A Q&A with knitwear designer Veronica Shaw of Fishtail

I’m so pleased to introduce you to an amazing knitwear designer Veronica Shaw of Fishtail. Her unique and individual patterns are instantly recognisable to me, and yet they are wonderfully straightforward knits to pick up, with quite a few of her projects being able to be completed in one quick sitting. I have had the pleasure of testing one of her knitting patterns over the Christmas break and found I’d completed my triangle shawl in just two short hours! Veronica is driven by a passion to introduce as many people as possible to the beautiful craft of knitting through her stunning knitwear designs, which in my opinion can be picked up easily by the complete beginner through to the expert crafter.

I want you to get to know this independent knitwear designer as well as I do, so Veronica very kindly agreed to take part in my latest Q&A. You can find Fishtail knitting patterns frequently featured in Let’s Knit magazine and new patterns will be launching on Ravelry very soon, so keep your eyes peeled and knitting needles at the ready…

Fishtail viscose and silk tee top with felted ball ‘pearls necklace’ | Shortrounds Knitwear Continue reading

Getting your knitting stash organised

Before Christmas my knitting stash was an unbelievable mess and my two main areas for keeping my yarn and needles were inside a footstool in our lounge, and *shock, horror* chucked behind one of our armchairs!

Something had to change.

For the last few months I’ve been ever so slowly compiling items of furniture and home decor/storage boxes to be used in my perfectly cosy little office. A slow process because I’ve not wanted to just buy things for the sake of it. Instead waiting patiently until ‘the one’ of every purchase came around. This can take time, but one by one I’ve found my perfect desk, chair, desk lamp, lampshade, shelves and storage boxes. In due course I must take some pictures and show you how it all looks, but at the moment it still needs a lick of paint and a blind (just ordered).

However, it is useable. So over the holiday I started using my office space, having a full clear out of my yarns in the process. Here’s how I tackled my dishevelled collection.

Knitting stash storage boxes | Shortrounds Knitwear Continue reading

A Q&A with Figo Home

Way back in 2014 I wrote a post about this lovely Bristol based company. Figo Home is the brain child of Siobhan McGinnis, who set up shop back in 2013 pairing statement contemporary lampshades with classic hand-turned bases. The result – individual, personal pieces for each customer, inspired both by nature and wanderlust.

I myself have a classic geometric design that sits perfectly in our spare room and to this day we still get lovely comments from our guests. And I love the fact that no one else will have anything like it!

These beautiful lampshades and bases are 100% made in Bristol, England – a city I know and love from spending four years there at university. I was thrilled to discover this fantastic company, who’s name literally means ‘Cool Home’! And Siobhan was kind enough to join my Q&A series so you can get to know her and Figo too… Continue reading