Yarntastic!!

I was so excited this morning when I sat down to my breakfast, having tuned into the Chris Evans Breakfast Show, and to my delight he was talking WOOL!!! YES!!!! WOOL!!!! If you missed it you can catch up on i-Player. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04bp4y3

It was so good to hear wool being chatted about over breakfast! I even texted in and got a mention, I explained that Yarndale was to knitters and crafters what Car Fest is to Chris. I also added that knitting attracts all ages with my knitting group having an age range of 14 years to 92 years!

Just a few photos from my Yarndale Weekend

Fabulous Yarn Bombing 

someone had been a busy bee!

I think that people find it difficult to understand why wool gets us so excited and how we can be so obsessed by yarn. People were confessing about their stashes this morning and just how much yarn they had in cupboards with one lady saying she even had stash under the bath!!

Although I am a gatherer of yarn I do not have quite as much stash as some and all my yarn has a project in mind for it!!! Honestly!

I love sharing that passion for yarn at the knitting group and love the excitement on the ladies faces when they have done those first few rows of knitting or crochet. Last week whilst teaching two ladies how to knit one of my more senior knitters told us how she began knitting many years ago and only made balaclavas and socks initially, and they were only knitted in Khaki, as they were for the troops, how amazing is that!!

Real communities are built around knitting and Helen and I both love the people, the sense of community and the creativeness which are formed in the stitches, rows and fabric formed by wool. 

Take a look here http://www.campaignforwool.org/ and maybe take part in Woolly hat day on Friday 14th October 2016.

Happy wool week everyone!! ENJOY!!

Next time...........................My shawl society progress, Christmas knitting and more.............speak soon  

Sarah & Helen x

Where has The Summer gone?

What have we been doing?

Well Summer has indeed slipped through our fingers,just like the yarn when you are making a favourite project that you don't want to end! 

Of course we have both been knitting and crocheting, that goes without saying. 

Helen's children have been on school holidays and she has been kept very busy keeping them busy! She has also been designing for the magazines she works for and doing some special projects which will be heading our blogs way too........the first one is below. Unlike some mums Helen loves the school holidays and I am sure she will be feeling quite sad when her children head off to school next week.

I am pleased to say that my Talisman shawl truly protected me whilst I went through the process of being made redundant from my job. I am happy to say that I soon found something else and am now getting into the swing of my new role and enjoying working in Central Manchester. I even get to crochet / knit / read on the bus!!
I have had my Uncle from Australia staying with me for a month, he has now headed off to France and he too will soon be heading off home to sunny OZ!!

Helen and I have managed a few cups of tea over the summer and plenty of chatter. I am heading to Yarndale in September, sadly without Helen but I will be with my very oldest friend Julie.......and our other woollie friends!!

Anyway time to hand you over to Helen whilst she shares her fabulous baby blanket pattern........speak soon x

Helens Baby Blanket Pattern 

My lovely friend Louisa had a beautiful baby boy Dexter, he is just amazing so I thought that I would make a special blanket for him using up all my odds and ends of Rowan wool cotton. I love this yarn as its so very soft and washes fantastically and for a baby blanket that's perfect.

My blanket uses just one square, a simple and easy design.

abbreviations: ch - chain, st - stitch, tr - treble, sl - slip, beg - beginning, dc - double crochet, 

make 6ch, sl st into first ch to form a ring

round 1: 3ch (counts as first tr), work 15tr into ring, sl st into 3rd of 3ch at beg of round

round 2: 3ch (counts as 1tr), 2tr into same st as last sl st, 2ch, miss 1tr, 1tr into next tr, 2ch, miss 1tr, *3tr into next tr, 2ch, miss 1tr, 1tr into next tr, 2ch, miss 1tr, rep from * twice more, sl st into 3rd of 3ch at beg of round

round 3: 3ch, 5tr into next tr, * 1 tr into next tr, (2ch, 1tr into next tr) twice, 5tr into next tr, rep from * twice more, (1tr into next tr, 2ch) twice, sl st into 3rd of 3ch at beg of round

change colour

round 4: 3ch, 1tr into each of next 2tr, 5tr into next tr, *1tr into each of next 3tr, 2ch, 1tr into next tr, 2ch, 1tr into each of next 3tr, 5tr into next tr, rep from * twice more, 1tr into each of

next 3 tr, 2ch, 1tr into next tr, 2ch, sl st into 3rd of 3ch at beg of round

next round: 1ch, 1 dc into each st to end, working 3dc into each corner st, sl st into first dc

fasten off

I made lots of squares in random colours and played about with placement.

I worked a row of double crochet to join the squares then worked around the edges with rows of double crochet to finish off.

I loved making this blanket so I decided to find all my odds and ends of Rowan felted tweed, another of my favourite yarns and start to make more squares.

So watch this space because I am on a mission to use up my massive stash of yarns that I can't hide from my husband any more.

Its been a mad few months for both Sarah and myself but I think we are now settling down again, I just need to get my son through his 11+ exam and then I can throw myself back into my knitting and crochet and hopefully having more creative days with Sarah as I miss our Fridays !!

Happy Knitting xxx

Tatton flower show

This year I went to Tatton flower show with my dad and my daugther Lauren. Lauren was involved with her school's gardening club and they had to put together a themed garden, they did The Yellow Brick Road. I just want to share the day with you and all the amazing flowers and vegetables we saw. It is an fantastic day out if ever you get the chance to go.

 This is my daughters schools garden, it was so lovely and she really enjoyed being involved. 

 I just love these sheep

 I couldn't believe what I was seeing, large crochet flowers.

This is only a fraction of the pictures that I took, I just love the colours and shapes that were around me. It is a truly wonderful day out.

xx

A Little Protection

Well here it is the Talisman Shawl is completed and I am happy to say that it feels as fabulous as it looks The Tia Merino yarn was beautiful to work with and the colours worked beautifully together too.Stardust was the main body and the edging was Swoon.

Tia Merino Yarn by Countess Ablaze and
the fabulous Talisman pattern from
The Shawl Society

I am pleased to say that Shawl number two 'Amulet' is now also completed and has just been put onto my blocking boards. This Shawl also has a beautiful story to go with it Helen Stewart the designer tells us that it was inspired by ' the mystical beauty of an ancient Egyptian carving of a powerful Scarab beatle with wings outstretched to provide shelter and protection from harm' read more when you join the Shawl Society, here's the link;  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/the-shawl-society/patterns

It was going well

Colours chosen  bottom is
Tia Merino left from Talisman

 My main yarn was a Malabrigo sock yarn which I purchased in America but had lost the label!! The contrast was the gorgeous Tia Merino in Swoon, I was so lucky to have had enough left from the Talisman Shawl to use it as my contrast. My beads were in my stash of haberdashery which is in all honesty out of control but I love it all!

New shawl on the Blocks

Ready for Blocking

So I can now share with you why I have had a need for protection, I was recently made redundant from my job and it was quite a strange feeling.The realist in me said it was just a financial decision which is taken by so many companies nowadays and it was not personal but the emotional side of me felt quite upset and hurt by the decision. I considered campaigning to ban the word 'Redundant' but instead decided to create my protection in the form of these beautiful shawls confirming that I am of some use and that my creativity can get me through the more anxious times in my life. Of course I must also thank family and very good friends for their constant support during this time.

Off the blocking board and looking great - The Amulet Shawl

I must admit that shawls were never really projects which I tackled but I am thoroughly enjoying these projects and cannot wait for shawl number three, watch this space. 

Here are a couple of other shawls which I have recently completed too.

The one on the left is from a knit along by Very Busy Monkey and the cabling was beautiful (not a cable needle in sight) although the edging took me a long time to get completed. 

The crocheted shawl is using odd bits of Kidsilk Haze and fine lace from my stash it is a great basic pattern which looks really effective when finished. 

Shawls are also lovely gifts to give as by nature they are like an arm around your shoulders.

Helen and I hope you enjoy reading about what we are up to and we will hopefully have lots to share over the Summer and into Autumn. Stay well,  H & S xxx

When Life Throws You Lemons!

Hello! It has been a while!

Apologies for our lack of posts lately, it has been a busy time with lots going on in our lives. However Helen and I have managed to fit in a couple of events with one of them being a craft day at Stretford Public Hall promoting courses which are held at Trafford College. It was a lovely day and we met lots of lovely crafters showing their wares. Here are a couple of our linen covered jars which we were selling, also note the fabulous tiles in the background, Stretford Public Hall is a wonderful building to look around should you get the chance to.

Well back to the title of our post today, sometimes you really do feel like life is throwing lemons directly at you and you can either collect them and do something positive or wallow in their bitterness. Well as you can imagine I immediately pick up my needles and knit through the barrage of fruit! It does help when your stash has such gems as this just waiting to be used..........

This little beauty was a purchase which I made on Yarn shop day at Countess Ablaze in Swinton, Manchester http://www.countessablaze.com The yarn is Tia Merino and the shade is Stardust and I have chosen to use it to make the Talisman shawl from the Shawl society by Curious handmade http://curioushandmade.com. If you take a look at this pattern it tells of pilgrims who made shawls as protection on their journeys and I feel that I am beginning a journey which I will be able to share on our next post and I will definitely be needing a little protection.I will show you my progress on the shawl via instagram so please take a look - just click on the link on the left of this page.

Meantime let me show you what I have been knitting recently, lots of which will soon be appearing on our Etsy shop - Link also on the left.

I do find something very satisfying when knitting socks, as I have probably already mentioned to you all, I feel that they reflect life in so much as you go round in circles and then turning the heel represents those tricky times in life that you get over and then go back to going in ever decreasing circles again. 

More socks cast on and a few more pairs finished and I feel like life is back in some sort of order!!

I truly believe that knitting has helped me to overcome some of the trickiest heel turns that life has thrown at me and I am hoping that it will help me on the next.

I must remember to share my holiday knits from Kefalonia in my next post. Helen and I both love to find a new yarn shop on our holidays and the one I found in Argostoli did not fail to impress me, I even made a purchase........ I will save that for next time though. 

Finally just to end on a cheerful note let me show you the two rabbits which I made for gifts recently from the Toft book 'Edwards Menagerie' find it at https://www.thetoftalpacashop.co.uk it is one of the favourite books in my collection. Have a lovely week.............

Take care..... Sarah & Helen xx

Having Fun Whilst Learning a New Skill

It was really nice to read about Helen's course in Ireland and so lovely to see ladies enjoying it so much too. I think that courses are a great way to try out something new when you are in two minds as to whether or not you want to take up a hobby. Courses give you the opportunity to try before you invest in a lot of equipment. Let me tell you about my fantastic weekend trying something completely out of my comfort zone, upholstery!!!



I visited The Ministry of Upholstery to do the Weekend Footstool Course http://www.ministryofupholstery.co.uk/product/weekend-footstool-course/  I was both nervous and excited, I was going on my own due to having had to cancel a previous booking with my friend and sister, this was definitely not a knitting or crochet course! I did not have a clue what I was doing!

Fabric almost chosen ( I took them both)

Anthony & Susie immediately made us feel welcome with cups of tea and lively chatter about the day ahead and I met the other ladies who had signed up for the weekend. There are two sizes of footstool and I had it in my mind that I wanted to do the larger of the two and asked to upgrade, but a word of warning you really need to book this ahead of your course date because they are made up especially for the course. I was lucky as Anthony dug one out for me. 

Base Made & Webbing on

Legs Painted

All I had to take was my fabric, but as a crafter I had more than one in mind and struggled a little choosing my main one. This is an important choice as on day one you paint the legs of your footstool and they need to compliment your fabric. Susie has such a good eye for the fabulous Annie Sloane paints which you use that you feel like you are in very safe hands. 
Susie helped me to mix two colours to get the perfect match for my fabric, I was so pleased!
Anthony is quite scary when he crosses the line into the upholstery workshop, he, very rightly, becomes Mr Health and safety and when you do your training on using the compressed air stapler you realise why, if you are not sensible and careful a nasty accident could happen. He is very clear as to what is and is not allowed in the work space. Unfortunately he is not as strict with his music choice and tortured us with Dolly Parton on day two (some liked it, I did not!), seriously though, both he and Susie make learning so much fun and their passion for their subjects shines through.

Truly the crafter I made 2 sets of buttons because I could not choose

The work on day one was really all preparation for day two when my muscles where put to the test with lots of pulling and stretching of fabric and tightening buttons, which by the way we covered ourselves on the most fabulous machine, all in all by the end of day two I was exhausted and definitely needed the G & T which was waiting at home. There were 9 of us on the course and each of us made such different footstools, it was amazing. One of the ladies made the most fabulous pink sparkly footstool for her mum using fabric which she sells online.

The stool on the left was made by another student and the legs were done using silver leaf to compliment her pink sparkly top.

I finally chose my buttons (I got to use both my fabrics after all) and used my muscles to pull them into the footstool. I was so pleased with how my footstool was looking!

My legs are also on and I have used lots of skills to get to this point, all under the eagle eye of Anthony.                             

Everyone had had so much fun making these gorgeous footstools and we were all excited to take our prizes home!!

I was very quick to sit down and put my feet up on my new footstool whilst I pondered what my next upholstery project might be!! Maybe sitting and knitting for a while will help the thought process!

You can see lots of Anthony's work on the BBC program Money for Nothing http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b077p0jj/money-for-nothing-series-2-episode-1 

which shows you just how creative you can get! Don't forget to visit the website 

http://www.ministryofupholstery.co.uk/ and take a look at the shop where they stock Annie Sloane paints. 

Finally if you are thinking about doing a course in anything look at it as an investment in yourself, it is great to gain a new skill and have fun into the bargain. Why not start small and learn how to crochet with Helen & I.

Have a great weekend xx