful…fantastic…whimsical…my daughter works diligently on a panda, while I selected a set of two owls. I completed one during the first class. I’ll complete the second in a few days. I named the first one Hedwig.

This, then, is my realization, and my statement. I am a crafter. When I had the opportunity to look back and think about all the things I most like to do…crafting was the clear winner. But I craft for crafting’s sake…not for any other reason. I take pleasure in the product, but more so, the process.

I am a crafter.

This post was originally posted at The Leaky Cauldron and has also been cross-posted to my other blog, the writing on the wall.

If it ain’t in progress…

…don’t start it. Ok. So I paraphrased here. The point is…I have an incredibly BAD habit of starting new projects. I start them, all gung ho…ready to go and then…

They sit.

Current works in progress:
1. A Cardigan for Arwen. This was to be my masterpiece. I selected a wonderful Malabrigo worsted in a color called Marron Oscuro. It’s like a rich chocolate color. Beautiful. I couldn’t wait to wear it. It’s barely started, but I carry it with me wherever I go in the hopes that I can work on it.

2. February Lady Sweater. Uh…yeah. The Ravelympics did nothing for the completion of this project. It is still sitting in a bag, in a pile of bags, in the corner of my living room.

3. Amigurumi Elephant. This crocheted cutie was started as a gift for my daughter’s 3rd birthday. She is now 4. And one month. I was going to do a whole zoo of animals for her. Desire is there. Who has time???

4. My First Pair of Socks – EVAH. Another Ravelympics fail. Shame on me.

5. Talia Vest. This should be done. I just need to add buttons…and ship it out to California. Why haven’t I done so???

6. Clapochet. Started in the fall as a neat crocheted clapotis. Is it ok that it’s not finished? In my opinion, no. It’ll be done by fall so I can wear it. I hope.

7. Lace Dress. Don’t even get me started. Think I’m about 4 rows in. Started in the fall. There is a specific intended recipient, but I don’t know if I’ll finish it. Might re-direct the yarn for another project.

8. Luna Bag from OotP. I LOVED the bag Luna had in the fifth movie…when she was feeding the thestrals, barefoot, and Harry found her. It looked so neat. I’m sure it was not a knit bag, but I decided I would MAKE a knit bag that looked similar. I started this well over two years ago. Maybe I’ll have it done by the time the LAST movie comes out.

Ok, that’s 8. I can understand having a large project that you sit in front of the TV with; a detailed project that you can’t work on with your mind on anything else; a small project that you can carry with you every where you go; a secondary project in crochet (if most of your projects are knit); and even a gift project. But that’s only 5. Not 8.

Probably the most embarassing of projects is the Talia Vest, as it is just about done. It was supposed to be my mother’s Christmas present, but I left the buttons at a friend’s house and have yet to go pick them up.

And here I am contemplating The Great American Aran Afghan. I mean, if my friend and I work on one square a month, that shouldn’t be too hard, right?

How many WIPs do you maintain at any one time? If I hit 10, I will be extremely disappointed in myself. I don’t like being disappointed in myself. I better not hit 10. Hopefully by the next time I write, that number will have dropped and my finished projects number will have risen.

Wishing you soft yarn and good coffee…

This post was originally posted at The Leaky Cauldron and has also been cross-posted to my other blog, the writing on the wall.

The Olympics are a time of friendly competition, forging new friendships, overcoming personal challenges, reaching personal bests.

In the deep, dark recesses of the internet, out where everyone can see, we find Ravelry.com which is a knit and crochet community, for anyone who is not familiar with it.  And thanks to Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, who started the Knitting Olympics in 2006, we now have the Ravelympics.  (Stephanie’s Knitting Olympics still takes place, as a separate Event, completely unrelated to Ravelry).

The Event began as a competition to challenge oneself, to select a challenging project, and complete it, start to finish, from the opening ceremonies to the closing ceremonies.  This year, there are over 53,260 entries in over 20 categories, ranging from socks, to sweaters, to kids items to household items.  From speed knitting to bead knitting, to colorwork to lace.

This being said, as an active member of the Ravelry community, I took it upon myself to join in the fray, and challenge myself.  I have entered the event Sock Hockey and WIPs-Dancing.

As a seasoned knitter – I learned when I was five years old…I can handle garter stitch no problem. I can take on stockinette, seed, sweaters with shaping, sweaters with no shaping.  Hats are a no brainer, scarves couldn’t be plainer, but socks?  I have never, ever, not on your life, had any desire to create socks.  I have this aversion to feet, you see.  And anything having to do with feet.  I love my own feet, of course, because, I consider myself to have perfect feet.  But if I can run down to K-Mart or Kohls and drop six bucks on a three-pack of sport socks, why go to the trouble to make them?  Again, I have to give a nod to the Yarn Harlot, and her self-titled book, The Yarn Harlot.  What I read from Miss Stephanie, is that hand knit socks can be one of the most luxurious items you ever put on your feet.  I learned that socks are a perfect gift to let someone know just how much they mean to you.  (Really, I didn’t understand this one at first.  How is giving someone something to do with feet remotely affectionate…in any way???)  But I kept reading because Stephanie is a writer, and she entertains.  What better way to tell someone you love them than by making something for them, hand knit, that you know will wear out in approximately six months?  What I took from it, and really, she may have said this exactly – I can’t remember, and I am pretty sure I lent my copy out to a friend – I love you, and I am willing to put time an energy into this small item for you to relax your feet into. And even if you wear them down so much that they get holes in them, I will make you another pair.  Just because. It’s a nice thought, right?  This then, is my major challenge for the Ravelympics.  Sock Hockey.  I have five days to go until the closing ceremonies, and guess how far I am.  About one-third through the first sock.  Yup.  You read that right.  One-third finished with the first sock.  So I am adjusting my challenge to be to complete ONE sock.  I don’t need the entire pair to prove that I can make a sock.  I only need one.  And Dobby had the right idea anyway.  Who needs pairs of the same sock?  I am channeling my inner-Dobby, and will be happy to have an unmatched sock.  Can I do it in the next five days?

Not if I expect to complete my other challenge.  WIPs-Dancing.  This event allows you to actually work on a piece that was not cast on at the opening ceremonies.  My WIP (work in progress for those not in the know) is a February Lady Sweater.  I took a class last spring, during which we were supposed to complete this viral knit.  Viral because at the time, EVERYONE was making it.  I started.  I got about three-quarters of the way through the body (sleeves not done yet either) and stopped.  I just got involved in other projects.  Holiday knitting for gifts, baby knitting, birthday knitting, back to school knitting.  It all just got in the way, and my FLS fell to the side.  So I thought I would use the Ravelympics to complete it.

Guess what.  I think I am focusing on Sock Hockey.  I like Hockey better than Dancing anyway.  And my FLS is still tucked away in the bag it’s been in for the last ten months. One goal.  If I can score one goal…with one completed sock, I think I am well on my way to a pair.  I have five days.

Cheers!

This post was originally posted at The Leaky Cauldron and has also been cross-posted to my other blog, the writing on the wall.

I’ve seen some amazing things.  And I’m sure this isn’t new.  But my friend Tina just showed me how she uses a crochet hook to bind off.  Have you done this?  I tried it.  It was AMAZING!!!  No more too-tight bindoffs.  Rock on!

The celebration of the New Year is always a challenging time, filled with joy for the celebrating, sadness as we say goodbye to all the good things we’ve accomplished in the past year and relegating them to mere memory, and apprehension as we enter a new year filled with possibilities.

Maybe you look at the new year as a way to start over.  Maybe you look at the new year as a way to say, I resolve to not make a resolution I can’t keep.  That’s what I’ve been saying.  But, I will still share a hopeful list with you, of what I hope to accomplish in my knitting this year.

• i resolve to finish all the projects that have already been started
• i resolve to find uses for all the orphan yarns in my stash
• i resolve to knit more, knit better, knit kneater
• i resolve to learn more about knitting
• i resolve to ocmplete TKGA’s Master Knitter Level 1 program

That’s a lot, considering all the WIPs I have going…shall I list them all here?  Needless to say, I’ll start with completing a late Christmas present.  I am making Talia for my mother and it’s late.  She knew it would be late.  But I still want to complete it.  Sooner, rather than later.  And really, it’s almost done.  I will post pictures when it is complete.  Should be this week.  Now I’m really putting myself out there, because I know, you all will be clamoring for some FO pics by Friday.  I’ll see what I can do.

Happy New Year and good luck with your Knitting in the Knew Year!

I am curious to know what bits and pieces of your craft you are constantly buying (aside from yarn!)  My own personal list includes the following:

• Tapestry needles
• Stitch Markers
• Tape measures
• Stitch Markers

Oh, did I mention stitch markers?

In early 2007, Kate Jacobs spawned a whole new generation of knitting clubs.  I have an email in to her, via her website, www.katejacobs.com, to get an exact number of how many clubs reported that they were started because of her book.  But Kate Jacobs is easily accessible, in the sense that she will make appearances to your clubs, knitting or book, to talk about her book, via phone.  I think that’s great considering I don’t know many authors who would do that.  Admittedly, I guess I really haven’t looked.

I myself turned to knitting as a means to create, de-stress, and make my television watching time a little more productive.  What I got out of it is so much more.  I have created gifts, items for myself that are cheaper to make than to buy, ponchos for my daughters who are thrilled with them.  I have been approached by others about my knitting (yes, I carry it every where I go).  I taught two friends to knit.  One took it and flew with it, searching Ravelry for new patterns.  One is still working on her scarf-turned-dishcloth, but still talks about it.

Discussions led from one thing to another, and I have embarked on a social project of what could be epic proportions.  Ok.  Perhaps that is a wee bit dramatic.  But dramatic I am.  I have emailed all the mothers of the children in my daughter’s second-grade class, asking if they’d be interested in a knitting club.  I assured them, that they do not need to know how to knit, that I would teach them.  All I wanted from them (aside from the cost of the yarn and the needles) was a desire to learn.

I have responses.  I have people interested.  Now comes the tricky part.  What am I going to teach the knewbie-knitters to make?  I guess I’ll start with a basic garter stitch scarf.  I’ll let you know how it goes.  We are in the process of scheduling our first meeting.  Wish me luck!

…and the things I wish I could knit. I realized today that my ever-growing list of gifts has not even been started on. I better get cracking.

I also started reading Zen and the Art of Knitting. Will let you know what I think. For now, to bed.

So three days ago, I received what I assumed was a marketing email from Lands’ End.  Usually, I don’t read them, but the subject of this one caught my eye.  ”Celebrity Knit-Out at your Lands’ End Shop.”  So I opened it.  It promised a book signing with Kate Jacobs, New York Time best-selling author of The Friday Night Knitting Club.  It promised enjoyable knitting to create hats for the homeless, with assistance from Vickie Howell, designer, and formerly, host of Knitty Gritty on DIY.

So, with two days to plan, I was able to get hubby to agree to come home early so I could go.  Unfortunately, I was unable to recruit anyone to join me.  I posted on the Woolpack forum on Ravelry that it was going on, and hoped for the best.

When I arrived, there were a handful of women, and I chose to sit at the table that had knitters already working.  Four of them.  Two of them appeared to be about college-aged.  One was young enough to be my mother, and one appeared to be a new mother – her baby in a stroller next to her.  Kate Jacobs sat at a table with a stack of copies of the paperback version of her book, Vickie Howell was present, getting newcomers set up with yarn, needles and patterns, and the Lands’ End representative.

Kate let me know the agenda for the event, which would include a reading of her book.  Excited, I sat down with the other women, selected a ball of green yarn a set of straights, and began to knit.

Conversation led to the discovery that I was speaking with Knitbaby from Ravelry – who saw my post there on The Friends of the Woolpack forum – that’s why she was there.  Another woman, whose name escapes me at the moment, admitted that she had just been walking through with her husband, and saw the signs, and the tables and the yarn.  Two other young women, recent grads of the UMass system, also of Ravelry fame, PinkMeghan and Aephyra. During Kate’s reading, three more joined our table, including Marijae from Lowell.

Kate’s reading was wonderful.  I always find it extremely satisfying to experience an author reading his or her own work.  I find it to be the most accurate interpretation is possible.

I asked Vickie to sign my copy of AwareKnits. She informed me that her book was not released yet. How incredibly wonderful did that make me feel? At any rate, the idea that I was sitting with Vickie Howell, knitting, and listening to Kate Jacobs read from her book, was probably one of the most satisfying experiences I’ve ever had.

Kate Jacobs, me, Vickie Howell

And so, now I’m working on my Feel Good hat.  I think I will probably be able to make 3 or 4 total from the one ball of yarn.  Perhaps I’ll do a scarf to go with the hat.  The Feel Good campaign is taking over, and Kate and Vickie are there to kick it off wherever you may be!  Join the movement!

Edit 9/7/10: Since this review was originally written almost a year ago, The Woolpack has moved south just a few miles.  The new address is 340 Great Road, (RTS  2A/119, 27), Acton, MA 01720

Take a ride headed northbound on Rt. 119 from 495 in Littleton.  You’ll find yourself on a nice drive through a rural area, past a farm with a stand to sell its wares, and you’ll be on your way to The Woolpack, which is owned and run by Janet Hampson.

The shop itself is one of the brightest and friendliest I have been in for quite some time.  And I thrive on visiting yarn shops (what yarn lover worth her salt doesn’t???)  Janet’s shop is by far my favorite.  The welcoming atmosphere, the walls of yarn, the knowledgable staff.

Upon first arrival, you step into another world.  The front room has two tables, a side alcove where young children can entertain themselves while their mothers (or fathers) ooh and aah over the collection of luscious yarns and patterns.  Also in this room you will find the sale yarns, a library of books for purchase, periodicals, and displays of knitting bags, beads, kits, and all sorts of things to tempt new and old knitters alike.

Step up the ramp into the main room of the shop, and you are bombarded with color, and a fiesta for your sense of touch.  You will find silks, merinos, alpacas, cashmere, cotton, synthetics…all ranging in price from very affordable to very expensive.

My CLASSI Review system rates it:

Classes:  5 sheep. The shop offers a variety of classes on a regular basis, from basic Learn to Knit type classes – at varying levels, to project specific classes. See my post on the February Lady Sweater.

Location: 5 sheep. This shop, while a good 20-25 minutes from my house, is in a fantastic location.  Located right on 119, there are no twists and turns to finding it.  You just drive down (or up) 495 to 119 and head north to Groton, through Littleton, where the shop is located.

Atmosphere: 5 sheep. Admittedly, I have not been in a more welcoming location ever.  You walk in and you know, they want you to sit a spell.  It is very easy to spend hours in here and even more easy to share your life story with women you hardly know.  There is definitely camaraderie in this shop that I have not found elsewhere.  I blame Janet and the other staffers.

Service: 5 sheep.  I have never had a bad service experience here.  At the worst, I may have had to wait a few minutes while Janet or another staffer assisted another fiberhead, such as myself, but really, how is that bad service???  These women go out of their way to help you knit affordably, and beautifully.  I recently brought my sister-in-law in for the first time (she just moved to the area) and she carried in her sweater and asked for some assistance.  Lorie (gosh I hope I’m spelling that right) jumped right in to help.  Little Sis was thoroughly impressed.

Selection: 5 sheep.  It is always easy to find what you need.  And if that cashmere yarn for $45/skein has too high a price tag, it is no problem to find something with similar drape, feel, and loveliness, for less than half the price.  All of Janet’s selections are high quality, and provide ample room for creativity.

Inventory: 5 sheep.  Rarely has the shop not had items in stock when I was looking for them.  I believe there was one time, they had to order a circ for me because they had run out, but they ordered it, and it was in under 5 days later.  Ordering items not in stock is a fairly simple process, and it’s great because you know you’re going to get exactly what you want/need.  Is it inconvenient to have to go back to pick up your ordered items?  Not in the least.  No matter how busy I am, I could make time to go to Janet’s shop.  I’m sure you could too.  It’s just a wonderful place to be.

So, go.  Visit.  Sit. Knit. Tell them I sent you.