Tuesday 10 December 2013

Christmas Ideas Part III - Sparkly Socks!

Knitwits Yarns knitwitspenzance.co.uk

Just in time for Christmas we have some fabulous sparkly sock yarn from Opal - who can resist?! The colours are inspired by the artist Hundertwasser so they are gorgeous and the sparkle just makes everything so lovely and festive!  Here they are:












































































































Now the only problem is, which colour first?!

Saturday 30 November 2013

Got Milk?

Knitwits Yarns knitwitspenzance.co.uk

Those of you who have been reading this for a while may remember that, back in July 2011, we were lucky enough to be invited to the wedding of some good friends of ours:














It was a glorious and very happy day and, as Stephen is a dairy farmer, there was something of a cow theme going on:


















Roll on 2.5 years and, as is the way of these things (if you're lucky), a small addition to the family has now arrived - baby Henry.  So, what do you give a baby of dairy farmers?  A blanket with cows on it, of course!:


















I knitted the blanket back in the summer and then waited for his arrival before crocheting on a suitable coloured edging and swiss darning his initials.














Welcome to the world wee Henry - you're a very lucky boy to have a set of truly lovely parents.

(We'll have to open a book on whether his first word will be "tractor" or "cow"!!)


Wednesday 20 November 2013

Christmas Ideas Part II

Knitwits Yarns knitwitspenzance.co.uk

For those of you wondering about the title, Christmas Ideas Part I was our mugs:


















Christmas ideas Part II are hats; specifically my Furetto Edged Hat:


















This hat uses one ball of Life Chunky and one ball of Adriafil Furetto - however, in fact, it only uses half a ball of the Life Chunky so with an extra ball of Furetto you can knit two hats!!

We had a Stylecraft delivery yesterday so now have more colours of the chunky so - as well as the combination shown (Life Chunky "Crocus" teamed with Furetto shade 71) you can also team:

Life Chunky "Olive":











with Furetto green (shade 75):














Life Chunky "Oatmeal":











with Furetto beige (shade 77):














and Life Chunky "Black":











with Furetto black (shade 78):














Two balls of Furetto and one ball of Life Chunky is just £15.33 - which, for 2 hand knitted, fur edged, warm and cosy hats, is a bargain if ever I heard of one!

What's more - the pattern is free when you buy the Furetto yarn!!

It's 5 weeks today - you have been warned!!

Friday 15 November 2013

"Keep Calm and Carry On Knitting" Mugs Back In Stock!!

Knitwits Yarns knitwitspenzance.co.uk

I'm really not one for doing anything Christmassy until December and I certainly don't put any decorations up until Christmas Lights Switch on in Penzance (30th November in case you're in the area) but, on the other hand, like most people I have started putting odd things away as and when I see them.

This year Tom will be in New Zealand for a hot and sunny Yuletide so I'm very conscious of last posting dates for him (although we have managed to find a local supermarket in Christchurch which will deliver gifts of food and alcohol to him - which, let's face it - is what he'll most appreciate!).

If, like me, you are gathering ideas and frantically knitting gifts then we have a few ideas here at Knit Wits to help inspire you.  For knitters in your life (and if you are a knitter and would like one of these then do send the link to someone near and dear to you!) our Keep Calm and Carry on Knitting Mugs are firm favourites:


















We order these locally and there was a delay with our latest order but they are now back in stock in good time - hoorah!  Still only £6.99 + P&P these make a perfect stocking filler or present for a knitting tea (or coffee) drinker!

Here in the shop the absolute number one favourite present being knitted is a cowl made from Debbie Bliss Angel Prints - balls are literally flying out to be knitted into these quick and easy cowls - a really simple knit (5mm circular needles and 100 sts) and just one ball - perfect for presents and a fantastic range of colours: (also available in plain colours for those who don't want the stripes)


















Top tip: make sure you cast on - and off - LOOSELY!

Next week - more ideas for quick, warm and cosy presents - only 5.5 weeks to go!!

Friday 18 October 2013

Debbie Bliss Milano

Knitwits Yarns knitwitspenzance.co.uk

We have been holding back from launching this fabulous new yarn from Debbie Bliss until we had all the colours in stock.  Deliveries have been haphazard - to say the least - but it is all now in stock, on display in the shop and online - hoorah!

Milano is an Aran weight yarn with a slightly tweedy, textured feel which knits into a firm fabric - perfect for structured garments and jackets and coats.  Due to the vagaries of the deliveries I have had time to knit a jacket and we were also given a sample garment so we've got two samples in two different colours to help customers with their choice of garment and colour!

There are 12 colours:









Here is a slightly more detailed picture of one of the colours so you can see the nubbly tweedy bits:














There is one pattern book:



















and there are also 5 patterns in Debbie's latest magazine (Fall/Winter 2013):



















so I have inputted all the patterns from the book and the magazine onto the site to help you choose!

Our sample garment from the book was the hour glass sweater:


















in jade green:















Here I am wearing it:



















but the jacket I knitted was the gorgeous Peplum Jacket on the front of the magazine:



















It's a really lovely fitted jacket and is very flattering to wear!  The pattern was well written and very easy to follow and the yarn softened and relaxed noticeably after blocking.  This is definitely going to be a firm favourite over the winter and it's incredibly warm as well, which is a bonus!

At £6.95 Milano is definitely not a cheap yarn to buy but you know what they say - you should knit with the most expensive yarn you can afford!  This is a lovely yarn to knit with and it produces a firm, textured fabric which feels very classy indeed and is a joy to wear - a great indulgence over the coming wet, cold, dreary months!

Tuesday 15 October 2013

Guy's University Blanket

Knitwits Yarns knitwitspenzance.co.uk

Those of you who have been reading this for a while may remember the day I sorted my stash a couple of years ago:
















The first thing I knitted from it was a "Stashbusting Jacket", which - much as I love it - barely touched the surface of the problem:






























A bigger project was called for - so I started to crochet (my first ever crochet project) a blanket for our double bed - here with the lovely Deidre, who is sadly no longer with us:


















and here a couple of months later on our bed:


















The bedspread is now even bigger than this, which is a clear indicator that a) I need to take more photographs of it and b) I need to finish it!

Whilst this massive project did touch the sides of the stash it only really used up the whole (or nearly whole balls).  The crochet pattern is two rows of each colour (there and back) so large(ish) quantities of each colour are required.  This left lots of small balls, some too small for this project and others the left overs from this project.  Clearly another bigish project was required.

I've had Knit Wits for over 8 years now and I know that most students get cold at some point at University and, from what I've seen, those with mothers who knit end up asking for a knitted blanket to warm them as they finish their dissertations through the wee small hours.  And thus, the stash problem and the blanket problem were resolved simultaneously.  I give you, Guy's University Blanket:


















I was conscious that it couldn't be too pink (and it transpires that I have quite a lot of pink in my stash!).  As you can see, each strip was knitted on the diagonal (up to 40 stitches) then straight and the strips were sewn together to create a zig zag effect.

Eric the Three Legged Cat seems to approve (and Guy is smiling so I take that to be approval!):














I knitted most of it whilst he was away so it was a big surprise:


















Having sewn it all together, I crocheted an edge:














It is now on his bed at Uni and, apparently, some of the girls have commented on it - though what on earth girls are doing in his room I have no idea .....

The stash is now smaller but there's still enough for Tom's blanket next year - watch this space .....

Monday 14 October 2013

Knitted Cornish Pasty

Knitwits Yarns knitwitspenzance.co.uk

This is a message for Caroline - who emailed the shop about our pattern for knitted Cornish pasties, which she'd seen on this blog - but whose email address is incorrect so I can't reply!!  The pattern came from "Knitted Fast Food" by "Susie Johns", which is readily available on Amazon.

That's all for now, folks.  Tomorrow - all being well - some knitting!!

Thursday 10 October 2013

We've Been Away!! - Part 2! - Snowdonia

Knitwits Yarns knitwitspenzance.co.uk

So - after 3 wonderful days in Chester, in which we did a remarkable amount of shopping for people who don't really shop (no - the irony that we own a shop has not passed us by) we headed to the hills to do what we really do love to do.

Knowing that we wouldn't have internet in the depths of Snowdonia where we were staying we checked the weather in advance and, lo, the best day was our first day so we were up bright and early and heading off to climb Snowdon.  When I mentioned to a friend recently that we were going to Snowdonia because I'd never climbed Snowdon her response was, "who has"?!  Well, she may have a point but - given that I spent a lot of my childhood in the Lake District so have covered Helvellyn and Scafell Pike many times, I've tramped many of the glorious paths of New Zealand and have even trekked to Everest Base Camp - Snowdon is a major hole in my list of achievements.

Snowdon was interesting.  We started up the Miner's Track - the beginning of which could have been a walk in a National Trust park - tarmac and gravel anyone?:


















































and then, as we got higher, it turned into one giant slate and rock staircase.  I guess it's the shear number of visitors that make this a necessity but, good lord, it's hard to walk on and very hard on the knees:














As you can see, there were also lots of people up there - which is something I'm definitely not used to.  The summit kept appearing and then disappearing into the cloud (you can just about make out the people on the top and one person walking along the ridge - which is wider than it looks!):





























but the views were glorious and worth the effort:














In this photo you can make out or path wiggling up:














At the top, of course, you meet the railway line (!) - which wasn't running any trains that day - probably a good thing, there were enough of us up there without a train as well!:














It was also incredibly windy so here I am struggling on all fours up to the trig point which marks the very top:




























On the way down my favourite, lovely walking boots gave up the ghost when the sole started coming away from the boot which made the whole process slightly hairier than was strictly necessary:


















but I've had them for 20 years and they've done a good few miles so I can't really complain.  We stuck them together with strong glue so hopefully I'll still be able to do small, dry walks with them - I also bought some lovely new Berghaus boots but I haven't told the old ones in case they get upset!

The rest of the week passed with steam trains, smaller walks and two trips to Anglesey - here are the highlights:
 























































































The cottage with the big picture windows and wicker chairs is ours:


















The Aberglaslyn Pass in the wet and with fallen leaves is not to be recommended(!) - slightly hairy in places!:





























And, finally, who knew that Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is in Anglesey - we didn't - so we went there: