Simply Knitting issue 91 appears in shops today!

SK91 coverIf you haven’t yet got your copy of the latest issue of Simply Knitting, why not pop out and get it today?

Last year it was wonderful to meet you all at our Stitch & Craft Show in London, and I am hoping to see many more of you this spring! We’ll be there on our ‘Knitting Live!’ stand where you can come and join us for some fun workshops, drop in and listen to speakers, and look at some beautiful displays. Not to mention taking advantage of all the lovely shopping that will be available, of course...

We hope you’ll get involved with the Knitted Miniature Village competition, too. We’d love to make this a really amazing display, so if you can – get knitting! You could even be in line for some wonderful prizes if your entry is judged a winner.

A new website for Sheepfold

Sheepfold home pageSue and Alice of Sheepfold, the online knit kits shop, have been in touch to let us know they’ve just launched the shop’s brand new website; a treasure trove of products to buy and knowledge to glean. 

Masses of thought seems to have gone into the uncluttered design, with an easy-to-navigate hone page (pictured) that allows you to get to the page you’re seeking without any fuss. Sue and Alice consulted Ravelry members to ensure the website’s usability, with all the information you could need to make your shopping choices wisely. As a result, the yardage of wool is now included wherever known, and when natural wools can be selected either by type and colour or by sheep breed.

Hexipuff knitters sought by charity quilt challenge

BeeKeeper's Quilt cr Stephanie DosenIf you’re anything like us you will have fallen in love with Stephanie Dosen’s colourful Beekeeper’s Quilt design, made up of dozens of squishily stuffed sock-yarn honeycombs. In fact, you may have discovered just how addictive honeycomb knitting can be, with their portability making them ideal for making on the move!  

Thanks to a collaboration between the Cambridgeshire-based Arthur Rank Hospice Charity and The Sheep Shop, also in Cambridgeshire, you now have the perfect excuse to knit hexipuffs to your heart’s content! 

Advertiser news: Yarns, patterns and unexpected visitors at Little Lamb Wool

Robin cr Little Lamb WoolSally at Little Lamb Wool tells us about some fab new patterns and yarns, plus a lovely unexpected visitor!

I’ve had some interesting visitors into Little Lamb Wool this week, one of them being a robin. The little fella had been hopping about outside all morning obviously looking for food.

It was getting a bit warm (large windows, sun shining directly in) so I’d opened the door a bit to let some cold air in a few minutes later I caught something moving out of the corner of my eye, and he’d hopped into the opposite corner of the shop. It took a bit of whistling and gentle arm moving to usher him back through the door.

Giveaways in Simply Knitting issue 91

Giveaway yarnsThe April issue of Simply Knitting (issue 91) hits shops on Wednesday 22 February, and will have masses of contests for you to enter, Just turn to the relevant page in the issue to find your keyword. Good luck!

Win Wendy yarn and pattern (page 7)

http://www.futurecomps.co.uk/skm91.wendy

Win tickets to Creative Stitches and Hobbycrafts show (page 19)

Knitting events for March

cr Hook and ScrambleSpringtime is nearly here and we’re in the mood for learning something new! If you feel the same, take a look at our pick of the knitting events happening this March. There seem to be lots of classes focused on neatening up finishing techniques – is someone trying to tell us something?

1-3 March The Stitch & Creative Crafts Show

Taking place at the Three Counties Showground in Worcestershire, this regular event offers displays, workshops, stalls spilling over with craft paraphernalia and a Knitting Know-How area where you can meet likeminded folk. Tickets cost from £6.95. Get yours from www.sccshows.co.uk or call 01822 617744.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Knitted heart cr Kirstie McLeodHello! Judy, web-ed, here, and I just wanted to wish you a very merry Valentine’s Day. Whether you’re inundated by chocs and flowers and can hardly make it out of the house for all the cards stuffed through the letter box (that’s why I’m working from home today, honest!) or believe it’s all a money-spinner invented by Hallmark, I'm hoping you’ll find something to smile about today.

After all, an excuse to pay some attention to the people you love, or to yourself, can’t be all bad, right?

And there’s no real reason why this should be a commercially-minded holiday. For us crafty types, it’s a great opportunity to show someone we care by hand making something, however small. We printed six great patterns for Valentine’s suitable gifts in Simply Knitting 89 (including the knitted heart shown here) and the one for knitted chocolates even made it onto the website as a free pattern!

'At the Market' bag, issue 90

A bag knitted in a spiralling cable in pink and turquoise.Stage 5 - top edge of bag
There is a row missing between Rows 3 and 4
Row 3A - as row 2

Simple Pleasures, issue 89

The correct chart for the 'Simple Pleasures' jumper.There is an error in the chart for this pattern. Here is the correct chart.

Reinvent old knitwear

Sock fairy cr Bo Peep KidsThere’s nothing more heartbreaking than discovering you have a hole in a lovingly knitted pair of socks. But rather than chucking all that hard work away, why not transform your old socks, jumpers and other knitwear that’s seen better days into colourful angels, dolls and sock moneys?

Bo Peep, a website by the Jackie Parsons, sells a wide array of handmade toys, mostly using recycled fabrics, but the thing that’s caught our eye in particular are the workshops showing you how to do transform your own worn out knits. Why not sample ‘101 Things to Do With an Old Jumper’, a ten-week course offering introductions to ‘ten reincarnations.’