KraftyKoala

It’s something i’ve been meaning to do for ages, and finally Woolly @ Brownberry Yarns has kicked me up the bum and we’ve put one together I have stolen her wonderful blurb about the club because she says it so much better than I could

I am currently alternating between plying 6oz of merino/mohair dental floss (seriously, these are some thin singles!) and dyeing like a demon for Rav day on saturday

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So obviously I haven’t blogged for nigh on eons, I could go into vast detail but i’ll spare you all that, suffice to say I was at the back of a very deep cave and now i’m not

Not much has changed, i’m still dyeing up a storm, 4 shows this year which is really exciting! Wonderwool has been and gone and that was a lot ot fun, still to come are Ravelry Day in Coventry on 6th June, then Woolfest at the end of June and Fibrefest in August.

September should see me going back to university to finish off my degree, part time over 2 years. English Literature and Creative writing, i’m really excited at the prospect of studying again! Just waiting on all the UCAS gumph to go though now, it’s like being a teenager again.

Preston Stitch n Bitch continues to go from strength to strength, we have over 20 regular members now, taking over Starbucks a little but they are trying really hard to be accomodating. I’ve been going for almost 3 years now and i’ve made some firm friends I can’t imagine not having in my life, it was a good decision to go. If you’re umming and ahhing about joining yours, I say go for it, you won’t regret it!

I’ve also been in most of the major knitting magazines in some capacity over the last 6 months, yarn reviews, seasonal features, adverts, if you buy a UK knitting magazine chances are you’ve seen KraftyKoala getting about. When I was persuaded that my yarns were good enough to sell I never imagined it would be as much of a rush as all this has been, and while i’m in no doubt that it’ll never make me rich, i’m having a blast and meeting some fantastic people in the process.

And one of those fantastic people (how’s that for linkage!) has tagged me in one of these meme type things you see everywhere, so you can thank Nic for the following stuff you never really wanted to know about me, but now you do

8 things I am looking forward to…..

1. Woolfest, 2 days surrounded by fluff and great company, whats not to look forward to!
2. My next Geocache, I know it’s bordering on geeky but it really is a lot of fun!
3. Summer, seriously, I am done with the rain now, bring on this long hot summer I keep hearing about
4. The arrival of Juno’s kittens, since I’m not allowed any more babies I shall live vicariously through my cat
5. Going back to uni in september, I can’t wait to use my brain again
6. My friends birthday Murder Mystery dinner party in July, i’ve always wanted to do one!
7. Spending some time with my mum in the summer, I hate living so far away from her
8. My birthday, I have many, many books on my amazon wishlist I can’t wait much longer for

8 things I did yesterday…….

1. Went Geocaching! My new favourite pastime, it’s like treasure hunting, and gets us all walking!
2. Spun. The finished yarn isn’t soft enough for my liking so I think it’ll end up as a felted basket.
3. Fell in cow poo. Not the highlight of my day by any stretch.
4. Washing. Had to get the cow poo out of the clothes
5. Had a picnic by the river, the weather was just gorgeous.
6. Knit some more on the girly cardigan for Summer.
7. Played on Twitter far too much, it’s addictive!
8. Avoided the cleaning like the plague

8 things I wish I could do…….

1. Sew! I have a machine, but I lack the skills to use it.
2. Play an instrument. I always wanted to play the clarinet but my parents couldn’t afford it
3. Keep on top of the housework. I always feel so much better with a tidy house but I always let it get away from me
4. Web design. I want a better website but I wouldn’t have the first idea how to go about it and I really can’t afford to pay anyone to do it for me.
5. Sing. I want to be on X Factor damnit!
6. DIY, then I could sort out my seriously dark hallway and the rest of the bad decor.
7. Answer all Thomas’s science qestions, then I wouldn’t have to keep saying ‘ask daddy’ all the time!
8. Design my own knits, i’m so jealous of people who can just knock out a gorgeous pattern or an item off the top of their heads.

8 shows I watch……

1. Holby City - I’m an addict, have been watching for years
2. Casualty - as above!
3. The Apprentice - Love it, not fond of any of them this year though!
4. Greys Anatomy - I adore it, cannot miss an episode
5. ER - Can’t believe it’s ending
6. Next Top Model - Americas, Britains, Australias, I love them all
7. Lost - 1 season left, I need answers!!!
8. Heroes - more addictive stuff

So, that’s mine! Now i’m going to tag 8 more people, and here are the rules in case you need them!

1. Mention the name of the person who tagged you.
2. Do the lists of 8.
3. Tag 8 bloggers of your choice.
4. Let them know that they have been tagged!

I tag….

1. Half-Price Knickers
2. Flajol - blog woman!
3. Sarah
4. Laalbear
5. Jo
6. Sensible Julie
7. Xtiand
8. Mandy

Phew! That was exhausting! Good to be back though!

There we go, my first blog for 15 months, I won’t be leaving it another 15 before the next one!

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And we’ve moved here……

http://www.kraftykoala.co.uk/blog

I cannot get enough of this song at the moment, I am making it my mission to learn all the words but it’s not going all that well. I blame my rapidly dissolving braincells.

I challenge you not to dance around like a loon whilst listening to this, or at the very least rock your head about rythmically.

I’ve always been adament I don’t get the whole handbag thing, and I suppose I don’t in the traditional designer handbag sense, but I do really love funky totes and bags. I am especially partial to Paperchase ones, namely this one at the moment….

I want it I want it I want it. It would be perfect for my knitting, and there’s even a little pencil case in the same design that would be great for tape measure, needles etc. It’s so bright and cheery, I need it in my life! I’ve added it to my amazon wish list in the hope someone who loves me will spot it, well, blind optimism is something I need to practice anyway ;).

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We all need it in our diet, at least that’s what i’m telling my husband when another package of it arrives on the doorstep. I love it love it love it. I love how it feels, how it dyes, how pretty it looks when it’s braided and coiled up. I think I may be becoming obsessed….

You’ll have to forgive me, I just got some I dyed yesterday off the line and it looks soooo lovely now i’ve braided it. Have a look….

I want to spin it now now now!!!! Unfotunately I only have 4 bobbins and 2 are being used on some other fibre thats calling to me from over the room. I should finish it off….. so why am I thinking ‘buy more bobbins’???

In other news, I sold the 2 skeins of handspun to a nice lady in Texas so it’s now swimming it’s way across the atlantic.

I got murdered in Hat Attack yesterday, but not before I got my own weapon of hat destruction in the mail. Death came to Manchester in the form of this little beauty….

I left the head in the window after I took the picture and frightened myself to death by catching glimpse of it out the corner of my eye at least half a dozen times before I had the sense to move it!

Off to the cinema with Suzi tonight to see Juno, really looking forward to it. Then i’m going to finish up sewing up the baby bootees, make a start on the hat and hopefully have the whole ensemble finished by the weekend (she said hopefully), then it’s back to some WIP’s I think. Haha, as if!!!

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That is indeed the question.

You’ve probably noticed that as of late i’ve been veering more towards the not… well, I won’t bore you with all the minute details as to why, suffice to say i’ve been dwelling in a bit of a hole and I need to emerge from it, so now seems as good a time as any. Especially since I just recieved some quite exciting news…. i’ll tell you more when i’ve got firm confirmation in my hand, but hopefully KraftyKoala will become a bit more visable in a few months from now

So, what have I been up to? Well, the shop has taken a bit of a back seat really, i’ve done quite a bit of custom stuff, and last week I dyed 2 kilos of wool which are waiting to be reskeined and photographed. Since the weather is going to be nice i’ll do some more tomorrow too.

I’ve been spinning a lot, and i’m really starting to enjoy it. There are a couple of skeins in my sale / trade page on Ravelry. I was loath to put them in there because I love them, but in all seriousness, what am I going to do with all this spun yarn??? For me the pleasure is in the actual dyeing the fibre and then seeing how it spins up. Oh ok, and stroking it a lot afterwards too.

Fibre has been my one big weakness this year, i’ve bought loads of the stuff. But it’s soooooo soft and lovely! And my wheel makes such a lovely sound as it’s spinning away.

That’s been my main problem this year really, splitting my time effectively. I want to spin, knit, dye, read, game, chat, blog and there just isn’t enough time in the days. Now factor in all the stuff I don’t want to do, namely anything housework related, and you’ll see my dilemma. I really need to get more organised!

Anyway, I have a hat of doom to finish, so i’m going to make this brief. I will leave you with some pictures of stuff, finished objects, school projects, glorius handspun and gratuitous children shots.
Have a good week everyone!

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Part One: Crafting

Do you knit, crochet, or both? - Knit mainly, crochet on occasion

What do you like to make? - Hats, socks, lace, allsorts!

Do you have a favourite project? - Hmmm, i’m enjoying knitting my afghan

Do you have a favourite type of fiber or brand of yarn? - I like soft, natural fibres over manmade, no particular favourites

Do you have a least favourite type of yarn? Any kind of squeaky acryllic!

Do you do any other crafts? - I spin, still quite new to it but I can hold my own

What knitting do you bring ‘on the go’? - If i’m travelling i’ll generally take a sock or a hat

What do you carry your ‘on the go’ knitting in? - My little NicsKnots project bag

Do you want something new? - I’m a bag slut, I love new project bags

Are there any knitting gifts (book, toy, yarn, item, tool) that you have been lusting over? - There are a few books on my wish list i’ve been lusting after

Part Two: Your Favourites

What is your favourite colour? - Bluey greeny purply lol

What is your least favourite colour? - Orange

What scents/smells do you like? - Vanilla, coconut, fruity scents, also love Lush Karma

What don’t you like? - Overpowering scents

How do you like to pamper yourself? (bubble bath, hand creams, massage, manicure) - A Lush Bubble Bar in the bath then a long soak with a good book

What goodies to you like to treat your tummy with? (chocolate, biscuits, truffles, etc.) - Lindt Lindor, mmmmmm.

Do you prefer tea or coffee while you knit? Tea, love tea.

Any particular kind? - Boring bog standard builders tea, or sometimes fruit infusions

Favourite mug/cup? - A large china mug with cats on

Do you listen to/watch anything while you knit? (TVshow-Along, movies, music, podcasts) - Period dramas, crime drama, Dr Who / Torchwood etc. Indie music

Part Three: Living & Past-times

Where do you live in the UK? (General idea not address) - Preston, Lancs

Have you always lived here, or did you grow up somewhere else? - Grew up in Hampshire

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go? - New Zealand

If you couldn’t go to a knitting group, what other kind of gathering would you go to? (book club, tea party, yoga class, jewelery class, etc.) - Book club, mums and tods etc

What’s your style? (elegant, traditional, glamourous, girly, natural, sporty, outgoing, etc.) - Natural, laid back, scruffy lol

Final Part:

Any allergies/preferences (fiber-wise or treat-wise)? - Nope, i’m easy

Anything we missed that you’d like your partner to know? - I’m a big cat person

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Because really, it has to be better than 2007 was doesn’t it! I certainly won’t be doing one of those ‘let’s look back over the year’ type posts before the end of the month, i’d want to go and throw myself under a bus!

Just to completely go against the theme of the last few posts, i’m going to include some knitting content in the blog, and even *gasp* some spinning content too!

Sooooooo, knitting. Well, during my more well feeling spells, hospital is quite a good place to get knitting done. I managed 4 squares for my Lizard Ridge blanket, and one sock for Sock Wars.

See, it’s quite a nice sock. I’d have dearly loved to finish it’s partner but the timing was lousy, it was right at the beginning of the illness when I was in lots of pain and not many drugs so I was knocked out quite quickly. I’d love to know where it is now actually, my ‘victim’ lives in the same county as me so really if i’d been well i’d have finished the second and hand delivered them. As it is, I posted them on to the person who killed the person who killed the person who killed me and who knows where they went after that because my ‘victim’ came second in the entire contest so she hasn’t had them!

I also knitted this rather lovely scarf….

It’s ‘My So Called Scarf’ (I know you’re all on Ravelry now, you don’t need me to be giving you links these days lol) and it’s knitted in some very lovely Manos Del Uruguay I got in a swap. It’s very snuggly, and very useful at the moment as i’m full of cold.

I also got this lovely thing before I went in to hospital…

Arthur is out of action at the minute so Joy has come to stay. We didn’t get on to begin with, but after a bit of tweaking we have come to an understanding and we managed to make this last night…..

Buoyed on by our success we decided to go the whole hog today and made this…

It’s actually a sort of deep purple roving of some description spun and then plied with some beautiful natural corriedale .

I predrafted the purple but it was breaking quite a lot, so I had a go at just drafting as I went and actually the corriedale lends itself quite well to learning to do that as the staple is quite long (ignore me if i’m talking crap, i’m new to all this, I think i’ve got it right!). Anyway, it was going ok! I plied it straight from the on board lazy kate and i’m really pleased with it! It’s uneven and overspun in some places, underspun in others, but for a first attempt, well, it could have been worse!

In other news, the shop has been updated, I put some custom slots on to guage the response and it’s been good, i’ll have fun dyeing those up tomorrow!

Secret Pal also came to an end a week or so back. I have been blessed with very patient pals, Mazzam who spoiled me with 3 beautiful and very thoughtful parcels, sent a card to me while I was ill in hospital and sent lots of lovely emails was the best upstream pal ever. This was her last parcel to me….

Look at all the goodies! She handmade a card, handmade super snuggly mitts because I missed out on the Angel Yarns mitt swap, and a lovely needle felted pot, she sent beautiful yarn including some merino angora Sublime and some Sheep Shop aran longwool from Harrogate because I missed out on going, and some lush Kauni EQ (rainbow) yarn which I have been after for ages, some regia sock stoppers and the most exquisite ladybird row counter bracelet, we all admired it at stitch n bitch on thursday. Thankyou for being a wonderful pal Mazzam.

I spoiled Mandy and I had the best time doing it!! I hope she liked all her parcels, and I want to thank her for being very patient with me and my disappearing act for the last month or so of it.

So, that’s us back up to speed! I’m looking forward to next year being full of knitting, spinning, dyeing, eating (without pain!) and general good stuff. Who’s with me!!!

I shall leave you with a picture of Leo enjoying himself at the 3rd Annual KraftyKoala Christmas Extravaganza!

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November has been the worst month ever.

Tonight we got the knock on the door we’ve dreaded since we got our beloved tabby cat Dante 18 months ago. Someone had found him in the road, he’d been hit by a car and killed.

To say we’re devastated doesn’t come close, I can’t believe how much you can love something so small. This is why I can’t sleep and i’m blogging (and knitting) at 3am. I want to turn the clock back because I want my cat back, the Dante shaped hole is too big and I can’t not think about it.

All I can be is grateful we got to have him for 18 fantastic months, despite how much this hurts I wouldn’t have been without him. It’s going to be hard telling the boys, Leo won’t understand but I know he’ll miss him, he’s always stroking him and looking for him. Hard to guage Thomas, he’s not been overtly Dante orientated, but I think he’ll miss him too.

Night night dear Dante, enjoy your eternity tormenting mice and birds and sleeping in the sun. Your humans will miss you so so much.

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