Showing posts with label Ravelry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ravelry. Show all posts

Monday, 31 July 2017

Nigel's Parrot

Hello all, 

I hope you are all well and enjoying the summer. I can't believe it's August tomorrow eekkkk. this can only mean one thing.....Christmas is fast approaching us all!!!! panic!!! I guess it's time to get the creative hat on and start making Christmas gifts. I also have a wedding to go to and a friend has a baby on the way. There is so much to do in such little time. 

I am proud to announce that I have recently had my pattern 'Nigel's Parrot' published in  Inside crochet. This pattern was first created last year, when my other half and I went to Bird World. It was just a normal trip until we went to a part where parrots were roaming free on branches. Nigel decided to feed a parrot but then the parrot took a shine to him. The parrot proceeded to crawl on his shoulder and remove a button from Nigel's top shirt. After a while the parrot spat out the button but did not move from Nigel's shoulder. We tried to move the parrot with food and also Nigel stood by a branch to try and encourage it to move. The parrot was having the time of his life and just swapped which of Nigel's shoulder he sat on. After 30 minutes  we had to get a zoo keeper to remove the parrot. I felt  a memento of such a funny event was needed and so I made Nigel a parrot. 

I didn't realize that the parrot had so many colours around it's face, chest and tail. The easiest way to tackle this was to make a flat piece which I sewed onto the main part of the body. I felt it captured the main parts of the parrot. It was fun selecting the colours from Drops Safran yarn. They have a great color pallet to work with so matching it to the parrot was easy. 

I hope you enjoy the pattern as much as I enjoyed them. I have also popped new patterns on Ravelry which are of other animal's I have designed such as a cat, dog and bear. 

Over the weekend I was in Salisbury visiting the family and popped into Born to Knit. It is a very sweet shop based in a craft centre. They had a wide range of colours available to select. There was Rowan, Patron and Debbie Bliss yarn. I have made some good selections and will be playing with a design soon. 

Right....better get on with Christmas patterns......

Until next time

Happy crafting

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@knitsnotperfect

http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-reed

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


Friday, 9 September 2016

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

Thursday, 9 June 2016

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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http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-reed

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

Monday, 23 May 2016

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.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-reed

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


Thursday, 12 May 2016

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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http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-reed

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

Tuesday, 29 March 2016

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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@knitsnotperfect

http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-reed

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

Saturday, 13 February 2016

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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http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-reed

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

Tuesday, 2 February 2016

New Year, New Start

Hello all,

A bit delayed but Happy New Year to you all. Christmas was wonderful as the family came over and their knitted gifts were much appreciated. 

I had been quite busy before Christmas to make up the 7 gifts for my family.I made my brother and brother in law gloves and I also made my sister a fantastic pair of gloves. I found the pattern for free on Ravelry. The pattern was made by Crystal Baer and they are titled Alice's Queen of Hearts Gloves. They were based on a deck of cards and one was mainly red and the other was black. They were fun to make and I felt the pattern worked extremely well. I would recommend this design. 

My sister and sister in law were knitted chunky slipper socks using a Toft pattern. The yarn used was Rico Creative Bonbon Super Chunky Multi yarn which was gorgeous and colourful which went down well. I brought it from Guthrie and Ghani and I would recommend the yarn for any chunky project. My nephew also loved his T-Rex which was made from a Toft pattern. He chased the family around the house and roared in our faces many times......... 

As you may recall, I hunted down all of the Shaun the Sheep sculptures around London and Bristol. As my father joined me on my adventure, I thought he deserved a permanent reminder of the fun we had so I knitted him a Shaun the Sheep to treasure....I'm not quite sure he saw it that way.......

I have had a request to knit a Pig with a Wig!!!!! I had previously made this item for my cousin and I have been requested to knit up 2 more. I enjoyed making it previously and it the pattern is from a knitting designer I love called Anna Hrachovec. She has released a number of knitted book under the Mochimochi series. The designs are quirky and sweet and I have admired them for years. So to have the opportunity to make an item from her pattern is amazing. check out her website for more on Anna and her patterns. I will post them when I have finished working on the items.

Right I am off to continue to making up these little piggies,,,,eeekkkkk

Until next time

Happy crafting. 

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@knitsnotperfect

http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-reed

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

Friday, 18 December 2015

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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Sunday, 27 September 2015

Car dealerships and Holiday yarn shopping

Hello all,

I can confirm that an acceptable place to crochet is in a car dealership. I had my car serviced and whilst I was waiting I whipped out my Toft T-Rex project. Unbeknown to me, I was in the presences of fellow crocheter, Tinkyblink. She is also a Tunisian crochet fan and we lovely yarn shops in the area. The time passed quickly as we shared projects and exchanged Ravelry page details. There were also a few other people who were intrigued with what I was working on. All in all, a car dealership is an acceptable place knit. hhhmmmm where to try next.....

With this extra time of working on my project, I completed my T-Rex project ready for Christmas. I sadly did not find the missing leg so had to make another one.........(grumble grumble). The pattern was straight forward to follow and I am please with the result. I would recommend this pattern if you would like to make a cute dinosaur.

I have been away on holiday and found some lovely knitting shops in the area. I have been to Periwinkle in Ilfracombe, which is not only a knitting shop but a cafe as well. There was a delicious range of home-made cakes and speciality teas and coffees. What I also loved was that there were knitting magazines to browse whilst having a brew. There was a range of yarn  to explore and sweet knitting accessories. I brought myself a hand mirror which has pictures of wool on the back. This is a place worth visiting if you are in the area, I recommend the bakewell cake. 

On the way back from holiday we stopped in Tiverton and I popped into the Tiverton Bead and Wool shop. Downstairs they have an extensive range of beads, however, upstairs there was a whole floor of yarn. They stocked the beautiful West Yorkshire Spinner's yarn and drops yarn. The yarn was affordable and there was a good range of colours. I felt a bit of inspiration and brought some yarn for the next project. 

I am going to get back to gloves that I am knitting for another Christmas present but before I go, you may wish to have a look in this month's Inside Crochet for my latest pattern..........I will talk about it more in the next blog.

Until next time

Happy crafting

Sarah :) 

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Saturday, 18 April 2015

Birmingham knit nights and the Rabbit thief

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

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Sunday, 30 November 2014

Christmas is around the corner

Hello all,

I seem to have lost the month of November due to my rapid Christmas knitting for family. I love having a skill which means that I can provide truly unique gifts for my family members. I often look to Ravelry for knitspiration and find projects that suits everyone perfectly. Last year I was able to find a pattern for a toy Starship Enterprise and made that up for my dad as he was a Star Trek fan. He loved it and it is proudly hung on the Christmas tree.

You'll be happy to know that I have almost completed all of the required items and I can start focusing on designing and knitting for myself again :) I am really into cable knitting at the moment. I love the effects that can be achieved using this technique and I am hoping to be the proud owner of some new fingerless mittens soon as mine are pretty done for.

I will be displaying my handmade Christmas bunting in my home in preparation for the big day. Inspiration came in the middle of summer (bit odd but there we go). I started to thing about my holiday projects and dreaming about advent calendars. I thought about how I would love to have bigger chocolates each day as opposed to the tiny ones found in the shop brought ones and the only way around this would be to make my own advent calender. I didn't have a stocking as a child and I felt to make it up to myself I would make 24 mini ones as a bunting. 

I found the gorgeous Milla Mia yarn and a beautiful bunting was born. The pattern was in last months Inside Crochet and I really like this piece. I will be putting it up very soon........I don't want to wait for 12 days before Christmas 

I hope all of your festive projects are going well. I will be going to TOFT's open day on the 20th December with the family. It looks great as there are many demonstrations and also the opportunity to halter walk alpaca's (how exciting). The Cornflower Cafe is also amazing and well worth a visit too. I am hoping to be there with a lovely cream tea or a salted caramel cake..............perhaps by that point I wont care and I'll have both. 

Right...back to these mittens!!!!!!!

Until next time

Happy crafting

Sarah

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Saturday, 27 September 2014

Edward's Menagerie

Hello all, 

I don't know about you but I love it when a new great crochet or knitting book is released. Not so long ago Toft Alpaca released their amigurumi book full of adorable animals. If you are unfamiliar with the term it basically means a crocheted toy. They are great as you can get patterns of anything from zebras to Minions.........I know as I have made many. Some of my original amigurumi patterns can be seen in my Ravelry shop. 

I love the story behind the creation of 'Edward's Menagerie' and all of the patterns in the book itself. The designs originated from when Kerry Lord was pregnant with her son (Edward) and this is when she first picked up a crochet hook. From this point she made up the patterns of the lovely animals and they have finally been published in this adorable book. I have been really looking forward to this and was fortunate enough to attend the magnificent book launch....which included a piƱata full of knitting goodies :) 

I love this book as it provides clear instructions for all the techniques needed to make the animals from the book. The patterns are also divided into varying levels of difficulty which is great for beginners and more advance crocheters. I love the shapes of the animals and they are sooo hug-able. Another special touch is that all of the animals have their own names and a back story. If you have never picked up a hook before or have been crocheting for years I would recommend this book! 

The one animal I had to make from this book was an alpaca called Seamus. The pattern was easy to follow and I loved that the book also includes sewing up instructions as these are often left out or extremely vague. I quickly made him up and I am chuffed with the results. If you love Seamus as much as I do and you would like a copy of the book, check out Toft's website. 

If you need additional guidance on how to crochet or would like some tuition onto how to make the animals, Toft runs many workshops to provide brilliant hints and tips. These are well worth attending.

I have a few more animals that I would like to make from this book and I will post the results when I have completed them.

I am back from my holidays and I happy to say that I was in much need of my holiday socks as in the evenings it was freezing!!!!!! However, I have a seen a lot of knitspiration and I will hopefully be working on more of my own original patterns soon. 

Until next time

Happy crafting. 

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Wednesday, 27 August 2014

Nice and Cosy Tea Set

Hello all,

Sorry for the delay between posts but I have had a lot going on in my day job. I have also had a couple more commissions accepted so look out for them soon :)

The weather is beginning to get colder so it will soon be time to pull out the Super Moss Stitch Cowl (which by the way the pattern is available for free on http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-reed). However, until that point, I will have to make do with many a cup of tea to keep me warm. This is where the inspiration for my latest pattern came from. The pattern Nice and Cosy is available now in the latest Inside Crochet Magazine. 

I attended a knit night at the wonderful Toft Alpaca shop and got some much needed 'Knitspiraton'. There was a lady who was making a piece which contained a crochet stitch called a basket weave. This is a gorgeous textured stitch which involves working in front and behind a treble stitch. I loved it so much I kept it in mind until I found a suitable project.

I love the colours of autumn and felt that the sumptuous mustard colour was something that I wanted to work with. I popped along to the wonderful Guthrie and Ghani and found a lovely brand of yarn from Navia. It is 100% wool and is brilliant at holding textured stitches and it is from here the idea of the 'Nice and Cosy' set was born.

Keeping on this theme of being snugly and warm, I have began my second pair of knitted socks ready for my caravan holiday. It is only now at this point I have realised that the weather may be pretty cold by then, so I lovely warm pair of socks are much needed. However, I am hoping to attack many yarn shops in the local area for more ideas of future designs. 

I also had the opportunity to attend a great workshop at Toft to learn the hyacinth stitch. The pattern involves a repeat of 6 rows over 180 stitches so I do not have a lot to show at the minute but keep tuned for an update soon.

 It is a little sad to think that Summer is over in the knitters' world as we now begin to plot and make Christmas presents. Well.....if the shops can sell mince pies now, I feel it is more than acceptable to pull out my festive needles to make my pressies (oh yes I do own a pair)

Well until next time

Happy crafting :)

Sarah Reed

www.facebook.com/knitsnotperfect

@knitsnotperfect

http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-reed


Monday, 16 June 2014

Benjamin's Bunny

Hello all,

I am an Auntie :). The lovely Benjamin arrived into the world in April and he is gorgeous. Babies are brilliant  to knit for as the projects are small, quick to make and often adorable. I asked my sister if there was anything in particular that she wanted for Ben. Instead of the usual booties or hat, she asked for a bunny. Not just any old bunny but one similar to what we had as children. 

One of the first knitted items that my sister and I had as a children were a rabbits. One of our rabbits had red dungarees and the other had peach ones. The rabbits did not quite look right but we loved them very much. I can remember they were mainly made in garter stitch and the dungarees were formed in stocking stitch. 

This would normally not be a problem to make.....if you had the original pattern....or the original toy to refer. However, I had neither of these :s meaning I had to rely on my memory. To reduce the amount of sewing needed I knitted the toy on double pointed needles but to achieve the effect of a garter stitch, I had to use a purl stitch.

My poor husband had to endure confusing questions such as 'can you tell it's a rabbit but it doesn't quite look like one?' He decide to help by bringing me a lot of tea and reading quietly in the corner. 

I thought to make this item more specialized and gave the rabbit blue dungarees. I finally completed the project after a week and hand delivered the item to beautiful baby Ben. He seems happy with the end  product (well as happy as a 1 month old could be). 

More news is that I have finally opened a pattern shop on Ravelry. I haven't managed to post all of my designs yet but there is a good sample which can be seen on this link (http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-coad).

Summer is on the way so I will soon be writing about some of my summer patterns :) 

Until next time

Happy Crafting

www.facebook.com/knitsnotperfect

http://www.ravelry.com/designers/sarah-coad

@knitsnotperfect