As you can probably see, my blog has not been updated in over 10 months due, in the most part, to my inherent laziness as a student. However, I am revamping the blog for the new academic year – I am moving back to university on the 8th September.

So here’s the plan. By September 1st, a new blog will be launched, a lifestyle blog. The main blog themes will be knitting, sewing, cookery, literature and city lifestyle (Cardiff being the city). This will enable me to stay motivated by blogging about all the different projects I undertake. I’m a very impatient person and want to begin many projects as soon as possible, and as soon as possible after I see the pattern/recipe/article/review.

Knitting: the blog posts about knitting will remain ultimately the same. I will tell you about the patterns I am knitting, perhaps even patterns I am designing *wink wink nudge nudge*!

Sewing: again, very similar to the knitting posts, although I will probably not follow patterns as much, instead focussing on raving about fabrics I’ve purchased and don’t yet know what to do with. Perhaps you could make some suggestions in the comments!

Cookery: my mother recently took it upon herself to join a slimming club and has lost SO much weight. Most of the weight loss is due to her beginning to take a joy in cookery again. When I was growing up cookery wasn’t such a huge part of our lives, instead oven-ready meals were favoured for their ease and speed. Since she has begun cooking hearty yet healthy meals again, her re-passion of cookery has weedled its way into my bones by the process of osmosis (or similar, shush I ain’t a scientist!) and so I will be cooking, baking, poaching, roasting, frying, broiling etc. etc.

Literature: How could I not? How have I not before? I’m an English Literature student for chrissakes! So yes, I will be posting reviews of books I’m reading both for my degree and for pleasure if I find the time.

The city: this is the new one. I’ve lived in Cardiff for two years and can still get lost in all the little arcades. Not to mention the new St. David’s 2 shopping centre with many, many shops into which I have not yet ventured. This will help me discover the amazing nooks and crannies I know a wonderful city like Cardiff possesses. I will be posting blogs about my adventures, whether I get lost and have to be directed home by a cheerful hobo, or get spectacularly labyrinthised and discover a cavern of wonder ( i.e. a shop with prettyful things in!) It will also include high street shops, cafés, restaurants, possibly even interesting graffiti!

So that’s my new blog manifesto. I hope you’re looking forward to reading it as much as I am looking forward to blogging it!

I do realise I haven’t updated in rather a while either here on my blog or in video form in a vlog but I plan to do a vlog Wednesday afternoon (now being very early Tuesday morning).

For now I’d just like to share a few things. Projects will be on hold until I’ve knitted Christmas gifts and general gifts. However, after that I do intend to keep to previously stated plans and I have made a few more which include branching out into other fabrics and customisation of vintage pieces.

Inspired by the latest issue of British Vogue (November – More Dash Than Cash issue) I plan to buy a boyfriend-style plain black blazer (which will go perfectly with my latest insane purchase – the lumo yellow Christopher Kane lace dress from Topshop!) and intend to customise it with swarovski crystals and/or sequin embellishment.

I always was very good at the textile aspect of Design and Technology at school (only reason I didnt take the subject at GCSE was because I actually loathed the teacher – hi Miss Dumbrill) and I want to embrace that for my own benefits now. I probably won’t showcase the piece since it is a personal project but if you have me friended on facebook or dailybooth no doubt you’ll see a picture or two from a night on the town.

Anyway ta ta for now, I promise more updates soon my lovelies, but moving back to university and actually having bills etc to pay (responsibilities!) has taken over my life in the past month and a half.

Shelley x

I just wanted to let you know I’ve set up a VLOG PAGE here which you should go check out. It’s all my youtube videos in one place and they’re all gorgeous colours (I love embedding)

Oh, also, finished my Glove Wars gloves (1st pair) and you can see them here and of course in Knit Vlog 4

Toodles for now xxx

Hooray for strawberry hat!

Also, may buy some roving to spin from http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5032001 when they next list some, since I’ve followed her blog and trust her skills as a dyer etc

www.sockwars.org

Basically, you sign up, get assigned an opponent and then you both knit to the death! If you receive socks in the post before you have finished knitting your pair… you are DEAD. Oh no!! The winner gets $300. Amazing! My favourite rule is #5:

5. You are expected to work as diligently as possible on your weapon. Your target should expect their death at any time and live in fear of you. If you are not able to kill your target within a reasonable amount of time, please be kind to them and let them know, along with letting the Supreme Commander know.

Haaa.

Oh, by the way, if I can ever find the bloody charger for my camcorder I will be putting a Vlog up. (So you can see my sexy peeling skin)

I (or someone I know) owns sheep, reared and sheared in the West Country (either Somerset or Dorset). I then condition those fleeces into roving. Which I then DYE… but get this… using natural dyes from specific plants that I have grown myself.
Then going on to spin the self-dyed wool into yarn and knitting gorgeous products with it.

If you’re anything like me, that will sound very, VERY exciting.

And I am making a start on this, including making my own drop spindle to hand spin roving from a dowel and 2 CDs.

I don’t know why but I love the beginning to end process and would absolutely love to make this work and own/sell garments for which I know:

- have been hand-knitted by myself
- the yarn for which has been hand-spun by myself
- the wool for which has been sheared from a sheep I’ve met in person (hello Sir Fleecealot)
- the colours on which have been hand-dyed myself
- aaand the dyes for which have been hand-grown by myself

And I’ll even know the names of the sheep!

• Finish vest top
• Finish Steggy hoodie (eehehe secret project of madness)
• Try complicated pullover for self
• Do the billion sock commissions I’ve received
• Take pictures for evidence that I’ve actually done these things…

Oh, and continue to watch this space for the wellie socks too

SHELLEY’S WELLIE SOCKS

You know it makes sense. More to follow soon, I must begin this amazing business venture immediately.

enjoy!