Tag: Summer KAL

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Hey, Marianne!

Tomorrow sees the end of our Summer Knit-along and, to celebrate, there is a final Zoom, 7.30-9pm BST. This is a ‘Show and Tell’ where we can show off our projects, whether they are completed or not, and share laughter and conversation. Tickets are available and there will even be prizes! The prizes are for engagement/completion and take the form of a free pattern of the winner’s choice.

As you can see, my new sample of Marianne Half Hap has been photographed, including the now obligatory ‘flying of the shawl’. I’m really pleased with how these look and I’m just at the final stages of tweaking the layout of the pattern update and selecting which photographs to include in the download.

If you have already bought Marianne Half Hap you will be able to download the updated version after 10 am on Friday 4th August! If you haven’t yet got a copy of this shawl design and you’d like one, why not sign up to my newsletter? Subscribers will be getting a lovely little discount code in their inboxes on Friday morning.

Another exciting piece of news is that the new logo for Yarn Gathering has been unveiled!

Isn’t it great? We have a version without the date as well, but we think it’s useful for folk to be able to see when it is straight away.

If you use instagram follow Yarn Gathering on: @yarn_gathering_nwales. I’ll be posting there in the coming weeks about each of our lovely stall-holders who will be joining us.

Just like last year, we are timing the event to coincide with the Mold Food and Drink Festival, so there will be plenty to do in Mold that day, and all our stall-holders are based around an hour or less from Mold, so we’re really showcasing local talent.

The venue is the same – The Daniel Owen Centre, the timings are the same – 10am 4pm, and some of the stall-holders will be the same, but there will also be plenty of new faces joining us!

This Thursday (August 3rd), the new issue (192) of The Knitter will hit the newsstands (it comes around quickly, doesn’t it?) and I have a pattern in it! If you have a subscription, you may even already have a copy!

Caramel Slice is a child’s cardigan with 5 sizes: Ages 1, 2, 4, 6 & 8. The sample size is age 4 and it’s knitted in West Yorkshire Spinners’ Elements DK. The colour-work is created through slipped sts, so you only have to deal with one colour at a time.

Things are continuing to grow in the garden, the tomatoes (all four of them…) are turning red, I’ve picked a couple more courgettes/squashes and there are plenty more on the way, and the raspberries are chugging along. I may have missed the moment with the gooseberries, but I did find a bag of last year’s in the freezer, so I think we’ll still be able to have a gooseberry crumble this summer.

I had a great time at the Summer Wool Festival on Sunday, and got a few lovely things, not least of which was my ‘payment in yarn’ for looking after Rachael of Cat and Sparrow’s stand while she taught a workshop. Two gorgeous skeins of Toasty Aran – how generous is that?! The colour names are fabulous; TIGHT FITTING JEANS and PISTACHIOMG. It’s already balled up and I have the perfect design for it – it’s a new one!

Toasty Aran from Cat & Sparrow balled up

We managed to get a walk in the sunshine this afternoon which was lovely after getting rather wet in the rain yesterday. But I’m determined not to complain about the weather – it’s making the veg grow and the jet stream is protecting us in the UK from the terrible heat and fires on the continent.

That’s all for today. I hope you manage to do some things that bring you joy this week. Take care, K x

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Do It All Over Again

My new sample of Marianne Half Hap in RiverKnits Northampton Shear Shetland Lace is now blocked and awaiting some proper photos. I’m very pleased with how it has turned out – and the fact that it uses less than 100g laceweight yarn! The updated pattern with new photographs (and some other general improvements to the layout) will be available soon and I will definitely have printed copies of it with me at the Pop Up Wool Show on August 19th.

As I mentioned last week, finishing this new sample of Marianne means that I have been able to cast on my new sample of Amy March Shawl. This uses two skeins of 4-ply yarn from The Yarn Artist: I’m enjoying working with it and am very pleased with how it’s looking already! As I was knitting my new sample of Marianne as my project for the Summer Knit-along, and that runs until August 2nd when the final Show & Tell Zoom takes places, I thought it was only right I should get another knit-along project on the needles asap. Tickets are available for the Show & Tell Zoom event – if you’ve been knitting one of my designs during the past month and a bit, it would be lovely to see what you have created.

One of the things I love about 2-colour brioche knitting is that both sides look great – and very different! More about brioche knitting later on.

I’ve been burning stitch marker pots this week – and coasters and hearts as well! If you’ve seen my stitch marker pots before you’ll notice the ones at the back in this pic are considerably bigger than ones I’ve had previously, at 6cm diameter. These are more the type of pot you would have on the table by where you knit, whereas the smaller ones are ideal to throw in a project bag with just the stitch markers you’ll need for that project – especially as the smaller pots have screw lids! I’ve enjoyed trying out a couple of new designs, as well as working out how to get the lines fine enough on the balls of yarn on the medium pots – that required a very steady hand. Again these will be with me at the Pop Up Wool Show in Port Sunlight next month.

I think I’ve mentioned before that I have a new shawl design coming out with RiverKnits. Let me introduce you to Petulia – a lacy, 2-colour brioche shawl!

We had been hoping to launch Petulia this month, but the pattern will actually now be coming out in September – so it’s not too long to wait. These are not the official pics, just a couple I took before sending the shawl off to Becci and Markus, and both both shots show the large asymmetrical version of the shawl which takes 3 x 50g Chimera and 2 x 100g Nene 4-ply. It is a big shawl! However, there is also a smaller, symmetrical version using the same motif that only takes 2 x 50g Chimera and 1 x 100g Nene 4-ply. And BOTH of these designs are included in the pattern!

When I was at Wool@J13 in May, several folk loved and bought the pattern for Honeybun Cardigan and many more would have got a copy if the sizing had gone beyond 8 years, as they wanted to make it for themselves. I have made a couple of steps in the direction of sizing Honeybun up for grown-ups: I’ve chosen (and bought) new colours for the adult sample, and set up a new spreadsheet. I’ve got a couple of submission deadlines coming up in the next couple of weeks, and then I hope to get cracking on this as soon as I can!

Alongside all this planning ahead, it’s good to look back and see how the journey is going. Can you believe it’s now 11 years since New York Nights was published in Issue 11 of Knit Now? This beaded lace stole was my first ‘proper’ publication and I was SO excited it made the front cover. I still get really excited, but I no longer go round all the local shops that stock a magazine I’m in and place it at the front of the shelves (I have to admit I did do that with this particular issue!)!

New York Nights Knit Now 11 Front Cover

Yarn Gathering plans are coming on well. It will be taking place at the Daniel Owen Centre in Mold on Sunday 17th September, coinciding with the Food and Drink Festival, just like last year. There are a few small changes, but if it worked well last year, it will be happening again. We have some returning vendors and some new vendors, and we have a new logo! We’ll be revealing this on social media in the next few days, the website will be updated with all the info and I’ll share the logo here next week too as I know not everyone uses social media. It’s very cool and has been designed by someone who really knows what they’re doing!

Last week’s leaving ‘do’ for my lovely wife was super by the way. Just right. I don’t have anything quite as momentous to do this evening, but I will be deciding on the best finish for my stitch marker pots and coasters, as well as starting my fifth row of the Mystical Lanterns blanket!

‘Til next week, take care, K x

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One Stitch at a Time


Well, it’s been quite a week. Lichfield came out in The Knitter last Thursday and I’ve had some lovely comments about it.

Lichfield Cathedral close-up.

I’m coming to the finishing stages of my Treasure Chest Socks design. The largest size is being added and knitted and I’m working my way through the gusset decreases currently. That will be out in October.

I do need a name for this design still. With some designs the name actually comes first because of the inspiration (as with Lichfield), but with others it’s one of the last things to do. I might even ask for suggestions…!

Tomorrow sees the halfway point of my Summer KAL. There’s another Zoom – this one is a knit and knatter, 12th July, 7.30-9pm BST, and just as before, the tickets are available online for free with a £3 paid option should the mood take you that way. If you’re knitting something of mine and you’d like to join us it would be wonderful to see you there.

I’m more than halfway through my Marianne Half Hap (my SummerKAL project), though I always forget how long a knitted on edging can take. There are some super fine sections in this second skein of yarn so I will need to be extremely careful when blocking it. I don’t want any nasty popping or snapping of yarn to occur!

I’ve also realised that it’s only five and a half weeks until the Pop-Up Wool Show in Port Sunlight. That means there are spreadsheets to sort out, patterns to print, kits to put together and wood to sand, oil and burn.

I picked the redcurrants! Well, most of them. After the fourth massively overloaded colander went into the sink I decided the birds could have the rest. The netting is now just on the blackcurrants which are waiting patiently for their turn.

I think I got about 10lbs of fruit, after pulling the berries off the stalks. I was going to freeze it all, but there just wasn’t room in the freezer for that much, so I turned 6lb of berries into jelly and the rest is frozen.

I’m doing quite well with my plans for this month so far. I finished reading Melmoth. I have also finished spinning the singles of the Polwarth dyed by Velvet Sixpence and I shall ply it once I get back home.

I’ve spun the whole braid onto one bobbin (didn’t plan ahead), and, as I want a two ply yarn, I think I shall bracelet ply it, which means I will need to ply the whole thing in one go.

I finally did some embroidery. I realised that my plan of completing two 10 x 10 squares of the chart in a month was a little unambitious. At that rate I will still be stitching this piece in 2045! So I have completed 6 squares of the chart and I’m going to finish the whole of the bottom row this month as well if I can.

Even if I complete one whole row of 10 x 10 squares per month that will still take until about Christmas 2024. Crikey.

I’m at Mum’s again for a few days and she has completed the bag for me that was originally supposed to be a folder cover. It’s really rather amazing. I’m going to add a couple of magnetic closures to the inside top.

There were two partly completed folder covers and Mum wrote out the instructions for me to do the other one!

I also was allowed to have a look through one of her fabric boxes and choose some fabric to take home – there will be lots more sewing in my future!

Do you ever feel you have more things you want to do than there is time to do them in? I do, but I’m finally realising that I can only do is what I can, one stitch at a time.

Take care one and all. Have a good week and do some stuff that makes you happy, 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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Join In

My current design is coming along well now and I only have the final edging section left to knit! But you knew I wouldn’t be able to resist making a start on the crochet blanket, didn’t you?

I’ve also just finished going through the tech editing process on another design and I hope to be able to share details of when that will be coming out soon. It’s very cool and is effectively two patterns in one.

You may notice the main menu of the website is looking a little different – I’m aiming for a sleeker look that is easier to navigate, with more drop-down options and fewer things to read initially. So, instead of ‘Patterns’, ‘Kits’ and ‘Wooden Things’ each having their own space in the menu bar, they are now drop-down options under ‘Shop’.

It’s a small change, but one I hope will help people find their way around when visiting the website.

During the past few days I have been taking part in an Instagram challenge to share images of my work each day and to nominate another artist each day to do the same. The format of the posts is as follows:

“I was nominated by @deunynknits to present 1 piece of my work each day for 10 days, with a nomination of another artist to do the same.
–
10 images, 10 nominations, no explanations, all to promote creativity, passion, the love of what we do and support our artistic friends.
–
Today I nominate…”

I thought it would be nice to share the images I have selected so far with you as well!

The designs are: (top row) Maid Marion Shawl, Nevern Throw and Diamonds in the Breeze and (bottom row) Of Night and Light, Into the Vortex and Angel of the North.

Marianne Half Hap Socks Yeah

Summer KAL

I’m going to be running a Summer Knit-along in my Facebook group and you are warmly invited to join us.

It will start on June 21st and run until the end of July. After running a poll in the Facebook group, I have decided that it will be an ‘open’ KAL – that is, you can take part by knitting any of my designs. And there will of course be prizes!

We’ll have a cast-on party via Zoom on Wednesday 21st June (7.30-9pm) and two more Zoom events during the KAL. Finalised details will be published on Facebook, Instagram and my website with links to book tickets for the zoom events.

I have decided that my project for the Summer KAL will be a new sample for my Marianne Half Hap Shawl. You, of course, are welcome to join in by knitting any of my designs!

The shawl was originally knit in a sport-weight yarn, and then in this 4ply/sock yarn (Socks Yeah!) and I’m now going to knit the pattern up in a lace-weight yarn. I’m going to use two skeins of RiverKnits’ Northampton Shear Lace. 

Next week I’m going to tell you a little bit more about this! 🥳

Until then, take care, keep an eye out for the KAL info and enjoy the sunshine (carefully) if you can. Kx