This really feels like the home straight now…week 42 of 52! Yet I have been totally distracted from my YOP list by lampshade making and buying a loom.
I have updated my YOP list and have removed Crochet as a category. I’m not saying I won’t ever pick it back up again, but the longer I have been knitting the harder it seems to go back to crochet. I can’t get used to the hook and yarn in my hands and there are other crafts that I am currently more drawn to. That being said, I shall be crocheting vicariously, by reading the blogs of my fellow YOPers, many of whom make amazing and beautiful crocheted items.
So crochet is out and weaving has filled its place. I was going to do a separate weaving blog post, but didn’t get around to it, so that’s included here instead.
Weaving
So my first ever woven item turned out ok. There are a few mistakes but overall I am pretty pleased with it. This photo is before I washed it.
I seemed to get to grips with the process pretty quickly, but I need to learn the terms, learn some patterns, purchase some pick up sticks, so I can do patterns in the weaving.
The yarn was Hayfield Spirit DK Acrylic/Wool blend. Not really ideal for a first weaving attempt from a stretchiness of the yarn point of view, but the colour changes in the yarn work well.
My 2nd attempt was playing with some DMC Just Cotton yarn that is so splitty it was impossible to knit or crochet with. I think I need a different sized weave thingy…heddle?…so that it makes a tighter weave, but it was ok to practice with. Obviously I should have differently spaced the cream warp (vertical) lines to make it symmetrical.
Knitting
It was our Camera Club’s AGM on Monday evening, that dragged on for over 2 hours…so I got quite a few rows done on my socks. Without measuring where I was up to I did more sock knitting watching Bridget Jones movie and of course by the time I measured they were 1/4 inch too long, so I made toe decreases every row and tried to make a left and a right sock by decreasing more on the pinky toe side. There was much swearing done when I was trying to fix my Kitchener stitch on one sock, as it had a hard bump at the end. After hours trying to sort it I went to bed and in the morning decided the feet are too short and so I unpicked the toes!
So these have a few accidental changes to the Hermione’s Everyday Sock pattern, including where the purl stitches on the main pattern!
I finished the waist decreases and started on the hip increases on my Elda cardigan. The marker shows my progress this week, even though I didn’t post a picture last week!?! So far it fits well, but I need to stop putting weight on or it is not going to fit! I just cannot stop thinking about biscuits (cookies) and chocolate, all day, every day…and obviously consuming them too!
I even did another few rows on Void shawl, but barely any difference since I last posted that…they are seriously long rows now. On the trickier rows they take about 45 minutes to do 1 row!!! I still can’t see me making this to the full pattern length….pretty sure as it gets wider I’ll eventually hit 2 hours to do 1 row!
Felting
Yep more lampshades!
#8 for the landing, outside the bathroom. The dark blobs were supposed to be pebbles, but most of them were lost during trimming and folding edges…doh!!
#9 is a larger (25cm instead of 20cm) lampshade for the living room. Designed to go with the photograph it illuminates.
I have 4 kits left, think I miscounted last week. Hall table, spare bedroom, study and one more landing light to do.
I have been saving all the trimmed edges from the lampshades to make something with. I’ve been thinking about dusting off my sewing machine and experimenting putting embellishments on felt.
What I am listening to
On BBC Radio 4 for over 70 years there’s been a radio show called Desert Island Discs. The guests have to pick 8 record singles/tracks, they are given the Bible, the complete works of Shakespeare and they can pick 1 other book and a luxury item. Hundreds of the episodes are available as podcasts and for licensing reasons the tracks on the podcast are cut short. This means I can get 2 episodes in per dog walk. This week has been so interesting. Lauren Bacall, Tom Hanks, Bill Gates, Dustin Hoffman, Goldie Hawn, Alice Walker (author of The Colour Purple) are some of the American guests I’ve listened to. Kenneth Williams, Dame Judy Dench, Russell Brand, Dawn French, Liam Gallagher, Claire Balding are some of the Brits I’ve listened too. It gets you thinking about what 8 songs you’d want to take and what book and luxury item you’d want to take with you. I’ve drafted a list of the songs, my book choice would either be Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer (which I’ve already read 5 times and still enjoy) or the complete works of Pam Ayres Poetry, that I could learn off by heart. The luxury item…yarn perhaps? Goldie Hawn chose lip gloss!
HighlandHeffalump 
Oh my gosh – all your projects are beautiful! Your lampshades are gorgeous – so lovely all through your house! Nifty weaving projects as well – how do you like weaving? I have been wondering about how that would be to try…
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Well it’s much quicker than knitting or crocheting to get a finished object, so that’s good as I am impatient. You get in a rhythm and zone with it so still quite meditative. It’s early days though. With the Sampleit you can buy a 2nd heddle (the thing you thread the yarn through and move up and down). With a 2nd you can double the width of your object by double weaving. But this one is a good size as it is for scarves, placemats, dishtowels.
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Well, your weaving looks lovely! You are so talented!
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*blush* thanks ☺️
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That weaving looks fun and all your lampshades are lovely. What a great look to have through your house.
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The lampshades are just gorgeous as usual but what I love most is the cohesive look they will give throughout your home. Will you put pebbles on the second landing lampshade? I liked the look of that and what a shame it got lost in turning it over. I’d imagine embellishing them will work and could be a fun and creative way of using the scraps left over.
What great attempts at the weaving, I love the fades of blues through the first project and the play of colour through the second. Weaving really does look like a great new interest and one I’m going to be following keenly. It will feature no doubt on next years list, (bold of me to assume you’ll be doing it next year!). I had the same thought this morning as I was writing my title and how short a time remains….I did wonder if I could get the two remaining garments knit!
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Yes weaving will be on my list for next year. Learning double weaving for sure and I’m thinking a set of placemats for summer or even a table cloth for the picnic table! I will do a matching light shade with pebbles above the stairs I think, I need to die up some sand coloured merino first as I’m all out. The pebbles that were lost on the trimmed edge can be pulled off and needle felted on the next one.
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Looking forward already to seeing those weaving adventures next year! I love the fact you can pull off and repurpose the pebbles in the next lampshade, no waste!
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Love your weaving! I last worked on a loom in elementary school, but I really like the look of woven fabric. Thanks also for the links to the BBC podcast. It is interesting to think about what you would take to a desert island… I will have to think about that. And I will have to check the Archer book – maybe that can be my Easter reading? Have a great week!
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It really makes you think about what songs you could listen to over and over again. If you read the book I hope you enjoy it. The first time I read it I was a kid in Yugoslavia on holiday with my parents but without my sister. I spent all week in the reception (in the air conditioning) reading it whilst my parents explored the place.
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Wow, lip gloss? Come to think of it, I might choose lip balm. Your projects are all gorgeous, and your lamp shades really are stunning. I’m so impressed with your weaving! I had a rigid heddle loom for a while and made a bag. I decided it wasn’t fine enough and wanted to learn dish towels on a harness loom. I meant to take a class but never did. I’m with you on crochet.
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My hubby and I just listened to Ray Mears (survival & bushcraft expert) episode and he said you can do without a knife as you can use shells…he took some extra loud speakers for playing his 8 songs…I’m definitely taking yarn now 😂 it’s like I think it’s actually going to happen
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Your weaving is lovely, I like the fact that even practice looks great! And I love seeing your lampshades in situ.
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I appreciate that you’ve made a conscious choice to eliminate a craft. I find myself distracted too often by all the various craft items I’ve accumulated, yet most of them go unused. I think weaving looks like it would be very gratifying, but I hesitate to invest in it. For now I will enjoy weaving vicariously through your creations. 🙂 I love your newest lampshades. That seascape one goes with the picture perfectly!
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Your weaving is really great, even the one you think is too tight. I am sure there is a learning curve to it. You will have it mastered in no time. The lampshades are wonderful as always. Nice to see your sweater growing a bit.
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Your weaving is awesome – I have yet to be tempted to learn another craft – I am afraid I would go down the rabbit hole never to be seen again.
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testing as my comment wouldn’t go through last time….
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okay, evidently it’s working now…..love the lampshades! I just can’t get over how beautiful they are. The weaving is also lovely and the socks are SO pretty. I love that yarn. the Elda cardigan is going to be lovely too. I am going to see if I can find those audio podcasts as they sound very interesting. Have a great week!
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Thanks 😁
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The weaving is lovely, as are the lampshades. I think I said on Instagram that the blue one in the living room is my favorite and I think I’m going to stick with that. 🙂 Some day, when you’re in New England or I’m in Scotland, I’ll exchange a knitting lesson for crochet and maybe we’ll get each other over our respective learning curves!
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Sounds like a plan.
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