Last night, in the name of knitting, supporting our friend and, let's face it, wine, Emma and I went to Erika Knight's launch of Novice Knits, her new Knit 'n' natter/ how to knit course held in a lovely little pub in Brighton. 

(On a side note, I think Emma and I are spending waaay too much time together as our timing is becoming so in sync. Example: I turned up 15 minutes late wondering how I was going to apologise for my tardiness seeing as I lived about 3 roads away, only to find Emma outside the pub hurriedly parking up too).

What we weren't expecting, although I don't know why not since Erika doesn't do things by halves, was a room packed with tables laden with baskets overflowing with yarn and needles, tasty snacks liberally scattered, mannequins with some of Erika's latest offerings from her new book Simple Knits, a positive library of Erika's back catalogue (some 20 books) and about 20 people spilling out into the corridor, all eager to get started.

(Hmm, pic's a bit blurry. I'm blaming the iPhone and the G&T. We were in a pub after all)



After an introduction from Erika, who explained how the Novice Knits class would pan out and talked about some of the techniques and projects she'll be covering over the next few weeks we were allowed to jump into which ever treat she had set up for us. There were three options: extreme knitting on the sofa, a gorgeous flower pot cover pattern to follow or learn to finger knit. Emma and I opted for the last one because a) we'd never done it before, and b) we thought it would be easy. Ha, famous last words. 

This is effectively what we did in about 2 hours.



Yep finger knitting, tricky little bugger, to begin with at least. We were totally put to shame by someone's 8 year old daughter who ran rings around us, or at least managed to loop, scarf-like, around her neck about 4 times.

It was a fun night, ideal for beginners who will benefit from Erika's advice and know-how, whilst also being a great way of gaining confidence by being in the presence of others who are willingly in the same boat as you.

Seeing as it really is only about three roads away from where I live, I'm sure I'll be popping my head in from time to time too.

Novice Knits with Erika Knight is held every Wednesday, 7pm to 10pm at The Farm Tavern, Farm Road, Brighton BN3 14B.

Whilst whiling away a sunny afternoon at work, stuck at my desk, I was reading Clare Kelly's blog (see previous post) and came across one of the cutest pieces of wool-related jewellery ever (sometimes, they don't work so much). Check out the lovely 'English Summer' necklace from The Wool Room http://www.thewoolroom.com/

It may be a sunny April now but the good old British weather likes to keep us on our toes, and if the clouds really were this fluffy and it rained gem stones would we really complain?

I love a good blog. You can while away the hours peering at snapshots of other people's lives and what they are up to. You can learn loads, be inspired or get a serious case of the green-eyed monster. Whatever it is, sometimes it sure does beat working.

Clare Kelly, features writer for Knitting and freelance journalist with a healthy leaning towards craft, has set up a new blog with interviews, photos and whatever else she has been up to or has caught her eye. You can check it out here...

http://passthepattern.tumblr.com/

As far as I'm concerned, if it has pictures of knitted objects on, I'm working Guv, honestly!

The May issue has just arrived in the office and we are so pleased with it, it may be our best issue ever! Yes, yes I know that's a bold statement, but just look at the pictures below. And check out the front cover! There are so many knitting mags on the market now we wanted to try something different to show we're not the same, and different this is. We think it looks good enough to eat!

It's always fun coming up with themes to tie an issue together, and this one was inspired by the WI. Every weekend it seems, one of the Sunday papers' glossy magazines are extolling the virtues of 'make do and mend', featuring glamorous young women who gave up their jobs to open their own cupcake business and telling us how knitting is the new 'X'. The rise in modern WIs, like the Shoreditch Sisters, has made it cool again, in a slightly kitsch, retro way. And yet, when you read Laura Parkinson's fascinating article 'WI Controversial', you'll see that the ethos, ideals and camaraderie of these new groups are actually the same ones that the WI has always stood by.

We hope you enjoy the gallery as much as we did putting it together. There are some classic quotes from 1950s Home Economics books to help you get in the right frame of mind...



The boat neck, perhaps the most flattering neck shape of all.





Beautiful mohair...sigh...Her hair is awesome too.





Match your lipstick with the trim and you're good to go.





Also, don't miss

– WI: The changing face of the Women's Institute

– A life in design: Meet designer Marion Foale

– An introduction to Fairisle

– Design a bag competition

– Home Knits supplement featuring 5 exclusive designs by Martin Storey and 3 other gorgeous Rowan projects

Don't forget to let us know what you think about this issue on our forums!

I've just come across the lovely Milkweed Project in the USA and thought I would share it with you on this grey, drizzly afternoon, as my attention wanders away from the office and onto dreamier things (well OK, the internet).







The Milkweed Project is a collaborative artwork "intended to capture the essence of a milkweed pod; its soft, ethereal beauty and its importance to the natural world" (see what I mean about the nice dreamy bit).

Contributed to by several hundred artists in the form of knitted, crocheted, felted and woven pieces, The Milkweed Project is about "our connection to one another, to nature, to the past, present and future."

To find out more and check out the quite beautiful looking sculpture click here http://sticksandstitches.squarespace.com/