May Pay it Forward Giveaway

Amazingly, I've managed to blog again when I said I would! I have some real treats for you today. Sue at Diss Wool and Craft shop gave me some lovely things to share with you when I was at Yarn Shop Day this weekend. There's a fun sheepy scarf and a skein of Rowan Fine Art Aran yarn. The yarn is a luscious mix of wool, mohair, alpaca and silk and one skein is enough to knit a hat or cowl.  Thanks so much Sue! I've added a bag of Maltesers to the prize because chocolate is always good, right?! To be in with a chance of winning, leave me a comment recommending a good book to me as I'm desperate to get back into reading. The giveaway will be open until midnight on May 31st and I'll use a random number generator to pick the winner after that date. Please make sure it's easy for me to contact you by leaving your Ravelry or Instagram name, or leave some other way for me to get in touch. If I haven't heard from the winner within a week, I'll pick another name. I'm happy to post world-wide, so do please enter! Good luck! xxx

Yarn Shop Day 2017

So did you visit your local yarn shop yesterday on Yarn Shop Day? I spent the day at Diss Wool and Craft shop and had a lovely time. I was running two workshops - how to knit mini-socks in the morning and Granny square crochet in the afternoon. Even though the class sizes were small, it was a really fun day and I was very impressed with how well the participants did! One of the people in the sock class, Julie, has already cast on her first proper size sock after knitting another mini one at home today. I wonder if she realises what a slippery slope she's on now! Socks are my absolute favourite thing to knit and buying sock yarn is very addictive! 

Stylecraft Yarns had donated a fabulous yarny prize and everyone who purchased something from the shop in the two weeks leading up to yesterday was given a raffle ticket. I felt very important picking the winner! 

Sue, the owner, had done a fabulous window display with lots of Stylecraft knits and yarns, including my mini socks and also my Head over Heels socks. I felt very  proud!

Sue and I are talking about the possibility of having some more knitting and crochet classes in the shop. It's a wonderful thing to be able to share a skill and pass on that yarny lurve! Sue also very generously gave me some gorgeous goodies to give away on my blog, so call back tomorrow to see what you could win in the May Pay it Forward Giveaway. xxx

Winner winner chicken dinner!

I'm really on the ball, seeing as it's only May 1st, in announcing the winner of my April Pay  it Forward giveaway. Thank you to everyone who entered. I went onto a random number generator and it selected post number 18 - Spinthrift. Congratulations to you, I'll be getting in touch via Ravelry so I can send you your prize. As soon as I've sorted out some more goodies, I'll be letting you know what you can win in May! xxx

Looking forward to Yarn Shop Day

Next Saturday it's Yarn Shop Day, when local yarn shops are being celebrated up and down the country. You can read more about it here and look to see what's happening near you. I'm absolutely thrilled to be taking part this year. I shall be at Diss Wool and Craft Shop where I'll be teaching two workshops! In the morning I'll be sharing my love of sock knitting with a mini sock class. I'll be taking the participants through all the steps of knitting a sock as well as learning the Magic Loop technique. I've been making lots of samples, testing out my pattern...

...and in the afternoon, I'm ditching the knitting needles in favour of a crochet hook to show people how to make a granny square. (Sadly we won't be on a Greek beach to make ours, but I just love this photo!) 

There will also be a knitting surgery over lunchtime, where I'll be showing how to finish garments using mattress stitch and demystifying the provisional cast on. Sounds like I'm in for a busy day! I went down to the shop a couple of weeks ago to meet the lovely owner Sue, and we spent the morning chatting and planning out the day. It's going to be lots of fun. Booking for the workshops is essential - all details are on the website here if you fancy coming along! Stylecraft have also donated a rather wonderful prize and anyone making a purchase at the shop from April 22nd to next Saturday will get entered into the draw. Let me give you a little peep at some of the yarny goodness you can find there, just to whet your appetite... hope to meet some of you next weekend! xxx

The Viola Skirt

This weekend I made a skirt! I went to Sew Me Something in Stratford-upon-Avon. I know, crazy or what?! I set off at 6am yesterday and got to Stratford just before 9am. The town was buzzing with celebrations for Shakespeare's birthday, but I didn't get a chance to explore as I was ravenously hungry and needed a second breakfast! A pot of tea and a Danish pastry set me up nicely...

I posted a photo of my breakfast on Instagram and Jules, owner of Sew Me Something, replied and told me to come on over to choose my fabrics. I'd already taken a look in their Emporium online and had chosen one fabric. I needed a second to provide the contrast. The class I was taking was to make a Viola skirt. It's a very cleverly designed reversible skirt with contrast piping. These are the fabrics I chose, with bright pink buttons to fasten it. 

I took a class here last year when I made my Kate dress, so I already knew what a good teacher Jules was - calm and patient. There were six of us in the class;  it was so interesting to see how our fabric choices made the finished skirt look so different. Mine is definitely one for the summer, but I want to make another one in corduroy with a cotton contrast for cooler weather.

My modelled photos are rubbish because I took them in the mirror. I will try to get some more taken soon so that you can see just how lovely this skirt is - both sides! It makes it a very handy item for taking on holiday as you get two skirts for the price of one! 

Florence of course was most disgruntled that I'd not been at her beck and call all day and has demanded lots of cuddles today. We've been out in the garden, sitting on the bench and enjoying the sunshine. She absolutely loves being brushed, which is pretty surprising considering how uncooperative she is about most things!

There's still time to enter my latest giveaway here. I'll be back soon to tell you all about Yarn Shop Day 2017. It's all rather exciting! xxx

Easter snippets

Back to work tomorrow - here's a few photos of my Easter. Hope the Easter bunny paid you a visit! xxx

Flo squeezing herself into a space for a snooze...

Cherry blossom... 

 Mr JK's tree ( a silver birch) in leaf...

 Toasted hot cross buns for lunch...

The first bluebells and primroses at Blickling...

Flo making it difficult to crochet...

A beautiful morning at Blickling ...

Mini-sock knitting in readiness for a workshop...

Soda bread to go with hearty soup ...

Quilt making with Snoopydog...

Being warm enough to get my feet out ...

A biscuit tin full of gingernuts (Mr JK's favourites - google Delia Smith's recipe) ...

April Pay it Forward giveaway!

Time for another giveaway methinks; just my way of trying to pay forward a little of the tremendous kindness that has been shown to me by yarny folk around the world over the past few months. This month, I've got a ball of West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 ply sock yarn in a pink self-striping colourway that reminds me of cherry blossom. As it's Easter, I'm also including a bag of Cadbury's Mini Eggs (it might not probably won't definitely won't be the exact bag that's in the photo because I will have eaten those, but I promise to replace them!) Also in the goodies are a fun coaster I spotted on my travels and a tin of Burt's Bees Hand Salve to keep your hands in tip top condition for knitting and crocheting! 

To be in with a chance of winning, leave me a comment telling me what colours you'd choose if you were creating your own self-striping sock yarn. The giveaway will be open until midnight on April 30th and I'll use a random number generator to pick the winner after that date. Please make sure it's easy for me to contact you by leaving your Ravelry or Instagram name, or leave some other way for me to get in touch. If I haven't heard from the winner within a week, I'll pick another winner. The giveaway is open to all - I'll post anywhere (well, ok perhaps not anywhere, not too sure about the International Space Station!) but you know what I mean! Good luck and may the random number generator be with you! xxx