Sunday 27 February 2011

Knitted up

Remember the Cascade 220 Superwash Paints yarn I bought from a fellow knitter on Ravelry?

I couldn't wait to use it - those rich colours sang to me.

One skein has made 2 gorgeous pairs of fingerless mitts! 

This yarn is soft and lovely to knit with; I'm definately getting hold of some more of the Paints colourways. 

I've knitted one pair in my Marvellous Mitts design and one pair in my Dizzy Twist design.

So lush - and available now in my Etsy shop!

Friday 25 February 2011

Thank you St Ives!

Despite the rain, we spent a couple of hours in St Ives today; it's the first time we've visited the place despite living in Cornwall for 4 years now!

It was tricky navigating the narrow street in the town centre and finding a parking spot, but well worth it. St Ives is lovely - even in the rain.

My intention was to find the House of Bartlett as the owner had announced on Ravelry that she is having a wool sale. We did find it, and I ended up with a bag full of woolly goodness!

I bought a ball of Rico Creative Micro DK - I've never seen this yarn before. It has lovely muted summer colours and feels like a soft cotton, so I'm earmarking that for a summer scarf.

My youngest DD talked me into buying a bright ball of fuschia Zauberball and the pattern book to make a gorgeous diagonal lace scarf for her - it looks gorgeous, so it's not exactly a tough task!

I also treated myself to a 500gram pack of Araucania Aysen at an amazing 70% discount! This is a gorgeous hand-dyed merino/alpaca/silk blend which is perfect to make the fingerless mitts that sold so well this winter.

We also spotted GJ Beads quite by chance, so I managed to find some beautiful grey coin beads to highlight the Pebble wrap I'm finishing off.

The final amazing find was a little ladies boutique selling the last few pairs of Fly boots they had in stock at less than half price. They had the exact style (Yule) I had been looking for, in the colour that I often wear, in my size!

I've been holding out for these for the last 2 years but always other costs have taken priority. These were such a bargain that DH treated me - thank you hubsta!

On the way back to the car we called in to Willy Wallers Ice Cream Factory where we chose a gorgeous flavour ice cream each - chocolate and ginger, mango, blueberry, and port, cranberry & orange sorbet. Delicious!

We'll be going back to St Ives for a day on the beach when the weather warms up - probably on the train next time. Can't wait!

Wednesday 23 February 2011

Remodelling peaches

I'm really pleased with how well my hand-dyed Perran Yarns have sold in my Etsy shop.

The only one that hasn't done so well is the laceweight merino in this delicate "Peaches and Dreams" colourway.

Its blue, green and purple sisters sold out, but only 1 ball of this one has found a loving home.

The yarn is gorgeous - smooth and soft - but obviously this shade is not what lace knitters want. Time for a remodelling event.

First of all I need to re-skein the balls so I can overdye them. 

I've done one ball this afternoon and had to stop - this is a lengthy manual task winding back onto the niddy-noddy, so it won't be rushed.

More tomorrow.

Monday 21 February 2011

Pebble Wrap

Quite some time back I bought myself some Patons Reef ribbon yarn in the beautiful Pebble shade.

My original intention was to knit it into a bolero for myself. Then we were invited to a wedding so I decided to make myself an evening wrap for the occasion.

It was not to be - me and wraps just don't go! I stored the project away - until a couple of days ago.

You know, this yarn is gorgeous. It shimmers and catches the light, but the matt element of the yarn ensures that it's not too glitzy.

The wrap shape is great too - it just wasn't what I was visualising at the time.

So I'm going to finish it and list it in my Etsy shop - it still has ends to sew in and needs some kind of lovely fastening. I do have a little of the yarn left - hmm...

Friday 18 February 2011

CraftBritannia Team Theme

It's been a quiet week on the blog front, but there has been frantic crochet activity here at Chez Skeins!

I decided on my project for the CraftBritannia Team Theme. The deadline is 1st April and the theme is Spring.

I wanted some spring flower type colours so I've chosen to use a ball of Tofutsies yarn that I had in my stash. 

I've only knitted this up into socks before (and very lovely they are) and I'm really pleased with how the colours are emerging as this crochet project progresses.

There will be a sneak peak but I'm not giving too much else away yet..

Wednesday 9 February 2011

Mmmmmmmuffins!

I seem to be doing more baking these days. Is that good or bad?

The latest batch are these skinny chocolate & cranberry muffins - delicious.

They use yoghurt, milk, and oil instead of butter but taste wonderful.

The mixture made 12 but only 11 photographed - well I had to check they were ok..

Last time I used chopped dates instead of dried cranberries - equally gorgeous.

We also have our first indication of Spring - this sweet little narcissus (I think!) has grown in a pot on our kitchen windowsill.

Tuesday 8 February 2011

Postal delays? Not here!

My postie delivered a fantastic package to me this morning.

It was from the USA and contained 2 skeins of Cascade 220 Superwash yarn that I bought via Ravelry.

The yarn is beautiful - wonderful rich colours; I can't wait to start knitting with it.

The most amazing part of this - it was only posted 4 days ago!

Thursday 3 February 2011

Sensational Supplies

Following a recent order I have been inspired to add a couple more colourways of the Creative Yarn Packs to my shop.

I have added Ice Cream Sundae - a delicious pale pastel mix..

..and Flaming Fire - a hot mix of reds, oranges, a little gold and some darker browns.



There are many other great supplies on Etsy from UK sellers - here are a few to inspire you!


Top row, left to right:
 Bottom row, left to right:
So what are you waiting for? Buy some fab supplies and get crafty!

Tuesday 1 February 2011

Toffee Fudge - yum!


I bought some fabulous yarn there, including the gorgeous Wow! hand-dyed alpaca/silk aran yarn. 

It looks like Toffee Fudge to me.

The number of shades is endless and the colours are so vibrant. Just Wow!

How I wish I'd bought more of this. It's always the way...

Anyway, I got around to knitting it up - before a year has even passed! Will miracles never cease?!

The yarn is, as expected, a dream to knit with. The finished mitts feel just glorious on your hands.

I only have enough yarn for 2 pairs of these mitts, so go ahead and treat yourself before somebody else gets all the luxury!