Beaker Button Blog

This is a selection of the photos from our Wool Week exhibition.  We decided to display a mix of work from the the Spitfire Knitters and the Beaker Button craft club alongside ideas and uses for Wool.  Thank you to everyone who contributed and to all the people who visited the exhibition.  We had some really lovely comments.  Hope you enjoy the photos.

I have a wonderful group in on a Tuesday.  They all have various learning disabilities and are all very keen on making things with peg looms, so I thought I'd share some of their work.  They're great fun to work with and really cheer up my Tuesdays.  I love the way they have no limits.  It's simply a case of translating their ideas into something workable on a peg loom, and that is expanding my knowledge. Hope you enjoy their work. Gemma with her wrap Karen with her Dorset button clutch bag Sara learning to knit Claire with her scarf Beryl working at her loom Beryl and her cowl Karen with her Liverpool cowl and Hat All of my Tuesday group hard at work

We did this at the book launch on the 21st September so I thought I'd share it with you all. Take one hula hoop, 2 100g balls of chunky yarn (Patons Jamboree in our case) and a bevy of willing minions. Start by tying the yarn in a single knot around the hula hoop.  Begin casting by passing the yarn through the hula hoop from back to front and then back through the loop created.  This is a blanket stitch.  Supervise your minions doing this first step as you eat some of the delicious cake they bought you to celebrate the launch of your book. Invite interested people to peruse your new Dorset button jewellery kits, available from the website soon, as your minions do their thing. Get your minions to take turns so they don't get tired (Shirley takes her turn) Once the casting has been completed, lay the spokes your self by wrapping the yarn around the hula hoop like the spokes of a bike.  Make sure each spoke lies across the centre at the front....

We had a fantastic day on Saturday, with Catherine Graham-Evans .  She is a local author who launched her new book, Sweet Knits, in our shop.  I have never seen the shop so busy!  We have amazing cakes made by Catherine's mother, and pink bubbly.  Very nice too.  We sold out of all but one of our Sweet Knits books, although we still have a signed copy in the shop and my copy as well.  I'm looking forward to finishing some of my projects so I can start making the Est. 2006 jumper (and one for me Est. 1974). Thank you too Catherine for such a wonderful day, and thank you to everyone who supported us.