27th February 2012

What happened to February!? 

I went to the Unravel festival at The Farnham Maltings on 25th February. It was incredibly busy, packed with coffee drinking knitters (and some very stressed out other halves!). 

I found the promotional material more interesting than the actual fair (sorry stall holders - the yarn etc was LOVELY but when you are on a student budget - there's only so much window shopping you can do when packed into a hall like sheep in a barn ready for shearing!) 

There were numerous installations around the town centre. My favourites were the knitted lampost 'cosy' complete with laminated QR code. I don't have a reader on my phone (another thing to do!) so I presume that it linked to Unravel.

The choice of multicoloured neon yarn was certainly eye-catching too! I love the mix of modern and traditional hand knitting. I think this is a theme that just appeals to me - I do the same with my quilts, mixing vintage embroidered tablecloths with ultra-modern Scandinavian fabrics and the traditional quilting techniques.








Another installation that confused town-gowers were the crocheted? helium balloon cosies. Inspired! Bobbing over the River Wey. The town certainly went soft on Saturday in a multicoloured way.

Finally inside The Maltings was a ceiling installation of coloured yarns. I wonder how many other people noticed it - everyone was far too busy concentrating on being polite and trying to not walk into each other with sharp pointy sticks! I have a real soft spot for these treasures in unlikely places - it makes me feel special when I find them!

I spent far too much on buttons (I think I was a magpie in a former life) that I know WILL come in useful! And some of the stall holders had empty baskets, 1 hour into the show. All goes to show how popular knitting is as a hobby.

Apparently there is a quilting equivalent festival each January, I'll have to start saving now!

9th February 2012

My ickle 15 minutes of internet fame....got my treasury chosen my Etsy for their front page :-)) I curated it early one Saturday morning while sipping my coffee out of my favorite mug (hence the mug shot!) Considering that thousands are uploaded to the site every day, it is really flattering to have my selection chosen to represent Etsy. I thought I hadn't shut the computer down properly, but when I checked on my phone it was definitely there and I didn't dream it!

6th February 2012

Right then, it's time to get a bit more business minded. I have been advised to think a bit more 'niche'. Hmmmmm, what to do........ I love the vintage embroidered tablecloths, and taking the damaged ones forward into the future (by working around the stains, holes, age spots - they end up in the bin!). Do I concentrate on my idea of mixing embroidered pieces with contemporary fabrics in quilts? Or make other things with the daisy patterned fabrics (I love the daisy embroidered ones the most....those crinilene ladies in the big skirts, another popular motif, do nothing for me). Or both? Decisions, decisions. But I think the knitting will go on the back burner for a bit. Watch this space :-)

1st February 2012

The first month of the year is over! My daffodils are springing up and some of the herbs are even growing....I must let them get bigger this year before eating them. I've released my washcloth that can be personalised with anyone's name in my Etsy shop. They are just so soft. Handy in a family - no arguing about which cloth is yours! And if you go camping...ahh camping, in the warm summer maybe!