Tag: Yarn Shows

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I Get Around

I’ve got lots of exciting new things to tell you about this week – and I think the easiest way to start to do that is with a screenshot of some of my events:

I’ve already told you about East Anglia Yarn Festival (in Norwich) that is in just a few weeks time (March 15-16) – where I’ll also be teaching my Introduction to Two-Colour Brioche Knitting workshop on the Saturday (15th, 1-3pm).

Then, on April 12th I’ve got a ‘trunk show’ at Yarn O’clock where I’ll be showcasing my designs – many of which were originally designed as mystery knitalongs (MKALS) for the shop. A trunk show is a one-person event and I’m really pleased and honoured that Anne has invited me to do this, following the success of Lottieknits‘ trunk show at Yarn O’clock before Christmas.

I’m exhibiting at Wonderwool Wales (at the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells) again on April 26-27, which is very exciting and I’m teaching there as well this year! I’ll be teaching moebius knitting at Wonderwool – and it’s already sold out on both days!

In May I’ll be at Buxton Wool Gathering once more (May 17-18) at Buxton Pavilion and also at a new show one day in Shrewsbury (Yarnies at the Flaxmill) on May 24th.

And then after a couple of months without yarn shows, I’ll be travelling up to Newcastle for the North East Wool Show at the racecourse on August 9-10. I’ll be teaching my brioche workshop there too on the Sunday (10th), and if you want to book a place on this workshop please contact me directly.

Exhibiting at shows and teaching a workshop is only possible because of my lovely wife Sue who comes with me and holds the stand admirably whilst I am off teaching. If you come to one of these shows and I’m not there, Sue will be and she’ll show you all the patterns and kits and help guide you to the design(s) that can meet your needs. And if there are questions that are specifically technical ones for me to answer, Sue will always be able to tell you when I am due back on the stand!

There are another 3 or 4 more large events coming up later in the year to add to this list, once applications have been accepted and exhibitor lists have been revealed by the organisers.

Plus there are more in-person workshops coming up in May. These are not attached to a yarn show and I will be teaching sock knitting and lace knitting. More on those in the coming weeks!

And there should be news on this year’s Yarn Gathering in the next month or so as well, so keep your eyes peeled!

This morning I’ve spent a good hour or so working on part of a new garment design. I want to tell you a little bit about it. There are some unusual cables in it and the number of knits and purls in the ribbing varies so that when the knitting moves from the ribbing at the bottom to the cable pattern it is an organic shift, not a sudden break into something different. However, each size has a different number of stitches in between the different cable patterns and this has meant I’ve been working out exactly how to make the ribbing as smooth and elegant as possible for each size – each one is slightly different. This affects 3-7cm width of the ribbing in two places, but it’s important and was worth spending times on because it will affect the integrity and look of the whole garment.

This is an aspect of design that was emphasised during my City and Guilds course with the wonderful Loraine MacClean. It’s not enough just to plonk a 2×2 ribbing at the bottom of a jumper, then think about the main part of the body separately and call it done. To be a truly well thought through design that works as a whole piece, the sections need to link together and, if possible, develop organically from one to the next.

And did you know that each cable pattern will have its own unique tension that is different from stocking stitch tension (number of stitches/rows per 10cm)? This is because with cabled knitting, stitches are twisted across each other which pulls the knitting in so you get more stitches per 10cm with cable patterns than you do with stocking stitch (that’s just plain knit/purl fabric) and each cable is different because there are different numbers of stitches crossing each other.

So, if there are two cable patterns and some stocking stitch, that’s three different tensions to take into consideration. And if you decide (like I did), late in the evening that you need more space between two cable panels and therefore more stocking stitch (or reverse stocking stitch) stitches, that is going to change the size of the knitting. So, to keep the sizing correct (important for a garment), the stitch counts in other sections have had to change and essentially the whole body has been re-written!

It’s a good job I like playing with numbers!

Speaking of playing, I’ve nearly finished my cardigan that I’ve been knitting from deep stash. I had three skeins of dark grey and one of each of three other colours. You may remember that I tried knitting another Manu with it (lovely cardigan designed by Kate Davies), but this wool is a really hefty DK, so the tension was completely different and also, the colours didn’t play nicely together in small stripes.

However, in this design using blocks of colour it looks fabulous!

This is the Haori cardigan from The Slow Wardrobe (where I buy most of my ready-made clothes), and I’ve been combining the two sizes, so I’ve got the large circumference and the small length. The front neck edges are the same width, they’re just rolling in a bit before it’s had a wash (aka wet blocking!) I’ve really enjoyed playing with blocks of colour and I’ve been working on both sides/sleeves together, doing a section and then repeating it on the other side so they match. I’ve done it this way to make sure I don’t run out of a colour before I get to use it on the other side/sleeve.

I also find it fascinating how the same colours can look so wrong in one combination and then so good in a different one! I’m really looking forward to finishing this and getting to wear it.

So, I’m going to knit the cuffs and then contemplate weaving in lots of yarn ends! What are you going to do this week? K x

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Getting Sorted

It’s been an admin type of day today. Many of my days lately have been full of admin, but it’s mostly not been my own admin, so it’s been good to start to feel a little bit more in control of what I’m doing. So far, I have updated the household accounts, updated the yarn shows I am attending on the website (as far as they have been made public), attempted to book a hair-cut (thwarted as they were shut), applied to another yarn show, planned a choir rehearsal for tomorrow and prepped everything I need for my Introduction to Two-Colour Brioche Knitting workshop tonight.

There’s still time for you to book on the brioche workshop – as it’s held on Zoom you don’t even have to leave the house! It’s 7-9pm GMT tonight; all you need to bring is two contrasting colours of DK yarn and a circular 5mm needle. I email the handout to those attending beforehand. You need to be able to confidently knit, purl, yarn over, cast-on and cast-off. The rest I will teach you.

It was good to add some of the yarn shows I’m attending to the website and I’ve tweaked the Events page layout so it’s easier to scroll through. These are the two shows I’m doing in May.

It’s also helped me check which ones I’m teaching at (about half of them!) and I have had a little sneak at how ticket sales are going for some of those workshops. It’s not all brioche at the shows this year. I’ll be teaching moebius knitting at some of them – another technique that seems to be magical!

Another task I undertook this morning was a mammoth stitch counting session. Last night I’d got to the end of Part 14 in a design I’m working on and I was 2 stitches short of what I should have had (254 instead of 256). So, today I counted the stitches at the end of each section from the beginning, checked it against the pattern (and checked the pattern was correct). The way this pattern works, it begins with a single stitch and, once the shape is established, increases 1 stitch every other row. Everything was spot on, right up until the last 3 rows. I’d missed a yarn over right in the middle of the last lace row and I’d missed the last increase on the edge. Both those errors had been made late last night – note to self: don’t knit when tired. Of course, if I’d started checking at the top I would have found the mistakes more quickly, but at least the stitch count throughout the pattern has had a good double-check as well now!

Are you going to the Knit Happy! Summit? If you are and you’ve upgraded your free ticket to the VIP version with the Knit Happy Toolkit, remember to claim your free pattern bundle from me. My contribution to the toolkit is a set of 3 of my knitting patterns – Ogee Lace Scarf or Wrap, Reaching Out and Mirror Mirror Moebius. Each pattern was chosen to help stretch and develop a knitter’s set of skills in different ways and give you three lovely items to wear or gift. There is a host of other free patterns and workshops included as well in the toolkit if you are attending the summit, it’s definitely worth upgrading! (And if you sign up to the summit through my link and then upgrade, I will get a small commission).

I will keep today’s post short, as there is still a lot to do before this evening’s workshop, but I did want to tell you about the film we went to see last night. A Complete Unknown is about Bob Dylan’s early career and I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though I’m not (or wasn’t) a big Dylan fan. It’s a well-told and well-acted story and the music is super. If you get a chance, go and see it!

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

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On the Road Again

Saturday’s workshop at Bakewell Wool Gathering was great and all those attending made excellent progress with their first ever brioche knitting.

My lovely wife drove us over to Bakewell – it was our first opportunity to have a look at the town so we had a wander around in the late afternoon sun and bought a couple of vegan Bakewell tarts. The town was incredibly busy so we stopped at Buxton for a meal before continuing home.

Tonight’s Zoom workshop is the follow-on to the Introduction to Two-Colour Brioche Knitting workshop that I taught on Saturday and two weeks ago on Zoom: it’s Next Steps in Two-Colour Brioche Knitting. There’s still time to book a place! It runs from 7-9pm BST (that’s GMT +1) and we’ll recap the increase and decreases covered in the Intro workshop and add another one of each for good measure! If you are confident in your basic brioche stitch and want to extend your brioche skills this is definitely the workshop for you.

This coming Saturday is the Designer Day at Ewe Felty Thing and I will be there along with 4 other designers; Nikki Small who runs Ewe Felty Thing, Elizabeth McGuire, Tanya from The Woolly Tangle and Dina of Dina’s Home of Crafts.

As well as my current patterns and kits, I will also have copies of Prynhawn Da with me – available in individual printed format for the first time.

It seemed silly to be at an event in North Wales and not to have one of my Welsh named patterns there!

I highly recommend coming along to the Designer Day – it’s not a ticketed event, just turn up to Ewe Felty Thing, 24 Castle Street, Conwy 10am-5pm this Saturday.

My current commission knitting is coming along and I’m nearly halfway through the second colour. Once that’s done, I’ll need to block, measure, finish and check the pattern and get it all sent off.

If you can’t get to North Wales this weekend, I’ll also be at Stollen & Wolle with RiverKnits and several other amazing creative folk on Sunday 17th November at the RiverKnit studio in Weedon Bec and at Wool-in Garden City on 24th November at Oaklands College, Welwyn Garden City. See my events page for all details and links for tickets.

Take care and do some stuff that makes you happy this week if you can. K x

Pop Up Wool Show, 17 Aug 2024

I am delighted to be exhibiting at the Pop Up Wool Show once more this year. It was my first yarn show and will always hold a special place in my heart! The lovely venue of Hulme Hall is in Port Sunlight and is very near the wonderful Lady Lever Art Gallery – why not visit both?!

Now in its 10th year, the Pop Up Wool Show has a selection of  vendors selling everything from hand dyed yarns and fibres to felting kits and needles.

Entry is £4 per person and is available on the door or online here tickets

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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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Scale

One of the things I didn’t expect to need as a knitwear designer was a set of kitchen scales that measure to 0.1g. But it has been so useful on many occasions. Most recently I have been using it to calculate how much of each of the main and contrast colours I’ve used for the sample of the adult version of Honeybun Cardigan. I can tell you now that each 50g ball of Rowan Summerlite 4ply actually tends to contain between 51g and 52.2g. I’m glad I had some full balls of yarn left over, as I hadn’t thought to weigh them before I started. If I’d assumed the balls were exactly 50g and simply weighed what was left I’d have been slightly underestimating my usage. It would only have been by a couple of grams for each of the contrast colours, but that scales up to about 20g when you’re looking at 9 or 10 balls of the main colour – even more so for the largest sizes.

I am pleased to have finished the cardigan. The shoulder shaping has worked a treat. The ends are all woven in and the pattern is now with my tech editor (hi Deb!). The only thing left for me to do with the sample is to choose and sew on 9 buttons. And possibly give it another wash.

Something else I’ve been thinking about regarding scale (and scales) is my Fiery Dragon Skin Cowl! I first designed this in 2019 using Knitting Fever’s Painted Desert 4-ply in the now discontinued colour way Show Stopper (left-hand pic below). Painted Desert is a lovely yarn with gradual colour changes (a bit like the Zauberball Crazy sock yarn).

You may have seen photos of the orange chunky-ish hand-spun version I made for Sue while we were at Wool-in Garden City. I’m currently updating the pattern so it includes options for DK, Aran and Chunky weight yarns as well as the original 4ply. The cowl itself is knit in the round and, to make life easier for folk, I’ve also included a knit-flat stitch pattern so you can swatch easily. This means you can use the pattern with any yarn you want (particularly useful for hand-spun yarns which can vary a lot from the commercial standards of weight/length) by swatching and doing a tiny bit of maths to work out how many stitches to cast on for the size you’d like. Fortunately it’s a 10-stitch pattern repeat, so that part is quite simple!

I love how the texture of the stitch pattern looks and behaves with different weights of yarn – it gives such a varied character to the finished fabric of the cowl.

I’m really excited about East Anglia Yarn Festival (where I’ll be in less than two weeks!), where Caramel Slice will have its debut as a single pattern (having been originally published in The Knitter last August).

It’ll be the first time I’ve exhibited at this particular event and also the first time I’ve sold only patterns at a yarn show (so there will not be any wooden items, kits or project bags etc). My patterns are printed and ready – I’ll be bring 640 with me (of 41 designs), so there should be plenty! This is what 640 printed patterns looks like:

It may not look terribly exciting like this, but wait until it’s all on display! Taking 41 designs with me to EAYF does mean there will be 20+ designs staying at home, but they will still be available online if I don’t have something in particular with me that a knitter is after.

I’ve been working with slipped stitches a lot lately – and I’m doing another design at the moment using slip stitches, but there are other techniques I’m enjoying currently too – particularly brioche and cables! Here’s a sneak peek at some cool cable work:

Isn’t the yarn gorgeous? Now, you probably know I don’t use silk, so what’s making this yarn so shiny? It’s TencelTM which is a fibre made from wood pulp. The yarn is HeartSpun DK from Woolly Chic, a long DK at 250m/100g with 70% Bluefaced Leicester wool and 30% TencelTM in the colourway Marmalade 2022. Helen from Woolly Chic was one of the organisers of Wool-in Garden City and this was where I got the yarn (and the commission to design something lovely with it!)

There are just two and a bit days left if you want to take advantage of the February online pattern discount for members of my Facebook group and subscribers to my monthly newsletter. This month’s discounts are for patterns beginning with C or D. Pictured below are the patterns that applies to: Calon Cariad, Ceridwen, Codetta Shawl, Croeso Baby Blanket, Diamonds in the Breeze and Drifting Leaves.

It’s a 10% discount for Facebook group members or a 20% discount for newsletter subscribers. From Friday 1st March the discount changes to patterns beginning with E or F. Those will be Elinor Hap Shawl, Fiery Dragon Skin Cowl, Forest Ferns Moebius and Furrowed Fields Scarf. Sign up for the newsletter (my “Mailchimp audience”) or join my Facebook group if this appeals to you!

That’s everything from me for today – I’m heading back to my knitting now! Take care of yourselves and each other. K x

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Consider Yourself ‘Wool-In’!

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