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!