Is it just me, or has anyone else felt that this has been a very long January? I feel quite a lot of relief at the arrival of February. I can see snowdrops and other bulbs beginning to peep out and the cosmos which I sowed last week and put on my windowsill are already germinating. And before anyone says it is too early, I was only following orders from Gardeners World Magazine. It is unusual for me not to be desperately sowing cosmos in April, so I am feeling rather smug. I have onions on the go too, and am eyeing up tomatoes and peppers for next month.
As is usual at the end of the month, the purpose of this blog is to remind you what is coming up in the next month in the shop. Compared to March and April, this month is relatively quiet. We are starting a Beginners Crochet Course on the 1st, which is already fully booked, and we also have an Amigurumi Workshop on 15 and 22 February. Amigurumi is the Japanese art of crocheting small animals, in this case a little cat. There are still places on this course, so if you are interested you can book here.
As usual we have regular Social Stitchers sessions on the following dates:
Tuesday 4 February 11am to 1pm
Tuesday 11 February 2 – 4pm
Saturday 22 February 2 – 4pm
Tuesday 25 February 7 – 9pm
Just a reminder that the shop is still a little bit chilly and we suggest you wear all your most fabulous knits to keep you warm.
One of our customers asked if we would consider a Knitalong of a Fair Isle jumper. So I am asking if anyone else would be interested, and if so, could you let me know and perhaps even suggest a pattern that you might have been eyeing up. If you want to do a Knitalong, but not Fair Isle, I would also be interested to hear your suggestions. So far we have knitted the Manou by Isabel Kraemer, the Love Note by Tin Can Knits, the Tulip Guernsey by Midori Hirosi, the Salty Days Sweater by Veronika Lindberg, the chunky Nordic knit Fjelltur, various cabled sweaters (I have only just finished the one we cast on in March 2024), and we always do the Shetland Wool Week hat which is released in June. The designer Laura Penrose has just launched a very pretty cardigan, the Midland Cardigan, knitted in John Arbon Textile’s Appledore DK, which apparently is interestingly constructed, so that might be a good thing to do with other people. Or perhaps a summery knit might be considered, such as Rebecca Clow’s Tolsta Tee. I would be very interested in your thoughts.
Of course, Mandy and I will continue to be very busy with preparations for the East Anglia Yarn Festival in March and the Retreat in April . There is so much to do, but it is amazingly enjoyable. Like many of you, I have some projects on my needles/crochet hook keeping me busy when I can fit them in. In addition to which, I seem to have purchased a rather academic book of essays called ‘Reading the Thread’ which will be interesting to bury myself in, although it seems mostly to be about fabric rather than yarn. And February is a much shorter month than January which in itself is cheering.
