Learn all the steps of knitting a top-down sock on double pointed needles: Cast-on, ribbing, leg, heel flap, heel turn, gusset, foot, toe, grafting.
We will be working on a scale that means you can complete the whole sock in the workshop!
Skills required: cast on, knit, purl, k2tog, ssk.
Equipment to bring: 3mm double pointed needles (you can buy these from Sew-Woolly if needed), tapestry needle. Everything else will be supplied.
2.5 hour workshop, £35, including yarn and handouts
Well, Wool@J13 (that’s ‘Wool at Junction 13’ as it’s near Junction 13 of the M6, sometimes referred to as ‘Woolly J’) is done and we are home. I still need to go through all the samples and check if anything needs freshening up with a re-block or just folding in a different way, but everything else is back where it should be.
I know I’ve said this before, but Wool@J13 is a very different kind of yarn show. First of all, it’s in a field and the parking is in a different field down the road. Most of the vendors are in the ‘shop til you drop’ marquee that is a bit like a circus tent with its yellow and white stripes, with others in individual gazebos in the ‘gazebo village’. There are also two tents for workshops. So far, so yarn show, just with a slightly different setting.
Here’s my stand in the marquee, with Sue wearing her ‘Add value, bring joy’ T-shirt. She did, and does, every day!
Then as well as the marquee and gazebo village, there’s a small stage tent, with plenty of chairs and tables arranged in front of it. Throughout the weekend there’s live entertainment and you can sit and enjoy that as you eat your lunch from one of the street food vendors, or just soak up the music as you go round the stands. Last year Jo from Second City Yarns also entertained us inside the marquee with her cello playing. However, this year she had a broken finger, so couldn’t play. Ingrid (who it is almost impossible to say no to!) asked what instrument I played, and when I told her that I mostly sing, and yes, I did sing a cappella (unaccompanied) sometimes, asked if I’d like to do a turn in the marquee? I said yes! So, on Sunday afternoon when it wasn’t too busy and wouldn’t be interrupting too many potential sales, Ingrid gently blew her whistle, and I sang Misty and Unforgettable. It wasn’t until afterwards that I told her I hadn’t sung a solo in public in about 7 years…! I did enjoy it and there’s a short clip of the end of Misty floating about somewhere on Facebook if you want to see the evidence.
Bryn, my new brioche cowl designed especially for first time brioche knitters (or, as Tamsin from The Left Hookery put it, ‘brioche virgins’…!) , was well received and the kit, forever now to be known as ‘Bryn in a Tin’, sold well. The blues colourway was particularly popular.
I will be putting this kit and several others on to the website in the next few days, so if you want one, but can’t get to a yarn show, you can order online!
I had a nice surprise yesterday. I received an email telling me I had a Payhip review and clicked on it to see the details. It was a super review from someone who had bought the Pride and Progress Pride Knitting Kit bundle:
Cute kit – perfectly packaged!
A great kit for a beginner, or someone who wants to make a Pride flag without investing in massive balls of yarn. You got plenty of yarn and great instructions all packed in an enveloped that fitted through the letter box. I made my first flag straight away! – Nessa H.
That wasn’t the only surprise though. I also discovered there were nine other Payhip reviews (all 5 star) waiting to be moderated and published! So, now if someone has reviewed a pattern or kit on Payhip, the review is there on the product page for folk to see, and I’ve selected a few for testimonials at the bottom of my main Payhip shop page. I’m not sure how I didn’t know the reviews were sitting there – some are a year old! But I’m so glad to have found them and to know that folk are enjoying what I do.
Speaking of folk enjoying my work… If you get my newsletter or have seen my social media posts at the weekend, you’ll know that I saw some of my designs ‘in the wild’ at the weekend. It’s always such a buzz, especially when the knitter tells you they’ve really enjoyed knitting the project and that the pattern was clear and really easy to follow. I mean, that’s what I always aim for, but until someone tells you that that WAS their experience, you don’t really know for sure. From the left the patterns are: What Do Points Make?, Meg March Shawl and Branwen Shawl.
My Persian Tiles blanket is making progress – I only have 9 more motifs to finish off with the last two rounds now (that’s about three evenings worth)! Then I need to block them and put it all together. Can you see the different from last week? I am glad I followed Jane Crowfoot’s recommendation to make them ‘production line’ style as you can memorise the round you are working on easily and just repeat it, and you don’t have to keep getting a different coloured ball of wool out.
I’ve made a little progress with my Bargello Scarf. It’s less than I’d intended, and I think that’s because finishing each of the crochet motifs is so addictive! I am however, nearly at the halfway point now.
I am really looking forward to being able to photograph all three samples (the wrap, cowl and scarf) together as a set, ready for the relaunch of the pattern. It’s going to look so dramatic!
I also got a bit more of Sue’s sock done while we were away. Socks are the perfect travel knitting, as they take up so little room – and that was an important consideration with the car being so full of stuff for the show. I will definitely be on at least the second sock by the time of the next show (Pop Up Wool Show on August 18th), even if I haven’t finished them by then. I’m using my Bodelwyddan pattern, making the 4th size.
Plans for Yarn Gathering 2024 are coming on well. It’s being held on Sunday September 15th, from 10am -4pm.
You will be pleased to know that entry to the event is still FREE, and once again it is happening at the same time as the Mold Food and Drink Festival, so you can combine visiting the two events! And as it’s on Sunday, there are no parking charges in Mold!
We will have more vendors than ever this year – 16 or 17 – and because of that we are expanding into more of the Daniel Owen Centre.
We have previously used the main hall and the cafe space. This year we are using those two areas again, and are also using the largest of the upstairs rooms. We know that stairs aren’t great for everyone, but (as someone who has bungalow legs myself and isn’t great with stairs) I can say that they are decent stairs. The treads are deep enough to get your foot on, the steps themselves are not too high, and there are sturdy handrails on both sides. If you can’t access the first floor at all, we can take a video to show you what is up there and bring down things you particularly want to see.
Yarn Gathering now has its own Facebook page as well as an Instagram account, and we will be posting about each of our lovely vendors – who are all still fairly local – leading up to the event. Do come – we’re sure you’ll enjoy it.
That’s all from me today. I was going to pick the blackcurrants or do some weeding in the front garden, but it’s raining (again!) so that can wait. Take care and have a good week, K x
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
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!
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
There are only a few days left before we travel to Wonderwool Wales! I’ll be in Hall 3, Stand W16.
Late this afternoon and early evening I’ve been going through edits on Sugar Loaf Cardigan from my tech editor. It’s getting there! Sue did a fabulous job of modelling the cardigan outside at the weekend so I could take some proper photos and the pics were really well received on social media:
I made the sample in this size as it’s the size of my mannequin, but I hadn’t realised that the mannequin has no shoulders and therefore the cardigan doesn’t sit right on it. A real person shape complete with shoulders was needed for the photos, and I was sooo grateful that Sue agreed to be the model!
Note: The final thing I do when I write a blog post is to choose the title of the post. I initially chose “It’s All Happening” as that seemed to encapsulate the week. But I did my usual check in case I’d used that title before. And I had! On December 5th 2023 when I’d just cast on the sleeves for Sugar Loaf Cardigan! So, I tweaked the title a little to avoid a repeat, and because I like the link between two posts referencing the cardigan!
Even before we go to Wonderwool, I have a workshop tomorrow night – and there’s still time to book! Introduction to Brioche Knitting is the same workshop I taught at Wool-in Garden City and it’s a great one – and tomorrow I will be teaching it at Shaz’s Shabby Chic in Buckley.
You may remember that a couple of weeks ago I updated my website with pages that grouped my designs by yarn weight. I now have a new events page as well!
This replaces my “Where I’ll Be” page and hopefully will be a better way of seeing what workshops are available and which shows I’m going to be at.
See that ‘Beginners’ Knitting Workshop’ on the drop-down list above? That’s taking place at Ditzy Rose in Tattenhall on May 23rd.
It’s an afternoon workshop, 1-3.30pm, so it won’t suit everyone time-wise, but if you know anyone who would like to learn to knit, or return to knitting after a long break, then please point them towards this workshop! Nikki, who hosts all the many and varied workshops at Ditzy Rose, is lovely and welcoming and will be providing drinks and cake as part of the £30 price of the workshop.
All the details are on my Events page about it as well as the Facebook event page. If you’d like to book, email nikki@ditzyrose.co.uk
I have actually done quite a bit of knitting as well this week, but guess what? I can’t show it to you! I did, however, ball up a skein of gorgeous sock yarn that Sue chose from Weku Yarns when we were at Wool-in Garden City. It never ceases to amaze me how different yarn can look in a skein and in a ball. And different yet again when knitted up! Of course, if I was super clever I’d have made sure I’d got a photo of it in the skein before I wound it up, but I didn’t, so here it is all wound up.
I’m going to have to keep this one short today as my head is a bit mashed after driving down to Mum’s yesterday and then back again today (followed by the number crunching). It was a quick impromptu visit in advance of her birthday and it was lovely.
I’ll see you on the other side of Wonderwool and have lots to tell you next week. K x
P.S. If you come to Wonderwool, please do come and say hello!
I’m sorry about the corniness of today’s post title, but I just couldn’t resist it. After rehearsing ‘Consider Yourself’ with Shelby’s Singers (our local community choir) last Wednesday, and now being at Welwyn Garden City for the week long wool festival that is Wool-in Garden City, that twist on the lyrics just won’t leave my head!
How are you after Storm Isha? It sounded pretty scary outside to me, but there didn’t seem to be any major damage where we are.
I’m having such a lovely time at Wool-in Garden City. I’ve met a whole new bunch of fab yarnie people, given a talk about my work as a designer (!) and taught 8 people how to knit two-colour brioche. The folk standing around the edge might have picked up a tip or two as well!
The mayor of Welwyn Garden City opened the event on Saturday morning, cutting the obligatory ribbon, and he and his wife spent time talking to every exhibitor as well.
A week long show as a pop up shop is a big undertaking, especially for the organisers, and I can’t thank Helen and Naomi and their extra volunteers enough. They’ve been helpful, kind, friendly and encouraging throughout. We have the opportunity to take time out from the event, at which point folk can pay for items from our stands at the central cash desk. As some of the exhibitors also have full time a Monday to Friday jobs this means they can continue with their regular lives and have their work on display and on sale at the same time – a brilliant idea.
I got very excited about having some of my designs in the window of the shop too…
As a result of a conversation I had at the weekend, I took my courage in my hands and wrote an email I’m now nervously awaiting a reply for. It could be very exciting.
As well as all this, there has been some knitting!
The sleeves for the adult version of Honeybun are gradually growing and I’m getting closer to the armhole shaping. this is one of the two sleeves – I’m doing them both at the same time on the same needle, but photographing them both together is proving to be tricky!
My small Petulia grew by 40 rows at the weekend.
And I finally swatched for and started (twice) my chunky version of Fiery Dragon Skin Cowl.
This will be added to the original pattern once I’ve got all the details down and photos of the finished sample. This is using my handspun yarn that I made last year from Velvet Sixpence in Polwarth wool. I have to say I was impressed that it coped so well with being frogged twice and re-knitted. I usually keep my swatches, but as I only have this one ball of yarn and I didn’t know how much I would need for the cowl, I decided not to risk it.
By the end of Monday it was nearly finished!
And I did finish the socks before going to Wool-in Garden City!
I’m really looking forward to the rest of the event this week and I will take lots more photos of everyone else’s stands to share on social media and to show you next week.
We were woken up by an owl this morning – another addition to the list of wildlife we’ve seen or heard in the area.
Until next week, take care and try not to get blown away by Storm Jocelyn! K x
We have snow! Just under an inch lying on the paths, roads, garden and roof. I’m hoping it melts more before I have to go out this afternoon and doesn’t just freeze…
The Process exhibition at Qube in Oswestry is now open. I’ve not been to visit in person yet, but the photographs show it to be a fabulous exhibition, with a wide range of arts on show. The A4 folder on the table contains all my preliminary drawings/sketches/colour exploration – everything! If you happen to visit, let me know what you think!
This does mean that I won’t have the sample of Honeybun with me at Wool-in Garden City, but I will have copies of the pattern! I’m very excited about this wool festival. The materials for my brioche workshop on Sunday morning are all weighed, sorted into bags, notes printed – and I think the workshop is sold out with 8 knitters booked in! My patterns are all printed and ready to display and my samples are packed away in their travel bags (apart from Nevern Throw which is currently one of many layers on the bed!)
On Saturday, 12-2pm, I am taking part in a Meet the Designers talk alongside Jane Crowfoot and Gurinder Kaur Hatchard. Tickets for this talk are free, but you do need to book a place. It’s been really interesting preparing for this talk as it’s a bit different from the Zoom event I took part in last month for Fasten-off Yarn-along. Then each of the designers was asked the same question in turn and we had a couple of minutes to answer it. For this I have up to half an hour to talk about how I got into designing, my favourite knitting techniques and the inspiration behind some of my designs. That’s quite a different prospect!
When Helen, one of the organisers, said there would be a TV we could plug a USB into for a slideshow I went for that option in my planning. It’s helped me to organise my thoughts and put some of my inspiration images next to finished items! I will have a tech-free option with physical samples and notes too – just in case!
Last Wednesday’s Introduction to Lace Knitting workshop went really well. Both the knitters there gained a lot from it and were quite rightly very pleased with what they produced! I started the workshop with a demonstration of blocking lace – the pink swatch was 12cm long on the right angled sides before blocking and the same edges were 18cm once pinned! Several days after the pins were removed the finished size has relaxed to 16cm. Folk who don’t block lace need to remember that (while that is their choice) not doing so will affect the finished size of their knitting as well as the appearance of it!
I’ve been on a ‘finishing off’ roll this week with my knitting. I’ve finished my second Barragán Shawl, apart from seaming the cast-on and cast-off edges of the knitted-on edging, then blocking it and weaving in the ends.
I’ve blocked Diamonds in the Breeze and that now needs to have its ends woven in before posting it off to its final home. (Top tip: leave weaving ends in until after blocking, especially with lace, to avoid have puckered sections where the woven ends stopped the knitting being fully stretched)
Sue’s socks are completed and already in use! This is my standard ‘vanilla’ sock pattern that Sue likes for her socks – no fancy textures, 80 sts per round on 2mm needles to give a firm long lasting fabric.
The second sock of the pair of Bodelwyddan socks I have been working on got started on Sunday and I’m already on the gusset – I’ve been taking note of the number of stitches worked as I go and I’m currently up to 8308 (plus another 80 for the cast-on)! If you ever receive a pair of hand-knit socks from anyone, know that a lot of time and love went into making them for you and treasure them well.
The photo on the left here with just the cuff and the first repeat of the pattern got a LOT of attention on Twitter on Sunday – it came with the caption “This is what 2000 stitches of a hand knitted sock looks like”. At the time of writing this little post has had 145 likes and over 2000 views!
I am hoping to finish this sock before I go to Wool-in Garden City and then I can focus on knitting my smaller Petulia shawl and get back to the sleeves for my adult version of Honeybun. There are other projects on the needles and in the pipeline as well; I’m trying to work on things in order of priority at the moment!
Do remember that I’ve got my year-long discount on – if you are a member of my FaceBook group you can get 10% off all patterns beginning with A or B this month (by using the code posted in the group) and if you are a monthly newsletter subscriber you can get 20% off the same patterns (by using the code sent in the last newsletter). If that sounds appealing to you and you’re not in either group of folk – sign up to the newsletter here!
The next job of the day is to tidy my desk – it is somewhat jumbled at present! Take care folks, stay warm and do something that makes you happy this week. Maybe visit an exhibition! My next blog post will come to you from Welwyn Garden City! K x
So, it’s 2024! The rain hasn’t yet stopped enough for us to go out for a walk since our midnight walk on New Year’s Eve where we saw and heard lots of fireworks in the neighbourhood. I’m hoping we’ll be able to get out soon, but at least for now we are warm and dry and once again thankful to live high up. The garage might get water in it from the steep driveway if the rain pours too heavily, but the house is pretty safe from flooding.
Floella, my lovely estate car, did her longest yet journey since I’ve had her, all the way down to Kent to visit my in-laws and back via Worcestershire to visit my mum. We were away for nearly a week and, while it is lovely to catch up with everyone, there’s nothing quite like your own bed!
Since we’ve been back I’ve been very busy, preparing to take part in an exhibition at Qube in Oswestry. I’ve never had my work displayed in an exhibition before, so this is quite exciting. It’s all about ‘Process’ and that is such a major part of being a designer. Folk usually only see the finished product, and I think it will be interesting to see all the different things that go into developing a design. I’ve focussed on Joseph’s Jacket, which was one of my assessment pieces for my City & Guilds in 2012 and which much later – in 2018! – became Honeybun Cardigan. And the process is still continuing, as this is the design I am currently developing into adult sizes. I’ve blocked the body now and that will be included in the exhibition too. The design process covers 11 years with this pattern!
As I said, I’m taking part in the exhibition – there will be lots of other artists and designers working in different media taking part as well, so it should be a really interesting exhibition. It’s open from January 12th until February 12th and admission is free. The full details of the ‘Process’ exhibition aren’t yet up on the website, but I’m sure they will be soon.
In addition to sorting out all my drafts, samples, swatches and notes for the exhibition, I’ve been getting ready for Wool-in Garden City which takes place in less than 3 weeks! Patterns are printed (all bar one), kits are now in snazzy tins which also make them a lot easier to transport and to display, and I’ve been adding price labels and codes to everything. I’m teaching a brioche workshop while I’m there and taking part in a designer talk too, so it should be a really fun week. And it is a WHOLE week! I’ve never done an event this long before and I’m really interested to see how the central cash desk for all exhibitors works. Tickets are still available for the Preview Evening on January 19th, 5.30-8.30pm – entry to the event during the rest of the week is free and unticketed.
I’m going to be increasing some of my pattern prices this year (not all), starting with garments. Adult garments with 8 or more sizes (currently Of Night and Light and Reaching Out) will be £8 and children’s garments with 5 sizes will be £7 (currently Honeybun). This change has already taken place on all my platforms. Later in the year I will be increasing the price of those that have multiple sizes such as my hat patterns and the more complex designs such as Drifting Leaves (that one is 20 pages!). These increases will be to £6 or £7 from £5. I know price rises are the last thing anyone wants, and believe me, I have thought long and hard about it.
To make up for the price rises, I will be running a year-long (!) discount in my facebook group and for my monthly newsletter subscribers. I know many people subscribe to my weekly blog and receive this as an email, but what I am referring to here is the monthly newsletter, which is different – you can sign up to my newsletter here.
Each month all patterns beginning with specified letters will be reduced for those folks (10% off for FB group members and 20% for monthly newsletter subscribers). This month covers letters A and B and that includes 11 patterns! They are:
Besides all this admin and travelling I have actually done some knitting as well! I have finished the black lace Diamonds in the Breeze shawl I have been knitting for my friend Lucy’s 50th birthday and that just needs to be blocked now. I’m pleased with how the yarn (Drops Baby Merino) worked up and it will be very soft around Lucy’s shoulders.
If you’d like to learn to knit lace there’s still time to sign up for my Introduction to Lace Knitting workshop in Buckley on Wednesday 10th January (6.30-8.30pm).
I have started Part 4 (the edging) of my Barragan KAL which came out in The Knitter on Wednesday 29th December. I’ve got photos of both the front and the back of the shawl here so you can see how the knitted-on edging works. The line of stitches along the back is the back of the joining stitch. From the front the join is almost invisible. I’m going to do a short video of the joining stitch soon too.
Sue’s sock now has more than half a partner – I cast the second one on on the journey up to Edinburgh if you remember and it’s been a good evening knit when I don’t want to have to keep my eye on a chart or pattern!
And I have begun my small version of Petulia! It was very exciting to see kits for Petulia from RiverKnits featured among “The Knitter Loves…” in this month’s issue of the magazine. Becci is seen modelling the large asymmetrical version of the shawl as shown on the front of the pattern.
The smaller version is symmetrical and I’m using RiverKnits Chimera and Nene 4ply again (bought from Yarn O’clock), but in a very different colourway to the orginal large shawl.
I love the vibrancy and autumnal feel of the leaf shapes. I’m knitting this project with a fixed circular Lantern Moon needle from McIntosh and it’s super smooth to use – really lovely.
The rain is still falling and it’s looking highly unlikely that a walk today will be possible (especially as my lovely wife is in a poetry event on Zoom for the next couple of hours). So, instead I shall settle down with a cup of tea and my new journal and work out some plans for the year/month/week/tomorrow and maybe even do some embroidery.
Take care and stay warm and dry. K x
The Honeybun sleeves are cast-on and growing!
I finally cast them on yesterday, having decided that the calculations are now good, certainly up to the armholes. I’ve decided to knit them both at the same time, which creates a bit of a yarn tangle at times when the contrast colours are being used, but it should be much more manageable once I get the last one of those done, and I’m back to just one ball of yarn per sleeve. If you knit garments, how do you approach sleeves? Do you knit them one at a time or tackle them both together?
The second half of our Twisted workshop last Thursday went really well – and at least one of the knitters has a completed moebius brioche cowl!
Many thanks as always to Anne at Yarn O’clock for hosting us and keeping everyone well supplied with hot drinks and biscuits.The pattern for Twisted will be available next Monday – yay! – and that means there will be discount heading its way to newsletter subscribers. If you’re not yet a newsletter subscriber but you’d like a 25% discount code for this pattern, you can sign up here:
The pattern will include a link to a really excellent video of a moebius cast-on by the amazing Cat Bordhi, which will be a great help to those unfamiliar with this technique.
The latest issue of The Knitter (196) came out last Wednesday and Part 3 of Barragán, my KAL shawl design, is in it. I’ve been keeping up with my daily progress on this and posting pics on my Instagram and Facebook stories, but for those of you not on those platforms, it’s currently looking like this (with a few extra rows worked since this photo was taken):
Once I finish the “Diamond Fantasia” pattern on this side of the shawl I cast off, rotate the shawl and work the same section again at the other end. This is how I managed to keep the shawl symmetrical, even though it was a rectangle with 4 parts to the pattern, each of which needed to be different!
I’ve finished the first sock of this pair of Bodelwyddan socks and I’m enjoying how the colours change in the yarn.
I thought it would just be a long repeating stripe, but it seems to slowly bounce back and forth between the two main shades of purple and teal. It’s a Zauberball yarn with the colour way name of “Smoking Area”. I’m not 100% convinced the length is correct, so I won’t weave the toe yarn end in yet until it’s been tried on for size by its recipient.
The Fasten Off Yarn-along is going well – there are posts and activities on most social media platforms and bingo cards you can complete, with a choice depending on whether you want to try out lots of different patterns or focus on one:
This is the third year I’ve taken part and there’s such a lovely atmosphere of folk supporting and raising up other designers and sharing gems they find. There are 96 designers taking part this year, all of whom have patterns available somewhere other than Ravelry and while the event as a whole goes on until New Year’s Even, the pattern sale continues until the end of Friday 8th December (American Eastern Time – which is pretty much Saturday morning here in the UK). You can get 25% off a vast swathe of the designers’ patterns by using the event code “FO2023”. For me that code works on Payhip and on Ravelry and it applies to all my self-published single patterns. Head to the Fasten Off YAL website to check out all the details – the patterns are even searchable this year.
There’s been some more embroidery happening too. Can you see a difference in the bottom left part?
The next few days have quite a few events taking place – I’m teaching a workshop on cable knitting tomorrow at Shaz’s Shabby Chic in Buckley, then my lovely wife and I have a stall at a school Christmas Fair on Thursday.
On Saturday it’s the Buckley Christmas Market in the shopping precinct where I shall be wearing two (metaphorical) hats! I shall have a stall, where my lovely wife will also have her cards, calendars and poetry collection, AND I shall be leading our little community choir in singing Christmas songs. Do come along if you can – the event runs from 9am until 4pm. Buckley Town Band will be playing too – and they are great!
So, as you can see there is a lot happening. And on Sunday just gone (Advent Sunday) I sang at the Advent carol service at St Mary Without-the-Walls Handbridge. It’s been so good to get back to singing again, and to feel that I can trust my voice once more. It really can be a case of ‘use it or lose it’ and I’m going to be singing there as much as my other commitments allow. There were some other additional people drafted in for this service and it was good to see some friendly faces from my previous life as a music teacher – some of whom I haven’t seen since I left the classroom in 2018!
And as it’s now Advent, the tree is up!
That’s all for now. I’ll be updating my “Where I’ll Be” page later on so you can see some of the exciting things lined up for 2024! Take care one and all, K x
