Falkland Aran by Debbie Bliss

Debbie Bliss is one of the greats. A knitwear designer and yarn purveyor with over 30 years’ experience and a long list of accolades and published books attributed to her name.

So imagine my excitement when I was sent her latest pattern book to get my teeth stuck into. Falkland Aran Pure Bliss Collection is a celebration of organic and naturally farmed yarns. The Falkland archipelago are a natural habitat for a large variety of wildlife, not least the Falkland sheep – from which Debbie Bliss’ Falkland Aran yarn derives.

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A Very Braidy cable cowl – knitting pattern

I love cables! My last post on the ‘Honeymaker‘ may tell you otherwise, but I do really love a good cabled knit.

One of the first things I ever knitted for my mum was this cowl by Pickles with lovely cables to twist the entire fabric, creating a really elegant effect! But this post isn’t about that cowl (maybe another time)…

Three years on, and I found this little gem of a pattern on Ravelry. And bonus…. it’s free!

A Very Braidy Cowl – Maryse Roudier

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Top 5 budget yarn buys

Last week I shared my ‘Top 5 Luxury Yarn Buys’ with you, now this week I’m looking at the opposite end of the spectrum and indulging in my ‘Top 5 Budget Yarns’. Don’t assume low cost means cheap and nasty. Think more cheap and cheerful – as the yarns I’ve selected (in my opinion anyway) combine both value for money and quality. There’s absolutely no point in paying next to nothing for yarn if it’s not going to do the job.

And on the flipside, let’s be honest – I know I’m not alone in having paid a small fortune for supposed ‘high-quality yarns’ before and been bitterly disappointed with the outcome. It’s good to get the balance right, so these two blog posts are all about finding the best yarn for the job!

If you feel differently to me on any of these yarns, or have any other suggestions, have your say and please comment – I’d love to know what your favourite yarns are!

Rico Creative cotton aran

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Raspberry stitch mittens

Over the Christmas break, I took the opportunity to get a few projects under my belt. There’s nothing like having three days with no plans to make a considerable dent in your knitting list!

Debbie Bliss paloma yarn in rust 007, knitting blog uk, free knitting pattern

One of my favourite projects has to be the raspberry stitch mittens I designed and knitted for my friend Su. I’m a big fan of Debbie Bliss yarn at the moment (I’m going through a phase…) and made these fingerless mittens out of the beautifully soft Paloma in Rust (007). This yarn suits mittens and smaller projects perfectly due to its ‘chain’ construction, meaning it’s warm and chunky yet stretchy and light too.

So without further ado, here’s the free knitting pattern for you to have a go yourself!

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Debbie Bliss Paloma – Chestnut winter kit

I’m a big fan of Debbie Bliss yarn, I’ve knitted with all kinds of weights, wools, cashmere blends, tweed, merino – all of them! The Debbie Bliss website is also a thing of great inspiration to me. A soft colour palette, clean and uncluttered, making for the perfect jumping off point when looking to start a project or just browse for new yarns. I cannot wait to start a project with their recently launched Roma yarn – squishy, soft and lovely colours to choose from!

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