Saturday 21 September 2019

Garlic Paper part 2


In 2015 I made my first batch of paper using garlic skins.  I loved it so much I started collecting them again straight away so I could make some more at some point - garlic skins being very small and fine you need a lot of them to make paper and collecting that amount takes some time. So some 3 1/2 years later, with a big bag full, I decided it was time to try again.


It really is beautiful stuff.  I love the look and feel. I made a good batch this time and just need to press it flat before I can use it.  I made a mixture of A4, A5 and A6 sheets, so I should be able to find some uses for it.

Saturday 14 September 2019

Chester the Bashful Bunny


At the beginning of the year I made Herman the enigmatic bear.  He was tricky to make because he was so small, but that was also his charm.  So when I found there was a bunny pattern too, I wanted to try it out!
Again Chester was tricky because he is small, but I also love that he is that small.  He was also easier to make as I had a better idea of what I was doing this time.  
Annoyingly I messed up one of his ears - it's inside out, but I think it has helped me realise why I've been having trouble with my knitting-in-the-round.  So after some research it seems that if you use the back needle, which I do when using circular needles, then the right side of the knitting will be inside, however if you use the front needle, which I do when using DPNs, then the right side will be on the outside.
So switching between the different types of needles meant that sometimes the right side was inside and sometimes outside.  Now I understand why I can try again and see if it makes any difference to my knitting.
I look forward to having another go.