Tag: paisley

Business · crocheting · Knitting · sewing · Stitching

Yarn Obsession!

amanda harwoodLeave a comment

Two weeks has gone by already. Oh my that was fast! I have been busy, busy, busy, working on my designs for my business launch and doing background work for TPH like setting up books and working out instagram posts for the month. So far I have stuck to my schedule, which I’m really proud of. It has meant that some of my personal projects have been cast aside, like my Stitch Therapy 365, my Homespun BOM blocks, some knitting & crocheting projects and Miss M’s quilt. The only personal projects I have been doing are the Grinda Shawl (cause I need to keep up with the class) and a beanie I’m knitting for Miss M.

In my last post I told you that I was going to buy some thinner yarn and have another go at the lace work I had learnt in a class. Well I did and I did it perfectly. No lost stitches, no extra stitches…everything was perfect. I knew it was the yarn I was using! The yarn I bought was so pretty that I decided that I couldn’t not make something from it, so I decided that Miss M could do with a beanie. Living in Melbourne can get pretty chilly so it’s a perfect gift really.

This beanie isn’t worked in the round funnily enough. It has a seam up the back, which is just as well because I think I could get confused with the cable pattern.

It’s coming together really quickly and I can’t wait to give it to her. It’s a cotton variegated yarn by Katia called Candy for Baby in colour 650. In the photo it’s lying on top of my Grinda Shawl, which I am loving. Tonight is my last lesson and we get the pattern for the last part of the shawl. I am running way behind this week because the pattern didn’t give stitch count for some of the rows so it’s been a case of trial and error to ensure I get the right amount so the pattern crochets up properly.

I am loving the colours in this shawl. I’m currently going into a plum colour and then teal.

Creating this shawl has definitely inspired me to try and do up some of the ideas I have for shawls. I’m just at the note taking stage currently but excited for a time when I have a moment to see what I can bring to life.

I am totally obsessed with yarn at the moment. I have been buying The Knitter magazine. It has the most gorgeous patterns in it. There is a wrap I am hanging to knit but just have to wait for the wool to come in. It’s a beautiful berry colour.

I also bought some gorgeous wool from Lena at Knit Purl Yarn (http://www.knitpurl.com.au) last week. It is from Urth Yarns (www.urthyarns.com).

I want to make a shawl call the Butterfly Shawl or Papillion Shawl. It looks quite complicated but I’m up for the challenge.

Absolutely gorgeous!

Hubble & I went to an awards night last Friday for my day job. It was a formal occasion so I got to wear my fake fur stole and wedding shoes again. My feet, of course, are still recovering because whilst my shoes are absolutely gorgeous, they absolutely hurt my feet. I walked back to the car in barefeet after the night ended. The cool wet grass we had to cross was just what my feet were asking for. The coolness felt so good. It was so humid and hot where we had pre-dinner drinks. I spent 40 minutes curling my hair and by the time this photo was taken, it had nearly all dropped out. Perth doesn’t usually get so humid so I’ve forgotten that my hair does not like it.

The only photo we got on the night. Hubble looked weird in a tie, but still handsome. He didn’t even wear one to our wedding.

So that’s about it for this post. Have a great week and I’ll check in again soon.

Until next time…get creative!

crocheting · Knitting · Quilting · Stitching

CEO Days and such!

amanda harwoodLeave a comment

I’m sorry I didn’t post last week. The wifi in our house has been down and the mobile data on our phones has been playing up as well, so I’ve had no access to anything. It has been very frustrating. I am hotspotting off Hubble’s work phone (we pay for it) at the moment to get this post done.

So, what have I been doing for the last 2 weeks? I’ve been to 2 classes at Knit Purl Yarn Boutique to learn mosaic and lace knitting. They were both lots of fun but I definitely need more practice in the lace knitting. Couldn’t seem to keep the same number of stitches on my needle.

Mosaic knitting sample – not blocked
More mosaic knitting but in a pattern – not blocked

As you can see the lace knitting seemed to wonder off on its own towards the end but I’m going to preserve and maybe buy some thinner wool to practice with. It was hard to see what was happening with this colour and thickness.

I also tried my hand at zig zag crocheting. I’ve always wanted to learn how to do it and I saw a tutorial on you tube that I thought I would give a whirl.

Now I know the basics I can leave that style in my arsenal for when I’m designing new stuff.

Zig Zag Crocheting – not blocked

I have also been to another class for the Grinda Shawl and I have been trying to finish the next section for the class tonight. I have really enjoyed watching this come together. It’s so pretty the way the colours just seem to melt into one another. I don’t have a photo of the second part finished yet so I have just shown you what the pattern was for this section. It was called popcorn stitch.

Since I’ve been doing all this knitting I decided to organise my knitting and bought some project bags and a yarn bowl to try and tidy it up. The project bags are great. They are only for small to medium projects which is good because I have a bigger project bag already. The project bags have a little pocket inside to keep any notions you need, like a stitch counter or stitch markers. The yarn bowl is huge and fits 3 project bags and a larger project inside, plus my little yarn bowl and some other wool I’m looking to start projects with.

Della Q Yarn bowl and project bags are a great addition to your studio.

I also bought a small project bag to take to class, which has a snap lock little notions pouch on the inside so you can find your notions straight away. All of this is from Della Q. I have also used a cutlery tray from Aldi to organise all my needles. It’s making everything much easier to find.

This bag has so much room inside and I love the snap lock notions pouch that you always know where it is.

Finally, I have also bought from Knit Purl Yarn Boutique a lotion bar to keep my hands soft and supple.

It smells absolutely devine and is so easy to use. It doesn’t leave a residue on your skin for long so it won’t come off on your fabric or threads. You can use it on your feet and lips, anywhere you have dry skin. I must say my feet have been particularly dry this summer and this is the first lotion that I can use and it visibly makes my feet look more moisturised and I don’t slip over in the morning when I walk on the wooden floors. I’m really impressed with this.

By the way, I just want you to know that I have not been paid to endorse these products. I have bought them, used them & loved them and when I love something I tell everybody! AND you get them all from Knit Purl Yarn Boutique in Kalamunda.

Apart from all that knitting, I have also been working on my business The Paisley Hummingbird. I have been listening to this great podcast “Creative Women’s League” which is a podcast for women entrepreneurs in the craft industry. Kate Toney has been a wealth of information for me and yesterday Hubble and I had our first CEO Day. This is a day where we decide what we’re going to do for the next month and put deadlines on these things. I wanted to involve Hubble because he will pull me up if I’m being too easy or hard on myself and also so he can see just how busy I’m going to be if we want this business to be a success. We also worked on our word for 2019 which turned out to be abundance. Abundance means to us that we are unlimited in what we can achieve and do this year. Not just in the business but in our personal life and in Hubble’s professional life as well. We want to roll in an abundance of love, health, wealth and opportunities, so it was a very fitting word. We also worked out our 3 long term goals and some short term goals. Sunday I wrote out the plan we’d made on our big calendar and planned in detail how I was going to meet the deadlines I had set for myself. And then to celebrate finishing Hubble and I shared a lemon lime tart.

Another decision I have made about the business is a change of logo. The original logo I had was just too wish washy and really didn’t represent my brand. I needed something brighter and quirky. So, onto Hatchful by Shopify I went to create a new logo which is in one of my favourite colours and has an Art Deco/Seventies vibe to it. My designs have a vintage/retro feel to them so I wanted my logo to reflect that. I think that it’s better to get the logo right now before I launch.

Lastly here is a sneak peek of what I have been working on lately. Sorry, I can’t show you much but as you see I’m using some lovely Tilda fabrics. I can’t wait to show you the completed design.

Well that’s all for this week. Hopefully our internet will be fixed this week and life will go back to normal. Have a great week. Be great in everything you do, be kind to everyone you meet and be nobody else but you.

Until next time…get creative!