Dear <<First Name>>

Thank you for helping fix me. September was full of choosing yarns for your projects, helping with patterns, loving your photos and just talking wips. Thank you, you made it a full and busy month! I also found some new projects for me, and you, and together with Luna Fibers curated some beautiful yarn sets for the Stephen West Knit Along which starts Friday!!! If you bought a set of Luna, or Soqs or Sweet Skeins from Be Inspired, please do not forget to what's app me to add you to our support group for the knit along. Our cast on party is THIS Saturday on Zoom. I so wish it could be in person, with those that are local, but my daughter is in her final stretch of her matric year, and we have been told that with IEB there are no rewrites - you don't show up, covid or no covid, you get to sit and wait for exams end of next year 2022. So we are still social distancing, even from family members.

With the end of the year looming, and a lot of us still staying home and away from crowds, I am going to dedicate this newsletter to my current projects, my neglected projects, and some wannabe projects. I hope you will find some holiday knitting or crochet inspiration and don't forget that Be Inspired offers digital vouchers which are personalised and emailed to the buyer, and can then be emailed to the lucky recipient, or printed out and gift wrapped! 

But first, let us not forget it is SOCKtober and for those who are not yet on the sock knitting bandwagon, I have a free zoom class on Saturday - you buy the needles and sock yarn from Be Inspired and the two classes with whats app support come free! There is still time to sign up, see below. 

To encourage those that are sock knitters, let's see some sock knitting happening this month and you could win a prize! Just tag Be Inspired on Instagram (that's where I mostly hang out these days) #beinspiredsocktober - I will be watching that tag!

Sock knitting 101 Heel Flap!

The workshop kit includes yarn and circular sock needles, with 2 free zoom classes as well as a support group.

The first class will focus on starting your cuff down sock, using small circular needles, doing the rib, working in the round, and knitting your tube. The second class will focus on the heel flap and gusset as well as a demo of the toe. We will have a what's app group for support, and follow up dates and times will be discussed on the group.

I knit my socks with a circular sock needle, switching to flyers (flexible double pointed needles) for the heel and toe. This workshop pack includes the circular needles only. You will use the circulars right up unto the final toe stitches and then you will need to swap to double pointed needles or flyers. If you need flyers click here

The yarn included is a hand dyed merino sock yarn by Esteresa consisting of a main colour skein, and a mini skein for heels and toes. 

Zoom class one:

THIS Saturday 9th October 10am

Zoom class two:

TBC end of October, beginning November 2021

The Stephen West mystery knit along is an adventure in itself. There is always something new to learn, something different and something to push you out of your comfort zone. It's when we are forced to try new things, that we learn the most. This self inflicted torture of not knowing exactly what we are knitting starts this Friday with the first clue. In Be Inspired style we will have a cast on party on Saturday afternoon - a social gathering via zoom, to get to know each other, ooh and ahhh over the different kits and to start knitting! Those who have bought a kit will be able to have support on the what's app group, as some of us will be jumping in at the deep end, having never knitted in a knit along before, or having not knitted for a long time!

See you on Zoom on Saturday at 3pm! Those with kits will be emailed a link on Friday. Those without kits, there are one or two kits still available online - including a beautiful Luna Fibers kit.

It is no secret that I love my fluffy cat companions. In 2020, we adopted four rescues:
Molly, Grinch, Gandalf and Gimli. They joined the big ginger Buddy that I inherited from my dad. Together, they fill my days, and nights, with antics, and love.

When I saw a cute cat stitch marker on a podcast by local crocheter and knitter, Made by Jalene, I simply had to have my cats immortalized by Ietsie Klein. You can buy the tribe as crochet (lobster claw) or knitting (ring) stitch markers - hand made in polymer clay with great attention to detail - my favourite is the Grinch with his scowl!

It brings me great joy to be able to support artisans, and in turn to be able to offer you quality accessories that are bespoke and locally made.

These would make great gifts for your yarnie friends, and 10% of the profit goes to Persian Cat Rescue, where my babies were adopted from.

My Sorrel sweater was an experiment in colour, to play with how the Floofies can add to, and change the colour of the main yarn. The answer is a lot! I started with a pairing of the Sweet Skeins Colour Collision with the Coral Floofie, then moved onto the Pink and am now currently on the Cloud Floofie. It truly looks like a watercolour painting, and Mr BI earned many brownie points when he exclaimed " It looks like its been knitted by a machine!" - well, it has been. I am a machine. (insert smiley faces)

I have always battled to work with just one colour. So by changing the Floofie colour, but still holding the same main colour, I have taken my work from gaudy bright, to a more toned down, less hand knitted look. If that makes sense. I think by changing just one colour, it gives a more subtle look which is still interesting.

This pattern is in Wool & Pine Book One, which is online at a special price to you.

Exciting news from Wool & Pine are that they are releasing a Book Two, which includes the Peperomia pattern and a few others, as well as a book with the mini pattern versions of Book One, for babies to toddlers and little kids. I am busy knitting Broad Leaf right now, for my friend's two year old grand daughter. Do you want me to order in some of the mini version pattern books? If yes, please email me so that I know how many to import?

The Floofies are growing! There are a grand total of 16 colours now, in this beautiful mulberry silk and kid mohair lace weight yarn. It's beautiful to use on its own, to double up with another yarn, or with itself. I have used it in many projects, to play with colour, to add texture, or warmth to cotton. 

The latest colours are Cream and Haze (a greyish tone in between Grinch and Grey). The Oi Love Green, Cloud, and Teal are also fairly new additions that have sold very well. The best test for me is once a customer has bought some, do they buy more? The answer is YES. Lots, lots more! I have even had a customer tell me that the Floofies are even softer and nicer than a well known imported Kid Silk, so that was pleasing.

I simply could not help myself. I put so many hints out, literally begging someone to do some colour work with the Zauberperlen. Well, you are all fired, because I have not seen any photos yet, and so could not live vicariously through you, and hence had to start my own sweater with the "deconstructed" Zauberball (my only excuse and I am sticking to it).

I was going to make the Solvi sweater, below left (knit by my friend Lyn Mohring, using a Zauberball Crazy and miss la motte as the main colour), but decided on the Hinterland as I love the slightly flared colour work cuffs.

Trio blanket is another project that I have not made, but have dreamt about for a long time. I think the struggle to choose three colours is what puts people off, but as the pattern designer, Susan from The Felted Button said, there are no wrong colour choices, everything works!  

I have put together some fun combo's for you, with the colour names below the pics if you want to try one for yourself. The result is spectacular and the weight of this blanket is nice for spring, autumn and cooler summer evenings. If you want more warmth then...add a Floofie!

Mosaic Knitting. I have tried it, in a basic form in the Shifty cowl by Andrea Mowry, but I am really looking forward to trying something a little more "extra".

The Yara photo's on instagram are the things of my dreams, so I asked Karen aka miss la motte if she could help me come up with some kits. These kits are on their way this week and I am so so excited to show you. I would also like to do a knit along with this, so we can support each other. We would start in November after the Stephen West MKAL has finished. The miss la motte yarn packs are limited edition, so fastest finger first. Want a heads up for when I load the kits? You know the drill, just drop me an email.

The pattern can be found here.

Crystals have always fascinated me, and now my daughter. They are beautiful, and unique, and I do believe that they hold special powers. I recently discovered Live Light Life and asked Kerry to create a Be Inspired crystal bracelet especially for me. One that will inspire creativity.  What Kerry has made is so much more than that, and I have a few that I would like to share with you.

Introducing the Be Creatively You crystal bracelet. Handmade with love in Durban. Each crystal bracelet is presented in a little drawstring linen bag, with four cards explaining the properties of the crystals - see excerpts below:

Carnelian for Creativity - Boosts confidence and encourages true and honest expression. A stone of motivation, endurance and leadership. It allows you to overcome indecision by supporting action.

Citrine for Light - A stone of joy and abundance, Citrine helps you to interact creatively with the world. It promotes inner calm. A powerful cleanser and regenerator. It carries the virtues of self-healing, inspiration and self-realization. By magnifying our willpower and enhancing our creativity and imagination, it will help us realize our dreams and greatest potential.

Blue Lace Agate for Equanimity - Highlighting integrity, it enhances the ability to communicate effectively what is in your mind and heart. It brings us to our natural state of joy.

Lapis Lazuli for Wisdom - A universal symbol of wisdom and truth. Self-knowledge and reflection - giving us clarity to move beyond the mundane mind into the expanded awareness of ourselves and our life.

You can invest in your bracelet by clicking any of the photos below.

The Morvan crocheted blanket is a free pattern from It's All in a Nutshell blog or you can find it here on Ravelry. I have been using two Durable Colour Cakes and holding the yarn double with the Floofies to add a softness and fluffiness to the cotton. It is a very relaxing project, although mine has been neglected of late. I have seen one that is complete, with just the cotton yarn, and it is beautiful.

To those of you who answered my plea to donate to the Dignity Packs SA fund raiser to end period poverty in our local communities - THANK YOU!

I do not have the final figures of amount raised but received this email shortly after I posted and asked for your help:

"Above what you donated yourself, you've raised R1850 already! That's over 12 more kits.
I literally sobbed. These kids are always on my mind, it is the worst feeling having to say no because we can't get the funds. You are now officially my new favorite person. You helped change these kid's lives.
We've already ordered the kits. It is another NPO we buy from, they employ women from Zandspruit township here in Joburg"

The kits will be dropped off with a small community in Wartburg. If you would like to still donate the link for the campaign is here.

And if you would like to follow the work done by Dignity Packs SA you can follow them on facebook.

I believe that each of us can make a small difference. Together we can make a big difference. Thanks to you, 22 young girls will not have to miss school every month. 22 young girls will be given freedom to continue with their lives, their education and most importantly, 22 young women will know that someone cares and that there is help. 

With your help, Be Inspired won the business donations category for September 2021, raising the most funds. We get our name engraved on a trophy! I never was much of a sportswoman at school, got academic trophies in college but never one for helping others so thank you for helping me achieve that!