Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The Baby Cocoon

This is one of the first pieces I ever knitted, a baby cocoon for my baby girl, Lara.  Don't you just love the colours? This was yarn from Spotlight...before the days of me being aware that stores solely dedicated to selling wool actually existed.  It was my first time attempting circular needles and I quite enjoyed it!

Unfortunately I do not have a pattern for this cocoon as I actually used a combination of free patterns off the internet and tweaked it to my liking.  But if you really want it let me know and I can figure something out for you. :)  As you can see though, it is a simple stocking stitch.  However, because you are knitting on circular needles and continually going in the same direction, you actually just have to knit stitch through the whole thing!  As Lara wasn't born yet when I finished it, I had to trial it on Amber's (my older daughter) toy sheep.

I like the cuddliness of carrying a newborn in this however I don't think that Melbourne has winters quite cold enough for it to be used as often as I would have liked.  And if I was to make another one I would have made a hole for a seat belt/pram strap to go through.  That's what happens when you try to improvise when you're just a beginner I guess!

Photographed here is Lara fast asleep in the cocoon at just a few weeks old.  So peaceful and so warm.  The room was a little dim so apologies for the dark photo.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

And So It Begins...

At the start of Feb this year I started entertaining the idea of starting my own online wool store. One and a half months later I find myself working on a logo, website and much more. As part of this little venture, I also wanted to have a blog, so here it is!

Before I continue I should probably mention that my online store isn't quite up and running just yet but do watch this space to find out more about that in the next few months!

So, it is here that you will get to find out a little more about me, the owner of Wool & Flax. I hope that this blog will add to your life in more ways than one, that it will entertain you, make you smile, maybe make you cry, give you hope and inspire you to do what you love and be who you were created to be. Needless to say, we will definitely have some knitting fun along the way!

An introduction...
I have been a stay-at-home mum since my first daughter was born back in 2008. Life got busier with the arrival of my second daughter who joined us in 2010. I have a loving and supportive husband who has encouraged me through this whole process and is probably the reason why I now have this little business I can call my own.

My husband and I first attempted knitting about 3 years ago. We went to Spotlight, bought ourselves some wool and needles, and found ourselves sitting up in bed on a Saturday night trying our best to knit. Riveting lives we lead, I know!! Our first project was just a simple knit stitch scarf. I think my husband ended up unpicking his about 5 times before eventually giving up. I managed to get through about 1/3 of mine but soon lost interest too. I tried going back to it a few times but just couldn't get into the groove. A year later, I went over to a friend's place and she was knitting a scarf. I thought to myself, maybe I should pick up that scarf again. I went home, dug out my needles and wool and did just that and...'kaboom!' I was hooked!

I knitted about 20 things in my first year of knitting. Scarves, booties, toys, fingerless gloves, a baby blanket, a baby cocoon, a cushion cover and even a vest! I Google'd anything I didn't understand, looked on YouTube for 'How to' videos and enjoyed learning new techniques and trying new yarns with every project I put my needles to.

I soon realized that it was actually my love for yarn which kept my interest in knitting. I found myself drooling over all the amazing fibers, textures and colours of yarns and wanted to use them so much that I just had to find relevant patterns to do so. This love and passion has led me here...starting my own online store, Wool & Flax. It is an expression of myself, a showcase of yarns and knitting accessories that I love. I am delighted to be able to share this experience with you and I hope that you will fall in love and gain a passion too.

Joan xo