Sock knitting in 2018

Hello there!  Happy New Year 2018! 

2017 went by in such a blur, I really hope this year meanders a bit more so there is time to do all the things properly.  Enjoy, relax  and savour the process of making, and not the 'half arsed, that will have to do, run out of time' rush of a year like 2017!  

I'm sure I will make big plans that never get realised, it happens every year.  I think I will do a priority list so at least the things I really want to try get done!

Which brings me to Sock Knitting.  :) 

I am so in love with sock yarn, I really want to make All The Socks, there are just so many beautiful colours and clever dyers and challenging patterns out there! 

I'm thinking a doable goal would be one pair a month for 2018, that would give me 12 pairs or 24 individual socks, (because I just know I'm not going to want to make a second matching sock, they can be samples for the shop of all the amazing yarns!) Surely I can manage that! 

I'm off to a good start anyway, the photos are of my first sock for the year, I started it on the weekend and am going to go and turn the heel after I finish this so hopefully I'll have one finished later this week! 

I'm loving the combo of charcoal with the amazing speckles, 

this is 'Strange Trip' from Spun Right Round with Cascade Heritage Sock in Charcoal.

I still have a couple of skeins of these in the shop I think, but will have to order more, its so lovely! 

The pattern I'm using is the excellent 4ply Basic Sock pattern from Winwick Mum

There are so many colours speckled through this yarn!

Anyway, that's the first of my yarny ambitions for 2018, I'm sure I'll come up with plenty more! 

There are lots of new yarns coming to the shop over the next few months, I am always inspired by new yarns and just have to give them a try out, so lots of new projects are sure to be started, and maybe even finished! :) 

Have a great day my crafty friends, Julie xxx

new blanket beginnings

Hello there!

It's been a beautiful day here, and I've been making some little granny squares for a new baby blanket.  It's been lots of fun! :)

What do you think of these gorgeous soft colours?

I'm enjoying playing with all the colour combinations, I am going for a bit of a vintage/retro vibe with the colours in this blanket, I think the slightly washed out, faded pastels are very pretty.

Hopefully I will get lots of squares made over the next few lazy week of Summer, this kind of feels like a Summer blanket. :)

I'm using  MoYa Caresse cotton, this is an Aran weight cotton, really great to crochet with, and is working up quite quickly with a 5mm hook, the texture is beautiful!  They are going to need a bit of blocking as I am trying to get a nice solid granny square, so have crammed in the stitches. 

I'm planning on making about 80 squares, so nothing too big, and it should actually get finished!! 

I'll post a few progress updates as this grows, I had forgotten how fun mini squares can be! 

Have a great day/night wherever you are! 

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Skinny Ripple Progress

Hello there! 

I've had a bit of time today to do a few rows on my Skinny Ripple Blanket, it is growing slowly as I have a lot of other things that seem higher priority.   I do love all these colours though, I tend to come back to variations on this combination in so many things I make!  

This is a very easy pattern and I just love how the chevrons are so pointy.  After the initial chain row which is a bit tedious, it is smooth sailing.  My only regret is that I should have made it wider, I didn't realise how much the chevrons would pull the sides in and shrink the blanket width!  So it is a small cot blanket now! :)  

So, do you have a busy week ahead?  

My boys are back to school tomorrow after the holidays, so I'm thinking my days will get a little bit of structure back.  It is time for the second instalment of my Yarny Love Club so I will be working on sending those out later in the week.    Exciting! 

Talk soon! 

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A market and a ripple

1 + 2 This is my stall at the Somers Winter Market which was on last weekend.  It was such a lovely day, lots of people through who were really into yarny things, so I had plenty of lovely crafty peeps to talk to.  People are so encouraging and kind in their comments and support, I am really looking forward to the new season at Emu Plains Market, it starts in October so still some time to hook up some stock. :) 

3 + 4 This is a new blanket I started the other day, even though I have heaps of things to do at the moment it is always nice to start a new project!  It is a ribbed chevron pattern that I am calling 'Skinny Ripples', just standard rows of dc in a chevron pattern worked in the back loops for a nice texture effect.  I was going to use some different colours, but in the end I went with some old favourites.  It is hard to work against your personal colour sense don't you find?   I  think it is going to work out lovely, although it is smaller than I had anticipated with the chevrons making my chain row not seem so long!!  You live and learn I guess! :) 

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Thank you so much to everyone who has signed up for my Yarny Love Club so far, you guys rock! 

I am having fun making some cute things to add to the yarny goodness, I hope everyone likes them!  Still a few days to go till sign ups close, but I am so grateful for all the interest shown in this little club. :) 

Have great week everyone! 

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Starting something new.....

Lots of colourful circles waiting to be squared up! 

Hello there! 

How are you going my crafty friends?  

It feels like I haven't been here for ages! 

I have been missing my little blog recently, the days have been whizzing by without a lot of computer time, but today I am going to show you a blanket that I am in the process of making.  

It is another Sunburst Granny Square blanket, I really love this square, so simple yet pleasing!  Priscilla Hewitt sure knows how to write a great crochet pattern!

I have made this pattern before, a long time ago when I first learnt to crochet, ( about 4 years ago), so it has been nice to give it another go in completely different colours.

This is the beginning, I wanted to use up some of the large stash of scrap balls that I own, so lots of pretty colour all mixed together ...

...then I started playing around with colour schemes within all the different colours I was using, getting a bit side-tracked, I think I might come back to these colours and make a more limited palette blanket one day, too cute not to document though!  Loving all the pinks and greens together. :)

Next it was time to to start squaring them up, I chose grey because it a nice neutral background colour, plus I had just received my shipment of Cascade 220 Superwash and it had a lovely Silver Grey that I just had to use!

 ....more squares and colour........

....this is where I'm up to at the moment, I need to make about another 20 squares to make a cot blanket size, but I think they are looking nice and chirpy all together!  Very happy with this little stash busting project!  :) 

So my friends, what have you been making recently?  

Are you doing any stash busting?

Are you finding it harder to fit in computer time like me? 

How do you balance all the different social medias around these days?  Is it even worth trying? I am having trouble juggling my blog, Instagram and Facebook, I don't even bother with Twitter or anything else.  And I'm not posting on Facebook as much either!   

There has to be time to live real life or there is nothing to post about anyway! 

Talk soon! 

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weekly stills...

1. Wound all these scrummy colours into cakes the other day, all ready to make into something special.  Not sure what that is yet, but I'm bound to think of something!  

2. More yarny goodness, gotta love on line shopping!  This divine sock wool arrived the other day all the way from Canada.  Love these colours so much!  Very happy girl here!! :) 

3 + 4. Starting something new,  more to come on this project soon! 

5. Cool shadows in the morning light....

Life has been extra busy the last few weeks, and my blogging time has been suffering, so sorry for not being around here much, I'm hoping to get back into it this week, I have a few things to share with you all! 

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Have a hearty day! :)

Hello! 

 I hope you are having a fabulous week!

Before I pop off to bed I thought I'd show you a little thing I made last week, some heart bunting.  

I have been a bit fixated on hearts recently, and these cute little flags are an idea I had for some left over cotton, not enough for a complete washer, but enough for a square!  I might put a little recipe together for these, they are fun to make and make a cheery addition to a wall I think! 

I'm planning to make some nice long strings for the studio, I ended up painting it all white, so there is lots of scope for colourful decorating! :) 

So what have you been making lately? 

Something big and long term, or a quick crafty fix?  

I am finding that I am making lots of smaller things, at the moment, like this bunting, due to another market in April, but then there is a break over winter, so I think I will be able to start some bigger projects, maybe a couple of blankets. I have seen a lovely motif that I want to try, isn't there always another idea to try!! :) 

Have a good crafty day! 

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Progress....

Hello! Just quickly popping in here today to show you what I've been working on recently and why I have so little computer time at the minute! 

My latest 'Wheels within Wheels' blanket is coming along nicely, I am down to the last 12 circles and then I can start squaring them up.  I am really happy with the colour palette in this one, it's starting to remind me of peacock feathers and tropical beaches :)

 This is my little suitcase of unfinished things, there is my heart blanket that I was really trying to have ready for a Valentine Day treat, but I don't think it will be ready by then :( 

I'm planning today that I will get a few a more circles finished and choose the background yarn.  It's good to have achievable goals! 

One of the things I am trying to do this year is be more realistic about what I am capable of and what can actually be done in a day, rather than setting these huge lists of tasks that never get done and make me feel bad and unproductive.   I am hoping it will help me focus on getting more things finished and stop me putting off jobs that I don't want to do.  Time will tell. 

So, onward with the day! 

Have you got anything special planned today?

It's the last day of the Summer holiday's here so I guess I had better check the boys uniforms are clean and everything is ready for the return to school routine tomorrow.  I have a lot of wool shop catching up to do when I have the house to myself again, new colours to upload, crochet classes to plan and a newsletter to write.  I'm looking forward to it! :)

Have a lovely day! 

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last week....

Last week...

1. ...I was hooking up washers for the market. I love choosing the colour combos for these, there are so many nice possibilities.

2. ...the rosellas found the apple trees.  They are really beautiful birds, but they will probably strip all the fruit from the trees well before they are ready for us to eat.

3. ... this gaudy, gorgeous dahlia flowered! Yay! 

4 +5  ... I had a stall at the twilight market at Emu Plains, it was packed with people and I really enjoyed meeting some peeps who knew of this blog!!

6. ... hooked up a colour swatch for a customer.

7 ... I started a new 'wheels within wheels' blanket, this time in blues and greens, I think it will look good. :)

8. ...the apricots started to ripen! yay! I love a tree ripened apricot, so much better than anything you can buy from the shops.  My parents tree is laden this year, so much so that branches are breaking under all the weight! I am thinking a couple of batches of jam and a big pot of stewed apricots are going to be made soon! 

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That's a few bits of my last week, I had an unintentional bloggy break as well, I just couldn't find time to sit at the computer or take many photos.  I have a heap of emails to respond to and they didn't get touched either.  Sorry for being a bad communicator!  I am hoping to get back into a rhythm soon and find the blogging routine again.  Do you find your blogging mojo ebbs and flows? 

What did you get up to last week?  

Got any big plans for this one?

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Back in the swing of things.....

Hello there!  

Well, 2015 is over a week old already and this is my first post for the year, my 'post more regularly' resolution is kind of out the door before we even begin the year! :)

It has been hard to get out of holiday mode if I am honest, I love the slow mornings and unplanned days of holidays, with no real routines and lots of chilling out at the beach or daytime crochet without the guilt trip.  January is often not a very productive month around here, February and the return to 'normal' life seems to arrive very quickly! 

This year I am trying to be productive and stay in that 'holiday feeling' zone.  I have a couple of markets in January and not much to sell, so really need to get cracking on some stock!!

And I have bitten the bullet and made a schedule for crochet classes, workshops and crafternoons for the first few months of the year, starting this weekend!  Eek!

(so if anyone is around the Crib Point/Mornington Peninsula area and would like to join us, feel free to get in touch!  More info in the last photo, sorry about the fuzzy quality of the image!)  

This is a new project I am starting, my Summer Hearts blanket, so far it is turning out how I imagined, so that is a win.  Hoping to finish this one quite quickly, I am going to try and make more blankets this year.  I was quite pleased with making 9 blankets last year, and then I saw a post by the fabulous Patchwork Heart showing the 43!!!! blankets she made last year, how is that for productive! Amazing amount of work, and she works full-time as well!  I think I will take a small step towards this level of productivity and aim for 12-15 blankets this year, I hope that is doable for me!  :)

( My problem is that I get side tracked, spending too much time at the beach and in the garden, who could resist when this lovely spot is 5 minutes away! ;)  )

Somers beach yesterday. Beautiful!

....this is the little schedule I made for my crochet classes, I'm hoping there will be someone local on the Mornington Peninsula interested in joining me! :)   

I am also doing something very exciting for my little yarn shop, I feel that I have out grown the room I have been using for my stock, it is far to crowded and I can't really expand my range until I address the space issue.  So we are creating a proper yarn studio and workshop space just for me!!  

We have a large garage attached to our house that has been place where all our junk ends up.  We are having a huge clean out and then I am turning most of it into a gorgeous studio for all my lovely yarn, and there will be plenty of space for more yarn and for classes too! Yay yay!!  

It should be a win win situation, as the house will be much tidier and easier to look after without all my crafty things spread throughout the place. 

So that has also been keeping me busy, I really want to have this finished in a month or so. 

Ok, I better stop there, starting to ramble a bit too much I think, I had so much to catch up! 

I hope you are enjoying your January and getting lots of hooky time too! 

Talk soon, I think I will be starting my Friday Finds for 2015 tomorrow, so I will be back with that. :)

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weekly stills....

1. It's freesia time in my garden, Yay!! I say bring it on! 

If there's a better smelling flower out there I'd love to know, freesia scent is divine! :)

2. A blurry shot of part of my stall on the weekend, (I remembered to take my good camera, but forgot to put the sim card in it!  Doh!  So this is from my phone that is showing it's age now.)

I had a lovely day and it was so nice to  meet more readers of this blog!  I'll be doing this market again in November, I am looking forward to it already.

3. Last week seemed to be dominated by granny square bunting!  

Happy to be making something else for awhile.

4 +5. Some hits of colour from my Spring garden, the roses are in bloom, and it looks like a good year for roses around here, and the bearded iris are full of flower spikes that are beginning to open.  I think this purple and white one is very hardy, I divided up a few big clumps last year and it seems they were all this colour, I now have shots of purple popping up all around my garden, lovely! 

I am hoping for a few other colours to flower soon too.

6. I am noticing little piles of yarn ends all around my house.  I hadn't really noticed how messy I am when I am working, but I do tend to spread through out the whole house if these yarny droppings are anything to go by! :) ( I started looking around for more and found 8 more little piles at strategic places throughout the house! Must be a bit tidier!!)

7. Making little bottle vase covers at the moment, more to come on these later. :)

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So, I feel like I have been neglecting this little blog over the last few weeks, I haven't spent much time on the computer, and when I have been on it I have just been dropping in quickly and buzzing off again, no time to interact properly.  Hopefully life will slow down a bit and I will be able to get a few posts up on here this week, that is the plan anyway!

A few of the blogs I like to check in on every now and again are stopping blogging, it is a shame as these are lovely  places to visit on the internet, but I do understand how they feel! Sometimes I feel like there is nothing more to say on here, and that Little Woollie has run it's course and is getting quite predictable and a bit boring.  Maybe it is time for a break, there don't seem to be enough hours in the day for all the stuff I'd like to do anyway!   

Do you lovely readers have any tips for getting out of a rut and reinvigorating yourselves?

If you blog, how do you keep up your interest and come up with things to blog about?

Do you think editorial calendars work, does it make 

you a more disciplined blogger (as in frequency)? 

I could use a few new ideas :)