Monday 30 September 2013

Masham Sheep Fair

So I attended the wonderful Masham Sheep Fair today in the Dales:



After coffee and cake, a walk around admiring the rare breeds, and a look at the shearing demonstration I treated myself to a lightweight Ashford spindle, some roving, and a cushion pattern:



I am in a bit of a knitting funk though, and have been struggling a bit to find a project I love at the moment. Everything is just a bit - bleh.  So I have been knitting then ripping and have very little to show for my efforts recently - I think I have (gasp) too much stuff and need a clear out and a plan! Today's the day, perhaps...

Sunday 1 September 2013

Sunday catchup

IIt's been a long time between blogs, so here is a little catchup of what I've been up to, crafting-wise.

I've been on holiday in Scotland:
where I found a few lovely yarn shops in pretty seaside towns. You'll see these over the next few months as I knit up my purchases.

I've finished a knitting project:
This is the Summer Shrug, from a recent summer edition of a knitting magazine. I used Rowan 4 ply cotton in deep starship - my gauge was totally different and I wanted to work it top down in the round, so really just used the pattern as inspiration and did my own thing. I used their lace pattern for the sleeves, but read it wrong so did my own take on it by accident! It's been great and I've worn it a lot.

I've nearly finished a crochet project:
This came as a kit free with a magazine, and will be a brooch.

I have finished 3 sewing projects:

This is one - underwear. These were bought as a kit from Liberty and were fun, if intricate to do. I machine stitched the seams on the treadle, then hand sewed the elastic and trimming on. My other sewing projects - not yet photographed - are two blinds for my kitchen, out of more Liberty fabric and spare ribbons, and a black a-line skirt requested by a friend, which her mum will embellish.

I've visited 2 exhibitions - one on traditional Gansey knitting currently running in Hull:
And today a quilting exhibition at the Yorkshire Showgrounds in Harrogate. I took beautiful photos there, but can't display them, sadly. I bought a few things there too, which may feature in future posts.