Clubs good to go!

Sock and fibre clubs are all done and being posted today so prepare for goodies dropping through your letterboxes soon : ))

Sign up for your Woolfest offer : )

Newsletter subscribers, check your inboxes! New for this year's Woolfest and to celebrate 5 years of fibre-y fun and frolics (yes, we really have been doing this for 5 years!) there will be a voucher coming out shortly to all newsletter subscribers which you can use on goodies you buy from us at Woolfest.

If you haven't signed up yet, there's a link here or send me an email at subscribe@dtcrafts.co.uk.

Roll on Friday!

Sock blanks are now socks!

I am surely on a roll this week with the piccies. Here is the first batch of socks knitted up from my sock blanks. I'm hoping to have the blanks available for sale shortly, hopefully for Woolfest. Of course, one has to test new products before selling them - it's a tough job.....

First we have.... the rainbow sock(s). The blank was painted partly in stripes and partly in dots and dashes. You can just about see the dashes in red and blue in the close-up above.


Next up, blues and pink. Painted in a combination of stripes and diagonals. The sock has a princess sole (knitted in reverse stocking stitch), perfect for delicate little cherubs like me who find the purl bumps a bit rough on my gentle feet (everyone say aaaah!).


And last but not least, raspberry pinks. Another wide stripe done in toning shades just using different dilutions of the same shade.

I kept small samples of the blanks so if you're at Woolfest mosey on over for a look. It's really interesting how different the blanks look compared to the finished socks. And here I have to make a confession - I didn't knit the socks - so a big thank you to Julia who deserves a medal for her commitment to sock knitting over the last few weeks. (Oh, and there are a couple more in the pipeline which I haven't photographed yet).

Newsletter goes live at last!

Having been threatening to set up a newsletter for about a year, I've finally worked out the technology and have just sent my first one! It's still a bit of a learning curve so if you've signed up and received a load of wingdings or something, just let me know so I can see if I can fix it (for which read, I'll get Pete to fix it). If you haven't seen it yet, you can sign up here (and there's a fab subscriber-only offer on club memberships to be had too!).

Sock club catch-up pics

And not before time, I give you the April sock club colourway - "Wildfire" in stunning superwash merino/tencel.....


And without further ado, May's colourway - "Gothique", on a base yarn of superwash Bluefaced Leicester/nylon.....


Two very different dyeing styles on two equally special, but different bases. Wildfire will knit up into a semi-striping sock and has a gentle sheen courtesy of the tencel content. Gothique (rather darker and more subdued than it appears in this pic), is a dark and mysterious brew - it has rich, deep violet and black tones with flashes of intense cerise. I cannot tell a lie - I couldn't resist keeping one of these for a new shawl design - look out for something that wouldn't look out of place in an Evanescence video : )

New test-knit ready!

Julia has test-knitted my little hearts top and it looked so cute! She's dyed the yummy lambswool/cashmere/angora yarn in gorgeous greeny-blues and it is really pretty.

This morning I finished sizing the matching jacket so it's back over to Julia for more knitting! She is such a superstar : ))

No pics unfortunately as this design is promised elsewhere, but I might manage a little hint so you can see the colours at least.

Knitting at the pub

Last night was knitting group at the pub. A good time was had by all and the very tasty new guest beer (Morris Mayhem for you Camra buffs) got the thumbs up from the beer quaffers (that'll be me and Julia).

Jane was sporting her gorgeous new crocheted top and Julie brought a very nice silk/cotton crocheted evening bag. As usual I hadn't finished anything so was just admiring everyone else's completed projects.

Ooh, and Julia has finished her handspun, hand-knitted blanket and it looks fab. Must see if I can get a pic for you to see.