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A Crafty Killing

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Katie Bonner finds herself in charge of an artist co-operative and the chief suspect for the previous owner’s murder, in A Crafty Killing by Lorraine Bartlett.

Katie Bonner is young and ambitious.  She knows what she wants but instead, like many people, she is stuck in a dead end job with a nasty boss.

A Crafty Killing

Katie and her husband, Chad, split up over Artisan’s Alley, an artist co-operative in nearby McKinley Mill.  Chad invested all of their savings into it as he could see its potential.  But all Katie could see was a rundown shambles which was far from Katie’s dream project.  Then soon after Chad moved out, he was killed in a car accident.[Read More]

An Unexpected Sweater Journey

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What are my WIPs at the moment? Mainly sweaters. Which seems utterly extraordinary to me. I cannot really fathom it. I started 2017 with the aim of knitting one sweater this year. I haven’t knit a sweater for myself before although I have knit many Sasha doll sized sweaters. I’d never really been interested in knitting sweaters. They are a large project that take a lot of yarn and time to complete and not a project that I ever considered to be particularly portable. So I surprised myself when knitting a sweater became my New Year’s Resolution for 2017.

Joyride Jumper by Drops Design

Joyride Jumper by Drops Design

At the start of the year, in January, I was going through a pile of knitting magazines, tearing out any patterns that appealed to me when I came across the Joyride sweater designed by Drops Design. I ordered the Drops Karisma yarn online from Purple Sheep Yarns. And by the end of January I had almost finished the body. When it was set aside.[Read More]

Crofthoose Hat & Fingerless Gloves

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A follow-up photo story of the Crofthoose Hat and Fingerless Gloves designed by Ella Gordon. The previous post is a Shetland Colour Story – Crofthoose Hat & Fingerless Gloves and goes into detail about the yarn and colours chosen.

I am just showing how beautiful these patterns are when worn. I loved knitting these and adore wearing them even more when out for a dog walk on a cold Autumn day.

Crofthoose Hat & Fingerless Gloves[Read More]

Yarnfolk Festival of Wool Part 3

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The third part of our visit to Yarnfolk Festival of Wool in Whitehead. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

I was looking forward to visiting Lighthouse Yarns. I used to enjoy going to Lighthouse Yarns when it was in St Georges Market and had always intended visiting the new shop when it opened in Whitehead. It is a lovely cosy shop full of yarn, notions and gifts. I’m looking forward to a return visit when it isn’t quite so busy, which it was on festival day, with a busy workshop going on and full of festival visitors.

Yarnfolk Festival of Wool 2017[Read More]

Jujuy Shawl

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The Jujuy Shawl designed by Joji Locatelli is a crescent shaped shawl which is one of my favourite shawl styles. They drape beautifully when you’re wearing them.

Jujuy Shawl by Joji Locatelli

I always bring a knitting project with me when I go on holiday, although usually I think I’ll have more knitting time than I do, and invariably bring at least one back up project too many. [Read More]

Yarnfolk Festival of Wool Part 2

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This is the second part of our visit to the Yarnfolk Festival of Wool in Whitehead. Find part one which is all about the beautiful yarnbombing of Whitehead here.

One of the wonderful things about attending a yarn festival like Yarnfolk Festival of Wool is the opportunity to chat to people, both visitors and vendors. I enjoyed chatting to Kate of the Hawthorne Cottage Craft and meeting Bernie and Eric of Bear in Sheep’s Clothing (both of whom have podcasts that I listen to).  The Belfast SnB group had a relaxing seated area on the stage in St Patrick’s Parochial Hall and if I’d been coming to the yarn festival with other knitters or on my own, I’d probably have brought a sock wip and spent a while taking in the atmosphere, but I wasn’t and I wanted Neil and Maya to really enjoy the day too!

Yarnfolk Festival of Wool 2017

Of course, if you are going to attend a yarn festival, you usually want to be wearing one of your own knitting projects. This is my So Faded sweater which is the first jumper I have ever knit for myself. At Christmas, my New Year’s resolution was to knit a sweater for myself during 2017. This is mine! I used 6 colours of my own Knitting Squirrel hand dyed yarns and the project was a pleasure to knit. I saw a few other So Faded sweaters as I walked around the show.[Read More]

Yarnfolk Festival of Wool Part 1

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Whitehead is a seaside town that was a popular holiday destination in Victorian times. Although it isn’t very far from Belfast, I’m ashamed to say, I had never visited Whitehead before, which is odd because I do love a lighthouse!

The festival was spread over 4 venues: Whitehead Community Centre; Church of Ireland Parochial Hall; Methodist Church Hall; and, Lighthouse Yarns. This actually improved the day as it was lovely to walk around the centre of Whitehead and to wander between the venues.

Yarnfolk Festival of Wool 2017 [Read More]

World Wide Knit in Public Day, 2017

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I spent Saturday afternoon with the Belfast SnB group for the World Wide Knit in Public Day 2017. They’re a wonderfully welcoming group of ladies and so much fun to knit and chat with. This is a very talented group of crafters with knitting, crocheting, embroidery and spindle spinning all taking place.

The Dock WWKIP Day 2017

They were meeting up at the Dock Cafe near the Titanic Building in Belfast at mid-day. It’s a very exciting year for this fun loving group of friends as they’re celebrating 10 years together.[Read More]

Back on Blossom Street

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Is love enough, too much or is it time to leave?

In Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber, Lydia Hoffman’s new knitting class brings together women facing very real problems in their lives. They find the solutions when they share their hopes and fears whilst at the same time taking part in a little bit of knitting.

Back on Blossom Street 3

Lydia is a cancer survivor who recently opened a new yarn store called A Good Yarn on Blossom Street in Seattle. Margaret, Lydia’s sister, also works at the yarn shop. Her daughter Julia has recently learned to drive and when Margaret lets Julia drive her brand new car she is shocked, to find that she has been the victim of a carjacking. The culprit had escaped and left Julia in hospital and the family is understandably upset and emotional. But Lydia is astonished when she discovers her sister’s reaction to the incident.[Read More]