Linton Tweed Love

I'm so lucky to have been brought up in a wonderful city with so much history on every corner; part of Carlisle's great history is it's fabric industry. We had several mills around the city and one of the most famous in Linton Tweeds.  

Started in 1912 by William Linton, they originally employed 2 salesmen with a horse and cart, buying up Lake District wool, and selling suit lengths of fabric. 

What you've not heard of it? 

Well how about this lady?

In the 1920s Captain Molyneux a Parisian couturier introduced William Linton to Coco Chanel, and a great association blossomed, resulting in Channel being Linton Tweeds most famous customer.

Chanel still uses Linton Tweed in it's designs now and I can totally understand why. Over one hundred years of one family's life has gone into developing this fabric into something so beautiful, it's strength and depth of of colour is a joy, it's beautiful to work with and makes such a statement.

Which is were we come back to how lucky I am, next to the Linton Tweed factory is the shop where you can go and stroke the fabrics and weaves (the staff don't even look at you as strange), piles of beautiful tweeds in hundreds of colours. You can also buy the fabrics and have tea and scones in the attached coffee shop.

Just so many combinations it boggles the mind with it's fabric beauty.

Even better through you can purchase the yarn used for the tweed weaving as well, 

so what 's a girl to do.

Well buy it, that's what. 

Coming to my shop soon I be showing you how much I love Linton Tweeds buy making a range of brooches, jewellery and accessories with this wonderful, local fabric.

If you'd like to know more about Linton Tweeds and it's connection with Chanel, there's a lovely book out called Chanel and the Tweedmaker which can be purchased through the Linton Tweeds online shop, or if you live in Carlisle pop in for a visit they're all very friendly and happy to help.

Thanks for reading,

Amanda.x.

A tale of 2 blankets

Having got my crafty mojo back I feel as if ten minutes don't go past without me being hook in hand, I've been trying to be good and finish off past projects or adding to them. These are now sat awaiting a light day in which I may photograph them to add to my shop, although I feel the darkness of Winter may never leave.

Instead to bring some colour into the grey I start 2 blankets, the first is for myself. After years of using my spare time to make item items for others, I thought I'd be a little greedy and use some time to make something for me. I ready don't have enough of my own stuff in my home, and this year that will change. 

This is my Little Squares blanket, made up from what be be hundreds of little squares, I'm using Sidar Supersoft Arran in a colour combination of Mid Green; Plummy;Tangerine; White; Oaty; Bright Pink & Sidar Country style Arran in Honeyconb. A couple of squares look blue but that's just the pesty light.

This yarn is so soft and wonderful to work with, the Supersoft is 100% acrylic which I know some people are against but I love, the colours are vibrant and the yarn feels as good as a high quality wool. The Country style is a blend of  wool, acrylic and nylon, which is equally lovely to work with.

 I've been very good with the project so far and have weaved the ends in as I go, just the outside squares to do, and I've using a technique of attaching the squares as you go. This is wonderful if planning on a large blanket as the finishing isn't such a daughting task, and you can see how far you done more clearly.

Or in my case how much further you have to go, so far I really like this colour combination, and am trying really hard to keep my colour choices random; which is harder than you think.

I may add different colours as I've got lots of oddments to use up, but these colours match my living room plan perfectly and I may have to invest in some more yarn to continue the theme.

My next blanket is going to be a large lap blanket which will go on sale in my shop, I've called it Circle in a Square because within each square is a little circle.

I'm using the same Sidar Arran yarn in the colour ways of white; plummy; Bight Pink & Moss and the Countrystyle Arran in Honeycomb.

As you can see I've not been a good girl with this blanket and having a lot of weaving to do, a job for a Monday evening if there ever was one. My plan is to join these squares up in this grouping now and then have a different colour way of Circles in Squares going around them, we'll see how it goes. I have the squares arranged on my bed at the minute and keep rearranging their placement but I'll have to make a decision before bedtime or I'll be sleeping on the sofa.

What crafting have you started 2013 with, feel free to leave a link in the comments section, I'd love a nosey.

Happy Monday

I like Big Bears and I cannot lie

In the Summer(what we had of it) I wrote this post on a wonderful shop in the Lake District called Temporary Measure, as it says in that post I had my eye on the When I was Bear book for Lucas' birthday.  I did indeed order the book, and he loves it like I thought it was (although not as much as Fireman Sam but that's 4 year olds for you). I also purchased the pattern for the Big Bear and the Rabbit too.

I hope to have these both in my children's stocking for Christmas. 

 Sorry for the appalling photography, the light is awful here at the moment.  It's been lovely to get crafting again, I feel as if all my inspiration and creativity as been sucked from me of late. It's nice to just concentrate on the click clacking of the needles and see a project grow.  I'm not normally a knitter but a crocheter, however I've enjoyed the challenge of actually sticking to a pattern. 

 I'm using size 6 needles and Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky (Aran), I don't normally use this yarn as it's quite highly priced(about £4-£5 depending on where you buy from) but I found a bag of 6 and half balls in a charity shop for £4 and who could resist that. I didn't know what I'd use the yarn for at the time, but as soon as I got this pattern I knew it was perfect to become A Very Big Bear.

So far I've completed the head, ears, both legs and the body.  I think with the size needles I'm using and my tension it will knit up bigger than the largest size on the pattern, the head easily fits over my very chunky hands.  I'm hoping to finish the arms tonight and then get on with the stuffing. 

I think he'll be a very big bear indeed, just perfect for big boy cuddles.

Are you making something for your loved ones this Christmas?

Amanda.x.

Wonderful Soggy Walk

On Wednesday Stu and I had the joy of a child free few hours together, and headed of to Keswick for the day.  Stu picked a scenic route from Keswick Lakeside to Castlerigg stone circle. We set out after enjoying a scrummy breakfast at Pumkin bistro, the rain had eased and the sky had bits of blue in it. 

However it soon clouded again, and out scenic route took a soggy meander through a steep woodland track, across a field, a road, another field, another wood, farm(where a bloke stuck his head out of a caravan to say we were going the wrong way) 

  another steep woodland path, over a bridge, through several fields full of lambs over another road, down a tiny road over a wall and finally....we found the stone circle. However by this point the rain was torrential, we were aching and cold and couldn't rise taking out the fancy camera for photographs.  

 We headed back to Keswick a much less scenic but more direct route, to warm us up we stopped by the lovely Temporary Measure. It's a shop that needs sought out, I've long seen followed Emma through craft fairs, then on twitter, then her blog and was so inspired in her shop...oh one day, one day.

 She's a lover of liberty, rabbits, yarn, buttons, bears and tea this girl can do no wrong. She was gracious even when a hasty bag turn resulted in taking half her canvases from the wall, thankful Stu has a stealth catching style, probably from being married to such a clutz as me.

 Every available wall space, nook crany and shelf was filled with beautifully designed bags, books and canvases. I couldn't resist buying Maisie a copy of Once Upon A Time When I Was A Rabbit. 

 The drawings are vintage beauty, something you don't see these days in modern children's books.  I already have my eye on Once Upon A Time When I Was A Bear for Lucas' birthday. 

 Bunting and bunnies everywhere, it certainly cheered me up on such a grim day. 

I love these old suitcases for stock, the yarn arranged so perfectly and baby booties to make your heart melt.  I'm surprised Stu got me out the shop without bags full. 

All in all, although soggy, and with muscles aching I had a wonderful day out with Stu just having time to chat about nothing, hold hands and be still for awhile in a hectic world.  I can't wait for out next adventure.

Love Amanda.x.

For the love of Granny

Some time away as I lost my camera charger but now I'm now back.

 And with some WIP to show, these are 4 of the Granny Square Blankets I'm working on, and they're growing well.  When I first started to crochet as a child my Nana had blankets like these, she'd start you crocheting round and after a while she'd start on the next colour and chase your loops as you went.

 

 As I crochet these and feel the yarn through my fingers I'm reminded of my Nana, her smell (Lavender perfume and Parma violets) and watching her hands wrinkled and soft working their way round behind me.

 I've used arcylic yarn to make these, which some people will barf at I know, there's a few reasons behind this decision. 

First is I'm not made of money or sponsored by a yarn company, to get the huge array of colours I like I need a reasonable priced yarn. 

Second is I'd been approached by vegans about things I make, and was told there was not alot of vegan friendly items made from lovely colourful materials.

Third is washability, I hopeing that people will buy these to be used not just for decoration, so it helps to have an easily washable yarn. 

 I love the colours of the top 3 blankets, but I'm not sure of this one, I wanted it to be bolder than usual blankets but I think I like the effect of single lines of colour.

Which colour do you like best?

Have a lovely Friday,

Amanda.x.

Yarn Bombing

My lovely crafty friend Mhairi owns Weft Studio here in Carlisle, I sell some of my wares there and run crochet workshops. However the thing I love best is sitting having a brew and a crafty natter, she has a nice view of Castle (although it would be better without a bloody dual carriage way in front of it- politics, sorry) and people watching is a great hobby of mine. 
However it has become apparent that the drivers of Carlisle cannot park on the street outside her shop, it's quite narrow to squeeze into the spaces and in the course of one day in the studio I witnessed 3 cars bump a signpost outside the shop door, and one car bump into another and drive off.  
So I thought I must do something to help drivers see this post.

This is my first piece of Yarn Bombing, and I'm really chuffed at it, especially when 2 different people stroked it as they went past. I'm hoping to cover the whole pole, but as there's lots of other crafter's that use the studio I think it may become a mixed media affair. 
Some people say why? I say why not? 
I think it highlights the craft, but in this setting does it then become art? 
Have I someone managed to bridge the gap between artist and crafter, this topic is one that comes up often in my crafty chats. I consider myself a crafter, but what is the difference really? And what do you consider yourself to be?


"I don't see craft as something you make, but rather something you need to achieve good art."
 -Dawn Detarando


"Art can't deny craft, but refuses to acknowledge it.  In the end they are still brothers."
-Christian Barr.


Questions, questions my blogging friends.  My mind is full of questions.
Comments, as always are welcome.
Amanda.x.

Roses are red,pink,blue,orange,green...

So it turns out there are some great benefits to Maisie being at school, and that's getting some crafting time back, and boy have I being making the most of it. Below is my rainbow of Rose corsages I've been working on, they look so pretty, but I'm not sure if they need leaves before I put them in the shop.

What do you think? Maybe felt ones with fabric trims, hmm.

Would you like to see any different colours?

I'm also trying to work on a crocheted jewellery range, more on that soon.

 

The wool I use for these Roses is Rico Creative Cotton, which is a beautiful fibre for crochet, it doesn't split and glides through your fingers. 

I've been using this cotton for ages, collecting a little range of colours but thought it was a little expensive in my LYS at £2.50 per ball, & had my fears confirmed that I'm being locally ripped of by those smiling old ladies when I Googled it and found this lovely shop, First4Yarns selling it at £1.50. And what's worse is that I always read Attic 24 blog and Lucy had previously blogged about this yarn & where to buy it from.So I have now learnt my lesson, even though I'm a crusader for buying locally I think with this yarn I be getting it from First4Yarns. Look at the lovely pile I've still got left, sat there in all it's yarny goodness.

This brings me to my other exciting news, on the 4th October I'll be running my first craft workshop at Weft Studio in Carlisle, on how to make these Roses and after that date I'll publish the pattern here for you all to have a go.

Love Amanda.x.