Bobbly Scarf

Do you remember this scarf I made for my Mum, for Christmas?

It is made in Rico Pompon yarn and loved making it. In fact I loved it so much that I volunteer to make one for anyone that asks.

Mary Clare recently got some more of this type of yarn in stock, but it is made by Katia and is called Big Snow. The new colours are really nice but there are no samples in the shop yet. So when Clare said she really ought to knit up a sample scarf, I immediately grabbed the opportunity to have a play once again.

The result is this:

It feels denser than the Rico version and it makes up a scarf 6" x 40". It is also knit on smaller needles - 3mm. The cost of this yarn is around the same at £10.95, but it isn't quite as soft as the Rico. However it does come in different colours, all of which I really like. If I was going to buy some of this yarn for myself I would choose the teal version and knit it into a cushion front, which would go with my nice new lounge. However I already have nice material to use for new cushion covers, so I don't have any excuse to buy any more of this yarn.

Maybe I should volunteer to be the shop bobbly yarn knitter, so when customers ask for a scarf, I do it for them. It only takes a couple of hours and I find it really relaxing to do.

I think I will probably just have to wait until next Winter to knit another scarf up for myself. Until then, I will just have to hope someone needs a scarf knitting!

Professional Finishing Techniques Workshop

If you live in or around Leicester, you may be interested in a workshop I'm planning on attending.  It is being hosted by Mary Clare, but being taught by Emma King who is a design consultant with Rowan.

Emma King is the author of 25 Bags to Knit: Beautiful Bags in Stylish Colours and Fun and Funky Knitting: 30 Great Designs for an Exciting New Look, among others.


The workshop aims to provide you with all the necessary skills needed to give your hand knitted projects a professional finish.  Techniques being covered will include picking up stitches for necks and button bands, short row shaping, grafting and mattress stitch. These are all techniques that I could do with improving on.

The workshop is being held on February 28th - 10.30 am until 4 pm and will cost £35 (including £10 deposit).  The workshop is aimed at intermediate and experienced knitters.

If you are interested in attending this workshop, please contact Clare on 0116 255 1866 or email her at  knitandneedlecraftATgmaiDOTcom.

I am pretty excited about this workshop as I think it will really help with improving the overall finished look of my garments.  This can only be a good thing, and sitting in a room with other like minded individuals is an even better thing!

Craft Exhibition

Every year Mary Clare holds an exhibition of customers' work. All customers are invited to show their finished pieces or works in progress for either sale or just for display. The show is on at Church of the Martyrs on Westcotes Drive in Leicester on:

Friday 20th November 10 am - 6 pm

Saturday 21st November 10 am - 6 pm

Sunday 22nd November 1pm - 4 pm.


A map to the venue is shown below.


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There will be daily demonstrations on jewellery making, card crafting and Japanese Temari. Refreshments and parking will be available and this year the exhibition is in aid of Friedreich's Ataxia.

If you are a customer of Mary Clare and would like to show the work your purchases have produced, you can contact Mary Clare direct on (0116) 255 1866. In addition you can download the Exhibition Booking Form from here.

As usual there will be a raffle. This year some donations of yarn were received from Designer Yarns, some of which will be made into desirable items for you to covet, and some will be left intact for the winner to play with. One of the items has been made by me, which is a lovely ribbed hat for a man, made in Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed Chunky.



Yes I am the model, and that is why it is too big for me, cos I am a girl. I had a man try it on, but I didn't have a camera handy. I had a job getting it back from the model, I think he is going to be entering the raffle, as the yarn is scrumptiously soft and warm. I am also working on a couple of other items which I will show you when they are done.

I hope you all try to come (if you live in the East Midlands) as the customers of Mary Clare are a very talented bunch, and you will enjoy seeing the work, getting inspiration and possibly buying a thing or too.

Blatant Advertising.

It feels like I am rushing around at the moment trying to catch my own tail. I think this mainly stems from having the house re-wired. This means a distinct lack of crafting for me to tell you about.

We are living in chaos and the house is filled with workmen, all clattering, banging, drilling and bantering. They are cheerful chaps, but they are very noisy. In fact, the cat won't go in the house when they are there, unless she is accompanied.

As I keep getting evicted from my favourite crafting/surfing locations I have taken to running away to Mary Clare's. Clare hasn't once told me to get lost, and has kept me sane whilst my home is in disarray. As I have been camped in the shop, I have picked up some various bits and pieces of information that I thought I would pass on.

If you live in the Leicester area, you might be interested to know that Mary Clare is hosting a Rowan evening on 17th September at 7pm. The evening is going to be very informal with new Rowan yarns on display and some examples of finished garments to examine. Also, any yarn purchased (or ordered) on the night will have a 10% discount applied!

Mary Clare is now stocking copies of my patterns, for purchase. She also has an offer to get a free copy of one of my hat patterns, when you buy 2 skeins of Mirasol Akapana, which is gorgeous yarn to work with. This is a saving of £1.50!

Also, I overheard that there are a couple of places left on the beading workshop on 3rd October. If you fancy giving beading, or jewellery making, a go, then give Mary Clare a ring on 0116 255 1866, and see if you can nab one of those places. They are usually snapped up as the tutor is very gifted and the day is very enjoyable.

And finally in Mary Clare news, if you are on Facebook, there is a group you can join, which gives all the current news of events in store. Go and join it, if you want to be kept updated!

If you didn't know already, Mary Clare is located at 4 Shaftesbury Road, Leicester.

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Normal blogging service will be resumed in around a week's time.

Flimsy Yarn

I seem to be spending all my time knitting with teeny tiny strips of yarn these days. I think it is because of my newly found passion for lace weight yarn. My passion could turn to an obsession or it could turn to hate. I haven't quite decided yet. I think I must have knit my Ishbel at least twice, but I still have only managed to get as far as the end of the second chart. I have to do seven charts by the way.

It doesn't look very big does it. That is because all that stocking stitch has been done twice now. The lace border bit, has been done many more times. I am so glad that I found some crochet cotton to use as a life line. The first time I used a life line it was very flimsy thread for normal sewing use. It didn't not let me pick up the stitches because it wasn't strong enough and thick enough to hold the stitches taut. This is why the stocking stitch has been done twice. Now I have the crochet cotton I'm only having to undo a few rows at a time. It doesn't stop it being frustrating when I have to unpick my hard fought over stitches, but at least it is slightly less time consuming.

You can actually see the lace pattern starting to emerge now. I have also discovered that I get on much better with the chart than I do with written instructions. I find it easier to memorise the repeats.

Despite all the frustrations I don't seem to be able to put it down and have been knitting only this for the last week, with the exception of my socks, which are purely for knitting in company. As I went to Borders on Monday, for my knitting group, I churned out some more on my vanilla socks.

The vanilla bit stands for the boring basic pattern with no twiddles (not the colour). I think the colour is more tutti frutti than vanilla. So far these have been great knitting group socks. I hope the heel goes as well.

Whilst at Borders I succumbed to a beautiful bag from Paperchase.

It is waterproof, has a zipped top and a small inner pocket. It will be perfect for carrying around my projects in the winter months, especially with the bright colours to cheer me up. The bag is great, but I don't think it will get much use at the moment, given my current preoccupation with flimsy yarn. All I need for teeny yarn is a tiny project bag. Ah well it can sit in the corner of the lounge looking pretty!

Oh and yesterday I helped Mary Clare set up a Folksy shop for her bags. Hopefully she will add fabric and other bits and pieces soon as she gets more used to the process. In the meantime have a look at what she has put up at Folksy. I really love her bags, and if I hadn't just bought a new bag, I would have had one of these!