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KnitBritish Festive Advent: day ten

Published by louise

Who doesn’t understand that sentiment, the rush of trying to finish up gift knitting? Julie Nelson Rhodes, AKA Tilly Flop Designs knows knitters so well…let’s send em a card instead that was full of our good intentions!

Julie is a graphic designer and has a full range of knit, crochet and craft inspired cards, tea towels, temporary tattoos and prints in her etsy shop. Tilly Flop items are playful, colourful, fun and really hit the right note…It definitely takes a knitter to understand a knitter!

I was really drawn to her A3 prints…I think my little office corner needs something like this to brighten up the place!

Prices start at £2.50 for cards and go up to £15 for the prints. Tilly Flop will be posting out until 22nd December, but for guaranteed UK delivery you should place an order in the etsy shop by Friday 19th, December.

KnitBritish Festive Advent: day nine

Published by louise

Ok, if you are looking for the ultimate gift – either for yourself or the knitter in your life – we’ve hit the absolute mother-load.

imagery is not representative of shawls (c) Ysolda

For the first time ever Ysolda is presenting a yarn and pattern club and the sign ups are now open for the 2015 Shawl Club. Over 2015 you will receive six skeins of British milled, dyed as well as natural coloured, yarn. The club includes lace-weight and up to DK weight yarn and an exclusive Ysolda shawl pattern will be released to club members to coincide with each yarn. The shawls will only be available if you join the club, otherwise you will have to wait 12 months.

The fibre content will wool in all yarns, but some will also contain alpaca, silk, etc.

The year’s subscription costs £180 and there is a facility to buy the club as a gift for the knitter in your life….the knitter in your life will probably love you forever!

Find out more details at www.ysolda.com/club

A very happy day nine!

KnitBritish Festive Advent: day seven

Published by louise

I don’t know about you, but as a knitter I don’t often receive knitwear as a gift. It is possibly because my F&F think that they wouldn’t know where to start buying knitwear for a knitter. Conversely, they may think, looking at a potential knitted item (as I often do), she could knit it herself.

I am not adverse to receiving a nice piece of knitwear (…just putting that out there) – how can we not deeply appreciate and love an item designed with as much deep appreciation and love for wool and knitting as we have?! Nor am I adverse to looking longingly into lovely knitwear design shop windows and wishing I had half the talent and innovation of the designer.

One such shop is Ninian, based in Lerwick, Shetland ans owned by textile designer Joanna Hunter. Joanna’s designs are contemporary, but always twinned with a real love affair with Shetland textiles and traditional Fair Isle patterns.

If you have been to Shetland for Wool Week, you may have seen and bought her Fair Isle wrist warmers and headbands, or seen her distinctive herringbone designed garments.

What I really loved are her scarves and cowls and in particular her Aunty May snood and scarf – one side complex Fair Isle patterns and the other side is jacquard making a striking accessory that really oozes warmth and style.

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Please do head over the Ninian for a look, I am sure you will agree with me that there is something for every knitter in this store and – attention significant-gift-buying-others – if you are still unsure what kind of knitwear the knitter in your life would like, try a gift voucher!

Ninian’s last posting date for Christmas is 18th December. Thanks to Joanna Hunter for the kind use of her pictures.

episode 16 and the small gestures

Published by louise

UPDATE: Due to space I can no longer host the audio files on the blog, please use your favourite podcatcher or right click the Podgen link below, to listen in a new tab (y’know, so you can also refer to the shownotes whilst you listen!)

Available on iTunes and to download from podgen

Show Notes

: : Festive Doings : :

I have been feeling slightly more festive this week, probably thanks to forcing myself to do a Festive Advent post each day of December…hopefully I can get more festive and find more to post here and also on Instagram and Twitter.
My festive doings this year – including a Christmas getaway for the lovelyfella and I – and looking forward to a less packed or frenetic festive season. Small gestures and spending quality time with one another can mean so much more than big, expensive presents. That has spurred me on to start the small gestures festive pattern swap in the KnitBritish Ravelry Group.

Friday 12th December is Save the Children Christmas Jumper Day and at work we will be getting our best worst glittery snowy jumpers on. I am also donating to Save the Children instead of sending cards this year. Of course, sending a card is a small gesture too, but I do like to think of the money being of more use to someone who really needs it.

: : News : :

Louise Hunt of the Caithness Craft podcast is organising a retreat next year in John O Groats from 28th-31st May.
I am also going on PodRetreat 2015, which is being organised by Nic from Yarns From the Plain. The location has now changed, due to unforeseen circumstances, so instead of Chester we are bound for Wales, to a farmhouse near Denbigh! There may be a place available, but please check with Nic in the Podretreat thread.

Edinburgh Yarn Festival is 14-15th March 2015. Are you going? There are still some spots available on some of the workshops and you can book those via the website (which I mistakenly say is co.uk, when it is, in fact, dot com).

Podcast Lounge is going to have something for everyone throughout the weekend with podcaster meet ups both days and much more. I actually have a spreadsheet! For those who want to attend and be involved it is going to be a heap of fun. Any questions about Podcast Lounge you can email me Louise [at] knitbritish [dot] net.

Get in touch if you are going to EYF!

: : Cast on / Cast off : :

I cast on Vedbaek shawl, the Second by, Karie Westermann. Not content with not finishing my J&S version I have cast this on in Viola DK. It is a second shawl choice for my mam (with Antarktis) to choose for her special gift to pass on to someone. I am torn which one I want to be left with!

ved2

Skein Queen had a mini update and two skeins of Voluptuous in Verdigris…feel a Vertebrae coming on! Also Toft Ulysses – ANOTHER possibility for Scollay. Last week I couldn’t get pictures of my cast offs Lapsang, by Clare Devine, and Antarktis, by Janina Kallio – but here they are now!

: Antarktis – at rest

: Antarktis – at play

: Lapsang (and lush) December 2014

: : Notes from last episode : :

Feeling solidarity after the feedback that most of you also think life is too short to knit things you do not like. Time for charter to issue to non-knitting pals and charities who think knitters will knit anything!

Chrissie Day has sold out of the North Pennines BFL that I reviewed last time – you cleared her out – how wonderful?! Also a note here on how I review items and why you will never get a false review from me.

: : Hellos and Thanks : :

Thanks to Mirella from Wool + Bricks for giving away Amina and Khumbu…winners coming soon.

Special hello to my twitter mucker Spinning Gwenny. Hello also to the new kids in the KB Raverly group, it is lovely to see you in there.

: : Tunes : :

Opening track: Madeline, by Ukulele Jim

Knit-related end song: It Had To Be Ewe, by Wren Ross.

Both are from www.musicalley.com

KnitBritish Festive Advent: day six

Published by louise

It is rather nice to give individual gift ideas there own post. This way there isn’t a lot of lovely things in one post all competing for your attention.

If you like your jewellery, you are going to want to leave this post open in full view of your gift-buying significant other!

: : Red Houss : :

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Red Houss is Shetland based artist Mike Finnie who creates textile inspired jewellery pieces crafted in silver, The Fair Isle range uses traditional Fair Isle knitting patterns from some of Shetlands finest knitters and no two pieces are identical. Included in the range are rings, brooches, pendants, and earrings. The work is quite exquisite and, truly, an item from Red Houss would make a very special gift indeed.
I particularly love the shed brooches and the jumper pendants and pins…the pins would be lovely on a shawl.

Oxidised silver, copper and/or brass Shed brooches. £35-75

As well as the pieces available from his website Mike also takes commissions, but due to the time it takes to get the hallmarking done in Edinburgh, he is not taking commissions for Christmas.

Prices for jewellery on the website start around £30 and go upwards of £125. Please check out www.redhouss.co.uk and contact Mike with your interest. The last posting date for Christmas from Red Houss is 18th December and items are sent special delivery.

It is really wonderful to see Shetland textiles captured so beautifully and thoughtfully in silver.

All images copyright Mike Finnie and used with kind permission.

KnitBritish Festive Advent: day five

Published by louise

We all love a little surprise, don’t we?

These were the words that crossed my mind when I bought Clare Devine’s new pattern the other night….because there was no image of the item.

But it’s Clare Devine, right? I can’t get enough of her patterns. It was even more tempting as she has designed this to celebrate the first birthday of the Golden Skein and for it to be knit in a Golden Skein club yarn, or your own particular luxury stashed yarn.

I shan’t spoil the surprise and tell you what it is, but if you head over to Ravelry you can treat yourself, on day five of the Festive Advent to a lovely pattern surprise for £3.50.

Well done to Clare and Happy Birthday, Golden Skein xx

KnitBritish Festive Advent: day four

Published by louise

Mug £9.50 from KellyConnorDesigns, etsy

I used to hate mis-matched mugs in my kitchen.

Then I started to knit and a whole world of knit-inspired products began to appeal. Project bags, tote bags, tee-shirts, mugs…..

This mug has been on my ‘Items I Love’ list, on etsy, for a while…it makes me smile inanely.

While some companies can produce “knit” inspired products, many of the people behind them have probably never even seen a pair of knitting needles, let alone employed a pair. But there are some makers out there who do get it and really hit the mark.

If you are looking for a fun gift for a knitter I do think etsy is a great place to look and Kelly Connor Designs hits that mark for me. Her shop is filled with bags and mugs with great humour and attitude – I particularly love this Ian Dury inspired bag.

Perfect for a festive hot chocolate….or spiked hot chocolate!
And if you can’t find a knit-product that does it for you, make your own. This is one of my very favourite mugs which thelovelyfella got me for my birthday…clever lovelyfella.

KnitBritish Festive Advent: day three

Published by louise

The wind is howling about the place today and it reminds me of the first poem I ever learned off by heart.

The North wind doth blow,
And we shall have snow,
And what will the robin do then,
Poor thing?
He’ll sit in a barn,
And keep himself warm,
And hide his head under his wing,
Poor thing!

My favourite bird is the robin – little, but stout with his red bib, but fiesty! I have seen a robin set about a cat with brave ferocity. I also love their little spindly legs which, when he’s all puffed up, makes me wonder how they hold him up.

In our family we tell the children that the robin is sent from Santa to make sure that they are being good. It is always great, when a nebling is having a tantrum, to spot a robin and say, “Look! Santa’s robin is watching you!”

The sight of a robin always gives me a bit of festive warmth and so today my red-breasted chum is behind window 3 on the KB Festive Advent calendar.