Published pattern designer...........well sort of.

I can't believe I haven't blogged about this before but this appears to be the case.
So two issues back of yarnforward, Issue 11 to be precise.



See this a bit closer..........



I have to say if I had been given a choice I would definately have called this licorice allsort but I guess there must have been trademark issues with that one.

Yes, that is the original scarf sitting right next to the magazine, the one in the picture. The one that is credited to me as my design. I have to be totally fair here I was only expecting a part mention for the design as it was the inspiration of Shannon Okey who said "Can you knit me up a lengthways scarf with this stitch, oh and use anything from your stash, oh and can you have it done and in the post by Monday".... and I did.

So first of all a bit of stash raiding was needed and I came up with this pile



There were quite a few oddments of collinette amongst the pile so I went ahead trying to identify some of the other yarns.......



.......I am afraid some of these remainded unidentified!





Deciding on the order of colours was great fun.



And finally the uber long finished scarf. I have only blogged now as I actually gave this away to a friend yesterday for her birthday and then remembered I had never posted anything about it. She admired it when I first knit it back in January and it only seemed fitting that as she loved it so much she had it.

Seeing the whole thing published in a magazine with my name there got me really excited and I am now plotting a few things for the future, so watch this space.

OK Possum.......................................

Just a little skein I treated myself to when I was up at Iknit on Monday for a yarny photoshoot - more details on that later.



I meant to go back and buy some from the Jamie Possum stand at Ally Pally but some how I never made it back so I was delighted to find that Iknit were stocking it.

I have wanted to knit the Miss Potter mittens from Issue 3 of Yarnforward Magazine and I decided that one skein of Jamie Possum of the hand dyed by Silkwood variety would make a fab pair.









I just love the way that this yarn gets softer and softer the more you work with it. It was also a really quick and easy pattern to knit up and shows off the varigation well.

NOTE: I did paint my nails especially to take the photos and just in case anyone really cares it's Jessica Nail polish - VIP Room!

Diary of a magazine knitter...............................

Well not so much a diary but an insight into how I spent my summer. Quite a while ago I was asked to knit up a sample of a top for Yarnforward magazine and after I had sent it back I was asked if I would like to knit another item for them. This time a man's sweater by the Rowan designer Martin Storey. I was thrilled. And then I was a little panicked. You see I knew I had reports to write but I had the whole of the summer holiday before the deadline - didn't I?
As it turns out there was a need to bring that forward a little but I did make it just by the skin of my teeth and a lot of patience from the rest of the family.
I have to say I am so proud of the finished item and was so thrilled to walk into my local Tesco's to see the copy of the magazine staring out at me from the rack. Two other proud moments have been seeing it on display on the Yarnforward stand at both the Iknit day and at Ally Pally.

So I originally recieved 24 balls of Rowan Pure Wool DK and a folder with the design. Here is the rest of the story in pictures from patterns, to cast on, to modelling to the final mag and then display at Iknit and Ally Pally.

My, my,my ..........Delilah!

OK so I can now finally blog about my secret project.
Here it is ....................








A little while back there was a thread on Ravelry on the Yarnforward group asking for a test knitter. Well I am generally known for my speedy knitting and with half term coming up this was a realistic possibility so on my doorstep (well actually Carl's school) arrived a package containing lots of balls of this.



I really like this yarn and a few years back knitted an entire mens sweater in it. I love the way that it ages when it washes. It really does shrink and fade just like your favourite jeans.

Anyway I was asked to knit a lovely, summery lace halterneck.



I love the fact that it is knit in the round which gave me another opportunity to use my knitpicks. This time it gave me the perfect excuse to justify having also bought the metal tips as they really are better to use when knitting cotton.



I think this photo shows off the lacey pattern well and also how the dye is only on the outside of the yarn.



This one shows more of the detail from a different angle.





Luckily for me there was also loads of yarn left and I was allowed to keep back enough balls to knit a top for myself. I have to say for that I will need to make a few alterations to accomadate the slightly larger bust. I will be keeping a few more stitches on the needle and picking up extras behind the first cup on when knitting the second to give a little more coverage.

Also it is worth noting here I think that although the back of the top looks a little too large on the model in the magazine this is because it had not yet been washed and when it is washed the yarn shrinks by about 20% as well as fading so it will give a better fit. This is worth considering which size to knit when you have chosen which type of cotton you wish to use. Also worth noting is that Sirdar also do a cheaper shrinkable cotton which you can purchase for around £1.30 a ball at the Black sheep, so that makes this a very cheap summer knit.

If you are looking at it and thinking it is two complicated I can assure you it's not it is just two rows to the lace pattern with no complicated stitches, just very effective.


It seems really strange to see my name in print in such big letters too. I would have had a photograph of that too but I couldn't get a clear enough picture with the camera.

What shall we do with Rowan Chunky Print?

Well it seemed like such a bargain when I saw a pack of 10 balls of Rowan Chunky Print on the The Black Sheep stand at Ally Pally last year - less than half price and vaguely pink it had to be a bargain -didn't it?

Little did I know at the time it was going to take me a year to find a pattern that I really liked and was worth knitting.


This was the first pattern that I found, in fact the only pattern I could find in a Rowan book to use with the yarn I had just bought. I bought myself some lovely Brittany needles in 12mm and 10mm needles and was ready to cast on. I managed about 10 rows and mastered the wrapping around but decided this just wasn't an item I was going to wear. The project was then shelved for about 6 months.

Then while searching on Knitty.com I came across this purely by accident and decided that this could be a very good use for my yarn.

I still haven't decided whether I will knit this and I still have 6 balls left if I do go ahead which is enough but on Saturday while visiting Iknit London I found this in the new edition of Yarn Forward Magazine (Autumn 2007 - issue 3).

It was perfect so I got casting on straight away. I do wonder if the designer also picked up a pack of this yarn at Ally Pally too and also couldn't find a pattern so went ahead and designed her own. What ever the reason I am eternally grateful. I have been knitting this today while in the queque at Chessington World of Adventures. I have almost finished. It really is a very quick knit and only takes 4 balls.

I now want to see if I can also knit up a child's version in 2 balls.