About Me

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Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, United Kingdom
Hello there, my name is Sharon and I live in Westcliff on Sea with my two daughters, Rosie Matilda and Rumer Valentine and, when he's home from uni, my son Sydney. I opened my shop Roses & Rue in July 2009 and this has been a long held dream realised. I have recently given up teaching so that I can focus on building the business. As well as being fanatical about knitting, I love to crochet, sew and generally have a go at all things crafty. Hopefully you will take a little time out now and then to visit the blog and find out whats been going on in my busy world.

Monday 6 February 2012

Another busy week at Roses & Rue

A quick catch up to let you know whats been going on at Roses & Rue - maybe we can tempt you to come and join us to learn a new skill or take up an old one again.
Last week we had a patchwork class, a children's party, the usual knit and natter and crochet clubs and knitting for beginners - phew!
The knitting for beginners group was nice and easy because the ladies had all had a go at least once before, thus making my job easier. The patchwork class, as always, is all about colour and choosing fabric before we get anywhere near the sewing machines.Hopefully I'll have some lovely pics to show later in the week when the qulits are finished.
The childrens parties always take a lot of planning. The birthday girl decided that she wanted to make sock monkeys. Trust me, it is impossible to make 8 sock monkeys in two hours, so preparation is vital. A big thank you must go to Rosie and Joel for helping me stuff monkey bodies all week, ready for the party.


Monkey love!
Amongst all this chaos I have been crocheting up oddballs to make a lovely granny square cushion and matching blanket. When the blanket is finished they will go in the shop window for sale. We've been selling a lot of handmade stuff lately. In fact we are having a job keeping up. Luckily I have a band of dedicated friends who are creative and enjoy adding to the window display.

Rumer modelling the granny square cushion

Granny square cushion with unfinshed blanket made using oddballs of Debbie Bliss Babycashmerino
When it comes to knitting for the shop display or customers, I have a secret weapon - a Pat! She is quite simply the best knitter I know and I'm not prepared to share her with anyone. Aside from being the best knitter in the world she has also become a dear friend over the last two years - dare I say a mother figure (that might embarrass her, since she is so modest). She supports me all the way and is an integral part of the business. How she puts up with me I dont know, frankly, but I'm glad she does as I'd be lost without her.


Three quarter sleeved cardi knitted by Pat in Louisa Harding 'Aimee' (modelled by Rosie).

Monday 23 January 2012

Handmade Monday

Classes are going well so far this year with a great day on Wednesday when we made some appliqued cushions for beginners. Next class is this week - bunting. Dont forget to check out the website to see whats on.
Time for Tea
Knitting for beginners also restarts on Monday 30th. It's been some time since I've had the pins out as I've been doing a lot of crochet, so I decided to make a little cardi for my friend's new grandson Henry. It reminded me how much I used to knit for my children when they were little and how adventurous I was. I would knit anything and feared nothing. These days, for some reason I don't always have the same urge and tend to stick to small projects, like hats, scarves and tea cosies. So, its a bit late to be a New Years resolution but I'm going to try and knit some more adventurous projects this year - time permitting of course!


Henry's cardi - I just need to find the right buttons...
Dont forget to check out Handmade Monday to see what people have been creating this week http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/blog/



Monday 16 January 2012

latest news from Roses & Rue

We have had a very busy week with classes booking quickly - the Appliqued class is now full and there are only a few places left on the 'Learn to Knit' course. Keep an eye on the website  as there will be plenty more classes to come. Look out for the embroidery classes with Ros of Rosmadme fame, coming very soon. We also have a great sale on at the moment, so pop into the shop to bag a bargain!

 Dont forget to check out Hand Made Monday to see what people over the country have been creating this week. Click on the link http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/blog/


A gift for a friend - pattern taken from 'The GentleArt of Knitting' by Jane Brocket.

The flowers are very easy to make - look out for our tutorial coming soon!

Monday 2 January 2012

Happy New Year - Happy crafting

Happy New Year to you all, with best wishes from everyone at Roses & Rue!
We are looking forward to a year packed full of crafts and classes for everyone; please check out our website for details of forthcomimg classes.
Come and try your hand at patchwork, knitting, crochet, bunting making, machine embroidery and many other classes

come and make a quilt !