new love

Had to show you my new massive, vintage, wooden kilt pin thingy. I love it so...it was from loop but I'm afraid I swiftly snapped up the last one. Fear not, however, as loop's lovely owner Susan, the canny woman, has managed to source some modern replicas, so although you won't be able to say they are vintage, you will be able to buy yourself unlimitless pins in blonde or dark wood, very soon.
Now I just have to design myself a cardi which is crying out for a massive, vintage, wooden kilt pin thingy for a fastening....

home sweet home

I hope I am not spoiling a surprise which will be in the new magazine Inside Crochet but while thumbing through the latest issue of Yarn Forward I noticed the illustration for a piece on working from home was a little picture of my very own 'studio corner', the place I do all my designing and knitting. I must say, it looks unusually tidy....!

Keep an eye out for my first foray into journalism in a Yarn Forward near you soon!

new projects

I really know how to heap the pressure on as I am in the midst of working on three separate projects, one of which means that at the moment I have a further four designs on the go. Ah well, at least all those differing needle sizes means the RSI is reduced!

Here are some pictures to whet your appetite. I love the vibrant colours of the alpaca silk in this pattern.

The fluffy softness of the mericash here is divine to work with and I am addicted to knitting with it, luckily enough, as I am working it on 2.5mm needles. Could take a while! I will be revealing the exciting project these are part of soon.....!

twitterpated!

As a wise old owl once explained to Bambi, it seems almost everyone in the whole world has become twitterpated and I have to admit, I am one of them. You may have noticed that I have signed up to twitter, and am now officially addicted. The attraction is not necessarily an ego thing - I really have no idea why people would care about what I am making for breakfast (although I am constantly surprised at how interested I am in twits of others' eating habits...). It is however a great way to find like minded folk (mainly knitters!) and I have discovered and enjoyed reading the most beautiful, inspiring, funny, clever blogs and websites since I joined. I just thought I might share some of these with you, to point you towards them if you aren't already following them (yes, I am well aware of how stalkerish the whole thing is!) or to give you a reason to begin twittering if you do not already.

some favourites are; little doodles, cotton and cloud , sing a song in the morning, sarahditum, and finally one that I did not find directly, but on one of those hours long web trawls, where I started twitting and ended up at somewhere totally different! truely a beautiful blog; katie did

hope to see you in twitterland at some point, as since I joined, I have no idea whether I shall ever go outside again....

a very Wellcome Collection

'Twas a loverly bright spring day yesterday, so I decided to go for a walk and ended up trekking halfway across town, finally finding myself at one of my favourite places, the Wellcome Collection. It is in between exhibits, but I wandered around the permanent displays of Medicine Man and Medicine Now, both of which I would recommend if you are in London town. I really loved the good luck ammulets from the world wars and the backlit coloured glass jars in Medicine Man and this gorgeous piece by Andrea Duncan, 23 pairs, in Medicine Now. It is a play on the pairs of human Chromosomes represented in baby socks. Sweet, interesting, beautiful. I also saw some young ladies knitting in the cafe, so it obviously attracts other like minded folk too!

sneaky peak

Here is a sneaky peak at the lovely Blad copy of Easy Kids Knits I have just received. It is a little promotional leaflet with a couple of patterns in to demonstrate the layouts of the final book. Looking good, I think! Can't wait til the launch now - which I have been informed will be the 6th August, which is my late grandad's birthday and the day before my own. Most auspicious dontcha think?

ladybird, ladybird...

Look what came in the post for me this morning! How fabulous, I remember reading Ladybirds when I was a child and can't resist a little nostalgia. My favourites are the knitting one, of course, and the map reading one, because everyone knows that girls are rubbish at directions, aren't they?! I actually love maps and mapreading, and also that other stereotypical girls activity; shopping. Shopping with mother, how hilarous, and very British. What a lovely day I have ahead; the birds are singing, the sun is shining and I have the ladybirds to read through.