Tag: Gardening

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The Siren Song of Spring

This week has involved lots of scrubbing and hauling. Scrubbing of walls, floors and other surfaces and hauling around of furniture. We had decided that it would be more sensible to have a sofa bed in the spare room rather than a full double bed that is used once in a blue moon and takes up most of the space.

So, we visited all the shops in our area (in the same retail park, fortunately!) to look at the sofa beds on offer and chose the one most suited for our needs (and space) which was, of course, the one we saw first. We have removed the old bed and cleaned the room thoroughly, including moving the wardrobes with heavy sliding mirrored doors which hadn’t been moved since we built them over a decade ago! We moved the Clavinova (full sized electric piano) into the hallway to be squeezed around until it can go back in and we even hired one of those Rug Doctor machines and cleaned the carpet!

The room is now refreshed and awaiting the delivery of the sofa-bed tomorrow. Not only will this free up more space in the spare room, it will also turn it into a room we can make more use of, either for playing music or even giving music lessons, or for my lovely wife’s coaching sessions, or just for somewhere else to ‘be’ in the house. We even took the opportunity to go through the contents of our wardrobes thoroughly and be honest about what we were or weren’t going to wear again, since everything had to come out of them anyway before we could even try to move them.

So, unsurprisingly, I’ve been aching a bit since the weekend when most of this took place! This may also be due to having spent an hour or so in the garden on Friday – the first gardening I’ve done in months. I pruned the apple tree, cut back the autumn fruiting raspberries, pruned the blackcurrant, one of the gooseberry bushes and one of the roses and made a start on pruning the redcurrant.

Spring must be well and truly on her way and we are hearing her siren call!

I finished my Haori Cardigan last Tuesday, spent a couple of days weaving in the ends and then wore it the very next day – without even blocking/washing it (shocking!). To be fair, the main thing that blocking this will do is possibly to straighten out the neckband for a short time before it heeds its own siren call of stocking stitch and rolls inward again. I’m really pleased with it and I know I will be wearing it a lot.

Finishing this (and awaiting the arrival of yarn for a couple of commissions) means I’ve returned to knitting my new sample of Elinor Hap Shawl.

This new sample is in a superfine lace weight (1200m per 100g) but the shawl can still be knitted in ‘standard’ laceweight yarn (800m per 100g). My old sample had become a bit bobbly and had lost some of its stitch definition as it’s something I wear often – it certainly isn’t fit for being a display sample, which this new shawl will be!

Do you remember I showed you the beautiful Tencel yarn from Penny Stitch Craft that she kindly gave me to design with at the North West Winter Wool Festival? I’ve knitted up a basic stocking stitch swatch on 4mm needles to see how it behaves and it has a lovely drape and sheen.

The next task is to experiment with a lace swatch, probably on slightly larger needles and see how it holds the stitches after blocking. It should work well, judging from the stocking stitch swatch. I wonder what final design these skeins will become?!

As we have now left February I have been able to count up the number of Bodelwyddan copies sold during the month, both online and at the North West Winter Wool Festival, and I am delighted to say that you bought 12 copies which has enabled me to make a donation of £36 to Treasure Chest YGC. Thank you if you were one of the people who bought a copy. YGC stands for Ysbyty Glan Clwyd which is Welsh for Glan Clwyd Hospital and the Treasure Chest charity raises money to support those having breast cancer treatment there. I originally wrote the Bodelwyddan sock pattern as part of a fundraiser for this charity so it made sense to me to use it again for the same charity during the month I had my first mammogram! (It all went smoothly and I’m just waiting for the results now).

On Sunday night we went to a concert in Manchester at Aviva Studios. We were going to hear Mary Chapin Carpenter singing with two other people of whom I’d not previously heard. It was fantastic! We were far nearer the front than “Row L” suggested (2nd row!) and all the musicians were phenomenal.

I was particularly entranced by the multi-tasking of the percussionist (he did way more than calling him a ‘drummer’ might suggest). This photo was taken before the concert began, from my seat! If you get a chance to hear Mary Chapin Carpenter, Julie Fowlis or Karine Polwart at all (they were the other two singers – both Scottish folk musicians), then do! The three of them and their band have a new album called “Looking For The Thread” which is simply beautiful.

Today is also Pancake Day (or Shrove Tuesday, if you prefer), so I am hoping to make pancakes later. This is a slightly more complex task when they’re vegan pancakes, but I know I have a good recipe somewhere! I just hope we’ve got all the ingredients we need. I’ll let you know next week! Until then, take care and I hope you get the chance to do some things you really enjoy and maybe listen to the siren song of spring. K x

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Flowers and Stars

Last week I promised I would show you my progress with my Persian Tiles Blanket, designed by Jane Crowfoot and my Bargello Aurora Scarf. I’m quite pleased with both.

The large motifs for the blanket are on their final three rounds.

One of these 16 motifs is complete – that’s the one I made first and one to the left of it has a dark blue round with stitches of different heights that changes it from a flower / star to an octagon. I hope to have completed this round on all the other 14 motifs by next week and perhaps have begun the cream round with the stitches that cross over each other – that’s the hardest bit in my opinion.

As for the Bargello Aurora Scarf, I’m just over a third of the way through it! It probably could have been more, but since I got home from my *second* trip to the midlands last week (it was planned, but it was a lot of driving), I’ve been crocheting in the evenings instead.

There will be nine blocks of the stripe pattern repeat in total. Yesterday I wrangled with inkscape, a programme I use for drawing .svg files for schematics. I don’t use it very often, so remembering how to move nodes (the points where the lines change direction) etc and edit files took longer than I would have liked, but I do now have schematics for the cowl and the scarf as well as the wrap.

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I won’t have copies of the updated Bargello Aurora pattern with me at Wool@J13 this weekend as I want to finish the scarf sample first and double check the measurements and yarn quantities used, but I will have it at the Pop Up Wool Show in Port Sunlight on August 18th and it will hopefully be available online before then as well.

There will be new designs and new kits at Wool@J13 though! Leaf & Vine has returned to me as I told you last week and I will have printed copies of that, the new brioche cowl (now named Bryn!) will be there in both printed pattern and kit form (with kits comprising the pattern, yarn and a stitch marker in a tin), and the pride kits will be there with the same bundle offer as online.

The Bryn Brioche Cowl kits all contain the same amount of yarn, allowing you to simply choose your colours and then decide which size you want to make.

That’s quite a few items having their first show outing! I was going through my inventory list and as well as these ‘brand new to shows’ designs, there will be about 20 other products that I didn’t have with me last year at Wool@J13, including patterns, kits, postcards and hand-spun yarn. I just hope I can fit it all into my car and then into my stand space! (Barragán will be making its show debut at the Pop Up Wool Show).

I have a new brioche knitting workshop coming up in a couple of weeks! Next Steps in Two-Colour Brioche Knitting is ideal for knitters who have learnt the basic two-colour brioche stitch and now want to explore the technique further. Knitters will create this amazing swatch, learning increases and decreases that will open up a whole range of brioche knitting patterns.

The workshop is being held at Shaz’s Shabby Chic in Buckley on July 10th, 6.30-8.30 and the full details can be found on my events page as well as on ticketsource where you can book a workshop place.

I will also be running this workshop AND my Introduction to Two-Colour Brioche Knitting workshop as online Zoom events later in the year, so keep your eyes peeled for those if this is a knitting technique you’d like to explore, but you can’t get to North Wales (or to Yarndale in North Yorkshire, where I am teaching Introduction to Two-Colour Brioche Knitting on Saturday 28th September – there are just 3 spaces left on the Yarndale workshop).

I haven’t been at home much this week with the double trip to the midlands, but we have been able to get into the garden this weekend. There has been some serious pruning of the box at the bottom of the garden (it was almost twice as tall as us!) and we’ve even trimmed the hedge! Well, some of it. We couldn’t get right down to the bottom because the box was in the way, but now that’s been brought back under control we’ll be able to finish the hedge off. This is the hedge that acts as a backdrop for many of my photos of knitting when it’s modelled on a human! Our neighbour used to cut our side every year while we were away in the summer, but since he died (quite a number of years ago now), we’ve had someone in to do it twice, but it hasn’t been enough – and we felt it used to get more of a tickle than a prune anyway. I reckon we’ve lost at least two feet of garden to the hedge, judging from how much it came in front of the bottom garage window. So, we bit the bullet and bought a pole hedge trimmer. We took off about a foot from the width of the hedge on Sunday, but we still need to remove more. We are being very careful – gloves, proper shoes and so on. This pic gives some idea of how much the hedge has overgrown – that’s after we trimmed a foot or so off (and bevelled the corner to get more light into the garage)!

The veg has been very poor this year, with everything apart from a few kale plants having been eaten by slugs or snails. However the fruit bushes are looking mighty fine, and the blackcurrants are ready to be picked!

Jam making time is coming near. Maybe after the weekend?

That’s all from me today. The next time I write it will be July! Which reminds me, if you’d like to receive exclusive discount codes and more, then do sign up for my monthly newsletter, which comes out at the start of each month.

Take care one and all, K x

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Fourth of July

Part of two strips of Mystical Lanterns crocheted blanket laid flat on a pale gold carpet. The crocheted motifs each contain four colours and the colour combos are randomly selected from over 20 colours.

Some days don’t begin quite the way you’d want them to. I’d been looking at the netting on the currant bushes yesterday and thinking that the wind / local cats had dislodged some of it and I needed to sort it out.

Then this morning, what do I see? A dark brown bird had got inside and was struggling to work out how to leave. Cue me dashing down the garden in my nightie to help it out. It was a thrush and I’d not seen one for a while. Once it located a gap in the netting, it claimed its independence and was back up on the rooftops pretty quickly! From the kitchen I’d thought it might be a female blackbird, but you can’t mistake that mottled feathered breast up close!

While I was down the garden I decided to try to re-secure the netting to avoid a recurrence and I thought I’d check out the progress of the veg. I found a courgette just about ready to pick (so I did). Large teaspoon for scale.

But the broad beans look rather pathetic and more worryingly were covered in light grey feathers… I wondered if the sparrow hawk had been back, but if it had been I probably wouldn’t then have found most of the poor wood pigeon at the bottom of the path. I’ve tidied it up now, but it was not the most pleasant start to the day – for me, the thrush or the pigeon!

I’m quite impressed that after all that, I *still* managed to write my newsletter and get it sent before my 9.30am haircut.

On a more exciting note, I got my subscriber and contributor copies of The Knitter through the post yesterday – and my design is on the cover!

Meet Lichfield – it’s the spotlight pull-out so there’s no page number. Issue 191 will be in the shops on Thursday 6th July, or if you’re a subscriber too you may already have it!

Why Lichfield? Well, the border design reflects the stone niches carved on the front of Lichfield Cathedral.

It hardly seems possibly that only three days ago (on Saturday) I was recording a video on how to pick up stitches at the very edge of garter stitch, including picking up front and back in the same stitch. Any yet now I only have 16 rows left to do of the 50 rows in the border of my Marianne Half Hap Shawl!

At this rate I will have finished it before the end of the Summer KAL, which runs until the end of July. But that’s ok – there’s another of my designs that I want to knit a new sample for too so I can start that 😉.

Remember, if you are taking part in the Summer Knit-along by knitting any of my designs, you can share your progress on social media with the hashtag #KathAndrewsSummerKAL and/or sign up to come to the mid-KAL Knit and Knatter on Zoom next week. (Weds 12th July 7.30-9pm BST). Tickets are free (although you do have the option to pay £3 if you really want to.

One of the things I’m really trying to do this month is to not ‘waste’ time. I don’t mean I’m not going to relax or do things like read, or even sit and ponder the nature of the universe. What I’m trying to move away from is losing an hour or so scrolling random social media posts or playing online games – it’s quite shocking on occasion to look up at the clock and find it’s at least an hour later than you thought it was!

So, instead, my July plan is to:

1. Finish my Velvet Sixpence Polwarth fibre spinning – I’m really enjoying it and it’s coming along well.

2. Finish reading Melmoth by Sarah Perry. I started this book a while ago and it’s taken me ages to get halfway through it- so this month I will finish it!

3. Complete another 2 strips of my Mystical Lanterns crocheted blanket. I joined the first two strips together yesterday and I really like it so far.

4. Get back to my embroidery of Mum which has been sadly neglected. I’m going to take a slightly different approach and aim to complete two 10 x 10 squares of the chart rather than work on a single colour. I did this for the partial squares down the right hand side and it was really motivational to see a small area completed rather than little bits all over that don’t look as though much has been achieved.

I’m also intending to re-oil the bamboo kitchen worktops and keep a note of how far I walk each day with the aim of regularly walking further by the end of the month.

Those are my non-work-based plans! I’m trying to use SMART targets (that used to make me roll my eyes when I was in the classroom) as I’ve figured out that if I have a plan that isn’t ‘specific’, ‘measurable’, ‘achievable’, ‘relevant’ and ‘time-based’ – it’s far less likely to happen!

We’re also working away in the background to bring Yarn Gathering to you again this September – I’ll be able to tell you more about that in the next couple of weeks (yay!).

Do you have any plans for July?

Take care one and all, hold each other close and do stuff that makes you happy. K x

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Let it Grow!

We’ve had rain – and the garden is very happy about it! There’s even some new life emerging from the champagne rhubarb crown.

The netting is definitely helping the currants to stay on the bushes and not get eaten by the birds. I saw a really good homemade fruit cage online the other day – made of two simple metal arches covered with either polythene or netting. It might be worth a try next year.

I’m not sure the broad beans are going to come to much – I think I sowed them too late. You can just about see the plants with a few very small pods in the left hand pic below! This morning I podded and blanched a batch of beans from elsewhere having saved the best eight to dry and sow next year. I might even do what my grandfather apparently used to do and plant them on (or near) Boxing Day!

An update on the quilting. After returning home from Mum’s I discovered that I did indeed have a walking foot for my sewing machine (it had come with one) and I’ve tacked the other two placemats. The backing fabric for these two is different from the first one, although it does still feature houses.

However, I only thought to look on Sunday morning for whether I had any quilting needles for my machine (they have a different type of tip to stop the wadding getting pushed/pulled through the outer fabric), and it turned out that I didn’t. I ordered some and they arrived this afternoon so I shall be getting on with completing the set of placemats tomorrow!

I finally got back to doing some spinning yesterday. I hadn’t done any for a while and I’m not quite sure why as it’s really hypnotic and relaxing – especially with the Polwarth fibre I’m using at the moment. This was dyed by Velvet Sixpence and it’s a joy to work with. I’m going to aim to get this spun up, plied and skeined in the next couple of weeks.

I’ve been really enjoying knitting up my lace-weight version of Marianne Half Hap for the Summer Knit-along. I got a little done during the Zoom Cast-On Party – lots of chatting and fun was had. and as you can see from the progress shots, I’ve done quite a bit more since. The yarn is gorgeous (Northampton Shear Shetland from RiverKnits) and still slightly greasy – in a good way! – so my hands are getting moisturised as I knit!

I also discovered an error had been quietly sitting in Row 33 of the central triangle (!); it said to place a stitch marker when there were 11 sts remaining on the needle, but it should have been 10… This seems like a small thing, but it could cause confusion and frustration to a knitter. An update has been sent out to everyone who has bought the pattern on Ravelry, and updated files are available to download from Payhip and Lovecrafts as well.

My sock design is all written up and I’m now knitting up one of the smallest size, just to check a few things. After knitting the socks in Zauberball Crazy, it’s nice to see how the design works in a more solid colour too.

An interesting difference between these yarns is that although there is very little difference in the meterage of the two yarns – the Zauberball is 420m per 100g and the other yarn is a high twist 400m/100g, they seem to have quite a different gauge. The Zauberball definitely felt like a thin 4-ply as I was knitting it. I will knitting the start of the large size in a ‘standard’ sock wool such as Regia or West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply as well and see how the gauge and size compares. I want the pattern gauge and sizing to relate to most standard sock yarns so folk can reliably choose a size and it will work.

What’s the most important aspect of socks (knitting or wearing them) to you?

That’s all from me for today. Take care of yourselves, K x

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Sunshine After the Rain

The garden is coming on – especially after the rain/thunderstorms we’ve had over the weekend and yesterday. The courgette plants finally look to be developing flower buds and the broad bean flowers haven’t all been washed away by the rain. The rain has also given the chickweed and other weeds a boost so I shall need to get out there with the hoe soon as well. Each day the sun comes out and the plants look so much happier now we’ve had some water fall out of the sky.

I even got around to covering the currant bushes, though not very well… The bushes are actually one heck of a lot bigger than I thought. The netting we have only sort of reaches the fence and pulls down on the bushes somewhat. I’d had visions of creating some sort of rectangular construction with the canes with the bushes all inside, but it seems to be keeping the pigeons away so far, which was the intention. We ended up covering one of the gooseberry bushes too as it grows so closely to the currants.

The Zoom events are all set up for the Summer Knit-along and tickets are available to book. There’s a free option and a paid (£3) option. Both ticketing options give you exactly the same access to the event; I just want to give people a choice.

I’m hoping we’ll get some folk signing up for all these events. The cast-on party is next week!

If you’re thinking of joining in, please do book a place; there are 100 spaces available so you won’t be stopping anyone else from coming if something crops up! I don’t anticipate we’ll get much into double figures, but 100 was a good figure to choose to absolutely ensure anyone who wanted to could book a ticket!

On July 6th, Issue 191 of The Knitter will be out and in it will be a new design from me! It uses Pure DK from West Yorkshire Spinners which is beautifully soft, and the design comes in 10 sizes, to fit 71-167.5cm / 28-66″ chests.

I’m looking forward to making a start on a version of this for me (the sample for the magazine was a UK size 10 – size 2 in the pattern, so I won’t be able to wear it after it’s returned). That will be once I’ve finished my Marianne Half Hap lace weight sample during the Summer KAL,

The design I’m working on is nearly finished! Hurrah! I have 10 repeats of the edging left to do, a tiny seam, blocking, weaving in ends, measuring gauge and finalising the details on the written pattern. It’s turned out really well and I’m pleased with the construction and how it’s looking. The deadline is in just under two weeks so it’s all moving along to schedule. I wish I could share pics with you, but I’ll have to be patient and wait until nearer publication time.

I’ve done a little more on my Mystical Lanterns blanket designed by Janie Crow. I’m joining the motifs as I go as suggested, but I’m not entirely sure how long to make the strips as I haven’t got the same quantity of yarn even with the extra leftover yarn from Violet Green that I added to the mix of Wrigglefingers and Cambrian Wool. I might go with 7 rather than 11 motifs to a strip and if I end up with more motifs than I’m anticipating overall, it can be a wide blanket.

I love how it tessellates too!

That’s all from me today. Take care out there folks. Hold your nearest and dearest close and tell them you love them, K x

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Signs of Life

I’m sitting at my desk watching the sunshine on the garden and enjoying the range of colour that has emerged over the past few weeks. The blackcurrant bush is now in full leaf and the redcurrant isn’t far behind. The daffodils are looking mightily impressive and the camellias are both absolutely covered in flowers. Even the hellebores are still looking good – though I may need to deadhead them soon to avoid the garden becoming covered with seeds!

The birds are pairing up – there’s been a very attentive wood pigeon bowing to another on the fence most days and there are two robins in the garden. They must be a pair as robins are far too territorial to allow another ‘random’ robin into their space.

I finally sowed the veg seed just over a week ago – with the weather being so variable I wanted to make sure it wasn’t going to snow again! Nothing is showing yet, but I’m keeping everything crossed. It’s last year’s seed, but it should still be good for this year. If we’re lucky we’ll get some broad beans, edamame beans, French beans, cucamelon, courgettes of various sorts and mange tout. If we’re not lucky we should at least have the fruit from the fruit bushes!

I’ve started knitting my own Tiffany shawl! RiverKnits have the original version, and they have very kindly provided a Shadow Rainbow mini set of Nene 4-ply for me to knit my own. This is great as the pattern rights have now returned to me and it will be wonderful to have the shawl in person when selling the design at shows. I have a long train journey tomorrow – more on this next week! – and I’m hoping to get a good chunk of Tiffany done during the ride.

Speaking of shows, I’m looking forward to going to Wonderwool on Sunday – it’s a great day out in mid Wales and it will be lovely to say hello to some familiar faces. If you’re there and you see me, do say hi – and please tell me who you are! It is of course also the day that the new national ’emergency alert’ system is going to be tested, sending a loud sound and message to all smartphones. I’m glad we know what time it will be (3pm) as those of us who would prefer not to be in a big shed with thousands of other phones going off at once will have a chance to pop outside beforehand.

Going to yarn shows as a ‘punter’ is a very different experience from being at one as an exhibitor and I find it always gives me ideas for new ways I could display samples or patterns. I better not have too many new ideas though as Buxton Wool Gathering is only two weeks after Wonderwool and Wool@J13 is the week after Buxton!

Something new I have done recently is to sign up to Ko-fi.com. You’ll notice a floating button on my website now with a pic of a coffee cup that says “Support me”. I may change the text to “buy me a cuppa” or something else. (Ironically I don’t actually drink coffee – it gives me migraines!)

I’ve done this so folk who like what I do and want to support me, but don’t currently need a knitting pattern, knitting kit or wooden treat, can now do so. I’ve had non-knitting friends buy a knitting pattern in the past as they’ve wanted to support what I do and Ko-fi seems a practical approach to this.

I’m not planning on doing ‘memberships’ as I can’t promise regular exclusive content when I’m already writing a weekly blog and doing daily social media posts across four platforms. It is only me running this business after all.

It’s appropriate that tonight is my Finishing Techniques workshop, as this morning I have been weaving in ends and seaming half of the child’s cardigan I’m designing (remember I was about to cast on the first sleeve just after last week’s post?). I still have one sleeve to weave in the ends of and seam, before I join it to the body. Then it’s just the button band to knit, and that runs all around the edge of the body. And that reminds me that I need to buy some buttons! I may take some of the cardi along with me this evening to show how much of a difference it makes when you match up the increases or decreases on each side of a seam.

When I get to this stage of a project that my brain starts turning to the next design (or two). I’ve pulled my favourite stitch dictionaries off the shelf and onto my desk, and the pages of my bullet journal are starting to be filled with sketches and charts once more as well as daily lists of things to do. Again it’s a design that I won’t be able show you for quite a few months, but I am very excited to start working with this yarn – the colours are delicious:

I’m still going with song titles where I can for blog titles – today’s is a song by Pink Floyd from the album ‘A Momentary Lapse of Reason’, the first ‘proper’ band I got into when I was 14. It’s quite surreal.

Take care of yourselves, I’ll be back next week! Kx

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Peek At You!

I said it might be finished by this week, didn’t I? The individual pieces were all complete by the weekend, but it took until today for me to sit down and sew it all together. One of the hardest things, strangely enough, was cutting out the felt pieces and glueing them into position. That right eye (the white part) had to be stuck on four times before it decided to stay put!

If you play Pokemon Go you might appreciate Pikachu’s pose in the featured image above – for those of you who don’t, sometimes they pop up in the corner of photographs!

Pikachu Front
Pikachu Back

There’s actually enough yarn and stuffing to make at least one more, although I used all the felt supplied. I won’t be making another one yet though – a 2.5mm crochet hook can be quite hard on the hands.

Buxton Wool Gathering is just under four weeks away now! I love the new social media images that have been shared with the exhibitors by the organisers. That crown on the sheep is very jaunty and a nicely subtle nod to the yarn show now being on the Coronation weekend. The show itself is on Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday – do come!

An important point to note is that the 10am opening is for folk who have bought their ticket in advance – if you want to buy a ticket at Buxton Pavilion on the day, you’ll be able to from 11am on both days.

I finished my current spinning this week. I think it’s come out at about an aran weight, which is what I was aiming for. I’ll check it soon against my yarn gauge. The colours are not ones I usually go for, but I really love how it’s turned out. ‘Faded Blooms’ is a really good name for it, don’t you think? The fibre came from FibreHut and it’s 100% Bluefaced Leicester Wool, which is brilliant to spin with.

Last week we had a lovely trip to Bodnant Garden – making use of our National Trust membership. We walked nearly all the way down to the bottom of the gardens and I felt very brave crossing the water on a set of stepping stones. I’m not sure I’d have been brave enough without the handrail there too though! The magnolias, rhododendrons and camellias were absolutely beautiful – and some of them are VAST!

The swathes of daffodils (or should that be ‘hosts’?) across the meadows were also gorgeous and very varied and it inspired me to photograph all of ours once we got back home.

This is one of my favourite new daffodils. It’s got real ‘attitude’ and is quite large too so we can see it clearly from the kitchen even though it’s at the bottom of the garden. I think it’s ‘Boscoppa‘.

The knitting is coming along well. Re-reading last week’s blog post I saw that I was just about to cast on the body of my latest design last Tuesday. Well, I’ve knitted the whole body now (some of it twice) and today I’ve written the pattern for the sleeves, so they will be started next! It’s been quite a number of years since I’ve knitted a child’s garment and I’d forgotten just how quickly they grow.

This coming Thursday (13th April) sees Issue 188 of The Knitter hit the newsstands which includes Part Four of Branwen Knit-along Shawl. Subscribers probably have their copy of the mag already! If you’re knitting this shawl, do share your progress on social media – or even by email! On social media, add the tag #KathAndrewsDesigns and I’ll be sure to see it. There’s one final part left to be published after this one. If the weather continues as it is today for much longer (cold, wet, very windy) knitters making this cosy DK shawl will be very glad of the growing shawl on their knees as they knit!

By the way, my sourdough starter is behaving a bit more reliably, but it’s still taking nearly 24 hours to not quite double in size. It needs a bit more TLC, but we’ll get there.

That’s all for today. I hope you stay warm and dry, and get to do some things that make you happy this week. K x

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Reader, I frogged it.

Despite the cold mornings over the past couple of days, spring is really here. The daffodils are looking wonderful. We went a bit mad on bulbs last year (we got ours from Scamps in Cornwall) and there are 10 or so different varieties in flower at the moment, of all shades, shapes and sizes. One is so frilly and multi-layered, it almost doesn’t look like a daffodil at all!

The rhubarb is coming up a treat too, and I think I will be making rhubarb and ginger jam again very soon. I last made it on 6th April 2021 – and I noted on the jam labels that it had been snowing that day. Hopefully we won’t get any more snow this year – last month’s was quite enough for a while.

I’m managing to gradually wake my sourdough starter (Audrey 2) up, though she is still very sluggish. It’s taking about 24 hours for it to nearly double in size and it should be a lot quicker than that. I think it is time to consult one of my “Sourdough Whisperer” books by Elaine Boddy. She is an absolute whizz with sourdough, has a very no-nonsense approach, and has advice on almost any possible scenario from getting a happy active starter, to trouble-shooting loaves that haven’t turned out as expected.

On the yarn-based side of things I’ve been quite busy as ever. The adult cardigan has been delivered to its destination and the pattern emailed. No pics allowed yet – it’ll be published in July. The child’s cardigan (next commission) has a healthy looking spreadsheet and I cast that one on last night. Again, no pics – that one will be published in August.

In a couple of weeks I will be giving a workshop on Finishing Techniques. This is the one workshop that involves a lot of knitting prep, as I like to give the knitters the blocked swatches they will be working with. The first time I ran this workshop knitters were asked to bring their own blocked swatches and they were…quite varied. Some people did not know how to block, so hadn’t. That’s fair enough – that’s all part of finishing. It is far easier to seam something once it’s been blocked (as long as it’s done properly!).

So, now knitters are given two swatches and then the one remaining swatch that hasn’t been blocked is given a wet block there and then to show them how easy it is – and what to avoid doing. They will have squares of two colours, pick up stitches along one of them (in a third colour) to knit a shaped flap with a buttonhole, and then seam the two squares together to make a small purse. There are a lot of skills involved in this – picking up stitches, directional decreases (choosing and positioning them well), different types of buttonholes, working mattress stitch seams down the side of a knitted piece and on a cast-on edge, weaving in yarn ends. And how to block.

There are a couple of places left on this workshop (18th April, 6.30-9pm, £35 at Yarn O’clock in Mold), and if you’d like to brush up on your finishing techniques contact Anne at the shop (01352 218082) to book a place.

Pikachu – the crochet kit I bought after Christmas – is coming on well. He has a body/head, two stripes and a double thickness tail. I’ll be making the feet later today, which just leaves the ears and arms. You never know – it might even be complete by next week!

The first sleeve of my Umbriel sweater was sailing along. Until today when I tried it on. You may remember I said that I’d picked up extra stitches than stated in the pattern as I need generously sized sleeves. It turns out I’d overdone it. As I was working the short rows there were a couple of points on around the armhole where it was looking a bit ‘pleated’, but I thought it would be ok once on and my arm would smooth the fabric out. Once I transferred the stitches to a long needle so I could try it on I realised just how unlikely that would be!

So, dear reader, I frogged the sleeve worked so far (‘frog’ as in ‘rip it, rip it’) and I’m back to square one. The moral of this tale is to listen to nagging doubts – it won’t always block out – and try on as you go when you can. I’m so glad I hadn’t completed the first sleeve before trying it on. Frogging your knitting is almost as much an act of faith as knitting it in the first place. You’re saying ‘I can do this differently, better’. Also, although some people will look at you pulling out what to them look like several evenings worth of perfectly good knitted stitches, if you know that you won’t wear it as it is, there’s no point in leaving it as it is. It’s quite liberating actually.

Good points I noted when I tried it on: the sweater does have a wonderfully soft and warm fabric, I was right to shorten the length as much as I did, and the body fits beautifully – even over a t-shirt and woollen dress.

This is the armhole after the sleeve was frogged. Ready to go again!

I’ve got my ticket for Wonderwool Wales (which is less than three weeks away now!) and then before you know it I’ll be exhibiting at Buxton Wool Gathering (May 7-8) and Wool @J13 (May 13-14). Full details and links for how to buy tickets for these are on the “Where I’ll Be” page and I’ll be writing more about upcoming shows in the next week or two.

I hope you have a good week, and are able to do some stuff you enjoy. Take care one and all, K x

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Spring is Here

I’m so glad I took photos of the snow last week as it’s quite hard to believe how much the weather has changed in just a few days! More daffodils have started to bend their necks and open their flowers and there has even been warmth in the air, which the bees have been enjoying as well.

The dentist was able to sort me out last week too – such a relief and they had this magic blue light that set the filling instantly. No injection and no numbness either. Amazing! All the same, I’m hoping not to go back until September!

The cardigan is coming on a treat. I still can’t show you it, but I’m partway through the second sleeve and then I just need to do the border that goes up the edge of one side of the front, round the back of the neck and down the other side.

Knitting this sample has really got me thinking about the difference in knitting for different sizes. The sample is a size 10. I’m not. (No, really? What a surprise!) It’s been so quick to knit the sections of this garment and has used far less yarn than making the garment in my own size would have done. The volume of yarn required also affects the cost (and viability) of making the garment for a knitter. If a ‘big and beautiful’ (as Maggie Righetti gorgeously describes us in her brilliant book “Sweater Design in Plain English“) knitter wants to make a garment, it’s a much bigger (pun intended) investment than for someone working at the other end of the sizing table. The design therefore needs to be appealing, enjoyable to knit, flattering and to FIT properly. This cardigan includes 10 sizes – but these cover TWENTY dress sizes, to fit busts from 28-66” and I’m making very good use of what I learnt during the “A Masterclass on Grading” course to ensure that the garment works properly at each size. Grading truly is a cross between a science and an art.

Anyway, on to things I CAN show you!

I’ve been spinning again. This is the second braid of this luscious fibre, in a colourway called “Faded Blooms” from Fibrehut. The first is all spun up into singles and once this one is done I shall ply the two together. I’m really enjoying creating something a bit more substantial – although I do have to remind myself every now and then not to allow the fibre to draft too finely!

I’ve also been putting some yarn on eBay. I know, it sounds like selling your children, doesn’t it?

There’s been quite a bit of interest already, including some very cheeky offers, but the bidding has begun which is very encouraging with another 5 days left to run on the listings. This very lovely yarn is discontinued and has been for a long time. That means I can’t design with it and the one pattern I have used it for (and why I bought more, in two colours) is one of mine that has not been published. You can tell from the pics that it was made a while ago, while I was studying for my City and Guilds in Hand Knit Textiles (so, about 10 or 11 years ago!). It was one of my assessment pieces. I loved the sweater and I still love the design, but I’ll need to rework it in a different yarn if I want to publish it.

I’d like to publish it, but it will be quite an undertaking. The original single size, designed specifically to fit me, had some quite complex shaping in the bust (dart increases AND short rows) and I’d need to think very carefully about how to handle that in a multi-size pattern. I think going with different shaping options will probably be what I end up doing – I might have that as a goal to complete by the end of next year.

We took more photos at the weekend of knitting (and some of it was airborne!). I’ll be sending my third shawl to RiverKnits in the next day or two and wanted to get some shots of it of my own so I can start to share sneak peeks in the lead up to the release (intended to be in May). Here’s a close-up of one of the pics. I love the way the Chimera yarn (the lighter, more variegated one) works with the Nene 4-ply. This photo gives you a sense of the fabric, but not of the shape!

I started using my ChiaGoo shorties knitting needles for the first time at the end of last week too – I’m beginning a new pair of socks for my lovely wife. I’ll share progress and thoughts on the needles with you next week. I think they might take a bit of getting used to.

Have a good week, stay safe and do something that makes you happy, K x

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Twisted

Two cabled hand knitted tam style hats lie on a wooden table. The one on the left is burnt orange with a cream one overlapping it on the right.
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Am Byth MKAL is done! This is me wearing Size Three of the four. I love it and it feels nicely snug on my head without being tight – though you can see how the twisted ribbing is having to stretch! The cover picture of today’s post has two hats – there’s a dark orange one on the left hiding underneath the cream one. The orange hat is Size Four. I used the sewn cast-off I demonstrated in the video on my website for both of my hats – it has such a neat finish.

Blocking a tam style hat like this is no more complicated than giving it a soak in lukewarm water, rolling it in a towel to absorb the excess water and letting it dry flat – basically, giving it a handwash.

Some people have found the brim fit to be a little loose, which is a shame. I’m going to add a note to the full pattern to say that if you are in doubt about which size to choose to go down a size rather than up. Another option if most or all of the hat has already been knitted is to add more decreases just before the brim and/or to work the brim on 3mm needles.

Also this week, I cast off the Confluence Cowl and gave that a gentle soak. It is currently still a rectangle, but I’ve folded it (in the pic on the right) ready for the seam that will turn it into a cowl. The zig-zag lines shown in the pic on the left are inside the folding, but will become visible when the point folds down. You can also turn it inside out for a different look!

Mary W Martin Knits designed this pattern and it’s one of her fusion knitting technique pieces. It’s a way of knitting that I’d never encountered before and it’s absolutely ingenious! If you fancy a challenge, I highly recommend exploring her designs.

As part of my continuing preparations for Buxton Wool Gathering, I sourced some new stitch marker pots as the company I previously got them from no longer sold them. These ones don’t have screw lids, but I’ve found that twisting them helps to remove the lid without throwing the contents everywhere! I’ve waxed and buffed them and burnt designs into the lids. Being slightly larger and more expensive than the original pots I had, the price will need to be a little higher, but not much; these ones are £5 and £6 (the large ones at the back are £6).

I’ve also been printing lots of patterns and making sure I’ve got enough of the kits I want to take with me. Buxton is less than three weeks away now and I’m really looking forward to it!

This piece of knitting may not look especially exciting at the moment (but it will!) and I have been very pleased to be able to get back to it. Last week I mentioned I’ve had two submissions accepted and whilst I’m able to work on the patterns for those, the yarn is not yet here, so, with the socks, cowl and hats complete, I can return to Umbriel! I started this sweater at the Knit Tea Retreat in October, having bought the yarn last April at Yarn O’clock. I’m going to do as much of it as I can before the commission yarns arrive! The yarn is Cirro from The Fibre Co and it’s an alpaca and merino wool blend – and the finished sweater will look something like this (though I am making mine a bit shorter):

This photo is one of the ones from The Fibre Co’s website. Umbriel is designed by Sylvia Watts-Cherry and it’s available directly from them, either as a pattern or as a kit, and on Ravelry as well. I love the construction – in the round from the bottom up from the hem and then pick up stitches for the sleeves at the armhole, work short rows for the sleeve cap and then work in the round down for the rest of the sleeve. It’s very understated too, with small panels of lace at the neckline and on the sleeves.

Part Two of Branwen knit-along shawl was published in Issue 186 of The Knitter on Feb 16th. You can see the five sections quite clearly in this photo that was shared on The Knitter’s Instagram page, as each section changes colour. I’ve used two colours of West Yorkshire Spinners Fleece and alternated between them, which pulls the different sections together nicely into one coherent shawl design.

We spent some time in the garden this afternoon, planting out the contents of several pots that have been very patiently waiting for our attention. One of them had a self-seeded sycamore tree growing in it that had rooted through the bottom of the pot and into the gaps in the flagstones beneath! It is so nice to be out in the garden again and for it to be just warm enough not to need to be wrapped up in so many layers that we can’t move. The hellebores and snowdrops are looking super and the new primroses are settling in well too. Lots of daffodils are coming up in the lawn, both front and back and it’s starting to look truly springlike. I’m just hoping the possible return of the ‘Beast from the East’ that keeps being promised on various news platforms doesn’t suddenly arrive and freeze all these delicate blooms.

Anyway, that’s all from me today – I’m heading back to my design spreadsheets! Stay safe, get some sun on your skin if you can and do something that makes you happy this week. K x