Give-away and thank-you’s

First things first – my long due thank you going to two really nice ladies who have made for interesting post reads since I joined the blog world: Heather of HKnits and Kate of fashion label Maison Bentley for their kind nominations, respectively for the Liebster Award and the Sunshine Award. I want to apologise for my ‘crappiness’ in not following up – I’m really bad at questions and answering them! I truly appreciated your nominations, it’s just me that I’m no good with those things… ♥

Next, it’s about the announced give away. How this works: post in the comments something about your favourite indie yarn. Alternatively, you can tell about your favourite item (book, vintage, etc). You can participate from any part of the world. Why that: it would be enriching to read stories from other people – by exchanging stories, we celebrate the beauty, variety and uniqueness of each product. And what are the prizes? There is a choice among the items you can find listed below. I tried to include different things, so hopefully the winner can choose the most suitable to her/his taste. Unfortunately, I had to exclude heavy/large ones because those could cause an issue with the shipment. Some of the items are new, others are used or vintage. Prize announcement: A random number generator will proclaim the winner, which will be announced on Saturday 25th May. Please post your comment by Saturday 25th 11am BST (here is a time converter to calculate your local time).

You can pick any one entry among all the bulletpoints listed below (for ease of choice, items have been grouped in categories: yarn, fabric, book, cute thing). Any question, please let me know.

YARN
there is a bit of variety to choose from, starting with local wools and then continuing with some summery colours and sock yarn.

• Jamieson & Smith Natural Shetland, 100% wool, 3 x 50 gram balls, handwash only. Apparently it’s perfect for colourwork as it blooms nicely while blocking to help with any irregularities in tension; the yarn looks scrumptious and is dye free (colours are made by hand, sorting fleece according to shade).
  
• Shetland 2-ply 100% wool in shades purple, grey, midnight or flintstone blue, a fine 1/9nm yarn that gives ca. 900 metres per 100 grams. You can choose all in one colour or some of each shade. The yarn comes from cone and is oiled but blooms once hand-washed. The total weight will be circa 300 grams (approx. 6 yarn cakes) and will be winded up in yarn cakes, either single or multi-stranded to your choice. You can read more about this yarn in my previous post Shetland
  
• Wensleydale/Angora (75%/25%), DK weight, naturally processed by a small English producer; suitable for knitting and felting; 4 x 50 grams balls (approx. 120 yards/ball) in a natural creamy colour, handwash only
  
• Bluefaced Leicester wool, dyed by The Natural Dye Studio, 4-ply sock weight, 100 gram skein (360m/394yds), 2-3.5 mm needles, handwash
  
• Bluefaced Leicester wool mix (85% BFL/15% Donegal nep), dyed by Skein Queen, shade River Pebbles, 4-ply sock weight, 100 gram skein (400m/435yds), handwash
  
• Blue Face Leicester, DK worsted spun in Yorkshire, England from 100% British wool, 3 x 50 gram balls
  
• Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK, 55% wool/33% acrylic/12% cashmere, 50 grams/110 metres, 4mm / US 6 needles, 2 x 50 gram balls, happy shades of apple green and strawberry pink for a summer vibe
  
• Louisa Harding Grace Hand Dyed, 2 x 50 grams skeins, 50% silk 50% wool, 109 yds/100m in each, 4 mm needles, with its silk component is a nice option for spring knitting
  
• Regia sock yarn, 75% wool/25%polyamide, machine washable, made in Italy, 3 x 100 gram balls, each balls is enough for a pair of socks.
  

FABRIC

• set of two fabric cuts: spring flowers motif, approx. 110 cm width x 70 cm length, drapery light material, it would seem suitable for a summery sleeveless top + ethno style motif, approx. 110 cm width x 90 cm length, lightweight, suitable for example for a sleeveless shirt or a light informal skirt. You can also see them in the first picture of this post.
  

BOOK

• Waking Up in Iceland by Paul Sullivan, an interesting account by an Englishman who visited Iceland for some months, easy to read, it offers a glimpse of the local culture, music and traditions (choice between new print copy or Kindle edition)
  
• A World without Time: The Forgotten Legacy of Gödel and Einstein by Palle Yourgrau, the book is rooted in a mathematical/logical background, I found it to be an interesting, although not exactly lightweight, account on two 20th-century key figures, who had sharp minds, peculiar characters and shared a singular friendship (new copy)
  
• Arthur: Roman Britain’s Last Champion by Beram Saklatvala, 1967 (vintage copy with some ageing)
  
• Cross Stitch Cards and Keepsakes by Jo Verso, containing personalised designs for birthdays, anniversaries, Easter, Christmas and various occasions (copy from my reference collection, that is used but in good condition)
  
• 200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton (copy from my reference collection in very good condition) + 250 Patterns of Crocheting (a quirky vintage pocket paperback book with b/w illustrations, language is Chinese!)
  

CUTE THING

• sheep stamp Leaping Sheep Border, size ca. 13 x 3 cm, for those who love all things woolly this is a cute new rubber stamp, locally produced by Inca Stamp
  + two little silk pouches (13 x 11 cm)
  
• set of two prints with a natural subject, size 18 x 24 cm each, made on fine paper near Florence, Italy
  

This is my first give-away… hopefully I did things ok. I look forward to reading your stories!

Advertisements

new members in the reference library

While in the UK it’s a long weekend (May bank holiday), the weather decided to turn its back on us. Yesterday was a lovely early summer day and today, when I woke up at dawn, the sky appeared to promise turning blue. I was good and did some reading for my exams. In the meanwhile, the weather forecast announced chances of rain and the sky turned grey.. sob.

So, the planned visit to the Observatory in Greenwich was postponed. Ok, then I can check for some books online, at least. I hopped through various (web)pages and ordered a few things. I also checked in my wish list if any of the items were available at a reduced price and a few were, indeed. Having found some nice books at a bargain price (and mostly in hardcover, easier to consult when knitting) comforted me from the weather hic-up!

Please let me introduce you to the latest members in my reference library:

Celtic Animals Charted Designs by Ina Kliffen: the patterns are originally meant for needlework, but apparently can be adapted to a range of other crafts. I liked those intricate animal pictures and finding a cheap new copy, I jumped at the opportunity.

55 Christmas Balls to Knit by Arne and Carlos: this is already a classic and very popular among Nordic style lovers. It has been mentioned (and knitted) in many blogs, so you may be already familiar with it. If not, it’s a good reference for Christmas decorations (mainly balls, but not only).  Finding a second hand copy for about £5 including postage, meant that it was inevitable to order it (grin).

The Complete Book of Knitting [hardcover] by Barbara Abbey: I had borrowed this book from the local library and found its final section of 200 pattern stitches (with detailed instructions) not to be missed. I found a used copy at a bargain price, so this was a win-win sit. Already found inspiring things to try, especially for my swatching project.

The Complete Book of Traditional Knitting [hardcover] by Rae Compton: its index includes many key words (according to my vocabulary): Shetland and Fair Isle, Britain, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, Sweden, Norway, Central Europe, Northern Lace, Patterns from East and West, Traditional Patterns. Being a relatively old book (early 80s) it’s not one of the many that just came out after the surge of interest in the knitting community… Thus it sounded like a genuine good read. After looking inside the book and finding a(nother) bargain copy, I had to order it.

[disclainer: I’m not earning commissions on the books listed here. I just linked to Amazon because they offer the ‘Look Inside’ preview feature, which can help getting an idea of how the book is like]