Just because the weather's dull and cool doesn't mean that we have to be. We're lucky here at Twist & Purl because we have bright and warm customers. They are always popping in to show us their newly finished garments. Obviously, many of our customers, knit with a specific aim in mind; a cardigan for a friend, a sweater for a family member or a top for themselves. But a few knit, garments or other items, just for the love of knitting alone. Sue, is one of a growing number of people who simply enjoy knitting. She has grandchildren and she does knit for them and for others but she often knits things just because she likes the pattern or the wool and simply wants to "Knit"!  She called in the other day with this little cardigan to select the buttons. To the best of our knowledge she did not have anybody in mind when she knitted this. It's beautiful! The wool is Sirdar Snuggly Baby Speckle  and the pattern is Sirdar 1358. Keep knitting Sue and thanks for letting us photograph this lovely little cardigan.

Wimbledon may be over but I'll bet "Knitting Woman" is still going strong ( see post 2/7/2012 ) as are many of our customers in this cold, wet, bleak weather. I will highlight some of our new Autumn Lines later this week, even though we haven't had a Summer yet, because in weather like this it seems appropriate to start thinking about Autumn and Winter. Anyway, in the meantime I thought it would be nice to showcase a Summer yarn in the vain hope that this alone would make the "The Great Rain Spirit" repent and think twice about the rest of the deluge plan, dust off the suitcase, pack the Speedos and Ray-Banns and take a well earned holiday!

                                                                                                                                                                                                   
 So, here is a beautiful little cardigan knitted by another of our lovely customers, Beth.  
 Beth was kind enough to lend this cardigan to us to put in the shop window. The Pattern is Sirdar 9419  and the wool is Sirdar Summer Stripes DK shade 0312. It really is a delightful little cardigan and would be perfect to slip on any cool Summer evening.
  Thanks for this Beth! It's a lovely piece of work that you can be proud of.

It's been a very productive time for some of our Customers. The Wimbledon fortnight is supposed to be a very quiet time for a lot of retail businesses but we haven't noticed it. Jackie, one of our lovely customers, popped in this morning to pick up a few bits and was wearing her latest creation. We just had to get a picture. This is a Wendy Pattern (5202) and Jackie elected to knit the Long version using Bretts Rustic Aran in colour shade DAT20. 
Now it may be July but it's a bit nippy today and it's set to be a dull and wet month, according to the Met Office, but when you can knit like Jackie, you can have the right garments ready no matter what the weather.

Well, Knitting Woman seems to have caused a few waves! Goodness knows why! Those opposed to Centre Court Knitting seem to be outraged that a young woman can knit while watching a centre court game. The knitting advocates, of course, wonder what all the fuss is about. Many of our customers have no problem at all in Knitting and watching Television or Knitting and reading a Book or, indeed, both! Knitting is very therapeutic and relaxing and with practice you will not only be able to knit well but will be able to centre your attention on other things at the same time.

  Just look at this jumper knitted in Twilleys Freedom Echo Recycled. Lynn knitted this in no time whilst attending to other things. By the by, you really have to see this to appreciate it. It's a washed out recycled yarn and it looks great on the reel but fabulous when knit up (Twilleys Pattern 9166) . It has minute flecks of other colours running through it. An excellent choice for for the Wimbledon Finals!