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Wool on the Exe

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Well hello my lovely ones. How are we all? Hope you have all had good Easters and bank holidays! What weather we have had!! Just incredible!! We managed a few trips to the beach together and my Seaside Shawl has had its first outing of the year!!

It’s still a way off being finished, but it’s getting there. The rule with this shawl, is that I can only crochet it when I’m by the sea!!

So as you can imagine, it’s taking me a while!!

So yesterday, I was one happy little crocheter, as I had a lovely little trip to the wonderful Wool on the Exe Shop which is located on Oxehampton Street in Exeter!!! And oh my was it worth the journey!!

It’s located at the top of the street, near a roundabout, but there are lots of car parking spaces outside to be found. Once you are inside, there is an overwhelming sense of yarny calmness and colour. Your eyes are drawn all over the place, with splashes of colour and yarny magicalness. It’s a yarn lovers dream. And then, you are greeted by one of the bubbliest, kindest yarny shop people I have ever met. Yesterday, my daughter and I met Debbie. She was sooooo nice and so happy to help to us. That’s one thing that has always astonished me in the yarny world – how lovely and welcoming people are. They make you feel at home instantly and part of a happy, creative group. There’s definitely a sense of belonging. And this belonging was definitely found in Wool on the Exe yesterday!!!

We only went in for a sneaky peak as it was my birthday and came out with a bulging bag of yummy yarn.

They have all sorts of yarny magicalness in there!!! And I am happy to report, there were some incredible yarns from companies that I had never heard of!! Small little business, making a living from their livestock or their ability to hand dye. Just the best!!

They also had some of the big boys like West Yorkshire Spinners. Now they must be proud of the range that they stock in this shop too, as there was all sorts of colourful treats to be had! I was so nearly tempted by the new 4 ply sock yarn that they have just launched, but my arm got twisted by a certain bouncing little girl who found this ball of fluff.

It was tucked away under the window display, but were hawked eyes by my girl and brought to my attention!!! Now I have heard of this kind of yarn from a friend at home, but I have never come across it before and have always been intrigued! It works up with normal crocheting or knitting, but looks and feels like a real teddy bear! And oh my it is sooooooo soft!! I can’t really describe how soft it is!! My daughter was literally doing somersaults she was that excited about it!!! Well, it’s another little pile of yarn to add to the project list!!! My daughter would like a teddy bear, so thought it would be a nice challenge to design one. It says it needs a 10mm hook, but thinking I would reduce that to a 9mm maybe, seen as it’s an Amigurumi project. Definitely don’t want any stuffing popping out!!! Oooo, my designing hat seems to be on and in go go mode!! Hmm, I had better get my other projects finished first!!

So some of you may have seen that my daughter has started Finger Knitting. Well, I think some kind of addiction has kicked in, as she is loving it!!! This is the girl that has tried with bits of crocheting, but has been shown how to Finger Knit once and is a complete natural. I mean she literally walked around a supermarket yesterday, finger knitting!!! So I promised her some yarn from the fabulous Wool on the Exe shop. Once she’d whizzed around the shop, her little eyes landed on some lovely soft West Yorkshire Spinner yarn from their Bo Peep range.

This is great for all sorts of projects. So I wonder what she will make with this!! Finger knitting is all about little strands, so it’s how you assemble them together, which gives you the end product. I reckon some little teddy blankets first and see how she goes.

She also picked up the Baby Zpagetti Print Cotton yarn. Debbie had said this was great for finger knitting, so off those two went, making a necklace, giving me a chance to squeal at the delights in the shop. Bless Debbie, she was so nice with her and even showed her how the cotton was worked up and made her this beautiful necklace!! So sweet of her!! Sure my daughter will cherish it forever!!

But for my own little birthday treat, I just couldn’t resist this skein of wonder! It’s a mix of Superwash merino wool and silk and was hand dyed by the one and only Debbie!! So it was obviously meant to be!! It’s sporting some incredible colours, so will have to have a think as to what project will do it justice!! Love that it’s called Easter Eggs! Maybe it can be my Easter Sunday scarf!!

Here’s a link to their wonderful website. You will find all their workshops and events on there! Hmm, I wonder if I could arrange a holiday down here, around one of their workshops! Now there’s a thought!!

https://wool-on-the-exe.myshopify.com/

So if you are ever in the vicinity and are able to take a magical step into this little gem, then please do!! It is well worth it and you will come out feeling very happy!!! Can’t wait for our next trip, hoping to meet Ella, Debbie and the whole team next time.

Wool on the Exe. Adventures in Yarn – think that says it all…

Happy hooking.

🌈Xx

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2018 CAL - Year of the Stitches Blanket

Year of the Stitches Week 44 – Zeros and Crosses Stitch

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Zeros and Crosses Stitch

Well what a week of birthdays, Halloween, Seaside holibobs fun. We have been down to Devon this week and explored the Jurassic Coast. Wow, what a beautiful area of the world. Exploring into seaside caves, walking across the red, almost rusty coloured sands and reaching cliffs tops with sparkling waters as far as the eye can see! Just breathtaking! One of the days we ventured to the little town of Beer. Once again a long vast pebble beach could be seen, but this time there were these little fisherman boats. Each one has been hauled on to the pebbles via long chains clunking around a big barrel! I think my son was more exhited about the tractor that pulled them in than the boats themselves!

Oh I do love this part of the country!!

I mean who needs to go abroad with a view like that.

We managed a night stroll on the beach too at Sidmouth. Something rather special about watching the sun set over the coastal cliffs.

My old faithful walking boots came out this holiday. They are over 20 years old as I had them at school. I struggle a lot with blisters and I think these are the only pair of boots that have never given me any!! Just thinking of all the miles they have done and the sights they’ve seen. I liked this picture. They look ancient compared to my daughter’s little pair, but I reckon they’ve got quite a few miles in them yet!!

On our little adventures, I did manage to sneak into one wool shop in Exeter. And oh it was a good one!! Well know as Wool on the Exe, it’s situated on Okehampton Street and is a delightful shop filled with the most incredible yarn!! I wish I had had more time to have a look at all their lovely yarns!!! Definitely one to remember and come back to.

So into this weeks blanket. It’s a double whammy again! We have two stitches combined together to create a fab zeros and crosses effect. Or as I would say – noughts and crosses effect. Thought it was rather apt to dedicate this weeks stitch to my two gorgeous children. They are growing up so so quickly! My daughter particularly seems to becoming a little lady! She watched me the other day doing a silly dance. She looked me with one of those, oh mummy looks and just said ‘You’re being weird Mummy!’ Priceless!! She would never have said that a few months ago! Funny!! She did give me the biggest grin afterwards mind!! My boy is growing up too! He is s full of life and happiness. Everything he seems to see could potentially be a game! He is definitely one of those fun, thrill seekers and a little rascally munchkin in the making! So here’s to you two! You keep me on my toes and make me smile everyday of the week!! My two little unicorn and digger bods!!

So this stitch uses a 3 row repeat, meaning that it is completely reversible. This means it would be great for a shawl. It’s named after, you’ve guessed it – the noughts and crosses game. As it looks very similar. It’s a great one to make up, once you get the hang of that Crossed Treble Stitch.

Supplies –

This weeks yarn is a beautiful powdery blue that matches my two little blue eyed bods!! The yarn is from the super soft Debbie Bliss merino wool range. You will need about 30g of yarn, a 4mm crochet hook, scissors and a blunt ended tapestry needle.

Supplies –

Chain (ch) – To make a chain, place the yarn over the hook then pull it through the loop on your hook.

Double Crochet (dc) – Insert the hook through the stitch, front to back, then yarn over hook and pull back through stitch. You will have two loops on your hook. Then yarn over your hook and pull through both loops.

Treble (tr) – To make a treble crochet, firstly yarn over your hook, insert through space/stitch, yarn over your hook, pull back through space/stitch. There should now be 3 loops on your hook. Then yarn over hook and pull through the first two loops, yarn over hook and pull through the last two loops.

Ok so here we go …

1 – So starting on the right side of your blanket, attach your new yarn and chain 4. This acts as 1tr and 1chain.

Now miss a stitch and *work 1tr in the next stitch. Chain 1 and miss a stitch.* Repeat this ** across the row.

At the end of the row with the last 2 stitches work 1tr, 1 chain and then 1tr in the last stitch. (201)

2 – So turn your blanket and chain 3. Now miss the first ch1sp and work 1tr in the second ch1sp.

Now you are going to work a 1tr Stitch in the missed ch1sp but working from behind. (This is where the arrow is pointing in the photo above.) So to do this, yarn over your hook and insert the hook from behind into the ch1sp.

Yarn over your hook and pull it back through the back, this will give you your usual 3 loops on your hook.

Now finish your treble as normal.

* Now work 1tr in the next ch1sp and then work 1tr in the previous ch1sp from behind.* Repeat ** across the row. (Just watch your tension with this row, as the stitch is a little narrower than the previous row.

At the end of the row work 1tr in the top of the chain from the previous row. (200)

3 – Turn your work and chain 1. Now work 1dc in the same stitch.

Now work 1dc in each stitch across the row. At the end of the row, work 1dc in the top of the chain stitches from the previous row. (200)

Fasten off and sew in your ends. And there you have the wonderful zero and crosses stitch. Really hope you like this one!! Please let me know if you need any help.

Before I go, just to say sorry for anyone who struggled to get on my website today! Seems to have had a bit of silly clitch but all sorted with the wonderful JetPack and Bluehost team. So all good.

Happy hooking everyone.

🌈Xx

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