Wednesday 27 January 2010

COVETED TOP TEN - JANUARY

Here are my ten favourite finds online throughout the past month! As yet, I haven't succumbed to the temptation to actually buy any of them.........

Top of the list has to be this 'Kick Spindle' from Heavenly Handspinning.

This is basically a way of using a spindle while leaving both hands free to draft with - it solves the problem for those who like spindle spinning but who often wish they had an extra hand. The kick spindle has a wheel, which you spin with your foot (or hand) and which keeps the spindle turning longer than a normal drop spindle. It is also a good way of getting used to the hand/foot co-ordination you need for a spinning wheel. The Mother Marion Kick Spindle is really inexpensive,and in fact I have seen some drop spindles on UK sites costing slightly more than the combined price plus shipping for the Kick spindle.



Silvia Dekker is a Dutch artist living and working in Leiden, Netherlands. She is also a close friend of Ellen, which is how I found out about her designs. Her latest major work has ben designing a range for Hema, such as fabrics for duvet covers, and fab stationary.



This is something which has made it into my Etsy basket after almost a week of tortuous decision non-making. It's kettle dyed in a lovely purple, which I absolutely cannot resist!!There are other laceweights too, including one added today in a very slightly paler purple BFL with bluey purple flashes.....but I know I will go for the Botany, as I still have the Atlantic Blue I got a while ago, and the two colours together will make a truly divine scarf!!!


4 - Solstice Bird Decoration from Uma Joy Design


This lovely knitted and felted bird decoration is a free pattern, originally intended I imagine as a Solstice and /or Christmas decoration. I think a few strung together would look great, perhaps with beads between the birds and with a few little bells at the bottom, hanging from a wardrobe or cupboard door as a beautiful decoration in a bedroom, or hand from wooden dowelling as a lovely mobile - a natural alternative to those cold, hard, garishly coloured plastic things.

5 - Juno Fibre Arts on Etsy

What can I say? So many gorgeous yarns to choose from, such as this lovely Superwash Merino in 'Midnight' - ideal for socks and thre wristies I am into knitting at the minute! Also sells top/roving in various colours, and laceweight yarn.


Lovely Rotterdam-based shop on Etsy which sells gorgeous Dutch fabric and ribbon. I have ordered three lots of ribbon, and also a set of sew-on patches to decorate the hat I am knitting for Saartje. Many floral and Matryoshka items, and not dissimilar to Silvia's.

7 - This month's Flow magazine

I can't wait to get my copy, with its free Matryoska notebook! I love receiving my Flow magazines from Ellen, so much so in fact that I have decided to take out a subscription!! This means I won't ever miss a single issue, and won't have to rely on and expect Ellen to buy an extra copy to send me each time!

8 - PipStudio


Ahhhh! At long last Pip Studio's gorgeous journals can be mine all mine in a hurry whenever I want them: Pip is coming to the UK, according to Home Shopping Spy's Blog. I would like to bet on John Lewis and Fenwick being th first to make the most of that!

Only the Best of Etsy Sample Boxes are boxes full of samples from several different Etsy shops. Each box has 10 samples & is unique. No two boxes are the same. To see what kind of things are in the boxes, take a look at the sneak peak video and the contributor list:
Pictured is a set of Citrus products from OmShanti, one of my favourite contributors - I have requested some OmShanti soap as one of my items; buyers can choose three items from the 18 avilable but the other seven items in your box are a lovely surprise!!

Finally, at number 10 - Lush's Heads,Shoulders, Knees and Toes is back!!


This is something which always seems to appear after Christmas, possibly to cheer people up in the post-holiday blues and S.A.D period, and also of course so Lush can continue to make money even after you have spent all your Christmas Lush vouchers and stopped buying presies. At only £12.50 it's unbelievable value, as it contains 10 items, many of which are worth a few quid.

Well, that's it for this month. I shall post another Top Ten at the end of February, as well as owning up to how many of the above I could not resist buying!!

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