Hello! I hope this finds you and keeping warm if you're in the wintry Antipodes, like me. It's equally likely you're in the middle of a heatwave, which is impossible to imagine from here at my desk where i'm wrapped in a knitted shawl!
The last time I wrote on here, I was getting ready to head to Craft Camp. I can report that it was a fabulous weekend! I was lucky enough to make some new friends and get super inspired by the talks, teachers, and crafty projects we were immersed in for three days. Tash (also director of Holland Road Yarn) and her hardworking team did an amazing job of creating a welcoming, calm and interesting space. I especially enjoyed listening to the presentations by weaver Verenoa Hetet, writer Nadine Hura and lace knitter Margaret Stove about their work.
My only regret is not taking some classes myself - on offer were yarn dyeing, photography, mindfulness and loom weaving. I believe there will be another Craft Camp next year - it comes highly recommended by me.
I thought I'd share some of my recent projects here. This winter I've knitted two new things for Tom (but not a jumper, despite him requesting one with a colourwork yoke! I'm still thinking about that). I made him a pair of socks using beautiful yarn by Bonnie of Union Fibre in the Loch colourway. Contrary to my terrible photo above, this yarn is quite complex and rich to look at, and it's even hard to describe - it's somewhere between a grey and blue with flecks of brown and yellow. I used leftover bits and bobs from other socks to knit the heels, toes and cuffs of this pair. And this pattern, as always (with the addition of a 1X1 ribbed cuff).
Tom also needed a new hat, so I made him one in some black DK yarn I bought a while ago at the Woolyarn sale (I used the same yarn for this jumper of mine - I'm not sure of the composition.) For this super basic ribbed hat i used this free pattern from the Purl Soho site.
And lastly, you'll see the wee cushion I sewed up from a piece of needle punching I showed in a previous post. With a woolen front, striped linen back and wool stuffing it's rather pleasing, despite its small size. I recently ordered myself a copy of the beautiful Arounna Khounnoraj book on the craft and it's inspired me to make a bigger frame and try more things with my needle punch tool.
Here's a song I'm loving at the moment, and saw described as ''George Harrison meets Karen Carpenter'' - Andromeda, by Weyes Blood.
See you next week! X X X
