Thursday 25 October 2012

Knitty Gritty


As the nights draw in and the weather gets colder I always turn back to knitting. I picked up my needles the other day to finish a leg warmer I started in 2008... yes 2008 four years ago. One single legwarmer has waited four years for a partner, well now it's friend is almost finished. I got the matching arm warmers out of the cupboard to discover moths have eaten four holes in them. I have used them alot but its still annoying, I suppose I should make them again seeing as I am on a roll. And then invest in moth balls.


I visited the knitting and stitching show at Ally Pally on the 11th and got inspired by all the lovely fabric and wool. I especially fell for the hand dyed wool. I regret not buying any while I was there so this week I have made it my mission to find some lovely hand dyed wool made in the U.K. I found Tangled Yarns via a post on Little Cotton Rabbits the other day and found exactly what I wanted. They have lots of unusal yarns and were really helpful when I asked for advice. I ordered Tuesday and it arrived on Thursday very speedy indeed, I highly recommend them.


Juno fibre arts is a Devon based yarn and fibre dyeing business. Asti selects, dyes and spins the yarn, what an amazing job. I chose Buffy in the Berries colourway. Its gorgeous, the colours are really rich and it's so soft. I have found a sock pattern I want to try it scares me a little bit because you have to use 4 needles or a circular needle which I have used once before but for a simple bag. I am up for the challenge though. Has anyone else made socks before? I am a little worried they will fall down easily, I don't want to go to the bother of making socks then looking like Nora Batty.



I also bought a skein of a yarn that has been dyed using natural dyes- lac and logwood. It's the colour of blackberries its soft and made of cashmere, baby camel, angora and merino. I am going to use it to crochet a cowl, less annoying than having to keep wrapping a scarf around me. I am going to make my own pattern maybe using a flower motif? Ohh and I also found Andes by Debbie Bliss on sale at my local shop reduced to £4.50 which I thought was quite cheap. I am sure I paid about £8 when I was making the Japanese Flower scarf of Attic 24 fame.

I took a course on digital printing at the show I'll tell you about that next time and some of my other purchases. I will leave you with a photo of the cute knitted village from the show, I love the allotment.


Any tips on socks I would be happy to hear,
Tootles,
Sarah

8 comments:

Rainbow Vintage Home said...

Oh that knitted village is amazing, thank you so much for sharing it! And well done for finishing your legwarmers, I am terrible for putting projects in bags in cupboards and forgetting about them for months, or years...x

the linen cloud said...

Wow ... the little knitted village is amazing ... some much detail ... love your legwarmers ... the way the weather is going you will be glad of them ... I have no idea about knitting but am determined to learn ... our local craft shop may be running classes in the new year ... I will be first there if they do ... Gilly at gillymakes has just made some socks ... she may be able to give you some advice ... have a lovely weekend .. Bee xx

Anonymous said...

Hi Sarah,LoVe the knitted village what a masterpiece.The yarns you bought are beautiful,love the colours and they look so soft.good luck with finishing the legwarmer.The weather s turned so cold,hope you are warm and snuggly this weekend :) Xxxx

Vintage Sheet Addict said...

That little knitted village is fantastic! Ada :)

Gillian Roe said...

I love that little knitted village, and the detail in the allotment - so lovely. I have never knitted socks and am very much a beginner knitter so can't help, I'm afraid. But well done for finishing the leggings. I'm sure you'll be glad of them now the weather is so much more cold. x

Ashley cramp said...

Hello! lovely blog going to look up Heather Ross too....and I love Spoonflower, lots of inspiration, thank you, also going to follow along with you, cant beleive I have not found you before...
Bestest Daisy x

sustainablemum said...

I am in the process of knitting my third pair of socks. I cast on my first pair a couple of months ago and am now loving it. I had already knitted some finger puppets for my youngest so was used to using dpn's the needles you can use for knitting socks. Not sure if you are on Ravelry, there are lots if good patterns on there. I am using the basic ribbed socks by kate atheletes pattern it is really easy to follow. Give it a go!

Annie Cholewa said...

Wow at the knitted village! I was thinking of forgoing my visit to the Knitting and Stitching Show's Harrogate incarnation this coming weekend, but you've convinced me I should go!

Loving the yarn. Can I suggest you try the magic loop technique for your socks ... there are lots of videos on Youtube showing you how :)