Wacky, Whimsical & Wonderful Wednesdays

Hello, how are you all doing this mid week? I have had a very productive week so far, plenty of knitting completed resulting in a sizeable dent in my to do list. Looking like I might make my mid September deadline :) I have also been busy putting together mini tutorials to accompany some of my up coming designs. Page space is always a premium in the magazines and in an ideal world it would be great to be able to give more detail about how you achieve a certain technique, especially in these exciting times when so many designs span more than one craft. You will see ‘how to’s’ appearing in my blog as the designs are published in the magazines, I would be really interested to get your feedback.

‘Wacky, whimsical & wonderful Wednesday’s’, thought I would keep the title simple! what’s that about? Well, I think I have a bad case of hyperactive hands! They just have to be doing something; when nothing is provided for them to do, they make me eat biscuits! As you can imagine most of the time I have needles or a hook in my hands, but the rest of the time I have an addiction to my iPad. My iPad is my ‘other stuff’ enabler, I love reading blogs, checking out the cute, the funny and learning new stuff! I thought I would share with you some of the things that I have enjoyed during my week, be it funny, cute, newsworthy or inspiring. I will do my best to credit the original source and post links, so you can visit the sites and give praise where it is due.

Feel free to send me a link in the comments, to anything I have missed this week and I will share what I can next Wacky, Whimsical & Wonderful Wednesday (too much?).

First up this week has to be this, stroke of genius. Once I got past the, ‘how could you do that to your hard work’, I thought fair play you are blocking and that took some ingenuity.

‘How a college student blocks knitting’.

Next came this… don’t know about you but my initial reaction was awwww, swiftly followed by, ‘what kind of mind thinks of these things?’

What’s the point of having turtles if you don’t have a little fun with them?

News worthy….  For those of you who have been following Design Wars 4,  you will be pleased to know that most of the patterns are now available to download.  My hyperactive hands have been itching to get stuck into making the ‘Dancing Hearts Wrap by Marinke Slump, aka Winkieflash.

Please check out Wink’s website and blog, A creative being, all things crochet by Winkieflash.  I am a big fan of Wink’s designs particularly her collection of Mandalas she has created for Simply Crochet Magazine.  Something about the colour palette Wink uses, that just screams ‘eat me’.

Enjoy the rest of your week,
Jane x

Fancy some quick and easy Halloween knitting?

Where did the sun go?  I look outside and it still hasn’t stopped raining today, it is grey and miserable.  My thoughts turn from summer lace knitting to winter knits.  I am not ready to think about Christmas gift knitting yet!  But I quite fancy casting on something fun and quirky for Halloween.  So I thought I would share with you my Halloween Designs that are available to download.  All these projects are worked in standard DK weight yarn and are very quick and simple to make.

Halloween Quick and Easy Knits

Or why not knit a pair of unisex skully socks,  these are worked in the round from the cuff down and use a crochet hook to apply the beads as you knit.  No having to load your with hundreds of beads before you cast on!

Check out this great video tutorial from Knitters Brewing, for beading with a crochet hook.

Enjoy your long weekend x

101 year old Crochet Book, take a look inside…

I love to scour the shelves of those really old book shops in search of rare and interesting knitting and crochet books.  This weekend I found a beauty!  It is not in wonderful condition but that ‘lived in look’ adds to its charm.   This edition was published in 1912 and is now officially the oldest item in my house!

The crochet is exquisite and the photography is admiral considering the date.  But what had me totally enthralled is the advertisements!  Which I just had to share with you.

Fancy a look through the book?  I have managed to find a PDF version which you can download for FREE!  The Antique Pattern Library provides scans of craft books that are now in the public domain, they have an impressive selection of beautiful old titles. Be prepared to lose yourself there!

http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/html/warm/6-JA031.htm

Back to School Knitted Gifts out now in Simply Knitting

I have just received my copy of Simply Knitting Magazine, issue 111. I am super thrilled with the pictures of my Back to School gifts section, it all has a lovely vintage feel. I was inspired by this (I am guessing) 1950’s Sirdar knitting pattern, I was drawn to its colour palette and back to basics feel.

My favourite design has to be the notebook cover with its tie bookmark!

These patterns are now available on The Making Spot  along with my other previous designs for Simply Knitting magazine.

Also in this months issue are a cute pair of wrist warmers by Kirstie McLeod. I am tempted to cast these on, I love the colours and the simplicity of design.

WTF, what next?

Sometimes, just sometimes I take things a little too personally. I have been working on a large project for a magazine. Chunky yarn and a lot of stitches (by chunky knit standards). Picture this….182sts on my needles, I have worked 54 heavy going rows when things suddenly felt very light!

The cable had come away from the locking mechanism.

I thought at first it had come unscrewed, but no, a clean break! I sat for a while perfectly still, as the weight of the project pulled lots of stitches into my lap, unravelling as they went, me chanting ‘oh no, Oh No, OH NO!********** What next?’

Thank goodness for lifelines, see previous post Bleedin’ yarn.

*********** for the purposes of decency, let’s just say what followed wasn’t, gosh, darn this, one is mildly irate.

Bleedin’ Yarn!

I have knit LOTS of socks,  I have knit LOTS of colourwork projects,  I have knit quite a number of projects combining  variegated yarn with a plain yarn. It makes for an interesting and complex look which is beautiful and simple.

So I approached this project with an air of confidence,  I didn’t anticipate too many surprises,  I know, I know…. fool.

I would love to be able to post lots of lovely pictures,  but as this project is a magazine commission I am unable to disclose too much about the finished item,  but you’ve guessed it is socks, right?

What happened?

I knit my way down the first sock,  sat back and admired it for a while before taking the ‘plunge’ and blocking it.  Thank goodness I didn’t wait and block both socks together!  I wanted to check that my colourwork lay nice and flat and that the floats were long enough and not pulling the delicate motifs out of shape.  I sprayed the sock liberally with water,  gently patted it to make sure the water penetrated all the fibres and slipped it over the sock blocker.  I use fibre trends sock blockers (just in case you were interested).  As I was eager to see it dry I committed what I think was my MISTAKE, I stood the sock on its toe to dry and left it overnight.

Next morning to my horror, sock massacre had occurred.  The beautiful commercially dyed red sock yarn had bled down into the white yarn.  I did what every deluded knitter would do,  walked away, made a cup of tea and hoped when I stepped back in the room it had all been a dream.  Sadly it wasn’t so.    After the emergency cuppa and a biscuit for, well, erm, because I can,  I set to and ripped out the toe.   I must confess,  I really quite enjoyed the challenge.

How to fix it

So if you ever find yourself in this particular bleedin situation,  or have a hole in the toe of a precious hand knit sock,  this is my method  for ripping back and reknitting the toe.

Firstly, I worked a lifeline around the first row of white stitches as a safety net.   I use a smooth cotton 4ply yarn in a contrasting colour.  I always keep a ball of Patons 4ply 100% cotton yarn in my knitting bag for lifelines and waste yarn purposes. Take the time to find the beginning of the round and pick up the right hand leg of each stitch all the way round the foot.

Next, slip the stitches onto DPN’s as set in the pattern.  You will now have one round of white stitches on the DPN’s,  here is where my cautious nature kicks in.  The brave amongst you will have placed your lifeline around the last red round.  I prefer to rip back or ‘tink’,  the final white round.  It gives me the opportunity to makes sure that all my stitches are mounted on the needles in the correct direction, that I have the right number of stitches on each needle and that the beginning of the round is in fact, at the beginning of the round.  Now you are ready to reknit the toe from your pattern.

Learn from my mistake,  always lay your precious colourwork flat to dry.

Check out option 3 on this great video tutorial by Knit Purl Hunter on lifelines

Feel like treating yourself? Check out Craftsy workshop, ‘Knit Sock Workshop’ with Donna Druchunas, not only does she teach you about lifelines in your knitting,  she also covers:

• Each step of the sock-knitting process
• Lace knitting techniques
• The Kitchener stitch (grafting)
• How to do a figure-8 cast-on
• How to read a colorwork chart and lace charts
• Proper measurements from knee to toe
• Shaping techniques for heels, toes and calves

Meet Crochet Dave – free download

“Disco Dave started life as a knitted monster designed for  Let’s Knit Magazine, (can you see him lurking in the background?)  I felt he needed a crochet buddy so I hooked up a friend!

Dave is worked using the amigurumi principle,  using only double crochet (UK terminology) and working in a continuous spiral.  He is a perfect beginners amigurumi project.  There are a couple of really great video links in the pattern if you need some help getting started.

My patterns will be available shortly via a link on my blog and on my website, but for now you can download via

Please have some fun and personalise your Monster,  post pics on Ravelry so we can all enjoy them!

Happy hooking!”  Jane x

Two words…. Stitch Maps

One more word…. Amazing!

I wanted to share with you this revolutionary new charting method,  devised by JC Briar.  JC Briar is the author of ‘Charts Made Simple’ or what I lovingly call my ‘charting bible’.   My wonderful friend and knitting mentor bought me this book a while back when I was having a hard time getting a lace chart out of my head and into a coherent chart.  The book is amazing,  it teaches how charts reflect the knitted fabric and how to read the two.  It’s a wonderful resource for knitters of all abilities,  but it’s excellence lies within the sections that deal with shaping in charts, blank stitches,  cables,  dealing with changing stitch counts.   I would go so far as to say as a knitter’s reference book it is up there with EZ’s books and Barbara Walker’s Treasury Collection.

Today I discovered that JC Briar has developed a new form of knitting chart – WITHOUT A GRID!!!!  I have been sat here at my desk for a while trying to find the words to describe Stitch Maps and failing.   I can tell you,  at first glimpse I thought it was a crochet chart,  then just how much the chart represented the knitted fabric amazed me,  then I asked myself…. why didn’t I think of this?

This is how JC Briar describes Stitch Maps:

“Stitch Maps are a new form of knitting chart that use traditional symbols in a novel way: without a grid.  The symbols within a stitch map clearly show what stitches to work.  And – not being confined within grid squares – they also show which stitches of the previous row should be worked”.

Please take a look for yourself!

Simply Knitting Magazine, 6 Summer Gifts

It’s been a busy few months here, it’s always great when the postman arrives with my magazines and I get to see my designs in print.

It’s the best feeling when I make the front cover, I still find myself picking up the magazines in newsagents to check, to be sure I have not dreamt it! I am very lucky to do what I love for a living!

For this issue of Simply Knitting I designed 6 quick and easy summer gifts. Flip flops, kindle case, sunglasses case, purse, bookmark and lace edging for beach towels. I love the photography!

September Issue of Let’s Knit is out now!

Betty

I was really thrilled to be asked to design a ‘Vintage’ style bonnet kit for this issue of Let’s Knit Magazine. The contemporary colour yarn makes this a perfect unisex bonnet. Knit in one piece, with I-cord ties, this really is a quick and simple knit. Just perfect for a baby shower gift! Feeling adventurous? Why not crochet a flower for the side of the bonnet, of swap the I-cord ties for ribbon.

Named after the beautiful model, how cute is Betty?

Also in this issue of the magazine is ‘Hayley’

Hayley is a knitted ring binder cover, customise your folders with this simple fair isle design worked in Stylecraft Life DK yarn. It is a great introduction to stranded colour work or ‘fair isle’.

I hope you enjoyed both my design’s in this issue.