adventures in blogging

Adventures in dyeing

Posted on October 28, 2013October 28, 2013 by bekswhoknits

I am counting the weekends down to when we move, but I am not putting my life on hold.
It is so frustrating to make things in a small space when you know there’s a craft room bigger than your lounge room just around the corner. But I can’t not make things.

So, inspired by Jesse, (aka oocha and wee pleasures) I dyed some yarn.

And it was so much fun.

I have researched dyeing methods before and wrote it off as something to do once I had more space and equipment. But the chalk legs tutorial that Jesse pointed to is by far the easiest. As I had purchased some Moda Vera Pure Wool in anticipation of dyeing at some point I was able to do everything with materials I already had.

I didn’t follow the instructions very well the first time, and added ALL THE COLOUR at once. Which once I figured out my mistake I immediately took it out and then plunged the wool into cold water. And then I realised my second mistake, pure wool doesn’t appreciate sudden changes in temperature. Fortunately not too much damage was done. It felted slightly but it still ran through my ball winder ok.

All of the dying was done using McCormick food colouring. It comes with a handy colour mixing chart on the back and so I mixed the right amount of drops together in a spoon and then plunged the spoon into the water (or dye bath as it is known!)

It’s all really basic and really a lot of fun. And if the colours all look really hideous together please don’t tell me. They all look rather fetching to my slightly colour-blind eyes.

I did try to be inspired by something, but I don’t think food colouring dye charts are sophisticated enough to capture the Adelaide Crows complex palette.

And of course once it was dry I had to wind it straight away and start using it. Even if I have a billion things still on my needles.

And yes I’m totally counting this as a new craft! That takes the total for this year up to 4!

be back soon!

Posted on September 16, 2013 by bekswhoknits

I’m currently on a blog hiatus.
I don’t have enough spoons to do everything I need to do at the moment so I will be back once I do.
(For those who have never read the spoon theory, it is a really good way of explaining chronic pain, or in my case living with depression)

It’s really difficult to say even a temporary goodbye to all my lovely blogging friends, but rest assured that I will return.
“So let us not say goodbye, but as the french say, au-revoir”

xx
beks

ps. if you’re new, please feel welcome and get to know me anyway.

make your own report card

Posted on August 24, 2013August 24, 2013 by bekswhoknits

Watching Television – A+
Falling asleep watching television and not knowing where I got up to the next day – A
Getting my Bloglovin unread items to zero every day – C
Dyeing my regrowth in a timely manner – D
Brushing my teeth every day – C
Taking my contacts out at night (when I wear them) – F
Thinking before I speak – C+
Being able to find a pen when I need one – F
Being able to find scissors when I need them – C
Checking my phone the second it does something – A
Unsubscribing from email lists I don’t care about – C-
Waking up on time on a work day – C
Waking up ridiculously early on the weekend – B+
Leaving half drunk cups of tea all over the house – A++
Complaining about half drunk cups of tea all over the house – A
Counting to 5 – A
Counting 5 repeats of a pattern – C
Counting in 5s when casting on 100 stitched – C-
Counting to 5 laps of a swimming pool – D-
Painting my nails and not touching them til they’re dry – B-
Complaining my feet are cold – A
Putting socks on to walk around on tiles – D
Snuggling up in a blanket – A++

If any one needed more proof that knitters are the most awesome people

Posted on August 23, 2013August 23, 2013 by bekswhoknits

I present exhibit A

I received this little guy in the mail this week from the oh-so-wonderful Keri (who writes whendidibecomeaknitter)

As well as sending her something I was the third to comment on her post.

So I am now the proud owner of a knitted dalek, some Keri handspun!!!!, a Canada mug and Canada coin purse.

I have been dreaming about what to make from the handspun (which I confess I have fondled inappropriately).
Or I could just leave it on display to be fondled and admired.

Thank you Keri!!!!
xx

Pay it Forward presents!!!

Posted on July 19, 2013July 22, 2013 by bekswhoknits

When I posted the Pay It Forward challenge a year or so ago I thought it would be easy.
Make something for the first three people to comment on a post. Bonus because only 2 people commented.

What I underestimated was just how difficult finding the right pattern and yarn was going to be.
The two people who commented Keri and Caitlyn are two of my knitting idols.
They were two of the first knitting blogs I followed and introduced me to ravelry, patterns, yarns, and turned me from someone who had just learnt to knit, into a knitter.

The more I thought about how much I admired these two ladies, the more daunted I was to knit for them.

So I procrastinated. And procrastinated some more.
Until it struck me, in the middle of the night I scrambled to check the rules of the pay it forward post.
I didn’t specify it had to be knitted, just hand made. Hurrah!

After that the idea came quickly. Embroidered cushions.

Then I thought about cushions being expensive and difficult to post.
So I thought about glueing some embroidery to a canvas.
I was onto a winner!
Then it was a matter of finding the right quotes.

Keri is the one who ~~held a gun to my head~~ gently persuaded me to finally watch Buffy. So I felt a Buffy quote would be quite apt.

Caitlyn had the domain 25dancer for a reason – she’s a dancer.
And late one night I was watching Black Books with commentary and found a great quote.

And so the plan was complete.

And some behind the scenes shots.

And just so no one thinks I’m making these quotes up.

**** it was only finding evidence of both quote I’ve realised I’ve misquoted both of them!!!! Whoops!!!! And I’ve waited until the recipients have received it to put up this post so it’s well and truly past the point of correction.
Eep!
Consider my hand well and truly slapped!
Note to self – always double check before stitching

FO#15 – Frankie’s 10 Stitch Blanket

Posted on June 24, 2013June 24, 2013 by bekswhoknits

Ive finished my 10 stitch blanket. I know I was saying a couple of weeks ago it will probably take me a few more years to finish but it’s done.

The secret? Make it smaller.

Now this isn’t just pure laziness. The idea came to me when I was cold at the office. I am always cold. I do have a heater, but I don’t like using it all the time. So I was using a cardigan as a lap blanket and my wheely chair kept running over the sleeves. I started thinking about patterns and what I could quickly whip up when I remembered my 10 stitch blanket was just about big enough.

I worked on that steadily over the weekend and finished it. Just in time too. The circular needle broke with about 15 rows to go.

I also made a video about it. Particularly how I do the corners. It’s a bit different to how the pattern says but I think it’s easier. Special thanks has to go to HeWhoFishes for being a lighting and camera man. I couldn’t have got the close up shots of my hands without him. Also as a non-knitter he said he understood what I was doing, so I think I did an alright job of explaining myself.

Making a tutorial was one of the goals I set myself for 2013, but I never imagined I would film a video.

To finish off the blanket I added a simple crochet edge.
I’m really pleased with it. But I don’t think I’ll be making another one soon. And certainly not one in sock yarn!

Stuck In My Head – Portishead (+barely contained rage)

Posted on June 19, 2013 by bekswhoknits

This week has been pretty shitty and I’m going to talk about it.
These are my ineloquent views, so please don’t think for a second that I’m saying that these should be your views or are your views. I have been called an extremist, feminist, and an atheist sometimes all in the same sentence and I am happy with those labels.

Reading the news has left me tired, sad, and undervalued as a member of society.
As a lady in a committed relationship, who doesn’t want children, and who knits I couldn’t help but feel sorry for another lady in a committed relationship, who doesn’t want children, and who knits, and who also happens to be Prime Minister of Australia.
I have always believed I was fortunate enough to live in a time where I could choose my own destiny.
Without having a husband I own property, I have a credit card, I have a degree, and I can vote. Yet I have shockjocks on the radio saying that there are people that might assume my partner is homosexual – as though there is something wrong with that.
As though there is something wrong with the way I choose to live my life.

I am strong enough now to not care about opinions of people who don’t matter to me. However I do care that while this is in the media, people in the lunchrooms and in the pubs feel entitled to criticize and comment on my life choices. Whether they’re doing that intentionally or not, when they’re talking about a lady in a committed relationship, who isn’t married, doesn’t want kids (I believe deliberately barren is the phrase), and who knits, they may think they’re talking about the PM but they are also talking about me. This week the world has told me that I am not a “real woman” because I don’t see marriage or children in my future.

In the same week, we’ve seen a high profile domestic abuse case. I was prepared to hear victim blaming opinions from the people in the lunchrooms and in the pubs but I was seriously shocked when this was the only live discussion I’ve heard (I’m excluding online as I have a lovely online bubble where no one would even consider this comment). The comment was about how bad she looked without wearing makeup, and how she is pretty on tv, but not on the cover of a newspaper.
SHE WAS JUST ABUSED! Seriously, her appearance is so low on the available topics regarding domestic abuse it doesn’t even warrant a mention. And yet it’s the only conversation I’ve heard about the whole thing. This week the world has told me that even if I’ve just been strangled in public, I am still obliged to meet a beauty standard.

It would be easy for me to untwist my knickers* and retreat back into my own sheltered world where every person is equal, everyone can choose how they want to live their life, and as long as it’s safe and consensual no choice is better than any other.
But I just can’t do that at the moment. And I don’t just want to talk. There are ways to contribute. There is gofundme.com where you can donate straight to real people and causes. (I’m sure at some point we will see news reports about scams, but I feel the risk is justified.) I recently donated to help cover the living expenses of a sex worker who needed money to be able to prosecute her rapist. There is a getup campaign to steer the conversation away from personal attacks and to the very real consequences of being born a woman.

I don’t usually talk about these things on my blog. But when it came to choose this weeks song, I couldn’t think for all the opinions and thoughts in my head.
If it seems glib to be talking about domestic violence, and then music in the one post please excuse me but I’m starting to think instead of talking about these difficult issues in hushed tones, they should be open and everyday conversations.
I want my niece, and every other young lady out there to find a world where they’re not financially worse off as soon as they come out of the womb, be it through tampons being taxed as a luxury item, not being paid for equal work, and not having adequate superannuation. I want my niece to be able to go to work and be asked “if she wants to get married and have children”, not asked “when” as though it’s a foregone conclusion that because she is female she must have a husband and babies to be complete.
I want my niece to choose her own path in life, whatever that may be. And I want society to accept that choice.
Maybe I’m dreaming of a perfect world, but the only ways that I can think to achieve change is to talk about it and give my time and money.

How can any song possible make its way through all of this clutter? Well there was really only one choice.
In many ways it’s not relevant to this conversation, but it’s the song which is giving me the strength to write these thoughts instead of leaving it solely to the proper writers who explain themselves more eloquently than I do. See articles here, here, and here.

http://open.spotify.com/local/Portishead/Dummy/Glory+Box/308

*Is “got your knickers in a twist” a common colloquialism outside of Australia? If not I know it to mean get worked up about something you have no control over.

Late to the podcast party

Posted on May 28, 2013May 28, 2013 by bekswhoknits

I’ve just discovered that I can listen to podcasts at work! Well rather, I’ve discovered Stitcher which means I don’t have to plug my phone into my computer.
This technology has apparently been around for a while because I’ve lost a bit of geek cred thinking this was a new concept.

Pod With No Name is the reason I discovered this ‘new’ technology. The fabulous @sebsharp has been plugging this podcast for ages and for good reason. It was an entertaining half hour of Australian accents and hilarity.

After that I thought about what to listen to next. So I typed in Doctor Who.
I checked out a few different podcasts, giving them a 2 minute chance to impress, but only listened to Doctor Who: Radio Free Skaro all the way through.
I liked the way it felt like I was hanging out with people who talked the way I did and loved doctor who the same way I do.
In real life I only have one person who I can chat with about all things who and that’s my little brother. Who is very awesome but it’s nice to have more than one opinion on things.

(On a side note I am superduper excited to be seeing Doctor Who at the cinema on Saturday night!!!!)

So then I thought I’d see what popped up when I typed in knitting.
There is a heap of knitting podcasts which again I gave the 2 minute test to.
I listened to Jane and Jen knit funny, which was quite entertaining.

And then I found Electric Sheep.
If you haven’t listened to her podcast before I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I have listened to all the back catalogue that stitcher will allow. She has a wicked sense of humour and I have snorted my tea once or twice whilst listening.

I have messaged my boyfriend about a pub next to a yarn store that we need to go when we’re in Europe next year from her recommendation.
I’ve been inspired to make infused gin again. (I have made lavender infused gin before but I don’t think I posted about it, nevertheless it was delicious.)
I have now made a cardigan which she spoke about which was going to be today’s blog post, but I’ve blabbed on about podcasts for long enough already.

My partner got home from work while I was sitting on the couch listening to her Christmas Panto and I was laughing so hard he thought I was broken or drunk or both.

So if you have never listened to a podcast before, or have never listened to Electric Sheep, both have the Beks Stamp of Approval.

Everything is almost right with the world

Posted on May 24, 2013May 24, 2013 by bekswhoknits

I have now completely my first ever provisional cast on.

I’m not sure it should have taken me 45 minutes and involved scissors, swearing, and cider.

So I have the toe of the sock completed and I’ve learnt something.
If you’re going to try a new technique don’t start with fingering weight.

So I’ve now starting on the foot part of the sock and immediately I feel calmer.
Like there was a something missing before.
This sock was chosen as my Team Bee mascot project. I am loving the pattern. It has one tricky row, and the rest is straight forward, I’ve finished one repeat and have got it down pat.

I am loving this yarn. It’s from yarn vs zombies and it is a dream to work with. It’s flying quickly through my fingers and I have to stop myself from pressing it against my face.

I’m no sure I’m loving the two together though.
I think the pattern is getting lost in the colours.
So I’m not sure what to do.
Do I start again with another yarn?
Do I give the provisional cast on another try?
Do I keep going and wait and see if I fall in love with the complete sock?

So everything is right with the world because I have socks on my needle, but I can’t shake this feeling that it’s not quite the right socks.

#4KCBWDAY7 – Looking Forward

Posted on April 28, 2013 by bekswhoknits

So where do I want to be in a year?

I want to have completed my 13 in 2013 project.
I want to learn more crochet and how crochet instructions work.
I want to have finished a jumper or cardigan.
I want to get better at cables.
I want to finally figure out what this pattern is!

I find about things I don’t know how to do mostly when I browse new patterns and it uses a new technique.

So I’ll be interested to see what I’ve learnt in a year and what I’ve made. I’ve already learnt so much about knitting, enough to know I’ve only scraped the surface.

I would like to say that this week has been really awesome.
Thank you Eskimimi Makes for organising it!

It you haven’t already I highly recommend looking up any of the tags for the blog week #4KCBWDAY7 or DayX
I’ve really enjoyed reading and discovering new blogs and meeting all the new visitors to my little corner of the Internet.

I’ve had a blast!!