The sun is back, the skies are blue! The birds are filling the air with their song. Spring is here and we love to see it, but are all these signs of spring making you wonder how and what to knit now winter is behind us? I am happy to help, this spring knitting yarn guide, from your 'always knitting' knitting teacher (that’s me!) will have you reaching for the perfect seasonal fibres and feeling excited to cast on exciting spring focused knitting projects. What do I love abo

People often assume learning to knit will be near impossible, they tell themselves all sorts of stories in their heads about how they are not capable, not smart enough, not creative or crafty enough to learn how to knit. Having taught people from all over the world at ages from 5 - 65+years old,  I can assure you all that internal messaging is absolute rubbish. Everyone  can knit because, and this is where I need you to lean in and swear to keep this to yourself, knitting is

I have been a self taught knitter since 2005 and a knitting teacher since 2006. In technology terms, that was eons ago! YouTube was a clunky unreliable resource in aiding my knitting journey and very few yarn stores had websites, let alone selling instant access knitting patterns. I relied upon knitting magazines and books (my jobbing actor in London budget usually only extended to pattern books from charity shops) to practice and hone my knitting skills but now , now there i

We moved to Bos en Lommer, Amsterdam just over 5 years ago, mere weeks before I gave birth to my little girl, so we discovered the neighbourhood as new parents...aka sleep deprived and slightly overwhelmed. Bos en Lommer is a residential neighbourhood in the west of Amsterdam, a diverse and ever-changing area within the famous and beautiful city I am proud to call home. You can find Bos en Lommer adjacent to the bottom of the lovely Westerpark and around the smaller but famil

I have taught hundreds of people to knit over the years, maybe even a thousand plus, and those new knitting students have been a huge variety of ages, genders and cultures. Many come to my beginner knitting lessons with a host of different reasons as to why they want to learn how to knit. Some choose learning how to knit to help to heal unhappy memories of being taught to knit by impatient teachers, nuns (yes really) or grandparents, some to create a therapeutic space for th

Hello and welcome fellow knitters of all levels, to my knitting on a budget top tips blog post. We are all here because we love to knit, or want to learn to knit but the current price increases of... everything (!) may be impacting your knitting choices. Knitting on a budget is easy and manageable. Worry not, this blog post will cover my tried and true top tips for knitting on a budget and they will work for you. When Were You Knitting on a Budget? I started knitting as a jo

Welcome knitters, no matter your skill level, you are in the absolutely right place! In my blog posts I endeavour to break down the basics of the world of knitting so they are understandable, manageable and possibly even inspiring. I love a good yarn squidge This blog post will cover that experience we have all had, realising we have a mystery yarn in our hands. A yarn that does not indicate what knitting needle is should be knitted with, or what project it could be successfu

Welcome, aspiring knitters! I am so happy you have found this blog post. Learning to knit is an exciting and rewarding journey, but, in the early stages, it can also feel like wrestling with a tangled ball of yarn and chopsticks all at the same time. Fear not, everyone has this experience at first and most importantly, this initial feeling does not last long. In fact my beginner knitting lessons have people feeling considerably more confident with what they are doing (aka kn

So, you have learnt to knit and purl, cast on and off and now you want to make something. Knit something to actually wear, or maybe to gift a loved one. You want to knit something of your very own and feel proud every time you wear it or see it being worn and enjoyed. I remember that hunger well. As soon as I had some initial confidence in my new knitting skills, I was so eager to not only wear things I knitted myself but make items to gift my loved ones and feel the prid

My little family and I were recently in Alicante, Spain. It was our first holiday abroad since having our little girl nearly 4 years ago and it was fantastic! We had such a wonderful time and were able to resurrect some old holiday traditions that my husband and I had when we used to travel relatively often, such as visiting a local yarn store and finding some local yarn treasure for me to take home and knit up as memories of the holiday. After a quick Google search I found a

Somehow or another I became aware of an incredible cardigan being worn by Timothée Chalamet on the Venice Film Festival red carpet. It looked at least partially crocheted but certainly made of yarn. Don’t ask me the film he was promoting, I have no idea. I just know he wore a gorgeous cardigan, stylishly adorned with a gem brooch, paired with a t-shirt and camo shorts - I was obsessed and started chasing his cardigan across the internet in an attempt to find out who made it.

I started knitting at the age of 22, it was meant to be a fun way to pass the time while waiting to be called onto set - I was a TV and Theatre actress in the UK. However as soon as I started learning to knit, I was hooked. I literally could not stop. My first scarf was ridiculously long, un-wearably long because I couldn't stop...I also didn't yet know how to cast off until a friendly crew member on a BBC drama took pity on me and showed me. I have continued to knit almost e

It happens every year, we all have visions of gifting bundles of handmade goodies to every member of our family and friendship circle and the come December...we panic. "There's not enough time now!!!" Well I am here to share a selection of guaranteed quick and easy knitting patterns and projects perfect for beginner knitters to achieve, producing at least one handmade gift under the tree. KNOT HEADBAND: Using a Super Bulky weight of yarn (often knits on 10mm needles) and 10m

We all have that friend or family member who make choosing gifts for a challenge. Maybe they have 'everything', maybe they have more expensive tastes than our budget stretches to. Or maybe they just don't know what they could be interested in having a play with... This little gift guide is to inspire you to think outside the box and consider creative gifts, presents that encourage having fun and taking a moment to just play. Create Book with Andy G This 48 page independently

Later this week I will be launching a new knitting class on the website, 'An Introduction to Circular Knitting.' 3 different ways to knit 'in the round' for all your circular knitting needs and ambitions. In honour of this new knitting skill class I thought we should talk about what circular knitting is and why it is such a helpful toolkit to have in your proverbial knitting bag. Normal knitting, as you know, involves rows . We knit across the left hand needle and then rota

Becoming a knitter puts you in very good company...and I don't mean mine! Firstly you will be able to easily find fellow knitters all over the world to knit with at Knit Nights in local yarn stores (pandemic restrictions dependent). This is something I would do often as my work as an actress took me travelling to places like Lithuania, Romania and New York. It proved to be a lovely way to meet new people and learn about a city from the people who actually live there by turnin

As you build your knitting confidence and embark on more knitting projects and patterns you will inevitably accrue yarn and build what is known as a stash . If you are anything like me you will end up buying yarn because it is simply too squidgy and gorgeous to leave in the store and then you end up with a large collection of yarn, sitting pretty and waiting for a knitting pattern to be allocated to...and so the stash grows. Delicious Knitting Yarn In this post I share 5 tip

Like all hobbies/pursuits and activities Knitting comes with its own language. Not as complicated as 'Klingon' but as a Beginner Knitter...

When you start knitting patterns you soon become aware of all the 'stuff' that is required to have in your Knit Kit (not an official...

As indicated in the title, this post is about Father's Day, if this is a painful day for you I support and respect your choice to avoid reading this post. Father's Day is coming up, Sunday 20th June and many of the lucky vaccinated of you may well be able to actually spend it with your Dad. For those of you, like me, for whom travel is still tricky, I have a new, unique and memory making Father's Day gift suggestion! Instead of socks, golf balls or a gardening book, why not