My turn to introduce myself now that you have met Eleanor and Liese. I am the other co-owner, the one that spins, otherwise know as Sue or Guzzisue depending on whether you have met me face to face or through my blog and various Internet forums.

My background is in textiles and embroidery having studied creative embroidery City and Guilds parts one and two ( now renamed Diploma) and making bobbin lace off and on over the last 20 years . As I still work full time elsewhere, you will mainly see me out and about at the weekends  with the shop stall or as part of spinnotts who are a group of spinners dedicated to spinning in public, drinking tea and eating cake!! ( and supplying hand spun yarn for the shop)

Like Liese, I am brushing up my knitting and crochet skills but must own up to being very interested in the spinning,felting, playing with fibres side of things so I'm generally the one covered in fluff by the end of the day!

Introducing our Glorious leader

Hello All.

 I thought I better introduce myself, since I am going to be talking to you lots via the blog and when you come into the shop (really, it's because no one can shut me up).

My name is Eleanor and I am a yarn addict. Now its out in the open, we can discuss the twelve steps to recovery:

1. Don't open a yarn shop (woops).

2. Don't spend every second of your life knitting, thinking about knitting, talking about knitting... dreaming about knitting... drooling over yarn... (oh dear!)

Well that's blown it - time for me to get back to the support meetings. But before I go, here is the very essence of my being:

• I am a lawyer
• I am 22 years old
• I like a good moan, bitch and a whine. (and wine)
• I owe my knitting prowess to Wilko's 99p finest yarn, which I picked up six years ago and have never put down apart from to pet the Riot.
• I have very deep feelings about the colour green.
  
  
  

(Yeah, maybe that is me knitting in a club... don't ask me about the time I fell over drunk in front of Debbie Abrahams....).

 



Apples and Pears and Crafty Wares

Hi, 

This Saturday, the 27th, we will be running a stall at a popular local craft fair down in Sneinton. The event  runs from 10 am - 3 pm.  As well as our lovely yarns we will also be bringing along a range of our local artisan products including a whole new range of gorgeous wet-felted flowers (perfect for Christmas presents).

 We got in touch with the organisers at curiousity haus to find out about the history of the fair, a valued part of the local creative community.   

Can you tell us about how Curiousity Haus got started and what exactly you do?

Well, Curiosity Haus is a company formed by two creative individuals with a background in textile design. [We] work together to offer hand made textile products, art pieces and accessories, event organisation and creative services including commissions... Curiosity Haus also founded and continue to run the regular craft event 'Apples and Pears and Crafty Wares'.  An Arts Market established in May 2009, aimed at promoting local artists and designers, from graduates to established artisans, as a platform for independent crafters, designers and artists to showcase and sell their creations."

The Arts Market sounds interesting, what type of traders usually attend?

Apples and Pears is an eclectic mix of arts, crafts and fashion items on offer, from textiles to jewelery, illustration to vintage clothing.

How many traders are attending the fair on the 27th?

About 30 local crafters have booked a stall, it is the last fair to be held at the Sneinton market site for a while as the site is being redeveloped.  So we are hoping for a good turn out, a chance for people to purchase some unique handcrafted gifts before Christmas and support the local craft community as well. 

For directions to the fair and to find out more about who else will be there, check out their website at  Apples and Pears and Crafty Wares.

Hope to see you there,
The Knit Nottingham team.

Workshops 2011

Hi there,
For the new year 2011, we have come up with a varied and fun timetable of workshops. There is something for everyone from beginner to the more experienced crafter. An ideal Christmas present for the crafter in your life!
We are especially excited to offer the first of our spinning workshops, a chance to learn how to use a drop spindle and spin some wonderful British fleece.
Places get booked up fast, so don't delay, call us and reserve your space

 

 

DATE                             WORKSHOP                      PRICE

16/01/2011                  Stash busting inspiration          £25 (+£5 material fee)

23/01/2011                 Knitting in the round                 £25

30/01/2011                 Intro to crochet                        £20

06/02/2011                 Finishing techniques                  £30

20/02/2011                Crochet, moving on                   £20

27/02/2011                Learn to knit socks                    £30

06/03/2011                Intro to knitting, part one           £20

13/03/2011                Intro to knitting, part two           £20

20/03/2011                Spinning with drop spindle         £35

03/04/2011                Flatter your shape                      £30

Christmas Yarn Bombing

As the holiday season is fast approaching, Knit Nottingham wants to celebrate this in our own unique style. On the 19th December following our Sunday workshop you are invited to join us for a roast dinner followed by a festive yarn bombing.

In preparation for this, we are hoping that all you lovely knitters and crocheters will get crafty and produce some Christmas decorations to use at this event. We have some wonderful sparkly mother of pearl yarn in the shop, perfect for making snowflakes or icicles.

For ideas on what to make, check out either of these two pages, Christmas decorations 1 and  Christmas decorations 2
If you fancy learning to crochet a snowflake, book on our workshop on the 19th December for only £20, this includes all materials, hot drinks and biscuits.

Welcome to the new style Knit Nottingham blog! We've got our acts together and promise that from now on there'll be regular postings, hints and tips and a whole lot of fun. We'll start by introducing ourselves:



Hi there,

My name is Liese and I am one of the co-owners of Knit Nottingham. I have been knitting for about five years but until recently this was always garter stitch scarves and blankets. Working full time as a staff nurse in a busy hospital and married life kept me too busy for anything more challenging.

Joining the Knit in Notts club and meeting my future business partners changed all that. Since we decided to open the shop, I have been working hard on building up my knitting skills and knowledge, a sharp learning curve as you can imagine.

I know there are many other novice knitters out there, so over the coming months, join me here for my adventures in knit land. My current project is a lace shawl, so watch this space for how this is progressing.

I am the marketing bod around the shop, so if you have any stories, ideas or know of any interesting crafty places to go. Drop me an e mail at knit@knitnottingham .co.uk or come into the shop and say hello.



Nottingham Bead and Craft fair 2010

Hi

Knit Nottingham is excited to be attending the Nottingham Bead and Craft
fair at the Gateway Hotel, on November 20th from 10am - 4pm.

As well as a the chance to buy some of our colourful yarns or artisan
products, our talented shop manager, Eleanor Burke, will be running a free
workshop, on how to crochet a flower.

There will be plenty of lovely craft stalls, free workshops, unique gifts,
giving you the perfect opportunity to start your Christmas shopping. So
come join us and our friends from the Bead shop for a fun day out.

Refreshments will be available and if you buy an advance ticket you can
get a free hot drink. There will also be free car parking. 

For more details check the Bead Shop Website.

Look forward to seeing you.here.

We hope you are all out and about enjoying the sunny Autumn day. If you are in town drop into the shop, we have some wonderful new colours in our DK and Chunky yarns, perfect for knitting some colourful winter woolies.

Children in Need is at the end of November and King Cole have released a colourful Pudsey bear pattern, all proceeds from the sale of the pattern to go to the charity.

There are also some lovely festive patterns in store for you to try.