Hello all,
I have been taking a break from Knitting and decided to do the second thing I enjoy, which are Art Trails. These trails involves finding sculptures around different towns.
This year alone I have completed a Baron Trail in Salisbury and I am currently completing the Big Hoot in Birmingham. For the Big Hoot I am aiming to see all 211 Big and Little Hoot owls for Birmingham children's Hospital. I have currently spotted 95 of them and will hope to see the others within the next 2 weeks. If you are able to sponsor me,my just giving page is www.justgiving.com/sarah-reed2015 and I am raising money fro a great cause.
Over the last weekend I went to Bristol and saw all of the lovely Shaun the Sheep sculptures. Bristol is a beautiful place and the trails lead you to all of the amazing sites such as the harbor, heritage sites and around the town.
There were 70 to see and I managed to squeeze them all in 3 days!!!. I am now trying to recover from aching feet.......although I have agree to go yoga tonight....wish me luck. Knittingwise there are two beautiful Shauns. One is totally crocheted in St Nicholas Market and the other is a Knitted Style one in St Peter's church. The crocheted one, 'Woolly Wonderland', has individual crocheted motifs all over it. The other one called 'Knit-Wit' is painted in a knitting style which contains different knitted stitches...so see how many you can recognize.
Intermediate Media have sponsored a Shaun which is near the harbor. Intermedate media create magazines including Knit Today and their creation is called 'Shaun Bean'. I really enjoyed this trail so it is worth a visit if you can make it before 31st August. However, if you cannot make it they can all be seen together at Cribbs Causeway 12th-20th September and in Covent Garden 24th-27th September.
I have completed my first Christmas project and currently working on the second one.......hopefully I will actually finish them all on time!!! My poor mallard sock is sitting on the side but I will pick it up more towards the autumn.
Right back to work
Happy crafting
Sarah :)
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Hello all,
I have just managed to sit down and write this blog as I have been busy out and about. I love Art Sculpture trails and Birmingham has set one up called the Big Hoot. 89 Large and 122 smaller owls have been released in Birmingham and I intend to find all of these owls. By doing this I am raising money for Birmingham's Children's Hospital. This is a great cause and if you are able to spread the word of my work or even donate I would appreciate it https://www.justgiving.com/Sarah-Reed2015/
I had a wonderful day yesterday with my knitting companion Becky. We went over to Fibre East for the first time. It was lovely and there was a lot of sumptuous yarn to enjoy. Thread of Life was there and I was able to pick up another double ended Tunisian Crochet hook. There was also a lovely book stall selling older craft books. I managed to find one with Tricot crochet....which appears to be Tunisian crochet. A stall sold Drop's yarn and I could not resist buying some. Overall a great day with some good finds.
In true knitter's fashion Becky and I found a pub nearby called the Woolpack. Yes I found the irony hilarious. Here we had a lovely lunch and admired all of our purchases.
On Thursday I am going to Guthrie and Ghani's knit night. It runs 6.30pm - 7.30pm and the company is great there. If you are free, it's worth going along to.
I am working on a West Yorkshire Spinner's sock in Mallard and I have started a Christmas stocking for my nephew.......I need to finish at least one project as I can't have 2 on the go :S.......perhaps I will get to work on this now..........
Until next time
Happy Crafting
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Hello all,
I'm back from my break and now I'm knitting up a storm :)
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the latest issue of Inside crochet had been released and had arrived at my front door. Inside it contained my latest Tunisian Crochet Pattern 'Geo Cushion'. This project started months ago.
I was travelling to Reading to visit my sister and look one of my usual detours to Yarnfest. This is a lovely shop in an area called Hermitage and stocks a lot of gorgeous yarn. Another reason that a visit is necessary is for the opportunity to meet Ozzy the dog. Ozzy guided me to the yarn I just had to have. This was quite early in the year but summer was on my mind and I found that West Yorkshire Spinners had a gorgeous selection of colours. The way the shelf was stacked had the green and pink together and I loved the combination. It made me think of a watermelon and I knew I had to buy this yarn for something.................I was not heavily influenced by Ozzy's puppy eyes!!!!!!!!
Once back home I began to plot my pattern. I wanted something that would challenge me and develop a new skill. This is when I went to You Tube for Knitspiration. I came across an American crocheter (cannot think who it was) who had made a Super Mario blanket using colour work in Tunisian crochet. Using the different colours seemed to be similar to how a knitter does Intarsia Knitting. The video did guide me to twist the yarn at each colour change to ensure there are no holes.
With this in mind I decided to look back at an old patchwork book I had for a design idea. The one I selected was a star design. To sew this up it would involve 12 square which was a triangle that was half one colour and half another. If you look carefully at the patter you may see how these square would be put together. I actually did a tension square (I know !!!) to work out the sizing of my work. I had a spare cushion that was in desperate need of dressing and from there the pattern was created.
I emailed my idea to Claire from Inside Crochet and the design and it was a Tunisian cushion which happened to match the theme for an issue of the magazine. I really enjoyed this project and hope to use this technique again for a later design.
I went to Guthrie and Ghani's Knit Night on Thursday and really enjoyed it. I love the atmosphere of the shop and how relaxed knit night is there. It was a nice place to focus on my latest design involving Tunisian Crochet in the round. Lauren stocks Rico and now Milla Mia yarn in a vast range of colours. There are also a number of different weight yarn available too. I have found much knitpiration here previously as this is where I brought the yarn from Benjamin's Bunting and Nice and Cosy. The next Knit night is on 30th July and well worth a visit :)
Right.........back to work
Until next time
Happy crafting
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@knitsnotperfect
http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-reed
Hello all,
I have officially finished my first brioche knitting project (yay).
My knitting buddy and I wanted to find a workshop to challenge our skills. Becky suggested brioche knitting and I thought this sounded great. However, when I arrived at the workshop I quickly realised that this was not a form of cake eating and knitting.
Instead it is a form of knitting that creates a thick and stretch piece of material. It amused me too as it involves stitches called 'barks' and 'burp'. The bark or a 'brk' is a brioche knit stitch and a 'burp' or 'brp' is a brioche purl stitch.
The work involves placing 'shawls' (or a yarn over) stitches which are then worked together to create the thickness. I think the best way to get a grasp of this is either have a very clever knitting friend or attend a workshop. I went to Hilda Haarhoff to learn this skill. It was an interesting session which included a free scarf pattern to take home. After some time, I found it fairly simple to pick up.
However, when I returned home I ended up in a right mess. I would recommend when you are starting to use a life line. This is a piece a yarn you thread through so if you make a mistake, you can pull your work back to a specific point. I had not done this and somehow lost my many stitches.........instead I resorted to my other life line 'Becky' to the repair the damage done.
After knitting quietly with no distractions, I was able to finish my piece. I am quite happy with it and would like to wear it in the winter as it is an extremely warm accessory.
The next piece of work on this would be to learn how to use 2 colours for brioche knitting. Becky has picked this up so maybe I can get some tips off her..........
I have just submitted another pattern for Inside Crochet so keep an eye out in September :)
I am currently working on another idea that I am dying to get back to
Until next time
Happy crafting
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@knitsnotperfect
http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-reed
Hello all,
I had a lovely knitting Saturday last weekend.I attended the wonderful tea party held by City Knits in Birmingham. The gathering was in aid of Marie Curie. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and there was so much on offer.
On the day there was a vast array of gorgeous cakes to indulge on and also there was a lucky dip for knitters. I had a go and bagged myself a lot of wonderful prizes. There was also an opportunity to try and knit with epic needles and there was a stall selling many hand knitted items. It was also wonderful to see all the lovely tea cosies that had been created for the event.
I have taken part in the raffle hoping to win some of the lovely gifts. One of the offerings is 39 balls of Stylecraft yarn !!!!!! Imagine what I could make up with that !!!!!!! The draw is not until 30th June so there is still time to buy a ticket. They can be purchased from the shop or on-line, by donation, on City Knits just giving page www.justgiving.com/Christines2015. It's well worthwhile donating to this lovely cause.
I really enjoyed myself and hope they carry on hosting this event every year.
I am unsure if it is inappropriate but I am going to use the 'C' word. That's right !!! I am contemplating beginning Christmas knitting. I need to decorate my new home and this year the family are celebrating with me. Is it too soon to begin???? I'm not so sure. I will contemplate on this more.
Until next time
Happy crafting
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@knitsnotperfect
http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-reed
Hello all,
I am excited to announce that Inside Crochet have published my latest Tunisian crochet pattern. I really enjoyed designing this piece and I think it would make any room look amazing.
The lamp shade cover came a bit of an accident really. I am easily influenced by internet companies postage policies. Around the time, my sister wanted a pair of hand knitted gloves. However, in order for me to get the yarn I would have had to pay £3 postage. Oh no !!!! I was not having that!!!!! The way around this was to turn my £4 order into a £25 one. I have no idea why this seemed to make more sense to spend more money than settle for the postage. I looked for the most random thing to increase the price of my order and came across the Rico lampshade......of course into the basket it went. Once it arrived I had no idea what to do with it.
I am really into my Tunisian crochet at the minute and I wanted to move beyond a Tunisian Simple Stitch. I looked through a few stitchonaries and found this lovely lace stitch. It is a 2 line repeat and involves decreasing and passing a yarn over to maintain the same number of stitches on each row. I think the main trick to this pattern is making sure that you count the number of stitches after each row to make sure you have not lost any. The pattern allowed me to use the luscious West Yorkshire Spinner yarn that I had been saving. From there the project was created and published by Inside Crochet.
To feed my Tunisian addiction I will be going to a Tunisian crochet workshop with the lovely Denise on Saturday the 6th June at Stitch Solihull. By the end, I will hopefully be able to do the same stitch on Tunisian crochet on each side of my work (exciting stuff!!!!!)
I need a cup of tea and a calm down from all of the exciting things that have been going on.
Until next time
Happy crafting
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@knitsnotperfect
http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-reed
Hello all,
I have been developing my skills in doing Tunisian crochet in the round and creating new designs which is all exciting. I have sent them off to the magazines to see if they would like to use them. Fingers crossed :) I would show you them however, the rabbit thief strikes again!!!!!! It appears that she has taken to seeking comfort lately...........not from me but my designed good. It is a bizarre habit but I suppose if it keep her happy who am I to judge?
As you may be aware I have recently moved to Birmingham and started to look for local knit nights. I love attending one on a Saturday 11am-1pm at Stitch Solihull. This beautiful knitting hut can be found inside Nottcutt's garden centre in Shirley. It is only £1 to attend and there are lovely biscuits and tea on hand. Stitch Solihull hold a variety of workshops and one that I am intending to book onto is Tunisian Crochet with the lovely Denise Pigott. The workshop is open to any ability and I am desperate to learn how to do double sided Tunisian crochet. I am booking onto the workshop on the Saturday 6th June.
I have located another group near Bournville held at City knits in Birmingham. This group is on the last Wednesday of the month and runs 6.30pm - 8.30pm. This is a lovely group and there are usually a range of handmade cakes, tea and knitting gossip. I have enjoyed this group and will hopefully attend again in May as I am away in April.
A group that I would like to try is at Guthrie and Ghani. This is held on the last Thursday of the month 6.30pm - 8.30pm. I love the shop and the atmosphere and I am intending to go along in May. The shop is in Moseley which works out great as it is not far from the day job.
The final group that I have heard of is Stitches and Ho's which is held at a pub called the Hare and Hound pub in Kings Heath. This group runs on the last Tuesday of every month and starts from 7.30pm. This group seems different as it is based in a pub and shows the public how great knitting (and of course crochet) is.
I am off to Brighton soon so if anyone can recommend and knitting shops that I must go to that would be much appreciated.
I have updated my Ravelry shop with all my latest patterns so please check it out :)
Until next time
Happy crafting
www.facebook.com/knitsnotperfect
@knitsnotperfect
http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-reed
Over the last weekend I went to Bristol and saw all of the lovely Shaun the Sheep sculptures. Bristol is a beautiful place and the trails lead you to all of the amazing sites such as the harbor, heritage sites and around the town. 
