Vintage and antiques galore in Buenos Aires

Before I visited this amazing city I didn't realise how many antique and vintage shops there would be. It was so interesting to wander around. Some were full of posh and fancy antiques with huge price tags, others were more jumble sale like where you had to rake around more, which I think is more fun anyway. 

Knit graffiti in Buenos Aires

Last year I saw a few pics via twitter of the Stitches and Hos group and their knit graffiti antics around Birmingham. 

Then while wandering around the Palermo district in Buenos Aires I spotted some knit graffiti there too! so thought I'd share some of the pics I took.  It seemed like it had been there for a while which is really nice to see. Unfortunately the ones put up around Kings Heath disappeared pretty quickly. 

I love this one, its like lots of spider webs

The colours of this one look awesome, so bright!

I say more knit graffiti required...a great way to brighten up any street!! 

Back to reality

After 7 weeks of adventure in South America I made it safely back to the UK on Thursday. Now that I've waded through all the laundry, hovered up all the dust, stocked up the fridge and chucked out all the junk mail I finally feel ready to get stuck into my new full time creative life! 


Before I left for my travels I resigned from my day job as a physiotherapist and now a completely new adventure begins. I am planning on opening a beautiful fabric and haberdashery shop in Moseley, Birmingham in an amazing old mock tudor building that I will bring back to life again! 

The building has been vacant for over 6 years and previously used as a boys club since the 1920's. As soon as the council grant up planning permission the site will once again be a hive of activity as we renovate the building and turn it into an exciting creative hub. 


As well as a selection of gorgeous fabrics, trims, buttons and other craft supplies we will offer a fantastic range of classes and workshops so we can spread the crafty handmade bug.  


So stay tuned to my blog or follow me on twitter for all the latest updates on how the business plans are coming along as well as snap shots of of my South American adventures!

7 weeks without stitching - NEVER!

As my big trip to South America looms closer I've been thinking about what projects I can take that will keep me going during 7 weeks of backpacking.  We have decided to only take 2 smallish rucksacks each. Mine is 33 litres and hubbys is 35 litres. So space is seriously tight.

We've got quite a distance to cover, and even though we will be spending a lot of time trekking and sightseeing there are quite a few long bus and plane journeys in to get through as well. What better way to pass the time than to take some projects to keep me going.

I thought about taking the vintage knitted top that I keep going on about, but I would be beside myself if anything happened to it, its taken me so long to figure out how to do it and I've spent so long working on it.

A few weeks ago now I was at the Knitting and Stitching show in London and the lovely people there taught me how to crochet. I had tried once before but made the mistake of not practising regularly enough and quickly forgot how to do it.

Since then I've been practicing granny squares and I am defiantly getting more of a hang of it...although still not mastered what to do with all the loose ends.

So I thought something like this might be good to squeeze in my rucksack. Only one hook needed...I can take just a few balls of wool...no biggie if my rucksack gets nicked or anything. Maybe by the time I get back I'll have enough squares to stitch me up a blanket!

I bought this gorgeous crochet book by Nicki Trench recently. 

It has a few blanket projects in it but I'm going for the beginner one...this 'Springtime Throw'. Its bloomin' massive (finished size 162cm x 2223cm)...so I'm just going to work with the few yarn balls that I have and see how many squares I get to. 

House of Fraser have a sale on the Amy Butler Belle Organic aran and DK at the moment...I think they are selling of there end of line stock and I managed to top up some of the yarn that I already had for just £2.50 per ball (usually over £5 so a bit of a bargain). Only problem was you had to buy it in packs of 10 balls...which seemed excessive....so I managed to find a few smaller packs and I'm planning on using the cream and the two shades of blue to make up a smaller blanket. Will probably end up being a baby sized blanket...now I just need a baby...maybe not just yet! 

Planning, packing and stitching too...of course!

I've been busy trying to get organised for my upcoming trip over the past few weeks. Me and the hubby are going to Panama and South America for 7 weeks and we leave in just 2 weeks time! We only decided to go about 5 weeks ago so it all been a bit of a rush to get ready. Here is a map of our planned route....

My cousin has put us in touch with one of his close friends who is a tour organiser based in Lima and she has been so amazing!... putting an itinerary together for us and she is even picking us up at the airport in Lima. We just have to sort out a week in Panama ourselves. 


In between ticking off my several to do lists I've been working on the vintage knitting pattern I found at my parents house in the summer. I thought it didn't look to difficult....I could work out all the abbreviations and when I first read it I thought..yeh sure...I can work it out. Hmmmm.....so far its certainly not been a smooth ride. On the positive side I can't believe how much I have learned by the section I have done so far. 

A few weeks ago I got soooo stuck with it. The pattern presumed I had special powers and could work out complicated increases with minimal information. I seriously got so stuck and in such a state. After a frustrating phone call to my Mum, who couldn't help me figure it out (and I don't blame her, it was really complicated especially when she could't actually see what I was doing) I turned to Ravelry and searched for knitting groups in my area. What were the chances....? There was a group meeting that night at the MAC. 


Everyone I met was so lovely and friendly and I got the much needed help from Minty who even gave me some stitch markers to help me on my way. It all seemed so much clearer. I needed to draw out a chart of the pattern..which seemed simple...until I made about 3 mistakes in that which then lead me having to undo 3 rows (of 106 stitches!), In process I also managed to drop stitches...thanks you tube videos for teaching my how to pick these back up again! 

But since then I've been on a roll with it...and now managed to get a huge chunk done of the back panel.

So now I've managed to figure out how to do knitting 'a la fair isle'....pick up dropped stitches...use stitch markers...turn complicated instructions into a chart...incorporate increases to follow the pattern. Not bad I reckon! And now I can't put it down!  


I quite fancy making a new wallet for my trip though and found some great tutorials online last night by very purple person so thats my job for next weekend I think!

Getting projects finished - eventually!

I've been a bit of a stranger to my blog recently and have been finding it hard to get time to keep things up to date. Having said that I have been busy, as always stitching, sewing, knitting and the like. I went to the Knitting and Stitching Show in London a few weekends ago for the first time. I had a great time and even managed to get someone to teach me how to crochet!


On the business side of things (please see this post for summary) I went to a free workshop run by the Business Link people last week about finding and keeping customers. I wasn't sure about it before hand but actually ended up having a really good time and got a chance to talk a lot about my new business and how to give my customers a 5 star experience! All very exciting...so please keep an eye on how I'm getting on so you can be involved once I'm up and running (fingers crossed opening spring 2012!).


I've written a few posts recently about trying to complete all the various craft type projects I have on the go around the house. And continuing on my mission I've managed to get a few more things finished off over the last few weeks.


This is an Amy Butler  design for an afghan bolster cushion cover that I adapted a bit and decided to do a stripy design for the back. When we had the heat wave at the beginning of the month I had a lovely relaxing time sitting out in the sun finishing it off. 

 This is a Cath Kidson design from her new "Sew" book that my friend Amy gave for my birthday. It turned out really well, and I love that it is lined as well, makes it feel much more sturdy. Using it a a knitting bag at the moment but its solid enough to carry heavy things too so very versatile!

 A while back now I posted about the screen printed roman blind that I got finished and hung up in my studio/spare room. I had quite a few scraps and practice prints left over and it seemed a shame not to do anything with them so I made some cushions to match. I just appliquéd them onto a neutral background colour and made an envelope type fastening on the back and secured with self cover buttons. I also made a few of the practice prints into tote bags as well (not that I actually needed any more of them!)

 Some of you may recognise the design below from the Cross Stitcher July issue. I spotted it in Mollie Makes Magazine and thought they looked lovely. Its taken a while but managed to get to finished over the weekend. I used Japanese fabric that I bought from The Eternal Maker at the Knitting and Stitching Show to make the back and sides of the cushion. Its got parrots and peacocks on it - still loving' all the bird related stuff that out there at the moment!

I also eventually finished the dining chair that I've been hammering away at for what seams like ages! I'm really pleased with how it has turned out, even if I don't really have anywhere to put it at the moment. My little house is just about bursting at the seams with various bits of furniture that I've re-vamped or given a make over too. I've also seem to have made up so many different cushion covers over the last few months theres hardly any room for me left on the sofa!

So whats next?!?!? I've started making up the vintage knitting pattern that I found in the deepest darkest depths of my mum and dads garage......

Its meant to be made up in 3ply (which I've discovered doesn't really exist anymore unfortunately) so I'm using 4 ply instead and altered the needle size. I did a tension square to check so just going for it and I'll see what happens. If it ends up not fitting I'll use it as part of a display in my new shop! Just got the back panel rib done so far so watch this space for how I get on with it!

New business venture - The Next Stitch is changing

Since starting this blog back in April when I decided to spend more time being creative I've stitched and knitted and purled and hooked, along with various other things to create lots of handmade things for myself, my little house and friends and family.


In fact, I've had such a fantastic time that I've decided to leave my day job to open my own creative business!!!


This mock tudor building (in the heart of Moseley Village, Birmingham) is soon to be home of 'The Next Stitch.' A beautiful fabric and haberdashery shop with an exciting programme of workshops and short courses that will teach you all the creative skills you need to make lovely personalised handmade things. Whether your a complete beginner or have dabbled or just want to try something new...there will be something for anyone who loves to be creative!

Okay so the building needs a bit of work...but I'm soooo excited about starting this venture, along with my hubby, and can't wait to get started transforming the building into an inspirational treasure trove of handmade goodyness.


My hubby has owned the building since 2006 and those of you who know Moseley will know that the former boys club has been in a bit of a sorry state for the last few years. Its been a long time coming but we've decided that reviving the building and its original features and using it as a location for this type of creative business is the best use for it and will allow the community to get use from the building once again.


The planning application is now with Birmingham City Council and we hope to get a positive response by the end of November. In the mean time we are busy networking with local organisations and planning what our future potential customers would most like from our business. All plans going well we hope to be up and running in Spring 2012!


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