Tea for Two?

Recently off the needles is this Fairisle inspired tea cozy. Made using Jamieson's of Shetland DK wool. Pattern available soon...

Work walk knit watch listen read

A busy week... A few lovely hours of sunshine mid week and a walk around the coast path was a welcome change from walks in the rain. This is Loch Torridon with the Highlands in the background.

Earlier in the week we were busy planting a new willow shelter belt on the croft - you can read more about it on the croft blog - here.

On the needles a new Hand Knitted design is nearing completion. It has a Fairisle influence - this is the back view of the knitting. Hopefully the finished item will be revealed soon.

Hand Knitted Things was pleased to be featured recently on the Subway Knits podcast Episode 26 broadcast on February 4th. Maria hosts this podcast from New York and features all things knitting related. There's an interesting segment about Downton Abbey - I had no idea how popular this TV series had become over the Atlantic. Subway Knits can be downloaded with iTunes and the show notes for this episode can be found here.

More knitting news - I'm trying out this Rowan Felted Tweed in Aran weight for some gloves and hats. It's a mix of merino wool, alpaca and viscose and comes in 50g balls, 87m, (95yds). I have three colour ways, a russet brown ( Burnt #722), sage green (Glade #733) and a royal blue (Teal #725).

The mobile library visits this remote part of Scotland every three weeks. On loan this visit is a book by Scottish chef Tom Kitchin. I've book marked a recipe for Almond Shortbread to try over the weekend.

Earlier in the week we managed to sit down and enjoy a DVD I'd wanted to see for some time - The Kings Speech - after all the hype about this film we weren't disappointed.


There is more snow forecast here for tomorrow! Hope you have great weekend!

From Down Under

I was thrilled to be the winner of some hand dyed mohair boucle yarn in a giveaway from Marion's blog Aussie Knitting Threads celebrating Australia day on 26th January. Here are a few of the Aussie stamps on the parcel featuring wildlife (some extinct) and dramatic Australian scenery.

The colourful warm earth tones on some of the stamps give a hint to the the lovely yarn within. Now I just have to decide what to make with it. The mohair is really soft and light so perhaps a scarf...
Also included in my parcel, some merino wool fleece for me to try spinning. It's from the family's sheep farm in NSW. It's a pure white fibre and soft as a fluffy cloud.

Marions take on the basic ear flap hat (a free download PDF pattern by Marisa Gibler on Ravelry) along with the Ready Teddy pattern are among my favourite knit items from Marions blog and added to my ever increasing 'to do list'.

Link to Aussie Knitting Threads.

Sweet Hearts

Calendar from Sam Osborne Graphic Designer

Get your skates on...

...if you'd like to enter the 'Knitted Miniature Village' competition being organised by the Stitch and Craft Show 2012. Many thanks to Shaz from The Sock Garden for letting me know about this link via the Twisted Thread website. Entry forms must be returned to them by 24th February and entries received by 1st March.

Full details click here.

Living Room or Bedroom

A recently completed floor rug was adapted from Hand Knitted Things crochet cushion cover pattern called - Starburst. Opting not to do the colour changes and stay with one shade, a larger hook and chunky yarn made for a more substantial fabric. This cotton rug needed blocking to achieve the shape. I'm not sure now where to put this rug, in the living room, use under the spinning wheel or in the bedroom...

Original Hand Knitted Things Crochet Design

Living room or bedroom rug...

Sun and Moon

The last few days have had a cold and frosty start with skies clear. Have been making the most of this before the rain comes back later this week! The view from the front door yesterday about 8.15am - over to the left the sun rising and over to the right the moon just about to fade.

Shade Card

Shades for Spindrift and double knitting yarn range from Jamiesons of Shetland. After attempting to choose from over 220 shades in this gorgeous range via a computer screen, a shade card was ordered. It's a work of art in itself and well worth seeing the samples to select the colours. They range from rainbow shades though to natural. All grown, dyed and spun in the Shetlands Isles.

Checkerboard Cushion Cover Featured

The Checkerboard Cushion Cover knitting pattern by Hand Knitted Things was featured in this weeks Craftsy news. The pattern is available as a free PDF click here.

New Arrivals

We have some new arrivals on the croft...for more photos see my other blog 'one point one hectares' here.