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
Friday News
Ahhh, it's Friday. I've been at work seeing patients, and then later I was at home, reading bedtime stories to the twinnage, and now, still home, I'm on the sofa with yarn, wine, and very little intention of moving. It's been gloriously warm and sunny here these past few days... ...which feels slightly surreal, because exactly one month ago today, I took this photo whilst I was out on a run:- Meanwhile, the Stoic Spouse has been perfecting his patisserie skills, and each weekend lately, Continue Reading
The Wandering Cowl: A Shiny New Knitting Pattern!
Would you like a new pattern? Yes? OK then, read on... Twice a year, I head up to Stylecraft's mill in Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire, with the other Blogstars. In between gossip, trips out, wine, and knitting, we get to see the new yarns that Stylecraft will launch over the coming months. (Did I mention the brutally tough, lonely, life of a knit-blogger?) Back in February when we last visited, the yarn that caught our attention the most was Linen Drape, the DK-weight linen-viscose blend that I Continue Reading
Linen Drape, A Mini-Review
Well goodness me! Based on your reactions, anyone would think my last post was a joke, instead of the Terribly Serious Piece Of Journalism that it actually was. But thank you for all the acryla-love. Maisie says hi. (It turns out that acrylas can get addictive. You know that phenomenon where people tell a lie so consistently that they start to believe it themselves? Meanwhile, thank you again to Jo Ray for making this gorgeous beast.) Anyway, enough about the serious matter of Continue Reading
Ever Wondered About That Acrylic Yarn In Your Stash?
Well good morning, and welcome to April. How much do you know about acrylic yarn? Personally, I know lots about wool, alpaca, cotton, and even qiviut, but other than a vague awareness that acrylic fibre has some connection to plastic, I’m a bit clueless… or at least, I was. So for this blog post – and I warn you, it’s a long'un – I set out to learn more about the production of acrylic, to interview those involved, and to photograph the experience along the way. Want to come along for the ride? Continue Reading
A Free Scarf Pattern!
I have a free scarf pattern for you, ably modelled by my headless friend:- But first, may I briefly direct your attention to the TV? That's not a sentence that I write very often (I don't even own a television). But tonight, my chair and I are appearing on the BBC programme, 'Make'. The (brief) interview was filmed last October, and I blogged about it here. (And I blogged about the chair here, in case you're curious.) The programme will be on BBC4 at 9pm UK-time tonight. Given my lack of Continue Reading
Getting To The Bottom Of The Matter
Are we all here? Yes? Well good evening, and thank you for coming at such short notice. I just thought it would be a good idea to have a blog post updating you on various bits and pieces that I've mentioned recently. It's a pretty full agenda, so assuming you're all settled with your knitting or crochet, let's get going. First on the agenda is the naming of the spinning wheel. A big thank you to all 247 people who voted. And as per the outcome, may I proudly present Monsieur Algernon Spinburne, Continue Reading
Blogstars Weekend, Part Two.
PREVIOUSLY, ON THE TWISTED YARN... the Stylecraft Blogstars began their twice-yearly meetup in West Yorkshire with a visit to the textiles department at Huddersfield University. Afterwards, we headed to our hotel. Everyone else was probably thinking terribly sensible, grown-up thoughts, but my mind was full of SNOW! SNOW! SQUEEE! Granted, it wasn't much, but the following morning it snowed a little more, and the needle on my over-excitement dial spun so far out of control that centrifugal Continue Reading
Meeting The Knitwear Designers Of Tomorrow
The latest Blogstars meetup at Stylecraft's Yorkshire mill happened last weekend. In my hazardously overactive imagination, you were all there with me because frankly, you'd've loved it. It was a weekend filled with yarn, and laughter, and creativity, with a side order of snowy hills, and a few glasses of wine. This pretty much achieves 'bingo' on my list of favourite things. Let's take it from the top. On Friday morning, I waved goodbye to the twinnage and the stoic spouse, loaded up the car Continue Reading
Another Year
Well hello, 2018. Are you going to play nice? I've been really enjoying reading people's new year posts, so I thought I'd add my own to the mix. But first, HAPPY NEW YEAR to your good self. May 2018 bring you laughter, health, and startlingly beautiful yarn. May you never drop a stitch and may you always achieve gauge on the very first attempt. 2017 was quite good to us, here at Twisted Towers. (We've certainly had tougher years.) There's been a new - and much more rewarding - job for me, Continue Reading