Rebecca and Bithiah

Hello all,

I am proud to say that Inside Crochet have published 2 more of my patterns. I have created 2 animal called Rebecca and Bithiah. The patterns started last year just before Christmas, I made the mistake from the year before of knitting large gifts for each of my friends and family. My gifts ranged from gloves to socks.......the issue at the time was that I kept forgetting that I needed to make each thing twice. I decided that I wanted to create something smaller and quicker to make. This is where I decided to make an army of animals for each person. I decided to make each of my friends an animal which I thought represented them and name it after them. 

The fox is named after my sister Rebecca or Beccy. Beccy has been there a lot for me and helped me through the good and bad times. She has always supported me no matter what. She is also the mother of my nephew Ben (the one I created Benjamin's Bunting for). My sister liked items with fox designs on it and I thought it would be appropriate to make her own. 

Bithiah is someone who I went to university with. She is extremely lively and a joy to be around. Bithiah helped me through my degree and has been a great friend ever since I met her. We lived together in halls and now we meet every week for hula hooping practice. As she is such a lively character it made me think a squirrel would really suit her.

I enjoyed using Drops Safran yarn as the colours are extremely vibrant and comfortable to work with. I like the range and also the price makes the project extremely affordable. It was a pleasure to create and I hope to share some more of my makes at a later date. 

Another yarn that I have been enjoying is West Yorkshire Spinner Rum Paradise. It is multicoloured but so bright and cheerful. I am working on some designs with them!!!

I am looking forward to going to wool@j13 over the next weekend. I have signed up to a broomstick crochet workshop and have a good look at all of the yarn there. I'm really looking forward to it and I hope you can join me!!!!! 

Well lets get back to it!!!

until next time

Happy crafting

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Name Twin and Slither of Snakes

Hello all,


A very delayed Happy New Year. I hope you are all well and knitting away. I have been poorly for a while so unable to blog bbbbboooo!!!! Hopefully I'm on the mend and can get back to knitting!!!!


I can see there is a new knitting event Wool@j13. I am hoping to attend as this is not too far from me !!!!! Of course I will be with my knitting buddy Becky. The event is on 13th-14th May and looks fab. For more information check out their website http://wool-j13.uk/


I was amazed to see I have a name twin (plus or minus a letter) who also crochets!!! Sarah Read creates really sweet patterns (check out the unicorn!!!! it very pretty). She knits, crochets and sews. Sarah Read goes under Stitch Witch Creations so check her out and support my name twin!!!! Her facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/stitchwitchcreations


I am going to join a knitting and crochet world record attempt. On Facebook there is a group called Slither of Snakes and they want your Knitting snakes before 9th April!!!!! The intention is to attempt to break a World Record by having the longest line is knitting/crocheted snakes. After this the snakes will go on sale to raise money for Alzheimer's research UK. This looks like a lot of fun....and a great way to use up your yarn stash!!!!! Check out the Facebook page to request a pattern (https://www.facebook.com/Slitherofsnakes/) !!!!!!


Well thanks my knitting news for now


Until next time


Happy Crafting

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Tunisian Cluster Mittens

Hello all,

Happy days, Inside Crochet have been so kind and printed my pattern!!!!! Please check it out!!!!

This piece is a pair of Tunisian Cluster Mittens. This piece came about as I played with a new stitch pattern I had found. Once I had made head and tails of it and created the original sample I sent a picture to Rhian Drinkwater and she loved the design. Rhian suggested using the beautiful MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino. This has to be one of the most beautiful and soft yarns that I have ever worked with. I wanted a piece that would test Tunisian crocheter but the pattern needed to be relaxing. This stitch was perfect as it is quite repetitive and builds up quickly. I created the piece and sent it off and it is lovely to see how the piece has been published in the magazine. I was also touched to see a mention on the editors page.

I have a couple more patterns on their way soon and I have just been commissioned for a project next year. It is all very exciting!!!!!

I have started the Christmas presents (I know Christmas crafting already!!!!).....I am designing original pieces for my friends and family and hope that they enjoy them. In addition to this, I have my ticket ready for the Hobbycraft and Christmas craft show at the NEC. I love this show as there is a good range of craft items to buy and also there is a little Christmas Market to look at too. I am heading there on 6th November!!! I'll be there with my knitting buddy Becky and I hope to see you there. 

I am proud to announce that I will be going on my first holiday with my new man!!!!!. We decided to go to Scotland.....which I only recently remembered that it is freezing. This was a perfect reason to knit a new hat. As we are planning to go on hikes I did not want to get lost in the dark so I felt it was a good time to us reflective yarn. I made an order to Wool Warehouse and was sent (very quickly) Schachenmayr Lumio. I am a proud owner of a rib stitch hat.....with a massive pom pom!!!!!!! I am looking forward to showing this piece off and also I hopefully will not get lost with my shiny hat. 

Right, lets get back to it!!!!

Until next time

Happy crafting

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SUP and commissions

Hello all, 

It has been a busy few weeks. I have finally decorated my bedrooms. I have learnt the beauty of wallpapering.......or messy I am with the paste. I have also realised that I should not be left alone to paint......At one point I head butted the freshly painted wall and walked around with a purple fringe most of the day. My poor white carpet has also suffered as it is now decorated with purple splodges of paint......I guess this is an excuse to get new carpets. 

I have finished my run of commissions for the magazines so hopefully they will be released within the next couple of months. My Ravelry and Love Knitting shop also appear to be doing well. Please do have a look if you're able.

My knitting buddy Becky and I recently went to Fibre East. It was a great show and there was such a variety of hand dyed yarn. Becky made a good purchase of hand dyed white yarn with colourful specks through it. It has since become a beautiful unicorn!!!!

I can't believe it's already September so I will need to start thinking about Christmas projects....maybe this year I wont make anything too complex......oh dear. 

I have attempted to SUP (stand up paddle boarding) this was good fun!!!! It is quite difficult to stand up on the board but I was able to. I tried to reverse the board but failed epic-ally and fell in the sea........twice. I would say it is worth doing it!!!!!

I'm off on holiday soon and I will be crocheting on the beach....hopefully......it will be a nice break ..........with an attempt at surfing. 

right time to start planning for Christmas....

until next time 

Happy crafting

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True Love and Zorbing

Hello all,

It has been a busy few weeks. I have commissions to work on for Inside Crochet and the knitting collections which is exciting!!!!

I have also been zorbing. It was a lot of fun but I do not recommend doing it on a hot day!!! I went with my knitting buddy Becky and we tried to zorb on the water to begin with. This was an epic fail as we could not even stand up!!!........We decided to instead to lie in the ball and sunbathe. After this we were part of an it's a knock out round....Again I spent most of the time on the floor.......I couldn't keep stood up. Finally we did a maze where we raced against each other. As it was so hot it was like being stuck in a green house....we quickly went from running to walking. It is a good experience but I don't think I need to do it again lol. 

I went to Yarningham which was amazing.It was lovely to attend a local yarn festival which has local suppliers. I found a great stall which provided me with buttons needed for a commission I am working on. They had a lovely range and I suggest looking at their supplies. 

I attended a steeking workshop ran by Ann Kingstone. She was a lovely teacher and had really built my confidence in this area. It felt a bit scare cutting up the knitted samples I created but using the methods used in this workshop really made me want to take on a steeking pattern. 

I have created a new pattern....I feel it is a symbol of true love. This happy couple is a banana called Bernard and a sausage called Selina. This crazy combination came about as my boyfriend gave me the affectionate pet name....sausage........I went with my knitting buddy Becky it was an Andy Warhol exhibition at the Ashmolean museum in Oxford. Amongst the pictures there was one that I felt impacted me greatly. It was a picture of a sausage and a banana.....From that day I decided it was fair that if I was to called sausage he would be called banana. To commemorate this special moment, I made a pattern for a crocheted sausage and banana. The pattern is available on Love Knitting and Ravelry.

I am off to Fibre East on Sunday and I can't wait!! I will fill you in on all the lovely things I buy.

Until next time

Happy crafting 

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Baby card and wakeboarding

Hello all,

I hope you are all enjoying the gorgeous weather 

This is the perfect excuse to sit outside and knit away the hours whilst topping up your tan. 

Hopefully you have had a look at The Knitting collection 2 to see my latest published patterns. I have been working on a baby card for a colleague at work. The idea that they had was to have mini baby garments placed onto a washing line. I looked for inspiration from my Christmas stocking bunting to create little booties. I had a play around and created a teeny tiny pair booties (they are very sweet). I have created a small grow and a nappy.  I am in the process of getting the pattern checked and hopefully it'll be posted on Ravelry and Love Knitting soon.

I am pressing on with my quirky thirty list. I have actually cooked with rhubarb for the first time!!! I have avoided this for years as I remember being terrified of it as a child. I remember being told you could be poisoned by rhurbarb......as I did not know what could cause the damage...i was too nervous to eat it. I wondered why so many people would risk eating it. I was with Hannah and successfully (and safely) made a delicious rhubarb crumble. 

The next thing I have done is gone wakeboarding!! You are on a board that you are strapped to (bit like a snowboard) and you hold onto a cable. You are then pulled through the water. I found it to be an amazing experience and I really enjoyed it. I did this at Chase water and the staff were so friendly there. I would definitely recommend it!!!!

I have no idea where I have found this but I am currently reading a knitting murder mystery. Oh yes, such a thing exists. The author is Maggie Sefton and she has a series of these books. I am hoping to slowly pick them up to enjoy. I am not too far into my book but I am enjoying 'Knit One, Kill Two'......

Right, back to it 

Until next time

Happy crafting. 

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The Knitting Collection two

Hello All,

I hope you are all well.

 Nigel Cat is now available on Ravelry and Love Knitting (Yay!!) please check out my designs for more. I am also proud to announce that I have two patterns published in The Knitting Collection Two. 

The first design is titled 'Big, Bold and Beautiful' which is a summery tea cosy. I developed this concept with Claire Montgomerie. I wanted to design a project that used a seed stitch, I had previously designed a seed stitch hat (which is available on Ravelry and Love Kniting by the way). Claire selected some beautiful summery colours to create this tea cosy. The yarn used was chunky King Cole yarn which was soo bright and soft to the touch. The cosy is made in 2 halves and then sewn together at the end. I like how the white row splits each row of colour change. There were quite a few ideas on how to top the cosy. I originally tired a flower but Claire and I decided to use a fun pom pom instead. Make it today and please send me any projects as I would love to see it. 

The second pattern in the collection is 'Take Away A Piece of Summer'. Claire again selected the lovely yarn for this project. It was Stylecraft's Special DK. the colours were vibrant and the yarn worked well in showing the texture of the stitch. The project involved a double moss stitch but it was also made in the round. It was a good challenge to work on this project. I think the pattern is sweet and also quick and easy to make. 

I have ticked another thing off my Quirky thirty List!! I attempted to make pottery. The workshop was at Whichford Pottery and the day was quite a laugh. I had a go at throwing, which is playing on the pottery wheel. I found it OK to start with but attempting to make a leveled pot at the end was extremely challenging. I succeeded in making a few wonky pots....I also want to add that my experience was nothing like the scene from Ghost......The second half of the day was making free form items out of clay. I was not too sure what to make so I I was lucky to have the opportunity to press a baby chick. I will post up a picture if they survive the Kiln.....fingers crossed....

Right back to my latest commission.

Until next time

Happy crafting. 

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http://www.loveknitting.com/catalogsearch/result/?order=relevance&dir=desc&q=sarah+reed