We haven't had a book review for a while, have we? Let's rectify that:- Knitting and crochet often get a bad rap. Both crafts are regarded by some as the fast route to frumpy, style-less, doom*. And yeah, there are some... interesting patterns out there. But hey, it's not as though all the ready-made clothes that you can buy are super-stylish, either. Fortunately there are plenty of designers who do understand how to breathe elegance into their work, and a fair few of those people have 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
Crocheting With Seaweed
Friends are great, aren't they? You can laugh with them, you can knit/crochet with them, you can share life's ups and downs, and you can provide each other with alibis when needed. (Just for the record, my friend Alice was definitely here at my house knitting at 3.30am on Saturday night. She would be aghast at the merest suggestion that she was anywhere near the yarn heist that went down that night.) The other good thing about friends is that you can shamelessly mine their lives for material to 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
Back To The Mill
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
Outdoors Inspiration
I was browsing Facebook the other evening, when I came across this post by Koliber Anna Droździoł. Freeform crochet landscape dresses. How beautiful?! She's done a stupendously brilliant job. I love the exuberance, the colours, the technical skill, everything about this. (Also, I would so wear this.) It got me thinking, and now I'm wondering whether I should make a dress or a skirt based on the landscape around here in Oxfordshire. If you've been here for any longer than it takes the twinnage Continue Reading
Want To Crochet Some Little Plant-Hangers? What A Coincidence: So Do I!
It's never, ever, a good idea to begin a blog post with the words "Sorry it's been aaaages - I've been super-busy". But sometimes the temptation is so strong that I have to tie my own fingers up with yarn to prevent them from writing those words. Because yes, it's been a while. Mostly, I've been in a hole. No I'm not talking about a pit of existential despair, thank goodness, I'm talking about an ACTUAL HOLE IN THE GROUND. One day very soon (possibly tomorrow), this will become a wildlife Continue Reading
Crocheting With Garden Twine
My fine fibrous friends, I have some crochet to show you. And if my tone of voice sounds defensive, please accept my apologies. I admit that the rate of yarnery around here has been way less than usual of late, thanks to marathon-training and garden-redesign. Mostly the garden-redesign. To give you an idea of quite how much I've been toiling away in the soil, the fingerprint-thingummy on my phone no longer recognizes my fingerprints. I'm not even sure that I still have fingerprints. (Memo to Continue Reading
Outdoors
Yikes, I did NOT intend to go quiet on you for so long, but there's scarcely even been time to knit/crochet! What with the twinnage, and redeveloping the garden, and lots of new patients to assess at work, and a stonking big yarn-related writing commission, and marathon training, and... and... and... I'm sure you get the gist. Talking of marathon prep, it turns out that there's more to the training than just eating all the pasta, so I've been upping my running... and eating all the pasta. If Continue Reading