Knitted Blankets

The latest update on squares knitted for The Big Knitathon has now reached 64 with a little parcel today from Jenny and her friends all the way from Manchester.   At the weekend I will be parceling them all up and posting them off to The Big Issue foundation.

And this has got to be the ultimate in knitted square blankets - we were honored to have a visit from Dorothy and her Debbie Abrahams mystery blanket.  It is absolutely fantastic and beautifully knitted. I particularly like the flags which make up the border. A family heirloom!!

I have been working on something on a much smaller scale - these crocheted stars for our Christmas window. The white ones are made in DMC Natura cotton and the gold one in Twilley's Goldfingering. The Goldfingering comes in gold, silver, green and red and is perfect for making Christmas decorations or knitting in with a plain yarn for extra sparkle. It could be used on a garment too as it is machine washable.

The Big Knitathon- Knitted

 Saturday was a great success, on the day we had a group of 13 knitters who
completed 24 blanket squares  but we had lots of other
knitters who either called in or stopped me on the street to say they will
be knitting squares for us at home so we should be able to send a big parcel
off the The Big Knitathon office.  We were also able to raise £40 for the
Big Issue foundation from tea, cakes and selling vintage knitting patterns.

Across the country there were a total of 66 events with 1400 people joined
together to knit for a good cause.  The Big Blanket, once sewn together,
will be displayed in various locations around the country to raise more
awareness of the big issue foundation. I will let you know if it is visiting the North East.

Thank you to all who took part - from the knitters...

...to the tea makers - a great day for a worth while cause!

 Happy Knitting x

The Big Knitathon

Join us on Saturday when we will be supporting The Big Issue foundation with their world record attempt to get the most people knitting at one time. We will be knitting 6"x6" squares which will be sent off to the foundation to be sewn together for their second world record attempt - The Worlds largest knitted blanket. Bring your needles and wool from your stash to sit and knit with us for an hour or two and support this worth while cause, getting homeless people off the streets and back into employment.

This was our photo from Today's Hexham Courant where we are on the front page!!

 

The Big Knitathon

Join us on Saturday when we will be supporting The Big Issue foundation with their world record attempt to get the most people knitting at one time. We will be knitting 6"x6" squares which will be sent off to the foundation to be sewn together for their second world record attempt - The Worlds largest knitted blanket. Bring your needles and wool from your stash to sit and knit with us for an hour or two and support this worth while cause, getting homeless people off the streets and back into employment.

New Winter Opening Times

Before I forget to tell you - our new winter opening hours are 9.30am to 4.30pm Tuesday through to Saturday. We have decided that the best place to be on dark evenings is at home knitting so we will be closing a little earlier.

With the cold weather now set in for winter this lovely woolly cardigan knitted by Audrey is going to keep a cute little girl lovely and warm. The pattern UKHKA73 is great for using up scraps from your stash to do the stripes.

The Thursday afternoon knitting group have been knitting for the Fish and Chip babies.  A project inspired by babies born into poverty in Africa, where they have no clothes to take the baby home from hospital and they are sent home wrapped in Newspaper, just like fish and chips!! Well now four lucky babies will have woolly jumpers and hats to keep them warm.

I have been knitting too and have just finished this boy's jumper in Sublime, a blend of cashmere, merino and silk, it is so soft. Sirdar pattern number 602, colour is 002 cuddle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the girls from the crochet class are coming on too.  Somebody's gran is going to get a lovely Christmas present.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Knitted Meerkats

 This well dressed couple popped into the shop last week on their way to a wedding. The Meerkat bride and groom were beautifully knitted by Dorothy.

We have the book Knitted Meerkats by Sue Stratford  in the shop and the ideal yarn for knitting the meerkats is this Sirdar Country Style 4 ply wool blend  - shade number 0404.

  


A new yarn this week is Hayfield Chunky with wool from Sirdar.
Continuing on the theme of the very popular Aran with wool, this chunky wool has 20% wool content and comes in solid shades. This new pattern for a cabled hoody will be lovely in it and at £3.40 for a 100g ball, very good value.






                                                                                             


      And for the crochet addicts among you, this new book from the 20 to Make series is a must.
20 to Make Crochet Granny Squares is full of lovely new ideas for granny squares. At only £4.99 who can resist it?

 

 I am really enjoying our knitting groups and helping people develop their knitting skills. When Julie started the Saturday afternoon Mothers and Daughters knitting group in the shop, she was a beginner. Now she is charging ahead with her homemade Christmas gifts. This lovely bag was knitted very simply in stocking stitch and moss stitch then lined with fabric. A lovely brooch finishes it off and hey presto a unique Christmas present for a very lucky friend
  

Snuggly for Autumn

 Lets have a look at some of the new patterns and wool in the shop this week- all great knits for the autumn season.
This jacket  will keep any little girl cosy. It is knitted in Sirdar snuggly Crofter DK shade 150, pattern number 1253  and fits sizes from birth to 7 years 

And for a little boy we have a lovely cable knit jumper in this lovely teal shade. Right on trend for the season it would look great with a little pair of jeans. Knit in Sirdar Snuggly DK shade 436, pattern number 1405, also fits from birth to 7 years.

And if you don't have any children to knit for  -Spoil yourself with a cushion to snuggle up with. This one I have knit in Corilana natural coloured undyed 100% Aran weight wool from New Zealand. Both wool and patterns in the shop. If you fancy something brighter the same cushion pattern would knit up lovely in all the colours we have in Hayfield bonus Aran and Aran Tweed.

Don't forget if you can't get in to the shop, ring us with your order and we will mail it out to you.

And finally a huge thank you to everyone who supported our open days last weekend when we raised a magnificent £200.63 for Macmillan cancer support.

Happy knitting xx