Purloined: Holiday Knitting Q&A

Happy Wednesday!

Normally, I reserve Wednesdays for a possible WIP Wednesday post (but, honestly, how often do I do that?!)....but today, I'm purloining from Nothing But Knit (again). Last weekend, she posted a Holiday Knitting Q&A and I'm stealing it for my own :)


So, today's questions:

1. Have you ever made holiday decorations for your home? What have you made? Do you have a tradition of making something every year?

2. Did you craft for the holidays when you were a child? Do you have a memory of something you made?

3. Do you gift items that you make? Do you surprise the recipient or do they request something? How do you judge their worthiness? Have you ever regretted gifting to someone?

4. Have you seen a crafty project you'd like to make but haven't?



And my answers.......

1. Have I ever made holiday decorations for my home? Not as such...I mean, I've made things and they have been used around the house (dishcloths mostly) but I've not specifically made holiday decorations for the house. So I don't have traditions of making something every year because I've not specifically made anything. I keep thinking I should start though...

2. Did I craft for the holidays when I was a child and do I have a memory of something I've made? I can "remember" that things were made in daycare and elementary school, some of which have survived four moves (including our cross-country one to California). I don't know that I remember making anything specific but when I see something I made as a child, I can tell you about when it was made, what my age was/grade I was in, whether it was made at school or daycare, etc.

3. Do I gift items that I make? Do I surprise the recipient or do they request something? How do I judge their worthiness? Have I ever regretted gifting to someone? I do make things for other people at the holidays, mostly for children. Both Little Man and Stormageddon have received toys that I've made. Little Man got his giraffe the for our Christmas in California (right after he turned 2 years old - he's now 8 years old). Stormageddon got his bunny for Christmas in 2015 (just after he turned a year old). In addition to that, all the nieces and nephews have received toys. Husband's two nieces that live in the DC area have toys (one has a hippo - she picked the pattern when she was about 4 years old; the other has an elephant, which I picked for her). Husband's two nieces and nephew that live in Wisconsin all got their toys last year: the older niece got a bunny, the younger niece got an elephant, and the nephew got a whale. This year, my niece is getting an elephant. Apparently I like elephants. Aside from that, my best friend back home has gotten a couple of things...a hat, mittens, and fingerless mitts set. Her two kids each received a hat and mittens that year. Children are worthy, regardless. They're children. As far as regret......I don't know if regret is the right word. I don't regret giving anyone anything but I wish it had been used or used by the actual recipient. I made a shawl for someone years ago and she never got a chance to even wear it. Her daughter and niece commandeered it and used it for so many things....it's actually falling apart from the use. I love that it was used and loved but I wish she had been the one to use and love it, if that makes any sense. With all that said, there are some people that I will not knit for, for whatever reason, even if they ask me politely.

4. Have I seen a crafty project that I'd like to make but haven't? Of course. I have plans in my head to knit a stocking each for Little Man, Stormageddon, and Husband...and maybe myself. Have I actually done it? No. Have I even started searching out yarns? No. But I have plans, of course. I've also seen an advent garland with socks or mittens that I'd like to make. I would have to make two, of course...because two children. Maybe next fall, when I have both children in school (different schools but I'll have more time because I won't be running the auction...). I'm sure there are other things I've seen but those are the ones coming to mind right now.




Soooooo, how about you? Leave me a comment, write your own post and link in the comments!

Purloined: Knitting Q&A

This week, I'm purloining from Karen of Nothing But Knit (again).

With another Rhinebeck in the books, I thought I could get away with this Q&A since it's about fiber festivals :)

• Have you attended a fiber festival? What did you think? Were you overwhelmed or in your element? If you’ve never been do you want to attend a fiber festival?

I have attended two different fiber festivals, but both have been attended multiple times. I've been to the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival, which is usually held in September in Jefferson, Wisconsin. I've also been to Lambtown, which is usually held in October in Dixon, California. The first one I went to was Wisconsin Sheep & Wool because we were still living in Wisconsin. I was pregnant with Little Man, so this was eight years ago, and I was not a spinner. While I found plenty of yarn, it was more focused on spinning and weaving....and I may or may not have come home with my first drop spindle that weekend. And my wheel came just five months later. I wasn't overwhelmed at all and I learned so much just by wandering the marketplace. I also took a class on sock knitting at that first event. Lambtown isn't all that different but I think because I'm further along with spinning, I'm more attuned to what I'm getting into. I've bought fleeces at Lambtown whereas I never did that in Wisconsin. Of course, since we moved to California, getting things home from Wisconsin Sheep & Wool requires shipping or packing a suitcase.....which I can do but I don't know how well the TSA would like finding a full fleece in my suitcase. Of course, they've probably seen stranger things.

• What is your favorite part of a festival? Do you enjoy the items available for purchase, the animals or are you all about hanging with other crafters?

I think when I first started going to fiber festivals, my favorite thing was the marketplace. Now, don't get me wrong: I still love the marketplace. I think my favorite thing now is just spending time talking to the people, petting the fleeces, and just being present in the moment. Oh, and I like going to pet sheep. 

• If you’ve attended more than one festival (you lucky crafter) which is your favorite and why? If you haven’t attended one, which one would you most like to attend?

I've only really attended the two mentioned above. I'd like to get to Rhinebeck someday or maybe Maryland Sheep & Wool...as long as they exist, and I'm able to get there, I'll go :)

• I’ve been seeing lots of ads for crafty travel. Basically it’s a trip centered around a craft like knitting. You travel to a place and become a craft-centered tourist. There are also cruises where instructors teach classes on the ship. Have you seen these ads? Do you think you’d like to travel in a craft centered way? Would you like to visit wool mills in Ireland, Scotland or New Zealand? Would you want to take a cruise with your favorite designer?

I already like cruising so I'd be totally okay with a knitting cruise....but I have to be able to afford it first. I also would love to go to someplace like Ireland or Iceland on a fibery tour. Or anywhere, really. I like my fibery things. 

So....what's next for me? Good question. Right now, I'm just doing my thing when I can do my thing and calling it good :) 

Purloined: Knitting Q & A

Happy Tuesday! This week, I purloined from Karen. She posted her Knitting Q & A on Saturday. I didn't actually get to read it until yesterday but that's another story.

Anyway, I decided to do the Knitting Q & A (and feel free to do it yourself, leave your blog post or your answers in the comments!).

• You’re given a magic yarn bag that will supply one skein at a time as needed. You reach inside and pull out a skein. What is this yarn? Be specific or not.
• When you enter a yarn store how do you work the space? Does it vary if it’s your regular store or a new to you store?
• Have you ever knit or crocheted something that you swore you never would? What was it? Why did you never want to make it and why did you?
• What is your next project going to be? Do you have a planned queue or do you make whatever strikes your fancy at the moment?

So, I've been given a magic yarn bag that will supply one skein at a time, as needed. I reach inside and pull out.........I honestly don't know. I'm one of those people that tends to have more than one project going at a time so a bag that just gives me one skein, presumably for one project, at a time....I just don't think that's going to work out too well for me. But, it's probably sock yarn. Maybe a DK weight. Probably merino.....but that Cormo sport weight I picked up from Sincere Sheep at Vogue Knitting Live is a dream (having knit using the worsted weight version)......hmmmm......

When I enter a yarn store, how do I work the space? Does it vary if it's my regular store or a new-to-me store? I suppose it depends on how the space is set up. My shop back home in Wisconsin had a buy & sell area in the basement (which I frequented far more often than I should have....but I got a lot of great yarn down there), but the upstairs was sectioned out by yarn weights (mostly) and I frequented the sock yarns and the worsted weight yarns first. My shop here in California (that has been closed for at least a year and a half now) had yarn along the perimeter with the desk/checkout area and knitting area in the middle and I would usually just start at one end and work my way around the room. I tend to dig in new shops. The first time I was at the now-nearest LYS (since mine closed), I sat on the floor, digging through shelves because I was trying desperately to find a match to a skein of KPPPM...and their computer said it was there but, alas, it was not. I'm pretty sure they thought I was crazy, which isn't exactly a lie, but it was fine. 

Have I ever knit or crocheted something that I swore I never would? What was it? Why did you never want to make it and why did you? This is a very loaded question. I always said I'd never make a cowl. And then I discovered the long, loopy scarves. Some people call them infinity scarves or infinity cowls but to me, that implies that there's a twist in there somewhere. I don't need the twist, just the long loop. That works really well for me. I don't like things around my neck in a tight manner, and a lot of cowls are like that. If I can control the tightness by having it long and loopy, I'm okay with them. I still don't have a lot of them, though. I did try to make a regular cowl and it's too tight for me to wear. It also itches me. I might have to sell that one. I also said I wasn't a shawl person and, most of the time, I'm not....but I still have a few that I've made and I do wear them. So, there's that. 

What is my next project going to be? Do I have a planned queue or do I make whatever strikes my fancy at the moment? I have a few projects that I want to make, that I have the yarn for, and are "ready," so to speak (see my Year of Projects posts). I use my Ravelry Queue and my Ravelry Stash Page to my advantage because, honestly, I can't always remember what I have in stash and what I want to make. It also allows me to add notes and kind of combine everything. So, for example, I know that I have the Forest Cardigan by Holly Priestly in my queue. I also know that I have some Baah Shasta in a bright London Blue and some Neighborhood Fiber Co. in a Charles Centre grey that will work well for it. I've noted it in both the stash pages and I think I put a note somewhere about the cardigan. Maybe. I have enough yarn to knit the largest size, which is probably what I'll want when I get there. Of course, that implies that I'm going to get there, which is a whole other matter. So, I have a planned queue (again, see my Year of Projects posts) but, really, things just strike me whenever and I decide to act. It's how I ended up with a Clapotis in my WIPs. I like having a personal, smaller queue because it allows me to focus a little better but I also like the ambiguity of knitting whatever the hell I want. 

Hope you're having a lovely Tuesday! I might be back later this week but that implies that not only do I get my ends woven in on my FrankenSocks or the little cup cozy I made at Vogue Knitting Live, it also means things get washed and photographed and so on. 

And then she laughed and laughed....