Shop Goodies!

Here's a sneak peek of the new shop stock! I'll be adding these helmets over the next few days specially for christmas so keep an eye out! I'm popping the cable knit cardigans and new hoodies in the shop today so if you're after one you're in luck.

Getting ready!

We are getting ready to reopen the shop, promise! Once again my mystery illness has reared it's ugly head, fingers crossed we're closer to a diagnosis.

Shop stuff

I have been hoping to reopen the shop with new stuff but unfortunately my wireless modem has other ideas. I will hopefully be getting it sorted over the weekend now I've recovered from my horrible cold! There will be cable knit cardies, hoodies and a special new item coming up over the next few weeks - you might guess it if you look back a few pics. In the meantime here's a sneak hoodie peak and I promise I am working on the Cast Off tutorial just as soon as the modem lets me.
Happy Knitting!

Step away from the needles

Honestly, since cutting my hand open a few days ago and getting a needle stuck in my back I've decided to take a short knitting break. The needles are safely sealed up in a bag away from the bed.
I'm still knitting the helmet, I learnt how to do a buttonhole the other day (much excitement for me) and it was actually quite simple. Now I might need some buttons. I'm also getting ready to reopen the shop in a few days time with cable knit cardies and some hoodies, most of which is left over from Blythecon UK.  Thanks to a cold I may have to delay the casting off tutorial whilst I hide under a duvet with some tissues waiting for the nest episode of 'Single Father'

Important safety announcement!

For all you people with knitting needles please please please don't be stupid like me and leave them pointing up out of your knitting bag by the bed. I managed to get one stuck IN my back yesterday whilst dressing my 2 kids by the bed and it wasn't much fun - I had to pull the thing out.
So keep them safely in a bag somewhere unlike me. That's one lesson learnt anyway!

What's on my needles

Since returning from Blythecon UK I have been obsessed with knitting, I cannot stop thinking about it as I have very little actual knitting time! Despite the 3 day exhaustion that followed it was one of the most inspiring days of my life, seeing all those talented people & sharing the Blythe love. It also made me think lots about the direction I want my knitting to go in & where the shop is heading.
I'm determined to learn more knitting techniques so I'm working on projects that teach me something new everytime, even if it's simple. There is nothing as disheartening as finishing a complicated project only for it to look terrible at the end (I have a small box of knitting nightmares that I keep as a reminder!) At the moment I'm learning to knit these tiny shrugs to match my various dresses & at some point I will be adding the pattern on here. Before that I'll be doing the Cast Off tutorial (next week) and how to Purl. I'm also knitting a white version of this hat that my Mum showed me yesterday. I've already managed to gain 2 stitches where I wasn't supposed to, no idea how I managed that! Once it's finished I'll post a pic with the matching Woollyrockers knitted dress I'm working on. You can find the pattern on Woollyrockers website here
I hope everyone else is enjoying their knitting! If you want to ask me anything go ahead!

Blythecon UK!

Thankyou to everyone who made it over to see us at Blythecon & managed to knit with us. The afternoon was slightly chaotic so I apologise profusely to anyone who didn't get to do the workshop!
I will be posting more in a few days when I've had a rest!

New tutorial up!

At last, the last tutorial is up! I now have tutorials for slip knots, casting on and knit stitch - all the things I'll be showing at Blythecon UK.
My next tutorial will be casting off and basic finishing techniques, these should be up in a few weeks as I'm concentrating on my Blythecon leaflet for now.
Happy Knitting!

Slight delays!

My modem has decided to die a slow death so whilst I wait for the new one the new tutorials will have to wait. I'm hoping to have them all up by the end of this week ahead of the ever closer Blythecon UK. My Mum is busy knitting away and I'm even hoping to have some of my basic hat & scarf sets for sale too. That does mean i have to get knitting though!
Don't forget to stop by the stall and say hello if you get chance!

Really Useful Knitting Books!

Here's some of the books I have found very useful since starting knitting.
We'll start with Knitty Gritty. This book is for the absolute beginner so it is perfect if you're just starting out. However I would say that if you just want to knit for Blythe I wouldn't bother with the projects in this book as they are rather time consuming.
Next is the Ultimate Knitting Bible. If you become a crazy obsessed knitter like me then there is nothing better than browsing through this delicious book. The pictures are lovely, the instructions are clear & easy to follow. In short this is Knitting Nirvana. It takes you through LOTS of knitting techniques rather than going through knitting projects so it's very helpful.
Onto Knitspeak, a handy little tome that lives in my knitting bag. This book is an A-Z of knitting language and abbreviations. It has helped me solve many a knitting puzzle.
And now Knit Aid another handy little book that lives in my knitting book. Despite being aimed at an American audience it is very helpful, with diagrams of techniques, helpful hints and problem solving.
And last but not least one of my favourites How to Knit. This is actually a kids book but I have found it really useful as the diagrams are easy and unlike Knitty Gritty the projects are smaller so much easier to finish.

How I got knitting....Again

My Mum, being the keen knitter that she is, taught me to knit when I was little. I have no memory of this to be honest. I picked up the sticks again as an adult when I was confined to my bed with a threatened miscarriage so I whiled away the hours attempting to knit and watching Pie Griller play space games (he tried knitting aswell and all but welded the knitting to the needle) I didn't pick up the sticks again until after my second child came along and I found myself posessed with the desire to knit again after looking at peoples Blythe Knits online. I was desperate to knit but as my handy knitting teacher mother was busy I decided I'd have to refresh my memory another way. Embarrassingly it was one of my kids books that got me going. As you can see from the picture it's basic but it gave me an actual goal - a finger puppet! This comes from The Rainy Day Book (which is quite handy for kids during holidays in the UK) The finger puppets were chewed up and thrown away somewhere by my small people but the sense of achievement I got from actually finishing something was really inspiring. I ordered myself some expensive custom needles and a fantastic book called Knitty Gritty: Knitting for the absolute beginner. I also joined Ravelry and a new obsession was born. I've been knitting for just over a year now and it has been tremendous fun, I've made some bloody awful things for my girls, frogged some eyewateringly difficult knitting that I'd slaved over and even made up a few very basic patterns. If you're just starting out there are plenty of resources online, I've listed a few in my links section, and I've made up some very basic beginner blythe knits for you to try. The scarf is the best place to start as it is quick & simple to make. Happy Knitting!

Busy weekend!

Phew, with the school holidays I seem to be flat out doing family stuff at the moment. I hardly even got to look at my knitting needles, they're sat looking all sad with a half finished blythe bag on them for my patterns project. My littlest girl also managed to get her hands on some of it & brought it upstairs to me whilst I was in the shower. Needless to say I Was Not Amused. So the plan this week is to finish the bag, draft the hat pattern out and finally post the bajillions of Blythe Shopping Directory posts I've been planning. When the kids go back to school I will be posting more (when I'm not weeping over my first born starting school - kidding.Kind of)
I've actually completed my first hoodie and it looks really cute but I want to add some stuff to it before I show it off, I've even started my second with some design alterations. My Mum made some whilst on the beach and they are really cute! Hopefully I can post pics soon.
We're meeting up for thr Rowan Knitalong at Grassmere this weekend which looks a lot of fun, they will have sheep and actual wool so I may be forced into buying some. Hurray! I haven't bought any wool in, oh lets see, days!

I'm getting there!

After getting the blog set up changed all over again I've started work on my Blythecon UK notes. I'm going to put my scarf pattern & hat pattern up next week as well as other information for beginner knitters. I'll be starting work on video tutorials to demonstrate all the techniques I intend to show at the Blythecon Workshop. Don't worry - they will be basic!
I'm also going to be putting together a print out of the picture tutorials and the patterns. I'll throw in some other helpful info for getting started!
Phew!

Knitting of course!

Work is underway for Blythecon UK! I'm attempting to devise some patterns for the workshop handout before I get on with doing the instruction printout.
My Mum is sat on a beach somewhere in the south of England knitting some hoodies ready for the stand (she's been texting me pictures of her sunday best Annalise sat on the beach in knitwear - the woman is obsessed!)
Here's a pic of one of the scarfs as modelled by my HW Lucky.
I'm working on a simple hat design next but as it is now the school holidays I have less knitting time, I have also become obsessed with Lego Harry Potter on the Wii.
I'll be popping some tutorials and patterns on here as soon as they're done!

Update!

There will be a sale in the shop very shortly to clear out the old stock and I will be adding the new stock tonight!
Sorry for the lack of updates, I am snowed under at the moment trying to catch up. I can also reveal the exciting news that we will have a stall at blythecon uk if you're visiting. There will be hoodies, cardigans and mushroom hats!

Goodness me! I have hardly done any updating lately! There are new things to go in the shop but things keep cropping up. I have been ill again, the computer has been ill and my internet is struggling to upload pics which doesn't help.
Before uploading the new shop stuff I will be doing a sale on all the old stock so keep an eye out!

Another friday update, this time with more pictures hopefully!
My knitting mission is finally underway - I am determined to knit something for each of my girls, improving my existing skills and perhaps learning some new ones. I want to start making hoodies properly (with button holes!) and I really need to polish up my finishing skills.
My first blythe mission item is a blue dress for my HW Lucky. I'm using an old pattern that I bought on ebay and I'm adapting it for blythe as there are very patterns that fit her small body. So far, with my Mum's mathematical help, I've reduced down the recommended 44st cast on to make a frill on the bottom of the dress. I'm working on the skirt & trying to figure out what length it needs to be. If all goes to plan I'll have it finished by monday. Discovering podcasts has made my knitting time so much more enjoyable!
My Mum has been working on some requests and a few new things for the shop. If you've popped by my flickr account you'll probably have spotted them by now.
Here's a quick peek of what to look out for in the next few weeks

I'll let you know when more things are being listed anyways!

That took a while!

I finally finished sorting out the shipping stuff over on etsy this morning. To be honest we haven't sold anything in ages as we haven't updated much over the last few months and as a result the shipping rates were way off! Now, thanks to my handy shipping rates leaflet, they are all corrected. After an hour fighting with paypal I even managed to issue refunds on the overpayments.

My mum is visiting today with knitted goodies, we're going to play dollies and I'll have a good chat about all the shop stuff (custom orders, new hoodie design!!!)
The sun is shining so I may even get some nice pictures of her doll, she always brings one over and it's always a nice suprise. I do want to steal her Groovy Groove though.

On my knitting front I am ploughing on with a bright pink cardigan for my smallest daughter Dizzy. I will get back into blythe knitting soon, it's just so much simpler to knit the cardigan as it is simple garter stitch & I can leave it in the midst without losing my place.

At last! An update!

I finally updated rosesblytheknits after promising to for ages. What can I say, life with 2 small children is rather time consuming!
I'm waiting to hear back from my Mum about a custom order and a new hoodie pattern which I fancy trying when I get time. At the moment I keep buying yarn that just gets stuffed into my huge yarn bag. I must be crazy buying more, somebody stop me!

Feeling a bit better today and even contemplating carrying on with my complicated blythe top! I will probably be listing the new cardigans today or tomorrow so keep an eye out for them!
My mum has designed a new hoodie and hopefully we'll be selling that design too. She's away on holiday at the moment so I can't get any pics for now. I may even be going on holiday next month to Mull but it is still in the planning stages. Imagine the pictures I could take in a place like that.

Delay in updating

Well we got moved and as predicted it took slightly longer to get back online than it was supposed to. I've been flat out busy and then as soon as I get any spare time I fall ill.
I won't be listing any new stuff until the girls and I are feeling a bit better.
My knitting has also suffered from the move. Before I moved I had loads of ideas & was getting on with a few projects. Now I'm so tired that I'm just working away at Dizzy's garter stitch cardigan. Probably for the best or she won't even fit in it by the time I finish it!

Moving and then..update!

I'm moving this weekend, wish me luck! And as soon as I'm back I will be updating the shop with all the cute cardies! Hurray!

My knitting bag is still overflowing with wool and I've hardly even knit anything! My current project is to finish knitting a woollyrockers jumper for my sister's DaBi Yumi, it is taking me a while I must say. The knitting is ok, I just seem to get distracted. My head is usually full of ideas which I am too slow to knit. Nevermind! it is nice to look at all the pretty knitwear for inspiration.

My Mum has lent me some of her knitting patterns and some of them are hilarious! I had to post some over on Flickr as they were too good not to share.
There shall be new knits going in the shop next week once my Mum gets them finished and I shall model them on my new Guava when she arrives. Yes, I'm in a colourful dolly mood at the moment. Sadly I am also in the 'got to move house in 2 weeks' mood so no time for knitting! Of course that hasn't stopped me buying wool despite the wool bag overflowing. Oops.
And MSR left hong Kong yesterday - I am very excited! Now i just need to sell my FrFr and my husband can forgive me!

Open!

At last, I've restocked the shop after months of waiting! The link is in the sidebar!
Two hoodies didn't make it in as one is going to be in a goodie bag and one got marked on a photoshoot (that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it!)
I may get my own hoodie finished at some point, finding time to knit is proving difficult at the moment as I got the new pokemon game AND I'm supposed to be packing up the house. Meh!

The bumblebee dress and other things

I finally finished this (knitting, not finishing) today and I am quite pleased with how it turned out. I really think I need to try something new though so I've printed out some patterns today, we'll see how it goes. So here ya go!

The shop stuff

I currently have new stock for etsy lurking around my house. It has been here for weeks waiting to make it on to etsy and yet I haven't bothered, mostly because the local telephone exchange makes photo uploading about as quick as dial up. No joke, it took me about a month to catch up on my 365 pics just because of this.
So here, take a goosey gander and let me know what you think!

I'm actually knitting at the moment in a desperate bid to stop myself spending money on the girls as we're saving up for new house stuff (all very boring and angsty)
Predictably there are too many things that I want for my girls.
Such as new hats tonite over here http://www.etsy.com/shop/stormyfresh1970 at bambina carabina. My Goose would look awesomesauce in one of those.
And I want some custom tee's from http://www.etsy.com/shop/ababietoy with the phrases 'BL's have more fun', 'wibbly wobbley timey wimey' and 'also, I can kill you with my brain'.
My new headbands arrived from cupcakecozy so I should be content but is anyone ever content with what they've got? The Blythes always need more!