Laura Strutt's Blog, page 13
February 9, 2015
Knitting & Stitching Spring Show Tickets Giveaway!
Are you looking for a little bit of inspiration? Keen to try out a new creative pastime? Or, just fancy the opportunity to treat yourself to some lovely crafting supplies?
Well Friends, how about a trip to the Spring Knitting & Stitching show, on me?
The Spring Knitting & Stitching Show runs from the 5 to the 8 March at Olympia, London promises a host of new features designed to inspire both beginners and seasoned pros at this years event.
From knitting, stitching, crochet, dressmaking, quilting and everything in between, the show is packed with the very vest creative suppliers, workshops, demonstrations, interactive features, inspirational ideas and unrivalled shopping…did I mention, shopping?!
So, you fancy going? Of course you do! Well I have five pairs of tickets up for grabs!
So, how do you get your hands on a set?
Easy! There are a number of ways you can enter this Knitting & Stitching Spring Show Tickets giveaway – and the best part is each one will be counted as 1 entry…so, do all three and you will be entered three times my friend!
1 Please leave a comment below sharing why you’d love to go to the Spring Knitting & Stitching Show
2 Share this post on Twitter, tagging @madepeachy and using the hashtag #SpringKSTicketsMadePeachy
3 Give the MadePeachy Facebook page a like, share the giveaway post and leave a comment on why you’d love to win!
Want a bonus entry? Then head over to the MadePeachy Instagram , follow and give the Spring Knitting & Stitching Show post a like & comment!
The not-so-small print! The giveaway is open to UK entrants only – due to the show location. The tickets are not valid for entry to the show on Saturday 7 March. The five winners will be pick at random and announced on the 17 February - Good Luck!
♥ – ♥ – ♥
The Spring Knitting & Stitching Show takes place at Olympia Central, London
Thursday 5 March: 10am – 7pm
Friday 6 & Saturday 7 March: 10am – 5.30pm
Sunday 8 March: 10am – 5pm
Tickets priced £16 on the door or £13* in advance.
*Please note there is a 95p booking fee per transaction
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February 8, 2015
The Week That Was…back to real life
Holy wow! This year has been something of a whirlwind – I’ve been working on a super huge deadline over the last couple of months and finally it is all behind me.
Large scale projects have the habit of taking over your life. You get so absorbed into every element of it that even in your down time you find that you are thinking, planning, dreaming about your project or your To Do List!
As a result, some things fall along the wayside, Ive not had time to check in here as much as I would like. Something that makes me feel bad and sad in ways I never thought possible, but I’ve made peace with that. After all, we can do anything we want, just not everything.
The last week has been spent tying up loose ends, catching up on emails and getting busy with the house and our renovations. So, even though a huge deadline has passed, I feel as though I have not stopped.
Over the last couple of weeks a few of the finest creative bloggers have been taking part in a Virtual Book Tour of my new book, Arm & Finger Knitting!
I’ve had the fantastic opportunity of sharing some of my creative processes from my new book, thoughts on blogging and future plans in an interview with the lovely folks over at Make It Shabby and, taking part in Laura’s – Bugs and Fishes – Crafty Ladies Feature – be sure to check out my top tips for Creative Business & Freelancers too!
I’m so stoked with the responses, reviews and finished makes by all of these creative folks – in fact, Ive been completely blown away! If you’ve not followed the tour be sure to check out these posts..
Are you a knitter? Do you use Ravelry? I’m a huge fan of this essential resource for all yarn hobbyists- this is my first port of call when looking for a new yarn for a project or design, it’s my go to when looking for new knits, gifts for new babies and for getting a knitting (or crochet!) fix when I don’t have time to grab my yarn. 
You can find me on Ravelry – and also check out all of my knitwear designs and also view the whole selection of patterns featured in my new Arm & Finger Knitting book too!
I have been so blown away by all of your support and excitement for my new book – thank you & happy Arm & Finger Knitting y’all!
♥ – ♥ – ♥
Arm & Finger Knitting – 35 No Needle Knits For The Home And To Wear by Laura Strutt, £12.99, CICO Books,Photography by Penny Wincer.
Have you got your hands on Arm & Finger Knitting? I’d love to hear what you think…and I’d love it if you’d leave your review on Amazon too!
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January 28, 2015
Arm & Finger Knitting Blog Tour: Jean Moss
Its a pretty epic day for me on the Arm & Finger Knitting Blog Tour… Today Jean Moss is sharing her thoughts on my new book. As a prolific designer, Jean has gained a fabulous reputation for her knitting designs and I have been lucky enough (many moons ago!) to take part on some of her amazing colour work classes during a knitting retreat!
Stay tuned for more exciting stops on this tour…Be sure to check back tomorrow to see the next stop on the tour!
♥ – ♥ – ♥
Arm & Finger Knitting – 35 No Needle Knits For The Home And To Wear by Laura Strutt, £12.99, CICO Books,Photography by Penny Wincer.
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January 27, 2015
Arm & Finger Knitting Blog Tour: Very Berry Handmade
Today the book to has headed over to Very Berry Handmade!
I’m so stoked that Ali has given this craft a try! Another successful make shared and a lovely review of the book – be sure to go check out her post to read it for yourself!
Have you tried arm knitting yet?I’d love to see what you make! Be sure to share – you can email you pics over to me or share on Instagram – be sure to tag me@madepeachy or tag #MadePeachyArmKnitting so that I can see your posts!
There are lots more stops on the tour…Be sure to check back tomorrow to see the next stop on the tour!
♥ – ♥ – ♥
Arm & Finger Knitting – 35 No Needle Knits For The Home And To Wear by Laura Strutt, £12.99, CICO Books, Photography by Penny Wincer.
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January 26, 2015
Arm & Finger Knitting Blog Tour: Little Squish
It’s Day Two on the Arm & Finger Knitting Book tour – a virtual tour where bloggers across the globe are sharing their thought, makes and reviews from my new book Arm & Finger Knitting!
I was pretty stoked to find out that yesterday that this little book was in the Top 20 Knitting Books on Amazon UK – I’m completely blown away by all the support! Thank You Guys! 
Today the book tour is swinging in past the wonderful Toria over at Little Squish!
Toria has tried given arm knitting a go…despite having never heard of this craft till the book came out – I think you’ll be impressed with all the projects that she’s made already! Go check them out for yourself!
There is nothing more exciting than seeing arm knitted projects from my book out in the ‘wild’ – have you made a project from the book? Be sure to share – you can email you pics over to me or share on Instagram – be sure to tag me @madepeachy or tag #MadePeachyArmKnitting so that I can see your posts!
There are lots more stops on the tour…Be sure to check back tomorrow to see the next stop on the tour!
♥ – ♥ – ♥
Arm & Finger Knitting – 35 No Needle Knits For The Home And To Wear by Laura Strutt, £12.99, CICO Books, Photography by Penny Wincer.
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January 25, 2015
Arm & Finger Knitting Blog Tour: Make It Shabby!
Happy Monday y’all!
Today is a pretty exciting day for me over here at Peachy HQ! Today marks the start of the Arm And Finger Knitting Book Blog Tour!
A few of the finest knitting, creative and all round lovely textile bloggers are getting geared up to take part in this fun event to mark the launch of my new book – it would be a complete understatement to say that I’m truly stoked!
During the next couple of weeks bloggers will be sharing their reviews, arm knitting projects and creative inspirations from my new book. First up, is the wonderful folks over at the inspiring online magazine Make it Shabby!
Be sure to head over there and check out my exclusive author interview in their We Meet…section!
Plus, you can find our more about my book in their wonderful review!
The tour is making a number of stops with bloggers around the globe…Be sure to check back tomorrow to see the next stop on the tour!
♥ – ♥ – ♥
Arm & Finger Knitting – 35 No Needle Knits For The Home And To Wear by Laura Strutt, £12.99, CICO Books, Photography by Penny Wincer.
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January 19, 2015
Arm & Finger Knitting Book Tour!
You guys! The virtual book tour of my new book Arm & Finger Knitting is about to kick off!
Over the next couple of weeks a few of my very favourite bloggers are taking part in the tour with reviews of the book, insight into their makes, exclusive interviews and even a few cheeky giveaways of the book up for grabs!
Meet the bloggers…
Make it Shabby
The place for everything shabby chic, handmade and vintage, Make It Shabby is jam packed with fresh inspiration for interiors, crafts, recipes and lifestyle tips!
Find Make It Shabby on Facebook & Twitter!
Little Squish
Victoria is a stitching superstar – sharing her makes and creative projects to delight and inspire. What’s more you can even buy her designs – or request a custom order via her Etsy store!
Find Little Squish on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
Very Berry Handmade
Ali celebrates all that is hand made on her blog – sharing tutorials, patterns and recipes. Plus you can even buy glorious fabrics from her dedicated store
Find Very Berry Handmade on Facebook
Jean Moss Knits
Prolific knitwear designer, Jean Moss, shares her thoughts on all the finer things in life – from music, food, travel…and, of course, knitting!
Find Jean Moss on Facebook & Twitter
Crafts From The Cwtch
If you’re looking for patterns, tips and tutorials for knitting, spinning, crochet and everything else yarn then Sarah has got your back!
Find Crafts From The Cwtch on Facebook & Twitter
Knitted Bliss
Knitwear designer and all round yarn enthusiast, Julie, shares her inspiration, latest designs and exceptional series on custom knits Modification Monday on her fabulous blog.
Find Knitted Bliss on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
Katie Gets Crafty
Stitching, knitting and crafting enthusiast, Katie, shares her makes and inspirations on her creative blog -plus she hosts weekly Twitter chat community CraftBlogClub
Find Katie Gets Crafty on Facebook & Twitter
A Creative Being
Marinke – Wink to her friends – shares her passion for crochet, crafts and all things creative on her inspiring blog – be sure to check out her patterns and store!
Find A Creative Being on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
Can’t wait? Neither can I! If you want to take a sneak peek at Arm & Finger Knitting check out this fun preview!
Be sure to watch this space- I’ll be sharing all the posts for the book tour as soon as they go live!
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January 12, 2015
Banana, Raspberry & Almond Smoothie
January is the month for cleaning up your act when it comes to eating.
It the time of the year when you have to confess that the strawberry creme truffles that you’ve been guzzling are not, in fact, part of your Five A Day! Getting healthy and eating clean has been a top priority in our home this year and I’ve been kick starting this health kick with lots and lots of fruits and veggies.
Nutribullet, from £99
One of my fave Christmas gifts this year was a super fancy blender – or should I say a nutrition extractor! The Nutribullet has already proved to be worth its weight in gold…which is really saying something considering as there is alway stye danger that it will become yet another kitchen gadget that is relegated to the back of a cupboard and never to see the light of day. So far (and I appreciate that we’re only a couple of weeks into January!) this has remained on the kitchen counter top and has been used every day!
I’m still getting to grips with drinking veggies, but so far fruit smoothies are a big hit! Breakfast smoothies are a game changer – they taste delicious, fill you up and there has got to be something good about getting in some of goodness right at the start of the day! I’ve been going crazy for this Banana, Raspberry & Almond Smoothie at breakfast – here’s my quick and easy recipe!
Grab your ingredients…
Two bananas
1 cup of frozen raspberries
5-10 Almonds
1 cup of almond milk
Add the raspberries, chopped bananas, almonds and almond milk to the blender cup and blitz!
Did I mention that this is the quickest breakfast recipe ever? Yet another thing I love about morning smoothies!
I’m so in love with this new blender – quick and easy healthy foods have got to be a winner – I can’t wait to try out more delicious flavour combinations and to give green smoothies a shot!
Do you have a favourite smoothie recipe?
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January 11, 2015
The Week That Was: Chilly January Crochet
If you were to ask me what I have been up to recently the answer is crochet, crochet, and yet more crochet!
Walking about with a crochet hook in my hand (or tangled in my hair!) is pretty much my standard at the moment. I’m on the last leg of a very big project and all of my time is spent working, working, working on getting the last few things made and finished. I love working on huge and challenging projects, but it sure does take it out of you!
I’ve even got to the point where I’ve got a yarn burn on my tension finger. Yup, the yarn that runs over my index finger to maintain the tension as the yarn feeds as I work is actually suffering. I have never heard of such a think before, I mean who crochets till their hands bleed? Seriously? Well this is an actually thing, and the best way to avoid it it to take a break – not really an option when you’re on a deadline, so I’m resorting to covering my finder with a sticky plaster. Not the cutest look going, but it seems to be doing the trick!
Crochet (on an epic deadline) is very much an indoors (curled up in the couch with Netflix) activity, so getting out doors is restricted right now to dog hikes and grocery trips. From cozied up on the couch to stepping out into a icy and blustery January is something of a shock to the system. Even the dog seems to be glad to get back indoors after our hikes (and he’s sporting a fuzzy winter coat!). I’m feeling like I’m ready for the springtime. The next couple of months are jam packed with events for me and I’m really looking forward to getting back on the road and having some fun! But, for now, I’m glad to be working on lots of crochet blankets – what better way to stay cosy on a chilly January?
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January 8, 2015
Mollie Makes – Issue 49 on sale now!
Happy Friday Y’all!
It’s been a long, busy week here at PeachyHQ – not to mention the fact that I’ve been feeling under the weather and trying to take some time to get back to match fitness. Yesterday I spent the afternoon hanging out in London with the lovely folks at Cico Books, working on filming a little how-to video!
We have worked up a cool video tutorial for showing you how to Arm Knit and Finger Knit, as well as sharing a video tour of my new book! I can’t wait to share this with y’all and as soon as this is ready to go live y’all will be the first to know!
If you’re keen on getting your hands on my new book (out in March!) you can go ahead and order it now!
[PS: Giveaway winners - your copies will be with you shortly!]
I love it when good things happen on a Friday it makes them all the more enjoyable, right?
Today the latest issue of Mollie Makes goes on sale – although I’m guessing all you subscribers will already have this hot off the presses – and fans of this magazine will agree this is always a good thing. But, this issue is pretty special for me.
You can get your hands on an exclusive pattern from my new book – to make your own Chunky Twisted Stitch Lap Blanket – which you can honestly make in a three hours…YUP! That’s your afternoon creative fix sorted right there!
If you’ve not tried arm knitting, then you’ll be stoked to know that there is also my quick-start guide – complete with step-by step photographs to get you going! What could be better?!
Have you seen the latest issue of Mollie Makes? What is your fave creative inspiration this month? I’d love to know if you’re going to try out arm knitting this blanket – so be sure to leave me a comment with your thoughts or, better still, if you make it and want to share finished photographs I’d love to see them – you can email them or if your sharing them on Instagram be sure to tag me @madepeachy – I’m really looking forward to seeing your creations!
Have a lovely Friday folks!
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