Blog & features

A momentous event

12 February 2013

It’s taken a lot of time, commitment and discipline, but I have finally finished knitting my Medetith Sweater. When I took it on in June 2009 I knew it was a long-term project, but didn’t realise it would… Read more

Introducing the Knitting Chart Sketch Toy!

10 February 2013

The is a little tool I’ve built to help with designing stranded and intarsia knitting patterns. I have long been frustrated with how hard it is to sketch out colour-work ideas. I like to work… Read more

Projects re-united

30 January 2013

A couple of weeks ago I went to visit some friends in Cornwall, and spotted a cushion I’d made for them some years ago. As someone who loves to give handmade gifts, it’s odd to… Read more

Christmas sweater contenders

18 January 2013

I have identified the need for a Christmas sweater. You know the kind – something warm and cosy that treads (and likely crosses) the fine line between festive and tasteless, almost certainly through the medium… Read more

Putting a positive spin on it

8 January 2013

I just completed probably my best ever spinning. It started life as Fyberspates Sparkle Fibre dyed top, a luxurious blend of merino, silk and glittery stelina, in ‘grey and mauve’. It’s pretty, evenly spun, evenly… Read more

The evolution of the hot water bottle cover

7 January 2013

Who’d have thought there was so much life in the humble hot water bottle cover! Not only has the Nordic Ski Sweater Hot Water Bottle Cover quickly become my best selling pattern, but the ones I knit for… Read more

Exploring Colour in Knitting

5 January 2013

I was lucky enough to receive a new addition to my knitting library from an office secret Santa; Exploring Colour in Knitting by Sarah Hazell and Emma King. Clearly this was a Santa who knows me very… Read more

FO: Bohus mittens

1 January 2013

2012 didn’t quite end the way I planned it, I was struck with bad luck in the form of a fracture to my right arm obtained during some festive ice skating. I suffered a more… Read more

Socks of random coincidence

1 November 2012

First there was 100 g of strange-looking fibre; a mix of wool, angora, trilobal and my nemesis, mohair. Obtained in a fibre swap, this ugly duckling languished in the cupboard for some time. One day,… Read more

A new (old) coat

23 September 2012

Summer is a great time for thinking about your winter wardrobe, if you can face it. A few weeks ago I picked up a fantastic, long, military style, wool coat in a local charity shop.… Read more

Stripes and ribs

7 June 2012

You could be forgiven for thinking that not much knitting has been happening at Sparkle Towers, but this is not the case. I have a new pattern in development (more about that soon) and a… Read more

Stitch London Stitch Crawl 2012 - this Saturday!

7 June 2012

Stitch London’s annual Stitch Crawl takes place this Saturday, 9 June, to celebrate the Jubilee and World Wide Knit in Public Day! Pop along, win marvellous goodies including our Nordic Ski Sweater Hot Water Bottle… Read more