When we said goodbye to Debora Bradley in issue 100, she passed on the day-to-day editing of Simply Knitting to Kirstie McLeod. So now Kirstie's been at the reins for six months, we though it was high time we found out a bit more about her knitting background too...

It's the start of a long weekend for us lucky UK residents, and what better way to celebrate than with a special competition from Cucumberpatch! We're sending you on a treasure hunt around the Cucumberpatch website, looking for sweet treats...

As Daniel from Cucumberpatch explains, "When new customers come to the shop on their first visit, it's amazing how many times we hear the old adage 'I feel like a child in a sweet shop'. Well now we can back this up and sell the sweets to go with it.

"We were so excited to see the new packaging on a recent delivery of the Colinette Perugino Throw kits. These yarn sweets are oozing with wonderful colours. I think there will be the usual rush to unpack this sweetie wrapper and get stuck into the knitting - they look so good!"  

Father's Day is less than a month away - Sunday 16th June. So here are five of our best patterns you can knit up for him, ready for the big day...

Jane Burns' set of six Father's Day gifts consists of a flower pot cover, golf club cover, picture frame, notebook cover, mug hug, and this fun knitted bow tie. They're quick to knit, and sure to bring a smile to your Dad's face. You can download all six patterns for £2.99 by clicking here.

This week's free Tuesday tea cosy comes courtesy of Libby Summers of LibbyTDesigns, who designed this in aid of Breast Cancer Care's Strawberry Tea Party campaign.

This annual fund-raising campaign takes place every summer, and this year it starts on 1st June and runs until 31st August. Breast Cancer Care are asking you to get together with friends and family this summer, and host a Strawberry Tea party, to help raise money to support the 55,000 people diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK. 

Socks are such a great item to knit - worn by everyone and available in endless combinations of colours, yarns and styles, a hand-made pair are relatively quick to complete, and will be loved for years...

There's something special about socks. Knitters either love them and can’t knit enough, or dread going near them. They’re deemed to be a challenge yet Alice Yu, self-confessed sock addict, wants to reassure novice knitters that the challenge is not too tough to tackle.

Earlier this month we joined queen of mending Scrapiana (otherwise known as Eirlys Penn) for her debut darning event, 'Strictly Come Darning', at Jumble Jelly in Bradford-on-Avon.

Juliet Bernard, The Knitter magazine's Editorial Consultant, has joined an online petition to the government, to stop the removal of Crafts from the list of Creative Industries.

You can read about Juliet's thoughts in detail here.

The consultation period ends at midnight on the 14th June, and you can sign the e-petition here (UK residents only).

Sian Astley set up the petition, and as she explains, "There are over 88,000 people working in the craft industry, and it makes a £3bn annual contribution to the UK economy. These people are inherently and by their very nature creative."

Patterns for tea cosies, mug hugs and coffee pot cosies are some of our most popular projects, so we've decided to treat you to a new free pattern each week! To start off, here's Louise Butt's striped cable set, with a tea cosy, coffee warmer, egg cosy and table mat... perfect for breakfast, or a warm pot of tea at any time of day.

In Simply Knitting Issue 107 we talked to designer Sarah Hatton. We couldn't fit all of the interview in the mag, so here are some extra bits and pieces!