Today is Bonfire Night in the UK. We went to watch our local firework display on Sunday (first time it hasn’t been on the 5th), and the colours were spectacular. The loud bangs still make me jump, but much less so than they used to. I’m braced for some unexpected booms outside later on. It was really good to walk up to our usual spot (out of the way of the crowds, but with a mighty fine view of the sky) and enjoy the display for the 20 minutes it lasts.
I’ve spent the past couple of days swatching for a new shawl design. This means the previous design is completed, blocked, measured and written up! All that remains is to weave in the ends, double check the pattern and get it all sent off.
The new design is giving me some challenges. I thought I had the shape fixed, but then I realised that it wouldn’t use nearly enough of the yarn (the yarn is the gorgeous BFL 4ply from McIntosh – the same yarn I used for Barragán). Don’t worry, I’m not using all six cakes of yarn in the main post photo – some of it’s for swatching as James kindly supplies me with extra! So there has been much experimenting and swatching, alongside checking yarn quantities used for different shawl shapes in some of my many knitting books and this has led me to a solution. So now I just need to finalise the stitch patterns and overall design and I’m good to get going with it!
It’s been good to immerse myself in something new and I’m enjoying playing with some joyful colours.
There has been a lot of ‘life stuff’ going on in the background this past month (and is still going on, but it’s come down a gear) which made it hard to fully focus on design work. I was lucky with my last design as it was a re-working of something I’d developed during my City & Guilds course, so I was tweaking and refining, rather than starting from scratch. Tweaking and refining I could do!
I’ve done a few more rows on my new sample of Elinor Hap Shawl. I think there are 14 more rows to work on the border and then the edging begins. I dug out my needle protector case recently as well after the needle tips got caught in the lace whilst in the project bag and pulled a long strand (ouch!). If you’ve not seen these before, they are very helpful and also stop stitches falling off the ends of the needles. I got mine from Yarn O’clock.
Back in September, before Yarndale, I told you I was knitting a new Manu cardigan designed by Kate Davies using some yarn from the deep stash, but I wasn’t at all happy with how the colours were behaving together in stripes. This week it finally got ripped out and I have decided to knit a new Haori cardigan instead, using the yarn in blocks of colour. There’s not a lot exciting to see at the moment apart from a long strip of blue grey garter stitch – hopefully I will be able to make it grow and become more exciting to look at soon!
Tomorrow I am giving a 1-to-1 knitting lesson. Did you know these were available? Depending on where you are based they can be either in-person or via Zoom and we can cover whatever knitting issue you have. It may be that you want to do a specific workshop, but on your own, or (as with tomorrow’s lesson), you have a knitting problem that you would like help with. 1-to-1 knitting lessons are currently £25 per hour and can be booked by emailing me. At some point soon, I intend to be able to get a calendar set up where you can choose from available dates and times.
November sees my final two events of this year. I know I’ve mentioned these before and you may have seen me write about them in my social posts and newsletter, but I want to tell you a little more about each of them.
I’m delighted to have been invited to exhibit at Stollen & Wolle Winter Market and Wayzgoose at the RiverKnits studio in Weedon Bec on Sunday 17th. Becci and Markus of RiverKnits have invited some of their favourite yarn, art, and artisan craft businesses to exhibit alongside limited edition artworks and printmaking demos. It will be a great opportunity for gift buying while supporting local, creative, and sustainable businesses. And there will be stollen and glühwein (as well as non-alcoholic options). Early bird tickets are available for £5 and on the door tickets are £7.
A week later we will be in Welwyn Garden City. Wool-in Garden City Wool Festival actually starts on Monday 18th with workshops and a pop-up shop in the Howard Centre at Welwyn Garden City, and a daily knit and natter, crochet and chat will take place by the escalators each afternoon, and finishes on Sunday 24th with a one-day wool show at Oaklands College. The pop-up shop and knit and natter/crochet and chat are free to enter. Advance tickets for the wool show at Oaklands College are £6, with on the door tickets at £7.
As well as exhibiting at the wool show, I will be teaching in the pop-up shop on Saturday 23rd, teaching both of my brioche workshops. If you want to learn to knit two-colour brioche, this is a great opportunity! Both workshops have a maximum class size of 8 giving each attendee lots of tutor time, and each costs £30 to attend, including two colours of 100% wool yarn to use and detailed handouts for you to take away. You just need to bring a 5mm circular needle (60-80cm long). If you are feeling up for a challenge you could even attend both workshops! Introduction to Two-Colour Brioche Knitting is 10am-12noon and Next Steps in Two-Colour Brioche Knitting is 1-3pm. Once you have learnt the stitches in these two workshops a whole range of brioche patterns will open up for you.
Here is the full info about the workshops from the festival website:
Introduction to Two-Colour Brioche Knitting with Kath Andrews 10 – 12 pm – £30 Brioche knitting is a distinctive knitted ribbing technique that is recognizable by its interesting texture. In this workshop you will learn how to achieve this effect by alternating columns of slipped stitches with yarnovers and knit stitches. Handouts and yarn will be provided, but participants will need to bring 5 mm circular needles (ideally 60 – 80 cm long).
Next Steps in Two-Colour Brioche Knitting with Kath Andrews 1 – 3 pm – £30 Develop your two-colour brioche knitting skills further with increases and decreases to create wonderful geometric and curved shapes. You need to be able to cast-on, knit & purl confidently, be able to follow a written pattern and have some experience of knitting basic two-colour brioche stitch. Yarn and handouts are included, but participants will need to bring 5 mm circular needles (ideally 60 – 80 cm long).
There is a wide range of workshops priced from £25 to £70 happening during the week, including knitting, crochet, drop spindle spinning, rag rug making and more! Have a look at the Wool-in Garden City Wool Festival Workshops webpage where you can book one or more workshops.
I’ll have my ‘Flying the Shawls 2025’ calendars (as featured in Issue 208 of The Knitter magazine) with me at both events, but, if you can’t get to either, you can still get a calendar here, for £10 plus postage. They make great gifts – The Knitter says so!
That’s all from me today. I shall be watching the news across the pond with interest and crossed fingers for the next few days. Take care one and all and I hope you get the chance to do something that makes you happy this week. K x