Christmas Opening Times.

I'm having some time off!!!! But as always we aspire to be a proper shop so we will be open over the Christmas holidays as follows:

Christmas Eve: 10.30am - 3pm.

Christmas Day and Boxing day: Closed.

27th December: 10.30am - 3pm.

28th December (Sunday): Closed.

29th, 30th and 31st: 10.30am - 3pm.

1st January (Sunday): Closed.

2nd and 3rd: 10.30am - 3pm.

4th January (Sunday): Closed.

5th January and on: Open as usual.

I hope that works for you! We know how frustrating it is not to have a project when you maybe have a few days off and we have to balance that with us spending time with friends and family. Special time of year.

Have fun, eat too much and stay safe. 

Love Eleanor. xxxxx

Regia Design Line - Hubba Hubba

I think I've at least intimated - if not out right stated - that I'm going to do sock yarn a different way from now on. It was the Fluro that made me think of it - basically, socks are quick and dirty projects aren't they? Get 'em done whilst you're in a queue, waiting for the kids in the car, at the pub. Choose the brightest colour you can and knock 'em out quick. Therefore what keeps them interesting is the different colours and ways that they interact, so we're going to buy all of one lot of yarn for you, sell it through and then get another lot in. This means that even in our tiny tiny shop we can still have exciting and fresh new sock yarns for you to churn out. It does mean, of course, that you need to buy quick if you fall in love because it's not coming back (sorry 'bout that. Not sorry. *capitalist mwahaha*) but it also means if you miss something then the likelihood is that there'll be something amazing in in a few weeks time. With that in mind let me introduce you to the fahhhhhbulous and brand new (to us) Kaffe Fassett's Regia Design Line:

 

From top to bottom left to right: 

Snappy    -    Anthracite    -    Dark Night    -    Shadow Stripe

Sizzle    -    Delphinium    -    Icing Sugar    -    Plum Pudding

Heather    -    Moor    -    Misty    -    The Book

 Aren't they just divine?!?! I am so in love with Kaffe's colours (I've no idea why I use just his first name as if I know him...) but then I think everybody is aren't they? These are just perfect - unusual but with a good mix of brights, darks, neutrals, lights. Mmmmm. Something for everybody.

And on that note - we're already close to selling out of the Delphinium, the Dark Night and the Anthracite. They've only been in the shop for a day... Remember folks, once they're gone they're gone.

Once more for the google rankings - Regia Kaffe Fassett Design Line Sock. Ahhhhh.

And what's more exciting is that there's a book to go with it designed by the man himself! It's called the Regia Journal - Color Effects by Kaffe Fassett and it's available to buy through us if you just click on the link here. The star of the show, for me anyway, is the front cover piece:

 

 A stole which he's then worked into a 'loop' (I guess that's like an oversized cowl or an infinity scarf) and finally a BLOODY JACKET!

 

PHWOOOOOAR! GERRALOADATHAT! Isn't that just the cutest thing ever?! There are so many customers I can see who'd look great in it but maybe not that many who'd dare make it. I say bloody go for it ladies! Or gents! :)

Apart from that there are some cute and wearable snuggly jumpers, a couple of simple fairisle type vests, kids bits, some cushions and a couple of accessories. All in all a bloody good book and well worth the piddly £5.00. Have a good old gander here.

That's it! How exciting ey! I've been able to do it because we're finally down to the last four colours in the Mix It which is in itself and amazing yarn that I've loved having around. I've been busy making socks for Christmas and one of them is in shade number 9385 which is an uninspiring name for this beaut: 

 

 

Cool huh? SO much better knitted than in a ball. :). 

And that's your lot. I've got to work out where I can fit this stuff on the shelves and then from about 5 o'clock onwards I am knitting. my. sock. I will get Christmas done on time this year. 

Love Eleanor. xxxxxx

Red Heart Red Heart

So, if you're an internet knitter you will have heard of Red Heart yarn - probably the Red Heart Supersaver (or RHSS as it's often called). I am here to tell you now that that stuff is pretty horrific. You know the people that say they don't ever knit with acrylic because it's horrendous and ugh and 'life's too short' and and and.... well they're the ones that remember acrylic as acrylic used to be - itchy, rough, thick and, in my humble opinion, that's what RHSS is. It has it's place - it's apparently very cheap and wears like iron but there's acrylic and then there's acrylic... However, that's not all Red Heart is about! And I'm absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to show you that! It's probably not something we'll stock for the long term but I managed to get a couple of grab bags which means that you get to try world famous American yarn and the most ridiculous prices ever - everything that we're about to talk about is £1.50. You read that right ONE POUND AND FIFTY PENCE. Be ready to be amazed.

I'm going to start, because I make the rules around here, with my particular favourite:

 

The Lacie. It's a mohair type 4ply in petrol colours. Oh. Em. Gee. This is beautiful. It is a pure acrylic but isn't that just perfect for non-knitters Christmas gifts? I'm imagining something like the Fantasm Shawl: 

 

Which, once killed with blocking, would make the perfect gift for a young and funky thing. If you're worried there's not enough time - this was made in about four hours so even if you're half as fast as me, or even slower than that - there. is. still. time.

Now, onto the next yarns and I'm going to let the computer work out which photos come next. 

 

A lovely sparkly scarf yarn. Not my kind of thing but the colours are great - a bit petrol-y but bit brighter. And again a great little gift, either as a made up scarf or a ball. This stuff should retail at about £6.00 so that's a bloody bargain right?

 

THE BARGAIN OF THE CENTURY! 100g of sock yarn at £1.50. It's a slightly boring grey colour but would be great for every day socks and if you get in early enough to get more than one ball it'd make the perfect every day cardigan. oooh. 

 

Some more scarf-y type stuff. This time in a beautiful heathered purple colour and pure black. Either of these would suit a lot of people and I can also see it being used for dolls hair. Lovely. :)

 

The furry yarns. Now, these are not my thing - you'll know that if you've ever come into the shop - but I am softening to them. I think it's because there are garments made in it in every shop I go into and I can't help but touch them and now the Luxe Fur has sold out (told you it would - it will be back) it's the closest thing we've got in the shop to kittens. I am sorely tempted by the blue at the top left to make a cropped long sleeved sweater (yes, I am still on that) but I have a few Christmas gifts to make and I will finish those before starting anything for me. I will.

 

I'm calling these the leftovers. I don't have much to say about them. They're still a bloody bargain but who can get excited about lemon, red and brown acrylic? Somebody will snap them up though. :)

 

Oooooh. Another unexpected Red Heart discovery this is soft as a baby's bum. Actually. It comes in Navy and Cream and they look great together - striped oversized comfy cardi anyone???? It has 80m to 50g making it a comfortable chunky and what's better - it is 50% wool. Absolutely gorgeous. 

And finally - scarf yarns. Totes not my thing but again the colours are good - particularly the middle right hand one. It's something that will be harder and harder to get a hold of now everybody's moving on to more textured yarns so if you've not tried it yet it's probably time for a final fling or if you know somebody that loves it and can't get a hold of it now then you really ought to do them a favour if you're a good human being.

 And finally, finally:

 

I had a small but determined clearout last week when I was doing the window and I found two tiny little balls of Romano Chunky leftover from the last time I got one of these bargain packs. They're sat on top of the little pile I've made ready for their new home. Ahhhh. 

 

What a lovely little collection! And something completely different from what's in the rest of the shop. 

 In other news me and Boyf are doing the cutest thing ever. Fact. We're making a blanket together for his parental units for Christmas and then we're going to make pork pie and pickles and maybe fudge and I wonder if my marrow rum might be ready??? It's the worst photo ever but I wanted to show you:

 

Chris has been slowly but surely crocheting up a load of my chunky leftovers into five layer granny squares over the last six months or so thinking he'd make a blanket for himself. He'd made 36 when we sat down yesterday and between up we powered through so we had a total of 63 last night - now sewn up, mostly, ready for the ends to be woven in and the edging which I haven't decided on. I'm not convinced about the colours, though they do look better in real life than this photo. It's mainly pinks, purples and blues with a little grey and green now and it's pretty much all yarn from the shop. I was considering a few squares in some mohair from my extensive stash but then I was too selfish.

Right, I'm off because I have MORE exciting stuff to tell you about tomorrow and I suppose I better get on and get it on t'internet. Maybe I'll have some cake first.

Love Eleanor.

P.s. this Red Heart malarkey won't make it onto the internet before Christmas. There's only like a bag of each thing so it doesn't make any sense to do it. I'll see what's left after Christmas and make a decision then but I suspect it'll be mostly gone... If you don't live in Nottingham and want some then we take orders over the phone ((0115) 9474239) or we're happy to paypal invoice if you get in contact with us through the e-mail or facebook or whatever. We're easy going.

Love. xxxx

The Thing

I got a yarn in. I haven't made a big deal about it even though I want to because I can only get one colour. I can only get one colour because it's just too popular. I got 18 balls in which is all I was allowed at the time and without making a big deal about it - barely even mentioning it - or having anything other than a slightly off white colour, I've sold 12 balls in the last two days and knitted one up myself. Why is it selling so well? Because:

Yes, Amy, it is like knitting kittens... and it's like feeling kittens, stroking kittens and rubbing them on your face. It actually is.

HOLD YOUR HORSES - I'VE SOLD ANOTHER BALL. Ha. This is ridiculous - like promoting chocolate for free - what's the point? Everybody bloody wants it anyway...

So, I got it into my head that I want to make a cropped jumper with long sleeves out of it. I even got Toni to start one too so I would feel like less of a tit. I used a King Cole pattern, shortened it and followed the armholes like normal. Everything was going well - until it wasn't. This stuff actually looks like a polar bear. It's too fluffy - certainly at the gauge that me and Toni were knitting it. But also it has a tendency to stretch width wise which meant that my lovely concept of something like this:

 

from River Island only better because it's knitted by me, ended up looking vaguely pornographic. Well, when I say 'vaguely' I mean 'totally'...

But the thing is SO SOFT! And I so rarely rip back. I had to use it. Look - it's like a little kitten:

 

 It's like that advert for Specsavers - I'd totes try to save that kitten. Anyway, this is the shape:

 

 So I thought I could sew up the top bit and the bottom bit and have a beautiful beautiful hood. AND IT WORKED! LOOK!

Mind my gargantuan chin. I've been wearing it all day and it is warm! No heating here (yet). I'm wearing it mostly like a cowl in the middle and the longer hood bit falls at the back and feels super snuggly but I can imagine wearing this as a hood on the snowy, crispy and cold walks I will make over the Christmas holidays (I'm imagining the walks but let's be honest I'll be mostly boozed in bet. Ahhhh. I might still wear my hood).

Anyway, this hood was made out of exactly one ball. Exactly. When I got to the second sticky uppy bit I ran out like three rows away from the end - luckily I'd left a long tail from the cast on so I stole a bit of that and luckily it was just enough. For this pattern then I've knocked off two stitches and I'm hoping that that'll be just enough to make sure that everybody finishes within the ball (especially as everybody else seems to use less wool than me - see the Unapologetic Hat....). If there's some yarn left I suggest you fashion to ears for maxium 'ahhhhhhh effect'.

With no further ado then, the pattern:

The Thing

Materials:
One ball of King Cole Luxe Fur yarn.
6mm straight needles.
A sewing up needle and some spare yarn in a complementary colour.

Gauge: Doesn't matter a great deal but it's roughly 3.5 sts per inch - it's really hard to check because of the fur.

Cast on 80 stitches.
Work 3 rows in one by one rib.
Work 36 rows in stocking stitch starting with a knit row.
Cast off five stitches at the beginning of the next two rows. (70 sts).
Work 26 rows decreasing a stitch at each end of the first and every alternate row finishing on a purl row. (44 sts).
Row 66: work 2 sts together, k9, turn.
Row 67: work 2 sts together, p to end. (9 sts)
Row 68: work 2 sts together, k to last 2 sts, work 2 sts together. (7 sts)

Row 69 and every alternate row: p.
Row 70: as row 68 (5 sts)

Row 72: as row 68 (3 sts)

Row 73: p3tog, break yarn and fasten off.

With the right side facing (it's hard to see but basically the pointy bit you've just made needs to be on the right side) reintroduce yarn and cast off 33 sts, k to last two stitches, work 2 together.

Work from row 67 to row 73 but swap the shaping (i.e. keep decreasing on the outside edge as before, work a decrease on the next two rows on the inside row and then on every right side row until you get to three stitches which you'll purl three together).

The 'thing' will look like this: 

You need to fold the thing in half, start in the middle of the 33 cast off stitches and sew the two edges together up to the tip of the points (shown in red). Then sew the two edges of the bottom portions together (shown in blue).

Sew in your ends.

Wear. Look like a really cool polar bear thing. :)

If you want this yarn, it isn't going on the internet yet because I can't guarantee to have it in and it's more trouble that it's worth. Once all of the colours come back in stock at King Cole's end then of course I'll put it on there. In the mean time if you want you can give me a call ((0115) 9474239) and pay for it or pop into the shop to pay. I'm not setting any of it aside because, again, I can't guarantee enough to go around as it is never mind having half of it saved for people so tough tits. Buy it. ;)

And that's it! On that slightly aggressive note, I'm offski.

Love Eleanor. xxx

NEW YARNS NEW YARNS NEW YARNS!

EEEEEEEE! I guess you can tell what this is going to be about from the title... we have... new yarn! :) One brand new yarn and two sets of new colours in old faves. I'll start with the brand new stuff - the delectable King Cole Chunky Tweed.

I remember the first time I saw this in the book - the same visit that Mark showed me the Masham and Masham Misty and I was all like 'AHHHHH WOOL! BRITISH! SCOTLAND'. This was just before the referendum and the politics was starting to get to fever pitch - before Gordon Brown waded in though and sorted everything out - bless his little heart. I digress. I LOVED the colour names. But look at this fella.

He was initially my favourite. Guess what his name is.

BALLMORAL

That's got to be some sort of a joke? A pun? Clever word play? King Cole? Anyone? There is no bloody Ballmoral! I had a hard time working out what to call it on our website given that people might be looking at prints that King Cole have made and typing in 'Ballmoral' and therefore the search engines would just miss us off completely if we spelled it right - I think that's how it works anyway... Maybe they're cleverer than that? But, after careful consideration, I decided to spell it 'Balmoral' (i.e. the correct way) on our website because I figured, I make enough spelling mistakes and typos anyway I'm best off not deliberately putting it in. *snort*

Anyway, as the name suggests it is a beautiful chunky with tweedy flecks in different colours. I am particularly in love with the Jura which is a sort of slight off white with flecks of grey and blues. Ahhhhh. It feels soft and smooshy to the touch and I cannot wait to see it knitted up. I've sold four jumpers of it already so those ladies just need to get a move on! The offer on today, in t'shop only, is that if you buy the yarn for a sweater you get the pattern for freeeee! You lucky things! :)

I'm going to come back and maybe talk a bit more about it once the patterns are here. The handsome new rep forgot to put them on and I don't want to put them on the internet and promote them if I haven't got them in my greasy mitts. They look divine though. Ahhhh.

Once again, King Cole Chunky Tweed. 

Secondly. Let's do this photo-wise:

Fabulous photo! Fabulous colours! And I didn't even know these had been released yet. What a tit! I am in love with the purple. Actually, deeply in love. Ahhhhhh. 

Anyway. Here's a proper photo: 

And you can see Amelia modelling (in her pj's mwahahah) a pocketed scarf. We're waiting for confirmation of the pattern. Pot Pourri! That's the colour! And now I know how to spell it... Which I've wanted to know all my life. Kinda. 

Anyway, here's a link but the purple needs to be seen to be believed - King Cole Gypsy Chunky.

And last, but not least... the new colours in the Merino DK. Still one of my favourite yarns in the shop and still bringing out stunning colours (apart from the Sahara - have I ever told you how much I dislike brown... ugh....). 

I am thrilled with the Pale Pink and Pale Blue though seeing as this has turned out to be a spot on baby yarn for the more discerning parental units. Actually properly washable, puke-on-able and generally baby proof - the colours, for me, just prove that that's what King Cole want it to be used for. Once you've got that proof you can choose something gender neutral to actually knit though... ;) or is that just me?

Anyway, they're online and ready to go but I will warn you that a lady, literally about 10 minutes ago (I stopped writing the blog to serve her) bought every last ball of the Crocus. That's how good a colour it is. Ha. It'll be back in. Without further ado - the King Cole Merino Blend DK.

And that's it. I must scoot! I'm knitting my nephew a thing and tonight I'm at Chris's house on my own-i-o because he's too scared to leave the cat on her own overnight. Saddact. But it's gonna be heaven once I've had my lonely old soup dinner for one.

Love Eleanor. xxx

Small Business Saturday

Ahhhh. This has been one hell of a week! We've had a new yarn (not yet on t'internet but it will be), new colours in the Gypsy and new colours in the Merino DK (also not on t'internet). I've had some incredibly interesting chats with customers - perhaps figuring out a life plan... more on that after Christmas. I've had an argument with the landlord about that bloody door. Met the new yarn rep at King Cole. Done my accounts for October and November (things are looking good - better than I thought - such a worry wort). I've tidied. And tidied again. Sent out 17 internet orders and five more to go tomorrow. Planned the initial stages of a potential art project. Watched a lot of cat videos. Written some notes on a potential new jumper design. Tidied some more. Sorted out the back room after a fashion. Only had one cup of coffee (in the day time, I don't count the essential waking up coffee). Sorted through some past internet orders. Started getting quotes for next years Yarndale bus. Written a lesson. Written two blogs. Planned the next mail shoot out. Comforted a lady going through a divorce. Ooohed and ahhed over a new baby from a friend of the shop.

A lot of things.

And all of this because I am a small business person. We don't have a marketing team, or HR, or an escalated customer complaints department or even a bloody manager. We have me. And sometimes June. But despite all of this we are award winning and making a profit (just) every year which means we can keep on growing and getting new yarns in and being a support and providing a colourful safe haven from the cold and uncaring world. So I do everything I can to celebrate that. It's why we have our birthdays and why we've taken on the Love Your Local Yarn Shop day event and why we're doing a little sumthin sumthin for tomorrow's Small Business Saturday.

It's an American thing really and I've been following what the American yarn shops have been doing over the past few years (yes, I do the research too). Mostly it's parties etc. and whilst I bloody love a good party I haven't got the time at the minute to deal with the aftermath so I'm just putting on a few offers and not doing any work and generally having a nice open day in the shop so customers can drop in with their knitting and crocheting and relax rather than feeling like they're 'taking up my time' (hint: if you're spending money and we're talking about yarn or beards then you're not taking up my time...).

The offers are:

Double points - natch.

Also, a rather sneaky plan that I've developed... If you spend more than £25 then you get a £5 voucher for use during July and August of 2015. Sounds ridic hey? But they're our worst months and the problem isn't getting people buying once they're in - inspiration and confidence giving we can do! It's getting people through the bloody door when they're too busy thinking about holidays and keeping cool. So keep a hold of your special golden tickets and you can grab a bargain and help us through the shit times. Good hey?

And seeing as it's winter - buy an adult garment's worth of the brand new King Cole Chunky Tweed and get the pattern free! There is a slightly problem with that in that the patterns for the Chunky Tweed haven't actually turned up (the new rep got confused but I forgive him because of his handsome face)... but it works to any chunky pattern so we'll get round it. :) AND IT'S BLOODY BEAUTIFUL!

You'll have to get in pretty quick though because I've sold four garment's worth already before I decided on this offer and the grey is looking a little precarious - but if you're little then you might just do it. Those of us with a little more junk in the trunk will have to make do with the red, teal, blue, black, oatmeal or divine white-y-grey-with-a-hint-of-blue (can you tell I haven't got them on t'internet yet so I've no idea what the names are...?). :)

And that's it! Look forward to seeing you here celebrating us and, as always, you because there most certainly wouldn't be an 'us' without a 'you'.

Love Eleanor. xxxx

Komet!!!!

I have a story to tell you about how lovely and warm and kind the knitting community is (and I need it after the Bobica debacle... another time perhaps...). When we went to Yarndale the first place that we needed to go, after checking out the stall with Verity's yarn on, was the Easyknits stall. I bought a beautiful yarn from there last year that still hasn't been made into anything... This year I was determined to be sensible and not spend the inheritance and although I loved everything there was nothing that I needed. So I hung around whilst Verity copped a good feel, had a chat with other customers, got out the way when I was needed and generally tried not to make a nuisance of myself. Until a skein caught my eye. It was hanging up behind the till and it was the most perfect colour in the world - neon yellow or is it neon green? No it's yellow. Nah. Green. NOBODY KNOWS! I said to the fella, can you should me where that is on the stall and he showed me the yarn but to my disappointment and eternal heartbreak, the colour wasn't there. Turned out he'd used that base to dye into a rainbow just to look bloody beautiful on his stall. He could sense my turmoil and without even thinking he grabbed the skein off the rainbow hooks and presented it to me. WHAT A MAN! And here's the best photo I have of it before it was balled: 

Right there in the middle. See it? AMAZING!


Later that night Christ took me and the yarn to dinner.

 

And for a few days I carried it around with me - stroking it, wearing it as a neck warmer, showing it off. And then life got in the way, I left it at Chris's house and I got on with work. But something came over me a couple of weeks ago and I knew what I had to make with it - a pair of Komet fingerless mitts.  

 

Now, you might be able to tell that those are socks. I've deffo spoken on the blog about them before but I can't find it, I need to get much more creative with my labels don't I? If not, I may have spoken about them in the shop with you - I'll do it again don't worry. 

Early on in my knitting career I was a student and contrary to popular belief I had loads of bloody money. I'd discovered this new website - Ravelry - and everybody on there was on about how beautiful hand dyed yarn was and I had to get my hands on some. I started with this lady: Angels and Elephants. And bought some of that very colourway:

I look at that now and find it really uninspiring but at the time this was the most amazing wool. And I kept it for a long time trying to work out the perfect pattern for it. Then I found Komet and something made me do it toe up which was the first time I'd done that. It took me forever! And I finished them in the middle of summer. Put them on my little feeties and they fitted perfectly. But it was too warm to I set them on the side and carried on with my day. In the meantime Cazza, the sister, was down and trying to be helpful and collecting stuff for the wash. She collected my socks. I can't even bring myself to tell you what came next, it's just too painful. 

I've been meaning to get back to the Komet pattern ever since then and this seemed like the perfect idea but I didn't want to 'waste' it on socks - that have to be half hidden in shoes and washed all the time - so I've 'wasted' it on gloves that I don't wear often because I'm either here or on the bus or at home and I smoke on the way to any of those places (and I hate wearing gloves when I smoke). But still. I can show them off when they're hanging around in my bag.

 

That's what I look like when I realise I can take a photo with my elbow! My phone has run out of juice apparently. Blame Chris. 

So, how did I make a sock pattern into a fingerless mitt pattern? Dead easy actually. Cast on the same amount and knit for as long as you like - obvs without putting a heel in... Then at the point when you want your thumb you use a spare bit of wool to knit 9/10 stitches, break yarn, slip those sts back onto the left needle and carry on knitting with your original yarn. Then when you get to the end of the glove you can pick out the spare yarn and it will leave you live stitches at above and below it, get them on your needles, pick up a few at either side and knit round and round and round maybe in a rib like I did. Boom. 

Thinking about it I don't actually know why I've told you all this but I have, and with the spare blog that I've got waiting to go up I only actually have to write 7 more before I've hit my target of blogging twice a week all year (or eight times a month). That's pretty amazing seeing as I completely lost my mojo in September/October.

Love Eleanor. xxx

The Big Reveal!

You don't know how relieved I am to get to this stage! I have had SUCH good feedback on these bags which is a big relief. One of the problems with the boxes in the summer was the presentation - I ended up buying boxes that were much too large so this time I thought long and hard about what I could do to make that better and I am thrilled with the result - looks like you are too!!!!

 

Cute aren't they? And they feel squidgy and delicious. Inside is a pattern, some little balls of yarn and a packet (or maybe some packets) full of goodies. The Learn to Knit and Crochet Bags come with needles/hooks too (the rest of you, I thought you'd already have them and it allowed me to keep costs down). One of the little gifts is a handmade snowflake decoration - MADE BY ME!

Each and every one is different. Some of the are perfect, some have ....design features... but I hope you can find a special little place to put them because I've got a big old cut in my thumb and I'm not sure I'll be able to make anymore - I have a few in stock though...

Anyway, there are lots of different bags, so I'll try to list them in some sensible order here:

 

BUY HERE

This teaches the real bare bones of knitting. I showed it to my mum and she says she understood so we should be okay! I'm dead pleased I worked out what to make, because all that was in my head was scarf, scarf, scarf, scarf but that wouldn't fit in the bloody bag would it??! Aren't they sweet! Don't forget this comes with the needles needed to knit it and put it together.

BUY HERE

Once I'd thought of the idea of little bows it was simple to translate that into crochet. We learn chains, doubles, half trebles and trebles. Which is really bloody amazing for two sides of A4. Again, I waved it under my mum's nose and she said she understood it so crossed fingers. Certainly, I've photographed in ways that I think would have helped me when I was trying to learn (oh, I remember it well...).

BUY HERE

These were originally going to be two different kits but I simplified the baubles down and shoved them in one! Ain't I good to you! The baubles are flattish but lightly stuffed which makes them a really pleasing size and I'm hoping you'll take the shape and play around with it - really make it your own. And there's a nifty trick with a fork. 

 

BUY HERE

 These were the second thing that I designed for these bag. The idea - in one form or another - has been with me since the summer (in fact probably longer than that) but I thought this was the perfect time to put it into action! The stitches are simple, the construction is simple, the yarn (once I added the 4ply) is simple - and there's a quirky little trick at the end. What's not to like?

 

BUY HERE

This is the Easy Knitted Bag plus some! I've incorporated simple fairisle, knitting in the round, short rows and i-cord to make this just a little tricksier. Still not enough to blow your mind though, that comes later... 

 

BUY HERE

 I couldn't let this go without making some snowflakes could I? In fact there were going to be many more snowflakes but I designed two for Verity's Yarn Club too and I got a bit snowflaked out... These are each only a few rounds long but working with some fine yarn makes finding your stitches a wee bit difficult. We don't call it intermediate for nothing. :)

 

BUY HERE

The piece de resistance (I ain't got time to find the accents.... sorry Frenchies). THESE are what inspired the whole bloody thing. Walking past Stones hardware up the road I saw some keyrings, though 'omg I know what to do with them' and got down to it. Inside each disk is a big old keyring, and then when you're knitting around you make a yo type thing so that there's space for the little keyring to attach later. You'd doing this whilst working on dpns and when you get to the middle of the second side things get a little tight and fiddly. Not for the faint of heart, but also not the worst thing in the world. Something do get your teeth into. You'll have to coco with the photography here. 200 photos of these two keyrings I took. 200.  

BUY HERE

And what's knitted (in this shop) must be crocheted. So then I got to work on this. The star was easy to work out, and it's what I suggest you start with, it just needed a bit of jazzing up with the Cosmos. The wreath came to me in a dream. Literally the Joan of Arc of the crochet world. Literally. This time is only took 158 photos to get vaguely in focus ones...

And that, as they say, is your lot! I am SO glad that these are on t'internet. I need to make a few up tonight to have some in stock but I suspect any attempts at being organised with this are futile. As I've explained on each one, the handmade elements (the beading, the potato printing, the winding and the putting together) mean that they may take a couple of days to fly out into the world. But I'm imagining these as Christmas pressies so we'll be okay for a few days won't we? If you want them quicker, do let me know and I'll try my best.

Now, I have a million things to do before the shop shuts so I'm off. Including a design that's Christmas themed and I *think* will be the best thing ever... Excuse me whilst I rein my excitement in (it's been gone for so long I'm so glad to have it back!).

Love Eleanor. xxxxx

Bags and Blankets

So. The bags that were done in secret are all done. They should be popping onto doorstops tomorrow morning and my aim is to have you all knitting and crocheting a storm over the weekend so lots of photos on Monday ladies!

 

For those that opted to collect in shop, they're all here waiting for you.

THERE IS A MISTAKE IN ONE OF THE PATTERNS! We only realised once they'd all been sealed up. Luckily, it won't affect anything at all and it's in the experienced knitter's bag so you should all be fine. It's to do with the yarn amounts on the second project. I can't tell you what's wrong without spoiling the secret so I'll tell you later. The pattern's been updated so anybody that buys after Monday will have the right thing. Sorry folks - bloody nightmare!!! 

I am so pleased with these! They are so sweet! We had great fun putting them together but I didn't expect that to take all of Monday and all of last night too! Chris is one of those people that can only hold one instruction in mind at a time so I was doing something that he couldn't do and having to stop and start to show him all the stuff that he could actually do. But we got there and we're both really proud of them and today we're having an evening off to eat stew (from a chicken cooked on Sunday - that's eight meals we've got out of that chicken - how!?!?!?), rewatch Jonathon Creek AND (hopefully) finish this blighter:

 

Yes, it's not finished and it's on my bed. Whatcha gonna make of it?

haha

 I've not really got a name for it - I started it a. long. time. ago. during a crochet lesson when I suddenly had the biggest urge to knock up a quick granny square blanket. Quick. Now. This photo:

 

 Was taken on 13th of May 2013 and I seem to remember that I'd already been doing it a little while before then but I've been through the blog and I can't find where I talked about it. Which is silly because I've definitely spoken about it... I wanted, originally, just to make one blanket. And then I realised that to get the colour range I wanted I'd need to use a lot more balls and if this was to be an easy and quick project I didn't want to have to work out how many of each colour I'd need so I ended up just crocheting the whole ball (getting about 15 squares out of a ball of Pricewise DK) and assuming that in the end I'd make three or four blankets. Now, that was a great plan and I chugged along. At this point I was happy. I put it together like this:

 

And I was pleased! I used this photo all over the place - on the blog, on rav, on the facebook, on banners - all over the place! There weren't enough colours, I'm sure you can see, but doesn't it look gorgeous?! I remember my sister saying that the idea was horrendous - especially since I'd been using the Acid and Salmon which are both pretty horrific neons. When she saw this photo she admitted that it was bloody brill. 

And then, for a very long time, I did nothing.

I'm not sure what made me pick it up again, but some time August I got it into my head that these two big old bags of squares needed putting together, bugger whether there were enough colours. So I laid them out in Boyf's front room and got to it:

 

 I was still in love, and glad that there were a few more colours. If I'd have carried on I'd have made many many more yellow/orange squares. I took photos at this point, because there's no way I could have left the squares hanging around this like - poor Boyf. But because it ended up being 22 squares by 17 (I think) I also gathered the squares into length ways piles and tied them together. It came together slowly, probably because it is just such a big thing and couldn't be carried everywhere but I took it to Wool and Wine in Beeston (and did nothing) and to the races in Chester (and did loads).

 

In fact, I think I got all of the 'verticals' crocheted together that evening which meant that I could do the 'horizontals' at my own pleasure because the 'verticals' keep everything in position. I'm afraid I've no idea when I got the horizontals done but I do know that I sewed in a couple of ends at the time and then put it down again... That is until last Monday when I'd finished my to do list by half 12, went to Iceland (the shop) for the first time (wasn't impressed...) and then settle down to get those ends sewn in. I gave up after a while because.... boring... so I started the edging. 

Now. In my head the edging was always going to be white. I bought up a load of white dk when we last had a sale for this very reason. However. This white acrylic dk has been mostly lost. It must have done because I can't have used nine balls on crocheting the thing together (although it used much more than I was expecting...). So, I had a look at the stash I've been building at Chris's house and all I could come up with was red, a lovely soft cherry red. Still acrylic dk mind but it is nice. I'm not convinced that it looks as good as white would have done and I'm a bit stuck as to whether a project like this deserves the absolute best or whether, as it was a project where I used up a lot of ends, using up ends (that I'm unlikely to use in other projects) was a good and fitting idea. Hmmm. Let's see if I have a photo:

 

 Not the best photo - can you see it? I'll see if I can get a better one in the morning. Still not convinced but I'm going to carry on for now. I LOVE this blanket and I LOVE using it and I know my happiness will increase exponentially when it's finished. So I'd better get on with it...

At the moment, and I promise I'll stop boring you with this, I'm crocheting the blanket until I want to use it, then I'm breaking the yarn, finishing it off and using it, then I'm reattaching the yarn when I want to crochet again. This is the only way that I can think that I can use the blanket and at the same time finish it... Versace doesn't seem to mind anyway:

And speaking of Versace, she's started doing a very strange and refined thing - drinking from the tap!!!

 

Oddball. 

And separately from all of this - it's Small Business Saturday on the 6th. We'll be doing something, rest assured, but I'm not entirely sure what yet...

And with that, I leave you my lovely crafty friends. I'm not sure entirely what to do now - the bags have taken up the last three/four weeks of my life and I'm at a bit of a loss. I do need to get them separately onto the internet now and I've done a few of them including making some banner type photo montages but when I got to the easy knits banner which clearly shows knitted items and I'd labelled it as 'crochet' I knew it was time to take some time out. And I'm glad I did, nice little rambling blog in a way that I haven't done in a long time.

Love Eleanor. xxx