tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23885900449679443042024-02-07T14:17:14.443-08:00Ma DashperI am a knitting and crochet newbie - a novice who has discovered a real passion for knitting.
Share in my journey and if, like me, you're just starting out maybe you can learn from my mistakes!Ma Dashperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12019826761368566324noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388590044967944304.post-37865618294551144842016-11-02T11:20:00.000-07:002016-11-02T11:20:12.838-07:00Dealing with moths in your stash<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Dealing with moths in your stash or woollens</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Luckily, I don't have moths in my stash. I rather suspect
that if I ever found them, I would be paranoid every time something airborne
was spotted in our house. My 'Stash Palace' is rather large and has been
lovingly curated, so the idea of finding moths or their carnage makes me
uneasy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moths are attracted to quiet, dark places like your yarn shelves or woollens
drawer. They like to feed on ceratin, a protein that occurs in natural
fibres and human hair/skin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have come across and engaged in quite a few chats about deterring and
killing moths and so here is my list of things that you can do whether you want
to deter them, or protect your stash like a ninja. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">1 - Use lavender as a deterrent</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moths are scent sensitive and do not like the smell of lavender. I
have mini lavender pouches in my crochet and knitting project bags. In my
Stash Palace, I have little sachets dotted around in the skeins and little
crocheted containers with dried lavender flowers in to make sure that the
lavender scent is everywhere. I also have lavender sachets in my shawl
basket and in my woollens drawer. You would be amazed by how many people
protect their stashes, but not their finished objects.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUJhsTWK281RicVAwL88wUyEpiltNEs-yB2v1etPhFLseAsjc5K1lSQm733_TtFpNMD8BG1JlvZixwYOsMMIdE4JD4QjDuB61Rs8MdAv3iZ694gcEb5ci-hPjrBHYXpfvzaSXjiZx744/s1600/IMG_0625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUJhsTWK281RicVAwL88wUyEpiltNEs-yB2v1etPhFLseAsjc5K1lSQm733_TtFpNMD8BG1JlvZixwYOsMMIdE4JD4QjDuB61Rs8MdAv3iZ694gcEb5ci-hPjrBHYXpfvzaSXjiZx744/s320/IMG_0625.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">I add these little sachets into my woollens drawer you can buy them from</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://www.knitit-hookit-craftit.com/products/lavender-bags-repel-moths-from-your-stash-3-bags" target="_blank">KNIT IT - HOOK IT - CRAFT IT</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every now and then I fumble the sachets so that more of the essential
oils with the dried lavender flowers are released and the scent continues to be
present. I also do this with the lavender in my crochet containers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also have a lavender kitchen surface spray which I use to clean down
surfaces in my Stash Palace as an extra layer of lavender scent. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">This English/French grown lavender is great for making your own handmade sachets - £3.50 for 100g from <a href="https://www.knitit-hookit-craftit.com/products/dried-lavender-flowers-100g-grown-in-uk-and-france" target="_blank">KNIT IT - HOOK IT - CRAFT IT</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lavender will not kill moths, but it is a very good deterrent!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">2 - Move your stash around & wash your woollens</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By rummaging through your stash every now and then and going through
your woollens drawer, you can disturb adult moths and discourage them from
settling and laying eggs. This is also a good opportunity to look for
signs of moths and you should be looking for:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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this means that you probably have larvae on your items and you need to
take action.<o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
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remember to check the items thoroughly including underarms and collars.
Again, if you see holes, you need to take action.<o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I tend to wet block all of my projects. I do this because every
time I do, I am amazed by how much dirt comes out and it allows me to wash the
project with lavender Eucalan which adds another layer of lavender scent into
my woollens. Lavender Eucalan has lavender essential oil in it but
doesn't have an overpowering lavender smell when you wear your garment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moving your stash/woollens around will not kill moths, but is a
deterrent.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">3 - Freeze your stash</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you suspect that you have moths or have bought yarn and want to
ensure that you aren't bringing moths or their larvae into your home, then you
can place your yarn into Ziploc bags and freeze them. Freezing the yarn
kills the moths and larvae and therefore protects your stash and items. I
have had conversations with people that freeze every skein/ball of yarn before
it goes to their stash. This may seem over the top to some but if you
have really beautiful yarns it would be awful to find it decimated by moths.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You will need to freeze the yarn to below -8 degrees C for a few days. </span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Freezing your stash will kill moths and their larvae.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">4 - Storing your yarn and woolens</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Storing your yarn</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> in bags or containers can be a great way of
creating a barrier between your yarn and moths. There is a question over
letting the yarn breath but breath in which case you will still want to store
it in something like a synthetic drawstring bag. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Keeping your stash in large sealed containers will create a barrier.
If you are lucky enough to have a cedar wood chest, this is ideal for
keeping your yarn and woollens in.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you find moths or larvae, then you need to </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">act quickly. Wash
your items thoroughly, clean the area (vacuum and clean down with a lavender
based spray) and store your newly washed and dried items in a sealed container.
If you have found moths or their larvae in your stash then the above
still applies but instead of washing, you should freeze your yarn.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once you are sure that you have eradicated all sign of them, then you should
keep on doing the things that help to deter them see points 1 and 2) - use
lavender and move your stash/woollens around.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope this helps you to keep moths away from your precious woollens and stash.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fay </span></span></div>
Ma Dashperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12019826761368566324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388590044967944304.post-60964263559222632602016-08-31T13:37:00.000-07:002016-08-31T14:18:38.737-07:00<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;">Jog-free Sock Stripes & Getting Two Pairs of Socks from 100g of Yarn</span></b></div>
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444;">I have been on quite a journey up to this point, having only started knitting socks in January this year.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444;">Encouraged by the purchase of sock yarn from <a href="https://www.jarbon.com/" target="_blank">John Arbon Textiles</a> at Woolfest, back in March 2015 I signed up for a three week sock knitting course with <a href="http://winwickmum.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Winwick Mum</a> (Christine Perry) at Black Sheep Wools, near Warrington.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444;">It made sense that my second pair of socks used the lovely Alpaca Sock Yarn in charcoal (toes, heels and rib) and the moss colourway for the main body. Lovely socks, great project, not enough moss green left to make a second pair (300m per 100g) as I was left with 44.9g.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444;">So then I started to wonder how many stripes I could add to the cuff of my sock to get two pairs out of 100g of Alpaca Sock Yarn? Luckily (!) I had just bought some of John Arbon's Exmoor Sock Yarn in Blossom </span><span style="color: #444444; text-align: center;">(400m per 100g) which should allow me to make at least two pairs of socks because of the additional meterage and by using the same charcoal for the stripes I could accurately judge the weight of the stripes. Let the sock-off begin.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; text-align: center;">I found that each stripe in the Alpaca Sock Yarn (charcoal colour) weighed just under 1g. Therefore, each sock would use an additional 3g which more importantly meant that in a pair of socks I could use just 49g of the main colour of Alpaca Sock Yarn. This is a great result because it means that using my standard sock pattern (60 stitches, 55 rows to heal, 55 rows for sole to toe decrease) I can get two pairs of socks from one skein of 300m per 100g of yarn. It is a bit yarn chickeny, but I like to live on the edge!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; text-align: center;">What I hadn't expected to happen was the resulting, falling down the rabbit hole of creating the perfect jogless stripe.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwmnE_6Xd1MpkdB1GWWEdgGeOfPB8RxmzOYAgjAN0zgHgSsz2w5FaXiQetq52HBSoDKFhS-9QTPtgbsde9SvdxXMhR3ZEeI3YkJfuW-NWku8px8Km-Ik8pPx9IpgNlA96PRinRyrMzLE/s1600/John+Arbon+Textiles+Exmoor+sock+in+%2528Blossom+-+400m+per+100g%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwmnE_6Xd1MpkdB1GWWEdgGeOfPB8RxmzOYAgjAN0zgHgSsz2w5FaXiQetq52HBSoDKFhS-9QTPtgbsde9SvdxXMhR3ZEeI3YkJfuW-NWku8px8Km-Ik8pPx9IpgNlA96PRinRyrMzLE/s640/John+Arbon+Textiles+Exmoor+sock+in+%2528Blossom+-+400m+per+100g%2529.png" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Sock One</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">Sock one clearly shows that stripes in two colourway socks are rather handsome but some form of technique is required to make the stripes jogless. In sock one I had simply changed colours, aware that there would be some jogging but unaware how bad it would be.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444;">Hmmm. Time to look up some techniques...</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Sock Two</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">The first blog post that I came across was this one: <a href="http://techknitting.blogspot.co.uk/2007/01/jogless-stripes.html">http://techknitting.blogspot.co.uk/2007/01/jogless-stripes.html</a> and so I attempted the 'Jogless Stripe How-To' on sock number two. Now this may work for some people (it certainly looked neat in the pictures within the blog) but it wasn't accurate enough for my knitting, so I continued searching.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivTWyGgtxjcGXy4DmM8t1zITXM7ZQt5MS5rINWO1cOF_NrOvCKtmDqfBBcTeEVnsZjw-AQmJYjp2xxHIL_SfKcjcRvCyaeO7gCHPnYrlCSqxiwffF4_gB6yZxOarrOcutIllm8vzaoZ8Q/s1600/John+Arbon+Textiles+Exmoor+sock+in+%2528Blossom+-+400m+per+100g%2529+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivTWyGgtxjcGXy4DmM8t1zITXM7ZQt5MS5rINWO1cOF_NrOvCKtmDqfBBcTeEVnsZjw-AQmJYjp2xxHIL_SfKcjcRvCyaeO7gCHPnYrlCSqxiwffF4_gB6yZxOarrOcutIllm8vzaoZ8Q/s640/John+Arbon+Textiles+Exmoor+sock+in+%2528Blossom+-+400m+per+100g%2529+%25281%2529.png" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Sock Three</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">After a while I came across this page on Craftsy - <a href="http://www.craftsy.com/blog/2013/08/knitting-jogless-stripes-in-the-round/" target="_blank">Knitting Jogless Stripes in the Round: A Tutorial</a></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">So, for sock three I used the Craftsy method and saw much better results. I used the elongated stitch in sock three and kept the marker in the same place. One of the things that this Craftsy Tutorial doesn't cover is whether or not to carry your yarn up. Given that this was sock three, I decided not to cut the yarn but carry it up to the next stripe (not a massive issue given that each stripe was only four rows deep).</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Sock Four - The Ultimate Technique</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">My final chance to try to perfect the jogless sock stripe, using the same yarn. Using the Craftsy Tutorial as my basis, here is how I created my jogless socks stripes:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">1 - Knit one round in the new colour (you will need a place marker if you aren't already using one). Cut the old colour, leaving enough of a tail to sew in when finished.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">2 - Remove your place marker and using the right hand needle, lift the stitch from the row below up onto the left needle.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">3 - Knit the lifted stitch and the first stitch of the new round, together (K2tog).</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">4 - Add your place marker. This effectively means that next time you elongate a stitch, it won't be in line with the previous lifted stitch because you have moved the place marker over by one stitch.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">5 - Knit as many rounds as required in your new colour. I tend to change colour every four rounds to make three contrasting stripes. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">6 - When you have finished with the new colour stripes, you simply cut your yarn (leaving a tail) and start using the previous colour and repeat from Step 1 to 5 as many times as required.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3NKcAgAgeKQj06oQsvKO-e4vOiTiozSM0EGb4ERz4jjTvdgOkM_H8JwAhKmmFfjTufO6DrC9vy_Th0WdYhu-rFVtJ0B76pkgQQ7xWl9iT6AgG4u3Sa6UmoXIhXDPnTwcJvIQCEV-a3Lk/s1600/John+Arbon+Textiles+Exmoor+sock+in+%2528Blossom+-+400m+per+100g%2529+%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="451" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3NKcAgAgeKQj06oQsvKO-e4vOiTiozSM0EGb4ERz4jjTvdgOkM_H8JwAhKmmFfjTufO6DrC9vy_Th0WdYhu-rFVtJ0B76pkgQQ7xWl9iT6AgG4u3Sa6UmoXIhXDPnTwcJvIQCEV-a3Lk/s640/John+Arbon+Textiles+Exmoor+sock+in+%2528Blossom+-+400m+per+100g%2529+%25282%2529.png" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">By following the above steps and changing two key things:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">1 - Moving the elongated stitch over by one stitch within each stripe/colour change over.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">2 - Cutting the yarn and not carrying it up inside the sock. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">I feel like I have achieved a very decent seamless sock stripe. There is more work involved in having to sew in all of the colour change-over ends but I think it is worth it because the loose ends allow you to manipulate the stitches and neaten the stripes up before you sew in the ends. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">As for the original question of whether or not I can knit two pairs of socks from John Arbon Alpaca Sock Yarn, the answer is now yes, and I just need to buy some more of it. Never a hardship! </span><br />
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Ma Dashperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12019826761368566324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388590044967944304.post-84479340559660859522016-06-02T08:38:00.001-07:002016-06-08T07:30:20.703-07:00In the ring it is crochet v knitting. But who is the heavyweight?<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Crochet v Knitting - who is the heavyweight?</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a relatively new crocheter (almost two years) there are certain <i>facts</i> that have been passed on to me. One such <i>fact</i> is that crochet uses more yarn than knitting. Now, I'm not normally one to swim the tide with the other fish - I generally like to make my own mind up about things and I like facts, especially if I have done the work behind my understanding. For some reason I took the fact that crochet uses more yarn than knitting as gospel.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can't really trace why it was that I decided to look at the evidence behind this, but it is probably because of my work on <a href="http://thecrochetcircle.podbean.com/" target="_blank">The Crochet Circle Podcast</a> that made me want to dig into this topic further. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, I thought back to my Standard Grade Chemistry and Physics exams and pondered what the best methodology would be. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Equipment</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Initially I created tensions squares in two different yarn weights and when they were finished and the results were in, I had a look around to see how others had tackled this topic. There were a few different approaches and some were similar to my methodology. One of the questions asked was whether there was a difference in lace weight yarns also. If you have listened to Episode 4 - A Crochet Journey of The Crochet Circle Podcast, you will already understand my new found utter dislike for using small hooks and needles. But, being a conscientious sort of a person, I also created tension squares in lace weight (grrrrrrrr with a bit more grrrrr on the side!).</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is what I crocheted and knitted with: </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Gr-ovq_pWDC4PQ1fOrCjHrnAr31nK3GjCZS4dRSBP7v5XaXRJ3lhaDCxvIOR4oaGCCyq7I0MMBznTgIJRoo6MRfvKknaMhVZOwdcM_iE7Mt7i-jqb1TqiYiumjlfyLKOStfCAnlrjOc/s1600/Yarn+weight+Yarn+type+Hook+sizeNeedle+Size+Stocking+stitch+Garter+Stitch+Double+crochet+Half+treble+Treble+crochet.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Gr-ovq_pWDC4PQ1fOrCjHrnAr31nK3GjCZS4dRSBP7v5XaXRJ3lhaDCxvIOR4oaGCCyq7I0MMBznTgIJRoo6MRfvKknaMhVZOwdcM_iE7Mt7i-jqb1TqiYiumjlfyLKOStfCAnlrjOc/s640/Yarn+weight+Yarn+type+Hook+sizeNeedle+Size+Stocking+stitch+Garter+Stitch+Double+crochet+Half+treble+Treble+crochet.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For each of the above weights I knitted a tension square in stocking stitch and one in garter stitch. For crochet I created squares in double, half treble and treble crochet and cut their tails to the same lengths (2.5cm).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As hard as I tried I couldn't make exact 6" by 6" squares but that was taken into account when I was working through the methodology.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFYXP8jZAZQpG3MOmjbiqCIR8qseXztQyWSvI81ZEcW9cMfzCc_IJFljkrzd7S1l0ZRNDJcD5A0g_9nx23NdyJUJAquuW3obnYXlcQ9VoGe1TJpOlDlQdeLQa90SPrj4X1fkcFocp0EAI/s1600/WP_20160524_14_57_49_Pro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFYXP8jZAZQpG3MOmjbiqCIR8qseXztQyWSvI81ZEcW9cMfzCc_IJFljkrzd7S1l0ZRNDJcD5A0g_9nx23NdyJUJAquuW3obnYXlcQ9VoGe1TJpOlDlQdeLQa90SPrj4X1fkcFocp0EAI/s400/WP_20160524_14_57_49_Pro.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Method</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, I have 15 tension not-squares ready to measure and weigh. My good kitchen scales can measure down to one tenth of a gram and the dimensions (width and length) of each square were measured to a millimeter.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I plugged all of the weights, widths and lengths into my excel spread sheet and applied the following logic:</span></div>
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<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By multiplying the width and length of each tension square I know what the number of cm2 is.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By dividing the weight of each tension square by the overall cm2, I can work out what 1cm squared would weigh. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can then use the 1cm squared weight to tell me what a 5cm x 5cm (2" x 2") sample area would weigh for each square in each yarn weight. I used a 5 x 5 area because it is a familiar area for people to relate to because it is used for gauging tension for both knitting and crochet. </span></li>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Results</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The results are below for each yarn weight:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qB2CYP_n3Jr5SjMoW_KY8kLefEsGLsLJBLntkwQSoUJFdfsiCwgh7JJq_qJfR1trif6cYCU0JXSKiLUs_xe3quY-hNWRAmKMQ2Z4T_jPJ56XCxk7sJ3ZBGo7dlR-04uBvfnSEcUxvp0/s1600/Lace+weight.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qB2CYP_n3Jr5SjMoW_KY8kLefEsGLsLJBLntkwQSoUJFdfsiCwgh7JJq_qJfR1trif6cYCU0JXSKiLUs_xe3quY-hNWRAmKMQ2Z4T_jPJ56XCxk7sJ3ZBGo7dlR-04uBvfnSEcUxvp0/s320/Lace+weight.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv9cw3IJSojnuNbJeev7xbj4ZTPPeKp0zuz5ucVuOda4BEvq61okHdF4g-vdnN7SONxr-wde55k9zmojBdC_VEOGL0aO-2amf2S1dA4xmehA_9Dt8ySJuuPwX-69xRlpK0VgedJZqxY3I/s1600/Lace+weight+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv9cw3IJSojnuNbJeev7xbj4ZTPPeKp0zuz5ucVuOda4BEvq61okHdF4g-vdnN7SONxr-wde55k9zmojBdC_VEOGL0aO-2amf2S1dA4xmehA_9Dt8ySJuuPwX-69xRlpK0VgedJZqxY3I/s320/Lace+weight+%25281%2529.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVnDxD3NUGVJXjCIvAp1sStwCetCue7rnT2l-LM4S8WYqaPjhoc3iUUYJ6kin4HHfOD3VRz_TlLEdP34F3N5PjDkBHke2ICRhjdAyKwVK6V-Q39l15APGu4j8-F9q4cJ6PpZB783Tj78o/s1600/Lace+weight+%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVnDxD3NUGVJXjCIvAp1sStwCetCue7rnT2l-LM4S8WYqaPjhoc3iUUYJ6kin4HHfOD3VRz_TlLEdP34F3N5PjDkBHke2ICRhjdAyKwVK6V-Q39l15APGu4j8-F9q4cJ6PpZB783Tj78o/s320/Lace+weight+%25282%2529.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I also looked at the average (across all three yarns weights) percentage increase of yarn used per 25cm2 for the following:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Treble crochet - 31% more yarn than stocking stitch</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Garter stitch - 51% more yarn than stocking stitch</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Half treble - 45% more yarn than stocking stitch</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Double crochet - 74% more yarn than stocking stitch</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Given that treble crochet is consistently the next lightest stitch to use, I applied the same logic as above using treble as the baseline:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Garter stitch - 13% more yarn than treble crochet</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Half treble - 10% more yarn than treble crochet</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Double crochet - 31% more yarn than treble crochet</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Conclusions</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is a gross generalisation to say that knitting uses more yarn than crochet. If you look at some of the other reviews that I have linked to you will see quotes of three times the amount!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Three results were consistent throughout my study. Stocking stitch was the lightest, treble crochet was next and double crochet was always the heaviest. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is very little in it between garter stitch and half treble which is why the position of those varies across the three yarn weights. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It the heart of this though, what i am really hoping for is that crochet isn't seen as the heavyweight between the two crafts. If this also encourages crocheters to look to buy yarn with a higher wool content then even better. I suspect that some crocheters use acrylic because it has been ingrained in them that crochet uses more yarn and is therefore a more expensive hobby than knitting. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anything that encourages the use of renewable materials such as wool rather than synthetic fibres derived from fossil fuels is always going to get the thumbs up from me!</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Caveats</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1 - The overall weight of each of the squares was used which means that the weight of the cast on/cast off and crochet chain are also included. If I was going to do this experiment again I would deduct the weight of the initial crochet chains, cast on and cast off so that on the actual stitches were being weighed.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2 - Tension changes from day to day. I created each of the five squares for each yarn weight on the same day over the course of three days (DK, then chunky, then lace weight (grrrr)) to try to ensure that my tension was as even as possible. I couldn't find a better way around this.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Links to other approaches on crochet v knitting weights:</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is how the lovely Joanne Scrace at Not So Granny approached it <a href="http://notsogranny.com/2014/07/does-crochet-really-use-more-yarn-than-knitting.html" target="_blank">- http://notsogranny.com/2014/07/does-crochet-really-use-more-yarn-than-knitting.html </a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I found this Compile Yarn blog that uses a stitch count methodology and creates similar results to my test - <a href="http://compileyarn.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/knitting-vs-crochet-does-crochet-really.html">http://compileyarn.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/knitting-vs-crochet-does-crochet-really.html</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And I also quite liked this approach which also looks at Tunisian crochet - <a href="http://thing4string.blogspot.co.uk/2007/01/unraveling-truth.html">http://thing4string.blogspot.co.uk/2007/01/unraveling-truth.html</a> </span></div>
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Ma Dashperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12019826761368566324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388590044967944304.post-82302060053047906402016-05-04T14:03:00.000-07:002016-05-05T03:42:52.654-07:00Book Review - Crochet Yeah! by The Crochet Project<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBy4rkoMghhplFzmKwPT02gIMT1IsE2rfZRoKY8YaaxfkZafUl2MaO5ZEjjapb2ieU8j76QLsURsyxTT7zI1Q18HV-IesGYxTx4dQs3_X6oxVwcrpfVtBqkh_dlNafumgPhjWanvAJhk/s1600/Yarn+Review+%25284%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBy4rkoMghhplFzmKwPT02gIMT1IsE2rfZRoKY8YaaxfkZafUl2MaO5ZEjjapb2ieU8j76QLsURsyxTT7zI1Q18HV-IesGYxTx4dQs3_X6oxVwcrpfVtBqkh_dlNafumgPhjWanvAJhk/s640/Yarn+Review+%25284%2529.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">As part of The Crochet Circle Podcast, I buy crochet books, undertake projects from them and then write a review. If you have read my review on Socks Yeah! yarn, you will know that I bought the Crochet Yeah! booklet and that there is a certain amount of crossover between the book and the yarn. If you haven't read the Socks Yeah! yarn review, you can find it here: </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="https://www.knitit-hookit-craftit.com/blogs/news/162718215-yarn-review-socks-yeah-from-coop-knits">https://www.knitit-hookit-craftit.com/blogs/news/162718215-yarn-review-socks-yeah-from-coop-knits</a> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">If you listen to the podcast then you will know that I will only give a book review if I have undertaken a pattern (or two) from that book. This allows me to give a more thorough review and give a good, honest opinion on how that book actually performed for a crafter.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="color: #666666;">The Crochet Project's Joanne Scrace and Kat Goldin teamed up with Rachel Coopey of Coop Knits to create a 6 accessory pattern booklet called Crochet Yeah! using Socks Yeah! as the preferred yarn for each of the patterns.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="color: #666666;">The booklet (A5 which perfect size to fit in a project bag) has patterns for two hats, a pair of mittens, a cowl and a scarf, ranging from beginner to intermediary:</span></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="color: #666666;">Bromsgrove Hat - Rated easy and uses between 3 and 4 skeins depending on size</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="color: #666666;">Evesham Socks - Rated intermediary and uses between 2 and 3 skeins depending on size</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="color: #666666;">Tenbury Hat & Mittens - Rated easy and uses 2 skeins</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="color: #666666;">Malvern Cowl - Rated beginner and uses 3 skeins </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="color: #666666;">Worcester Scarf - Rated beginner and uses 2 skeins</span></span></li>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">I started by making the Evesham socks which I crocheted using the Socks Yeah! yarn in shade Iolite (109). After one sock I then moved onto the Worcester Scarf but made it into a cowl instead because that is a more usable </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; text-align: center;">item for me. For the cowl I wanted to test using a yarn substitute and also wanted to use up some stash yarn, so decided upon Artesano's 4 ply silk in shade Lily Pad.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh96l8Xqa7GPQ7wMDJVCjgqK0V4y5MnsgSwfu4gc0olTeGsQy-bTo6lDNOxjYZfyb6huB8VEt8mXjodojBH9mpjVisDg7pXRHjic3_WaEkcaHJ73FH5PRyppmi23B72snSNz4kKUfQ6ETY/s1600/Worcester+Scarf+as+a+cowl.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #666666;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh96l8Xqa7GPQ7wMDJVCjgqK0V4y5MnsgSwfu4gc0olTeGsQy-bTo6lDNOxjYZfyb6huB8VEt8mXjodojBH9mpjVisDg7pXRHjic3_WaEkcaHJ73FH5PRyppmi23B72snSNz4kKUfQ6ETY/s400/Worcester+Scarf+as+a+cowl.png" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">The booklet is nicely laid out with an introduction to the joint project, moving into a basic stitch guide, information on choosing sizes, tension yarn substitution, finishing and garment after care. These paragraphs are succinct but useful. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">The patterns are well written and three out of the six have charts as well as written instructions. I am a very visual person, so I find this immensely helpful. I am wondering whether I inadvertently chose the two patterns I did because they both have charts? It is very possible. If find it a quick way to visualise what the stitches are going to create and help commit the row repeats to memory. I really wish more crochet books also provided charts!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">As you would expect from the crochet duo, the photography is nicely executed and shows the finished projects off really well, especially as the booklet is in full colour. The model is Joanne and the photographer is Kat, which for me, gives the booklet even more integrity. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">For something like the Evesham sock pattern I would have benefited from a part-way photo at the point where you chain to create the heel flap space. I would have preferred that to seeing four photos of the finished socks. That may just be me, I have only been crocheting for a year and three quarters so it may be lack of experience on my part. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">I also like the little diagrams that have been added to the projects so that you can see what direction you should be crocheting in - such as cuff down on the socks. It may seem simple but from running a knitting and crochet group, I know that some people really struggle to understand where the pattern starts, so the diagrams are a great addition. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">There is a nice mix of stitches used across the six projects with some cross over. For instance if you were a beginner and started with the Worcester Scarf it wouldn't be a massive step up to try the Evesham Socks if you could already crochet in the round. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">For that reason I think that the booklet provides a great range of different stitches, different projects, all of which are very wearable - something that isn't always the case with crochet books. This isn't a surprise give that Joanne and Kat are at the contemporary end of crochet; the end of the spectrum that I like to loiter around.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8J_8eO5siD1JeWh_tPAMJVRq4TUkwwBNmgX3W-MbaQwBNX5t3F4GgaYknERVfIIjWJ_KcBSQyh4NAicuH9TFO9WVTdIXTCWuXKTRE9B4OTI_pIusCn8UyEE2I9OkUPrbyeT7ZAOsnA0/s1600/Size+M+socks+each+sock+used+39g+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr8J_8eO5siD1JeWh_tPAMJVRq4TUkwwBNmgX3W-MbaQwBNX5t3F4GgaYknERVfIIjWJ_KcBSQyh4NAicuH9TFO9WVTdIXTCWuXKTRE9B4OTI_pIusCn8UyEE2I9OkUPrbyeT7ZAOsnA0/s400/Size+M+socks+each+sock+used+39g+%25281%2529.png" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">The booklet is available for £12 hard copy (plus P&P if you buy online like I did from Coop Knits) or can be downloaded for £10. I think that this represents good value for money. I have paid the same amount out for a couple of crochet patterns online (from other designers) and been bitterly disappointed with the instructions once downloaded. This is certainly not the case with Crochet Yeah! - it is clear, well formatted and a great little resource for the less advanced crocheter or the more advanced crocheter that wants a quick TV crochet project.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">I also think that the proof is in the pudding. My copy of Crochet Yeah! is already battered; it definitely <i>isn't </i>pristine. There may even be the odd muddy cat paw on it, but that is mainly because my cat sees crochet as a rival for my affection and paws all over it and anything in between him and my hands. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">I will also look out for any further books/pattern releases that The Crochet Project comes up with. If Tin Can Knits are my go-to provider for nice, sizable, contemporary knitting projects, Joanne and Kat under their 'The Crochet Project' umbrella and as individuals are fast becoming my go-to provider for crocheted accessories.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="color: #666666;"> </span></span>Ma Dashperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12019826761368566324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388590044967944304.post-89689119990370294852016-05-04T08:30:00.002-07:002016-05-04T14:08:09.974-07:00Yarn Review - Socks Yeah! by Rachel Coopey of Coop Knits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhStjY7RKoujLnjyQqor_vNnSAUolF_3WvLHT17cktipj-UaQYLYlF56TYee0zDmbKu6gC61NefMxwaA7oNGx9eTKMJyWEKINul9S4UxSyknnowHY7gFt4LgZ_Eby92_mwb5j1qwunVwOg/s1600/Yarn+Review+%25283%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhStjY7RKoujLnjyQqor_vNnSAUolF_3WvLHT17cktipj-UaQYLYlF56TYee0zDmbKu6gC61NefMxwaA7oNGx9eTKMJyWEKINul9S4UxSyknnowHY7gFt4LgZ_Eby92_mwb5j1qwunVwOg/s640/Yarn+Review+%25283%2529.png" width="640" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6;">As part of The Crochet Circle Podcast I buy, crochet (and knit) with different yarns and then provide feedback on them. Here's my review of Socks Yeah! from Coop Knits.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6;">I knew this yarn was coming out but it took me a few months to see it in a shop and be able to squish it. I was actually looking for a contrast yarn to go with some West Yorkshire Spinners 4 ply Mallard (shade 862) for a pair of socks that I was going to knit for my Father-in-Law (size 10 feet = never again!). The yarn does provide a nice contrast for the WYS's colours but I decided against it and chose the WYS Signature 4 ply cream instead.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #555555; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 25.6px;">Of course, I left the yarn shop with both yarn types - just in case I changed my mind...</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #555555; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 25.6px;">So, I stashed the one skein of Iolite (shade 109) that I had bought from Sew - In (Cheadle store). It stayed stashed for a couple of months until two key things happened:</span></span></div>
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<li><span style="color: #555555; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 25.6px;">I started The Crochet Circle Podcast (<a href="http://thecrochetcircle.podbean.com/">http://thecrochetcircle.podbean.com</a>) with my friend Lynne (</span><a href="http://lynnerowe.weebly.com/" style="line-height: 25.6px;">http://lynnerowe.weebly.com/</a><span style="line-height: 25.6px;">). Part of the podcast is to provide book and yarn reviews.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #555555; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 25.6px;">The Crochet Project's Joanne Scrace and Kat Goldin teamed up with Rachel Coopey at Coop Knits to create a 6 accessory pattern booklet called Crochet Yeah! which is based on the Socks Yeah! yarn. </span></span></li>
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<span style="color: #555555; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 25.6px;">Having read through the detail of the book I realised that I would need a second skein if I was going to make anything from Crochet Yeah! using the Socks Yeah! yarn. So, I ordered a second skein in the same shade and a hard copy of the pattern booklet from Coop Knits. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #555555; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 25.6px;">A mere day later both had arrived and I sat with a coffee pondering which pattern I should choose to go with my dusky blue yarn. Here is the essential information on the yarn:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #555555; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 25.6px;">I finally decided that I would crochet the most difficult pattern in the book - the Evesham Socks (</span><span style="line-height: 25.6px;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/MaDashper/evesham-socks">http://www.ravelry.com/projects/MaDashper/evesham-socks</a>) because it would really help to put the yarn to test as a sock yarn.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #555555; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 25.6px;">Each of the 10 available colours has a very subtle colour blend/marl through it. The Iolite shade that I chose is predominantly dusky blue but has hues of heather and sage through it too. I have likened it to the mother-of-pearl effect that you get in shells and it brings a sophisticated colour blend to the yarn that may not be immediately obvious. Here are the 10 shades available:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #555555; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 25.6px;"><b>Crocheting with Socks Yeah!</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #555555; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 25.6px;">The yarn has quite a high twist which makes it perfect for crocheting as this really helps to prevent splitting. It gives great stitch definition and the nature of the blend also brings great drape to the fabric - but not so much that you don't get structure in the finished piece.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #555555; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 25.6px;">I enjoyed crocheting the first sock, the yarn glides through your fingers and has a really silky (but not slippy) texture. I was using a standard steel crochet hook and I didn't have any issues with the yarn wanting to fly away. Although the yarn calls for a 2.25mm hook and the pattern calls for a 2.5mm hook, I used a 3mm hook because I am a tight crocheter. The results can be seen below:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLgRUfvDIVe2cxlXJV6bf3S77x0JSpINx9ga46OxG6p86kRk_4GarSIA-uPHEyd3rJYU1R8xWXSlO6MGts22qf1ag_OMTkl44-NtX0-xlP5Ws1NcQuW4AT_pBFhVVhlxkTcUJgAC39ZoE/s1600/Size+M+socks+each+sock+used+39g.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLgRUfvDIVe2cxlXJV6bf3S77x0JSpINx9ga46OxG6p86kRk_4GarSIA-uPHEyd3rJYU1R8xWXSlO6MGts22qf1ag_OMTkl44-NtX0-xlP5Ws1NcQuW4AT_pBFhVVhlxkTcUJgAC39ZoE/s400/Size+M+socks+each+sock+used+39g.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 25.6px;"><span style="color: #666666;">As mentioned, I used the yarn to crochet up a pair of socks for myself. What I haven't mentioned is that I am fussy and beyond that, I am particularly fussy about things touching my feet. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Did I mention that I'm fussy? As much as I really enjoyed crocheting the sock with the yarn I really wasn't convinced that I was going to make the matching one. I didn't think that the lace pattern would keep my feet warm and I wasn't convinced that the Half Treble Crochet sole was going to be comfortable when I stood up. I finished the first one, reflected for a moment and then put it on.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">I may be fussy but I am also very happy to admit when I am wrong. <b>I was wrong.</b> It was about 12.30am and I had forgotten to put socks on earlier in the day so my feet were pretty icy. </span><span style="background-color: white;">The yarn is so cosy that the effect was immediate and my feet started to warm up. Luckily the rest of the family was in bed as I walked around the kitchen island repeatedly with one bare foot and one encased in loveliness.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A couple of minutes walking around the kitchen does not a mean that a sock is comfortable though. Fast forward about a week and I had finished the second one so that I could properly road test the yarn and the pattern. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have a stand-up desk in my office and on the day that I tested my socks out I spent well over 9 hours standing up in them. They are comfortable. They are warm. The yarn tag says that they are machine washable at 30 degrees on a wool cycle. All of my delicate items go through the wool wash (it is a 40 degree wash) in my washing machine - including 100% cashmere items so I thought that I should test that socks under the same conditions because I don't want to have to hand wash them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They were washed, line dried and then finished off on the radiator in the house. The socks are exactly as they were when they went into the machine - but clean! No shrinking, no stretching, no pilling, just straight back to their original shape.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Knitting with Socks Yeah!</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Given that I had a little bit of yarn left (about 20g) I thought I would also test the yarn for sock knitting. I used the yarn to create contrast cuffs, heels and toes for a pair of socks for my best friend's little four year old boy (</span></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/MaDashper/basic-socks-2">http://www.ravelry.com/projects/MaDashper/basic-socks-2</a>)</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. The main yarn was Regia Design Lines - Arne & Carlos in the Summer Nights shade. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px;"><b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">WARNING - cute child sock alert!</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is probably unfair to compare the two yarns but they have a similar wool:yarn ratio and pricing point. In my opinion the Socks Yeah! yarn was much, much nicer to knit with than the Regia. </span></span></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In Conclusion</b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, the crux of it it that Socks Yeah! is a delight to crochet and knit with and I will <i>definitely</i> buy more and make more crocheted and knitted socks with it. The drape that the yarn gives would also lend itself to camisoles and shawls. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If I have one very slight niggle it is that I would like information on the skein ticket and website about where the yarn is grown and spun. I happened to come across it on a Ravelry thread anyway. This was the response that Rachel Coopey gave to another inquiring mind: </span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">"It is south american merino (with a no mulesing guarantee) and it is spun in Peru."</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 25.6px;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 25.6px;">I wasn't sure what 'mulesing' meant and why you would need a guarantee against it so I looked it up. You can find details here via Wikipedia: </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulesing" target="_blank"><span style="line-height: 25.6px;">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulesing</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 25.6px;"> </span></a></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">As part of The Crochet Circle Podcast, I buy crochet books, undertake projects from them and then write a review. If you have read my review on Socks Yeah! yarn, you will know that I bought the Crochet Yeah! booklet and that there is a certain amount of crossover between the book and the yarn. If you haven't read the Socks Yeah! yarn review, you can find it here: </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="https://www.knitit-hookit-craftit.com/blogs/news/162718215-yarn-review-socks-yeah-from-coop-knits">https://www.knitit-hookit-craftit.com/blogs/news/162718215-yarn-review-socks-yeah-from-coop-knits</a> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">If you listen to the podcast then you will know that I will only give a book review if I have undertaken a pattern (or two) from that book. This allows me to give a more thorough review and give a good, honest opinion on how that book actually performed for a crafter.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="color: #666666;">The Crochet Project's Joanne Scrace and Kat Goldin teamed up with Rachel Coopey of Coop Knits to create a 6 accessory pattern booklet called Crochet Yeah! using Socks Yeah! as the preferred yarn for each of the patterns.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="color: #666666;">The booklet has patterns for two hats, a pair of mittens, a cowl and a scarf, ranging from beginner to intermediary:</span></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="color: #666666;">Bromsgrove Hat - Rated easy and uses between 3 and 4 skeins depending on size</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="color: #666666;">Evesham Socks - Rated intermediary and uses between 2 and 3 skeins depending on size</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="color: #666666;">Tenbury Hat & Mittens - Rated easy and uses 2 skeins</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="color: #666666;">Malvern Cowl - Rated beginner and uses 3 skeins </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><span style="color: #666666;">Worcester Scarf - Rated beginner and uses 2 skeins</span></span></li>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">I started by making the Evesham socks which I crocheted using the Socks Yeah! yarn in shade Iolite (109). After one sock I then moved onto the Worcester Scarf but made it into a cowl instead because that is a more usable </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px; text-align: center;">item for me. For the cowl I wanted to test using a yarn substitute and also wanted to use up some stash yarn, so decided upon Artesano's 4 ply silk in shade Lily Pad.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">The book is nicely laid out with an introduction to the joint project, moving into a basic stitch guide, information on choosing sizes, tension yarn substitution, finishing and garment after care. These paragraphs are succinct but useful.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">The patterns are well written and three out of the six have charts as well as written instructions. I am a very visual person, so I find this immensely helpful. I am wondering whether I inadvertently chose the two patterns I did because they both have charts? It is very possible. If find it a quick way to visualise what the stitches are going to create and help commit the row repeats to memory. I really wish more crochet books also provided charts!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">As you would expect from the crochet duo, the photography is nicely executed and shows the finished projects off really well, especially as the booklet is in full colour. The model is Joanne and the photographer is Kat, which for me, gives the booklet even more integrity. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">For something like the Evesham sock pattern I would have benefited from a part-way photo at the point where you chain to create the heel flap space. I would have preferred that to seeing four photos of the finished socks. That may just be me, I have only been crocheting for a year and three quarters so it may be lack of experience on my part. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">I also like the little diagrams that have been added to the projects so that you can see what direction you should be crocheting in - such as cuff down on the socks. It may seem simple but from running a knitting and crochet group, I know that some people really struggle to understand where the pattern starts, so the diagrams are a great addition. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">There is a nice mix of stitches used across the six projects with some cross over. For instance if you were a beginner and started with the Worcester Scarf it wouldn't be a massive step up to try the Evesham Socks if you could already crochet in the round. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">For that reason I think that the booklet provides a great range of different stitches, different projects, all of which are very wearable - something that isn't always the case with crochet books. This isn't a surprise give that Joanne and Kat are at the contemporary end of crochet; the end of the spectrum that I like to loiter around.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">The booklet is available for £12 hard copy (plus P&P if you buy online like I did from Coop Knits) or can be downloaded for £10. I think that this represents good value for money. I have paid the same amount out for a couple of crochet patterns online (from other designers) and been bitterly disappointed with the instructions once downloaded. This is certainly not the case with Crochet Yeah! - it is clear, well formatted and a great little resource for the less advanced crocheter or the more advanced crocheter that wants a quick TV crochet project.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">I also think that the proof is in the pudding. My copy of Crochet Yeah! is already battered; it definitely <i>isn't </i>pristine. There may even be the odd muddy cat paw on it, but that is mainly because my cat sees crochet as a rival for my affection and paws all over it and anything in between him and my hands. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;">I will also look out for any further books/pattern releases that The Crochet Project comes up with. If Tin Can Knits are my go-to provider for nice, sizable, contemporary knitting projects, Joanne and Kat under their 'The Crochet Project' umbrella and as individuals are fast becoming my go-to provider for crocheted accessories.</span></span><br />
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Ma Dashperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12019826761368566324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388590044967944304.post-16905158552616855122016-05-03T15:43:00.001-07:002016-05-04T14:28:54.324-07:00Yarn Review - Regia Design Line by Arne and Carlos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As part of The Crochet Circle Podcast I buy, crochet (and knit) with different yarns and then provide feedback on them. Here's my review of Regia's - Arne & Carlos Design Line sock yarn.</span></h4>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back in February 2016, I went to a workshop with Arne and Carlos at Black Sheep Wools in Culcheth, near Warrington. It is fair to say that they are great fun and have fabulous personalities which really came across during the workshop that we had in the morning and presentation in the afternoon. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We even managed to squeeze in a quick interview with them for The Crochet Circle Podcast, which you can hear at <a href="http://thecrochetcircle.podbean.com/">http://thecrochetcircle.podbean.com/</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Add into the mix that I started to learn how to knit socks in January. So, when I saw that Arne and Carlos had teamed up with Regia to create their Design Line sock yarn, I felt that I really had to give it a go.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I chose the shade Summer Night (03657) (<a href="http://us.schachenmayr.com/yarns/regia-4-ply-design-line-arne-carlos">http://us.schachenmayr.com/yarns/regia-4-ply-design-line-arne-carlos</a>)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is an engineered yarn that is specifically designed for sock knitting. Given that our podcast is about crochet, I thought I would test it out to see whether it was suitable for crochet projects also. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started out by testing double crochet, half treble and treble stitches and quickly came to the conclusion that the colour pooling wasn't great and needed to find a different stitch. I then saw a friend's tweed/linen stitch crochet project and thought it would be perfect for the yarn (you can see the outcome of all of these stitches to the left and the Tweed/Linen stitch is at the top of the sample).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having photographed the initial stitch sample, I unraveled the yarn and decided to see how it would fare as a crocheted sock. Given that I wanted a 50g ball to go quite far, I opted for a pair of baby booties/socks (6-9 months for my friend's baby<b> 'The Duke'</b>) and a pair of knitted socks to fit her other four year old son, <b>'Winkie'</b>. I still had a little yarn left over, even though I had pattern matched both pairs and therefore created a little wastage.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The baby booties were crocheted up using a 4mm hook and the yarn only split a little which may have been exacerbated by my having already crocheted the yarn once and then unraveled and rewound it. The yarn wasn't prone to splitting the first time around. This link will take you to my Ravelry project page for the booties: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/MaDashper/crocheted-baby-socks">http://www.ravelry.com/projects/MaDashper/crocheted-baby-socks</a></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Given that the yarn has really been created for sock knitting, I thought I should do that too. You can see my results by going to the following Ravelry project page: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/MaDashper/basic-socks-2"> http://www.ravelry.com/projects/MaDashper/basic-socks-2</a> Again, there were no real issues in using this yarn, it only split a little but probably wouldn't of had I not already used it once. I knitted the socks with 2.5mm DPNs and there was just the right amount of stickiness between the yarn and the Symfonie needles. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was no discernible difference in the feel of the yarn, whether crocheting or knitting with it. What I would say is that is that there is a slight amount of crunch with it which means that it isn't as soft a other yarns (like Socks Yeah!). You can almost feel a starchiness within the yarn as it runs through your fingers which is okay but not ideal for me.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where this yarn wins out is that the engineered pattern is absolutely fabulous and I have been asked time and time again whether it is Fair Isle. I really do wish I was that good at Fair Isle! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I guess that the big question is - will I ever use this yarn again?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes - I would knit a pair of socks for somebody else using this yarn (somebody less fussy than I am about what is on my feet).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Possibly - I would use the yarn to crochet a project using tweed/linen stitch.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No - I wouldn't use the yarn to crochet more socks/booties, but I wouldn't do this with any patterned yarn having done this yarn review.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is worth conducting a search on Ravelry for crocheted projects using this yarn. There are some other socks and I suspect that the yarn looks better crocheted for bigger socks. It still isn't for me, but may be right up someone else's street. </span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The couple of small niggles that I have are that:</span></b></div>
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<li><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The yarn is 75% wool but is a bit lacking in softness.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I suppose that the wool used is a blend - nothing the matter with that, but I would like more detail. A blend of what?</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is no information on the ball band about where the yarn is manufactured. I think this is essential information in this day and age. </span></li>
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<b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the upside:</span></b></div>
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<li><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The patterning when knitted looks amazing.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For engineered sock yarn this is in a comparable price range with others.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The combination of colours (across the range) is very well thought out and complimentary.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regia yarns come with a 10 year guarantee, with faulty yarns being replaced.</span></li>
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Ma Dashperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12019826761368566324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388590044967944304.post-89195580937035366392016-04-27T05:00:00.001-07:002016-04-27T05:16:54.526-07:00When setting up web domains and email forwarding packages...<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s
always a good idea not to have all your eggs in one basket and to keep your
options open. In theory it allows you to be flexible and agile in your
decision-making later on.<u4:p class=""></u4:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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That’s
why, when I knew that the business name was going to be KNIT IT – HOOK IT –
CRAFT IT, I bought the website domain names <a href="http://www.knitit-hookit-craftit.com/">www.knitit-hookit-craftit.com</a> and
<a href="http://www.knitit-hookit-craftit.co.uk/">www.knitit-hookit-craftit.co.uk</a>
from <a href="http://fasthosts.co.uk/">Fasthosts.co.uk</a>; a company I have
used previously, one with a very detailed but user friendly dashboard, and one
that also does website hosting, email forwarding and so forth should I require
it.<u4:p class=""></u4:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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I
wasn’t sure whether I was going to host my website with Fasthosts or not but I
knew I was going to need emails at the very least so, taking a ‘belt and
braces’ approach I checked the box for a hosting package whilst I was
registering the domain names – specifically I linked the hosting package to my
.com URL.<u4:p class=""></u4:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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This
meant that, even before setting up the website I had email forwarding from the
.com domain name so, by simply adding the relevant POP3 and SMTP settings in my
Outlook on my laptop, anyone emailing <a href="mailto:fay@knitit-hookit-craftit.com">fay@knitit-hookit-craftit.com</a>
would pop up in my inbox. <u4:p class=""></u4:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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Ultimately,
after much research about secure payment gateways and other things that make
for a good and secure customer experience when shopping websites, I elected to
host my site through Shopify – a Canadian based company that provide a sold
eCommerce platform for start-ups and SMEs.<u4:p class=""></u4:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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I
mentioned that Fasthosts have a detailed dashboard that allows for simple
control over DNS records?<u4:p class=""></u4:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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Well,
going into that dashboard and changing the DNS to create the relevant A Record
and CNAME settings was a piece of cake. And it worked straight away… for the .<a href="http://co.uk/">co.uk</a> domain name. <u4:p class=""></u4:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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That
was where the trouble started. <u4:p class=""></u4:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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In
my relative ignorance, by attaching the hosting package to the .com domain name
in Fasthosts, I had effectively ‘hard-wired’ certain DNS settings. Simple
solution - remove the hosting package. The only trouble with that is, when I
did so, I inevitably disabled my email forwarding… which meant I could not get
emails any more.<u4:p class=""></u4:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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So,
I removed the web-hosting package in Fasthosts and replaced it with an email
forwarding <i>only</i> package. That got my emails working again but as far as
pointing the www. at my Shopify shop was concerned it didn’t do me any good at
all… and after another frustrating week of to and fro on the ‘live chat’
support services with both Shopify and Fasthosts (both very good and very
patient, by the way) I discovered that there was still a hidden alias for the
www. lurking around in the DNS settings.<u4:p class=""></u4:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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It
all got to be a bit of a pain in the neck and all the time the clock was
ticking; all of my marketing materials related to the .com domain name so,
although the .<a href="http://co.uk/">co.uk</a> domain was up and running, it
wasn’t what I wanted to promote. <u4:p class=""></u4:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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Having
finally identified that the rogue www. alias was located in the
email-forwarding package in Fasthosts, I elected to move my email forwarding to
<a href="http://zoho.com/">Zoho.com</a> (a free entry-level package and a
straightforward transfer process for my mail boxes; changing the POP3 and SMTP
settings in my Outlook was also necessary). Then I switched off the
email-forwarding package in Fasthosts. This meant also switching off Fasthosts
‘automatic updates’ to the DNS settings (they kept defaulting back to the package
that was attached to the domain name, which is where the alias for the www.
kept creeping back in), which felt like a scary thing to do because normally
automatic updates are there to stop relative novices like me from breaking
things.<u4:p class=""></u4:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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It
worked. <u4:p class=""></u4:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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The
domain name started pointing at the right IP address and Shopify’s dashboard
started to tell me that an SSL certificate had been requested for the .com
domain. Then, this morning, the SSL certificate was confirmed and .com finally
started pointing at the right place. This has taken almost a month to achieve.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Neither
Fasthosts, nor Shopify did anything wrong here – it was a bad decision by me at
the early part of this process. I should have followed my own advice more
rigorously.<u4:p class=""></u4:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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The lesson to take away from all this is actually that I was right in the
first place - <i>it’s always a good idea <u>not </u>to have all your eggs in one
basket and to keep your options open. It allows you to be flexible and agile in
your decision-making later on.<u4:p class=""></u4:p></i><o:p></o:p></div>
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The
problem was I kept <i>some</i> eggs together in the same basket – I had
enabled an element of hosting with the company that I registered the
domain with.<u4:p class=""></u4:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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If
I had <u>only</u> registered my domain names with Fasthosts, and had my email
forwarding elsewhere (a service like <a href="http://zoho.com/">Zoho.com</a>)
from minute one then I would never have had any problems whatsoever, and I
would have had sufficient flexibility to make effective agile operational
decisions when I needed to, and to have them work straight away. <u4:p class=""></u4:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<u4:p class=""></u4:p><br />
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Anyway, lessons
learned…<u4:p class=""></u4:p><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Here is the new website: <a href="http://www.knitit-hookit-craftit.com/">www.knitit-hookit-craftit.com</a></div>
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Ma Dashperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12019826761368566324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388590044967944304.post-54781052180248883082016-04-01T08:03:00.002-07:002016-04-27T05:16:22.250-07:00Why would you launch your new business and podcast on the same day? If you asked me whether I was a completer/finisher I would say that I was. That is all well and good until I remember that I am also two other things:<br />
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1 - a bit of a perfectionist<br />
2 - a procrastinator<br />
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The two things don't really go hand in hand. I procrastinate because I like (possibly need) the pressure of a deadline to really spur me into doing the things that I <i>have</i> to do instead of the things that I <i>want</i> to do. I may write another blog about frog swallowing in the future...<br />
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I am a perfectionist because, well, that is what I am. Don't get me wrong, I understand the 80:20 rule and apply it most of the time, but not always and not always at the best time.<br />
<br />
Here is an example of why I shouldn't leave things until the last minute just to build pressure so that I get the job done.<br />
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If you have read my earlier blogs then you will realise that I have my own start-up company and have done since the beginning of January 2016. For a few very good reasons, it has taken longer than imagined to get the right stock through the door (a lot of the manufactured items are being controlled by me and are British wherever possible, which takes more time than simply buying wholesale from another supplier), entered onto a website and up for sale. <br />
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Initially I had hoped to have a website up and running by the very beginning of March. Already I am a month behind but have held off because I wanted to have a decent level of stock when I launch and I have decided in my infinite wisdom to combine two deadlines and launch KNIT IT - HOOK IT - CRAFT IT at the same time as my new podcast - The Crochet Circle. Yes, I do like a pressure deadlines, don't I? Both need to be launched today...<br />
<br />
It is currently 11.04 am and I have had just under two hours sleep because of software issues in loading up the podcast. As it stands we (I do the podcast with my friend Lynne Rowe <a href="http://thewoolnest.blogspot.co.uk/">http://thewoolnest.blogspot.co.uk/</a> ) have got passable show notes up for two episodes of The Crochet Circle podcast and Episode Two is up (<a href="http://thecrochetcircle.podbean.com/">http://thecrochetcircle.podbean.com/</a>). Tricksy little Episode One decided to play silly buggers and so I need to do more work on it, load it up and get it out today so that we can start the social media machine and get the podcast properly 'out there'. <br />
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Therefore, it is highly unlikely that my website for KNIT IT - HOOK IT - CRAFT IT (KIHICI) will be up until later tonight (possibly after I have had some sleep). Normally I would see this as a total failure to deliver a deadline. However, nobody really knows about KIHICI yet and given that I partly control the podcast website pages, I can just turn off the ones that mention KIHICI until<i> I </i>am ready.<br />
<br />
So, the perfectionist is saying "get the podcast out and make sure it is good and take your time today to set KIHICI up" and be really happy with the initial content that I am pushing out to the World. <br />
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Soooo, it is now 15.51 and we have two live episodes and Lynne is just about to finish off the last couple of changes on the show notes. It all looks really good. Given that until 5 weeks ago we had never recorded a podcast, edited in Audacity or created show notes, I am really proud of what we have achieved in such a short space of time. In a year I may look back at the first few episodes and think that I could have done a better job - that'll be the perfectionist in me.<br />
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As for the Fay the procrastinator? Well I appear to be writing a blog entry rather than letting the rest of the World have the potential to look at my new baby - KNIT IT - HOOK IT - CRAFT IT.<br />
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Will I be pressing 'publish' on my website at midnight tonight? Probably.<br />
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<br />Ma Dashperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12019826761368566324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388590044967944304.post-33864478290587496112016-01-04T20:30:00.000-08:002016-01-05T06:11:10.870-08:00Day One of Knit It - Hook It - Craft ItNormally my alarm would go off at 6.10am and I would grudgingly get out of bed to start the day. This morning I woke at about 4am and grudgingly had to count sheep to try to get back to sleep. I had all sorts of ideas pinging through my head, ready for my first day of being the owner of Knit It - Hook It - Craft It.<br />
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I managed to get a wee bit more sleep, and got up at 6.30am. Our household has to get up early because our daughter has to be at work for 7am on a Monday and Tuesday and my husband drops her off and that kind of sets the pattern for the rest of the week.<br />
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Over the years through being predominantly office based my weight has creeped up and I am currently a curvy size 16. I have no issues with being a curvy 16 but I am knocking on 40 (I will be 39 in July) and want to be fit and healthy as part of my new way of living and working. So, on my first morning I hit the treadmill and did a good 45 minutes whilst listening to a KnitBritish podcast (www.knitbritish.net). <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This also gave me the time to set out how I wanted my day to unfold and what I wanted to achieve by the end of it. I will be trying to keep this routine up. ***UPDATE*** I managed it this morning also!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the end of February I am hoping to have a new office space. Two tradesmen were working on splitting down our garage today.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8_Sjv9kaft3aYliZ7jaAYB0V87V-ea-a09RrqTa5A2KoHBFt1yu7kpt4mZdHKc_1IXzbYP1hboJdpd5KGMhxl9GsY4Vc4MjWSLxKTJrZXoV8CX8QZ0gbv4ddhQLuiAi23QJH329Jjck/s320/IMG_3825+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The soon to be KIHICI HQ</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8_Sjv9kaft3aYliZ7jaAYB0V87V-ea-a09RrqTa5A2KoHBFt1yu7kpt4mZdHKc_1IXzbYP1hboJdpd5KGMhxl9GsY4Vc4MjWSLxKTJrZXoV8CX8QZ0gbv4ddhQLuiAi23QJH329Jjck/s1600/IMG_3825+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It will take them a month or so as they have to work on other jobs simultaneously and then I will have a fully functioning 'garoffice' that will be fully insulated and kitted out as my office/manufacturing/distribution space. This set up is key to the what I am trying to achieve because:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 - Running a business from our home property massively reduces my operating costs and will allow me to keep the cost of my goods down.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 - I have spent many a day commuting to work. At its worst it would take me an hour to get to work and and an hour and a half to get back. The commute time has fluctuated depending job, location and mode of transport. The job that I have done for the last 8.5 years has also involved a lot of UK travel and occasional European trips. Whilst I fully expect to still have to travel to shows and to check on suppliers it will not be at the same level, thankfully.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 - I look forward to commuting through my garden every morning. It would have made far more sense for me to use the right side of the garage but I have taken the left because that means that I can walk through the garden to get to the garoffice and in the summer I can open the window and door and look out to the plants and wildlife. This stuff is really important to me. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkq_zN5KZmX6SJBDgZKrEwhgUePxnLfYoCqkCM4_ixFJFcmBqLlposiMv3yWooNC2CMW6QSYO6ps8uLSuMaYlEfoRrg-LBJoP2G0WhFpWJV56i31Q4Et8UNKAU0ZObZDr4NlX4daS6rF0/s320/IMG_3826+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our lovely but quite chilly dining room</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, until the garoffice is ready (in my head it is going to be functional and beautiful) I am going to work from the dining table or my Stash Palace.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfY92MLJHKJfXgqa7Q2J6AsLPulvpy8YUQ8ALYVzmN_xsHqiOFLVz3KSjlxCvnmKH1se4YSDD14ALsSdIJsoq8RJuIKSgowfNgUgyzuH1eoH8sZmtdOoxF0MF7AwToSg4BIyAdt5O9NDA/s1600/IMG_3827.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfY92MLJHKJfXgqa7Q2J6AsLPulvpy8YUQ8ALYVzmN_xsHqiOFLVz3KSjlxCvnmKH1se4YSDD14ALsSdIJsoq8RJuIKSgowfNgUgyzuH1eoH8sZmtdOoxF0MF7AwToSg4BIyAdt5O9NDA/s320/IMG_3827.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My even colder Stash Palace</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both require a gilet and fingerless gloves to work in because I refuse to put the heating on during the day. Many cups of tea are required instead.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today I am working from the dining room table. I started at 8.15am, took a short break to go to the Post Office and now continue to work. My new boss is a bit of a task master!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">***UPDATE*** I was enthusiastic from the first minute to the last (10.15pm) and what really helped was having done the strategy session with my husband Matthew, I had firmed up in my mind exactly what I wanted to do and how I was going to achieve it. The path has been defined, there may be some potholes along the way, but I have long legs and attitude. I am sure I can jump over them. </span><br />
<br />Ma Dashperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12019826761368566324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388590044967944304.post-28159336055497101972016-01-02T18:00:00.000-08:002016-01-05T06:06:33.657-08:00If you have to have a strategy session...<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you have to have a strategy session then I find it best to do this with someone that you respect (in my case this was Matthew my husband), in a place that inspires you (the Yorkshire Sculpture Park) and with the right attitude.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having looked at the weather forecast on the 31st December we were sizing up which would be the best of the bad weather days to head over to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (www.ysp.co.uk). As it turns out we could choose from either one drop of rain moving up to two drops of rain on the 1st January or two drops of raining moving on to one drop of rain on the 2nd. We decided to have a lazy day on the 1st and head over to the YSP on the second.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDNNPWi8SP2bH1lbPPL-uv3UIFbdgVPZY8z_5WdjBAjFRKjVRW5Z_ZSsutg7pAo97WE20GoxOASwn0nPRz63cTtkXeryyvPWjctAWmSR8eDndomn-8GxVydv6TjmY_iUnNTSaI1tNr7Kw/s1600/IMG_3817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDNNPWi8SP2bH1lbPPL-uv3UIFbdgVPZY8z_5WdjBAjFRKjVRW5Z_ZSsutg7pAo97WE20GoxOASwn0nPRz63cTtkXeryyvPWjctAWmSR8eDndomn-8GxVydv6TjmY_iUnNTSaI1tNr7Kw/s320/IMG_3817.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We got a wee bit wet.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since about May/June 2015 I started to mull over what my company could look like and what the ethics should be behind it. I had handwritten notes and ideas in my trusty turquoise folder A4 notebook. It was time to pull it all into something cohesive and deliverable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The weather was definitely more two drops than one drop in the morning and so there would be no chance of an open air strategy writing session. Instead we spoke about the vision, mission, aims and objectives for the company during the journey there, over lunch and on the way back. All logged carefully in my notebook. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is the vision for Knit It - Hook It - Craft It:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>"To sell carefully sourced, practical, beautiful, quality products for the knitting, crocheting and crafting community."</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If I had to pull everything into one word, that word would be 'provenance'. I don't know the provenance of an item, I won't use it/sell it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I now need to pull all of the work from the strategy session into a set of PowerPoint slides so that I can always refer back to them and remember what I wanted the company to look like and adhere to from the outset.</span><br />
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Ma Dashperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12019826761368566324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388590044967944304.post-9050745794831561992015-12-31T12:55:00.000-08:002016-01-05T06:11:31.240-08:00New Year's Eve. New Life's Eve<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The job that I have just left had a three month notice period and the first few weeks dragged but the last month and a half was an absolute whirlwind of trying to get everything sorted and handed over.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have finally made it to my final day of work with my current employer. There is much that I will miss about working there and the waste management industry as a whole. As with any job, there are bits and pieces that I really won't miss but there is no point in dwelling on them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two weeks after I started a young lady called Emma started in the team that I was leading. Now, I have much to be proud of with this job; we created new recycling systems, helped to build a recycling facility, worked really hard with Local Authorities across the UK...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the thing that I am most proud of is how much Em has developed over the last 8.5 years. She has been a great colleague and will always try to find the positive in any situation. The below picture pretty much sums this up. We had been counting bins and stripping off old stickers in the rain and were absolutely soaked - but happy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so, here I am on the eve of 2016 and tomorrow I am self employed. I am sad to leave my old team but excited for the future. There is no part of me that thinks I have made the wrong decision.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am going to relax during the weekend and be ready to tackle the first day of being self employed exactly as I mean to go on - with guts and utter determination to succeed. </span><br />
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<br />Ma Dashperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12019826761368566324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388590044967944304.post-43900157137107164082015-11-22T12:39:00.000-08:002016-01-05T06:14:15.954-08:00Swarm of bees v knitting confirms my decision is the right one<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, it has been a few weeks since I made the giant leap to leave my job and become self employed and I wanted to document what I have been doing towards the new business and what my concerns are around going it alone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First things first, here is what I have done so far to set up the new business:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 - Set up a bank account.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 - Continued to save every penny possible from my wages so that I don't have to get a bank loan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 - Registered as a Sole Trader with HMRC.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 - Registered and bought the domain www.knitit-hookit-craftit.com and a couple of other site names for future business ideas.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5 - Created the twitter handles for @KnitItHookIt and the other business ideas.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6 - Investigated some of the suppliers and manufacturers that I want to use.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7 - Bought a decent laptop - a Surface Pro, because that is what I am used to working on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8 - Investigated accounts packages and started using free trials to assess which may work best for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All of the above took quite a bit of brain space given that I still run a household, have a reasonably demanding full time job and have quite a few other commitments including running a local knitting group.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My conclusion is that because I want to leave my job in good working order and don't want to frazzle myself out, I should leave it at that for Knit It - Hook It - Craft It until I finish work on the 31st December. So, on the 4th January 2016 I need to be focused and ready to hit the ground running.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Onto my concerns. I am quite a sociable person and really like having a team around me. If you don't count our cat Robinson aka Head of Morale and my mannequin Claude then it is just going to be me myself and I for quite some time...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the upside I have started listening to craft related podcasts (Pom Pom Quarterly's and KnitFM's so far) and it is quite nice to have the same people talking about similar interests in a chatty manner. It turns out that there are quite a few out there and so craft podcasters may unknowingly form part of my new team. I also suspect that I will end up doing more in Twitter, Instagram and Pintrest because the craft community in the UK is very spread out and many of them use social media as a way of keeping in touch. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another concern is that I have always earned money and from the age of 13 I have been pretty much self sufficient. When I chose to move to self employment I also chose to step away from a monthly pay packet and that is scary. I am fortunate that my husband works and so we can afford to live without my wage for a period of time. The issue is less financial and more psychological. I like to earn my own money. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The only solution to this that I can see is to work really bloody hard and make the right decisions from the start. I can control those bits.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I mentioned above that I have been saving up for quite some time to ensure that I have start-up money sat in the business account. I don't know if it is going to be enough and I won't know that until I get me teeth into the business in 2016. Not a lot I can do about that until I can properly assess what the reaction is to the products that I will sell/manufacture. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Right now, I don't think that my concerns are too daunting. I still feel like I have made the right decision. I still want to be my own boss and bring something new to the table.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I mentioned my husband. His name is Matthew and apart form being very good at business, he is also an extremely decent human and a great partner. He is very supportive of my new venture and will offer whatever help he can give.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here is the confirmation bit. You may have noticed, hard not to really, the fashion for men to have massive beards that generally look like they have a swarm of bees on their chins. Matthew was on the tube the other day and was standing across from a man with a swarm of bees for a chin and thought how weird it was that beards had come back into fashion. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He looked up and down the carriage to see how many other bee keepers there were but he was surprised to find that Bee Keeper No. 1 was the only one. He was even more surprised to see that there was 100% more knitters in that one carriage than beekeepers! Yay for starting a craft business rather than a male grooming parlour.</span><br />
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<br />Ma Dashperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12019826761368566324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2388590044967944304.post-22380222516827630522015-10-05T09:00:00.000-07:002016-01-05T06:16:39.206-08:00I have just resigned from my job of over eight years.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today is one of the biggest days of my life. Today I resigned from my job. Today is the first step to becoming my
own boss and being accountable for everything that I do. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me set the scene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the time that I formally leave my job (end of December 2015) I will
have been within the Waste Management industry for 15 years, almost to the
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those years are fairly evenly
split between two different employers (6.5 years within a Local Authority waste
team and 8.5 years with a packaging Trade Association).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am loyal, work hard and love my job,
but something has changed within me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My Dad has been his own boss for a number of years now and I
have always seen the attraction of driving your own destiny through the good
and the bad times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is what I
want, that is what I have wanted for quite some time now, but I am loyal to the
company that I am currently working for and I didn’t yet understand what my
business proposition could be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At one point I seriously looked into curing my own local,
organic meats and running an online shop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Charcuterie, alongside food and cooking in general, really interests me
but it was never enough for me to think 'tomorrow I will hand my notice in'…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then a year ago I started crochet classes at my local high
school and fell in love with all things yarn based.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_DjdIAtdFvW8xMZ6_zI8BUp0lAvht_Dj5QHm8ti7dENnR-uINAET1b216DgMl_XKr8veBabrXERRHIWGX87UytYOz3oAfEOg-lxhoBxeIIt-eT9mhn8c16zIOxmrmsx0VAd1tMcStFGc/s1600/IMG_3215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_DjdIAtdFvW8xMZ6_zI8BUp0lAvht_Dj5QHm8ti7dENnR-uINAET1b216DgMl_XKr8veBabrXERRHIWGX87UytYOz3oAfEOg-lxhoBxeIIt-eT9mhn8c16zIOxmrmsx0VAd1tMcStFGc/s320/IMG_3215.jpg" width="240" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That led to a quick succession of learning to knit,
intermediary crochet classes and visiting every yarn or knitting show within
reasonably easy reach of Cheshire – although I am thinking about going to
Shetland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The upshot was that I
found ‘my thing’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That ‘thing’
that you know you can do, that business you can create that is unique and
missing from the market place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Also, it is much more difficult to potentially give somebody food
poisoning with yarn based goods!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, as of about three months ago, I really started to shape
what my business could look like and used trips to exhibitions for market
research as well as purchasing yarn for my latest obsession.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fast forward three months and today is the day that I handed
my notice in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Literally about an
hour ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far it has been a
roller coaster of emotions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pressing the send button brought elation and trepidation in equal
measure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 25 minute drive to
work allowed some doubts to set in – too late!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>My iPod shuffle played <i>Tommy Petty – Free Fallin</i>’, <i>Paulo
Nutini’s One Day</i> and <i>Chicane’s Autumn Tactics </i>– all very relevant songs that
meant that by the time I was unlocking the front door at the office and taking
the alarm off I was in a Beyonce-esque <i>‘go get ‘em girlfriend’</i> type of a mood.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then my boss phoned, sounding dejected but overall
pleased for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That brought tears
to my eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I said, I love my
job and the three others that I work with – they are fab.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It just isn’t enough for me anymore, I
need more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So for the rest of today I am off to do my current day
job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will update this blog at
the end of the day when I have seen the team and talked through the intricacies
of leaving in three months...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I need a cup of tea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">***UPDATE***</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, as of 4th January 2016 I will be self employed. Gulp. I have three months to ensure that I hand the job over in a decent state (I'm not one to hand in my notice and then sit on my backside for three months) and also try to set-up my new company.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whilst going through all of the thinking behind leaving my job and setting up on my own the thing that I kept coming back to is that, where possible, I really want to be able to control who I work with. Life is too short to have to work with people that kill your passion for the job. To do something well, I have to be 100% engaged with it and see it as part of a bigger picture. I love being focused, operational and working strategically. I don't love having to work within a political environment or with idiots that have the charisma and personality of a box ticking automaton and seem to see women as lesser beings. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hasten to add, this is not my team that I am talking about. They are lovely, fabulous and supportive people that I have happily worked with for many years. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Luckily the craft community is full of absolute lovelies and I can't wait to join in with my new business. I look forward to being enthused and creative on a daily basis.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My intention is to blog every now and then with updates on how I am getting on with setting up the business, what was difficult, what was a breeze and what my approach has been. </span><br />
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Ma Dashperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12019826761368566324noreply@blogger.com0