It's beginning to look a lot like .......sssssshhhhhhhhhhhh!

Ohmygoodness, I've been so busy with knitting and the Crafters' Barn and normal work and trying to keep the house clean. - Did you miss me?  The Barn has of course got quite busy as we near Christmas, and I am trying to share one product a day on our Facebook page to encourage people to move outside of their normal sellers, it's been good fun tho' perusing through the sellers directory or searching for strange things in the search box to try to find items that are a bit different.

So, just a really quick summary of how the last couple of weeks have been:

I've been playing with the knitting machine (excuse the bathroom mirror photo!) - it's a reversible hat with a contrasting brim, so you can wear it with a folded up brim, in all red stripes:

 Or inside out with an unfolded brim, in blue with red

 and of course both other options inside out and right side in, brim up or down.  The idea worked well, but the finished article is HUUUUUUUUGE, so i need to re-calculate the tension as this would have fit Shrek :D

In Spot-dog news, we went out and bought her a new bed this week. She needed one anyway but I saw this one which has a thermally reflective inside, so it's great for dogs with arthritis or other joint issues as they benefit from their own body warmth as it's reflected back to them. The bed was thin and rectangular around 3ft x 2ft with a brown fleece top and a sort of mesh/polyester bottom.



Or






It's just a screwed up pile of stuff:

Really, you have to wonder why you bother don't you?  And just look at the look on her face *rolls eyes*  

She's also had a bath this week - that was fun (not) although to be fair she didn't move a muscle whilst in the bath....... too petrified i think? LOL

Right, I'm off now to try to make the brim for a Camden Cap that i'm making in Alpaca. Although I can be very technical in my approach to crafting (i have to be as artistic skills are somewhat lacking in my repetoire, so technicality is all I have) but i'm just not envisaging this very well. So i'm just going to bite the bullet and have a go - what could possibly go wrong?!

T'il soon ♥

Autumn and business is booming!

Well finally I have ousted Spot from the blog and am here to tell you how life is and what I've been up to.

I've been a bit slack on the blog since the Crafters' Barn website went live. It's been a big task and I'd like to publicly thank KMS Web Solutions for all the hard work in getting my somewhat half baked idea up and running and knowing what I was thinking even tho' i often couldn't articulate it.

The Crafters' Barn was a really important project to me for a lot of reasons. As a few of my regular readers know, I lost a good friend to cancer last year and needed a project to keep me focussed and working in a creative way. (Strangely, book-keeping didn't really fit the bill?! - who knew?)  I had originally thought that I would just sell my knitting, probably on Etsy or somewhere like that. But the more I looked into it and worked out the commission rates, the more I realised that it was a pretty complicated calculation to work out how I could make money selling that way, and the longer I thought about it, the more I thought I couldn't be the only one that found it hard.

The Crafters' Barn therefore became a passion of mine. To provide a site for crafters to sell where once they had paid their monthly fees there were no more surprises (well other than paypal fees but we can't help that) Margins, overheads, profit markups...... whatever you want to call it could easily be worked out based on getting stuff on a site to sell rather than a differing amount depending on whether you did sell.

The fee structure was worked out to be approximately equal to listing 10 items in a month on the other main selling sites (which roughly charge 20p per item to list) and that is that. No more fees. *phew*

The site would be easy to use, and safe and secure. It is aimed at all crafters, but particularly those that maybe sell via facebook but are finding that increasingly difficult to administrate and small businesses that are just testing the water in online selling.  I aim to be a springboard to allow people to venture into the virtual world and build themselves a market, and then when they're all grown up, to watch them maybe go off and set up their own site when they are comfortable and have a good base clientèle.

 The Junior and Senior school of online craft selling if you will?

The shops have a few customisable functions. Email contact, logo, and facebook and twitter ID's can all be added to superimpose the banner on each shop. So shops can begin to market themselves and gain interest with their own branding.  Items can be put "on sale" at discounted prices, for ever, or for set periods of time to clear stocks.  And whenever I can I put little guides on to help people sell their items. For example I have a guide about SEO and using metatags, which many sellers don't know about.

All products are submitted to google, and we are already doing quite well in the search rankings for some items, but the more sellers we get who use their titles and descriptions well, the better we will do - my aim is to be first page for many handmade items.

Sellers can also register their own domain and have it point straight to their shop bypassing the Crafters' barn homepage.  http://noosknits.co.uk is an example (a little self plugging there!) So, if they are wanting to start building a business model they can do this, then move their domain off to their own website when they are ready.

The look of the site is young and vibrant. i love its quirkiness. Very different to most of the other craft sites, but fun for its uniqueness.  That doesn't mean we are not working all the time to improve the look, usability and functionality. That will probably be a never ending task.

So all in all that's why i've been a bit lax here with my posting. We have around 70 shops now, of which I think 50 odd currently have stock in them.  I am trying to fit in knitting too, I have finished a few items for sale in the barn, but they're not photographed yet. Plus I have a childs school cardigan on commission and a couple of cushion covers. The orders are racking up now for the chillier months. It's great.

In other news Chez Noo, there are five red silkie chicks that hatched last week - wanna see?????

The little one up top needed a couple of hours down my bra when it hatched as Mum let it get cold :(   But it perked up and now I can't tell which it was as they all look the same size and nice and healthy. So fingers crossed. 5 hatched out of 6 eggs - my best hatch rate ever.

Right, I need to be off to cook my tea

T'il soon ♥

Jointcare+ Challenge 3 and 4 - By Spot

Ha ha, these were fun. There's no photos though and no video......... I'll explain!......

Challenge 3 was to get photos and video of me fetching the yellow ball from the thrower than Mum got in the challenge package - well turns out I'm not a big fan of yellow.  I went after one and just sat by it - it didn't seem to taste nice like my 7 year old dummy that I fetch. Then Mum tried again and I didn't even bother - wanted her to get the message. She didn't and fetched it herself and tried a third time - we lost the ball! (I say we, i mean she of course, if she had listened in the first place and realised I wan't interested we'd still have it.) - So we kind of failed at challenge 3.

Challenge 4 was a 2 week challenge of photos and videos of me being active.  Well the first week we went to the beach, and we had sooo much fun. I ran and ran on the soft sand and Mum and Dad tried to get me to swim across a small pool that forms, and I ran more, and Mum chased me and we laughed.... but we had so much fun Mum forgot to take photos. And if she thought I was doing it all again ..... HaHa, no chance! I might be feeling good, but I'm not 4!!

Then we went for a long walk up at my favourite place, Newlands corner. Mum had her camera ready, she threw the dummy, i chased rabbits, we romped through muddy puddles..... and all mum got was photos of my bum!! - i was toooooo fast for her (she says it was the camera not being fast enough but we all know a poor workman blames his tools) so no photos there either. (Quietly i'm beginning to think Mum isn't quite as good at stuff as she makes out)

Anyway, it only leaves me to tell you at the end of the trial, how I feel.  Well this is no magic cure, I still ache if I over do it, and I still sometimes need a bit more rest than i used to when I was a spritely young thing. But once I warm up and get out I definitely find it a lot easier to move around and jumping in and out the back of Mum's car is no problem at all.  I still find if i have been laying in my bed for a few hours I'm stiff and it's hard to get up at first but again once I'm up life is a lot easier than it used to be. I've tried demonstrating this to mum by standing up against the trunk of the plum tree to steal ripe plums, and dancing round and round in giddy circles when dinner is nearly ready, and jumping up at Dad when he comes in from work, and jumping up at the table to steal a bonio that got left there. I *think* Mum is getting the message, but I'm not sure she's totally pleased about it, it seems to be making her shout quite a bit.

Honestly there's no pleasing some people.

Love and licks, Spot

Jointcare+ - Challenge 2 by Spot

Hey everyone, Spot here again. Mum hasn't got time to write - she appears to be stuck to the sofa watching that square box - there's lots of screaming and shouting and tears going on here!

Anyway for challenge 2 i had to show a trick that i would do for my Jointcare+ chew.  I do love my chew but i don't really do tricks (let's face it, i barely do good behaviour really, so a trick is probably beyond my ability)  So here i am doing what i do best - Looking cute!

I'm feeling good at the moment, I seem to be a bit more springy out of my bed, but it's early days so I'm not counting my chickens (well i do, everyday i count the ones in the garden in case any are missing but that's a whole different story)

See you next week for challenge 3

Some knitting.....

I have made a few things for sale in my shop in the Crafters' barn.  I'd like to say that Noo's Knits is getting ready for (sssssh whisper) Christmas, but in truth the weather here is so shocking that they just were things I was inspired to make.

Mostly machine knits for a change, the first is a super long scarf. 6'4" in length and 7 " in width, although obviously that slightly depends on how you hold it as it's pretty stretchy. It's knit in full fisherman's rib across 45 sts on T10/8.  I worked on needle on the main bed with a 3 needle gap and then the 4th needle in work etc. The ribber was the same layout with the working needles nicely lined up in the middle of the 3 non-working needles of the MB. (Kinda obvious I suppose).  I used two yarns wound together, the first is a 4ply pure Alpaca, and the second a laceweight Kid-SIlk (75% kid mohair and 25% silk).

The result is beaufiully soft and snug, but without the weight of some of the long scarves.  It only weighs about 225g.  I make keyhole scarves for those times when you don't want bulk, but this is for when you totally do want to be snuggled up. Maybe taking a walk out with your camera, ambling along.... or just admiring the views around you be they country or town. (It's actually quite hard to put this one up for sale!)










The next two items are prototypes and not available for sale yet - I don't know if they will be.  The first is a cowl I have called Synthesis. As it's a fusion knit on machine and by hand.  Firstly you spend 4 hours making an icord on the machine (that would take months by hand I think!) and then you hand knit that up into a cowl:

I think the icord needs to be a bit wider and looser knit, but I think it would be lovely knit up in something like the yarn used for this:  (which is also for sale ;) )
So that is one of the things next on the agenda, to see if what I see in my head comes up trumps in real life. ;)

Also, I made a pair of socks on the machine. - They have been gifted to my sister as they were just a smidgeon short for me, but they were fun to try and only took around 3 hours to complete including hand ribbing the top:

 They were knit in the round on the main bed and ribber over 60 sts, on T6/6. The legs were 60 circular rows (RC120).  The reason for trying out socks on the machine is that a few people have asked me to make them, but in all honesty to hand knit them you'd have to charge around £200-£300 at least (!!!!) which I appreciate is ridiculous for a pair of socks. But if I can make this work then I think I could sell them around £40 - £50 depending on yarn, which though still expensive isn't bad for what they are....... best socks you'll ever wear! ;)

The Crafters' Barn is coming along really well. We now have over 50 shops (shock!) which is amazing, and I am so grateful for all the support I'm receiving.  We still have improvements to make. I think mostly in the browsing experience for buyers, but do pop along and have a look. We have some wonderful artists.  I have been asked to write a guest blog post for Handmade Crafts about starting the Barn and the ethic behind it, which is why you still haven't seen it here. It's not written yet as i haven't quite had the time I want to put into it, but I'll post here when it is, with a link to where it is! ;)

So now I just need to get to grips with the lace carriage on my machine. At the moment I can't really make sense of it, possibly because I don't have any proper punchcards for it, so I'm missing the markings that tell you what to do, and I can't understand yet quite how it works.  I will need to punch a card myself following instructions and mark it up with carriage directions, then i might begin to get to grips with it.

So, next time, that could be what you see (or not!)

'Til Soon ♥

Weed Control Products

 A couple of weeks ago I was asked to do a sponsored blog post for Roundup gel - never one to turn down an opportunity to blog about something new (I do sometimes find it hard to get inspiration) I jumped at the chance.

Now, it turns out that since then, we appear to have had pretty non stop rain. I had tried the gel a couple of times but I am pretty sure it got rained off before it had been there 2 minutes to be honest.  So, in light of the fact that this post has been waiting a while, and we have the promise of a dry afternoon, I have started again and will call this, somewhat optimistically, blog post #1 of 2 !

The reason I was happy to do this is that I don't really like using weedkillers or any other non-organic means of any kind of pest or weed control where I can help it.  I have chickens, and if I use spray weedkiller that means I have to be a lot more careful about where i let them roam, and what i do with rakings and cuttings. (My hens are my compost bins normally) So this seems ideal, a thicker consistency weed control product that I can apply more particularly, exactly where i want it.

It comes in a plastic container, a similar shape to a stick deodorant, (but bigger)

You take the lid off by squeezing two tabs either side of the container just under that green lip (I am saying that cos it took me a while to see them) and you get this:

(Well you get that when you have taken the foil protector off and clicked that blue button on the side for what seems like 50 times to get the gel up to the top)

We have a little bit of land next door that the chickens had had their run on a few months ago - the grass has all been cleared (they're good at that) but quite a large patch of deep rooted weeds have regrown):

The Roundup gel is easy to apply, and it tells you on the container how many "clicks" of gel you need for different types of weed.  It's sticky, thick consistency means it definitely does only go where you put it, but the downside to that is that i found you had to hold the back of the leaf to smear the gel on - that really wouldn't work for stinging nettles !! (Well, not without a good pair of gloves anyway).  I did try it on the lawn weeds as I have a lot of dandelion type weeds, and i was doing a review it seemed a good idea to try, but again the need to press fairly firmly against the leaf made the application difficult in those circumstances, and I think I got as much on the grass as i did on the weeds.  

My verdict for the application of the Roundup Gel weed killer is that for areas of a few, large weeds - bindweed, bramble, etc it would be great. It would negate the need to spray everything in sight, and if you were planning  something where you just needed to rid an area of a certain few large weeds, or if you have a rambling bramble climbing across your best perennial bed,  it would be perfect in terms of ease of application. But if you have a lot of dense weeds or small leaved weeds (it says it will do couch grass but i have no idea how you would apply it to something so thin and flexible, maybe using an old paint brush) then I don't think the gel would really be the right product.

Hopefully, if you tune back in in a fortnight or so I should be able to show you the result of it as a weed control product - well that's if it doesn't rain again of course.

I'd love to write, but....

.... There are actually hints of blue sky outside,


and that's the first time I've seen anything but dark grey in the best part of two weeks..... So I'm afraid I have a prior engagement with a weedy veg patch. Be back soon ;-)


- Posted using BlogPress

and wham!!! 2 weeks have passed

Seriously, I blinked and missed 'em! ;)

My beautiful cousin was here for a couple of days - all the way up from Devon so she could visit the Chelsea Flower show. She stayed here two nights, coming up after work one day, going to Chelsea the next, and then driving home the third day. It was wonderful to spend a little time in the evenings chatting whilst sitting on my deck under my beautiful fairy lights. Listening to the hens clucking themselves to sleep. I feel very lucky that I come from such an awesome family. We don't get to see each other all that often as we are spread far and wide, but it never affects our relationships, we are as close now as we were when we were children.  It's interesting to see those personality traits that obviously come from genetics rather than background!! (misplaced your keys lately anyone?!)  Anyway, it was an honour to be able to help her meet her Chelsea dream, I hope we get to do it again one year.

In other news........ I've been knitting, and working hard on the Crafters' Barn (the new site, so I won't link)  It's coming along swimmingly and I've got someone in to do the T&C's now as well, so I'm beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel.  It feels it's been a long time coming, but it's been such a dream of mine to offer this website to all small business crafters out there.  Won't be long folks!

I have loads of knitting to do too. Laika is finished and it's beautiful, but it needs buttons so I'm not showing it until it's done (despite the fact that it's been worn several times already)  I'm now knitting some men's socks for a client, just plain vanilla type gardening socks.  Nice summer knitting really, quite mindless and not lots of heavy yarn sitting in your lap!

So a photoless post, that's not good is it??????

Spo-oht?!

She's always happy to oblige ;)

Missing a party (or 6)

...... a lot of my family are on the Isle of Bute at the annual jazz festival. For numerous reasons I'm not there.  I have (hopefully) chicks hatching on Monday (although in truth I'm not expecting much)  I have a new website which is supposed to be Beta testing from today - although apparently I'm supposed to be able to retrieve the details of where it's held and how to get into it by psychic ability as I haven't heard from my webguy since 2pm when he told me he was uploading it? I'm also being taken away for two nights in a couple of weeks for my birthday (oooooh yes!) and we are going to Dove Holes jazz festival instead anyway. So I shouldn't complain really (and I'm not exactly.....sort of...... much)

But all of that doesn't make me feel a bit like i'm missing a party (oh hell yeah, I AM missing a party - in fact 3 a day and one or two all nighters probably)  So I am planning a weekend of crafting to make up for it. (Assuming I don't  attain the web beta login details by some form of  supernatural/clairvoyant brain surge).  I had ordered yarn to try to make this on the machine, but it hasn't arrived (I left it late, I knew it was unlikely - this is down to me mostly not having known what day it has been for much of the week).  But I am already handknitting Laika as I showed the other day, and I've done the body and 3/4 of one sleeve, so I reckon it's totally possible to finish at least the lace work over the long weekend, 1 1/4 sleeves and a hood, how hard can it be? (in 4 ply!). Especially now I have my yarn bras so don't have to chase 2 balls of yarn all over the place. (Have I told you how flippin' awesome they are? - no?  well that's all you need to know, they're flippin awesome!), or pick dog hair off them (you really don't want to know!)

So that's me for the weekend. A new audible audiobook will be chosen with great care (as much for length as for content as it has to last 3 non working days!), and I will settle in my newtome chair: (which has been cleaned since I got it and took this photo) and I will knit and watch the birds in the garden and cuddle spot and probably put a little TJ Johnson on the Ipod and whilst my family are there jiving away to the real McCoy, I'll be swinging my own little party here.... and loving every minute!

Responsibility of Words?

I really don't have time to write this blogpost, but I like words, I like our language, it's rich and varied and intense and full bodied...... I've just complained about something, and wonder if it's just me and I've over-reacted etc etc


Because my house, despite being on a main road, seems to be in a DrWho like vortex that doesn't exist for anyone except me and my neighbour (seriously don't ever send anything to me by courier...... even new post men take a while to get us sorted)..... anyway, because of that, I don't get the local freebie newspapers. So i subscribe to their twitter feed and read up quickly on any local news that I'm interested as it's published. The feed is quite good it seems to tweet the link to most major stories throughout the day.

This morning there was one that read "Motorcyclist dead after collision with lorry"   To the point I suppose, but I took objection to the headline in that I found it crass and harsh in terms of words.  I thought "Fatal Accident involving motorcyclist".... might have been gentler.?  I tweeted the paper and aired my views. I thought particularly as this accident had happened only this morning, (5:30am) the words were a little too "vulgar".  I assume next of kin have been informed by now, but death involves so many more people than that don't you think? Friends, work colleagues, drinking buddies, riding buddies.......

There is no name in the news article....... so, even more so, anyone who knows anyone who rides a motorbike along the road in question is going to be worrying and panicking.  Now I know that changing "Dead" to "Fatal" isn't going to change anything, it isn't going to bring anyone back, and it isn't going to help in any way shape or form...... but isn't there a certain responsibility to be gentle about these things? Isn't there a certain respect that's due to these kind of accidents and circumstances? Can the media not be a little bit kinder with their wording?

Or is it me? is it a case of the least number of characters to a headline, and getting the point across is the only important issue? Perhaps i have got middle-aged and grumpy, and i yearn for just a touch more delicacy in our vocabulary, and discretion in our choice of words?

They changed the headline after my mini complaint to "Motorcyclist Killed......" It doesn't seem a lot better to me, but at least they took the point on board i guess.

New Knitting - for meeeeee!

I bought yarn last year at Knitnation, to make Laika, and never quite got round to it.  Finally I have found time to get it under way, and I love it!  The yarn is Yarn Yard Twistle  (From TheYarnYard)

That's not a great photo because it's raining epically today, and this is the best my little phone camera could do given the lack of light - It's going to be wonderful though, and I love it already

Sometimes a downside.....

So, the downside to acquiring all those wonderful pots, planter, and bed that I wrote about here, was this:

3 tonnes of topsoil that needed to be moved from outside my garden, to inside my beds.  Boy do I ache today!

In other news I've just this minute received some new sunglasses from Spex4less.com  Very impressive service.  I just wanted a cheap pair of prescription sunglasses to wear when I haven't got my contacts in. I wear contacts a lot in the summer so generally just wear plain sunnies, but now and again for whatever reason I don't have them in, and this was an idea solution. Prescription sunglasses for £27 incl delivery.  In case you're interested, I went for these ones - Here. (They've gone up a bit since obviously, but there are offers and voucher codes around the site. Given that they are sunnies, I could probably have done with a deeper lens, but they're perfect for me, and I'm not the most careful person with my glasses so it's not worth spending a fortune on the, (1 dog, 8 hens and 2 cockerels do not bode well for glasses!) If they last the summer I'll be happy! *rolls eyes*

It's been raining (finally) this week, so not much else to tell you. I do have 2 finished objects to photograph and show but they're not "quite" ready yet! ;)

'Til soon xx

Making Monday - a List! ;)

n at The Yarn Yard publishes making monday posts.  I rarely seem to "make" on quite the right day - or at least I never get round to blogging about it. And to be fair today will be much the same. I will be making - I will be making a final sleeve for a jumper. (Well I hope i will be making it cos I've completely screwed up picking up the stitches from the provisional cast on - I must have had someone else's eyes in last night!) Anyway, I will be making that. But in the meantime i thought I'd make a list of things I want to blog about in the near future because when I come to writing I feel I'm a bit repetitive (knitting, dog, chickens, garden, chicken, knitting, dog!) and I never remember the thing I was going to write.

So Making Monday's List!

Blog Posts of the future

• Good Ipad apps for knitters/sewers/crafters etc. (a few people seem to have acquired them lately and I thought it would be good to pool resources!)
• (Maybe a separate post of Iphone apps?)
• Reveiw of some winter waterproof trousers I bought
• Hopefully some thoughts on re-covering a sun lounger cushion (mouse damage!), because I can't find any anywhere, although if anyone has any ideas i'd be chuffed to hear them!
• Free listing giveaway for the Crafters Barn when the site is live. 

That should see me through the next month or so, but feel free to comment if there's something you think I should say.
And just for n (cos she showed us hers!), here is a photo of my daytime knitting spot: - It's in the corner of my conservatory, next to the windowsill (for good light, and somewhere to put my scissors/needle/glasses/coffee/ipod) and it looks out onto my garden:

Have a great bank holiday Monday everyone,
'Til soon x

Fixing the sun (umbrella)

The mice in my greenhouse have had an excellent winter. As I haven't had chickens for a few months they took the opportunity of unmonitored supplies and bedded in my straw bale and ate through my bag of corn (that was fun when I picked it up..... Not!). And they demolished a small portion of my patio umbrella. Well yah boo sucks to them, I win!

Me, and instruction book and a LOT of coffee

Oopsey over a week since i posted. Time does fly doesn't it?

I have had dreadful toothache this week so feeling a little below par. Luckily dentist has found a broken tooth and I'm booked in for filling it next Wednesday morning. So the end is in sight for that particular problem.

The grass has had the first cut of the year (and lovely it looks too) and the hens are all beginning to lay. I am getting 2 or 3 a day now out of 6 hens, so either all of them are doing it some of the time, or some of them are doing it all of the time.  Whichever the case, they clearly think it's spring!

Knitting is, as always keeping me sane. I'm making a jumper for a client. No pics because I've only taken a couple on my phone and they don't look as good as they should. But it's coming along nicely and the body is just about done. Bottom up raglan (was going to be top down, but I couldn't place the motifs properly - clearly one stage too far for my brain!)

And in somewhat related news, yesterday I bought a knitting machine.  A brother KH836 and accompanying ribber.  It is 2nd hand but from a dealer so has been thoroughly serviced and is guaranteed.  It's a punchcard machine so has a little "growing" room for me, but was recommended as a good beginners machine.  The ribber and other accessories that I might will get will all fit more advanced brother models so all is good. Brother don't actually make machines any more, but there are plenty in the market place and I was assured that even if parts become scarce there are enough old non-working machines to strip and "cannibalise" so it shouldn't be a problem in the nearish future.

So, I've been scouring ravelry and the internet for information and patterns. I used to use a machine in my teen years, and was pretty adept at it. But now, of course, there is just sooo much more information out there to be read. It's wonderful.

So today, my plan is to run around with the hoover, dust a little in the middle (not round the edges!) and then sit with the instruction book, a notebook and a big mug of coffee

Spring

I've worked on the VAT return for job1 today and it took ages. I filed it online at17:03 and left straight away to take Spot for an evening walk........

Totally worth it!

Perfect Sunday ....(and what I has been up to!)

So here am I, sitting in the garden, with my laptop on my lap! I can't see a thing on the screen, but I'm hoping to get the gist of a blog down, and correct it later (or maybe just leave it for the heck of it!)  The weather is fabulous, a spring chill in the air, but warm enough to be sitting out in just a cardi and track suit bottoms (Sundays are for slobbing a little aren't the?) Spot is at my side

(and just as I typed that she got up and moved! LOL - she sooooo has to have the last word) and I'm noticing that it won't be long before i have to start mowing the lawn.  I can see a robin sitting on the edge of my incinerator (mostly used for red-mite infested bedding! - sigh) and the church bell is tolling 2 o'clock. I also started (well started isn't quite right as it was 11 o'clock) but I "started" my Sunday with the most perfect brunch courtesy of Attic24, and her recently posted instructions on how to poach an egg.  As a chicken keeper i do love a poached egg on toast, and mine often come out ok, but sometimes really don't, Turns out I had all the right ingredients (water, eggs, vinegar) but in slightly the wrong ratios. - Poached eggs on toasted homemade seed bread is a good way to start a Sunday:- All pretty awesome eh?

So, the week has been pretty busy. Started on Monday with a trip up to the NEC to the CHSI trade show. (as per my last blog post!) Not much for a small trader to be able to get as all the minimum order values were really quite high, but it was good to look around and see what is available, and how the coming seasons are being interpreted.  And the feedback from the magazines was really encouraging about the Crafters' Barn, so that made me feel good about that too. (it's always so scary thinking about starting a business and then realising how much it's going to cost - It makes it a bit easier when other people think it's a good idea too!

On Tuesday, i went to visit Bruce at SKD to get some yarn for my latest commission. This is something that has been on my order books for a while but I haven't been able to source good yarn for it, as it needed to be super-bulky, specific colours, and non-itchy! Not much of a task then?! Luckily Bruce and Birgitte have just started with a new range of yarns from Sandnes-Garn and their Easy Merino fit the bill perfectly.  I decided to drive over and see SKD though as it saved on postage and meant I could have a bit of a squish of some of the rest of their range. (Who can honestly resist the opportunity to squish??!) - I also came home with 2 balls of Alfa, and 2 balls of Kashmir/Alpaca - just for research *ahem* (The kashmir/alpaca is soooooo soft and lovely, I couldn't stop picking it up and stroking it)

Finally, yesterday I went to Unravel. - Fab day, met friends, had lots of hugs, lots of squishing, and not much purchasing (which was good as I really am running out of yarn storing room!)  Saw a fabulous new range called Ruth and Belinda, really lovely yarns and accompanying patterns, well worth a look. And relented on a 24mm pair of knitting needles so I can use one for some broomstick knitting and crocheting trials.

The granny squares throw has been finished. - Would you like to see photos?????...... No???........ well look away then cos I want to show this off! :-)

(Actually not the best photos as the sun has gone in every single time I've got this baby out to photgraph it, but you get the gist!) - It's big enough for a double bed, and is crocheted in Rowan Renew.  As per usual Rowan got the pattern wrong and i sent back (luckily I finished it quickly enough that the same dye lots were still in circulation) 2 balls of Digger, and 2 balls of Trailer. I needed 3 extra balls of Tractor *rolls eyes*.  I've told Rowan, as the quantities in the book in hindsight can't possibly be correct due to the colour sequencing, and if you wanted to take your time over this project (which would be understandable as it's huge!) you'd be a bit stuffed at the end to find all the qty's are wrong. Rowan have apologised and acknowledged the mistake, so it should be in the errata soon.

Right, this post is becoming a little too epic, so it's time to draw to a close for another week or so, before I bore you all to tears. Have a good week everyone, and I hope that a little spring comes to you all this week one way or another.  'Til soon ♥

ooh P.S. Just 2 days left to vote in the poll below, please do if you haven't already. And if you have..... thank you everso x

Please Vote in my Poll!

I was at the CHSI trade show yesterday, getting advertising rates for The Crafters' Barn  for when we're all ready to roll. There were loads of magazines there, and the advertising rates are pretty high - with good discounts available for multiple consecutive adverts, but the cost of 6 consecutive ads is HUGE!. So, it's all going to add up to a hefty amount of cash! So, in the interests of ......... err interest!........ and to help me narrow down the list at least a little. Which magazines do you read? If I've missed any obvious ones off the list please let me know, either in the comments or by email to claire(AT)cmyoung(DOT)eclipse.co.uk 

Now the idea of the adverts in these crafting magazines will be to entice new sellers to the barn. I feel that by offering a £2 flat listing fee per month, many crafters might be interested in selling a few of their excess handcrafted products. It also means they could sell to family and friends and be protected by the websites terms and conditions (yep, even selling to friends can go wrong!)  So initially these adverts will be to gain sellers.  Once we have a good community going, I hope to be able to fund adverts in more "home style" magazines like Country Living and Easy Living. etc.

So, I'd be hugely grateful if you would vote in the poll below, and also spread the word to other crafting communities/forums/friends etc to come vote too so I get a good range of entries.  I (obviously) know a lot of knitters, but I'd really be interested to hear what other Crafters read for their inspiration. The poll will close one week today - 28th Feb.

 

Which magazines do you read?

 

I've missed Making magazine - but i can't change the poll now.  

After the snow walk.......

So one day we walk in the woods in the snow, and clearly the obvious thing to do the next day is:







-Go to the beach!!!!

(Blanket finished, just sewing in the ends!)

Winter Finally....

So a few weeks ago I put some frosty pictures on my blog background in anticipation of a bit of the white stuff - and IT WORKED! (*go me, I'm magic*)

I unashamedly love snow and winter, as previously declared) So yesterday Spot and I set out on a snowy adventure over at Newlands Corner.

Spot is perfectly camouflaged in this weather:

We love getting out and off the beaten track, Spot is hard to stop when she's out there - Generally I'm happy if she's in the same county, but here she stood for a photo call knowing she looked pretty:

We got away from the main paths (which were treacherously icy) and out to the bracken bit where the deer hide (I did see them, but couldn't get the camera out quick enough with all my winter clothing on!) Despite Newlands having been packed with visitors at the weekend when the snow first arrived, we still found that no one had been to our little special area:

The only other footprints were from the deer:

It was perfect, and cold and wonderful. My cheeks ached with smiling by the time we had finished, and when I saw that little path above that was all ours, I might have even *squeeeed* out loud! ;)

The blanket is nearly finished, and in true Rowan style the pattern quantities of yarn are way out.  I have 2 full balls over of 2 of the colours, and am 4 short of the border. It's on order though and should be here tomorrow or Saturday, so this marathon could be over by the weekend. (another smaller *sqeeeeee*!!)

T'il soon, xx

20% off in my shop

There is a 20% discount on all stock items in my shop http://www.thecraftersbarn.co.uk/s/cat_448283-Noos-Knits-other-bits-.html until 10 am Tuesday 7th Feb in case you need something warm to wear. Prices shown are already discounted (previous price is in the description)

Just sayin'!


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She grows......

All squares completed. The joining has begun!



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New year - new chickens!

I lost 11 of my hens last autumn to the dratted fox. Always a possibility, something you just try not to think of. Trouble is they don't just take one - they kill the lot, so it's an all or nothing situation.  He got into my big pen by yanking my feeder/hopper off the wire wall and then pushing his way through the little hole they have to peck through for their feed.

Anyway enough about the downside, the upside is that as it's nearly spring (well you gotta look optimistically don't ya?) I have decided it was time to fix the run, clean out the house and fill it all back up with hens (this decision was in no small part due to the price of pretty pale and insignificant eggs in Sainsburys)

So the two hens and cockerel that the dear ol' fox left me with (cos they were living next door) got moved into the big pen last weekend.

My handsome boy!:
I'm afraid tho' he didn't show many manners when the new girls arrived ;) he pretty much dictated immediately what they were there for as far as he was concerned - so rude!  The new girls are a bit young yet, but when they start laying we will use him for that purpose and hatch some eggs for meat. He's a big boy so I think will produce good eating birds. (I know it sounds callous, but really they do have an incredibly good life and any hens that are particularly good layers get kept and the cockerels always have a chance to father more before their time, I'm sure the same can't be said for the birds that you buy at the supermarket)

The new girls tho' weren't sure about all the attention and took refuge behind the bay tree. They've settled in now tho' and strangely having declared his intentions so early I don't think he's been near them since They are a bit young for him though!

In other news, the crochet blanket is going well and will be finished in a week or so, I have nearly finished all the squares (yes there were 130 if you remember) and I may even be able to do an extra row as there seems to be some yarn left over - I'll have to see how that goes though.  There is an, as yet unused, oatmealy colour which is used to join all the squares together as "sashing" so to speak, so when I've finished the squares (maybe tomorrow) then the joining shall commence. I've tried to take some photos but it's a grey day here and they don't look as lovely as they should so you have to wait!  I may take this blanket out somewhere special for a photo shoot when it's finished!

The final news is that the Crafters' Barn is gaining momentum.  I have new software and new webspace for a bigger better Barn and will then be inviting many more sellers to join us to improve the range of handmade gifts we can offer you.  It's testing my tech skills though I must say - I haven't worked so hard at learning something new since I was 14 and taught myself guitar!! ;)  I'm off to a trade show in a couple of weeks so am hoping to find ways of maximising our exposure and providing the very best retail outlet for crafts that I can.

Right, it's very chilly here so I have a date with a fire, a cup of tea, a hot cross bun, the tv and some crochet.

Til soon xx

Coming home.........

This post was sort of written in my head last night on my way home from Norwich.  Those of you that read my blog regularly will know of the loss of my dearest friend last year. So by the wonders of modern technology (and some good old fashioned sleuthing... well new fangled cyber-sleuthing to be more accurate) I found the details of his interment service yesterday at his Cathedral.

My first inclination was, in all honesty, not to go. It's a long way and the few internet entries I had read had suggested in would be a short service, and to be frank the last time I was in a church was Bishop Michael's funeral, and quite possibly the time before that was his Ordination as Bishop (ooh no, I'm missing out the Chrism Mass last year - but anyway you get my point!).  But as time went on and I thought about it, I realised that this was one of those times when you really do need to get up off your lazy *ahem* and be in a place that you know will feel right.  One of those things that if you go and don't (not enjoy - that's the wrong word, but you know what I mean) you have lost nothing, but to sit at home and wish you had been there - well that's an opportunity you'd never get again. And as I had been kind of scouring the internet looking for details my head told me that at least some part of me was interested enough to want to go.

So, train details were gleaned and I set my alarm for 5:45  on a Saturday morning (this in itself is quite an event worth blogging about - I'm rarely up before 8, and a little more often than is probably wise to admit to, not up til 9!)

Now the thing is, that having been to the funeral, and the committal I wasn't quite sure of the purpose of being at this service, but assumed I'd get the message when I got there - And yes,  I think I did. You see to me (and possibly wrongly, but we are all allowed our thoughts and interpretations aren't we?) This was completing the circle, this was my dear friend FrM coming home. I had been to his ordination and his funeral at the cathedral, and the last thing I really saw was him being carried out of it .... this was him returning home to his place of rest. Where I can always go and find him if I need. His ashes are interred at the base of the icon of St Felix, in the chapel of the Saints at the east end of the Cathedral, and truthfully when I heard that during the service the biggest smile broke out that I had no control over. Not only because St Felix was the first Bishop of the East Angles, but more because his name....... Joy, Happy. FrM's message was always of the Joy of God.

I thought this would be my last visit to Norwich, it was what I had geared myself up for. But it won't be. A part of me will always also feel at home there, in the place where my friend became part of an amazing family. I, too, have met new friends and people who share memories of Fr M.  We had great fun at lunch after the service discussing various memories and learning about the "different ages" of FrM and the different ways we had grown to love this strange little man. So, coming home?..... a final resting place, a place of comfort, or a place in your heart where memories and love will always reside? One, some or all of the above.............

At least I can put snow and frost on my blog.......

I love winter. There I've said it, I love cold weather that makes your hands hurt, and frost with sunlight glinting on it, and snow....... I love wrapping up in my blankets, throws and handknit jumpers and snuggling in front of an open fire. I love walking the dog and hearing the ground crunch beneath my feet and seeing her camouflaged in snowy bracken, and coming home to a treat of hot chocolate steaming in a mug.

However, this year's winter has been a little disappointing so far (I know there is plenty of time yet). We had 12 degrees on Christmas day, and really apart from a good dose of bad wind (I guess even mother nature gets affected by Christmas dinner?) our weather has been very unentertaining. We're averaging around 10 - 13 deg C, and the sky seems to be grey more often than not. (There have been some beautiful blue sky days but just not many of them)

So, in celebration of my love of winter, I have slightly redecorated my blog in anticipation of just a few decent weeks of winter weather.

In other news the crochet blanket is going well. I have to wait for some more wool now as two of the colours were out of stock, and I've done all I can in what I have. 

I've also resurrected the wii fit, to try to lose the somewhat shocking 4 lbs I put on in just one week over Christmas! ooopsey! So that's what I'm off to do now

Have a great week everyone xx


Dec 2010, I am smiling in there - really! ;)