It turns out that 2022 (so far) is full of firsts! First time doing some techniques and constructions, working with certain fibres, etc... I also unwrap a whole lot of new yarn that is destined for baby projects.
01:01 Catch Up
14:17 Eye Candy - unwrapping yarns from Bellemae Yarns and Hand Make Create
37:35 Handy Dandy - Bluebird Baby Vest
43:14 Knit, Tink, Knit, rpt
47:03 Handy Dandy - August Sock KAL
1:00:42 Multicrafty - Simple Quilted Pillow and Aster top
1:12:04 Craft for Thought
1:15:17 Stat Chat
1:18:02 Heart Full of Craft
1:18:50 Thanks!
Transcript
Greetings and welcome to another episode of Bobolog. This is my second episode for 2022. But it's kind of going to be my introduction to 2022 so it kind of feels like the first episode because my previous episode was kind of wrapping things up for the end of last year. So thank you for joining me again here on Bobolog. My name is Bobbie Olan and I am a knitter and crafter in Victoria, Australia. More specifically, I live and create on the lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people and I would like to pay my respects to their Elders, past, present, and future. And I'd also like to pay my respects to all Aboriginal peoples throughout Australia.
So yes. As you can see by all of this stuff, there are, I have a lot of things to show you and get through. But I do want to have a bit of a catch up just on how I started the year I guess. It, you, I am filming this on a, on Sunday, but this video will be going out on Wednesday. So it's the last Sunday in January. And you'll be watching this at the very start of February.
Catch Up
I do have to explain if I seem a bit scattered or lost, I had next to no sleep last night. So I may just be a little bit all over the place. So I apologise for that. And I thank you for bearing with me. So as to how I started off the year. Like I said in the previous episode, I was sort of just madly, madly knitting right up until Christmas, even on Christmas day and a little bit beyond that. And then I felt a little bit burnt out by that. So I gave myself a break just in, a sort of a break. I didn't do any hand knitting, I was only doing machine knitting. So I took a break from hand knitting between Christmas and New Year's Eve. And I was pretty eager to cast on.
But once January hit, I took that opportunity to sort of go through my craft room again, a little bit it. It had just gotten a bit messy because I'd been so focused on making things that I hadn't really paid, I hadn't really put too much effort into putting things away properly. And the room was a bit of a mess. My desk had stuff all over it. This chair, I probably couldn't even sit on it. So I was doing a lot of my knitting downstairs on the couch anyway. But I sort of just wanted to go through everything again and make sure that it was all organised in a way that I was happy with.
So the first time I kind of went through all of my yarn was actually at the start of last year. And prior to that, I'd kind of just, when I had yarn I was putting it into, I think, drawers and a couple of containers, bag type containers that I have. So last year, I actually went through it for the first time. I updated my stash on Ravelry, and I tried to organise it in a way that would make sense for me. And what I did is I had it in a couple of these cases, I had a couple of these big containers that I got from Muji. I really like these. They're kind of a good height. And they hold a lot in there. I'm not sure if you can see the whole thing in the camera, but they're pretty big. So I had two of these. And I had a couple of cardboard boxes that were roughly the same size as well. So I'll just open this up and give you a quick look. So the top of it does unzip most of the way open and there's just this little corner here that doesn't unzip and stays connected.
These bags I think are really great because, I mean, these are, these are the giant balls that come from Bendigo Woollen Mills. They're 200 grams and they're really big, and they're just a bit shorter than the height of this bag. I have another one as well. And last year, I had a, I had sock yarns in here and the height was kind of perfect for them to just be standing up and you'd see the top of it and they fit really comfortably like that. So that yeah, that's where I had sock yarns last year. I, in my reorganising this year, I have them in different bags. So these are the two, the two bags of these that I've got. Let me just close it up.
Okay, where was I? So that bag holds most if not all, not all, but most of my Bendigo Woollen Mills yarn. It is mostly sweater, a couple of sweater quantities that I've got. But as you saw, there was a, there are a few extra bits and pieces there. Leftover yarns that I should probably put into the other bags. But anyway, the other bag I have of that holds more sweater quantities, the rest of my sweater, sweater quantities of yarn. So that is those two.
And now I decided that I didn't like those boxes anymore. They were really annoying to pull out in the open and they just weren't very nice. It felt scrappy, and I love my yarn, I wanted to treat it a bit better than that. So what I have done now is in the last year, I sort of realised that I don't use handbags anymore. Like I mention in pretty much every episode, I get a lot of pains in my arms from knitting. So I do everything I can to minimise that. And part of that is that I don't carry handbags anymore. I'm always using my backpack or crossbody bags, and I don't carry things on my arm. But I still really like the handbags that I've got. And I have four Mimco bags that I've never wanted to get rid of because I still really liked them. But I just don't see myself ever using them again. So I figured when I was going through my yarn this year that they'd be excellent storage for my other yarns.
So I'm just going to pull one off the shelf but I have four of them there. I might do another little series or episode where I do a bit of a stash tour, a bit, let me just grab one off the shelf for you. So this one here is my favourite bag. I love the colour. And this one holds my, it now holds my sock yarns. So this bag I do just have a cloth sitting at the top just to make sure that nothing snags in the zip. But even without that, with the other bags I have that don't have the cloth, I'm very careful when I open and close the bags. And so there is a peek there of my sock yarns. It is mostly fingering but there are a couple of DK yarns in here that I bought specifically for socks. So that's just one of my Mimco bags and maybe eventually I'll take you on a stash tour through all of them.
So yarn was really the main thing that I wanted to go through and reorganise here. But after I did the yarn I went through and organised my fabric stash as well. I don't have that much. But I just wanted, I kind of just shove it all in drawers, I didn't really know what I had. I bought a bunch of stuff for my face masks and then I decided I don't like faking - I don't like making face masks. So I just have all of this fabric and I just wanted to organise it in some way. So I organise that into, what is it? Plain woven. Printed woven. Stretch, or knit, or whatever you call that kind of fabric, jersey. And what's the fourth? I have a fourth one. Oh, and I have, so I've got four drawers in the cupboard there that that's all in now. And one of the drawers has fat quarters, and remnants. So that's my fabric organisation.
And the last thing that I kind of did was just, like I said, my desk was really messy. And I have a writing bureau, just against the wall here that I think one or two of the boxes that I used to have my yarn in were in there, and I kind of just, I had dumped a lot of stuff in there. So I tidied up that and I tidied up my desk. And I'm kind of really happy with how everything is organised now. So that was really satisfying to do.
I'm really, I'm really happy with how I have my yarn stored now. It just feels a little bit more special and looked after. And while, I mean I have, I've seen a few other people's stashes, how they've got them set up, just you know, through seeing people post photos on Instagram or seeing videos on YouTube, other knitting vloggers and whatnot. And I have to say I get, I get a bit jealous seeing how their yarns - that's, jealous isn't quite right - but it's just so pretty to be able to see a shelf and see all of the yarns there and see how much yarn there is and all of the, you know, the different variations and colours. And I kind of wish that I had that setup. And I could totally do that setup.
But at the same time, we do get a couple of moths here. So I want to make sure that my yarn is safe. And aside from moths, I just feel like it gets really dusty really quickly in this room as well. And I don't want my yarn getting all dusty. But maybe one day, I'll have some nice cabinets with glass doors or something like that. Or I'll get those plastic tubs to slot into the shelves that you can see through so that I can see my yarn. But right now I'm pretty happy with it, with how I've got that all set up, I guess. Yeah.
And what happened after that? After that I got stuck into crafting, knitting and sewing. And it's a bit funny. I kind of feel like the knitting frenzy mindset that I was in in the lead up to Christmas didn't really completely go away. I'll talk about it... I'll talk about it now. But when I started this sock project here, I kind of I feel like, I feel like I've, I'm really eager to get to the end of it. And you'll find out why when I talk about those socks soon. But it's kind of a comparison project. So I'm knitting a few different types of socks and knitting socks in a few different ways, using a few different techniques. And I'm really eager to get to the end that so that I can compare all of them side by side. Because I, I've never, it's kind of a new experience for me. So I'm really looking forward to getting to the end of that and seeing how that all works.
Eye Candy
So yeah, I guess I should probably get stuck into proper content. I feel like I've got a lot to get through. But like I said, I'm a bit tired. And I'll probably forget to say things so it may go quicker than I thought. So for Eye Candy. I'm really excited to be unboxing or unwrapping these couple of yarn packages that are here. I actually received them... So my previous episode came out on Wednesday, I think this package came either that day or the day after. And then this one was only a couple of days after that. And I wanted to unwrap them here. So they've just been sitting there and it's I kind of just, I look at them every day and like, 'Oh, maybe I shouldn't wait. Maybe I should just open them and start...' But I think also when I open them, I'm going to be pretty keen to cast on for, for the yarns that are in this package particularly. And I'll explain why when I talk about the various yarns that are in there, but I feel like when I open them, I'll want to start on those projects which will put the sock project on hold. So making myself wait for filming this episode today was kind of a way to let myself, to give myself more time to do that sock project. I'm still excited about it.
Bellemae Yarns
So I am going to get to unwrapping. This first package here is from a store here in Victoria called Bellemae Yarns. I have purchased yarn from them once before. Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was just the one time before. They don't have a physical store that you can go to, or at least the last time I looked, they didn't. The previous time that I bought yarn from them, I bought it online anyway, because they're kind of on the other side of the city. And I just, you know, wasn't up for that long a drive when I knew exactly what I wanted anyway.
So there is this cute little clip there that I can use as a stitch marker. So that's really neat. So just a card there. Probably won't be hanging on to that one. This is, "Dear Bobbie, thank you so much. May 2022 be a crafty one for you. Enjoy." So just a nice little handwritten note there. That's always lovely to receive. This, I'm pretty sure I only bought yarn so this must be a little gift from them. Let's find out. So this is just the invoice, pretty boring. Yeah, just the invoice. So I've got a little tea, lemon and ginger, which just happens to actually be one of my favourite types of tea. So that's Twinings there. I'll pop that over there. And a couple of lollies cute. Very sweet. Ha ha ha.
I'm gonna try not to talk while I'm doing the actual unwrapping because I know that that comes through really loud on the mic. And I do my best to adjust those audio levels when I go through the editing so that it's not super loud for you. So just explaining why I'm just being silent for now.
...Looking confused because I opened this up initially and the yarn that is at the top of the package, I was thinking, 'Hang on, I don't remember buying that type of yarn in those colours.' And then I remembered what it was. So anyway, just going to pull everything out so that I can get rid of this paper bag so I don't actually accidentally rustle it while I'm showing things to you. These yarns are so soft. I'm so excited to work with them.
So they are the Scheepjes brand. I'm probably completely mispronouncing that. I have never worked with it before. But my crochet friend Hannah uses them quite a bit. So yeah, so I trust them because she trusts them. Yes, so these are, all of these yarns are for a couple of different baby items. So I guess I'll start with this one that's in my hand here.
So this is Scheepjes Sweetheart Soft Brush. They've only given the number colourway here and I can't remember what the name is that I bought. But that is going to be the body, the fleece part of a lamb doll that I am going to make. And I actually had that, that lamb toy in an Eye Candy on a previous episode, so I should link to that here. So that is going to pair with, that's gonna pair with this one here. It's a bit pinker, actually, than I had expected. When I was looking online, I wish I, I would have preferred something that was paler and maybe a bit on the creamier side. But I think it'll still be cute, we'll find out. That is going to be the lambs, I think, its' feet, inside of the ears, and face. So hopefully that'll come out really cute, I think they go together. I think the colours go together really well.
Because this, this sort of fluffy one here has sort of, it's got like brow flecks. Or not quite flecks, but it's got brown spots in them that feel a bit pinkish, or at least are on the warm side. So I feel like they're a pretty good match. This one is, it says Crepe underneath the colour number but I don't know if that's actually what the colour is. But let's just say it's Crepe.
This one is Soft Fun. So I think I was hoping as well that Soft Brush and Soft Fun are in the same yarn family so that they would work together well. This one is it says it's super bulky. And it calls for a 5 to 6mm. I assume, it doesn't actually say millimetre. It just says 5 to 6 size needle or hook. And this one, what does it say? This one calls for 3.5 to 4mm. I thought I had checked that when I purchased that they're going to use the same but maybe not. And hopefully, hopefully it'll work. I'm happier to go down a needle size with this I think and just knit a firmer gauge just to make sure it doesn't lose shape and none of the stuffing falls out or any of that kind of stuff. So yeah.
Based on the yardage or the meterage in the pattern, this may just be enough. I've got plenty of this. This may just be enough so I'm going to be playing yarn chicken with that one. And I'm going to be bad and I'm not going to swatch. I think I'm just going to go for it. So that's that one. They're going towards the Baby Lamb by Lorraine Pistorio. Anyway, that's that one.
This one I'm kind of really - I'm excited about everything. I feel like I'm gonna say I'm really excited about it for all of them. But this one, so these two lovely gradient colourways are the Scheepjes Whirl Fine Art so each colourway in this series is named after or, and is based on a, an artist, a famous artist. So this one is... Oh gosh, it doesn't actually say. Oh it does. Pop Art. So this one is Pop Art.
And the brilliant thing about this is it actually pairs with the Scheepjes Merino Soft which is solid colours. And when you're buying these they tell you which Merino Soft colour is the outside of it and which Merino Soft colour is the inside of it. So not all of them have an outside and an inside colour match. So this one in particular, this Pop Art only had a match for the outer colour so I got two extra of that. So you can see that that matches there. And I wonder how they do, I mean, because they can't be dyed together. So I guess it will be interesting to see, to see how, you know, any colour variation works with those. But so two extra balls in the Merino Soft just to make sure that I have enough yardage. I'm just gonna put the little ones down.
And then this, this one here, this lovely blue (love that dark blue in the middle) is called Classis - Classicism. And this one does actually have (turn that right way around), it does actually have a matching inside and an outside colour. So the outside colour is Pissarro. There. And then the inside colour is, I think it's Wood. Yes, it's Wood, which is such a strange name for blue yarn. But it's Wood. And then I have to remind myself, "No, it's not wood as in wood as in a tree. It's the name of an artist." I assume. I'm not, I don't know my art. Let's see. So that should be a match for that inner colour there. And then that outer colour.
So it doesn't look like a lot of yarn it. It doesn't look like that much yarn. But all of this is going towards a blanket, a baby blanket, that - oopsies. Oh my goodness - that, that I have also featured in a previous Eye Candy last year. So I'll link to that as well. But what I'm going to do is, so the blanket that it's going to be is called the Star Illusion Blanket. I haven't done illusion knitting, or I think it's also called shadow knitting before, where it's, it's knits and purls. I guess it's garter but it's done in a way, like the colours are put together in a way so that if you're looking at it front on, you're not supposed to see the image. Or you're not really, it's not meant to be really clear. And then if you look at it from an angle, then, then you see what the image is.
So this pattern is stars just on a background. And so how I'm going to do it is one, on one I'm going to start with the pale... I feel like I'm explaining this really badly. Basically I'm going to reverse the gradients. So the yellow. So the start of the blanket, for example, I'll start the yellow using the pale colour. And I'll start with the blue using the dark colour. And then, you know, as the blanket goes on, they'll reverse and hopefully the, the bit in the middle where the mid brown and the mid blue come together, hopefully there's still enough variation there. So that the, the image doesn't disappear. So we'll see how that goes. But I'm really excited to do that.
I've just realised I haven't said what any of these yarns are made out of. So let me just grab these other ones again so... So the Soft Brush is 100% polyester. The Soft Fun, I will assume it's - oh no, it's not it's actually not the same. So that one is 60% cotton and 40% acrylic. Baby friendly, all baby friendly. The Merino Soft and the Whirl Fine Art (it's so soft) should be the same because they're, they're presented as matching. So this is a 50% superwash merino wool 25% microfibre 25% acrylic. And Whirl Fine Art, yeah, it's exactly the same.
So the thing, part of the reason that I picked this particular yarn, so the Scheepjes, Scheepjes Whirl, they have a few different Whirl varieties. I think one, one is either cotton or acrylic. I want to say cotton but I'm not 100% sure of that. There's another one that is, I think it's 100% wool. And then this one. This one I want to, like I wanted wool. So this one has the 50% merino. But because it's for a baby, I wanted some other fibres in there to give it - I know merino is soft, but you know, just to make it a bit more baby friendly. And I have never heard of yarn that uses microfibre. So I was really intrigued by that and I'm I'm pretty keen to start working with that one there. So I wish you could feel it's it just feels so soft.
I'm a bit delirious.
Yes. So I'm really looking forward to working with that one and looking at these beautiful gradient cakes, I'm a bit jealous that it's not for me. But I have so much other yarns that are going to become things for me so I shouldn't complain about that. So I'm just going to pop these down with such beautiful colours as well.
Hand Make Create
Okay, oh, I was gonna say what's next, but I haven't even opened this other guy. So this one is from Hand Make Create (dropping things) which is, pretty sure they're in Queensland. I have ordered from them before as well. I ordered all of my Lykke needles last year from there. So this is - whoopsies. So I got another magnet. The magnet that I got for them in my previous order, I'm pretty sure it was a different colour. I'm pretty sure it was a light blue.
"Dear Bobbie, thanks so much again for your order. Happy creating with your gorgeous selection. And thanks again. Tash." Oh, that's nice. I don't have an account with their store but obviously, I'm in their register somewhere and Tash saw that I'd ordered from them previously. So that's nice. I'll just open this up in silence again.
Okay, so in my previous episode, I showed a scarf that I had machine knit in, I believe it was an extra fine merino yarn in a fingering weight. And that is for my my sister's fiance. And I had bought a DK weight yarn for her and after making his in fingering first - I bought DK weight yarn for a scarf for her - and after making his in fingering, I realised that a DK weight was going to be way too big for what she wanted.
So I went online shopping again and I found this yarn here which is Blue Monday Yarn. And I was really excited because she had originally asked me for cashmere, but all the cashmere that I could find is just way too expensive and the scarf would have been like $300 worth of yarn. I just thought that was a bit extreme. So I bought her another yarn in alpaca. And then this one here does have cashmere content and it was affordable. So it is 70% baby alpaca, 20% cashmere and 10% silk and again it is just lovely. I've got three skeins here. I hope that colour comes through. It's, how would you, it's kind of like a pale minty colour and it's kind of heathered. It is - I'll just read this off of the label. "Each skein is dyed with plant based dyes and no two skeins are exactly the same."
So yeah, I, this is going to be my first time working with naturally dyed yarn, which I'm really excited about. First time working with cashmere, which I'm also really excited about. I'm just excited about everything to do with knitting. I may, just before I do the machine knit scarf, I may just make up a little swatch for myself just so that I can feel it in my hands and work with it in my hands. Before I just run it all through the machine because it's so gorgeous and it feels like such shame to not be able to handle it that way. So yeah, this colour is called meadow. It is a bit lighter, I think than what I had expected. And I did send my sister a photo, the product photo of the yarn and she, she liked it. So I hope she also doesn't think that it's too light but I think it's lovely. So hope she likes it. Pop that there with the others.
And then be because I kind of wanted to make up just that little bit extra cost so that I get free shipping, because it wasn't much, I bought this gorgeous fingering weight skein as well which is 'em-yak.' 'My yak?' My - I think it's mYak.
So I had, I had heard of this yarn company on a couple of different other vlogs, other knitting vlogs, and I've never worked with yak before. So there's a lot of firsts with me with all of this yarn, which is really fun. So this is 50% Baby yak 50% silk. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it yet. But I figured I'd try it. Since, you know, I wanted to make up the cost of the shopping cart. And ever since I've heard of this yarn, I've sort of been I've been interested in working with it.
So, "mYak was born of more than 20 years living and working with the nomadic herders of the Tibetan Plateau." Yeah, so, "Ethically sourced. 100% traceable. We purchase our wools directly from nomadic Tibetan herders... spun in the finest mills and foothills of the Italian Alps. Our yarns do not undergo any deep pigmentation process." And that colour on it is just gorgeous. So I'm going to have to find something to do with that. It's only 116m and the colourway is Sav, Savitri, and it's actually a light fingering. So yeah, this one's going to be for me. So I guess that comes to the end of the yarns and the end of the Eye Candy for this episode and I've got a lovely little pile there of all my yarn.
Handy Dandy
So on to Handy Dandy.
Bluebird Baby Vest
The first thing that I want to talk about is this cute little baby vest here. So this is called the Bluebird Baby Vest. It is a free pattern by D 'Lease', D 'Lice' - L I S E. I'm not sure of the pronunciation of that. So this sweater, it's, it's done in a construction that I hadn't really done before. So it's, it's a raglan, it's a sleeveless raglan and you, you pick up the back neck and you, you work back and forth for a while working your increases to get that raglan shaping. And then once you've worked enough so that you're at the bottom of the V here, you join to work in the round. You do that for a couple of rows and then you bind off the armholes. You bind on a few more stitches to close the armholes. And then you just work in the round for the rest of it.
So that that was really fun for me to explore that new construction. So the pattern itself is designed for one strand of aran weight yarn. It's the Caron Cakes yarn, which I actually have a cake of in my stash and I think that's how I found this pattern because I was looking for things that I can knit with it. But when I decided to knit this, I decided that colour wasn't really appropriate for the baby that this is intended for. So I went stash diving and I didn't have any aran weight yarns but I discovered this. So, so this actually uses two different yarns. One is a navy blue solid, which is a DK weight merino and the other one is an acrylic mohair yarn.
So the the merino, which is 4 Seasons Superwash Merino, I got it from Spotlight which is one which is one of our big box craft stores here in Australia. That's, that, I think, I'm pretty sure it's discontinued. So 4 Seasons is still around and they're still doing other yarns. And there's another one I'm actually, I've actually got my eye on. So, but I bought a lot of this Superwash Merino a long time ago and I've made a few different projects with it. So that merino yarn I've actually held double. So I've got two strands of merino and one strand of the mohair to make this.
So it's, again, more firsts for me. It's the first time I've worked with yarn held tripled. It's the first time I've done that type of construction. And it is the first time I have done marled knitting. So, and I love it. It's lovely. I can't wait to do more. I want to find more reasons to do it. It's so pretty.
But the thing is, because I'm holding two strands of DK weight together, it is a bit denser than I had, than I would have liked. But I couldn't be bothered recalculating all of the numbers because it was working out in a way so that if I got if I got gauge, I couldn't just knit a different size to get the right size that I want. It just wasn't going to work out that way. So I knit it to the three month old size. I think the pattern calls for 17 stitches in 10cm and I got 16. So I figured it's not that much. It's not that big a deal if I want to, if it's, you know, going to be a bit bigger. That just means it's more likely hopefully that the baby's going to be able to wear it.
But I did do a swatch and I threw it in the washing machine because, you know, superwash yarn. The mohair isn't superwash. So I just wanted to make sure that that would work being chucked in a sewing machine and it, it was totally fine. The merino - the mohair didn't pull in or felt or I don't know what it could have done. But it didn't do anything harmful and in fact the fabric came out pretty nice and, and, and loose and, and drapey. So this one here, when I blocked it I didn't put it in the washing machine. I just blocked it as I normally do. I soaked it rolled it up in a towel up onto blocking mats and it hasn't, it's, it's like, it's, it's stretchy. It's not as stiff as it was before I blocked it. But I think it will, it should definitely loosen up a bit more when - if it gets chucked in the washing machine. So I'll mention that to my friend when I give this to her.
Let's see. I think it is also the first time that I have done a rolled hem. So obviously that's just Stockinette stitch and it does its own thing. So yeah, that's the Bluebird Baby Vest.
Knit, Tink, Knit, rpt
And the last thing that I will say about this is I used this project as the sort of test project for a new series that I put out so the first video actually went online this morning, Sunday, which may be a few days ago if you're watching when this video comes out on Wednesday. So that video series is called Knit, Tink, Knit, repeat. Which is a bit of a mouthful to say. But I feel like every single project that I do, I always have to do some tinking back. I, like nothing is ever perfect. Nothing is ever right the first time. There's always some error or something that's gone wrong, that I have to rip out and re-knit. So, which is why I've called it that name and I, I think it's kind of fun.
But funnily enough, this here didn't need any tinking. So the first episode of Knit, Tink, Knit, repeat is just knit. But I'm sure every other video will have tinking. This, this is also a smaller project than probably everything else that is going to go on that channel. So sorry, on that, on that playlist.
So the idea, the main idea for that playlist is that I want to show my knitting from start to finish for a particular project. So the very start of that, I give some notes on the patterns, I show you know all of the things that I do to prepare and set up. And then it goes into a time lapse of me just knitting the thing. And you know, I'm not going to dress up and try to make myself look how - I don't know. Just to be sitting on the couch and knitting every day, it's just too much effort. So I just set up the time lapse camera and I plonk down on the couch and I go and my hair is messy and it's, you know, the lighting's like, goes all over the place. But it's meant to be sort of just a natural - this is, this is what my knitting experience actually looks like. So I hope that you find that enjoyable.
It's kind of my, my sort of tagline for it is that it's slow knitting at high speed. I want to call it slow TV. There's no talking, there's no music, it's just sort of ambience and I just want it to sort of be something that can be something that you can have running in the background if you just want company while you're knitting. That type of video. But I feel like I can't call it slow TV, because it's a time lapse. It's completely sped up.
So yes, that one took me about six and a half hours to knit and the video is just over half an hour. So if I'm knitting a sweater for myself, I think that's going to have to be multiple episodes. Otherwise the video is going to be 10 times as long. I think my average for an adult sized sweater is 60 hours. And that was six. So yes the next one that I will probably put up on that playlist is going to be the baby items that I make of these yarns that I've received. I'm not sure if I'll film both of them yet. Not every project that I'm going to do will be on that playlist. I'm just going to select specific ones. But I think I do want to put both of those on but we'll see how that goes. So yeah, so that's I guess that's all that I have to say for the Bluebird Baby, Baby Vest.
August Sock KAL
Moving on the next item that I have been working on is called the August Sock knitalong. Which is called that because Roxanne Richardson (who put it together and has her own YouTube channel. And it's fantastic. I think she's great), she put this pattern out as a knitalong in August of 2019 I believe. So the pattern. It's one of those ones where it's, it's a recipe. It's more like a little book, a little booklet, really. It talks about, like, traditional sort of, like how...
I'm tired and I'm, like, losing my words.
But sock construction. That's what I'm trying to say. It talks about basic sock construction. And then how, but, the different issues that people have and the different things that you can do to, to make a sock that actually fits you. So, when it comes to socks, I pretty much just follow the pattern. The one time that I tried to insert my own heel I used to know that I've never used before. It was a disaster. The sock came out way too long and I never tried to do that again. So this one it's it's really interesting, because she it's not only measurements and basically adjustments you should do. It's, you know, these are a few different heels you can try these are a few different toes you can try it.
So I've tried I've come up with five versions that I want to do. And these are the three that I have done so far. I'm still working on the second sock for this third one here. So they're all slightly different. These I should also say are for my partner, they're not for me, so I'm not - I probably should have done it for myself so that I could try them on as I go. But I kind of want to finish all five and then give them to him all at once and be like, "Alright, you've got to like tell me what you like, what you don't like and what fits good, and what doesn't work." And he'll probably just be like, "Yeah, they're all good." So we'll see.
I've got my little notebook here where I note down all of my project details, so I'm just having a look. So version one, I use your normal heel stitch doing a heel flap and gusset with a modified Dutch heel turn which I had never done before, and a, which, which is the standard, and I'm pretty pleased. So this self striping yarn -
I should say the yarn is by Wendy and it's called Happy. It's actually a discontinued yarn, unfortunately, because I'm really enjoying working with it. So all of the yarns that I'm presenting on projects that I've worked on are discontinued, which is a bit of a shame. But it is bamboo. It's bamboo, nylon, and I was concerned that it wouldn't have enough stretch. But it's actually, it's actually really good. It stretches, like it's got a lot of give to it. Look at how much. That's the stockinette stitch there.
And, I did one sock up to the foot. So I - all of the socks are cuff down - so I did the cuff. I did the leg, very short because it's ankle. I did the heel and then the gusset and then when I was up to the foot, I felt like I had enough of a sense of what the sequence was in the yarn for the stripes. So I cast on the next one and worked to the same point and I am so, I'm so pleased. They came out, like, pretty much spot on matching, which is really exciting.
So yes, so that's the other thing that I'm trying with this one is that I'm trying different cast ons for each sock so, because I figured, you know, why not? Every sock is done as differently as it can be. I'll try different stretchy cast ons to actually see what I like best for doing socks. So this one is in my trusty notebook. This one is the German Twisted cast on which is what I normally do for my socks.
So what else do I want to say about this one? I don't want to go into too much detail yet. I might do a more in depth look once all of the socks are done. So that is the first one there.
This colourway is called Taurus. So this, this yarn, they had colourways in all of the different astrology signs. I got this from a local yarn store here in Victoria. And I just, they didn't have all of them. And I kind of just picked the colours that I like. I wasn't paying attention to what the colourways were called. So they've been in my stash for quite a while. And I quite like them. Like I said, it's a shame that they're discontinued. Yeah, so that's that.
My partner has really tall heel. I was actually thinking that when I first started going through the PDF for the August Sock KAL and doing all of the measurements, I was, I thought that maybe my partner would have a pretty standard foot because I've made him a few different socks in the past and he always said that they all fit really well and he's never mentioned any fit issues before so I thought, I didn't think I'd have much to do but I just wanted to know. So it was really interesting to find out that he had quite a few, a few things that are sort of different from the standard. So he has a tall heel and his foot is, is knit at a bigger circumference than his ankle. So I'm really hoping that, that he can feel the difference when he starts wearing these socks. So yes, so this one is the Taurus colourway.
These are also my first vanilla socks. More firsts for me. Yay. Yeah. The other thing I should mention is I only have one set of the correct size sock blocker for him which is why this one here and this one here look a bit loose there. And that's because these, this up here is taking up the correct size sock blocker and these are on the smaller size.
So this second one that I'm holding here, the colourway isn't actually part of that astrology series. This one is called Zebra. And it's really, I found it really interesting working this up to see how the pattern came out. So you can see that in this leg that here it's really more striped. You get kind of this sense of this sort of slanting. I don't know how you describe that. You get a bit of a sense of, like, this slanting grays in there but it's it's really kind of striped. And then once we get down to the leg, it really is giving you more of that zebra effect. I think this one here is showing more. The, I guess the only thing about these colourways, and while I think it looks really cool, it does bother me a little bit that they've come out so differently. I mean, they're still obviously matching socks. But they've just, they've just worked out with quite different patterns. And I wish they were the same but I'm still really pleased with them.
This one is, I believe, the Etonian cast on let me check. Yep, so this one has used the Estonian cost on. It's the Eye of Pa-Partridge heel flap. A round... do do do do-do... Yep, just a round heel turn. And then this one has a round toe. So if you can see there, I'm not really sure if you can tell but it's worked like, like, like a beanie, like the top of the hat, where the decreases are evenly spaced out and not just along one or two sides, I should say. Not quite like that. So hopefully that, that fits him, that fits him well and I can keep doing that type of toe.
Was there something else that I wanted to say about this one? Oh, yes, that's right. So I, with this one I tried another technique that Roxane Richardson has a video for. It's not part of this sock pattern. But it's a video on improving, or it's a technique on improving the transition between, uh, from ribbing to stockinette. So you can't actually tell, you can't actually see it. This one, unfortunately - it uses knit one below - but you can't tell. So I'm going to have to try it in one of the other socks. So yes, I did try. So in that video she presents two different ways of getting a better transition and one uses the knit below and the other one use a slip stitches, which I used here and I feel like you can see it better. But I'm not sure if that's going to come up on camera. I can see how there's just a marked, a really marked change where the ribbing stops. Stop and it starts.
Yeah, so with the second sock, I've only done the cuff. Hopefully the stripes match up just as well. Let's see, what else? Short row heels. I've never done short row heel before. And it's German Short Rows. It's a bit, like, holey. I don't know if that's just, I wasn't pulling taut, pulling it tight enough when I was working the stitches but I thought that I was. I think it looks all right, but I am concerned that this style isn't going to fit him as well as the heel flap and gusset. And it does use the wedge toe. But I've done side by side decreases and I have also (just pull it off so that you can see), I've also made it shaped. And obviously the other sock, the shape will go in the other direction. So the toes, it'll be like that. So yeah again, it'll just be interesting to see if that makes any difference to how comfortable they are, how well they fit and how well they hold up.
So yes, did I say that colourway is zebra and this colourway is Gemini? And that is all of the items that I have for this. So like I said there are five different variations of the socks that I want to do. So I think I have enough that version four can be done in the remainder of the Taurus colourway and using zebra for the heel and maybe the toe if there's not enough. And then the fifth one will hopefully be able to use the remainder of this Gemini colourway and again, if it needs some extra yarn, having the zebra as the contrast heel and possibly toe. So we'll see how that goes. And hopefully I do have enough yarn because I just feel like if I'm wanting to compare, it's best to compare when they're all made using the same same yarn. So we'll see how that goes. And that brings us to the end of Handy Dandy.
Multicrafty
So as per the previous episode, I will continue talking about things but move away from knitting. So this year, I've been not only really motivated to knit. Like I said, it feels like a bit of a race to get to the end of this project. I've been so eager to just, like, get to the end so I can see the results and do a comparison. I have also been a lot more motivated to do other crafts which I'm really excited about. And I don't know how much that is because of this new segment in this video, which I came up with to sort of try and push myself and give myself a reason to do crafts other than knitting. Because I want to do them but I give all of my time to knitting. So I thought if I had this segment, it would push me to do that and maybe that's actually working.
Simple Quilted Pillow
So at Christmas one of my aunt's gave one of my cousin's a quilt, and then another cousin of mine asked that aunt if she can teach her how to make a quilt. And I heard about it, and I was sort of just like, "Yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna muscle in on that too." And then most of the family got COVID from Christmas and that meet up was cancelled and we've kind of just been chatting in our own little group on Facebook Messenger.
But I got really excited about it. I never thought that I would really actually get into quilting, because I don't enjoy sewing that much. I like having that skill. But I just don't, it's, I just don't find it as enjoyable. I love the finished item, but the process of it just, it's not as fun for me as knitting is. So I was really surprised at how eager I was to try quilting. So when that got cancelled, I just went online and I found a free, really simple looking tutorial to make a small item.
So it is the Simple Quilted Pillow tutorial and it's on the blog, Diary of a Quilter. The link will be in the description below. The links for everything I've talked about will be in the description below. So I was able to make it using one fat quarter and some linen scraps that I have in my fabric stash. So I didn't follow the sizes of, you know, what size to cut every piece to in the tutorial. I kind of, because the, the linen scraps that I had, I'd already cut some of them. I'd cut some of the remnants into whatever size square that I could get out of that. So I was kind of using that as like, "Well okay, all of my squares will just have to be this size and the cushion cover will come out whatever size it comes out as and if I need to add another row more than what the tutorial says then I will just have to do that."
And I came up with this.
So I do like it. It's very badly done. It's very poorly made. But I was, again it was that kind of situation where I was just so excited to do it that I was kind of like racing through and just excited about, like, putting everything together. And you can see that lines don't match up. And, like, look, like looking at the finished one I, when I was first put all of the fabrics together and I was like, "Oh yeah, they look really good together." But then I finished it and I was looking at it and I'm like, "I wish it was more colourful. Why did I make it so neutral?" But yeah, I mean, it's still pretty. I'm still pleased with it.
But I mean, I was doing so much on the cheap that I didn't try wadding for it. I cut up an old towel to use as the wadding so that's what's making up the middle of the sandwich of this pillowcase. And then it was just so badly done. Like this, this binding on the edge here. So a lot of it is just empty. And it's huge because I wanted it to be even around all of the sides and some of the sides I just I cut so close to the edge that I had no space to be, like, to put a binding.
I feel, again, I feel like I'm explaining this badly. It's also because I just don't really know what I'm talking about when it comes to quilting. But you can see for example, that this triangle here isn't full size just because of the way that I sort of messed up laying things out. And some thing's got, had to get trimmed too much for things to work. And then I had some extra squares so I made a strip (that's filthy), I made strip to add to part of the back of it. Again, so poorly done that the binding didn't even cover the edge, the two edges of that strip and I had to very sloppily, like, hand sew that in so that it wasn't, like, a hole and that it wouldn't completely fray. But I mean, for a first attempt I'm pleased. So that is my new cover.
Aster
And then the other quick (maybe not so quick. I'll try and be quick), the other multicrafty project I want to talk about is my other sewing project that's just just sitting in the background down here. So this first garment that you can see is - I should say this is the Aster - A S T E R - pattern from Seamwork. So Seamwork is a membership site. And once you're a member you get, you have credits. You get credits that you can put towards patterns. So this one is is the Aster top.
So this first one here is the first muslin that I made. I guess I can't really call it a muslin because it's not made out of muslin fabric. I don't really know how that works, but this is just done in some calico. And this is all in one size. So this is in, I think I made this first attempt in size 16. And you can see how scrappy it is. And I used a thread that would stand out just so that I could see everything really clearly. And it actually came out too big and there are a few other things as well, like the sleeves are too long for my taste. This calico is also thicker and stiffer than the type of fabric that the pattern calls for. So it's not as drapey as it should be. Which I'm sure contributed to me not liking the sleeves.
So when I did, when I did the second version I, I did - so first of all, I brought this first one to work. And at lunchtime, I went into a meeting room with one of my work colleagues, Meg, she's an excellent sew-er and she does a lot of sewing and she's, she's just brilliant. And I tried this on for her and, and you know, we talked it through and she gave me some bits of advice. So with this second one here, it fits much better. What does it do? I think it does something like the bottom half of it is still size 16 but the top half of it is size 14. And that fits, fit me so much better. I did make this a couple of years ago. And I have lost weight since then. But I didn't want to make another one. So I'm making the final version just in this size. And if it's a bit loose then I don't see a problem with having an oversized top.
But yes, so this next version fit me a lot better. And this is made using embroidery fabric actually. But I figure once I've got the final one done, I don't need to keep these anymore and if I ever need to cut up this fabric and reuse it for whatever project I can do that so I don't see this as waste.
But I do want to try now - if I ever make these muslins, or I will - when I make muslins for other patterns, I'll try to use cheap fabrics of course but fabrics that I possibly could still actually wear if they come out right so that it doesn't feel like actual waste. So yeah, so it's got this nice little pleat detail in the back here. And it's got some bias binding around the neckline. And I just, I like, I like the shape and the look of this top. So now that I have shown you the two toiles let me pull out - so I am hoping that by the next episode I will actually be able to wear this top but I just keep procrastinating on doing it because, like I said, I've been so excited about all of the knitting that I've, that I've got on. So I haven't been giving this as much time as I thought that I would. But that is it there.
So this fabric is actually destash fabric from the same Meg who helped me with the pattern. And I've said before I'm not really into pinks, but I think that's quite pretty and I hope it looks good on me. It's working out pretty well considering I don't remember anything from when I first made it.
But the other great thing about some of the Seamwork patterns is they have sewalongs online. So they kind of go through step by step and give tips on how to do every single step of it and take you through it. It's not just, here's the pattern, go, like, and then basic instructions to make it. It actually goes through in quite a bit of detail how to make it properly so yeah. That's the Aster top. Yeah, I will be excited to get that one done. So what is next?
Craft for Thought
I don't know how much I'll have to say about this for Craft for Thought but I kind of just wanted to talk a bit about how how excited I've been this year to be crafting and to be knitting. Last year was a really difficult year for me and my mojo - or knitjo, whatever you want to call it - was just all over the place. I feel like it just, it just wasn't around very much. So to come into this year, and to just be so hungry for doing everything has been really exciting and really fun. It may also be contributing to why I am not sleeping very well which isn't great.
But at the same time I just, like, sometimes I just lie in bed and... So I spend all my time knitting and I'm not doing all of these other projects that I want to do because I'm just so in love with knitting. And there's nothing wrong with that, of course. And I get into bed and I'm trying to sleep and I'm just like, "Okay, so this other thing that I want to make, I've got to do this and then I've got to do this. I've got to cut the fabric in this way and then once I've cut it the next step is to do this, and then it's this, and then it's that, and then I'll have to buy this for it, and do I have the materials to do this?" And I, like, plan out every step and I'm just lying there in bed thinking about all of these other projects. I'm sure that if I actually gave time to them, then I wouldn't have to be doing that and I'd sleep but I still kind of stay away from anything. So I mean, I'm obviously been better about doing other crafts but I still have to work on that balance.
So yeah, it, like I said, it's been really exciting to find that I have been really motivated this year. I know it's only been a month but I just I feel like I just haven't had this level. Like, clearly I love knitting. Clearly I love making. I have always loved crafting, but... I just don't want to be doing anything else. And that's not to say that sometimes, you know, I sit down and I'm like, "I just can't be bothered." Or, "I'm too tired today. Or, "I just don't feel like doing that." That still definitely happens. But overall, like generally speaking, I just want to make all the things. And I don't know where that's coming from. Maybe... I'm gonna, I'm gonna say it's from doing this, this vlog because I'm excited to have things to talk about and have things to share with everyone.
Yeah, I just want to make all the things. I want to knit all the things. I don't want to sew all the things, but there are lots of things that I want to sew. I guess I really didn't have that much to say that I thought, that I thought that I would. But I guess, but I don't - it is what it is and you don't really need to look any deeper than that.
Stat Chat
So I guess we'll just jump straight into Stat Chat. So looking at non personal knitting things I want to do. The things that keep me up at night.
There are about four knitting patterns or stitch pattern ideas that I've had that I want to try designing or test out. I want to I want to try designing a couple of garments and I want to test out a couple of stitch ideas, stitch pattern ideas that I've just come up with. And I'm including that as non non personal knitting because they're not, it's just a different category. It's more about me designing and trying things out than me actually coming up with, like, a finished thing. So four of those.
There are a couple of other sewing projects that, a few, few other sewing projects that I want to do that are not garments. So there's a couple of project bags that I want to try making that I've sort of had the idea for that are a bit different to what is, what you've seen out there. And then I also want to make myself some nice needle wallets for my circular needles and for my interchangeable needles. So that's another four ideas there.
And then I have had two product ideas. Kind of one. They're just two variations of the same type of thing. I don't want to go into too much detail about them now because I kind of want to try them out. And then if I get a prototype that I can show you then if it works. But I've had a couple of other project ideas that I want to try doing.
And then - I think that's it actually. So four design / stitch pattern ideas. Four little sewing project bag, needle case ideas. And two product ideas that are still related to knitting. So that's ten non personal knitting ideas that I just have to give some time to try. So much I want to do. So yeah.
So it's - I don't know if you can tell, but it's really hot up in this room. It's been really warm and, like, I've been doing all of my knitting downstairs on the couch because this room just gets really hot. So I'm kind of glad to be getting to the end of this and wrapping things up, to be honest.
Heart Full of Craft
So that brings us to Heart Full of Craft, and I feel like I said it already. Like I said I'm tired. I guess I didn't plan this out as well as I thought that I had. So this is basically, basically going to be the same as Craft for Thought and that's just me saying that I am really grateful that my mojo has come back. And hopefully it sticks around because it's been so much fun. Yeah, I guess that's all I have to say about that. I blathered on about it enough. So yeah, that's, that's it.
Hopefully I'll have another finished sock and will have started on one of those baby items when we, when I come back to you in another two weeks.
Thanks!
So thank you for joining me for another episode of me rambling on, not even knowing what I'm talking about half the time. So I really appreciate you coming along for the ride. Like I have mentioned, if you want to, if you want more information or links to any of the things that I have talked, talked about, any patterns or yarn stores or yarns, everything is linked in the YouTube description below.
And included in those links is a link to my website for Platypus Knitting, which is, I'm still figuring out exactly how that works. But this year, I'm trying to put up a transcript instead of writing a whole blog post talking about everything that I've just talked about. So shownotes for Knit, Tink, Knit, repeat and transcripts for Bobolog on that Platypus Knitting website that is also linked below.
This, this episode, maybe it was fine, but because I'm tired, I feel like it was such a mess. But if you like it, and I hope that you do, then please give me a thumbs up. I'd also love to hear from you if you think, if you have any feedback or just, you know, what are you working on? What you're, if you're like me, and I'm sure like every other knitter in the world, that if knitting isn't your only craft, like, what else do you like to do and how many different types of crafts are you juggling? Mention that in the comments below. I'd love to hear from you.
And if you haven't already done so it would be great if you could subscribe to my channel as well and turn on your notifications so that you you hear every time another video comes out. So this series, this Bobolog vlog, I'm going to try to stick to my schedule. But Knit, Tink, Knit, repeat - because that's project based, it's just going to be completely random. So if you want to be notified when those appear please subscribe and turn on those notifications.
You can also find me on Instagram @PlatypusKnitting. On Ravelry I'm under my own name, which is Bobbie Olan. And again links for those are in the description down below. And that is, that's all I have to say for this episode.
Thanks so much for joining me. Yeah. Fare thee well.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Resources
Mentions
Refining the Transition from Ribbing to Stockinette by Roxanne Richardson
Simple Quilted Pillow Tutorial from Nadra of Ellis & Higgs, on Diary of a Quilter
Aster by Seamwork
Patterns (on Ravelry)
Baby Lamb by Lorraine Pistorio
Star Illusion Blanket by Katie Ahlquist
Bluebird Baby Vest by D. Lise
August Sock KAL by Roxanne Richardson
Yarns (from my LYS, or on Ravelry)
Scheepjes - Sweetheart Soft Brush, Soft Fun, Whirl Fine Art and Merino Soft (visit Bellemae Yarns above)
4 Seasons Superwash Merino
Lincraft Winter Warmth
Wendy Happy
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