Yarn Store Listings

Hi Guys,

We noticed that a lot of the threads in the Ravelry forums were about Local Yarn Stores. So we thought we’d make a page as a resource for people looking for wool shops. We’ve only got a few basic details on two small areas at the moment, but with your help we hope to make it bigger and more useful for fellow knitters/crocheters. It only intends to cover the UK, but if people from elsewhere want to list their LYS we don’t mind.

It covers a few shops in Staffordshire and North Wales/Chester, UK at present but there are lots missing at the moment. If you know details of any yarn stores in the areas we are covering, please comment and let us know and we’ll update the page. In addition, if you have compiled a list for your area and want to add it just let us know. wi

Hope you find this useful.

theknittedcupcake x

Yarn of the Week: 4

Wow, I just love the colours of this Lottieru yarn. It’s available on Babylongleg’s folsky.com shop here. It’s 4-ply Merino/Bamboo sock yarn and is machine washable although not advised. It’s available for £10. Check it out!

80% Merino Wool, 20% Bamboo 
436 yds/400m per 100g (enough for a pair of adult socks) 
Suggested needle size: 2-3mm 

 

Lottieru Yarn

 

Look at those colours!

 Hope you like this yarn and browsing folksy.com!

theknittedcupcake x

p.s. I’ve just seen the Gothika yarn, which is a similar colourway and just as cool!

Howard the Giraffe

Hi Everyone!

I decided to knit a giraffe for my friend’s birthday on Monday. I remembered that I had a pattern in the Irresistible Gifts to Knit book by Alan Dart (published by Simply Knitting) and got to work straight away. The pattern is part of a Noah’s Ark collection of little animals and an Ark. I didn’t exactly have the right colours so Howard has turned out a little orange! I also didn’t have any straws for the legs (must learn to read pattern before starting it) so had to use remnants from previous projects. This meant that the legs were a little short. Also I only had the bits of straws with the bendy part so his legs are a little unstable. The giraffe was quite easy and quick to knit but the chain stitch embroidery took ages. It might have just been me, but I couldn’t get the pattern right to get the chain stitch lines crossing each other nicely and that’s why it seemed to take forever. I wouldn’t make this as a toy for a child to play with as it probably wouldn’t withstand much but it would probably look nice sitting on a shelf. A high shelf.

I had initially planned to make the entire Noah’s Ark but considering the amount of time that this giraffe took to make I am seriously reconsidering.

Howard the Giraffe (before he got his tail)

I am also knitting something for my aunt’s birthday but can’t post about it yet in case anyone spoils the surprise. It is slightly odd though. I have also started making a stripey elephant but have got bored midway. May pick it up again when I’ve finished watching my O.C. dvds!

Keep Knitting,

theknittedcupcake x

New Year, New Knitted Sackboy!

Hi Everyone and Happy New Year. We hope that 2009 brings lots of lovely knitted things. We got some good books/knitting notions for Christmas and are looking forward to putting them to good use! Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas also. This blog has been slacking in the last month or so – we’re putting it down to the rush of the festivities – but it is our New Year’s Resolution to try harder in 2009 (I give it a week!).

I’m currently knitting a lovely ski hat with a spiral pattern in a charcoal and pink wool. It’s not a pattern of my own, you can find it on Ravelry, but I had to adapt it as the sizing was a little odd. It’s knitting up pretty quickly on a lovely pair of bamboo circular needles, but I’m really desperate to get it finished as I’m off skiing a week on Sunday! It’s done in two colours, which makes it really thick and warm. I made it in colours to co-ordinate with my skiwear, so I’m hoping the final FO fits ok!

This is the spiral ski hat in its early stages!

It’s actually nearly done now, but I’ll add a photo when it’s completed.

Another thing I’m really excited about knitting is Sackboy from PS3’s LittleBigPlanet! I played the game recently at a friend’s house and fell in love! For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, I’ll explain. LittleBigPlanet is a 3d game on the Playstation 3, which I won’t claim to fully understand, and you run around in a little world trying to solve puzzles with logic to progress. “You” are a little knitted creature – Sackboy -(although I think you can be a Sackgirl too), and you can dress up in different clothes which you collect as you progress in the game. It’s really cute. Anyway, the day before yesterday I woke up with a sudden urge to knit this creature! I did the usual searches for the pattern, but they were pretty useless and due to copyright etc. I couldn’t find a free copy. I frankly couldn’t be bothered to sit around writing the pattern.  However, I did notice that Alan Dart had written an ‘unofficial’ pattern in Issue 49 (January 2009) of Simply Knitting. I was upset to find out that this is generally sold out and that many knitters have been unable to obtain it. However,  happened to be in WHSmith the day before in my local town and had briefly picked up a copy of Simply Knitting. The free gift had fallen down to obscure the advertisement for the Sackboy pattern, or else I would have bought it there and then! So I frantically went back to town, hoping that no-one had bought it! Thankfully, they hadn’t and I secured the last copy!

Sackboy - how cute is he?

So, I’ve bought the zip and little buttons for his eyes and as soon as I finish my ski hat (hopefully later today if I get my act together and stop writing rambling blogposts) I am going to start Sackboy. I can’t wait! Has anyone else knitted a Sackboy? Please share your photos! Hopefully I’ll make some clothes for him if I have time. I also want to modify the pattern to make a smaller one.

EDIT – Simply Knitting have just teamed up with The Sun newspaper and released the Alan Dart Sackboy pattern for FREE download. I have checked and it is all authorised so anyone who’s been struggling to get hold of the pattern can get it from there! Just wished it’d happened a few days before!

Anyway, hope everybody has a fantastic 2009!

Lots of Love,

theknittedcupcake x

Yarn of the Week: 3

Greetings all!

Got a rather weird one for you this week – Possum Yarn! It hails from New Zealand, where possums are a big pest. Not quite sure about all the gory details, but it combines possum fur with merino wool. It’s apparently very nice to wear and pill-free!

Most of the yarn is only available from NZ, but I found this yarn on the Woolly Workshop:

Possum Sock Yarn - Spanish Moss

 

Isn’t it gorgeous? It’s a fingering weight sock yarn and only available in a very short supply. They have two skeins in stock – enough to make one pair of socks. It costs £10.42 for 50g and made by Cherry Tree Hill. Yum yum. But I’ve never made a pair of socks, better learn quick!

the knitted cupcake x

Happy Birthday Claire!

I would just like to say a big Happy Birthday to Claire – friend, fellow knitter and co-creator of the knitted cupcake. I hope you had a great birthday Claire (you will get your card soon and your present soonish…maybe!).

Lots of Love
Abbie x

The weekend is over (well nearly!)

Hi Everyone,

Hope you’ve all ahd a fab weekend. I haven’t had much time to do knitting this weekend (what’s new?). However, I did visit my cousin today. You may recall me saying that I made a knit kit for her birthday. Well, she’s been getting on really well with the scarf, not many holes at all. I was actually really impressed. Anyway, everyone’s been giving her a bit of a hand with it so I knit a few rows of it. That reminded me of one of the throws that was discussed in the Mason-Dixon knitting book. If I recall correctly, someone had every female member of their family knit a few squares and they made a throw out of it. This sounds like a really lovely idea and I’d love to do something like that. It would make a really special present when someone leaves to go to university, a new house or gets married. Unfortunately, I’m not sure I have that many family members to participate! Has anyone else made something special like this?

the knitted cupcake x

Ravelry Poll is up

Hey guys, the new Ravelry poll is up – check it out!

Website of the Week: 2

My website of the week this week is The Little Knitting Company. It’s a great little site where you can buy great yarn, great bags, etc. It has some lovely ideas for Christmas. There’s a knitting club and workshops, based in Oxfordshire, UK. The site looks really good and is very easy to navigate.

The Little Knitting Company

Accessory of the Week: 2

Hi All,

This week the accessory of the week is the fabric heart knitting bag from John Lewis. It’s really useful for keeping all your needles, yarn and WIPs in when you’re on the move. It’s also good for keeping organised at home. I think it’s really cute!

John Lewis Heart Knitting Bag

 

It costs £18.50 and is available on-line or in store (although is currently out of stock on-line).  You can also get a matching knitting roll and craft bag. Then you can be matching – how neat!