You are creative - even when following a pattern

I don't think we say this enough. I hear so many people dismiss their own creativity, every day, on the grounds that they are just following a pattern. And yet it's totally untrue.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

As a knitter (or crocheter, or crafter) you are inherently creative. It's what you do. In fact you probably do it without even thinking about it.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Yes, you might be following a pattern but your choices of colour, yarn, needles etc are all coming together to create something totally unique, something created by you. Something that wouldn't exist if it weren't for you.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

You take sticks and string, wave your hands around a lot (OK, a real lot) and actually produce something that wasn't there before.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

And if that isn't the definition of creativity then I don't know what is.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Please share this with someone else who needs to hear this today.

Where did a year go?

How on earth is it August already?

But leaving that aside I was amazed, reading through some old journals to realise that it's been a year since I decided to move away from the old Everyday Knitter Facebook group and set up a new community on the Mighty Networks platform.

The old Facebook group feels like a whole world away now and I can't ever imagine going back to Facebook groups again.

In fact, if I didn't need to maintain an account in order to have any kind of business presence I'd delete my FB in a heartbeat. I hate that I can't do that, but at least I can minimise my presence there as much as possible.

If you haven't had a look at our Everyday Knitter community on Mighty Networks I'd really urge you to give us a try. It takes a bit of getting used to, as does any new platform but it is a refreshingly different and advert/algorithm free place to be.

And we have a new KAL starting today - for the Pattern Please Shawl - just in case you needed an incentive. You can find all the KAL information on my previous blog post.

And if you’d like to check out the group, please just tap on the link below.

Soulmates - knitting and coffee

Some things just go together, like cheese and wine, or bacon and eggs and for me knitting and coffee is one of those non negotiable pairings. Sitting down with a freshly brewed cup of coffee and some relaxing knitting is just the perfect thing. And one without the other just isn’t the same.

A recent bout of ill health has meant that I’ve been forced to re-evaluate this valuable part of my routine and I think it’s fair to say that I’ve struggled to enjoy my knitting in quite the same way without my hot cup of coffee by my side. Other hot beverages are indeed available - and believe me I’ve tried them all. But it’s just not the same, and my knitting mojo is definitely flagging as a result.

I think it’s partly because I view both of them as synonymous with ‘me time’. When my kids were very small, sitting down with a hot coffee (and the actual time to drink it) was a rare luxury. But I could often grab 5 minutes to knit while they were toddling around. Unlike a hot coffee, they couldn’t do much damage to my knitting, short of knocking it off the coffee table or trying to eat it - and I always tended to use small wooden circulars when they were around to minimise damage (either to them or the knitting).

Over time, my routines evolved and the boys activities moved on to more active pursuits where supervision at a distance was all that was required. For quite a few years, I was the connoisseur of soft-play centres and would put up with any amount of ear-splitting screeching for an (almost) uninterrupted hour of coffee and knitting.

Now, I find myself with a lot more knitting time (and a very bad social media habit which threatens to encroach on knitting more than I care to admit). But it has to be accompanied by something with low acidity and caffeine free. I know that on the scale of first-world problems this is probably up there with Waitrose running out of strawberries, but the lack of coffee has really affected how much I’m knitting, which is never good.

So far rooibos is probably my favourite tummy-friendly beverage but if you have any tried and tested recommendations I’d love to know. Anything to get me enjoying hot drinks again would be gratefully appreciated.

A Summer KAL

The Pattern Please Shawl - small version

I wanted to let you know about a relaxed, no hassle KAL that I’m running over on the Everyday Knitter Mighty Networks community. If you are a member of the group, the pattern is being made available free to you for the duration of the KAL so do pop over there to get the code. And if you haven’t joined us yet, please do consider checking us out - here.

If you would rather knit-along in your own way there is a 50% discount code as well - see below for details.

About The PPS

It stands for Pattern Please Shawl - a slightly cheeky reference to the eternal ‘pattern please’ requests that pop up perennially in Facebook groups. The PPS is an elongated kite shape, that is fun to knit but does take a little more yarn than the average ‘one skein’ project.

Where can I get the pattern?

Go to the link below and use the code PPSSUMMERKAL, this will allow you to download the pattern for a 50% discount (until 31 August 2021)

https://payhip.com/b/DY5j

When does the KAL run?

It will start on Monday 2 August and run until 20 September 2021

Yarn requirements (uses 4ply/sock weight yarn)

Small version: 70" long and 12" wide/deep (pictured above)

• 60g main colour plus 5 x 10g contrast colours (CC1-CC5) - 50g contrast in total

Large version: 90” long and 18” wide/deep (pictured below)

• 2 x 100g skeins 4ply/sock weight yarn

Stashbusting

With 60g of main colour and 50g contrast colour (for the small version) this is the perfect project for making use of mini-skeins if you have any to hand, or using up odds and ends for the stripes. 

How to keep track of repeats in your knitting using bulb pins

It’s no secret that I love these little bulb pins. They are endlessly useful - so much so that I wrote a blog post about them a while ago - read here.

But did you know that you can make use of them as a motivational aid?

Here's a quick tip for keeping track of pattern repeats.

1. Create a chain a bulb pins corresponding to the number of repeats

2. Every time you finish a repeat, remove a pin

3. For added bonus points, clip it to your knitting to mark the repeat

4. When you run out of pins, you've completed all the repeats

Simples! There’s something very satisfying about working your way through the little links - a kind of countdown marker to completion.

This also works for keeping track of increases/decreases or any time you want to make a note of how many times you do a particular thing. I sometimes use it if I need to do a lot of rows or rounds and I don't want to stop to keep counting. I just mark them off every 5 rounds - or whatever is easy to count at a glance.

If you have a favourite use for these little beauties please do let me know.

Oh - and as an aside. I found out today that an alternative name for them is Calabash pins - named after the distinctive gourd. Every day is a school day!

Knitters (and writers) block

Slipstravaganza blanket in progress

Knitters block - it's a real thing.

All during my recent holiday and Instagram break I have barely knitted a thing. A factor which in part I think contributed to my extended Instagram break.

After all, it's hard to keep posting photos of your knitting - or indeed, writing about it- when there is in fact nothing new to show. And I'm sure you'll soon get tired of photos of Blossom - no matter how photogenic she seems to think she is.

Anyway, getting back into the swing of things here seems to have boosted my knitting mojo a little. It's early days, and I don't want to stare it in the face and scare it off, but I think my mojo is creeping back.

I did a few rounds on my #Slipstravaganza blanket last night and it felt good to be knitting again.

I know I've said it before but I really love this woolly yarn - it's a 'proper' wool - if you know what I mean. It has that slightly rustic, slightly crunchy feel to it but is still very soft to the touch and creates the most beautiful fabric.

There is still a lot of knitting still to go on this blanket so I'm just trying to do a few rounds a day - baby steps - and to keep my knitting mojo boosted by the regular application of snacks and good coffee.