August Stash

Once again I had no intention of adding to my stash and once again I failed. My good friend Lisa was having a surprise yarn sale and I couldn't resist. It was £10 per skein and the surprise was the yarn you would get. This could be deemed as a risk but knowing Lisa's yarn I knew I would love it all. I received three skeins of sock yarn and they couldn't have been more perfect. A yarn that even my father couldn't say is girly and will therefore become socks for him. A deep pink for my pink loving sister and of course teal for me. The raspberry I have planned for my sister's birthday. I have promised her that I would design her birthday socks and I have an idea already. Looking forward to it. Thank you Lisa! Oh and make sure you head over to her etsy shop For The Love of Yarn as she is adding new colourways (trying not to look).

If you follow me on instagram you will see that I am just back from a weekend in Keswick which is in the Lake District. This was a birthday treat from my sister and it was lovely. I have some photo's to share as I took advantage of the scenery. While there I came across herdy. Herdy is a business which sells products inspired by Herdwick sheep. They also do a lot for the local community and environment. I loved their products and bought a few. These stitch markers and measuring tape was just one example. The bold colours as well as the sheep face is specific to herdy. They also do yarn which I resisted the temptation to purchase. I think I will treat myself once I have a project in mind. In the meantime why not head over to their shop and have a look.

What's New In August

And it's about time! Feel like I have been waiting forever for Bake Off to return. First Sewing Bee was late and now Bake Off. To be fair it held off due to the Olympics. I can't really complain about that. There has been some press releases already showing the new bakers. Next Wednesday I am off and my day is booked! I will be on twitter no doubt while watching and my weekly Bake Off posts will be back. If you are interested you can follow me on twitter @Karencrafts.

Something else that's back is Life Drawing. Or rather I have been back. My sister and I returned on Monday night which is the first time since it moved to Sloans. I quite liked the new venue and I have the next few Mondays free and so I will be back. There is also one going near where I live so look out for more Life Drawing posts.

Like a lot of people out there I am a fan of Liberty of London. I love the fabrics and I have a few. I saw that there was a cross stitch book out and of course I ordered a copy. I have had a flick through it and I was a tiny bit disappointed with it. That was my initial reaction. I need to go back through it and then I'll review it for the blog. I got my copy from Waterstones.

I came across a new blog via facebook. There is a facebook group page which is for beginner sock knitters. It encourages people to knit socks and helps people from the start of the sock right to the end. The creator of the group is Winwick Mum who has her own blog and Sockalong. It doesn't matter that the sockalong started in 2015 you can join in any time. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to take up sock knitting.

Last but not least is an etsy shop I came across thanks to Homemaker magazine. The shop is by Made By Mrs M. It has a small range of London themed fabrics which I love for their bold colours. I haven't ordered any yet bu I am sorely tempted. The owner also has some items made with the fabrics. It gives a good idea of what the fabrics look like if you are only interested in making something with it yourself. Or you can buy a cute little gift for yourself or a friend.

Colour Inspiration - Orange

You wouldn't believe it now but I once hated orange. For years I detested it. I wouldn't wear anything orange or buy anything at all in the colour (I still don't wear it to be honest). The last few years it has not only grown on me I have become a little obsessed with it. For the last few years I had planned that my bedroom would be orange and teal but mainly teal. Now that it has become a reality it's mainly orange.  It's a bright sunshine colour and can be overwhelming. However, if done right it can be uplifting.

I have begun collecting fabrics for a quilt I plan to make for my room. It will be my first quilt and I plan for it to be fairly simple. Just squares in orange, teal and white. The problem being that I am finding it difficult to find orange fabrics and ones that I like. This is my collection thus far and they don't really go together. I still like them though. The bottom fabric with the mushrooms I have had for a while and sadly I have no idea where I got it from. This is more of a burnt orange and so rather than have it for the quilt it will back up a few cross stitch cushions. The top two fabrics I got from Purple Stitches. I highly recommend them for speed of delivery. I have ordered from them a few times now and I have always been pleased and the fabric has always been as I expected it to be.

Shockingly I have no orange sock yarn. Something I may have to rectify (because of course I don't have enough). Funnily, I received my mini skein set from Lisa as I was planning this post and one of the skeins contained orange. I will need to plan something with it for my room.

Another way of adding a hint of orange to a room is to paint (revamp) some old furniture. Chalk Paint is perfect for this (I learned this from Homemaker). Annie Sloan is famous for her chalk paint. I was having a look as I have a full length mirror with a wooden frame. The frame matches the wood in my room but it's looking a little tired. Once I build up the courage I might treat myself to some chalk paint and freshen it. Barcelona Orange would be perfect. Annie Sloan doesn't just sell her paint but she has a blog and hints and tips on how to use the paint. The paint itself is a little expensive but you can order samples for a fraction of the price and in some cases these might just be enough for the project you have in mind. I might order a sample and paint some picture frames.

My obsession with orange actually goes all the way back to me spotting a camper van cross stitch pillow in an issue of cross stitcher. That was back in 2012. I found a new appreciation for the colour and fell in love with camper vans. I did attempt to see if this pattern was still available to purchase from the magazine but sadly that's not the case and it's now out of print. I look forward to bringing this home.

I suppose that orange would go with yellow but the colour I chose was teal. Teal is one of my all time favourite colours. If you don't know that then you haven't been paying attention to my blog (so rude). When I planned the colours for a room that didn't exist yet I started this blanket. When I finished it a month or so before I purchased my flat I was actually unsure that I liked it. Turns out I just needed a lighter space for me to appreciate it. If you want to know more about the blanket you can see it here.

In other news I just about have all the furniture for my bedroom. I just have to get the wall art up (still to do) and add other craft projects I have planned. I'll give a full virtual tour once it's finished. Don't expect that to be soon.

Anyone else found a new appreciation for a colour they previously detested?

P.S I have seen a lot of orange with pink or with grey of late. I think I prefer the teal.