Of all animals, I think I have always like birds the best, probably influenced by my Mother, who kept Zebra Finches, Canaries, and Lovebirds, and avidly watched the wild birds in her garden. She even had a Silkie cockerel, rescued from a school egg-hatching program and given the run of the house and garden for many years. It was not until 2007 that I kept any birds of my own, and I started with hens. I liked the idea of fresh eggs for breakfast, but the day we acquired Hetty, Betty, and Letty, was the day I lost my heart to them. As soon as I held one in my arms, I was smitten, and the longer I have kept them, and the better I understand them, the more I see their individual characters, their behavioural traits, their likes and dislikes, their amazing colouring, the variation of comb and wattle shapes, their unique song.

WEEDS: Reimagining the Tam. A collection of patterns by Sue Beard

Samhain is the first of a collection of accessories inspired by the Wheel of the Year, the turning of the seasons, the celebration of the harvest. Samhain (pronounced Sa-win) marks the end of the harvests and the beginning of winter, a time for bonfires, for honouring the ancestors, and for entering the quiet part of the year, when the earth sl...

This pattern is also available from my Payhip Store.

Annat Royd is an adaptable shawl, based upon a two-triangle shape, but with the potential to be a larger three-triangle shawl. Royd is a Yorkshire dialect word meaning an enclosed clearing, but the meaning of Annat is uncertain; it could be someone’s name, it could be a dialect word for aniseed or dill. Annat Royd, nowadays, is the name of a tw...

This beanie pattern is part of my ongoing quest to use up stashed sock yarn. It can be made in any fingering/4ply sock yarn; leftover scraps are ideal for striping or colour blocking. It can be made in any size, from newborn to adult, and is knit in the round from the crown down to the brim. There are two options for the crown: knotted I-cord o...

This pattern is a companion piece to my very popular Sock Yarn Mittens pattern. It uses the same method of construction - top down, thumb first - but leaves the finger tips free for better dexterity.

This pattern is also available in my Payhip Store.

This pattern is also available from my Payhip Store.

This pattern is also available from my Payhip store.

This pattern is also available in my Payhip Store.

This pattern is also available from my Payhip Store.

This pattern is also available in my Payhip store.

This pattern is also available in my Payhip Store.

This pattern is also available in my Payhip Store.

This pattern is also available in my Payhip store.

This pattern is also available in my Payhip store.

This pattern is also available from my Payhip Store.

This pattern is also available at https://payhip.com/b/hbzam

This pattern is also available from my Payhip store.

Also available at https://payhip.com/b/0XCV6 .

This pattern is also available at: https://payhip.com/b/17XbIlink text

Also available at my Payhip store

Also available at https://payhip.com/b/MT16l .

This pattern is also available at: https://payhip.com/b/jp6Mw

This pattern is also available at: https://payhip.com/b/5c8pd

Also available at https://payhip.com/b/eQsn7 .

This pattern is also available at: https://payhip.com/b/piM6G

This pattern is also available at: https://payhip.com/b/f4ZTH

This pattern is also available from: https://payhip.com/b/Wmyv5

This pattern is also available at: https://payhip.com/b/45ZLb

This pattern is also available at https://payhip.com/b/Y1A4V.