Thoughts on Knitting in the Round

When you get comfortable with doing something, it is often the case that you stay with the way you know how to do it. That's certainly the case when it comes to knitting - I've discovered what I like knitting (hats!), and the way I like to do it (knitting row by row in the conventional manner). However, lately I've discovered so many knitting patterns that I want to try that are knitted in the round, that I decided I would have to give it a practise run. So, here's a few thoughts I'm having about knitting in the round...

REMNANT 101: A Simple Camisole

A realisation that I have come to recently is that I am horrifically bad at underestimating the amount of fabric I need for a sewing project. Not when I'm buying fabric off the bolt - if anything I almost buy far too much, but then I like to be on the safe side. Instead, I mean when I'm buying fabric remnants. With one look at a piece of fabric a little over a metre squared, I convince myself that it's plenty to make myself a short-sleeved summery top. As you'd expect, it isn't nearly enough.

After a sort out of my fabric stash lately, I rediscovered this lovely navy spotty floral remnant (a synthetic of some kind) that I'd bought in this frame of mind. I really do love this fabric, it has a lovely drape to it (aahh, I wish I was better at identifying fabrics!), and navy features heavily in my wardrobe, so I knew I wanted to turn it into something wearable. As we'd been having a spate of boiling hot weather, I made something I don't think I would have considered otherwise - a halter-neck camisole.

AWAKE: Creative Headspace

We've all seen those inspirational quotes popping up on every kind of social media feed: "You cannot run out of creativity - the more you use, the more you have" etc etc. And yet, all of us who create in some manner or another (whether you write, paint, sew, build, plan) know that it is inevitable that at some point, for a period of time, you will be left feeling uninspired, and unable to create anything, no matter how much you want to. Well, that's how I've been feeling about blogging of late. It hasn't been that I haven't wanted to, in fact quite the opposite as I've sat down several times wanting to blog, but feeling like I've got nothing to say.

This isn't a post telling you how to get out of a creative lull - instead, this is a post about how taking a short break can in fact benefit you, and how a week long absence from Awake + Make has made me feel refreshed and refocused on what I want to do with this space.

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DIY: How To Make a Ribbon Bow Hair Tie

Whilst there are plenty of options with updo's for those with longer hair, I have to admit that out of sheer laziness and ease, when the temperatures soar, I just tend to stick my hair in a plain old ponytail. Sometimes even a topknot, if I'm feeling like putting a little extra effort in. So, this is why I've come to love the ribbon hair tie that I picked up in H&M lately, even though it was something that I could very easily have made myself. In order to give myself a little more choice, I decided to whip up one of my own, and here's how I did it...