make do and mend

You would think that as a textiles designer, I would be on top of all those annoying little holes which appear in my favourite knits. However, I had let my gloves and mittens get into a terrible state, the holes were so massive the gloves had stopped keeping my fingers warm! So, with all this talk of economic meltdown, I made a resolution to become more thrifty and dug out my darning wool. I thought it would make more sense to make a feature of the mend than try to hide it, so this was the result, and I love it! I have definitely got the bug, and am worried I may start attacking my jumpers just so i have something to sew up....

wedding belles....

As promised, here is a photo of all the lovely bridesmaids wearing the shrugs lovingly knitted by me. I am hoping there will be some beautiful professional pictures of them too, so I will post them when I get some, and will let you know when I have got the patterns finished and on sale, possibly on Ravelry.

west dean chilly weekend

This weekend I taught a knitted accessories course at a very crisp, chilly and stunningly beautiful West Dean College.

But while it was sub zero cold outside, it was definitely warm and fuzzy indoors as I had a really relaxing and fun time with the lovely ladies in my class, who produced some gorgeous and inventive accessories......

among them the most perfect teeny tiny pom pom I have ever seen......!

Check out the work in progress, final textiles and more striking shots of the grounds here

happy new year!

A very happy new year to all! I had a lovely relaxed Christmas, and even managed to finish the shrugs the evening before the wedding last weekend, and they looked gorgeous. Photos to follow, and hopefully a pattern will be available shortly after that. Until then, here is a photo of the ribbon name tags I sewed into each shrug - would you believe I didn't have a chance to try out my new sewing machine until now? I think it has felt unloved for the past two months, but now i know how to embroider letters, I feel sure I shall be using it all the time....I hope!