My lovely space.....

Now that my little workspace is reasonably tidy once again, I have been surrounding myself with inspiring things...It's wonderfully cosy and colourful in here now. My desk is decorated with lovely crafty bits and pieces....yarn cards full of inspiring colours, bobbins, embroidery threads, a few recent buys from my favourite shops, On the walls and shelves are cards, letters, snippets from magazines and special keepsakes that connect me with the past....I love being here!

My lovely knitting needles are always close at hand and the current favourites by far are my wonderful Knitpro Symfonie needles which are a pure joy to work with and look beautiful too....definitely worth the investment....I love to use bamboo needles when I'm working with cotton yarns but am afraid that my old metal needles are now a thing of the past. 

Oh my, and I do have so many needles...it has taken me quite some time to get them all into some kind of order....straight, circular, DPNs all with their own purpose, of course...although I have to admit that the latter are probably the least used....I just find them a bit too fiddly! To my knitter friends out there, I have a question...do you have your favourites....those needles that you would never be without?.. and do you prefer your straight needles and knitting flat requiring the need for seaming or do you love your DPNs and like to knit 'in the round?'...I'm curious...

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It's interesting chatting with knitters from all over the world these days...and there seem to be two camps...those who love their straight needles and ask 'this isn't in the round is it?' and then those who definitely hate seaming and ask 'can I knit this in the round?'...Where you live in the world seems to be a major factor as to how you have been taught and I'm trying to find out more for future projects!

The little wooden train here is from the girls old dolls' house...It has its usual place in the nursery on the top floor of the house which is now in the corner of my work room. The house is in need of some renovation externally....new windows and a fresh coat of paint but it is really quite well preserved inside and so I am thinking I must return it to its former glory soon. It also has tiny lamps in each of the rooms but the electricity needs a little bit of maintenance. It looks so pretty when it is lit up at night...

I have been busy this week puttting together my eBooks and they are now available on Ravelry for instant download......I have been wanting to do this for some time but have only just managed to get my head around the whole thing.....I do find this technical stuff so time consuming.....much prefer to be busy with my needles or sat with my sewing machine for company any day!

The good news is that they are already proving to be really popular, beyond anything I expected and hopefully I will manage to add a little TEAROOM eBook Shop here sometime over the next week as I know some customers like to download their patterns here.

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I am making progress with my 'Cats and Mice' blanket and now have 4 rows of mischievous cats watching over 4 rows of scurrying little mice...which means I have three rows of each left to knit...so not too far to go...then I can cut open the steek...Yipee!....I can't wait to see it opened up as it looks like a rather strange, long tube at the moment and I am having to be patient here friends...not always my strong point when it comes to craft projects...although I have definitely improved over the years!

More News...

♥ Mary Jane's TEAROOM now has a shop on lovely Luulla...the beautiful handcraft site which has only recently opened...There are so many pretty shops to explore which are definitely worth taking a peek at when you have a quiet moment....There is a little taster for you if you click on the link below....a gorgeously pretty treasury with a blue theme and including little BLUEBELL Rabbit...who it would seem has already made herself at home...

 Thank you so much to Roni for including 
BLUEBELL

(Oh...and check out the little vintage blue Citroen car...just lovely!)

♥ 'I've got the Blues' by Roni on Luulla ♥

 I think we will have our tea towel Giveaway next week

to celebrate 2 years of the MJT blog!

Something really easy...just add your name and state your choice

♥ ♥ ♥

See you back here soon...
(if I don't see you before then on my travels through wonderful blogland!)

A colourful start.....

It's been a good beginning to our New Year here with lots of tidying and organizing being the order of most days! I'm feeling full of creativity and inspiration and that anything is possible at this moment! All my colourful, crafty treasures, which have been helping to brighten the grey, dull days in this corner of the world in the form of threads, fabric, buttons, beads and yarn have been tidied neatly away into drawers, cupboards, baskets and tins once again. They have a habit of gradually wandering to other more unexpected places as the year progresses...some never to be seen again!

                          

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Long since forgotten cloisonne beads were a happy find.... 

Quieter moments in the holidays have been spent knitting, sewing and making plans for the year ahead and as soon as we have some lighter days I will start photographing my new patterns. As you may know, I have two little prototypes sitting in my studio who are now looking more than a little frustrated about their current situation and so this is at the top of my list....Hmm, I just hope Mr Sun will be kind to us in the coming weeks!

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Below is a little peek at my 'in-between' knitting project as I like to call it. The lovely 'Cats and Mice' blanket by Jade Starmore, using the gorgeously earthy Hebridean 2 ply from Virtual Yarns and I must say it is a real treat. You may remember that I purchased this lovely yarn quite a while ago (!) The design involves lots of subtle colour changes and is knitted on circular needles with steeks which will result in a lovely neat finish. It's only the size of a baby blanket so shouldn't take too long ....except for the border... which I have a feeling may be just a little time consuming (well, I would need an army of helpers if it were for a double bed!) but it's a special project that I will take my time over and enjoy. Just between us, I've been having to force myself to put my needles down at times, but it's such a relaxing project and I am so enjoying it....the plan is to hang it over the back of our old vintage leather chair in the living room during Winter months....I promise to keep you updated on my progress!

Beautiful Hebridean 2 ply

Oh my,..and a little bit of luck too! 

Just before Christmas I was one of the lucky winners of Pomona's lovely Giveaway at

Little Cottage Comforts

(Happy dancing here at the tearoom my friends!)

My prize....

'The Ruched Happy Bag Pattern '

from 

During Quiet Time

(definitely worth a visit!)

owned by Amy Friend on ETSY who also has a lovely blog here

It's exactly the style I love and is now stored safely on my laptop 'to do' list!

The little felt heart has been filled with organic dried lavender

and I made the hanging cord from my left over cotton yarn...

I'm going to make a few to pop over coat hangers and into drawers

and of course, my daughters would like some too...

which means lots of heart making over the next couple of days!

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Well, that's about it from me today
Sadly, it's time to leave you...
I do love my blog and visiting my lovely friends in this crafty world....
definitely one of my favourite places to be
and I almost forgot to mention that we passed 
our 2 year anniversary over the holidays 
which means ...
we have to have a little celebration very soon!!!
♥
I'm planning to spend lots more time here this year...
Let's hope it's a good one for all of us!

Speak soon..

New Adventures....

A few tearoom memories of a truly wonderful 2011....

Happy New Year
from
Mary Jane's TEAROOM
~~♥~~
Thank you for making 
2011 such a wonderful year 
We hope you will join us on our journey through 2012!
~♥~