Once upon a time, there was a woman who'd never shown the slightest interest in anything sporty (except knitting - that's a sport, right?) And that would have been the end of this story, except that she married a runner. On one of their very first dates, the two of them went for a run in a nature reserve in dense fog and got hopelessly lost. There was probably a metaphor for something in that escapade, but the woman was too tired after her run to bother thinking about it. Fast forward several Continue Reading
In Which I Get To Witter About Yarn On TV
It's good to step outside your comfort zone every once in a while. It's maybe not so clever to leap naked from a speeding comfort zone, yelling 'geronimo!' and brandishing the Antarctic flag. But hey. It would be fair to say that last weekend, I ventured a very, very, long way from my comfort zone. (Just for the record, my comfort zone is located in front of the fire, post-run, with friends, wine, books, and knitting/crochet. ) My comfort zone is definitely not to be found in a television Continue Reading
Prizes, Prizes, And A Moment Of Seriousness
Gosh, that was over quickly: the giveaway, I mean. (In case you didn't see, the Knitting And Stitching Show has very kindly donated five pairs of tickets to be won by you lovely lot.) I'll announce the winners later in this post but first, whilst I've got your attention, may I be serious for a rare minute please? Please? It's not even yarn-related, but it involves punching cancer squarely on the nose, a subject close to the hearts of far too many of us, unfortunately. OK, listen up:- Last year 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
Many Things
Occasionally, life flings me a hint that the knitting/crochet thing may be getting out of hand... but I do my best to ignore such clues, and get on with choosing which WIP I can work on whilst giving birth to any future children.* The other day brought one such hint. I took the twinnage to a children's theatre group,** and when we arrived, part of the floor was covered by those bright, interlocking, floppy mats that babies and toddlers can play on. They were a bit like these:- My children's Continue Reading
Oh My Goodness…
It's no secret that I like to knit/crochet whilst walking. It's pretty rare that I'm out and about without yarn. Maybe it'll get me labelled as the village weirdo, but we all have to decide our priorities in life, and it turns out that I like knitting more than I dislike being called a weirdo, so meh. It's also no secret that I like to go running most days. Goodness, those are words that I never expected to write, way back when I was the dunce of the PE class at school. But it turns out 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
Fancy A Hefty Discount On Some Gorgeous Knitting Patterns?
Good morning, yarn-loving friends. May I bend your ear about something exciting, please? (It involves knitting and saving money: you're going to like it.) There's a designer of seriously stylish knitwear out there and if she's not already on your radar, she really should be. (Nobody is paying me to say this, I promise.) When I first saw her work, I gasped. I wish I could have shown her designs to the woman who once said to me, "You knit?! Oh... so do you make horrible, lumpy, jumpers that Continue Reading
Milling About
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Saltaire. This West Yorkshire village is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and home to an awesome art gallery at the former textile factory, Salts Mill. Like colour? You're going to love this. I'd never been to Saltaire, but the folk at Stylecraft organised a visit as part of our recent Blogstars meetup. We arranged to meet at the mill, specifically at the 1853 gallery, which is home to a large collection of David Hockney's artworks. See? I told you this post Continue Reading
Winning Some, Losing Some. Actually, Mostly Losing.
May I sit with you a-while, please, and knit? (I know, I promised posts on Salts Mill and the tatting workshop - they're coming.) Today has been one of those days when you end up with less yarnery than you had at the start. Do you ever have days like that? I've been working on creating a design using Stylecraft's new yarn ('Tweedy'). But it just was not working. Would you like to take a look at my failure? (I can't believe I'm doing this. Will you still respect me in the morning?) OK, here Continue Reading