Moving in- My Yarn Stash

Finally I have moved all my yarn over to my new little studio room. It is still not finished and I only have one of my machines and some of my books but it's really coming together. Really love my organisation this time. To stop myself from completely messing the place up (like normal) I have colour coordinated all my cones on a bookcase and put all my balls of wool into cardboard boxes then made a thread lattice on the open side of the box. This means I can easily find and see all my yarns without them falling all over me! And it compacts them down!

(Ew crappy phone photography)

Mm lovely fabric wardrobe

I also found my old patchwork blanket and cushion that my Godmother made for me when I was young, I actually think it ties in pretty well with the colour hodgepodge! You can see a little sneak peak of my bargain £3 charity shop curtains that are actually really nice hung in there. 

I have so much to update on I think I am going to need to get cracking with the blog posts. And hopefully learn how to take better pictures!

New Etsy Items: Blue Scarf Collection

Fresh new batch of textured infinity scarves/snoods. Personally I find infinity scarf a bit of a mouth full but I still haven't worked out how to pronounce snood…snoooood?….snud? Help me out :/

Knit Inspiration

A recent trip to Birmingham has opened my eyes to this spring's new knitwear, I took a trip to forever 21 and topshop just for a quick look and was quite surprised by the range of techniques and all the colours were beautiful.

 This knitted skirt by Topshop reminded me of how simple a knitting project can be but how effective and rewarding. A knitted skirt is a weirder choice but I think they are versatile and unique. And extremely easy to make! This skirt was around £38 and you could make a simple acrylic version for half the price!

 This is the cutest jumper I've seen this year! My boyfriend actually spotted this and called me over! The mint green looks lovely in this photo, in real life it was a bit on the tacky side but it reminded me that hidden in my stash of yarn was some mint baby 4ply that my grandma gave me when i first started knitting. I have never had a use for it because it just isn't really for me, but I can imagine this pattern idea as a crop jumper or bag, maybe even some cute socks!

 This ombre cardigan from forever 21 really caught my eye, the colours are lovely. I would love to knit this in a more waterfall front version.

 This lovely fairisle knit jumper by forever 21 reminded me of my punch card heart pattern I used to create an infinity scarf for my etsy shop. This is a really nice idea of graduating colours.

New Etsy Additions

Following a spurt of new ideas for my Etsy shop I have decided to create a range of more affordable clothing and accessories. I have recently added 2 new scarves and a convertible top/cardigan. The scarves wee completely random from anything i had done before I just picked up a yarn and ran it through the machine hoping for the best and the results were quite pleasing! Take a look:

 I used a cotton and acrylic slub yarn so that when I overdyed the yarn would only partially take the dye and create a mottled and textured effect.

 This can be worn as a simple waterfall cardigan over a long sleeve top.

 Or you can twist the straps and panels to create halter neck and other unusual top designs. Become you're own stylist!

Next up is my grey marled yarn ladder and tassel infinity scarf/ snood.

This snood was knitted with about 4 different types of grey yarn that give it it's really unusual texture and sheen and also keeps the scarf warm and bulks up the tassels!

This piece was a pattern a made for valentines, I wanted to have some more unusual pieces for valentines that aren't the typical red and dark pink colours. As someone that works in retail the "valentines magic" slowly fades for me and this is a way of creating something for valentines that is still sweet but just a bit different!

 I used a high shine grey acrylic to pair the peachy pink chenille effect yarn with. Im not usually a fan of chenille yarns but i really like how it make the hearts raised and also gives the snood a nice soft lining.

The last top is another Mark Fast inspired piece. I had some black merino elastane left over and desided to make a cute little top marled with gold lurex and large lace holes this crop top is a lovely basic but unusual piece for anyones wardrobe.

So that is all my latest additions to my Etsy shop! I hopefully will be creating more this week as I have loads of new ideas and yarns to try out! I'm happy to say that both the scarves have sold since listing but they are still available to have made to order! All these pieces are available here at my shop!

New Yarns!

So i got a chance to scout out some new yarn suppliers at the knitting and stitching show in London. I had always been an obsessive about the kid silk haze from Rowan, which is weird because it's not exactly a machine knitting yarn. But I just love the feel and handle of it, I bought a ball of it last year from Liberty's yarn shop and I still have it. Its quite weird I just keep it and stroke it... Anyway! I hate the £8 price tag and refuse to pay that for a 25g ball of wool! Thats the great thing about these exhibitions is that they have loads of different companies that aren't so prominent as Rowan etc. I came across a stand called Nest http://www.handmadenest.co.uk that had yarns called Drops Kid-Silk and a range of gorgeous muted colours. To be fair their range isn't as big as Rowan's but thats to be expected really. And it cost only £4.60, thats nearly half the price of Rowans yarn and it's the same fibre content! Total bargain! Take a look.

 I bought 4 balls but will probably need more, I want to make either a jumper or a lace cardigan with it. I just need to finalise a pattern and design for it.

I also got a few skeins of crewel embroidery yarn because they were such gorgeous tonal colours, and about the only fine weight I could find in the exhibition! Hopefully I'll be able to put them to good use I'm not sure how yet!