Woo hoo, I finally can tell you about my amazing trip to Iceland that I went on about a month ago! Well, I can't tell you everything because there will be a full write up in the mag in our December issue, but I can share with you a few sneak peeks at what I got up to and what I saw and how on earth I ended up there in the first place.

Introducing...ICELAND! The land of THIS...



...and THIS...



Check out the beautiful Nordic jumper...sigh...if they hadn't cost approx £90 I would have had one myself...

We were invited, about a week before the event, to fly to Reykjavik to cover the country's first Nordic Knitting festival – a week long festival of events including workshops, lectures, markets, art exhibitions, quizzes and knit graffiti, unbelievably, never before witnessed in Iceland, a country with a rich cultural heritage of knitting! As it was a 'Nordic' knitting festival, not just an Icelandic one, this also meant involving people from Sweden, Norway and Finland to name just a few.

I took along my friend Amy, a budding photographer who jumped at an all-expenses paid trip to the land of hot springs, geysers and lopi and off we went, without really any idea what to expect at all. Do they speak English? Is it as expensive as people say? Is the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa as fabulous as it looks in the guide book? The answer to all those questions is...YES. So here we go, a tantalising peek at my trip...

This is the lovely Ilmur Gísladóttir who works at Nordic House Cultural Centre. She not only invited us to the festival but organised the whole thing.

(Random Icelandic fact: Everyone is listed in the phone book by their first names as ALL women's surnames are named after their father's first name ie Gisladottir means literally daughter of Gisla. If she had been a boy she would have been Gislasson)



This is Amy and me just hanging out. Everything in Iceland is so freakishly big! Just kidding, it was a sculpture outside the Nordic House. It's also about 11pm at night – June is one of the months of the Midnight Sun and it never got darker than this. Ever.



There was a fantastic soft sculpture art exhibition. Check out these felted 'seal pelts'.



And these gruesome insects!



Ah yes, and me in the infamous City of Stitches by Isabel Berglund.



Smile for the camera at all costs. I think I look quite casual considering just how HEAVY this yarn jacket is.



Well, that's all I'm going to share I think for the moment as I need to save some of it for the article, but I wanted to share a little bit with our readers because, frankly, I WENT TO ICELAND – how cool is that?!

As mentioned on our News page in our August on issue, if you are looking at getting involved with Breast Cancer Care's summer campaign, Strawberry Tea, Libby Tomey, of Libby T Designs has very generously donated her knitted strawberry pattern to download free from this website.

Available for the duration of our August issue being on sale, just go to the FREE PATTERNS section located at the top of the main web page and you will find it. Good luck with your events and let us know how they go!

I love how exotic our gorgeous model, Anara, looks on the cover of our August issue. With all the rich jewel colours of this month's garments, Anara's dark and striking looks and the beautiful flowers, fabrics and glassware used in the shoot, you would think the photo shoot took place in the heat of Marrakech not the English countryside.

To get your imagination working overtime, here's a sneak peek of what you can expect...  

This beautiful lace shawl, by Anniken Allis, adds a hint of mystery and femininity without covering up too much.



Floaty, delicate kidsilk haze will make you feel romantic as you stroll around your summer garden



Or turn up the heat in this fiery coloured bell-sleeved cardigan



This issue is also packed with fantastic features like our new Fashion Forecast A/W10, looking at inspiration from the catwalk to discover the trends in knitwear for the coming season, and our look at The North Circular, the knitwear label set up by supermodels Lily Cole and Katherine Poulton.

Also in this issue

- Swiss darning masterclass

- More stash than cash – Erika Knight makes a summer slouch hat

- Gorgeous socks design supplement

And sadly, this month will have our last Purl About Town column for while as Laura Parkinson takes a much needed break after sharing with us the struggles of her newborn baby, Florence, who has spent the first few months of her life in Great Ormond Street Hospital. Thankfully we can now share with you that Laura and Florence are both now at home.

Next month, craft writer and blogger Perri Lewis takes the reins for a new series, Out and about with Perri, so that's something to look forward to.

As always, don't forget to let us know what you think of everything on the forums!