I have been spending a lot of time watching the TV show "Who Do You Think You Are?". There are several versions of it - from the UK, South Africa, Australia, the US, and a couple of other countries. The premise behind the show is very simple - take a famous person and dig into their family history to find something interesting to talk about.
Some of the episodes are a lot less interesting than others, but then some of them reveal powerful events and people in the past that really move the celebrity. Take Patrick Stewart's episode. It left him with this incredible understanding of the events that happened in his life.
Anyway, I've been thinking a lot about my own family as a result. I know a lot about my mom's side of the family. I've been surrounded by them my entire life, and I usually end up seeing some of them at least once a week. But my dad's side of the family? I know almost nothing about.
I know who my paternal grandfather is. And I know the names of an uncle and an aunt... but that's about it. My dad's mother died when he was young - possibly before his teens, and it seems as if that destroyed their family. My grandfather eventually remarried, and had two additional children, but I don't know them.
I would love to go on a show like this. Not to be on TV, but to find out about my own history. I don't have anyone I can ask these questions. And I think that's really sad.
Friday, February 13, 2015
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Mini-Skein Mania - the beginning!
About a week before my 30th birthday, I started seriously looking at the multitude of mini skein projects that seem to be all the rage. I envision mini skeins to be like the pogs of my youth - those collectible cardboard discs that people used to fight over. I imagine giant rooms of knitters and crocheters with bags and bags of neatly wound tiny s
keins battling it out over fiber content and colorway like stock brokers do on the trading floor.
At the beginning of this project, I had 7 mini skeins. 6 from Hayley of the K2Tog podcast, and one from Lisa of the K2Tog podcast. Even now, I'm not sure of the dyers or the colorways, but they're quite fun to look at. Now that I've chosen my project, they're quite fun to knit with. And I understand the addiction now - they're a great way to try out new fibers and dyers without needing to buy an entire skein. Have a friend that finished some socks? Ask for a mini skein from the leftovers! Thanks to a delightfully unexpected gift from Heather of the Bunniphish Crafts podcast, I have quite a few more!
I chose to make a patchwork blanket that will look similar to the mitered squares blankets you see so many people doing. I did a test square - using a gapless grandmother's favorite dishcloth pattern, size 3 US needles, and some fingering weight yarn. The end result? A square that is about 2.5inches in width and length - large enough to use a majority of the mini skein, but not so big I get tired of knitting it before my brain wants to move on.
The goal? A 60"x90" blanket - much larger than my full sized bed, but one that will encompass well over a year's worth of stitching, and hopefully, some yarns from around the world. This is something like 24 squares by 36 squares, a mind numbing number of 864 squares. I told you it would take a long time. They will all be stitched together using black yarn, to keep the joins consistent.
The plan is to knit on the squares whenever I feel the need to work on something, but when my current projects are all annoying me. They're good for a quick finished object rush, and I'm really enjoying them! As of today, I will have 3.
keins battling it out over fiber content and colorway like stock brokers do on the trading floor.
At the beginning of this project, I had 7 mini skeins. 6 from Hayley of the K2Tog podcast, and one from Lisa of the K2Tog podcast. Even now, I'm not sure of the dyers or the colorways, but they're quite fun to look at. Now that I've chosen my project, they're quite fun to knit with. And I understand the addiction now - they're a great way to try out new fibers and dyers without needing to buy an entire skein. Have a friend that finished some socks? Ask for a mini skein from the leftovers! Thanks to a delightfully unexpected gift from Heather of the Bunniphish Crafts podcast, I have quite a few more!
I chose to make a patchwork blanket that will look similar to the mitered squares blankets you see so many people doing. I did a test square - using a gapless grandmother's favorite dishcloth pattern, size 3 US needles, and some fingering weight yarn. The end result? A square that is about 2.5inches in width and length - large enough to use a majority of the mini skein, but not so big I get tired of knitting it before my brain wants to move on.
The goal? A 60"x90" blanket - much larger than my full sized bed, but one that will encompass well over a year's worth of stitching, and hopefully, some yarns from around the world. This is something like 24 squares by 36 squares, a mind numbing number of 864 squares. I told you it would take a long time. They will all be stitched together using black yarn, to keep the joins consistent.
The plan is to knit on the squares whenever I feel the need to work on something, but when my current projects are all annoying me. They're good for a quick finished object rush, and I'm really enjoying them! As of today, I will have 3.
Square 1/864 - Woolike by Loops and Threads, Olive colorway.
Purchased by myself.
Purchased by myself.
Square 2/864 - Unknown yarn
donated by Hayley of the K2Tog Podcast
donated by Hayley of the K2Tog Podcast
I am using Instagram to track the squares with the hashtag #Broskeins, and also on this blog. It should be an interesting journey to say the least. If you're out there... and you're a knitter.... I'd love to add your mini skein to it!
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