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.

Delicious

So happy to have my Perran Yarn included in this fabulous summer treasury!

Amigurumi

Just started my first ever amigurumi crochet project courtesy of Simply Crochet! 

Both daughters ooh-ing and aah-ing over the sweet little Tako-Yaki teddy duo, so how could I refuse?

Even found the perfect shade of Rowan 4ply Soft lurking in my project bag right next to my chair. It's destiny.

Great British Etsy Craft Party 2013

Oops, it's been a while! So what better way to break radio silence than to show you my contribution to the Great British Etsy Craft Party 2013 which is being held TODAY all over the UK.

I have done some patchwork quilting in my pre-blogging days, and still have a small stash of fabric left. There are some pieces that I just couldn't bear to give away!

For the bunting flags we needed red, white or blue fabric, so here's what I chose. My rotary cutter & mat still work well!

I literally dusted off my trusty Janome sewing machine and sewed up the sides of the 2 flags.

The fabric is a lovely tie-dye design but it has it's own mind when under the machine foot!

All finished, ends trimmed & poked through with a chopstick, as instructed!

I'm leaving them plain as I love the fabric design as it is, and some plain flags are needed anyway.

Now to find out where to send them on to for sewing into bunting!

4KCBWDAY7 Knitting & Crochet Blog Week – Day 7 - Looking Forward

'One year from now, when the 5th Knitting & Crochet Blog Week rolls around, where do you hope your crafting will have taken you to? What new skills, projects and experiences do you hope you might have conquered or tried?'

Hmm, where do we go from here? 

Well I am hoping to set up my own Perran Yarns website in the near future. I am planning to do this in collaboration with my husband so I can learn more of the technical web setup too. Who knows where that will lead!

Within my crafts, I'd like to do more with crochet motifs including publishing some patterns. Also I hope to create more patterns for my own yarns, and I'd love to do some collaborations with other local crafters - maybe create kits including their buttons, kit bags, my yarn & pattern, that kind of thing.

We'll see how far all of that has got in 12 months time!

How about you?

4KCBWDAY6 Knitting & Crochet Blog Week – Day 6 – A Tool To Covet

Like a lots of knitters, I hate sewing up knitting. I much prefer to knit in the round; no seam to sew up, no seam ridge on the inside of the item, win win.

Over the years I've built up a good stock of Addi Turbo circular needles, which I love. They're smooth, the cables don't twist too much, and they feel good to knit with.

KnitPro Symfonie Rose

At knitting club I've noticed there is a love for the interchangeable needle sets such as this lovely KnitPro set. It's beautiful, and very handy if you just have one or two projects on the go. 

However I'm in the House of Bee, and I usually have lots of projects at various stages. The knitting sets come with several cables but just one set of each needle size. There's my problem. 
I'm sure you can purchase extra sets of needle tips, but they may not fit into that gorgeous case. 


These needle sets seem to me to be a great investment for a new knitter, who wants to increase their needle stocks. However having already invested a similar amount of funds in my existing needle stash, I'll stick to my trusty Addi Turbos.

4KCBWDAY5 Knitting & Crochet Blog Week – Day 5 – Something A Bit Different

'It’s the annual challenge to blog in a way different to how you normally blog.'

OK so let's try some verse and rhyme..

You know that I love to crochet and knit

It’s way more productive than just to sit

If not I would chew my nails and eat

Far too much.

My favourite yarns are wool and cotton

Though silk and bamboo should not be forgotten

Baby alpaca can be a real treat

Now and then.

I’d love to crochet and knit all day

How else would I use up the yarn, you say?

I could cross stitch a cushion so very neat

Or not.

And that's more than enough!

4KCBWDAY4 Knitting & Crochet Blog Week – Day 4 – Colour Review

Colour, I just love it!

Juicy

I guess if I'm making for myself then I would go for warm tones - reds, plums, oranges, pinks, purples, and neutrals like sand with chestnut brown rather than black.

However as the majority of 'makes' are for my Etsy shop rather than myself at the moment, literally anything goes!

As a yarn dyer I love graduations of colour, whether it's a semi-solid single shade or a riot of colours together. The tones and hues that come out of the dye pot fascinate - and often surprise me.

Barley Fields

For example I used to say I wasn't keen on yellow, but for the sake of completeness I dyed a multi-tonal batch of yellow DK merino for my shop. 

Sweet Chestnut

Wow was I amazed - I loved it! It reminded me of the fields ready for harvesting on my uncle's farm, and is one of my favourite dye lots to date.


Another favourite is this 'Sweet Chestnut' yarn. The amount of brown, bronze, and caramel shades is just incredible; I could gaze it it for hours!

Then of course we have my most current listing - the glamorous gleaming pure silk DK. So luxurious, this was a pleasure to work with. I love the soft blue, closest to 'Grayed Jade' in the latest season Pantone colour report.

How is all this linked to my House - the House of Bee? Well I guess bees are attracted to flowers of any colour!

4KCBWDAY3 Knitting & Crochet Blog Week – Day 3 – Infographic

Eeuugghh! This post theme has given me the most trouble by far. I've been wracking my brain for 2 days trying to think of what I could base an infographic on, without so much as a sniff of inspiration.

In the end, I chose the 2013 Q1 sales figures from my Etsy shop, just so I would have something to show you.

I guess Supplies are high up the shopping list at this time of year! Interesting to see that crochet items are far outselling knitwear currently too; maybe as crochet is starting to make a strong show in the new season's high street fashion:

Fat Face Crochet Shrug

Joe Browns Fun Flower Crochet Purse

Crochet Pram Shoes

So great to see it out there!