Have you seen these: card games for knitters

Rachel, you asked yesterday for recommendations for board games for you and your boys. This is a game you'd probably enjoy, just not one maybe to break out after Sunday lunch with your family since the themes are very adult in nature. 

Scary hand reflection available separately

It's an expansion for the pre-existing game Cards Against Humanity, where as far as I can see, the aim is to complete an innocuous phrase with the most outrageous statement you have in your hand.

These are from the tamer end of the spectrum

Knitters Against Swatches was thought up by Sarah and Robyn, who run ReBelle, a yarn store in Lexington, Kentucky. They are offering the chance to win a free deck of cards to those who post funny combinations to Instagram or Twitter using #horribleknitters before the end of March.

With Edinburgh Yarn Festival next week, I'm sure you'll see these cards around.

VT

Have you seen these: sock blockers

Every time I go to get a CD out of the cabinet where we store them, I knock the wire sock blockers that hang from the knob onto the floor with a huge clatter. This poses two questions for me. Firstly, why do I persist in putting them back in exactly the same place, knowing full well that I'll only knock them off again? And secondly, do quieter sock blockers exist?

Plastic seems like a suitable substitute material and there are options available from the big brands, these for instance:

KnitPro AQUA sock blockers

However,  for something a bit different, some of these from Etsy might suit:

Fruity themed sock blockers?

Just in case you forget.....

One adjustable set so you can knit for the whole family........

As a bit of a cheapskate though, I think I should really follow Eskimimi's advice and simply make my own.

Have You Seen This: Colouring Book for Knitters

Adult colouring books seem to be everywhere this year. They have been around for longer than you might think. A long time ago in a career far, far away, Jen had a botany colouring book while she was doing horticultural training. And I know that there are practising doctors out there who got through their anatomy courses with the aid of a colouring book.

The range of subjects has multiplied, with things like Moose Allain's Advent Calendars becoming an annual staple.

In the language of the season, "And lo, in the fortnight before Christmas Ann and Kay did publish a colouring book for knitters. Jen did see the book and squeal with excitement and did instantly order two for delivery before the final posting date. And verily, Jim rolled his eyes."

Time to break out the pencils!

If you haven't come across Mason-Dixon Knitting, Kay and Ann have been corresponding on their blog for well over a decade. Set aside a good hour and wade into their take on life, the universe and knitting.

Get hold of your copy from Amazon (make sure you go to Amazon UK if you're in the UK). Then you, like me, will truly have seen it all.

Don't forget that you will get a free Coop Knits pattern when you buy two skeins of Socks Yeah! 

Have You Seen All of This?

Rachel, I thought of you and your love of stationery when I looked through my pencil case for a pencil today. I have a very sorry collection of pencils I have found lying around the house, under sofas, under car seats, in coat pockets. In fact I think I've a pencil from every room in the house. As you can see, I have no brand loyalty and most of these are rather unloved.

So I thought that with Christmas on the way, it's time I actually got myself some decent pencils for work rather than these cast-offs. I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole.

The first question is one of quantity or quality. As a teacher I had visited the Pencil Museum in Keswick more times than I care to count, so I looked at Cumbrian pencils first. After a little digging, I found this:

from pencils.co.uk

With that box, I'll never be without a pencil again. The problem is, they just aren't special enough, so off I went on my search and discovered a new world of pencil review blogs, such as Pencil Revolution. What I learnt was that the world is slightly more interesting than I had realised and that I should check out these pencils:

from palominobrands.com

These Blackwing pencils really are fine, but I was more amused by the homepage of the website that invites you to become a Blacking dealer. I had images of someone creeping furtively through school corridors offering unwitting students a try of this wonder pencil to draw them in.

Eventually though, it wasn't the pencils that held my attention, but the notebooks. I'm a fan of squared paper for notes, sketching and so on, but as with pencils, I seem to end up with something cheap or left over. These however are something else.

from palomino brands.com

I can practically smell the leathered feel the thick paper between my fingers. All of a sudden I've stopped caring about pencils and think that one of these will be my next purchase.

VT 

Coop Knits Sock Project Bags

In our house, knitting projects seem to get everywhere. Half-started socks appear and disappear into the ether with alarming regularity. Were it not for DPN protectors and project bags, cats, children, or a combination of both would cause the house to turn into some kind of a spiky spider's web, ready to trip, entangle and impale the unwary.

Project bags shouldn't just be functional however, and Jen has really got into statement bags to add to the pile of WIPs. These two have seen plenty of use recently:

I'm a particular fan of "Socks Yeah!" as a slogan for the more..........assertive knitter and neither leaves any doubt as to their purpose.

If you would like one to be the envy of your knitting group, these eye-catching project bags are available for the Coop Knits shop. They are priced at £6 and will comfortably fit a couple of wound skeins of sock yarn, needles and a pattern.

VT

Have you seen these?

You know what a lover of all things birds I am? Well my spotty parcel has just arrived with a pair of these beauties:

I want it to be bedtime right now, so that I can snuggle up in my new Boden birdy PJs! 

Boden Woven Pull-ons
Sizes 6-22
6 different fabric prints available
£29.00

Have you seen this?

Rachel... Rachel... Rachel... (in the style of Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory...)

Have you seen this?

Click on the photo above to go to the Charley Harper Studio online shop, but don't blame me if bankruptcy results...!

I think it might just tick every box for things we both like! Birds! Colouring in! Charley Harper! What more could you want? There are all sorts of his colouring-in books available, but I particularly like this one as it comes in a tin (gotta love a tin!), with cards, envelopes and crayons.

I know how much you enjoyed the Benedict Cumberbatch colouring-in book that I sent you, so I hope this makes you smile too. :)

Happy colouring!
Jen x

Have you seen?

Hi Rachel!

Just a flying visit today… But I went to see Paddington at the weekend, and it was AMAZING. Not only is a great film, but Mrs Brown wears the most fantastic selection of knitwear...

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Mrs Brown's jumpers ©Paddington & Co Ltd

This yellow jumper made me think of you in particular… along with the lovely YELLOW HAT that Sally Hawkins wears later on.

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And Mrs Brown's hats © Paddington & Co Ltd

This is obviously a terrible picture of said hat, so you'll just have to go and see the film to get a better look at it.

Have fun! And if we don't chat again, have a very lovely Christmas.

Jen xxx

Have you seen these?

Being as you are, an aficionado of beautiful shoes...

Children's Leather Rabbit Riptape shoes from Marks & Spencer (click on the image to be taken to the purchasing page).

Completely not the right size for either of us. Bah humbug!

Who do you think we should petition at Marks & Spencer to have them made in adult sizes?

Love, Jen xx