What I’m Making: A Wooden Spoon
Spoon-making workshop with Devon Kroeger through the Vancouver Tool Library. So good!
Join Us for a Month of Weaving
October is for weaving! At least, that's what we've declared it to be over in the forums.
Since one of the most amazing things about connecting with other makers is learning from each other, we wanted to see what would happen if we set aside some time to focus on a particular kind of craft.
So this month, we're diving into weaving. (Most of us know nothing about it!)
Community members who know a thing or two about weaving will be sharing tips, tricks, tutorials and projects. And even those of us who are total newbs will be sharing our trials and errors and successes as we give weaving a shot for the first (or second or third) time.
No fancy equipment required! Just a desire to try a new thing, cheer people on, and learn something new.
Our forums are free to join! Just head on over, create an account, and dive into Weaving Month.
Our community is free to join because it's supported by Patreon members who kick in a few bucks each month to cover our operating costs (which include my time and skill); as such, Patreon members enjoy live video chats with me, their own private video chat room, a monthly newsletter, and more.
What I’m Making: A Crocheted Pi Shawl
I picked up a cake of Sheepjes Whirl yarn a couple of weeks ago, and it whispered to me that it wants to be crocheted into a pi shawl.
Now that I've been working on it for a while, and have ripped back to the third row a couple of times, I'm accepting that it's not a true pi shawl, because the proportions of my stitch pattern aren't working out exactly. Which is fine by me.
It's a simple v-stitch pattern and I'm loving every minute of making it, even with the ripping back. ❤️
2018 Gift Guide for Creative Adventurers
Approaching a new year is a giant blazing invitation to get our priorities straight, whether we love or loathe setting New Year's resolutions. This list includes all kinds of things I truly love and that will help any sort of creative adventurer prioritize their creativity and making stuff in 2019. (Some of these are affiliate links.)
Gifts to Spark Imagination & Making
For More Books, Kits, Tools & Materials for Your Favourite Creative Adventurer ↡
How to Pack for a Crafty Road Trip
Summer is for road trips – crafty road trips – and one of the things I love most when a trip is looming is planning the project(s) I'll bring with me.
(Ok, sometimes by “favourite” I mean “most stressful.”)
It's a deserted-island kind of situation, planning a crafty project for a trip. It doesn't even matter if I'm traveling to attend a craft-related conference – during the packing stage it always feels as if I'll never be near a craft store again in my life, and so I must pack everything I might possibly need. And not only for the obvious project I'm already working on, but also for the three or four other projects I must bring in case I get stranded at an airport for seven months and finish my in-progress project on the first day.
At the beginning of summer, with camping trips looming, I feel a special kind of packing excitement/anxiety. Because in addition to the traveling part, there are the very specific considerations of lots of time spent in a cramped moving vehicle and lots of time spent outdoors.
I've started compiling a list of tools and materials I take with me (all of it if it's a long trip, a selection for shorter trips).
Obviously, crochet and knitting projects are my general jam, and they're great for lots of time in the car. (Also obviously, I never travel with blanket projects. Way too big, way too much stuff, guaranteed to get dirty and/or ruined.)
And so I always travel with my knitting-needle kit and a variety of crochet hook sizes. You never know when you'll need a replacement, or when you'll pop into a yarn shop in a far-off town and simply have to start a project with the locally made yarn you discovered.
If I'm going away for more than a few days, I always get it into my head that I'll want to keep a travel journal, or at least add stuff into my bullet journal. (Do I? Rarely. But I always plan to do this anyway.) So I keep a small pouch with double-sided tape in it, and I always bring a few of my favourite pens and also a variety of markers or gel pens.
This summer, I have it in mind to make some proper friendship bracelets. I was a fiend for friendship bracelets when I was a kid, especially when I was away at overnight camp. They're so much fun to make, so easily portable, and so satisfying to give away.
And since I'm going to bring embroidery floss for bracelets, I'll also prep an embroidery project. Or, now that I think of it, I'll pack up the sampler I started last summer.
What would you add to the list?
(Some of these are affiliate links. Thanks for your support!)
Crafting for a Change: Vogue Knitting Holiday 2017
I am not a fan of the word guru. Guru is what we call people who know a lot about something but don't have a job title related to it, or who work in or around that topic in a variety of ways but aren't defined by any one. I'm often described as a “crochet guru.” (If I'm asked for input on the matter, I usually request they just go with author or instructor.)
So I especially love that when she wrote about me in the Holiday 2017 issue of Vogue Knitting, Lee Ann Dalton called me “crochet genius.”
I mean, I'm not a genius, but I'm not a guru either. I'll take genius any day.
I meant to mention this when the issue was still on newsstands. Um, four months ago. But better late than never, right? Maybe back issues are still available?
The beret I'm wearing in the photo above is one of the patterns from my Crochet in the Round class, and the spiral hat next to it is the free Hat for Science.
