Sneaky preview..

.. of the latest colourway of my laceweight merino silk sparkle yarn - Stormy Skies. 

Dramatic!

Available soon..

January Sale

As is traditional at this time of year, I'm having a huge sale over at my Etsy shop. All items are priced £10 or under and you'll find some massive discounts.

This gorgeous short scarf is crocheted using fine pure silk yarn and threaded with silk ribbons then edged with mother of pearl chips.

Perfect for weddings, parties, or would make a fabulous Valentine gift!

This is a one-off item originally priced at £29, but now on offer at just £10!

Bring out the WIP

I knit therefore I have several unfinished projects. Ask any knitter. It goes with the territory.

I have just picked up one of these projects again and resumed work on it. According to Ravelry I started it 2 years ago; really?

It is the lovely February Lady Sweater pattern, which I am knitting in a gorgeous deep teal shade of Debbie Bliss Cathay.

Well that's the plan anyway.

Teal Dreams

I recently was offered the wonderful opportunity for a custom yarn-dye order. It was very special as the yarn wanted was pure cashmere laceweight to match a dress fabric sample for a wedding shawl.

I've never tried to dye a yarn to match anything specific before, but there was plenty of time so I was more than happy to accept the challenge!

We settled on two laceweight yarns - a pure cashmere and a cashmere-silk blend. They both have their own special qualities - the pure cashmere is sumptuously soft, whereas the cashmere-silk almost glows with a gorgeous sheen.

I settled on three different combinations of two dye colours (teal and turquoise) in the dye bottles and, with a little trepidation, set to work!

I'm so pleased to say that the yarns turned out beautifully. They were both slightly variegated, as intended, and both yarns took up the colours amazingly. The colourway named itself - "Teal Dreams".

The result - one happy customer and one happy yarn-dyer with a little more experience gained!

I'm looking forward to more of these opportunities, so if you'd like some custom-dyed yarn for a specific occasion just let me know!

Front Page!

It's been a while but thanks to the efforts of the CraftBritannia team one of my silk crochet necklaces made it to Etsy's UK Front Page today!

It was part of this gorgeous treasury put together by the talented Imynda - who also creates and sells the most fabulous crocheted items herself!

I'm happy to say that views and hearts have gone skywards, which is A Very Good Thing. :)

Project reveal

OK, I'll let you see the finished item from the last peek-a-boo project...

It's a beaded crochet necklace - very soft and lightweight, with fabulous summer colours.

I love it so much I'm keeping it for myself for once!

Peek-a-boo Project

It's that Handmaiden Sea Silk again - this time with a selection of glass and wooden beads...

Any suggestions of what the final item will be...?

Princess Garter revealed!

Finally the Peek-a-boo Project is finished!

I'm very proud to present the Princess Silk Beaded Garter.

I have crocheted this in my own design using the luxurious HandMaiden Sea Silk yarn in shade "Nova Scotia".

It is threaded with gorgeous turquoise and lime satin and organza ribbons, and incorporates dozens of tiny glass seed beads around the lower edge.

The ribbons hide co-ordinating turquoise elastic for comfort. It was tricky finding narrow elastic in the right colour, but JosyRose had exactly what I wanted at a great price.

I'm so pleased with this project. There is a lot more of this yarn left, and I'm hoping to come up with a more lacy ornate design next. Watch this space!

Mitts and Cuffs

I'm not sure why but I seem to be in handwarming mode despite the warm and sunny weather!

Actually I knitted these items a short while back, but then hung around waiting to finish off the sewing, beading, finding ribbons, etc.

First up are the gooseberry fingerless mitts.

I absolutely adore the colour of these, and the flower is so soft you can barely feel it.

The mitt is knitted in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran (currently one of my favourite yarns) and the flower in Debbie Bliss Angel with various glass beads sewn in the centre.

Delicious!

The silk bell lace cuffs are another luxury, this time for a special occasion.

Have you been invited to a summer ball, wedding, etc? Then these are for you!

Handknitted using shimmering Jaeger Pure Silk yarn with ribbon bows and a crocheted edging incorporating silver lined glass seed beads.

Beautiful.

Silk Indulgence

To further indulge in my current obsession with silk, here is my latest treasury featuring amazing silk items from UK Etsy sellers... Enjoy!

Peek-a-boo Project

Mmmmm... Handmaiden Sea Silk in shade "Nova Scotia"... 8/0 lined glass seed beads in turquoise and lime...

Can you guess what it is yet?!

Toffee Fudge - yum!

Back in November I blogged about how I'd spent a great day at the KnitExpo in Exeter.

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!

You can tell it was Christmas..

.. because I actually knitted a project for myself!

Finished but unblocked

Quite a while back I bought a skein of heavenly Violet Green Silk & Cashmere 4ply yarn in the gorgeous Trance colourway.

I decided to knit myself a Good Luck Cowl with it.

The pattern is very easy and doesn't take long to knit up.

Yarn sadly now discontinued

The yarn feels gorgeous but the colour did bleed all over my fingers each time I knitted with it.

I guess I'll be washing this a few times before I wear it!

Update:
I gave the cowl a real good wash and soak until the water rinsed clear and have worn it for 2 days now. It's gorgeously warm and soft - and my neck hasn't turned purple... Fabulous!

Bridal garter commission

I was recently asked by a neighbour to make a bridal garter for a relative of hers who is getting married. I've been meaning to crochet something like this for a while so this was a good kickstart!

I was given a length of plum satin ribbon and the leg size. Luckily I already had a pack of size 9/0 glass seed beads in the perfect matching shade. 

I used the same silk 4ply yarn that I have recently used to make the bridal accessories, and set to work with an idea in my head and my crochet hook in my hand.

About 7 hours later I had the finished bridal garter, incorporating the plum ribbon, some backup elastic, and 200 seed beads, all hand-threaded and crocheted in.

My neighbour is thrilled - I hope the bride is too!

Wedding Season

I have found myself drawn to wedding designs recently - I don't know whether it's because it's the season for beautiful summer beach weddings or because there's a ball of heavenly ivory silk yarn next to my chair!

The latest item is a crocheted short scarf or head wrap. I crocheted it with a 2.5mm hook in a simple trellis stitch and added some mother of pearl chips to each end. The weight from the pearl accentuates the drape of this gorgeous yarn.

It can be used either as a scarf or wrapped around the hair for a luxurious hairband. The silk feels so wonderful against the skin!

Smitten by silk

I have found a new favourite in the fine silk yarn I made the wedding challenge necklace from.

I've also used it to make a pretty little crochet flower hair clip to match, with 3 of the mother of pearl chips in the centre.

So cute!

CreateCrochet Team Wedding Challenge

Well I've done it - taken up the wedding challenge. The one from the CreateCrochet team that is. I don't think DH would be too pleased if I took on any other kind.

This is my own design which "grew" and changed as I was creating it. It's actually completely different from what I first imagined. I love both the process and the result.

I've crocheted the necklace from 100% fine silk yarn with a 2.5mm crochet hook. I first threaded the yarn with mother of pearl chips - lots of them!

The strands of the necklace all join the choker section at the back. The whole lot is fastened with two small matching buttons.

I love how the silk shines and the pearl chips catches the light. I love how it's a choker and a necklace all in one. I love how it can be worn high or low. I love the colour. 

I only wish I had made it years ago for my own wedding!

What a Yarn

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week - Day Seven

OK, coveted yarns... When sorting out what to include in this post I realised that for me a yarn has to be soft. I mean really soft! So here are 3 yarns from my stash - amongst many others that could have been included too!

1) Hand Maiden Lace Silk in colourway Nova Scotia

100% silk

I bought this several years ago at the same exhibition as I got the Hipknits cashmere (previous post). I couldn't resist the intensity of colour, the gorgeous sheen, and the luxurious softness of the silk. I don't do much lace knitting but this yarn is so worth it!

2) Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in colourway Vera (shade 70)

80% superwash wool, 20% nylon

I had been on the lookout for this colourway of this yarn for so long. It's not the easiest yarn to get in the UK, particularly if you want a specific shade. I finally found somebody destashing 2 skeins on Ravelry last year, and jumped on it! Fabulous colour combo - and so soft!

3) Mirasol Sulka in Cream (shade 200)

60% merino wool, 20% alpaca, 20% silk

I got this in a sale from an online UK store to try out for winter neckwarmer or such. The finished item was originally to be sold in my Etsy shop but it's soooooo soft and squishy and yummy I may not be able to let it go...