Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Finishes from Creative Festival

Cross Stitch Pendant - Susan Fritzgerald
Yesterday after getting some work done, I decided that it was time to sit down and work on the projects from the Creative Festival that were almost finished.

My first finish was actually the seamless hat because all I had to do was cast off the stitches and sew in the ends.  This project was a very quick project to finish so now have a hat that fits a doll.  I was also given the pattern that would fit a child so think I am going to make that hat to see what it is really like.

Seamless Hat - Gail Silver
The second finish was the cross stitch pendant that  I had worked on last Thursday in class.  Of course sitting down and finished this project probably took me less than an hour so another good feel.  The cord for the necklace was also included in the kit and so the project is totally complete.  The cord uses the chinese sliding knot so that the necklace length is adjustable. 

I am not sure what project I am going to work on next but I do know that I am looking forward to having another finish soon.  Of course I do have other projects on the go as well so will see if the finish is a Creative project or another project.

Now it is time to get some work done so that I can curl up later today and craft for a bit.



Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Creative Festival 2013

Double-ended Hook - Becky Simmons
Wednesday
Double-ended hook: scarf
To start my five days at the Creative Festival I decided to take a class on making a scarf with a double-ended crochet hook. The class was 3 hours and it was a lot of fun. It taught us how to use the tunisian simple stitch with two colours so that we end up with a reversible scarf with the two colours.  The length of the hook is longer than I would have liked but now I have figured out how to use it and it doesn't seem so bad

Thursday
Tunisian Crochet
Tunisian Crochet - Rebecca Smith
Yes it would have been nice to have this class before the double-ended hook class but I knew the simple stitch so it wasn't bad. In this class we learned how to do the tunisian simple stitch, knit stitch, purl stitch, honeycomb stitch and also the full stitch. We worked on a sample piece so that we could learn the stitches but not have to worry about making sure it worked perfectly on a project.

Modern Cross Stitch Pendant - Susan Fitzgerald
Modern Cross Stitch Pendant
This class was one that I took because I wanted to make a piece of jewellery using cross stitch and I knew it was going to be a very quick project to do. The picture shows what I got done in an hour and a half. I think I should have this project done very soon if I sit down and work on it. 

I am now going to be thinking about what else I can put on these pendants and already have one idea.


Friday
Cabling without a Cable Needle
Cabling without a Cable Needle - Kate Atherley
I have always avoided working with cable on hats and sweaters because I don't like working with a cable needle as I always drop it or lose it. That is the reason I took the class because knowing how to do cable without an extra needle would be really nice. So this class we worked on some sample pieces so that we could learn how to do the stitches and I have to admit this class went extremely quickly but I learned lots. The cables we learned were: right-leaning mock cable rib, left-leaning mock cable rib, three-stitch cable, right-leaning and left-leaning twists, 4-stitch cable and 6-stitch cable swatch. The only stitch that I really didn't like doing was the right-learning and left-learning twist. I guess that isn't bad considering these were all new for me. I now think I will be working on some cable projects because doing cables without a cable needle are pretty easy to do as long as it isn't any wider than 6-stitches.

In the Round - Kate Atherly
In the Round: PDNs, Magic Loop and Circulars
This was another class that I was wanting to take because I really wanted to figure out the magic loop that everyone was talking about. As this class was only an hour and a half it meant we didn't get a lot of practice on any technique but at least we learned them. The most time was spent on the magic loop because that was what we all wanted to learn. The biggest challenge I found was figuring out how to hold the needles but I think what a little more practice I will be able to do the magic loop without too much problem.
Jacob's Ladder - Becky Simmons

Jacob's Ladder
The Jacob's Ladder class was learning a new method for making a scarf using the simple crochet stitches. This class was a three hour class and as I am very comfortable with crocheting I found it very enjoyable and was able to figure out the picking up of the chain stitches quickly.  The pattern we have is for a scarf and I am going to continue working on it so that I can get the scarf done. The instructor that I had for this class was the same one I had for the double-ended hook class so it was nice to have her again. I had this instructor last year and found the classes were very enjoyable and what we learned was a lot of fun and different.

Canvas Coin Purse
Canvas Coin Purse - Jennifer Aikman-Smith
This was the class I was looking forward to because the instructor was Jennifer Aikman-Smith and all the classes I have every taken have been a lot of fun. For this class we had to pick up some supplies for it which meant we got to pick colours that we wanted for our purse. Jennifer than brings some supplies and we get to pick and choose from that as well. Of course the courses with Jennifer go extremely quickly so it doesn't look like you get much done even when you are spending three hours in the class.

Saturday
Santa's Helper Ornament
Santa's Helper Ornament - Jennifer Aikman- Smith
My second class with Jennifer Aikman-Smith and this was an hour and an half class and we worked on an ornament. I really don't know where the time went but this class seemed to be over way too quickly.  This project is using a piece of ribbon aida cloth with a wire in the edge of it.

Stitching Beyond the Traditional
I guess I expected more from this class then I actually found out. This class was showing us that we could take a cross-stitch pattern and bead it, knit it, rug hook or whatever we wanted. I guess for someone that was new to cross-stitch they may have learned something but I didn't find it very interesting. We got a grab bag of different fabrics, threads and beads and got to play. I guess the playing with the different things was made the class ok. It was only an hour and a half class so that made it manageable.

Seamless Hat on 2 Needles - Gail Silver
Seamless Hat on 2 Needles
I took this class to find a way of knitting a seamless hat only to discover that I learned this technique years ago. The actual project was a hat for a doll and it worked up very quickly. Basically this class was learning to double knit and end up with a tube with a seam at the bottom. The yarn that we got for this project was 100% wool which was nice to work on but something that for children requires a lot of extra work. Now I just need to cast off the hat and it will be completed.

Dragon Pin Cushion
Dragon Pincushion - Jennifer Aikman-Smith
My third Jennifer Aikman-Smith class and this one was a little more of a challenge because I just couldn't seem to get my head working on this project. It was a project on canvas and we were to work diagonal instead of row by row. Of course that seems to be a challenge at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon after spending almost 4 days taking classes. Once I figured out what I needed to do the project started to work up pretty quickly. Another 2 hours seems to fly by and that was the end of the first four days of classes.

Sunday – final day of classes and final day of Creative Festival
Blackwork Knight
Blackwork Knight - Jennifer Aikman-Smith
Working on a blackwork project was just what I needed a 9am on a Sunday morning. I love working on this type of project because you can see results pretty quickly if you work in small areas. Today I decided that I was going to work on a major outline instead of a small area and did get to see some good results. Honestly this course was 1.5 hours but the next class was with the same instructor (Jennifer Aikman-Smith) so I continued working on this project instead of picking up the next project.  I can't wait to start working on this project again because I want to see how quickly it will work up.  This project goes with the Blackwork Princess that I did a few years ago.

Tiny Fantasy Kingdom – Over 1
Tiny Fantasy Kingdom - Jennifer Aikman-Smith
This project was one that I wanted to work on but considering the lighting in the convention centre it meant that I would not start it until I had better lighting. The advantage of taking Jennifer's classes is we get projects that are new and a little different. It is great spending 5 classes with Jennifer because her classes are very relaxed and enjoyable. 

So many of us just take the classes because we enjoy spending the time with Jennifer and the rest of the group that we have gotten to know over the last few years.

Final Notes
The Creative Festival this year didn't have as many cross-stitch classes as normal so that is why I took as many knitting and crocheting classes as I did. In some ways I am glad I took the knitting and crocheting classes because I did walk away learning something in all of those classes. Now what I need to do is work through the projects that I started at the show so that I can get them completed. I really don't want to end up with a lot of projects from this year in a box that I haven't completed.

It is so nice seeing the number of friends that I have made over the years of going to the Festival.  We may only see each other for the 5 days we are at the show but it always feels like it hasn't been a year since the last visit.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Quick update

You may be wondering where I have been for the last little while.  That is so easy to explain by saying that I have been sick for a little while but finally getting back to myself.

This past 5 days I have been at the Creative Festival and have taken lots of classes.  Now what I need to do is sit down and write about each of the classes that I took and that is going to take me a while to do,  It is going to have to wait for a day or two until I can find the time to sit and think through everything I did.

I had a great time and saw lots of friends that I don't get to see enough of.

Until I can write up my weekend of events.