Marine Life Mobile

Hello all,

It has been quite a busy time here with knitting and my other hobbies. I have ran my first 5k, rode a horse and went on a ghost walk. I'm ticking off many things of my bucket list.  

I have had a number of patterns published by Inside Crochet!!!! Very exciting!!! 'Ben's Dinosaur' that I designed for my nephew was published which was awesome.I went to a workshop with Thread of Life to learn Broomstick crochet which proved to be a massive help. I found that I quite liked the pattern from broomstick crochet and I was able to designed the 'Broomstick Candle Cosy'. I used lace mohair yarn as I liked the texture and effect it had. 

I had quite a tight commission with the 'Christmas Pudding Set'. I wanted to make something colourful and fun so suggested a Christmas pudding cosy. I thought that the best way to create texture was with the basket weave stitch. I liked this as i feel it gave the impression of a pudding. In order to create the smooth texture of the icing I though that a dc stitch. This lead to the base of the pudding being made in 2 parts to allow the handle and spout to fit in and the icing to be made in the round to help hold the shape together. I had a lot of fun with the coasters and think they turned out well. 

I made 'Sarah's Seal' for myself. I went on a scuba diving holiday to the Farne Islands with my knitting buddy Becky and I was able to fulfil a life long dream of swimming with seals. It was such as lovely trip that I decided to create a little something to remember it by. 

The current pattern is 'Marine Life Mobile' I went on a number of holiday last year where I spotted a lot of different animals. Whilst at the Farne Islands, I saw a jellyfish whilst diving. I went to Ireland where I went on a fantastic trip to see dolphins and whales. Later in the year I went to Sri Lanka where I was lucky enough to snorkel with a turtle. I went to Lanzarote where I did scuba diving and I saw a seahorse and an octopus. I thought  mobile was a nice way to capture the wonderful year that I had experienced. 

I have been working on some more ideas for commissions so fingers crossed they will be selected. 

Until next time

Happy crafting 

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Ireland and Wool@j13

Hello all,

I hope you are happily crafting the summer away. I have been a busy bunny with my travels!!!!

At the start of May I went on a mini holiday to Ireland!!! We stopped in Limerick and it was lovely. We had the opportunity to see the Cliffs of Mohar, kiss the Blarney Stone and see humpback Whales on a sea safari. I also managed to find a little wool shop in Limerick called Lena's Sewing and Knitting Centre. It was a sweet little shop on the high street. I found a beautiful set of crochet hooks which I had to buy!!!!!!

We also went to St John's Castle which had a gift shop selling knitting kits. I have mohair kit to make a shawl and an Irish yarn kit to make up some mittens. I will be having a play with them when possible. 

I went to wool@j13 and I really enjoyed the day. There was a good variety of stalls and I was lucky enough to attend 2 great workshops. The first was broomstick crochet and this was taught by Helen from Thread of Life. It was an interesting technique which I am hoping to incorporate into a design. I enjoy how it looks when it is made with mohair so fingers crossed It will create something. 


I also attended jar cover workshop ran by Lynn Rowe. Lynn is a talented designer who features in many magazines and books. The workshop was making a cover for a jam jar but used a variety of new stitches. It was a great relaxed environment and I was able to get advice on perfecting techniques. Lynn was a warm and friendly host and I would recommend attending her workshops. 

I have been keeping up with my Quirky Thirties tasks.....I attempted to water ski but this was a major fail......In order to ski safely the boots must be loose enough so that you can get pulled out of them. The boat pulled me so hard that I flew out of the boots and was dragged face first across the lake. I did not realise that I had to let go so continued to be pulled for a while. It is fair to say that i don't think it's for me....

Well I'd better get back to it.

until next time

Happy crafting

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Fibre East and Owl hunting

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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