Category Archives: waffling

Dec30

2023 in review

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And here we are at the end of 2023. It’s been quite an eventful year, mostly in a good way. I just recorded my end of year vlog which is uploading to my YouTube channel, Stitches and Slapdashery, as we speak!

I took the time to look back at the blog posts I’ve written this year, the project pages I’ve set up in Ravelry, and the content I’ve uploaded to YouTube. The events that stand out most for me this year are

March trip to Jersey to see the family – My mum turned 90 and I flew over for a week for the birthday party.

Launching my YouTube channel in June – Stitches and Slapdashery has been a lot of fun, with a total of 16 vlogs, 31 Vlogtobers and 25 Vlogmasses, plus a couple of extra bonus videos.

Quitting my job of 9 years in August and commemorating it with a serious buzzcut – it was time for a change.

November saw my niece having her first child – always a good reason to make stuff and I sent her a box of handmade things.

Our annual anniversary retreat in December – this time we went to Victoria on Vancouver Island for a week, stayed in an Airbnb condo on Fisgard Street, close to vegan restaurants and lots of other interesting places. And then shortly afterwards, my husband’s throat cancer diagnosis, for which he is scheduled to start treatment in January.

According to WordPress, this is my 2081st blog post. Wow!! Activity here has declined a little, as my focus has moved more to YouTube, but I have at least been aiming to do a roundup post once a month.

I think 2023 has been the year of the garment. I realised that I had made so many accessories (instant gratification) and blankets (stashbusters) over the years that, rather than make more of the same, I could divert that energy into clothing.

Sewing

Sewing has definitely taken up more of my crafting time this year, which is evident from my reduced project count on Ravelry! I’ve made baby clothes, fleece hoodies and sweaters, a coat, project bags, quilts, backpacks, zipper pouches, tank tops, T shirts, harem pants and overalls. About 100 items all told.

Knitting

Not as prolific with the needles, I finished a sweater, a machine-knitted cardigan, fingerless mitts and a beanie/cowl set.

Crochet

Some amigurumi (including an Edna Mode doll I was particularly proud of), dishcloths, baby items, accessories, and two cardigans and a sweater.

A total of about 27 yarny items for the year.

Works in Progress

What am I taking into 2024? The Festoon Shawl by DoraDoes is an ongoing crochet project made with sock yarn and a 4.5mm hook, so it’s slow going and not my favourite thing to work on.

I have a cross stitch project, where I traced a seahorse out of a colouring book and I’m making up the colour scheme as I go. Another thing that may take a while.

And I am in the middle of a stashbusting granny square….thing….which was going to be pants (trousers) but really really doesn’t look good or wearable, so there will probably be some unpicking involved so that I can rethink the final product.

2024

The main focus for the first few months of 2024 will be my husband’s health as he goes through cancer treatment. His diagnosis has meant I’ve rethought my plan to look for a new job in January. Instead I am going to take the time to plan and sew for a summer craft market. This will involve coming up with a better logo and business card design for Stitches and Slapdashery to tie everything together, and sew-in labels for the products I make.

I want to decide on a project that I can work on every day of R’s treatment, a bit like a temperature blanket idea, as it’ll be 7 weeks of almost daily appointments and then another couple of months until we know the outcome.

And I also want to make myself a Serene sling bag from Yoan Sewing Studio’s YouTube channel, so that’s probably going to be my first project of 2024.

Thank you for being here and reading my blog. I’d love to hear from you, so feel free to leave a comment. Do let me know if you’re watching the vlog too. Have a very happy, healthy New Year.

Aug2

Cheating…

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Sorry, dear blog, but I’ve been cheating on you. Since I started up my YouTube channel, Stitches and Slapdashery, I’ve not had time for you.

But I’m going to trawl through the pictures on my phone and see if we can update things a bit.

Baby blanket with Järbo Cookie
Sporto sweater WIP with Scheepjes Truly Scrumptious
Baby clothes
Bags with vinyl bases
Needle book
Dip-dyed apron
Snap top bag

There have been other things but I talked about them on video instead. Do come over and visit! https://youtube.com/@stitchesandslapdashery

By the way, the snap bag in the last pic was made using my own tutorial right here on the blog. https://nicolaknits.com/2022/07/19/bag-sewing-tutorial-the-caroline-bag/

Jan20

Happy Friday!

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It’s a gloriously sunny day today. The last couple of days of sunshine have been very welcome after the fog and cloud of the previous couple of weeks.

Work was quiet today and I got to leave early so I unexpectedly have a free afternoon.

So, how should I spend it? I guess I could add to the Elevation cardigan which has a sleeve and a bit left to do.

I think that each time I change to a new colour I have to get used to it and get over the thought, “Does this work or does it look terrible?!” So I don’t always want to crochet on it.

I could go for a walk in the sunshine. My logical brain is saying that’s what I SHOULD do.

I could go downstairs and play with fabric.

Or lift some weights.

Before I make a decision, I’ll show you what I made with the coffee-themed fabric from the stash.

Each bag has two coasters, a bag of coffee beans and a bar of chocolate inside. I had to fussy cut the fabric just right so didn’t bother looking up a tutorial. I’ve made a lot of bags like this before.

Looking forward to a fun weekend. We are going to a hockey game for the first time in years. And friends are coming for a potluck on Sunday. Hope your weekend is awesome!

Dec4

Advents and Anniversaries

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Day 2 of my yarn Advent
Day 1 of our anniversary retreat

It may be well below freezing but we have a cosy suite out in the boonies with a pellet stove, a hot tub and a sauna. It has a view of mountains, fields and even a couple of horses. Oh, and the owner’s husky now and then.

Day 3 of yarn Advent

We have lots of food but still ventured out in the car this morning to the nearest town. Our accommodation is in a cellphone deadzone and Mr Fixit needs to check his work phone every now and then.

We also popped into the local Buy Low and picked up coffee and a caffeine-free coffee sub.

Last night I made a good start on a small crochet project which I expect to finish today. I’ll get some photos later and post them. And then I’ll start on the bigger project that I’m planning with one of my sweater quantities of yarn. Of course, I brought six 200 gram skeins of yarn with me. Even though we’re only away for a week!

Dec2

It’s December!

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I love this month of the year. Short hours of daylight, long nights cosied up in layers of yarn or fleece, pretty snow scenes. Ok, the icy roads can dampen the enthusiasm a teeny bit but not too much.

Advent bag of holding

The 1st caught me out a bit. At the end of the day I had to ask Mr Fixit to stuff balls of yarn in bags for me so I could do a yarn Advent again. It’s just yarn this year, no beads or other treats, but it will still be fun to open a bag every day.

And thanks to son #3 we have a Lego Advent calendar too.

Mr Fixit and I opened the first two doors because we’re going to be out of town for our annual anniversary retreat for the next week. The sons can enjoy opening the little doors and building the mini models while we’re gone.

We’re celebrating 35 years of marriage on the 10th! And no chance of parole!!

Nov29

Productivity boost – level up!

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Productivity boost – level up!

I know what you’re going to say. I said bowl cosies and I weren’t friends. However I gave it another shot. The largest one I made as before with two layers of batting but was careful to top stitch far enough in from the edge that my stitches looked better.

Then I made two more, going an inch smaller each time. Turns out one layer of batting is fine and so much easier to sew. Sewing all the darts from the edge to the fold gives a better result. And less bulk means easier turning out through the gap and easier top stitching.

These shorts are made from a remnant of fleece-backed knit that was cheap because the backing has some flaws. Super quick and easy. McCall’s 7061.

Another fun fleece onesie. These are easy to sew EXCEPT the zipper gives me grief every time. Even when it seems to go well, like on this version, there’s a glitch (the pocket doesn’t line up perfectly). McCall’s M7518.

This apron is made in an XL from a fun sewing print that I picked up a long time ago. McCall’s 5284.

And this one is from the same pattern, size small. Very cute.

And finally this one in a Small.

It feels good to be making usable wearable things from the stash. Especially when we’re having subzero temperatures and snow. Best feeling ever to be warm indoors, sewing machine running, and looking out at the cold cold day!

Nov22

Happy mail!

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(Edited to remove my address)

I trudged tiredly up the stairs after work today, wiped out from a day of constant action. And then suddenly I was animated by the sight of these two large parcels from Wool Warehouse.

Yay! My order arrived. It took 3 weeks to get here but the important thing is that it came before December 1st.

So what was in the parcels? Ten balls of Wendy Husky in the Peak colourway. 100 grams, 100% acrylic, super chunky, and enough to make a sweater.

Eight balls of Scheepjes Truly Scrumptious, an aran weight yarn, soft and squishy, 100 gram balls, 50% acrylic, 50% recycled plastic bottles. The colour is Spirulina Bites, which was a huge gamble, because I was trying to get out of my comfort zone and was worried it was going to be too bright a green. But so far, bearing in mind I haven’t seen it in daylight, I love it.

In addition, I bought two balls each of the same yarn in Açai Bowl and Honeycomb Crunch. I asked Mr Fixit for his input in colour choices and I think we nailed it. So those will become another sweater.

A Scheepjes Softfun colour pack – this is the Rich one – which contains 12 x 20g balls of cotton/acrylic yarn.

And a Rainbow one.

A Snoopy fat quarter bundle. Nuff said!

And finally, some safety eyes in two sizes (6mm and 9mm) for future crochet fun.

Thanks to a generous gift from my friends, this lot only cost me £25! Because apparently I was unable to stay within the budget.

A great day for boosting the stash!

Oct29

Shades of grey

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Shades of grey

I’ve been working on two grey projects this week.

One is the Sporto sweater which I’m knitting with clearance yarn from work. I’ve completed the body section from the armholes to the waist, which incorporates a few decreases at centre back, unusually. https://www.ravelry.com/projects/NicolaKnits/sporto

And now I am to knit a few more inches, increasing back up to my original stitch count, but at a faster rate. This WIP was put on hold for a week while I crocheted a little side project.

The other grey project is this:

Meet my new rat friend. The pattern is free on Ravelry. It’s called Peachy the Rat. I’ll link you to my project page over there so you can see my note about a small error in the pattern, in case you decide to make it. https://www.ravelry.com/projects/NicolaKnits/peachy-the-rat

The tail gave me some grief. Crocheting tiny circumferences is hard! I managed to get past round 4 on my third attempt.

Fall proper has arrived in our neck of the woods. After weeks of warm days, cool nights, sunshine and zero rain, we are now enjoying a bit of wet and windy weather. The thermostat is up indoors, the beanies and scarves and mitts are starting to see some use, and today…………the flannel sheets were put on the bed and the mega granny blanket has been added on top.

Love it!

Sep24

I love fall!

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I love fall!

Reasons to love autumn/fall:

Not so bloody hot.

Nights are cool.

Evenings are drawing in.

Socks and sweaters.

Friends can come over and not die of heat exhaustion.

Rain (hopefully).

Long walks outdoors without burning up.

Fleece pajamas.

I could go on. I think September might be my favourite month.

I’ve made a few things in the last week. Some have been for work. I brought home a preprinted cotton  panel and sewed up these trick or treat bags. After I hung them up at work, the fabric sold in a flash.

Today I sewed these stockings from another panel and will take them to the store tomorrow for display.

The sewing pattern I mentioned last time has now been transformed into this:

It looks a bit disproportionate because it’s on a decorative mannequin which is way smaller than I am. But this one will return to me for keepsies once it’s hung at the store for a month.

From the pile of yarn I showed you in my last post, I made these:

A beanie of my own design and a teeny elephant  https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/amigurumi-elephant-25

To accompany these little gifts all the way over the Atlantic I cross-stitched another elephant and glued it to a card.

And from a <ahem> yarn purchase at work because it went on clearance, I have started crocheting dishcloths with a scrubby centre like the ones I made a while back. They are great in the kitchen.

I hope you too are enjoying the season you’re in and finding ways to get out of your head and into your hands, as Kate from The Last Homely House says!

Sep12

Hats!

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Since getting back from holiday, there hasn’t been a huge amount of crafty activity. I did enjoy a day of blitzing my sewing room which I love to do periodically. It reminds me of what I have in the way of fabric and yarn. It makes me look critically at things I’ve hung on to for months or even years and so by the end of the day I had tossed a lot of stuff in the recycling or trash or thrift store pile.

I went through the fabric and yarn, rearranged things more logically, vacuumed into the corners, and now the room is ready for a new project.

The beanie above was made with a 10mm hook and three strands of the same Lion Brand Mandala Ombre that I used for the shawl. I made it up as I went along. I’ve made a tonne of hats in my time and the bill/peak was just a case of experimenting with what looked right.

When I was at work yesterday, business was a little slow in the pm, and my brain turned to things that could go on display. I checked with the boss and she was OK with me crocheting a beanie with store yarn.

Today being a day off, I had some quality sofa time and I had this made in an hour and a half.

It’s crocheted with a bulky chenille yarn and an 8mm hook and the pattern off the ball band.

Next up will be a sewing project. I have the pattern and flannelette fabric ready to make a knee length robe. The fabric is so cute.

The contrast is a solid blue. It’s still drying at the moment.

I just pulled out my Knit Picks Brava oddments from last year.

I’m wondering about some sort of scrap project or perhaps some amigurumi. You may notice my new knitting mug – it says “If I can’t take my knitting, I’m not going!” And the black blocky thing is my new Anker Bluetooth speaker. I wanted one for my phone but had no idea which one to get so took the recommendation of my eldest son who also has one.

I’m currently playing some awesome 80s music via YouTube music (free, so I have to put up with the ads)!

So that, plus work, is the last two weeks. Oh yeah, and I had a very fun meal out with friends for a belated birthday celebration.