Musings of a knit-a-holic from Wales

Free Knitting Pattern: Seed Stitch Hat

2012-01-24T19:49:00.002Z

This is one of my favourite hats to put in my pocket - warm enough to keep your head cosy on cold days, but light enough to wear past winter months. You can also take a look at an easy pattern for using up leftover yarn for matching fingerless gloves

Again like most of my patterns there is no set size or yarn type - I have used double knit weight yarn which means the hat has a slouchy fit. The hat above was knitted using Patons Smoothie yarn - an acrylic yarn with a smooth silky touch.

You will need:

1 x 100g ball of DK Double knit yarn - I have used Patons Smoothie
1 x 5mm 16" circular needle (slightly larger than the yarn states so that the knit is looser)
A stitch marker
Scissors and a needle to weave in ends

Pattern

1. Cast on 88 stitches (this will fit loosely on a 22" circumference head - to make it bigger or smaller add or take away in multiples of 4 e.g. 80, 84, 92)

2. Make sure your work is not twisted, thread on your stitch marker and join work together, working your first round in double rib stitch (k2, p2 to the end of the round)

3. Continue knitting double rib rounds (k2, p2) until your work measures 1.5 inches long. On your last stitch of the last round pick up a stitch (m1) so you will have an odd number of stitches on your needle (e.g 89 stitches) This is the headband section finished.

4. For your next row, work in moss / seed stitch (k1, p1* k1) ending on a knit stitch. From this point onward knit as if you are making one long continuous row - after every knit stitch will follow a purl stitch - as there is an odd number of stitches on the needle the moss / seed stitch pattern will work up automatically.

n.b. The stitch marker is there to remind you where you started but it doesn't mean you need to restart the pattern every time - if you end on a knit stitch at the end of the round your next stitch will be a purl stitch. You will get into a rhythm of k, p, k, p, k, p, k...until you get a bit dizzy!

5. Continue knitting in moss / seed stitch until your work measures 8" (21cm) in total (including the ribbed part). If you have increased the size of your hat by a lot you will want to make the hat longer, and smaller if you are making a small hat e.g. for a child.

6. On your next round decrease by knitting two stitches together (k2tog*, k1) ending on a knit stitch.

7. Cut a long tail from your ball and using your needle thread the needle through the stitches left on your needle and take them off the needle as you go. Pull together tightly and secure by stitching the tail into the back of the hat and weaving the end in.

8. Weave the other tail end from casting into the piece.

...and there you go - a finished hat!

Please let me know if you spot any issues or have any feedback.

Debs

Free Knitting Pattern: Beau Bow Headband

2012-01-14T11:50:00.003Z

These headbands are so cute, and dead easy to make - be that for little girls or little girls at heart. As the band itself is ribbed it will sit comfortably on the head without moving. It's a good way to use up those smaller balls of yarn that you really like, but are just too small to make a hat from.

Here is the pattern:

You will need:

up to 50g yarn depending on the size of the headband you'd like to make - the one above was knitted out of DK yarn and used just under 50g in all.
circular needle or DPN of the correct size for the yarn used to make the headband - I used 4mm circular needles
Straight needles of the correct size for the bow - I used 4mm needles
Sewing needle - large eye and blunt ended for sewing up

Pattern

Headband

This will make a headband for a small - medium adult / teen out of DK yarn as above. To make it bigger or smaller add or take away stitches in multiples of 4. If using chunkier yarn and larger needles you will need to cast on less. Remember it is rib stitch and it will stretch to put it on. My head is 22 inches in circumference and this fits me fine as a very rough guide.

1. CO 84 stitches using your preferred cast on method loosely - you will loose the stretch in the headband if you cast on too tightly.

2. Make sure your work is not twisted and join together.

3. Row 1: K2, P2* repeat until the end of the round, finishing on a P stitch.

4. Repeat until the work measures 3 inches or desired width, and cast off in rib stitch loosely- again to make sure the work remains stretchy.

5. Weave in the ends using your sewing needle to help.

Bow:

If you want a smaller or bigger bow just cast on more or less stitches. This is the size of the bow on the headband pictured above.

1. Cast on 20 stitches to your straight needles - try not to do this too tightly

2. Work in garter stitch (K all stitches) for all rows until the piece measures 5 inches long or desired length. Cast off and weave in ends.

Bow Ribbon (middle piece):

1. Cast on 10 stitches to your straight needles.

2. Row 1: K1 P1

3. Repeat row 1 until piece measures 4 inches long and cast off, leaving a tail at the end for joining the piece together. If you have made a chunkier headband or larger bow you may need to make this piece a bit longer. Test it as you go along to make sure it will fit around your work.

Making up:

1. Take the headband and where you cast on and off place the bow over the joins to cover them up.

2. Take the ribbon piece and place it around the headband and bow so that the bow is held in place. It will gather the bow and headband a bit as shown in the picture.

3. Take your blunt needle and thread the tail thread on your bow ribbon. Sew together the cast on and cast off edges of the row ribbon so that the bow is held in place on the headband. Sew in any threads left over.

4. Play with the bow until it sits where you'd like it to be then try it on!

You can wear it with the bow on top or to one side. You can experiment with different yarns, colours etc. - why not have the bow a contrasting colour to the headband? Lots of different options. Please give me your feedback on the pattern or if you have any suggestions or improvements

Debs

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T19:51:00.002Z

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

The end of 2011 has been non stop - I started a new busy full time job in September which has kept me away from crafting for far too long. My fingers have been itching to get back to making things and Christmas 2011 gave me a great excuse to get knitting and sewing to create gifts for all my family and friends.

I've made some great little pieces for people including my famous fabric and hessian shopping bags which went down really well this year. This one is made of duck egg blue fabric with leaves on the outside and a heavy creamy cotton on the inside. Tempted to keep this one for me!!

I've also been making myself a scarf in a gorgeous rust colour yarn - I've been knitting this scarf since the start of September and I'm only about a quarter of the way done. I really want to finish it before the winter is over as I know it's going to go really well with my navy coat. I think I have enough yarn left on the ball to make some gloves or a little beanie hat to go with it, but we'll see:

The best handmade present I've had this year (actually if I think about it it's one of 2 lovely handmade presents I had off friends this year) is this gorgeous hand crocheted giant circle scarf / cowl with matching hand knitted hat. It's a gorgeous raspberry pink (not girly girly) and the yarn is variegated so it goes fat then thin so gives a great texture to the piece. Zoe has promised to try and get me crocheting for 2012 - I completely failed in 2011 in my attempts and just didn't have the time to stick it out. 2012 WILL be the year I get crochet!!

*** Note: Every single picture I've taken shows these as purple. As lovely as this colour looks these are actually a fab heather / raspberry pink. Either way they are lovely and she is silly talented! Check out her new Etsy shop to get your hands on a piece for yourself***

My other mission for 2012 is to properly get to grips with the double pointed needle. It's an odd one - I've mastered most other techniques fine but there is something about the dreaded double pointed needle that has foxed me. I think I may have to enrol in a Calon Yarns short course to teach me. I'm lucky enough to live around the corner from an amazing yarn shop here in Cardiff where they sell great yarn and run classes in lots of different crafty mediums. Throw in some mulled wine, minced pies and a sofa to sit and knit on and Zoe and I were entertained for a great few hours of crafty fun. Look how cool the shop is?!

We also need to start back up our craft night. There is a group of 3 or 4 of us who mostly live locally, and like to take our minds off the stresses and strains of work and the daily grind and sit, chat, craft and munch on some tasty treats. It must have been the summer when we met up properly last - again life and ill health keeps getting in the way. It's great to meet up with friends and spend a night in. Everyone usually brings their dogs too which is always funny in a small space!

Well, this scarf will eventually get finished - not sure if it will have tassels; at the moment I'm leaning towards no. The bobbly pattern is the interesting bit and I think tassels could distract from that... Please let me know what you think on this!

I've also missed having the time, energy, mindset and inclination to write a blog post. I think it's quite daunting to start typing if you haven't done it in a while but I think with a new year and after de-stressing a bit after the holidays I'm ready to dip back in to writing again - plus I wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year!

Debs

Rainbow Hot Water Bottle Sock Pattern

2011-07-20T18:47:00.003+01:00

We have moved!

It's taken me the last 3 weeks to unpack everything - I'm still missing some key items, but I'm sure they will turn up at some point (most likely when I least expect it...)

My workroom is looking good - I'm all set up and ready to satisfy my itchy fingers. My first project has been to knit a new hot water bottle cover for my mini hot water bottle. I was after something quick and easy, and something that would use up some of my remnant yarn...

This is a very easy pattern, and knits up very quickly - making it a great pattern for those who like instant knitting gratification!

Notes:
This pattern is for my mini hot water bottle cover. You can tailor this pattern to the size of your hot water bottle by adding or subtracting stitches in multiples of 4 (so 36,40,44 etc.) The double knit rib is very stretchy, so if you are unsure go for the smaller measurement.

You will need:

Small amount of each colour of yarn you wish to use. My small hot water bottle cover used less than a 25g ball of yarn for each stripe. I used standard DK acrylic yarn.
1 set of 4.5mm needles or the size recommended for the yarn you are using
Bodkin / large eyed needle

Pattern:
Cast on 24 stitches on to 4.5mm needles

Knit 8 rows in Double Rib (k2,p2 to the end of the row, repeat for each row)

At Row 9, change to next colour yarn and knit this row in knit (k all stitches - so you can't see the joint), then continue in Double Knit (k2,p2) for the next 7 rows. Leave a tail of yarn for sewing up the sides later.

Repeat the pattern above, knitting in each colour for 8 rows until you get to the last colour (in my case purple), where I continued for 23 rows instead of 8. These extra rows allow you to fold the top over like a roll neck jumper. Leave a longer tail for sewing this up.

Cast off in same double rib pattern (k2,p2)

When you have finished, it should look something like this:

Follow the same pattern above to make another matching piece for the other side.

When you have made both pieces, use the tails of yarn to sew up the sides - to make sure the seams don't show through, use the red tail to sew up the red section, the yellow tail for the yellow section etc.

It will look quite small when you have finished, but it will stretch over your hot water bottle keeping it snug in it's new little jumper.

Humphrey the bear was very impressed...

Debs

The Big Move

2011-06-18T16:50:00.003+01:00

I vowed we'd never do this again; I've said this every time we have moved house though (this is my 8th move in 9 years) - yet here we are getting packed up ready to go. This is the main reason I've been low on posts this month; everything crafty is either packed or lost under all the boxes and other bits lying all over the flat as we speak...

Everyone know I have a big stash of delights in my workroom - for such a teeny room I always manage to pack a lot into it. There is my Horn sewing cabinet, my Brother sewing machine, my Janome overlocker / serger, boxes and boxes of yarn and fabric and all my accessories.

I'm a bit neat about my yarn - as you can see I like to keep them in boxes arranged by colour; this is the box for red and purples. The blues and greens box is overflowing a bit - need to stop buying green!

Another stash I have is a big box of machine cones. I find these really good for my giant knitting projects, as they were pretty cheap, they come in lots of different colours, and they look great when knitted together as blankets, cushions or mats.

As you can see, it's a lot of stuff to move. If it looks like a lot of stuff when it's all in the shelves, imagine trying to get it all in boxes and bags! I filled 2 sacks and a big box with just yarn, 4 sacks with fabric (not including the 2 big rolls I have in the cupboard, a box of patterns, a box of knitting books, 2 boxes of accessories and emptying my cabinet.

For all those of you who know the Horn sewing cabinet, I can tell you it is a fab piece of kit - it folds out from a standard 2 door cabinet into a fully functional station for all your sewing needs. It wasn't cheap - new they are between £250 and £500, but I got mine second hand on ebay after months and months of searching for £80. But for moving house? NOT good - it has a hydraulic lift in it so you can lower your sewing machine when it is not in use - ingenious... but it weighs a ton, and especially when you have to get it down 2 flights of stairs, and it has to be kept level... My poor Dad who is helping us move groaned when I reminded him we had to shift it again...

Went to our new house again today (which is luckily about a minute's walk from our current flat) - my workroom is about the same size as it is here. As we are renting, it was the first time we had seen the house without the other tenant's stuff in it. Alas a single bed has appeared right in the middle of my workroom space. I think the landlord thought it would be helpful, but it's left nowhere for all my yarn stash as well as my sewing machines, so fingers crossed I can get them to remove it before we move in...

Debs

New Knitting Project: Multi-Strand Blanket

2011-05-20T17:37:00.002+01:00

I've been so busy in the office recently, I've had really little time to focus on crafting and my blog - so apologies for the lack of posts recently!

I've decided to start a cool new project - a chunky moss / seed stitch blanket. It's made up of some of the machine knitting cones I've had in a big box for ages. I chose creams and blues, but one of the strands is a gorgeous pastel multi-coloured yarn which gives a subtle hint of pinks and yellows throughout - it's really subtle but very pretty.

2 of the cones are glittery (1 white cone and 1 baby blue) which I wasn't sure about when I put the strands together before starting, but now I've knitted it up for a few inches it's looking great.

I'm knitting the blanket on 15mm needles - not the biggest ones I have, but I wanted the blanket to be quite tight weave. As you may remember from my Giant Knitting post, I made up a blanket at the end of last year for my sister-in-law in greens and blues (she calls it her Mermaid blanket) but it ended up being quite loose, and has a habit of stretching and losing its shape.

I'm using 10 cones of yarn all wound together to make up the blanket. I have discovered that the best way of knitting with lots of yarn at the same time is to put the cones in a box, that way they aren't flying across the room and getting tangled.

The stitch is really easy - k1 p1 all the way across the row until the end. As there is an odd number of stitches you will end on a knit stitch. When you knit the next row, start on a knit stitch again and carry on in k1 p1. The bobbly moss / seed stitch pattern that comes out makes the blanket textured but light.

The blanket is as wide as I could fit on my needles - 59 stitches in all. Ideally I'd like to have had longer needles like the ones you can buy from Rachel John, but these ones by Inox are the only ones I had. I think when it is knitted up it will make a good throw size blanket for either the end of a bed or a sofa.

I'm thinking of making matching cushion covers if I have any yarn left by the end of this. We are moving house soon and I'm hoping this lovely blanket will look great in my new bedroom across the bottom of our bed.

I'll post up pics once I've finished!

Debs

Knitting Pattern: Seed Stitch Fingerless Gloves

2011-05-02T20:48:00.002+01:00

It's been lovely and sunny here in Wales - so warm that I've been struggling to find the motivation to knit! With the changeable British weather, these great little gloves are so light and easy to put in your pocket. Also see the matching hat pattern

Knitted from moss or seed stitch, they are an easy knit. Made flat on straight needles, they are then stitched together to fit your hands:

You will need:

Your choice of yarn and needles - I've used Patons Smoothie yarn on 4.5mm needles to fit my small adult hands
Large needle / Bodkin to sew up seams

Double Rib pattern:
k2, p2 until end of row, repeat for all rows

Seed / Moss stitch:
Odd Rows: k1, p1 to end of row
Even Rows: p1, k1 to end of row

Pattern:
If you need larger gloves increase in multiples of 4, likewise, if you want smaller gloves or are using larger needles, decrease in multiples of 4.

1. Cast on 28 stitches leaving a long tail

2. Start double knit pattern and continue for 1" (3cm), finishing on Wrong Side (WS)

3. Switch to Seed / Moss stitch pattern until piece is desired length - on my short gloves I worked the pattern for 3" (8cm) but you can make them longer if you like.

4. Switch back to double rib as above for 1"

5. Cast off in rib stitch (not too tightly!) leaving a long tail

Finishing:
6.Sew seam into a tube with Right Side (RS) together using the long tails from your cast on and cast off, leaving a 1" hole below the top piece of ribbing for your thumb to poke through. Turn the right way out and you are finished!

Hope this is simple and straightforward for you to knit and make up - let me know your feedback!

Debs

Blogging Woes...

2011-04-19T17:43:00.000+01:00

My blog is pretty reliant on photos as you can see from my past posts. It doesn't quite work otherwise.

Imagine my horror when blogger decided not to post my pictures! Bah! Despite lots of trying I just can't post any gorgeous pictures. It seems it's a common and known problem the techy's are trying to fix... but it is frustrating...

You can view some of my gorgeous photos in the mean time on my Flickr page, and of course on my Ravelry page with all my fab patterns.

Hopefully full blog service will be resumed soon - I want to show you the glorious sunshine we are having here, and I've got a fab pattern I want to share with you.

Debs

Knitting Pattern: Ribbed Slouch Hat

2011-03-30T19:29:00.002+01:00

Here is a cool pattern I love to knit - it's really simple slouchy hat, but looks good on guys or gals, can be adapted for any yarn type, gauge or size.

You need to be able to:

Knit in the round (I'm using circular / magic loop needles, but you can do this on double pointed needles)
Knit (k)
Purl (p)

You will need:

Circular knitting needle - 60cm / 14" approx - I'm using 4mm needles OR double pointed needles if you prefer
Large eye needle
Scissors

Yarn:

I've used Double Knit (DK) yarn in a light grey, using 4mm needles. You can adapt this pattern for any needle size - for chunky yarn you cast on less stitches, for finer yarn you cast on more.

I have a 23" circumference head and this pattern fits me well.

Pattern:

Cast on 88 stitches (increase or decrease in multiples of 4)

Place a stitch marker, and knit your first stitch into the other end of the row of stitches so you form a circle - be careful not to twist the cast on stitches!

Repeat the following pattern for 1 round: k2, p2; you will end on a purl stitch.

Round 2 onwards: repeat the same k2, p2 pattern for each round to the desired length. I like my hat slouchy, so I made it 10 inches long.

Decrease: When the hat is long enough, decrease by knit 2 stitches together (k2tog), purl 2 stitches together (p2tog); continue to the end of the round, ending on p2tog.

Next row: k1, p1 to end of round, end on p1

Finish: cut a long tail, then thread the end onto a large needle. Thread the needle though the loops of the stitches on the needle. Remove needle and pull the loose thread to close the whole until the stitches are gathered into a tight circle, then sew in loose end securely.

Want to make the hat bigger or smaller? You add or subtract the number of stitches you cast on in multiples of 4 (so I could cast on 92 or 96 if I wanted it a bit bigger)

Hope you enjoy! Let me know how it goes if you try it. You can see my other free patterns on Ravelry too

Debs

We have a winner - and a sad goodbye...

2011-03-20T16:28:00.001Z

The time has come to announce the winner of my giveaway - 59 entries in all; so pleased!

The winner was picked using a random number generator at 2pm GMT this afternoon. So, the new owner of this gorgeous headband IS...

Pegs from PeggyLikesStuff - entry number 5!

Sadly, this giveaway result is tinged with sadness for me too. After looking at the figures, my full time job, poor health and generally dismal sales, I've come to the painful decision to close my Etsy shop.

I'm really sad, as I enjoy doing it, but I can't afford the amount I'm loosing each month. It seems a common tale with craft sellers; a flooded market place, high cost of materials, the massive amount of time and effort it takes to promote yourself - it's a full time job in itself. I alas don't have the luxury of giving up my 9 - 5 job, and short of working every hour under the sun, making myself pretty ill and probably a bit crazy in the process, I'm calling it a day.

That's not to say I'm not carrying on crafting - I will be still beavering away. It's going to be a challenge to find homes for my constant making habit! In a way I'm quite looking forward to making things for myself again, but I'm still really sad...

In store I'm having a huge closing down sale, with items at rock bottom prices. I've got to shut shop before the end of the tax year (April 5th) so anything not sold will be taken down from the store in the first few days of April.

So if you have liked what I've been producing - this is your last chance to buy it!

I'm going to keep blogging - showing you my knitted works, posting knitting patterns and generally chatting about life here in Wales - and if you would like a custom order you can get in touch through my blog to arrange this.

Thanks to everyone for your support - it's been great to know my knitted creations have new homes across the world!

Debs

Blog Giveaway Time!

2011-03-10T19:33:00.001Z

It's a new year in 2011 and I'm overdue to give away a cool, funky and totally unique knitted creation! I'm celebrating the weather warming up here in Wales, the start of the longer days, more day trips and more time to knit - my creative juices are flowing!

I've been really hard at it trying to create lots of new stock for the shop, launching lots of new styles, designs and colour palettes - so I thought I'd give you all a chance to win a one of a kind item not yet in store:

You can get your hands on a gorgeous teal 100% wool spiral knit headband - this headband is knitted in the round so no seams, and the ribbing holds it in place. This one of a kind piece is so versatile you can wear it all tie time - you won't want to take it off!

This giveaway is open worldwide so everyone can enter - it is really simple, no games or catches - a very straightforward giveaway!

You get automatic entry into the competition if you:

a. Leave me a comment under this blog entry saying what you would buy from my Etsy shop if you had a blank cheque…
b. You get another entry if you have left a message and follow my blog.
c. You get another entry for following me on Facebook
d. You will get another entry if you follow me on Twitter
e. Lastly if you tweet or post on your own blog a link back to this blog competition you get another entry.

So maximum of 5 chances to win… - how cool is that!? Leave 1 comment per entry please!

Please make sure when you leave your comment on this blog post that you say where I can contact you (Email address, Etsy username, Twitter handle, Facebook page etc)

Winner will be picked at random on Sunday 20th March 2011 and the winner announced on this blog!

Pob Lwc!

(Good Luck!)

Debs

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus!

2011-03-01T19:46:00.000Z

...Happy St. Davids Day! Last year when I tried to educate the masses on Wales National Day last year I encountered bewilderment and bemusement. So this time around I'm going to provide a crash course in some essentials you will need to get to grips with this magnificent of national days.

Most people will know St Patrick's Day in Ireland (and have probably enjoyed a few pints to celebrate) - St David is the patron saint for Wales where St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, and St Andrew for Scotland.

St Davids day is always on 1st March every year. It's not a public holiday (yet...) but celebrations take place across the country in schools, city centres and communities - and venues across the world - in 2003 the Empire State Building was lit up in the national colours of Wales (Red, White and Green) in celebration of the day!

Children in Wales take part in school concerts or "eisteddfodau", with recitation and singing being the main activities. There is usually a bake-off for mums and grannies to see who can make the best Welsh Cakes (also known as griddle scones, they are flat cakes with dried fruit inside) or Bara Brith (a traditional fruit cake)

Traditional dress is often worn by girls - this consists of a woollen skirt, white blouse, woollen shawl and a Welsh hat (a stove pipe style tall hat / bonnet) - I remember dressing up in this when I was in primary school!

To get you in the mood, I will share with you a recipe to bake your own Welsh Cakes:

You will need:

225g plain flour
85g caster sugar
½ tsp mixed spice
½ tsp baking powder
100g butter cut into small pieces plus extra for frying
50g currants
1 beaten egg
Splash milk
Rolling Pin
Small size cutter (6cm / 3")

Recipe:

Tip the flour, sugar, mixed spice, baking powder and a pinch of salt into a bowl.
With your fingers, rub in the butter until crumbly.
Mix in the currants.
Work the egg into the mixture until you have soft dough, adding a splash of milk if it seems a little dry - it should be the same consistency as shortcrust pastry.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to the thickness of your little finger.
Cut out rounds using a small cutter, re-rolling any trimmings.
Grease a flat griddle pan or heavy frying pan with butter, and place over a medium heat.
Cook the Welsh cakes in batches, for about 3 mins each side, until golden brown, crisp and cooked through.

These will keep in an airtight tin for up to 1 week - if you think they will last that long!

So have a very happy St Davids Day one and all - and give the Welsh Cakes a go - they are very tasty!

Debs

Fancy a brew...?

2011-02-23T20:41:00.000Z

I love a good cup of tea. It's more than that really - we have about 30 different kinds of tea in a special tea cupboard in the house; from black tea blends right through to fruit teas. I'm hooked!

Here are 3 of my fave tea brands:

Teapigs:
Their Tea comes in some great bagged Temples (a great name for their pyramid shaped tea bags) and loose varieties such as jasmine, chocolate flake and oolong - yummy! The chamomile is probably the best ever thing for relaxing before going to bed!

Paned Gymreig
Of all the standard black tea bags out on the market at the moment to have at home or in the office, Welsh Brew is by far my favourite. Tea is a lot about the kind of water you have; soft or hard. The water here in Cardiff is soft (not so many minerals dissolved in it) so the tea is really good - if you have hard water buy a brand of tea specifically for hard water areas for the best cup of tea. For most people this tea will put a smile on your face from winter through to the height of summer

Norfolk Lavender Blend Tea
I was skeptical at first - lavender blend tea...? But I was pleasantly surprised - this Norfolk blend tea is based on Earl Grey, but has added oils and lavender blossoms. IT is a creamy and relaxing tea, which is said to help alleviate headaches. It's very tasty with a drop of milk too!

And how does one go about drinking such teas I hear you ask? In a teapot. Resist the urge to put the teabag in the mug - you really do need a tea pot to get the best cup of tea. This is my new teapot I had for Christmas - it's very cool!

Follow these instructions to get a great pot of tea:
1. Boil water in the kettle
2. Pour a little of the boiling water in the pot, swirl and pour out. This warms the pot.
3. Pour the water into the pot, then add your teabag. Generally it's 1 per person (plus one for the pot if you like it a bit stronger) or 1 teaspoon of loose leaf tea.
4. Leave to infuse and brew for 3 - 4 minutes
5. Whilst this is happening, add your milk and sugar if desired into the cups
6. Check the tea has brewed to your liking (leave for longer for strong tea)
7. Pour into cups (if using loose leaf tea then you will need a tea strainer to catch the leaves)
8. Enjoy!

As to the debate of whether the milk goes in before or after the tea goes in the cup I leave that one up to others to debate - and for you to choose!

One thing is for sure - you will need a tea cosy. No one wants cold tea by the second cup, so you need to keep it warm. You can go for a "tent" cosy which covers the entire pot, or a fitted cosy which acts like a woolly jumper for your cosy. These are my fave as you can pour the tea whilst the cosy keeps on warming your tea. These are some of my favourite cosies from in store:

These cosies are easily hand washed in case of accidents, and stretch to fit most sized pots. So the message is: Go loud and proud, or sophisticated and sleek - but do make lots of good tea and enjoy!

Debs

Knitting Pattern - The Quest for Cake Treats!

2011-02-16T19:57:00.000Z

I love cake - alas I have a gluten and wheat intolerance, but I do LOVE cake when I can have it. One thing I haven't mastered making gluten free is doughnuts - I haven't eaten a doughnut for about 5 years now, and I won't be able to eat a proper scrumptious doughnut ever again...

This made me feel quite depressed - and want it even more! So to combat these cravings I decided to knit myself some forever doughnuts to cheer me up when I get the craving to eat one:

This time I went for delicious pink and purple icing, and added my own bead sprinkles. I'm feeling generous so I will share my recipe to knit these lovelies with you - and they are REALLY easy!

You will need:
1 x pair of 4mm needles
1 x large eye needle
Small amount of beige / light brown DK yarn (under 25g)
Small amount of yarn for frosting (I've gone for pinks / purples but it's your doughnut!)
Small amount of stuffing (or scrap fabric / yarn to stuff the doughnut with)

Pattern:

Doughnut
CO 20 stitches
Row 1: knit all stitches
Row 2: purl all stitches
Continue in stocking stitch for 8 inches ending on a purl rowCast off knit wise leaving a long tail
Stitch up the short edges to form a ring shape Using the long tail, stitch up the long side into a doughnut shape leaving a 2" gap
Stuff the doughnut with the stuffing, then sew up the gap

Icing
CO 8 stitches
Knit all rows until it measures 8 inches and cast off
Stitch short edges together to form a ring
Stitch icing to top of doughnut covering seam where the stuffing gap was stitched up

Add embellishments as desired!

A perfect way to use up left over yarn from other projects too. They make great little gifts, pin cushions or display items.

Debs

Bow peep: A Celebration of Bows!

2011-02-08T20:14:00.000Z

I love Bows - they cheer me up even on the most rubbish day. They come in all kinds of fabrics, colours and sizes. I thought I'd share a Rain Bow of different styles in a rainbow of colours in this special Etsy treasury:

I've been playing with the idea of making something with bows, but I couldn't think of how to go about it. For Christmas I knitted my office some different accessories as presents. One girl in the office is very trendy and forward thinking - she is always wearing something unique and cool.

It was whilst thinking of what I could make her I stumbled across the idea of making a headband with a knitted bow. I had some gorgeous cream wool yarn left over from another project - so used this to make the headband. It looked great and went down well with all the office. So since then I've pulled it together into the Beau Bow!

I love the way the bow is textured and contrasts against the straight lines of the band. I launched this range in store this week, and have already sold out!!

Couldn't believe it when one lovely customer in Illinois bought all 4 of my ready to ship bows in one go - fabulous!

So check out the Beau Bows in store - I'm adding more ready to ship stock as fast as I can knit it!

Debs

Love is in the air - getting in the mood for love!

2011-02-01T20:54:00.000Z

It's February and the high street is turning pink and red full of fluffy hearts, tacky cards and not-so-sexy undies with the return of St Valentines Day

The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.

But why should this lovely day of love and affection for the one you love be just an overpriced card bought the day before, unwanted jewellery or some half dead flowers from the petrol station up the road - No!!

I really believe handmade is the way forward - even if you can't make it yourself, putting some serious time, effort and thought into some small token of your love shows you care.

Take a look at some of these great ideas to show your love in the classiest, cutest and unique ways - and earn major brownie points for the year ahead!

Vintage can be a great way of getting a unique find for those without the creative spark to make something themselves. Searching may take time, but it is very much worth it to find a piece with character and a story behind it. This gorgeous pendant from CharleysRoses is fab - vintage but timeless!

A unique card you can keep is something I love - and this super cool card is definitely that - this clever card by bjoytomac would adorn my office notice board for years to come! (I love cheese a LOT, so I'm not sure I could give my hubby THIS card...)

And for those who, like me, have 100s of teddies bought by well intentioned friends and loved ones - why not get your other half to invest in a heirloom teddy? This gorgeous bunny by woolies is hand made and will last from the first date though to old age! (and she does giraffes!!)

My contribution to this array of handmade schmaltz is my Smitten - the lover's mitten. Picture the scene - you are walking out in the park, holding hands, enjoying a frosty morning - but it's getting cold - dilemma; do you stop holding hands, try and hold hands with regular mittens or stick your hand in his pocket...??

Stop. Put your hands in the Smitten and problem solved! And as a bonus - it looks like a heart when flat!

So guys - I implore you - put some effort in this Valentines Day - if you can't make it yourself go to someone who can!

(and I hope NOT to see you picking flowers from the side of the road on the way to their house - you have been warned!!)

Debs

A Guide to Super Funky, Bulky, Chunky Yarns - Tried & Tested

2011-01-21T14:54:00.003Z

I'm an impatient knitter - I like to see results quickly (It's all about the instant gratification...) - and for me the best way to achieve this is with using thick, heavyweight yarns from the Super Bulky / Chunky category.

I've been using a lot of different yarns from this category; here is a run down of some of the yarns in this weight:

Rowan Big Wool

This is not a cheap yarn - 100g is usually priced at around £8 (approx $13), it is 100% Merino wool spun 3 ply. It suggests knitting on 15mm needles, but this leaves a very open knit - for closer knit work I'd recommend 10 or 12mm needles.

Plus points: It comes in a great range of colours, and 100g is about enough to make a good sized cowl or hat so you don't need lots of balls for a small project
Downsides: It's expensive, a little itchy to start with (it does soften out with use) and is not as super chunky as "Big Wool" suggests...

Sirdar Bigga

This yarn really is super chunky - knits up on 12 -15mm needles brilliantly, is much cheaper than Big Wool at around £3 (approx $5) for a 100g wool (though with less yardage) - made up of 50% wool and 50% acrylic.

Plus points: On the bulkier end of the spectrum, comes in a selection of earthy tones, wears well with the acrylic content
Downsides: Getting harder to get hold of as Sirdar have discontinued a lot of colours (still available to buy on ebay in good quantities),

Sirdar Big Softie

Available more widely, this acrylic blend is 51% wool and 49% acrylic, and softer than Bigga. It is spun single ply, so does stretch when knitting if knitted too tight. Knits up well on 10mm needles, and is a great low cost option for those on a budget at £2.50 (approx $4 ) a ball on average.

Plus points: Cheaper than most super bulky yarns, versatile, softer feel
Downsides: Limited colour options, sheds when knitting, acrylic content noticeable in finished product - fine for accessories, may make a very hot and sticky jumper...

Debbie Bliss Como

I've been raving about this yarn for a while - it has the consistency of cotton wool, and is 90% wool, 10% cashmere. It is not cheap at around £6 (approx $10) for 50g, but knits up on 10mm needles beautifully. I have made a beret style hat out of 50g, 100g would do a thin scarf or a bigger hat and headband. Felts great too!

Plus points: Feels gorgeous against the skin, comes in a wide range of colours, is widely available in store and online, and easy to work with.
Downside: It is really expensive! Look out for people clearing out their stash on ebay if you are on a budget, and is not hard wearing.

Twilleys of Stamford Freedom Wool

I found this one a little harder to get hold of in store, but is available on line. At £2.50 (approx $4) for 50g and 100% wool content, it felts well, knits up on 12mm - 15mm needles, and would be a cheaper alternative to Como.

Plus points: Felts well, good value, comes in a good range of colours
Downsides: Not that hard wearing (but nor is Como really!)

Jiffy Thick & Quick Lion Brand Yarn

This popular US brand is available widely in the US, but I have found a European supplier too! Jiffy is a mohair type 100% acrylic yarn - a good vegan alternative to wool, and knits up on 12mm needles

Plus points: Great choice for those who can't wear wool, harder wearing than some yarns tested
Downsides: Only comes in 8 shades, all multi coloured - not much choice

Wool Ease Thick & Quick Lion Brand Yarn

This acrylic / wool blend of 80% wool and 20% acrylic is available in over 30 colours, and knits up on 9mm needles, so not as bulky as other yarns, but at £6.50 for 170g of yarn it is a good choice for larger projects.

(Note: It seems more expensive in Europe than in America, where I can purchase from Lion at $7.80 (approx £4.80) a ball...)

Plus Points: Versatile, comes in a wide range of colours, larger balls so better value
Downsides: I don't like paying more for the same yarn just because I live in the UK!

Deborah Norville Serenity Chunky

This 100% acrylic yarn is great for those who can't wear wool - it is soft and won't split when working with it - it is a 2 ply spun yarn. Retailing at around $4.50 in a good range of colours, but is difficult to get outside the US. Knits up on 8mm needles.

Plus points: Great alternative to wool, knits up well, durable

Downsides: Hard to get here in UK - more expensive again to buy here at £6 a ball, not as bulky as some of the yarns reviewed

There are also lots of homespun bespoke yarns out there locally and online from artisans spinning and dyeing yarns which I've not covered here as they vary so much between suppliers - but I urge you to seek out your local spinners for special yarns!

There are patterns available for all of these yarns - I am useless with patterns and tend to make up what I'm doing as I go along! A lot of the time you can substitute yarns from the list above (for example you can substitute Como for Big Wool to good effect on some projects)

My Big Wool cowl & hat set using 200g wool

And as a final tip - for those of you on a tight budget, or have found your dream yarn but it's too thin - you can double or even triple the yarn up and work with it this way. It may take a tension square or two and a bit of trial and error to get it just right, but it's something I do a lot!

Giant Scarf - Sirdar Bigga doubled up for extreme knitting!

*** 15% off in store finishes 12 midnight GMT on 31st January so get shopping! (NEWYEAR15) ***
Debs

How to do tassles, and other recent projects.... (& UK Silly Sale)

2011-01-13T20:36:00.002Z

Back after a month of festivities and visiting family, I'm trying to catch up on all my work and creative exploits - it's been a great Christmas and new year. I've not been resting on my laurels though! (well....maybe a bit!)

Matching Christmas PJ's for the girls this year!

I've mastered the cabled hat pattern that took 15 attempts last month, and got it right first time on my last go. I loved the way my cream one looked, so knitted one up in duck egg blue and navy, using Debbie Bliss Como. Highly recommended Merino wool yarn - it's like candy floss, knits up on 10mm needles and felts up amazingly! You can make a hat similar to mine with around 75g of yarn, with some left over for say a headband or some fingerless gloves.

The most versatile hat ever - and keeps you warm in the Welsh snow!

I decided I wanted to make a matching scarf to go with my cream set. I had some left over yarn from the hat so I made a lace pattern scarf - I like that it has spaces in it so it's not too hot to wear.

Easy knit lace scarf to match lace stitch hat

I've fallen in love with the autumnal shades of brown, mustard and rust that are all over the shops at the moment. I've had some rusty coloured yarn in my stash for ages now - I loved the colour but it was a bit thin, so I doubled it up and knitted a great seed stitch hat, and a single rib scarf. The scarf is lovely and warm, and could be worn by guys or gals!

To make tassels:

1. Decide how long you would like your tassels. I chose 5 inches for the white scarf and 7 inches for rust coloured one.

2. Double the measurement above (so 6 becomes 12) and cut strands to that length. I used 4 strands in each tassel for the rust coloured scarf, but as the white scarf used chunky yarn I only used 2 strands. You can make them as thick and chunky as you like. Group your cut strands together once cut.

3. Get your scarf and look along the edge above the cast on / off row, there should be a natural space to insert the tassel. Fold your strands in half and insert the folded loop end through the gap, then take the ends of the bundle and feed them through the loop, and pull tight.

And that's it!

In fact, it took me longer to write the instructions than it does to make the tassels and put them on the scarf!!

I'm waiting on some mustard coloured Rowan Big Wool to come - it is usually £8 for a 100g ball, but I managed to find some on eBay for less (Sunday night is the best night for people listing their leftover yarn!) I think I'll make another hat and if I have enough left maybe some mittens.

I've had a concession request from Aunty Nanna's in Norwich, UK. Amber the owner sells quirky handmade goods, vintage china, super cool homewear and refurbished painted furniture - definitely worth a look. Kitty hats will be available to buy in store later this month!

You can still shop online too - there is still 15% off in store until Jan 31st with code NEWYEAR15 - this includes custom orders! This is part of the Etsy UK Silly Sale - UK sellers join together to promote their stores - search for Silly Sale and you can find some bargains! The Silly Sale runs from 14th January - 21st January (but I'm extra generous so I'm going until 31st!)

Debs

2010 - a sum up and celebration!

2010-12-22T14:49:00.000Z

So it's the end of 2010, and some pretty significant milestones have been met:

1. I got married to my fiance of 5 years Stewart in May
2. I managed to hold down a good job at the same place for nearly a year - the longest so far!
3. I've managed to get to 100 sales in my Etsy shop - thank you Andy from Ontario, Canada!
4. My health is starting to improve in small but steady steps...

Debs and Stew enjoying Cornwall in 2010

It's been a funny kind of year - I'm really pleased that I kept my head and didn't turn into bridezilla at any point before or during my wedding - it was a fantastic day enjoyed by all - and showcase some amazing handmade items - see my blog post for full details!

Our Wedding Day in Cardiff May 2010, St Davids Hotel

My knitting skills have really improved - I've gone from a hesitant knitter who couldn't knit in the round, and wasn't much past knitting, purling and different kinds of rib. Now I'm able to cable, do lace stitches and have mastered knitting on magic loop needles. For 2011 my next skill to master is knitting on double pointed needles. I'm sure if I sat down with my super talented knitting friend Linda I'd pick it up after a few attempts, but it is beyond me at present. One of my big musts is to learn how to crochet by this time next year. I've been trying for years without success! My friend Zoe taught Sarah, a complete novice, how to do it in one evening. There again, Sarah seems to be able to pick things up SUPER quickly. She mastered knitting in a weekend... I'm not green with envy... well maybe a little!

One of my new range of hats launched Spring 2010

Our Craft Night set up between local friends (and with visits by their dogs) has been a major success - meeting once a fortnight on alternate Tuesdays and Wednesdays (I know...) we have been able to relax, eat good food, drink plenty of tea and make projects just for us - as well as having a good gossip and a moan!

My Etsy shop is looking much more cohesive - I'm really happy with the branding on my shop banner and blog - i think they match in well. I've had business cards made up with the same branding (thank you free premium business cards on Vistaprint!) - and I've tried to keep up with Twitter and Facebook to keep interest (although with the office being really busy this month it has slipped a bit - but I'm not beating myself up about it.)

New Handmade & Found branding designed in 2010 by me!

My goals for 2011 are pretty straight forward:
1. Keeping myself in work for another year
2. Build on the success of my Etsy shop, working on new products and designs
3. Treat my long suffering husband in little ways throughout the year (maybe with cake...)

So have a very Merry Christmas / Festive Season, and a happy New Year!

Want to celebrate in style...? Use discount code NEWYEAR15 for 15% off across my Etsy store until 31st January 2011(including custom orders) - as a big thank you to everyone who has got me this far.

Debs

Return of the Knitter...

2010-12-11T17:48:00.001Z

I vowed to myself that I would be blogging at least once a week... I failed this last week sorry - I've been really busy at my office job organising conferences and working all hours under the sun, so today I'm making my triumphant return to you all this week - Yay!

I'm celebrating a few things this week:

1. I managed to pull off a big local event with work
2. I'm at 98 sales in my etsy shop!
3. My knitwear is being sold in a local shop in Pontypool (!)
3. It is exactly 2 weeks until Christmas!

We went out for our office Christmas party last night - I've promised not to share the pictures on my blog, but rest assured everyone had a great time and ate and drank plenty of tasty things...

I'm feeling pretty festive; and now that the Christmas rush in store is calming down, I'm knitting Christmas presents for family and friends - I never stop knitting!!

Here are some of the projects I've been working on:

This is a lovely custom tea cosy order for a customer to match her retro melamine kitchen - dark blue, cream and aqua - looked great!

Another custom order on a brown kitty set - I changed the way I embroidered the paws and I think it really looks great!

These fab mittens have extra long cuffs - in a gorgeous deep red colour - they look fantastic on and will keep your arms nice and warm!

This was a gorgeous navy wool ribbed beanie hat for a local customer - wide rib to the edge with a larger rib pattern to the rest of the hat & a lovely soft wool yarn too.

So as you can see I've been keeping busy! Some of these new custom designs and ideas will be making their way in store over the next weeks; I really like it when a customer gives you a great idea for a new stock product - it really comes from demand!

Debs

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

2010-11-28T19:05:00.001Z

This week the coldest November temperatures ever in Wales were recorded in Powys (Mid Wales up in the Mountains...) minus 18 degrees Celsius (-18C!!!) - that's about 0 degrees in Fahrenheit I think... Either way it was VERY VERY Cold!

Being in the City meant that it only dropped to -6C, but it was still cold enough to experience a decent amount of snow and ice. Saturday I went for a walk with Stew my husband to get some supplies, and walked through one of our local parks, Victoria Park. It looks pretty all covered in ice and snow

To warm up, we called into our local cafe called Waffles - it is a great little place (you can tell it's good as it was packed when we got there!) - they serve all sorts of baked delights, which included waffles! Even better, they do a gluten free option (I've got coeliacs disease which is a wheat and gluten intolerance) so I munched through 2 big hot chocolates with mini marshmallows, and waffles with cheese, mushrooms and bacon - SO yummy! Stew had apple, raisins, cinnamon and cream on his - it looked lovely apart from the icky raisins...

It was a lovely little walk - this weather is here to stay me thinks, so I've ordered in some more yarn so that I can make some knitted goodies to keep me warm! The first thing I worked on is this gorgeous slouch hat made of cream roving 100% wool yarn (it feels like wearing candy floss!)

Anyone following me on Twitter has witness the anguish this hat has put me through - this was attempt 15 (yes - 15) to get it right - the ribbing is simple, but the spiral lacy pattern involves a sequence of knits, yarn overs and slip slip knit wise - sounds fine, but if you mess it up even a little bit there is no way back - you've got to start it over. PAIN! It look 2 hours of talking through the stitches out loud one by one, sitting in my lounge on my own and missing my fave TV show just to get it right. I'm glad I persevered - it looks gorgeous! (the pic isn't great, but on it is FAB)

I'm thinking I need to get better at getting this pattern right before this one gets put in my shop, and it works best with chunkier weight yarn in simple unpatterned colours, but it's getting lots and lots of compliments already!

Debs

Black Friday is upon us...

2010-11-23T21:59:00.000Z

So it's getting darker, snow has been forecast here in Wales and the Christmas lights are up in the city centre - this can only mean one thing - the holiday season is fast approaching!

Check out Stew in a custom knitted Santa Hat!

Black Friday - Wikipedia describes it as:

Black Friday (sometimes Green Friday) is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.

As we don't have Thanksgiving here in the UK, this kind of went unnoticed by me here - blissfully knitting through my orders ticking down the time down to Christmas - then I hit the online shops to stock up on presents - and there it is - Black Friday!

In store, I'm utilising the new Coupon facility that Etsy have launched - I'm offering a Black Friday promotion offering 10% off to all customers in store for Blog readers and Facebook fans - a little Christmas gift from me to you all!

Enter the discount code BLACKFRIDAY10 between now and 23.00 GMT on Monday 29th December 2010 - and let me know your feedback on how you found the process!

Another cool new feature just launched on Etsy is being able to list and being paid in your own currency. I'm intrigued to find out opinions on this one - I'd find it SO much easier to list and sell in £ pounds, but I'm not sure if it would put off my large international fan base... mmm...

Let me know your thoughts on this too!

Debs

Feature: Shawl Pins from WireDreamsDesign

2010-11-16T18:07:00.000Z

I was browsing on Etsy recently and stumbled across these gorgeous handmade shawl pins by WireDreamsDesign.

Amy lives in the Orlando, FL area but used to live in Texas and hopes to one day move back there. This is her story:

"I'm a cartographer (map maker) by day and artisan by night with a 4 year old and a totally supportive husband that does what he can to help out when I need it. I'm a music and somewhat of a techie geek.

I'm not sure what I would do without my Pandora app when I'm at work. I do a lot of knitting and crocheting but apparently not enough finishing. We won't discuss how many unfinished, ongoing, projects I have right now..."

"I do most of my work on the a section of countertop that I have set up sepcifcially for as my workspace. Each one is rolled out individually, cut out and any additional pices that are needed are also cut out. I usually bake all of the pieces individually and assemble after. Just in case something happens during the baking process I only have to remake one part instead of the whole piece. After they are assembled they are glazed and left to dry.

I started making pins because I got tired of all the wooden ones at the time that were at the yarn shop I frequent the most. To me, they were boring and didn't add anything to the shawl. I started off making just plain shaped pins and from there the sun, turtle and lady bug were the first "themed" pins I made. They sort of happened by accident by just playing with the clay and shapes. I get requests now and then for different animals or things which is where the cat came from and usually will spark some other animal or pin idea."

"While I consider myself a bit of a techie I just can't get into the social networking thing. I do have a website that I use somewhat of a gallery":

http://www.wiredreamsdesign.com

Amy also have a personal blog which usually deals more with knitting things and general things going on:

http://girl-wrapped-in-wire.blogspot.com/

Aren't these pins fantastic! I think they make brilliant presents for the knitter or fashion adict who has everything - they come in lots of different shapes and designs, so there is one for everyone, no matter your tastes. This one is my fave - it's so cute!

Take a look in Amy's shop to find more cool pins!

Debs!

Celebrate!!

2010-11-14T15:51:00.001Z

Wow!!

What a FANTASTIC giveaway! This has been the best one so far - well over 100 entries!!

Thank you for all your entries - The winner was picked by a random number generator at 3pm GMT. Our winner is....

Damla! (Sweepstake Lover)

Congratulations - your prize will be making its way out to you soon.

As a big thank you to everyone who entered, all entrants will receive FREE shipping in store from today (14th November) until 1st December 2010 - Quote BLOGNOV10 on ordering along with your blog ID so I can check your entry.

This month I am celebrating too - it has been 1 year of my store being open, and 6 months since I started my blog.

Over the last year I've had over 80 sales, met some great fellow crafters, had a great time, and taken one step closer towards knitted world domination!

Check out this super cool map showing all the cities and countries where my knitted creations now call home - that's 9 countries, 4 continents and 25 states in all and counting! (Don't worry - no addresses, just nearest cities/towns)

As you can see, I'm doing pretty OK for one year of sales - but there are quite a few gaps on the map. I'm offering an ongoing promotion, where buyers from states, provinces or cities not yet flagged up on the map will receive 10% off on their order! Quote MAPGAP when ordering to receive the discount.

Finally, check out Christmas posting deadlines for shopping in store on my Facebook Fan Page

Debs!

The Big Blog Giveaway!

2010-10-31T15:02:00.000Z

The time has arrived - finally! I've been so excited about launching this giveaway; I've been planning it for weeks!

The aim was to come up with a giveaway item that could be given to either sex as a good Christmas present - (or a present for yourself if you wish!)

So I've come up with this super cool circular scarf, mittens and beanie set, all in a matching rich moss green yarn. It looks stunning on - perfect for girls or boys!

The hat has been knitted in a rib stitch making it really stretchy - will fit a standard adult head snuggly.

You can see that the full set looks rather fetching on my husband Stew - he said it was very comfy to wear, and would keep you cosy and warm in the winter time!

The mittens have a ribbed cuff to make them fit snuggly against your wrists, and are fitted around the thumb. They are quite fitted so they will keep you warm, but can still function in them!

I love this cowl - it is very warm. I knitted this on a loom, so it has a great laddered pattern, and has no seam so it is very strong - you can pull it on and off as many times as you like and it will keep its shape!

So here it is - a 3 piece set worth a staggering $50 retail value! I'm feeling very generous with the festive season approaching, so one lucky blog reader will win this great prize!

This giveaway is open worldwide so everyone can enter - it is really simple, no games or catches - a very straightforward giveaway!

You get automatic entry into the competition if you:

a. Leave me a comment under this blog entry saying what you would buy from my Etsy shop if you had a blank cheque…
b. You get another entry if you have left a message and follow my blog.
c. You get another entry for following me on Facebook
d. You will get another entry if you follow me on Twitter
e. Lastly if you tweet or post on your own blog a link back to this blog competition you get another entry.

So maximum of 5 chances to win… - how cool is that!?

Please make sure when you leave your comment on this blog post that you say where I can contact you (Email address, Etsy username, Twitter handle, Facebook page etc)

Winner will be picked at random on Sunday 14th November 2010

Pob Lwc!

(Good Luck!)

Debs!

Halloween Post: Double, Double Toil & Trouble...

2010-10-23T14:34:00.000+01:00

... It's that time of year again; All Hallows Eve is fast approaching this weekend - and it's also the weekend the clocks go back 1 hour here in the UK, changing from British Summer Time back to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), making the 31st extra dark and spooky this year.

"Double, Double Toil and Trouble"; Shakespeare's contribution to the Halloween festivities from the Witches speech in the play Macbeth conjures up thoughts of cauldrons, eyes of newt and frogs tails! (not bubble bubble like you may think, the thought on this is that the collective memory on this has become a bit cloudy, and double has got substituted for bubble...) Though Halloween is not celebrated with the same fervour here in the UK as it is in the US, we still have a great time!

This year I'm planning to settle in for a night of movies, candlelight, popcorn and plenty of sweets! Which movies are on the play list I'm not sure yet... All suggestions welcome! In Halloweens of past I've enjoyed dressing up and going to a big party, but I am a bit obsessive with costume etc - in 2005 I spent 4 hours painting myself up as a zombie with terrifying results!

(I was at University at the time so had plenty of time to cover myself in green greasepaint and fake burns - and yes that is glow in the dark paint in my hair!)

But Halloween does not have to be all blood guts and gore if you don't want it to! There are some fantastic handmade objects that can be kept out all year to enjoy if it takes your fancy...

I LOVE this hat - I stumbled across it on Folksy recently and I think it would look fantastic to glam up a more classy Halloween outfit. It's made by Janine Basil; the hanging spider is a stroke of genius!

I've also fallen in love with these fantastic candles - we don't really have Candy corn here, but the colours always make me smile, and I'd have these out in my house all year around. They are hand made by Craftasticparties on Etsy and at $11 for a set of 3 they are really good value too!

Throwing your own party? Need some tips? There are so many ideas out there! Bobbing apples, spaghetti meatball guts, haunted house mock-ups (though maybe not for very small kids or those with a nervous disposition!) - and of course you will need a Jack-O-Lantern carved from a big fat pumpkin.

This pumpkin lantern bowl by TheCaramelJar is a great way to enjoy the lantern effect, but keep year on year to display at your parties. And if it is full of sweets all the better!

I really do not like pumpkin. I've tried year on year to try and like it - but I can't stand wasting all that food by just scooping it out and throwing it away either; I've scoured around for a way to use up the flesh from the lantern and have discovered that doesn't fill me with horror (!) is a Pumpkin Risotto with Crispy Sage; it's a River Cottage classic recipe by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and mixes the pumpkin in with a creamy rich risotto, and you can hide it under lots and lots of cheese. I think it's one I'm going to give a go this Halloween!

Happy Halloween to you all!

UPDATE

Sunday is also the day I launch my Christmas present to you guys - my blog giveaway! It will make a great present for a loved one, or for yourself! I'm very excited about it already - 1 week to go!

Debs

National Wool Week Celebration!

2010-10-15T22:03:00.004+01:00

Yes that's right - this week is National Wool week! (admittedly I'm a bit late writing this on Friday this week, but work has been mental - better late than never!)

Here is a little bit of history of where Wool Week came from, written by Laura Smith:

"Back in January 2010, HRH The Prince of Wales announced a cross-industry initiative called The Campaign for Wool.The project aims to promote the versatility and sustainability of this natural fibre with the intention of increasing demand, which has been declining recently. The campaign is supported by many high profile brands including Debenhams, John Lewis and Marks and Spencer.
One of the higher profile aspects of the campaign is to be National Wool Week. Originally scheduled for September, the dates were changed and now National Wool Week is running from 11th until the 17th October. Many organisations are getting involved and there are numerous events planned throughout the week. However my favourite has to be the Savile Row Field Day where the London street, most famous for world class tailoring, will be closed to traffic and laid to turf in order to allow Exmoor Horn and Bowmoor sheep to graze freely!"

How cool is that?! I really wish I had been there to see that! Wool is a fantastic resource, it is natural - straight off the sheep - and it's sustainable - farmers in the UK are almost giving away fleeces and are seen as waste products!

Wool is also amazingly versatile - think about all the different products can be made from this gorgeous product, from the fabric for Saville Row suits, to the yarn we love to knit with - it is biodegradable, water resistant, hard wearing and dyes really easy, so you can get a wide variety of colours.

The processed wool can be spun and turned into gorgeous yarns to be knitted, crocheted or weaved, or it can be formed into that wonderful non-woven fabric that we all love - felt!

Check out this gorgeous treasury of knitted delights to celebrate National Wool Week and salute the humble yet wonderful world of wool!

'Homage to National Wool Week!' by debs102

My celebration of UK National Wool week - a celebration of all things woolen!

Chunky Cream Moss S... KnitFrekkles $68.00	Bridal - - - 3 felt... Stemellina $12.00	Lion Brand - Wool-E... LillyQueenBead... $2.00	Upcycled Felted Woo... formydarling $19.00
Undyed Natural Woo... smokymountainf... $5.00	Fingerfull Warmers ... JurgitaMi $32.00	Ivory and silver da... TheBroochBouti... $12.50	Felted slippers BEI... ing00te $80.00
Vintage 1950s white... dirtybirdiesvi... $58.00	Sheep Knitted, Wool... ButtermilkCott... $30.00	Handmade Crocheted ... PropShop $25.00	Coco -3 white wool ... PetitCalla $14.99
Cream Swirls Headba... GraceInspired $12.00	Natural Handspun Ya... sweetredemptio... $14.00	Hand Knit Hat - The... pixiebell $55.00	1CM Felt Balls/24-P... HandbehgFELTS $8.50

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

Enjoy these knitted treasures and get behind the ethos of sustainable wool sources for your projects - it's something I'm really going to investigate for my store

Debs

Autumn Days in a Park in Wales

2010-10-10T19:57:00.002+01:00

I do like Autumn as a season; the colours are so pretty, it's cool enough that I can start to get out my cosy knitted goodies out of the wardrobe, but not as drab and dreary as Winter gets here - winter light here in Wales is very dull, flat and grey. It can make you feel very dreary, and want to hibernate away from the world...

... but we aren't there yet! We have a gorgeous little park opposite us called Thompson's Park, which we enjoy going on walks in.

The sun was out this afternoon, and it was quite mild for October, and I enjoyed a lovely walk with Stew my husband. The colours out were fantastic, and I got some pics on my phone whilst we walked around...

After having a pretty stressful and busy time recently, it was great to get out in the fresh air and relax before another hectic week at the office kicks off again. It's also given me some great inspiration for some new items in some of these gorgeous colours; greens, golds, reds, russets and browns.

On getting back I turned my inspiration into a Fall themed treasury, featuring some of the work of fellow Etsians who have nailed the Autumn vibe perfectly!

'Autumnal Colours in the Fall' by debs102

Inspired by my walk in the park today, this is my tribute to Autumn!

Genevie the bunny i... Yarnigans $15.00	Waving Woods - 184 ... SpringtreeRoad $27.25	6 Cranberry Wool Fe... greenbaboondes... $12.00	NEW - Orange Coffee... natalya1905 $15.00
Mustard Yellow Fing... warmandsoft $25.00	Candy Corn Candles ... Crafttasticpar... $11.00	AUTUMN FALL TREE AP... ABC123APPLIQUE... $3.00	Fall Leaves Necklac... Madryl $30.00
Cinnamon and Butter... SatinandBirch $16.00	Tree ChrissyGemmill... $90.00	fall harvest - fuzz... thefuzzymonkey $17.00	Little knitted hedg... Yarnigans $15.00
Brass Leaf Earrings RoseAndRaven $13.50	The Fairy Forest - ... NatureMandalas $45.00	Silver Orchid Trio ... PiperBlue $23.00	Autumn Tree -- 70.8... wiwicoco $48.95

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

I hope you enjoy it!

*** Update - I'm knitting the Christmas giveaway prize as we speak - will launch the competition on 31st October, or sooner if we reach 200 blog followers! It is going to be a fantastic prize! ***

Debs

Knitting Pattern: Santa hat

2010-10-02T11:33:00.003+01:00

The Festive period is fast approaching, (84 days to go from today!!) and as a crafter who usually makes her own Christmas presents, October is where I usually start thinking about cool things to make to "jazz" up the day.

I devised this pattern last year as I'd lost my usual Santa hat I'd had for many years.

This is a quick and easy method for those who are starting out, and looking for something a bit more complicated than a scarf...

You will need:

Approx 100g of DK or Aran weight yarn in Red (double up the yarn if it is not thick enough)
Approx 50g of white yarn (DK or Aran weight doubled up if needed; use a fancy yarn for a fluffy effect.)
A pom pom maker (or cardboard rings)
8mm needles (US size 11)

Pattern:

CO 64 stitches in the white yarn, and knit either in garter stitch (K all stitches) for 2 inches, or if you feel more confident you can do 2x2 rib (K2, P2) instead.

Switch to Red yarn, and continue in stocking stitch (stockinette) for 6 inches.

Decreasing:

1st row: * K1, SSK, K until 3 stitches left on needle, K2tog, K1
2nd Row: P all stitches

Continue from * until you are left with 12 stitches on the needle

Break off a long tail, and thread through the remaining 12 stitches on the needle, pull together, then with the WS facing out sew up the side seam

To finish off, create a white pom pom using your pom pom maker, or by using 2 cardboard circles and winding the wool through the middle around until the whole is nearly closed, then cut the yarn between the rings (this is hard work!) and then put a thread between the 2 rings, holding all the threads together, then remove the rings and you are left with a pom pom!

Sew the pom pom to the end of your hat, and you are left with a super cool Santa hat!

Play around with the number or stitches you cast on to create bigger or smaller hats - this pattern should fit a small/medium adult head

Let me know how it goes for you!

Debs

*** My Christmas Blog Giveaway will launch once we hit 200 followers - more details will follow soon, but it will make a great present for someone special! ***

Wedding Feature: Modern Wedding Ideas

2010-09-29T14:09:00.003+01:00

A lot of you will have read my own blog feature on my crafty wedding that took place in May this year. It was such a special day; lots of family and friends were there to share it all with us, and I've got some great mementos hand crafted by some great Etsy sellers and other crafty people from around the world.

My story was picked up by Nicola at Modern Wedding Ideas, and Stewart and I have been featured in their Real Weddings section. There are some great call outs to the Etsy sellers who created some of my items!

It's so lovely when other people like what you have created - it's been lovely sharing our special day with a wider audience after 18 months in the planning...

The photography by Imagine That Studios is truly excellent; they have taken some stunning pictures, and created a wonderful album for us to keep and show people.

***Update***
I'm planning on launching my next blog giveaway when I reach 200 blog followers - we aren't far off now!

Debs

Battle of Britain

2010-09-25T15:59:00.001+01:00

This month is the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain; I'm a bit of a history buff, so I have been watching the different television programmes that have been on commemorating the anniversary, and getting new insights into the men who fought, and what it was really like being there.

The BBC have had a whole season of TV on over the last month, and I've really enjoyed watching some fantastic programmes

First Light is a Drama-documentary mixing modern images and storytelling of a veteran with a dramatisation of some of the moments he experienced during the Battle of Britain. At the age of just 18, Geoffrey Wellum was one of the youngest spitfire pilots to go into combat in the Battle of Britain. I really enjoyed the way that this was constructed, with the story played out as it would of happened, and experiencing from Geoffrey's perspective what going into battle would have been like. Knowing that the story was taken from true to life events made it more interesting, and seeing Geoffrey now made it very poignant.

Another show I was surprised by was Battle of Britain hosted Ewan McGreggor and his brother Colin, who is himself a pilot with the RAF, in their take on the events. Ewan is a great story teller, and speaking to veterans you could tell he was in awe of their achievements. Colin wowed as he learned to pilot some of the iconic planes of the period, including a Hurricane, but finishing with a Spitfire. A touching moment at the end where Colin lets Ewan go up in the Spitfire as it flies in formation as it would have done at the battle was very sweet; Ewan's sheer excitement and child like awe really brought it to life.

It got me thinking about vintage themed items from the era, and whilst tidying up my craft room I found a stack of 1940's dress and knitting patterns; so evocative of the period, if only I could get around to scaling up some of those old dress patterns to fit me - I'm a bit bigger than the average 1940's woman!

As a little part of the remembrance, I've created a Battle of Britain themed treasury to celebrate the event, so please take a look!

Debs

Free Pattern - Knitted Headband / Earwarmer

2010-09-17T19:33:00.000+01:00

It got a lot colder recently, and I was trying to think of something to wear that would keep my ears warm, but not as thick and hot as my hats... I came up with this nifty little pattern for a dead easy headband - these have been everywhere on the high street this season, so manufacture your own! I went for a plain look, but you could embellish it with crochet flowers, stripes in different colours, cool yarns - make it your own!

(This pic may not sell it to you - apologies! This is a quick snap to show what it looks like on!)

It will take:

Approx 30mins to an hour depending on how quick you are!

You will need:
Approx 50g of Arran weight yarn (or use DK doubled up)
Circular needle (60cm long) or 4 x dpns (whichever you prefer) - 5.5mm

Pattern:
(Note: Can be made for Small / Medium / Large adult heads by following the corresponding stitch numbers)

Cast On 80 / 84 / 88 stitches (if working on dpn's split over 4 needles)

Knit 1/2 inch in 2x2 rib (k2,p2),

At the end of the last round increase 1 stitch, leaving an odd number (81 / 85 / 89) of stitches.

Continue for 1 - 2 inches (depending on required thickness) in seed stitch (*k1, p1 repeat from * to end)

(NB: The odd number of stitches on the needle means that this will automatically knit up into seed stitch in the round)

On the last round of seed stitch, decrease 1 stitch by k2tog at the end of the row, so you have an even number of stitches again (80 / 84 / 88).

Continue in 2x2 rib (k2, p2) for 1/2 inch

Cast off (Don't cast off too tightly!)

And Voila! You have a basic textured headband that you can customise as much as you like!

Give the pattern a try, and let me know if it works for you!

Debs

I Knit Weekender - London: Review

2010-09-12T20:20:00.001+01:00

Finally it arrived! I've been so excited to go to this event - it involved an early start, getting up at 6.20am to get up, dressed, fed and out to catch the bus to town to get the coach to London. I'm not allowed to travel alone due to my fits, so Stew gallantly volunteered to come with me for the day - he is good like that! Coaches are the cheap way to travel - it worked out at £12 each return to get to London from Cardiff - not bad at all really. The downside of getting the coach is that it takes about 3 hours to get there, when it is more like 2 on the train, there is not much leg room, and we ended up with a "chatty" couple in front, talking loudly about everything and anything... so it was a LONG trip down.

We arrived in the Big Smoke at 11am at Victoria Coach Station, and headed off to find Emily at the tube station. Emily lives in Peterborough near East Anglia - the other side of the country to us, so it made sense to meet in London and head over to the Expo from there.

http://www.iknit.org.uk/

10 minutes walk from the coach station was the Royal Horticultural Halls - we spotted the Weekender straight away from the decoration outside:

So we went inside - it was £8 a ticket - I booked in advance for me and Stew, and Emily bought hers on the day. They didn't offer a disabled discount like most fairs which was a bit disappointing, especially as Stew was only coming in with me in a carers capacity.

Well... it was a mix really. What was there was really good - there were some fab stalls selling vintage goods, hand spun yarns, felting etc - there were some really beautiful yarns on offer - mostly in the higher price bracket of £10-20 a skein weighing about 100g, not that great for those on a budget.

Some of our fave stalls included Belina Harris-Reid and the Knit Expo, offering hand dyed yarns, patterns and knitting retreats to Devon (!!!), the stunning merino yarn on offer from Sweedish company Millamia - designed to be knit for kids but the yarn is so soft I bought some to knit for myself, and the stunning Alpaca yarn from the Toft Alpaca Shop - offering stunning yarn in beautiful colours, and dreamily soft to the touch, and kits to knit gorgeous bags and hats. They have also got homemade giant wodden buttons to die for!

One of my favourite stalls was there - Rachel John and her giant knitting - this one must have been a mammoth one to knit!

I think that those were whittled from tree branches - must have been about 50 strands in all! Last time we saw Rachel I bought some large needles to make blankets which I featured in my previous blog post.

I think the downside of this event was that it was much much smaller than we were expecting. It took us less than an hour to walk around all the stalls - there were approx 50 stalls in all in a large hall. for £8 per person we were expecting it to take us much longer to walk around. We were also a bit disappointed that each of the lessons were priced up at about £20-40 per session, putting them way out of our price range. There were supposed to be fashion shows, but there was no-where to sit to view them (the few seats there were were taken), and with the PA blaring out I couldn't hear what they were saying anyway - whilst we were there it was someone talking about garments on stage with them on a rack - not really a 'fashion show'...

The bit that I was most looking forward to was seeing my competition entry on display, and seeing what everyone else had come up with. To my dismay, they weren't on display at all - and when I asked about it the response was that "that had not received enough entries" and were considering extending the competition. This made me a bit angry if honest - I put a lot of effort and time into entering the competition an getting it in on time, and to be told that they hadn't bothered to display the entries, and worse that they weren't awarding prizes was really sad. It seems very unfair on those who did bother to enter that you would change the boundaries of the competition after the closing date to suit them. I hope that they sort this out soon and keep to the spirit of fairness by awarding the prizes to those who have entered already.

So a mixed view of the event. What WAS there was great - but was it worth £8 each to get in and travel from Cardiff...? Not so sure...

So after a few hours we went to the pub to chat and catch up, and decide what to do next. Emily went off to meet our friend Gemma who lives in London. Stew and I jumped on the tube and went up to High St Kensington - a cool and hip part of the city, where I went to the Urban Outfitters Sale (woo!) whilst Stew found a couch to sit on, and then we had some tea in Wagamamas - a noodle and rice bar serving Oriental food - this is me tucking into the Cha Han; like a massive bowl of special fried rice: (wearing the headband I knitted for the event)

It was SO yummy! We travelled back on the coach - this time the man sitting behind SNORED the whole way home....sigh... we really don't have much luck with the people we travel with!

So a good day out! Even Stew seemed to have a good day too. He wants to whittle me some of those giant knitting needles now!

Reminder! My Giveaway is still open until 19th September so get looking now - it's being hosted on Tigerlily's Book Blog and is accompanied by a review of my slouch beanie hat...

Debs!

It's Giveaway time!

2010-09-07T18:43:00.003+01:00

This time around I've taken a different tack with my giveaway this month, and am hosting it through a wonderful blog called Tigerlily's Book

This great blog is written by the lady behind 2thousandthings - Yuri .Yuri lives in Jakarta in Indonesia, and as you can see from the pics below she looks stunning in the grey slouch hat she is reviewing:

I really enjoyed working with Yuri to create a custom slouch beanie, she was so polite and accommodating with the time it took for me to create the hat and get it to her all the way in Indonesia. I'm really glad she has enjoyed wearing it since!

As part of the feature I'm hosting a giveaway on the blog - all the rules for entering are provided in the feature - and you have until September 19th to enter!

Up for grabs is a custom one of a kind knitted beanie - made out of Sirdar Bigga yarn in a cream colour, which has been discontinued; it is chunky and will keep your head nice and warm as the cooler weather draws in...

So make sure you check it out!

I'm off to the I Knit Weekender on Saturday - yarn related fun and frolics will ensue so keep an eye out for my next post!

Debs!

The Great Norfolk Getaway!

2010-09-02T18:28:00.001+01:00

I haven't taken any leave from my office job since my wedding in May - and was quite frankly getting a bit frazzled. So Stew and I planned a trip to Norfolk, across the other side of the country, to visit the in-laws, and take a break from the stresses of home life.

As it's such a long trip, we stopped in on our good friend Rob in Cambridge, to see his new house, his super cool comfy sofa and stunning kitchen. Maybe a little green with envy at this point - then he showed us his new i-pad - want one! If I was commuting to London every day by train like he is, I'd get one too. Alas, as I don't commute more than 10 minutes in a taxi every day so I don't think I can justify buying one...

From Rob's house we caught a bus into Cambridge itself - it is much smaller than I thought, but the college buildings are really beautiful. Full of tourists as usual - couldn't move for people taking pictures or asking if we wanted to go Punting - being pushed along the river in a boat bu a man with a large pole - very Cambridge...

After spending a few really good hours wandering around, we drove the rest of the way to Norwich - leaving the heavy rain from home behind us. It was good to see everyone - we hadn't seen them since our wedding in May so the photo album for the big day was shown to everyone in turn, with lots of cooing and gasps.

I won't bore you with step by step details of the whole week, but will fill you in on some of the key highlights:

Sunday night we went on a family boat trip - a paddle steamer (again!) with a jazz band playing on top, and glorious sunshine. The boat went up and down the Broads (these are rivers surrounded by reed beds, and only exist in this area of the UK) and we got to oggle at all the stunning homes along the river banks, with their own boat moorings - some were holiday homes to rent - I'd love a holiday with a little boat pootling around on the river - sounds idyllic!

Monday involved a trip to the local Zoo with my sister in law, husband and mother in law - it's a cool little zoo in the countryside with a wider variety of animals, including Giraffes - my fave! Weather stayed dry, and we saw a bird show with birds of prey circling over head. We also saw some really cute critters including prairy dogs, Doug the Donkey and baby snow leopards!

Tuesday saw us back at the Broads at Wroxham on yet another boat trip - this time with Stew, Rick and Neil - everyone took it in turns to drive the boat, and with snacks on board it was a great trip out. We did get a rain shower at one point as you can see... but there was a canopy on the boat so after a quick scramble we stayed dry!

We then drove down to the coast to play crazy golf - classic British seaside resort; a little bit run down, lots of arcades and good ice cream. I was NOT on form with this game of golf...lost miserably, with Stew in 3rd and joint winners with Rick and Neil. Consolation followed in the form of a tub of toffee ice cream - very tasty!

The rest of the week involved visiting family and friends, including Emily and her husband Stew, our long term friends who live nearby. We met up in Kings Lynn and showed them the wedding album where Emily was one of my bridesmaids over a good pot of tea. It was great to hear they are moving into their own house and are happy.

We drove back on Sunday in a record time of just over 4 hours - the week flew by, and it's odd to think we won't be going back over until New Year. All I hope that this was not my last break away until then - 1 week just isn't enough!

Good times follow bad times...

2010-08-20T20:39:00.002+01:00

Everything seems to be swings and roundabouts at the moment - some days go really well, with good milestones met, others have been really upsetting and sad. The roller coaster is making me very tired I must admit.

Well... The bad... I was walking through the City centre here in Cardiff and some kids came up to me and spat at me, called me a "crip" and tried to kick my stick away. I was really sad - I can handle most of it - it has happened to me before, but I had spit on my trousers and foot (I was wearing sandals) - and had to go back to the office and clean it off. It was really horrible and I got quite upset. Stew my husband called me to cheer me up, and I was OK, but frustrated. I'm a successful businesswoman, I hold down a 4 day a week job in a busy office, I work hard to juggle my business, marriage, social life and creative outlets, I'm smart and I'm a nice person!

I decided to chat to the Etsy community about my experiences in the forums, and I was flooded with kind words and positive thoughts - it was so sweet! It really cheered me up, and affirmed to me that even though I might be different in some people's eyes, on Etsy I'm still an equal. You never know, one day I might be able to feel like that everywhere I go.

Someone pointed me in the direction of the Createability group on Etsy, made up of disabled sellers from around the globe. I got really excited and had a great time chatting to the members in the forums - it felt good to chat to people who knew how I felt.

To celebrate this, I thought I'd create a themed treasury celebrating diversity - I've called it Inspired-ability:

I hope you enjoy it!

For the good news, I'm off to visit my in-laws over in Norfolk for the week for a well deserved holiday, I finally got my tax return sent off (despite being convinced I got it wrong!) and I was included in 2 really cool treasuries - one Bumble Bees and one Ladybirds - so cute!

Coming up in the next few posts, I will be blogging about my week away, and thinking about the start of Autumn, and the slippery slope down to the Christmas rush!!

Debs

Fun and frolics on a Paddle Steamer

2010-08-15T15:48:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I had a fun day out with my husband Stew and our friend Sarah (alas Sarah's dog Alf the westie wasn't allowed on the boat so he had to stay at home...)

The weather forecast was terrible... it was supposed to be stormy and rainy all day - so we were pleasantly surprised when the Balmoral pulled up at Penarth harbour with no rain - a welcome reprieve!

So we got on and set off on the 2.5hr crossing from South Wales across the Bristol Channel to North Devon, and the pretty town of Illfracombe. I managed to get some knitting done on the journey - and see some of the great sites along the way. You can see I needed one of my knitted slouch hats to keep my ears warm!

After a longish period on the boat we finally arrived in Illfracombe - I was quite glad to get on dry land at this point! We had about 2 hours to pootle around the sleepy seaside town before we had to make the return journey

We wandered up past a stunning handmade fudge shop, stopping off for some butterscotch fudge, and Stew and I hiked it up the hill to the town on a bit of a mission - to find the Illfracombe Chocolate Emporium!

This place of wonder had many cool things to see - including a chocolate museum, a shop selling handmade chocolate and local treats like home made wine and liqueurs - and this GIANT chocolate button!

We went upstairs and sat down for a rest - the view from the window was gorgeous - and by this point the sun decided to poke it's head out from all the clouds

We enjoyed a "mini cream tea" consisting of a scone with jam and Devonshire cream, and a pot of tea each. I was extra chuffed as they did gluten free scones - so I could actually eat one this time and not just watch Stew stuff his face!

Soooo yummy! After this we didn't have that long before we had to be back on the boat to go home, so we went for a walk along the sea front to look at the harbour, and enjoy the fleeting sunshine

Gorgeous eh? So our trip drew to an end, and we headed back. Another few hours on the boat going back rounded off a great trip. It rained a bit on the way home - the boat is covered so we were OK... except the roof had a leak above our seat!

We pulled back into Penarth at about 7.30pm, to dry but cloudy scenes:

All in all a great day out! and we did nearly miss all of the rain, except as we were about 100 yards from the car the heavens opened and it absolutely chucked it down in a very heavy shower! Soaked driving home but at least it was dry whilst we were out.

Even better, I got home to 3 order enquiries in my store! Bonus! It seems I always seem to get orders when out and about - maybe I need to take more boat trips!

Debs

Competition entry update!

2010-08-10T21:48:00.000+01:00

Since my last post, I've been working like a busy beaver, knitting away and designing my competition entry to go off to the I Knit Design competition - The closing date is the 20th August, and I only started work on the weekend, so I haven't done too badly for 4 days work - I give you the Helter Skelter Leg Warmers!

The yarn is really cool - called Peru by Sirdar, and is an alpaca and wool blend which is super soft. The colour is a lovely inky blue caller Blanket Blue colour 305. The cables are lovely and chunky, and I've designed the pattern so that the cables go in one direction on one leg and the other direction on the other - adds a little design touch to quite a simple looking accessory. It was not simple working out the pattern - it took me AGES!!

I'm not good on patterns - I tend to make things up as I go along - and this time I had to come up with a pattern that was easy to follow, used all the correct abbreviations, and used charts to show how the cables were made, and how it tapers slightly from the knee to the ankle. Luckily I have found a really good knitting chart generator online where you can get the image just right - saved me drawing it out in Photoshop!

So I'll post this off tomorrow, and hopefully I will be down in London for the I Knit Weekender on Saturday 11th September to see my entry on display to the public, and hopefully once the competition is over I will put these babies in my shop for you to order!

Debs!

(writing this whilst hubby is on his way to A&E after getting a black eye playing football/soccer at the park...sigh... 9pm at the main A&E department in the capital city - that's not a fun place to be...)

Time stops for no knitter....

2010-08-05T20:46:00.000+01:00

Time seems to be my biggest enemy at the moment - time to spend improving my store, time to knit up the orders that have all come in at once (a happy problem), time to spend on my blog and in the Etsy forums chatting to other crafty folk, time to eat and sleep.... working full time and running a business is just getting crazy!

One thing I am determined to find time for is knitting a competition entry for the I Knit Design Competition - 3 different categories of entries, each category having 3 prizes ranging from £50 to £250 plus YARN - not sure which is more exciting, the cash or the yarn, maybe the cash so that I can buy more yarn....

I'm thinking about a project I've had in mind for a while - it can't be anything I've got in my store or sole anywhere... I'm thinking leg warmers in a cool Sirdar yarn called PERU, a wool/alpaca blend which is really soft:

I think a cable design could look really cool - maybe to make them a bit different have them so that they come all the way over the knee.... will have to see how much of the yarn I have!!

Writing the pattern will be the hardest part - I don't really DO patterns - i tend to just knit and see what happens!

So I have about 10 days to get it all done so I can get it posted to London in time...

The best part is that all the entries will be displayed at the I Knit Weekender on 10th and 11th September which I'm hoping to make the trip to London to visit:

The Weekender will be packed with classes and workshops from some of the best UK designers including Alice Starmore!

They will include classes by Martin Story, Marie Wallin, Erika Knight, Wooly Wormhead and The Dutch Knitters - with topics such as icelandic lopi, lace, crochet etc

I'm most excited at the yarn sellers who will be attending - all that gorgeous YARN!!

Tickets are £8 for a day pass - so if I can find a cheap bus or train to the Big Smoke I will be there - and reporting back on the events for you all!

Debs

Blog Feature: Thecuriouscupcake

2010-08-01T18:30:00.000+01:00

Another cool Etsy store I have come across which I wanted to feature: thecuriouscupcake, a team creating cool and unusual jewellery in different styles and materials, utilizing different techniques in the process.

Q: Why thecuriouscupcake?

We are always getting asked 'Why The Curious Cupcake?' Well, that's easy, we like cupcakes and we're curious. It really is that simple, just like the things we make and the whole reason we got started in this direction in the first place. We love learning new things and love creating, what better way to put the two things together than with making jewelry and beaded flowers?

Q: What materials and styles do you work with?

Kelly's favorite things to work with are wire and crystals. Wire has a mountain of potential. Between the kinds, the sizes, the colors - it could go on and on. Wire can be the focal point, the background piece or sometimes just the guts. It's completely versatile. At the other end she loves working with crystals. She loves color and sparkle and using Swarovski crystals combines both. Color can almost set a mood for a piece and there's no better way to get true, vibrant colors than with crystals. She has made pieces using only crystals and she has used them as accents. It doesn't matter how they're used they always bring more life to any piece.

Angela, on the other hand, has taught herself the different techniques to create beaded flowers. She started off with the Victorian method, which is weaving two ends of wire through seed beads to create rows. French beaded flowers were intimidating at first but has now become the major focus of her work. Rings, pendants, hair clips and home decor are the main pieces she focuses on, but earrings and bracelets are something that will be coming in the very near future. Her dream is to be able to create custom bouquets and corsages for weddings, prom, homecoming or any other formal event. It just takes getting noticed!

Q: Do you have any goals you are working towards?

Angela is working on rings, pendants, hair clips and home decor as the main pieces she focuses on, but earrings and bracelets are something that will be coming in the very near future. Her dream is to be able to create custom bouquets and corsages for weddings, prom, homecoming or any other formal event. It just takes getting noticed!

Q: Why do you create your work?

People often find it amusing that we rarely wear any of the pieces we make. Save for a few select things we have designed for ourselves, almost everything is not really our style. It may seem odd but that's not why we do this. We make our creations because we like it; it's amazing how good it feels to see someone wearing something that we created with our own hands. On top of that we try very hard to keep our creations affordable. You shouldn't have to break the bank to wear something fun that brings a smile to your face. That's what we're trying to do in the long run - spread the smiles and add a little sparkle to the world.

Check out their store at www.thecuriouscupcake.etsy.com and the team are offering FREE shipping on ALL items in store if you mention this blog post when ordering - how cool is that?!

Debs

Giant Knitting

2010-07-30T21:25:00.000+01:00

My fab friend Emily got me a fantastic wedding present in May: A super huge pair of wooden knitting needles from Rachel John at a craft festival earlier in the year. I just saw them and knew I had to have a pair!

But they're not as HUGE as these ones! They wouldn't fit in my living room!

Rachel's needles are great, but you can find giant needles on Etsy too - SnokistFarmGirl does very pretty ones for $12 a pair plus shipping. I'm making a cool chunky knit throw using about 8 different strands of machine yarn on a cone - gives an amazing multi tone effect as you can see:

I just need to find time to finish it now!! I've knitted it in stocking/stockinette stitch with a garter stitch border to make sure it does not curl up when laid flat. It's actually really light weight - and the looser weave means it has a really floaty lace like quality to it - a great light weight throw or blanket. I think it might "grow" with time, so I've made it the width of a double bed but half the length - intention was to put it across the foot of the spare bed, but it might end up somewhere else!

There has been some fantastic chunky knits in the shops for their Autumn collections, and to celebrate my love of all things knitted I've created a chunky knit treasury on etsy. Some gorgeous pieces to covert or gain inspiration from.

Can't wait to knit some more super cool items with my chunky needles!! This has to be a project I find time to make at some point:

Reminds me of a giant sea anemone - so soft and squishy...

Debs!

We have a weee-ner!

2010-07-28T20:28:00.000+01:00

A great giveaway again - thank you all you fantastic people who entered!

Using a random number generator I drew the winner at 8pm tonight, and the winner was....

Creations by Juliann!

Congratulations! A ladybug knitted tea cosy will be winging it's way to you soon. As for everyone else - a 10% off code will be circulated to everyone who entered, so you too can get a cool tea cosy, or a funky hat, or marvelous mittens... (you get the idea...)

www.debs102.etsy.com

I'm in good spirits tonight as my wedding album was just delivered by my photographer - pictures will follow shortly! I'm one very excited girl...

Debs!

Celebrate - It's giveaway time in July!

2010-07-21T18:26:00.000+01:00

Greetings lovely people!

I've got some really good reasons to celebrate this week:

1. I reached a fantastic milestone of over 100 blog followers in my first month of blogging
2. I got a promotion at work (!)
3. I've had some really good trips out with good friends recently and had a great time with them
4. Only 1 month to go until my 1 week holiday in Norfolk - staying with the inlaws...but it's as close to a holiday as I'm going to get this summer!

SO - to celebrate! I listened to all the comments from my lovely blog followers, and I've decided to give away:

Ladybird / Ladybug Tea cosy / cozy! - RRP $16

This has been a really popular item in store and will be knitted to fit a standard sized pot. SO - you are probably wondering how you go about winning such a fantastic item...?

Well - this is what you need to do - It's not complicated - no research needed, no guessing games – it’s easy peasy!

You get 1 automatic entry into the competition if you:

a. Leave me a comment under this blog entry saying what your favourite item in my Etsy shop is
b. You get another entry if you have left a comment and follow my blog.
c. You get another entry for following me on Facebook
d. You will get another entry if you follow me on Twitter
e. Lastly if you tweet, post to your facebook fan page or post on your own blog a link back to this blog competition you get another entry.

So maximum of 5 chances to win…how cool is that!?

Please leave 1 comment for each entry you are submitting, and make sure when you leave your comment on this blog post that you say where I can contact you (email address, Etsy username, twitter handle, facebook fan page etc)

The winner will be announced on Wednesday 28th July at 8pm BST!

Good Luck!

Christmas In July Sale - This week!

2010-07-19T20:40:00.001+01:00

Today I've launched my Christmas in July SALE!!!

It's all very exciting - it's 158 days until Christmas! This summer sale in my Etsy shop is promoting some fantastic items in store, including these stunning new mittens I've just knitted:

Cream knitted Mittens - $12

Aren't they fab?! And for $12 a pair these are a real bargain this week! Also on offer are my famous kitty cat hat and glovettes set for just $16 - so cute and can be knitted from kids to adults sizes:

Kitty Cat Hat and Glovette Set - $16

So check out this summer sales spectacular, and get ready for another SUPER COOL BLOG GIVEAWAY later this week!

Blog Feature - GooseEatFox

2010-07-17T11:20:00.001+01:00

This is my second in a series of features of different crafty sellers from around the world - this week I'm featuring the wonderful GooseEatFox!

Q: How did you start out on Etsy?

I first heard of Etsy when I was in college, and I was always envious of people who had a shop! But the time was never right until after I graduated, when I finally had some free time... so I decided to take the plunge. It's been great -- it's opened up a whole other world for me. The artist/crafter community is a neat culture, and I'm really enjoying it. My mission here is clothing rehabilitation, creating re-constructed clothing and accessories.

Q: What inspires you as an artist?

Nothing inspires me more as an artist than a long trip to the thrift store. It's just so full of *potential*... it literally makes me giddy. I love to pick up something and say to myself, "What can this *become*?" Being able to remake something, to give it a new purpose, a new direction, is really cool for me. It's poetry.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

Right now, I'm working mostly on marketing and taking better photos. I feel like I've got a pretty good handle on the actual creation process; my products are good. Presenting them in a way that does them justice, and getting them "out there" is a bit more of a challenge for me. But I'm working on it, new skills take time.

Q: What do you do when you aren't working on your Etsy store?

Outside of Etsy, I'm an organic farmer in the Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico. It's been my dream for years to be a farmer, and I'm having a blast!

***PROMOTION***
GooseEatFox is taking part in the Etsy-wide Christmas in July Sale from 11-31st July - and is offering FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING on all items in store!

Thanks a lot to BackwoodSophisticate for being my 100th blog follower! Looking to launch my next blog giveaway NEXT WEEK in celebration - more details to follow...

The Joys of Internationalism!

2010-07-13T18:59:00.000+01:00

I'm a great lover of treasures around the world - Though I've not travelled much in my years so far, my sister Jooles has spent the last year or so travelling around the world, including South America, India and South East Asia.

I've been spellbound looking at all the cool things she has got to see on this mammoth Odyssey. (If not a bit jealous at times having to see pics of her on the beach in Rio whilst I'm experiencing snow and ice in a wet and windy Wales...) She is currently in Vietnam - here is a snapshot of her travels!

Etsy have just launched a new International Forum to their site - I'm a big fan of this; it is really about time I say. Etsy is an international phenomenon for everyone who loves craft to get together and share experiences and sales tips... but it is very Americanised... I'm hoping this is Etsy opening it's eyes to the wider world at large!

To celebrate the opening of this forum, and to show the best of International crafting I've pulled together an International Treasury - Around the World in 20 Listings!

(Notice I managed to find a Welsh themed item to sneak in too!)

I'm a member of the Etsy UK sellers team as well as the Etsy Cymru Team (our Welsh team), and I've enjoyed networking with the members, getting advice on Tax returns, what items are popular with UK sellers, how I can get involved with local craft fairs and trade shows and just meeting people in the same country to chat about crafting - my husband doesn't understand when I enthuse about new yarns or cool new needle types.... in fact he gets a bit fed up with the whole "knitting all hours of the day and night" thing at the best of times, so it's really nice to find people around the world who like what I like - and don't glaze over when I mention Intarsia or Fairisle...

So thank you Etsy for waking up to internationalism, and lets hope it leads to making this big old world of ours a little bit smaller....

Featured Seller: Dadswoodentoys

2010-07-10T13:22:00.000+01:00

This is the first in a series of features of sellers that I will be featuring in my blog from all kinds of crafts and all kinds of stores - not just Etsy! This week I'm featuring Dadswoodentoys

Q: How did you get started making toys?

I am married with 4 wonderful kids
On them I am not taking bids

I have 7 yr old, 2 yr old and 4 yr old twins
each of them special no one of them wins

I want the best for them all
and that's how I started rolling this ball

The toys every where made noise and light
but I think the kids not the toys should be bright

So my wife and I were searching to find
toys that were natural and good for their mind

I decided I'd just make some instead
Now you see where all of that led...

Q: Why types of natural materials are used in your craft and why is that so important?

I know natural things are generally good
that is why everything I make is wood

It's natural and nontoxic you see
the way I think more things should be

No chemicals paints or dyes
just wood without any disguise

I also enjoy the comforting fact
that my toys left anywhere long enough stacked

will eventually return into the ground
leaving nothing unhealthy that could be found

many new toys are destined to fill
a garbage dump somewhere disguised as a hill

even when thousands of years have past
those broken toys will continue to last

Q: What is it that you want to accomplish with your store?

The goals for this store are many yet one
ultimately I want kids to have fun

but also I want to be kind to the trees
not filling up landfills way up past our knees

Of course I hope to earn some money
a store that didn't now that would be funny

But profits are not my only concern
for happy bright kids I also yearn

Q: What are you working on at the moment ?

My newest endeavors tend to be requests
I like trying new things at a person's request

Are you looking for an animal that is not here
I love a challenge I'll not hide in fear

give me a challenge to brighten my day
"No" is the absolute worst I could say

But I promise to consider each request very well any doubts in my talent I hope to dispel

commission a masterpiece made at your wish
maybe a face, or a dog or a fish

my best work has been with one piece of wood
so what do you think would make wood look good?

Q: What you like to do outside of Etsy?

Outside of etsy I work most the day
but when I get home I like to play

with my kids, they consume my life
I am also in love with my beautiful wife

camping and hiking are a few of the things
that I consider increase the joy that life brings

Written by Dadswoodentoys:
www.dadswoodentoys.etsy.com
www.dadswoodentoys.blogspot.com

Special Dadswoodentoys Blog Feature Offer!
As a special offer to my lovely blog readers, Dadswoodentoys has offered to give an EXTRA SUPRISE animal to all customers who mentions my blog www.debs102.blogspot.com when ordering!

Do you want a blog feature too?
Interested in being featured in my blog? Leave a comment on my blog with a way of contacting you, a link to your website or store and tell me why you want a blog feature!

Another Birthday, another milestone...

2010-07-07T18:50:00.000+01:00

"Why is a birthday cake the only food you can blow on and spit on and everybody rushes to get a piece?"

I am writing this in anticipation of my 25th birthday on the 8th July. It's a cause for reflection, contemplation... and celebration!

It's been a truly rubbish year, same as the truly rubbish year the year before if honest... but I'm optimistic things will pick up soon. Highlights so far in 2010 include getting married (my first birthday as Mrs Harding!) and spending more time with good friends.

To celebrate, I've created a birthday themed treasury!

What have I got planned for this special day you ask...? A 2 hour strategy themed staff meeting in the morning at work, spending the whole day in the office ploughing through admin duties, then home to my lovely husband at some point in the evening to find out what he has been plotting over the last week or so - I can't get into the spare room - he has been locked in there doing "secret stuff", so I am curious to find out what he has been up to!

I may even take the night off from knitting.... might....

*** Had a fantastic night - went out for a meal with the hubby, bought me a new tea pot, posh tea and retro records and a record player - fab! ***

...We have a Winner!

2010-07-03T15:04:00.000+01:00

I've been so happy with the amazing response this giveaway has had - I was a bit worried that it might flop... but it's been very exciting!

And at 3pm here in the UK (BST) I went to a random number generator and picked the winner - and that winner was...

MISSY!

Well done to you - the berry themed slouch hat will be winging it's way to you soon!

To say thank you to all that have entered, I'm offering all entrants 20% off their next purchase in store until 31st July 2010. Redemption codes will be winging their way to all of you that entered very soon!

The next giveaway will be happening later in the month - hoping to make this a regular event so make sure you are following me to enter!

What should I giveaway next....?

Take a look in store and leave your suggestions as a comment on this post - the shop listing with the most votes will be my next giveaway!

Debs

A Crafty (and Thrifty) Welsh Wedding

2010-06-29T19:47:00.001+01:00

After 5 years together, I finally got married to my long suffering partner (and now long suffering husband) Stew in May 2010. We booked it a year ago, and I'd been collecting pieces for the big day all year since - I really wanted to have a hand made feel to the items on the big day... but we were on a very tight budget after I lost my job in June 2009 - BAD timing...

I bought my stunning dress for £40 all in off eBay - bargain yes... but it took me 10 months of evenings and weekends to finally get it in a state where I could walk down the aisle with pride - it was a MESS. The hem had been lopped off by what looked like a blindfolded man with garden shears, the whole top of the dress needed re-sculpting, the Princess Di in the 80's sleeves had to go.... It was a real labour of love. The shoes were priced at £104, I got them for £15 on eBay unworn with the receipt in the box - they were gorgeous!

The Petticoat was hand made by Violavintage - an Etsy seller who also lived in the UK. It was just right - not massively puffy, and with a satin top half it was really comfy to wear throughout the day too - nice and lightweight.

I really wanted a vintage hat to match the dress, but couldn't find one that was just right. So I turned to Alchemy and hoped a fellow Etsy seller could help me out. And along came Mytreehousestudio, and a few months and approx £50 later came a stunning creation, using fabric left over from my dress to create flowers on the side, and french netting to wear over the face at the ceremony. Paired with the stunning up-do from my local hairdresser Gemma, it looked just right!

Accessories did not take too long to find - I had some stunning jewellery commissioned by the supremely talented Shacara consisting of a pearl and ceramic flower asymmetric necklace and matching bracelet (Shacara is currently closed whilst she undergoes chemo so best wishes), and got a total bargain with a stunning bracelet handled beaded bag by whatthefunk - both looked great with the vintage theme of the wedding. I have to have a watch on....but my duckie themed swatch watch, though epically cool, wasn't going to cut it, so a visit to Jewelrybyroseanna for a very reasonably and beautiful beaded watch! One of myhand knitted shrugs kept me warm in the wind on the day - something I was very glad of!

Not to leave out my bridesmaids, I got their dresses 9 months to go knocked down in a catalogue sale for the supremely cheap price of £20 each - bargain of the whole event! With shoes and bags from New Look for £14 and £5 respectively, I was doing pretty well. I knitted their shrugs from some lovely deep purple yarn I had, and I commissioned some stunning jewellery from Baubleworks comprising of a matching drop necklace and earrings set, and some stunning beaded flowers from Beadsinbloom on Etsy - perfect for placing in their up-do's.

Stew has bad hay fever, and has never reacted well to being around flowers; it usually involves puffy swollen eyes and a runny nose, so I had to think outside the box for bouquets and decorations. MissJenniferRae came to my rescue for the boutonnieres and bouquets, doing me a fantastic early bird deal (I ordered months and months in advance) for a stunning set of felt and button items, including loose flowers which I turned into pins for the mums. They are beautifully made, and were the talk of the reception!

Stew's first present he ever got me was a very large and round stuffed giraffe called Eion (said Ian - it's Welsh...) - he is the 3rd member of our little family and knew we had to find a way of getting him in to our special day!

After thinking about it long and hard and not really coming up with an answer, I stumbled across Fliepsiebieps and her stunning range of polymer clay toppers - they are so cute! After a bit of discussion, and a lot of prototypes and pictures passed between us, I got the most stunning little giraffes to sit on top of my big fruit cake made by our friend Lynn (It's a stunning cake too!) that I can keep forever - they now sit on top of my TV :-)

I then turned my attention to table decorations and favours - there was a lot to think about. I got a fantastic deal from ParDay for some stunning favour boxes in the themed colours of pinks and purples - I then filled them with sweets and little charms from the lovely Steph on keyrings in the shape of cakes - so pretty! To decorate the signing table, I went to Folksy (UK craft site similar to Etsy) and commissioned Nichola of Beads in Bloom to make some stunning beaded stems which I displayed in bud vases, and a gorgeous beaded cake topper to adorn my gluten free sponge cake - so pretty!
I had loads of comments all day about my quirky and beautiful items - I was so pleased to be able to have a crafty wedding, and I hope I can shop you CAN do it without breaking the bank!

*** UPDATE - you have until THIS Satuday (3rd July) at 3pm GMT (actually BST as it's summer!) to enter my SUPER knitted blog giveaway! - See the Blog Post ***

Celebrate - It's giveaway time!

2010-06-26T11:59:00.000+01:00

It's giveaway time...at last!

I am celebrating:

1. Over 50 blog followers in 1 week of me launching the site – score!
2. It’s my 25th birthday coming up on the 8th July
3. It is gorgeous and sunny here in Cardiff - summer is here!
4. I need cheering up after a rubbish time recently...

I’m quite stupendously excited about it all!!

It's not complicated - no research needed, no guessing games – it’s easy peasy!

You get automatic entry into the competition if you:

a. Leave me a comment under this blog entry saying what you would buy from my Etsy shop if you had a blank cheque…
b. You get another entry if you have left a message and follow my blog.
c. You get another entry for following me on Facebook
d. You will get another entry if you follow me on Twitter
e. Lastly if you tweet or post on your own blog a link back to this blog competition you get another entry.

So maximum of 5 chances to win… - how cool is that!?

There's a choice of prize for the lucky winner!

EITHER:

A gorgeous slouch beanie hat in NEW berry colours from my new knitted collection - worth $18!

A stunning pair of 100% wool cabled glovettes (fingerless gloves) in navy blue - worth a cool $12!

Please make sure when you leave your comment on this blog post that you say which prize you would choose, and also where I can contact you (email address, Etsy username, twitter handle, facebook fan page etc)

Winner will be picked at random on Saturday 3rd July at 3pm GMT!

Pob Lwc!

(Good Luck!)

Debs!

New Treasury - Cream Creations!

2010-06-24T18:58:00.000+01:00

I have been a member of the Etsy Knitters team for about 6 months now - and it is a really great team to be involved with to meeet other knitters from around the world, read about what everyone else is up to and get patterns and ideas from around the world - all pretty tidy me thinks!

So in homage to this, I've created a Cream Creations Treasury using it's members stunning creations centred around creams and whites. I hope you think it is as pretty as I do - it took me ages as there were so many lovely creations to choose from!

***Remember guys - only 2 days to go until the super knitted blog giveaway!!***

50 Followers!

2010-06-23T17:16:00.000+01:00

Thank you Sarah @ Magnolia Suprise - you are my 50th blog follower, which can only mean 1 thing - I can launch my SUPER knitted blog giveaway!

I can reveal that I will be launching the giveaway on Saturday 26th June (this Sat!) and will be for a custom one off piece of knitwear I'm currently finishing off - a real quality piece from my new collection!

So countdown from now ....3 days to go!

Spelling, Wenglish, English and everything in between...

2010-06-22T21:33:00.000+01:00

It's an odd one. And I accidentally started a bit of a debate in the Etsy forums on the subject - Spelling...

For me it's not an issue of a genuine spelling mistake - if you look in my store and you see a glaring error, I need to know about it. Grammar mistake... well if it really offensive to you then go for it - let me know.

But since setting up shop on Etsy which is US based, I've had a lot of people telling me I've spelled certain words wrong... when they aren't. Well.... Not to me anyway - I just use British spelling (and throw a bit of wenglish in every now and again!)

I think I got a bit frustrated with it when I put it up in the forum and it came out a bit negative to some people - it wasn't meant that way, I can't be nasty, it's just not in me :)

I am quite dyslexic and am a bit paranoid about it showing through at the best of times (I try to spell check everything first but things invariably slip through the net) - so I'm perhaps a bit oversensitive. If it had been maybe 2/3 people saying it then I'd probably be OK, but it's many more than that.

Colour, Grey, favourite, centre.... to name a few. I try and use the US spellings in my shop tags as to ensure you Yanks make it to my store... but I LIKE spelling things the way I was taught, I don't want to change it!

So be aware people - there are genuine spelling differences across the English language - they are differences not mistakes!

Let me know what you think!

Lol - and I've had a few requests for a bit of wenglish :)
If something is good - we say it's tidy,
If something is icky or gross - we say ach-a-fi! (said uck-a-vi...sort of!)
If something is very___, you'd say - that's proper good!

And check out Talk Tidy for a full Wenglish dictionary!

Debs :)