Last minute top speed knitting

I really shouldn't be taking the time to blog tonight as I'm on a mission. My friend plays for the West Coast Trojans, an American Football team, and we are hoping to go to their match tomorrow afternoon (Scotstoun, 2.30pm, if anyone's interested!) but I have a horrible feeling it'll be cold.

So after finding some very reasonably priced Sirdar Denim yesterday on a jaunt to Hobbycraft, I thought I could get cracking on a big bulky warm blanket for the little one. I was inspired in part by flicking through the new White Company catalogue last week, as we were ordering new towels in the sale. I noted that the White Company handknit their big blankets in blocks - I thought about potentially buying extra wool to make up additional panels so we can use the blanket in future on A's big girl bed when the time comes, but then realised I need a huge amount of chunky wool sitting around like I need a hole in the head!

Anyhoo, here I am knitting up 8-ply yarn in a lovely blend of browns and white, in a huge basketweave pattern. I feel all zeitgeisty now as this lovely cushion just popped up on Etsy's front page. It's by Laurimuks, who is a fellow knitter right here in Scotland, her work is just lovely.

I'll be back shortly with the pattern for the blanket (my very own!) and some photos. I hope you are all having a lovely evening, and weekend :)

Another lovely person with an amazing sale on...

Miss Kapow! How could I not notice your incredibly generous sale over on Folksy at the moment! Now I've had my pick of lovely things (mwah ha ha), everyone else, have at it!


You won't be disappointed :) Not with offbeat and laugh out loud funny cards like these Creepy Christmas numbers... Even Radio 1 was playing that song at teatime the other day, you can't help but sing along.

Some good news and some bad news

Well, I'll get the bad news out of the way first. I wasn't lucky enough to be picked for a Heartsy deal, gaining only 18% of votes from potential buyers (the usual threshold is 28%) but I think it was a pretty valiant effort and I certainly won't be deterred from trying again with a different micro range to test on people. Some sad news, too, Answers on a Postcard zine contributor Titchables (Issue 8, Crafting Spaces, still to be printed!) is closing down her supplies shop on Etsy. Use the code sale40 for a generous additional 40% off her already reasonable prices.





The good news is, I have a fantastic new online stockist over at Scotland-based http://www.ethicsgirls.co.uk/- where the ethos is very much on the reclaimed and recycled...primarily with clothing, but also with gifts, which is where I fit in. Head over there to take a look!

Another Hank purchase

I knew this gorgeous bag reminded me of something when I saw it in the Made by Hank shop...

The view just around the corner from our house as I drive towards the motorway! It's hard to get the full effect here, but with all the bunches of greenery on the landscape I always think of the tough ruffles on my Made By Hank bag.

With all the rain we've had recently, it's looking extra lush and gorgeous, don't you think?

I almost can't believe those blue skies are real, given the bad weather we've had recently (Force 8 gales nearly destroyed our roof!) but I assure you, I really don't have the photoshop skills :)

Now here's something I never knew about

The BBC has picked up this blog on its Open Country page. I'm an avid Radio 4 listener and blogged about one of their programmes which discussed the decline of Fair Isle knitting last summer when I was a pregnant insomniac.

Thanks, Statcounter, for bringing this to my attention - I've had visitors from all over the world since being featured there! Follow the link to find other bloggers talking about Fair Isle knitting and other issues discussed on Radio 4, as well as listen to the original programme.

Happy Birthday to me!

It was my birthday on Tuesday, and I got some great presents, which goes some way to making up for being the ripe old age of 34.

Here's a snapshot of a few of them, one of which was requested (the Kaffe Fassett book, for inspiration to go as offroad as possible with colour combinations!), but the rest were lovely surprises.

There's another big present in my craft room but I haven't done a photo yet because it's still depressingly untidy. I'll get there...

The end of an era!

Well, it certainly feels like a very long time. I've been working on this project every evening since mid-January and I'm dropping off a huge order of sewing today, here's a little sneak peek as to what it might be. I'll reveal all in a couple of weeks.

Over the border in Fife

I live about three miles away from the border of central Scotland with the Kingdom of Fife, which is home to a new Etsy shop I discovered this week, Ziggy and Friends. Jay, the artist behind the shop, creates the loveliest illustrations, ideal for a nursery or just for fun.

Jay was kind enough to feature me in a treasury on Etsy this week, go and have a look by clicking this link. While you're there, all you need to do is click through to order your own set of upcycled mini tags... market season is coming!

A long weekend at Craiglush

Every year around Thanksgiving time, I get away into the Scottish countryside for a long weekend together with my closest group of friends. This year we stayed in a lovely house with floor to ceiling windows over both floors, right on the banks of Craiglush Loch, near Dunkeld. For those of you who know your Shakespeare, we were right near Birnam Wood.

It was lovely to involve Amelia in our little annual tradition, and we managed to go the whole weekend without keeping everyone awake at night!

This is the view from our bedroom terrace every evening at sundown...

If anyone is interested in spending a weekend or a week at this lovely private location, drop me an email and I'll put you in touch with the friendly owner.

With all the extra hands available, I'm also delighted to report that I managed a little bit of knitting - it's a secret Christmas present project that I'll share with you all soon.

Glasgow Craft Mafia at Inver Cottage this weekend!

Read all about it over on the Glasgow Craft Mafia blog. It's a great place to visit - Inver Cottage is in a beautiful location and makes the best food ever - and getting a chance to do some early handmade Christmas shopping is a fantastic bonus!

Supermercado

I was so excited to go to the launch of Supermercado yesterday, bundling Amelia into the car in the hopes of catching up with some familiar faces and getting a head start on the Christmas shopping, too. Sadly it wasn't to be, and turned into a bit of a catalogue of disasters.

We set off on our girly shopping trip and headed for Glasgow's East End - I wanted to nip into our flat, and also had to visit a shopping centre to pick up a specific thing I'd meant to get on Tuesday and totally forgot. We checked the weather forecast and the football schedule before setting off at noon - kick off was 3pm and and it was supposed to be dry. The plan was - flat, shopping centre, park up at Glasgow Green and hit the Barras.

Halfway towards Glasgow, the rain started to descend by the bucket load, and I decided it was going to be too much of a pain to nip and in out of the flat - a five minute job had turned into a twenty minute pushchair/car seat rigmarole. So we headed straight for the shopping centre, did what we needed to and hit the road again. We eventually got parked up at the partially flooded Glasgow Green and right on cue, the rain started to let up a bit and I grabbed the baby backpack to save putting up the pushchair again. And then Amelia did a major technicolour yawn all over her clothes. There was no way we could continue shopping, and I learned a valuable lesson about keeping a spare change of clothes in the car for in future.

I briefly toyed with the idea of heading back to the shopping centre to pick up a spare outfit for Amelia, but it was five to three at this point, so instead of having a lovely walk and shop while the traffic cleared away, we ended up heading in the opposite direction, back onto the motorway and decided to make the trip to Supermercado another day. Possibly with back up in the form of Daddy, as our former local, West, is only across the way.

For more information on Supermercado, check out the Made in the Shade website, or visit the Barras!

All about zines

And the July issue of Answers on a Postcard is here - pick up your copy in my Etsy shop quick sticks!

If you've ever wanted to put together your own zine, but weren't sure where to start, there's a great opportunity to learn the basics and get some pointers on where to find out more taking place in Glasgow this week. Fellow Glasgow Craft Mafia member, and long-time zine maker and collector, Marceline Smith, will be on hand this Sunday to speak about all things ziney. Alongside Jen Collins of Hello Jenuine, at the new-ish Glasgow crafts and art outlet Welcome Home, the zine workshop will take place this coming Sunday, from 2-4pm.

I'm so gutted that I'm too enormous with child to make it along, and hope that Marceline and Jen might consider re-running the session in future. I understand that a zine to accompany the day is being produced as I type, which you should be able to find alongside issues of Answers on a Postcard in the Asking for Trouble Shop.

Of course the quickest way to get involved in making a zine is to join in the with the Answers on a Postcard project. There are four issues remaining, and it's not too late to answer one or more questions in order to take part. All you have to do is drop me an email at katy [at] girlindustries [dot] com - I've skipped the punctuation here to avoid receiving lots of spam email automatically generated by machines - but just chuck an @ and a . in there to get your mail to the right place. Or leave a comment here and I'll be in touch!

The dying art of Fair Isle

Photo courtesy of selfsufficientish.com

It's funny what you can find out when you get up VERY early in the morning. Like today, when I caught a fascinating documentary about Fair Isle this morning, on Radio 4.

Fair Isle knitting, as a technique, originated in and has been important to the economy of the Northern Isles for generations. Its links with Shetland wool production, and the skill level involved, mean that its status has long been protected so that the tradition can continue. The documentary I heard, which you can listen to via this link, was prompted by the news that knitting will no longer be taught in local schools.

An interesting argument that was put forward by one of the Fair Isle knitters was that garments produced in this specialised and traditional way should be granted Fair Trade protection. To produce a jumper at around minimum wage levels would incur a price tag of around £700. This provoked a discussion about the challenge of educating the wider public on the pricing of traditional skills, whether knitting should be left to re-emerge simply as a hobby or gifting skill, or whether artisans should expect to have to take another type of part time work in order to subsidise the production of traditional garments. These are things I think about all the time when I'm knitting, so I was delighted to hear it voiced on national radio. It's only a shame that it was discussed shortly after 6am, when anyone with a choice in the matter is still catching up on sleep.

Find me tomorrow at Benmore Botanic Garden

Photo by Trekearth.com

Here’s a quick reminder that I’ll be at the craft fair in the lovely surroundings of the Argyll peninsula this Sunday afternoon. It really is a lovely part of the countryside, and frankly, they had me at homemade preserves. It sounds like a wonderful day out, so I’m glad to be sharing a stall with Asking For Trouble so we each get a chance to explore the grounds, and the rest of the stalls on offer.

Here are all the details:

Benmore Open Day & Craft Fair
Benmore Botanic Garden
Free entry to Garden all day, regular trips aboard the Benmore Explorer, guided tours of the garden including the restored Benmore Fernery, Chainsaw Carving and a marquee shall host Tombola, Preserves, Cake & Candy Stall and our annual Craft Fair.

Date: 9 May 2010
Time: 12:00-17:00

More info: http://www.gardens-of-argyll.co.uk/events/benmore-open-day-craft-fair

p.s. if like me, you are scared of driving onto the ferry across to Dunoon, you can also go overland around the peninsula, which takes roughly the same amount of time, but maybe a little more gas and no pesky ferry fare to worry about. Don’t forget to call in at the highly-recommended Inver Cottage on your way home for a delicious and locally-sourced dinner.

Market day

Today's the day - remember the clocks have gone forward!



If you forget, never fear, there's another Mafia event tomorrow - called Trade Secrets. Mafia members and local crafters alike will be getting together at Creation Studios to swap skills, tricks of the trade, and have a good old chinwag in this creative hotspot right in the heart of Glasgow. It's at 16 Trongate, just along from the old clock tower. It all kicks off at 7pm, and promises to be a fantastic evening! Click here for a taster of some of the kind of discussions we're hoping to have.

Markets are coming!

I won't be selling this weekend, but I will be popping in and out. There are lots of new sellers and some old favourites (see www.glasgowcraftmafia.com tomorrow for a full rundown), and lots and lots of lovely things to spoil your valentine with.

Hope to see you there!

Off to market today!

Come and meet me today at Inver Cottage at my last Glasgow Craft Mafia handmade haven of the year!

We'll be there from 12 until 5 and we'd love to see you.

I'll be closing the shop today while I'm away as I've taken my Christmas goodies with me, so please bear with me until around 7pm this evening (that's 2pm EST) and I'll get the shop updated. Then normal service will be resumed.

Hope you are having a fun weekend so far!

Festive shopping

Would it disgust you to know I've completed my Christmas shopping? Admittedly, most of it happened completely by accident due to browsing at last month's Handmade Haven. But! I have picked up some fantastic things from Sarey Poppins.

Without giving the game away, look at this perfect idea for a Christmas pressie...

I even picked up a top tip, if you pop one of my lavender sachets inside, your bedding smells all dreamy and relaxing as it heats next to your hot water bottle.

And how about an unique and original little something from embroidery genius Angharad Jefferson?

I know a telly addict who'd love one of these...

I was asked to make a Christmas stocking for a little one I know, but thought that Rikrak has it all under control in her shop.

Wouldn't you love to wake up with one of these hanging on the mantelpiece...

You can find the perfect gift wrapping embellishments in my etsy and folksy shops, and watch this space for details of how to make your own! Or pick some up in person from the Girl Industries stall at the Dennistoun Craft Fair on Saturday 28th November, or at Inver Cottage with the Glasgow Craft Mafia on Saturday 5th December.

By popular request

After a bit of sewing, a whole lot of knitting and a little bit of driving, I can proudly announce that these adorable baby jumpers are now available at the Rachael Albert boutique at DeCourcey's in the West End of Glasgow. I'll also have them with me when I hit up Dennistoun Craft Fair on Saturday 28th November, and Inver Cottage on 5th December.

Most of the jumpers are made out of mum-friendly machine washable cotton and cotton blends - some with 100% organic cotton, and some even have a little bit of silk mixed in, too.

However... if there is one you absolutely feel you must have right now, please sign up for and log into Etsy, send me a message using the conversation feature, and I will list one just for you as a custom order for the bargain price of $25, including shipping to the UK.

From the left to the right, they are in sizes 0-3 months, 3-6 months and 6-9 months. All of them are limited editions, which mean that these are the only ones in existence, so when they are gone, they're gone!

I need your help

A few months ago I was contacted with a heads up that my coffee kilts were slated to be featured in the November issue of the US version of Country Living magazine, as part of a wider feature on tartan.

I've tried all our bookstores and international newsagents here in Glasgow and I can't find a copy for my scrapbook. So if you are reading this in the US and are a subscriber to the magazine, I would be so hugely grateful for a scanned copy of any mention of my products.

If you could drop me an email to katy [at] girlindustries [dot] com that would be really very sweet indeed. Or leave a comment here to let me know if I'm definitely in. I didn't make it to the online verison of the article (here) and the suspense is really quite something!