Review of Flatland by Katya Frankel

Vector image copyright Katya Frankel

Have you got all your Christmas presents bought, wrapped and given out and are now sitting smugly on the sofa with a glass of mulled wine feeling rather pleased with yourself? No? Me neither - I'm in a dash trying to sew up and block a jumper gift before Christmas Eve.

If you're looking to buy a pattern download as a last-minute gift for a knitter then Flatland, Katya Frankel's latest pattern collection, is worth more than a browse. It's a short but very sweet collection of three 'Autumn essential' patterns comprising a bobble hat called Vector (pictured right), mitts and an oversized cowl. What I like about this collection is that they're all doable, in that the three patterns are immensely wearable with a bit of a challenge to knit but not too much as to be off-putting.

Tesseract image copyright Katya Frankel

Frankel is a UK-based designer who has a fascination with geometrical shapes. Her work has appeared in British mainstream knitting magazines and she has also published two other books. Flatland's inspiration is apparently, according to the press release, "a Victorian science fiction novel, called Flatland, in which 2D shapes strive to a higher degree of regularity, in in their words 'perfection'". To the layperson I think this means that the three designs have fun with geometrical patterns.

The cowl, named 'Tesseract', can be worn long or alternatively folded twice round the neck to create an extra-snug fit. Knitted in chunky yarn, it has a garter stitch and lace pattern framed by ribbing. This pattern is less complicated than 'Vector' and is one I would knit in front of the TV, with it not requiring my full attention to follow.

Tangent image copyright Katya Frankel

Finally, the 'Tangent' mitts have a design that plays with the idea of angles and curves and are knitted in the round. This pattern uses DK yarn. Mitts have been very on trend for the last few years. Although they look lovely it's a slight bugbear of mine that it's difficult to find glove patterns these days for those of us who like to keep our fingers warm. It would be great if Frankel published a version of 'Tangent' with full fingers.

Flatland is available from Ravelry as an ebook costing £5.25. Alternatively the three patterns can be bought individually for £3.50 each.

All in all this is a lovely small pattern collection, which makes me want to follow Frankel's work in the future.

Take Heart - Review of Pom Pom Press' First Pattern Book

Image courtesy of Pom Pom Press

Pom Pom Quarterly magazine has built a reputation for being a cutting-edge indie knitting magazine with a luxurious paper feel. Now Pom Pom has expanded its activities to launch Pom Pom Press. Their first pattern book, Take Heart - A Transatlantic Knitting Journey, has been published in time for Christmas.

The accessory patterns, all 11 of them, are the brainchild of designer Fiona Alice. Fiona is originally from Canada but has since crossed the Atlantic herself to live in London.

At first glance at my review copy I was delighted to see that each pattern uses an indie yarn from Canada and the UK. As this blog celebrates British yarn it's these designs I'm most interested in. The Take Heart beanie uses Toft Alpaca Aran silver yarn, whilst the Lunenberg Harbour socks are knitted in Toft Alpaca Silk Extra Fine. I'm a great fan of Toft's quality British yarn. Toft Alpaca itself seems to be concentrated on the crochet side of the business, with its Edward's Menagerie crochet patterns of animals and birds, so I was particularly pleased to see new knitting patterns using their yarn.

The Chester Basin Mittens, which match the Chester Basin Hat, are knitted with Border Mill Alpaca Tweed, a brand I was previously unaware with but now am keen to take a closer look at. If a wrap/shawl is more your thing in Winter weather then Three Cliffs, knitted with John Arbon Textiles Viola, is a cosy-looking pattern. The Uncommon Thread BFL Fingering yarn is used for the Pennard Castle legwarmers. It's a beautiful pattern but my legwarmer-wearing days ended as a child in the 1980s.

Patterns using Canadian yarn are also work more than a look, my favourite being the Martinique Beach Cowl using SweetGeorgia Yarns Trinity Worsted.

Take Hart includes stunning photography, shot on the Gower Coast in South Wales, of the finished garments. Alice has also added her schematic sketches of her designs. Clearly a lot of care has been taken in the production of the book.

The digital book is available on Ravelry for £14.40. Alternatively buy a print and digital copy from Pom Pom Press for £14.50 plus £1.80 post and packaging within the UK.

Christmas Gifts For Knitters

Now that the commercial buying frenzy of Black Friday (which turned out to last the whole weekend) and Cyber Monday are out of the way it's time to support Small Business Saturday on 5th December. Awoollyyarn believes in buying British yarn, particularly wool, and supporting our island's designer/makers rather than the big multinational companies that pile acrylic and polyester yarn high and sell it cheap.

Here is my choice of ten presents for knitters that can be purchased online. Buying one of these creates a double whammy: not only will you put a smile on the recipient's face on Christmas Day, but also you'll be supporting the livelihood of the independent yarn stores and designer/makers who rely on the Christmas season to make the bulk of their yearly profits.

I've avoided choosing patterns and yarns because it can be difficult to guess the colour, style and weight your gift recipient may like. Please note that all prices were correct at the time of writing and do not include postage and packing.

1. Baa Baa Brighouse Stitch Markers

These adorable stitch markers come on a large safety pin that in itself will be handy for a buttonless cardigan. The stitch markers come in two sizes, up to 3.5mm and up to 7.5mm. The six designs include a ball of wool, tape measure and pair of scissors. £4.

Image courtesy of Baa Baa Brighouse

2. Herdy Tape Measure

A tape measure is a necessity for knitters and this version from this company founded in the Lake District has a cute sheep on the front, which is also the company's mascot. £3.50.

Image courtesy of Herdy

3. Susan Crawford's Vintage Shetland Project Book

This book chronicling Shetland's rich knitting history and featuring 25 patterns for garments from Shetland Museum's textile archive, along with an essay on each piece, is available for pre-order. It's a book that both knitting and social history fans will treasure. £25.

Image courtesy of Susan Crawford

4. Max's World Knitting Needles Earrings

Knitters with pierced ears will adore these handmade ball of wool and knitting needle earrings. The yarn is hand dyed 100% lace weight merino with a streak of sparkle running through. £10.

5. Kelly Connor Designs Knitting Bag

Nobody puts my knitting in a corner! So says this delightful knitting bag, reminiscent of the famous Dirty Dancing movie line said by Patrick Swazye 'Nobody puts Baby in the corner'. Practical and fun, what's not to love? £24.95.

Image courtesy of Kelly Connor Designs

6. Brityarn's Stitch Safe Mini Hooks

Not only are these small hooks gorgeous to look at but also they are very handy at picking up dropped stitches. Available in purple, red or cream. £8.50.

7. Loop Heavy Duty Wooden Ball Winder

This is more an investment piece than a one-off present but although it's not cheap it will be a lifeline for knitters sick of trying to use their arms and a back of a chair to untie yarn skeins and roll them into a ball. £290.

Image courtesy of Loop Knitting

8. The Yarn Ball Yarn Bowl

I've got my eye on this myself. Handmade by ceramicist Annette Bugansky the ball splits in the middle. Pop your yarn inside, pull the end out of the top and you have an efficient yet beautiful solution to keeping your yarn-in-progress safe. £70.

Image courtesy of Knit With Attiutde

9. Baa Ram Ewe Travel Mug

Leeds-based yarn store baa ram ewe has produced this travel mug as an antidote to the throwaway packaging used for takeaway coffees. There are three cheeky designs at £10 each:

1. Voulez vous crochet avec moi ce soir?
2. Get your steek on
3. No woman no ply

Image courtesy of baa ram ewe

10. Eden Cottage Yarns' Hand Carved Herdwick Ewe

This entry receives a special dispensation to appear in the list. Although the sheep is hand carved in Japan it is of the much-loved British sheep and sold by a Yorkshire company. Hailing from Yorkshire myself I'm biased towards most things connected with my birth county! This wooden sheep is a lovely ornament for sheepy wool lovers. £30.

Image courtesy of Eden Cottage Yarns

And finally ...

Just in case you need a spare present on hand in case there's someone you haven't thought of how about this Brighton-made small alpaca necklace from Toft Alpaca? Non-knitter ladies will love it too.

Image courtesy of Toft Alpaca

Are there any gifts you think are perfect for knitters? Do let me know in the comment box below.

Special Edition West Yorkshire Spinners' Christmas Sock Yarn + Free Pattern

Image courtesy of Brityarn

It's December and in my book that means it's officially time to put on the Christmas CDs, hang up the twinkly lights and start getting in the Christmas spirit - although it's too early for me yet to put the tree up - that'll happen in a couple of weeks. This year my husband and I are ditching the well-used fake tree for white twig tree with lights already attached.

I started my festive knitting for gifts a few months' back but now, assuming I get the presents finished in time, it's time for some 'me' knitting and West Yorkshire Spinners' special edition festive sock yarn fits that bill.

The two 100g 4 ply balls are Holly Berry - a variegated yarn that knits up to look like Fair Isle - and a solid red yarn called Cherry Drop. I bought mine from the online British wool shop Brityarn.

I've knitted a pair of socks using West Yorkshire Spinners' signature sock yarn before: see my previous post Knitting Socks Through Election Night. When I showed the finished result to my godmother she actually thought I'd knitted an intricate Fair Isle pattern, whereas really it was stocking stitch most of the way. The signature yarn knits up beautifully.

West Yorkshire Spinners has released a festive sock pattern to accompany the yarn This is what I'll be having a go at. I think the finished socks will look great worn with my red Mary Jane Doc Martins!

Here's the design:

Image courtesy of West Yorkshire Spinners

To download the free pattern go to the West Yorkshire Spinners' pattern download page. I hope you get the chance this December to do some knitting for yourself.

Kate Davies' Buachaille Seven Skeins

Buachaille pic courtesy of Kate Davies

As of this weekend Kate Davies' own-brand Scottish wool Buachaille, spun in Yorkshire, is available for sale in her online shop. Previously the range was only available to a limited number of customers who signed up for her seven skeins club. These people received their seven skeins a few weeks ago along with seven to accompany them. Davies is publishing a book comprising the seven patterns plus essays, photos and recipes. There has been a delay at the printers but the book will be on general sale soon.

Buachaille is Kate Davies' love child after wondering why there are so few Scottish yarns available on the market. She created the yarns herself, with help from a dying and spinning company, and came up with seven colour ways: Highland Coo (rust); Between Weathers (mid blue); Yaffle (Spring green); Islay (teal); Ptarmigan (natural white); Squall (natural dark grey); and Haar (natural silver grey). Each 50g skein costs £7.49.

I will be fortunate to see all seven colours on Christmas Day because my husband bought me a seven skeins membership for Christmas. I have had a sneak peak of the seven accompanying designs though and these are my favourite:

Buachaille Baffies
Fabulous socks come house slippers. There are two designs - one with more intricate colour work and one with simpler stripes (shown below). I certainly can imagine knitting a pair for me and a pair for a friend's present.

Image courtesy of Kate Davies

Cochal
This width and length of this snood can be changed depending on how tight our slouchy you like to wear them. Davies has knitted Cochal in various colour ways but the one below is my favourite - I adore the teal wool.

Image courtesy of Kate Davies

Bunnet
A cosy, hat with a five point crown on the back. There are two versions two knit: slouchy or more close-fitting.

Image courtesy of Kate Davies

Sadly in every pattern book there's something I wouldn't knit in a million years and here is such a pattern from Kate Davies, although I can see that she needed something small to knit to use up the leftovers from the seven skeins.

Oobit
A felted bangle. I'd have loved it when I was eight years old but now? Nope. All very Why Don't You? for readers who remember the 1980s children's programme that urged viewers to turn off the TV and do something less boring instead, like threading melon seeds together to make a bracelet (true and my best mate Sarah and I actually tried it one rainy day. That anecdote still keeps us laughing).

Image courtesy of Kate Davies

And another Kate Davies pattern
If you missed out on seven skeins and would prefer to buy the wool in a kit then Kate Davies' latest design, Goats of Inversnaid, is available in her shop in a bright rust, blue and white colour way. The kit has patterns for a hat and hand warmers. I have bought one and will review it when I've finished Christmas knitting and have time to start something new.

Image courtesy of Kate Davies

I'd like to change the hand warmers into gloves. Does anyone know how to change the pattern to add fingers? If so I'd really appreciate you letting me know in the comments box below. Thanks in advance!

Christmas Jumper Patterns

December is not far off and many knitters are rushing to complete their Christmas jumper for this year.

In 2014 I blogged about knitting for Christmas Jumper Day. This year the charity Save The Children is once again planning a seasonal woolly jumper fundraiser on Friday 18th December, but the charity has also teamed up with Make A Wish and Macmillan Cancer Support.  For details of how to get involved go to this page. There will even be a special programme on ITV on 18th September to celebrate the campaign.

So - the big question is what to knit? Kitsch festive jumpers have ruled the roost and the stores for the past few years but there are other designs that give a festive feel without screaming 'IT'S CHRISTMAS!' in your face a la Noddy Holder.

Last year it lay half-completed on my needles but now my Susan Crawford Perfect Christmas Jumper is finished and waiting until it's near enough to Christmas to be worn. I customised it to suit my short figure by removing a row of pattern to make the body shorter and also calming down the voluptuous shoulders.

Here are some other patterns perfect to become your Christmas Jumper of 2015:

1. Kate Davies Boreal

This jumper falls into the quietly-festive category. Whilst it's not overtly Christmassy the snowflake patterns and cool colours give it a joyous, wintery feel. This design will last you right through until February.

Image courtesy of Kate Davies

2. Kate Heppell's Figgy Pudding Jumper

This bright and fun design appeared in issue 54 of Knit Now magazine, which should still be available in your local newsagent's. It capitalises on the Scandinavian trend for yoke designs and will be an enjoyable challenge for an intermediate knitter. Personally I would change the background colour to red, but this would make it a tad more Christmassy.

Image courtesy of Knit Now magazine

3. Sarah Hatton's Etherow Jumper

This year Rowan brought out a pattern brochure called Winterscape to support its Alpaca Merino UK yarn. Sarah Hatton's Fair Isle yoke design Etherow has a lovely, festive feel and the use of a merlot-coloured yarn rather than red adds to its rich depth.

Image courtesy of Rowan

4. Sue Stratford's Merry Christmas Jumper

Download this pattern free from knitting website The Yarn Loop, the online home of Knit Today, Simply Knitting and The Knitter magazines. It's unashamedly Christmassy and certainly will win you a lot of laughs on the big day. The pattern is taken from Sue Stratford's book Merry Christmas Sweaters To Knit.

5. Sirdar Christmas Jumper With Trees

Another yoke design but this time the pattern's snowflakes fall all the way down the body of the jumper. It's billed as a tasteful Christmas jumper and certainly is a suitable design for those of you adverse to reindeer and pom poms. I featured this design last year but have included it again because the Yorkshire firm baa ram ewe has knitted up the design in its own Dovestone DK yarn, released in 2015.

Image courtesy of baa ram ewe

6. Tin Can Knits' Snowflake Sweater

The beauty of this design is that it's available in all sizes from baby to adult. If you knit it in more muted colours it's less Christmassy, but whip it up in red or green to maximise the festive effect. I adore the sparkly yoke.

Image courtesy of Tin Can Knits

7. Purl & Jane's Christmas Reindeer Jumper

I have the pattern and yarn just waiting to knit up this fun design that in my opinion is a little more cool than kitsch thanks to the reindeer's square edges. The pattern's sizes range from 32 to 50 inch chest. Hopefully I'll have started and finished it in time for Christmas Jumper Day 2016!

Image courtesy of Purl & Jame

Knitting & Pain

Recently I've not been too well. The chronic pain and exhaustion that comes with my physical disability has come more often than gone and my days haven't been productive.

When I'm in lots of pain life literally slows to a halt. I'm not up to doing any work, reading a book, watching TV or - and here's the rub - even knitting. Milder pain however, knitting is fabulous for, I find that getting lost in its rhythm is perfect for de-stressing. Plus when I have done some knitting, whether it's finishing off a complicated project or just having done a few garter stitch rows of a baby blanket, I feel I have achieved something in that day that's concrete and visible. It's important to me to know that I have done something useful with my day, however small that useful thing might be.

I haven't done much knitting in the last few weeks, hence the lack of posts. I did, however, manage to finish knitting a pair of Clare Devine's Elgin socks for a Brit Yarn Great British Socks KAL on Ravelry. I used up some Debbie Bliss Blue Faced Leicester Aran yarn and was pleased to be part of a the online group championing British wool and British designers.

Here are my Elgin comfy bedsocks:

Now I have a baby blanket and two jumpers to finish before Christmas for presents and then my treat is to cast on the jumper Cloudburst using West Yorkshire Spinners' new Illustrious yarn.

If you are interested in knitting as therapy and its use in combatting pain I recommend reading these articles:

Mail Online - Knitting can reduce stress
ENDOhope - How knitting helps me with my chronic pain and fatigue
BBC Radio 4 - All In The Mind: A knitting prescription