These are a few of my favorite things...

Suffice to say you'd all have worked out by now that I absolutely both LOVE & LUST after yarn of many varieties, as evidenced by the size of my yarn stash.

So of course any mention of accessories and such seems to end up falling by the wayside, but, not today!

So I thought I'd give a bit of a write up to two gorgeous yarn shops, one local to me and the other in Petone, Wellington.

The first is the Holland Road Yarn Company in Petone, run by the lovely Tash of Knitsch fame - she has just opened a brand spanking new "real life" yarn shop (doors opened 23rd Feb 2011 I believe) and I am both seriously impressed and incredibly jealous of you Wellingtonians that will be able to pat and fondle all her yarny deliciousness.

The second is Crafty Knitwits in Milford, Auckland - which is fairly local to me, and that in itself is a dangerous thing! Lots of beautiful yarn of course, but Linda & Kerry also stock a massive range of KnitPro needle tips, cables, Addi Turbos (circular needles) and almost any other knitting related tool you could possibly imagine needing.

Here is a wee peek at the treasures I brought home with me last time:

I could probably spend hours and hours browsing around either of these wonderful shops, and spend squillions of dollars - but I do *try* and exercise some budgetary restraint, sometimes! ;) If you live near either locale, I'd highly recommend you drop in. 

Go Gently,

~ Jax ~ XOXO

Hats & Dresses

I've had a few things come off my needles lately, and most often it seems to be gorgeous little matching hat & dress combos.

I finally completed the 'prize' won by Sarah Kovacs over on my Facebook page (from a draw once I'd reached 200 likers), and here are the photos - apologies though as these are of the items being blocked and thus they look a bit damp still.

The dress pattern is the Paige Babydoll and has a very sweet little a-line skirt with cable detail, knit with permission from Rachel Evans, though I am not licensed to knit this to sell (yet !!) and the beanie is the Pinwheel Beanie pattern by StitchyMama that I *am* licensed to knit for sale. The wool I used was dyed by Family Roots in the colorway 'Vibe' with matching dark brown trim.

I also had a request from a friend in Australia to knit a matching Rainbow Dress and Pinwheel Beanie for a friend of hers here in NZ that had just given birth to her first baby, but wanted it to fit for the coming winter which is a little while away yet - so I used a slightly bulkier yarn than called for in the pattern and slightly larger needles, and was very pleased with the result! Apologies again for these photos, or at least that the dress is incomplete *blush* The wool was wonderful to knit with - 3ply worsted weight in the colorway 'Paraiso' with brown trim, from 100% Purewool (sooooo soft and cuddly !!)

I also managed to whip up a third Pinwheel Beanie for the little girl of a cousin of mine who was visiting from the UK with her gorgeous little girl - but was even more slack and forgot to take a photo of that one altogether !! Should keep her little one's head nice and cosy when they get back to London though.

Lastly, I've made a matching 3-9mo sized Stripes Ahoy! Pinwheel Beanie in rainbow colours that I think would match just spectacularly with the Stripes Ahoy! Rainbow Dress (size 3mo) that I have yet to sell - if there are any takers out there for these as a set please let me know - I'd be asking $40 including postage within NZ.

I do have a couple more entries coming up but am swiftly running out of time before my girls wake up from their naps, so I will save those for tonight (hopefully) - but as a bit of a teaser I have found Auckland's most wonderful yet dangerous shop... knitters might want to hide their wallets !! ;)

Go Gently,

~ Jax ~ XOXO

Look Out!

A BIG update is coming this weekend - I absolutely promise (and yes, there will definitely be photos) !!

Go Gently,

~ Jax ~ XOXO

PS - Of course my heart and mind are with all the people of Christchurch, NZ, who are still suffering in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck just four days ago - Kia Kaha!

At long last....

The Silly Season is over !!

I am however, very happy to be looking forward into another new year full of both excitement and challenges.

I also thought I'd make a quick post-Christmas post to drop a little hint about something I'm working on ;)

I've had it in mind for a little while that I'd like to design a knitted pattern of my own, and mid-last year an idea came to me. Now, believe it or not I am not the most technically minded person, so I just put the idea on the back burner and let it simmer thinking it would probably be a lot of hard work.

However, things have finally started to come together and after speaking with a very clever and inspirational friend of mine I am determined to get the ball rolling. I will include as many updates here as I am able to whilst maintaining some level of secrecy, there are so many steps ahead of me that I don't want to end up falling arse over backwards with my own eagerness.

Also, a belated announcement regarding the winner of my Facebook giveaway - a big congrats goes out to the winner Sarah Jane Pascoe Kovacs, who will receive a Paige Babydoll cabled dress (pattern by Rachel Evans) with matching Pinwheel Beanie (pattern by Kath Oxlade-Knack) in the gorgeous 'Vibe' colourway wool by artisan yarn dyer Family Roots.

I'm sure that there was more that I wanted to update y'all about, but I can't for the life of me remember exactly what else there might be so, off to bed for moi!

Go Gently,

~ Jax ~ XOXO

Success! 200 Facebook "likers" and a competition to celebrate!

It must have been serendipity, but I made the call out on the Bird's Nest Facebook page to see if we could get to 200 'likers', and not only did we get there, but we exceeded it and as it stands we have 216 - I am blown away !!

So to celebrate, I'm giving away not just one custom knit but two - and not something that has been on my 'available' list before.

Up for grabs is one custom Paige Babydoll knit - a beautiful dress pattern by Rachel Evans, with an eyelet sash, A-line skirt and gorgeous cabled detail on the side. Here is a link to one I've done previously - First Beach Paige Babydoll (when the pattern was in it's testing stages), I absolutely adore it and have another on my needles as we speak.

I'll also do a custom Pinwheel Beanie to match, and to make things even sweeter - I will add a mystery sweet treat to your package (and will try to bear any dietary issues in mind if I can).

Entries for this competition will be only via Facebook at this stage, so if you haven't joined up yet - now is the time! I will be putting up an album especially for the competition of the yarns I have available for these lovely knits, and to be eligible you must 'tag yourself' in the photo of the yarn you love the most (and would like to have knit up for you).

Entries will be open until Saturday 18th December, and I will draw the winner on Sunday morning (19th December). One entry per person only please, and good luck !!

Go Gently,

~ Jax ~  XOXO

Photo catch up!

Tis the Silly Season indeed, and I can't believe I have let nearly a month pass since I last blogged. In my defense my needles have been flying, with a couple of custom projects as well as various gift items - plus I am well within sight of the finish line with tiKKi's Mystery KAL!

I won't blabber on too much since this entry *is* titled as a photo catch up after all.


Apt for the festive season, I had a request for some 'elf sized' longies and a matching hat:

And I am slowly making progress on a Cassia for my youngest girl (another great pattern by Georgie Hallam at http://tikkifabricaddict.blogspot.com) , with an adaptation of a cabled panel in the front instead of pockets. Just the sleeve edging to go!

I am also making a shawl for my mum for Christmas, and now that a couple of my current WIPs are drawing to a close I can get cracking on this - it is the Adamas shawl pattern by Miriam L. Felton, and I'm knitting it in fingering weight 'Amatista' from 100Purewool. 

I will post up photos of the completed tiKKi Mystery KAL garment once it is complete - I think it will look much cuter if I can put it on a live model ;)

That's it from me for now, but I will close with a promise not to leave it so long again between blog entries - and a reminder that I still have the 'Stripes Ahoy!' Rainbow Dress for sale.

Go Gently,

~ Jax ~ XOXO

Stripes Ahoy! Finally, an item for SALE!

So in amongst the beginning of the chaos that is so typical of the 'silly season', I have actually managed to knit up an 'in stock' item.

What we have here is "Stripes Ahoy!" a gorgeous little Rainbow Dress (pattern by Georgie Hallam) in 100% wool, 3 month size (approx 16" chest).

I managed to scoop up a few balls in a yarn sale a while ago that fell just perfectly into the rainbow pattern, and in order to get the recommended dress length I supplemented it with some others already in my stash (the pinks and purples).

If you are a local to Auckland, NZ, I am happy to accept cash payment on pick up / drop off. I also accept transfers by internet banking, and am also able to use PayPal.

Please contact me by email if you are interested in purchasing Stripes Ahoy! jacquie.bird@windowslive.com Or leave a comment either here on the blog or on my Facebook page.


And just a quick blurb to cover other knitting 'news', I am still plodding along with the Knit-A-Long mentioned in my previous entry - I also have a couple of requests for smaller projects to cover this month, but might turn out another 'in stock' item or two in between all of that and a couple of Christmas presents that I have in mind.

Go Gently,

~ Jax ~ XOXO