Ripping with joy!

So I've been doing something quite out of my comfort zone. Working with colour and doing colour work. I have done a little in the past, but nothing too fancy and always something where I wasn't too attached to the project. This time round things are different.

When we got to the UK a few months ago we went to a historic home for the day. It was ace. Best one I have been to. Interesting and beautiful and imaginative and not stuffy. They do reenactments of Tudor life and as part of that they take yarn from their own sheep and dye it using natural dyes.

Dyed with Goat Willow, Woad, Dyers Camomile, Madder, Madder again and more Dyers Camomile.

Now although I run a Craft Retreat that does natural dyeing, I don't know anything about it* so love the fact I could access naturally dyed yarn straight from the producer. 

(*Luckily Jules does and is running an amazing workshop this year where you get 25 colours from the one dye pot!)

And I love the things that get created from the natural dyeing process. Beautiful colours that go together in a way that commercially dyed colours don't seem to. Semi-solid colours which add such life to a project.

I pulled this start out, did it again and then redid it identical to my first time. Oh yes I did.

And because I loved the materials so much, I got myself into a muddle about creating with them. That old if-I-use-them-then-I-won't-have-them-anymore-so-the-thing-I-create-with-them-has-to-be-wonderful nugget of procrastination. I wanted to use them as colour work with the natural coloured yarn as a backdrop. But they aren't colours I use normally and I really don't know anything about the rules of colour work. There is a bit of art and a bit of science behind it and I don't feel I know much about either yet. 

So I started and stopped and started again and then stopped. I finally picked it up again last week and decided to just get on with it. I took away possible procrastination devices by making sure I don't have anything else cast on. That way I can't run away from working out whatever issue I'm having. Do you do that - massive avoidance when things get uncomfortable?? 

But this time I added an important condition to my thought process, and that was that ripping out was going to be part of the process. Because truthfully I don't know the rules or what I am doing. BUT because I want to love it, I need to trust my gut a little and rip if I really think it isn't working. 

I truly wish I had been taking photos all the way through as this thing has been ripped out many times. Sometimes going back four rows and sometimes going back 20 just to change one thing. Forward and backwards and forwards again. Because the things that work and the things that won't work are not at all obvious to me. Total trial and error. 

All the while I have been reminding myself that ripping is not wasting time*. Ripping is part of the process on the way to making something that I will love. And that means there can be joy in the process of ripping. Each time I rip it means that I have learnt something.

Ripping this was fun as I knew it was so so wrong.

By way of example, let's talk briefly about a lesson I learned about value. When I purchased the yarn I took my B&W image to see what the value of the six colours were that I had. I had three lightish ones and three darkish ones. I had a vision of something stripy and simple with not too many colour combinations as a simple way to start learning about colour work. I planned on doing thin stripes of light value and then thick stripes of darker value colours.

And then I thought I might mix it up again with two lightish value colours in a thin stripe. Well. Who knew that when you use a lightish colour and white you get a low value stripe but when you combine two lightish value colours with no white you get a more mid value blockish type band. The two lights add up to something darker. Now if you had an art degree or some understanding of colour value theory this might be obvious but to me it was a process of trial and error.

Big block of yellow that didn't work. Right before this there was a big block of pink and yellow that didn't work either. 

So things I have taken away from this project. Get stuck in. Don't avoid it. Try things. Trust your gut. Go backwards in order to go forwards. Mastery is the goal. So is getting something I love out the other end. 

Ripping is not a waste of time because mistakes are how you learn. Who knew?

Any thoughts about this little ramble? Do you feel ripping is painful? Do you avoid doing projects because you are unsure of the outcome?

Till later in the week - seeya campers.

Felicia x

*Many times I have been told of people's fear of ripping. Of their horror at "all that wasted knitting time". 

Classes are filling up….

Apologies for the quietness of the blog. I am finding that getting to instagram is about my limit most days at the moment in terms of social media. Some weeks are like that though. When wifi means sitting in the dark, on a bench near a campground reception, after putting the kids to bed, then I am giving it a pass.

Thanks to an afternoon off today, next week I have two posts ready to go. I'm feeling like a champion! The first is normal post with some ramblings on craft and the second is announcing the three "Extra" Saturday afternoon classes.

As most of you are aware we have changed the format of this year's event to give you some extra "free" crafting time.  But if you feel an urge for more learning, then we wanted to offer something more structured. These workshops are completely optional – you should feel free to sit and sew with new friends in front of a fire if you like, or go for a walk in the stunning Yarra Valley bush instead if that tickles your fancy. They are shorter one hour workshops and you should feel free to just turn up on the day if you feel like it. Because of this they aren’t limited in size like our normal workshops are.

Thanks to all of you who completed our survey a couple of weeks ago about what class three should be. The result was resoundingly one sided. So keep your eyes out for that blog post next week.

Registration Update

While we have now fully booked some knitting classes, we still have some space in the amazing Kirsten Johnstone's Seamless Hat class. If you are wanting to improve your knitting then this is the class for you. Kirsten is an amazing knitwear designer who designs for the likes of Brooklyn Tweed and Shibui. She has designed a hat specifically for this workshop (which I don't have pictures of yet - coming soon!) but if you want to learn more about seamless knitting or techniques such as a provisional cast on then Kirsten's class is a perfect fit. She is also a top woman! I really like her and you get to spend the day with her. Picking her brain about all things knitting….

There are a couple of classes that are almost completely full - Belinda's Weaving has just a few spots left as does Sophie's Leggings class. There is only one or two spots in Jules' Steeking class and a couple in Melissa's Embroidery. So if those workshops were on your must do list then you need to get your registration's in. 

I also meant to mention Mel Tonzig's crochet classes. I have been meaning to do a proper post on her work - just because I think she is so amazing but haven't got there yet. I planned to post an image or two for you to see what you could get up to if you learnt to crochet but I'm about to post four as I couldn't decide on just two. How gorgeous is her work….

All photos by Mel Tonzig.

You can see more on Mel's blog but also check out this interview with her on Wholehearted Journal.  

Most other classes still have some space but all are filling up daily so get your skates on my friends if you are interested in coming.

See you next week.

Felicia x

Learn to Read Your Knitting - Part 3 - Increases

So my apologies for the big break in this series. I had camera gear issues and travel issues.

In order to take the photos for this series you really need a macro lense. And I had one. A lovely birthday present a few years ago from my family. But then a week or so before we left on holiday my camera died. The fixing shop said that my only option was to buy a new one as they no longer make the part I need. OK - not a great time but I got on ebay and found one. But then my old macro lens won't fit the new camera. So bit by bit I've been trying to sort it out.

In the mean time I finally came up with a way of taking the photos I need. I purchased a little macro thing for the iPhone and off we go. Most of them are OK but the odd photo is a little crappy so my apologies. 

If you are seeing these posts for the first time the two previous subjects we covered are linked below.

Learn to Read Your Knitting - Part 1 - Stitch Structure - This post was called The Secret to Becoming A Great Knitter

Learn to Read Your Knitting - Part 2 - Decreases

And now on to the post….

Increases

Now this is a fun post - if you like this sort of thing. Learning to read your increases will mean that you no longer need to count rows between waist increases, nor will you need to count increase after increase when knitting a top down sweater. You will be able to knit knit knit away, counting your increases when you think you are close and then when you arrive at your correct number of increases, doing a quick stitch count to ensure you are where you need to be. 

We are going to cover the three most commonly used increases (in my experience). They each have different characteristics so it is really important to understand how they work in order to accurately read them.

The three we are going to cover are

• M1 - Make 1 in the style of Elizabeth Zimmerman.
• M1L/M1R - Make 1 left and Make 1 right.
• kfb - Knit front and back which is also sometimes known as kfab or even k1f&b.

And there are three key things about learning to read them.

• The first is to understand where the stitch is occurring.
• The second is to understand what they look like.
• The third is how to count rows since the increase and how to count the number of increase rows you have done.

As I have said in the two previous posts - the best way to understand this for yourself is to actually knit these stitches with some scrap yarn and then have a look at what they look like. Look on the row you have knitted them and then at the end of a few rows. Again - skip the wine while you are at it - this requires a little bit of brain space. 

I am using a different colour yarn for the increase row in order to try to make things a little clearer. I finished with the blue yarn on a purl row and then start on the grey with a knit row that is the increase row. I hope that helps to make it a little clearer.

Where the stitch occurs!

So let's start with where the increase stitch is occurring. What I mean by that is what row is the increase occurring on. Each of these three increases occurs in a different place. 

Make 1

A M1 occurs in the actual row you are knitting as it is just making a twist of the working yarn and placing it onto the right needle. I love this increase for it's simplicity and speed.

The M1 is simply a loop of yarn twisted on to the right hand needle. You don't knit into it until the row after the increase row. 

Here is what it looks like next to the previous normal stitch. So if you look at the base of the second last stitch you can see that it is a loop pulled through the blue stitch below. The last grey stitch on the needle is simply a loop over the needle which initially tends to sit snug up against the last normal stitch until you knit it on the next row.

Make 1 Left / Make 1 Right

With the M1L/M1R the increase stitch occurs in the previous row to the one you are now knitting - so the last row. This is because you pick up and knit one of the bars that runs between two stitches from the previous row.  

Before doing a M1L or a M1R you pull the two needles apart slightly to show the bars of yarn running horizontally between the two stitches on the previous row. 

This is showing the beginning of a M1L which you can tell as the yarn is slanting towards the left. 

This shows the finished stitch. As you can see the actual increase stitch occurs on the previous row to the actual increase row as below the new grey stitch there is a blue twist of wool. I'm hoping that makes sense. 

When you are doing this stitch in wool that is all the same colour it is really important to understand that the increase occurs on the previous row because as you are counting upwards from the increase you need to remember that you actually have an extra stitch in your row count. Another way to think of it is that you have an extra loop as you are counting up from the increase - so if you have knitted one row since your increase row you will see what looks like three stitches in the row count - the twist of yarn that is the increase, the stitch from the increase row and the stitch on the needle. 

Knit front and back

Kfb or kfab is different again. The increase is created from a stitch in the previous row by first knitting into the front of the stitch and then twisting your needle around and knitting into the back of it. However you don't end up with an extra loop of yarn - instead you have a bar of yarn. This is created as you cross from knitting the stitch at the front to the stitch at the back. Have a look as you do it. It will make more sense. This feature of the increase means that it is very easy to count these increases as you just count from the loop coming out of the bar upwards.

This photo shows the start of kfb. This is the knit stitch.

You leave the stitch on the needle. That is the blue stitch - the grey stitch is the one you have just pulled through it. You now put your needle into the back of the stitch. This is where the bar is created. Can you see how by now knitting into the back of this stitch we are pulling a loop through the blue stitch which will mean the blue stitch will be pulled horizontal - there is your bar. 

The second last grey stitch is the knit stitch and the last grey stitch on the right needle is the increase stitch with the bar below it.

What they look like!

So we have already kind of seen what they look like above but I thought it would be good to have a look at what they look like when you create them AND what they look like after you have knitted one more row. 

A M1 on the increase row.

Make 1

A M1 looks simply like a loop on the row you do the increase on and then after knitting one more row has a count of two stitches if you count the stitch on the needle and the increase stitch. This is what it will look like if you are knitting from a pattern that says something like this;

Row 1: Increase row

Row 2: Purl one row. 

You can see that there is a twist of grey yarn and then the stitch on the needle. So the increase row and one more row.

And this is what it looks like if you have an increase rows and then knit three rows.

Make 1 Left / Make 1 Right

I only showed a M1L above but the below photo shows a M1L, then two knit stitches, then a M1 R.

A M1 L after it has just been knit. You can tell it is a M1L rather than a M1R as the blue loop leans left on the top of the loop.

And here is the stitch after you have knitted the increase row and one more row.

Slightly crappy photo but you can see here (reading from right to left) a M1L then two normal knit stitches and then a M1R. Under each M1 stitch there is a small hole. Generally this is not too visible. I am slightly stretching the knitting to make the increase stitch visible. Please note that although you have only knitted the increase row plus one more row, so 2 rows, that there is actually three stitches counting upwards. The blue increase stitch and then then two grey stitches. 

A terrible photo but just about the pin you can see the twist of the M1L, two stitches and then the M1R. Then there is the increase row and three more rows.

Knit front and back

This increase is probably the simplest to read because of the neat bar. The bar means that sometimes you don't want to use this increase, especially if you don't want the increases to be as noticeable. 

This photo actually shows two kfb in a row which is a common raglan increase technique. You can see to the left of my thumb a grey normal stitch and then a stitch coming out of a blue bar, then another normal stitch and then another grey stitch coming out of a blue bar.

This is kfb after the increase row and three more rows. As you can see there are four loops coming out of the bar including the one on the needle.

How to count increase rows!

Make 1

OK - so in the photo above we have three increase rows. We have done six rows of knitting since the first increase (including the increase row), four rows of knitting since the second row of knitting (including the increase row) and two rows since the last increase (includes the increase row as well as the stitch on the needles).

Make 1 Left / Make 1 Right

So just to be super repetitive - this increase is actually made in the row below the increase row. This is very obvious in my two colour knitting but not so much when you are knitting in a single colour. 

So you can see here that the first increase is in the blue row. There are three increases each side of two normal knit stitches. And we have done six rows (including the increase row) since the first increase.

Knit front and back

So this is two kfb in a row which is a common increase technique for a raglan. The stitch marker (I should have left it in!) would go just to the right of the central row of knit stitches in the image.

In a pattern this would read - knit until one stitch before marker then kfb, slip marker, kfb then knit until…..

This image is the same as the last increase we covered - except that there aren't two knit stitches separating the increases. There are three increases each side of the marker and we have knit six rows including the first increase row. 

I have just realised that I have forgotten to do a yarn over (yo). I will cover it if I get time, but a simple way to think of it (knowing all you now know) is to understand that when you do a yo the increase actually occurs in the row after the increase row….another day maybe.

That is all I have time for tonight as I am about to get kicked out of the wifi place. Let me know what you think! Clear, not clear? Anything else you want me to cover….I have a few ideas...

Felicia x

Pick a fig!

So life looks a little different for me at the moment. And many of the preconceived ideas I had about what life would be like, have quickly been dispelled by the realities of life on the road with a family of five.

I thought I would have all. this. time. Time to sit and knit. Time to ponder projects and design things that I want to make. To do the numbers for some jumper ideas I have for the kids, and knit a few things for some lovely new babies arriving later this year. I was going to work on my little fella's quilt. I was going to do embroidery, and maybe make us some rolled edge napkins for our camp dinners while I was at it.  Oh the joy I was going to have with the time. Hmmmmm…..

So things aren't really working out that way. There are lots of jobs to do when you live outside, and my lovely small people believe that if I am visible then I should be doing stuff with them. Fair enough. So I've adjusted my thinking. I've gone from BIG plans to smaller ones. And the problem I have been having - even with a whole box of materials - is that I'm not sure where to start. What should I make when I don't have the capacity for detail?

And when I realised that I really wasn't making anything at all because I was confused by all the many options before me, I remembered seeing this TED-X talk by the lovely Clare Bowditch*. I first saw this talk when I was trying to decide whether or not to do The Craft Sessions. And the idea of picking a fig niggled me until I took a risk and made a decision. And I'm so glad I did. Anyway I know this isn't really about craft but I thought you might enjoy it.

For me - I'm picking a craft related fig and making baby vests. Quick and easy just to get going again. The perfect thing when there isn't enough space in your brain to make big choices - baby vests as meditation.

Happy fig picking.

Felicia x

* I can't find the proper link but this one takes you through the wonderful Rachel Power's website.

Best Of - Small Girl Frocks

I would estimate that over the last six or so years I have made at least 40 small girl frocks. Some thrown together, and some laboured over with intense amounts of love, patience and ultimately joy. So today I wanted to talk about the one that has truly become my absolute favourite and why it is I keep making it over and over again.

To set the scene I'll tell you what I need from a girls dress. I want something

• That is comfortable.
• They will get a few years out of - in other words that i can make two sizes too big without it looking odd.
• That covers their shoulders - due to the super harsh Australian sun.
• That is flowy and cool. 
• That is not precious or fussy.
• That layers well.
• That goes together quickly but is finished beautifully.
• That can handle the rough and tumble of being worn by a small person*.

And out of all the patterns I have tried over the years there is really only one that fits the bill. Drum roll please….

Her favourite version - the bear dress!

The Geranium Dress

So first the details. It is made by the super clever Made By Rae as a downloadable pattern with two versions - Version 1 has sizes from newborn to size 5 and then Version 2 has sizes from 6-12.  This pattern is so worth the few dollars. Like all of Rae's patterns there are a heap of different variations written into the pattern. Have a look here at the flickr group to get a good idea of just what can be made. 

I make a single variation but it also comes with a different neckline, with ruffles at the shoulders or with a more traditional tank shaping. Being lazy in many ways, I tend to just pick a version and stick with it so I don't have to redraft it. That said, when a version is this pretty why bother with others?

So what is to love about it. As well as being all that I mentioned above, I think my real love comes from the ease with which it comes together (even if you are a beginner!) AND the beautiful finish of the dress. If you were to french seam the side seams of the skirt then there are no exposed seams. There is absolutely nothing fiddly about this frock.

The next thing I love is the fit. It is really comfortable. There is nothing constraining about it. It doesn't pull. It covers the shoulders but doesn't restrict their movement. And then whether you are teeny baby or 8yo then this frock works so beautifully. It isn't fussy. It is sweet, but made with a slightly sturdy fabric is perfectly suitable for climbing trees - tucked into your undies of course!

I've realised as I have been posting these photos that actually I really really love the back view of the frock. Pretty buttons make it!

Perfect dress in the extreme heat of the tropics.

And for the beach.

My middle one came up today - the first hot day we have had in weeks - and said "mama I need my flowy dress to get the air through (pointing at the armholes). It's my favourite mum!" Almost made my heart hurt with the sincerity.

Not much else to say. Try it if you were looking for a small girl frock. You won't regret it.

Oh - before I go. I just found another pattern I love the look of and really want to try. It doesn't seem quite as comfy as the Geranium as it is a bit more fitted. Nor does it have the shoulder coverage. But it is so so very sweet to look at. You can find it here.

Felicia x

* which I've also realised is a reason that I don't use solids as much as I would like….see the first photo as an example.