Yarnsmith takes to the road................

As a fanatical hand-knitter nothing is better than sharing this passion and I've come to realise that I can bore for England on the subject so I've now decided to take to the road in an effort to share the love. Armed with a lap-top, projector and screen I'm venturing into the world of public speaking! Had great fun developing a talk illustrated with slides, examples of work and samples of unusual yarns, I want to take a light-hearted look at the history of knitting and its traditions; knitting now and where it's going; touching on techniques and styles and examining new materials and trends.......wish me luck!

Have you reflected on your knitting journey recently.........?

Almost a year ago to the day, I began my first Estonian Lace project having attended a workshop on the subject run by the Dutch Knitters, at the I Knit London Weekend! Two years ago I would never have attempted such a project; three years ago I wouldn't have contemplated anything with a chart; four years ago I didn't know anything about knitting socks, ten years ago I didn't use circular needles etc. etc.......... such is the life of a knitter!

Can't believe it!.....................

So the New Year's resolution bit the dust - Can't believe it's been almost a year since I blogged. No excuses - yes, life's been hectic, but isn't everyone's? So draw a line, deep breath and blog on!
__________________________ (the line!)

I'm passionate about knitting - I swear it keeps me sane! It dominates my waking and, occasionally, my sleeping moments and I have an obsession to share this love with pretty much everyone I come in touch with. So it's been fantastic to take the Craft Council initiative "Knit One, Pass it On" into three schools - one secondary (a drop in lunch time session run through the Special Needs Department), one middle school (a terms work establishing a self-sustaining knitting group) and one primary school where we've set up a highly successful after school club.

This fantastic collage was the culmination of two terms work with with a group of 5 to 11 year olds. We started with finger knitting but quickly progressed to conventional two needle knitting, throwing in a bit of crochet for good measure. We have also been felting, dying and carding fleece and now moved on to a project for the Church - a Noah's Ark banner to be displayed at school and community services.

It just goes to prove that with a little perseverance, lots of kid's imagination and a bucket load of enthusiasm - knitting can become a passion - no matter what the age!

Quick Autumnal Knit

Really easy "mitt-knit" using 4 double-point needles and soft baby cashmerino yarn. Took just three evenings to make and if you download the pattern from Ravelry, Cranford Mitts, you can make an optional donation to Medecins Sans Frontiers!

Stitch Markers - "sorted!"

For a number of months I've been contemplating stitch markers - yes, a bit sad, but bare with me! I really wanted to find something that didn't use a split ring and had as few "snagging opportunities" as possible, especially when working with lace yarns. Now, I am aware that I could have pinched some of Tilly's tiny braid elastics or even resorted to loops of knotted yarn - but I also wanted something that was pleasing to look at and big enough so it couldn't be "knitted in" by accident......... I couldn't really find anything, so decided to make my own.

Inspired by the bead stands at the Ally Pally knitting and stitching show last week I stocked up; bought a book from Amazon and visited, quite by chance, a wonderful bead jewellery shop, "The Birds and Beads", where the lovely Val Parker gave me an impromptu lesson in crimping, .......... and voilà.......I now have the stitch markers I've been craving. I can see this becoming a side-line and have put the first sets on the Yarnsmith website - please take a look!

The Green Man

This project has been a while in the offing, but is now complete and I am really proud of him! Designed to be part of a permanent exhibition at Cressing Temple Barns, Essex, he will join a plethora of other interpretations of the Green Man and also a unique weaving project undertaken by fellow members of the Mid-Essex Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers.

I think it's quite fitting that not only was the majority of the yarn taken from my stash, but the project transmuted organically as it progressed. The leaf background was taken from the Deciduous pattern on Ravelry, and the leaves developed from patterns found in "100 flowers to knit and crochet". As I'm not a proficient crocheter I decided to give it a go as the backdrop of the face so it could be "disguised" by the features if it went wrong. The eyes were also a crochet experiment which worked well and the straggly beard developed from a lovely scrap I found at the bottom of my work basket - it just begged to be incorporated! The green eye-lash yarn, again a scrap found (where and why did I get that!) was perfect for eye-lashes and brought the face to life.

I will be sorry to part with Green Man - he has definitely become part of the family; but look forward to visiting him from time to time!

Craft Club here I come!

I got an e-mail from the Craft Council at the end of last week asking if I wanted to attend a free training day for Craft Club Volunteers - an excuse to knit all day? Well, I'm not likely to turn that down am I? The training is associated with the "Knit 1, Pass it on" initiative to get volunteers into schools to do something crafty with yarn. It doesn't have to be knitting, but it's quite a good starting place - particularly as the website, "Craft Club, Knit 1 Pass It On", has some cracking ideas and patterns to get you started. Anyone can do this - you don't have to have experience working in school or teaching, you don't even have to be an expert knitter. The Craft Club is aiming to bring together a variety of people with different skills who share a common interest in getting crafts back into school. If you want to find out a bit more or register an interest just follow the link - and welcome to the knitting revolution!

PS. Thanks to the Craft Club trainers for a fab, inspiring day!