Another Christmas present handmade and gifted – and another free knitting pattern! These gorgeously soft fingerless mittens knit up really quickly using the magic loop method. Even better, this is a great unisex knitting pattern using a combination of staggered garter stitch bands and stockinette stitch. Happy knitting…
Author: beth
Debbie Bliss Paloma – Chestnut winter kit
I’m a big fan of Debbie Bliss yarn, I’ve knitted with all kinds of weights, wools, cashmere blends, tweed, merino – all of them! The Debbie Bliss website is also a thing of great inspiration to me. A soft colour palette, clean and uncluttered, making for the perfect jumping off point when looking to start a project or just browse for new yarns. I cannot wait to start a project with their recently launched Roma yarn – squishy, soft and lovely colours to choose from!
Countdown to Christmas Gift Collection
Over that last few weeks I’ve been posting about my favourite festive gifts to treat yourself to this season. It might be a little bit late for this Christmas, but I don’t see any harm in preparing for next year… So without any further delay, here’s my definitive Christmas gift list:
Silver Pine Cone Candles – Nordic House
Kate’s Cable Winter Kit – free knitting pattern
Here it is – my first ever homemade knitting pattern and this one is free!
Seed stitch cowl and mittens
I have far too much wool!….Hi my name’s Beth and I’m a ‘woolaholic’.
I buy skeins and skeins of the stuff, in all different thicknesses, textures and colours without much regard for what I’ll use it for! It’s these balls of wool that normally get left to the bottom of the pile, gathering dust until one day I’m struck with a little inspiration.
I’ve had this green speckled wool in my possession since I began knitting almost three years ago. It began its life as a massively oversized and badly ‘gauged’ infinity scarf in seed stitch, which I promptly unravelled. I then remade it into a slightly better gauged stockinette infinity scarf, but it still wasn’t the right size! It was like something out of ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’….
Then, two months ago I picked up my nemesis green wool and some 12mm needles and just started knitting! You know what they say – third time lucky.
Knitting Nottingham exhibition
This month, Nottingham’s Bonington Gallery (part of the Nottingham Trent University School of Art and Design campus in the centre of our beautiful city) played host to a celebration of textile technology and history. Nottingham was built on textile design and production (predominantly lace) and although our once thriving textile sector fell into decline following World War II, you don’t have to go very far to see the influence this foundation of industry and design has had on our little city.
Brooklyn Tweed Anais sweater
This was a labour of love, but boy was it worth it! The Anais sweater by Brooklyn Tweed was actually the first full garment I ever knitted and I have to say I didn’t make it easy for myself! Although it’s knitted mainly in stockinette, there are beautiful little details in the waist shaping, and the fashioned decreases grafting the sleeves to the neck. Then there’s the stunning lacework for the cowl neck. A very intricate knitting pattern for a novice!
A baby blanket for Toby…
I’ve made quite a few baby knits over the past couple of years, with several of my friends having newborns! In between the 80-hour-plus jumpers and cardigans these mini versions of hats, mittens, blankets and jumpers can be a welcome break – knitting up quickly with almost instant reward! One of my favourite knits I did recently was the Candy baby blanket by Pickles for my dear friend and fellow blogger Hannah (check out her lovely blog on motherhood at Budding Smiles). Destined for her adorable son Toby, little did I know it would become his favourite blanket! Here’s the cuddle monster all snuggled up in his first few weeks…
Decorative homewares – Oates & Co.
Every once in a while you discover a website that you just know will frequent your browsing history for years to come. I probably look at hundreds of websites in any given month but I have just a handful that I keep coming back to. These little gems are discovered very infrequently but when they come along they can be a heady mixture of impactful, thought-provoking and inspiring!
So when I heard that my friend Sylvia was embarking on her own decorative homewares business venture earlier this year, I was a little more than excited! Today there are more start up businesses than ever before and more and more people are finding interesting and creative ways to turn their passion in a viable, thriving business. You hear of this happening almost everywhere, and I was so pleased and proud to see that someone I knew personally was taking the plunge.
Knitwear faves – AW14 part 2
One blog post just wasn’t enough to cover all of my favourite autumn/winter jumper knitting patterns that I’m desperately in need of! (If you missed my last post click here!) And as I’m ‘knitting for me’ this autumn, my list keeps getting ever longer. So stick the kettle on, grab a blanket and put your feet up while you check out the rest of my must-haves for this year.
Chloe – Jo Storie
