Blacksmith Shop Crafts

03/09/2026

Both are Sarah’s work but not the same Sarah!The first photo is from the knitting social on Wednesday afternoons 1-3pm and the second from sewing club Tuesdays and Thursdays 9.30-12-30.
I love the cable detail on the knitted top and to say that Sarah has not knitted much lately I think she is doing great!
The quilted patchwork is so lovely. I could just imagine being quite happy wrapping myself into something like it during Autumn evenings.
I have a vacancy for sewing for next Thursday if you would like to come and bring your sewing along and have cake and coffee with us.
Happy knitting and sewing! 🧶🧵🪡❤️

02/09/2026

While I was away in Finland I met up with my friend Tarja
What a pleasure it was to see her, have a chance to see her birch twig exhibition in Pernaja, open for another week.
Her work is unique and always done with care and devotion to the most modest of materials- birch twig.
Here she has linked her work to the most important of Finnish language pioneer- Mikael Agricola.
Tarja also works with willow. Her garden is in a middle of forest and it is hard to see where the garden finishes and the forest starts- a respectful blend of planted and wild.
Always such a pleasure. 🙏🏼

14/08/2026

created this fabulous fish fabric which I fell in love with when I was in Ghent. The pattern is by slightly reworked.
has been so inspirational this year, don’t you think? Contestants are so creative and some of them very skilful too!
I have 19 Great North Run tees so I decided to make some of them into knickers as per sewing bee episode two…such fun!
We have also had a wedding dress alteration during the sewing Club and a very young girl learning the joys of making doll’s clothes.
One of the knitting Social participants has already made use of the wool we dyed couple of weeks ago and crocheted a beautiful cushion cover.

10/08/2026

A shout out to good customer service .rose.furniture.
I have loved the contemporary look of our garden furniture and the stainless steel frame means it can be left outside in all weather.
The seating was worn and ripped after fifteen years of use. I had been thinking of all sorts of repair until I decided on the obvious and contacted the company where I had bought the said furniture!.
They had discontinued this set but were able to sell me the fabric for the seating.
It was not an easy repair and would not have suited customers without an industrial sewing machine or a trusted upholsterer.
I have managed to repair two of the worst chairs so far and will do the rest when they need it.
These chairs would have ended up at the local recycling site if I was not able to mend them.
Another reason to learn to sew and fix things- it helps to save money, resources and makes you feel holy! 😇🤣🫶🏻

30/07/2026

Fabulous for all your sewing and knitting/ crochet needs. 🫶🏻🙏🏼👏🏻

Thinking of visiting Bugweed's for the first time? Here's what you can expect...

We're tucked away at Unit 3, Marrtree Business Park, Stirling Road, York (YO30 4AB), just off the Clifton Moor ring road. You'll find us behind Starbucks, with plenty of free parking right outside, so no hunting for a space before you've even started your crafty adventure!

Can we ask a little favour? We're amazed by how many people still say, "I never knew you were here!" If you know someone who loves sewing, quilting, knitting, crochet or crafting, please share this post and help them discover Bugweed's. Word of mouth means the world to a small independent business like ours, and every share helps us reach another creative person who might just become part of our wonderful community.

If you've never visited before, we'd love to welcome you. Whether you're a sewist, quilter, knitter, crocheter or just looking for a little creative inspiration, there's something here for everyone.

Thank you—and we hope to see lots of new faces this summer!

29/07/2026

Dyeing day at the Knitting Social this afternoon.
We used Golden Rod and turmeric for lovely yellow, avocado skins and stones for light pink, beetroot juice for orange! We thought we would get red with beetroot but this is the beauty of natural dyes- you never really know what you will get.
I washed and mordanted wool from before this afternoon in prep for everyone. Mordant was from wildcolours.co.uk but they do not sell anymore. However, the webpage still exists and has some great advice on it, which I used today.
I attempted to achieve green with bay leaves and anything green that I had in the garden but failed miserably. At the point of despair I resorted to using my dad’s 60year old dyes…so the green is an acid dye. And I think it is making use of something that would otherwise be going in the landfill.
Dyeing is so wonderfully rewarding and thrilling. I am looking forward to making something stunning with this gorgeous wool.
Super afternoon, thank you all for coming and participating.

22/07/2026

Knitting Social-where we do knit, crochet, embroider and do macrame- is on every Wednesday 1-3pm.
Lately we have been in the garden in a shade, with coffee and of course cake.
My garden produces all sorts of magical inspiration for the cake… this week it is apricots.
The photos 2-4 are of my macrame bag, pattern by Lankava as is the yarn.
Technique is twisted square knot- I think it very much reminds me of looped techniques. Like it.

07/07/2026

Couple of times a year I am asked to go and tutor crafts at the local craft club.
It is always fun to develop something new for the occasion.
And the participants are always so lovely to work with.

05/07/2026

Always a great watch! 👏🏻🙏🏼🥰

The Bee is back.

The Great British Sewing Bee starts Tuesday 14th July at 8pm on BBC One.

05/07/2026

I am busy in the garden and it feels so good to see things grow and look green and lush. Even though it is becoming more of a struggle with the lack of rainwater. Still have some in one of the waterbutts but not for long.
Playing tennis is taking time too but fabulous to be healthy and strong enough to do it. And Wimbledon watching when time allows… it was lovely to see Grigor Dimitrov win last night and hear his comments on the match afterwards. Still appreciating this fine game. 🎾❤️🥰
Bubwith Tennis