Jubilee



St. Albans - Verulamium

 Jubilee is not for me. I cannot get excited about it. Perhaps, if I was British, if something was happening where I live, if people I know got excited about it... perhaps... As it is, being Polish and surrounded but cynical anti-royalists I am getting mildly excited about the European Football Cup. An extra long weekend is not to be taken for granted, so thanks to HRH QE II, I have enjoyed cramming some lovely pursuits into what turned out to be a complete wash-out weather-wise. Queen or no queen, you can't fix the weather, can you?

A lovely card from mum&dad arrived on Friday and it's so lovely to know, that at the ripe old age of 39 I am still their little girl and I shall always stay one. Mum has also sent some legal English tender, which was exchanged for a rather large bottle of gorgeous perfume.

Saturday, me and a lovely friend, took a trip to my beloved St. Albans - I just can't stay away from that place in summer and I always find something new there every time I go. Apart from inspecting the market, a few shops, yummy lunch and a wonder to the Roman ruins, which my friend very keenly photographed, I made a wonderful discovery - a lovely coffee shop (the best kept secret in St. Albans the sign claimed) off one of the main roads, in a courtyard, with lots of tables outside, a marquee, a back patio with more tables, good coffee, nice owners - pure perfection. As if that wasn't enough within the courtyard, there was this quirky little yarn shop called Studio-Delirium. I do not ever just walk past a yarn shop and this was such a joy to visit. The owner, a knitter/crocheter Charlotte was fantastic to chat to. Apart from stocking some popular yarns she also spins her own. I could not resist that, and here is my purchase!

It will be turned into something fabulous and as soon as it is I will go back and proudly show the spinner the fruits of both our labours. The day ended, back home,with an exciting late evening walk in a huge park with another friend.

Sunday was spent sluttily procrastinating, putting off cleaning yet again for the sake of a new crochet project. I bought a lenght of rose print oil-cloth in St. Albans market with rather ambitious plans to trim it with a crochet-on shell edging to turn it into a pretty and practical kitchen table cloth. I must admit it is hard work, the oilcloth is tough and crochet hook just doesn't want to go through it, so I'm having to premake little holes first, then crochet into the holes. Undeterred I'm ploughing on - beats cleaning, right?

Monday was dedicated to some shopping in Muswell Hill - 2 necklaces and a pair of wedge sandals later me and a friend tucked into some yummy burgers at Giraffe.

The reward for the dreaded cleaning, which happened today eventually, were these chocolate eclairs - all in all a busy, satisfying, long weekend!

Where to find happiness...

I abandoned this blog for such a long time I'm not sure it's a good idea to revive it, but I'll give it a go anyway.
It's a bit like visiting an old school friend you haven't seen for 30 years. You're dying to meet them again and you assume you will get on famously, just because you did so at school. And then sometimes this works beautifully and all is just how you imagined it would be. And sometimes you sit and talk to them politely for 45 minutes and then make up an excuse and leave wondering who was that stranger you just had a coffee with, because it couldn't have been your dear, old school pal...
I will try and share with you things that make me happy. More often than not they will be quite simple little things, which make every day that little bit special. Many people miss little joys of life waiting for those big, ostentatious happy events that for most come two or three times in life. I will try to find joy and beauty in the everyday life of an average girl - me.


This weekend consisted of a few nice things. I went to St. Albans yesterday and bought two lovely little cheering things in Cath Kidston shop there. And here they are in all their colourful glory...

These gorgeous set of boxes will brighten up all picnics (when the sun comes out for longer than a couple of hours) and transform the most boring packed lunch for work too.

 And this little beauty has already become my favourite coffee cup of the moment!


Today I had a little wonder in the sunshine in the local area and picked up some lush strawberries, which were devoured with a little clotted cream and vanilla sugar - perfect end to a rather nice weekend, don't you think?

In fear to check the weather forecast and hoping all have a fabulous, sunny week...


Agnes xx

Happy Knitty New Year!

I haven't blogged for a good few months. I will try to blame tiredness, colds and flu and general burnout for it.

New Year always brings in resolutions and reminders of things we tend to neglect when life gets in the way. Although I'm not making it a purposeful resolution to blog regularly - that would just be doomed to fail - I will try and blog a bit more.

I hope that with the new year, the proverbial new beginning, I too will venture into new things, which will bring a lot of happiness, satisfaction and pleasure. Of course they will involve my favourite things in life, not forgetting knitting for one moment!

For now I'd like to leave you with the image of this year's Christmas tree at MrsG's and wish you all an exceptionally good, healthy and prosperous New Year.

Fabulous Giveaway Winners

It's my great pleasure to announce the lucky winners of the Fabulous Giveaway. All names went into the hat today and as promised MrG, blindfolded, selected the two names.

The first prize, the blue ponchette and earwarmer set goes to Little Daydreamers.

The second prize, the coppery earwarmer goes to Monkeyloulou.

I hope both of you will be pleased with what you've won and maybe send me a picture of you wearing it when the chill takes over...

Could the winners please contact me through Twitter, Facebook, Folksy or my website so I can get your addresses and arrange posting of your prizes.

Thank you very much to everybody who entered the giveaway and followed me here, there and everywhere.

I wish I could give something to each one of you. I'm sure there will be more great giveaways to mark little successes in the life of MrsGKnits.  In the meantime I invite you to keep popping in to my Folksy shop . Lovely new goodies from Autumn/Winter collection coming soon.

Fabulous Giveaway!

I know you've all been waiting for this! MrsG has by now over 50 followers, so as promised here is a Fabulous Giveaway to toast the occasion and to many many more.

What you can win?

1st prize is this suptuously soft ponchette with a matching earwarmer/headband designed and handmade by me. How you wear it is your choice - the lace stitch allows it to be buttoned up anywhere you like, so you can style it in various ways - as a poncho, big cowl, scarf, shoulder wrap... it's up to you! It's made with a light baby suri alpaca and merino wool mix yarn in a delicious shade of blue and it's very strokable.

2nd prize is an earwarmer/headband by itself  in another stunning shade of cinnamon coppery brown.

How to enter?

To enter you need to do these 3 simple things:

you need to follow this blog
you need to leave a comment to this post and

you need to become a fan of MrsGKnits facebook page

When will you know?

The giveaway will run from the moment this post is published and the winner will be drawn (by MrG to ensure fairness) from all the qualifying names and announced on Monday, 30th August bank holiday. The winners names will be published on this blog, on twitter and facebook and I will arrange the details of delivery with the lucky winners then.


And now for the legal bit...
By accepting a prize, all winners agree that the Host will have no liability whatsoever for, and will be held harmless by winner for any liability for any injury, loss or damages of any kind, to winner or other persons, including (without limitation) injuries, loss or damages arising out of or relating to death, and, injuries, damages or losses to property, due in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of the prize or participation in this promotion.


Can't wait to see the snuggly woolies lovers appear and Good Luck everyone!

Blog Giveaway

Here's just a quick note to say that there will be a fabulous giveaway on this blog as soon as MrsG's ramblings reach 50 followers. Watch this space and if you like my creations the prizes will not disappoint!

This is the yarn I'll be using to knit up your unique, MrsG designed prizes. You can read about this amazing yarn here.

More details very soon... let's just say if you're after fab, cosy woollies to brighten up your winter you will not want to miss this one!

MrsGPicks @Handmade and Fabulous!

I’m not one to brag, but an exciting proposition has filled me with pride, confidence and joy, so I will brag maybe just a little…

My friend, lovely Susie of LynwoodJewellery, who is a regular contributor to UKHandmade, a successful jewellery designer in her own right, lover of all things handmade, woman of great taste, and last but by no means least my best customer and biggest fan has set up a gorgeous new blog Handmade and Fabulous! and asked little old me to be the guest blogger.

My column, called “MrsGPicks” is a monthly fashion article on all things gorgeous in knit, crochet and felt from around the globe. A fantastic job, which has me surfing the net in search of the best, most wonderful, daring, independent designers. If only I could make it my day job… one can dream.

It would give me the greatest pleasure if any of you faithful followers would care to read my first article and leave a comment. It’s “Born Again Granny” and you can find it here.

There will be plenty more gorgeous finds and the next theme to whet your appetite for beautiful handmade fashion is “Here comes the bride…” and will be published very soon, so do keep checking.

The Rite of Passage for Loop

After months of preparations and eager anticipation Loop, every knitters Mecca, finally moved to the new premises. I loved old little Loop, which brightened up Cross Street for the whole 5 years, packed with gorgeous colourful yarns, ribbons, buttons and all sorts of notions us knitters covet and absolutely need every day of our lives.

The new Loop has arrived in 15 Camden Passage, amongst well established antique shops, jewellers, boutiques and eateries, it arrived with a huge colourful bang! Susan the shop’s owner opened the doors to the new Loop last Saturday morning to the cheers and clapping of hundreds of expectant, excited knitters and crochetters, hungry to explore the new shop and examine the yarns.

I really am not exaggerating about the hundreds of the faithfuls who turned up for the launch. Most delicious cakes were waiting for us inside and we all got a lovely goodie-bag as a thank you, which i thought was an endearing, personal touch, which makes us all feel an important and appreciated part of Loop’s success.

The shop was packed full within minutes of opening and Susan stood behind her new counter serving the huge queue of customers ready to stock up on all those new, gorgeous yarns.

Loop is much bigger now it’s grown up. The ground floor and the first floor are filled with yummy yarns, beautiful haberdashery and all sorts of unique knickknacks. Upstairs looks and feels like the sitting room all of us always wanted – armchairs, a big comfy sofa, a wall of yarn and a bookcase filled with books every knitter wants to treasure.

The second floor will be used as a stock room and in the basement, which remains a secret yet to be discovered when it’s finished, will be a special space for the huge variety of classes Loop has to offer.

I love the new Loop – it’s exactly what dreams… my dreams are made of. But when I left I couldn’t help myself and walked to Cross street to see the old Loop for the last time.

I hope the new Loop will provide as many colourful memories and as many hours of enjoyment that the old Loop did for me. In fact, I’m sure it is the same Loop altogether, that size really isn’t everything and that the unique soul and spirit of Loop have found a bright and beautiful new home.

Isn’t this Cosi?

Do you know this lovely bijoux boutique in North London’s trendy Muswell Hill? If you don’t please read on. If you do, you will undoubtedly agree that it is a little gem full of delightful home furnishings and other accessories handpicked by the shop’s owner Sarah, who herself, having impeccable taste, chooses only the best and most interesting pieces that independent designers have to offer.

I can proudly announce that amongst all the beautiful crockery, sumptuous blankets and cushions, leather bags, summer baskets, delicious candles and jewellery Sarah found a place for MrsGKnits beaded crochet bracelets. The colour palettes for the shop were personally chosen by Sarah and bracelets hand-made to order and those colours are exclusive to Cosi Homewares, so if you’d like to see them you must visit her shop. 

If you would like a preview of all the treats Cosi has in store click here. However, the website has only a fraction of the goodies that fill the shelves of this lovely little shop.

I urge you to pay Cosi a visit and have a walk around Muswell Hill while you’re there. With plenty of cafes and restaurants offering just about any cuisine you can think of, an old church transformed into a pub and stunning views over North London you can bag yourself some stylish stuff and spend a lovely day out. Well!? Off you go now!!

Shaking off winter

I haven’t blogged since February. Partly because I hibernate through winter and partly because sometimes if you have nothing interesting to say it’s better to stay silent (something a lot of people I know should not only take as a very valuable piece of advice but also immediately put in practice).

When i planned this post the summer has arrived, the sky was blue and England were going to win the World Cup… two days later I’m not so sure. It’s teeming down, it’s gone cold and Rooney is playing golf!?

Still… the winter wardrobe is packed away out of sight and I’m ready to throw myself into glorious, hot summer… now that I’ve recovered from my first day in the sun – 4 hours, no sunblock, it really didn’t feel thaaaat hot. A week has gone by since and I can touch my burnt back again.

There are a few more things I am looking forward to this summer. I love the World Cup! It never comes soon enough for me. I’m very excited and intend to see as many games as I possibly can. My fanaticism about it comes from the early childhood when for the duration of each World Cup football game the world stood still, the streets emptied and you could hear the cheers coming in unison from flats far and wide – the only brief signs of hidden life in a big city. As always I will be on the floor with my face in the tv shouting and screaming (sorry neighbours).

SATC 2 is out and I’m going to see it tomorrow, so a short review on here might follow in a few days.

Design and craftwise I have a thrilling collaboration in the pipeline. It’s early days yet, but exciting times are coming, so watch this space for more on that soon. In the meantime enjoy the summer!

Sunshine Blog Awards!! part2

  It’s time to present the second person, who kindly awarded me the Sunshine Blog Award. This one is from Tracy at Cinnamon Jewellery.

Constructed from mixed metals and always featuring beautiful stones or pearls and her signature swirls, I have been coveting her designs for a while. 

If you would like to see more of her wonderful jewellery click the pictures to take you to Tracy’s shop on Folksy. If you want to know more about Tracy and Cinnamon Jewellery you can read her blog here.

There are some rules that come with the award which are as follows:
- Put the logo on your blog or within your post
- Pass the award onto 12 bloggers
- Link the nominees within your post
- Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
- Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

So far I have fulfilled the first and the last part of the deal, so now onto my own nominations with links to their blogs:

1. Chain Creative – a fabulous blog full of inspiration for the crocheting masses out there. It’s a gold mine of interesting interviews with artists, countless resources and pictures to get your creative juices flowing.

2. Juju Loves Polka Dots – I think Juju is the only woman in the history of the Universe who was given 48 hours in each day. Have a look at her blog to see what she does with her time and how many talents can one person have!

3. Haptree and Me – a blog with so many helpful topics the list is endless written by a lovely, very helpful Hilary. Anyone trying to make sense of the crafting world needs to read it.

4. Talking Beads – creative pursuits of one genius beader

5. Harvey Crafty Cards – this blog is just plain lovely, so even if you can’t read you will enjoy it, I promise!

6. Bejewelled and Beguiled – if Artisan jewellery rocks your boat this one is for you!

7. Cowdy Calling – witty, humorous blog, superbly written! Serena’s writing can make you wish you had volunteered to muck out hippo enclosures just for fun long time ago.

8. Evie George – another beautiful, nostalgic blog

9. Monty – a goldmine of cultural hotspots and events and very inspirational too

10. Talulah Blue – burlesque galore!

11. Angel Treats – diary of a domestic goddess

12. Ginger Knits UK – a mixed bag of fun, craft and how to do good and enjoy it!

Sunshine Blog Awards!!! part1

This is a nice surprise. From the dark depths of drab winter weather this little flower popped up to make my weekend just a little more bearable. I’ve been awarded a Sunshine Blog Award – twice!

I have been nominated by two lovely ladies, who each write a very different blog and who both make beautiful jewellery with a difference.

My first award came a while back, but i had no time to shout about it until now. It’s from lovely nelliD, whose beautiful design i featured before in my Beat The Blues handmade items selection. Check her blog out to see what she’s working on at the moment – it’s all candy & jewells over there – fabulous!

This is one of her bags – the Union Jack features a lot in her designs, but in a very inspired, quirky way. If you want to know more go to her blog and enjoy! If you want to see what she’s selling, click the picture – it will take you to her shop.

Part 2 and my Sunshine Blog Award nominees a bit later. In the meantime enjoy! enjoy! enjoy!

My Funny Valentine…

If you believe Valentine’s Day is a special, romantic date in the calendar I will not have to convert you. But for those cynical grumpies amongst you, who consistently claim us soppy, cheesy bunch only propel the commercial machine that is Valentines please, please read on.  For what I’m about to show you is not commercial, not cheesy or soppy for that matter. The little selection I’m presenting to you consist of beautiful items, which were handcrafted by people of various talents, who believe in non-commercial production of unique items of their own design.  So if you decided to say no to the white fluffy acrylic bears and cards sparkling with rainbows of sticky glitter consider these – one of a kind, uniquely designed gifts – not a fluffy bear or a speck of glitter in sight. Enjoy!

Huge thanks to all the artists featuring in My Funny Valentine selection. The showcased items and a variety of their other designs can be viewed and purchased from:

1. DIG THE EARTH              2. LynwoodJewellery

3, 4. MrsGKnits                   5. Harvey Crafty Cards

6. Glassprimitif                   7. Silky Prudence

8. Talking Beads                 9. PANTSANDPAPER

Beat The Blues…

After a spell of white wintery fluffiness we are entering a drab, dreary phase.The snow is melting away, revealing dark pavements and untidy streets. Here and there dried up, stripped bare Christmas trees are dying in front gardens. Everybody is feeling post Christmas malaise - the winter blues has truly set in.

Despair not! For in the busy corners of the world wide web there are gems aplenty to put a smile on your face, just waiting to be discovered.

About six months ago I discovered Folksy – a site, which, like a virtual shopping centre, houses a huge number of individual shops run by an array of talented people, who joined the handmade revolution. I am a proud owner of two shops – MrsGKnits, a luxury knitwear emporium and QueenOfHerts , a fledgling quirky jewellery collection.

Folksy sellers design, source the materials, hand make and sell beautiful, unique items, which you can’t get on any high street. The range of products is overwhelming, the packaging absolutely divine, the customer service superb and many sellers welcome custom orders, which makes your purchase that little bit more exclusive and more personal.

So there you have it – found on Folksy, my selection of “Blues” to beat the blues…

 

1. Wintry Skies Baby Alpaca sock yarn from Wharfedale Woolworks

2. Silver Filigree Ring from Fen and Ned

3. Fabric Buttons - Tiny Sprigs from Mollimoo

4. Gorgeous Fabric Brooch from PantsandPaper

5. Earrings silver with emerald green freshwater pearls from Lynwood Jewellery

6. Clip Frame Purse from PantsandPaper

7. Polly Cowl – Teal from Silky Prudence

8. Small Butterfly Cards & Envelopes from Harvey Crafty Cards

9. Time for tea! from nelli D – for her

I hope you enjoyed my favourites and they will inspire you to seek out all things beautiful. Click a few buttons, have a browse and find how you can express your individuality in time for beautiful spring.

QueenOfHerts has arrived!

 Today for the first time QueenOfHerts opened for business. The shelves in the shop will be filling up steadily. Still lots of designs to list, lots of photographs to take and of course a bit of promoting to do.

In one day the shop has created a fair bit of interest and with time and with more designs I hope to delight you all and satisfy your need for unusual, edgy, one of a kind, stand out from the crowd jewellery.

I hope i have whet your appetite with my selection of photos and you will visit the new shop.

I appreciate all feedback and tips how to improve QueenOfHerts and make it a shop you will truly love.