My Fat Little Gnome

This is a link to where I found the pattern.

I made this for my sister Jenny. She had pinned it with the exclamation "If only I knew how to knit." This was just after I learned how, so I thought, "I know how, I know how." and began making it in secret. I think I'm going to have to make one for myself one day.

I used black beans as filler, and a bit of stuffing for the hat, but I think that the beans made it look a bit fat. My original plan was to stuff the whole thing, then shove in some rocks in the middle/bottom, but we ended up having a surprise late snow fall the day I planned on finishing it. I think it still looks cute.

The Fine Art of Yarn Bombing

Peggy's Cove

Wow! Nova Scotia is absolutely gorgeous. My trip to visit my sister in Halifax enhanced my belief that we live in an outstandingly diverse and stunning country.

As I frolicked about Nova Scotia, I came upon some interesting crochet.

My sister gave me a tour of downtown Halifax on my first day, and I saw my first Yarn Bombing! I think that this is an adorably fun way of getting together to personalize your community. For those of you have not heard of Yarn Bombing this is a link of examples. Keep your eye open for Yarn Bombing in your city. I would like to hear about them.

In Lunenburg we came across a store selling hand crocheted cacti. I saw patterns for these awhile ago, and thought that they were cute, but couldn't think of a practical use for them. I love that these ladies were making money from them. I guess they could be practical after all. Here is a free pattern for crocheted cacti I found. Saweet!

Difference Between Crochet & Knitting (1) - Experiments

My mom taught me how to crochet when I was 13. Instead of making a pot holder, I made a triangle. But I pressed on, and have been crocheting ever since.

I never really had any desire to learn how to knit, until I found a pattern for Fair Isle slippers which require two strand knitting. Crochet is wonderful, but changing colours is a pain. I finally was taught how to knit when I had some good one on one time with my mother during my recovery in the hospital this past winter.

I have been knitting up a storm for the past few months, and am in love with knitting...although it will never replace crochet in my heart.

EXPERIMENTATION:

Because I have had lots of time on my hands, I have been experimenting. After making a crochet unicorn for my niece, I decided to use that same pattern but convert it to knitting by replacing the 'sc' with 'k1', etc. 

This is what happened

As you can see, the knitted unicorn is almost half the size. I also noticed that the crocheted unicorn holds its shape better. The knitted body parts bulged when stuffed and became more rounded.

Also, I had to crochet chains for the knitted unicorn's hair, because the only option for knitted hair I could find was using the i-cord, which is ridiculously time consuming and stiff compared to a simple crocheted chain.

More talk about the differences between Crochet & Knitting to come :)

Thread and Nail Art

Here is my absolute first Do It Yourself tutorial. How exciting! 

FIRST: Find some wood you think would fit your name. In my case I found the unused drawer divider from my ikea kitchen cabinet. Luckily I have a shortish last name, which fit perfectly.

SECOND: Stain or paint the wood the colour of your choice. I painted mine with diluted grey acrylic.

THIRD: Print out the letters in a font of your choice, and tape them to your plaque. I made an illustrator file the exact dimensions of my plaque so that the letters would print out the perfect size. Us a ruler when taping the letters, to ensure that they are placed properly.

FOURTH: Measure and draw dots where the nails will go. This helps prevent the creation of awkward gaps.

FIFTH: Start hammering in your nails.

SIXTH: Rip off the paper, and remove bits of left behind paper. You might want to use pliers to remove a few nails to get rid of some stubborn pieces of paper. Just hammer them back in afterwards. Also try to ensure that all the nails are the same hight.

SEVENTH: Choose your first letter, then create a slip knot and place around a nail. Wrap thread around each outer nail, then criss cross until you have an even density. Finish off at the nail you began with by tying a knot with both the ends. Trim thread, and kind of tuck the knot in so it's not as visible. It's okay if it is, it won't be noticed once your finish product is on display.

EIGHTH: Repeat the seventh step for all other letters, ensuring that you match the density of the first one you created.

Wallah! You have finished a beautiful name plaque.

  

Here is a wordless tutorial for you visual learners.

Our Desire to Create

I love the talk by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, called Happiness, Your Heritage. He reminds us that we all have the ability to create, even if we think we are not creative. Sometimes we can become overwhelmed by the talents of others, that we overlook the ones we have. 'Creation means bring into existence something that did not exist before.' You are creative when you make someone smile, take the time to teach a child, organize an event or activity... the list goes on. An example he used that I thought was interesting was 'harmonious homes.' This does not mean having a magazine picture perfect home! It is accomplished when we centre our homes around Christ.

When I was in the hospital recovering from my liver transplant, one of my friends sent me a link to a video that absolutely put a smile on my face, and helped me realize that people had not forgotten about me. She created happiness and comfort for me. This is what she sent.

Here are my favourite parts of Elder Uchtorf's talk:

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty...You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.”You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. ⁵ The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.

My mothers garden is much grander than mine, but I am just as proud :)

What you create doesn’t have to be perfect... Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it."

New Beginnings

There is something magical about the end of a ball of yarn. It doesn't look like much, but once grasped in your hand with your hook or needle, it can be the beginning of a whole new creation. Something once ordinary is transformed into something spectacular right at your finger tips.

I love the idea of creating something from nothing. My mother told me that when when my grandmother was a little girl she needed to have new white socks for school, but her parents couldn't afford them. My great grandmother shaved their dog, spun the fur, and then knitted her a fresh pair of socks. This blows my mind!

Before

After

About this Blog:

You are probably wondering what this blog is all about. My goal is to write about anything that has to do with the process of creation, mingled with my own experiences. When first considering the theme of my blog, I leaned towards making it all about knitting and crocheting, but upon further reflection I decided that that was far to limiting. I want to write about my process to publish a book with my own knit & crochet patterns, the lessons I learned from needing a liver transplant, and anything else that tickles my fancy. It may not be spectacular, but it will be my own creation ;)