Some time ago, Mother Twisted (my mum) asked me to knit her a hat for Christmas. If you type the word 'hat' into the knit part of the Ravelry pattern database, you'll get 68 624 alternatives. Yes, that is the real number. You might think that's a lot, but we Twisteds are fussy blighters, and I wasn't very optimistic that we'd find the right pattern amongst such a small collection. My pessimism was justified, and all 68 624 were rejected, lovely though most of them were. So I realized that I'd Continue Reading
It’s The Christmas Crochet Teapot Pattern!
Gosh, judging by your responses to the Adagio giveaway, you lot do enjoy your tea! There are still a few hours left in which you can enter, if you haven't done so already. Good luck! Meanwhile, the crochet Christmas tree seemed to be the most popular of the tea cosies that I designed, so I've written up the pattern for that, and I'll post it below, for FREE! This is the fellow:- It fits a standard two-cup teapot. (You could always scale up or down with larger or smaller yarn and hook if you Continue Reading
Would You Like Some Tea?
So I was contacted by Adagio Teas, who sell all sorts of luscious tea-based loveliness in various parts of the world, plus the equipment with which to make it. "Help!" they said. "Quickly, please!" I was puzzled. "Huh? I'm a knitting/crochet blogger - I'm not sure how I can help you..." "But it's an emergency!" they insisted. "The weather has turned freezing, and..." "Yeah, tell me about it: you should try living in this house." (Here, for the record, is what this house looks like at the Continue Reading
Christmas, With Yarn.
I've heard a rumour - and I must stress that at this stage, it remains only a rumour - that it's nearly Christmas. I know! I bet you're as gobsmacked as I am! Most years, Christmas takes me utterly by surprise, despite the fact that its fairly reliable occurrence on 25th December could be said to lend it a certain predictability. Also, some of my friends are the type of sociopaths people who start posting 'Only 364 days until Christmas!!!' on Boxing Day, and the harsher judges amongst you might Continue Reading
So That Was Mine. How Was Yours?
So that's over for another year. And look! I'm just a few stitches off completing both sleeves of Glitter Glam. Then there's just the collar and the assembly to do. Anyway, Christmas happened. A rotund and elderly chap dressed in red broke into our house via the chimney. But instead of stealing stuff, he left little chocolatey gifts around the place, hidden inside old socks. All normal rules of not-accepting-sweets-from-strangers were off as the twinnage tore the foil wrapping from Continue Reading
Christmassing Inexpertly
It's a tricky time here at Twisted Towers. Christmas has completely unexpectedly lumbered into view. I know that some of the wiser amongst you might argue that the fact it's on the same date every single year does lend it a certain predictability, but I'm telling you, we've been caught totally off-guard. Also, we're not very good at remembering to water the Christmas tree, so the poor thing is shedding needles so fast that we face gathering round a be-baubled Christmas stick on the big day to Continue Reading
So Shall We Find Out Which Lucky Folk Have Won The Giveaway?
I know. It's been a fair few days since the gong sounded, marking the end of the It's A Stitch Up giveaway. (To be fair, the gong didn't sound particularly loudly, since it's made entirely of yarn.) In meagre defence of my tardiness, we've had the inspectors in at the hospital where I work this week, and I had to pop across the Severn Bridge into south Wales, in order to go and endure the viva exam for my MPhil degree in (novel-)writing. The viva went surprisingly well. And no, the novel has Continue Reading
Don’t Try This At Home, Folks…
YES! THE LOVELY, YARNY GIVEAWAY IS STILL OPEN FOR JUST A FEW MORE DAYS! ENTER HERE! Meanwhile, would you like to make some super-easy Christmas decorations? See the links under the photos throughout this post. It has been brought to my attention by my children, as well as via the subtlest of hints on social media, that it's nearly Christmas. Now I realize that you and I may be sitting on opposite sides of the table regarding the matter, but personally I have a very strict routine for Continue Reading
Christmas
So for those of you of a Christmassy persuasion, how was your festive season? As usual we hosted here at the brewery, but I confess that I wasn't really feeling it after the fire (and some further sad events) at work. Instead, I had an urge to creep away to a quiet corner and think about stuff, which obviously wasn't going to happen with small, excited twins in tow. Fortunately the Stoic Spouse did a sterling job of feeding us all to the point of near-bursting, whilst I was in charge of Continue Reading
Christmas? Also Mega-Yachts
Christmas is ages away, right? There's still l-o-a-d-s of time? Yes? What's that you say? No, no, I'm not speaking in a high-pitched, hysterical voice: I've just... got a bit of a cold, that's all. But everything's under control round here. Absolutely everything. Far be it for me to play chicken with the last posting date before Christmas... again... More seriously, thank you for all of your kind words after the shock and sadness of last week's fatal fire. Everyone at the hospital (patients Continue Reading