Hello! Do come and sit here beside the fire. I have much yarnery to share with you. (But the latest Stylecraft Blogstars weekend shenanigans should probably wait until next post.) Meanwhile in response to a dozen or so requests, I promised a post about how I went about designing this thing:- So here goes. I've written before (five years ago! Oh, for the youthful naivety of being 41!) about designing stranded motifs. But this 123 500 - stitch behemoth made its own rules. Just as I write Continue Reading
Knitting
Lately, I've been knitting a lot. The only downside to this is that it's left less time for blogging about knitting. I'm working on the prototype of my first cardigan design. You'd think this'd be a quick process since I'm working plain ol' stockinette in a single self-striping yarn, but... no. It's taking forever. I even did a recount to check that I hadn't accidentally made an extra six sleeves because that would at least explain the slowness. It's not as though I'm making it out of 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
Pondlife
May I show you something? It's not yarn-related, but I do plan to spend a lot of time beside it knitting and crocheting. You see, I'm making progress on the wildlife pond. It's nowhere near done, but I've finished digging, and it does at least now contain WATER. One day soon, the edges will be concealed, the lawn will be re-turfed, more rocks will be added, and most importantly, some coir mats will arrive (from these marvellous folk), pre-planted with native water-loving vegetation. Then, this Continue Reading
Alpaca Fluff
Warning: this post contains alpaca fleece of an exceptionally fluffsome, gorgeous, nature. In extreme cases, it may trigger the urge to abandon your responsibilities and run off to cuddle the nearest alpaca. Please proceed with caution. I know I've been quiet lately. This past week, my silence has been due to a family holiday in a cottage way down south west, in Cornwall. Actually it wasn't a cottage, it was one wing of a beautiful old manor house, with a garden - nay, grounds - that looked Continue Reading