Wonderwool Wales

Wonderwool was amazing this year, it's one of my favourite shows - the people are lovely, the venue is clean and spacious which means even if it's busy (and it really was!) it's not uncomfortable, everyone has plenty of space to breathe and take in all the woolly goodness.

I was selling books on the Fyberspates stand. Jeni brought this rather magnificent Sock Peacock for me to display the samples from the book on:



He was made by a company in the US and is now discontinued but she was lovely enough to let him come home with me, if you see me out and about in the future you'll probably see him!

I spent the weekend in front of this wall of wonderful yarn:



And inevitably some came home with me....



This is Twizzle 4ply, it's a single which is dyed in lovely intense colours, mine will become socks but it would also make really lovely shawls.

The stand opposite was Felt Studio UK and on Saturday I saw Danielle braiding something beautiful:



It turned out to be baby camel and silk and feels like clouds so that come to live at my house too.

My final purchase was from Eden Cottage, some lovely BFL sock yarn in Hazel and Steel:



The Willowherb & Saltburn KAL is going strong, lots of lovely yarns have been chosen - I've knitted a cuff so far, I'll be back to show you shortly...

Lets talk about Lauren

If you watched the Great British Sewing Bee you'll know all about Lauren, she was a brilliant contestant and she's just opened a haberdashery in Birmingham - Guthrie Ghani. The shop is beautiful, lovely products, huge windows and lots of space, I went on Friday night for drinks and nibbles before the big launch on Saturday (which was a massive success, there were queues to get in)

They have yarn:



And lovely fabric:



Pretty shop fittings:



You can even buy a copy of the Sewing Bee book (and I'm sure Lauren would sign it for you)



Next Thursday 9th May I will be there for my book launch, I'd love for you to come along, see the socks in the book and chat to me! You can buy a book on the night, I'll sign it if you want me to, much fun will be had by all!

I'm also teaching two workshops in the lovely workshop space upstairs:

Beginners Sock Workshop at Guthrie Ghani 14th May

Advanced Sock Workshop at Guthrie Ghani 2nd July

If you want to try knitting socks but you don't know where to start or you'd like to learn a few more sock knitting techniques, these workshops are for you.

Arrival!

The books are here! Well, except all the ones that were pre-ordered - they've all gone out in the post. There have been arrivals as far away as Canada! (I was surprised by now quickly they got to other countries, I was expecting them to be a bit slower) If you didn't pre-order you can buy the print version here and I'll send it right out!



The eBook has gone live too, you can or visit the Ravelry page here.

We're kicking off the KAL in the Coop Knits Group with Willowherb and Saltburn in May and June - you can knit one or both pairs, there will be prizes and chatting, come and join in! I've chosen this Sheila Sock from Fyberspates in Pink Ginger for a pair of Willowherb, a non-sample pair that I can wear, just the thought of this is very exciting!



I'll be at Wonderwool Wales this weekend, selling and signing books on the Fyberspates stand - come and see me (and all the beautiful yarn). One of the best things there are the fancy scotch eggs, I was looking forward to them so much yesterday I went to the farm shop and bought one for my lunch - think of it as pre-wonderwool training...

Run, Jim, Run!

My friend Jim is running the London Marathon on Sunday, I'll be cheering him on from the comfort of my sofa with my knitting and a large cup of tea - I know, he's going to be exerting *slightly* more energy than me but only just....

He's running to raise money for Refuge, a charity that do such important work and despite his alter-ego Veuf Tricot (you might know him as the man behind the column in Simply Knitting magazine) 'running away from knitters' he has actually become not only a knitter, but a designer. He has designed a collection of 3 accessories that are being sold in aid of Refuge; the Ready, Steady, Go collection:

Ready Mitts



Steady Hat



Go Scarf



I know Jim wore the mitts (or a very similar pair) when he was training in the winter, the photographer who took the photos for my book also wore some on that very cold day in February, keeping his hands warm but his fingers free to work his camera.

The hat is a rather lovely shade of yellow with a textured double thickness brim to protect ears from cold winds.

The GREEN scarf has a pretty lace chevron pattern, it is knitted with Babylonglegs Semi-Precious which is very special yarn, soft and lustrous - perfect for a special scarf.

Please think about supporting Jim if you can, either by buying the pattern collection or by donating to his Just Giving page.

Like I said, I'll be an armchair supporter this Sunday, but that won't stop me cheering him on AT THE TOP OF MY VOICE!

Coop Knits Socks - The Book!

My first book is currently at the printers so I've opened pre-orders - you can order a copy of the book here, every book will come with a code so you can download the eBook free of charge.



I've entered all the patterns in to the Ravelry database, you can see them all here.



I will post about all the patterns individually, I'll talk about my inspiration and the yarn I used and all that good stuff.



I'll talk about the people who worked on the book with me, the people who made all this possible.



A BOOK!!!

Cover

I was going to title this post 'Don't judge a book by it's cover' or another play on words/cover related pun.

But sometimes you just need to say what it is.

This is it. The Cover. Of my book.



Pre-orders are imminent.

Calla Socks

I've got a pattern in the latest issue of Pom Pom Quarterly - one of my favourite publications.





I love the way this magazine is put together; the design and the styling, I love the yarn they gave me and I love the way the magazine is wrapped up like a little present when it arrives:





These are my socks:





Lace and twisted stitches, petals and clean lines.





The yarn is Shalimar Yarns Breathless, it's merino with some cashmere and silk and it is delightful, really - it's full of delight. I used it in my Coesite hat and cowl and last week some more arrived on my doorstep, I am very happy about this. It gives beautiful stitch definition and it's soft and bouncy, the colour used for these socks is oyster - delicate and subtle (wait until you see the colours of the aforementioned latest arrival, not delicate and subtle but equally beautiful)


The back of the issue is also very pretty:





And there are lots of lovely patterns - look here, I've got a few summer dresses that would look pretty with a Lobelia cardigan over them.