Designed to match the Feather Cap Beanie, these fingerless mittens reflect the patterns and colours of my little flock of beautiful Cream Legbar hens (and one cockerel).
Fingerless Feather Mitts are stranded knit mittens, using ten colours of Jamieson’s of Shetland wonderful pure wool Spindrift yarn. The motif itself and the colours I have chosen reflect the feather patterns and colours of my lovely Cream Legbar chickens: Freddie, Sorrel, Sage, and Lavender. From a distance they look a like a dull brown, but close up, their feathers are a beautiful brown/grey, with touches of cream and pink. The four background colours and six foreground colours reflect this lovely effect.
Sorrel
Suggestions are made for other colourways, notably a lovely monochrome palette.
Feather Cap is a stranded knit hat, using ten colours of Jamieson’s of Shetland wonderful pure wool Spindrift yarn. The motif itself and the colours I have chosen reflect the feather patterns and colours of my lovely Cream Legbar chickens: Freddie, Sorrel, Sage, and Lavender. From a distance they look a like a dull brown, but close up, their feathers are a beautiful brown/grey, with touches of cream and pink. The four background colours and six foreground colours reflect this lovely effect.
The pattern gives three sizes; teen/small adult, adult, and large adult. In addition to the subdued palette I also provide suggestions for a more brightly coloured palette and for a monochrome colourway in shades of grey.
In November 2016, I had a stall at my very first craft fair, the Holmbridge Rural Christmas Fair, organised by my lovely friend Carole. It was fantastically well attended, and rightly so because the stalls had been carefully selected to complement each other rather than overlapping, the hall was beautifully decorated, and the organisation top notch.
Holmbridge Parish Hall in all its Christmas finery
I hadn’t known what to expect, so I filled my 2ftx6ft table with lovely things, got out my knitting, and prepared to sit and knit while the throng of people looked and smiled and passed by. I didn’t get to knit one stitch, and I barely sat down for the entire six hours! It was a fabulous day, and I was completely bowled over by the enthusiasm of the crowds that attended, but completely exhausted at the end. I learned a lot that day, about not loading the table too much, keeping an eye on the stall, and chatting to people, even if they are not interested in buying from you. I also learned that I needed help to mind the stall, as I had underestimated how many people would all want to buy at once!
This year, the fair is on Saturday 18th November, and I shall be there again, with new ideas for display, new ideas for jewellery, and, hopefully, my husband sitting with me to provide moral support, a second pair of eyes, and help when I need a break.
I shall also be taking along some copies of the Raspberry Pi Shawl pattern for sale to people who may not be on Ravelry.
I hope, if you are in the area on 18th November, you will have time to call in and see some of the wonderful things on offer at the fair. Even if you don’t buy anything, there is a great cafe attached to the hall, with lovely homemade cakes!
To celebrate the arrival of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, I have been designing some more spring-like stitch markers, and they are now available in store.
First, the Spring is Sprung set of knitting or crochet markers. This set of five features glistening golden beads, the colour of daffodils waving in a balmy breeze (currently here in West Yorkshire it is about +2 degrees Celsius, but I can dream!), and a lovely banded agate marker in the colour of purple crocuses. There are also plenty of charm markers – a sweet bird with a big heart, a cute rabbit peeking through his paws, a Tibetan silver flower bud about to open, and a graceful tulip.
Spring is Sprung
Apart from the golden bead and bird charm, these markers are also available as single markers.
April will soon be here, and April’s birthstone is the lovely Rock Crystal. As well as a single marker and a set of markers, I have also added a pretty pair of rock crystal nugget earrings. Beautifully polished and light-catching, these earrings are just perfect as a birthday gift.
Finally, a new line in Jewellery for your Knitting and Crochet – stitch marker holders. I do send a small free cloth bag with each order, to keep your markers safe, but a clip to hold them all together is a welcome addition to my range. I shall be adding to the designs over the coming months, but my first two holders have been listed today and feature either a large feather charm or a large heart with a cutout pawprint. I am always on the lookout for larger charms as they are ideal for stitch holders, so watch out for future shop announcements!
Today I have been adding to our already extensive range of stitch markers; a new set of six markers, and two styles of single marker are now in store.
TheChess Set of stitch markers features six lovely solid 3D charms in the form of chess pieces, one each of King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Castle/Rook, and Pawn. Each piece is distinctive and rounded, and the set as a whole is available as either knitting or crochet markers.
The Crochet Queen is a charm I have been looking for for some time. Similar in shape and concept to my existing Knitting Diva and Knitting Queen stitch markers, these markers are slightly larger and flatter with a different finish. The Crochet Queen markers are a delightful addition to the range and I hope will find favour with crocheters; Crochet Queen is also available as a knitting marker.
Finally, to herald the Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, I have added the beautiful Tulip stitch marker. This is an elegant Tibetan silver charm, gracefully curved and finely detailed. It is available as either a knitting or crochet marker.
Mothering Sunday, or Mother’s Day, is just a month away, at least for the UK; 26th March is the date this year (in the USA it is 14th May). As well as our fabulous selection of jewellery suitable for any occasion, Granary Knits is delighted to offer two new ideas in stitch markers for you to give to your Mum, with love.
The first is a single stitch marker, available as either a knitting marker or a crochet marker/progress keeper. It is a flat heart charm with the word Mother etched on both sides. I think this is a pretty stitch marker, especially for crafters who like to use a marker but not something too big or flamboyant. A quiet heartfelt statement.
The second new item in store is a set of six stitch markers designed for a daughter to share with her mother. It features glitz, colour, and lots of hearts! The central charm is a split heart, with the word Mother inscribed on one half and the word Daughter on the other; this forms two markers. Flanking this is a flattish double sided heart featuring Mother and a clear rhinestone on each side, and another of the same style featuring Daughter and a clear rhinestone. Finally, two lovely silver foil-lined heart beads in a choice of three colours – a rich red, a medium blue, and a glowing gold. You can have two of the same colour, or choose a combination of any two of the three colours on offer. With each order of this set, you will also receive an extra one of my pretty cloth storage bags so that you can give one half of the set to your Mother in a bag and keep the other half for yourself! The set is available as either six knitting or six crochet markers. If you would like a mixed set (three crochet and three knitting, for instance), please message me for a price quotation.
Mother’s Day Mother/Daughter knitting markersHeart bead colour choiceLittle cotton storage/gift bags, made from quilting fabric
Rainbows are created by the refraction and dispersion of the sun’s light by rain or other water droplets in the atmosphere.
A sundog masquerading as an upside down rainbow
That’s the official scientific explanation for one of the beauties of nature. No matter how many times I see a rainbow, I have to stop and look at each one.
Recently, I have started knitting rainbows, as well as observing them:
As well as knitted rainbows, I am also partial to just threading them onto wire and hanging them from my earlobes:
To celebrate the start of a new year, we are having a sale! There are some bargains to be had in both stitch marker sets and single stitch markers. You can pick up some lovely gemstone markers for as little as £1 each.
There are only a few days to go till Christmas, and tomorrow is the Winter Solstice. So whether you celebrate Saturnalia, the Solstice, or Christmas itself, there is always time for knitting and crochet! This week, we are adding to our range of pagan imagery with a stitch marker set and some fabulous earrings.
The gorgeous Mother Earth set of knitting or crochet stitch markers combine charms, glass beads and some wonderful earthy gemstones. A spiral goddess reaches up to a beautiful Dragon’s Vein Agate bead; a tender mother elephant and her child sweetly entwine their trunks, dangling from earthy, rich, gold and brown Tiger’s Eye gemstone chips; a Tibetan silver ladybird is combined with glittery red seed beads; a silvery dove carries a leaf in its beak as it flies below a lovely mixture of sky-blue glass beads, iridescent and silver-lined; a mushroom waves its textured cap under a canopy of glorious green banded malachite chips.
The spiral Goddess also appears in an amazing pair of earrings. The goddess bridges the gap between the Earth – a lovely cushion of orange/brown Carnelian – and the Sky – a stunning Dragon’s Vein Agate faceted bead in cyan blue with light veining in brown. The Goddess herself is beautifully detailed, with spirals and swirls etched all over.
These earrings are stunning, very long (with a 80mm drop!), and they dangle and sparkle as you move. If you like the goddess earrings but would prefer different gemstones – perhaps Garnet or Lapis Lazuli, or glorious green Chrysocolla – then email me on sue@granaryknits.co.uk or message me on Etsy and I shall be delighted to discuss your requirements with you.
I love using stitch markers in my knitting and crochet projects. I find them both practical (I rarely if ever make a mistake in pattern repeats when using them) as well as beautiful (I like the effect of their movement and glitter as I work). My favourite stitch markers have some sort of meaning for me; perhaps I made them from an old pair of earrings belonging to my mother; perhaps they were given to me by a friend; perhaps they have an intrinsic symbolism, such as Buddhist and Pagan iconography. You can see all of my Buddhist stitch markers in the Granary Knits Etsy store and I am starting to introduce Pagan symbols as well, so keep an eye on the shop for new additions.
I have been making a lot of new stitch markers recently. Some are themed and relate to the natural world that inspires me, such as Dreaming of the Sea and Deep in the Forest.
Dreaming of the SeaDeep in the Forest . . . something stirs!
Fingerless Feather Mitts are stranded knit mittens, using ten colours of Jamieson’s of Shetland wonderful pure wool Spindrift yarn. The motif itself and the colours I have chosen reflect the feather patterns and colours of my lovely Cream Legbar chickens: Freddie, Sorrel, Sage, and Lavender. From a distance they look a like a dull brown, but close up, their feathers are a beautiful brown/grey, with touches of cream and pink. The four background colours and six foreground colours reflect this lovely effect.
