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
Out Of My Comfort Zone And Into A Studio
Can you hear that? Listen! Silence... complete and blissful silence. Ah, bliss. I'm sitting in a hotel room in West Yorkshire, overlooking this view:- There's even a little bit of snow! Yup, it's the beginning of another Stylecraft Blogstars weekend (previous shenanigans here, here, here, here, here, here, and here). I have much to share with you about the weekend already, but that will have to come in a separate post. For now, let's catch up on the last few days. Let's begin with some Continue Reading
Many, Many, Names
Wow, you're a creatively generous lot! When I asked for name suggestions for my spinning wheel, I imagined there'd be two or three ideas, and we could have a little poll. I was very, very, wrong. You came up with 103 different names. One hundred and three! Some of them were posted here, some arrived via the blog's Instagram page. (Not subscribed yet? You so should. I can't quite promise that it'll change your life, but I'm working on it.) I loved the thoughts and explanations that came with the Continue Reading
Meet… Um… Well, Therein Lies The Problem.
One evening recently, a good friend of mine popped over. When I say 'popped over', you need to understand that both she and I are knitters/crocheters, so there is no version of 'popping over' that ends quickly or without a drink, a gossip, and a spot of knitting. It was good to see her. (I'm sure you two would like each other if you met.) Amongst several reasons for her visit, she wanted to meet the new addition to our household. Look! This beauty was a joint birthday-Christmas gift from 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
Would You Like Some Tea?
So I was contacted by Adagio Teas, who sell all sorts of luscious tea-based loveliness in various parts of the world, plus the equipment with which to make it. "Help!" they said. "Quickly, please!" I was puzzled. "Huh? I'm a knitting/crochet blogger - I'm not sure how I can help you..." "But it's an emergency!" they insisted. "The weather has turned freezing, and..." "Yeah, tell me about it: you should try living in this house." (Here, for the record, is what this house looks like at the Continue Reading
Yarn. Oxford. Also, Sarah The Killer Whale.
Whoa, it's cold today. (Alternative blog text for southern hemisphere readers: Gosh, isn't it warm?) We're not at ice-on-the-inside-of-the-windows levels of chill quite yet, but we can't be far off. Here at Twisted Towers, the twinnage are abed (if only to keep warm), and the Stoic Spouse and I are both choosing pastimes that don't require straying very far from the fire:- That's the Stoic Spouse on guitar, there, with me accompanying on knitting needles. It's a rare privilege to be allowed Continue Reading
Let’s Have A Look At A Bag
We haven't had a product review for a while, have we? (Other than books.) Let's remedy that. (Also, your comments on the previous post have left me wishing that I had tried that door.) So. I was contacted by a company called Adore Haberdashery, because they were struggling to contain their excitement about a knitting/crochet bag that they've begun to stock. Given that I view walking to places as valuable knitting-time, this definitely sounded interesting. (I'm usually the woman you see Continue Reading
Would you like to see some beautiful animals?
Have you experienced that feeling when you've known something for so long (basically, forever) that you're scarcely even consciously aware of it any more? There is a reason why I'm asking. Having finally given in to the temptation to learn to spin, and having instantly found it absorbing and addictive, my mum (Mother Twisted) had to remind me of something that I've known in the very back of my mind forever: I come from a long line of professional weavers, so there's a certain amount of fibre Continue Reading
Nice Day For A Giveaway
GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED. Thank you for all your entries. Results are on their way... So... what shall we do today? How about a book review with a giveaway? Does that sound OK? Introducing A Stash Of One's Own, an anthology of musings about yarn collections, edited by Clara Parkes. At first I thought I was the wrong person to write this review, because for all that I love yarn, and knitting, and crochet, I have near-zero desire for stash. (Sorry. I do realize that this makes me a Continue Reading