Since it's a dull Monday, shall we have an over-excited book review and a giveaway? Yes? OK, here goes:- Somewhere in Greenland, there are small birds living in more luxury than you do. See this nest? It's lined with pure qiviut - you know, that crazy-expensive luxury fibre from the tummy-fluff of the musk ox. Lucky birds. That said, after such a pampered start in life, the chicks will probably grow up completely unable to cope with the harsh realities of the world. You and I would have to Continue Reading
And The Winners Are… Also, Will You Look At This Patchwork!
Wowzers, that went quickly. A whole week has galloped past, and the Stylecraft voucher giveaway has closed. A huge thank you to everyone who entered, and to the generous folk at Stylecraft for providing the prizes. So shall we find out whether you've won? Oh, and may I just thank you for your kind comments (and name suggestions) for the sunset cowl. I've finished the knitting, and I'll be posting the finished thing with a free pattern - and a name! - within the next week or so. :-) But let's Continue Reading
Giveaway! Yarn Review! Also, Worms And Moonlit Eunuchs, All In One Post.
Buried somewhere in this blog post are a giveaway and a product review. It's been a week of minor frustrations. Nothing catastrophic or blogworthy. Nobody has been squished by a falling grand piano, and nobody accidentally clicked 'Delete Entire Database' during a meeting at work. Just lots of trivial challenges. On the bright side, I have learned how to re-programme a car key, I have ordered the reclaimed Victorian bricks for this project, and the twinnage have adopted a pair of worms - Continue Reading
So Have You Won? Take A Look!
Aaaaaaaaaaaand.......................................time's up! Put down your pen and face the front. No talking, please, because the Edie Eckman giveaway is now closed. (I should clarify that we're not actually giving away Edie Eckman - her friends and family vetoed that idea - but through this blog, Storey Publishing is giving away a hefty chunk of Edie's crochet wisdom, distilled into one marvellous new book.) Before we find out who's won, I want to say a huge THANK YOU to each and every Continue Reading
Every Which Way Crochet Borders By Edie Eckman: A Review And A Giveaway
This book review is part of a blog tour* to celebrate the publication of Edie Eckman's new book: Every Which Way Crochet Borders. Waaaaaaaay across the Atlantic in the US, is a woman who likes to live life on the edge. She's based in Virginia** (which is on the edge of the US, you'll note. Coincidence? I THINK NOT.) And this month, she's brought out her second book about ornamental crochet borders. Y'see? Life on the edge. This woman adores borders. Can you imagine living in her house? Borders. 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
The Perfect YARN GIVEAWAY For A Winter’s Day
On a cold and dull* November day, what do you need to warm the cockles of your heart? Well, duh: lovely hand-dyed yarn, of course, and a pattern with which to knit it. So don't you reckon it's time for another giveaway, open worldwide? Enter from stage left, Suzie, bearing skeins of marvellously colourful wool. Twisted: Hello, Suzie. Suzie: Hello, Twisted. Twisted (shivering): Cold, isn't it? Suzie (also shivering): Gosh yes, it is cold... as one might quite reasonably expect at Continue Reading
All Aboard The Stylecraft Blog Tour Bus For A Giveaway And A Free Pattern!
Have you been following this year’s Stylecraft Blog Tour? Yesterday, designer/author Sue Pinner showed us her marvellous Spinning Top crochet blanket pattern. Six new shades have been added to the aran and the chunky Stylecraft Special acrylic ranges, and the fine fibrous folk at Stylecraft have mixed these up with some of the existing shades to make a couple of different ten-ball colour packs that they'll be selling for a while. Over the summer, they kindly gave a few of us yarniacs a pack to Continue Reading
So Who’s Won All These Beautiful KnitPro Needles?
Well goodness, an above-averagely-sized THANK YOU to all 270 of you who entered the KnitPro Royales needle review/giveaway before the gong sounded earlier today.* You left some lovely/funny/witty/kind/interesting comments with your entries, too. And a great big woolly THANKS to KnitPro for providing the awesome prize. (I made cautious enquiries as to whether they'd be prepared to provide 270 prizes so that everyone could have one: they gave me a look that suggested I was pushing my Continue Reading
Want To Win A Set Of Gorgeous Knitting Needles?
Time for a review and another giveaway, I think*. Let's talk about knitting needles. KnitPro (that's Knitter's Pride in North America) are busy expanding their range even further. They sent me samples of two of the new products to review: small (2.25mm) short-length fixed circular Symfonies for socks or sleeves, and this splendid set of Royale interchangeable circulars:- But let's begin with the Symfonies. Many of you will have knitted (or crocheted) with Symfonie needles or hooks at some Continue Reading