roundup...

I am aware I have been a bit too busy to post anything much at all this year and it is nearing the end of April - where has the year gone?! The cold weather has made it seem like eternal winter and so I feel I missed the whole of March indoors, crocheting!

To make up for the lack of posting here, I thought I would share a few pictures of some of the exciting things I have been doing so far this year - regular viewing will commence shortly.
I have directed and styled quite a few fab shoots, with the wonderful Britt Spring, the pic above is from the last, with a stunning piece by Kat Goldin.

 Crochet, crochet and more crochet! For the magazine, and for a couple of new projects. This is my favourite blanket project of the lot.

 I managed to catch the Wool exhibition, Wool House at Somerset House in March. It was in collaboration with the Campaign for Wool. This was particularly exciting for me as I finally got to see a crocheted sculpture or 'Crochetdermy' by Shauna Richardson, which didn't disappoint - it was amazing!

I also taught a couple of classes at City Lit  and the experimental class in particular was great fun. I met a bunch of very creative women, one who upcycles old brollies into fab bags and another who is an amazing spinner. All in all a great year so far...

Pitti FIlati

Day two in Florence and it's time for a trip to the fabulous yarn fair itself, Pitti Filati.

I headed straight for the Senso trend forecasting area to collect my shade card for Spring/Summer 2012 and see what those in the know are predicting we will be wearing and knitting in 2012.

The layout was slightly different to previous years I have attended, with the experimental and textural samples draped around tiny dummies to also provide an indication of the shapes for the coming seasons.

I noted a muted, organic colour palette, highly textured and layered, sculptural knits constructed with unusual yarns such as nylon monofilament, stiff raffia and draping, shiny tapes. The funnel neck also seems to be making a comeback - which we have already started to see in the present season.

There was so much to see, we were overwhelmed, so we are going back tomorrow to finish off the rounds of the yarn companies. However, we did round off the day with a trip to the unmissable second hand fair, Vintage Selection. The Italians have not yet grasped the vintage trend as wholeheartedly as us Brits, meaning the selection is simply stunning - they still have plenty of authentic items left from pre-1970, having not yet had every store plundered for goodies. Unfortunately, the growth in popularity of the show meant that the prices had increased too. I left with only some fabulous buttons to show for my trip. I had hoped to find a friend for the bargain basement price, amazing Italian leather, statement 60s suede wedges I picked up on my last trip. Twas not to be...perhaps next year!

italy...

Well, here I am in Italy, in beautiful and exciting Florence to be precise, for the bi-annual yarn extravaganza that is the Pitti Filati trade fair, a yarn and trend fair for the knitting industry. We flew over the alps very early this morning on a beautiful sunny and misty day.

So far we have visited the absolutely stunning Duomo cathedral, which I never tire of seeing, and in fact made a beeline for today.

I topped off the day with the most delicious fruits of the forest gelato....

Well, you can't not have ice cream in Italy! When in Rome (or florence) and all that...

nest

It was with great excitement that this morning I visited the new knitting shop around the corner from my flat. Nest is not only just a few minutes walk away but is full to brimming of fabulous yarns that I have not seen sold in other bricks and mortar shops.

I love the way the shop has J C Rennie yarn on cones, which you can buy spun off into little balls of the exact weight that you need and wrapped in beautiful brown paper nest labels (above).

Other exciting stock is malabrigo yarns, (including Rasta and Lace which are both used in Linda Permann's Pebble hat in the Christmas issue of Inside Crochet) Drops yarn and patterns and British based John Arbon, Skein Queen and Fyberspates.

I was also saved from a trip into town by purchasing some lovely black and gold beads for a crochet project, which you can buy by weight (60p for 10g - very reasonable!) and was tempted by hello kitty buttons and vintage knitting books, maybe next time!

I spoke to Amy, one of the owners of the shop and her young man (who was clad in a very fetching hand made jumper) who are very friendly and I

have already heard tales of groups sitting down with tea

to knit and natter so I am thinking that this is going to be a cosy, must-see destination for North London knitters very soon - get down there while it is still quiet and they have plenty of stock!

While all of this is definitely a good thing, I can see myself frequently popping out for some groceries and ending up with armfuls of yarn and no dinner. Temptation should never be placed this close, to your doorstep!

Stitching and Knitting

I have finally found a free moment to fill you in on what else went on at the stitch and knit show at Ally Pally this year so here are pictures of some of the things which inspired me most....

Of course the students' work was my first port of call, as I love seeing

what the fresh young designers of tomorrow will be creating. This year I was mainly looking at crochet, following the trend that I seem to be following lately and for a change there was quite a bit of it!

Grace Hamilton's very wearable statement jewellery was my favourite as it was unique and exciting yet practical.

Emma Philpot's knitted and crocheted sculptural dresses were not new to me as I had first noticed them at her graduate fashion show, but it was great to get to see them up close and personal and they did not disappoint.

I was on the Kal Media stand all weekend, which was fabulous as I got to meet loads of people who I had only got to know virtually, and the new issue of Inside Crochet was really well received, which was lovely.

This is the Artyarns stand, which was a magpie's dream - all sparkles and glitter with heavily embellished luxury yarns glinting in the artificial light. Their yarn is also the one in the top picture, which just demonstrates what a fabulously vivid colour palette of yarns they stock.

Finally, (as I could go on forever, but bedtime calls) here's a glimpse of Mrs Moon's store. I have not yet managed to get down to the relatively new yarn shop in south London. It looks adorable, with pretty candy coloured yarns and decorated with girly printed wallpapers.

shooting the book

...sneak peek of the gorgeous kids and lovely yarn from the shoot of my new book which will be for teaching children how to knit!

loop grows up

Last weekend loop finally made the much anticipated move into its new premises on Camden Passage, Islington. I went along to the grand opening to see how the beautiful yarn shop has matured.

When the first shop in Cross Street opened five years ago I was working in the shop and I thought that launch was packed and busy. However, the opening of the new, bigger store saw queues out the door and the ground floor heaving, which just goes to show how the little yarn boutique has grown to become one of the best-loved stores in London.

Loop now has four floors; one for storage, two for the loverly yarn and a basement for all sorts of exciting classes and events. There is even a small courtyard out the back! I cannot wait to attend all the wonderful happenings which Susan has planned for the shop.

She has, yet again, decorated the store beautifully, with surprising yet sophisticated colour choices for the features and fittings, a shed load of stunning reconditioned secondhand furniture and samples and products placed as if they were works of art.

I personally loved the weird yellow-y woodwork and picture rails and the striped carpet on the stairs - I cannot resist a stripe, especially a rainbow coloured one!

There are now lots of comfy chairs to recline in downstairs while you peruse the yarns, and a table upstairs for congregating round and knitting while meeting yarny friends; the only things that Loop Mark I was really missing.

After a few pieces of yummy cake and a glass of refreshing Pimms, I decided to not to brave the queue, but returned later in the week

to purchase some scrummy yarn for a few new projects - any excuse to make a repeat trip!

I love the new loop and am excited to see what new yarns Susan is sure to start stocking to fill up all the available space!

If you want to make a trip to the new loop, be sure to check out my earlier post about all the wonderful independent shops in the area so you can make a day of it.

millamia baby and children's knitting patterns

Recently I have discovered this exciting new knitwear company MillaMia, who produce wonderful knitting patterns and yarns ideal for beginners, but which even the most experienced knitter will love. I urge you to go take a look at their website and search out the yarns in a store near you - they have started to stock in many local yarn shops in the UK including the new shop Yarn Gathering in Staffordshire.

MillaMia is run by two Swedish sisters Katarina and Helena, who live and work in the UK. The Scandinavian influence of fresh and contemporary style is easy to see in their beautiful designs. Their design ethic, especially when it comes to knitting for children, matches mine completely and was exactly what I tried to achieve with my books:

'As knitters we were not that inspired by the patterns on offer for baby and children's wear in the market today, and realising that there was a knitting renaissance underway, we saw a gap for stylish, modern baby and children's hand knitting patterns. Patterns that had a real design edge but still easy to knit and practical to use.'

I actually first came into contact with Katarina at Loop in Islington, where she asked for my opinion on the yarn she and Helena were developing. The yarn was beautiful, but I also suggested that injecting a dose of bright colour would be a good idea, as I find it so hard to obtain gloriously clean and bright shades, especially in wool yarns. While I am in no way suggesting I had anything to do with the final results, I am so glad they decided to really go for it with colour, as their designs are so joyous and I for one am going to enjoy using some of them. I will also be using the yarn for future classes, so if you want to try it out, come and join me!

The images on the website are so fresh and cute; they show so much joy, movement and laughter. One of my favourites is this Carlota dress - won't somebody make me one now?! It has all of my favourite things - stripes, colour and pockets; I think I have mentioned here before how all my favourite dresses have pockets!

I shall definitely be using MillaMia yarns in my future projects, and you will be the first to see them here!

prick your finger

Finally, after months upon years of promising to visit, last week I made it to Prick Your Finger in Bethnal Green. A yarn shop with a difference, the owners Rachel and Louise built all the shop fittings themselves, spin some of the yarns and try where possible to support British designers and yarn companies. It is filled with trinkets, button jars, scraps of fabrics, wonky creations, needles, hooks, spinning wheels and even a little studio out back. This leads to the shop having a friendly and welcoming atmosphere with an ecclectic, eccentric feel and you cannot help but come out with a smile on your face.

The yarns from companies such as Tait and Style (above) and Jamiesons are displayed unconventionally, presenting them in their full glory, hanging from walls allowing their pretty hues and interesting texures to be admired easily.

Below are some of the unique yarns spun in the shop in short runs from unusual materials such as fabric and cassette tape, ensuring if you knit yourself something from these, you will not see its like anywhere else. With this and the shop's thrifty 'make it and mend it' attitude, there are no embarrassing matching party outfit worries here!



Ribbons tumble from drawers in some kind of colourful organised chaos which just adds to the shop's quirkiness...

The sales desk is a display cabinet filled with 'sock specimens' and topped by jars of thimbles, spools of thread, crocheted creatures, a bell jar showing off free-form crochet foliage, a massive pin cushion and all kinds of other nik naks.

I wondered if the girls know where eveything is, or if things kind of find their own little space in the charming clutter and get lost there in their own world....I almost imagine this shop as a kind of Bagpuss & Co, where, when there are no customers around, the little toys and creatures come to life and help Rachel and Lousie with their spinning, darning and knitting while singing a little song....

Oh, how I wish that were true! As A toy maker myself I have a strange kind of affinity with these little characters, with their own individual personalities and I adored the crocheted reptiles and amphibians hanging from the ceiling and the massive crocheted hedgehog with needles for prickles.

With so many lovely things to look at and with my self imposed eleventh commandment; Thou shalt not leave a yarn shop without making a purchase, at the front of my mind, I succumbed to this Money For Old Rope yarn. I was drawn to the defined ply and washed out lilac colour. Hopefully this will be whipped up into a floor cushion in no time at all! Will post the first pictures of it here, in the meantime, make sure you take a trip to get your finger pricked.

P.s. There is also a fab cafe round the corner, the Gallery Cafe which you can catch your breath in afterwards. I have written a little about it here.