Yarn Along......a little bit of sock knitting.

Hello there, I hope you're having a good week. I've actually been knitting on my Calla Socks by Rachel Coopey this week, the pattern is from issue 4 of Pom Pom Quarterly, my favourite knitting magazine. I haven't knit on these for a while now but this week I picked them up and I'm very nearly at the toe. I'm using Artesano Definition sock yarn in Azure, I love the colour.

My Pebble Beach Shawlette by Helen Stewart is at the 50% point of the pattern, I need to work on this more this week to keep up with the KAL.

I might add some beads to my shawl, I've got these gorgeous grey beads that match, I will try adding them near the bottom of the shawl and see what it looks like.

On Friday afternoon whilst sitting in my garden under shady tree, I started this sweet tank top by Debbie Bliss. I had some yarn in my stash and wanted to knit something my soon to be grandson.

It was such a quick knit that I has it finished by Sunday, so I'll show you the finished item on Friday.

I also had a small amount of leftover yarn so knit a pair of bootees to match.

This week I'm reading In Broad Daylight by Seth Harwood, a fast paced, hard to put down thriller. Check out Tami's WIP Wednesday, Ginny's Yarn Along and Nicole's KCCO for more crafty WIPs.

I'll leave you with a few photos from our Saturday afternoon in Bewdley, a beautiful riverside town. The regatta was on so we sat by the river with a Pimms, live music and watched all the action.

Have a great week.

xxxxDebxxxx

 

FO Friday......A Wee Envelope Jumper.

Happy Friday, everyone. I've finished the Wee Envelope Jumper!!!!! It is so cute!!! After a few false starts, joining the back and front yokes, I whizzed through it. It is knit in the round and there is no seaming at all with this pattern, just picking up a few stitches.

If you decide to cast on this gorgeous baby sweater by Ysolda Teague, all I would say is read the instructions carefully and if it says join with first stitch, think about which exactly is the first stitch ( I joined the last stitch) or picking up stitches along a certain row not along the edge like I did, that's where I went wrong not reading instructions properly. The above photo shows you how the jumper is supposed to look like once you've started the back yoke. I'm sure everyone else won't have a problem anyway, it's just me, I'm going to blame my fuzzy head and warm weather ;-)

Once you're ready to start and join the right sleeve to the back yoke it will look twisted, that is correct, I knit it flat and obviously didn't get the envelope opening. This is how the front should look like once you start knitting the sleeve.

I hope I haven't made this knit sound complicated, it really isn't, it was just me not reading and following instructions correctly. I'd never knit this construction before and when I emailed the pattern support with a photo asking where I'd gone wrong, I had a reply within an hour putting me back on track. Once explained it clicked straight away where I'd gone wrong, I just need to go button shopping now to finish it off.

I know this pattern will be one I keep going back to time and time again, I've already decided the yarn and colours for the next one in a bigger size, the pattern goes up to an age four year old. I love that there is no seaming, it makes for a quick knit, once I'd finished the yokes and sleeves, the body didn't take long at all. I used Kettle Yarn Wimbledon Sport in Blue Pictcies, it's a beautiful, soft squishy yarn in 100% superwash merino, perfect for baby knits.

We've had another couple of birthdays this week, it was Paige's birthday on Monday, she's my youngest daughter and she turned 19, where do the years go??????

It was a beautiful sunny day, so we decided to take a picnic over to Bantock Park. She had a lovely time, it was nice as her sister and partner were still down visiting, her gran and grandad, Aunty and all her cousins were there to celebrate with her.

Wednesday, it was my sister's birthday, this time we took a picnic over Telford Park, we were going to take this cutie over to the play area but it was so hot, we found a spot under a big shady tree and didn't move. She was happy playing with her new frisbee or flying disc as she kept correcting us.

I managed to just sit and get some knitting done, I love to knit outdoors, it makes me happy and with this wonderful weather we are enjoying in the UK, I'm getting plenty chances of doing exactly that.

I had to share this photo with you, this is my dad and baby nephew, it was all too much for them and they zonked out. I love this photo, it makes me smile every time I look at it, my dad said he wasn't asleep, he was resting his eyes. Yeah right!!!!!

Have a wonderful weekend.

xxxxDebxxxxx

 

Yarn Along.....Wee Envelope Jumper.

Hello my friends, how are you all? I'm back to show you what's on my needles this week. I've mainly been working on a test knit so this is all I can show you at the moment. The pattern is released at the beginning of August so will tell you more about it then.

What I can show you though is my Pebble Beach by Helen Stewart, I'm using mini skeins from Five Moons in Fade to Grey and I've reached the 40% point of the pattern. There is a Pebble Beach Knit A Long going on at the moment in the Curious Handmade Group, you've still got plenty time to join in.

After a few false starts I've nearly completed the top half of the Wee Envelope Jumper, it is an easy pattern but I think because I've never done a construction like this before and wasn't sure how it was suppose to look, I confused myself. I emailed the pattern support and got a very quick response on what I was doing wrong. After that it all made sense and if I had read the pattern properly in the first place it wouldn't have been a problem. Do you ever do that, read something but not take it in properly and knit what you think it should be? Word of advice, trust the pattern, lol!!!

What I'm reading at the moment, I've just finished Secrets of the Lighthouse by Santa Montifore and have started The Zookeepers Wife again but I'm also reading The Paris Journal by Evan Robertson and Nichole Robertson. I originally bought it on my Kindle but after flicking through it on there, I wanted the linen cover edition. It's a fabulous book full of wonderful photography, I ordered it from the US and it took less than a week to arrive to the UK!!!

I'm linking to Yarn Along, KCCO and WIP Wednesday.

It was my birthday on Friday, I was very spoilt and received some gorgeous gifts. I'm still not well so havent taken photos of everything as I just don't have the energy but wanted to share these from two of my non-crafty friends. The yarn is gorgeous and I was so touched and surprised that she'd gone out of her way to find me this luxurious skein of yarn. My other friend knows me so well too, I love the locally handmade teacup pincushion and look at the wall hanging, so special. I have the bestest friends!!!!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your week.

xxxxDebxxxx

 

 

On My Needles....and the winners of the Curious Handmade Giveaway.

Hello my friends, today we will start with the winners of the Curious Handmade pattern giveaway........ Drum Roll.........

Reinventing Mother said...

Slip stitches are so much fun! I would love to add this pattern to my growing list! Thanks for the gmiveaway!

Caffeine Girl said...

I love Helen's designs. Afternoon Tea is one of my favorite shawls and I've knit a couple. Last week I bought Global Nomad. I would love to add Red Robin to my list!

And that baby blanket is charming.

Sarah said...

I'd love to enter the giveaway! I love the Twinkle Twinkle pattern (in fact, I think I've said so in a comment here for several weeks in a row, haha!!) but she also has some gorgeous shawl patterns! She's a new favorite on my ravelry!

Congratulations to the three winners, if you could email, please with your Ravelry name and the Helen Stewart pattern you would like, my email address is on the sidebar

My first project I've been working on this week is my Pebble Beach II by Helen Stewart, this little shawl will have lots of sentimental value as I explained in yesterday's post. I cast it on with a wonderful group of people at Unwind Brighton, there's a Pebble Beach KAL going on at the moment which is running until the 10th August. It's on for 4 weeks and each week is set out with a goal, I've reached this weeks goal of 25%, I love it when you have targets to meet, though saying that you can work at your own pace.

These are three of my purchases from Unwind Brighton, a Ysolda Teague pattern, the designer was on the stand and was so lovely and very helpful. I bought some Kettle Yarn Wimbledon Sport in Blue Pictsies. It's a 100% superwash merino in a sport weight and is very soft and squishy, perfect for babies.

I actually got to purchase some Signature needles, I've heard so many good things about them. They are as every bit as good as people say, they are comfortable to hold, lightweight and a dream to knit with. My husband asked me why they were so different from other needles, he laughed when I said they were the "Bugatti of Knitting Needles". I ended up going back to the show the following day to purchase another pair, after knitting my Pebble Beach on them!!!

I cast on last night and have finished the sleeve and front yoke, the sleeves and yoke are knit in one piece then you pick up stitches for the front and back. I've never knit a construction like this before, it's a simple knit with no seaming.

The last thing on my needles is some bunting, I got together with Mel and Sarah as part of Camp Aloha Friends , we thought this would be perfect summer knitting project. It is a free pattern called Knitted Bunting by Faye Perriam. I using some leftover Rowan Handknit Cotton.

I've started reading Secrets of the Lighthouse by Santa Montefiore as one of my favourite authors, it hasn't disappointed. I will carry on with the Zookeepers Wife but it was to big to carry around with me when I was away, also it's a library book and was worried about losing it.

I'm linking to Ginny's Yarn Along and Nicole's KCCO, I'm not sure whether I'll be back on Friday with any FO's so have a good weekend.

Happy Crafting

xxxxDebxxxx

 

Unwind Brighton 2014.....a weekend of fun, new friendships and lots of yarn.

Hello my friends, last night I got back from a long weekend break in Brighton. It was the weekend of the very first Unwind Brighton, so the weekend was arranged around it, though I wasn't sure whether I'd make it as I was ill, in bed for three days earlier in the week. I still wasn't 100% but I had an amazing time anyway, I met some wonderful people who I know through Ravelry and Instagram.

We stopped in a hotel called Five, a beautiful Georgian house situated on a Regency seafront square, directly opposite was the beautiful public gardens, perfect for some quiet time in the sunshine. As you can see at the bottom of the road is the beach, right by Brighton Pier. The hotel is very near the Laines, the Pavilion and on the doorstep were lots of bars, cafés and restaurants, saying that it was very quiet and we heard no party goers on the night.

The hotel didn't serve a traditional English breakfast but bought a picnic basket to you room consisting of toast and jam, croissants, muffins, cereals, cheese, fresh fruit and freshly squeezed orange juice. We're not fans of big cooked breakfasts, so this suited us down to the ground.

When we arrived on the Friday morning, it was raining heavily, we did have a little wonder around the Laines and through an Instagram friend's recommendation we had lunch at a little tapas bar called Casa Don Carlos, which was wonderful and very authentic.

After lunch, I could pick up my wristband and programme all ready for Saturday morning, we then checked into the hotel and relaxed for a while, it had stopped raining by early evening and we had a stroll down to the seafront. The first thing we saw was an open air cinema on the beach showing The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, it was free to get in so we took a seat and had a Margareita slushy, what a great way to spend a Friday evening!!!

We then took a walk along the pier where we ate chips and I had my fortune told by Zoltar!!!! By this time I was ready for bed, as I wanted a good night sleep before Unwind.

Saturday morning the sun was shining and Mick walked me to Brighton Dome where the event was been held, what a beautiful place for a fibre festival. The first person I ran into outside the doors was my lovely blog friend PJ from The Snail Garden.

We walked into the hall and was hit by a rainbow of colours, I dont think either of us knew where to look first, there were so many wonderful vendours, all very friendly and ready for a chat. I wandered around oohing and arrring, touching the luxurious blends of yarn, deciding what to spend my money on. It's my birthday on Friday so I'd been given my birthday money early to spend at the event, by lunchtime I'd spent it all and was very happy with all my purchases.

After lunch, I went to the Podcaster Meetup, where I met up with some wonderful people including Sarah from Crafts from the Cwtch, Kristina from Eaden Yarns, Tanya from A Yarn Loving Mama, Feltaria and Gem, Mrs Blaza who bought her adorable baby boy. All these lovely ladies, I've met through Intagram a great social media site for yarn lovers. I had a little chat with Green Triangle Girl from The Playful Day Podcast and also Helen Stewart from The Curious Handmade Podcast who I regularly do test knits for, it was a pleasure to finally meet her and she is as lovely as she sounds on her podcast :-)

I got to catch up with the lovely Zena also known as Little Yellow Uke, who I've got to know through Mel, Zena doesn't live far from me so hopefully we will meet up again soon. The photo above is of the two of us in the gardens, that we sent to Mel, hopefully next year they'll be a photo of the three of us!!!!

Zena gave me this gift, some beautiful stitch markers that she'd made with an handmade tag inspired by my class over at Camp Aloha Friends, aren't they pretty?

I got to spend some more time with Helen, Zena and PJ where we had a group cast on for Helen's new pattern Pebble Beach Shawlette which was the winner of the Unwind design competition. There was also some other ladies from Ravelry including Suddgummi and Ruthrabbit, we all sat in the Pavilion Gardens under the shade of a huge tree. I think this was the highlight of my day, sat chatting and knitting with such nice people, I could have sat there all day!!!!

Helen also gave me a gift, a gorgeous project bag and some fabulous Curious Handmade postcards, I feel really blessed to have met so many wonderful people over the weekend. Helen is having a Pebble Beach KAL over on the Curious Handmade Ravelry Group, why not join in, they are always great fun, with lots of chatter and the chance to win a prize.

This is my treasure trove of stash I bought, spread over my hotel bed. I would like to thank Dani and her team for putting together such a wonderful event, this was the first year for Unwind Brighton and hope it won't be the last!!!!

After the show I met back up with Mick and went to a few of the bars around Brighton, there's so many to chose from, lots had little hidden courtyard gardens. We finished up having dinner at English's of Brighton, a seafood and oyster bar. This is another restaurant I would highly recommend, we sat outdoors watching people walk by, listening to music played by the street musicians, eating the most delicious seafood and drinking wine. A perfect end to a wonderful day!

Sunday we spent the day at the beach, walking along the promenade, looking in the many art and gift shops along the front, stopping at the bars and cafés for drinks and snacks, we even watched a bit of the Punch and Judy show, that bought back memories of when my children were young. I also got to knit on my Pebble Beach, sat on the beach that is was named after.

 

The weekend ended far too quickly and on Monday morning we checked out of our hotel and drove further along the coast. We stopped off at Worthing and Bognor Regis, aren't the colours of the sea stunning, I could have sat there watching it all day. We finished the day off by eating chips on the beach before the long drive home. This has been one of my most memorable weekends away, I fell in love with Brighton and have left a little piece of my heart there. I'm so grateful to my husband for treating me to this weekend as a birthday treat and I hope to return soon.

Have a great week and I'll be back tomorrow to announce the winner of the giveaway.

xxxxDebxxxx