Baby Shower

Last weekend I had the pleasure of bringing the knit into a beautiful baby shower for one of my oldest and best friends. It reminded me that I never posted about this gorgeous, summery baby shower of another childhood friend and as the weather is so bloomin' cold at the moment, it is the perfect time to draw a little warmth from the sunshine in these pictures!
My beautiful sister made the amazing cakes and threw the party to surprise her best friend, Dominique. One of the things I so loved about bringing this blanket together is that for the first time since I have been making baby shower blankets the baby's dad also knit a square. He knit as a child, and as dad to four boys (the bump is the fourth!) getting back into it is a great example to set. Knitting and crochet are categorically not reserved just for women, but some of the comments I get these days seem to suggest that a lot of folk now believe that is true, so anything that goes against that stereotype is fabulous. Anyway, before I get too high on my horse, I have to say that I love how this blanket turned out.

The colours chosen were bright, so I made some floral granny squares to make use of the gorgeous shades. The squares were also all really different sizes, so I decided to work a crochet granny edge around each of the squares - both knit and crochet - to make it easier to join them and I love the final effect! Gorgeous Rocco - the babe born shortly after this shower - is now one (look how behind I am at this posting lark!) and hopefully still using his beautiful blankie.

High Tea and Knitting

New Beginners knitting class booked for Saturday 6th February from 10 am-12 pm at High Tea of Highgate £25.
All materials included, as well as lovely home made cakes and lashings of tea!
You will have enough yarn to make a small scarf or modern cowl.
Contact me for bookings.

drink. shop. do.

There is a lovely pop up shop on the Cally road in Kings Cross which you all must visit if you get a chance. It is only open for three weeks in December and next weekend is the last, so get down there quick smart!

I came across Drink, shop, do when Kirstie and Coralie asked me to do some workshops there. It is a collaboration of two school friends with different interests and backgrounds, producing an ecclectic yet harmonious mix of design and activities within the shop.

Sugary sweets in old fashioned jars are placed beside contemporary jewellery by local designers and the well stocked cocktail bar sits comfortably in the main room packed with members of a knitting class or crafty workshop. The concept is to sell unique, beautifully made products, both by artisan makers and crafts people alongside vintage and secondhand finds from flea markets and antique stalls, while entertaining, feeding and watering the customers. From the subtle, welcoming waft of mulled wine as you enter to the flickering candles and colourful wall art, the shop is a haven of calm informality and relaxed creativity. The glut of juxtapositions seem to work very well within this space, making it very inviting and I can see it working extremely well in the long term, which is exactly what the girls hope to do in the new year.

As for me, I thoroughly enjoyed teaching the lovely folk I met there, more of which you can see over at my workshop blog very soon and I also succumbed to the temptation to buy.

I bought this beautifully tactile rabbit necklace from me me me. Regular readers and lovers of my mr rabbit toy will know I cannot resist anything rabbit and this particular necklace really reminds me of one of my favourite stories; Watership Down, especially the 1978 animation. The weight and subtle shape is so beguiling, I just cannot wait to wear it!

My other favourite item from the shop is a beautifully kitsch nude tapestry (who'd have thought these existed!) embroidered in a fabulous seventies muted colourway. Coralie dragged this back from a flea market in France after falling for it as much as I did. I just wish I had the wall space for it...

beginners knitting class

This December I will be teaching a very basic beginner knitting class in Highgate at the divine tea shop High Tea.

Saturday 5th December from 10am-12pm, you will be getting all the materials to start and make a simple cowl which can be styled in lots of different ways. You will also get tea and home made cake thrown in. Can't wait!

£30. Contact High Tea for booking.

time for tea

Last week I took my knitting into High Tea of Highgate in North London. While I knew that it was a quaint, lovely little tea shop with delicious cake and warming tea all served up in dainty china, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is also a fabulously stylish shop, stocking all kinds of quirky, handmade and British wares. These are all hand picked by owner Georgina Worthington and having worked in fashion in a previous life, she has a discerning eye for contemporary, chic yet charming pieces.
High Tea stocks a broad spectrum of interesting cards from independant designers and illustrators as well as selling art pieces, traditional sweets, textiles and crockery. Worthington likes to support British businesses, selling stunning Burleigh Ware ceramics from the last working Victorian Pottery in the UK and beautiful blankets from Johnstons, where every last item is produced from scratch in their Scottish mills.

The shop is decorated with a thoughtful, elegant cosiness and I personally loved Charlotte Hardy's monochrome trompe l'oeil illustrations drawn straight onto the walls.

Hopefully I will be running a few knitting lessons and workshops At High Tea in the near future, which you can read a little more about here.

In the meantime, get yourself down to highgate for tea and a piece of home made cake - she even does gluten free alternatives, so there should be little excuse for not making a visit...!