Invitation to Knit

I would like to invite you and all of your family & friends to come and knit with us from knitshop.co.uk for the World Wide Knit in Public Day. We will be knitting at the Manor House Park in Lee Green on Saturday 11th June from 1pm...... Bring your knitting and enjoy a nice cup of coffee or tea and cake.

Details about the event:
Date: 11 June 2011
Time: from 1pm
Location: Manor House Park near Pistachios Cafe

What do I need: if the weather is nice we will be in the green of the park - bring a blanket or chair..... drinks or picnic
Weather: the event will happen whatever the weather, if it rains we will be at the Pistachios Cafe
Refreshments: you can bring your own drinks or picnic, refreshments are available at the local cafe
Children: are very welcome, we are next to the playground

Hosted by knitshop.co.uk
knitshop.co.uk will sponsor magazines, patterns, needles and yarns for those in need!

Here are some pictures from last years WWKiP Day:

 Julieta (& Ilia) & Marcia at Manor House Park

Teaching Knitting at the Pistachios Cafe

I'm looking forward to see you at the park and please can we have beautiful sunshine .....!?
Let me know if you can make it - everyone is welcome.
Julieta @knitshop.co.uk


Links to this post: 
knitshop.co.uk
Manor House Park
Lee Green - Manor House Park - Google Maps
World Wide Knit in Public Day

Summer Sizzlers

As the sunshine and warm weather continues to surprise us, knitshop.co.uk has been stocking up on summer yarns for our lightweight knits and crochets.

We've just recently received stock of a 4ply 100% mercerised cotton that has been dazzling in the sun rays at the knitshop.co.uk. The stunning sheen of the mercerised cotton has been almost blinding passers by and calling people into the shop to pick up a selection of colours.

As many keen knitters know mercerised cottons are popular due to their finish and lustre but also for it's strength and how successfully it takes dyes. Mercersied cottons in particular come in fabulous ranges of colours from primary colours to more unusual colours that can really help make knitting and crochet projects more personal and bespoke.

Currently the knitshop.co.uk are offering this classic and traditional mercerised cotton, in-store and online, in inspiring colours including girly favourites, fushia, light lilac, light pink and ice blue. A great combination! More exotic colours up for grabs includes a silver mercerised cotton and a beautiful oyster colour. Also available are some muted naturals such as green, yellow, brown, orange, purple and royal blue – gorgeous.

A total of fifteen colours are currently available and we are soon receiving even more colours! The 4ply mercerised cottons come in 50gram balls and can be machine washed at 40 degrees, however a wool wash is recommended. The knitshop.co.uk recommend 2.5-3 mm needles (shop here for needles) for the best tension and textile finish.

This particular 4ply mercerised cotton has caught the eye of many knitters including Meg from the Knit Magazine, who has worked her knitting magic with our cotton and designed a pattern for a Lily Jacket. Our silver, purple and light lilac 4ply mercerised cotton was perfect for Meg to sample her latest pattern, the lustre of the cotton is perfect for this jacket and in particular the silver really is sublime.

Meg's pattern is available to purchase through the Knit Magazine, and knitshop.co.uk is excited to announce that Meg will be designing patterns exclusive for the knitshop.co.uk. So be sure to keep an eye on our site for more information about these forth coming patterns.

The 4ply mercerised cotton was also used in Susan Crawfords' vintage pattern featured in her latest coffee table knitting pattern book 'A Stitch in Time II'. Click here for more information about Crawfords' vintage pattern book and to pre-order your copy through the knitshop.co.uk.

If you feel inspired to incorporate some mercerised cottons in your projects then take a look at some of our patterns available for this Spring Summer! Julieta Brandao in particular recommends the cotton for vintage knit and crochet projects. Julieta recently achieved some knitted fingerless gloves using a lacy knit technique that really brought out the qualities of this yarn. Watch out for a free pattern, using the cotton 4ply, to be published on knitshop.co.uk's pattern page very soon.

Here are some comments from knitshop.co.uk customers who have already received their yarns;

“I just love working with the cotton, the colours are very fresh and the quality is absolutely fantastic!”

"I am in the process of knitting a shawl with the purple cotton, I love the handle of this yarn. I have recommended you to my crochet group. Once again , many thanks"

"I got the yarns today. What great colours!"

Links to this post: 
Cotton 4ply mercerised
Shop - 326 Lee High Road, Lee Green
Lily Jacket on Ravelry
Knit Magazine
Knitting Pattern
Step right up for A Stitch In Time
Pre-order A Stitch In Time 2
Julieta Brandao
Fingerless Gloves / Wrist warmer

Step right up for A Stitch In Time

The knitshop.co.uk team are proud to announce that A Stitch in Time Volume 2 will be published end of August 2011. After the success of Susan Crawford and Jane Waller's vintage knitting patterns, we are eagerly anticipating the second volume filled with more vintage knitting patterns from the 1930's to the end of the 1950's.

A Stitch in Time 2 will feature 75 new unique knit patterns of vintage pieces including tops, skirts and accessories. The book features authentic styling and beautiful photography making this a great coffee table book. Excitingly, several of the patterns have used knitshop.co.uk yarns, so we can't wait to see the book ourselves!

A Stitch In Time 2 - knitshop.co.uk Mulberry Silk Yarn

As we are so excited about the release of the second volume, knitshop.co.uk are offering their readers a fantastic opportunity to pre-order their copy of A Stitch in Time Volume 2.

As part of your pre-order, you will receive a hard-back copy of A Stitch in Time as soon as it is released and it will be lovingly signed by Susan Crawford herself, making a wonderful gift or treat for a knitting lover. A printable gift certificate is available with every order so you can present this as a gift in advance of the release date.

Alongside this you will receive a sample skein of yarns from knitshop.co.uk used in the book. This includes a gorgeous Mulberry Silk, Cotton 4ply mercerised and Wool Yarn Tundra . Plenty to get you started on some amazing projects.

knitshop.co.uk will additionally offer with all pre-orders of the book a 15% discount off their Mulberry Silk collections and Cotton 4ply mercerised collections. This is an amazing opportunity to complete a beautiful vintage knit pattern featured in the book.

And if this is not enough to get you off your feet, into action and pre-ordering your copy, you will also receive a stylish project bag to encourage you to get organised and get cracking on your projects. You will also receive a pattern from the book, ahead of everyone else, at the beginning of May, as a preview of the pattern book.

A Stitch in Time £30 + P&P

To pre-order your copy of A Stitch in Time volume 2 please click here

If you have not already got your copy of A Stitch in Time Volume 1 click here

Links to this post:
Susan Crawford
pre-order A Stich In Time Vol 2
get A Stitch In Time Vol 1
Sample skeins
Mulberry Silk Yarn
Cotton 4ply Yarn
Wool Yarn Tundra
knitshop.co.uk

Cotton Plied Wool Yarn

The Cotton plied wool yarn is a fantastic yarn for the spring and summer season, consistent of both, cotton and wool it is ideal for the mild but cool days. This gorgeous and soft yarn knits up very evenly and gives a great texture when worked in a pattern or lace stitch. It is very versatile - we have used it for baby and toddler knits as well as adult garments and accessories. Julieta is currently working on 2 baby pattern for this yarn, which will be published on the knitshop.co.uk website in May / June 2011. 

Here are the details of this yarn:

60% cotton, 40% wool
fine DK yarn
100g balls
225m / 100g
recommended hand wash 30c
needle size: 3 – 4mm
currently available in 8 colours
Tension: 23sts x 30r stocking stitch on 3mm needles







The cotton plied wool yarn has become famous and was seen in two yarn reviews recently. 

Ingrid has knitted up two swatches and posted the yarn review and pictures on her blog. "....try out a pattern...It is called ‘asparagus stitch’, which is worth knitting for the name alone!...."

The yarn was also reviewed in the latest Knitting Magazine by Sue Culligan, June 2011 issue 90. The magazine is available to purchase online at a price of £4.99.


Sue says "This cotton and wool blend is a great yarn for all seasons. It feels like a soft cotton but also has a warmth from the wool element and is perfect for sensitive skins and baby garments. It knits up with lovely clear stitch definition, good elasticity and a soft sheen. The tension comes out at 24 sts to 10cm using 4mm needles, which gives a firm and even knit that is light to handle and wear. ...." Knitting Magazine, issue 90

Links to this blog: 
Julieta's knitting on the needles
Ingrid's Yarn review
Knitting Magazine
Cotton plied wool yarn

Feel your heart beat!

Eurovision Song Contest Duesseldorf 2011, May 10, 12 & 14

For the 55th time European countries are preparing for the Eurovision Song Contest to perform their big songs. 43 countries are rehearsing with excitment for the big days in Duesseldorf. Only 19 semi finalist have porformed today, further 19 semi finalist will perform on Thursday. Only 10 semi finalists of each day will go through to the GRAND FINAL on Saturday and perform to the whole of Europe. All participating countries will try and impress the voters with their songs and exciting costumes. Try and read those messages that have been hidden by artists and producers, while taking to the stage for just a few minutes.

THE BIG FIVE and therefore automatically in the final are
Italy, with Madness Of Love porformed by Raphael Gualazzi, has not participated in the Eurovision Song Contest since 1997, a jazzy return after 13 years. A Corsican sunrise for french artist Amaury Vassili with his classical Sognu, sung in the Corsican language. The spanish with their entertaining Que Me Quiten Lo Bailao - They Can't Take The Fun Away From Me sung by Lucía Pérez. The host Germany with Lena and Taken By A Stranger, will last years winner be able to defend her title? And last but not least the United Kingdom with Blue and I Can.


But there is something that's changed, a Jury Final will be held on May 13th. This means professional juries in all respective countries will vote as well. Each jury in each country then gives 12 points to the most popular entry, 10 points to the second most popular, then 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points. The televoting results and the jury results are then merged per country and each result counts for 50%.


The host city Duesseldorf was choosen after a long selection process. Located close to the Dutch and Belgian border Duesseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned with fashion and trade fairs. It's home to some 600.000 inhabitants and famous for the Rhenish carnival celebrations.

Who will go through to the final..... Who is your favourite.... And who will take home the Eurovision Song Contest 2011...?

And if you are a big fan, there is even a Ravelry group The Eurovision Song Contest with lots of information, discussions about lyrics and thoughts about much more. And now over to you, enjoy your knitting with a great pattern while watching the Eurovision. Good luck to all countries, may the best song win!



Links to this post:
Feel your heart beat! Eurovision Song Contest Duesseldorf 2011
knitshop.co.uk Pattern Section
Workshops at knitshop.co.uk
Ravelry Group The Eurovision Song Contest

Knittng on the go....

Knitting on the go I literally mean it the way it sounds.... I have been knitting in the parks in Lee Green and Kent, what a beautiful sunshine! Children are out on the playground licking ice cream and mummies get time to knit a nice cardigan or bolero for the cool spring evenings.

The knitting on my needles...
I'm knitting the gorgeous Cotton DK yarn on 3.5mm circular needles in a lovely pink colour with violetred edging. This will be a bolero pattern age 7-8 years once it is finished, watch the space for more information on the pattern. Remember the review about the Cotton DK yarn just a few weeks ago... The yarn knits up very evenly and drapes well in garments and accessories, I just love using it. Although I tend to use smaller needles than recommended, considering this is classified as a DK - aran weight yarn. The yarn is still fairly new to the shop, we only got it towards the end of last summer but I seem to be coming back to it for nice spring and summer knits, I have used it for several projects over the year. 

My second project on the go is a boys cardigan using Cotton plied wool yarn. I have used a lovely neutral colour, the cream white for this little garment and it's worked on 3.25mm needles. The yarn knits up very evenly, it is ideal for textured or plain knitting. It is available in single and multi colours. Ingrid did a great review about this yarn on her blog back in April, she says: "The yarn drapes beautifully and the combination of wool and cotton..." click here to read more. Again this seems to be a yarn I have used several times over the last year for cardigans and baby clothes.

Last but not least I'm working on a Girls Princess Pouch. For this project I'm using 4ply cotton yarn and 2.25mm double pointed needles. OMG this needles are soooooo fine...! And I did already break one of my 2.25mm bamboo's while working with this amazing fine yarn. We do recommend 2.5 - 3mm for this yarn, but because I'm knitting fairly loose I'm using the 2.25mm needles. This has also been used for A Stitch In Time Vol 2 and I will post a review on this yarn very shortly.

All three project will be available as pattern to download for free or to purchase at the knitshop.co.uk website. I will post a link to the pattern and photos about the projects once they are finished. 

Something to read for the Crocheters amongst us - I'm mostly talking about knitting as this is the main craft I do, although I did crochet all three of this yarns before. The mercerised cotton 4ply is my favourite to crochet, I use a 3mm crochet hook and I just love making small crochet flowers with this yarn. They are great for decoration, I use them to put on gifts for a handmade finish. The cotton plied wool yarn crochets up beautifully, it gives a great stitch definition and looks good with nearly every stitch. The cotton DK yarn I find is not as versatile as the other two yarns. Its more crisp and perhaps a little stiffer for crochet, but with the right size hook it will give you a great finish and look very neat and pretty once it is done. 

Watch out for new patterns, project pictures, new yarn reviews and great blog posts in the near future, we will keep you updated here on our knitshop.co.uk blog, facebook and twitter page.

Lots of sunshine and happy knitting!
Julieta @knitshop.co.uk

Links to this post:
knitshop.co.uk
cotton yarns, cotton plied wool yarn
knitshop.co.uk pattern
Ingrid's blog
facebook
twitter
crochet hooks
cotton DK review
knitting needles

Short Courses @knitshop.co.uk

Embrace the Exciting Textile Craft Opportunities

At knitshop.co.uk we have been supplying high quality yarns online since opening in 2004. We offer a wide range of our own branded yarns and fibres for knitting, crochet and felting as well as knitting needles, crochet hooks and other accessories. In 2009 we opened our doors @ 326 Lee High Road were we offer a wide range of exciting textile workshops, demonstrations, tutorials and newly added to the list are our short courses. The short courses are aimed to guide the learner through techniques and topics of one particular craft. We are dedicated to teach traditional skills and advance creative opportunities in the local community. The courses are designed to suit varying levels, from beginners through to advanced and all needs are met through tutorials and group master classes supported by expert tutors.

The possibilities of these crafts are endless and the short course flexibility allows for individual progression. Exploring colour, stitch, yarn, materials and product applications, these courses are perfect for those who are looking to create beautiful handmade crafts with the encouragement from highly skilled tutors. Due to the increasing popularity of these courses we are offering pre-bookings, which can be done on-line at www.knitshop.co.uk/Workshops, by phone or by visiting the shop.

These inspiring short courses include all levels and techniques in knitting & crochet and offer a fantastic opportunity to broaden creative horizons whilst developing practical skills. Workshops are offered for two one hour group sessions and starting from £10/2h session for course bookings. More detailed information with specifics about each of the projects is available on the website.

Visit knitshop.co.uk today to read more about our short courses and other classes available at our outlet in Lee Green. Book your space on-line now to guarantee a seat and get our special pre-booking discounted rate.


Patterns for the knitted Vest and Scarf in the pictures are available at knitshop.co.uk.

Links to this blog:

knitshop.co.uk - online shop for knitting, felting & more

Outlet in Lee Green, 326 Lee High Road, London, SE13 5PJ

Workshops @ knitshop.co.uk

Short Courses @ knitshop.co.uk

Pattern available from knitshop.co.uk