Twice a year, the Stylecraft Blogstars gather at the mill in Yorkshire for a weekend of yarnery, laughter, samples of the yarns of the future, fine food, deepening friendship, yarn industry news, stunning scenery, a trip out somewhere interesting, a workshop, wine, and luxurious hotel rooms where absolutely nobody tiptoes in at 2am to ask, "Mummy, how long do kestrel eggs take to hatch?" Or at least if they do, you can say, "Sorry kid, that's an excellent question but I'm not your mummy; I think Continue Reading
Friday News
Ahhh, it's Friday. I've been at work seeing patients, and then later I was at home, reading bedtime stories to the twinnage, and now, still home, I'm on the sofa with yarn, wine, and very little intention of moving. It's been gloriously warm and sunny here these past few days... ...which feels slightly surreal, because exactly one month ago today, I took this photo whilst I was out on a run:- Meanwhile, the Stoic Spouse has been perfecting his patisserie skills, and each weekend lately, Continue Reading
Ever Wondered About That Acrylic Yarn In Your Stash?
Well good morning, and welcome to April. How much do you know about acrylic yarn? Personally, I know lots about wool, alpaca, cotton, and even qiviut, but other than a vague awareness that acrylic fibre has some connection to plastic, I’m a bit clueless… or at least, I was. So for this blog post – and I warn you, it’s a long'un – I set out to learn more about the production of acrylic, to interview those involved, and to photograph the experience along the way. Want to come along for the ride? Continue Reading
Blogstars Weekend, Part Two.
PREVIOUSLY, ON THE TWISTED YARN... the Stylecraft Blogstars began their twice-yearly meetup in West Yorkshire with a visit to the textiles department at Huddersfield University. Afterwards, we headed to our hotel. Everyone else was probably thinking terribly sensible, grown-up thoughts, but my mind was full of SNOW! SNOW! SQUEEE! Granted, it wasn't much, but the following morning it snowed a little more, and the needle on my over-excitement dial spun so far out of control that centrifugal Continue Reading
Would you like to see some beautiful animals?
Have you experienced that feeling when you've known something for so long (basically, forever) that you're scarcely even consciously aware of it any more? There is a reason why I'm asking. Having finally given in to the temptation to learn to spin, and having instantly found it absorbing and addictive, my mum (Mother Twisted) had to remind me of something that I've known in the very back of my mind forever: I come from a long line of professional weavers, so there's a certain amount of fibre Continue Reading
Nice Day For A Giveaway
GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED. Thank you for all your entries. Results are on their way... So... what shall we do today? How about a book review with a giveaway? Does that sound OK? Introducing A Stash Of One's Own, an anthology of musings about yarn collections, edited by Clara Parkes. At first I thought I was the wrong person to write this review, because for all that I love yarn, and knitting, and crochet, I have near-zero desire for stash. (Sorry. I do realize that this makes me a Continue Reading
Hurray! It’s The Knitting And Stitching Show!
It's been a busy few weeks around here. In addition to all the usual stuff, there's been the taking-my-chair-on-TV, plus running the half-marathon, plus organising the twinnage's birthday shenanigans. The universe rewarded me for all this dashing about by giving me a chest infection, so this blog post is coming at you from the sofa, and may be interrupted by bouts of coughing. Apologies. COUGH, cough, cough, cough, COUGH! See? Sorry. But on Sunday, I was feeling considerably better, so I Continue Reading
It’s The Knitting And Stitching Show Giveaway!
Would you like to win free tickets to the Knitting And Stitching Show? And even if you don't win, would you like a nice chunky discount on your ticket price? (Clue: the answer to both of those questions is a big fluffy YES!) I know, I know: a fair few of you would need to zoom through the sky inside a long metal tube in order to attend. (It'd be totally worth the trip, though.) But for anyone who can get to London, the show will be on at Ally Pally from 11th-15th October, and I have in my hand Continue Reading
The Little Book Of Yarn Dyeing: A Book Review For Yarn Addicts
You know what some people say how drug use can escalate out of control and into addiction? Well I don't know about that, but I do know that knitting and crochet most definitely work that way. It begins with 'Ooh, I'll just learn to knit so that I can make this cute hat,' and then before you know it, you've forgotten the names of a couple of your children and there is actual vegetation growing in your kitchen sink, because you've become A TINY BIT OBSESSED with knitting a perfect replica of Continue Reading
Weekending. With Yarn.
The other weekend, the 'Stylecraft Blogstars' headed to West Yorkshire for our twice-yearly gathering of woolly minds. Imagine an entire weekend spent with kindred creative souls, where people will look at you funny if you don't chatter on (and on) about knitting and crochet. Imagine a get-together where it's practically de rigueur to cast on at the breakfast table. Imagine a weekend where nobody would dream of interrupting you whilst you're counting. Imagine getting a glimpse into the Continue Reading