New Design! - Alien Alert! - The Knitting Collection

Judging by my recent posts and tweets you'd be forgiven for thinking that I've forgotten all about designing! I can promise you I haven't but running the mail order business, teaching and working on my research project (more of which later) have really sucked up my time. The ideas are there but the hours in the day aren't!

Still, I couldn't resist knitting up this little number after watching a great programme on retro-gaming in the run-up to Christmas. Fond memories of a mis-spent youth in arcades and cafes blasting little pixelated aliens - ah, happy days!

So here is my latest little design, the Alien Alert! tie. It's double-knitted which makes it reversible so you actually get two ties for the price of one! The tweedy Jamieson's yarn makes it subtle and earthy enough for the more conservative chap in your house but funky enough to be fun and enjoyable to wear - a grown up tie for boys who haven't quite grown up yet! (It would also make a rather fun lariat for my fellow girl-gamers, too, or knit extra repeats for a super-cosy scarf).

You can find the Alien Alert! Tie in The Knitting Collection, a great new publication brought to you by the fab team at Inside Crochet. Featuring 47 fabulous original designs it's packed with many hours of knitting pleasure - perfect for sitting clicking in front of the fire while the winds are howling and the rains are lashing the windows - brrrr!

So you think you know your knitting nancy? Well meet her rather saucier companion!

Spool knitting, cotton reel knitting, i-cord or knitting nancy? Which one were you? I'll bet you haven't heard of this one. I just found this cracking post on the Big Blue Bully Bus blog and it made me laugh out loud so I thought I'd share it. I won't spoil the fun, go check the post! While you're at it, take a nosy round - it's rather a cool blog, too, esp. if you're into allotments, VW camper vans and things crafty (and who isn't?). (Oh, and the author is called Debby and hails from Leeds - not that I'm biased or anything.....)

Home Make Me Happy

Creative Crafts for a fabulous cause with Home Make Me Happy!
 I love to help with charitable projects when I can so I was thrilled to be invited to contribute a feature on Funky Finger Knitting for Home Make Me Happy. (If you look carefully in the top centre of the page you can just see a snippet of my little paws demonstrating how it’s done!).

About Home Make Me Happy 
Home Make Me Happy is a fabulous new craft book produced as part of the Prince’s Trust Million Maker’s project.With 29 exciting projects from a whole range of artists, designers and foodies, it’s a great book for anyone with an interest in all things crafty. From cupcakes to cushions, bags to booties, there’s something for everyone! 

You can find out more about the project and buy your copy of the book here. Every penny goes to the Prince’s Trust Charity so you’ll not only be getting lots of hours of pleasure but you’ll be helping  to change young people’s lives, enabling them to fulfill their potential too.

Felt-making - Felted Jewellery in Blackpool

I do enjoy my trips to visit the lovely Paula at the Westcliffe Hotel in Blackpool and not just because I get a very nice breakfast on arrival (!). Paula's knitting holidays are always popular and the guests are so warm and friendly - you'd think they'd all been friends for years!

 Felted jewellery was on the menu this time and the group quickly got to grips with making their felted fabrics. We started with felt-in-a-bag (aka minimal-mess felt!) for brooches later on.

Then it was on to felt "sausages" for bracelets and necklaces and beads for bangles.

After a very nice lunch everyone got busy assembling their felt, making some lovely brooches, corsages and jewellery, embellishing with beads and stitching..

 

Fibre East

After last year's welly-clad squelch-fest, this year's Fibre East couldn't have been more different!

The sun was cracking the flags, the new venue was much easier for set-up and it was ice creams all round!

A big thank you to Jan and her team for all their hard work :-)