Loom Knit a Beanie for left handed beginners.

After having a mini break from blogging because of a 'little' surgery on my leg, it is time to let you know what's been happening in my creative world.

The title of this blog is a little bit of a fib. I'm not going to teach left handers how to loom knit because. Well, I'm right handed! How this came about is I happen to have an 8 yo granddaughter who has been hassling me to teach her to knit or crochet.

Problem no 1. I am right handed and she is left.
Problem no 2. My knitting skills are pretty hopeless.
Problem no 3. At this point in time she has the attention span of a goldfish and not the best fine motor skills.

Mikala age 4

She's only 4 in the above pic, but still sports the most glorious auburn hair and big cheesy grin!

Back to teaching her some form of fiber craft skill. (Her Mum was never interested in the finer arts of knitting/crochet)

We tried first with finger knitting with one finger. Nah! You should give this a go (as in teach someone), even with finger knitting you have 3 fingers on one hand doing different things. Let alone the other hand winding and pulling the yarn over! Fail! (totally forget trying to using two knitting needles at this point)

We tried crochet - but then you not only have the right hand/left hand issue, you have the controlling the hook, holding tension and both hands are going at the same time. Fail!

What to do? I then remembered my father had purchased a round loom knitting gadget for my mum when she had her first stroke. She had been an amazing knitter before but unfortunately, dementia was accompanying her in her older age and she had short term memory loss. So knitting was out for her and the loom sat in a box.

The loom pictured was found on Ebay, but you can pick them up anywhere like Spotlight in Australia for under $20.00
I knew I had to keep it simple with Mikala at this point, so decided to give loom knitting a go.

I'm not going to attempt to teach you how to loom knit as there is a plethora of great videos and information out there already. I did find this great little utube video created by what looks like a little girl not much older that my baby. Perfect!

So sitting with the smallest round loom and some red yarn in front of my computer, I created this.

Loom knitted newborn baby hat.

Now, not too bad for a rank beginner! Shame about the pom pom though. Its a shocker! :-)

So then I went and found some pink chunky yarn and started another, but this time left handed. Its actually pretty easy as there is not a lot involved and if I start it off and finish it for her then all she has to do for starters in get the hang of weaving in the same direction with the yarn going from inside to out. I'll let you know how she goes.

But in the meantime, I thought I would have a go at an adult size slouchy beanie for myself. I have to admit crocheting is a lot easier on my hands and this is a bit boring to do. But I will chip away at it!

Loom knitting an adult slouch beanie.

A little hint though, It creates a loosish weave, so to make a warmer hat double the yarn or use a chunky yarn. I am using an 8 ply wool blend here. Plus the special hook provided (which I'm sure makes the job easier) was missing, so I improvised with the handle end of a 2.50mm crochet hook.

I'll pop up a pic when I'm finished.

Have you got creative with knitting looms?

Friday Tulips

How's it going folks? Ive been a little 'ho hum' with a nasty cold. Hmmm, it must be nearly Winter!

Actually, I love Winter. I'm a 'green' girl. The pastures fill with grass again with feed for the horses, my garden gets watered more regularly (more weeds to deal with as well of course). But I also have a great excuse to play more in my studio! Plus we have a tin roof and there is nothing better in this world than listening to rain on a tin roof at night time. :-)
Which is your favourite season. Why?

But I digress. Even though I have been feeling pretty yuk, I have managed play with some paint on a little canvas for Paint Party Friday. I am working on a series of flowers at the moment, and had thought that after applying some varnish to make the colours pop it would be finished. But looking at it now, there's a little more work to be done yet. Maybe? Any ideas? (other than sorting out the horizon line)

Pink poppies acrylic painting

Addit - Mothers Day! Happy Mothers Day to you all!

Well, I had another look at my Tulips and decided that after a little advice from the clever Linda, I would add a little birdy and a few golden stenciled blossoms. I am now happy!

And I had some lovely lush yarn that I thought I would crochet up into a nice scarf. 

 And just to finish off for the day, I found this rather showy hibiscus that was almost bigger than the plant itself! Perfect for Floral Friday.

Well, that is definitely my lot for today. Time to go in a say hello to hubby as it must be cup of tea time. 
Tarrah all. :-)

Fluffy Bits

I played with some fluffy yarn the other day and created a faux cat! Well no, not really but my husband thinks it is and it will probably be the closest I will get to having my own little kitty in the near future. (We live on a bush block with lots and lots of bird life, and cats are too destructive unfortunately).

But I digress. Using a combinations of different yarns, I created an infinity scarf.

Faux fur infinity scarf - silver fox

And my goodness! This yarn is not easy to handle!. It slips and slides around like no ones business! Hubby was no help, so I ended up with a tangled heap on the floor which was painstakingly untangled and wrapped around a plastic bottle.

Fake fur scarf with pin

Using an 8 ply acrylic yarn doubled with the faux fur helped hold it together with a simple half double crochet stitch used to create the scarf.

It is so incredibly soft to the touch and feels gorgeous against your skin!

Faux fur scarf pin

And as I was having so much fun with this yarn, I thought I would make a little crochet art pin to match. Using a combo of the same yarns and adding beads, it adds a little more pink to the mix.

Sea anemone art brooch

It reminds me of a little sea anemone. What do you think?

New Winter Scarf

Had just finished this yummy, soft scarf and was playing with the camera. I think the little birds add to the 'country/woodland' feel? What do you think? Not having a beautiful model on hand, I am always thinking about different ways to photograph the scarves in my store.

Hand Crochet Winter Scarf in Pink

And as an aside. I love it when people who have purchased scarves or wraps from me send in a pic of them wearing it! It brings my art to life seeing them like that and being loved! :-)

Lilac pink silk and wool nuno stole over fuschia dress.