Albion Jubilee

This year is a fantastic year to celebrate all things British. Queen Liz is celebrating her Diamond Jubilee (60 years in one job is an amazing commitment. I hope my workplace does not get any ideas!), and the Olympics are being held in London.

Lots of places are having street fairs and village parties,  so I wanted something quirky to wear so I can join in the party.

Albion Jubilee is just that. Knitted with the Union Jack flag forming the intarsia pattern, it is fitted, summery (yes I am hoping for the good weather to last, ever the optimist!), cute & fun. It is knitted with intarsia for the body and is shaped to flare over the hips but be fitted over the bust and the under bust. The straps lie diagonally across the chest to match the pattern of the union jack flag.

I've knitted this one in Twilleys of Stamford freedom echo DK which is made from recycled denim and comes in beautiful muted colours. The cotton is cool for the summer and holds its shape well.

I hope you have a fantastic jubilee celebration and an amazing olympics :)

Caffe Latte Laptop Snug in Knit Now!

I am in issue 8 of Knit Now magazine! My caffe latte laptop snug pattern is perfect for this magazine that specialises in small portable projects that can be knit on the move (such as the train like I do - perfect for putting people off sitting next to you!) or at your local pub (be careful how much wine you drink - you don't want to have to frog it all the next day when you notice how many mistakes you have made under the influence).

I like Knit Now as a magazine. It has lots of designs in each issue - over 30 in this one I think. The designs vary from simple beginner pieces (such as my laptop snug) to much more intricate socks and shawls so there is something for everyone. It has interesting articles and interviews with designers, tells you about current trends and showcases lots of beautiful yarns and new publications so I can be sure not to miss anything new.

One of my favourite features is the little info box on each pattern that tells you whether it is for beginners, intermediates or advanced knitters, how much yarn is needed overall and whether it can be knitted in hours, days or weeks - fantastic for planning projects.

The reviews by knitting groups are really good for getting opinions on yarn too. Each issue a different knitting group is visited. They get chance to knit with different yarns and then fill in a comment sheet. I always like to have multiple points of view so this is a great feature.

Kate Heppell is a fantastic editor to work with too. Very helpful and quick with replies. I recommend giving Knit Now a look now!

Little Meeple Bag

Carcassone is one of my favourite games & I just love playing it. It is one of those games that is so easy to learn that you can play it with anyone (I have managed to teach my 90 year old Nan how to play) and yet is very strategic (just try beating my friend Catherine - I think I have managed it once!). And it has meeples. Little pieces of colourful wood shaped like little men that are used to mark tiles and keep the score. For some reason they are very satisfying. I'm always blue unless I'm playing against my Dad, and then he has to have the blue ones. You can stack them, make little meeple pyramids..... I digress.

 Meeple bag

This little bag has meeple all around it in different colours. It is knitted in the round from the bottom up:

It then has a stranded section before reaching the meeple who are knitted using an intarsia-in-the-round technique:

It is then finished off with a multicolour bind off that gathers the colours into a pretty star:

And has a crochet tie to keep all the little meeple inside:

Doesn't it look cute? A perfect present for any gamer or role player - this one has gone to a loving home. The game at the top of the post? Yellow won. :(

Blakeley

Blakeley has been a project that I have been working on since May last year when the idea for a knitted t-shirt came to me. I wanted something that looked interesting, fitted well and would be great for layering with in Spring, Summer and Autumn. Yorkshire is definitely somewhere where layers are needed all year round.

I love cables and the idea came to me that they could be used for shaping as they reduce the stretchiness and pull stitches together where they cross over, so I decided to experiment on using them for waist shaping.

It took me several attempts to get this tee right, the yoke especially to get the rib spacing correct. It had to be frogged several times. The cable pattern I designed in a swatch - but rather foolishly I did not write down what I was doing when I was designing it so it took a little guess work and long hard staring at the swatch to repeat what I had done. Lessons have been learnt!

I knitted this version in Wollemeise Sockenwolle 80/20 Twin in Ruby Thursday. It is lovely and stretchy and has a smooth texture that shows the rib and cable pattern really well. I just knew this tee was meant to be bright red - something that would stand out and shout summer! I'm quite tempted to make another in Fyberspates Scrumptious 4-ply though, probably in the beautiful pale blue/grey water colour as the silk sheen will make this top glamorous for going out in.

Blakely

Blakeley is available to buy here. Have fun knitting!

Dianthus - a special hat

I think I got my craft-love from my mother. We used to do a lot together; card-making, sewing, cross-stitch, christmas decorations. When I started to knit, she started a few months later and one of the last things we did together was sew up a jumper she knitted. One of the first knitted gifts I ever made was a lace scarf for my mum. She loved it and wore it many times over that winter and requested a hat to match.

Mum

Sadly, within a couple of months of her request we found out she had pancreatic cancer and she died aged 59, just two weeks later. I decided to make the hat in her memory and I am sure she would have loved it. I am dedicating this pattern to raise money for Pancreatic Cancer UK in the hope that one day a cure can be found for this terrible disease.

Dianthus

Dianthus

I have named this pattern after mum’s favourite flower which comes from the greek word for divine, as does her name. Knitted in fingering or aran weight yarn, feel divine with this easy to knit lace pattern hat which uses gorgeously soft and warm angora or mohair yarn.

All profits from the sale of this pattern will go to PCUK so thank you very much for your purchase. November is pancreatic cancer awareness month, it would be great to raise money for this good cause.

Pancreatic Cancer UK

And finally just a little note to say thank you to my sister for being such a beautiful (and well behaved!) model :-)

Special sister!

Braided Mug Cozy

I have added another simple quick knit to my designs this week, and already people are knitting it on Ravelry! The mug cozy came about as a request from my step-mum. It was originally a mothers day gift that she asked for. She likes spending time in her garden but is not keen on cold tea. English weather, even in the south of England, not always being that warm (or even slightly warm) she requested something to keep her drinks hot after seeing a mug cozy in a wool shop on holiday. She is rather particular about her weak tea - Earl grey with the tea bag dunked for just a few seconds, milk, and lots of sugar. Not a Yorkshire cup of tea at all!

So I came up with this:

Mug cozy no 1

This was made from really lovely handspun yarn that I received in a swap on Ravelry. It knitted to DK weight. The cute little button came from Three Bags Full yarn shop in Halifax. Overall the cozy was very thick and a really good heat insulator, but was a little too tall with this pattern. I had complaints of getting a mouthful of fluff with each sip.

So I was asked for another cozy. I love the braided cable pattern, so I decided to try 4 ply (fingering) yarn and increase the number of pattern repeats. The cozy is shorter so it covers the majority of the mug but leaves the rim fluff-free. The cable pattern also shows up better as well. A much better fit!

Braided Mug Cozy

The yarn is Crystal Palace Yarns Mini Mochi. It is lovely and soft, and the colour graduations are perfect in this small project. The buttons again came from Three Bags Full - they have a good selection.

So, I am now hoping she likes her new cozy and it keeps that dishwater that she calls tea warm when she is busy in the garden, if the weather ever allows it.

First patterns now available

I have uploaded my first two designs to this site. The first is an iPhone cozy done in a textured hurdle stitch. It was originally published on Ravelry in March 2011 and has been made by a couple of people already. I have made quite a few of these now. They are very simple to knit and look great and are functional too. I have given a few away as presents and they have been well received (and used!). The pattern was inspired by some left over yarn from a fingerless mittens project and the need for a iTouch cozy for the same person. I like the look of textured knits, they are fun to knit and are good for cozy's as they tend to be thicker and so more protective.

pig5

The second pattern is for a crochet phone cozy, but for a slimmer phone (such as a Nokia). This pattern was inspired and commissioned by my step-dad. He asked for a pig phone cozy for father's day a few years ago. I think he likes the design as it has been through the wash several times (note - wobbly eyes do not do well in washing machines!).

Both patterns are available to download for free. You can find them by clicking on designs on the menu bar.

I hope you enjoy making them as much as I have done!