In the Making...

"One year from now, when the 5th Knitting & Crochet Blog Week rolls around, where do you hope your crafting will have taken you to? What new skills, projects and experiences do you hope you might have conquered or tried?" From Eskimimi Makes   Knitting TechniquesWelcome to Pro! | Create infographics On a whole, I've done a good majority of the different knitting styles out there. The one I've been meaning to do for a long time is to try Double Knitting. I've skirted around the technique, such as knitting two socks at a time (one inside the other) which is the same way of knitting but you keep one yarn to the front and one at the back at all times (instead of swapping the colours) and I've done brioche knitting too. I've got two Zauberballs sat waiting in anticipation and that's something I'd like to do sooner rather than later. The other technique I would like to try is on the crochet side. I'd like to cover a piece of...

"Write about your favourite knitting or crochet (or spinning, etc) tool. It can either be a tool directly involved in your craft (knitting needles or crochet hook) or something that makes your craft more pleasurable – be it a special lamp, or stitch markers." From Eskimimi Makes   My favourite tools... I'm not sure whether I have favourites because everything I use has its purpose. If I'm in a hurry and want the bare minimum with me, then I would grab my scissors, my sewing needle case and my favourite crochet hook (as well as my knitting, of course). I've had these awhile, so excuse their condition. The scissors are little Fiskar ones: I have two pairs. One in my knitting bag and one in my sewing bag. The first pair I've had for at least 12 years and they are still as sharp as when I bought them. Attached to the scissors is a hardanger scissor keeper that I made a long time ago at a workshop. Originally, it had a tassel but that's long ...

"It’s the annual challenge to blog in a way different to how you normally blog. You may choose to create a podcast, or vlog, create a wordless post or write in verse. You've already stretched your wings with an infographic, now it's time to freestyle." From Eskimimi Makes   If any of you have received a postcard from me, then you'll recognise the style here. Instead of writing out "Wish you were here", I tend to do a funny cartoon on the back of the postcard. Hopefully entertaining the postman at the same time. So with a little inspiration from Mr, here's a knitting/sheep related one for you.

"What are your favourite colours for knitted or crocheted projects. Have a think about what colours you seem to favour when yarn shopping and crafting." "Only after writing this part of your post should you then actually look to see what colours you have used in your projects. Make a quick tally of what colours you have used in your projects over the past year and compare it to the colours you have written about. Compare this, in turn, to the colours that are most dominant in your yarn stash – do they correlate?" "Now think back to your house animal - do the colours you have chosen relate to your animal in anyway - if you are in the house of peacock, for example, are your projects often multicoloured and bright?" From Eskimimi Makes   Colour... I think that's what draws me to knitting and why I like colourwork so much. Whenever, I look at a colour chart I always get drawn to blues and greens and I think this translates into what yarn I buy....

"There are many ways of conveying information on a blog; text and images being the two most widely used. Many infographics combine both these elements to provide a visual way of presenting text information." "Make your own infogaphic (no fancy imaging software needed, you can draw it on paper and photograph it if you want) to convey any element of your craft(s). It can be just for fun or a thoroughly researched presentation of an idea/finding. " From Eskimimi Makes   This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the cast ons out there. I haven't included many two colour ones or all the different versions of tubular cast ons. I'm sure there are plenty I've missed off but hopefully it's a bit of fun and it might help you discover a new cast on.

"Your task today is to either think of or research a project that embodies that house/animal. It could be a knitting or crochet pattern – either of the animal itself or something that makes you think of the qualities of that house. Alternatively it could be a type or colour of yarn, or a single button. Whatever you choose, decide upon a project and blog about how and why it relates to your house/creature." From Eskimimi Makes   So the House of Monkey needs a mascot. Here's Chester the Chimp. I thought he should be a teeny tiny chimp. I'd use sock yarn to make him. His arms and legs will be i-Cord increasing at the bottom to create hands and feet. Chester has a stripy vest, which would probably work well made from self-striping sock yarn. It might be tricky to do the detail on his face and his eyes will probably have to be made from felt. He does have a bit of character, perhaps he should be called Cheeky Chester.

The House of Bee: Bees are busy and industrious, but can flit from one interesting project to the next as bright shiny things capture their interest. The House of Manatee: Manatees are gentle, calm and cuddly. Relaxed and unflashy they represent the comfort and soft side of knitting and crochet. The House of Monkey: Intelligent and with a fun loving side, Monkeys like to be challenged with every project presenting them with something new and interesting. The House of Peacock: Peacocks take something good and make it brilliant. Buttons, embellishments and a bit of sparkle prove that perfection lies in the details – like a Peacock's Tail. From  Eskimimi Makes Which House am I? I'm definitely not a Bee. I'm a starter and a finisher and 90% of the time I stick to the project I'm doing until the bitter end. There are a few occasions where I've frogged or had to start another project because it's needed for a present. Manatee? Oh I wou...

I have my finished mug from Mug Painting evening. The tea bag stand is being re-fired, so I'll show you that another time. Before firing After firing, the colours really change. They look dull and chalky but the glaze becomes vibrant once fired. I added how I like my coffee on the handle too. A short blog, this week, but I've been preparing for blog week. So hopefully you'll get 7 days of blogs from me that week. For more information, click here .

Oh swatches. Knitters do seem to love to hate them. I love to swatch - I must be weird.  What I tend to do is, while I'm knitting a current project and I have that moment where I'm either bored or a little frustrated with what I'm doing. I get a ball of yarn for my next project and make a swatch. I get to play with my new yarn and also, make sure that what I'm going to do next is going to fit. A swatch doesn't take long to make - probably half an hour at most and I'd rather do that than have to reknit the garment. Just cus I'm lovely and a little bit bossy, I'm going to tell you how I make my swatches. Little teeny swatches aren't the most helpful of things, because they'll lie to you. A good hearty sized swatch will pay you back that bit of extra effort. Let's say the pattern states that the gauge, that it's worked to is 22 stitches by 30 rows in stocking stitch across 4" [10cm] on 4.00 mm needles in a DK weight yarn....