A commission.

So, as well as knitting self designed odds and sodds accessories for sale in The Crafters' Barn. I also knit as "a service". So either someone sees a pattern that they fall in love with but are unable to make themselves, or they want something specific designed and made.

A commission has come about in the former of the above circumstances. A lovely lady (who I will refer to as D) came from the USA to visit her daughter this summer and happened upon the Rowan Tweed Throw  while perusing John Lewis.

Now, one of my very favourite things to make are blankets/throws. For a whole bunch of reasons really:-  Firstly, because there is enough knitting to get your teeth into, and because of the general lack of shaping etc you can be so much more experimental with patterns, stitches etc.  Secondly, because they always fit! (and no I'm not joking there, there is nothing worse than making a garment for someone and the sleeves being too short, or the chest being too small (or large)  I truly have difficulty enough making things fit me, so knitting garments for someone else is always a challenge).  And thirdly and most importantly - because blankets become such an important part of a home life. They share moments with us. We snuggle under them on the sofa, we hide behind them in the scary parts of films, we cry into them, and laugh under them, we are ill under them and we just sit and hold hands under them. They share Sunday films on wet weekends, and afternoon naps when we're under the weather. In short they become one of the family. And if they are treated right, and made out of good quality yarn, they will last us many many years. (It is due to that last point that I now find  I have to make them for other people, because as the proud owner of 4 blankets, i have nowhere else left to keep them!)  So you see it is an honour and a privilege to be able to make something for a home that will become so much part of that home as time goes on. (well i surely hope that is the case anyway)

So, D has ordered the yarn and pattern to be delivered straight to me, and hopefully they will be here soon. I promise photos as soon as they are. And about 10 minutes after that, I will begin knitting (I'm allowing 10 minutes for finding the right needles but in all honesty I won't be able to wait even that long) and I have promised to blog my progress so that she can follow the journey of the throw, because as much as it will become part of her home in time, for the first 6 odd weeks of its life it will become a huge part of mine. And that my friends, is why I love to craft and why making things for people is so amazing.  When I started the Crafters' Barn I put the tagline as "Put a little handmade love in your home" and I really hope that that will never be more true than for this commission.

Some shameless plugging (or showing you my knits!)

Well now that I'm a business I kinda felt weird thinking about showing you all my finished items, because they're for sale and i didn't want to plug tooo shamelessly (!) But then I thought that as this is a knitting blog it seems daft not to really, so here are my latest finished objects! (I feel as if I am permantly attached to Barbara Walker's Treasury at the moment!)

So from the top: Merino Viscose cowl knitted in ICE yarns.
Second: Alpaca cowl in Garnstudio/Drops alpaca (mmmmm gorgeous)
Third: Baby blanket wonderfully modelled by Teddy Anne (noseless Teddy Anne as it happens, but I think noseless is the very least you can be at 43 years old eh?) Knitted in DROPS/Garnstudio Delight. Very nice yarn and machine washable.
Fourth: Merino/Cashmere Gentleman's keyhole scarf. Yarn is from Kingcraig in Brora. Quite a sturdy yarn, not soft like the baby merinos but lovely nonetheless and will at least stand up to a little 5 o'clock shadow!
Fifth: Alpaca/Merino/Silk Infinity scarf in Araucania Azapa. OMiGoodness this yarn is totally gorgeous. soft as anything. (and absolutely not suitable for the 5o'clock shadow - would be totally wasted on a bloke!)

So there you have it.  There are a couple more finishes but i haven't taken the photos yet.

In other news life is much as normal. Chickens, dog walks, hoovering (ok I lied about the last one) And generally totally enjoying this amazing October sunshine we're having.

Hope you are too?

Sad News & Ally Pally 2011

I'm sorry everyone, I've been AWOL again. It's been a bit of a fortnight if I'm honest, and although writing about it may well have actually been a good thing, i just didn't feel the love for blogging during it.

All you blog-readers should know, though, that my beautiful Silkie-mama was taken by a fox last week. So no more pictures of her. Super-sad as she was brooding 6 new silkie eggs for me. I had left the door to the house open as i was away for the day, and the fox must've found a way in. Tbh i do leave the house open often and have never had an issue, but there you have it, it's happened, and I'm gutted (and have to admit to bawling my eyes out at the time - especially as it was a bit of a raw day for me anyway)  So the fox has not only denied me my chicken cuddle, but has possibly cost me £120 in lost chicken sales (silkies sell well as they are such good mums), assuming a 50% female hatch rate. Plus it'll cost me every bit of £30-£40 to replace her possibly,( and that's money I haven't got at the moment). Although i won't do that yet as having such a little bird hasn't always been easy. She was way too small to be in with the big girls - plus she was broody every other fortnight, so she spent most of her life in her own house and run, but alongside the big girls so she could see them. But it wasn't always the most convenient of situations. So I need to consider carefully what to do next.  She was a wonderful mum though and she did me proud with around 6 hatches.

If she had already hatched the chicks i really wouldn't have felt as badly about it. She was getting old, and i s;pose the fox needs to eat as much as the next animal. And she would never have been worth plucking and dealing with for a human meal. And if they die naturally you are not supposed to bury them any more, so that would have meant a huge fire (a cremation service if you will)  So, another 6 months down the line and I'd have taken it much more pragmatically. But the timing sucks both financially and emotionally and I'm heartbroken to have lost the only chicken that would actually be cuddled! - She really was a little snuggler.

Anyway, moving swiftly on.......

Last Thursday Mum and i made our annual pilgrimmage to Ally Pally for the Knitting and Stitching show.  I took a certain amount of cash (and no credit cards so I couldn't be tempted to abandon my budget!) and am very happy with my purchases:

I got a 3 month subscription to The Knitter, and Molly Makes (not hugely impressed with the latter, but that's the beauty of a cheap 3 month sub!) I got a thread box (no an ice cream tub is not a suitable substitute).  "Crochet lace innovations" by Doris Chan. And three lots of yarn:  3 Skeins of pure silk, 10 Skeins of green Mirasol Sulka and 4 skeins of Subliime Kid Mohair blend.

We had a really lovely day, it wasn't overly crowded and we had plenty of time to amble around and decide how to spend our money. The highlight of my day was very definitely meeting Doris Chan, especially as i was wearing my Jewel jumper at the time. At this time of the year it is one of my most wearable jumpers, and i think I may have helped boost her book sales just a little! *blushes*.  So amazing to be noticed by the designer of something you are wearing though - especially if it's a make that you are happy with. It was definitely one of those Big Grin moments!

So there you go, a mixed week. But we are now starting a new one, and I have a smile on my face and a skip in my step, because life is too short not to have.  I have lots of ideas for the yarn I bought at Ally pally - all of which is destined for The Crafters' Barn. - So if you fancy any of it, - keep a look out in my shop.

Have a great week, and I'll be back soon xx