Be Inspired – Edinburgh delights

Tags

Be Inspired Fibres, Blog, Edinburgh, Facebook, Holst Garn, knitting, Ravelry, Scotland, shop

I recently spent a lovely week at my parents’ in Edinburgh prior to The Big Move. It was great to be there but time passed very quickly. Last time I went, Mum and I visited the Great Tapestry of Scotland, on exhibition at the Scottish Parliament. This time we were all set for a trip to Stirling to see the Stirling Castle Quilters 20th Anniversary Exhibition at the Stirling Smith Museum and Art Gallery (scroll!) My mother is a quilter and we have these beautiful quilts that she made for us!

         

Unfortunately, there were howling gales with major road bridges being closed to high-sided vehicles and threats of trees down everywhere. We stayed home and Dad and I went to the Scottish National Gallery instead. It was so calm in town you’d have never thought there were 60 mile-an hour-winds blowing just over a mile away. This is the Scott Monument taken from the gallery’s café.

There was a fair bit of woolliness during the week. I made great progress on the second Man Sock (more soon) and I paid a visit to Mei at Be Inspired Fibres. It’s probably just as well I don’t live in Edinburgh as Mei’s shop is just a ten-minute walk from my parents’, filled with lovely things and offers super service. I went in, not really needing anything but with an open mind (and an idea of how much yarn I ‘would need’, should I see something interesting), as well as an open purse. I fondled various lovelies while Mei served another customer and then we chatted. I was very interested to know more about the Holst Garn range as I’d seen it last time I was there and my very good friend and Stitch ‘n’ Bitch co-leader, M, has just been knitting a Ravello in fantastic colours from one of their yarns.

Once again, Mei shared her expertise and told me a bit about the different yarns. Then she ran downstairs to her classroom for her knitting. Either I’m super-lucky that Mei is knitting with what I fancy when I go there, or she has one-of-everything started (I didn’t like to ask)! Funnily enough, once again, there was a big box on the floor full of huge cones and it wasn’t all winter colours either! I went home for a cup of tea and came back to a generous amount of wound yarn (Mei had added a not-so-little ball to my order so I don’t even have to rip out my tension squares). This is Coast, a blend of cotton and wool, perfect for spring and summer in Sydney. The colour is Nimbus. The  range of colours in the Holst palette is so delectable – like jars of sweeties in an old-fashioned shop – that I also picked up a ball of Supersoft 100% uld (wool) in Sugarsnap.

           

 If you’re in Edinburgh, and it’s a city well-worth a visit, call in to Be Inspired Fibres. You can find shop details on Ravelry, on Facebook and Mei’s online shop is here. You can also follow Mei’s Be Inspired Fibres blog here on WordPress.

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT A PAID ENDORSEMENT BUT A PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION.

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Blog hopping – sharing the creative process

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Blog, blog hop, cardigan, crafters, creative process, jumper, socks, writing

Jenna recently wrote about the creative process over at Hardknitlife. This was part of a blog hop and I’m very flattered to be one of her recommendations.

1. What am I working on?

Socks (handy travel project)

A cardigan (more complicated)

And a couple of Things That Can’t Be Disclosed Right Now.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

It doesn’t. Whenever I’m drawn to a new project I check out the projects on Ravelry to learn and be inspired by their experience. Sometimes imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. My Ravello has non-identical sleeves because I was so taken with a jumper I saw.

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

I create because I like not looking like everybody else. I create because sitting idly is a waste of precious time when there are so many beautiful things out there waiting to be made! How often do you hear people say “I don’t know how you have the time for that!” yet they blithely sit in the doctor’s/dentist’s waiting room twiddling their thumbs and getting impatient because appointments are running late. I write because I felt that whilst bombarding my Facebook friends with the pretties is alright now and again, most of them are not the slightest bit interested in my struggles to match tension or find the perfect button!

4. How does my writing/creating process work?

Now that I’ve been blogging for a while I do try to take some photos mid-way through a project. I am more aware of articulating any challenges I’ve faced and solutions I’ve found. I do have in mind that my finished projects should be “blog-worthy” and try to come up with interesting aspects to share with readers. On the other hand, I also feel that it is okay to occasionally stray away from my main focus and share a post that is more personal or about something that has very little or even absolutely nothing to do with knitting.

I appreciate that this hop has already brought new readers to my blog and would like to nominate the following less well-known blogs I read to answer the same questions:

Hipster Spice

On The Needles

themanyknitsofnadine

Be Inspired

Tags

Blog, Edinburgh, Facebook, Fybrespates, Ishbel, knitting, Madelinetosh, Ravelry, shawls, shop

I was in Edinburgh visiting my parents last week. They live a short walk away from Be Inspired Fibres. Last year I bought a skein of Fyberspates Vivacious 4-ply there and made an Ishbel. I shared it here where I explained exactly why I had avoided Ishbel up to then and how Mei explained just why this pattern would work well (and she was right!) I really hoped there would be some more of the yarn in blue or green to make another Ishbel.

I turned up at Be Inspired Fibres and Mei remembered that I live in Cologne. (She may have been helped by the fact that she’s sweet enough to read this blog!) We chatted while she showed me yarn I might like. While Mei served other customers I browsed through all her lovely yarn. She has an online shop but it is lovely to see and touch the yarn for real.

Then the parcel delivery man arrived with a box full of Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light. Mei actually opened it up while I was there and started pulling out skein after skein of beautiful yarn. The colours are fantastic. I can see now why people are so keen on this yarn. I faced a bit of a dilemma. I would have liked to have taken most of the box home with me. However, I whittled it down to two colours.

Norway Spruce

Well Water

They lay on the table side-by-side and we were both immediately struck by how good they looked together! Mei disappeared downstairs to her classroom to bring up a two-colour shawl she’s working on: Cladonia by Kirsten Kapur because I couldn’t picture it just from the name.

It’s obvious what comes next isn’t it? Yes, I bought both!

If you’re in Edinburgh, and it’s a city well-worth a visit, call in to Be Inspired Fibres. You can find shop details on Ravelry, on Facebook and Mei’s online shop is here. You can also follow Mei’s Be Inspired Fibres blog here on WordPress.

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT A PAID ENDORSEMENT BUT A PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION.

Colour conundrum – the solution(s)

Tags

bag, Blog, colour, friends, help, poll

Summer Fling by Espace Tricot and shared with the permission of Espace Tricot

A big thank you to everyone who indicated their favourite colour combinations for the Summer Fling bag featured in my previous post.

There were a total of 48 votes: number 1 is the raspberry and beige combination (11 votes) followed by  olive and beige (10 votes).
Raspberry and olive and lime and beige tie close behind in third position (9 votes each).

    

  

I also shared the post on my personal Facebook page and many people commented on their colour preferences: raspberry and olive and raspberry and lime were the two favourite combinations. Raspberry and beige was less popular as was lime and beige.

  

  

 

So which colour combination am I knitting?

Well, I’ve started with olive…

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Colour conundrum – please help!

Tags

bag, Blog, colour, friends, help, poll

I’m going to make (at least) one of these lovely bags. It’s called Summer Fling and you can find it here on the Espace Tricot blog.

Summer Fling by Espace Tricot. Shared with the permission of Espace Tricot

I have these lovely colours:

Raspberry and lime

Lime and beige

Lime and khaki

Raspberry and beige

Khaki and beige

Raspberry and khaki

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And the winner is…

Tags

Blog, cowl, designer, gift, giveaway, love, patterns, Ravelry, winner

me!

How nice is that? Very nice.

Tina at Peacefully Knitting showcased designer Lara Smoot’s Camberwell pattern for a cowl with matching mitts. She held a giveaway and I am the lucky winner! All I had to do was comment on the pattern and leave my Ravelry ID. Easy peasy and definitely another reason for using Ravelry. 🙂  The pattern is now in my library, waiting for me to choose some yarn and pick up my needles! Of course I then went off and looked more closely at Lara’s other designs. I was not disappointed.

Tina also shared her own Camberwell Cowl (she test knit). Isn’t this lovely? Don’t you just want to get knitting? I do. A big thank-you to Tina and Lara!

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Was it something I said?

Tags

A Lovely Blog Award, award, Blog, community, friends

I’d hardly left my desk when lo and behold another one appeared! A pink and white one with the word lovely in it. Thank you very much EmpressFibres for the shout out! I’m honoured to be amongst your nominations for the One Lovely Blog Award.

Life is busy at the moment but I didn’t want to disregard EmpressFibres’ kindness so I’m taking the easy way out again. There are so many wonderful blogs. I suggest you scroll through my page ‘Links and Inspiration’ and click on any that take your fancy.

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Oh gosh, another award!

Tags

award, Blog, community, Craft, crafters, knitting, Liebster Award, Ravelry, WordPress, yarn

That sounds a bit smug but I’m feeling quite chuffed – Mollie & Claire nominated me for the Liebster award. Liebster is German and means dearest.

Liebster

I still find it quite hard to believe that my blog gets read, followed and even nominated! Awards are a great way of featuring other blogs but it’s not all fun and games – there are responsibilities too!

So a Liebster Award means:

• Listing 11 bloggers and letting them know they’ve been nominated.
• Sharing 11 facts about yourself.
• Answering 11 questions from your tagger and
• Setting 11 questions for nominees.

Here goes.

• First, and most importantly, the nominees. I’m awarding the Liebster Award for all or some of the following reasons: content I enjoy taking the time to read, pleasing aesthetics, great inspiration and good interaction.

1. According to Matt 
   
2. Chrissie knits
3. February twelve 
   
4. Knitspiring odyssey
5. Knitting Konrad
6. Lottie knits
7. Moby knit
8. Monster yarns
9. Sara crafts
10. Pixelknit’s ponderings
11. Strings ‘n things

• 11 facts about me

1. I have to count my money in English even though I’m living in Germany and speak German fluently
2. I have always loved reading but have read even more since I first got my Kindle
3. I am so scared of heights that I have had to be helped out of places and certain film shots can make me feel ill
4. I drink ridiculous amounts of coffee and tea and whenever I go over to Britain I empty the supermarket’s shelves of tea.
5. I do not have green fingers – I can manage a few orchids and my husband does the beautiful balcony ‘gardening’.
6. I find it very difficult to say ‘no’
7. I love good homemade soup
8. I never take enough photos
9. Spending time working with the under-sixes has affected my hearing
10. I frequently say ‘left’ and mean ‘right’ and vice-versa
11. When I watch a film with subtitles I can’t help checking the translation

• Questions from Mollie & Claire:

1. Have you made plans for Christmas yet?  Yes, plans are made for a modest amount of gift knitting.

2. If yes, when did you start? Thinking in July and knitting early August.

3. Do you have a pet? If you do, why did you choose him/her? No, I’m not really an animal person.

4. What is your favourite city and why? The one I live in! At the moment that’s Cologne. I’ve moved a fair bit – both as a child and since and I think it’s important to feel at home where you are and not want to be off elsewhere

5. What is your favourite thing to eat?  Tricky. I love food! Favourites include pasta, asparagus, avocados, and summer fruit….

6. What is your favourite place to craft?  The balcony in summer, surrounded by flowers and greenery. At Stitch ‘n’ Bitch one Monday a month, and otherwise, on the couch.

7. Are you a careful and pristine crafter or do you eat biscuits and drink coffee over your work? A bit of both – I don’t usually eat crisps and stuff when I’m crafting. I’ll get up and wash my hands if I have but I don’t think there’s a reason for avoiding drinks

8. Do you use Ravelry? Which bits do you utilise? I am definitely a Raveller 😉 I browse projects of patterns I’m interested in, I browse projects of yarn I have. I use forums for help. My stash is recorded, too.

9. How big is your stash? Very manageable, thank you very much. It fits in a box from a pair of knee-high boots and a large shopper.

10. Do you like everything in your stash? If not, why do you keep it? Yes, but I do have a ball of sock yarn that was given to me – it’s lovely greeny-blues but the nylon fibre seems to be plied too loosely with the wool and it gets mixed reviews on Ravelry.

11. If you could do anything right now, what would it be? I’d love a trolley dash in a wool shop with some of the lovely yarns that aren’t so easily available here or cost an arm and a leg!

• Finally, here are my questions:
  1. Are you a monogamous crafter or surrounded by WIPs?
  2. How did you learn to do your craft?
  3. Do you craft alone or with others?
  4. Do you have other creative talents? Which?
  5. If you had 25 hours in a day, what would you do with the extra hour?
  6. Bricks-and-mortar or online shopping?
  7. Do you prefer paper books or e-books?
  8. What is your favourite place and why?
  9. What’s the strangest place you’ve ever knitted or crafted?
  10. Are the blogs you follow craft-related, friends’ blogs, a mix of the two, or something different?
  11. What have you learned from blogging?

You’ve got a friend…

Tags

Blog, community, crafters, friends, patterns, projects, Ravelry

Image courtesy of [digitalart] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Most of the blogs I follow are craft-related blogs. The majority feature knitting. I enjoy reading them because the content is interesting, I find them aesthetically pleasing and I love seeing new projects and discovering patterns I might not have noticed otherwise.

I hope those following me (and I’m truly appreciative of every single follower!) feel similarly. So if I’m inspired by the wonderful creations  appearing on these blogs, what other appealing delights might these crafters have found?

Ravelry has the answer. I’ve recently added many friends to my profile. I’d like to follow your inspiration and see what you’re adding to your queue or favourites list. So now you know. You’ve got a new friend.

A Part of the Family

Tags

award, Blog, community, crafters, Crafts, knitting, WordPress

I was very touched and excited this fine morning  to discover that kfklever had nominated me for the WordPress Family Award! I’ve not been blogging for long but already appreciate connecting with like-minded crafters, being inspired by amazing work and perhaps, even, helping to motivate others. I enjoy sharing in kfklever’s frequent posts and following her project updates.

There are so many highly inspiring blogs that it’s hard to pick just ten but here are my nominees in alphabetical order:

1. AGUJAS
2. All Kinds of Knitting
3. Colouring with Yarn
4. For The Knit Of It
5. From the Purl Side
6. iknead2knit
7. Like Purls off a String
8. knit the hell out
9. knit three together
10. Kiwiyarns Knits

Should my nominees like to pass on this award, there are just 5 simple rules to follow:

1. Display the award logo on your blog.
2. Link back to the person who nominated you.
3. Nominate 10 others you see as having an impact on your WordPress experience and family.
4. Let your 10 Family members know you have awarded them.
5. That is it. Just please pick 10 people who have taken you as a friend, and spread the love.

Finally, many thanks to everyone for your inspiration, interaction and warm welcome into the world of crafty blogging!