Now I’m knitting bunting for our stand at Quilts UK in a couple of weeks. It will be available as a kit at the show and afterwards in the shop and on the website. I am desperate to start something new and exciting. I have been on Ravelry this morning fiddling around and I think I might start O’Mally from Rowan Magazine 38. It’s a crocheted jacket with clasps down the front. I bought the clasps about a year ago and have had the yarn stashed for a couple of years. That would be a good one for the winter.

I nabbed some lovely balls of green from the £2.50 basket in the shop. It is all different types of yarn in bright lime greens. It was just sat in the basket staring at me all week. I put it on the counter for a day just to see. If anyone had wanted it I would have let them. Then on Thursday, that was it. I couldn’t leave them behind for the weekend. I think they will be a crochet ripple blanket for my sister. She loves green at the moment. I have to post a pic of how great these balls look together so that may spur me on to get my camera sorted!

I am seriously hoping to have finished the entrelac by this time next week. I have 2 secret projects on the go for our new kits for Quilts UK in May so I need to get those done. If you live nearby you should really come to Quilts UK. It is so inspiring and just so much great stuff to buy! We have to man our stall with 2 of us at a time so that we can keep wandering off to look at things.

Last year I bought some flannel fabrics to make a bigger version of a quilt I made for Claudie. Needless to say it is still in my fabric box, untouched. I said to Mary  it doesn’t count as started (and so on my ‘to finish stuff’ list) if I haven’t cut it out or anything. She said it counts as started if you have something in mind for the fabric. Hmm. I have a huge amount of started things then.

Spring has been making an appearance this week so we’ve done our window to match. The ladies cardigan is knitted in Rowan Classic Cotton Jeans from the Coast pattern book. It’s from last year’s Rowan Classic books and our customers have knitted several different designs from that book which just goes to show how great the designs are. So often there is one pattern in a book that everyone knits and none of the others!

The little cardi is from the new Sublime Kid Mohair book, knitted in the gorgeous green and pink by Mary for Jess when she gets a bit bigger. Claudia has been coveting it so that is on my to do list now.

Lovely spring fabrics, some by Heather Bailey, and we now have the new Amy Butler tunic and dress patterns in stock.

Oh, and the much anticipated Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn has arrived! It is typically gorgeous Noro colours and typical Noro yarn, slightly slubby and irregular. We have tried it on a 2.25mm which has worked pretty well. The stripes are quite wide so we think it may suit being used for a patternedsock rather than a plain. Have a go with Jaywalkers! We are test knitting a great toe-up pattern for the Noro which will be in the free patterns soon if it works!

So I feel great that these projects that were hanging over me are now getting finished! I am halfway through the entrelac baby blanket but it is a little tedious so I will be starting something new tomorrow once the denim’s out of the way. Actually I have an Araucania cardigan that just needs sleeves so I will finish that and it can go in the window to inspire some summer type knitting because it’s cotton.

I have been buying a lot of fabric lately so I think some of my knitting time will be taken up with sewing. I made my daughter some great trousers last night which she proudly wore today! I got into trouble with Jake though because I hadn’t finished his “lounging trousers” so that’s my job tonight. Maybe the Denim won’t get finished tonight…. 

This month we have been to Stitches, the industry trade show and (you know what it’s like) the day before, I decided I needed a new knit. What can I knit in a day and a night? I picked a great pattern from the new Kim Hargreaves Heartfelt book which is knitted in Rowan Big Wool and takes only 5 balls for the sizes up to medium and 6 for the larger sizes. I did pretty well, it is knitted in 1 piece and I managed to get up the front and halfway down the back before I ran out of time. Luckily in the end it would have been far too hot to wear it anyway so I wasn’t too disappointed!

So here is the finished garment in the current window with my lovely Amy Butler shirt underneath!

My next project is the entrelac shawl from Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino which will be perfect for my sister-in-law as she likes more traditional things. I should have enough time to knit it as it’s only 8 balls, even at 1 a week that’s fine.

The webmaster has been nagging for a ’sock’ for his MP3 player since Christmas so I guess I can fit that in now. One for the PSP has just been added to that although I’m not sure that needs a sock really.

I am also getting into sewing a bit more at the moment. I got a couple of Japanese craft books with really cute baby stuff in them (no, I can’t read Japanese but luckily they have very good diagrams!). The fabric they use is just great so I bought some calico last week and a set of tea towels which are different fabrics but co-ordinating which I am going to chop up for making these lovely patchwork bibs. You know those waffle type tea towels? That’s the fabric I wanted so they are just the job. I’ll post a pic once I’ve done it because they’re nicer than they sound!

By the way, we have a new camera so there will be more pics from now on as soon as I work out how to get the pics off it!

Now I really must make progress with my Cotton Jeans Jacket ‘Appledore’ from the Coast book.  We had a sample in the shop window and I fell for it.  It will be very useful in the spring.

The shop is just getting some of the spring yarns in and Debbie Bliss has a Cotton DK which I think is worth a try, probably for Jess. 

There is a new Sirdar Book ’ Simple Easy Knits’ that has a lot of basic patterns in DK.  I don’t mind trying lots of different stitches and textures but I do like to have a basic shape to work to so this is the book for me. It covers all sizes so at £6.99 is good value. 

 Now it’s back to the boring doll’s blanket that should have been finished for Christmas!

Don’t forget to check out the special offers section of the website  - there is at least 25% off our sale items. There are also great offers in the shop if you are near Malvern. Happy New Year!