Knitting and Stitching Show Treasures

(A treasure of rainbow lovely~ness)


Yesterday, I went to Harrogate; to the Knitting & Stitching Show...


If you are lucky enough to have ever been to this eevent, you will understand why I am writing this basking in the afterglow of utter Inspiration Overdose.  Not having been before, we weren't sure what to expect.  We knew it would be good, but not as good as it actually was.  We knew it would be big, but not that big (we were blown away by the actual Bigness* of it ~ *a totally made up word to convey just how big it was).  We knew we would see things that would charm and tempt us and on that score we were completely right.


We set off on a cold November morning, with the sun behind us rising in a crisp blue sky over hills and fields - at least it was until we got to Leeds!!  Navigating that city isn't for the faint hearted - I feel like such a country bumpkin as urban driving (one way systems, sudden lane changes which mean zipping across four of them to get to a swift and sudden turn off etc etc) is not really my cup of tea these days.  Still, we got there eventually and celebrated a whole day of wandering, gazing at yarn, thread, felt, textiles, gallery exhibits and the like by going for a large mug of coffee and something sweet.

Having neglected to take any pictures of the event itself (silly me) I can only entice you with the handful of beautiful goodies I chose to bring home with me:


Buttons, felt balls and yarn...


The felt balls are for a piece of felty jewellery I'm going to be having a go at creating.  I will post pics as soon as it's done, but in the meantime please feel free to gratuitously drink up those terrific rainbow colours - don't they just pop and zing??  Don't they make you feel just ridiculously happy?

(Ocean Blues...wonderful sea colours, I'm quite in love!)


The buttons, they're just wonderful.  I'm not quite sure what they're made of, but they seem to resemble polished coconut shell on the underside, and a smooth, polished ceramic on the top in dreamy ocean shades.  I don't quite know what to use them for as yet but they had to come home with me, I knew that for sure!


Of course, it was probably inconceivable to imagine coming home without a bit of yarn..and oh, the Yarn...oh my.  


The yarn I chose is by a delicious company called Nimu Yarns.  They are a family company based in East Kent and create the most decadent and beautiful hand dyed, hand painted yarns you may have ever set your eyes upon.  Ever.  In the whole world.


After much 'oooh~ing' and 'aaahhh~ing' I decided to treat myself to a skein of Aira in the Grasholm shade.  It's 400 metres of pure, unadulterated silk in the most divine shade of mermaid oceany turquoise.  And I am saving it until I find the perfect pattern for it.  At this point in time I'm sitting with a vision of a slim, drapy kind of scarf which can be worn in the warmer months...what do you think?


Another deeply inspiring moment was to be had when I wandered past the Selvedge Stand.  Something caught my eye...and I glanced again...quickened my pace and was all of a sudden standing before a real life Sophie Digard masterpiece!!

(photograph ~ Sophie Digard at Selvedge)


For those of you who are familiar with Sophie's crochet work you will perhaps understand why I went into a trance like moment as I stood before one of her scarves.  The tiny stitches, the colourways and detail is like nothing I've ever seen on earth.  I understand that she has a team of highly competent women who crochet up her designs somewhere in South America (I think!) which would go some way to explaining why there are so many amazing designs available as it would surely take a Very Long Time to create even one of these pieces don't you think?


I then moved on to gaze longingly at her jewellery...oh my goodness, heart stopping moment - for two reasons; the first one being the absolute beauty of a necklace made intricately from yarn, and secondly, the price tag...which I think it was £127.00...


One day I would like to think I'd have the patience to try and make my own Sophie Digard inspired scarf, but in all honesty I think I'm one of those souls who just isn't made to create teeny tiny faffy pieces of work.  Fortunately I am one of those people who never say never, so one never knows...but for now I think I'm best (and happiest) at gazing adoringly at the stuff from people who can.


'Til next time, thanks for coming by
Julia x x x

A Story About Making Old Furniture Lovely Again

We have a new addition to our family.

Actually, we have two but i'll tell you about this one first; our new Welsh dresser.

Way back in February my other half happened to mention that there was a Welsh dresser for sale.  It was being advertised in the little cafe over the road and he'd had a look at it and thought right away how it could be done up and made to look lovely.  As this is something I have long wished to have in my home I went to have a look at it.  Standing in the corner it was very tired, shabby and 80's looking with it's awful dark varnish, but I could see the potential same as he had and immediately got rather excited, envisioning it standing in our little house adorned with all our favourite bits and pieces.

We bought it for £25.00 and got to work sanding back that nasty varnish...

I'm afraid I don't have an actual before shot of it to show you just how dark and awful it really was, but you get the idea...

However this renovation business was not plain sailing.  After choosing and buying the undercoats, primers and paints we got to work making this old bit of furniture look good as new, but we hit a problem:  Staining.  Yes, the lovely milky white shade of paint we had originally chosen turned a rather sickly yellow as the old varnish leached through.

It was left a while as we worked out what to do.  I contacted a furniture restoration specialist who suggested sanding it back and then coating the whole thing in shellac.  It seemed like there was a light at the end of the tunnel but as some of you may know, shellac is not the cheapest product to buy and we had a heck of a surface area to cover.  Back to the drawing board then!!  My Dad had a lightbulb moment and went up to see his old friend John Carrack (brother of the famous Paul) who has run their family paint business in Crookes for years.  John sent him home with a tin of some special sealant and my Dad took over the project of re-sanding, sealing, re-undercoating and the like, whilst I danced off happily to buy pretty coloured door knobs and some new paint!

After months of hard work and nothing happening, it was ready:

It has moved into our little house and looks as if it's been there forever.  Typically I got rather excited and immediately started to adorn it with bits and bobs...(and did I mention that it needs bunting?  I didn't?  Oh it so does!!)

I found the toadstools in John Lewis recently, they're actually tree decorations but for now I'm liking them just sitting companionably together on my new dresser :)

The paint I chose was Porcelain Blue by the Craig & Rose 1829 paint company.  The door and drawer knobs came from a selection at Chatsworth House and a lovely little shop in Holmfirth called The Gift Horse.

Prior to my Welsh dresser moving in, I finally got myself a proper desk to work from.  For absolutely long enough I have been working and painting away at my dining room table and this has been fine up to a point but I was feeling that I'd really like a little chunk of my home where I could do my computer work and smaller pieces of art; a work space I could call my own, that I didn't have to clear off to serve meals etc.  Now as some of you know we live in a very SMALL house, there really isn't space for an individual studio and so I have chosen my favourite corner, by my inspiring bookshelves and back window for my new desk.

I found my desk in an antiques centre in Sheffield, I saw it just over a month ago and I fell instantly in love.  I saw it in my mind as being the perfect desk;  it was big enough for my bits and pieces, but small enough to fit in our room without overpowering it.  It has an unusually long drawer that opens from the side for keeping all my Important Things in.  I also get to leave my painting stuff on it, and I love doing that.

I think it's important that we cultivate a creative space that makes our hearts sing, that bring us joy.  A good place to work from is good for the soul.

It's also a dream to sit here and work, glancing up to see the birds fluttering about and watch the sun orbit our riverside garden.  Although I'm still in my little house, working in the same room, having my own desk here gives me my own little sanctuary to retreat to for work and painting stuff.  I love it.  It's all mine.

So!  Before I go today, I'd just like to thank all of you for your lovely comments about my crochet work ~ you're so kind and I do appreciate the time you spend reading my blog and writing your thoughts.  I also appreciate all of you lovely folks who read and leave quietly, thank you too for stopping by :)

Well, I have a few Christmas Card orders I need to be cracking on with now, so I'm off!  I hope you're all having a smashing week, sending love and mugs of warm gluhwein to you!

Julia x x x

A Rather Hooky Ta~Dahhhhhhhhhh!

It's finished!!


At long last, my Japanese Flower Scarf is completed!  I finished it last week but the weather has been so drab and grey here for days on end it has been difficult to photograph it.  Anyway, today the fog cleared for a few glorious hours and I managed to take a few pictures for you.  It was made from remnant balls of wool that were left over from my Rainbow Ripple Blanket; it's mostly Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk DK with the odd bit of aran here and there.  It's lovely and soft, and surprisingly warm, what with all those holes!

It's a feast of colour...

...I am smitten!


And I am also pleased to share with you that my other scarf, my Stripy Rainbow Bliss one is also completed.  I spent a long while the other afternoon sewing in all the ends; you may recall me not so long ago sharing some WIP photographs with you:

To be fair, it doesn't look that much different now it's actually finished off properly, it's just a little bit longer than it was.

I'm well and truly kitted out for the cold weather now, lots of soft warm woolly goodness to wrap around myself...I'm actually kind of looking forward to the colder days now so I have an excuse to wear them!


And of course with two projects done and dusted, it doesn't stop there.  I have embarked on another Japanese Flower shawl! There is something so lovely and cosy about shawls and I've developed a bit of a need for them around the house; they're so practical and yet so comforting.  I trawled the internet for a while, looking for another pattern but something kept on bringing me back to the Japanese Flower one.  It's so easy, so quick...and it wasn't long before I remembered something Vanessa did here.  I was all fired up with enthusiasm for this idea and before too long made an excuse to visit my local yarn emporium (aka John Lewis).  I came home very happy with a brand new yarn stash...isn't that one of life's little pleasures?  No, it's actually a Great Big One.

And so here are my colours ~ a dark peaty grey, a vanilla cream and soft purpley heather shade.  The wool is a gorgeously soft, chunky merino by Wendy.  I'm rather glad it wasn't super expensive either as it seems to disappear quite fast (it been made on a No.6 hook).  I haven't used this particular brand before but I'm quite happy with it so far, and the shawl (due to the thickness of the wool) is growing at a satisfying speed!

It's been a pretty creative time here this week what with all this hookyness and my on-going purges of decluttering.  In the middle of said decluttering a favourite painting was rediscovered.  Tucked away for safe keeping during our decorating renovations a couple of years back I had actually (believe it or not) forgotten all about it!  It's an acrylic painting on a box canvas, and goes by the name of Yorkshire Snow:

I am wondering if it may make a rather nice Christmas Card, as an alternative to the illustrative ones I have on sale...?  

...I could perhaps temporarily re-name it, to make it more appealing to everyone...maybe 'Winter Snow' instead of 'Yorkshire Snow' - what do you think?

And it may also work rather well as a print.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!

Anyway, I've just noticed that I shouldn't be here - I need to be getting my bod off to Zumba!!  Thanks so much for popping in to see me! 


Sending love to you


Julia x x x