Candy Skein Yarn//Review



I've been an avid follower of Tami's blog for almost 2 years; I follow her on twitter, I play along with WIP Wednesday and FO Friday so it was only a matter of time that I would have to buy some of her beautiful yarn, Candy Skein. And of course where beautiful hand dyed yarns are, reviews should be provided!!!

 

I knit this little lovely last year, and of course Candy Skein yarn in Yummy DK Merino was the yarn I chose to knit him in. And of course I was hooked - this yarn is so nice to knit with, the colour changes are lovely and not weird (IYKWIM???) - this yarn shouted soft toy at me. And of course it's the perfect yarn for a baby too.

 Forward to spring of this year and I was looking for some special yarn for socks.... for me. I haven't cast them on yet (don't judge - I have too many WIP's already) but this yarn has been cuddled and stroked - and it's gorgeous. The colourway is pumpkin and it's a fingering weight yarn AND Tami very kindly wound it into a cake for me:

Of course when you buy yummy yarn for yourself, you have to buy it for your wife too - so I bought some yarn for Jay using the Bananas Foster colourway - and I've cast on the very pretty Hermione's Everyday Socks (which I shared last week):

I like to photograph variegated yarns in Black and White so I can judge whether the colours work and Candy Skein yarns, well they work!!! The colour are just perfect.

I will definitely be buying more of this yarn in the future, I'm hoping to knit a shawl with some one day - maybe in a slightly thicker weight.
Thanks for stopping by, I'll be posting more regularly soon but things are crazy busy with the October break right now.
V xo

Pretty Green Pom-Pom Hat//Review

So last week I was looking for an instant gratification project - preferably a hat as it's so freezing cold right now!!! So I had a look through Ravelry and found the Anthropologie Inspired Pom-Pom Hat by the lovely Jessica of the Is and Was blog. So I picked up some super chunky yarn and 8mm needles and started!!!

 It took me less than 24 hours to be finished; and so I started on the pom-pom. Now I haven't made a pom-pom in many years so I had to look it up online. Unfortunately my pom-pom had a little accident but thankfully my lovely wife was able to fix it:

This hat was gorgeous to knit up, next time (and there will be a next time) I think I would knit it in the round as I'm not so keen on seaming!! Jessica's instructions for the hat were excellent; I'm so glad I knit this and I encourage you to give this one a go too!!!
I just noticed that I have just 1 more follower to go before I hit 50..... crazy huh?
What have you been doing this weekend?
V xo

Agnes Hat//Review

When the lovely Faye, over at Buttons and Beeswax, asked for people to knit some of her designs, I jumped at the opportunity. I quickly decided on the Agnes Cabled Chunky Bobble Hat!!!

 I admit that I was freaking out when I printed the pattern, I was scared that this pattern was going to be too complicated for me; it took me over a week to actually cast-on. Then I got to the end of the brim and noticed a quite large mistake - therefore I had to frog the whole thing and start again. I was beginning to feel that this hat had something quite major against me.

 However I cast on again, and got cracking - it took me 11 days but I got it finished at the beginning of this week - and I LOVED knitting it; it knit up beautifullly, and although it was complicated, Faye's pattern writing is excellent - I cannot fault her at all. I'm excited to knit my next pattern of hers, and I urge you to go take a look at her patterns over on Ravelry and knit something of hers RIGHT NOW, go on - I know you want to .

 I guess all that's left is to say a huge thank you to Faye for letting me knit one of her gorgeous patterns; I need to decide what I'm doing next.

Lastly I thought I'd share another picture of Miss Holly, I accidently dropped mealworms on the bed -you would have thought it was christmas, she was so excited!!! We love her so much, she's the perfect addition to our family:

I'm excited to see what everyone else has finished this week; so I'm playing along with Tami!!
Have a great weekend, V xo

Knit Now//Review

I have been reading Knit Now magazine since issue 6 and subscribing since issue 7 - and I have to say I was immediately hooked. There are new designers to meet each month and loads content including trends, interviews and tons of gorgeous patterns. Issue 10 has just come out so I've decided to do a wee review:

 When you open the magazine you are automatically introduced to the lovely Kate, who writes her own personal editors letter each month - I love to read this, she always shares a little bit of the magazine with her own personal experience. Kate also does a feature called kate's blog where she shares a little bit about her own life and her yarny experiences from the month - this month she has been learning to crochet (there is a free crochet set with this month's magazine) and talks passionately about tackling patterns - she has certainly put me a little more at ease.

 Each issue of Knit Now has a feature with a known knitter, this month is Arne and Carlos who knit all kinds of cute dolls - a few of their patterns are included in the magazine. Alongside this, in the inspiration section of the magazine, there is a look book section (which this month is festival chic), some mini book reviews and a feature called The Grapevine. After this section we launch straight into the patterns - this month many of the patterns are heavily inspired by festivals, I particularly love Titania's Dream especially for a dreamy summer's day.

The magazine ends with an ask the expert portion, where members of the public write in with a problem and have it solved by the lovely Debbie Tomkies. There is also a few pages of knitting stitches, and basic knitting knowledge. And finally the last page gives a sneak peek into the next issue - I have to say I am excited for issue 11 already.

What magazines do you like to read and why? Share your favourites on your blog!!!
V xo

*all photographs published in this post are copyright of TIM BRADLEY for Practical Publishing