In Knitting

Project Notes: Pink Moondancer Shawl

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You know how you have that itch to retry a project when the previous attempt doesn’t work out the way you want it to? Yeah. This iteration of the Moondancer Shawl by Dominique Trad was one of those projects. The very first bash at the project was a yellow-and-grey number, which was made so I could wear it to the Harry Potter Feast event. Yes. I was a Hufflepuff at the time. And no, it was not worth the money I shelled out for the ticket to that event. Since then, a couple of things have happened. Firstly, I found myself in posession of more yarn than I had proper storage for (and needed to use up). Second (and most importantly), I am no longer a Hufflepuff. Yes. I am now rocking the red and gold of Gryffindor house. Which means that a) the Hufflepuff-inspired shawl is no longer appropriate…

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In Life

My Journey As A Craft Blogger: Pt1

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I was always DIY-kind of person. Not the “visit Bunnings every other week” kind. The “I need an accountability buddy whenever I go anywhere near a yarn shop or art supplies shop” kind. It started with knitting & crocheting as a kid. As I grew up, I lost touch with both crafts until I rediscovered both as a youndg adult. First, it was crochet. Specifically, crochet doilies. Yes. I am that kind of weird. Then I re-discovered knitting. Knitting 2.0 started with socks. Just plain, usable socks. Nothing fancy or lacey. Just the kind that you can wear until it’s no longer fit for purpose. Then I decided that I was going to try knitting my own clothes. First it was cardigans. At the time, there was an app that let you punch in your measurements and it would generate a custom pattern for you. My very first cardigan was…

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In Knitting

Project Notes: April Cardigan (Pink Edition)

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It’s been close to a year since I finished my pink and green cardigan. I had bought more yarn than I needed for that project, because I had 2 balls of each of the pink yarns (Sandnes Garn Sunday & Tynn Silk Mohair) left after finishing all of the edges and sewing on all of the buttons. Yarn which has been sitting idle in my stash, until the beginning of 2025. When I drew up my new years resolutions for 2025, I decided that I was going to drastically pare down my yarn stash in order to make room for new acquisitions (part of a broader effort to destash the stuff in my room). Which entailed using up as much of my stash as I could, including 5 “full” skeins. I thought, seeing how I already have a pink and green number, as well as a solid green one, I…

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In Journaling

How To Build A Travel Journal Kit

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When you are prone over over-packing and over thinking I love journaling. I also don’t like having to think too much about getting my thoughts down. Especially when all I want to do is unwind after a *long* day of activities. But I still like having a physical reminder of my holiday, whether it’s a week interstate or long-weekend staycation in my state’s capital. So… What do I do to make sure that I can adequately capture my trip, but without thinking too much and without lugging everything but the proverbial kitchen sink through the airport? I make sure that I have a fully stocked journaling kit that can fit into a medium-sized pouch. Yep. Before I pack for a trip, I make sure that my favourite medium-sized Delfonics pouch is fully stocked with all the things I might want to have to hand for my end-of-day journaling sesh. (Let’s…

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In Life

25 Things In 2025

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I think that it’s safe to say that 2024 was a bit of write-off. I don’t think I even remember what I said I was going to do in 2024.

Seeing how we’re in November now, the only thing left to do is to set next year’s goals. And hope that I’ll be able to stick to them.

I decided that 2025’s goals needed a more thought out approach. So, in doing a bit of research for this post, 2 of the tips that came up the most was

Without further ado, here are 25 things I want to achieve in 2025

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In Knitting

Pattern Notes: All Together Now Cowl

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2024 was the first year that I decided to do a crafty advent. Specifically, Moonglow Yarn Co’s Yarn Advent. To be completely honest, I wasn’t sure how much of each colour we were going to get. So I ended up choosing a pattern that was definately on the more cautious side where yarn usage was concerned: the All Together Now Cowl by Pacific Knit Co. I’m already familiar with the All Together Now motif, as I’ve made a few pairs of socks in that pattern. So it wasn’t too much trouble to figure out the pattern. The only thing that needed figuring out was the tension. The pattern recommends 204 cast on stitches for the large size, with 3.25mm needles. I found the combination produced too loose a fabric, so I switched it up to 240 cast on stitches and 3mm needles. One thing that I didn’t learn until I…

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In Knitting

Pattern Notes: Valentines 2 Doodle Cowl

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The Valentines 2 Doodle Cowl isn’t the first doodle project that I’ve attempted. And I don’t think that it’s going to be my last either. The only pattern-maker that I’ve really seen use the “doodle” style of pattern is Moonglow Yarn Co. You basically have a bunch of pattern segments that you can mix and match to your liking. Think: a section of gradient hearts or a section of rainbows. When drafting my own cowl pattern, having an app like Knitting Chart is really useful if you plan on doing so digitally. If the analog style of pattern drafting is more to your liking, a good ole graph paper and set of coloured pencils should serve you just fine. For cowls, I would personally recommend that you stick to 8ply/DK weight yarn if you’re the kind of person that doesn’t like to spend forever on their projects. Should you go…

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In Knitting

Pattern Notes: All Together Now Socks

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Guys, I think I’ve found my perfect stash busting sock pattern: Pacific Knit Co’s All Together Now Socks. As part of the greater decluttering execise, I’ve been working on paring down the amount of yarn that I have. With the ultimate goal being to either part with one of my IKEA RASKOG carts or move my entire yarn collection onto the RASKOG cart that’s currently housing the part of my yarn stash that won’t fit in the KALLAX shelving unit.

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In Knitting

Pattern Notes: April Cardigan By PetiteKnits

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Dear Diary, It’s safe to say that the April Cardigan from PeiteKnits has become my go to cardigan pattern. Because it’s on the simpler end of the spectrum for cardigan patterns, it’s really easy to adapt the pattern to suit your own tastes. Take, for example, this iteration. (Yes, I have made more than one of this pattern) Instead of going for the solid block of colour that the original pattern calls for, I went for a series of stripes around the bottom edge of the body and the sleeve cuffs. Originally, I was angling for a gentle pink to green gradient, but the striped effect turned out ok. This was also the first interation where I tried the “perfect” 1×1 ribbing. The end result was that the cuffs and bottom band were a lot snugger than previous iterations. That, and the buttonholes were smaller. As for the placement of…

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In Knitting

Making Colourwork Mittens

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Dear Diary, In a fit of knitting madness last year, I had the grand idea to dive right into colourwork knitting. I can’t remember why I thought that it would be a good project at the time, but nothing apart from the ‘need’ to drastically pare down my yarn stash really comes to mind. In hindsight, I’m kinda happy that I did. While I did considerably reduce the leftovers from the 1st Moonglow Desert Rose colour kit, I also finished a WIP that was sitting in my ‘in progress’ pile for much longer than it should have. The pattern was pulled together from a bunch of cards from Pacific Knit Co’s Doodle Card Decks – namely their Basic and Spring packs. The beauty of the card decks is that they’re essentially a ‘build your own adventure’ approach to drafting your own patterns. As for the yarn, I used the leftovers…

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