s t r i k k handknits

Custom Orders

2012-01-26T18:30:00.000Z

Well, that'll teach me - I cannot find my "before" photograph....I know I filed them somewhere on my computer but no such like - a case of virtually, err, losing your keys. When I stop looking, I'm sure I'll find it, but in the meantime, a quick post on a custom order I did. The first time I have been contacted where someone has their own yarn but wants me to knit the order. Left me scrambling around trying to work out costings (difficult) and then knitting with yarn I'm not used to (a bit trial and error) but there we go. The end result.

Loving the colour indeed. And I don't usually knit with pure wool only because it's not the most user-friendly when it comes to knitting cushions. But great nonetheless - although I did have to pull out halfway through and start again.....as you do.

Real Living Magazine

2012-01-24T10:56:00.001Z

So, excited, yes, very, when a lovely customer for whom I had knitted some colourblock cushions for, contacted me to let me know her amazing house had been featured in the Australian Real Living Magazine - and was kind enough to send me some of the pages.

And yes, all front doors should be pink from now on!

This was a custom colourblock cushion I knitted up - initially we tried a few colours with the red, but then settled on the traditional white and red which works best in this gorgeously simple bedroom.

Thank you so much K for sending me the pics, so divine and so lovely.

big big sky

2012-01-20T07:55:00.000Z

I was lucky enough to spend quite a bit of time recently in my home town, Cape Town. One thing that always amazes me is the size of the sky (I know, probably sounds a bit odd but when you have a lot of grey, big sky is paramount) - so, a few of my favourite sky photos.

happy happy

2012-01-03T05:59:00.001Z

A little late, I know, but Happy New Year - and here's to a great 2012!

We're currently in Cape Town on a little trip home and enjoying the sunshine whilst trying to knit with kittens around (which is almost impossible), so if we're a little quiet over here, please don't forget us, we'll be back soon. Really.

quick pic

2011-12-17T19:28:00.000Z

Have to admit, I've never been that organised enough to post two updates on one day, but what with flying out down south tomorrow for Christams, thought I'd get one more update done. Spent a lovely day today at the Jolly Hobbies Market in my Crouch End neck of the woods. First time I have done this market and it's probably one of the nicest markets I've done in a while (and not because it's only a bus ride away...).

I was sat next to London Clay Birds and The Quiet Revolution who are always entertaining ( ;-) ) - so here the pics instead.....

I know, sorry about the camera angle....can't help myself.

These little textile frames were absolutely beautiful!

Um, there was food....

There were mushrooms.....

And generally really gorgeous things. There'll be more markets in the New Year.

last fair of the year

2011-12-17T10:27:00.000Z

It's the last fair of the year for Strikk - we'll be down all local in Crouch End as part of the Jolly Hobbies Market - looking forward to this, have to admit.
If you're around, come down and say "hi" - all our stock is greatly reduced.

down at the fair

2011-12-08T16:17:00.022Z

It's the big one this weekend - Saturday, 10 December, we're taking our knitted goods off to the We Make London fair over at Battersea Arts Centre.

Aaaand, we're verr verr excited to be partnered with Sanna Panda . Sanna and I will be channelling our Scandi and combining a bit of this

with a bit of that and a reindeer and snowflake thrown in for good measure.

Come on down if you're around and say "hi" - will be divine to see you, but if you can't get down to the Arts Centre, you can still be part of the action by entering the We Make London Christmas Competition - you may spot a familiar hot water bottle as part of the main prize.

But hopefully we'll see you down there, it's going to be fab! x

Winter's covered...results

2011-12-08T14:26:00.000Z

I have to admit to being very nervous to do my own little blog give-away, but have found it to be quite fun. Thank you for all the lovely comments and winter survival tips, they were great.

So after having said I'd draw the names from a hat, realised that I don't actually own a hat, so had to raid the kitchen cupboard instead, and here we go....

I know, the suspense is killing me too.....! (ah, and I see my windowsill's a little dusty too.)

And the winner is......

Yay! Thank you so much for taking part. Congratulations Mojca, I'll drop you a line to get your details.

Winter's covered....so we're giving it away.

2011-11-23T16:19:00.001Z

In case you are not aware of this (and why should you be) but I am not a huge fan of the winter - not for me the dark, the cold, the miserableness (ok, bit of overkill going on here, but you get my disdain) .... so, in my quest to pretend winter is not really a season, I might have gone a little overboard with my hotwater bottles this year, but no less, here they are in all their glory, ready for winter.

Aaaaaand, we're giving one away....all you need to do is leave a winter survival tip in the comments section. The winner will be determined the old fashioned way (all names in a hat) on Friday, 2 December, and you get to choose your style.

In the meantime, my hotties are in my etsy.com shop and also at notonthehighstreet.com.

spotted

2011-11-16T13:09:00.000Z

I spotted this little gem of a book from Etsy seller, Duke Street Duchess and knew it had to be mine.

Not often you get a vintage book in such great condition and the patterns and photographs are fabulous. Here's a little round-up of the those particularly fetching (I could honestly post the whole book but that would probably be wrong....).

Loving the pattern names.

The knitted menswear section is truly marvellous (gosh, did I just say that!) - each of them look fantastic.

And one or two scary looking babies thrown in for good measure.

Something that I haven't seen for a while (and maybe that's because we're no longer living in wartime) is ideas on re-using yarn. There's a whole section on how to knit with old yarn, with some rather sage advice : "Not one scrap of wool or woollen fabric, however small, should be thrown away now that wool is so precious."

I have never actually knitted a vintage pattern before, I hear it can be a little tricky, but I'm prepared to give a few of these a go. The knitted ladies vintage jersies and cardies are lovely and fitted.

If anyone has any experience with vintage patterns, would love to hear any tips and suggestions.

Market News

2011-11-10T19:25:00.001Z

This time of year always means fantastic craft markets - lovely sellers selling lovely stuff. This year is certainly no different and a little bit of shameless craft market promotion, the first of which is a lovely local to home market in Crouch End, Jolly Hobbies Market.

Really looking forward to this market on Saturday, 19 November - it's lovely and close to home and it's my first market in a while.
The second market is an old-time favourite - the Of Cabbages Market down in Stokey - again, close to home and always has lovely sellers. In fact, this market is a little bit of a sentimental one for me as it was the first craft market I ever did in London.

We'll be down there on Saturday, 3 December.
If you're in London, hopefully I'll see you at either of them.

behind the scenes......and a little bit of fail!

2011-11-02T11:40:00.000Z

Can I just start this post with a massive GRRRR......... yes, that's the sound of frustration you hear coming through your computer.

You see, it's like this, a move to a new house (which is a lovely basement flat, must admit) means that the lovely and constant natural light I had in the old flat has gone. This of course leaves me to dash outside at any slightest sign of sun (which as winter approaches, is proving to be a bit of a mission).

So in my quest to recreate a studio setting outside, I have tried various white backgrounds - the first of which was trying to repaint a piece of black plastic, white (yes, you know the paint used to outline crime scenes, that's the one we used) - naturally that did not work.

Which left me with some fabric - I thought I was being very clever by purchasing some white blackout fabric, but unbeknownst to me, it creases. Terribly!

And this is the studio - lovely if it would actually have worked.

And here is the creased background......which clearly doesn't work.

So, what I'm trying to say, is if you have product shots to take, don't even bother with clever white blackout fabric - does.not.work!

spotted

2011-10-27T10:31:00.000+01:00

Confession time : I have lots and lots and lots of decor books - stacked up high....every now and again I force myself to do a clear out, but every now and again, I know my decor-book-hoarding-fetish pays off, especially in the November issue of LivingEtc magazine - a fantastic round up of knitted things for the home which I thought I would share. Behold.....

The dog's expression is just brilliant!

a little bit of vintage

2011-10-12T07:15:00.007+01:00

a little post today about a little trip down to the north london vintage market (which conveniently happened to be taking place down the road from mine) the other day.

fantastic colour combinations in this outfit.

and this was the final purchase.....i know but i really needed a tray, there could have been more, trust me.....but alas, budget constraints did not allow....but next time, next time (which i see is on the 5th november, conveniently!).

the end result

2011-09-26T14:40:00.001+01:00

if you dip into my little blog now and again you'll see that a few weeks ago i posted about my adventure into knitting for a menswear designer, the ever talented and wonderful Jenny Schwarz - if not, you can read here
and here is the end result from the Vienna Fashion Week.

i have to admit, i cannot quite believe it - i know how difficult it was to knit, how i had to re-learn how to knit a jumper, how hard it can be to shape the neck and the shoulders and so on and so on.....but my goodness, i would do it all again given half the chance.

you can see the rest of Jenny's amazing showing here http://www.spykeheels.com/2011/09/19/jenny-schwarz-fashion-show-vienna-fashion-week-2011/
and of course, a big thank you to Maya of Knit with Attitude who so cleverly helped me with the neck.....couldn't have finished it without her mathematical brain.....

spotted

2011-09-26T10:18:00.001+01:00

apologies for the radio silence, but having just moved and also having no internet in the new house, means i find myself beg, borrowing and stealing internet connection where i can - and then of course forgetting half the things i'm meant to be doing, but i did spot this the other day - it's not exactly knitting, but my goodness, still mind-bogglingly (is there such a word?) brilliant.

Dana Barnes is the artist and this is from an installation called UNSPUN : Tangled and Fused - a natural fibre and felting process resulting in wonderful sculptural pieces. unfortunately i cannot seem to find more information about the artist on line, however, there are some further photos and background over at this Design Milk post

so the only thing about not having internet connection at home means i get to spend a lot of time in the new garden knitting, and it's meant to be a great indian summer week here in london, which of course adds greatly to any bit of productivity.

happy monday :-) x

book review

2011-09-14T07:55:00.001+01:00

have wanted to do this for a while (there seems to be a pattern here with wanting to do something and actually getting around to it) and that is review (not that my opinion really matters at the end of the day) craft-type books, and more specifically knitting books - so this is my first little review on a book called Keep Calm and Cast On - Good Advice for Knitters by Erika Knight (Quadrille Publishing).

very cute little book - perfect gift for a knitter in the family. i love these kind of books, full of good advice and lovely quotes and a good reminder of why i knit, not that i need a reminder mind you.

the craft trail at the thames festival

2011-09-12T10:12:00.002+01:00

exhausting doesn't begin to describe this past weekend, but my goodness, what an incredible experience!

this last weekend was the thames festival - a traditional, free celebration hosted by the mayor of london to bring summer (yes, really, there was summer) to a close in the uk. this year was the first year that the craft trail participated, and judging by the massive response, it was a great success - and i cannot tell you how proud i am to have been a part - even if the weather was a little rubbish at times.

the craft trail bit was organised by my very talented friend Sanna of Sannapanda - myself and Maya (you know, the owner of the best little wool shop in london - Knit with Attitude) shared a stall and here are some of the pics.

i must tell you that Maya has the most incredible yarn - sourced from all over the world, but my favourite had to be the norwegian alpaca - absolutely sumptuous and gorgeous (am actually going to treat myself to a decent alpaca scarf this winter).

we had some stylish visitors to our little stall - including this beauty who happens to be for sale (may just have to treat myself)

saturday was tango all day - lucky for us we were right next to the tango stage, so not only was there incredible music all day, but it was just so divine to see people just randomly start dancing around the area - loved it!

now you can't tell me that's not a great view for a craft festival.

see y'all next year.

weekend crafty stuff

2011-09-06T16:36:00.000+01:00

just quickly to let you know, in case you don't, but its the Thames Festival this weekend (a huge, massive, outdoor festival all along the Thames - probably explains the name then) and we are part of the Craft Trail bit - yay!

here's the handy map (handily).

keep an eye out for us at the Sannapanda bit - we've teamed up with the lovely Maya owner of the best little wool shop in town - Knit with Attitude.

so come down and say "hi" - its this weekend, Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th September - 12 to 10pm - and best of all, it's free!

knit menswear

2011-09-01T12:53:00.001+01:00

for a while now (in fact since last winter) i have been toying with the idea of knitting some menswear - had all these fancy plans, but alas, came to nothing what with having lots of cushion orders (not that we are complaining of course) - so, when a friend put me in touch with a menswear designer who was looking for a knitter, i, err, jumped at the chance.

very pleased to have received a commision from fantastic menswear designer Jenny Schwarz - i met with her on sunday last week and was given the brief - all laid out on the floor mind you.

the existing jersey i have as a guide (although what i am doing is not as fine) is absolutely beautiful and knitted by Jenny's mother in soft mohair.

so here we go. i am working out a new pattern (having not ever designed my own jumper pattern before in my life) - have hauled out all my knitting construction books and been pouring over them late into the evening - calculating, measuring (and in some cases, re-calculating) - its taken me back to the basics of knitting and you know, i even knitted up a swatch ..............

so there we go - am terrified and excited at the same time. very grateful for the opportunity - who knows, it may be the start of something.

did i mention that Jenny is showing at Vienna Fashion Week which is in, oh, say 10 days time? so really, no pressure then, none what so ever. .....

champagne and craft

2011-08-29T15:40:00.001+01:00

i have a very clever friend, Joanne, who sews and documents her sewing over at the hilariously written stitch and witter - yesterday we thought we'd do a mini-crafting afternoon (well, its an excuse to drink champagne if you ask me) in preparation for her upcoming crafting afternoon next weekend (more to follow on that). turned out to be a great afternoon (and a very sore head this morning!).
i was happy to see my first ever etsy purchase was being put to good use.

um, about that champagne.

i love the little tops Joanne made from her original zara purchase (she speaks about the whole behind the scenes process here - and now you wonder why i don't sew then) - but i think it looks gorgeous. very clever.

and this is me in action - its nice to knit with larger needles for a change - get to knit a little faster than usual.

and the end result. cute little basketweave baby blankets.

available at strikk big cartel and notonthehighstreet.com

following on..

2011-08-25T13:01:00.000+01:00

from my post below on lots of knitting, my lovely customer from california kindly sent me some photos of the hanger sets - have to admit, i think they make a wardrobe look great. sure, knitted hanger sets certainly are not an essential-cannot-live-without-it item, but i think the look pretty and bright and that gets my vote.

thank you so much N for the photos :-)

spotted

2011-08-18T12:49:00.001+01:00

and a little bit of blog loving too........

i think i may have mentioned it before, but i'm a huge fan of the norwegian yarn / knitting / baking / fabulous life i want to have site pickles.no . a little trawl around and i spotted some of these gorgeous handknit / crocheted items for the home.

but i've just picked out the bits i like - please have a look around (assuming its your kind of thing of course) so many fabulous things, don't quite know where to look.

now that's a lot of knitting

2011-08-14T19:59:00.000+01:00

a lovely customer based in san francisco contacted me - she was in the process of fitting out her daughter's new flat and thought knitted hangers would be great for the wardrobe - so, i got a large order for handknit hangers. and here's what a cupboard full of hangers would look like (and i didn't include a further three sets....).

of course, the resident quality controller was on hand to cast his expert eye over proceedings.

right, off to go and fill my own wardrobe with handknit hangers. in case you want to fill yours, you can find them in my notonthehighstreet and etsy shops.

new on strikk....and we fade to grey

2011-08-09T11:48:00.002+01:00

ok, i'm going to give away my age here, but there was a song in the (um) 80s - fade to grey, visage - not sure if anyone remembers it. unfortunately i do. but everytime i work with grey yarn for some reason that tune spins around my head (yes. i don't know either). but having said that, my favourite colour happens to be grey (again. i don't know either).

and soon it will be winter and in celebration (no really) we've knitted a new hotwater bottle cover in a bobble effect pattern using our favourite elle pure gold yarn.

keeping with the grey theme of this post, we also finished off a new plaited cable cushion - loving the massive 50 x 50 cm size of these cushions even if they take ages to knit.

both the hottie and the cushion are available in my etsy and notonthehighstreet shops.

spotted

2011-07-11T19:47:00.000+01:00

um, two spotteds in one week.....well, this is a cheat one (again), but hey, i spotted me - yip, strikk handknits in the august edition of let's knit magazine (fine magazine by the way - great patterns, and loving the free sparkly needles!).

but there we are - as an inspirational knitter, no less!

thank you, let's knit, i'm honoured to be featured (and for including a picture of camps bay, my 'hood circled!).

spotted

2011-07-07T13:17:00.002+01:00

one day i'll have a knit studio - one day (well, it'll be a room, with a very comfy chair and lots and lots of yarn and a table and a kitty), in the meantime, i came across work.place - a collection of portland artists and creators and their studios. of course, the one i drooled over the most was that of Jo Hamilton

um, did i mention also i'm obsessed with globes and maps....and look how cleverly these are displayed.

i love how all the yarn is colour-coded into tonal ranges - from warm to cool. very clever (and very organised).

summer boutiques and things

2011-07-03T22:24:00.001+01:00

the we make london summer boutique is happening right now - for the week until 9 July 2011 - and believe you me, if you're in london, its worth stopping in for a look, a browse and a purchase (and no, i'm not saying this because i'm part of it.....well, maybe just a bit).

we popped round last night for the launch party and it was so lovely to see so many talented sellers in one go - have to say a big "well done" to Mary and her helpers from we make london - i dropped off stock early in the morning - there was nothing in the shop except a massive unsightly table, but they turned it around into something gorgeous.

it was also wonderful to meet some other inspiring sellers - lovely gorgeous things (besides being absolutely hilarious, she also is a deft hand at scrumptious skincare products), and the dreamy creations of tara winona (um, just check out her studio please...so going round there for tea!) and last, but not least, Chloe of hatastic - one gorgeous, classy lady!

so, if this isn't enough reason to get down to we make summer boutique this week, then i've failed or you live in another country :-)

methinks hampstead is a very pretty part of london - just saying.

amsterdam

2011-06-27T08:24:00.000+01:00

was very lucky to have a wonderful break in amsterdam this past weekend - a favourite city of mine and of course it didn't disappoint.

now this is how one cycles in the rain!

breakfast of champions.....

sneak peak

2011-06-21T19:49:00.001+01:00

to say this is taking forever is an understatement - i'm knitting placemats and they're taking forever! it could be because its not actually knitting as such (which is of course quicker and doesn't require much concentration on my part - sorry, that did sound really smug.....) but this is a completely different stitch. its more like weaving the yarn backwards and forwards.

so, because its taking me so long, i thought i'd give you a little taster.

i'm using my usual elle pure gold double knit yarn in ivory and pepper (grey) which i think gives the placemats a kind of scandi feel.

the yarn - coupled with the stitch - has made the placemat incredibly soft yet sturdy at the same time. so after a bit of blocking and a bit of weaving the ends, we'll list these in our shops and of course at the we make pop up shop happening soon.

spotted

2011-06-16T13:07:00.000+01:00

well these photos definitely brighten a rather glum day today. a south african knitwear designer - Laduma Ngxokolo - using Xhosa beadwork as his inspiration to create truly unique and eye-catching knitwear.

unfortunately i cannot find a dedicated site of his work, but you can read more on his work here

more new on strikk

2011-06-13T13:10:00.000+01:00

after a bit of a fail to begin with - very annoying when the dyelot is just noticeably different as what happened when i was three-quarters of the way through my new weave effect cushion - so we unravelled it (much to King Cat's delight, he got caught up in all the yarn) and finally have the end result.

also, a larger cushion this time - 50 x 50 cm is a lot of knitting let me tell you, especially on 4.5mm needles, but i think it turned out well - larger cushions are definitely more comfy and the eggplant / aubergine, although not starting out as a favourite colour, is actually pretty cool.

and looks cute with an old favourite moss stitch cushion in rose pink.

available on strikk big cartel shop, etsy and notonthehighstreet.

(and yes, the house is still covered in peonies......)

pop up news

2011-06-03T15:35:00.000+01:00

just a quick pop up update (say that three times fast, i dare you....) - very excited to be taking part in the we make london summer boutique pop up shop in lovely leafy hampstead (just up the road really).

i know there's lots of hard work going on behind the scenes and we make london have secured both etsy and ukhandmade sponsorship (now there's a bit of clout for you).

i'll be knitting some new things for the shop and posting on my progress, but in the meantime, have a look at the we make london blog for some of the talented people who'll be represented.
until then, happy weekend.

new on strikk

2011-05-30T08:08:00.001+01:00

i have a confession, i think this might be my favourite colourblock cushion that i've knitted so far....i almost didn't want to put it in my shops, but that would just be selfish.

in addition, i have used different yarn than i usually do, choosing an incredibly soft 100% merino double knit - lovely to knit with and resulting in a very soft and snuggly cushion.

the cushion is on sale (with other colourblock cushion) in my etsy shop and listed in my notonthehighstreet shop and i thought it looked really pretty with one of my moss stitch cushions in rose.

and in other news, i can report that peonies are now officially my favourite flower.

london bits

2011-05-24T10:58:00.003+01:00

been in london almost six years and i've never really spent much time in richmond - not sure why as its really stunning down there. went on a boat ride and thought i'd share some photos from the day.

spotted

2011-05-19T13:25:00.000+01:00

having a bit of a love affair with iceland at the moment - there have been some really interesting and beautiful documentaries on the telly lately which has fuelled this new obsession - and i came across a little company called aunts design. unfortunately the site is in icelandic, but i think their knitting-printed shot glasses are cute.

and we do like a bit of a knitting-pattern t-shirt too.

more new on strikk

2011-05-15T21:55:00.000+01:00

been a bit busy knitting over here - a few new custom orders at the moment which i am so impatient to finish as i know these are going to look fabulous - but in the meantime i've been experimenting with lace and eyelet patterns for a new trio of vase cosies for 2011 (i actually can never quite decide if vase cosy is actually the right description but will have to do for the meantime).

i had great fun knitting these - always like to try something new pattern-wise. i used cotton double knit (tricky for me as the cotton "slips" when knitted - not sure if anyone else has the same problem with slinky cotton).

i've used this pattern for the white cover before - in fact, it was my first pattern i used to cover a vase, but i think it came out much better in the white.

the next was much more of a lace pattern - which means a bit more concentrating and not so much tv-watching. but happy with the results of the mustard vase - in fact this may be my favourite.

the last one i did was in actually a very beautiful shade of green but i fear the photographs may not have done it justice. again, a new pattern learnt although i have a confession to make, i couldn't remember what ST st was (i kept knitting a rib pattern and couldn't figure out why it wasn't working out - and then "doh" i remembered what stocking stitch was.......yes, it happens to the best of us).

the cosies are available in both my etsy and notonthehighstreet shops - to purchase singly or as a trio.

(and if you're wondering why we're all at an angle - couldn't fit the whole vase in the frame, so decided on a bit of artistic licence....no, i hadn't been drinking too much wine!)

the life of a strikk cushion cont......

2011-05-11T06:57:00.000+01:00

in my quest to fill each room with knits, i have once again been lucky enough to see where a strikk cushion ends up - this time its one of my handknitted colourblock cushions.

i am always honoured to get a glimpse and this photo i received from a lovely customer is just gorgeous - and i'm really chuffed my cushion is part of such a cool home! i love how the owner has used different designs and sizes of cushions (check out the dog...) and they all work well together - and more importantly, it all looks so comfortable!

thank you so much K for sending me a photo of your lovely home - it looks absolutely gorgeous.

i'm working on a new cushion for K which i will blog about shortly - she's chosen a really pretty colour combination which is going to look very cool (if i must say so myself!)

new on strikk

2011-05-09T13:05:00.000+01:00

i really debated as to whether or not i would knit some new hanger sets for this season - firstly they're quite finnicky to knit (i'm used to knitting large items for cushions) and then there's always the colour combinations - but then i couldn't resist (besides i thought it was time i made some for myself).

this was the first set i did - the avocado and purple yarns happen to be stacked next to each other and it really seemed to work as combination.

the grey and terracotta is lifted from the latest living etc magazine cover - the lettering using grey and orange.

blue and red - can't get more nautical than that.

and finally fuschia pink (love this colour) offset with a more neutral ecru.

and there we go - we should have wardrobes all covered for 2011.

available from my etsy and notonthehighstreet.com shops.

and keep an eye out - we're working on our first ever give-away for next week..... (yikes, i'm nervous).

spotted

2011-05-02T10:17:00.000+01:00

so my favourite blog of all time is the sartorialist (which should only ever be read in conjunction with gofugyourself of course) - but hey, if the sart gives knitters a look in, then i'm all for it....

great shot!

new sizes on strikk

2011-04-26T13:27:00.001+01:00

our handknitted cable cushions are now available in a longer, larger size - 40 x 70 cm (16 x 28 inches) and i think they turned out pretty cool too.

so, means the cables look great as a stand alone cushion, or as a perfect backdrop to existing cushions on the couch (or in the case below....chair!)

available in my etsy shop here or on my notonthighstreet.com shop here.

and the inners are available from the fabulous h&m online store here.

parklife

2011-04-23T16:46:00.000+01:00

its a completely glorious easter weekend here in london. time spent in the park.

these guys were great fun to watch - think they were part of the circus round the corner. practising their stuff. felt like cheering everytime the got it right.

spotted

2011-04-19T10:40:00.002+01:00

this pretty persephone books brochure arrive in the mail yesterday.

'alice ashley on a green seat' 1937 oil on canvas by Donald Towner.

what with london having glorious weather at the moment, i thought this kind of summed up my mood - although not sure i would be drinking lemonade!

decorate!

2011-04-14T06:52:00.002+01:00

i'm a big fan of Holly Becker and her blog decor8 - her finds are, to me, always beautiful, interesting and inspiring and her writing is intimate and inviting.......so, when i got my confirmation that i managed to get a spot at her Liberty store (gosh, do i love that shop!) launch, i was chuffed.

to say i was inspired is an understatement. Holly held a invite-only (ja, that would be me) pre-book signing chat - talking about Decorate book (beautiful) but also about blogging in general (when a blogger like Holly speaks, you sit up and take notice). what struck me was that Holly is living her dream - as a little girl she used to write out books and hand them to her teddies (love that story!) - and that got me thinking again, what was my dream? knitting was always a dream and i realised i'm incredibly honoured to be able to knit and even more honoured that there are others that like what i do. its good to be reminded of that.

we then proceeded to the styling talk - clever ideas using lovely Liberty fabrics (did i tell you how much i love Liberty!), beautiful ceramics and re-working vintage items. it works. its pretty. and its very very inspiring.

i had a great evening. completely motivated to go and clean my flat in preparation for Holly's next book. (apologies for over-use of the word "inspiring" - but it really was...)

blog loving

2011-04-06T13:39:00.002+01:00

i got an award....yip, well chuffed. the lovely and clever Mette, the norwegian blogger of tilflukt awarded me a Liebster Blog Award - hah!

the idea behind the award is to bring attention to bloggers with less than 100 followers - bloggers that i follow and like and want others to know about. so i'm passing on my lovely award to three lovely bloggers i think are pretty cool....

mengsel - i am a great fan of Luzelle - a fellow south african also currently living in london - you've got to have a look at her fabulous prints and teatowels. clever chick, that one.

l'atelier - Asiye, another south african, very clever photographer and even more amazing crochet-er. my favourite is her weekly "review of the week" photos - makes me dream of home.

twirling betty - a fellow law-type who has a fantastic creative streak. Christen's blog is not only very beautiful, but has great tutorials as well as being brilliantly and hilariously written.

so those are my Libester Blog Awards

so this is what happens to a strikk cushion

2011-03-28T20:57:00.001+01:00

it gets to live in this beautiful home.

i am always very honoured when someone buys a cushion from me - i do wonder though where my cushions end up. it probably sounds weird but when i knit, i often imagine what the customer's home would be like (i know futile seeing as i have no idea!) - where my cushion would fit in. customers often explain what their home looks like (or the couch at least) - especially if i am knitting a custom order - so that kind of helps, but such a fantastic surprise to receive an email from the gorgeous Christen of Twirlingbetty all the way in Melbourne, Australia.

you can read all about her home transformation here- hilariously written too.

so now i know what happens to a strikk cushion.

signs back in time.

2011-03-16T13:11:00.000Z

wondering around valetta, capital of malta, i was completely in awe of all the absolutely fantastically cool retro signs on the buildings - so much so, i think i must have photographed every single one of them....but here's only a few of the best.

there is also a case of a sign nowhere near where its supposed to be....

to the "i'm not quite sure what to make of this one......"

and then back to old school cool.....

i want to go back......

new on strikk

2011-03-09T14:00:00.000Z

i've been knitting a lot lately - been finding though that my hands really do have a hard time if i've been knitting very fine projects (like on 4mm needles) - so to counter the pain, started doing some large knit cable cushions again.

using my favourite south african courtelle yarn - elle pure gold (which is becoming increasingly difficult to source here in the uk - elle are you listening!) i made up some new cable cushions in terracotta.

so now, we have an assortment of cable cushions on the go.

available from strikk handknit shop, etsy and notonthehighstreet.
and if anyone has any tips on how to care for knitters hands, would be most grateful. at the moment, the arnica oil is my NBF!

spotted

2011-03-03T13:35:00.012Z

this is cheating i know, but i'm doing a spotted on my own cushions this week - because i spotted them in the notonthehighstreet.com 2011 spring gift guide (page 18 to be exact....)

the colourcross in grey and the colourblock in orange work well - would never have normally thought of putting them together, but i think they look cool. very chuffed.

there are more divine goodies in their catalogue here.

custom order and yarn review no. 2

2011-02-28T13:12:00.001Z

its not quite warm in london yet....still a little more of winter to go it seems so still happy to be knitting up some more hotwater bottles. i have a lovely customer who asked for a cable hotwater bottle in pink this time which i think turned out quite well (if i must say so myself....again!).

for all my handknitted hotwater bottles this season i've used my favourite south african yarn from vinnis colours (unfortunately there is no dedicated website to link to for vinni as yet, but happy to pass on details, just let me know).

background : for those that don't know, vinnis yarn is hand-dyed and balled by women in economically depressed rural areas in south africa. the sale of the yarn empowers the community and brings economic benefits. reason enough if you ask me.

range : the colours in the range (i use the nikkam 100% cotton yarn) are extensive and range from soft muted towns to bright and bold. the hand-dying give the yarn an added depth of colour and also a marbled effect which you may notice on the hotwater bottles.

availability : i get my yarns from the very helpful purlescence and have to say, for my purposes, the yarn is reasonably priced (although not sure i would want to knit up a larger item for the price - it may get a little expensive).

how it knits : with all cotton, its important to keep an eye on what you're doing as the yarn "splits" a little (so no watching tv and knitting with this yarn i'm afraid, its audiobooks all the way). but the end result is a lovely soft product. the yarn goes quite far which helps of course.

all in all, a great yarn, great colours and even better long-term community benefits.

if you've knitted with vinnis colours in nikkam, let me know. would love to know if you agree or disagree with my two cents yarn review......

spotted

2011-02-25T07:52:00.001Z

if you're in the uk, you may be watching the rather brilliant scandi-thriller the killing (this is from someone who is somewhat obsessed with scandi-crime writers and no, i don't include mr larsen i'm afraid....) - anyway, the star of the show has to be sarah lund's hanknitted jumper.

i did little bit of digging around to see if i could find out any information on the talented jumper knitters - turns out its a little company located in the faroe islands who handknit beautiful designs.

a few of my favourites i spotted.

(um, you might recognise the bauble effect from my handknitted washmits - although a long away away from this jumper)

the company is called gudrun & gudrun - please have a look at their shop and blog, truly beautiful designs - very talented and i love the fact they say "its good to come to Europe for input and inspiration, but its good to come back home to the silence" - aah.....sigh! my kind of knitters.

new on strikk.....and clever friends

2011-02-20T13:52:00.002Z

so, if you've been following new york fashion week, you'll know that the its all about the muted autumnal trends - well, we may have gotten it correct, possibly.....but we've knitted our next colourcross cushion in strong (earthy? autumnal?) terracotta with white cross.

again, we've used our favourite south african courtelle yarn (struggling to source this yarn in the uk is proving to be trying.....come on elle yarns, we need you to export to the uk...). but still we stick to what we know and love.

the cushions is available in my etsy and notonthehighstreet.com shops.

and, let me take this opportunity to introduce you to my very, very clever friend J.......and my lovely birthday present i received from her - all handmade and very very cool. love it.

thank you J, i'm so honoured and will treasure your gift - you're one talented gal *mwah* - and try as i might, she's not going to try her hand at selling (well, not just yet, anyway......).

malta styling

2011-02-16T21:52:00.002Z

so, in between a bit of knitting and a bit of birthday, we went to Malta (or something to do with the fact we're a bit sick of the London winter!).
at the risk of boring everyone with holiday snapshots, here are just a few of this incredible country - four days was definitely not enough time.

there are a few ways to get around the island, bicycling is one of them (although be that at your own risk) - but i thought there bicycle racks were pretty cool - not like anything i've seen before.
or you could opt for a ride in the coolest buses in the world.....

as Malta is essentially a catholic country, most of the front doors are adorned with religious icons.

and then there were the traditional Maltese houses

finished off with a bit of lunch, on the street corner....

with a bit of people watching

and a bit of hotel views at sunset.

and that's it for family snapshots for the moment.....

about custom orders and yarn reviews

2011-01-30T15:48:00.000Z

i think of all the things i end up knitting, its the custom orders that i enjoy the most - someone else has the idea and i get to knit - which as far as i'm concerned is pretty cool. i've been knitting cable cushions for a while and always find them hugely satisfying (i finally made a chocolate brown cable cushion for myself) but a lovely customer asked if i could make two cushions from yarn i have not used before. so this got me thinking, that i never really talk about the yarn i use, so welcome now to my first in a series of yarn reviews (what the heck, why not).

i knitted up the aubergine cable cushion using the Rowan Belle Organic Aran - a blend of 50% organic wool and 50% organic cotton. the yarn works out to slightly more expensive than usual, but that's probably due to its organic-ness.

have to admit, this yarn was rather yummy (if you can call yarn yummy) - knits up beautifully and actually 50 grams goes a long way. the end result is a yarn with a lovely silky feel that will hold its shape. the only downside is that its hand wash only (i always knit cushions in yarn that can be machine-washed) but i think that's a small price for something this lovely.

if you have ever knitted with the Belle Organic range, please let me know how you found it.

new on strikk

2011-01-17T13:28:00.000Z

so this is what happens when you pick up two scandi-inspired chairs for a tenner - you end up re-photographing all your stock (which was great fun until i spilt my wine all over the floor and had to pack it in for the day).

but these colourblock cushions are new.

available here, here and here

spotted

2011-01-11T09:47:00.000Z

i spotted this seller the other day on etsy and have to admit, i'm very intrigued by knitted dissections.

would never have thought of it myself, have to admit, but think they're pretty cool and can imagine take a bit of deft knitting (did i just make that word up?).

there are more dissections at the crafty hedgehog here
apologies for the short post, down with the flu at the moment :-(

sale

2011-01-05T13:32:00.000Z

we're on sale - getting rid of some old stock to make way for some new things - been knitting fast and furiously over the holiday season (quite pleased with some of the results have to admit) and i think i've watched every bit of holiday tv going - including all the Spaced episodes back to front, by mistake (still brilliant whichever way you watch to be honest).

anyhoo, what i'm trying to say is that we're on sale. for the next couple of days and then we'll have new stock. yay!

happy 2011. check out the sale here, here and here.

new on strikk

2010-12-29T12:56:00.000Z

a teeny bit proud of strikk's handknitted cotton bath mitts - no less because i've never actually knitted a bobble stitch before. took a bit of trial and error but finally got it right and now i have a new favourite stitch and think the bath mitts turned out quite well.

knitted in 100% organic cotton, soft with bobble-effect for glowing skin - and when you're finished, just hang it up to dry for use the next time. perfect if you ask me.

available in here, here and here.

merry and happy

2010-12-24T16:00:00.000Z

just a quick note to say merry christmas and a happy new year and i thought i would end on a photograph i picked up yesterday at spitalfields antiques market - in fact, i think it could have had my name on it......

the photograph actually turns out to be a numbered print by the victorian photographer Frank Meadow Sutcliffe - known for his photography of fisherman and sailing ships along the whitby coast. from what i can make out, most of his work was done on large 9 x 7 inch glass plates (which i think was the done deal in those days) - essentially he would carry around a portable darkroom in order to take his photos. wonder what he would think of photography today.

market time.

2010-12-16T12:58:00.000Z

if you're around and still need to do your christmas shopping (yes, like me) then can i suggest you head on down to rather delightful and constantly brilliant Of Cabbages market in stoke newington this weekend.

we'll be there along with some of my favourite clever makers.......

very happy to see Edwyn has added some kitties............yay!

always inspired by the lovely By-Louise.

and then Jim Bob is guaranteed to be cool as always.

and don't forget, Knit with Attitude (which we blogged here) will also be making an appearance along with a few other newbies. so, yip, definitely the place to be this sunday!

spotted.

2010-12-08T12:33:00.001Z

so, if i could have my dream house, it would possibly be filled with some of these absolutely gorgeous knits!

unfortunately i cannot read a lick of what looks like finnish so cannot give you any information - but the photos are worth a look in their own right here

out and about

2010-12-06T12:35:00.000Z

a few weeks ago, i managed to get down to the affordable vintage furniture fair in bethnal green. to say if only i could be rich , i think i may have bought everything in sight! but we held back. because we had to...........so instead, a round-up of what was on offer.

although i did come home with this. a gorgeous scandi-inspired paper cut that's hanging proudly in the hallway, as it should.

tea and make

2010-11-30T19:13:00.001Z

we popped round to the tea and make pop up shop last night (err, yes, see what i did there....sorry) at 3 lewisham way, se14 6pp - met the lovely duo of Sally and Esther who's brainchild (and hard work) the lovely shop is.

if you haven't gone down yet, i strongly recommend you get yourself there (yes, snow and all) - such a gorgeous selection of gifts - for yourself of course.

its on until saturday, 11 december.

....and fail!

2010-11-24T13:30:00.001Z

every now and again, we fail here at strikk - and this was definitely one of those fails. not quite sure what happened with this particular cushion and i can't quite figure it out, but there is something that just didn't work. possibly the circle didn't work out correctly - even though i followed the graph, there seems to be a flatness about it.

so this is the first and the last time i'm doing circles. not sure if you've ever knitted a circle - if you have, please drop me a line - i would love to know how it turned out. hopefully not such a big fail as these cushions. and no, these are not available for sale in any shop!

back to the err, knitting board methinks.

new on strikk and new shop

2010-11-17T10:22:00.000Z

much knitting happen at strikk at the moment - busy preparing for the tea and make pop up shop happening on from the 27th november and as part of the stock, we've done some new colours on our popular knitted hangers.

aaaaaand, very excited (so much excitement going on, sorry about that) but the brand-new strikk stand-alone shop is launched and live.

all the best strikk products in one page. including the new hangers. very chuffed, have to admit. it took ages to figure out how to build a site, but finally got the err, hang of it.

strikk's new stand-alone shop here

upcoming events : tea and make

2010-11-12T13:53:00.001Z

i'm excited and terrified in equal measure about this. the excited bit is that strikk is taking part in this year's fabulous tea and make pop up shop from saturday 27 november to saturday 11 december at 3 lewisham way SE14 6PP.

i'm terrified because i've never taken part in a pop up shop before and there is much knitting to be done. at the moment strikk hq looks a bit upside down - needles and wool everywhere (yip, we're off to muji this weekend to get trendy wendy storage containers to contain the wool spillage).

but in light of the terror, i'm very honoured to be among some fabulous sellers - each seller is currently being featured on the tea and make blog here (ahem - and strikk is there already)!

as a bit of background info, tea and make was established in 2009 by stylist Sally Curtis and artist Esther Yarnold in order to manage events celebrating regionally-made products and creative businesses. Sally and Esther met in 2007 through their mutual love of bunnies, greyhounds and all things beautiful!

winter knitted up : new on strikk

2010-11-09T13:01:00.001Z

right, i think i can say with certainty now that we've pretty much got winter sorted at strikk. the final in our howater covers for winter 2010 / 2011.

i've used a vinni yarn again (from south africa) which has been hand-dyed and spun by ladies in job creation projects. gorgeously soft when knitted up and very pretty, but my goodness does one have to concentrate (cue audiobooks - cannot watch tv and knit with this yarn, not a chance) - i guess its because its such a soft, smilky yarn that makes it more fiddly. i'm wondering if anyone else has this problem?
so, i'll call this a concentrated knit piece that ends up very warm and pretty.

this hottie available in my etsy and uglybegone shops.

and i think that's pretty much winter knitted up.

uk handmade christmas goodies.

2010-11-05T12:59:00.000Z

right, so the mad rush to christmas has well and truly begun......even the december issues are out here in the uk - in fact, i spotted my first december issue about two weeks ago. but having said that, i'm pretty thrilled that strikk was selected for this year's uk handmade christmas round up. yay!

you can find more fabulous things over here - i'm especially loving this little notebook from tea and ceremony.

oh, and next week we'll have some pretty exciting news, just in time for err...christmas.

spotted

2010-11-03T13:07:00.000Z

unfortunately i cannot seem to find much information about this week's spotted feature, suffice to say that the knitted designs are awe-inspiring so i'll let the photos speak for themselves.

you can see more of Claire-Ann O'Brien here

new on strikk

2010-11-01T13:10:00.000Z

this is the first in a series of strikk's take on stripe cushions - fiddling around with the size of the stripe and the colour combinations.

i'm happy with the way they turned out - we're calling this one, err, berry. well, it sounds a little better than purple, lavender and white.

and of course, a photo shoot wouldn't be the same without my trusty little helper.

available on my etsy shop here and on nothonthehighstreet here

stockholm find

2010-10-29T12:47:00.001+01:00

just back from a quick weekend break to stockholm to see lovely M and her new baby O - much of the weekend was spent on baby duty, however, we did manage one trip to possibly the best cafe in the whole of stockholm - gildas rum & espresso bar. unfortunately no web link.

deliciously cosy place. fantastic food. huge portions (important when its cold) and fresh ingredients. if you're ever in stockholm, please, please stop past, its worth it (and know i sound like an advert, i'll stop!).

gildas is on skanegaten 79, 116 35, stockholm

treasuries

2010-10-27T13:00:00.002+01:00

if you're an etsy seller you will be aware of treasuries. i made my first one the other day (after many years of not having a clue) and although its fun, its quite a bit of hard work, so i appreciate it when strikk is featured in a treasury.

here are a few that i thought were really pretty.

the cutest little wool shop in london

2010-10-20T08:52:00.001+01:00

this has got to be the cutest and most fantastic wool shop in london. its called, rather appropriately i think, knit with attitude

the shop is run by the lovely Maya (pictured above closest to the camera) of Mayab and like me, she was also taught to knit by her grandmother. there are some more behind the scenes footage over at Maya's blog here.

i absolutely loved the wool in the shop, a gorgeous collection and even more so as some of the wool is by viking of norway (rather appropriate as Maya is norwegian!).

if you get a chance, go down and have a look and pop in. Knit with Attitude is at 228b Stoke Newington High Street, London N16 7HU.

spotted

2010-10-18T13:49:00.000+01:00

forgive me if you may have already spotted this work by Sebastian Schonheit, but i am completely fascinated not only by the amazing knitted carpet, but more importantly by the sheer size of the needles he has used! i'm what is known as a "thrower" knitter - can't do this other fancy knitting stuff, but how the heck would one hold the needles, throw the yarn (or in his case, rope) and still have perfect tension?

you can read more of this work here

in the meantime, i'll just go back to using my size 4mm needles then.

strikk feature

2010-10-15T07:17:00.001+01:00

he he - strikk's ruched cushion (probably one of the best cushions i've done) is currently appearing in the november issue of ideal home magazine!
i'm pretty chuffed to say the least!

spotted

2010-10-13T12:55:00.001+01:00

one of my oldest and dearest friends M spotted this knitted till and tea-set in a shop in mallorca.

thanks M - well spotted :-) xx

strikk feature - uk makers online.

2010-10-12T10:17:00.000+01:00

strikk has been featured over at the uk makers-online cushion blog (http://cushions.makers-online.co.uk/).

if ever you've wanted to know how it all started, what our real day job is and our continued dreams of one day figuring out how to cycle and knit at the same time, have a read!

shadow play

2010-10-10T15:46:00.002+01:00

i was photographing some new cushions this weekend and noticed the shadows - lots of them. a little sad really as this may be the last bit of sun for a while.

i' don't think i'm ready for winter quite yet.

new on strikk

2010-10-07T12:14:00.001+01:00

cannot quite believe its that time of year again....why so quickly? i've only just gotten used to the little bit of sunshine and cycling to work has been fantastic most days - i'm even sporting a bicyle tan! but i digress. winter will be here soon and with winter, we need warmth and thank goodness there's a handknitted strikk hotwater bottle to do the trick.

i've decided to focus on the classics this time - classic cable in a classic grey. and i've used the fabulously, amazing vinni cotton from south africa. love working with this yarn and i love the marbelled effect from the hand-dying.

the hotties are on sale in my etsy and notonthehighstreet shops. oh, and they can be knitted in any colour you can dream of too.

featured......

2010-10-03T14:55:00.001+01:00

very very very excited, strikk is part of this week's notonthehighstreet.com customer email - all about craft and craftings and hey, my knitted vase cosies are part of the new forms section.

very honoured and very chuffed!

troubles.....

2010-10-01T12:33:00.002+01:00

sorry for the break in transmission, but i'm really struggling to upload any photos to blogspot.

is anyone else having the same problem? any ideas what this could be? i've tried for days now and no such luck!

yours very frustratingly......

behind the scenes on the re-shoot

2010-09-20T13:34:00.002+01:00

for the last few weeks i have not been liking any of my photos - not sure if it happens to you, but sometimes nothing that you do seems to look or feel right - i think its called a creative block, although i'm hesitant to go that far in my descriptions of my photograph dissatisfaction!

so to combat this, i hauled myself off to ikea the other evening and got me one of these chairs and began re-photographing on the weekend.

i have to say that i'm much happier with the results (i'll post the full results shortly) but of course, re-shoots wouldn't be the same without a little helper and investigator......

oh, and in case you were ever wondering, check out strikk's headquarters of knitting....especially the wine glass!

spotted

2010-09-17T14:09:00.000+01:00

in a strange way i think this is pretty cool - maybe not the whole room (could run the risk of feeling like you're trapped in a sock), but definitely one wall could use some knitted wallpaper treatment.

as seen on courture deco here - wonder if they do any other colours. i'm thinking shocking pink, or maybe not!

its all in the name

2010-09-15T07:08:00.000+01:00

we've been thinking about names lately - more specifically, relooking and re-thinking strikk as a name, as a brand and as a business.

it was great to attend last night's etsy uk meet-up with matt - really gave some food for thought on all things branding and marketing which i'll update shortly.

in the meantime, it really is all in the name, and i couldn't help noticing all the fantastic street names in edinburgh - here's just a few of my favourites.

the prettiest fair in the land...

2010-09-01T12:57:00.002+01:00

very happy to have been part of last saturday's east london craft guerrilla's unfortunately final fair *sniff* for the summer season. i cannot tell you lovely it was - sitting in the garden, lovely sellers, lovely champagne cocktails (very important) and of course, every fair should have a fair kitty.

some photos i managed to do before the camera died on me!

thank you so much for a wonderful time D. xx
if you're around on the 10th september, pop along to the Craftivista Social Club - our tombola raised enough money to pay for the rawkus rockabilly band the obscuritones - yay!

upcoming events : craft guerrilla, this saturday.

2010-08-26T12:48:00.000+01:00

very excited to be taking part in this saturday's (that's the 28th) craft guerrilla sew long, fair well, good buy craft market. i hear there's cake (yum!) and cocktails (yay!) - not sure if there is any other reason you need to come one down.

although, possibly to take part in the tombola - i'll be donating one of my handknitted cosies - yay!

i hear saturday's weather is going to be fab. possibly the last we'll see of fab weather for a while (best have that cocktail now then....)

friday foto (on a sunday)

2010-08-22T22:35:00.000+01:00

just back from another jaunt to norway and managed to spend some time in oslo with friends and family. love oslo. relaxed. space. gorgeous looking people. and the best tapwater in the world!

took some of these shots of the oslo opera house

friday foto, on a monday (again)

2010-08-09T13:12:00.002+01:00

i keep ending up doing my friday fotos on a monday for some reason - maybe a new name like "monday montage" might be more appropriate - or not. some images from a recent wedding in frosta, northern norway.

the lounge in the middle of a very, very icy fjord. the birds seem to make more use of it than anyone or anything else.

on the right, part of the traditional norwegian bunad (costume) - loving the socks, or the legs, not quite sure which one :-)

competition competition

2010-07-28T13:43:00.003+01:00

i'm so proud i've actually managed to hold off on any tweets, posts, whisperings or early reveals until the uglybegone.com competition is up and running.....and now, i can finally reveal all.

head on over to the competition page here. there are really some fantastic prizes to be won including one of these handknitted colourcross cushions available only from my uglybegone.com shop.

there's a choice between prize 1 or prize 2 selections and the competition runs until the end of september.

good luck!

new on strikk

2010-07-20T13:02:00.000+01:00

i know, its a little hot here in london - in fact, its been positively balmy this time around - lots of afternoons in the sun, spending time at the hampstead pools and generally being all summery, so in light of all this summery-ness you might be wondering why we're posting about our new handknit hotwater bottle cosies, well a girl's gotta be organised i reckon. besides, we're not really a winter fan and also, i couldn't wait to share.

the handknitted ruffle / ruched / puckered (i can't quite decide what to call them yet) are new in my etsy shop here. we'll be adding more colours shortly - any colour requests, more than welcome by the way.

knit inspirations

2010-07-16T13:57:00.000+01:00

or i should be more accurate and call these crochet inspirations - but they're way cute and currently on at the rebecca hossack gallery, london as "come dine with me by kate jenkins".

the idea behind the exhibition stems from a fantasy and perfect dinner party recreated in yarn.

kate is a brighton based designer, having previously designed for the likes of donna karan and sonia rykiel she turned her hands to yarn and the world seems to be cuter for it.

you can see more of her goods at her online shop here and the exhibition runs until 24 july - best i get me down there sometime soon.

new on strikk

2010-07-07T13:27:00.001+01:00

well, two new mentions, first some handknitted containers that turned out better than expected! initially i wasn't too sure about the moss stitch on containers, but i think they worked out pretty well (so much so, i've finally kept something that i've knitted for myself and they're proudly on display in the flat).

and then in the other bit of news, i've opened a new shop on the wonderfully named site of ugly be gone. i'm very excited abuot this and have decided to use this lovely site for some strikk handknit experimenting. keep your eyes peeled as i'll be adding some new items shortly.

you can find the different colours on my etsy shop here and on the new shop of ugly be gone here.

what's on, what's new

2010-07-02T13:50:00.000+01:00

its our last market this weekend - well, the last one that strikk is doing, erm, until end of august that is - but we're down at stoke newington high street this sunday for the ever popular and lovely of cabbages & kings market.

you can find a list of all the other lovely sellers over here
and then we've been knitting (as usual, basically) - found i had some lovely military green yarn that i had bought back from one of my cape town trips and thought it would look great in moss stitch.

so now we have a trio of moss stitch cushions. keep your eye out though, apparently the red cushion will be featured in one of the national weekend papers, just don't know where and when (why is it like that!).

all cushions available in my etsy and notonthehighstreet shops.

that was that week.

2010-06-28T12:59:00.001+01:00

a round up of photos from the week that was....

i'm wondering if this is the world's saddest looking dog - i did a photo walkabout in the east end, and couldn't resist him.

custom orders that went to new york

some people spend a lot of time looking and dipping their paws in the sun.

the we make london fair at chelsea town hall on saturday.

then sunday at allie pallie park not doing much except enjoying 30 degrees in london - its almost like cape town, but not quite...

knit inspirations

2010-06-24T13:54:00.000+01:00

oh my oh my oh my. i'm torn between being so unbelievably impressed with christien mindertsma's idaho project, or just plain depressed by how impressive it really is.

for the project, christien takes wool from organic sheep in Lava Lake Ranch, Idaho and from each sheep's yield of wool, she knits up one hexagon of rug. the wool is felted and if you watch her video here you can see how each stitch is almost a painful experience (i'm a fast knitter, so knitting one stitch at a slow pace with such thick wool would probably frustrate me).

i am impressed though - totally inspired and its a good reminder as to the source of wool - although i'm not sure i'm going to rush out and shear a bunch of sheep to make my next cushion.

upcoming fairs

2010-06-18T12:40:00.000+01:00

very excited as we managed to get a spot at the summer we make fair at the chelsea town hall next weekend - saturday, 26 june. this of course means, um, lots of knitting beforehand, but reckon it should be a good fun.

and this year, etsy are the main sponsor...now that's really cool. have a look at amity's uk esty post here (yay, i was included in the round up).

right, best get some knitting done.....

customer photos.

2010-06-17T17:28:00.000+01:00

eek, i'm very excited, i have my first customer appreciation photo to share.......

thank you so much carol - all the way from sydney. i'm well chuffed.

and tomorrow, we're down at the make lounge celebrating the big worldwide etsy bash. yay!

new on strikk

2010-06-01T13:04:00.001+01:00

these cushions were actually a custom order for a lovely customer based in sydney.

i could imagine these would fit beautifully in a dreamy house by the sea (if i say so myself).

i thought they were too good not to share as i love the scandi influence of the colours - going back to my scandi roots - in fact, i think i may actually finally knit up a set for my own home - finally....

they are available exclusively on my notonthehighstreet.com shop here

dropped stitches on tour

2010-05-26T12:25:00.001+01:00

it seems like an age ago already but here are some of the tour pics from our dropped stitches knitting group and made in the shade spring jamboree

firstly, i wanted to introduce you to the dropped stitches.....drumroll......from left to right, our resident crochet-er extrodinaire, sanna of sannapanda and friends, stealth knitter mary from dainty pretty things, knitter / crocheter and maker of pretty accessories, claire, knitter of scarves leona of ladyluck rules ok / superette, yours truly and lastly, but surely not leastly, knitter of all things energetic and fabulous, kali of lush and lovely. and that's pretty much the crew who started the day with sancks and crafty train tables.

our banner proudly displayed overlooking our fabulous view!

although i think we may have preferred this view instead..

the day of the fair and some of our wares.

and then it all came to an end. stanley (that'll be our lovely stag!) all packed and ready to go until next time.

we've been featured

2010-05-18T13:24:00.001+01:00

and very proud to have my colourcross cushion included in this very cool etsy find "show them love" of here

i thought i would share some of the other artists featured who i thought were really cool as well.

verr nice :-)