It's fairly rare for my day job (clinical psychologist) to collide with the knitting thing, but today a new book is published that spans both of these worlds, and I've been given the chance to review a copy. "Well if you absolutely insist," I said. Actually, that last bit is a lie: I jumped at the chance. Allow me to introduce you to The Mindfulness In Knitting by Rachael Matthews, published TODAY by Leaping Hare Press. It's rather a beauty, don't you think? Not that I'm superficial enough to Continue Reading
Getting Cosy
Our letterbox is a mean and fearsome beast. Unusually narrow but psychopathic of nature, I swear that I’ve heard it growl on occasion. Postal staff approach with dread, and if you saw the state of the few letters that make it as far as the doormat, you’d be forgiven for assuming that we owned a very large and ill-tempered dog. So when I was contacted about a company that claims to deliver vacuum-packed, letterbox-friendly yarn, I said, “Yeah, right. Charming idea, but you haven’t met our Continue Reading
Giveaway Review: Edward’s Crochet Imaginarium
And another review with a giveaway! Wa-hey! (This is part of a blog tour organized by Pavilion Books - more on that at the bottom of this post.) So I'm guessing you've noticed that there are lots of knitting and crochet books around these days. Like, loads. If you're as untidy as I am, you probably trip over a pile of them every single time you stand up to water the cat. (See those bruises on my shins? They're knit-book-related injuries. Life is tough.) Some of these publications are more 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
Stylecraft Batik Yarn Review
It's about time I published a review of Batik, Stylecraft's brand new yarn. (Disclaimer: I didn't pay for the yarn, so clearly my fickle head has been turned by this freebie and not a single word of the following is to be trusted.) I wanted to thoroughly road-test the yarn before I wrote this, so I got the knitting needles out and started designing something that incorporated all sixteen shades:- You know what you need in the heat of August? A nice warm, fluffy cowl, that's what. So I Continue Reading
Giveaway? Giveaway!
Shall we have a giveaway? Wa-hey, let's have a giveaway! Start sharpening those typing fingers in order to enter, because details are coming later in this post. This is the third and final part of my triptych* of posts about the exciting Yorkshire/Stylecraft/Blogstars shenanigans. (Previous parts: the mill tour, and the first evening.) But it's very hard to produce an even mildly amusing post when absolutely nothing about the experience was catastrophically disastrous or weird. The closest I Continue Reading
Ooh Look, A Shiny New Knitting Magazine!
And now for a review. I don't know whether there's any truth in the old adage that there's somebody out there for everyone. Could be tricky if your particular someone is working the oil rigs off the Norwegian coast whilst you're herding llamas in Chile. However I do think that these days, there's probably a knitting/crochet magazine out there for every knitter/hooker: it's just a matter of trying a few until you hit the right one. Hence this post. The folks at De Agostini sent their carrier Continue Reading
Review: Rico glow-in-the-dark yarn
Glow-in-the-dark yarn sounds like a rather wonderful concept, no? When I heard this thing existed, I had a, 'Gah, WHY didn't I think of that?' moment. This happens a lot - the universe is clearly some way ahead of me. Anyway, I know TheTwistedYarn is primarily a stuff-for-the-home blog, but when I heard about this brand new yarn, I had to take a minor swerve into garment-knitting, because what toddler-about-town doesn't need a glow-in-the-dark knitted hat? Pedantically, I should point out Continue Reading
Blogs of Much Loveliness.
The Arne and Carlos giveaway is coming really soon. Disclaimer: I'm not actually giving away Arne and Carlos themselves - that'd be more of a coup than I can pull off. It's just signed copies of their books, OK? Meanwhile... Psst! Yes, you! Look! Over here! I've got things to show you. Good things. Entirely legal things, in case you're worried. One of the best aspects of blogging is getting to know other blogs, as well as the writers behind them. There's a treasure-trove of wit and Continue Reading