Inspired by bamboo

I'm really pleased that my new bamboo Perran Yarns have turned out so well. 

Both Parakeet & Unicorn colourways are now in my Etsy shop, with more bamboo waiting to be dyed.

The yarn has inspired me to find more handmade bamboo goodies on Etsy, which I've included in this treasury.

Enjoy!

Mattress stitch

Seaming the banana laceweight tunic - thank goodness for mattress stitch!

Mollie Made picks for Mothers Day

For an annual event like Mother's Day it can be very easy to fall into the routine of flowers or chocolates as a gift each year, but it's so easy to find something a little different.

No matter what your budget, there are lots of gorgeous unique gifts and cards available worldwide from the talented designer-makers on Etsy.

I was thrilled to hear from fellow CraftBritannia team member Veedubz that my sugar cane scarf had been picked as one of the selections from Mollie Makes in their guest blog feature!

They selected some fantastic handmade gifts for that special lady in our lives.

I particularly like the Mother's Day card by TheRainbowInMyMind - so pretty and fresh.

I'm tempted to treat myself to the Bee-Friendly Wildflower Seed Mix by TheLondonBeeCompany!


Which are your favourites?

Outlaw #2 is nearly here!

I'm so excited to be included in the second Outlaw Craft Fair which is taking place in Penzance on Saturday 5th April!

The Outlaw team are offering a mega prize giveaway at the moment - head on over to their Facebook page to get in on the action!

Banana yarn

I've discovered banana yarn... and I like it!

Also known as vegan silk, this is made (obviously) from the banana plant. As it's a plant rather than animal fibre it requires cold-dyeing - something new to me. I finally tried it and found it sooo easy! 
It fits in rather well with my busy schedule too as I can set it up, put the lid on and leave it unattended until I get around to it again. Perfect.

The banana yarn I have is a fine laceweight - fine as in 1000metres per 100grams. Believe me, that's fine.

 It's the right-hand skein here - on the left is the bamboo DK that I'm trying out. I'm liking that one too, but that's another story.

As the banana laceweight is so fine and my time is limited, I've machine knitted a sample swatch on my trusty Bond knitting machine. It's rather pretty I think.

The next stage is to fire up my Knitware software to churn out a pattern for a summer tunic for my eldest daughter with it. Thankfully she thinks it's pretty too!

Spring!

New Year, New Fairs!

Welcome to 2014; better late than never!

Next weekend I'll be attending the Handmade Things Wedding Fair in St Austell. It promises to be an interesting day, with lots of interactive workshops that you can get involved with if you'd like to make some or all of your wedding items yourself.

See you there!

Red in Winter

Lovely to see a splash of red to warm up a chilly winter day!

Goodbye green

Autumn in the UK

Elastic Wonder

I went to knitting club earlier this week and forgot to take my accessories

bag. I soon realised that I needed a couple of stitchmarkers to mark the position of the thumb gusset increases in the fingerless mitt I was knitting. 


I searched around in my handbag and found a couple of hair bobbles; I have these in every bag I own as both my daughters and I have long hair. Solution! They made great temporary stitchmarkers.

Reminds me of the Machete Elastic Wonder from the Spy Kids film. :)

Dyers delight

The dye pot never ceases to amaze me.

This shows one dye lot - the same dye put onto a merino blend yarn (seen around the edge of the pot) and an alpaca yarn (see in the centre of the pot). 

The yarns take up the dye in a completely different way, giving entirely different-looking results, both beautiful.

I love dyeing yarns!

New pattern - Pompom Boot Toppers

Just released - my latest pattern which is for Pompom Boot Toppers!

This is an easy knitting pattern which uses a single 100gram skein of aran-weight Perran Yarn - shown in Merino Fleck Aran in shade 'Blackcurrant Sorbet' but any aran-weight yarn with the required yardage will work.

Which way do you prefer your pompoms - at the front, back or sides?!

Priced at just £2, the pattern is available in my Ravelry store, and you can also buy it here!

Moment of clarity

Today I had a moment of clarity. Or as Homer Simpson would say 'Doh!'...


I was sitting quietly in my car during my lunch break, knitting a new design (coming soon!). There was a gentle breeze from the open windows, and the soft clicking of my needles combined with the warmth of the day was relaxing and soothing.

Thoughts about various articles I'd read from this week's Etsy Mentor Month topics were drifting around my head, and something slotted into place. It seemed so obvious, but had eluded me up to now.

Moments like this are rare; times when you can sit quietly and let your mind ponder issues and questions without interruption. In our frenetic daily lives packed full of time-saving devices which result in more and more being crammed into each day, a moment of clarity is like a ray of sunshine bursting through a cloud-filled sky.

Plus it shows how therapeutic knitting can be, in all sorts of ways.

Now to put the obvious into action!

Berry tasty

We have been making the most of our newly-acquired japanese wineberry bushes lately, so pleased with them!

I'm picking berries every few days and this morning's crop (teamed with some blackberries from a few carefully saved brambles) made a fantastic accompaniment to an oat granola and honey breakfast. 

Delicious!

Anyone home?

Oh dear, badly neglected blog syndrome. Where did the last month go?!

It seems that summer holidays, friends and family visiting, changing jobs and preparing for the forthcoming cooler seasons may have got in the way of blogging. Funny that.

Anyway here's the latest Perran Yarn news - sparkly sock yarns for twinkly toes!

Pumpkin Pie

Night Sky

Oasis

Sherbert dip

It's Christmas in July!

That's right, the whole of July is celebration time! Use discount code CIJUK10 to get 10% discount on ALL orders over £5 from my Etsy shop. 

Stock up on your birthday and Christmas shopping with great deals from lots of UK Etsy sellers taking part in this promotion.

Figgy Pudding!

So who's started planning their Christmas projects?

DIY crochet jewellery

Last month I started selling my wrap necklace kits at Heartlands. I was pleased to find that they were very popular! 

I'm now listing them in my Etsy shop. It's a slow process as each one is different, but it means every finished necklace is unique too.

I LOVE making these kits up - it means I get to sort through my thread and bead stash - for a reason. I like that.

The kits include a mini-skein of hand-dyed cotton perle thread, assorted coordinating beads, and instructions.

Just add a 2mm or 2.5mm hook, a little time, and get a great piece of jewellery as a result!

If you're looking for a particular colourway let me know, and I'll see if I can make up a custom kit just for you.