Instagram Addiction

Hi, I just thought I should drop by and post something here about where I've moved onto.

Not to admit I have the attention span of a Goldfish, but I seem to have moved on from my former addiction to written blogs. I enjoyed writing the occasional post, and using the blog as a way to keep me on a creative track, but I didn't enjoy the constant frustrations of the disastrous relationship Blogger shares with the iPad. Even apps such as Blogsy only part help. Of course the Apple gods did supply a replacement, in the form of Podcast app, and Instagram.

Never having owned a smartphone previously, I'd never investigated Instagram, but I downloaded the app to the iPad and once I worked it out, I was hooked. Then getting a smartphone sealed the deal. Now no matter where I am, or what I'm doing, I can check in for a quick inspiration, or share some creative insight with others. I've had much more success interacting with others on Instagram too, Blogland always felt like I was writing a private journal, never knowing if anyone read it.

As for crafting Podcasts, I've learnt so much from some very talented, and very entertaining folk. Being a visual person myself I pick up so much more from a brief video display than a detailed written tutorial. The bonus is the number of knitters that also bring the funny. I've never yet knitted with other knitters, I'll knit in public no problem, but I'm yet to cross that threshold to brave attending a knitters group - its more about my complete terror of talking to strangers than anything. Yet when I sit and knit and watch Podcasts, its feels like I'm having having morning tea with friends. So the upside is I can knit and watch/listen, when I couldn't knit and read - the downside is if I ever meet any of these podcasters in real life, I'm sure to come off as a weird stalker type who thinks she's their best friend!

So on the off chance you had been lurking on my blog previously and wanted to see what I'm upto, or if you just stumbled here today, you can catch up with my artsy craftsy stuff on;

Instagram - elkerokkas

or Facebook - Sloyd Happens

Keep crafting x 

Horniman museum

Well I found another Natural history museum for sketching in London, without the drive by tourists! The Horniman Museum, it's not on the main tourist list, so it was much quieter, but a great museum.

When checking out their website I saw a number of images of taxidermmy dogs, and I was looking forward to checking them out, unfortunately it's just one small display, and only of mounted heads. The bloodhound was the most interesting drawing prospect but he was so awkwardly mounted, side on in the end of the cabinet. The only other times I've found taxidermmy dogs were in The Natural History Museum branch at Tring, and in a University in Portugal - oh and one in the Swedish Natural History Museum which had been on display in the foyer for years, with many Swedish children believing he came to life at night as a guard dog, sweet!

There was a cabinet display for genetics traits in breeding using mice, which was just a great supply of mounted mice to draw for me.

Of course there were Hares, and of course I had to draw them.

Then finally something different, Shrews. Little tiny balls of fluff and delicate features, and the Elephant Shrew (more guinea pig size than elephant really), and looks surprisingly like 'Scrat' from Ice Age don't you think? Scrat is supposedly a fictional animal made up by the animators, half squirrel, half rat. I'm thinking an Elephant Shrew with a squirrel tail and overbite! 

The Museum is free to enter, has a large gorgeous garden/park around it, and a cafe - with yummy looking cakes. Will definitely visit this one again, and next time I'm having a cup cake too! 

Cross stitch along - January

I've joined the 'CAL' - cross stitch along, in the 'knitabulls' group on Ravelry. The design is 'Once Upon a Time' sampler by Frosted Pumpkin. The pattern is released in twelve instalments (by email) throughout the year, which I think should work well to get through it, having an achievable amount each month, rather than becoming bored or overwhelmed with it. At least that's how I'm feeling about it after month one!

I've decided to make a couple of mods, I think the January text needs to be darker (my linen is not the same colour as the recommended so that's on me), and I'm not keen on the magenta/purple in the borders. I am going to wait until further months are complete though to choose a replacement colour, I'm thinking something with a bit of metalic in it might look good and complete the look?
Now, back to knitting, I've got socks, a cowl, and two shawls to finish for knitalongs by the end of February!

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Natural History Museum sketching

I decided to visit the Natural History Museum while in London, for a sketching trip. I have mixed feelings about drawing here - there's not a lot of taxidermy examples that grab my interest, and for those that do it's difficult to find a position to sketch from. As the museum is free to visit, it's always busy, and busy with many doing a 'look left look right photograph everything in 30 minutes' tour.

These 'drive by' visitors are so busy trying to photograph everything without actually stopping that they never look ahead - and I am constantly walked in to. At one stage I was moved ten feet down the room by a class of Japanese students who just ploughed into me!

I do my best to tuck myself out of the stream, but still get constantly buffeted. Usually sketching is a relaxing, zoned out thing for me, but here it eventually just becomes frustrating and I start fantasising impaling the next person to bump me, with my pencil. Which is when I leave, wondering again why I bothered.

I did manage to get a few sketches out though, and amazingly without any big bump lines across the page!

I need to seek out other museums for drawing on my next visit - with less 'driveby' tourists!

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London zoo

I've been in London this week, so it's all been about sketching and overindulging in yarn!

Feels like forever since I had a sketching trip to London zoo, so as the winter weather gods were kind (well it wasn't raining for a change). It seemed like a chance too good to miss. The sun actually shone for about 20 minutes, but even that couldn't defrost my poor fingers, I really must knit myself some flip top mittens for outdoor drawing days, my fingerless ones weren't enough.

My favourite part of a visit, always the Lions, I just love this little family at London zoo, and it's so great to see they are all still together, even though the cubs are really big now! The girls all have such expressive faces, and the old guy, is looking really old - although his teeth look in excellent condition, maybe he's not old, just a crusty weathered outdoorsy guy? If you catch him when he's sleeping in their warmed indoors room, he makes eye contact and just looks like such a gentle calm guy who would love a pat.

I could, correction, I do, watch them for hours, and sometimes if they are cooperating, I remember to sketch them. I chose to just do simple pencil sketches for the day - as I'm a bit rusty.

one of the girls was sunning on their deck

these two were crammed together on a (presumed) warmed ledge in their indoor enclosure

The big guy was snoozing tucked in a corner with his feet up the wall

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December - when sanity had left the building

So I mentioned that just a couple of weeks out from Christmas I broke all promises and started knitting myself into a frenzy creating Christmas gifts.

Here's the results;

Jester Snood - Rowan pattern, in Rowan Alpaca Chunky

Alpaca chunky mittens from the left overs, super stretchy (not a great photo, no daylight!)

'Fluff' in Rowan Kidsilk Haze stripe

'I so love my big snood' by Miss Bimbamboum, in Rowan Tumble 

Rowan Kidsilk haze, Rose Brooch - my own pattern

Rowan Cocoon hat - own pattern based on Buccaneer/Nuzzle by Rowan

Wurm in Rowan Pure Wool DK - I knit three hats for this recipient before getting the 'right' one

Oh and the mittens - they're still coming. Honest. Washed and drying, then I just need to sew the liner in. Photo's to come.

That my friends, is what Christmas crazy looks like for a knitter - two weeks of needle madness!

I should have taken a photo of the couple of yarn hauls I made in this time too, but I was too busy trying to stash them away in denial. I think I'm going to have to have a serious stocktake again soon though, and buy a bigger storage bag (or really crack on with using the stash!). In an effort to keep this knitting momentum going I've been signing up to KnitALongs with Ravelry groups (mostly VeryBusyMonkey and Knitabulls). So far this seems to have resulted in a whole lot of casting on of multiple projects, but hopefully with deadlines to work to, it will result in some casting off too. The lure of possibly winning American artisan yarns or project bags is enough to keep me committed.

Keep knitting!

December - the mostly sane part

Sometime early in December I decided it was time to really start trying to cut back my wool stash. One of the great things of Ravelry is the ease in which you can match up patterns with wool you already have - of course while doing that, days pass and you add dozens more patterns to your queue (it's not just me is it?)

So I cast on a few things from the stash;

The Dream in Stripes shawl - a simple triangular shawl, I'm using two self striping sock yarns with long repeats, and so far the colours really seem to be working well together. This is a great travel project as its extremely simple to remember the pattern, pick up and put down. So this will probably be around for a while.

'Dream in Stripes' shawl using two balls of Sock yarn

Then I got ambitious, and tried my first chart shawl pattern - Olympic National Park by VeryBusyMonkey. I love the trees. This alpaca yarn was a dream to knit with too (I think I originally bought it for socks, before I understood what qualities sock yarn needs). I started this out planning it to be a Christmas gift - but after finishing it, and learning what was involved to block it (stretch and pin it to shape to open up the design) I realised that was too much to ask of a non knitter. So it became a Christmas gift for me!

'Olympic National Park' shawl, by VeryBusyMonkey using Drops Alpaca (after blocking)

Finished on Christmas Eve! with 0 hours of decent daylight it was hard to get a photo.

Then there were Christmas decorations - using stash yarn. Thinking these would be great little quick things to add into people's gifts.

The cutest little snowmen - pattern by Mochimochi

Christmas Pud - by Sue Stratford

all so cute!

Mini Christmas Elf themed garland

Mini Ornaments

If I start earlier this year I'd like to knit a lot more of these - I think they all look best when in groups, but as they use such small needles that takes a while. Lucky I had made some felt Christmas decorations way back in January (when I was going to be organised for Christmas) and had set them aside and forgotten them till now! - I blogged about making these here

It was about this time, as the lounge room was gradually becoming overtaken by various bowls, bags, and piles of yarn, miniature mittens and snowmen, that the Christmas crazy started setting in. I tried to put it off by making a promise, well two promises really;

"I'm not going to try and knit gifts for everyone now, and end up in a knitting frenzy like last year" (when I was finishing gifts in the car park before the family Christmas catch up!)

and 

"I'm not going to buy any more wool until I've used at least half my stash"

Fast forward two weeks, two massive yarn hauls added to the stash later - weaving ends in at 2am on Christmas Day (after Christmas Eve Midnight Mass). Gifting one mitten and three balls of wool to my BIL - much to everyones amusement at his confusion (they're nearly finished now, honest).

So I have Christmas gift knitting to post later, a pair of mittens still to finish, and a stash that's almost doubled in size. I seem to be establishing a Christmas tradition - and like many others, not a healthy one! I've joined a couple of Christmas knitting groups on Ravelry, knitters who encourage each other to start, and finish, Christmas knitting early - but for January at least, I need a break from Christmas knitting!

I promise I won't buy anymore yarn though, really.

Well hello there 2014, when did you get here?

I have so much knitting to update here - but if I keep waiting to get myself organised January will pass without an update too. 

So for today - a long overdue post that's not about knitting, amazing right? I certainly have become a knitter obsessed, and when I catch you up on Decembers knitting later, I'm sure you'll agree.

Last week I had a visit to Stockholm again, and visited Skansen for an afternoon. It was wet, and I already had a cold, so it wasn't the ideal day to be out drawing animals, but I wanted to call in and say  Hi, as it had been a while, and managed to just get a few sketches done between rain showers and cold winds. Just simple pencil sketches - with my gloves on! 

The otters were so excited to see me, they are usually so hard to spot, but they came swimming across and jumping around a the glass when I arrived. Five minutes later their keeper arrived with a bucket of fish, I guess it wasn't me they were excited to see after all. 

Otters feeding time

 It was amazing to see how much the Elk foal had grown, its nearly as tall as it's mother, and she stands about 6 foot to her shoulders. That's a lot of growing in six months! Clearly built for this climate, happily snoozing in the middle of a wet, muddy paddock.

Sleeping Elk

The Reindeer foal had grown a lot too, but didn't come out of the food shed the entire time I was there, so a quick little sketch of a snoozing reindeer, all tucked up for warmth. 

Snoozing Reindeer

I've never drawn the horses at Skansen before, I believe these are Ardennes - a short stocky horse with very large eyes, which seems they can't be drawn without looking like they belong on a 12 year girls bedroom wall with a glitter frame. 

Swedish Ardennes

I can't let a post go without a hint of knitting though - so while in Stockholm I did have a yarn shopping afternoon, so much goodness!

Gratuitous yarn shot - on hotel bed with bad lighting

Happy Knit year! 

Sock it to me

Finally I have finished my second pair of socks! It really was a struggle at the end to get there, as I wasn't in love with the colour choices I had made, but thanks to a looming KAL deadline I pushed on.

I ran out of my contrast striping colour just above the ankle, which really didn't matter so much as by then it wasn't contrasting anymore. Lesson learnt, next time I need to check a lot further in to the striping yarn before settling on a contrast!
The mock lace cable stitch I used on the leg is excellent, easy to knit (no cable needle), looks effective and gives a lovely squishy stretchy rib to the sock.
So I'm not in love with them, but I've learnt a lot along the way. The fit is excellent thanks to learning about knitting a gusset to accommodate my fat ankles! The heel fits much better than the afterthought heel I previously tried (although I think again that's mostly down to the gusset). Learnt a great mock cable rib, and a new bind off 'Jenys surprisingly stretchy bind off', which again is easy but so effective.
I've also learnt something about joining a KAL. It worked well for me by having a deadline to meet, I know these would have been cast aside when the striping yarn ran out otherwise. I didn't get any sense of being 'cheered on' as I've seen people comment, conversely I find it hard to ignore those who completely go against the spirit of the thing by entering items they clearly made before the KAL commenced. Not even smart enough to edit the dates on their project pages connected to the entry. Clearly just in it for the prizes, and I'm finding it hard to keep quiet about it, but at this stage, I know better than to stir the crazy when it comes to internet groups!

I've joined the next KAL already, with a Christmas gift theme, although I'm not sure what I'm going to knit on for it! I have been trying out a few Christmas decoration patterns and thinking over what I might do with them, and I still have two shawls on the needles to, so keep knitting!

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Knitvember

Is it the cold weather? Is it lack of other distractions? Is it an addiction? I don't know, but I have gone knitting crazy of late. Which also means I've been spending hours on Ravelry queuing up even more things to knit! Having been home with a cold for a week has provided plenty of Harry Potter watching and knitting time too!

There's the socks from Knitabulls Podcast KAL, these have been a learning experience. I've only made one pair before, and then used an afterthought heel. This time I tried a short row heel, and I tried it over and over, for some reason I kept stuffing it up and ending up with an uneven number of decreases. After a few goes, I settled on good enough and knitted on:

As the colour change progressed in the yarn though I didn't like them, it looked like the foot part and the leg part were two different socks? So I bit the bullet, and have now pulled them back to before the heel. In searching for a new heel style, I discovered 'gussets' so I pulled back a bit more and knitted a gusset and short row heel, making a much neater and better fit. Now I'm continuing on up the leg and including the stripes to try and make the colour blend better - I'm not sure how many more stripes I can squeeze out of the purple yarn though.

Then I cast on a new hat for myself, the Elfunny Beret by FadenStille. The pattern states for an average sized head, of 53.5, mine is 60, which means ‘one size fits all’ sit on top of my head like a fez. I was in need of a new hat for winter, one that properly covered my ears, and use a yarn that I don’t find itchy. I generally don’t have any problems with any yarn mix, until it’s a hat, then my forehead is incredibly itchy!

Using two balls of Patons Click, from my stash (yay), I increased the cast on by 10% to 88, adding a full graph repeat, cast on with 4mm and changed to 5.5mm for the lace work. I kept getting a bit lost on the lace chart and making errors, mostly down to reading it from the iPad, and watching a movie on the same iPad-meaning I read the chart line, then close it to resume movie. It would have been a very quick knit if I hadn't needed to pull back a number of rows to correct an error, I must learn how to use lifelines.

I blocked it using an upturned large soup bowl on a dinner plate! Fits great, I'm really happy with it.

Then an even quicker knit was the Gaptastic Cowl by Jen Geigley. I bought this yarn in Stockholm with the intention of trying a Wellie Warmer pattern out, but I wasn't happy with they way they knitted up. I immediately frogged them and found another use for the yarn so it didn't add to the stash! This will be for a friends birthday. I would definitely knit this again, as it makes for a super quick gift knit, although I don't enjoy knitting on such large needles - I used a 12mm circular. I also found it difficult to successfully hide the join of the two balls of yarn, so next time I would look for single skeins of enough length. This one used two balls of Drops, Andes.

Then more stash matching to my Ravelry queue, and I cast on the Olympic National Park Shawl, by Very busy Monkey. I had three balls of Drops Alpaca in the stash which is so lovely and soft and I think will make a lovely shawl. I have no idea what I originally bought it for!

Just incase that wasn't enough, I went for one more cast on, another shawl. I managed to match up two more balls from the stash to cast on Dream Stripes by Calliau Berangere.

There is kind of a plan in all this casting on though. The socks are a good small portable project, which now the heel is turned, I can work on anywhere, without a pattern and pick up and put down without a problem. The KAL goes until the end of November so that won't be a problem to finish them, and it will make sure they are finished! The National Park Shawl requires constant pattern watching, and is a perfect chance to give something more complex a try while I'm home to focus on it. The Dream Stripes is a really simple increase pattern, which I've cast on ready for the next travel trip, and or when the socks are finished.

I'm trying very hard to resist casting on for Christmas gifts and ending up with panic knitting, like last year! Instead I'm going to focus on chipping away at the stash, and perhaps there will be some finished objects that then become presents.

Enough typing, I've got knitting to get on with!

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New York New York

I was very lucky to have a weekend in New York, on the way home from the work trip to Orange County. I was so excited, and although it was only a weekend we visited a lot of the highlights. Autumn colours, pretzels, outdoor skating, yellow cabs, lots of coffee, miles of walking, visiting iconic stores such as Tiffany's and FAO Schwarz, we rode up to the 86th floor of the Empire State, and so much more!

I've always thought of it as somewhere I wanted to visit one day, now I think it's somewhere I certainly want to go back to!

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