June 29, 2010 at 10:02 pm | Posted in General ( day to day stuff), Knitting, Spinning | 1 Comment
Tags: Books, buttons, Knitting, silk, skeins, Woolfest 2010, Yarn
The Woolfest 2010 weekend started at 6am wake up call by my Pucca alarm clock, at this point i had to get up and get dressed most of my bag was packed the night before so i was pretty prepared for the weekend ahead. I’d taken the essentials such as pj’s and undies and tooth brush and paste, I also packed my trusty camera and knitting plus my money (all of my weeks wage). My lovely partner Pete had stayed up all night after he got back from work to make sure i didn’t sleep in and he prepared my lunch so i could have a little coffee before i needed to leave the house. I’ll just added this has been the first weekend we have had fully apart for 3 years, he usually comes along to places i go apart from knitting group.
I’d set off to my meeting destination outside Charlie Browns Car Stuff Shop. On the way i picked up a newspaper and a can of coke it was a lovely warm morning. Then Lisa and Andrew picked me up around 7:10 am when our car journey to Cumbria, Cockermouth.
(Picture- Lisa and Andrew fighting for fudge on car journey)
On the way we discussed early mornings, the scenery, the amount of sheep and cows and excitement for Woolfest . Unfortunately i couldn’t knit on the journey like my friend Alison but the cardigan she brought was coming along wonderfully.

We then arrived at Woolfest about 9:40 am when we parked up and then purchased tickets. Once in a 10 am we went in and had a slow look around the entire Festival. Slowly pondering the sheep and yarn.
(pictures- Sheep and Alpaca’s)




This photo is a favourite due to the Afro Alpaca
The gorgeous little lamb
So we saw a mass of breeds while there and some lovely Angora Rabbits which i purchased some of there coats 2 lots in fact to spin 275g of Angora fiber it is so soft.
After looking round once we then went for our lunch, I had sandwiches and a Victoria sponge and a apple and blackcurrant juice box. Then we went for a look round for a few hours on our own to get what we wanted to buy and so we didn’t slow each other down. By 3 pm we left for Beverley near hull to stay with Lisa and Andrew for the evening. Where we Shared with each other what we had purchased, It was like a Show and tell session.

This is my massive selection i Bought which includes, daisy buttons, pick ‘n’ mix fiber, Angora fiber, Sock yarns, lace yarns, Sari silk, Kid mohair yarn and a Elizabeth Zimmerman book ‘ The opinionated Knitter’.
My favourite purchase and first purchase due to me doing research before i left, the gorgeous Fyberspates faery wings 4 ply in ‘ rich plum’ It’s a mix of silk and kid mohair and costs £16. I’d been wanting a skein of this and so purchased it first so it didn’t sell out.
This is Also one of my Favorites, I’d also looked at sari silk for a while online but it can be expensive sometimes and so pretty but wasn’t sure about it’s texture but i touched some at Woolfest and needed it too much to see it pass me by.
I loved the entire time at Woolfest for my first time there i found it awesome and would go again. Later that evening at Lisa’s we had a great dinner, Andrew had made us vegetable risotto it was really tasty and would have loved a second serving. I wasn’t cheeky enough to ask, we then knitted to later on then we went to bed.
We woke up the next morning and had a lovely breakfast made up off, crisp bread and a sweet bread some lovely cheese, also peanut butter and jam, also strawberries, English breakfast tea and orange juice it was lovely. We then spent sometime ball winding our wool and picking up on bad knitting magazine pattern choices lol! Then we traveled back to Wakefield for knitting group unfortunately we were tired and too hot so left quite early afternoon.
What a super weekend thank you Lisa and Andrew for taking us.
I hope you enjoyed the Woolfest update
Nessa xx
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June 3, 2010 at 8:07 pm | Posted in General ( day to day stuff), Knitting | Leave a comment
Tags: Cashmere, Ishbel, Knitting, patterns, Shawl, silk, skeins, wool shop, Yarn, ysolda teague
As you know I started growing some lovely herbs that unfortunately didn’t make it and i’m struggling to keep my parsley going which is disappointing. Although parsley is still going just not so strong, I had to get rid of the others some didn’t even appear through the soil. Since it been such nice weather these past fews days to help the growth of my new buds they have been having fun outside our upstairs flat.

Thats right on the window sill, It seems a little dangerous to place them there but it’s needed they just aren’t growing otherwise. So they spent most of the day soaking up the sun, I just have to make sure there bought inside if the wind picks up. Don’t want them falling on anyone, that wouldn’t be good. While tending to my new herbs, I’ve also been taking interest in a design idea I had a while ago for a shawl, Which I have started it’s been a week of hard work and i’m still writing up the chart but while i’m doing that I figured i’d cast on and start the beginning shaping then the easier bit is done and ready for me to the charts.

It seemed to take forever to find the perfect green yarn, although it looks more blue in the sunlight. It’s a soft emerald green but it’s gorgeous. Most lace yarns seem to come in mushy pea greens or darker shades or just washed out and dull. So I went on a major search to find a nice colour and came across Hipknits 100% Cashmere laceweight. The cashmere is beautifully soft when knitted and comes in a 750yds skein/ 686mtrs.

I’m hoping to have the shawl ready with the next month or so, And it will be apart of my Ebook -Eclectic Knits. Price wise i’m think Five pounds for the individual pattern, but if your holding on for the book that will be priced around twelve pounds. Although if your not waiting for the ebook then eat your heart out cos it’s going to be lovely. I promise.

And just to gush a little more about hipknits I purchased this lovely silk aran which luxurious and soft and the prices are very reasonable i’d say they were a bloody Bargin.

And before I set off on more shawl designing here’s Ysolda Teagues Ishbel which I still haven’t Blocked but I wanted to post it too much. So I couldn’t wait and took some lovely photo’s for you to gander at.

So delicate and pretty she’s put some hard work into the pattern and deserves the support she gets. You can purchase her patterns on ravelry and even download her books you can also get a paper copy if you prefer.

The Ishbel is a gorgeous 4ply shawl which used a yarn a friend had purchased me for a christmas gift last year from Posh yarn online store which is only open for custom from 7pm on sundays and you have to be fast to buy.

I hope you enjoyed my post Keep up on the comments I love feedback and it’s also helpful for improvements. Remember I have a new pattern store go check it out it’s super organized and also has go to links at the top of each pattern page to make navigation easier for you all (not too much scrolling to do).
Love to hear from you all soon nessa x
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May 12, 2010 at 1:37 am | Posted in General ( day to day stuff), Knitting | 1 Comment
Tags: baby, holidays, katie davis, patterns, published, silk, ysolda teague
Over the past month or so i needed a break from blogging all the time. Mainly so i could get on with some knitting. I’ve also been covering alot at work which has left me miserable and tired out on evenings. Then i’ve had horrible colds which have also done the same. The weather here in England, West Yorkshire hasn’t been the best to say it’s spring and the temperature keep raising and dropping and so i’ve been greeted alot by the cold monster over the last month a good fair share. Actually no it wasn’t a good FAIR share at all.
I have in this amount of time completed the owls sweater by Katie Davis, Also the Ishbel by Ysolda Teague and enjoyed making both very much. I still have the blocking of the Ishbel and Another 32 buttons to sew on the owls sweater but that will come soon enough.
My Friend alison from my knitting group went away for the weekend and treated me and another friend lisa to a lovely 4ply skein of silk, i chose the purple on it’s so soft i’m thinking another shawl shall be on the way.
I’ve also just met my partners cousin’s 3 month old baby girl ‘Insha’ For the first time and have decided to knit up 2 beautiful debbie bliss dresses. One of them was in the spring /summer 10 and the other in spring /summer 2009. Both of them so very cute. I’m doing some unselfish knitting for a change
She’s going to look fab in them.
Me and my partner pete are off on holiday this weekend with his parents to skipsea on a campsite holiday although we aren’t going to stay there the whole time. I’m sure hoping the weather cheers up abit by the weekend though, We’ve been needing a holiday for a while and it should be nice. So i’ll be packing some light travel knitting for the weekend evenings.
Also i maybe having two of my patterns published but i can’t tell you where yet. I’m very excited i got an email today saying out of my patterns there is two that they would love to publish as long as i agree. Totally agree why not
. I’ll tell you more nearer the time.
Sorry to all of my watchers, I know you may have missed me.
But i’m back
Cu all soon Nessa xxx
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December 22, 2009 at 12:26 am | Posted in Knitting | 2 Comments
Tags: Baa Ram Ewe, Bargin, Christmas, hats, Knitting, mittens, patterns, silk, wool shop, Yarn, ysolda teague

Well I think it was last Friday when it started to snow and my was it beautiful, until morning hit at sub zero temperature and froze it over, and every time we’ve had a snow fall since it’s decided to freeze over again and again our street is an icy death trap as i figured out this evening coming home, Yes this is a rant of an annoyed, full of cold, Christmas lover, who wants to let it all out lol!!
Last Thursday I did some Christmas shopping i didn’t get much done due to spending money on myself i found more items i loved then others would lol!! I purchased a new t-shirt, new jeans (I’ve dropped a size Yea!!) and a new bag. I Love bags way too much. On topic i caught an evil cold i was out all day in the coldest weather known to man, And because god seems to be smithing me i had to walk an extra 20 minutes due to my bus braking down and setting fire only a few minutes after getting on it. Just my luck!!
I Awoke with a horrid cold which seems to not like any food which I’ve been eating there for non of it settled and have thrown up every morsel, until today and an evil cough which hasn’t aloud me to sleep and has pulled some muscles in my back and ribs. Then (wait for it) Today coming home i fell flat, straight on my back on some thick ice near my home and have hurt the base of my back which isn’t good, I’m now a bit worried of stepping out of our home due to the roads and paths around our street and the neighboring ones are covered in ice which the council have greatly not gritted, And i am done ranting!! Thank you for baring though i needed to vent lol!!
On knitting related topics
This is a new project which i started Friday and completed Sunday, My partners new hat which was for Christmas but it’s been so cold i let him have it early. I used the Style craft Life DK yarn which as a low wool content but is really quite nice to knit with and doesn’t squeak on the needles i didn’t use a pattern but it’s turned out great i did find a dropped stitch which you can see i saved on a dpn to fix once I’d finished.
I also started the Veyla fingerless mitten by Ysolda Teague i tried these on when i met her at the Baa Ram Ewe knit night and they were beautiful, I’m using a Regia 4 ply which i bought from Kemps at £1.20 a ball bargain or what!!
On the Yarn front i purchased some New Lanark yarn DK 50g balls for £1.95 an is 100% pure wool some have silk in too, they are very beautiful.
And off i go mentioning Kemps again i bought one of there Rowan Assortment bags 500g for £5 and i received my joyous surprise, I’d got some Rowan Classic yarn ‘Natural Silk Aran’ It’s so pretty and what a bargain, I’ve got project ideas flowing through my ears at the speed of light lol!!
I will most likely post through Christmas an let you know about my presents i received
and what I’ve been up too,
Have a Great Christmas, And a Happy New Year to all, Enjoy yourselves
And let me know what you’ve been up to I’d love to hear some festive stories
See You All Soon Nessa xx
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September 4, 2009 at 9:53 pm | Posted in Knitting, Spinning | Leave a comment
Tags: chunky, handspun, knit night, Scarf, silk, skeins, Spinning, wool shop, Yarn
So i Went to Headingley in Leeds to the Baa Ram Ewes store for the thursday knit night and to purchase some more yarn, yes thats right some more, it was a great night and packed to the nines with people. I managed to purchase some Colinette Point 5 yarn i bought 2 skeins and i’ve already knit it up into a scarf. Also i bought some twilleys freedom spirit 100% wool which i have no idea what to do with know i have it lol!!
I also came across i book i have been wanting for a while called ‘Intertwined’ it’s a hardback book about the art of handspun yarn, modern patterns and creative spinning which i very much like. It makes my creatives juices flow. You may have seen the lexi boeger website.
Terrible as it may seem i am still hand winding my silk into a ball. I think a ball winder needs to be added to my Christmas list this year.
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September 1, 2009 at 12:36 am | Posted in Knitting | Leave a comment
Tags: Bargin, Shawl, silk, skeins, wool shop, Yarn
I am rather amazed, i found a website with some great bargins on yarn, i have currently just bought 3000m of 100% silk 2ply laceweight undyed yarn for £6.99. I can’t wait, i’m pretty much jumping for joy lol!! Looks like alot of shawl knitting is in the wind this month! I didn’t knit any while it was summer but now autumn is waning in i want to knit shawls! how ironic lol!!

If you may like the sound of my bargin check out violetgreen yarns, Also the postage is great price orders over £18 are free in the uk which is more of a reason to stock up lol!!
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