Autumn is coming fast

Hello,

Well I am not sure what the weather is doing around your way, but here it is blowing a hooley.

The winds are borderline gale force out there today, but at least is only rained a little bit this morning. All these chilly and wet conditions - along with our drafty double glazing has turned my thoughts to warm woolly things.

I am currently snuggling in an old cardigan of my dad's, which was 'the family Aran' pattern. I can remember my mum and I knitting these when I was a teenager, ah fond memories. Unfortunately the pattern has been lost over the years, that maybe a design to try to recreate and use in a future pattern...

Details from Dad's Aran Cardigan

Do you have a pattern that has a special place in your or your families memory? Textiles and hand crafted items have such a history, going back generations - I would love to hear your stories.





I am proud to announce that my Mother's Love Shawl pattern is now available to purchase on Ravelry and Etsy. The next design is just being prepared to go out for test knitting. It is a very exciting time here in the studio.

On the needles at the moment -
Several pairs of socks for Jo's Christmas Sock box, one of my favourites so far is the Mystery KAL from Heidi Nick, Rogue or Storm. I cannot show you any pictures at the moment as it is a secret until the pattern has been fully released. These are gong to be her luxury socks as they are being knitted in Buffalo Gold #5, which is a yarn made from 100% pure American Bison down.  It is a magical journey with cables and beads and I can't wait to show you -  the pattern is free if you would like to join in 😊

Another lovely one is from Danielle Jorge - the Cyril Socks from her #vintagelovestorycollection, which I am knitting in WYSpinners Bo Peep 4ply - it is so soft.

I have as always lots of projects on the go, too many for one email...
Are you a one project at a time person? or are you like me a bit of a butterfly and start at least 4 new projects for each one that is finished? At least that is how it feels sometimes, I am so easily distracted sometimes.

The Stash Sale continues, but on Etsy this time as I can give you a discount code for free postage to Isle of Wight residents. Yarn can be collected from me at Quay Arts on Wednesday afternoons or another time/place can be arranged.

The Code for Etsy is: IWIGHTCOLLECT18 and my Etsy Shop can be found here

Well I think that is me for the time being - I will be back soon with news of upcoming Christmas Fairs and new things for the shop.

Until then - happy crafting whatever you do, and stay warm.

Big hugs
Tracy
=^.^=

Busy world

Hello and welcome to the studio,

As Autumn starts creeping around the corner it is time to start reflecting on the year - its been a year of huge changes for us here.

The main change is of course the closure of the shop - this was a hard decision to make, but ultimately it was not working. The positive from this means that I can now concentrate on designing and creating items. The down side is the household income has decreased....

To this end I am going to have a Stash Sale to help fund my designing costs - tech editor and coffee mostly.... 😊 I will also be putting a buy me a Ko-fi button on the website, every little helps, and I am grateful for everyone who supports me.
The Stash Sale can be found here

There will be some gorgeous and unusual yarns that I will be liberating from the useful boxes at some bargain prices - go over to my folksy shop to see them in all their glory.

My first shawl pattern is almost ready to go live, it is currently out with the test knitters being finished and a tech editor is casting her eye over the details.

The universe conspired earlier this year to give me the final bum kick into finally creating my first pattern. I have notebooks and sketch books stuffed with ideas and samples for patterns, but that is as far as it has gone up to now. The first thing that happened was that a lovely, kind lady who I had the privilege to know when she was discovering knitting and all things yarny had discovered that she was pregnant. The second came in the form of the Swatch Studio Design course by Aroha Knits, this was the free introduction course for budding designers. 

The result is the design which will be launched later this month - Mother's Love, a small shawl designed with Dani of Little Bobbins in mind. (The original shawl has been gifted so I can talk about it freely now) I used  Silk Sock in colourway Mount Fiji from Yarn For the Soul for the border and Comfy Sock in Blushing Bride from Down Sheepy Lane, the two yarns worked beautifully together as you can see. I plan to make one in a single colour, just to see what it would look like - what colour would you knit it in?

I am currently screwing up the courage to create my first podcast - when I finally get over my mind monkeys, is there anything you would like me to cover in a mini tutorial or such like?

Please let me know if there is, I am happy to help.

Oh and before I forget - There will be an open day at Jubilee Stores in Newport on Saturday 8th September to showcase the new seasons workshops and classes. I will be there as I am teaching Learn to Crochet on Wednesday 17th October and Free-form Knitting and Crochet on Wednesday 7th November. If you would like to book or find out more details, just go to the Quay Arts website or drop me a line.

I think that is me for now, I will be back soon, until then 

Happy Crafting

big hugs

Tracy 

=^.^=