Knit and wine

Tuesday 3rd June

7.30 -10 pm

xxx

Knit and wine

will be held on Tuesday 29th April

7.30 - 10pm

Have a great Easter!

Happy bunnies

I wanted to try crocheting with some Debbie Bliss Eco Baby cotton - the pastel colours are so pretty. It is essentially a baby yarn, so we have displayed it in the shop in a vintage doll's pram purchased from a Belgium flea market a couple of years ago. It was crying out for a blanket......

This little blanket was a sweet, quick project and would work just as well bigger.....or smaller as a cushion. 

Tea for two

For Nick and Sara with love and a giant pompom!!

Knit and wine

Tuesday 25th March

7.30 - 10pm

Do join us :-))

Time out

Phil and I spent a lovely long weekend in the Lake District last week, catching up with good friends and family. We went by train - the journey from Lancaster to Green Road (nr Broughton in Furness) hugs the coast with beautiful views as the little one carriage train literally crosses the sea at some points. We travelled up on the west side of the country and came back down the on the east side, crossing Yorkshire from Carnforth to Leeds.

We stayed with my cousin Gaby in her lovely new house with views over the Duddon Estuary. The Duddon Valley was reputed to have been Wordsworth's favourite valley in the The Lakes. I found this picture by Amanda White who has done a whole host of lovely paper collages of writers' homes. This is Dove Cottage where Wordsworth lived.

Still in the north - we crossed Yorkshire on the way home, on a two carriage train this time. So here is Haworth House - home of the Bronte sisters. Take a look at Amanda's work which she sells on Etsy. http://www.etsy.com/people/AmandaAWhite

Amanda's work reminds me of Grandma Moses - a self taught naiive American painter, who started painting at the age of 70! I recently bought a second hand book about her and have been marvelling at her beautiful pictures. She was incredibly prolific and turned to painting after bad arthritis in her hands hampered her embroidery. She crammed a lot into the last 30 yrs of her life and lived until she was 101 (she died in 1961). 

A blissful life

Debbie Bliss has launched a beautiful new website, featuring her range of yarns, books and free patterns.

debbieblissonline.com

Let's hang out

Time for a new peg bag. My old blue plastic one blew away in a gale and got smashed. I chose the 'pegs' peg bag handmade by Ruth Kearns.

 

I always like to put the washing outside to dry if possible - there is nothing like the smell of fresh air in the laundry when you bring it in back indoors. The fabrics Ruth uses are really uplifting and make pegging out a bit more joyful (this one has mini irons on it). 

The pink fabric has little laundry symbols on it and rainclouds for the lining. 

Hand made peg bag by Ruth £14.95 @ Jolie. http://www.jolie-home.co.uk/mall/departmentpage.cfm/Jolie/_435861/1/Handmade-%26-Vintage

Knit and wine

Tuesday 25th February

7.30 - 10pm

Do join us xx

Baby love

I finished the baby dress in Rowan Merino Silk dk. I don't have a baby to knit for at the moment, but I like knitting little things - maybe one day I will.  I couldn't actually knit when my daughter Scarlett was born 23yrs ago now, but if I had been able to, I would have knitted her this.  Oh well another sample for the shop! Should I knit her something now she's grown up? Possibly, but Scarlett is such a good knitter herself she doesn't need me to. Hey, ho!

New in from Debbie Bliss, spring colours in Eco Baby. This a cotton yarn that knits to the same tension as Baby Cashmerino, so all the patterns for each yarn are interchangeable. 

Flowers in the rain

'Rain, rain go away, come again another day'. 

Brighten up your day with a basket of flowers. Poacher's basket above new in at Jolie. Perfect for storing magazines and knitting books of course. £14.95
http://www.jolie-home.co.uk/mall/productpage.cfm/Jolie/_POACHE001/479508/Poacher%27s-basket

Balcony basket (also £14.95) filled with cheery Cosmos.

Fantastic day......

Well, who knows who's going to drop by on a Wedsnesday afternoon for cream tea Knit and Chat at Jolie? For those old enough to remember - Nick Heyward from Haircut 100. He is working next door with Phil, on a new project and admitted that he is very partial to homemade scones. And he can crochet.......taught by his gran, so he is definitely allowed in!

Knit and wine

Back for more in 2014

Tuesday 28th January

7.30 - 10pm

at Jolie

Yarn alert

New in from Rowan, we have decided to stock Baby Merino Silk dk. It's a lovely soft yarn, specifically developed for babies and is machine washable. We think it is equally suitable for adult garments as the colour range is quite extensive and not just the traditional pastel baby palette. It is a beautiful yarn with a slight marl giving a lovely soft texture. 

The Rowan studio booklet, Folk, pictured above has 10 fabulous patterns to knit (and x 2 to download) using Baby Merino Silk dk, all of them from 0-3 months up to 5 yrs. There is a cosy grand dad cardigan, a lovely little cape and this cute dress in 'Strawberry' - the prettiest pinky red.

I decided to have a go at some fair isle and chose the dress to knit. 

Congratulations

We are all clucking here at Jolie at the moment. 

Congratulations to new grandmas, Sandra and Beryl on the births of Oscar and Taryn, both born this month. And to Jennifer, whose next grand daughter is expected in February. Fingers and needles are flying.

My crochet doll

Linda and I read about this lovely book last year, but unfortunately it was in French. But hey presto it's been published in English.  

Written by Isabelle Kessedjian, it is just charming. 

The book includes a pattern for the basic doll and then patterns for her fabulous outfits and accessories.

 School uniform, party dress, teddy bear onesie, dressing up clothes, underwear and socks and pyjamas.

                                          

The photographs are lovely with the 'aah factor' on every page!

Happy New Year

After a lovely Christmas we have de decked the shop and are ready for the new year. 

Jolie is looking cool, fresh and pretty with winter white and accents of greens, grey and pink. All good wishes to everyone for a happy and healthy 2014 and hope to see you soon.

Oh joy

Carolyn excelled herself at Knit and Chat this week with the prettiest Christmas cupcakes ever!

It seemed a shame to eat them ....but hey, we did and they were delicious. 

Let it snow!

We have such talented customers here at Jolie and it is so nice to see their creations. We always encourage a bit of  'show off and tell'.

Jo finished her stunning snowflake garland just in time for Christmas..... and each one is different, of course.

Sue brought in the two beautiful tippet scarves she has knitted for Christmas gifts in Louisa Harding's Luzia soft fur yarn. 

Little trees

We did two Christmas tree workshops this December. Every tree made was a success and all sorts of different yarns were used either on their own or by adding a bit of sparkle and mixing two together. They were all so pretty.