Sunday 11 September 2011

It's that time again

Hurricane predicted in the north (although in the south we can expect sunny intervals), but it's definitely time to start thinking about staying warm in the cold 75% of the year.
So did you knit a 5 Degree Woolly yet?
Do you fancy having a go?
Assemble your leftover yarns, dig out your thickest needles and get ready to knit.
The patterns are ready to download at www.4160Tuesdays.com.
Go there and get them, with my blessing. And if you fancy a bit of a knitathon, let's see if we can get a group together and polish off a woolly in a day. Start with a hat; you can do one of those in half an hour, including time to make a coffee.

Monday 21 March 2011

How to choose your yarn


Good morning, on this beautiful spring day here in Ealing. Here's a short before and after film about picking a selection of yarns from my stash, how to get a good blend of colours, and what they look like when I'd knitted them.

Thursday 10 March 2011

The film: Ethical Fashion in the Age of Austerity

Here's a short film of what it was like at the V&A Museum of Childhood last week, at the 5 Degree Woolly workshop which was more like a seminar/woolshop combo. At the end of the evening, one small girl learned to cast on with big needles, then taught her dad. Bless her little cotton socks.

Friday 4 March 2011

The Papered Parlour's Wonderful Workshops

It was The Papered Parlour who organised last night's Ethical Fashion in the Age of Austerity. And by jove, they did us proud. Over 900 people turned up, including Betty Jackson who I am delighted to report took copies of my free knitting patterns. I wish we hadn't been too busy to talk to her, but word had spread that we were selling balls of yarn at 50p a go (including some rather nice kid mohair) so at that point we were mobbed. The Papered Parloured do all kinds of wonderful workshops, from repurposing clothes to making silver jewellery. Get on their mailing list.

Last night, one woman pointed out that to knit a full on 5 Degree Woolly would cost around £200, but that's only if you buy yourself full price new yarn for the project. That would be entirely missing the point. This is the project your guilty yarn stash has been waiting for, and if you don't have quite enough to finish it out, may I please point you in the direction of the equally lovely Yeoman Yarns and their bargain boxes. Click on the bit that says "Knitting Need Not Be Expensive" and you'll discover that they are quite right.

Not everyone has enough in their stash to make the whole 5 Degree Woolly, but there's really no need to splash out on expensive yarn to complete one. That's not the point. Go online and get some bargain cones from the end of a batch of knitwear, go to car boot sales, pop your head around the door of your local charity shop. Whatever you add to your yarn mix, they always seem to come out looking OK.  

Monday 28 February 2011

The Patterns - Ready!

Hello,
Quick link to the patterns, which I've put up at the 4160Tuesdays.com site.
Get them here. (Click on the top right hand tab "5 Degree Woolly" and you'll get to the page with links to the hat, socks and original woolly.
Let me know how they work out and send the pictures.

Friday 18 February 2011