How to Knit a Whisky Flask Sleeve with ELMrocks

We have already had some inspiration for handmade gifts on the #CraftyChristmas takeover. Now it is time to get our knit on with Eleanor of ELMrocks who is sharing how to knit this Scandi style whisky flask sleeve. 

I always find that it's so much easier to make homemade gifts for the women in my life and I really struggle to add that personal touch to presents for the male members. I'm not saying that whiskey is just for the chaps (it's my favourite thing to drink), but I'm sure your dad, husband, brother or uncle would love hip flask made festive with this cute sleeve. And the girls'll like it too, I reckon.

Knitted Ruffle Scarf

Back when I was making gifts last year, I tweeted a picture of this scarf in progress:

I knitted this for Big Nanna B but unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the finished item. Well, at least I think I did. I can't find it anywhere. I had quite a few impressed faces at the site of this scarf as people assumed that it was a very complicated item. Of course I was completely honest and told them that it was one row of 9 stitches knitted over and over and it was in fact the kind of yarn that made the ruffles; nothing to do with my knitting skills, I can assure you of that.

I loved the finished item so much that I decided to make another for a friend. This time, black with sparkles.

I love it and although it's way down the list. I would love to do one for myself.  The yarn I used for both of these was Rico Can Can Disco Yarn Scarf Wool. The top one was red mix and the bottom, glitter ruffle black and silver. The range of these yarns it amazing with many different colours, shades, mixes, with or withput glitter, different lace effects, some with tassel things on; the list is endless.

I will attempt to provide a small tutorial on how to knit with this yarn. It is so simple and easy and I would urge anyone, even knitting novices like myself, to have a go. They knit up extremely quickly and make great gifts. 

I hope this has provided at least a small bit of inspiration for your handmade gift list! 

Happy yarn hunting!

Mrs Crafty B

Meet the Maker: Lynsey Hall

Following the abandonment of my virtual world, I would like to re-enter, not just with a birthday blog post, but with another maker for us all to meet. 

So here is what today's maker is sharing with us.

Our first and most important questions then, to kick us off.

Tea or coffee? 

Coffee in the morning but tea from then on. I had a chocolate truffle tea at knitting group last week and it tasted lovely, as though a chocolate digestive had been dropped in it but minus the lumps!

Biscuit or cake? 

Biscuit, I love the crunch. I don't have a favourite as such, I do like chocolate ones and have a brill recipe on my blog ;-)

So before we talk about your make, tell us a bit about yourself. 

I'm Lynsey, I grew up in a little village called Woodnewton in Northants but moved to Nottingham for university where I have remained and now live with my boyfriend and two cats Edith and Sophie. I don't have a business but I have considered setting up a shop on etsy (if I can stop knitting for myself). I do keep a blog and it can be found at www.thediaryofanovicecrafter.blogspot.co.uk 

 ...and what about the item that you are sharing with us? 

I have made some socks! I have always wanted to learn how to knit socks because in my experience there is nothing nicer to have on your feet. I was told by a lot of people that they are very difficult but this made me more determined. I enrolled on a workshop and decided they would make a great gift for my boyfriends Father for Christmas. I used a neutrally shaded yarn as a lot of the options were very bright and therefore not the most manly. They took a lot longer than planned to knit but alongside a cardigan and a multitude of other projects I had them finished within a month, I probably could have had them done in a week.

How long have you been knitting and how did you learn? 

I learnt to knit when I was little but I only knew about the knit stitch so could only really knit squares in garter stitch. I started again in April 2012 after finding a half knitted scarf in a cupboard. I loved it and so with the help of colleagues learnt how to purl and knitted a lot of practice squares. Since then I have had a lot of help from Eleanor Burke who owns and runs Knit Nottingham, the most amazing little yarn shop.

What inspires and motivates you? 

I'm inspired by other people and things around me, I see things that have been knitted and get so excited about the thought that I might be able to do the same. My motivation oddly comes from suffering with anxiety, knitting and crochet offer a lot of comfort so I am motivated to keep going knowing it will help my mood. I am also motivated by the sense of pride I feel when I complete something, I love knitting and crocheting things as gifts and the responses I receive from the receivers just makes me want to make more.

Any crafting heroes? 

Mrs B! It was her blog that got me started again and my journey has been amazing. Forever grateful.

Do you have a crafting space?

I do, I have recently commandeered the spare room and created a lovely and cosy space. I got a desk from eBay and some cheap shelves and before I knew it I had a beautiful area to sit and relax whilst crafting. It is currently being used by my boyfriend though who is working on a history project.

What other projects are you working on? 

This will be a long list! I have nearly finished an Aran cardigan, a tunic I have been knitting for yonks (it's boring to knit), a stunning shawl, a blanket, a picture knit cowl and there are plenty more balls of yarn for a number of other planned projects.

So can we join you in your virtual world? 

You certainly can. I can be found on twitter @lynseymhall and also on my blog www.thediaryofanovicecrafter.blogspot.co.uk 

Finally, some quick fire questions that we are dying to know the answers to.

Favourite colour? 

Purple (at the moment)

The best season? 

Spring

Your favourite food? 

Salt and vinegar spiral crisps.

The best day of the week? 

Sunday (good excuse for a roast dinner and channel 5 have films on all day)

What is the best word?

discombobulate - just fun to say, I had to google it to see what it meant.

Favourite place? 

My home

Your biggest achievement? 

Keeping my head above water!

I'm certain that most would agree, that for someone who only re-started knitting less than a year ago, this is a pretty impressive make! Thanks for your time Lynsey and I hope lots of you head on over to Lynsey's bloggy space to follow her crafty antics!

Lots of sunshine,

Mrs Crafty B

Book Browse: 20 to Make Knitted Bears

Don't worry, I wont be reviewing a 20 to Make book every week although I must say, they are great little guides with inspiring ideas for any 'craft'. I do own a few.

It just so happens that along with my 20 to Make Mini Christmas crochet, I also received this book which you can find to purchase here. 'Hold on' I hear you say. You want to hear a bit more about it?

Firstly, I am not a knitting pro. I am very much a beginner and I know the basics. I found the patterns in this book particularly easy to follow. I did have to google a couple of the terms for a video on how to do it, just to make sure, but overall, I found it surprisingly easy to put this little guy together which was based on 'Toby Toddler Bear'.

I substituted the black bead eyes for goggly ones and I did miss some of the embellishments but I never was one to do things exactly by the book. Heres how he should of looked. Pretty close I think.

The layout of the book is very simple. There is a pattern to make up a bear (choose the colour from your pattern first) and then you pick one of the lovely bear designs to make up the costume for the bear. I purchased the book for my Nan who had been nosing at mine. She stated upon receiving the book "Thanks but I wanted you to make one for me." So Emily Knitting Bear is next on the list!

One very frustrating thing was the lack of clear instruction on how to sew up the pieces of the bear. I had to find a video on how to this but the term used in the book would not return adequate  results when searching on the internet and it took me a while to figure out how to sew up the bear with the right stitching. Having said that, this book is not an instructional book and as with the Mini Christmas Crochet, a pictorial knitting instruction book for those lacking experience in the terminology and techniques, or access to google, would be a great help. For what it is, a lovely collection of costumed bears to knit up beautiful little bears for yourself, friends and family, this book is well varied and you will find a bear for everyone from a sports enthusiastic to a beach babe, from graduates to gardeners. Well worth adding to collection if you like to knit such figures or would like to get started with some inspiration.

Happy knitting all.

Mrs Crafty B

Craft Projects Galore

Due to a bit of ill health, I have been ever so slightly absent from my virtual world recently. As I snuggle up under the blankets I say to myself 'check in on the twitter world, read some blogs' but it all goes to pot :(

Ok so quickly, whilst I'm here and before I have to pour the last of my energy into Baby B waking up from his nap, I'm going to start a project which will be a featured as a 'book browse'. I'm going to crochet the cushion in Cath Kidston's 'Crochet Book'. I think I am also going to to pick something to make from 'Stitch', because lets face it, you aren't a true crafter without more than one project on the go.

In other news, I still have a cross stitch sampler on my list of projects to do, unfinished knitting and crochet as well as other unfinished bits in the drawer and I have been turning my hand to a bit of 'designing' but these are projects to be shared in good time.

How are your 2013 projects coming along so far?

Mrs Crafty B

How to Knit a Chunky Knit Scarf

In Autumn 2010, I started to knit a chunky scarf. On Boxing Day 2011, I finally finished it!

This scarf can officially go in my 'Completed Projects' list. For this oversized scarf I used big chunky wool and very big needles. It really is a monster but I'm very pleased with the result. The tension difference in my casting off to my casting on, shows the difference in my knitting ability in the start compared to the end. Knitting on the huge needles was a lesson in itself!