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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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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Nigel Cat

Hello All,

I am beginning to get my Crojo back again. A crojo your knitting or crochet mojo (haha did you see what I did there). My need for knitspiration was great so I decided to go to my local knitting group. 

I really enjoyed the Stitch and Sip session at Stitch Solihull. It takes place on a Saturday morning 11am-1pm and there are a lovely group of people who attend. They are all so friendly and welcoming and willing to give advice on your current project. There is also a fab selection of drinks and teas. After being surrounded by so many lovely projects, my Crojo instantly returned. 

I was asked to create a cat and this is what I have been working upon. I decided I wanted it to be bright in colour so chose the scrumptious Stylecraft Jaffa. The yarn is acrylic and soft which was purrfect for this project. I managed to buy this lovely yarn and the toy stuffing needed from Christines yarn shop.

I recalled how much I did not enjoy making the head and the body separately and then sew them together. For my design I decided to make the head and body in one piece. I wanted the cat to be in a sitting position and so made the legs to suit this pose. After some work, Nigel cat was born. I'm just finishing off the pattern typing and it'll soon be available on Ravelry and Love Knitting. 

Hopefully on Friday 13th May a bookazine that I am featured in will be released.....more on that next time. 

I am officially 30 (I am slowly accepting this) and I have completed 2 tasks on my Quirky Thirty List. The first was playing the lottery. I have never brought a lottery ticket until now and I have come to conclude that it is a waste of money as I only got one number !!!! bbbboooooo. I'll have to keep saving to get my knitting shop in the future......

The second thing on my list was to attend a Drum and Bounce class with my friend Bithiah. The class is an aerobics session which takes place to a drum and bass sound track......It was really tough and I thought I was going to collapse at times. I am also in extraordinary pain today......However, despite this it was such a great laugh, I'd recommend that you have a go. 

Right back to the next project

until next time

Happy crafting

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Well....I managed to loose a month

Hello all,

The last month has flown by in a blink of an eye an I have no idea what's happened. I hope you are all well and enjoyed your Easter. I have my chocolate to munch through whilst I'm knitting!!!

One of the main reasons that I have lost a month was that I have been working on a commission with quite a short deadline. It's been very exciting working on these projects and hopefully you will be able to see them in May. It's been so lovely to have projects to get my teeth into and I feel full of knitspiration.

I have been playing with different knitting stitches and to expand my skill set. One stitch that I love is a rice stitch. This involves having a row with an odd number of stitches. The combination of stitches are P1, Ktbl to the end but ending with a P1. The next row is a knit row then the two rows are repeated. I love the texture created by this stitch and it is visually appealing. Check out my shops on Ravelry and Love Knitting for my Rice Stitch hat.

I have started looking into different knitting events taking place over the country. Some that I have my eyes on are Fibre East and London's Yarn Crawl. Last year, my knitting buddy Becky, and I went to Fibre East and were impressed with the range of stalls. fingers crossed she can join me again. The Yarn Crawl is an equivalent of a pub crawl. It involves travelling around yarn stores around London. I am hoping this is something that I can get involved in.......I suppose I should start saving my cash now :-\

Love your Yarn Shop day is coming up soon. It's worth looking into what events are taking place at your local yarn shop and supporting them. 

I have a new project under way. I have been requested to create a cat....hopefully when I work out how to make this I will post a piccy. 

Right back to the projects 

Until next time

Happy crafting 

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A Pig with a Wig

Hello all,

I hope you are well. Perhaps you are knitting away for a loved one for valentines day or something to keep you warm........I am working on my pigs with wigs (yay)

I have completed one of my two orders and I love it to bits. The patterns are from one of my favourite knitting designers called Anna Hrachovec. Her quirky designs are so fun to make up and absolutely adorable. This pattern was from her first book called Mochimochiland. It was due to this book I had to learn how to knit in the round immediately as I was so excited to make up the cute creatures. 

The first piggy is completed with a bob style wig. I think it suits him very well and I hope he will be well loved in his new home. The second pig will hopefully have a Mohawk style wig to show off to his piggy friends. 

I am still to complete my Holly Berry socks which was a pattern from West Yorkshire Spinners. I went to Stitch Solihull where the wonderful Anna helped me with the toe up sock cast on......the problem was I went home and accidentally pulled all of the stitches off (ooopphhh) I may need to have another visit soon..... 

I have finally uploaded some new patterns to Ravelry and Love Knitting (yay!!!) My newer patterns include the Tunisian Lace Lampshade, Tunisian Cross Stitch Cowl and Geo Cushion which have previously been featured in Inside Crochet. If you get the chance, please check it out.

Right I'm off to work on a Mohawk....never thought I'd say that sentence......

Until next time

Happy crafting. 

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Santa Dash and Crocheting

Hello all,

Not long until Christmas!!!! and I hope that you have all of your knitted gifts ready to give your loved ones. If you haven't (like the rest of the knitting community) I hope your not up too late at night trying to get it done.....remember, you probably never specified which Christmas your loved ones will received their knitted gifts ;-) 

I have completed the Santa Dash !!! It took place on Sunday and I went with my friend Laura. We arrived in Warwick where we were given our Santa Outfits. It was hilarious being dressed up with a mass gathering of Santas. It was at this point I whipped out my yarn, which I had brought from Wool Warehouse. I decided to go for a acrylic yarn so it wouldn't get damaged in the rain! I also went for a chunky yarn so that my scarf would be created much quicker. I used my 10mm crochet hook and began crocheting my scarf whilst completing the Santa Dash. I decided to work 11 trebles on each row and worked on the piece until the 2 balls of yarn ran out. There was a lot of support as we completed the dash and I would do it again!!

I would like to thank Countryside Online, Myton Hospices and Inside Crochet for there support whilst completing the Santa Dash. I would also like to thank Laura as without her, I would have missed this brilliant opportunity, 

 Myton Hospices is a brilliant charity that provides wonderful end of life support. If you have enjoyed my antics and are able to give to a great cause please follow the link to my Just Giving page www.justgiving.com/sarahssantadash2015

I've decorated my house with some of my previous Christmas knits which includes the Christmas stocking bunting and my knitivity. It is also not too ling until I pull out my Christmas Jumper!! I feel my new home is ready for the family to visit so we can celebrate Christmas together. I'm really looking forward to it!!!!

I currently have two patterns in the guide to Crochet volume 5 created by Inside Crochet.. this beautiful bookazine contains 2 of my Tunisian crochet patterns from this year. Please check it out 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for supporting my work and I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year. 

Until 2016

Happy Crafting. 

Sarah x

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