Here at Twisted Towers, we like to help you prepare for all sorts of predicaments. Possibly, this urge is the result of my upbringing by the Twisted Seniors, who insisted that I master two life skills before my childhood could be considered complete. (They're forward-thinking people, my parents.) Specifically, my mother taught me to remove my bra whilst still wearing my top, and my father taught me to gargle the William Tell Overture. Yeah, there was also half-hearted reference to other Continue Reading
Party!
I'm back home, after the best - the absolute best - of yarny weekends. If you read this in a breathless, overexcited voice, then you're getting the tone just about right, OK? The weekend was a combination of our usual twice-yearly Stylecraft Blogstars meetup at the mill, and Stylecraft's 30th birthday - aka 'Purl Anniversary' event. And one thing that I can now confidently say is that those folks at Stylecraft certainly know how to throw a party. But let's rewind the tape a little. On Continue Reading
To The Mill, Again.
Twice a year, the Stylecraft Blogstars meet at Stylecraft's beautiful old mill in West Yorkshire for a weekend of yarn, chatter, food, wine, friendship, scenery, and news. Yeah, the experience really is exactly as gruelling as it sounds. Our scheduled meetup in February was postponed due to snow. (PLEASE STOP LAUGHING, Canadian/Scandinavian readers - our eccentric little country is ill-equipped to cope with frozen water.) Instead, we met in March. I took my camera so that you could come Continue Reading
Onwards. (Secretly.)
Never work with children or animals, so they say. Wise words, but I really think that space should be made in that list for gold metallic laceweight yarn, too. The nation's sanity deserves it. In case you're wondering, I'm talking about the book-blanket that I'm designing and making for my marvellous friend Mary. And my goodness, you lot are kind: thank you from the bottom of my heart for your comments on my last post, especially for your good wishes to Mary. She's doing well by the way, Continue Reading
Psst! Want to see something secret?
<<whispers>> I'm taking a risk writing this post, because it's about a gift that I'm knitting for a friend. I don't think Mary reads here - yarn is not her thing - but occasionally the most unexpected people fess up to following my blog, so you never know. So for reasons of secrecy, I'll keep my voice down. And if I suddenly change the subject AND START TALKING LOUDLY ABOUT HOW ISN'T IT A LOVELY DAY TODAY, AND OOOOH LOOK, A SQUIRREL! then that's because I've spotted Mary looking Continue Reading
What They Don’t Tell You About Blogging
Today is the five-year blogiversary of The Twisted Yarn. I can hardly believe it! If this were a child, they'd be out of nappies and into school. (Heaven help this blog once it's legally old enough to drink.) As always on 23rd October, I'm wheeling out a picture of the cake with which the Stoic Spouse surprised me on my first blogiversary because, well because it was just perfect and wonderful and delicious and, other than the cake via which he proposed marriage way back in 2007, this was Continue Reading
Stylecraft Blogtour 2018
As summer clutches its hand to its forehead (a touch melodramatically, in my opinion) and breathes its last, it must be time for the annual phenomenon that is the... A quick overview, in case you're new around here. For roughly a fortnight each year, the Stylecraft Blogtour Tour Bus trundles its way across the country - nay, the world - stopping for a day at the home of each of the Stylecraft Blogstars. Each of us produces a knitting and/or crochet pattern for the occasion, which we offer Continue Reading
Cardigan Design
When normal people - whoever they are - want a new cardigan, they probably go to a shop and choose one to buy. I dunno, but I'm guessing that's approximately how it works. Some people knit or hook their own, of course, and those folk will definitely have the upper hand come the apocalypse. I decided to go one step further. (I always decide to go one step further - even if it's over the edge of a cliff.) Having rejected every extant cardigan known to humankind, I decided to write my own Continue Reading
Knitting
Lately, I've been knitting a lot. The only downside to this is that it's left less time for blogging about knitting. I'm working on the prototype of my first cardigan design. You'd think this'd be a quick process since I'm working plain ol' stockinette in a single self-striping yarn, but... no. It's taking forever. I even did a recount to check that I hadn't accidentally made an extra six sleeves because that would at least explain the slowness. It's not as though I'm making it out of Continue Reading
Many Things, Not All Of Them Yarny
Hello. So on the plus side, I've been designing new crocheted and knitted thingummies and I'm very excited about sharing the patterns with you super-soon. My yarny/designing mojo has well and truly come back and has plonked its ample rear here on the sofa beside me. But. Of the three ideas that I'm working on (a cardigan, a peg-bag, and a vest top), two use yarns that aren't yet available outside of a secret vault under Stylecraft HQ, and the third involves an unusual technique that I really Continue Reading