Kate's Twirl

handcrafted delights

May 14

I bequeath my stash to….

by Kate's Twirl

The stash, the whole stash and nothing but the stash!

She who dies with the largest stash, wins!

Don’t worry, I’m not going all morbid on you and I have no intention of shuffling off this mortal coil just yet, it’s just that a couple of things have got me thinking about what happens to our stash when we do pop off…

I was working in the shop the other Friday (officially, I no longer work there, but to staff, Loop is like Hotel California – you can check out but you can never leave…) and got chatting with a fabulous American customer.  She was desperate to get as much yarn as she could that would fit her luggage allowance (sadly not very much).  In a shop filled to the rafters with gorgeous yarns and a deadline to catch a train, this is no easy feat.  We were generally discussing the best yarns and her tastes etc, which of course leads to discussion of the stash – every knitter is always looking for ways to justify their ever-growing stash and this lady came up with the best I’ve heard yet “She who dies with the largest stash, wins!”

Last week, I was catching up on the Shinybees podcast and heard Jo talking about how horrified she was (initially) when talking with 2 best friends that one of them said she wouldn’t knit the other’s stash if her friend were to die!  It wasn’t until Jo saw the size of the stash in question that she realised it would be impossible for the friend to knit it as well as her own, within her lifetime – quite possibly several lifetimes…

Untitled Untitled Untitled Untitled

The Golden Skeins

As I’ve mentioned before on the blog, my stash is quite modest – at the moment!  The problem is, the more you knit, the more you want to knit and there just isn’t the time to knit all those yarns that you want, but you still HAVE to buy them!  I tend to be a little more restrained than some because I live so near to a great yarn store.  This means that I only tend to buy yarns that I just adore, if I cannot get them there, or if I can only get them there for a limited period.  The yarns above are Skein Queen bought at Unravel, Artisan Yarns bought at the Knitting and Stitching Show  and 2 skeins of Skein‘s Cashmere blend which was at Loop for a limited period.  Theses are my “Golden Skeins” – they are so beautiful that I had to have them and yet, they are too beautiful to knit – or rather finding the exactly perfect pattern for them is really hard!

So, I shall leave instructions that my stash will go to my funeral and all those who want skeins can take their pick each in turn (starting with the knitter who has know me longest) at the funeral tea with a glass of champagne in their hand!  This way, no one friend will be given the daunting task of knitting up my stash, but all my friends will be given the chance to honour my stash by knitting up at least on of the skeins.

Leave me a comment to tell me about your golden skein and/or what your plans are for your stash when you snuff it!  Join in the chatter with others on this topic on my NEW Ravelry group!

:)

Craft Knitting

14 Comments »
May 1

My designing process – The Birthday Wrap

by Kate's Twirl

The Birthday Wrap

me, looking rather silly, but wearing The Birthday Wrap

I’ve been kind of designing ever since I started knitting, but I never thought of it as that.  I remember making a head band when I was around 17/18.  I used to just make myself stuff without really thinking.  Remember cheerful chicken - I just made him up and then there’s the tiny i-cord mice and a hot water bottle cover that I made for several friends.  It wasn’t until I made the shawl for Annette’s birthday (The Birthday Shawl) when my friends at Loop encouraged me to write it down and publish , that I thought why not!!

My mum was my inspiration for my latest design: she has always been one of my biggest supporters.  My mum cannot knit or sew, but has encouraged my sister and me to be crafty.  I knit and my sister sews.  When I showed her the birthday shawl she was thrilled and thought it was really lovely.  She emailed all her friends with pics.  Now, my mum is in her 60s and a triangular shawl just doesn’t suit her style, so I couldn’t really make her one, so I resolved to knit her a longer version using the same lace-edging.

The project starts with a provisional cast on, so is worked from the centre out consisting of mainly garter stitch with leaves growing along its main body, in opposite directions from the centre and with a knitted-on leafy edging at each end. The result is a warm and elegant (just like my mum) oblong garter stitch and lace wrap with frilled lace ends.

The design process which I go through is very time consuming.  I start with the basic idea and then swatch stitch patterns – this one was particularly hard because I wanted it to tie in with an existing lace edging, so I must’ve tried around 10 different “leaf” designs.  Once I’d decided on the final stitch pattern, I then cast on and started to knit.  After knitting around 3 pattern repeats I realised that I wanted to have the centre panel surrounded by a similar “holey” effect as the beginning of the border, so I frogged and started again!  Thankfully I liked the new version.

Once I’ve knitted a design, whilst jotting down notes, I then have to write it up so that other people can follow my instructions and knit it too.  This bit is not as easy as it may sound. I usually make a few changes based on what I learnt on the original knit, so the first one is always slightly different from the main pattern.   I like to always use a chart and written instructions and, whilst it may seem simple, getting the two to actually mirror one another is never that easy (not to mention that the chart software I have isn’t that great).  Also, I find that it’s not easy to spot your own errors, so this is often where my test knitters’ input is valued the most.

The Birthday Wrap The Birthday Wrap Patt's Mitts by Kate Ellis for Kate's Twirl

The sunny photoshoot

As part of the writing up process, there needs to be a photo shoot.  No one wants to knit up a pattern if they don’t know what it looks like. For my first two patterns, I photographed the knit myself, but it’s much better to have pictures of someone wearing it.  This time, I asked my lovely friend Annette (of the Birthday Shawl fame) if she would help me.  It was coincidence that I was going to her home that weekend and that she has a beautiful garden.  Annette was fantastic at taking the pictures, making suggestions and arranging me into position.  We were extremely fortunate that the weather was gorgeous – the first nice day of the year!

So, once the pattern is written and has accompanying photos, I have to find test knitters – I usually post on Ravelry for this.  The test knitters have their work cut out and do not get paid.  I think this pattern has been amended 6 times during the test process – not major changes, but clarifications and corrections.  I am very grateful to Vikki and Kerry for their hard work.

At the same time as the test knitters, I also knit the pattern again, following my own instructions. This helps to iron out any little glitches before publication.  This whole process can take months.  This time I gave myself a deadline, to coincide with a giveaway on the iMake blog.  If you’d like to get one of my patterns for free, take a look at her site: iMake

Now you’d think that that would be the end of it,  but knitters nearly always find some errors too.  When they do, I like them to let me know.  Every time I discover an error, I amend the pattern and then email new copies (update Ravelry libraries) with a corrected version.  I think it is only fair when people have paid for a pattern that you keep them updated.  There is an errata function on Ravelry, but you shouldn’t have to faff about looking in different areas to knit something.

Well, that’s about it, in a nutshell.  This pattern is definitely my favourite so far.  When I was knitting it, I thought it was ok – that was it, just ok – but when I un-pinned it afer blocking, I was stunned by just how gorgeous it was.  The lightness and flow of the fabric are wonderful (even though I say so myself – whoops trumpet blowing again)!  I do hope that you’ll like it.  Please visit my Ravelry page and add it to your favourites: The Birthday Wrap

 The Birthday Wrap The Birthday Wrap The Birthday Wrap

Take a look at my other designs here: Kate’s Twirl Raverly store

:)

Craft Knitting

4 Comments »
Apr 27

My lovely crafty ladies – 4KCBWDAY6

by Kate's Twirl

My my, day 6 already . There’s only one more to go tomorrow and then I’ve successfully completed my 2nd knitting and crochet blog week!

Here’s the info from Eskimimi on today’s topic:

Day Six (Saturday April 27th): A Tool To Covet

Write about your favourite knitting or crochet (or spinning, etc) tool. It can
either be a tool directly involved in your craft (knitting needles or crochet
hook) or something that makes your craft more pleasurable – be it a special
lamp, or stitch markers.

Is it an item that you would recommend to others, and if so for which
applications/tasks do you think it is most suited. Conversely, do you have a
tool/accessory that you regret buying? Why does it not work for you?

One of the best things about having knitting as a hobby is that you don’t actually need a vast array of tools and gadgets.  Anyone can learn to knit with just a pair of needles and some yarn.  If you need a stitch marker you can make one with a scrap yarn tied around your needle and if you want to use a row counter, tallying with paper and pencil works just fine!  obviously though, as you get more into your craft there are one or two things that just make it sooo much more pleasurable.  Look at these gorgeous scissors:

Untitled

Antique style bird scissors

Not only do they look beautiful, the are a lovely weight and are very very sharp which is perfect for snipping through yarn.  My absolute favourite tool (tools really) is my ChaioGoo interchangeable needle set.  Since I first tried a ChaioGoo circular (not an interchangeable) I was in love.  The cable is fab and doesn’t wrap around itself, but the very best thing is the points.  There are stainless steel, but they are not cold to the touch nor are they heavy, so if you prefer bamboo because they aren’t as heavy or cold as steel tips these would work for you.  And, if you really like, they do do tips in bamboo too.

Untitled

My heavenly ChaioGoo set

But, what I like about them most is that they make the most gorgeous noise and vibration when you slide the needles over one another – it’s just such a joy to knit with them.  I know that this probably sounds really odd and a little petty to anyone who has never tried them, but I bet everyone who has, knows exactly what I’m talking about here!

Oh by the way, the title of my post relates to the name Chaio Goo (chau gu) which means Crafty Lady in Chinese…

:)

Craft Knitting

10 Comments »
Apr 26

Colour Colour Colour – #4KCBWDAY4

by Kate's Twirl

Here we go again, Ladies and Gentlemen….  Today’s topic is colour (or color if you’re from the other side of the pond).  I feel like I have tackled this topic before but I can’t find a blog about it so I must have imagined it – or maybe I considered it when I did a stash review!

Anyway, here are today’s instructions from Eskimimimakes:

Day Four (Thursday April 25th): Colour Review

What are your favourite colours for knitted or crocheted projects. Have a think about what colours you seem to favour when yarn shopping and crafting.

Only after writing this part of your post should you then actually look to see what colours you have used in your projects. Make a quick tally of what colours you have used in your projects over the past year and compare it to the colours you have written about. Compare this, in turn, to the colours that are most dominant in your yarn stash – do they correlate?

Now think back to your house animal – do the colours you have chosen relate to your animal in any way - if you are in the house of peacock, for example, are your projects often multicoloured and bright?

Well, it will be no surprise to anyone who knows me that my favourite colour is blue – any kind of blue, sky blue, Royal blue, turquoise, teal, aqua bluey greens and even greeny blues – I don’t even mind a touch of mauve if it’s on the bluey side!

I was reading Shinybees‘ post on this topic this morning and she included a bit about the psychology of colour, which she found on the Care2 website.  This was so fascinating, that I thought I’d share what blue says about me:

Blue: Soft, soothing, compassionate and caring, Blue is the  color of deliberation and introspection, conservatism and duty. Patient,  persevering, conscientious, sensitive and self-controlled, Blues like to be  admired for their steady character and wisdom. They are faithful, but are often  worriers with somewhat inflexible beliefs and can be too cautious, and  suspicious of flamboyant behavior.

Blue-Green: Exacting, discriminating, poised and attractive,  the Blue-Green person tends to be sensitive, intellectual and refined,  persevering and stable if rather detached. Blue-Greens have excellent taste, and  are usually courteous and charming, capable but often refusing help or  guidance.

Turquoise: Complex, imaginative and original, Turquoise  people drive themselves hard and may be in a state of turmoil under their  outwardly cool exterior.

Want to know what your favourite colour says about you? Read about the other colours here: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/favorite-color-personality.html#ixzz2RU3UdEPM

I have long known that I am a knitter of blue yarns and that it is a little bit of a problem.  I have made a concerted effort to not always buy blue, although it is very hard…..  Over the last 12 months, I have started 22 projects, 13 of which were blue and 9 of which were other colours – I’m quite proud of that, it means I’m not such a blue-a-holic as I thought.  Here’s a link to my project page on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/katestwirl   You’ll also see that some of my blues have other colours mixed in – I am trying very hard!! :)

The stash, the whole stash and nothing but the stash!

The stash, the whole stash and nothing but the stash!

And so, onto the stash…  It appears that I may be getting better at picking other colours, I may even  be looking balanced!  I have 13 non-blue colours in my stash (one in the pic looks blue, but I assure you that is definitely green).

The hurrah! We're not blues!

The Hurrah! We’re not blue stash

There are only 6 pure blues in the pack

The pure blues

The pure blues

but there are also 3 which aren’t true blues, 2 of which are clearly edging to the purple and one is a steely-grey-green-blue sought of colour!

The almost but not quite blues

The almost, but not quite blues

:)

Craft Knitting

6 Comments »
Apr 24

Infographic Fail – Knitters & Cats – 4KCBWDAY3

by Kate's Twirl

Today’s challenge is to create an infographic:-

Day Three (Wednesday April 24th): Infographic There are many ways of conveying information on a blog; text and images being the two most widely used. Many infographics combine both these elements to provide a visual way of presenting text information.
Make your own infographic (no fancy imaging software needed, you can draw it on paper and photograph it if you want) to convey any element of your craft(s). It can be just for fun or a thoroughly researched presentation of an idea/finding.

Having never made an infographic before, I though this would be fun and I knew the purrfect topic…..

I have long noted that knitters tend to love cats – most knitters I know own a cat or want a cat.  So here is an infographic showing my highly scientific research, based primarily on knitters I follow on Twitter!

Cats & knitters

Now, making the infographic was very very easy – putting into my blog was nigh-on impossible!!  Failed! :( The only way you can see my highly technical and uber accurate infographic is to click the orange link above.

:)

Mabel helping me knit Mabel helping me knit Mabel helping me knit

Mabel “helping” me knit

Craft Knitting

10 Comments »
Apr 23

Crafty Monkey #4KCBWDAY2

by Kate's Twirl

Sheep Carousel by Kate Davies

My Birthday present from Martine (teapot photographer’s own ;) )

So, here we go with:

Day Two (Tuesday April 23rd): A Mascot Project.
Your task today is to either think of or research a project that embodies that house/animal. It could be a knitting or crochet pattern – either of the animal itself or something that makes you think of the qualities of that house.

You’ll remember from yesterday that I’m in the House of Monkey:  Intelligent and with a fun-loving side, Monkeys like to be challenged with every project presenting them with something new and interesting.

I started today by reading other people’s blogs on this topic – This was a mistake.  I now feel woefully inadequate and under prepared!  Take a look at these two and see what I mean:

ShinyBees a really funny post  (a Bee)

All She Wants to Do Is Knit - a surprisingly different angle (another Monkey)

P1010375.RW2

A cheeky little monkey trying to see what I’m up to!

As I was saying yesterday, I love to do projects that teach me something new and I have chosen my next challenge of Fair Isle.  My knitting style clearly shows, because Martine (of iMake fame) bought me the perfect “monkey” project for my birthday.  Thank you so so much Martine!  She bought me a kit from the wonderful people at Jamiesons and Smith of Kate Davies’ fabulously cute Sheep Carousel.  The pattern is perfect for any monkey knitter, because although it is nice and small, it showcases lots and lots of different Shetland knitting techniques.  The very clever Kate has designed it purposely for us monkey types so that we may learn an awful lot in just one project.  When I knit this (my next project) I will learn:

Stranded colourwork

Steeks (scary – involves cutting up my knitting)

Vikkel braids (whatever they may be)

Corrugated ribbing (doesn’t sound too hard)

i-cord (ok I’ve done this one before – but cannot remember it) and

Centred Double Decreases (I must’ve done those before – right?)

So much to learn in something so tiny – as Kate puts it herself on the pattern ”Practice on your teapot before trying these things out on a sweater!”  Plus it’s decorated with sheep on a fairground carousel – I’ve yet to meet a knitter that didn’t love sheep, old-fashioned fairgrounds and tea!!

I just can’t wait to get started…

Sheep Carousel

Kate Davies’ picture of the Sheep Carousel tea cosy from her Flickr page

used with her very kind permission

Craft Knitting

13 Comments »
Apr 22

Monkey House #4KCBWDAY1

by Kate's Twirl

Kniting and crochet blog week house of monkey

Wow, it seems forever since I participated in the my first knitting and crochet blog week, run by Eskimimimakes, but it is only a year.  I’m hoping that you will agree that my blogging has got a bit better, even if my blogs are still rather intermittent!  Something to address this year, I guess!

As a reminder, the annual knitting and crochet blog week, challenges knitting and crochet bloggers to write a blog each day on a specific topic.  Today’s topic looks at the types of crafters we are – here’s an excerpt Eskimimi’s blog to explain:

“KCBWDAY1 The House Cup.
A bit like Harry Potter, but not quite, this year’s Knitting & Crochet Blog Week is split into 4 houses. Don your favourite knitted or crocheted hat and let it guide you to which house you will be in.

The House of Bee: Bees are busy and industrious, but can flit from one interesting project to the next as bright and shiny things capture their interest.
The House of Manatee: Manatees are gentle, calm and cuddly. Relaxed and unflashy they represent the comfort and soft side of knitting and crochet.
The House of Monkey: Intelligent and with a fun loving side, Monkeys like to be challenged with every project presenting them with something new and interesting.
The House of Peacock: Peacocks take something good and make it brilliant. Buttons, embellishments and a bit of sparkle prove that perfection lies in the details – like a Peacock’s Tail.” Eskimimimakes’ blog

As you’ll have guessed from my title, I sit in the monkey house!  I love a challenge with my knitting.  Right back when I picked up my needles again, some 13 years ago, I’ve wanted to learn more and more.  I always chose patterns that had something in them that I’d never tried before.  Back then, there was no YouTube to watch people’s video tutorials, you just had to do what the pattern said and hope for the best – I always found it miraculous that it worked – but it always did.  Having faith in your knitting and the pattern was key.

It has to be said that if I’d spend the whole 13 years knitting the amount that I do now, I’d be a knitting guru – I, however, used to be very intermittent with my knitting – doing maybe one or two projects a year, so I still have loads to learn.  The internet, particularly Ravelry, revolutionised my knitting.  There’s just so much out there to learn!

My learning curve now is focused on pattern writing.  I have published 2 so far; The Birthday Shawl and the, award-winning, Diamond Dot Scarf and have another 2 in the pipeline.  By far my favourite, The Birthday Wrap, will be released on 1 May 2013.

Birthday Shawl clock close up P1040771

The Birthday Shawl and the Diamond Dot Scarf

The Birthday Wrap

The Birthday Wrap

My next learning project is to tackle Fair Isle…. more about that later in the week!

To read other people’s blogs on this topic, search 4KCBWDAY1 in your browser.  Have fun

:)

Craft Knitting

19 Comments »
Mar 11

Beaded lace – truly gorgeous

by Kate's Twirl

The Zelda Shawl by Jemima Bicknel
Jemima in the small Zelda Shawl

My lovely friend Jemima has just released her first shawl pattern – and boy what a pattern to launch with!  The Zelda Shawl is a truly gorgeous beaded shawl with a lace and beaded edging.  The shawl has been named after Zelda Fitzgerald, the original 1920s ‘flapper’, and the lace pattern is Art Deco inspired.  You can buy it on Ravelry on Jemima’s page: Jemima Bicknell Designs.

There are instructions, both written and charted, for a small and a large shawl.  The small shawl is black with silver beads and was knitted using approx. 400m (440yds) of laceweight yarn.  Shown above in Knitwitches Seriously Gorgeous Swiss Silk 2ply Laceweight (100% silk, 600m (660yds) per 100g). The large shawl was knitted in cream / pale gold with gold beads, using approx. 600m (660yds) laceweight yarn.  Shown below in BC Garn Jaipur Fino (2ply) laceweight, 100% silk, 600m (660yds) per 100g), Pale Gold, shade h69.  The beads are  9/o Rocailles seed beads and you will need 50g for the small and 100g for the larger shawl.

The Zelda Shawl by Jemima Bicknell

I test knitted it months ago, but Jemima has been very busy since then – getting married to the lovely Adam Stanley, who has taken all these beautiful pictures.  She was also waiting to get the pattern tech edited.  I loved knitting this shawl. It is actually rather simple lace, embellished extremely effectively by the beads. It can be slow going placing the beads, but in my opinion the finished shawl is so beautiful that it is certainly well worth it!  The instructions are very clear and even though beading is a little fidley, it is fun and a little addictive at times.

Zelda 1

My Zelda Shawl made with Madeline Tosh Prairie in colourway, Mica with bright blue beads

The main body beads are threaded on before you start.  It’s quite a nice little TV watching job.  Keep a track of how many you thread on so that you don’t have to count them all again.  I used a pencil and paper and tallied every 10 beads.  Don’t worry too much about popping exactly the correct number on there.  If you are a few short, you can add them using the crochet hook and if you have a few too many, then you can use them up on the lace edging.

The beads on the edging need to be placed more precisely than on the main body, so you need to use a teeny tiny crochet hook of only 0.6mm.  Alternatively, there is a funny little thing called a fleegle which works like a crochet hook but can hold several beads at a time.  A great friend Liz lent me hers, but sadly my beads were too small.  Here’s a link to buy one on Etsy that is 0.8mm – I suggest you take it with you when choosing your beads!

The Zelda Shawl by Jemima Bicknell

The Zelda Shawl by Jemima Bicknel

Craft Knitting

4 Comments »
Feb 13

All change and a whole lot of yarn

by Kate's Twirl

Untitled

My rather modest stash

I’ve had a change of career since my last blog.  I am no longer working at the law firm, but am now a lecturer in law at university – whoo! go me!  I am loving the new role.  The students are fun.  When I explain something rather complicated I watch their faces.  At first you can see them concentrating really hard and then you can see when the penny drops and they get it.  I did my first legal scenario questions last week and really loved seeing their faces.  Poor students generally react in horror if you ask them to do work in a lecture – that’s what seminars are for, but my particular courses don’t have any seminars.  It was great, however, when I saw their faces light up, when they realised that they actually knew the answer.  Yay! I can teach!

The downside of the new job is that I have had no time to knit and I’ve had to give up my lovely part time job at Loop.  I’d already given up Fridays in anticipation of having to write all my lectures, but I hadn’t anticipated that a 2 hour lecture would take me approximately 10 hours to write, so Sundays had to go too.  :(   I truly loved working at Loop with such fabulous and talented colleagues, whilst being surround by delicious yarns.  Susan really does have wonderful taste in yarn and a fabulous flare for design.

I used to pride myself on not really having a yarn stash… ahem!  Of course, I always had a stash but it used to consist of ends of skeins and the odd abandoned project.  It never used to contain yarn that I “just had to buy” or even yarn waiting to be knitting into projects I’d already chosen.  It’s still quite a “healthy” stash as it predominantly contains yarns which are earmarked for knitting.  There are one or 2 skeins that are no longer linked to a project and a couple more which were just bought because I was….. weak!

Yarn stasch

The world’s biggest yarn stash and my worst nightmare!!

Choosing the right yarn for a project is extremely important.  Not only do you have to choose a yarn of the right weight / gauge to ensure that your knitting comes out the right size, but texture and colour are just as important.  Helping customers choose the right yarn, especially the right colours for projects requiring several, was one of favourite parts of the job at Loop.  In helping others, I often found myself jealous of their final yarn choices and projects and kept, therefore, adding to my own knitting queue.  Working in a yarn shop is very dangerous for letting your stash and queue get out of hand.

So here is a round up of what is currently in my stash and what, if anything, I intend to use it for:

Firstly I’m currently working on no fewer than THREE projects – and this doesn’t include the several projects that are kind of sleeping.

I’ve nearly finished my second Netherton from the lovely PomPom mag.  I’m using Uncommon Thread’s light DK which is a Blue Faced Leicester yarn.  The colours in this range are fabulous, it’s a beautifully soft and yet a robust yarn with a great stitch definition.  My colour is Leaden.

Untitled

Netherton

I’m also half way through designing some mitts for my lovely friend Patrick.  He wanted a pair of black fingerless gloves with a cable. I’ve made the first one, but need to make some changes.  I think it may be a little narrow (it fits me with a bit of stretch left but I do have a pretty narrow wrist) and the thumb is too wide but I’m v happy with the cable.  I chose Berroco Ultra Alpaca.  It’s a really cosy yarn! 50% wool  and 50% alpaca

Untitled                I’ll be releasing the pattern for Patrick’s Mitts, in due course, and it will be FREE!

I really shouldn’t have started a third project last night, but the yarn I bought was just sooooo gorgeous that I couldn’t resist starting something new at last night’s knit night!  Ever since Loop released their Pop Spots Shawl pattern I’ve been itching to make it, but it’s taken me ages to choose just the right yarn and colours – and then we got a delivery of Shilasdair in the most fabulous colours and my mind was set.  The pattern calls for 4 ply but the best colours were in their DK so I went for that.  Shilasdair’s DK is really rather light anyway!  The texture of this yarn is very soft but kind of crunchy.  I find it really rather sheepy, despite that only 40% is wool with 40% Angora and 10% each of camel and cashmere.

Untitled Untitled My new swift & ball winder

Shilasdair in Winter Loch and Hawthorne

Two other recent purchases are for a couple of cowls that I like the look of.  Both are free patterns which is always a bonus.  First, there is iMake’s Splendid Striped Cowl for which I have chosen Rowan Cocoon in Seascape and Mountain and the other is on Loop’s blog, called Sweetness by Tin Can Knits.  For this one I have chosen Malabrigo Twist in Taureg (I already had this in my stash) and Zinc.

Untitled Untitled

Cowltastic yarns

Now, so far so good – lots of beautiful yarns for lots of beautiful projects. Sadly there’s a whole lot of yarn which turned out to be just too gorgeous not to buy but for which I have no projects in mind.  Any recommendations would be greatly received!  I have 3 skeins of Skein’s Merino Cashmere Fingering  which is so soft and squishy.  It’s a fingering weight yarn and I have it in 3 different colours: Wintertide, Rouge and Daisy.  This is such a special yarn and is no longer available so I must use it for a really special project.

   Untitled Untitled

Untitled Untitled

Skein’s Merino Cashmere Fingering

I  have no fewer than FOUR skeins of Malabrigo Sock which was just too good to resist in Loop’s latest sale when it was only £9!  I’m a big fan of Malabrigo and their sock is one of my favourites.  Great stitch definition and fabulous for lace shawls. The colours I have are Abril, Turner and 2 of Indecita.

Malabrigo sock in Abril Malabrigo sock in Turner Malabrigo sock in Indecita

Malabrigo Sock

And finally, I have a stunning skein of yarn which I just couldn’t resist, from the Knitting and Stitching Show at the Alexander Palace.   I’m not sure whether it was the delicate shawls strung across Artisan Yarns’ stall, the sheen of the silk or the stunning colour but I just HAD to have this skein of Artisan Lacey Lacey 100 % silk yarn in the colour Red Rose.  It’s actually a bright pink rather than red, which is just not a Kate colour, but it will eventually become a stunning lace shawl – just not sure quite what that shawl will look like!  There’a 1000 metres of it, so perhaps it’ll make me 2 shawls!

Untitled
Artisan Yarns – Lacey Lacey

:)

Craft Knitting

12 Comments »
Jan 25

Trumpet Blowing

by Kate's Twirl

I was inspired this morning by reading my lovely friend, Martine’s, post on her regular blog feature of Things I Like Thursday. This week she chose to share her delight at other people knitting her pattern. She was a little concerned that it was a tad self promoting; hence my title Trumpet Blowing, but isn’t blogging a little trumpet blowing anyway. Let’s face it, all us bloggers can do is write about our experiences from our point of view and hope that others may find something to relate to or learn something, or just enjoy a bit of a window in to another person’s life. I know that I always write “happy” blog posts and leave the not so nice parts of my life to myself. For example, I could write a blog on living with depression, endometriosis and the various trials and tribulations surrounding my (not really a) career! I choose to write about the good things, the things worth celebrating and sharing. I prefer to shove the bad stuff in a metaphorical drawstring bag and squeeze it under the sofa – a bit like the knitting projects I don’t get around to finishing…. let’s pretend they’re not there and deal with them later! :D

Original birthday Birthday close up Borneo Birthday Birthday Shawl clock close up

My own Birthday Shawls

Sorry, I have seriously digressed! Back to trumpet blowing. As Martine pointed out in her blog post, there is nothing more wonderful than seeing finished projects of your own knitting design. You get very excited when you sell your first pattern, I got very excited when I passed the 40 sales mark because this is as many as I estimated I would sell – I also thought it would take months to get that far, not a few days, and then again at 50 – I’m on 59 now, but the buzz is not longer the same. What is marvelous though, is looking through the various projects on Ravelry and seeing the yarn choices and colours and some in 2 colourways. It’s just fab looking at what other people do with your pattern. Everyone adds their own little twist of style.

So, here are some lovely pictures of various knitters’ version of my Birthday Shawl pattern. You can view them all on the projects tab of the pattern page – at the moment there are 22 of them! :D

Here are 5 of my favourites:

Sneezie's birthday shawl Mossy Mosstich's Birthday shawl Madradscientist's birthday shawl iMake's birthday shawl iMake's Birthday Shawl

Cupani's Birthday Shawl close up Cupani's Birthday Shawl

Fabulous knits by Sneezie, Mossy Mosstitch, Madradscientist, iMake and Cupani on Ravelry

Thank you to all the lovely knitters out there who have knitted my pattern and brought a little thrill of happiness to my life! And, a special thank you to iMake for inspiring this post :)

X

Craft iMake Knitting Life

10 Comments »
«Older Entries
Blog at WordPress.com. Theme: Brand New Day by Caroline Moore.