Thursday, 30 October 2014

Design Notebook: Colourblock Shawl in progress

Last week I showed you the gorgeous yarn being used for my colourblock shawl, but I didn't tell you much about the project or how it came about. 
Colourblock shawl in Scheepjes Stone Washed XL
It all started - as it invariably does - with a rough sketch in my Traveler's Notebook back in May. I was clear that the shawl needed to be knit on the bias, that it could be made in any size, and that it would be easy enough to make as a first project, and I wanted it to be snuggly and to have a fringe. The idea was left amongst the pages until a while later when I discovered the perfect yarn.
Colourblock shawlin Scheepjes Stone Washed XL
It hasn't taken many hours of actual knitting - there have been lots of other priorities and distractions - but it's almost finished. I'm still not 100% sold on the yellow and wish I'd picked purple instead, but I love the texture and it's extremely soft and drapeable.
Colourblock shawlin Scheepjes Stone Washed XL
With just 100g of orange to add, it's time to decide on the fringe (which may take longer than the knitting as this is a speedy project using 6mm needles). I have kept aside both blue and grey yarn with thoughts of a multi-coloured fringe, but I have a ball of the sport weight Stone Washed in Moon Stone (cream) which is left over from a different project and it's calling to me... so I'm seriously considering that one too. Some experimentation is in order. 
Scheepjes Stone Washed for the fringe
Of the many things I've made this year, this is definitely one of my favourites - I can't wait to wear it. It's really simple but surprisingly effective - exactly the sort of project I love. Hopefully it'll be finished soon and I'll be posting the free pattern here for anyone who'd like to make one.

Edited: Many people have contacted me to ask about sourcing this Dutch yarn. Scheepjes Stone Washed XL is available from Deramores, for UK and worldwide delivery (see delivery costs here).
Monday, 27 October 2014

Great knitting ebooks to borrow for free (as part of free trial)

If you've been visiting these pages for a while, you'll know that I'm a big fan of ebooks and go through quite a lot of them each month. I also like a freebie. As I know many of you are the same, I decided to write this post to tell you what I'm doing to try lots of different books out. It includes affiliate links. You can read more about them here

I've been considering the new Kindle Unlimited service since it was launched here a few weeks ago, and initially decided it really wasn't worth the 30 day free trial, for a number of reasons including: 
  • I have *so many* books on my Kindle already that I haven't read (because I buy them when they are on offer or part of the Daily Deal
  • I am already a Prime Member and can borrow a book a month as part of that
  • Lots of the novels I want to read are not included in the Unlimited package
So I didn't think I'd bother with the the service... but then I did a little research on the 'knitting' (and other craft) books which are included, and discovered that there are some real gems on there... but you do have to look through quite a lot of other books to find them if you don't know exactly what you want. If you're thinking about giving the free trial a go, here are some of the books I think you might like.

I have the paperback of Sock Knitting Master Class by Ann Budd and it's great! It was recommended to me by several knitters when I was first attempting socks and it has lots of lovely patterns written by some of the best-known sock designers. The paperback is usually about £15 and the Kindle edition over £8. If you're knitting socks for Christmas I'd say that the free trial is worth doing for this book alone. If you're not quite at "master class" level, there's also a beginner sock knitting book by the same author with fabulous reviews (linked below). I've linked to some of the other books I think are worth checking out below too. There are lots more to discover (including Cookie A's Sock Innovation which I also have in paperback and would highly recommend but I didn't put a picture in case you think it's all about socks!).

How it works: Kindle Unlimited is a subscription service - you pay £7.99 per month to borrow as many books as you like from the Kindle Unlimited library (up to 10 at any time). You don't need a Kindle to read them, and can use any compatible device which has the free Kindle App installed (this includes most tablets, smart phones and computers). In my opinion, these types of books are actually better on a tablet (inc Kindle Fire) or computer as they have a lot of illustrations and images - for this reason I'll be reading them on my iPad. 

Click the images to view the books on Amazon
When you sign up for the 30 day trial, you can borrow as many of the books from the library as you like (there are lots of different books to choose from including children's books and various genres and these novels with audio narration so you can knit and listen at the same time). 

If you decide that the package isn't worth £7.99 per month, you can cancel the trial before the first payment is taken so you never have to pay anything. If you like the service and wish to continue, then you don't need to do anything, your Amazon account will be charged at the end of the trial. I don't know how long I'll subscribe to the service, but if nothing else, this is a great way to try out some of these books, especially those which cover techniques I haven't tried before (like shadow knitting). If you have any other recommendations from the available books, please leave a comment so I can check them out.

Tip: If you decide to keep the membership and use Ravelry, you might like to add the books to your Ravelry library so you can easily search the patterns without having to look through all the books.
Thursday, 23 October 2014

Colourblocking

In the last post I talked about some of the yarn that had arrived in recent weeks for new designs, but what I didn't get around to showing you was the biggest single delivery of all.

I should perhaps start by saying it was inevitable that a parcel like this would arrive. I follow lots of blogs and had seen so much of this Stone Washed XL yarn (a relatively new yarn from a well established brand) courtesy of the various Dutch crafters I follow. After seeing Wink's beach bag CAL I decided that this might just be the yarn I was looking for to produce something from a sketch I drew months ago. So varying amounts of four different colours were ordered - Coral, Lemon Quartz, Smokey Quartz and Amazonite - and arrived looking like this...
Scheepjes Stone Washed
These are definitely not my usual colours - especially the yellow - but I confess that my order was heavily influenced by the sky here at the start of Autumn. It changes so much throughout the day - starting out blue, turning to grey and then giving a flash of sun in the mid-afternoon, ready for the beautiful oranges of an early sunset. It's my favourite thing about living in West Sussex which is relatively flat (compared to my hometown in Wales) and offers magnificent views of the skyline. 

As I hadn't tried the yarn before, it was essential to cast on immediately.  In no time at all I'd knit up the first 50g ball and had completely fallen for it. The yarn is 70% cotton and 30% acrylic and is incredibly soft, with a slight halo. Knitting garter stitch on 6mm needles, it produces a deliciously snuggly and textured fabric and I think everyone who has squished it has fallen for it too. Because it's so soft and washable, I used the 5 ply version for my latest pattern - Leaf Collector's Mitts.
Colourblocking with Scheepjes Stone Washed XL
All this happened at the same time my hand stopped working (see this post), so although I might normally have finished this project in a single weekend, it was delayed for a week, followed by other things which had to be finished for deadlines. *sigh* All good things come to those who wait, right? 

It's really good comfort-knitting (I've done a bit more than you can see in the picture) and I'm itching to get back to it... but had to use the needle tips for another project I'm working on* so I need to finish that one before I can get the needles back. I'll give you an update next week when I'm hoping it might be well on the way to completion.

Edited: I've had a lot of people contact me about sourcing this Dutch yarn - Scheepjes Stone Washed XL is available from Deramores, for UK and worldwide delivery (find delivery costs here).
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*Knitter's Problems: How is it that you can have four complete sets of different needles, plus spares, and the ONLY 6mm tips you can find are on another project?
Tuesday, 21 October 2014

Yarn Tease

The postman has told me that he's fed up of delivering my parcels. You see, there's been a lot of new yarn to swatch for some of the designs I'm working on. I guess this is the inevitable result of regular journaling - everything ends up in my notebook and eventually wants to be turned into an actual project. As there have been so many posts NOT showing you anything, I decided that today's 'Show & Tell' would be a quick peek at some of the things in my yarn basket, which are also a hint at things to come in the next couple of months.
Yarn yarn everywhere
You'll notice there are a few shimmery things - I'm working on a pattern which I am really excited about and planning to swatch in a few different yarns to suit different budgets. This stunning undyed alpaca/silk arrived today - it's Blue Sky Alpacas Metalico and is jaw-droppingly beautiful. Look at that natural shimmer!  It's a total luxury yarn and I can't wait to see it knitted up ... but it's so lovely I almost don't want to unwrap it from the skein. 
New yarn!
In total colourful contrast, this Malabrigo Mecha (colourway Piedras) threw me a real curveball - I got it on a whim, but it's so beautiful, I altered another design planned for a different yarn, in order to suit it. Each stitch is the most amazing colour - and I really think it needs a simple design which will allow the colours to sing without being overpowered.
New yarn!
You might have guessed that working with yarns like these, I've started to really love swatching!
New yarn!
Just for fun, I also started playing around with some of the new Yarn Stories merino DK to see what it's like. I love the cobalt and spring green together and they feel so soft and snuggly. I really want to finish these mitts but just haven't had a couple of evenings free to get them done. It seemed I'd have so much more time with the children both at school but that is definitely not the case, as I'm trying to cram so much in.

In fact, this is only the tip of the iceberg, as my WIP-bag 'overfloweth' at the moment. I have even more gorgeous yarn - and a new project - to show you later in the week, but it needs a whole post to itself. (It's going to be a free pattern here on the blog once it's finished and written up and I LOVE IT!) 

Before I go, a huge thank you to everyone who has already purchased a copy of the Leaf Collector's Mitts pattern. I have been absolutely thrilled to see that some awesome knitters have already downloaded it, and some are using it for the Little Bobbins Mittalong. Happy Mitt-ing!
Saturday, 18 October 2014

Design Notebook: Leaf Collector's Mitts

I'm pleased to announce that the pattern for Leaf Collector's Mitts is now available to download from Ravelry. I've already posted about the project a few times, so I won't repeat how the design came about, but (based on the types of questions I usually get) I've put together a few notes for anyone who might be unsure whether the pattern is suitable for them.
Design Notebook: Leaf Collector's Mitts
I must start by saying that it is intended to be accessible to beginner or intermediate knitters, so I've tried to pre-empt any questions while writing the pattern, but the following may be useful in deciding whether to make a purchase. If there are any frequently asked questions which are not covered here, I'll come back to edit this post. 

What skills will I need? 
  • It's mostly knit and purl stitches with a few increases and decreases on alternate rows. You'll need to be able to work a 'yarn over', a 'k3tog' (knit 3 together) and to follow instructions/photos for a simple decrease I've called "s3yp3" - you probably won't recognise the name, but you can see it here and it's detailed in the pattern.  
  • The pattern includes both written instructions and a chart, so you can follow either. If you haven't used a chart before, you might like to give it a try because it's a good one to start with - the number of stitches remains the same, it's easy to spot any mistakes as you go along as the chart looks like the piece you're knitting. In fact, it's such a clear chart to follow, you may find you like it more than reading the written instructions.
  • It's knit flat (so you don't have to worry about using DPNs or circular needles) and joined using 'mattress stitch' - see below. 
It's knit flat? Can I knit it in the round? 
Of course! I prefer to knit in the round but this pattern is designed to be knit flat in response to the overwhelming number of requests I've had for a 'flat' version of my other patterns. Leaf Collector's Mitts is very easy to adapt as there is a selvedge stitch at the beginning and end of each row (this makes for a perfect mattress stitch join). If you want to knit in the round, simply omit the selvedge stitches on each row - the pattern will work seamlessly for you. Just work flat where you'd like the thumb hole to be.

I've never used mattress stitch before!
Don't worry, it's really easy. There are lots of tutorials online already, I especially like this one from Knitty.com as it has clear pictures. For this pattern, you can pull the first and second stitch apart a little at each side to see the 'bar' you'll sew up. Your join will be almost invisible, inside and out (see photo below right).

I have loads of yarn already and want to use something from my stash, what should I look for?
I used Scheepjes Stone Washed which is a very soft washable sport weight/ 5 ply. Here in the UK, sport weight isn't that common, and if you're substituting yarn from your stash you could use a light DK and that will work just fine. If in doubt, knit a swatch and check you like the fabric and that the gauge will work for you (see the next point).

I have tiny/enormous hands, I'm worried they won't fit me as there's only one size. 
As both the ribbing and leaf pattern are stretchy, I'd be very surprised if they were too small, but if you have tiny hands, or want to knit the mitts for a child, there are a couple of options. You could either use 4ply yarn and smaller needles, or omit one of the leaf pattern repeats - either way I'd highly recommend you make a swatch (yes, really!) to work out how many cms you get for each repeat of the pattern (I get 6.5 cms per repeat at the gauge stated in the pattern) and then work out the best option for you. 

I'd like them to be longer. How easy is it to do this? 
Really easy. Repeat the leaf pattern, before moving onto the ribbing - five repeats would make a nice long armwarmer, I'm planning that length next.

Is there a version with a thumb? 
No. I prefer mitts without thumbs as this makes them much more versatile. Once you have thumbs, they have to be worn as gloves, but without a thumb, you can push them up and wear them as cuffs or armwarmers (pictured). This is especially useful when you have 3/4 length sleeves (like most of my wardrobe) or if you need to wash your hands or do something messy - just push them up and you stay toasty but have your hands completely free.

(If you want to add your own thumb, you can add it wherever you like, depending on how long you want your mitts to be.)

I hope that has everything covered and that you enjoy making your Leaf Collectors Mitt as much as I did. 
Friday, 17 October 2014

The joy of..... Grafting

Grafting (aka Kitchener Stitch) tends to get a bad press. It is often perceived as being 'difficult' or advanced. But the truth is, it's actually very simple, and produces a seamless invisible join in your knitting. In fact, if it weren't so perfectly logical, I'd think it were magic.

For example, it's absolutely perfect when you just can't find a suitable way to reverse stitch patterns so that they are exactly identical when inverted from bottom-up to top-down (see my last post if you're wondering what on earth I'm on about!*) 
If you haven't tried it yet, you might like this free class from Craftsy: Ins and Outs of Grafting (affiliate) in which Anne Hanson shows exactly how it's done (the class also includes additional materials and student-led discussions which you can refer back to anytime). If you prefer written words and photos, there is also an excellent article on Knitty.

If you haven't already, give it a go!
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*Yay - so I almost have an FO for Friday, just the border and blocking to go and it's done. But you'll have to wait to see it. I really hate having so many projects I have to keep secret from you, but that's the way it is at the moment. Next week I'll have a gorgeous project which I can share here - can't wait for you to see that. Have a lovely weekend!
Thursday, 16 October 2014

Knitter's Problems: Still obsessing about decreases!

Last week I showed you the uncommon decrease I'd decided on for the forthcoming Leaf Collector's Mitts pattern - which is ready apart from a few minor changes suggested by a lovely editor, that I haven't time to make. In my post (which you can read here if you missed it) I talked about the frustration caused by left- and right-leaning decreases not matching when they really should. 
Decrease obsession - knitter's problems
This whole issue is still driving me bonkers this week - I have almost finished another pattern, but for the final section, an inversion of the first section - which has revealed the same issue again! Except this time it's a single decrease and not a double, and one is knitted top-down and the other bottom-up... so the same solution doesn't work. 

The bottom-up version is lovely - great stitch definition and looks exactly how I wanted it to. The top-down version.... not so much. It's making my brain ache, as this project has a definite unmovable deadline - Sunday - and my 'perfect' planning was completely knocked out by the week I'm now referring to as 'mosquito-gate' and which had been my intended contingency time. 

So while I'm thinking about this, I'm sharing the resources I'm using to try to make sense of it. Surely some you have faced these problems too (if so, what did you do?) or will do in the future, and you'll remember this post to come back for the links. If nothing else, it'll make me feel as though I'm making progress. 

June Hemmons Hyatt talks about the issue in The Principles of Knitting:
While it is common to use mirror-image pairs of decreases to shape the two sides of a garment, this can be problematic because the facing stitch of a Left Decrease tends to be larger than that of a Right Decrease. This is odd, since the structure of the two is the same..... Why it does this remains a mystery.
The wonderful TechKnitter offers some advice. In fact lots of advice, in a series of posts starting here (with the background), continuing here, and offering some solutions here (with SYTK - slip, yank, twist, knit) and here (including a crochet hook). 

So now I'm trying to decide whether JHH's twisted decreases or the SYTK option would be best for the pattern and the intended audience..... Did I mention that my brain hurts?!?

If When I get this sorted, I'll make the final changes to Leaf Collector's Mitts and get that published, as I know some of you are waiting to knit them! Also there's a "mitt-along" about to start on the 'Little Bobbins Podcast' which they might just be perfect for. You can find more details here
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If you're wondering why the photo is in black and white, it's because there is some colourful awesomeness in it which I'll be showing you soon! Maybe you can guess what it is. 
Tuesday, 14 October 2014

Knitting Quirks (or 'Confessions of a Sloppy Knitter'?)

There are several things that I know I *always* do 'wrong' when knitting. Despite knowing that they are wrong I still do them, and I've learned to work-around my mistakes as a matter of course, rather than just doing the things right in the first place. I'll give you a couple of examples.
Untitled
This plant has nothing to do with the content of this post, but I loved the texture and sense of a "last hoorah" of colour
Firstly, I always pick up stitches by the left 'leg', even though I know picking them up by the right leg is correct. I always pick them up that way and then knit into the back loop on the next row to untwist the stitches. At the moment I'm working on several new designs and I'm swatching a lot and trying out new ideas - there's a lot of 'ripping out' of rows, and so a lot of picking up stitches, but I still don't pick them up the right way. (Probably a result of dropping many stitches while learning to knit and being so thankful when I could grab them any-which-way, I didn't care about their orientation.) 

Another example arises when knitting yarn overs between purl and knit stitches. I know there is a correct way to do it (to ensure they are the tight size and not twisted) but I'd say they are right only about half of the time. I don't even think about it now - I just get the yarn over that needle in one way or another and sort it out on the next row - if they are mounted the wrong way, I simply knit into the stitch in the way that will keep the yarn over open and untwisted.

I'm not really sure if these are quirks of my knitting, or whether I'm just a sloppy knitter. It seems to work out in the end project so I'm calling it the former. How about you? Do you have similar knitting quirks?  What do you do which almost always results in a work-around? 
Friday, 10 October 2014

FO: Leaf Collector's Mitts and a new rule

Leaf Collector's Mitts by Sarah Knight
The pattern for my Leaf Collector's Mitts is finished - as much as anything unpublished is ever finished, as I can't resist tinkering with the wording and layout - and will be released next week. I'm already planning on making myself a long version with 5 repeats of the leaf pattern in a neutral colour (maybe off white or grey)... but first I have a completely different sample to finish. 

In the meantime, I've made a new rule for myself: Don't knit any more samples in purples! As if the autumn light wasn't bad enough, this lovely shade of pinky-purple (it's Scheepjes Stone Washed in Corundum Ruby) has been really hard to capture. None of my photos do it justice. 

I'm not sure when the transition from 'blogger' to 'designer' began, but more time is spent on the latter at the moment, which is exciting, challenging and a little nerve-wracking*, for each time one of my 'pattern babies' is sent out into the world (to another knitter for testing or on general release) I feel like I'll be found out as a fraud - that it won't make any sense at all to anyone else. Thankfully that's not the case, but it's still a recurring doubt. Talking to other people who create for work or pleasure (including my very talented husband whose credentials are not in any doubt), I think this must be a common experience. Can you relate to it too?
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*The flip-side to this is realising the person you're talking to is WEARING one of your designs! Do you remember my friend and model Charlotte? She loved Little Bear's Porridge so much when we were photographing it, she's made her own! 
Wednesday, 8 October 2014

Say hello to S3YP3 (it's a left-leaning decrease, not a Star Wars character)

Leaf Collector's Mitts preview
As I mentioned yesterday, I've been busy with a new pattern. It wasn't planned, but as soon as the sketch of an idea was doodled in my notebook (the first step for all my designs) I knew exactly how it should look and needed to knit it. By searching various stitch dictionaries and resources for ideas, I found an existing stitch pattern that seemed to work. So when I embarked on this "quick little project" I thought it would be a case of doing some math, fiddling with my chart to make the stitch pattern fit and flow* with the other elements, and that would be that.

As it turned out, my swatch revealed something that many other knitters have known for a long time, but which I'd never realised. You see, the design includes right- and left-leaning double decreases. In the stitch dictionary, the right-leaning decrease is made with a simple 'k3tog' (knit three together), and the counterpart a 'sk2p' (slip one, knit two together, pass the slip stitch over) and I've used that stitch plenty of times without noticing anything odd about it. But swatching a project where 'sk2p' was repeated over several rows, it became apparent that it's a bit of a tricky one - not because it's hard to do, but because it doesn't look the way you might expect. It's inconsistent - sometimes loose and sloppy - unless you are very careful with the tension and don't put the needle too far into it, and all sorts of fudges.

And it wasn't just me. A bit of research showed that this is a known phenomenon! My searches turned up various instances of knitters looking for better alternatives as they were not happy with it. Part of my ethos is that my patterns are accessible to beginner/intermediate knitters, so this would not do at all. I needed a more reliable stitch!

I tried various other options for a left-slanting double decrease but nothing was right. Finally I resorted to June Hemmons Hyatt (you'd think I'd know to go there first) and came across the alternative idea of making an extra stitch and then removing three stitches. There wasn't an abbreviation, just a description "wrap yarn and pull three slipped stitches over new stitch". I tried it. It worked! (What would I do without that book?) 

So the new pattern includes a stitch I've abbreviated to 's3yp3', and I've taken some photos for the pattern which I'll share here too (and oops - the last one isn't in focus!): 

1. Start by slipping three stitches as if to knit, 
2. Put the working yarn over the needle to create a new stitch
3. Pass the three slipped stitches over the new stitch (JHH says it can be all at once, but I found passing them individually gave a nicer result) 
's3yp3' left-slanting double decrease (from The Principles of Knitting)
And there you have it. It's worked out much better than the original stitch did, and I'm sure that it'll be easier for newer knitters to get a great result using this. I'd love to know if you've used this stitch before, or if you've even noticed that k3tog and sk2p look so different, despite the logic that they should be mirror images.

If you're interested to see more of the pattern, it's being tested at the moment and will be available very soon, but there's already a little peek on the Patterns page.

Edit: Read more about the pattern here. It is available to download from Ravelry.

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*My husband is a (TV and Film) Editor and he says the sign of a good edit is that you never notice it at all - it all seems to flow so perfectly, you only notice when something feels wrong. My recent dabblings into design have shown me that this is definitely the case with knitting. Something works well when you don't notice how one thing moves into another (eg how a rib transitions into the pattern, or how one stitch pattern becomes another). These are the things that take a lot of time to get right, but that most people won't notice.
Tuesday, 7 October 2014

A Quick Tuesday Tip

Inspiration struck, and although I should have been working on something else (something with a deadline that I lost time on last week), there was an idea that wouldn't leave my head. So last night, I cast it on. I'm really glad I did as it turned out just as imagined. I've spent today writing up the pattern.... which is almost done. While knitting up the second half of the sample, I realised that I haven't shared this little washi tape tip on the blog before, but it's something I do all the time and find incredibly useful.

When leaving a long tail for sewing up, secure the end with washi tape - it prevents tangling and also ensures you don't start knitting with the wrong end of the yarn. As the tape is low tack, it doesn't leave any sticky residue or damage the yarn when removed. 
Washi tape and knitting
If you are looking for more ways to use washi tape with your knitting (like you need an excuse for more washi!), there's a post  in the archives which you might like. That's it for today, see you soon! 
Thursday, 2 October 2014

Socktober - a bundle of sock tutorials

As mentioned yesterday, until I can knit and properly blog again, some of my existing posts are being brushed down, dusted off and given a new lease of life. As (S)Oc(k)tober is upon us and I've written several 'sock-related' tutorials over the past few years, I thought it might be useful to present them here together as a kind of virtual bundle. Simply click on the images to visit the posts, you'll find other useful links within the posts themselves. 

1: De-mystifying Toe-Up Socks - a three part series including all the steps necessary to knit your first 'afterthought heel' socks. Part 1 includes a photo tutorial for Judy's Magic Cast-On which is useful for all sorts of projects.
2: The Sewn Bind-off is one of the most versatile and simple - it's also great for cuffs, sweaters, and hats.
3: Casting on Two-at-a-time socks - and how to manage the yarn so it doesn't get into a big tangle! 
4: Darning: And finally, when you've worn your socks lots and lots, you might need this one! 
If you're looking for tips and tutes on other topics, there are plenty more in the archives - you can access them here
Wednesday, 1 October 2014

Flashback: Free Armwarmer Pattern

While I'm not able to blog very much*, I'll take the opportunity to link back to some of the things newer readers might have missed. Today it's the turn of my free armwarmer pattern
This was one of my first patterns and can be downloaded as a PDF on Ravelry and Craftsy. They are quick to knit and make a lovely gift. There are options to make long or short versions, with or without a thumbhole. 

There are already quite a lot of projects on the Ravelry gallery - you can see some of my favourites herehere, here and here. If you've made a pair already, don't forget to add your photos - I'll be looking for some for a revamped version of the pattern in the coming months! 
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*It's been one of those weeks. Nothing has gone to plan. I'm making daily trips to the hospital (yesterday it was a four hour round-trip) to get intravenous antibiotics for an infected hand caused by mosquito bites. Although the swelling is going down and I can use my hand now, the other arm is limited due to a 'permanent' line - a 20cm cannula - running from my elbow to my shoulder. It's too uncomfortable to do much (I can't knit for more than a few minutes) and the drugs are giving me a rotten headache. Hopefully it'll only go on until the weekend. I'm attempting to practice acceptance. Trying not to worry about the deadlines that are looming, for work that isn't finished. Trying not to worry about missing blog posts that I'd planned. It is what it is... it is what it is... 

Huge thanks to everyone who has sent kind words and wishes on Instagram and Facebook xxx
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DISCLAIMER: Crafts from the Cwtch is part of the Deramores, Craftsy, Etsy, Creativebug and Amazon Affiliate programmes and works with a few carefully selected sponsors. Where posts or projects are sponsored, the opinions will always be entirely my own. You can find out more about affiliate links and blog sponsorship here.

Hello and welcome. If it's your first visit you may like to start with my most popular tips & tutorials, or the patterns. You can read more about me on the 'Hello' page and you may also like the CftC pages on Ravelry, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Etsy. I hope you enjoy your visit! Sarah
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