I always think it's lovely when you see people create their Christmas decorations that they then display in their homes. I have fond memories as a child creating those Christmas paper chains that would then be hung up in my home. I've always loved the Scandinavian homemade designs and have often admired some lovely decorations on display in some of my Swedish friends home around Christmas time. You may already know that I'm also a keen hand knitter and several years ago, I was really excited when knitwear designers Arne & Carlos released a book called 55 Christmas Balls to Knit. I knew that I immediately wanted to create some knitted ball balls for my Christmas Tree that year. Also...
My love of craft style Advent Calendars all started 5 years ago when I attended a Flock Party event at LoveKnitting.com HQ (now called LoveCrafts.com). Back then I was a freelance Hand Knitwear Designer and had collaborated with them when they had first set up their website. I was one of the first group of Independent Knitwear Designers to sell my knitting pattern range so it was a very exciting time! When I attended the party, they ran several competitions that evening and I was fortunate to win one of them. I won one of their Knitting Advent calendars that they had launched for Christmas 2016 as they had released a new range of yarn and a variety of colours...
I have a wonderful English Cocker Spaniel called Daisy who comes to work with me everyday in my studio at Bargello-a-GoGo HQ. To keep in the spirit of all things Bargello! I decided to make her a cute little dog harness with Bargello Embroidery. I knew I would be using Zweigart 12 Count Tapestry Canvas and Tapestry Wool since plastic canvas would be too stiff to make into a dog harness. I first had to decide on a colour scheme. Since Daisy is a girl and golden in colour, I knew I wanted to do the Bargello Pattern in pinks with a hint of Yellow to brighten up the Bargello Pattern. I next had to decide on what Bargello pattern...
I'm really excited to announce a new kit that I've been busy working on at Bargello-a-Gogo HQ, which is the Bargello Owl Wall Hanging Kit! My latest kit design was inspired by a Macrame Owl Wall Hanging that my Nan had purchased back in the 70's and it was always hanging on her wall in her home throughout my childhood/teen years. Since Bargello embroidery was popular in the 60s/70s, I thought it would be great to make a Bargello Owl with a super funky retro feel! Whilst my Nan's original owl had been rather plain and brown with some glass eyes, I really wanted this design to stand out in bright, bold colours (since that's what Bargello is all about!)....
I'm excited to announce that the latest Bargello-a-GoGo Bargello embroidery kit is now using Appletons Tapestry wool (instead of DMC that had been used for previous kits). There are a couple of reasons why going forward, I've decided to use the Appletons brand of Tapestry Wool instead. They use 100% Pure English Wool and it is also manufactured and dyed in the UK. Since Bargello-a-GoGo is based in the UK, I was keen to support a manufacturing business in the same country. Compared to other Tapestry Wool brands, there is a great option of having either skeins or hanks in my kits (depending on how much wool is required for the kits). The skeins also contain 10 metres rather than...
