Start as I mean to go on…….

On January 12, 2014 By agrarianartisan3 Comments

Wow! Almost 2 weeks into 2014 already.

I resolved to do more knitting this year and I think I have started well.

I have been knitting cowls. Why? Well I am organising a coach trip to Wonderwool Wales in April and I thought it would be nice to design something to help occupy the time during the 3 hour journey. For some reason I decided on a cowl, but it has to be something that you can knit without having to refer to the pattern too much (not recommended whilst the coach is in motion, it could induce travel sickness in some, me included!).

It took me 3 attempts before I came up with a design I thought would suit. The first 2 cowls were lovely but just did not fit the ‘coach’ criteria. The third is perfect but I need to test it further. So I have knitted 3 cowls already and I am halfway into my fourth.

These are the two I ‘rejected’:

They may be rejects for the coach but I love them, and I have published them. You can find them on Ravelry.

I have also spent a bit of my time teaching myself to spin yarn…….but it will be quite a while before I share my spinning adventures!

Happy knitting xx

Seasons greetings!

On December 23, 2013 By agrarianartisan3 Comments

I am sure everyone has been very busy preparing for the Christmas time holiday. But if any of you are still keen to squeeze in one last make before it’s too late here are a few ideas.

If you fancy one last minute decoration make hop over to Kerry’s blog to get the pattern for this:

On Kerry’s blog here:
http://oddmentsblog.wordpress.com/2013/11/14/crochet-tutorial-christmas-snowflakestar/

Make a curvy star for decoration or as a coaster

On the blog here:
https://agrarianartisan.com/2013/07/02/42/

Make a few small lavender sachets

Pattern on Ravelry here:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/simple-crochet-sachet

And some very quick knitted fingerless mitts

Pattern on Ravelry here:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/easy-peasy-fingerless-mitts-3

But don’t forget to find some time to put your feet up and just relax!

Seasons greetings and Happy New Year to all my readers xxxxx

A good week

On November 30, 2013 By agrarianartisan4 Comments

This has been a good week for me, lots of really lovely things have happened and it had made me very cheery! So I thought I would share a couple of them with you.

First the lovely Amanda Perkins wrote a blog about me – yes all about me! It was a huge surprise and she said some lovely things, which left me blushing. If you don’t already know about Amanda you should find out now. She, her husband Phil and daughter Daisy are the family team behind The Natural Dye Studio. They hand dye the most gorgeous luxury yarns in North Devon using historical dyes and environmentally friendly methods. Find the website here: http://www.thenaturaldyestudio.com/
Amanda is also a very talented crochet designer and I have had the privilege to work with her for a few years now – she is a joy to work with. She crochets like the wind and produces the most exquisite blankets in next to no time (ok maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but she certainly crochets them a lot faster than anyone else I know). You can find her pattern and books on the website or on Ravelry here: http://www.ravelry.com/designers/amanda-perkins
And her blog here: http://amandascrochetblog.blogspot.co.uk/

The second good thing I want to share is a publication I received yesterday. It is my ‘contributor’ copy of a new bookazine by Tailor Made Publications (the publishing house of Inside Crochet). It is called ’The Knitting Collection’ and comprises 47 different designs, from small home projects to beautiful fashion items. My contribution is a one-skein shawlette, yes a new knitting design from me:

Co-incidentally (or maybe not) it is made with a skein of The Natural Dye Studio’s Angelus 4 ply yarn, which fabulous to work with and so soft.

I really enjoyed reading The Knitting Collection yesterday evening. It has a lovely array of designs in it, the layout and photography is good and there are very few adverts. Altogether, in my opinion, a quality publication and well worth the £9.99 cover price. I don’t submit my designs to magazines often, as I prefer to work to my own timetable, but I am proud to part of this one.

Finally, today I am starting block 16 of my Bohemian Rhapsody wrap. It has 18 blocks, so I am getting close to finishing…. my excitement level is growing, so much that I am thinking of bringing the completion deadline forward. I’ll just see how the hooking goes this weekend……………………

Happy Knitting and Crocheting xxx

Rainbows……….

On September 25, 2013September 25, 2013 By agrarianartisan5 Comments

I have been playing with colour a lot in recent months. It was all sparked off by Bohemian Rhapsody, that design just made me want to explore colour more. And I have been studiously sticking to my plan of making one block of Bohemian Rhapsody every 2 weeks. I have now completed 11 – only another 7 to go.

Inspired, I bought 2 packs of The Natural Dye Studio’s Dazzle HT in rainbow colours when I visited Wonderwool Wales. Most of one pack became a subtle colour exploration with the Wild Diamonds Wrap:

And I am now working on something with the remaining 6 colours which may take a while, so I won’t share that with you yet.

But my most recent colour work has now been revealed. It is a cowl made with a complete rainbow of The Natural Dye Studio’s Godiva HT, which is the most lusciously soft single merino yarn. You can find the yarn here: http://www.thenaturaldyestudio.com/godiva-ht-4-plyfingering-yarn-356-c.asp

What made this colour work most special was that the yarn was a present, totally unexpected and very welcome. I was feeling a little low and Amanda sensed I needed cheering up, so she sent me a pack in the post! I can’t tell you how wonderful a gift it was – 10 mini skeins of the complete rainbow, it came at just the right time and really raised my spirits. I can’t thank Amanda enough. So, of course, it had to be made into something beautiful. This is the result:

You can’t tell from the photo just how soft this yarn is. But you can tell it gives good stitch definition and it blocks well; my uneven knitting now looks quite passable!

It is now written as a pattern and can be found in my Ravelry, Craftsy and Etsy web stores.

All this colour work has really boosted my creativity, and yet another colour project is on my hook right now! So there will be a few more colourful reveals in the not too distant future.

Happy knitting and crocheting xxx

An Anniversary…..

On August 23, 2013August 27, 2013 By agrarianartisanLeave a comment

An Anniversary

In my last blog, I mentioned the special date of 27th August being the 1st anniversary of my Ravelry forum. I can now disclose the 2 designs made for that anniversary.

The Anniversary Sharf (knitting):

And the Simple Circles Scarf/Wrap (crochet):

If you are a member of Raverly, join my forum on there (Agrarian Artisan Designs), establish a project linked to one of the 2 designs above and tag it properly before 1st September 2013, I will gift the pattern to you via Ravelry….and then you can join in the fun, knitting or crocheting with other like minded folk 🙂

Happy knitting and crocheting xx

A happy accident

On June 25, 2013 By agrarianartisan2 Comments

I have been asked many times if I blog and, until now, the answer has been ‘no’. Today I took a huge leap into the world of blogging. I recognise that those who appreciate my designs want to read a little more than discussions on Ravelry, they want a deeper insight into the whys and wherefores of what I do.

So today it begins. And it begins with a promise – that I will write this blog at least twice a month. I aim to keep that promise, but please bear with me, it may take a while for me to get into the swing of the blog!

Happy knitting and crocheting

	Friends Around the W… on Friends Around the World Anniv…
	Friends Around the W… on “Friends Around the World”…