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Death in the Cotswolds

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Death in the Cotswolds is the third in the Cotswold series of murder mysteries by Rebecca Tope.  In a departure from the first two books in the series, this one is told from the viewpoint of a new character, Ariadne, who observes Thea and Phil as they continue their courtship in the quiet Gloucestershire village of Cold Aston.

Death in the Cotswolds

Quiet that is, until Ariadne stumbles across the body of her friend, Gaynor, murdered with a knitting needle!  Ariadne had been making preparations to celebrate the festival of Samhain, on a local burial ground, when she finds Gaynor’s body.  Phil, as a police Superintendant, is called upon to take charge of the case and Thea turns to Ariadne for companionship and the two share her thoughts on the murder.[Read More]

Baktus Scarf

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Suddenly it is getting chillier and the nights are closing in. It’s dark in the morning and dark again by teatime. As the days get shorter and colder I certainly have a need for a cosy soft scarf that keeps my neck warm and isn’t too bulky.

Mauve Baktus Scarf

The Baktus Scarf designed by Strikkelise is perfect.[Read More]

Fair Isle Swirl Socks

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Who doesn’t love the lively combination of stripes and a touch of fair isle? One of my favourite combinations. Stripes have become a common theme in my sock knitting recently, but more about that in future posts! For the Fair Isle Swirl Socks the fair isle is worked as a wide stripe filled with an all over swirling two colour diagonal pattern. This is balanced by the wide dark stripe on the foot.

Fair Isle Swirl Socks

I chose two colours of Artesano Alpaca 4ply for the plain stripes as I liked how they contrasted with my main yarn choice. I have no idea how well the alpaca will wear so chose not to knit it on the heel or toe area where it would get a lot of heavy wear. The alpaca is a wonderfully soft warm yarn. The paler pink is Sweet Pea CA13 and the darker magenta is Venezuela 4345.[Read More]

Granny Square Scarf

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I started learning to crochet last year and after practicing the different crochet stitches decided I was ready to start my first project. I wanted to crochet the Flower Throw – a lovely granny square blanket pattern in the “Cool Girl’s Guide to Crochet” by Nicki Trench.

Granny Square Scarf

I started making squares and finished about 20 for the blanket, but I wasn’t happy with them. They weren’t “square” enough. In fact at times they looked decidedly lop sided! [Read More]

Sea Breeze Crochet Scarf

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Sea Breeze Crochet Scarf was not a planned project although I do love the finished scarf. After I finished crocheting Mr Murasaki the Amigurumi Owl I had quite a bit of the yarn left over so I decided to practice crocheting the treble stitch in clusters and working a straight edge on either side.

 Sea Breeze Crochet Scarf

This turned out to be a very relaxing activity while watching tv and it was not long until the ball of yarn was finished. [Read More]

Crazy Little Fox Solefull Socks

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The new book “Solefull Socks – Knitting from the Ground Up” by Betty Salpekar arrived by post in the middle of last week and I happily opened it to start reading about this new method for sock knitting.

Crazy Little Fox Solefull Socks

Solefull Socks have been popping up everywhere recently, 2 patterns in my digital copy of Interweave Knits Summer 2014 – Lobelia and Forester Socks, and Carry on Solefully in Knitty.com Issue 48 | first fall 2014.[Read More]

Learning to Crochet

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Just before Christmas when I was at my local Knit and Natter Group in the Library, we were talking about which needle crafts we enjoyed. I said that I love knitting and I used to make a lot of patchwork but had never really come to grips with crochet. The skill just never quite clicked even though I had been shown enough to be able to crochet the ears on  a pair of mouse slippers for the Sasha Dolls. That was as far as my attempts with crochet had ever gone even though I really wanted a Granny Square Crocheted Blanket. Someone in the group said crochet is really easy, I’ll show you… several of us gathered around to watch and try.

Learning to Crochet Mr Murasaki

The following day when I was shopping I came across “the Cool Girl’s Guide to Crochet” by Nicki Trench. Her instructions are clearly written and accompanied by instructional photographs and crochet has finally clicked for me. I stopped worrying about whether I was holding the hook and tensioning the yarn correctly. I just made a slip knot and started a chain, then I followed the instructions to practice single crochet, double crochet, treble, half treble, double treble, making chain spaces and clusters.[Read More]

Multistripe Stole

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My Multistripe Stole is finally finished. I cast on this stole in May 2013 and cast off in early June 2014. I have knit other projects during this time, but it seems strange not seeing the Multistripe Stole’s box sitting beside the sofa, it had been there for so long it had become part of the furniture.

Multistripe Stole

When I cast on it never occurred to me that it would take me over a year to complete the project. I had visualised wearing it draped over my shoulders on cool summer evenings last year.[Read More]

Fish Lips Kiss Heel and Toe

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There is nothing more exciting than finding out about a new sock heel construction. I first read about the Fish Lips Kiss Heel on a sock knitters forum and eagerly bought the pattern.

Fish Lips Kiss Heel photo 11

Fish Lips Kiss Heel is designed by Sox Therapist and is available on Ravelry.com. I read through the detailed instructions and watched the two stitch techniques on Youtube and then decided to use the heel construction with my normal basic sock pattern.[Read More]