Love this book! Whether you are a completely new knitter of a very experienced one this book is invaluable.
For the newbie knitter there are pages and pages of how to's to get you started and teach you how to knit from scratch and for the experienced knitter instructions on 400 different knitting stitches including both written description and charts.
Why is this handy? Well let's say you've been knitting for some time and you want to have a go at designing your own patterns this book describes the stitches per repeat which makes it so much easier to develop a pattern.
Using this book you could make endless afghans of patchworked patterns. Definitely worth buying and having in your library, you will refer to it often.
Showing posts with label craft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label craft. Show all posts
So we arrive and set about setting up the stand, we gather tables and chairs from Cathy's office and put up the canopy (genius piece of kit I must say!) and we lay out the cakes as attractively as we can and they did look pretty marvellous and mouth watering.
It was only at the end of the day we really could see how much we had sold because all day long we were refilling the trays and displays from cunningly hidden boxes filled with more cakey goodness.
It wasn't all completely plain sailing however, quite a few lessons were learned during the course of the day... most importantly that weights for the base of the canopy were important accessories to have as when there was a massive gust of wind the thing almost blew away and we had to pounce on the legs to keep the thing from blowing over.
We also discovered that the sun is not always your friend... we had to scuttle around changing the side panels on the canopy to keep the sunlight off the cakes... chocolate toppings don't react well to sunshine, however even when they started to melt the chocolate ones sold out faster than any other!
I had a fantastic day helping Cathy but I will admit to being completely shattered by the time I got home carrying my box of left over goodies... believe it or not I only got 1 out of the whole box, the rest were snarfed down in good order by teenage boys. but glowing praise from them... Conor says that Cathy's cakes are "amazeballs" some new teenage terminology that means great apparently.
Cathy does take commissions on cakes of all types, so if you have a special event and need a fabby cake her website is http://www.pattiecakes.co.uk/
This book is so handy, specially for those new to knitting, there is a great collection of quite simply designs that are easy to follow and make up. In particular the crossover vest which doesn't have any buttonholes to do... always a pain for a new knitter to get to grips with and the beanbag and blanket designs are straight forward and a great introduction to knitting where you end up with a nice end product and not just a ropey square that ends up going in the bin... yeah I did that... A lot at the start.
This is a really really useful little book, it's not huge , only 96 pages but well worth its size for the amount of information packed into it. I was expecting a book of designs but whilst there are some designs to get you thinking and trying ideas out there is also a wealth of information about gems, names, settings, design consideration, matching accessories and how to work with a bride during a very stressful time... and a whole section on building a bridal jewellery business, including market research, business planning and pricing.
So if you are thinking along those lines this book is well worth getting.
What a day.... in order to be able to go to the Show it meant going in to London with my hubby, a 6am start!!! Horrors! Haven't seen that time of day for a while... well not since my last doll show... ok really that wasn't that long ago LOL
Once I got on the tube at Park Royal I thought ok this isn't so bad... until I got to Earls Court to discover there were no trains to Olympia... What??? Apparently London Underground were uninformed that there were any shows on at Olympia.... don't think the hundred or so ladies standing on the platform were terribly impressed.
So I had to get a bus, yes a bus! Haven't been on one of those in donkeys years, not since I moved out of London anyway. So that was an adventure, have to admit the bus wasn't as bad as I remember, at least it didnt smell the way I remembered buses smelling.
I met up with my friends Ceinwen and Donna at the venue and when I say the place was teeming with women I am not jesting, it was wall to wall women all dying to get their hands on the many goodies that were on offer.
I loved the quilt display on the 3rd floor, there was some A-MAZING work up there,
I came home with some goodies thanks to my lovely parents in law who gave me a lovely birthday present.
Some of my purchases!
As soon as I saw this range of Cross Stitch kits I thought mmmmmmm yes have to have some of those! I love the designs, I would love to see these done in Silk Painted form... ohhhh there's an idea!
Some gorgeous fabrics, and boy was it ever difficult to choose, if I had had a donkey to carry it all home I probably would have come home with a lot more!
And I just had to have some more of this thread, I bought some a few years ago, it cross stitches up into some gorgeous cards, space dyed silk threads.
I'm really proud that in the upcoming issue of Discover Dolls Magazine my baby shoe pattern is being shared and showcased.
This pattern is so easy to use and so simple but you can produce the cutest shoes, all you will need is a little bit of fabric, very simple sewing ability, you can even stitch these by hand if you don't have a sewing machine and your imagination.
The magazine will contain a full step by step tutorial on how to make the shoes. On my example pair I used 2 co-ordinating fabrics and embellished them with ribbon and seed beads to show off the fabric.
But the sky is the limit with these cute little shoes. You can make them as simple or as decorative as you like.
The next issue of Discover Dolls will be out soon!
I hate having cold feet and yet I don't particularly like wearing slippers, I have the habit of curling up on the sofa of an evening doing some knitting or sewing or whatever, don't like the idea of sticking my crocs (bright pink that I wear slobbing around the house in lieu of slippers) up on the sofa.
So during one evening's wandering around the internet perusing crafty websites... I am on a mission this year I want to make all my christmas presents for the people I love. Could be a challenge but I am up for a challenge! I came across a pattern for a pair of crocheted Mary Jane Slippers. Ohhhhhh how pretty thought I (visit Lisa at Goodknits) I could do with a pair of those for keeping my tootsies toasty.
I modified the pattern a bit, I wasn't as keen on the whole low toe bit or the strap so I just did a couple of extra rounds before casting off the central stitches. That way I wouldn't have to do the the strap at all.
The pattern was surprisingly easy to follow, I'm pretty much a novice at crochet. Definitely would recommend this pattern to someone new to crochet, it's actually very simple and really quick, in 3 evenings I had a pair of very cute, incredibly warm sofa slip ons and I am LOVING them... LOL
So this is definitely going on the Christmas present list, I can think of a few people I want to make these for.
I got the buttons for putting on baby booties but the colour was just so perfect I had to filch a couple for my slippers. And the crocheted flowers were easy and quick, I can see myself making lots of these for decorating baby booties and hats.
See it's all a learning curve, everything thing one tries teaches something and leads on to other fabulous ideas.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE my slippers and I now have very toasty toes... I will be making more of these... hmmmmm I am thinking Black and Pink next!
Every workman.... or workwoman needs the right tools to do their craft and for crochet the main tools are crochet needles. Different weights of wool and cotton thread need different crochet needles so it's always best to have a selection of sizes to work with. This selection of 13 needles is excellent value for money made in lightweight aluminium and clearly marked with the needle size.
This set are colourful, lightweight and inexpensive and come in a protective wallet which helps keep them together and clean. I bought these mainly because I wasn't sure if I was going to take to crochet and they weren't expensive and it seemed a good way to dip my toe in the water.
The Happy Hooker is one of the Stitch and Bitch Crochet collection of books. I would highly recommend this book for even the newest person to the craft of crochet with 40 original crochet patterns, all very modern and exciting including something for everyone. My personal favourites amongst the patterns being Sweetpea Shawl, Spring in Winter a two piece hat and scarf set that is just divine, Granny's No Square, a really funky bag and Yeehaw Lady, a crocheted cowboy hat which is just the cutest thing ever! And if the Fluffy Bunny Slippers don't make you go "awwww I want those!" Well then.... to be frank, you need help.
What I love about this book particularly is the excellent diagrams and clear instructions on stitches, how to hold the crochet needle, equipment to use, the library of stitches .... well just about everything really, the list goes on and on. All I can say is if you want to learn to crochet and you want to learn by producing modern up to date funky things that fit into fashion today... get this book!
I've found the most beautiful wool, it's by King Cole and it's called Riot. It's so soft and fluffy and I love love love the varities of colour that it comes in. The wool is variagated, posh word for meaning mixed colours in no particular pattern, I love using this wool for knitting baby booties because it means no two are ever the same, the variation in colours is always a surprise.
The particular style I've used for these booties is a very simple design which just gives the Riot wool the chance to shine.
There's some amazing colour blends available in Riot. try Yarns 4 Less who have Riot in some wonderful colourways.
An excellent knitting book for the inexperienced knitter, the book contains 20 handknit projects all very simple in design and using very basic techniques on the whole.
You will find some slightly more challenging patterning but mostly it is in the form of embellishments and patterns. But there are enough very simple patterns to get a new knitter started. by the time you've completed some of the really simple ones you will feel confident enough to tackle adding the embellishments.
All of these Erika Knight designs are knitted in natural fibres, cotton yarns, bamboo, baby cashmerino. You can substitute these for ordinary acryllic 4ply and double knitting but you need to be aware of the changes that will make in tension. So make sure you do swatch tests first.
My husband suggested a day out at a local Steam Rally, as the weather was really quite nice and I have never actually been to a steam rally it seemed like quite a good idea, or at the least an opportunity to get out in the sunshine and spend a bit of time together.
I had the most fantastic day, I was shocked by the sea of cars in the huge field that served as the car park for the event... this was a country event on a scale I have never seen before. But that's what happens when you are a city girl by birth.
Once we were in past the entrance the first thing I noticed was the helicopter buzzing around, I was seriously tempted by the idea of a ride, but the queue was huge and there was just so much to see I didn't have the patience to wait!
The event was laid out in sections, with small steam machinery being the first section we had to walk through.
Walking up through the market stands I bumped into Therese from Baby Dimples Reborn Nursery pushing her gorgeous coach pram with one of her dolls in it, doing her bit to spread the word about reborning! It was fantastic to see a reborn artist out and about showing off their work, we spent some time chatting about the art and it was fascinating to see how many people came up and peered into the pram looking at Therese's work.
I loved seeing all the craft work on display, there was just so much to see, the beautifully handmade bird houses made a fa ntastic display in the sunshine, I was so tempted by the birdhouses but then I thought, hang on, three cats and a captive audience of birds??? Possibly not the cleverest idea I've ever had so maybe not. Anyway the birds are so scared of our cats they won't even come into the garden to take the seed we put out for them!
Inside the craft marquee were a range of stands from homemade sweets, jewellery and cards to traditional crafts like basketry, woodworkers, cider makers and honey.
It was fascinating watching people working at traditional crafts, it's great to see that people are still managing to make a living at these crafts and keeping them going in a world where mass production has taken over.
I saw and fell in love with a beautifully crafted wooden apple which I just had to have. Heavens knows what you do with a wooden apple, apart from wipe dust off it from time to time but it was so pretty I just had to have it.
I also came home with a hand turned white and lavender pot that is going to live in my art room and hold all my paint brushes.
There was just so much to see and do, we wandered amongst the restored vehicles, tractors, steam engines and crafts for hours and there wasn't a moment that I felt bored or uninspired. All in all a brilliant day and I can't wait for next year.
Photo Gallery Please enjoy!
Beautiful Wicker Dolls Houses
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