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Home » Craft Projects

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Commemorative Shawl Knitting

A Little History

At the start of last month, Gilbert Baker died. He was just 65 years of age. The name may not mean anything to you but his legacy certainly will. Gilbert was the creator of the rainbow flag; a vibrant symbol for the LGBTQ community and one that is globally recognised. He said he wanted to use something from nature to represent that our sexuality is a human right and to convey the concepts of diversity and inclusion. Originally the flag consisted of eight colours and was only later reduced to the six we’re familiar with now.

Pride Flag

The 6 Stripe Rainbow Flag

  • Red – life
  • Orange – healing
  • Yellow – sunlight
  • Green – nature
  • Turquoise – art
  • Violet – human spirit

The creation of the flag was a challenge from Gilbert’s friend, Harvey Milk, who wanted a symbol of pride and hope for the gay community. Milk was the first openly gay person to hold high public office in a major American city in 1977 having campaigned on a platform of positive hope for young gay people. That city was of course San Francisco.

The Project

The reason I’m sharing this sad news and wonderful snippet of history with you is to explain my latest choice of shawl knitting. The Pride Delta, available on Ravelry, is a colourful and eminently wearable shawl.

Shawl Knitting

Aileen’s Pride Delta – Photo © littlebushbaby

My friend and fellow Scot, Aileen D-A aka littlebushbaby, is the designer. As this talented lady put it, the shawl is for those times in our lives “when we need to show our different stripes.” Given the state of the world right now, this is clearly one of those times. The crafting community, in my experience, is also all about welcoming people of all stripes which means this project is a match made in heaven. There’s a triangular shaped version available too.

The Shawl Knitting Materials

I call my shawl “Diversity + Inclusion = Beauty + Strength”. A nod from me to the ever wise Maya Angelou whom I greatly admire. The direct quote is “It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” This will be a British wool project. I’m using J.C. Rennie’s lambswool for five of the rainbow stripes. It’s available in 10g miniballs from Clare at Wee County Yarns in Clackmannanshire.

Lambswool skeins

A selection of Lambswool miniballs

The final stripe is going to be Jamieson & Smith jumper weight as I have some in stash. Not quite turquoise but I like it!

Balls of Jamieson & Smith wool

Royal Blue 2Ply from Jamieson & Smith

These yarns will bloom wonderfully when the shawl is complete and blocked. The only decision left is what to use for the main colour. I want an undyed yarn and a slightly darker grey than Aileen used. If anyone has favourites to recommend, do leave me a comment. I’ll be sure to check out your suggestions.

 

Filed Under: A Crafting Life: General Musings, Craft Projects, Knitting Projects Tagged With: J C Rennie, knitting project, lambswool, rainbow, shawl knitting

by Lou Leave a Comment

Recycled Storage Solution: Craft Fabric Boxes

Happy New Year, or Happy Hogmanay as we say in Scotland, to all of my readers and visitors. I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and enjoyed the family time as much as I did. We’ve had a wonderfully busy and crafty start to 2014 here at Thistle Dubh Ewe and between orders and new knitting projects, this is the first of me getting a chance to post. I thought I’d start you off with a wee storage project since no doubt spring cleaning will be on the horizon for many of us.

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Filed Under: Craft Projects, Recycled Crafts

by Lou Leave a Comment

Recycling Your Plastic Drink Bottles

So today I want to share one of the projects I’ve been playing around with recently. We go through a fair number of plastic drinks bottles in our household and there are several crafty ways to recycle them rather than dumping them in the rubbish bin. Over the years I’ve heard of and read about people making gadgets to measure rainfall, bird feeders, handy little watering cans and even small gift boxes. The ideas are only limited by your own imagination.

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Filed Under: Craft Projects, Eco Crafting, Recycled Crafts Tagged With: craft projects, eco crafting, Recycled crafts, sustainable living

by Lou Leave a Comment

Craft Kit Review – Sheep Cushion

When I was at the Creative Stitches and Hobbycrafts show at the SECC in March this year, I picked up this adorable cushion kit from Fiddlesticks Fabrics of Ballyclare. I may have mentioned a penchant for sheep-ish items and this was one of them. Featuring 3 applique sheep in some very stylish black and white swirl fabrics, I was curious to see just how easy it would be to make.

On opening the kit I found

  • a set of instructions
  • 3 sets of applique fabric pieces to make the sheep
  • 6 white buttons for the eyes
  • fabric for making up the cushion front and back

The cushion fabric itself was generously cut with more than enough to make the 3 pieces and their respective seam allowances as required. I do recommend using dressmaking scissors for this to get the best and easiest cut through the fabric. I didn’t have any and waited till I’d bought some before attempting the job. The cushion is a very simple envelope style so it’s geared towards being a suitable starting point for beginners. No complicated sewing involved, just straightforward hemming.

 

IMG_0204 IMG_0205 IMG_0206

 

 

 

 

 

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Craft Events, Craft Kit Review, Craft Projects Tagged With: craft kit, craft kit review, cushion, sheep

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Louise at Thistle Dubh Ewe

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Louise Lockhart
Beautiful tartan on the cutting mat today, and not Beautiful tartan on the cutting mat today, and not just any tartan! Purple tartan! 😁 Pattern matching as best I can. I'll have 5 medium/sock size bags from this fabric, all going well, so a very limited run. #knittersofinstagram #britishknitters #tartanstyle #projectbags #knittingaccessories #etsyuk #sockknittingbag #knittingbags #igknitters
Last of the gnomes for now. They've been so popula Last of the gnomes for now. They've been so popular, thanks for all the orders folks! ☺️ This shawl bag is in a new colourway. A brighter blue on an ice blue background. Super winter-y. ❄️ It will be heading off to its forever home this weekend. Expect more spring appropriate fabrics in the coming weeks as I live in hope of warmer weather. 😁 #knittingbags #projectbag #knittingaccessories #knittersofinstagram #britishknitters #etsyselleruk #shoplocal
Another couple of custom bag orders that flew the Another couple of custom bag orders that flew the coop last weekend. 🥰😊 More gonks heading off to southern climes this weekend. Last posting date has now passed for this year but the Etsy shop will remain open (link in profile) through the holidays 🎄 for orders posting in January. #knittersofinstagram #knittingbags #knittingstorage #projectbag #gonksofinstagram #knittersofig #britishknitters  #shoplocaluk #etsyukseller
Latest custom order that went off to its new home Latest custom order that went off to its new home last week. 😍 A sweater size bag, perfect for those larger cold weather projects. #winterknitting #knittingaccessories #wipbags #projectbag #etsyukseller #smallbusinessuk #sweaterknitting #knittingstorage #gonks
It's a chilly night here in West Lothian, obviousl It's a chilly night here in West Lothian, obviously the perfect time for some therapeutic sock knitting. Especially since there's more sock yarn on the way! 😙 I started this beauty 3 years ago 😳 and have no idea why it's never been finished. The pattern is so easy to follow and I really like the contrasting colour and pattern in the panel below the cuff. Ruth, the designer behind the pattern, did a great job with this one. 👏🥰 I am going to have more actual pairs eventually. 😂 #socktawk #britishknitters #yarnink #womenwhomake #knitlife #socknittersofinstagram #mindfullymade
My lovely friend Lucy is hoping to re-open her LYS My lovely friend Lucy is hoping to re-open her LYS, Purl A Row, after a recent move from Cornwall to Lincolnshire. Under the current circumstances it's proving to be a bit of a struggle, so any and all support would be deeply appreciated. Even if it's just sharing the information with others! 😊
If you're looking for a knitty treat for yourself or even a gift for a knitting friend, do check out the luxury Christmas boxes that Lucy has available. Her Knit Lit box series has proven very popular, so you might also be interested in the new Woodland Box subscription boxes which start in January. 👏😉 All sign up links can be found on the website at the link below! #shoplocal #smallbusinessuk
Posted @withregram • @purl_a_row I'm so pleased to offer you all this luxury Christmas knit box. Numbers are limited and I will not be able to add more once they have sold. 
For all the exciting details follow the link or go to the website and sign up links page.
https://forms.gle/4MqJm7DggG4mTxEF7
#PURLAROW #LYS #WOOLSHOP #YARNSHOP #SUPPORTINGSMALLBUSINESSES #KNITBOX
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A Little History At the start of last month, Gilbert Baker died. He was just 65 years of age. The name may not mean anything to you but his legacy certainly will. Gilbert was the creator of the rainbow flag; a vibrant symbol for the LGBTQ community and one that is globally recognised. He said he wanted to […]

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