SnarCraft

Baby, you're doing my head in! I mentioned last year about this blanket (at least on Twitter and Instagram, if not here, too) – it's the Stuffed Animal Blanket by Amanda Saladin. I made one for my best friend last year and I was blown away by how easy it came together, how quick it stitched up, and how I remarkably didn't feel like setting the entire project on fire at any time during its creation. (I don't find crochet relaxing, though I do agree it can make some beautiful things.) That  version of the blanket came out  looking like the cutest, dopiest koala and everyone I showed it to wanted to give it a cuddle. THAT  version of the blanket came together in one go, no frogging, no worries. This one? Well... I'm on attempt #5 in almost 10 months and it's still giving me trouble. I should have known I could only get away with crocheting something once before the universe realigned itself. I'm pretty sure it's the yarn. See, it's a silk...

We hosted a very important birthday party this weekend. It involved a horde of teenagers, a day long outing to the beach, a sleepover and breakfast on the lawn. It was delightful, no one died and the house is still standing in one piece. I am, however, still exhausted and appear to be making triple my usual number of spelling errors. I also tried to work on the crochet blanket some more yesterday, when I was presumably even more exhausted than I am today, and the magic no-mistake streak I’d been on was gone. I had to stuff it into a bag and ignore it pointedly for the rest of the evening. So, I’m going to leave you all with the write up I did previously of last month’s Sunday Shenanigans with Nicola and Alysha. I’m going to go have some more coffee and see if the blanket is ready to be a team player again. It’s 37C outside today, I’m not going to try doing anything other than sit in front of a fan with a cold drink. See you later in the week, when the weather cools down and I...

So what has happened since last October? Well, like I said in my last post, we’ve moved into a house! It’s a lovely little federation style home, with grass and a porch and actual hallways and windows and head space. Bascially, it’s got all those things that I learned quickly to assume I’d never have again when I moved to Sydney and learned what inner-city-ring housing looked like to an Australian developer. To further underscore just how excited I am about being in a house, rather than some ‘boutique 2-bedroom unit’ (they mean matchbox with no ventilation and no space for amenities, btw), I did a jig when I learned we got what’s known here as a Hills-Hoist (it’s a rotating washing line, my fellow PNWers). I’ve heard some interesting stories from Liebling and some of my Aussie friends about the uses of one of these contraptions….but I’ll leave that bit to your imagination unless you ask directly. All I really thought about when I saw it was how much yarn and fibre I can dry on ...

Yay! School went back this week! After decades  eight weeks of having basically everyone in the house (we now live in a HOUSE! More on this later) non-stop, on top of two new kitties (we now have cats! More on this later, too) and blazing heat (eww) I wholeheartedly confess that I was ready to start disowning everything that didn’t come with knitting needles and yarn. We have a front yard (or garden, as the locals call it), so it isn’t like they wouldn’t have had somewhere to pitch a tent...I’m not unreasonable! I have plenty to catch you lovelies up on, but we will have to agree that multiple posts are needed to do this properly (and reasonably, for everyone’s sake). But first thing’s first - Some housekeeping! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- GREAT PUMPKIN MAL WINNER Thank you to everyone who participated in the MAL. The winner this time around is the delightful Mel, who crocheted the sweetest Halloween Top Hat by Sharon Mann Dar...

Hello my lovelies! How is your prep for welcoming the Great Pumpkin coming along? (For those who are less interested in the Make-Along talk, feel free to jump below the cute little Reaper divider bar for the other fibre related blather.) Thank you to everyone who was able to join in during the Stitch & Flick sessions the last two weekends! In particular, last weekend’s Casper chatter was a delight. We gushed about how amazing Kat is as a character, reminisced about how we all wanted to be in that slow dance with Kat and Casper, and delighted over Dr Harvey’s Dad-skills; particularly in improvised fencing equipment. I’ve also made a discovery from watching these flicks - Aran sweaters in horror/scary movies are basically Red Shirts. Yup, that’s right, as in the trope of 'if the character is in a red shirt they ain't coming back from the away mission.' It’s really starting to seem that, at least in the 90’s (that’s my data set for now) dudes wearing some form of Ara...

ALL HAIL THE GREAT PUMPKIN! Yep, that’s right! The first of October is here and it is time to make our preparations for the coming of The Great Pumpkin. Break out those needles, hooks, pins, looms, wheels, and anything else you need to craft your fibre! If you are lucky the Great Pumpkin will be pleased with your efforts and reward you with a special gift! If you haven’t yet, be sure to join the Ravelry Group and stake out a place in the Great Pumpkin Make-Along thread. You don’t want to be missed when the Great Pumpkin arrives! As I mentioned in the previous post , each weekend will be themed with a list of movie suggestions, so you can get your knit on while also getting into the festive spirit! I will be watching films Friday evenings at 7pm Sydney time (GMT+11) and I will be tweeting and instagramming with the hashtag #Gr8PumpkinMAL. Join me and post your progress! (Calendar of movies and weekend themes can be found at the end of the blog post.) NOTE: I have a kiddo .a...

The season is turning, the temperature changing. The air is tainted slightly with smell of smoke and earth. Corn and berries abound, and fog slinks in with the night. Welcome Great Pumpkin! Halloween is coming up, which means that it’s still cool enough in my part of the world to be knitting larger-ish items, and it’s cooling off everywhere else. Autumn is my favourite time of year, and I truly miss the changing of the colours and the smell of spiced cider in the air. This year, even though I won’t be in a location to join in the proper worshipping of the Great Pumpkin with the requisite Corn Maze runs and bonfires, I thought I’d host a Make-Along to soothe my feelings of homesickness. The Great Pumpkin Make-Along goes for the length of October in which fellow Fibre Fiends will make something in honour of the coming of the Great Pumpkin on the 31st. Make use of all that spooky movie time and work up that grimm project you’ve been hiding in the closet! Additionally, each wee...