So yesterday myself and my dear friend Sophie who I have not seen for five years finally met up and had a day out in the Elan Valley with Stan. We started off wrapped in wooly hats and ended with sunshine and the most spectacular views I could have wished for. With Sophie guiding us we visited all three reservoirs that make up Elan Valley and did a loop ending on the road to Rhayader. As you leave the last reservoir and head up the valley the area opens. To some it may seem barron as it's just miles and miles of undulating hills and valleys. To me it was just breathtaking. Sophie said a brilliant quote that "the air was different" and it is. The open space, the views, the quiet to just be and listen to silence and nature and just watch the clouds moving is something so precious. I hope you enjoy the photographs and would love to hear any comments. See you in the next chapter.... My Road to Happiness Cardi had to have at least a row knitted into the memories of making it. I gifted Sophie my a hat I'd designed, she loved it so much she wore it almost all day! My Take Time Shawl came in handy for warmth and colour. Without a shadow of a doubt this view sat on a bench over looking this valley seeing a red kite and just being was the highlight of my trip.

This pattern is a multi faceted garment in that it can be worn as a Poncho, Shawl or a Scarf. Construction: Knitting techniques used are predominately stocking stitch and reverse stocking stich, with bold colour changes within the pattern and a lace detail running along the side. Size: The pattern is written in one size. Materials: For this construction it has been knitted in double knit yarn using two contrasting colours. Quantities used were Colour A used 650 metres and Colour B 450 metres Gauge: 20 sts x 32 rows over 4”/10cm Stocking Stitch on 4mm ndls when blocked. The pattern is laid out in a way you can print as a booklet Note: This poncho is worked flat, beginning with a provisional cast on. The body is comprised of three different sections that are both charted and have written intructions. The colour an row equene are set out below. This poncho I designed that it is completely reversible providing two different textured surfaces.

ON SALE ITEMS ARE FINAL SALE Shine in this gorgeous mini dress that brings to life all sparkles while partying. The v shaped neckline and twirl- worthy skirt make the dress even more exciting and flirty. The dresses length from waist town is 18 inches. Made of 100% polyamide tulle, pvc glitter & stars, environmental protection glue Hand wash in cold water, lay flat to dry. © 2019 LIRIKA MATOSHI INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

For me part of the joy of knitting and designing is being able to take my projects with me, so the item then has memories associated with it to include where I have knitted it. So here are so of the main places I knitted my latest design the Helta Skelta Cowl. The pattern will be coming out later this year. It uses up lots of mini skeins so a great stash buster. Saltburn by the Sea Hardwick Hall National Trust, Nottingham Snowshill Manor National Trust, Broadway Hay on Wye book festival with Hamza Yassin! The Weir National Trust, Hereford RSPB Bowling Green Marsh, Topsham Clevedon Local Gardening Club Cleeve Hill, Cheltenham Pershore riverbank Stratford Park, Stroud The Wilson Cafe, Cheltenham The cowl can be worn in a variety of ways and I am excited to share the design soon.

For me part of the joy of knitting and designing is being able to take my projects with me, so the item then has memories associated with it to include where I have knitted it. So here are so of the main places I knitted my latest design the Helta Skelta Cowl. The pattern will be coming out later this year. It uses up lots of mini skeins so a great stash buster. Saltburn by the Sea Hardwick Hall National Trust, Nottingham Snowshill Manor National Trust, Broadway Hay on Wye book festival with Hamza Yassin! The Weir National Trust, Hereford RSPB Bowling Green Marsh, Topsham Clevedon Local Gardening Club Cleeve Hill, Cheltenham Pershore riverbank Stratford Park, Stroud The Wilson Cafe, Cheltenham The cowl can be worn in a variety of ways and I am excited to share the design soon.

Over the past few weeks I have been slowly sharing images of a shawl I designed. The shawl is called Take Time Shawl It's a beautiful shawl that can be knitted to what ever size you'd like. I am now on my third shaw. All are completely different colour pallet which I love as you can mix and match depending on your mood/wardrobe. The design has soothing stocking and garter stitch sections along with some lace areas. My favourite part though is the border which may take time to do, but in my opinion finishes off the shawl perfectly. Below are a selection of shawls that have been knitted. The above two were knitted purely in Kate Selene yarn. Such vibrant colours. This shawl combined Townhouse Yarns and Sherry Iris for a more muted colourway. This is my latest combination which I am just finishing using three seperate indie dyers. The lime green is by James Makes Yarn the orange is from Vicki Brown and the dark green and flecky blue is by Ducky Darlings This delightful video is courtesey of Kate who provided a different colourway option that her Mum knitted up. How many shawls is too many would you say? Until next time....

I worked out I have been visiting Slimbridge for around 19 years! I never tire of it and there is always something different to see. In the last 2 years I have been able to share my special place with my partner who loves it as much as me. We now have a VW Caddy Camper which meant we could visit part of the reserve, then have lunch at Stan and go back for viewing the second part. Naomi got an amazing video of the snails in the pond. I love going up to the Tower that over looks the estuary. One of my favourite areas is the walkway that takes you down to the estuary where you can see over to The Forest of Dean and watch the tide coming and going in the estuary. The temperature was high 20's so being able to sit in the Shepherds hut with such a stunning view and feel the breeze to do a little knitting was just perfect. We then headed back to Stan for our lunch which was nice and cool having been kept in the fridge. Naomi even made a shady spot for me. The day Lilly's where in perfect colour with the Flamingos. Don't remember seeing so much pond weed before, but makes for a great photo. Naomi got to feed the Nene Geese one of the breeds that Sir Peter Scott brought back from extinction. One of the new areas that has been built during redevelopment is an incredible theatre with seating on 4 levels with a huge area for shade. We went and sat down and then to our great surprise where treated to an amazing talk about this beautiful Crested Crane. A magical day shared with my lady and now you all, hope you enjoy.

For me part of the joy of knitting and designing is being able to take my projects with me, so the item then has memories associated with it to include where I have knitted it. So here are so of the main places I knitted my latest design the Helta Skelta Cowl. The pattern will be coming out later this year. It uses up lots of mini skeins so a great stash buster. Saltburn by the Sea Hardwick Hall National Trust, Nottingham Snowshill Manor National Trust, Broadway Hay on Wye book festival with Hamza Yassin! The Weir National Trust, Hereford RSPB Bowling Green Marsh, Topsham Clevedon Local Gardening Club Cleeve Hill, Cheltenham Pershore riverbank Stratford Park, Stroud The Wilson Cafe, Cheltenham The cowl can be worn in a variety of ways and I am excited to share the design soon.

For me part of the joy of knitting and designing is being able to take my projects with me, so the item then has memories associated with it to include where I have knitted it. So here are so of the main places I knitted my latest design the Helta Skelta Cowl. The pattern will be coming out later this year. It uses up lots of mini skeins so a great stash buster. Saltburn by the Sea Hardwick Hall National Trust, Nottingham Snowshill Manor National Trust, Broadway Hay on Wye book festival with Hamza Yassin! The Weir National Trust, Hereford RSPB Bowling Green Marsh, Topsham Clevedon Local Gardening Club Cleeve Hill, Cheltenham Pershore riverbank Stratford Park, Stroud The Wilson Cafe, Cheltenham The cowl can be worn in a variety of ways and I am excited to share the design soon.

So over the past few months I have been working in collaboration with Kate Selene on a new shawl. Kate has the most incredible range of yarns to pick from so it was hard to narrow it down to exactly what I wanted. But once I had picked her variegated yarn called "Elmer in the Sun" (what a brilliant name!) it was just a perfect match to add the red and orange. The beauty of working with Kate is that she will be providing kits in this colour range to accompany the pattern. The deisgn of the shawl itself started during lockdown. I wanted to create a shawl that would combine the simple rhythm of both stocking stitch and garter stitch to let the variegated yarn speak for itself. But I also wanted some texture to keep the knitter wanting more. For me my favourite part has to be the edging. Based over 12 stitches but it is split into thirds to give a real "pop" to finish with. The finished shawl is perfect accessory for any time of year and is also universal, my model James could quite happily have taken it home to wear. The pattern itself has both written and charted instructions and is laid out in such a way that it can be printed as an A5 booklet. I have made the pattern available on two different platforms Ravelry and Etsy For me designing is about so much for than the finished product. It's about creating something that is not only enjoyable to make but beautiful to wear.

I work in a small office and one of my colleagues recently became a proud dad for the second time. I had not made a baby blanket for 12 years! So I decided now was the time to encompass both my new love of crochet and the opportunity to make something that would hopefully be treasured. I used King Cole Baby which is 100% acrylic mainly due to the connivance of washing often. The blanket measures 74cm x 54cm and consists of 8 x 6 rows of squares which I then joined together. I am so pleased with the end result and will be making some more to sell on Folksy and eventually Etsy. Reverse of blanket Double crotchet edging To finish and present the blanket to "Sam" I commissioned a company I share an office with to make the bespoke wrapping paper. I hope you like the finished product and would love to hear any comments you have.

For me part of the joy of knitting and designing is being able to take my projects with me, so the item then has memories associated with it to include where I have knitted it. So here are so of the main places I knitted my latest design the Helta Skelta Cowl. The pattern will be coming out later this year. It uses up lots of mini skeins so a great stash buster. Saltburn by the Sea Hardwick Hall National Trust, Nottingham Snowshill Manor National Trust, Broadway Hay on Wye book festival with Hamza Yassin! The Weir National Trust, Hereford RSPB Bowling Green Marsh, Topsham Clevedon Local Gardening Club Cleeve Hill, Cheltenham Pershore riverbank Stratford Park, Stroud The Wilson Cafe, Cheltenham The cowl can be worn in a variety of ways and I am excited to share the design soon.