I've been sitting on a bit of a secret.
I'm not very good at keeping secrets.
Today I can finally go SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! and tell you I have a design going to be published in a book later this year! The book is "Fresh Designs: Scarves" and is being published by Co-operative Press, the brainchild of the amazing Shannon Okey. It's a scarf, and it's designed to be a very straighforward knit, in some of Jon's yarn.
Now - Shannon is doing her level best to publish this series of books (there's 10 in total covering everything a person could want to knit), but despite how superhuman she seems, she really does only have one pair of hands. To help get this series out more quickly, she's put in a bid for a kickstarter campaign - if $5000 is pledged by April 30, then there'll be a matching fund provided, which will really speed along the publication. To encourage donations, there's some pretty good prizes up for grabs, from PDF copies of Shannon's own latest book, "The Knitgrrl Guide to Professional Knitwear Design" right up to 3 days of private fibre art tuition one to one. Even a single dollar will help get this off the ground more quickly!
That's all I can reveal at the moment - my scarf's not available for a sneaky peek as yet - but hopefully, soon...
Claire's Wooly Thoughts and other ramblings
Monday, 4 April 2011
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
In Dreams Clue 1
This is the beginnings of the In Dreams shawl - a mystery KAL being run by Susan Pandorf which I mentioned in my blog post yesterday. The yarn I'm using is Fyberspates Sparkle Merino / Silk Lace, and the beads are 8/0 beads from Rosarama, my local bead shop (how cool is it that I have a local bead shop - especially one packed to the brim with beautiful beads and findings, and run by a lovely lady who's a skilled beader and designer in her own right).
So far, I'm loving the design - it's going to be semi-circular, and dripping with beads. The yarn is absolutely beautiful to knit with as well - I love all of Jeni's yarns I've tried - it's all really top quality, and her colour-sense is amazing (not to mention she is also one of the nicest people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting), and this one is no exception. The sparkle is subtle, but visible - not too in your face, but it adds a shimmer, and doesn't fight with the beads.
So - three blog posts in three days - and I've still got stuffs to share! And on Saturday, I'm off to a beginners' weaving workshop at my local Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, in Stocksfield - so another craft to have a play with!
So far, I'm loving the design - it's going to be semi-circular, and dripping with beads. The yarn is absolutely beautiful to knit with as well - I love all of Jeni's yarns I've tried - it's all really top quality, and her colour-sense is amazing (not to mention she is also one of the nicest people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting), and this one is no exception. The sparkle is subtle, but visible - not too in your face, but it adds a shimmer, and doesn't fight with the beads.
So - three blog posts in three days - and I've still got stuffs to share! And on Saturday, I'm off to a beginners' weaving workshop at my local Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, in Stocksfield - so another craft to have a play with!
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
And Hot on the Heels.... Shawl #3 - Little Leaves
And here is my third shawl of 11 - Little Leaves by Susanna IC, knitted in Posh Yarn Eva 2 Ply. This pattern was fantastic to knit - an easily remembered lace pattern, and a great shape - easy to wear as a shoulder shawl or a pretty scarf.
The yarn is pretty special, too - Eva is 55% silk, 45% cashmere and soft as butter - Dee at Posh Yarn gets limited stock of this beauty, so it is very precious - the put up is 55g / 400yards, and this shawl uses up less than one skein.
The next shawl is on it's way - I'm taking part in the "In Dreams" KAL run by Susan Pandorf, which is a semicircular shawl, knit from the top down, and part of her Lord of the Rings series - it's based on Galadriel's crown, and as Galadriel's one of my favourite characters from my all time favourite read, I was sucked in. The clues are out every 2 weeks, so that one will be a slow, steady reveal (and there are 5000 beads in the pattern!). I've also got the pattern for Galadriel's mirror, knit in 1200 yards of 4 ply. So that's 5 of the 11 taken care of - 6 more lovelies to choose!
The yarn is pretty special, too - Eva is 55% silk, 45% cashmere and soft as butter - Dee at Posh Yarn gets limited stock of this beauty, so it is very precious - the put up is 55g / 400yards, and this shawl uses up less than one skein.
The next shawl is on it's way - I'm taking part in the "In Dreams" KAL run by Susan Pandorf, which is a semicircular shawl, knit from the top down, and part of her Lord of the Rings series - it's based on Galadriel's crown, and as Galadriel's one of my favourite characters from my all time favourite read, I was sucked in. The clues are out every 2 weeks, so that one will be a slow, steady reveal (and there are 5000 beads in the pattern!). I've also got the pattern for Galadriel's mirror, knit in 1200 yards of 4 ply. So that's 5 of the 11 taken care of - 6 more lovelies to choose!
Monday, 14 February 2011
Batik - Shawl #2
Finally - Shawl number 2 for 11 Shawls in 2011! This is Batik which combines cables and lace for an incredibly textured shawl, which looks fabulous knit up - I've used Wollmeise 80/20 Twin sock yarn for this (the other skein from my grab bag, which included the yarn I used for Haruni), and the deep saturated greens really work well with the pattern.
It's knit from the bottom up, so there is a bit of a race to the finish as the rows get shorter and shorter, and the ball of yarn gets smaller and smaller... I can fudge a top-down shawl where I may run out of yarn, but haven't yet figured out how to do this with a bottom up, without ripping back or pleading in ISO/Destash threads.
Shawl #3 is hot on the heels - I'm just enjoying having a couple of ready made blog posts here!
It's knit from the bottom up, so there is a bit of a race to the finish as the rows get shorter and shorter, and the ball of yarn gets smaller and smaller... I can fudge a top-down shawl where I may run out of yarn, but haven't yet figured out how to do this with a bottom up, without ripping back or pleading in ISO/Destash threads.
Shawl #3 is hot on the heels - I'm just enjoying having a couple of ready made blog posts here!
Saturday, 8 January 2011
Haruni - First Shawl of 2011
Haruni by Emily Ross
Knitted in Wollmeise 80/20 Twin sock weight, colourway WD Lila Ludmilla
Cast on 01/01/2011
Bind off 03/01/2011
Blocked 08/01/2011
Yardage used - one full skein - 510 yards / 466 metres
Love it - taking part in 11 Shawls in 2011 on Ravelry, and this is No 1!
Knitted in Wollmeise 80/20 Twin sock weight, colourway WD Lila Ludmilla
Cast on 01/01/2011
Bind off 03/01/2011
Blocked 08/01/2011
Yardage used - one full skein - 510 yards / 466 metres
Love it - taking part in 11 Shawls in 2011 on Ravelry, and this is No 1!
Friday, 24 December 2010
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas everyone - and I hope you all have a lovely time, with best wishes for 2011 to be happy, healthy and successful for you.
Thursday, 2 December 2010
New Free Pattern - Helter Skelter Cowl
Introducing the Helter Skelter Cowl - a very quick knit in time for Christmas and a very simple pattern to boot - if you can knit, purl and count using one hand, you can knit this!
Knitted in Natural Born Dyers Wensleydale Aran, this cowl is snug and warm, and has been roadtested during a two hour journey to work through the snow and ice. Available for free from Ravelry:
download now
Knitted in Natural Born Dyers Wensleydale Aran, this cowl is snug and warm, and has been roadtested during a two hour journey to work through the snow and ice. Available for free from Ravelry:
download now
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