Combining loves

Now that the weather is starting to cool down I'm beginning to think about planning my next knitting project. I have long been obsessed with tiny houses on wheels (THOWs) and tiny houses in general but owning one is a bit of a pipe dream, I may have to knit myself one instead.

 

Of course there's more on Ravelry

I could turn my knitted tiny house into something useful like a pencil case, handbag or tea cosy: https://intheloopknitting.com/home-knitting-patterns.php#freepatterns

Or I could knit some furniture and kit out an old dollhouse: http://www.katieboyette.com/2016/10/little-house-knitting-patterns.html

Current project (with Aurora Borealis drills)

I'm currently working on the Bathtime Mermaid by Diamond Dotz. I let out a little squeal of excitement when I realised it had aurora borealis drills (dots). AB drills have an additional iridescent coating that gives them a rainbow hue and adds a bit of extra sparkle to a project. In this project they have been included to bring the candle flames to life. 

I have used both AB and glow-in-the-dark drills (ordered from Jess' Diamond Painting) to make normal projects extra special and more unique. They are a bit hard to capture in photograph though.

This video by Stitcherista explains a bit more about what they are and how they look.

Tools - lighting

Just as with knitting, or any craft for that matter, good lighting is essential for DPers. This can be achieved by positioning your desk in daylight (mine is near a large window) but if you want to dot at night you will need a lightboard and / or lamp. The difference a lightboard makes can't be underestimated. They typically are available in sizes A4 to A4. I have an A3 one which is a good size for most projects and sits comfortably on my lap table and adjustable stand.

The pictures below show before with the lightboard off, and then after with the lightboard on. My lightboard has three levels and this is just with the lowest level of lighting.

 

The downside of lightboards when using them at night is that all the dots look a similar colour so if you've got a rogue dot in your bag you might not notice it when putting it on your painting. Also lightboards can be expensive and it's important to get a good quality one so that it lasts. A similar effect can be used by putting a torch under a glass table. We once did this to mock up a lightbox to look up x-rays. Before getting a lightboard I was using a lamp but it was still tricky to see dark numbers on dark colours at night.

DP pens that light up are available but I haven't tried them. I imagine it would be a similar experience to using a lamp but more localised. I tend to use just a lightboard now but my lamp has a magnifying glass (similar to this one from Bunnings) so it's handy for small / unclear print or similar symbols like M/N/H or 6/8.

Tools - storage

Everything you need to start diamond painting comes in the kit - the canvas with printed image, dotting stylus, wax, tray and dots. Some kids also include tweezers / correction tools and bags for storing dots.

There is a plethora of optional extras or upgrades available to dotters including light-up pens and wax pots. One of the biggest challenges diamond painters face is where to store the dots during a project. Some diamond painters bag up their dots before starting or sort them into storage trays like this travel case one or this open style one. I'm lazy and simply open a packet then sit in a tray until I need the colour again.

I had been using a multi-compartment tray from Bunnings but one issue I had was that the dividers don't go fully to the bottom of the container so if the bags spill the dots can slide under the divider and then end up in a confused mess. These craft storage drawers from Spotlight are popular for diamond painters, especially those who keep their dots for future projects, however it doesn't have to be costly For my current project I looked around the house for holders and here I'm using a Tim Tam tray and a Tupperware burger press.

Roses de Jardin

This was the first diamond art project I completed. Most people would suggest starting with something smaller and easier but after helping the kids with some very basic ones I went straight for an intermediate one.

This is Diamond Dotz brand purchased from https://www.embroideries.com.au/diamond-dotz-embroidery-facet-art-kit-intermediate-les-roses-du-jardin

This is a partial drill which means that the diamond dots only cover part of the entire picture, in this case just the roses and leaves while the background is printed. If you can click on the first picture for an expanded view it's easy to see where the dots are against the background.

Full drill means the entire canvas needs to be dotted. Most of the ones I've done since have been full drill.

Antipodean dotting?

So I haven't done much knitting lately. Between moving house, a dead PC, smoke from bushfires and starting a new (additional) job just as Covid hit, I haven't much time or inclination. Also I discovered the wonderful world of dotting!

Diamond art or 5D diamond painting is kind of like a cross between paint by numbers / cross stitch and bedazzling. Here is a piece I completed as a Christmas present. There was a large amount of one colour which you can see here I filled in using the popular checkerboard method so as not to go insane. This is a square drill (drill is the dots which come in square or round - there is so much to learn) but most of my artworks completed so far have been round.

 

 

Square drills give a 'fuller' finish but can be more time consuming and trickier to align. I am happy with the finished result though. This was given as a Christmas present after I found a frame to fit.

 

A couple of other pieces I completed last year are below. Next post I will put up a pic of the one that started it all. The Life at the Beach one is for sale if anyone is interested. The coffee time one is intended to be put above my coffee machine, however said coffee machine is currently broken and in pieces. Waaaah!

Knitted wildlife

I love the look of knitted toys, especially animals, but don't have the patience for all that sewing and stuffing. Some of the patterns on this page could tempt me though. I particularly like the elephants.

A couple of years back my son wanted an armadillo as a pet. They aren't native to Australia and we can't legally keep them as pets so I joked I would knit him one if I could find a pattern. There truly is a pattern for everything!

And check out the monkey balaclava at the bottom In The Loop's page. I'm thinking that might be a good one for next Halloween!