Tag Archives: Craft

What Have You Fixed Lately?⤴

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Leopard print jacket
Leopard print jacket flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license
Today’s TDC says

Show us a photo of something you recently fixed or made better.

When my SiL was clearing out my MiL’s flat she came across a bag of knitting. Inside was a jacket, half finished. We both remembered it as a project we’d seen a few years ago, quietly cleared away. Shona asked if I’d like it, and I said I would. It’s been sitting on my knitting chest since the beginning of this year while I made sense of where to start on it. There was no indication of what row had last been knitted, so first I had to work that out. This wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped as the pattern has 23 different coloured yarns and Morag had noted down three different versions of how the yarns she had chosen corresponded to those in the original pattern. She’d also altered the pattern to make it smaller, but I did work that out from the markings on the chart. Finally, and this puzzled me a great deal, the last row she’d knitted had started with one row on the chart and finished with another, and she’d dropped a stitch. I think these last mistakes were the ones that made her decide to put it away. Still, on a rainly morning on holiday this year I puzzled it all out and made a start. At the weekend I cast off the ribbing for the last piece of the body and I am now knitting the two sleeves. Wish me luck!

Add AI to an Unexpected Product⤴

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During the month of August I will be participating in Blaugust, a month long blogging challenge.

HapGPT
HapGPT flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license modified with File:AI-Check.svg wikimedia commons image by Subilan shared under CC0 and additional text

Today’s TDC asks us to:

Look around and find an everyday object that could use some AI added to it. Create an advertisement image that extols its virtues in the new age.

I chose a photo of a Shetland Lace Hap I made earlier this year from a traditional pattern, streched out on the hap stretcher that N made for me. I then downloaded the  AI-Check image linked in the TDC and used PPT to add it to the image. I wrote some text in the spirit of the example Alan had shared, and added that to the slide:

HapGPT is here.

Shetland Lace Haps have been made by hand from traditional patterns since the 19th Century, with patterns passed down by word of mouth.
Now new technology can take all of the pleasure out of knitting.
Expect mangled instructions and patterns that do not work.
All for a very reasonable monthly fee of £300 pcm

Then I screen shot the slide and uploaded it to Flickr so I have it in my files and can use Alan’s Flickr attribution bookmarklet (which saves me seconds as it does it all for me). The result is at the top of the page.

Knitting memories⤴

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With a new great nephew due soon, I’ve been spending time knitting for him – a hap to wrap him in when he arrives

134/365 Hap
134/365 Hap flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

A stripy jacket and jester hat from the same pattern I made for his big sister

136/365 Tiny Jester
136/365 Tiny Jester flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

And then, as I was wrapping them carefully in tissue paper to post them to my niece, I remembered that I had picked up some old baby patterns last time I was down south at mum’s – I think this is from the 1960s. I knew Rosie would appreciate me knitting something with a connection to mum.

Knitting pattern
Knitting pattern flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

I chose a pattern that I remembered making many years ago, looked out some pretty pale purple yarn and started knitting. When I copied the pattern (the original is very battered, and I didn’t think it would stand being carried around again), I noticed that it has some of mum’s notations.
Annotations
Annotations flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

So as I’ve been knitting I’ve felt connected to mum. I’ve been remembering how I’d  sometimes get myself into a state when my knitting went wrong, and throw it down in a temper. How mum would raise an eyebrow and tell me to leave it for another day. And how, the next day, I’d find that she’d picked it up after I’d gone to bed and unpicked the mess I’d made so I could carry on. I started knitting this because I wanted to create a memory for Rosie, and in doing this I’ve spent some happy hours revisiting my own memories.

Thanks, mum. Cardigan all finished and sewn up with ‘vintage’ buttons from my button tin.

Baby Cardigan
Baby Cardigan flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

I hope Baby Bridges is not allergic to cats, as when I turned around to pack this up, this is what I found.

Cat cardigan
Cat cardigan flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

Knitting memories⤴

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With a new great nephew due soon, I’ve been spending time knitting for him – a hap to wrap him in when he arrives

134/365 Hap
134/365 Hap flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

A stripy jacket and jester hat from the same pattern I made for his big sister

136/365 Tiny Jester
136/365 Tiny Jester flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

And then, as I was wrapping them carefully in tissue paper to post them to my niece, I remembered that I had picked up some old baby patterns last time I was down south at mum’s – I think this is from the 1960s. I knew Rosie would appreciate me knitting something with a connection to mum.

Knitting pattern
Knitting pattern flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

I chose a pattern that I remembered making many years ago, looked out some pretty pale purple yarn and started knitting. When I copied the pattern (the original is very battered, and I didn’t think it would stand being carried around again), I noticed that it has some of mum’s notations.
Annotations
Annotations flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

So as I’ve been knitting I’ve felt connected to mum. I’ve been remembering how I’d  sometimes get myself into a state when my knitting went wrong, and throw it down in a temper. How mum would raise an eyebrow and tell me to leave it for another day. And how, the next day, I’d find that she’d picked it up after I’d gone to bed and unpicked the mess I’d made so I could carry on. I started knitting this because I wanted to create a memory for Rosie, and in doing this I’ve spent some happy hours revisiting my own memories.

Thanks, mum. Cardigan all finished and sewn up with ‘vintage’ buttons from my button tin.

Baby Cardigan
Baby Cardigan flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

I hope Baby Bridges is not allergic to cats, as when I turned around to pack this up, this is what I found.

Cat cardigan
Cat cardigan flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

Making Memories⤴

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Granny Squares Blanket

A few years ago I decided to make myself a blanket – something warm and cheery for the winter months. Also, unusually for me, I decided not to rush it. So, over the last 3 years I’ve been acquiring wool as memories. There’s wool from holidays on Mull, a visit to the Shetlands, a week on Orkney, a short break to the Cairngorms. There’s squares knitted in Shetland lace patterns, patterns made by the Uni knitter in residence years ago, there’s a Dalek, a Cyberman, K9 and a Tardis. Then, of course, there are two black cats. I have loved making it, and now it’s finished – and I can’t wait for the cold nights so I can spreda it out on the bed.

Research digest for teachers of craft, design, engineering and graphics⤴

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This research digest has been developed to provide you with a sample of recent international literature and research related to Technologies: Craft, Design, Engineering and Graphics.

www.educationscotland.gov.uk/resources/r/genericresource_tcm4875926.asp