Saturday 30 January 2010

Commission knitting

A week or so ago a work colleague asked me to knit him a woollen hat for when he's out walking. Great! My DH doesn't go for much knitwear so it was lovely to have a different type of project.

I picked out some pattern and yarn selections, and he made his choice. He opted for the Jacques Cousteau hat which is a free pattern, thankfully with an English translation. 

The chosen yarn was Rowan Felted Tweed DK in shade Ancient (172) - a lovely machine-washable merino, alpaca and viscose blend.

It was a quick and easy knit, but not too boring either. I used a 100cm long 3.5mm Addi Turbo circular needle for the lot with magic loop. A doddle!

Wednesday 27 January 2010

Wool in the news

I noticed a brief slideshow on the BBC website yesterday - How wool went out of fashion. Glad to see it's being proclaimed as coming back again!


Also there's this one - Woman's Hour - talking to Julia Hopson from the Cornish Organic Wool Company.


Very appropriate now that we live here in beautiful Cornwall!

Tuesday 26 January 2010

Valentine Feature


I just noticed that the UK Handmade Valentine Gift Guide is up, so I browsed through. 

Guess what? My Red Heart Handwarmers are in there! Woohoo!


Just what I needed to brighten the day. :)

Wednesday 20 January 2010

Spread a little sunshine


I was thrilled to find out that this week my shop is the topic of the Wilde Designs Manic Monday Blog Feature! Check it out!


I was also very pleased to receive the Sunshine Award from AMIDesigns - thanks Alison!
The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity & creativity inspires others in the blog world.

The rules for accepting this award are:-
  • Put the logo on your blog or within your post
  • Pass the award onto 12 bloggers
  • Link the nominees within your post
  • Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog
  • Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award
I don't actually follow too many blogs that are up to date, So here are the 10 blogs I have chosen:
Enjoy!

    Wednesday 13 January 2010

    Decorative tools


    I love using decorative tools, especially in my hobbies, such as beaded stitch markers.

    I sold a set of my own handmade stitch markers on Etsy this morning, and have a quick search to see what kinds other talented Etsyknitters were selling. I found a fantastic selection! Here are some of my favourites.

    I adore these alpaca stitch markers from DesignsbyTami.

    Incredibly cute!
    Next is a rainbow of colours in these beautiful millefiori stitch markers from jeanettejedd.

    The opening loops mean they can be used for both knitting and crochet - bonus!


    I love dragonfly designs - so this set really stood out to me.

    They are from glitterbug. Beautiful.


    This Crazy Cousin Lucy set from MDKnits would make me smile each time I used them.

    Unique!
    Finally, as we live just 2 miles from the coast, I couldn't resist these By The Sea stitch markers from mrae123.

    Just fun!

    Monday 11 January 2010

    Etsy Treasury Hunt

    DH and I spent some time last night creating an advertising jpeg for my Etsy shop to go onto the Etsy Treasury Hunt site. I really pleased with it! 

    My photography and Photoshop skills are slowly improving - but it's a long process. There's so much to learn - and my MSc in Advanced Software Technology doesn't help one bit!

    The Treasury Hunt is a gem if you like making Etsy treasuries.  It'll tell you when the Treasury (and Treasury West) is due to open - brilliant.

    Now I'm just hoping to actually be able to get to the computer when I check it sometime...

    Friday 8 January 2010

    Christmas card re-uses

    I do like Christmas cards - probably more so after Christmas than before!

    I find it very satisfying to re-use them by making them into gift tags.

    This time I've done them in a Mini-Moo-inspired style. The back is left blank to write on.

    Love 'em!

    Thursday 7 January 2010

    Chilled out

    TWO whole days off school because of snow? Unheard of here in Cornwall! But when fingers and toes need to warm up, out come the face paints..


    Wednesday 6 January 2010

    New Year, New Sale section

    As part of my New Year etsy shop update, I've created a brand new SALE section!

    It includes various different handcrafted items from my older stock at bargain prices - take a peek!

    Sunday 3 January 2010

    The old and the new

    So... 2010! Another year whizzed past again. A quick round up..


    I did manage to grow my nails this year - and after 33 years of biting them I'm rather pleased with my achievement. Heaven only knows why it took me this long to get around to it.


    We did get the extension started - and continued much further than anticipated, despite several major problems unearthed (literally!) and rectified along the way. Our daughters moved into their new bedrooms in August, and we are really happy with it all. The main lesson learned - expect the unexpected!



    My etsy shop had the best year of sales so far - mainly because I dedicated much of my crafting time to it. It has a long way to go, but at least it's heading in the right direction.


    I seem to have knitted quite a few pairs of socks last year-  mainly for my daughters. 2009 also saw the rebranding of my hand-dyed yarns to Perran Yarns, and the start of my knitting and crocheting necklaces.


    On the family front, I gained a new niece - Sophie May, and we have another male family member due this March - my husband's cousin's baby.


    I also managed to go down the death slide - a major achievement for somebody so scared of falling as me!


    This blog was fairly consistently neglected throughout 2009! I really should try to do better this year. Really.


    So what am I expecting from 2010?


    Well I really do want to change the shape of my midriff. I don't really care what the numbers on the scales say. I just want to be more happy with my shape. That means one thing - exercise!


    I would also like to cope with our hectic daily life with a little more ease and less stress. This may in turn improve the dyshidrotic eczema on my fingers - hopefully.


    And this year, definately, we are going to spend more time on the beach - after all it's only 2 miles away!