Tag: Knitting Design

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Full Circle

In early June 2018, one of my shawl designs, Maid Marion Shawl, was published in Knit Now Magazine. It was my first Pi shawl design (a full circle design worked from the centre outwards), and I remember drawing out the first charts for it on squared paper in April 2017. One of the magazine’s images of the shawl popped up in my lovely wife’s phone memories this week.

The shawl itself is not the main focus of today’s blog post, although I am very proud of it. Instead I am going to write about the circumstances of its coming into existence.

I had sent my submission to the magazine in the same week of October 2017 that I finally admitted to myself and the GP that I needed some help. Things were very dark for me. I was struggling to sleep and to function, let alone enjoy life. They suggested signing me off work for a little while, which I declined. A week later however, I was in the GP carpark having seen them again to accept being signed off, but having a melt-down as the slip was signing me off for a whole month, not the week (or possibly two ) I had anticipated. I didn’t understand how I could be away from work for a month – there was far too much to do and so much I was responsible for. But, my amazing wife talked me down, said the doc wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t necessary and, of course, the place would continue to function without me. As it turned out I was signed off for the rest of that term and had a staged return to work after Christmas.

I don’t remember receiving the acceptance email for the shawl submission, but I must have had it, and there are pics taken in the December of the yarn having arrived (Jamieson’s Ultra) and showing the start of the central part of the shawl.

Somehow I knitted the shawl – and it was finished and blocked by mid-January. Again, I don’t remember it, but the photos are there:

I’m not going to say that the power of knitting got me through, because that would be trite, but it was one of the things on my very simple daily to-do list while I was off work: get up, shower, Headspace, read, walk, knit. I do remember that list as I wrote it out every day and crossed off the things I managed to do.

I left the classroom at the end of that academic year, realising a permanent change of pace was needed and I focussed on getting better, then moved into designing full time as well as giving knitting workshops.

It wasn’t just the time off and the change of direction that helped; there were the meds too, and I used the Headspace app every day for over a year, although I’m not sure I ever really got the hang of that. But it wasn’t a quick fix. Things took time and the good friends who stayed in touch made all the difference. In fact, it’s only just over a month ago that I finally got off the meds – reducing the dose of anti-depressants down to nothing is a slow process if you want to avoid the side-effects.

Looking back I could have reached out for help much sooner, but I had felt that admitting there was a problem would be a problem in itself – and if I could just get to the end of each day that would be enough. It wasn’t. Life is so different now, but it’s still not easy to talk about.

This period of my life is not something I’ve written much about before, but well-being and mental health awareness are so important and rightly being talked about more these days. If just one person reads this and it encourages them to ask for help or support from someone else, that will be worth it. It’s also a reminder that folk never know what others are dealing with.

As for Maid Marion Shawl, it’s still a great design. It can be knitted in lace weight or 4ply (you could even try it in DK if you go up a needle size or two), and you can use 1, 3 or 4 colours. It’s up to you. The pics in today’s post are all from Knit Now Magazine, showing the 3 colour version in Jamieson’s Ultra (lace weight) yarn.

By the way, if you’ve never heard Full Circle by Dolly Parton – do have a listen. It’s yet another one of her brilliant songs.

Until next week, take care and do something that makes you happy. K x

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The Blue Distance

After the glorious sunshine we had at the weekend, the past couple of days have once again been cloudy, windy and sporadically wet. However, the roses are looking amazing in spite of the wind and rain and one of them is defying its name (Tottering By Gently) and attempting to grow taller than the fence it is next to! We also had a little day trip to Llandudno yesterday to help celebrate my lovely wife’s birthday – and there was, indeed, a little hint of blue sky at times in the distance. Why not have a listen to Mary Chapin Carpenter’s song, The Blue Distance while you have a read? It’s a beautiful song and very relaxing.

I spent this morning and a good chunk of the afternoon in a deep dive analysis of sales, costs and profits from the yarn shows I’ve attended so far this year. It’s quite eye-opening once you add in the mileage, the printing costs of patterns and the cost of knitting kits as well as the usual costs of show fees and accommodation. Wonderwool Wales has been my best show business-wise so far which I was expecting. It’s a huge show and we were busy all weekend. More of a surprise was that Saturday’s event in Bangor, the North Wales Wool & Fibre Festival came second! It was such a lovely day and, although we had a very early start leaving home at 6.30am, the sun was up, the A55 was actually quiet and the hour-long journey was a pleasant way to start the day. We met some new folk, all lovely and interesting people, and the whole event was very well organised by Jenny and Sophia.

This was our space in the window of what used to be Bright House in the Deiniol Shopping Centre. I didn’t get pics of many of the other stands, but these are the ones I did get. On the left is Mossy & Fern who was our stand neighbour and on the right is Saorimor:

Both weavers, but very different!

I also made a purchase! It was my first purchase at a yarn show in quite a while, but I was so intrigued by this little gadget on Tecstiliau‘s stand and then, when I saw how it worked, I was hooked!

It’s for bracelet plying when spinning. Instead of wrapping the singles around your hand and wrist (and risking losing the blood supply in the process as well as finding it very difficult to remove) you wind it around this and then remove the peg from the top when you’re ready to ply the two ends. Genius!

If you’ve seen me at a show recently, you might have noticed me walking a little less freely than usual. I’ve been experiencing plantar fasciitis (again – I had it years ago too) and it’s been quite annoying and painful. But I am hopeful that improvements will soon start to be felt. I’ve just taken delivery of these massage balls:

The spiky one is very hard plastic and the smooth one is like heavy rubber. Currently I am typing away whilst rolling the spiky ball under my foot and it feels heavenly! My foot already feels better than it has in months. Fingers crossed it will make a long-term difference. I’ll let you know!

Last week I showed you some swatches I’d been experimenting with for a knitters-new-to-brioche pattern. Well, I’ve been busy and both the knit flat and in the round samples for the pattern are completed (although I still need to weave in ends and block them), and the pattern has been written up! There are two size options and either can be made with or without the garter stitch border. The pattern (and kits) will be making an appearance in the coming months. 🥳

The colours of these cowls haven’t come out very well – the left one is two shades of blue and the right one is two shades of green with the light colour being more muted than the pic suggests! If I get better pics with morning light tomorrow I’ll update them.

Also moving its way up the ‘to do’ list and edging nearer to the needles is my update of Bargello Aurora Wrap. This gorgeous horizontally knit wrap hasn’t had quite the amount of love I feel it deserves.

I wondered whether the large number of stitches (and very long rows) might be putting some folk off, and so considered ways to extend the flexibility of the pattern. So, there will also be a cowl version and a vertically knit version of the scarf coming soon and I’m looking forward to winding this yarn up tomorrow. It’s the same yarn I knit the original sample of Bargello Aurora in, dyed by Rachel from Cat and Sparrow and it’s so gorgeous, being a single spun, superwash Blue-faced Leicester yarn. This photo has come out showing the colours exactly as they are!

There may even be progress on one of the new samples to show you next week – who knows!

Take care and enjoy the sunshine when you can, K x

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It’s raining again…

The North Wales Wool & Fibre Festival is this coming Saturday, June 1st. It’s being held in the Deiniol Shopping Centre in Bangor, with some vendors being in empty shop units and some being in the shopping mall itself. I’m going to be in what was the BrightHouse store, along with a wide variety of other woolly artists and creatives. Entry to the event is free, so if you’re in the North Wales area on Saturday between 10am and 4pm, come and say hello! Considering the current weather, it’s also a bonus that the whole event is under cover!

I’ve been swatching for a new brioche cowl design, specifically for knitters who might not have done two colour brioche knitting before. It will be simple, attractive and include some increases and decreases to build the knitter’s skills. Interestingly, the more I simplified the idea, the more I liked it!

Although it’s a cowl, it does not have to be knit in the round. I will include knitting in the round instructions, but I will actually be recommending folk knit it flat and seam it as this will help them learn the rhythm of the different stitches and colours when working each side of two-colour brioche. This decision comes after demonstrating brioche knitting to folk at yarn shows and seeing them have lightbulb moments in understanding, often having tried brioche in the round previously and found it confusing. It will also stand someone in good stead for when they come to knit something larger, such a shawl, that will be knitted flat.

Following on from some conversations I’ve had at the past couple of yarn shows we’ve been at, I’m also going to be running an Introduction to Brioche Knitting workshop on Zoom in the next couple of months! There will be a couple of date and time options and numbers will be limited to maintain a true workshop feel.

If a brioche knitting workshop via Zoom sounds like something you’d be interested in, make sure you sign up for my monthly newsletter and keep an eye out on the website.

I usually send out one email per month at the start of the month so your inbox won’t be bombarded! You can sign up from my homepage (scroll to the bottom).

If you happen to see the latest copy of Knit Now (issue 168) in your local newsagent, there’s a design from me inside! A set of lacy circular coasters and placemats knit from the centre outwards using a Pi shawl construction (albeit on a much smaller scale). I knit them using mercerised cotton for the magazine, although you could definitely use wool. Pleasingly, the design is included in the little inset pics on the cover around the main cover image. I named the set Prynhawn Da, which means ‘Good afternoon’ in Welsh, and relates to the brief of Afternoon Tea that was sent out to designers when the magazine asked for submissions last year.

Sue’s socks are coming on well. I’ve completed the leg, heel flap and gusset on the first one and now I’m heading down the foot towards the toe.

It’s amazing how quickly projects seem to grow after you’ve been working on a really big design for a long time.

Last autumn I began singing again after a break of several years. Singing was always ‘my thing’, and my main instrument when I did my music degree and while teaching music. I was quite rusty to start with, but I feel like I’ve got my voice ‘back’ now along with regaining a greater level of confidence. That may be linked with how I’ve really gone for it with the yarn shows this year: I think the grand total is something like 9 or 10!

I’m singing in a church choir who do concerts as well as services with some really uplifting music, and I’m also leading our local community choir who sing a range of songs from pop, show songs and children’s classics. Last week for example included Nellie the Elephant, This is Me from The Greatest Showman, Zadok the Priest by Handel and Rutter’s For the Beauty of the Earth! Quite an eclectic mix! Also, if you’ve never heard ‘Insanae et vanae curae’ by Haydn, do yourself a favour and have a listen. It’s bonkers and highly invigorating! I first sang it years ago, but I still don’t know what the words mean. I must look it up one day!

Right, that’s all from me today. I’ll let you know how Saturday goes next week and I may have a complete sock to show you! Take care one and all, and remember to do something that brings you joy this week if you can. K x

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Roses in Bloom

This week’s blog post will be short and sweet! There may be a lack of links until Wednesday when I get access to something a little easier to write/edit on than my phone! (eta – Links now added!)

Buxton Wool Gathering was excellent and we had a lovely time. Sue has even started writing a poem inspired by it!

A particular highlight was when Helen brought her Tiffany shawl to show both me and Wool Is The Answer. She bought the pattern from me last year at Buxton and the yarn from WITA. I love how different the shawl looks with three colours of yarn rather than 12 – and Helen did a fabulous job both knitting and modelling it!

Next month’s yarn shows are the North Wales Wool & Fibre Festival in Bangor on June 1st and Wool@J13 in Staffordshire on June 29th-30th. All the details are on my Events page of the website.

Speaking of events, the Beginners’ Knitting Workshop at Ditzy Rose in Tattenhall that should have been this coming Thursday afternoon (23rd) has been postponed until the autumn as the venue had not received enough bookings. I will post the new date/time as soon as I have the information.

You can also book on the Pride Flag Knitting Workshop at Qube on June 13th 2.30-4.30pm which is taking place as part of Oswestry Pride (even if you are a beginner!).

Sue is running a poetry workshop there that day too – and they don’t overlap so you could even do both! All the details (for my workshop) are on my events page and all the Qube events are listed on their website.

Less than 24 hours after leaving Buxton and going home I was at Mum’s. Don’t worry – it was planned. Today I took her for a scan which has turned out to be the lesser of two evils – so she had some cherry cake this afternoon to celebrate.

Last night I finished the epic alpaca knitting! Once I get home I will be blocking it – I think the hap stretcher will be getting another airing for this one. As it’s deadline knitting you’ll have to wait a few more months until you get to see photos.

As the alpaca deadline knitting is complete, I’ve also been able to do a little more on Sue’s latest socks using Weku Yarn that she chose at Wool-in Garden City. The colours are pooling in a really cool way. Lydia and Hannah aren’t currently dyeing yarn, but you can see some of their beautiful creations and fun adventures Instagram.

Mum’s garden is looking very full and the scent of roses when you open the back door is really heady. When we got home on Sunday there was a lovely handwritten note through the door, admiring our front garden and asking if we would mind saving some seed from our black hellebores and blue & white aquilegias for them (with the offer of a seed swap). Some of Mum’s green fingers must have definitely rubbed off!

I think that’s all for today. Once I am home again I will edit and add links. – Links now added!

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Sugar Sugar

Part of a pink knitted cardigan with a slipped stitch pattern using teal, raspberry and lime green stripes.

This has been an exciting morning – and, as I start today’s blog post, it’s only just gone 9am!

I’ve been printing out copies of Sugar Loaf Cardigan – 20 copies will be going with me to Buxton Wool Gathering this weekend. The pattern will also be going live online tomorrow!

Sugar Loaf Cardigan has been a big piece of work for both me and my amazing tech editor, Deb Bramham. The pattern contains 20 sizes, each of which has 2 length options, so there are 40 different possible size variations. And the pattern fits neatly into 12 pages of A4.

I created this design as a result of customer feedback – so many people were disappointed that Honeybun Cardigan was a design for children and only went up to Age 8, that I promised I would make an adult version. I used the same yarn, Rowan Summerlite 4ply with a new colourway. As with the child’s version, the body is made in one piece and the sleeves are knit flat separately, seamed and joined to the body. The sleeves are a hybrid of inset and raglan design, just like the original Honeybun, with cute shoulder shaping at the top of the sleeve cap.

I also have to give a shout-out to The Button Box, Devon. I got the gorgeous metal buttons for Sugar Loaf Cardigan from them at East Anglia Yarn Festival.

The first inside page of the pattern lists all the sizing details along with the schematics. I will be adding this as a picture to the online info so folk can see if the design will work for them before committing to buying it. Sizing info is important – and we need to know more than just a chest measurement in order to know if a design will fit us.

You may notice the term ‘9-14cm positive ease’ in the first sentence of the image above. That means the garment will be between 9-14cm bigger at the full chest than a person’s body, depending on the size. Negative ease would mean the garment measurement is smaller than the actual body measurement – for a garment that would only work for stretchy fabric designed to fit snuggly! I imagine the only time I’ll be using negative ease in designs is for sock or mitt cuffs or the brims of hats like berets, where stretchiness is an important part of making the item fit or stay on/up.

Last week I was talking about my epic alpaca knitting and I was hoping to have finished the third part and maybe even made a start on the fourth and final part of it by today. Well, I am very pleased to report that I finished the third part on Friday and last night I got to the half way point of part four! So, at this rate, I may even have finished it by next Tuesday!

There are definite advantages to being the passenger in a car when you’re a knitter, and the M25 decides to be VERY slow. That was Friday on the way to Kent (the day after Sue’s AMAZING book launch in Worcester). I also got quite a lot done on the way home on Saturday. For some reason the sat nav took us up the M11 towards Cambridge and then on to the A14, rather than our usual M1 route to the M6, but it was a pleasant and quietly uneventful drive!

We are learning to trust any unusual routing the Apple Maps sat nav suggests after blithely ignoring it on the way to East Anglia last month where we ended up trying to drive down terribly frosty/icy lanes at 6am because the road we had expected to be on was actually shut for repairs. The sat nav knew about the road closure and that was why it was trying to take us a different route from our usual one!

Woolly Wormhead has a book out and I am hoping to get a copy tomorrow from Yarn O’clock. It is called Short Row Colorwork Knitting, the Definitive Stitch by Stitch Guide and is published by Sixth & Spring Books.

Woolly is even going to be coming to the UK for a book tour to celebrate its launch with events at RiverKnits Open Day in Weedon Bec, Northamptonshire, on Sunday 19th May and at For The Love Of Yarn in Glasgow on Sunday 26th May. Sadly, I’m not able to get to either of these events myself, but if you are, I recommend going!

Of course, the reason I can’t get to the RiverKnits Open Day is that it’s the same weekend as Buxton Wool Gathering. If you can’t come Buxton but you’d like to see my designs and kits in person, I’ll also be at the North Wales Wool and Fibre Festival in Bangor, North Wales, on June 1st, Wool@J13 in Staffordshire, June 29th-30th and the Pop-up Wool Show in Port Sunlight, August 17th. I will also have a stand at Yarn Gathering in Mold on September 15th which myself and Anne from Yarn O’clock are organising and is returning for its 3rd year, and there’s one more large yarn show I’ll be exhibiting at this year too…!

Right, that’s enough for today! Have a good week if you can and do some stuff that makes you happy. Take care, K x

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Proud

There has been a lot of knitting happening this week. I can show you what I did this morning:

I am going to be running a workshop at Qube in Oswestry next month as part of Oswestry Pride, knitting pride flags (you can book via that link). The workshop is on Thursday, June 13th 2.30-4.30pm. There are three options, each with a different level of difficulty. The progress pride flag (bottom right) is the most complex as it uses intarsia with up to six colours in a row (though you only ever use one at a time) and the garter stitch pride stripes on the left is the simplest, being suitable for a complete beginner. The two patterns on the right (the pride stripes with the moss stitch border and the progress pride flag) are from the Knit Picks blog last June when they published a simple pattern with options for a whole range of different pride flags. I might see if I can work out a garter stitch version of the progress pride flag too to see if that gives a more even texture. The yarn I’m using for the workshop is West Yorkshire Spinners ColourLab DK – it’s a pure, machine washable wool with, as you can see, a good range of colours!

There are also still spaces available on my Beginners Knitting workshop at Ditzy Rose in Tattenhall. This workshop is taking place on Thursday May 23rd, 1-3.30pm. You can book a place by contacting Nikki at Ditzy Rose either by email (nikki@ditzyrose.co.uk) or through the event listing on facebook.

This is my usual complete beginners (or returners) workshop where you learn the cable cast-on, how to knit and purl to create garter stitch and stocking stitch, how to count your rows, how to cast-off and how to seam and stuff your finished knitting to create a cute little creature, as well as giving it a face. If you know someone who might enjoy this workshop (it comes complete with cake!), please point them in the right direction. Participants should bring 4mm needles if they have them, or they can borrow/buy needles at the workshop.

The other knitting I have been doing this week is deadline knitting, due to be with a magazine by June 15th. I’m doing about 3 hours a day on it at the moment/, aiming to finish part 3 of 4 by this Saturday. Because it’s for publication I can’t show you any progress pics, but I can tell you that lace-weight alpaca yarn is very silky and the fabric is creates is as light as a cloud!

Because I’m spending so much time on the alpaca knitting, I haven’t done any spinning lately, but I have chosen a few skeins from my growing collection to take with me to sell at Buxton Wool Gathering which is taking place in less than 2 weeks! These will all be priced by weight, with the skeins varying from 25g to 197g! If I had a record of who dyed the fibre and the exact fibre contents I’ve included that on the labels, and that info is there for most of them, along with an approximate length based on the number of strands in the skein (yes, I counted them and then multiplied that number by 1.5 as my niddy-noddy is 1.5m per round), and the approximate yarn weight (eg DK etc).

Do you remember that last week I told you that Sugar Loaf gained some interest when I displayed the sample at Wonderwool? Well, it’s going to be ready in time for Buxton as I had an email from my tech editor on Saturday that started with “Okay, I think we’re nearly there!”. I’ve responded to those points and once my last tweaks have been signed off I can add the photos, print copies and upload the pattern to all the usual online places. It’s the most comprehensive garment I’ve designed yet. There are 20 sizes (from UK4 to UK42). And two length options. That creates 40 total possible combinations and yet the pattern comes in at just 12 sides of A4 – including the cover and the optional chart! I love that Sue agreed to model this cardigan for me – and she did it so well.

By the time I write to you next I will have attended my lovely wife Sue’s book launch in Worcester at Scripthaven bookshop. I am so proud of what she has achieved with this second collection and would recommend it to anyone.

I will also have visited my mum and my in-laws, and I may even have Sugar Loaf Cardigan printed out ready for Buxton! I should also be on the last part of the epic alpaca knitting.

Until then, take care and enjoy the sunshine when you can. K x

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And… relax

Well, Wonderwool Wales was absolutely fantastic!

The organisation was amazing and the team of stewards managed to stay cheerful throughout the day whether directing traffic at 8am/6pm, helping man stalls so folk could go for a loo break if they were on their own or modelling items on the Sheepwalk. It really makes a difference when you know that if you need help with something, asking a person in a crocheted version of a hi-vis vest will actually get you the answer, or point you in the direction of someone else who will know! I hope that Chrissie and her team are taking a well-earned rest now.

It may seem strange to start by talking about the organisation and ‘backstage’ part of the show, but until I started exhibiting/vending at yarn shows (and then helping to run one myself!) I didn’t have any idea about what was involved. Getting 205 different companies set up in three large agricultural sheds for a weekend, when everyone has at least one vehicle they need to unload from and we all want to minimise the carrying/wheeling distance is no mean feat. The set-up time was from 12-8pm on Friday and although a lot of folk arrived at 12 or shortly after as we did, it was spread out over that time period. Not so the get-out. The show finished at 4.30pm on Sunday. Everyone packs down their stand and returns any hired tables and chairs to the show office or nearest steward (thanks Amy!) and goes to reclaim their furniture deposit. Then everyone wants to get their vehicle out of the exhibitors’ car park, load up and go home. It could have been chaos, but it wasn’t. A short wait in the queue to get out of the car park, told the steward which hall we were in and where we wanted to go to load up, and we were loaded and out of the show ground by 6pm!

So, what about the bit in between? The actual yarn show? It was amazing. I had to keep pinching myself that we were really there. After so many years as a visitor thinking “I’d love to do this”, now I actually am! I loved every bit of it – talking to visitors, explaining patterns and techniques, pulling my on-the-go brioche swatch out of my pocket for an impromptu brioche tutorial (many times!), modelling Meg March Shawl and Twisted moebius cowl on the sheepwalk (four times!) and helping folk choose which patterns or kits they’d like to buy.

The Sheepwalk was fun. When I first went to Wonderwool I saw the Sheepwalk listed in the brochure and thought it must be a livestock display. There are plenty of animals at the show after all – sheep in particular. But that’s not it at all – it’s a fashion show of items from different exhibitors, some modelled by the makers/designers themselves (as I did), some by stewards and volunteers from the audience and it happens twice each day.

I loved catching up with some of the other vendors too – though I didn’t have time to talk to everyone I would have liked to. I also completely failed to take any photos other than a few photos of our stand. Sue did get a pic of a customer’s Nevern Lap Blanket though. She had chosen to use just one of the charts with a whole range of colours of tapestry wool and omit the garter stitch borders, and it looks amazing. This is a photo of the photo on the customer’s phone.

Another knitter arrived wearing Tiffany, which literally made me gasp. I still find it a little surprising and a whole lot delightful when I see people wearing my designs that they have knitted. And someone else showed me her Forest Ferns Moebius in progress being made with two gorgeous yarns held double.

The only reason I was able to take part in the Sheepwalk was because Sue was with me at the show, and was able (and happy) to look after the stand and customers while I wasn’t there. She was an absolute trooper throughout the entire event. I am so proud of how much she is able to tell folk about the designs now and how many questions she is able to answer too! It’s quite a luxury to be able to do something you love with the person you love. Sue’s help also means I’ll be able to apply to lead workshops at more shows in the future, something I haven’t done as much before due to running the stand on my own.

There are a couple of things to learn from this year’s Wonderwool for the future. One is to bring more patterns and kits that tend to sell well. I brought 20 copies of each of Nevern Throw and Nevern Lap Blanket and by the end of Saturday we only had 2 copies of the Throw and 6 of the Lap Blanket left – and they were all gone by about 11.30am on Sunday! We also sold out of the large Twisted kits (partly thanks to the Sheepwalks I think!). Another is that when we’re staying somewhere with no lift that’s on the third floor to check we’ve got the soya milk out of the ‘under storage’ part of the car boot… There were 65 steps up from the ground to our apartment and we have bungalow legs! On both days we’d got to the top before realising something important had been left in the car… It was a lovely apartment though and I’d happily stay there again – even with all those steps!

There was lots of interest in Sugar Loaf Cardigan with its ‘Coming soon!’ sign and I’m hoping that will be ready to go up online and be printed out for Buxton Wool Gathering which is less than 3 weeks away!

I had taken a sock to knit during quiet times, but there weren’t really any. I did a little on it each evening and it can be my yarn show project for the next few months. The yarn is from Weku Yarns (they’ve stopped dying yarn now, which makes this skein even more special) and the pattern is my Bodelwyddan sock pattern. The colours in the yarn are creating some really interesting patterns – this is called pooling.

The past couple of days have been about checking stock levels, making sure the numbers add up correctly in the takings, analysing what sold (and what didn’t), reprinting some patterns and starting to plan new ideas. There are several – ideas for new knitting designs, about stand layout, whether to get another collapsible brochure display stand for my designs etc.

You may also have noticed that my website looks a little different. I kept getting a message that my website ‘theme’ was incompatible with ‘AMP’ (I’m still not sure what that is, but it seems important) and that I needed to change it, so I looked through the themes that were listed as being compatible, did a preview of this one, and changed to it. The computer seems to think this theme isn’t compatible with AMP either, but having just had to rebuild my homepage from scratch, I’m not changing it again just yet! What do you think of it?

Take care one and all, and I’ll tell you more about some of my future plans next time. K x

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True to my Word

Not only did I make progress on my small version of Petulia this week; reader, I finished it! It still needs to be blocked and have the ends woven in, but I may even have it with me at WonderWool Wales!

As you can see when comparing the pictures, the small version is symmetrical, starting and ending with just one leaf, whilst the large version starts with a single leaf and just keeps on getting wider! Becci from Riverknits who commissioned Petulia (along with Tiffany and Agnes) is modelling the large version.

You will only have been able to buy the pattern (and kits!) directly from RiverKnits so far, and that’s because they have exclusive rights for the first six months. Having knitted the smaller version as well now I have found a couple of typos, but they’ll be updated very soon and if you want to get the pattern from RiverKnits they’ll have the latest version by the end of this week.

The rights are returning to me now as well and I will also have the pattern for sale in the near future. You’ll still be able to buy it from RiverKnits as well which is ideal if you want a kit.

The small version of the pattern uses 100g of Chimera (2 x 50g skeins) and 100g of Nene 4ply. The image of the small part balls shows how much I had left, so you won’t be in any danger of playing yarn chicken if you have a slightly looser tension than me. The large version used 3 x 50g skeins of Chimera and 2 x 100g skeins of Nene 4ply – though about half the second Nene skein was left over.

I’m looking forward to blocking this and seeing it bloom into its full glory! It’s a shape that you can wear draped around your shoulders with the widest part over your back or wrapped around your neck like a scarf with the widest part at the front and the points hanging down at the front. There will be photos!

I also did some more crochet, working on my Persian Tiles blanket, designed by Janie Crow (Jane Crowfoot). I’m cheating a bit here with this photo as most of the triangles had already been completed. Again they need blocking, as at the moment you might be hard pressed to identify them as triangles. However, once they’ve had a soak and spent some time on the blocking board they’ll look a lot tamer!

The circles are the centres of all the remaining octagons. I completed one in full in January to find out how the patten worked, but I rather like the production line approach – it means I don’t have to fish about in the bag for the next yarn colour quite so often.

I had thought I’d finished working on a design in alpaca last week, but I learnt something else about this fibre once I’d pinned it together and popped it on – it flows like water! This meant that there was no knitting sitting around the neck, where it was intended to be. However, I managed to come up with a solution that I think works well, and just adds a small section on, using the original cast-on as a stabiliser. It’s rather like when you cast off the back neck of a jumper and then pick up those stitches to knit the collar – the cast-off gives stability to the shape of the garment and helps it keep its shape.

Fortunately the next new design I’m working on that also uses alpaca (100% this time!) doesn’t need to stand up in any way; the flowing draping nature of the yarn and the fabric it creates will actually work in this design’s favour. Phew!

If you are a member of my FaceBook group or receive my monthly MailChimp newsletters you now have access to April’s discount codes for patterns beginning with G-H. Actually, it’s just patterns beginning with H as Gnarly Roots hasn’t yet been launched online. But, you could still get a discount on any of the individual Heart in my Hands patterns (Mitts, Hat or Cowl), Honeybun Cardigan or Helena Rose Stole. Want the code? Join my Facebook Group or sign up for my newsletter!

I’m away next Tuesday and will probably only have secret knitting with me, but I will do my best to put a post up, even if it’s just a short one. For now, take care, look after yourselves and those around you and do something that makes you smile. K x

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Let’s Twist Again

Last week I introduced you to Gnarly Roots (Gary…) and yesterday I received photos of the moebius version knitted in HeartSpun DK (the yarn I knitted the regular cowl in) and it looks glorious!

Helen from Woolly Chic Designs will have this sample and some printed copies of the pattern with her at The Sodbury Yarn Over! If you’re visiting the show, which takes place in Chipping Sodbury April 6th-7th, be sure to have a look and say hello from me!

You may also remember that last week I asked for name suggestions for the adult version of Honeybun and my wonderful wife has come up with a fantastic suggestion – Sugar Loaf Cardigan! Not only is a loaf larger than a bun, and honey is linked to sugar, but there is also a Sugar Loaf mountain in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire! (As well as the other ones with a single word name in Brazil and Maine). So, Sugar Loaf Cardigan it will be.

I’ve been knitting a lot of brioche this week. One item is for publication in July, and today I’ve been typing up the pattern and making the chart. I even created a stitch symbol in Stitchmastery that wasn’t there before – although it is a known brioche stitch. Brpyobrp (brioche purl 1, yo, brioche purl 1 all into the same stitch) is the purl version of brkyobrk. It’s very satisfying when you remember how to edit your stitch library in this programme. This is what the new stitch looks like, compared with the knit version above it:

On Sunday I knitted another Twisted Cowl. Twisted is my moebius brioche cowl that has two sizes and two yarn weight options. I’ve knitted quite a few of these now, so why did I make another? Well, one reason was that I wanted to have samples of both colour combinations that I’m going to have as kits with me at WonderWool Wales and the other reason was that I wanted to triple check the yarn usage in the small version. The new one is one the left in Soft Pink and Rust – it’s not even been blocked yet or had it’s ends sewn in. I have already made one in these colours, but it’s visiting Anne at Yarn O’clock currently.

There will be large and small versions of the kit in both of the colour combinations. The yarn is Town End Yarns Poldale DK which is a 100% Falklands wool and it’s so soft and squishy whilst still having enough body to hold the shape of the stitches really well.

The small version shown uses 24g of each colour and the kits include 26g of each. How did I manage to get 26g when the yarn comes in 50g balls? Well, there’s always a little bit of variation in the weight of balls of wool, so I weighed each of the balls I had, took the ones that were 52g or even 53g and split those to make the small kits! You can see soft pink and rust balls on the top of their piles are already part balls, as I’d used those ones to make the sample.

My kitchen scales have been getting a good work out today.

It may seem as though I’m being very organised and ahead of myself for a show that is a month away, but I need to be. I’m likely to be travelling down to Mum’s more frequently in the coming months as she is intending to make a big move this year (although nothing is finalised), and that will inevitably mean lots of time sorting stuff out. So, while I can, I’m getting my own things ready!

Caramel Slice is now available to buy online as an individual pattern! I uploaded this yesterday to my website, Payhip, Lovecrafts and Ravelry. The pattern was launched in printed form at East Anglia Yarn Festival, and I’d intended to put it online straight away after that, but then I came down with that cold and forgot all about it until reviewing my plans for March at the weekend! It’s a really cute child’s cardigan for ages 1 to 8. It’s knitted flat, with the body worked in one piece and the sleeves knitted separately. The colour-work on the body and sleeves is a slip stitch pattern, so you only use one colour at a time. And no matter which size you make you only need 1x 50g ball of each of the two contrast colours. One lady spotted the sample of Caramel Slice on display at EAYF and recognised it, having knitted it from The Knitter when it came out last August. This prompted her to buy two more of my patterns, Honeybun and Nos Da, on the basis that she knew she could trust my pattern writing as Caramel Slice ‘worked’. That was such a great thing to hear and has stayed with me (in fact, I may have told you about it before!) – a crafter’s appreciation for the pattern writing and being able to successfully use the pattern.

That’s all from me for today. Next week I’m hoping to show you some more progress on my small version of Petulia and on my crocheted Persian Tiles blanket, which is designed by the brilliant Jane Crowfoot. If you like crochet, have a look at her patterns – they are beautiful and they work.

Have a lovely Easter if you celebrate it and take care, K x

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What’s in a Name?

This morning I finally got the buttons sewn on to the adult version of Honeybun! I still need to choose a new, but related, name for this pattern. ‘Adult Honeybun’ is way too clunky, but the name does need to be close enough to Honeybun so folk realise it’s the sized up version of the original child’s cardigan pattern that was published back in 2018. My original name for the design had been ‘Joseph’s Jacket’ as I had designed it for a little boy called Joseph as part of my City & Guilds design qualification, but the magazine gave it the name Honeybun. ‘Honeyloaf’ (?), since a loaf is a large version of a bun? That sounds strange. Any thoughts or suggestions will be warmly welcomed and considered!

Why did it take me over a week to get the buttons on since getting home from EAYF? Because I picked up a cold virus (not covid, I did check) and ended up feeling somewhat grotty for a large chunk of the week. However, I’m all better now, and the cardigan is complete (as is the shawl I was working on before I went to Norfolk)!

Positioning buttons for a cardigan can feel like a tricky business, so I thought I’d share the process I use, in case it’s helpful. The buttonholes are already there, worked into the button band as it was made. I line up the two sides of the button band with the buttonholes on top and use locking stitch markers to dip down through the buttonholes into the band below. I do this for all the buttonholes so I can check it’s lined up properly with no stretched or baggy areas.

Once these are all in place you can ease the buttonholes over the stitch markers, leaving the positions to sew the buttons in nice and obvious! I sew the buttons on with sewing thread that closely matches the main colour, even though the stripes I’m sewing into are contrast colours. Apart from anything else it makes it easier for me to see where I’ve sewn!

There are 9 buttonholes, so I bought 10 buttons – I thought it made sense to have a spare just in case. I’ll get some proper photos of the whole garment taken soon to add to the pattern.

By Saturday my cold was improved enough for me to be able to lead Shelby’s Singers, our local community choir, as we sang at Buckley’s Easter Market. It was really well received by all the shoppers, with eight songs ranging from ‘Consider Yourself’ from Oliver!, through Rivers of Babylon by Boney M to This is Me from The Greatest Showman! I’m so proud of how far the choir has come since we started last autumn – and rehearsals continue on, starting some brand new songs tomorrow.

Do you remember I showed you a sneak peek of a new design with cables in it a couple of weeks ago? Well, the design is a cowl called Gnarly Roots and it will be launched next month! There are lots of great features and options in this design. First of all, it’s a DK design that only uses 100g. The cables are reversible, and they’re different on each side. So, knitting one cowl gives you two options for wear!

Sue is modelling the cowl here and it’s knitted in 100g of HeartSpun DK by Woolly Chic, which is a gorgeous soft and silky yarn with 70% Bluefaced Leicester wool and 30% Tercel. The Tencel is what gives the yarn a wonderful sheen and silky feel. You can tell why this colour is called Marmalade!

Now, you know how I love a double sided design and the fact that a moebius construction means you get to see both sides of the fabric at the same time. So, Gnarly Roots also includes a moebius option!

This sample is knitted in 100g of Ewe & Ply’s Shropshire Ply 2018 Double Knitting in the colour Lady’s Mantle. It’s a completely different type of yarn from the HeartSpun DK, being a woollen spun yarn with lots of personality and body, whilst still being soft enough for a cowl. It’s made from 34% Welsh mule, 28% Shropshire, 20% Sherino (Shetland x merino) and 18% Bluefaced Leicester.

So, keep an eye out for Gnarly Roots coming out next month (auto-correct keeps trying to change the pattern name “Gary Roots” which is quite funny, but I think I’ll stick to Gnarly). There will hopefully be HeartSpun kits for it at WonderWool too!

I’m going to keep today’s post a little shorter than usual, partly as it’s already gone 8pm, so I’ll catch up with you next week with more knitting news. Until then, take care and enjoy the warmth of the sunshine when you can! K x