And 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 deco shapes and individual drive so Squiggi wins a runner's up prize of one of my Ravelry patterns (if you'd like one) - I'll pm you

There will be a new competition soon to win a kit to make Diamond of the First Water (the pattern I was celebrating with this competition) but I need to take some pictures and decide on some rules

Don't forget...

Two things:

1. 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
2. This blog giveaway ends on November 1st at 12pm BST. Yes, I did say BST because I forgot about the clocks when I set the time. So that's 11am GMT. I just checked that with my husband who gave me SUCH a look of disdain for my complete inability to get my head around time changes and zones and so on

And a sort of third thing...I do have another blog giveaway to follow this one. It's a shawl kit with stitch markers, pattern and truly stunning yarn so watch this space

I 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' pattern - not least because I'm in company with some amazing designers showcasing their talents and skills.

The magazine will be in the shops on Thursday and I understand it's being stocked at Tesco, WHSmith and Morrisons amongst others and can be ordered through local newsagents.

So to celebrate my first 'in print' pattern being in print I thought I'd do a competition with this being the prize:

This is a skein of Fyberspates Sparkle Lace in greens and purples (75% Merino, 25% Silk, 5% Metallic and 875 yards) in shades of green and purple


To win this lovely skein all you need to do is comment on this post suggesting a literary or historical character that could inspire a pattern and give me a few words that you associate with that character before November 1st (12pm BST which is GMT+1). I will pick the one that I think I can turn into a pattern and the person who suggested it will win the skein (and if I actually do sort out the pattern I'll send you a copy). I will post worldwide and feel free to enter as many times as you like

A Friday Finish (and a giveaway)

An anonymous shawlette

This is my latest finished object and will at some point soon be written up as a pattern and available as a Ravelry download. However, there's a hitch - I'm struggling to think of a name for it and a pattern needs a name. This is the draft blurb from the pattern:

"It’s August in Manchester and it’s 14˚C so naturally my thoughts turn to warm and woolly things. For an autumn knit I wanted to play with different textures and was swatching and sketching different stitches for a while before starting this shawlette. In the knitting process this shawlette changed quite radically (clearly not enough swatching and sketching…) but eventually became something that I’m happy with. Whilst it’s quite a plain shawlette the eyelet ridges and the decorative ribbed border keep enough interest whilst still being a relaxing and hopefully stress free project."

So a competition (my first):

Leave a comment on this post with your suggested name for this pattern, some way to get hold of you, and your choice of prize by August 31st at 6pm (BST). I will pick my favourite and the winner will receive their choice of these two prizes:

A 100g skein of Araucania Ranco Multy (4ply, approx. 344m), in PT2307

100g skein of Knitting Goddess 100% wool yarn (4ply, approx. 330m), in Double Rust

Wow me with your clever and creative suggestions please (and keep it clean!)