Nessa Wrap [Giveaway] :: Knitting ::

Happy Sunday everyone! And welcome Spring! I was finally able to take pictures of the Nessa wrap since finishing it! I really needed natural light for this shawl, to show off the texture and the amazing colourway of the yarn I used. I may have also needed a bit of time to work out how to take pictures of Nessa. It is really long and wide, and with a lot of detailing, so not necessarily the easiest to capture. But now that Libby has published the pattern, you will be able to find more pictures on Ravelry. 

I did this test knit for Libby - I have been knitting it for the past 2 months, and as those following me on IG know as I kept bombarding them with pictures of Nessa. The longest part was the middle part (the garter stitch bit), I could not get myself motivated to sit down and just knit it. Give me lace panels and I will be happy to finish these in days. In fact, the lace panel was the reason why I wanted to knit Nessa, and they are amazing. Nessa is a wrap that I will most probably wear as a scarf, I like my scarves really long and wide - so this one is perfect for me. 

 Pattern: Nessa by Truly Myrtle Designs

Yarn: Fyberspates Vivacious DK (Tweed Imps) - 
I reviewed Fyberspates in my yarn with attitude series here
Yardage: I used 564m/282g (2 skeins and a bit)

Needles: according to pattern

So for the giveaway... Libby is kindly offering the pattern to one of my readers!

You have 3 chances to enter this giveaway:

1. The giveaway is open only to my followers  - old and new. 

Let me know how you follow my blog in the comment box.

2.Follow me on Facebook (and let me know you did in the comment box)

3. Follow me on Instagram (natmadeinhome) and post the picture of the shawl (or regram my post) 
and come back to leave me a third comment

The giveaway ends Easter Monday at 5pm (UK time). Please, please, please leave me a way to contact you if you are a no-reply blogger. Good luck!

Fidra :: Knitting ::

Happy Tuesday everyone! I am just going to be honest, I had totally forgotten about Fidra until I saw Sonja's one. But I needed to share this - it is an amazing pattern, the perfect beanie hat for skiing and weekends (I prefer wearing Bough when I go into London for work). 

There is not a lot to say - it knits really fast (thank you bulky yarn), but is not a boring knit. The texture and lace work are really stunning I think, and there is a pompom! All my favourite things in one pattern. I knitted it in De Rerum Natura Cyrano (of course ethical as you can read here) - as you have to block it to show the lace work, it did stretch and become just a tiny bit on the big side. So I may change needle sizes next time (I am thinking of a cream/oat version next time). 

Pattern: Fidra by Gundrun Johnston

Yarn: De Rerum Natura Cyrano in Poivre

Needles: As recommended by pattern (I will go for smaller next time - 

just because the fabric stretched after blocking)

Modifications: None

You do need a Fidra in your life - especially for you, the lucky ones who are going skiing at Easter! Also are you glad for the change of backdrop for beanie hat pictures? - no backyard for once! 

As for the winner of the skein of Fyberspates  - lucky no 13 came out of Mr Random, Rachelle. Enjoy!

Frost :: Knitting ::

* Do not forget to enter my current giveaway here for a chance to win a skein of Fyberspates *

Happy Wednesday everyone! Have you ever wondered whether it was worth buying a pattern? I do quite a bit, especially when it comes to buy a beanie hat one. I am always wondering whether I could not make it myself - after all I do knit a LOT of beanie hats. I should probably know by heart the number of stitches to cast on, I certainly know which ribbing I like best (not the one featured), and then it is just a new stitch pattern. 

I bought the Frost pattern for an easy knit on holiday (as you can see probably not so easy as I am closer to the start than the end), and I was wondering whether it would be worth the money I spent. It took a while to be sure, but a few repeats down the line, I can honestly say that I could not have knitted this on my own (still a lot to learn then!). I never guessed the pattern, but love the effect. Unfortunately I have already spotted one mistake in the pattern, so that's a bit of a shame. 

I am taking this one with me to Brussels today - some people love taking sock projects with them, I am clearly more of a beanie hat person myself. 

I am knitting Frost in Ulysse, colourway Genet. 

Linking to Yarn Along today. 

Yarn with Attitude :: Fyberspates ::

Happy Tuesday everyone! When I started searching for ethical yarns I had no idea I would find so many amazing yarns. Literally no idea. And I just do not have enough time to knit with all of them - but rest assure that I do try! And today I am bringing to you a brand I have a massive crush on - Fyberspates. I had seen the name a few times, on IG mostly, but never realised that it was a UK brand (I thought it was Australian, not sure why but here we are). I found it through this shop when I was looking for a DK yarn for knitting Nessa. And I was just amazed by it and the colourway I found (Tweed Imps). 

Fast forward a month, a bit of research about Fyberspates under my belt, I actually met Jeni at the Craft Hobby + Stitch International Show . I was slightly starstruck (sorry Jeni) but managed not to totally lose it, and showed her Nessa in progress. I got in touch with her - to discuss a bit more about her yarn. I knew she was really keen on offering an ethical yarn - I just had no idea to which extent this was. 

When I ask her about her yarn, and attention to worker and animal welfare, I had no idea the extent to which she had considered all aspects for her supply chain. Here was her reply (I could not explain better)...  

'All my commercial yarns are made in Peru, and dyed there as well. In terms of dyeing, I visited the dyeing place, and basically its an enlarged version of what I had at home, its a lovely set up, and the girls who dye the yarn work in a nice environment, with the hand paints they sit around a table and dye yarn and chat, its a really nice ethos. Peru have very strict regulations about dyeing and processing, which means the dyes have to be highly regulated, currently the dyes they use come from Germany, as they are very high quality and non toxic. 

In addition we use Peruvian merino, which is sourced from small scale producers whose lively hood is the sheep, and so they tend to look after them very well, the mill also provide a lot of education to the farmers and offer education programmes for the children, we are also working with them on a new handspun yarn which supports women in rural communities, this provides work and income for them (this yarn is available through Chester Wool co which Fyberspates trades through). We never source yarns from Australia because they use Museling on the sheep, we are guaranteed that this practice does not happen in Peru because of the small scale farming methods. 

And finally… we have switched over to Oxybiodegradeable packaging, and whilst it is an improvement on the previous plastic, its not the absolute perfect packaging, however, I always think of it as a process, it took me a good 3 years of asking for better packaging. If we say yes to what the mill is offering, when they are in talks with their packaging sources, they know that we will pay extra for something eco, its our vote as it were, they know then that if something better comes along, we will most likely switch to it, if we don’t show our vote, then if the mill get offered better and better products, they will just say to the packaging manufacture, 'no one was interested, we offered it to our customers, no one took it up', so for me its a process to improvement if that makes sense.

Amazing, right! Jeni has really taken a holistic view. And of course the yarn knits like a dream, and has a great lustrous sheen to it. I cannot wait to finish Nessa to try another yarn, I have my eye on some Vivacious DK in Pebble Beach or try the Cumulus yarn.

 

And, as she is super nice, Jeni has kindly agreed to give one of my readers a chance to try her yarn. Here is your chance to bag yourself a skein of your choice! So which one will it be? 

Here is how to enter the giveaway (1 entry per person)

1. The giveaway is open only to my followers - old and new (follow me on IG, FB, Bloglovin' ...). 

2.And you need to follow Fyberspates on FB or IG - (you may actually want to follow Jeni as she holds monthly giveaway - in case you don't win this time)

And let me know in the comment box when you have done so with the name of your skein of choice.

The giveaway ends Tuesday 15 March (5pm UK time). Please, please, please leave me a way to contact you if you are a no-reply blogger. Good luck!

You can find other Yarn with Attitude reviews here and here. 

Nearly ready for the slopes :: Knitting ::

Happy Wednesday everyone! I was hoping to show you my finished Fidra - instead you will have to make do with my nearly finished Fidra. I will just have to take pictures of the finished beanie on the slopes - yes we are off skiing, and I cannot wait!

Anyway back to my Fidra - of course I am not the only knitting this beanie hat. There are so many amazing versions out there, including this one that has shown up on my Pinterest homepage many times. I have had a pattern in my library for at least a month  - and then I saw one version knitted in Cyrano - the yarn I intended to use for mine. Before that version I was not sure whether Cyrano would work. I am not sure why, because it is perfect for it. I love this yarn - De Rerum Natura is one of my favourite yarns (and of course it is ethical). The colour is poivre (the same as the one used for Baby MiH's acorn hat - we are now matching!). 

Better get back to the final rows - for one warm beanie hat for the snow. I may sneak in a new hat for Baby MiH too - he has requested a new one. 

Linking to Yarn Along today (I am currently reading Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert - nearly finished too!)

Elam Hat :: Knitting ::

Happy Monday everyone! I am starting this week with a finish! F-I-N-A-L-L-Y. I really needed a finish. I have so many projects started, and was no where to see a finish. So I decided to start a new one just so I could have a finish - and get some motivation to progress others. 

To ensure a finish, I changed nothing, nada, zilch to the pattern. Not even the stitches count. I did not even add a pompom - I know, I am shocked. I may have to add one at a later stage - just because my beanie hats all have a pompom, it is my favourite part of my beanie hats. 

Pattern: Elam hat by Dianna Walla

Yarn: Hand dyed organic merino silk wool, light worsted DK yarn from SixSkeins (Etsy) _I asked Stephanie to hand-dyed this lot for me, this colour was the one I used for Baby MiH's Shale blanket

Needles: according to pattern (DPNs in 3.5mm and 4.5mm)
(Future) modifications: looking at the pictures, I am wondering whether I would not make the brim about fatter. 

This is also my entry for this month's le challenge. The theme was 'round', and the hat was knitted in the round. You can check all the entries here. Next month's challenge is reading!

Also I have realised I have not appeared in a post for a long time... Weird to see myself in pictures. As you can see I am letting my hair grow and I have gone darker - I am sure you are feeling better now you had a hair update!

The start of a shawl...

Happy Friday everyone! Not a lot has happened in the terms of craft this week. I went back to work this week - which surprisingly (ok, totally not surprisingly) is taking time away from knitting and sewing. It is amazing though how quickly I went back into it, and came up with some very good BS in meetings. 

Also I have been really distracted by tidying. I tackled my jewellery collection - so satisfying - and today was notebooks (I tried to gather all of them, but I am not sure I actually managed it).   

On my list for today was to knit - it has not happened - but I was set. I have never knitted with Fyberspates - I was looking for a fingering yarn for a shawl - the yarn had to be ethical of course. I did not want a block colour, but not a crazy variegated either (if that makes sense). And I came across these skeins at Knit with Attitude - and I just knew it was what I was looking for. I just cannot wait to start knitting properly and show you.. soon.

Knitting and Reading (but not at the same time)

Happy Wednesday! And let me introduce you to the softest of knits - my (future) Beaubourg jumper. I am knitting it, as advised by the pattern, with Maxima from Manos del Uruguay (I reviewed this ethical yarn here). Although the knitting is quite easy, I cannot read at the same time. How do you do it? I can knit in the car, knit whilst having a chat, knit whilst watching TV - I just cannot knit and read. But I have been reading. I have been using reading as my time off. I go to bed early at the moment - thank you Baby MiH for my lack of beauty sleep - and turn off my mind with a book. 

So actually I am reading more books as a result. I finished the Children Act by Ian McEwan - it is not necessarily easy reading in terms of the topic covered - a high court judge arbitrating on family affairs - but the prose makes it flow. I usually read books with more drama, it felt like an easy read from that point of view, and it was what I needed. There is substance - clearly a lot of research went into it - and it kept me going. So not a 'cannot-stop-reading' book but a good 'quick' in-between read looking at real contemporary issues. 

I am now reading a Christmas Party by Georgette Heyer which was originally published in 1941 under a different title - the Envious Casca. I have not ready any Georgette Heyer's detectives story. I intended to read it during the Christmas period, but did not manage it. I am enjoying it, Christmas in a big country home in Britain, add some snow and I am there - I am making Christmas (or Downtown Abbey?) last a bit longer. 

I am going back to work next week - so reading is going to happen (and not knitting)! It really helps to wind down and escape (totally necessary during my commute). 

Study of Linen Stitch :: Knitting ::

Happy Thursday everyone! I hope you are all set and ready for Christmas, and if you are not, I am sure it will be fine, now is the time to enjoy this time of the year. 

I am glad I am finally posting about the linen stitch. The idea was to make men some scarves using the linen stitch, yeah right, so you will only see my samples. To be honest, making those samples made me realise how long it takes to knit the linen stitch. It takes forever... and it became clear that making scarves was not going to be just plain hard work. However I love the texture, how it looks woven, and I am really keen to use this stitch in a future project. 

I played around with different colour yarns and patterns to see the effect. It is such a versatile stitch, and really easy to knit - mindless knitting right here. 

Linen stitch pattern

Worked over an even number of stitches. Slip stitches purlwise.
Row 1: *Knit 1, slip 1 with yarn in front; Repeat from * to end. Turn.
Row 2: *Purl 1, slip 1 with yarn in back; Repeat from * to end. Turn.

I made a strippey version, used variegated yarn (works so well for this stitch) and for the last sample, I used some Kidsilk Haze and heavy fingering weight yarn. Unfortunately my sample does really convey the idea I saw on Ravelry, so added the Ravelry picture I saw. 

You could also do a three colour fabric - but then it becomes a bit less mindless. 

Do you like it? It is no wonder it is called fabric stitch, I am sure the sewists will quite enjoy the result. What would use this stitch for? I have still in mind a scarf, but may have to start a few months before the gift is due!

The Way I Blog :: Grace and Favour ::

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you are all having a great weekend! Christmas has totally crept up on me, and it feels like there is no time for anything. I cannot wait for January for life to slow down a bit and being able to enjoy some quiet times. Although I have not blogged as regularly as I would like to lately (mostly due to a lack of finished project), I made plans to be more present in 2016, and I am still trying to find the right balance between crafting, blogging and of course my life. I have also often questioned the way I am/was blogging. And as always when it comes to learning, I ask people I admire to tell me more about their experience. Although I do not quilt as much as I did (I may have done only this pillow this year) it is still an interest of mine, and I follow a lot of quilting blogs. Carla will kindly be sharing 'the way she blogs' today. She quilts, knits, talks about her children and grandchildren - I love how you get to know more about her through her projects. Her article is really instructive, and there are definitely points I will take on board for my own blog, like how short a post could/should be! 
Thanks so much Carla!

Hello everyone! Thanks for inviting me over! I'm really happy to be here and to chat to you all about blogging!

Several years ago I hosted a Moda club in the quilt shop where I work. Pre-cuts were becoming popular so we started a club where I would feature a particular pre-cut and have a sample quilt made. My blog started as a result of that. It was a way of keeping the interest for the club going by providing sneak peeks of what I was working on. Then it grew. I started getting comments from all over the place and realized just how big the blogosphere was!  That was about 5 years ago and although I no longer host the club, my blog remains a big part of my quilting life. I’m unable to post as often as I used to, but I still aim for once a week.

I do like the modern quilts, and I guess I consider myself a more modern quilter rather than the traditional quilter I started out as.  I used to think all my quilts would be hand pieced and hand quilted. Ya right.

I try to take pictures that are clear and well lit.  I don’t have an expensive camera so daylight is my best friend.  I don’t say a lot on my blog posts because I know people are busy and want to stop by for a quick visit and some inspiration.

Carla's amazing piecing arrows tutorial is here

I seem to have too many things on the go these days, but I blog about my finishes, bee blocks, and a little knitting which is another passion.  I was a knitter before I was a quilter.

This past year we had two new baby boys added to our family so my time is spread even thinner.  They are both the cutest little things and I love snuggling with them.  My motivation comes from my family.  We have six grown children and now four grand children.  I am always thinking of what I can make someone next.  My family appreciates all I do and love the hand made items I give them.. Nothing gives me a greater sense of accomplishment than when I see them using what I have made.

 Thanks so much Nat for asking me to be part of this!

Vintage Inspired pincushion | Tutorial |

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend. Birthday celebrations were in full swing at ours - it is Baby MiH's third birthday (today) and it was party (and baking) time (this weekend)! I still managed to get a bit of cross-stitching done, and finished my new vintage inspired pincushion - and write a tutorial for you (if you are looking for quick Christmas presents for your sewing friends)! 

The pincushion was inspired by Libby's one I have seen featured a couple of times on her facebook feed. It looks like hers was made of actual vintage embroidered cloth, which I did not have handy. So I made it 'vintage' by cross-stitching on the fabric and placing it on the side rather than neatly in the middle. I used the lovely ethical fabric and buttons I got in my Offset Warehouse Mystery Sewing Box - I love the fabric I got. 

To make your own pincushion, you will need:

• Some fabric (I used some 'new fabric' but feel free to use some scraps you might have)
• If you fancy adding some embroidery, choose some matching embroidery thread - but it is optional
• Some waste canvas for the embroidery
• Polyester soft toy filling
• Some matching thread to close the pincushion.  
• Make a circle template for your pincushion - I used a vase to make mine. 

1. Place the waste canvas on your fabric. I put it in the middle so that I had enough fabric on either side for the pincushion.

2. Use this method for the waste canvas and cross-stitching. I went a bit free style with mine - so let your creativity flow. The only requirement is that it covers some of the pincushion. 

3. Place your pincushion template on the folded fabric, placing the embroidery side ways (if you are going for a more vintage look)

4. Sew around the template, right sides together - remember to leave an opening to fill the pincushion 

5. Turn your piece right sides out. Finger press the seams open. Then stuff. Use a lot of small bits to stuff your cushion. Push the stuffing up against the inner seams. You want the stuffing to be very full but not too firm. Sew the opening closed.

6. Find the exact center of your pincushion on each side and mark with a pencil or pen. If you are off center, your finished pincushion will have uneven sized sections, so take your time.

Sew a few stitches with your thread to create a firm anchor. 

Create each section by bringing the thread up from the middle, around the outer edge and then inserting the needle back into the center. Give the thread a firm tug to create the pillow effect. It may be difficult to work the needle through the center. I made 8 sections for this pincushion, up to you how many sections you want (4,6,8, more?). 

7. Add your button, I did also add a bit of fabric underneath to hide the middle. 

 And here you have it, a beautiful new pincushion, ready for use within an hour (without the cross-stitching part). 

This is my challenge entry for 'space'.. Because of the space in the middle of my cross-stitching pattern. For better interpretation of this month's theme, and a chance to enter our giveaway, check out the projects here. 

I love seeing your projects using my tutorials, so don't forget to tag me if you make one (on IG, twitter or facebook). 

Christmas frenzy :: Knitting ::

* You can still enter my current knitting pattern giveaway here*

Happy Wednesday everyone! Well, I am knitting non-stop, or it feels that way. I should really be finish projects I have started - including this bowtie scarf (someone's request) - except that I am starting new projects rather than finishing projects. So I am knitting a few projects at the same time, thankfully there all involve garter stitch and the patterns are easy to follow. Still it is hard to choose one to pick up when I get some knitting time!

Also do you find that you have a lot of single sock skeins in your stash, or is it just me? I have many, and was not sure what to do with them. But instagram came to my rescue, and Masgot I had to knit. You need 3 different skeins of sock/fingering yarn! I love the shape of this shawl/scarf, it gives an oversized scarf look but can also be worn as a shawl. It grows width-wise very quickly. I wanted the shawl to be soft around my neck, and decided to use skeins that were a blend of Alpaca and Cashmere. I bought the skeins on Etsy from here and here - both shops are based in the UK. 

I hope I will be able to give it as a present - and not keep it, otherwise I will have to start yet a new project! Also I'd better be getting on with more knitting, if I want a chance to also fit in a beanie hat for Mr MiH's Christmas. 

What are you all knitting? I am linking up to Ginny's today.