Today the Blue Tit Cushion pattern is released and we’re off on our CKAL adventure! You can find the Part 1 pattern files posted in the Dutch & International Facebook Groups and also on Scheepjes Website. You can then select your preferred language and choose from crochet or knitting. Even if you’re raring to go, I strongly recommend you read through the pattern, the Tips and Tricks documents and accompanying blog posts I’ve posted over the last week. Once you have digested that info, go ahead and pick up your hook or needles.
The Blue Tit Cushions are a project of two halves. This week, we’re doing what some would call a TV knit or crochet, then from Week 2, we’ll need to knuckle down and focus! For now, we’re aiming to create a fabric with nice, even stitches that we can embroider into when the charts are released.
I would suggest, however experienced you are, that you glance at your rows every so often to check for errors. A stitch gained or lost at row ends can be fudged, but something gone awry in the area we’ll be stitching could make things tricky later on when we come to place our embroidery stitches. (If you do discover a mistake missed way down, you can always call this piece the back and make another for the front.)
Some of you will enjoy getting into a mindful state and enjoy the quiet rhythm of repetitive stitches. If that’s you, don’t forget to stop for breathers to rest your hands. Others may need a little entertainment (I can flit between either camp depending what mood I’m in).
If you’re skilled enough that you can craft away without looking, great! Go ahead and find a good box set for the next week or so. I’ve no chance of watching anything with subtitles or keeping up with a plot but I do have favourites that are as much about the listening as looking.
Kate at The Last Homely House and The Last Homely Garden is a crafter from the far North of England. She has a lovely soothing voice and chats away about her latest sewing or knitting projects, and what she’s up to in the garden. I think of her channels as quiet, gentle and welcoming; it’s like being in the room with a friend who always makes you feel better after spending time with them.
Karen Brown at Just Get It Done Quilts has a brilliant channel with loads of fantastic tips if you’re into quilting at all. Most of all I love her Quilt Circle Podcasts. There are 68 episodes to date where she talks to fascinating people in the textile industry. I love her interview style and am working my way through them all from the beginning. Episodes tend to be about 40 minutes long, which is about my concentration limit. It’s a good reminder to take a break when an episode ends.
Fruity Knitting Podcast is a popular channel for knitting conversations. They are a long format, up to an hour and half, usually starting with a conversation between Andrea and daughter Madeleine about what they’re currently knitting (always something exquisite!). This is followed by an interview with a professional from the yarn industry. There’s about 150 episodes so far and I haven’t listened religiously but check it out every so often to see if there’s a designer I’m particularly interested in. You can search through their list of guests here. Dario Tubiana is an expert in embroidering onto knitwear and next on my list to watch.
I haven’t even started on their Knitters of the World segment yet which features an amateur knitters or emerging designers from around the world, so have plenty to go at!
You might also want to think about when you want to finish the cushion front by. There’s no rush at all, no crafting police here! However, if you need a bit of discipline and don’t want to add to a pile of never ending WIPs, time yourself working a row then multiply by the number of rows (118 for crocheters and 100 for the knitters). This will give you an idea of how long it will take to craft each side of the cushion and you can decide how many rows you want to do each day, depending on the time you realistically have available.
The admins and mods in the Scheepjes Facebook groups have their favourite things to listen to as well. Everything from true crime, to Sounds of the 70s/80s as I found out today. We’ll start a thread there so you can share your favourites too! If you come across anything you don’t understand about the patterns in the coming weeks, please do ask us in the Dutch or the International group. The mods are super knowledgeable and supportive and have either crocheted or knitted the cushions already. I have a few days away over the next few weeks but hopefully have left you well prepared and will be popping into the groups as well. Between us, we’ll do our best to help if you need it.
Bizzymitts 