Knitting and news

I've been very neglectful of the crafting element of my blog so far! I love making things, and I dabble in lots of different crafts - sewing, pattern making, painting, felting, printing, cross-stitch.. at the moment my love is knitting! It's so relaxing and yet productive. At the moment I'm knitting this hat for my boyfriend's Christmas present (yes I like to start early!) It's from this pattern:  basket weave hat on the cute Kody May Knits blog, and it's super simple. I love basket weave. It looks great but you don't have to concentrate too hard while you're knitting.

My other current project is a patchwork blanket that I've been working on between other projects for literally three years now. It's multicoloured and lots of different stitches. One day it will be finished.. here are some of the squares I've done so far! There is nothing so enjoyable at this time of year as sitting by the fire with a cup of hot chocolate, knitting and watching some fab tv (aka X Factor).

In non-crafting news, I am thrilled to have been chosen as a featured blogger on the really lovely Wrinkle in Time Vintage blog. I'm not sure what date it will be posted but I will put up a link when it goes live!

Are any of you guys crafters or planning to make some cute handmade gifts for Christmas this year? Am I the only one who starts thinking about Christmas this early?!

Special delivery!

tba dress (via Asos) // H&M tights // Aldo shoes

Hurrah, my Asos order arrived!!! And I am delighted to report that the tba dress fits perfectly. I was a little worried because I ordered a size Small but I have quite a big chest and silk isn't the stretchiest fabric. My wardrobe doesn't have many expensive items in it but it's lovely to have something that's well cut and a good quality. The silk is beautiful, quite heavy with a glossy sheen to it. That said, I think €108 is a fair price for this. I don't see how it's worth the original price of €209 ($290/£180). Also excuse the crumples, I ironed it then put some clean laundry on top of it overnight, oops! I should have ironed it again!

Asos Premium bag

Here is the bag I ordered, reduced from €96 to €16. It's huge! Which is something I like in a bag. The leather is beautifully soft and I like the colours. My only complaint is that there is no division inside the bag and there's not way to close it at the top - but on the other hand it was advertised as a shopper.

Overall I'm very happy with my Asos bargains! Have you picked up anything in the sales recently?  Or is there anything you're keeping an eye on, waiting for a price drop?

Social tweetbooking

 I had the most amazingly good luck this week - I was on Facebook just as Asos uploaded a link to their "You Choose" sale. I didn't even know what it was, but when I clicked in I realised that one of the bags I had on my wishlist was on sale, reduced from €96 to €16! I bought it, but my hands were shaking with adrenaline so much that I'm surprised I managed to enter my credit card details correctly!

There was only one other item on ASOS that I'd been dreaming about.. a beautiful tba silk dress that was over €200. I was too scared to search for tba on the site and be disappointed because I knew it was this season's stock, so browsed through the entire sale section, page by page. And on the final page, there it was! Reduced by 50%! It's winging its way to me know and I really hope it fits..

Thank you social media/ASOS for my bargain hunting thrill ride this week!


And speaking of social networking (good segue eh?) I've set up a Twitter account for this blog. You can follow at @IKnitBlog, or click on my little bird below if you're feeling fancy:

 

Make way for Autumn!

River Island cardie // Urban Outfitters dress // Aldo brogues // Asos necklace

As many, many bloggers are saying at the moment, I love Autumn!! The temperature has suddenly dropped this week and that means it's finally appropriate to bring out the cosy cardies, wool tights, hats and scarves. We had a strange unseasonable heatwave for the last couple of weeks, but that didn't stop me breaking out my Winter wardrobe.. this week I'll be wearing the same things but I won't be sweating half as much. 

New Look hat

What's your favourite thing about Autumn? I love the leaves changing colour, the chance to light a fire in the evenings, and the overwhelming desire to spend all weekend making soups.

Incompetent manicure

I'm not very good at painting my nails. I like having them painted but I hate how quickly they chip. I've only had a professional manicure once - at Wah Nails in Topshop, Oxford Street. It was amazing! So smooth and perfect, and it lasted over two weeks.


I thought I would give this lovely nail tutorial from the Dainty Squid a go, she makes it look so easy!


I meant to make a little tutorial but the whole thing was a disaster. It took over two hours for the various layers to fully dry, during which time I managed to repeatedly smudge my nails, and stick them together with the tape. Also instead of scotch tape, I bought "invisible tape" - NOT the same thing!

Even will all the smudging disasters, I don't think they look too awful (I am still waiting for someone to notice them however!)

My tips if you want to try this would be:

♥ Only use one layer of each colour and one of topcoat or it will never dry!

♥ Make sure you use scotch tape, any other kind is too sticky and will ruin design!

♥ Do not drink while you do this because a bathroom break will cause chaos!

So what do you think? Is nail art worth the faff?