23 Days to Go - Knit Relief Posting Tips

Hello! Today something very exciting happened. Something very exciting indeed. I received a package in the mail. And inside this package was my first Twit-knit scarf piece. And I was so excited that I did a little dance around the hallway. And my brother thought I was going crazy. But I wasn't. I was just EXTREMELY happy. Not only was the piece, knitting by the extremely talented @mdhilary, very beautiful but it also came with a Christmas stamp AND a little Christmas card. So it was basically like getting an early visit from Father Christmas except it was even better because it included knitting. 

The package from Hilary was so perfect that it reminded me of a few tips to give everyone for when they are posting their scarf pieces. I haven't posted yet as I'm still busy knitting (it turned out coursework was actually just the tiniest bit more important than knitting, although I'm not sure why!) but I hope lots of people have begun sending off their pieces.

Here are a few tips for sending your pieces (inspired by Hilary)

1. Tie up the ends, don't sew them in - when it comes to sewing our scarves together it's going to be so much easier if we can just use the casted on and off ends. Also this saves you the hastle of sewing them in yourself. As you can see Hilary tied hers up into lovely little bows and make sure you leave a long trailing bit of yarn as you cast off.

2. Include a sticky label with your address on - this was also Hilary's idea, and it's very clever! 

3. Don't stress about it! - If you're anything like me you will already be getting into a panic about how to send them, where the post office is, if the pieces are good enough and where on earth you left your pen! But just remember - it's Christmas, we are knitting, everything is great! 

I hope these tips have helped and remember to email or tweet me any pictures of your scarves/pieces!

Lots of Love Scarly x

Knit Tips - Blocking

Hello Twit-Knitters (and normal knitters, of course) I have another Knit Tip today and this time it's how to block your pieces. There's been a lot of talk on twitter about blocking and everyone does it a bit differently but I thought I would share how I do it for anyone that's interested. 

Blocking is an easy technique used to stretch and flatten knitting into the desired shape. It stops that annoying curling on the sides and if your piece is slightly smaller than you intended you can slightly stretch it into the desired size.

Many people steam iron their knitting but I prefer to do this way as it's so easy and also I'm slightly scared of the iron! 

You will need: A towel, your piece of knitting and some sewing pins.

How to block your knitting: 

1. Lay your towel out flat on the floor. Lightly wet your knitting, making it damp but not dripping. It will seem very weird to run your beautiful knitting under the tap but trust me, it works! 

2. Lay your knitting on top of your towel and gently stretch it into the desired dimensions. If your working towards a pattern it might helpt to have a tape measure on hand to check your measurements. 

3. Pin your knitting to the towel and leave it till it dries. 

I hope this has been helpful and leave a comment if there are any other Knit-Tips you've been needing! Also, if you are in Twit-Knit, make sure you email or tweet me any pictures of your scarf sections so far so I can arrange another post! 

There's no rush yet but I'd say everyone should be aiming to have finished their second or third pieces by now! I know some people have already finished which is very impressive but don't worry if your not that fast! It's getting colder so there will be plenty of knitting opportunities coming up!

Lots of love Scarly x 

Knit-Tips: Moss Stitch

Hello. Seeing as how everyone is getting so into their knitting for the Twit-Knit Scarf Swap and has been trying out so many amazing different stitches I thought I would do a few more knitty posts on my blog. It seems that a lot of the twit-knitters are very advanced and good at lots of complicated stitches (for the record, I'm not!), so probably already know this one, but for those who aren't so experienced I thought I would share one of my favourite knitting stitches, the moss stitch.

But before I get started I just want to say how moved I was by everyones lovely responses to the last post! I love Twit-Knit so much and I feel like we have created such a lovely little twitter-community.

Okay now, on with the stitch, this stitch really is VERY easy to remember and there are only really three steps you need to remember. I like it so much because I think the textures so awesome and you can never really get your head around it as long as you look at it.

How to do Moss stitch (sometimes called seed stitch):

CAST ON: an even amount of stitches. 
ROW ONE: Knit 1, Purl 1, repeat this until the end of the row.
ROW TWO: Purl 1, Knit 1, repeat this until the end of the row.

See! I told you it was easy, and the results are amazing and it always looks much more complicated than it actually was.

Happy knitting and tweet me if you decide to use moss stitch as well!

Love Scarlett.

Twit-Knit Scarf Swap Update

Before I start this post I just want to say how sorry I am it's so late. I know I promised to update regularly but I'm afraid I've been slightly overwhelmed with coursework and holiday (okay maybe that one wasn't so overwhelming) and this is my first Twit-Knit Scarf Swap update post.

Lateness of the post aside the scarf swap is going VERY well. As I said before I was blown. away. by how many people are taking part (it's around 70!) and was slightly scared that everyone would forget and it would all be a disaster. But (touch wood) it's going very well and everyone seems to be making friends and doing some amazing knitting.

I wasn't sure what level everyone would be at and thought we might just end up with 70 garter stitch scarves in different colours. But the opposite turns out to be true! Everyone is so amazing and is doing all kinds of crazy patterns and cables. Having said this if you are just doing garter don't worry at all! I'm definitely going to end up doing it for a few of mine! And you can always add buttons or beads at the end.

If you have any problems or worries please just email me, but for now, here is how Twit-Knit is getting on so far...

These are the lovely people who have written about the project on their blogs:

1. Emma Mitchell wrote about Twit-Knit and her amazing knitted leaf on her lovely blog Silver Pebble. 

2. Emma Pooley wrote about her five finished squares (I know, she's amazing, but don't panic if you aren't that far along) on her blog The 39 Stitches. 

3. @bakebakegirl wrote a LOVELY post about Twit-Knit on her blog The Original Bake Bake Girl

And here's how everyone else is getting along...

All these lovely squares are by Hilary Packham for Team Sleigh.

1. @haylowbabe's first amazing square. 2. A lovely red flower by @nicnicolanic for Team Cracker. 3. And some more beautiful multi-coloured flowers by @pencrug for Team Cracker.

1. @bakebakegirl's first square for Team Turkey. 2. Lovely knitting by @faithyb33.

1. @JoanneHoyles awesome rainbow square for Team Present. 2. @_Sarah232's diamond stitch for Team Sleigh. 

1. Mock cable by @sharonmacbeth for Team Sleigh. 2. Amazing fair isle by @Mhairigirl for Team Present

1. Three awesome pocketed squares by @JennyJHoward for Team Stocking 2. Some beautiful squares by @slightlyturquoise.

1. An early picture of @paulahall75's squares for Team Nativity (she's already posted 3!). 2. Another lovely piece by @slightlyturquoise. 

1. @sharonmacbeth's awesome 2 different coloured piece for Team Sleigh. 2. @louisefcampbell's beautiful purple and green square.

Love Scarlett. 

And so it begins...

As I'm sure most people who read this blog already know, the Twit-Knit Scarf Swap has begun and it is going extremely well so far! When I launched this project I thought we would get maximum 20 people to take part but to my utter surprise and delight we ended up with more than 70 people! It's extremely exciting and I will of course be blogging in much detail about it soon. For now I'm off on holiday to the Philippians (yay!) so I may not be blogging or tweeting as much for the next week. I will, of course, be knitting and we just have to hope they let me take my needles on the plane. Last holiday I knitted all week and then had to leave my needles behind on the flight home. I think it's safe to say there were many tears involved! 

Good luck with your knitting and remember to keep using the hashtag #twitknit and keep tweeting the other members of your team!

Lots of Love Scarly.

The Twit-Knit Scarf Swap

*ENTRIES FOR TWIT-KNIT SCARF PROJECT ARE UNFORTUNATELY NOW CLOSED. CHECK BACK HERE TO KEEP UP WITH THE PROGRESS FROM OUR CURRENT PROJECT AND TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT FUTURE PROJECT*

 

Okay people, it's time to get excited. After a long, long, LONG time... TWIT KNIT CLUB IS BACK! And even if I do say it myself I think it's going to be the best project ever. We've been discussing different options for our Christmas project for a while on Twitter and when the idea of a twit-knit swap came up I knew I had to grab it. For anyone who doesn't have twitter or (like me) keeps forgetting to check it, here is how the Twit-Knit Scarf Swap would work:

1. Everyone taking part adds there names onto an official list, in the past we have had people joining up throughout the project which is lovely but just won't work for this kind of project unfortunately.

2. Everyone on the list starts a scarf of roughly the same size and knits the first chunk. Once you have finished your chunk you cast off and send the beggining of your scarf to the next person on the list. 

3. That person then knits the second chunk of your scarf, sews it onto the first chunk and sends it to the next person on the list...

4. It continues on like this until everyone on the list has knitted a chunk of everyone elses scarf and then you will recieve your scarf back, having been lovingly knitted by the ENTIRE Twit-Knit Club.

It's ambitious, it's a little complicated, but I think it could work... and I'm VERY excited. 

Remember that Twit-Knit club is totally everyones club and not just mine so please tweet me or leave a comment if you are unhappy with this idea or have any ideas of your own to add in! 

There are a few other things I want to add into Twit-Knit this year which I think will make it better for everyone. The first of which is that we should really start using the hashtag! If everyone uses #twitknit on instagram and twitter whenever they post a comment or a photo it will be much easier to see how everyone is getting along and we can really start a little online community.

Also if you have a blog and want to join in with Twit-Knit it would be great to blog about it on your blog so we can get as many people as possible joining in. Remember to tweet me the link so I can do a weekly roundup of all the blogs taking part.

Okay, that's it for now, if you would like to take part in the Twit Knit Scarf Swap simply email me your name and address to - scarlettcurtis@mac.com - so I can start assembling the list. Exciting!!

Lots of Love Scarly. 

Knit Relief Total

Hello, As I'm sure you've already realised the amazing thing that was Knit Relief ended at 7pm last night. The ending was one of the best parts of the whole thing as everyone was tweeting and watching the items end on eBay. Doing Knit Relief has honestly been one of the best things I've ever done. Feeling all that support and generosity from people I've never even met really makes you believe that there are kind and lovely people in this world. 

But now... for the moment we have all been waiting for, the total amount of money raised by the Knit Relief auction for Sport Relief is....

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CAN YOU EVEN BELIEVE IT!!! I CAN'T!! 

Not in my WILDEST DREAMS did I ever think we would raise that much and I'm so happy I'm doing a little dance as I write this! 

It's all going to such an incredible cause and if you missed Sport Relief on Friday please watch this to know just the kind of thing this money is going to be helping. It's very hard to watch and I must admit I cried a lot on the night but the only thing we can do is try to help and I really feel that's what we've been doing with Knit Relief. 

So, if you entered something into the auction, bid on something in the auction, or even just helped to spread the word THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Lots of very happy love

Scarlett. 

VERY Exciting Knit Relief News...

Hello, Okay... this is pretty exciting. Like more exciting than the fact that I'm going to see the Hunger Games tonight levels of exciting...

Tomorrow morning (Sunday 25th of March) Channel 4 are launching their new show Sunday Brunch. It's going to be a brilliant show with hosts Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer from 10am-12pm. Although this news would be exciting in itself the REALLY exciting news is that Knit Relief is going to be featured on the TV show ON THE TV!!!!

Can you believe it? Because I still can't. I've sent over a few different Knit Relief items which they will hopefully be putting on the show and fingers crossed it all goes well! I have no idea what they are going to talk about but it's so exciting I can't stop smiling!

So remember to watch SUNDAY BRUNCH ON CHANNEL 4 AT 10AM and remember to keep bidding on Knit Relief as there is only one day left!

Lots of Love and excitement,

Scarly x

D.I.Y. Sport Relief Millionaire's Shortbread

As I'm SURE you already know tonight is the night of the wonderful Sport Relief TV show! But don't worry if you haven't bid on Knit Relief yet as Knit Relief does not close until Sunday. Sport Relief is one of my favourite nights of the year and I'm already excited about the TV fest that is to come. To celebrate Sport Relief and try to raise a bit more money I came up with this really easy recipe for red millionaire's shortbread that you can bake to sell to your friends and to enjoy during the show!

I baked a tray the other night and have put it in my hallway charging 50p a square to try and raise a bit more money. If you're wondering what that AMAZING red colour on top of the shortbread is, it's made from something called Candy Melts. Candy Melts are basically vanilla flavoured colourful buttons that you can melt down and use in baking. I'm obsessed with them and have been using them a lot recently and they worked perfectly for this recipe! If you decide to make some please leave a comment and remember to watch Sport Relief tonight on BBC1!

Ingredients:

-       250g shortbread biscuits

-       100g melted butter

-       150g butter

-       150g dark brown soft sugar

-       1 can of Condensed Milk (397g)

-       300g Red Candy Melts (available online and from any baking or craft supplies shop)


STEP ONE: Put the shortbread into a plastic bag and crush using a rolling pin, alternatively you can put them all in the blender, which will crush them as well. Make sure they are 100% crushed.

STEP TWO:  Mix the crushed biscuits and the melted butter in large bowl and then transfer to a baking paper lined baking tray. Make sure your tray is 100% lined, as the finished product is very sticky.

STEP THREE: Chill in the fridge for half an hour or more.

STEP FOUR: Heat the sugar and remaining butter in a non-stick pan stirring gently until melted together. Add the condensed milk and bring to a rapid boil stirring continuously. Once boiling cook for a minute or until the filling has slightly thickened.

STEP FIVE: Pour caramel over the base, once it has cooked chill in the fridge for half an hour or more.

STEP SIX: Once the caramel has set melt the candy melts in a bowl over a pan of boiling water.

STEP SEVEN:  Pour melted candy melts over the caramel and tilt your baking tray until they have covered the entire top surface.

STEP EIGHT: Wait for them to cool and then chill in the fridge until hard.

STEP NINE: Remove from fridge and then lift out of the baking tray. Using a hot knife cut your shortbread into squares.

STEP TEN: Sell your shortbread for 50p a square to help raise money for Sport Relief!

Tuesday Knit Relief Items of the Day

Today's gorgeous items of the day are all in the theme of SEWING! I love sewing and thought I was okay at it until I saw all the incredible things people have been sewing for Knit Relief. Just click on the picture of what you like and please keep bidding! CLICK HERE FOR THE KNIT RELIEF AUCTION!

This weekend Knit Relief went over £1000 which made me so happy I had to do a little 'Knit Relief made over £1000 dance'! For everyone who has bid/made something thank you so much! We are doing something so good for such an incredible cause. 

CLICK HERE FOR THE KNIT RELIEF AUCTION!

Happy Tuesday,

Scarlett 

x

Saturday Knit Relief Items of the Day

So I decided not to do Items of the day yesterday because it was the first day but today it begins. I'm going to do a different them each day and today's theme is CROCHET! 

I know it was supposed to be Knit Relief but I got so many amazing crochet things and for someone who is just starting to get into crochet I was so inspired by everyone's amazing crocheting. Here are all the amazing crocheted items available in the Knit Relief Auction. 

Simply click on the items picture and it will take you straight to their page. Thank you so much for anyone who has bid so far and to anyone who is going to bid AND of course to everyone who entered items! I am eternally grateful.

CLICK HERE FOR THE KNIT RELIEF AUCTION! 

Love Scarlett x