Spring is a funny time of year in terms of clothing, the sun is shining but it can still feel pretty fresh, bordering on chilly out there. Layering is key so you can adapt your comfort to whether you are experiencing sun or shade, or when the evening starts and the cooler temperatures set in.

In the hope of inspiring you to pick up your knitting and enjoy creating yourself some items to wear and enjoy throughout Spring, I have listed some spring seasonal project ideas to add to your dream knitting list:

People often assume learning to knit will be near impossible, they tell themselves all sorts of stories in their heads about how they are not capable, not smart enough, not creative or crafty enough to learn how to knit. Having taught people from all over the world at ages from 5 - 65+years old,  I can assure you all that internal messaging is absolute rubbish.

In this post, I share 5 of my favourite online places to get inspired and most importantly access knitting patterns all year round. Please feel free to share these with any of your knitting, crocheting or general crafty friends, 'gate keeping' is out and 'gate breaking' is in.

I have, and continue to teach beginner knitting lessons in some of these cafes, and continue to head to them for, rare but gorgeous, solo knitting dates. This year, being back to teaching knitting lessons in person alongside my online knitting classes, I thought it was time to share some of my favourite cafes to knit in, in case you find yourself in Bos en Lommer with your knitting and some time to savour.

Some choose learning how to knit to help to heal unhappy memories of being taught to knit by impatient teachers, nuns (yes really) or grandparents, some to create a therapeutic space for themselves to help process something traumatic or difficult, or distract themselves from a challenging period in their lives. Some to relieve stress from work and relationships. Many people come because they have always harboured a desire to do something crafty and creative and would love to have an activity to stop the endless social media scrolling that brings them little to no joy or satisfaction.

Hello and welcome fellow knitters of all levels, to my knitting on a budget top tips blog post. We are all here because we love to knit, or want to learn to knit but the current price increases of...everything (!) may be impacting your knitting choices.

A simple and straightforward, step by step guide to the Wraps Per Inch method to help identify knitting yarn without a label or knitting needle indication.

So, you have learnt to knit and purl, cast on and off and now you want to make something. Knit something to actually wear, or maybe to gift a loved one. You want to knit something of your very own and feel proud every time you wear it or see it being worn and enjoyed. I remember that hunger well.

Learning to knit is an exciting and rewarding journey, but, in the early stages, it can also feel like wrestling with a tangled ball of yarn and chopsticks all at the same time. Fear not, everyone has this experience at first and most importantly, this initial feeling does not last long.

In fact my beginner knitting lessons have people feeling considerably more confident with what they are doing (aka knitting) within 45 minutes! But until you have found you have found your knitting rhythm and flow I have some tried and true knitting 101 fundamentals to help you survive and eventually thrive as a beginner knitter.

My little family and I were recently in Alicante, Spain. It was our first holiday abroad since having our little girl nearly 4 years ago and it was fantastic! We had such a wonderful time and were able to resurrect some old holiday traditions that my husband and I had when we used to travel relatively often, such as visiting a local yarn store and finding some local yarn treasure for me to take home and knit up as memories of the holiday.

Somehow or another I became aware of an incredible cardigan being worn by Timothée Chalamet on the Venice Film Festival red carpet. It looked at least partially crocheted but certainly made of yarn.

I started knitting at the age of 22, it was meant to be a fun way to pass the time while waiting to be called onto set - I was a TV and Theatre actress in the UK. However as soon as I started learning to knit, I was hooked. I literally could not stop. My first scarf was ridiculously long, un-wearably long because I couldn't stop...I also didn't yet know how to cast off until a friendly crew member on a BBC drama took pity on me and showed me.

It happens every year, we all have visions of gifting bundles of handmade goodies to every member of our family and friendship circle and the come December...we panic.

"There's not enough time now!!!"

As you build your knitting confidence and embark on more knitting projects and patterns you will inevitably accrue yarn and build what is known as a stash. If you are anything like me you will end up buying yarn because it is simply too squidgy and gorgeous to leave in the store and then you end up with a large collection of yarn, sitting pretty and waiting for a knitting pattern to be allocated to...and so the stash grows.

Becoming a knitter puts you in very good company...and I don't mean mine! Firstly you will be able to easily find fellow knitters all over the world to knit with at Knit Nights in local yarn stores (pandemic restrictions dependent). This is something I would do often as my work as an actress took me travelling to places like Lithuania, Romania and New York. It proved to be a lovely way to meet new people and learn about a city from the people who actually live there by turning up to knit beside them and share stories, both knitting and life experiences. Plus think of the local yarn you can learn about!

Like all hobbies/pursuits and activities Knitting comes with it's own language. Not as complicated as Klingon but as a Beginner Knitter it can easily feel intimidating. You will find these slang terms being used in online knitting spaces like forums, comment threads or even Instagram posts, you may also overhear them being used in your local yarn store. Learn to Knit Online is built entirely on the intention to break down any intimidation or mystique around knitting so let's talk knitting jargon.

When you start knitting patterns you soon become aware of all the 'stuff' that is required to have in your Knit Kit (not an official knitting term). This 'stuff' in the knitting world are known as Notions. So let me break down for you what, in my opinion, are the essentials for you to have to hand when knitting...

I have a new, unique and memory making Father's Day gift suggestion! Instead of socks, golf balls or a gardening book, why not learn to knit together!

Buying yarn to knit can be both exciting and overwhelming, with these 4 simple steps I hope to help make it a productive and fun experience for you.

I think it's been about 2 years since knitting came into my life. To give you a little insight about where I was at that time in my life, and how knitting was such a huge benefit for me, I'll first give you a little backstory to my situation.