Thrifting and Knitting in Cranford Country

A couple of weeks ago a good friend of mine asked me to teach her to knit. So after work we headed back to my house. I made tea, put little man to bed and we sat together as I quite literally held her hand, showing her how to cast on and garter stitch. J is the very first person I have taught to knit (not sure why that is) but I have been spoilt. She is VERY fast. The next time I saw her, she had not only finished the cushion she had chosen for her first project but was wearing her very first scarf!

Now I had introduced J to our LYS, but I thought a jolly morning adventure to the beautiful world of Fibre and Clay was in order. It is a treat for the committed knitter and the casual browser alike. This shop is just how you would like your knitting shop to be if you had one (assuming of course that you kinda dream that). Fibre and Clay is in the town of Knutsford, which is the subject of ‘Cranford’ and it is a delightful destination shopping town just outside the big city of Manchester.

Riana and her husband who own the shop have the most wonderful ‘eye’. They have beautiful ceramics and textiles for fans of contemporary craft, but if you are a knitter… Oh my, you feel like its sort of a wonderful heavenly home and a few hours in its comfortable rooms will not be enough.

The two floors of the shop give you ample room to look at high quality yarns, more patterns than you can dream of and a wonderful range of accessible patterns for the beginner. The button range is second to none. Feast your eyes on this my lovelies.

Riana is the most beautiful smiley lady, she wears clothes you just want to ask where each item comes from and is such a wonderful advert for our craft. The shop makes you feel welcome, it invites you to spend your time, to browse, to enjoy. So therefore you want to spend your money.

Whilst we were there we met the lovely Tracey Todhunter who was so helpful suggesting yarns and patterns. She was wearing the most gorgeous moebius cowl and talked us through how she made it. Both J and I promptly bought some yarn with the intention of making our own. Please do visit her lovely blog to see the scarf. I am intending to make mine in Noro Silk Garden.

Finally, Fibre and Clay now have a lovely online shop which makes getting hold of those more unusual yarns very easy. They are so pleasant and friendly that I know they would be great to ask for any advice over the phone. They also have a great idea of a pattern library – how cool is that! The book range there was amazing and well worth a visit just to browse through them.

But what I would say is that I hear very good reports about their workshops. Recently they have expanded their range and I am very keen to go on the Tunisian Crochet course. I REALLY want to learn how to do that.

I also managed to fit it a little be of thrift shopping whilst in Knutsford and picked up a few lovely pieces of china. So here is my haul. When we returned to J’s house she asked me to help her get to grips with moss stitch. It took her 3 short rows before the needles were flying. I am almost jealous, she is very fast and has such great colour sense, that frankly she will be leaving me well behind designing her very fashionable accessories.  What a fantastic morning, thank you ladies all x

6 thoughts on “Thrifting and Knitting in Cranford Country”

  1. Hi Emma, it was so lovely to meet you, I’m glad you enjoyed your visit to Fibre + Clay.It was lovely to talk with a fellow knitting enthusiast. I hope we see you again soon.
    Tracey x
    ps I have already started a bunny egg cosy, hardly in the door from work and out with the hook!

    1. Dear Tracey,
      Thank you so much for saying these kind things and for the wonderful post on the blog. You are going on my blog favourites. I hope you have a lovely week.
      Thanks Emma x

  2. Hi Emma
    It was lovely to meet you and your friend on Saturday. Thank you for taking the time to take beautiful pictures and write about us. We appreciate your kind words and your enthusiasm. I’m very glad you’ve found us and that we’ve found your beautiful blog!
    Riana

    1. Dear Riana,
      Thank you so much, you are so kind and your shop is so wonderful. If you would like copies of any patterns, you would be very welcome. The whole ambience at Fibre and Clay is wonderful.
      Best wishes
      Emma

  3. Pingback: Endless Fun with the Endless Scarf

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