tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56141438263216078742024-03-21T15:39:31.144+00:00Unwinding SlowlyUnwinding Slowly...a place to relax and think creatively amongst yarn and cake (and cakes of yarn)...Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-91948932268404222932012-05-14T19:44:00.002+01:002012-05-14T19:44:13.239+01:00Look! Bicraftual stuffSince I started knitting I've occasionally dabbled in crochet mostly for slip stitch edging or seams. Attempting anything more complicated has flummoxed me completely and I've never been able to get my head around the the fabric or stitch construction.
But look - a tiny little bit of successful treble crochet with increases and decreases to create a ripple.
I am so impressed with myself
Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-26922292262529080262012-05-11T14:57:00.003+01:002012-05-11T14:57:32.427+01:00Upcoming patternsAt the moment I'm mostly working on patterns for print publication which means I need to keep them confidential and can't blog about them. However you can all my published designs on Ravelry here (login required) and you can find out about upcoming self published patterns in my Ravelry group here.
I have a couple of patterns in testing at the moment:
Negroni in Fyberspates Scrumptious Sock
&Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-34249670039572823962012-05-07T16:39:00.001+01:002012-05-07T16:39:14.591+01:00Public Service AnnouncementI seem to spend most of the my blog posts apologising for the lack of blog posts. Must do better...however there is a good reason - I've been very, very busy at the day job, my design work, and keeping up with the shenanigans of the knitting world.
I want to use this post to talk a bit about that last part. I've been extremely lucky in that I've only published patterns through a magazine that's Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-75922495659692459902012-03-14T01:04:00.000+00:002012-03-14T01:04:57.546+00:00SwatchingI'm currently working on some magazine samples which I can't really blog about so I've not had a lot to say here. I am full of ideas for self-published patterns but I'm struggling to carve out time to work on them whilst balancing my day job and my magazine work (and the need to sleep from time to time). I definitely need to slow down in at least one part of my work and at the moment Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-38715553087021706272012-02-24T14:31:00.001+00:002012-02-24T14:47:14.796+00:00Diamond of the First Water now availableDiamond of the First Water is now available to buy as a single pattern here
The prototype of this pattern was designed for my sister's birthday present last July. She's a writer of historical romance so this is named after late 18th/early 19th century slang for a woman of exceptional beauty and elegance. You can find out more about my sister's writing at From Darcy to Dionysus
And here Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-26941673532510484652012-02-19T13:57:00.000+00:002012-02-19T13:57:44.103+00:00A very quiet blogI've not been blogging much (at all...) recently for a couple of reasons.
1. Most of my knitting has been publication samples and I can't talk about them much
2. I discovered Twitter
3. I have had precisely no time to do anything much of late
Still I should get back in the habit as I've a number of self-published patterns coming out over the next few months and a few more magazine patterns.
AsPatriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-24527933350536801952011-12-16T12:04:00.001+00:002011-12-22T11:58:55.007+00:00And the winner is...changing - maybeI've not heard from Anastacia yet so if I don't hear anything by Monday 19th I'll use the random number generator to select someone else to win the Diamond of the First Water kit
ETA: the new winner was Marthamay0_0 and her parcel will hopefully be with her by ChristmasPatriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-44510843295350772342011-12-15T13:59:00.000+00:002011-12-15T13:59:06.989+00:00New Pattern: Flapjack MittsI have been AWOL for far too long - pressures of work and publication deadlines. Also I've not had much to share as I've mostly been knitting magazine samples. I do intend to do some yarn reviews over the next few weeks as I've had the chance to knit with lots of different yarns - almost all wools or wool blends though.
One of the publications that I've been working on with the lovely folks at Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-24548582118575648922011-11-23T19:03:00.001+00:002011-11-23T19:03:48.006+00:00And the winner of the shawl kit is...Anastasiaknits
This will be in the post once I have an address and I hope you enjoy working with the gorgeous yarn from Eden CottagePatriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-22173344007223024732011-11-19T15:53:00.000+00:002011-11-19T15:53:31.705+00:00To do listsI posted on Twitter a few days ago about my knitting 'to do' list which needs to be completed before the end of the year. Here's what I had:
Finish my Fugue hat in handspun wool/silk
Knit another Fugue in Koigu KPPPM
Find my pattern notes for Audrey in Unst and finish it
Knit a February Fitted Pullover
Knit 4 samples and write 4 patterns
And here's my progress:
Finish my Fugue hat in Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-71333680290026379612011-11-16T09:27:00.001+00:002011-11-16T09:27:00.351+00:00EmbellishmentsHaving shown you my button collection I thought you might like to see the rest of the shiny things in my craft stash. Although I'm not a very bling person I do quite like beaded knitting and from time to time I add some beads to my stash. Unlike the buttons these are normally bought with a plan in mind although I don't always get round to putting the plan into action and sometimes the plan Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-59795647036852590612011-11-14T09:07:00.001+00:002011-11-14T09:07:00.587+00:00Never the right buttons to handI have a small(ish) button collection. It only runs to three tins...
Accumulating buttons is something of a family tradition. My mum had a battered cream tin that I think she got from her mum filled to bursting with all sorts of buttons. And a separate collection of buttons on cards which lived in her sewing box (a repurposed plastic 1960s baby changing box). This tin lived in the top of the Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-43279281554958493362011-11-12T10:23:00.000+00:002011-11-12T10:23:42.254+00:00WIPs and the frog pondThis little collection is my current pile of WIPs and half worked ideas - not including himself's socks which have half a sock to go and have been that way for about 8 months:
A sketch and yarn for a new design, already frogged due to the joining in the round looking weird
Another version of a design that's being published. I started knitting a third mitt to check gauge before submitting the Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-36428307865065522892011-11-05T14:23:00.001+00:002011-11-05T14:23:25.383+00:00Still celebratingNow Knit Now is in the shops and seems to be doing quite well I thought I'd spread the love a little further with another giveaway. This time I'm giving away a pristine copy of Knit Now Issue 1 which has my Diamond of the First Water shawl pattern in it, a skein of the recommended yarn from Wild Fire Fibres (soon to become Eden Farm Yarns I hear) and a set of stitch markers that have come all thePatriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-25806011809540111552011-11-01T13:52:00.000+00:002011-11-01T13:52:11.472+00:00And the winner is...AmyBamy for her suggestion of Irene Adler. I like the Irene Adler character in the Sherlock Holmes story - a woman of honour and cunning without that being contradictory. I can see some long fingerless gloves with delicate lace and possibly ribbon laces from wrist to elbow.
Amy - I'll pm you on Ravelry for your address
I also really liked Squiggi's suggestion of Howard Roark with all those art Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-10584918071147747902011-10-28T22:46:00.000+01:002011-10-28T22:46:38.829+01:00Don't forget...Two things:
It's the end of British Summer Time this weekend and therefore the clocks change and we all get a bit confused. Remember it's Autumn so the clocks go BACK by an hour. If you're in other parts of the world that mess with time then I think you've already done this for the year
This blog giveaway ends on November 1st at 12pm BST. Yes, I did say BST because I forgot about the clocks Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-20304335200005947362011-10-25T11:11:00.001+01:002011-10-25T11:39:37.636+01:00Sometime you have to frogI started making a hat a while back in beautiful Knitting Goddess sock yarn (Silver and Jace shades) using a colourwork pattern I'd designed myself (inspired by Etruscan metalwork) and that worked really well and it was all going really well until I fell over the maths. Knitting from the brim up and wanting to do decreases based on Pi, whilst maintaining the colourwork is easier said than done Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-68322695465361628732011-10-23T15:20:00.000+01:002011-10-23T15:20:18.914+01:00The importance of swatchesGuilty confession time...I know I should swatch every time I knit something but I tend to have even tension and usually hit the gauge without needing to change up or down so when I'm knitting from a pattern I tend to wing it. I will swatch if it has a weird gauge for the type of yarn, or it's in an unusual stitch pattern but even then only if it's for something that needs to fit. I don't think Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-83061116399661473002011-10-17T19:21:00.001+01:002011-10-17T19:37:47.322+01:00I am...in print!Those of you who have subscribed to Knit Now, the newest knitting magazine in the UK market, will have seen this blog featured as well as my very first 'in print' pattern. I am bouncing off the ceiling having seen what an amazing job Kate Heppell, Joeli Caparco and the rest of the team at Knit Now have done with this issue and I'm incredibly proud that this magazine hosts my first 'in print' Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-38138608251568232302011-10-17T14:24:00.004+01:002011-10-17T14:26:20.367+01:00I've been talking about......all these things
Isn't Wordle clever? If you click on the image it will take you to Wordle to see a larger versionPatriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-78356605424940449842011-10-15T15:08:00.000+01:002011-10-15T15:08:21.784+01:00Autumn draws in...I've noticed of late that I've been mainly knitting in autumnal colours - lovely rusty coloured tweeds and copper cashmere blends. There's a skein of dark brown merino dk looking at me from the 'planned projects' box and some stunning Crannog in the same colours as Lime trees as the leaves turn with the changing season just arrived.
I've never really noticed this seasonality in my knitting Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-83500080082251192202011-10-06T10:58:00.000+01:002011-10-06T10:58:29.690+01:00Flapjack knittingI posted a while back about mojo knitting - the sort of thing you do when you've lost your spark and need to regain it. This was another such project I recently completed.
These simple cabled fingerless gloves are made from less than 50g of Rowan Silky Tweed (colourway Flamenco). I don't always enjoy knitting with tweedy yarns as they can be a little rough until they're blocked but this was finePatriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-46585729424638212002011-09-28T10:43:00.000+01:002011-09-28T10:43:48.100+01:00Hexipuffs and JitterbugHere are my first few Hexipuffs for the Beekeepers Quilt by Tiny Owl Knits. My puffs are made with Colinette Jitterbug in 3.75mm needles and stuffed with polyester stuffing. This is a long term project (himself wants it to be 6' x 4'!) and will be quilt tied. I'm not doing the crochet bind off, just an ordinary three needle bind off and then threading the ends through the stuffed puffs. In the Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-74975070883371283062011-09-24T11:21:00.000+01:002011-09-24T11:21:20.979+01:00Third shawl and first sisterMy eldest sister turned 50 this year - and you'd never know it so I hope the youth genes run in the family - and so I started her entry in my sisterly shawls series. Except it's not a shawl. It could be a shawl, and when I write it up it will have a shawl option but at the moment it's a very long (82" x 8") shaped scarf. My other sisters named it so it's definitely a family affair.
Presenting Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614143826321607874.post-17646390928919123762011-09-16T20:11:00.000+01:002011-09-16T20:11:43.412+01:00Secrecy and ScienceI'm struggling to blog at the moment as most of what I'm knitting is either samples for publication (yay!) or things that I'm hoping to submit for publication in the near future - hence the secrecy. I'm also really busy at work and in life generally which isn't helping!
That being said there are a few things I can talk about:
The Manchester Science Festival is coming up in October and the Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14107301225416496854noreply@blogger.com1