shave it for later

So, a recent obsession with all things moustache has now joined my eternal love for beards.
I have decided to inflict this upon others, in the form of knitted gifts.
They have (fortunately) been well received.

 

I got the pattern here for free

JAPANESE stationary

Just amazing.

 Lots & lots of squares of beautifully patterned paper, about 2" x 2"

 I don't want to slide the gold clips off quite yet, because it just looks so pretty as it is - so perfect!

I can only imagine all the beautiful, delicate layers that are underneath.

This little bundle of paper joy came from a stationary shop in Japan and was bought by a work colleague for me.

STRIKKETOY & knitting

STRIKKETOY / knitter + 1" spring pegs

(Norwegian + local 99p store)

Cabled sock cuffs + Lacey box crop top

 (Pattern from a magazine + making it up as I go)

pour mon père

My Dad is my hero.
Nothing says 'you mean the world to me' more than a handmade card.
This is what he got from his twenty-something-year-old daughter for his birthday in March:

 ...And just a few of many, many handmade cards from previous occassions:

[ One of my favourites was when I got a spoke and bent it into the shape of 'DAD' ]

[ Or when I superimposed his face onto the head of Chris Hoy having just won gold on the track ]

my Dad may have something to do with my love for bikes

[white]

Making PomPoms

1:

 2:

3:

4:

 5:

6:

How To:

1:
Cut out two cardboard circles the same size as you want your pompoms to be and cut a circle out of the middle of them too

2:
Place them back to back and thread your yarn through the centre and begin to wrap it around the circles (I thread my wool onto a darning needle as I find it easier - especially if you are making smaller pompoms like I was - these ones are 1.5")

3:
Keep going until you can't see anymore cardboard - the more yarn you wrap around, the fuller the pompoms will be

4:
Carefully slip some scissors along the edge of the flat pompom and cut the yarn all the way around

5:
Taking a seperate length of yarn, slip it in between the two cardboard discs and tie it really securely around the centre of the pompom (this is what will hold all the threads in place)

6:
 Carefully cut the cardboard discs off the pompom, fluff it up and trim any excess lengths of yarn.

Then make more!

Party Time

Best send-off a girl could ask for:

 Courtesy of Team Haby @ MacCulloch & Wallis last year.

  Party time in Richmond Marilyn Moore as the beautiful boutique celebrated it's first birthday:

[Behind the scenes - magic bites - party time]

 Shop & window displays courtesy of the fabulous Jen @ the evershine project

Quilts (can actually be quite arty)

A selection of quilts which caught my imagination at the London Stitch & Craft show this week:

This one above was just so striking - the one below almost grotesquely girly; it had me charmed.

 This one was titled 'hands and home'

 There were rows and rows of them ~

~ All with a total variety quilted 'flags' hanging in crafty sewn rows above... Very bunting-esque.

Of course, I managed to spot the bike themed ones:

Stitch & Craft London

Today was a day well spent. 

I was at the Stitch & Craft Show in London Olympia with the Craft Club. 

Although I didn't get to teach the joy of knitting to any newcomers; I did teach a lot of current knitters how to knit in the round, make socks and knitted chains!

I took one of my WIP (works in progress) along with me, which today happened to be a string of wooly links I have had on the go since December.  It got a lot of attention from the punters; I'll get some proper photos of it once the ends are tied in and it ceases to resemble an ill-looking sea creature...

For me one of the highlights from the show was the impressive quilt exhibition; covering half of the upstairs level. 

I took a fair few photos in this maze of quilted wonder.  It's never been an area of craft that has grabbed my attention; however some were just so wonderful it really was worth checking out! I'll post them up in a later blog, as there are quite a few...

On top of all the wonderful yarn, craft, bead & stationary stands there was also Mr X Stitch who I have spoken to at a previous knitting show and is a lovely guy - you HAVE to check out his GRAFFITI CROSS STITCHING! It is immense.

Not to mention the cute knitted village, the best in show knitted dogs stand & the astounding knits mega size knitting genius!

Ah yes - and then I couldn't resist a few bargains...

 Check out how big this ball of wool is! It's almost twice the size of my (modest - honest!) head...

I also grabbed a 100g ball of King Cole nylon blend sock yarn.  The purple/green/blue variation called out to me - plus it will be more durable so no more darning worn-through sock heels hopefully :)

Oh and then I couldn't say no to two 100g balls of Marble DK - it's 100% acrylic but I was really surprised to find that out when I felt it - such good quality! All of the above came to under £20 - total bargains!

That includes my massive ball of wool...

I was also rather delighted to make some new knitty friends, catch up with some old knitty friends and receive lots of kind compliments on my Cloud sweater!

Roll on the Knitting & Stitching Show at Ally Pally!

Jiffy - Lace

I  was delighted to be introduced to this fantastic paper pattern book earlier today...

Jiffy lace uses a knitting needle and a crochet hook to create the stitch pattern (?!)

I'm in love with this collar and cuff combo ~

  Here's how JIFFY LACE is done:

STEP ONE:

STEP TWO:

STEP THREE:

STEP FOUR:

Knitting on the Beeb

"When it's a giant squid, I think you're kind of alright."

Great to see some needle action on the telly!

Saturday Morning Slippers

It's the weekend, I'm not at work, I'm getting me knitted slippers on...

 ...and alpaca socks... Cozy!

Another from my fave, fave, sock book Knitted Sock Sensations.

{See my Ravelry page here}

Jar o' Buttons

A friend of mine recently gave me this little jar of button-y goodness:

 The jar stands 2.5" tall and is filled to the brim with second hand & vintage buttons.

A present I was very happy to receive...

Looking forward to using them!

Finger Knitted Necklace [V&A]

I spent today at the V&A Museum volunteering with the Craft Club.

As it is half term we were teaching children of all ages (and some parents) to finger knit.

Here is my effort:

 A rather tasteful orange/purple number I fashioned into a necklace

 Think I could be onto something here...

Golden Bees

I decided I wanted to try something a little different with my handmade bees and swapped the silver for gold to see how it would look....

 I think it suits them:

I will be crafting some hair slides in the gold version too, but for now you can
purchase the broaches from my Etsy store
or from my stall in the Backyard Market on Sundays, 10am - pm.

This little chap measures about 3cm long and including his wings in about 3.5cm high.
The wire I have used is very sturdy and really shines out. 

I am pleased with the result - as I hope my customers will be too!

20% OF PROFIT FROM BEE SALES IS DONATED TO THE SOIL ASSOSIATION TO HELP THEM SAVE THE HONEY BEES