So Much to Share!

Well Helen has headed off to Yorkshire again this week and will be visiting Bridlington along her travels, I do envy her having that lovely fresh sea air to breathe in. I am sure she will have pictures to share next week.

I am well and truly over my chest infection now, I must say it was a really bad one but lots of other people seem to have had the same, so if you are one of them I hope you have recovered like me or are on the road to recovery at least.

Switzerland was beautiful and did not fail to please with its scenery and very friendly natives whom I believe always make a difference. I did not ski and I did not find any wool shops but as I said I had packed enough projects to keep me going for the week. The progress of which is documented below. I failed to finish the socks which did upset me but as I had to spend a couple of days in bed poorly I thought I did very well. I must say though the beauty of a cold climate is that you get to wear all your woollies!!

Woollies are truly needed here!

Using up some Kid Silk Haze Stripe to do a shawl

Honey Cowl completed 

Before I went away Helen and I were discussing a project to produce patterns for patchwork knitting and crochet. I opted for the knitting task, we met up and swapped double knitting cotton yarns from both our stashes Helen went for bold and bright and I took pastels with the odd bright in the mix.  I took a photo of my cottons and took it away with me so that I could get some ideas down on paper. I find the blank page quite frightening at first but once I started doodling lots of ideas came to mind and before I knew it...looking out at the mountain view I knew what I was going to make! A bag! You will have to wait to see the finished project, we will reveal out designs soon, watch this space!!

You can't fail to get creative with this view!

My bundle of cotton stash

A peek at my progress!

This week I have been hooking away making roses for St Georges Day on the 23^rd April I got the super simple pattern from Simply crochet magazine and you can get it on line at http://www.simplycrochetmag.co.uk/category/free-patterns/ I was producing 3 in my lunch break so they really are quick and look so lovely. I have just got to sew in the ends and put backs on them and then get gifting! So Happy St Georges Day on Thursday!!

St Georges Day Roses

 I was so excited when I visited the Kim Hargreaves site this week only to find that her new book Echoes is now on sale, you can buy it direct on her site or pop into John Lewis to pick up a copy where you will also find expert help from your Rowan rep when choosing your yarn. (check with your local store for the days they work) I know Lisa will be at the Trafford centre on a Thursday and Saturday. I ordered mine direct from Kim’s website http://www.kimhargreaves.co.uk/ and when it arrived I waited until I had done my jobs then popped the kettle on and made a nice coffee to enjoy whilst browsing this lovely book. I can’t wait to start one of the projects...but I must finish what’s on my needles first!! (Honest!!)

Jobs done... coffee made...

I love the light evenings as it feels like you have more time to craft, I also seem to think more creatively in the spring and summer months for some strange reason, often finding myself up in the loft with all my crafting ‘stuff’ just dreaming of all the things I want to make, if only I could make more time... wouldn’t that be perfect? I do feel very lucky to have such a large space to retreat to just to craft!

Storage in the loft

A place for sitting & knitting

A place to sew in the sun

Equipment and fabric stash

I will close here and get some knitting done; I can’t wait to share the projects we have been working on and also the patterns for you to have a go at doing yourselves. Until next time, have a lovely week and if you find the secret to making more time please don’t forget to share it with us.

Sarah & Helen x