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Author Archives: Louise Diggins

Five different coloured mini skeins and a pair of ribbed wrist warmers on a wooden stool decorated with strawberry fruits, leaves and flowers. Behind is the card that inspired them

Reversible Wrist Warmers

Wrist warmers could not be any simpler than these two tubes of ribbing but the fact that they have two thumb holes so can be turned upside down to show a different colour or even folded over to be worn …
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A yellow top hanging on a vintage blue coat rail. Roses are placed on top of the rail with two playing cards.

Modified Three Needle Bind Off

Aeolian Top This is the second of two tutorials for the Aeolian top. To mirror the chain edge created by the Crochet Cast-On we used a Modified 3-Needle Bind-Off at the side seams. This eliminates the purl bumps and gives …
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Two shawls on a dark wood background

Cornish Thrift Top and Shawl

If you're considering a bit of summer knitting we have the Cornish thrift top with matching shawl for when the summer doesn't live up to expectations. The simple vest style top is worked in pieces from the bottom up in …
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A rich chocolate cake on a white cake stand

Delicous Death

Our club boxes often come with a recipe and my favourite was from last January's Poison box, Delicious Death a frugal chocolate cake inspired by Agatha Christie's A Murder is announced. It was published in 1950 when Britain was still …
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A winter heartland scene with low sunlight through frosted grass

Winter Club Box

I'm trying to avoid going out to the shed to wash wool as it's so very icy outside and so very warm inside I thought I do a show and tell for our winter club box. The theme was a …
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A gnome and fairy sitting on a windowsill

Gnomes and Fairies

During lock down to make Nicola laugh I sent her a gnome in the post. Who doesn't raise a titter at a surprise gnome? In return she sent me a fairy, more Mavis Cruet than Cinderella. Here is the pattern …
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A pair of hand knit socks laying on an old leather suitcase with a throw and old book

Pip Pip Socks

We have a new sock pattern, Pip Pip, a top down sock with an easy purl, slip stitch pattern which is separated by increasing rounds of stocking stitch. The pattern is carried on down the heel flap and once more …
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A view of dark purple poppies and their seed heads

Club boxes

We are often asked if we do subscription boxes or advent calendars and the answer has always been a firm no and then, if you're really unlucky, a long explanation of why not, but we've changed our minds. We've decided …
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Summer Dyeing

I'm trying out a new sock base, a GOTS certified, superwash organic merino. As I only had a few skeins I thought I'd try a few different dyes, all the skeins were pre-treated with 7% alum and I picked a …
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A row of bunny blockers clothed in many different socks all hanging up on a garden fence

#virtualwonderwool

This weekend should be Wonderwool Wales and instead of heading for Builth Wells were both staying at home, not flattening the curve but jumping up and down on the pesky thing. We're, however, joining in with #virtualwonderwool and have free …
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A table in front of a leaded bay window. An open pattern book is surrounded by balls of Shetland wool and knitted colour work samples. There is a tray with a mug of tea and a teapot.

Fair Isle

I have three different types of knitting: a small portable project for travelling; knitting for work, we always need samples and there’s usually a time limit so these are the ones I work on most and finally something I’m making …
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A cream plate with large slices of fruitcake on a folded linen cloth and against a wooden background

Saucepan Cake

At shows we can  often be found munching on a piece of cake and we never knowingly travel with out a least one cake in the tin.  The perfect show cake is a substantial and sturdy thing, without icing or …

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Four skeins of yarn dyed with Dock

Dyeing with Dock

Woollenmatters suggested a hashtag on Instagram to celebrate the humble dock as a dye plant.  She had a lovely photo of four skeins ranging in colour from a rich yellow, through rust and tan and finally a dark brown. It …

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Dyed yarn

Pink

There has been a bit of a pink theme this month.  Having eaten my way through a lot of avocados lately I saved the stones and skins for dyeing.

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Eucalyptus

Natural dyeing with Eucalyptus bark

Before I played with wool I grew plants for a living, there were a lot of hardy exotics in my life and I still occasionally spend the odd morning at the nursery talking about plant production and happened to notice …

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A pair of Lewes mittens on a rusty metal background

Lewes

The plan was to publish this pattern at the beginning of December; a perfect last minute gift that used scraps of yarn – then the website went wrong.  Really, really wrong.

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Howling

Howling: a fictional Sussex village in Stella Gibbons’ classic novel, Cold Comfort Farm.  A place where gumboots are essential and the wind comes in “snarling cries”.  Also the name for this easy to memorise, mock rib cowl that’ll keep the …

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The Miss Lavish work bag

Miss Lavish is my workbag.  Now I don’t usually name my possessions.  The cat spent several months without a name and even now I’m not sure he’s a Perkins but it’s sort of stuck. My workbag, however, was named instantly, …

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selborne sock

Selborne

Selborne is a small village in Hampshire close to where our grandparents lived when we were children.  Famous to most for the home of Gilbert White, the naturalist and for us the zig-zag path and violets.

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Ainsworth & Prin Blockers

One  of the things about attending lots of lovely wool shows is that Nicola and I spend a lot of time in a car.  As I can’t get my head around an automatic gear box she gets to do all …

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Yarndale

It’s Yarndale in Skipton, North Yorkshire this weekend and we’ll be on stand 167 if you’re visiting.

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Sampler

Sampler, a warm woolly scarf to keep out the winter draughts and just what you need to knit when the temperatures hit 30°C. We had this scarf as a sample at Woolfest and we also meant to have the pattern …

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Provisional crochet cast on

When I taught myself to knit in the early 1980’s life was simple when a pattern said cast on you did just that, a simple cable cast on and off you went.  There was only one way to cast on, …

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Greenfinch

I’ve been dyeing stock for our first ever show at Woolfest at the end of next month and I have a new yarn base to play with.  It’s a lovely springy South American merino 4 ply, very soft but still …

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Erika Knight Studio Linen

Recently Nicola and I went to H+H Cologne on a serious shopping trip for the shop.  Just before she left home Nicola phoned with a list of the clothes that she was taking as we both have similar tastes and …

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Easter Biscuits

When we were kids, Easter was a hot cross bun on Good Friday and a Quality Street chocolate egg each which was always hidden at the back of Mum’s wardrobe, so the egg hunt was remarkably quick.  We never had …

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Wiveton

I live with a bird watcher and our holidays are spent where the birds are sometimes this has added benefits, the bird observatory on Fair Isle is fantastic, luxury rooms, amazing scenery and a museum with knitting, what more could …

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