Haven’t updated for a little while as I have been busy with other things and working on some orders. I’m mostly knitting bags at the moment, which is awesome since I love bags! There’ll be some new arrivals in the shop soon.

Lots of things arrived in the post lately, bits and pieces for finishing my bags and purses, but the best thing was from my lovely friend at Jewellery Hobby, who has made me the most beautiful animal stitch markers!

She can make custom stitch markers with various ring sizes and offers a great choice of beads. They are beautifully made and are lovely to knit with. Prices are very reasonable and they arrive quickly. I had already bought some very nice custom jewellery which is a bit different, so I decide to ask specially for stitch markers as I wanted some that were original and I chose animals because I love creatures. And wow I wasn’t disappointed! 

Here are my markers, they are so me! I have owls, which I am very fond of, pink pigs and bumblebees! I’ve got 8 mm rings and 10 mm rings for mine which I requested but you can ask for other sizes. If you’re interested in having your own custom markers or want to browse the jewellery it’s well worth taking a look at the Jewellery Hobby Facebook page for pictures of what can be made.

So because I’ve now got these, I thought I’d take this opportunity to share with you my top 5 stitch marker tips! If you don’t use these handy little tools already and are marking with scrap yarn I would say give them a go, they really do make life easier!

1. Markers are not just useful for showing the beginning and ends of rounds or for placing where instructed in patterns, they are invaluable in lace knitting, particularly for beginners. If you’re attempting a pattern with a long repeat, place a little marker between each repeat to help you keep your place in the work.

2. I like good quality metal ring markers, they will last a long time, glide smoothly on your needles, and are less likely to break, and can be repaired if needed.

3. Find ones with a decoration that you really like, somethin eye catching, it makes it easier to remember that they are there and also makes you happy when you’re knitting! Don’t pick anything that dangles too long or it can get tangled up in your work.

4. When you’re not using them, store them on a stitch holder, or on a big safety pin or a kilt pin to keep them from running off amongst your tools. I like to use separate kilt pins for each set, to keep them organised.

5. They are not just for marking stitches! If I have only a few rows to count and feel I’m still going to get lost (which strangely I seem to manage more often when there’s not many!) then I will line up a few stitch markers at the end of the needle and take one off when I’ve done a row. My row counter seems to be permanently on duty for some work in progress and I don’t have another so this is my way of improvising!

More updates coming soon, I’m catching up a bit with my writing. I also hope to get us out of the knitting chair and exploring my local area with a little outside blogcast in a post sometime soon…there's somewhere I want you to visit with me....exciting….!!