Year-end round-up part two - Gig time!

Nights out here at Tomkies Towers are like buses - nothing for ages then, in this case, 4 in a week (yes, four!).

First was Faithless at the MEN Arena. At the front, dance-til-you-drop, sing at the top of your voice awesomeness. We've seen them several times now and wouldn't miss this one for anything!

Maxi emerges and the crowd go wild....

 

What must it feel like to stand there in front of such a huge crowd all going crazy? 

 See the lights in the bottom there? We're just behind the one furthest away, within touching distance of the stage.

 And from the stands (not our pic, obviously, but gives you an idea of the sheer size of the crowd).

 And the man himself. He is 150% energy on stage!

Was it worth the 25 mins bar queue, £3.80 for a can of beer, 30 mins waiting for a tram and the freezing walk home with no coat? You betcha!!

Next up, Pendulum at Manchester Central, supported by Hadouken. Our first time for both these bands and one might think this isn't my musical taste at all being heavily influenced by drum & bass. But live? they rock! It took a while to worm our way to the front and it was definitely more mental moshness than Faithless, but wow! Manchester Central is probably my fave overall Manchester venue (apart from the beer prices!) - plenty of space, lots of room at the bar (MEN take note) and lots of loos - I am easily pleased!

But back to the important stuff, the bands...

Hadouken....

And Pendulum from further back...

 And Pendulum from closer to the front...

No pics from closer as there was barely enough room to raise an arm let alone take a photo.

For those of you who want to share a bit of the moshpit feeling without needing to be there, throw some beer over your head, put the heating up, turn the lights down, hands in the air, click here and dance.....

Year-end round-up part One - dyeing workshops

As the year draws to a close, a quick summary of November and December seems to be in order! First up, some dyeing workshop pics. Sock blanks at the Hut.....

 The pics don't do these lovely pieces justice as the colours were so rich in real life. I think it will be interesting to see how the one with the swooping curve knits up (might have to try one of those myself!).

This was followed by a lovely workshop at Spun in Huddersfield.

 I forgot to take my camera so I don't have any pics but luckily Lydia has some nice pics on her facebook page, so I hope it was ok to borrow a couple ; )

And there is a lovely Ishbel in Corelli's projects on Ravelry. Incidentally, if anyone else has pics that they'd be happy to share, it would be lovely to see them. A link to an album/ravelry page/facebook etc. or emailed ones would be just fab!

Spun is a new yarn shop in Huddersfield. It is in a beautiful Victorian Arcade and is well worth a visit if you're in the area. You'll be able to catch me there on 19th March for a sock knitting workshop, but there are lots more exciting workshops before then, too! The rag-rug sheep looks particularly tempting....

New designs! Tayberry cloche and slouchy beret

Simply Knitting have featured two of my designs in their latest pattern supplement. Not only that, one of them is on the front cover : ))))

Tayberry (above) uses my hand-dyed baby alpaca aran

The slouchy beret

 uses my hand-dyed Bluefaced Leicester Aran.

A big thank you to the lovely Vicky who took both patterns on holiday with her to test knit for me - dedication above and beyond the call of duty! These are the Simply Knitting pics, but there are some beautiful ones with extra detail and different colourways in Vicky's projects on Ravelry taken by her very talented photographer husband, Laurie. And not forgetting a huge thank you  to P for exemplary modelling!

"20 Days of Christmas" - The Christmas countdown!

Happy December folks!

Still lots to tell about the last month or so, but thought I'd put up a quick post to let you know about our Christmas Countdown and the latest newsletter.

Starting today, every day there will be a very special 20% discount on a particular product. Simply check out the Countdown Christmas Tree for details of the day's special offer, click on the bauble to take you to the offer page, add the product to your cart and hey presto! you can tick off an item on your Christmas shopping list (or enjoy a treat for yourself!).

Offers will only be available for 24 hours and have to be placed via the offer page, so be sure to check back every day : )

Subscriber news - free patterns!

We've just moved over to a new computer and I think I've ported across all the addresses for the subscriber newsletter but if yours hasn't arrived it means there's been a gremlin at work, in which case, please accept my apologies. If you haven't had your newsletter and would like one, click here and I'll send it on to you post haste. If you're not currently on the subscriber list but would like to be, click here to sign up.

(Incidentally, this month's subscriber-only offer is one of my patterns free with every yarn order. Just place an order for any hand-dyed or undyed yarn in December and I'll include a free pattern for one of my designs in your parcel! You can see some of my designs on Ravelry and if there's a particular one you would like, please put a message in the "message to merchant" box when you go through the checkout (or drop me an email at debbie@dtcrafts.co.uk ). If you don't mind which pattern, I'll add one of my choice). 

Back to normal news later but must dash as it's just started snowing (our first snow!) and I have to bring in some dyeplants before they are buried : )

Belated Birthday!

My birthday falls the same weekend as Woolfest which means that I spend a good chunk of it folding catalogues/weighing dyes/labelling etc. etc. Usually we manage to squeeze in some birthday celebrations but this year we were way behind, even more behind than normal, so we abandoned plans for birthday partying until after the end of June. Of course, as is the way with these things, one weekend after another went by, each one with lots of things to keep us busy. Anyway, eventually Pete said if I didn't write a birthday list I was going to get a serious ticking off (!).

So, one sunny weekend in October I awoke to breakfast in bed, cards and gifts, a fantastic cake and a day being waited on hand and foot. What could be better?

And some of my lovely gifts.....

Remember my lovely handmade boots? Well, Pete asked Phil, the guy who made them, to make me a pen wallet to match. And this is it. Isn't it fab? It's so soft and will be a perfect addition to my collection of pink handbag accessories....
 

And to go with the pen? Courtesy of Mrs Yarn Yard I discovered a site with a fantastic selection of coloured inks. Difficult as it was to choose, I narrowed it down to this one - not only is it the most luscious shade of purple, but it even smells of violets - so cool! Feelin' that "flowery" prose folks ! (sorry).

 After my henna painting session on holiday, Pete tracked down this great kit from the States. There are some gorgeous designs in the book and I can't wait to give it a try (do you think this one might be a bit ambitious for a first attempt?).

There was also this yummy bundle of scented heavenly-ness (note the "was"). Vicky's lovely gift, being from Lush, didn't make it anywhere close to October! So I've cheated a bit and borrowed a pic from those masters of cosmetic wizardry - now you know why I spend so long in the shower!

 And, before you do yourselves an injustice laughing at this next one, I am trying to get fit - yes, you heard it right. So, I don't do jogging/running, can't bear aerobics or any form of bootcamp style organised exercise, am too soft to swim at this time of year, and am struggling to get to the gym. I do, however, love dancing and seeing as I can't get out to classes I thought this would be a bit of a laugh. (Confession time: I already own a dancemat and I have been known to sneak onto the arcade dance machines when we're on holiday). I haven't tried it yet, but I'll let you know how I get on (and which ward I'm on for the get well cards!). Glee here I come!!!