Mega Sale!

Wow - where did December go?!

Hope you all had a great Christmas - we did apart from the usual bugs that seem to be everywhere this winter. Having to travel back a day late from visiting relatives up-country because of the amount of snow was different!

To bring in the New Year I've decided to hold a Mega Sale - a massive 70% off all necklaces, scarves, and cowls in my Etsy shop! Happy bargain hunting!

Handy!

I recently bought a couple of hand mannequins from ebay to display my fingerless mitts better.

They're great for photographing items for my Etsy shop and of course very useful for the craft fairs I do.

The next one is this Friday 26th November at Sainburys in Truro - please drop by and say hello if you're in the area!

Pictured here is a new fingerless mitt design in a gorgeous aubergine shade, which sold straightaway at the craft fair last weekend. Pity I hadn't had chance to make more - or photograph it once it was finished!

It is knitted in the same shape as my Fabulous Fingerless Mitts but with a moss stitch edging instead of reverse stocking stitch. I used Drops Nepal yarn which is a great wool/alpaca blend - soft and cosy.

I then played around with some Rowan Kidsilk Haze from my stash and knitted up a couple of simple short-row garter stitch rosees which I sewed on the back of each hand.

The roses were finished off with 7 tiny plum glass seed beads sewn in the centre.

You'll have to take my word that made up they are beautiful. There will be more of these in future!

KnitExpo Stash Enhancement

OK you've read about the KnitExpo, so here's what I bought..

 I couldn't resist the fabulous selection of yarns from Juno Fibre Arts, based in Devon.

It was a really difficult decision to choose just one colourway and yarn - but in the end I plumped for this delicious BFL sock yarn in the "Power Up" colourway.

Just gorgeous!

I also couldn't resist a skein of the alpaca/silk aran hand-dyed yarn from Wow!

This is destined to be fingerless mitts for my etsy shop - I'm working on a new cable design at the moment.

I also treated eldest DD to 200g of gorgeous natural cream chunky baby alpaca to do this wonderful flared ribby scarf. DD has learnt to purl and is loving the pattern!

KnitExpo Winter 2010

Finally, after living here in glorious Cornwall for almost 4 years, I got to a knitting show!

On Saturday eldest DD and I went to the KnitExpo at Exeter and had a great day. It was small, but perfectly formed. Here are some of the views of the day:

 Hand-dyed yarns of course! Lots of them.

Heaven. :)

 Felted balls, felt, felted items, felt everything from Felt Folk.

I just love the way the felt balls are displayed in the sweetie jars - they look brilliant!

 I absolutely fell in love with the egg cosies from the Wool Sanctuary.

I really can't tell you why. I'm not an egg cosy type of person, and wouldn't actually use one. They just really appealed to me!

Happy Birthday Dad!

My dearest Dad is 75 years young today - Happy Birthday Dad!

In celebration I've put together some of my favourite men's gifts from Etsy sellers in the UK to make this fab treasury:

Check it out if you're in need of some inspiration for a gift for the man in your life!

the big KNIT show '10 winter

Woohoo - I'm going! Are you?

Grabbed by the Galaxy

I seem to have craft fair fever. I have booked a couple of craft fairs in November and turned down a couple more - trying not to overdo it leading up to Christmas!

I am quite taken with my latest Galaxy crochet beaded brooch and have been making lots of different colourways of them.

I've worked on a backing card for them which is great for online sales. The next mission is to create the perfect box for the brooches to display and package them at the craft fairs!

Creative supplies

I've introduced a new section to my shop recently - Creative Yarn Packs.

There are lots of crafters out there making beautiful cards, toys, textile art, etc, all using small lengths of various yarns and other materials in their creations.

I happen to have a huge stash collected over several years of yarn-addiction that needs to be tamed in size.

Hence the new section.

I love the colourways that are emerging - for example the ones pictured here - Passionate Purples and Monochrome Mania.

In The Pink

29th October is Wear It Pink day to support breast cancer awareness, so what better than a treasury full of pink items from the UK Silly Sale!

Perfect for Christmas shopping - your chance to get an amazing bargain and a unique gift at the same time!

Sale on!

The Uk Silly Sale has started early in my Etsy shop loophole - come and take a look! 

I have marked 50% off everything until the end of this Sunday.

It's a great way to get some beautiful unique bargains as early Christmas shopping. There are lots of UK sellers involved - come and see!

UK Silly Sale

Woohoo - my turn for a little piece of fame - and maybe some fortune too?

I was one of the lucky Etsy sellers to be featured in the Etsy UK Newsletter focusing on the UK Silly Sale. 

The sale is scheduled for 24 hours from 7pm GMT Friday 8th October, but I'm extending mine over the whole weekend with a huge 50% discount on everything!

I have also made a treasury showing some of the items already tagged as part of the sale from lots of UK Etsy sellers. Of course lots more will be included in the next few days.

Take a look and get some early Christmas shopping bargains!

Fame!

Not for me but for my DH - John Thornton - on the BBC News today!

New stash

I've had several sales from my Etsy shop recently which have enabled me to buy some more yarn stash - yay!

I bought these lovely items from Scandanavian Knitting Design.

Big Fabel is a thick sock yarn which is also great for gloves, hats, etc. I used this yarn to make the unisex fingerless gloves in my shop.

I'm hoping to make some more of this style in these colours but with a half thumb. 

I'm going to try this technique of using waste yarn to create the thumb gusset.

Eskimo is a new yarn for me. It's squooshy and thick and lovely!

I adore the colours available and it feels next-to-skin soft.

I think these may become cowls.

Special offer

As we celebrated our wedding anniversary yesterday I decided to share the love by offering a 15% discount on all purchases from my Etsy shop.

I'm feeling happy today so I'm extending the offer to last up to midnight this Sunday 19th September.

Continuing with the recent sunflower theme, my SIL gave us these lovelies as part of our anniversary gift - so cheerful!

Anniversary

Today is our wedding anniversary - 14 years!

I've made an Etsy treasury to celebrate of course.

Tonight we're having a meal at the Miner's Arms pub at Mithian - the food is apparently very good there.

Have a happy day everyone!

Feeling sunny

I seem to be fairly obsessed with sunflowers at the moment, so I decided to put together a treasury of sunflower-themed items from uk etsy sellers to share.

Take a peek - it'll brighten your day!

Supporting local crafters

I've made a Cool Cornish Collection Etsy treasury to help support and promote my fellow crafters around the Truro and Newquay areas of Cornwall.

Take a look - there are some great items there!

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!

Blog Feature

One of my unisex cowls has been including in a great feature on the Filigreephotos blog.

It is showcasing many items from various Etsy sellers with the theme "Cozy".

There are sections for all ages from babies to adults, plus gadgets and home cozies too,

Perfect for the time of year soon to arrive!

Crantock Summer Craft Fair

Just wanted to post a quick note about an event I'll be attending tomorrow: it's the Summer Craft Fair being held in the Village Hall at Crantock near Newquay, Cornwall from 10am to 4pm.

If you're in the area, drop in - it'd be great to see you!