Autumn/fall knitting plans

Apologies for another filler post whilst I'm on my honeymoon, normal service will resume next week, with a hand sewn skirt and crocheted cowl to share with you all!  In the meantime, I'm loving all the fall inspired crafts popping up in the blogosphere, this is definitely my favourite time of year.  With the chilly morning dog walks, nights closing in and fireside evenings to look forward to, it's the perfect time to plan some knitting projects.  Here are a few I've got queued up (feel free to add me on Ravelry - CraftandThrift!), what's on your needles this season?



I've been dying to make Strokkur by Ysolda Teague for ages now.  Andrew and I are planning a trip to Iceland hopefully next year and it would be amazing to have an Icelandic inspired sweater to take with me!  There are a few Ysolda patterns I'd love to knit, I should really just get on and buy one of her books to be honest.  Support a fellow Edinburger!



4 years ago I made Andrew a blanket out of recycled wool sweaters, backed with fake fur.  Although it's possibly the ugliest thing I've ever made that didn't end up in the fabric recycle bin, it is super useful and we snuggle under it daily, either on the sofa watching TV or in bed.  It seriously offends my eyeballs now though, especially because some of the thinner sweaters have bobbled and ripped quite dramatically, so I'm planning on knitting a more attractive top layer and cutting off the sweater layer.  So basically replacing the sweater layer with a knitted top.  The pattern I was going to use for the top was Twining Trees by Sarah Bradberry, it looks simple enough to do whilst watching TV but complicated enough to keep my interest, since I do have a double bed sized amount of squares to make.



After the success of my British Herdwick sweater, which I wear a lot despite being so itchy and rough I feel like it's giving my skin a gentle exfoliation as I move, I want to make another similar jumper.  This time in less brambly yarn.  Oatmeal Pullover by Jane Richmond looks just the ticket, easy to sling on over anything for walking the dog or running errands.



As mentioned in my previous post, Kate Davies' Owlet is on my Christmas knitting list, this time for my god child (of Dala horse sweater fame).

So much knitting, so little time!  Feel free to share your knitting or crochet plans below...

Trawl through 'Saved for Later'

By the time you're reading this, I will be on my honeymoon!  I've queued up two posts to cover the two weeks I'll be away, I've got lots of craft and thrift related reading and projects planned for my holidays so I'll be back with a vengeance!



I know it's ridiculously early but I'm starting to think about Christmas.  Specifically, what presents am I going to attempt to make and what baking projects I'm going to trial.  I've done pretty well in the past year for not taking on more than I can manage but there are definitely a few things I want to make before the festive season, either for me or as presents.

1. I've just bought an overlocker (more on that when I'm back!) so some simple projects to master the machine would be super useful.  This piece from Veronica Darling inspired me to make some placemats and what better reason than for the holidays.  Create-Enjoy made some tie-dyed napkins that were pretty cool, I'd probably just use stash fabric but would be a great little project to practice the art of overlocking!


2. A Beautiful Mess had a round up of 20 favourite holiday recipes in December last year, some of which would be perfect to practice in autumn, before serving to family at Christmas.  The truffles especially caught my eye...


3. For our American brethren, this adorable card from Laura Berger would be perfect for Thanksgiving.  We have one of her prints (A Tiny Visitor) and it is adorable.  I would buy up most of her shop in a heartbeat.


4. I'm not planning on crafting too many presents, since I always take on too much and it stresses me out in the run up to Christmas.  Last year was a nice balance of handmade and bought gifts and I plan to repeat that again this year.  I want to knit an Owlet from Kate Davies for my god child, partly because it's adorable and easy, partly because I made one for myself and we could be MATCHING!  So much cute.


5. These aren't specifically for Christmas but are definitely autumnal, Whisky Cinnamon Rolls from A Beautiful Mess.  I love cinnamon rolls so much and the addition of whisky would be amazing, especially after a chilly dog walk.  I'm imagining the fire on, hot chocolate on the stove and warm, boozy rolls straight from the oven.  Perfect for Christmas Day morning.

So many plans!  I love this time of year, autumn and the run up to the holidays are definitely my favourite times.

You can see my previous trawl over here.

Trawl through 'Saved for Later'

We all do it, I'm sure.  Click 'Save for Later' on Feedly (or your blogroll equivalent) and then promptly forget what's stored in that little folder.  Pinterest (feel free to follow me, Craft and Thrift on Pinterest or see my widget at the bottom of the page!) is a much better way to organise your saved links, since you have a quick visual run-down of your pins every time you pass through your boards, but sometimes I can't be bothered to pin stuff on my tablet, since it's not as straightforward as clicking the 'Pin it' button.  So, interesting articles end up in 'Saved for Later' folder, never again to see the light of day.



Just a nice picture of a starfish from my Instagram.

Until now.

My new blog series will feature 5 or 6 interesting links pulled from my Feedly 'Saved for Later' folder.  I'll try and theme them each time, but if something's super interesting, I'll just put it out there for y'all to read!

This week's loose theme is 'Regaining Control'.  It's been an emotional rollercoaster over the past few months, between finishing the internship, starting my new job and rushing towards the last few weeks before the wedding.  I feel a bit out of control of my own life, if I'm honest!  Sometimes that's a nice feeling, other times it's super stressful.  These are a few links that have inspired me to regain control:

1) #GIRLBOSS discussion - From A Beautiful Mess' bookclub, this book title caught my eye because being my own boss is something I'm beginning to seriously think about.  Not for a few years yet mind, but it's fun to dream!  I plan to download this book and take it on the honeymoon.

2) Coletterie posted an interesting article recently about, 'How do you get rid of things you've made?'  This is a topic I struggle with, it's a constant battle between wanting to keep my home clean and clutter-free, but equally having spent hours of time creating something that Just. Looks. Shit. it's hard to give up and move on.  So these little ugly bits of clothing end up lurking in my wardrobe, bothering me every time I pull out my favourite jeans.

3)  Also from Coletterie, a Weekend Reading post that included a great article about decluttering.  There's nothing more satisfying and great for regaining control than a good sort-and-chuck-out!

4) Tilly and the Buttons wrote a really interesting and useful piece about photographing your craft projects.  This is something I struggle with, living in a cluttered, dirty, old flat and not having a private outdoor space.  I would love to regain control of the blog, post more regularly, take better photos and generally grow and develop this little corner of the blogosphere.  This article is a step towards that goal!

5) Last but not least (and at the risk of sounding like a fan girl), yet another interesting article from the Coletterie (seriously you guys, get over to that blog already!).  This time on 'Channeling desire into creativity'.  This is something I definitely struggle with, finding the time, energy and motivation to turn dreams into reality.  Be it learning to use my overlocker, cleaning and sorting my flat or finding the strength to stand up for myself at work, sometimes it's far easier to dream than it is to make those dreams reality.

Hope you guys find those articles interesting!  Feel free to post back with anything that's caught your eye this week.