Katya Frankel's Four Patterns + Knitalong

February sees knitwear designer Katya Frankel releasing four new accessory patterns and, to celebrate, an accompanying knit along - her first ever!

The patterns - two shawls, a hat and and pair of socks - all have her trademark attention to detail, making them a fun challenge for intermediate knitters. They cost £3.50 each from Ravelry. Use the code anythinggoeskal on Ravelry to get an extra 20% discount on any of Frankel's self-published patterns. Why not join in the knitalong too, which runs from 8th - 26th February? To join in, go to the Frankel's knitalong Ravelry thread.

Here are the patterns:

Sidereal

This top-down knitted shawl is knitted in 3ply. The pattern is both charted and knitted out. Frankel says "tiny diamonds grow symmetrically off the spine of the shawl on the mesh ground. The main body is framed with a wide band of garter that beautifully offsets the negative space and highlights its delicate gauzy fabric."

Image courtesy of Katya Frankel

Brixham Socks

My favourite out of the four patterns, these gansey-inspired socks are knitted from the cuff down and include a knit and purl diamond pattern. The socks are knitted in DK yarn. Frankel's blog has a useful post on how to shape the star toe used in the pattern.

Image courtesy of M Harper

Jagger

Again knitted in 4 ply, this shawl had a diamond-shaped border. Says Frankel, "the stocking stitch centre lends the mesh border a little stability, simultaneously creating the perfectly arcing-ribbon shape. The centre part is knitted from the border towards the neck, which means that the rows diminish in length as you knit on.

Image courtesy of Katya Frankel

Slip Cable Hat

Look at the fabulous design on the top of this hat! What a shame that when you are wearing it you can't see it. Ravelry says this pattern was published in December 2007, but Frankel is including it in her latest pattern releases. Knitted in worsted yarn, it's suitable for an advanced beginner who wants to practice slip-stitch cable columns.

Image courtesy of Katya Frankel

Regular readers will know that shawls are not for me but I love the hat and socks. Sadly I"ve too much currently on my needles to join in the knitalong good luck to all and happy knitting.

Review of Knit Now Magazine 100% British Edition

Image courtesy of Knit Now

Every year the mainstream knitting magazine Knit Now devotes one issue to British designers and yarns. As you can imagine, with my love of all things knitty and British, it's an issue I can't wait to get my hands on.

This year this proved to be difficult. I'm not currently a subscriber, so had to go to the ships to buy a copy. I much prefer to have physical copies of knitting magazines rather than a digital one, firstly because with digital copies you don't get the free gifts, and secondly because I want to be able to mark my progress on a pattern when I'm knitting it, without having to print out a copy first.

I live in a small town. First stop was Sainsbury's where there weren't any knitting magazines. Waitrose only had another knitting magazine title. WHSmith finally came up trumps and I bought my copy, which came with free baby book. After having knitted multiple baby blankets for friends I'm taking a break from kiddy knitting, therefore will be giving the baby book to my local charity shop. Has anyone else had trouble finding a copy of their favourite knitting magazine?

Patterns in the 100% British issue courtesy of Knit Now.

As well as containing lots of patterns this issue goes behind the scenes at West Yorkshire Spinners to report on how their yarn is made; gives the results of the magazine's knitter of the year awards (congratulations to fellow blogger Louise Scollay, creator of KnitBritish,  your fabulous site is an inspiration to me and I can only dream of reaching the number of readers you do); and a useful tutorial to making i-cord edges that are needed for my favourite pattern in the magazine, the editor Kate Heppell's Kitty Mitts.

The designers featured in the magazine and those interviewed are a veritable who's who indie British knitwear. These include an interview with vintage aficionado Susan Crawford as well as her beret pattern; a spotty blanket by Erika Knight; patterns using West Yorkshire Spinners yarn and Blacker Yarns hit release of last year, Illustrious. BritYarn, a website dedicated to British wool, offers readers 10% off Illustrious, an offer I have already availed myself of!

Downsides? Due to my personal taste there is only one 'must-knit' pattern for me, which is the Kitty Mitts. I'm not interested in knitting the St George and the Dragon characters or baby clothes. There is a great range of patterns though, from sweaters to toys or scarves. For me, however, the interviews and information about British yarn and designers make the cover price of £5.99 worthwhile. The BritYarn discount on my Illustrious purchase itself nearly paid for the copy.

What did you think of the issue? Please let me know in the comments section below.

My Knitting Update

It's time to finish half-completed projects. At the end of January I finished Kate Davies' Owligans using the fabulously-soft Toft DK. I knitted the largest child size on bigger needles to fit me. The cardigan's construction is in the round, a technique I much prefer to sewing the arms to the body. I went slightly wrong with the grafting under one armhole but, due to its position, no-one can see.

Now I'm a ball away from completing a summer sweater in Blacker Yarn's linen-blend Lyonesse. I knitted half of it last year and then was distracted by other projects. With just the end of a sleeve and a second one to knit I've run out of yarn - cue emergency internet order with the Illustrious thrown in so as not to pay a delivery charge. What do knit with the aforementioned Illustrious will be the subject of a future blog post ...

Nationwide's Woolly Advert

Last month I blogged about a knitted version of Jane Austen's characters called Pride & Preju-knits. I loved the way its British designer, Trixie von Purl, used wool creatively with more than a lashing of fun thrown in.

Image courtesy of ITV and Nationwide

Since then an email from my bank popped into my inbox. Little did I expect knitting to be amongst it contents, nestling between savings rates and loans. Before Christmas Nationwide was one of six companies to create a knitted advert to be shown during the ITV1's charity appeal Text Santa's commercial break. It recreated the company's real life advert.

I hadn't seen Text Santa, nor the knitted or real life Nationwide advert.

Speaking of the advert's creation, Paul Hibbs, Nationwide's Head of Branding & Advertising said that "a team of highly-talented textile artists from across Europe worked with model makers Mackinnon and Saunders to create the knitted characters and backdrops for all six ads, which were filmed using stop motion animation over just two weeks."

The Nationwide advert features a 'best dad' scarf that a son gives to his father. Years pass and when the son becomes a father himself his dad gives him the scarf only for it to be left on a bus ...

It's amazing how the designers have conveyed emotion through the knitted characters' facial features and bodies.

See it for yourself on YouTube here.

A quick internet search led me to the other five woolly adverts featured on Text Santa. They are:

1. A woolly celeb and cheetah promote BT's infinity broadband
2. The bed superstore Dreams encouraging viewers to buy a new mattress
3. Cute knitted horses promoting Amazon's delivery service
4. Woolly workers getting ready for the DFS winter sale
5. British Gas' penguin returning to a toasty home.

Got five minutes to spare? Watch them on TVadsongs.co.uk.

Next stop - a knitted feature film? Yes please! Which would you suggest? Answers below please ...

Review of Baa Ram Ewe Dovestone DK Latest Shades

Leeds-based yarn store baa ram ewe has launched two new shades for Spring/Summer 2016 in its Titus 4ply and Dovestone DK wool brands. Both are British yarns sold in 100g skeins.

Image courtesy of baa ram ewe

The two latest shades added to the colour palette are rhubarb - a beautifully-rich merlot purple - and lotherton, a deep blue. Due to the nature of the yarn base the colours look slightly different on Titus and Dovestone. I was fortunate to receive a skein of Dovestone DK rhubarb to review. Each skein retails at £14.00.

Dovestone DK rhubarb feels soft to the touch and against the skin. It knits up well giving good stitch definition, with a slight halo. It's very suitable, in my opinion, for warm jumpers, cardigans and hats.  

To accompany the yarn, baa ram ewe has brought out a range of patterns aimed at tempting knitters to snap up the skeins. 

Image courtesy of baa ram ewe

For those who prefer to knit toys there's Dovestone Smallholding by Ella Austin, a £15 pattern book containing seven designs: a doll, duck, hen, pig, pony, lamb and cat. A play mat finishes off the collection. 

All are brightly-coloured and fun, but my favourite has to be the pink moggy, with its cute cables on the body and limbs. My skein of Dovestone DK will look wonderful knitted up in this pattern.

Bingley image courtesy of baa ram ewe

The Landmark Collection is a group of garment and accessory patterns released this month to also support the Dovestone DK yarn range. All are inspired by places or views in Yorkshire. 

At first look none particularly catch my eye like the Dovestone Smallholding patterns. Two are shawls: these accessories seem to be popular in knitting magazines but, apart from occasionally at a wedding, I've never seen anyone actually wear one. Perhaps I'm the only knitter who think shawls are best left in the pages of history books. 

The other five patterns are more promising, being a cushion, blanket, man's jumper, woman's cardigan and a cowl. The yarn shades used in the patterns are rather muted - using the brighter shades of Dovestone DK will transform the designs for people who prefer a more vibrant hue. Bingley is the name of the man's sweater knitted in the round. In the pattern it's knitted in grey. I've certainly got my eye on knitting this for my husband in the blue lotherton shade. 

When Dovestone DK first launched in 2015 it was accompanied by seven designs by Carol Feller. I look forward to seeing more patterns published to support the yarn, which will surely become a British classic. 

Review of Pride & Preju-Knits by Trixie Von Purl

I've always been a voracious reader. My parents brought my brother and I up with bedtime stories, and I had extra time to read as a child due to fractures, operations and hospital stays. When you're waiting for a broken leg to heal there's not much else you can do. Reading was my escapism into the imagination, travelling to different worlds and being anywhere but stuck in a hospital bed covered by a regulation NHS blanket.

Image courtesy of Search Press

My love of reading grew into a love of literature. A level English Literature introduced me to the classics, particularly the wonderful world of Jane Austen. I remember the sadness at finishing all six of her novels and knowing there were no more Elizabeth Bennets or Emma Woodhouses to discover.

Now, thanks to the author Trixie Von Purl, there's a way I can combine my two hobbies of knitting and literature ... by knitting scenes from Austen's novels. Yes, really. Mr Darcy's second proposal to Elizabeth; Emma's infamous picnic; Willoughby rescuing Marianne in the rain - they're all here, complete with attention to period dress and, my favourite, a knitted piano.

I first noticed the trend for knitting characters, as opposed to toys, when Fiona Goble published her book Knit Your Own Royal Wedding back in 2011. I had fun knitting the Queen, a page boy and a corgi until the stuffing was rather knocked out of my amusement by an assistant at my local yarn store who looked at me as if I were a madwoman when I asked for the right coloured yarn to knit the Archbishop of Canterbury's robes.

Von Purl's book is great fun and lovingly produced with artistic care. Each scene has a introduction to the relevant story and there are suggestions on how to pose your knitted characters. I particularly like the different outfits, including Mr Darcy's breeches, there are to knit.

Jane Austen fans will enjoy flicking through this book with a smile on their face. The characters are a fun way to use up odds and ends of yarn and the finished versions will be great to introduce young children to Austen's characters and storylines. That's if you don't keep them all for yourself.

Pride & Prejuknits is published by Search Press and the list price is £9.99.

More British Wool Brands & Shades Launched

It's a bumper January for fans of British wool as not one, not two, but three different British brands have announced new shades or a yarn range.

Firstly, following on from her successful launch of her 100% Scottish wool range Buachaille at the end of 2015, Kate Davies is selling three more extremely tempting shades from Sunday 10th January.  Each 50g skein costs £7.49. The shades are:

Furze (a deep yellow)

Photo courtesy of Kate Davies

Hedder (a heathery pink)

Photo courtesy of Kate Davies

And Macallum (raspberry red).

Photo courtesy of Kate Davies

Leeds-based wool store baa ram ewe is bringing out two more shades of its Yorkshire wool Titus 4ply and Dovestone DK for Spring/Summer 2016. The two shades are Lotherton (a sea blue) and Rhubarb (a striking pinky-purple shade). Both are available for pre-order on baa ram ewe’s website with Dovestone DK retailing at £14 per 100g hank and Titus at £14.99 per 100g hank.

Image courtesy of baa ram ewe

Finally internet knitting retailer Baa Baa Brighouse has announced it's launching its own Yorkshire yarn range for the Spring. The yarn will be called Baa Baa Brew - a reference to Yorkshire folk liking their daily cuppa? - and is 100% Blue Faced Leicester reared, sheared and spun in the county then dyed in Brighouse.

The four shades come in pastel colours and are named after areas of Brighouse. No pricing details are as yet available.

Image courtesy of Baa Baa Brighouse

What a great British way to start the new year! I hopefully will be getting my hands on some of the yarns and will blog about them soon.

New Year Knitting Resolutions

The decorations are down, the tub of chocolates is empty and life is returning to normal in the cold January light. I'm not a great fan of resolutions because they can become a big stick to beat yourself with when you don't achieve them, but this last year I have learned a few knitting things that I'll remember as resolutions this year.


1. Do I like it or LOVE it?

My friend wearing Owligan

Every time I flick through a magazine or knitting book I see a pattern I like. That's why, in times past when I was feeling flush, I bought the yarn for the project and now have yarn bags shoved in drawers all round the house, despite last year having a cull and reducing the stash. This year I'm not going to buy the yarn and pattern for a new project unless it's something I really love and can see fitting in well with my other clothes and their colours.

A good example was the Kate Davies Owligan cardigan. I spent a lot of time and money knitting it in the smallest adult size using the extremely strokable Toft Chunky yarn and blogged in May 2015 about finishing it. The trouble was it was just too big. The body and arms were the right length but the chunky yarn swamped me. It wasn't comfy to wear and felt like I was sporting a big sister's cast-offs. So I donated it to one of my lovely best friends who stands just over five foot and it fits her perfectly. The photo of her wearing on it is on the right and seeing it I know I made the right choice - better the cardigan gets worn than sits in my drawer unused.  (Please excuse the photo's poor quality - I can't seem to work out why my camera's setting makes everything look yellow!)

This year's first knitting project for me is making Owligan again using the largest size of the children's pattern Wowligan. This time I'm using the equally-strokable Toft DK in Silver and it's knitting up well. I like the knitting in the round construction and lack of sewing up that needs to be done. So far I've completed the body and am on the second sleeve before starting on the yoke. This is a project I can't wait to finish and wear, plus it's a great example of a design I love, not just think's nice.


2. Is it vintage?

Image courtesy of Susan Crawford

When I got back into knitting nearly a decade ago it was seeing Susan Crawford's vintage designs on the internet and her stand at the Harrogate Stitching and Knitting Show that drew me into vintage fashion styling.

Apart from finishing Crawford's Perfect Christmas Jumper and knitting half a vintage-style top that is now languishing in my 'must finish' pile, last year was pretty vintage-free.

Later this year I'm going to spend a day with Susan Crawford at her farm, looking through her samples for her Shetland project and learning as much as I can from her about knitting and adapting her patterns to fit me. I'll also be leaving with skeins from her wool range so I can knit a few of the patterns I love at home (I paid for this once-in-a-lifetime experience as part of her crowdfunder appeal for her The Vintage Shetland Project book).

This year will hopefully be for me the year of the vintage knit and I'm hoping to become pretty proficient in Fair Isle.


3. Does it have a twist on the old?
When another of my friends announced her pregnancy at a Christmas party my first thought was congratulations and the second dismay at having to knit yet another baby blanket. It's become a tradition that I knit a blanket for new arrivals, using mostly my own pattern I designed. Last year I knitted for seven babies, so you can understand that baby blankets have become, well, rather boring.

I don't want to be a bah humbug scrooge, and so when I came across a baby butterfly blanket pattern in the January issue of Knit Now magazine I was delighted to see a project using yarn and stitches I haven't tried before. I admit that the yarn isn't British, and I'm breaking my own rule here, but I chose just this once to use the yarn recommended for the pattern. I'll blog about the blanket when it's finished.

Wishing you all very happy, healthy and woolly 2016.