Stitches and Craft Show

I’m excited!

Just over a week till the Stitches and Craft Show hits Sydney. I haven’t been to the Stitches and Craft Show before, but after checking the website out half a dozen times, it looks fabulous! And dare I say, better than other craft shows I’ve been to before. But we will have to wait till I go before I can say that with certainty. I’m planning two days there (Friday and Saturday) and it’s looks like it will be two full on days – of craft, shopping, workshops and talks. I cannot wait!

One thing I’m particularly looking forward to, is seeing the documentary Handmade Nation. For those who do not know what Handmade Nation is about, it is a documentary about the indie craft/DIY uprising in America and how handmade is better. I would encourage those who intend to go the show, to see this documentary!

I’ll post a full update after I’ve been detailling all the crafty goodness of the show!

Now back to uni work…

Distractions

I’m back at uni now. Have been for two weeks now. I’m only there two days, which is both good and bad. The good side is that there is less money being spent on travel, the bad side I think outways the good. I only get to see my friends 2 days w week and with everything being so squashed into two days, I have less motivation to do my uni work and assignments at home. Even when a deadline is looming. When uni was a bit more spaced out I was able to motivate myself a bit more. Now, its like uni’s over for the week – let’s bludge. And the stubborn part of me is struggling to change that. I want to be motivated, but it’s hard. And I largely blame Stephenie Meyer for that! I’ve really gotten into the Twilight saga and can’t stop reading the books. Which is a big effort for me. I’ve never really been a big reader, but there is something about the books that I love. And can’t wait to finish one so I can pick up another. In two, maybe three days I’ve read a quarter of Eclipse (I think that is a lot for me!). Damn it – all I wanted to do was have New Moon finished by the time the movie came out. When I started New Moon, I thought even asking that was a bit much to expect considering how long it took me to get through Twilight (I now suspect that was due to having seen the movie first, I knew what was going to happen).

Well, I breezed through New Moon pretty quickly and as soon as I had finished New Moon, I begun Eclipse, even though I had to get up early the next day. Grrrr. As much as I love reading now, I almost wish I hadn’t begun. All my time is being consumed by it (not litterally, but you now what I mean). It’s almost frustrating. I know I should be good and do my assignments first, but I’ve been telling myself  “after I finish the chapter”…….

And my crafting life has suffered too! I haven’t been knitting as much as I had before reading and I wanted to make a simple book covered for a folder I bought to store my circular needles in and haven’t gotten around to that either!  But I am really looking forward to the Stitches and Craft Show in twoo weeks time . I’m looking forward to picking up some new patterns and seeing the Handmade Nation documentary. Plus it will be the first Stitches and craft show I’ve been to, so I just looking forward to enjoying it in general!

Now before I leave you and force myself to make a decent start on my assignment I’ll leave you with a picture.

I know, totally unrelated, but adorable none-the-less!

One down, one to go…

Yay! I’ve finished one of my Monkey socks. Now I just have to do the other sock…

I have enjoyed knitting these socks, and I learnt a lot whilst doing them too! I started out knitting them using 5 DPNs, but was ending up with small “ladders” between the joins. At the Stitches and Craft show, Sarah Durrant was kind enough to demonstrate the magic loop technique for me, so I decided to knit the rest of the sock using that method (mind you, it was after the gusset).  So my aim is to knit the second sock JUST using the magic loop method. I’ll keep you updated on how it goes. But now, here’s a photo of the first sock

And in other news, I’m back at uni  – it doesn’t feel like I’ve had a holiday Must learn to save money so I can take a vacation before uni starts next year…

Sydney Stitches and Craft Show

Despite the fact that the Quilt and Craft show was not too long ago, I have just been looking at the Stitches and Craft show website, and I must say, I am very excited!  It looks like there will be heaps of workshops and seminars to attend that will be very informative and, Handmade Nation will be playing. I have been waiting to see this documentary for ages! I just hope my bank account will be able to support me when the show is on! Luckily I have over a month to prepare.

I am mostly looking at doing as many workshops and seminars as possible at the show instead of shopping. But I will have a look at the stalls

Craft Fair antics..

So I went to the Sydney Quilt and Craft Fair last Thursday and had a really good day, despite not being able to sleep the night before (my sleeping habits are all out of whack).   There where lots and lots of goodies to look at.  Was high impresses with the quality of goods on display. And as usual, I spent more than I had planned to! oops.   Here is the yarn I bought at the show:

I also bought some sewing themed buttons and a book on dyeing.

As you can see, I’ve started knitting a pair of plain socks with the Jitterbug Raphael. They are knitting up beautifully. The colours are fantastic. I love them. Nice and warm.  And I’m trying out the magic loop method after getting some pointers at the show. So far, so good. Let’s hope it continues to go that way.

Yay! It’s almost over!

Woot-woot! Uni is almost over for the semester! Yay! I hand in my textiles major work (the life sucker!) in tomorrow (after I finish the folio) and then I do not have to go into uni for 9 WEEKS!!! That means 4 weeks holiday, 3 weeks placement and then another 2 weeks holiday! I am so looking forward to sleep 8 hours of more a few nights in a row – which will be very rejuvenating.

I hear you ask what are my plans for these holidays. Well, obviously there will be a bit of work in there. But after that there will be getting ready for my placement, hanging out with friends and plenty of crafting

I dont intend to buy any crafting supplies these holidays. Need to conserve funds in the current financial climate. Plus, I have an entire room full of crafting supplies. I would like to use some of them up to help declutter the room a little. But that is a mammoth task and may require more than 6 weeks of crafting to occur!   But to atleast make a start here are the crafting tasks I intended to undertake in my break:

• Continue to knit and hopefully finish a few UFO.
• Make a start on my first bed quilt. Don’t know how far I will get with this one though. My major work was a quilted wall hanging and my machine is in dire need of a service, which is not high on my list of priorities atm.
• Embroider some baby onesie’s  using some Sublime Stitching patterns.

And to finish off today’s post, I have been seeing an increase of craft related tattoos. I think these are totally awesome and thought I would pay hommage to one of my fave’s!  Here is theloneknitta’s tattto:

Now it’s back to finish my folio for my major work…

Crunch time

I hate it when the uni work takes over every moment of spare time you have. Because the quality of work, well actually, I think I produce better work for some things at the last minute. This is becaue I’m forced to look at what I need to do to pass the assignment. But other things, well they suffer. Like leisure activities – i.e sewing and knitting for the fun of it, not because I have to. Not that I dont like being able to sew and knit as part of my uni course, but I always get ideas to start new projects when I’m busy and dont have the time. And then when I do have the time, I like to veg out and don’t sew or knit as much.

But I am proud of mysef for not just mindlessly spending money on sewing and knitting supplies because  I might need it or for the project I have no time for Gotta engage in some stash busting before spending money on new things.

Now I’m off to do more uni work. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to do some sewing for my major work this afternoon

Found it at last!

An Aussie version of Etsy. I love Etsy. I think it’s a fantastic way to buy and sell handmade goods that are unique. I love browsing through Etsy because there is just such a range of beautiful and creative stuff there that is just inspirational and motivating. And now I’e found it’s Aussie counter part, http://www.madeit.com.au/

I’m so glad that I have found this site because I might try to make some stuff to sell! So excited

Yes

Yes

Originally uploaded by CrissyAlright

I just stumbled on this photo on Flickr. I thought I should share the love around!

Hmm, let me try this new way of knitting…

I really do need to try a new way of knitting. And no, I’m not talking about technique. I liken it to a new way of living, setting down some new rules to make things better. See, I have a bad habit of starting knitting projects, but not finishing them. I largely put that down to the fact that I’m not a very patient person when it comes to knitting. I get all excited about a yarn or pattern and start it eagerly, but when I start to repeat the pattern over and over, I tend to move onto another project. This needs to stop! Not only is my stash expanding rapidly, but so is my project shelf.

So my plan in order to help this situation is to establish a new way of knitting – and try my very hardest to stick to it this time. Many of these rules I’m sure I have mentioned before. You could probably find them in another post on this page if you felt like it. My hopes are that these rules/new way of knitting will help banish bad habits, and put in place new ones, better ones. So, without any further hesitation, here any my new rules for knitting:

• If you get sick of a project, don’t put it down and start a new one. Put it down and pick up another project that needs to be finished. Projects will get finished quicker that way!
• Use yarn you already have. You obviously bought it because you liked it.  So find a pattern for it and start knitting. If you dont like it anymore, get rid of it.
• Avoid impulse buying. If you see something that you really like. Note down where you saw it, the price etc and then walk away. Go home, see if there is a pattern that it could be used for, see if you really need it and see if you have something like it already. If, after all this you still really like it, then maybe you should go buy it.

Now, let the new way of knitting begin!

Hopefully this image will help me to become more patient