Colourwork Knitting at the Yarn Barn

Undaunted by the recent snow my intrepid bunch of knitters arrived brisk and early for a colourwork workshop at the Yarn Barn in Milnrow. My lovely group enthusiastically got stuck into mosaic (slipstitch) colourwork knitting, Fairisle and even knitting continental-style with a yarn in either hand :-)

With Judith as our lovely hostess (and her lovely, spacious shop to be tempted by!), some lovely wristlets and wristwarmers were produced...

Thanks for a lovely day ladies :-)

Oh, nearly forgot -  I'll be doing more workshops for Judith throughout the year, including beginner's crochet, knitting in the round, socks, illusion knits and more, so be sure to check the programme for details :-)

New year new book! - 250 Knitting Stitches by Debbie Tomkies

A couple of weeks ago a very special parcel dropped through the letterbox - even more exciting than yarn! (I know, how is that even possible?).

My latest book has been published!

Working on this latest title has been a real adventure. You might think that compiling 250 different stitches would be a challenge but the real challenge was keeping to 250 and reluctantly leaving some out!

Nonetheless, I hope I have included something for everyone. There are the essentials for newer knitters, as well as more challenging stitches for more experienced knitters, historical traditional stitches from around the world and exciting new stitches from my design portfolio.

My personal favourite aspect of the book is that every stitch has both charted and written instructions. As someone who flits between both I find this approach particularly useful and if you're a confirmed chart/written knitter you'll be able to follow the patterns using your preferred method.

 You can pre-order a copy of 250 Knitting Stitches from us here in the UK (published by Search Press). Readers outside the UK will find it in all good stores stocking Interweave publications where it has the slightly different title, Knit Stitch Dictionary. On which subject, the publishers have used UK terminology in the Search Press edition and US terminology in the Interweave edition so you should always be working with familiar terms and symbols :-)

New Design! - Alien Alert! - The Knitting Collection

Judging by my recent posts and tweets you'd be forgiven for thinking that I've forgotten all about designing! I can promise you I haven't but running the mail order business, teaching and working on my research project (more of which later) have really sucked up my time. The ideas are there but the hours in the day aren't!

Still, I couldn't resist knitting up this little number after watching a great programme on retro-gaming in the run-up to Christmas. Fond memories of a mis-spent youth in arcades and cafes blasting little pixelated aliens - ah, happy days!

So here is my latest little design, the Alien Alert! tie. It's double-knitted which makes it reversible so you actually get two ties for the price of one! The tweedy Jamieson's yarn makes it subtle and earthy enough for the more conservative chap in your house but funky enough to be fun and enjoyable to wear - a grown up tie for boys who haven't quite grown up yet! (It would also make a rather fun lariat for my fellow girl-gamers, too, or knit extra repeats for a super-cosy scarf).

You can find the Alien Alert! Tie in The Knitting Collection, a great new publication brought to you by the fab team at Inside Crochet. Featuring 47 fabulous original designs it's packed with many hours of knitting pleasure - perfect for sitting clicking in front of the fire while the winds are howling and the rains are lashing the windows - brrrr!

Finger-knitting good!

 

They say timing is everything and the Craft Club finger knitting session was perfectly timed, just ahead of an invite to teach finger knitting to the SGS 6th formers as part of their general studies experience day.

The plan was to have 15 students per session with 3 sessions and I did wonder if I would have full groups but I needn't have worried. My first session was full, for the second session half the first group asked if they could stay on as well as my second group. By the third session I had students from the first group and the second group both teaching the third group and a full contingent for the third session. Cascade training in action!!!

Longest finger-knit in progress....
 

And after an hour....


 And a lovely scarf, finished off with two cute pompoms (made using a plastic fork!)


It was a great day with lots and lots of knitting made so thanks to all the 6th formers for making it such a fun day and to the teachers for the invite :-)

Steeking!

...or, to the non-knitters out there (esp. those who were expecting another gig review!), cutting your knitting.

I love teaching this workshop as it's a technique that lots of people don't try but that is really awesome when you've got the hang of it. And it really isn't difficult! Practice on a swatch before you dive in, use the right yarn and sharp scissors and you will be amazed at how much it speeds up your knitting, especially colourwork.

So why would you do it? Well, with a bit of planning, a sweater can be reduced to virtually no seams, even when knitted from the bottom up. Sweaters can be knitted in the round from the cast on edge.  Add your bridge stitches for your steek at the armholes and keep knitting in the round, right to the top of the shoulders. Snip open the armholes and pick up and knit the sleeves in the round (so no sleeve seams). With a 3-needle bind off (so no shoulder seaming), there's only the neckline to deal with and the steeks to tidy up. And if you're doing colourwork there are barely any ends to darn in as you're mostly working in the round. Fantastic! You can use steeking for armholes, to convert sweaters into jackets, for thumbs in gloves, handle holes for tea cozies, all sorts!

Here's my class at Purl City Yarns taking the plunge.....

All looking very calm...


Getting those scissors out....


Snippity-snip


And checking the end result - perfect!


And in true Blue Peter tradition, here's one I prepared earlier.....

Swatching for the steeks (the jacket is steeked down the front and armholes, the little vest top has steeked armholes....

And here's the lovely Georgina, kindly modelling the finished jacket and top (thank you to mum, Liz)....

All sewn up! Professional finishing techniques

...at Spun in Huddersfield. Choosing the right seams, picking up stitches, necklines and bands, bind-offs, cast-ons and grafting amongst other things. Lots to do!

A lovely group of ladies as always and lots of banter.



It was exciting to see Lydia's progress on her knitted wedding dress (which is fantastic).(No photos of course in case the groom should see them!).

What was interesting was the first sample. These swatches are all knitted with the same yarn, same stitches and same needles, just 3 different knitters. Even tho' I am, at best, a reluctant swatcher, it certainly makes you appreciate why it's important!

Thank you to the SGS knitting club!

Tuesday was the last of this term's knitting club at school as the time has come for exams and other such things. I've had a fantastic time and it's been great to see the students' skills and confidence grow over the weeks with everyone producing at least one item (several in some cases!) over the term. I'm hoping to round up some photos of the finished projects to show you in due course but in the meantime I thought you might like to see the lovely flowers (note that the flowers match my hair!) and card I received as a thank you. Not that any thank you was necessary - I've enjoyed the course at least as much as the girls I'm sure!

We are hoping to organise more projects so I'll be putting together ideas for next term soon. If you have a teen in the family, what would appeal to them? It doesn't need to be knitting as long as it's textiles-related. Much as I love him, the DS isn't the best source of info. on what 11-16yo girls like making so all suggestions gratefully received!

New patterns available to download!

After much procrastinating I'm finally working my way through all my designs and making them available for download via Ravelry. There are already a few available but today I've uploaded "Spirals" - a bag made of French knitted swirls. Memories of cotton reels and nails anyone? We used to call it knitting nancy or french knitting. How about you?

p.s. It can be made in just about any 4ply yarn (or DK if you tweak the size a bit) so if you fancied a multi-coloured version it would be a cool way to use up those sock yarn leftovers. Or why not incorporate a bit of fancy fluff or sparkle? Mine uses some sparkly sewing threads that were a freebie from Classic Stitches magazine.

My second upload for today is my Helter Skelter socks. These were one of my first sock designs for Simply Knitting. Because they are knitted as a tube there are no heels to knit - great for a first sock! This is the subtle colourway "Iris" that you may have seen on our stall at shows (I'm not allowed to wear these!).

Instead I have a pair in the erm, less subtle "I Want Candy" shade.

I've been wearing mine for ages and because they are knitted as a tube they can be rolled around the foot which cunningly avoids wear at the heels and ankles. Neat!

Knit them in any DK sock yarn - I love them in my Alpaca/Wool/Nylon DK - specially designed for socks and very gentle on the feet - yum!

New designs! Tayberry cloche and slouchy beret

Simply Knitting have featured two of my designs in their latest pattern supplement. Not only that, one of them is on the front cover : ))))

Tayberry (above) uses my hand-dyed baby alpaca aran

The slouchy beret

 uses my hand-dyed Bluefaced Leicester Aran.

A big thank you to the lovely Vicky who took both patterns on holiday with her to test knit for me - dedication above and beyond the call of duty! These are the Simply Knitting pics, but there are some beautiful ones with extra detail and different colourways in Vicky's projects on Ravelry taken by her very talented photographer husband, Laurie. And not forgetting a huge thank you  to P for exemplary modelling!

May clubs - on their way tomorrow : )

Just to let all my lovely club members know that all the clubs have been dyed and are just finishing off drying ready for posting tomorrow. And I haven't forgotten that there aren't any pictures of last month's clubs. This is because all the extras sold before I'd taken any pics so I'll be dyeing some extra this week.

Now for a quick quiz.

Debbie will be dyeing up extra yarn and fibre because:
a) she likes to have pics of all her club fibres on the blog
b) it is good practice for repeating colours and testing her recipe-writing skills
c) she had her eye on some of the yarn for a new sock pattern and the fibre for a hat.
or d) all of the above ; )

Answers on a postcard please.....

February sock clubs are on the way....

Sock club parcels were posted this morning, so keep an eye out for your postie : )

I hope everyone liked their two free patterns last month. I have just finished a new pattern and club members will be getting an exclusive copy next month for a mystery KAL, so get those needles at the ready : ))

Whirlwind January - the Big Knit!

Not quite sure what happened to January! All I know is that it's already gone and we're into February!

So, I'm now casting my mind back to where I've been and what I've been up to the last couple of weeks....

First up, The Big Knit!


This was a great day, organised by Big Issue in the North, and hosted by the Nexus Art Cafe in Manchester. The aim of the day was to knit hats, gloves and scarves for Big Issue vendors. Around 70 knitters sat and chatted, knitted (or learned to knit), ate cakes and coffee and generally had a great time. Lots of knitting later and there was a lovely line of finished items, ready to be given to vendors. I taught two lovely girls to knit. They'd only dropped in to find out about a gig, but ended up spending all afternoon learning to knit and producing a good couple of inches of scarf each! Here they are with their knitting - great work, girls!


If you have some spare time, Big Issue in the North are always happy to receive warm items for their vendors, many of whom are homeless and all of whom sell the Big Issue on our high streets in all weathers. If you need yarn or knitting needles, just get in touch with them and they'll be happy to send out a parcel so you can get knitting! And if you have yarn or needles to donate, these are always needed and can be dropped off at the Big Issue offices in Manchester.

Thank you to the Nexus Cafe and to Dante and his team for organising such a great event!

(And, for those of you in the Manchester area, the cafe runs a knitting group on Sunday afternoons, as well as various craft groups and lots of other exciting events).

Knitting frenzy!

I am hopeless when it comes to making knits for people for Christmas, but this year I was absolutely determined and thus far I have (drum roll, please) 3 gifts finished and onto gift 4!!!

I do have a fallback plan in the form of some backup bought gifts if I don't make it to my target, but so far (fingers crossed), it's going ok. Wish me luck : ))

Hippy Chick Headband now available as download

I am gradually working my way through my design portfolio and making all my patterns available as downloads. My Hippy Chick Headband is the latest addition and is also available as a Dye-It-Yourself Kool Aid project kit.

So far, downloads have to be done through Ravelry but eventually they'll be available direct from the website. Patterns are £2.50 each. If you see a pattern you'd like, you can always email me and I can send you a printed copy in the post (same price, no P&P). Payment can be by all the normal methods, paypal, card etc.

Never mess with a knitter....

...if she is a witch that is.

I forgot this photo which I took on our holiday in Cornwall. It was in the Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle. I was genuinely surprised to see it as I'd never heard of knitting being used for spell-casting before. (And no, I don't own any glass knitting needles in case you were wondering).

I'm in Knit Today! Wheeeee!!!!

Well, that kind of says it all, really. Yes, this month I am the featured designer in Knit Today's "In the Spotlight" feature - how totally cool is that? There's a bit more about it here on the website but I was so excited I thought I'd share it here, too : ))

A big thank you to Isobel who is modelling my new, eponymously titled "Isobel swirl-topped hat", and also to Katrina who is modelling the crocheted sunhat. (And thankfully there is only one pic of me to contend with!).

Ooh, and must mention that the socks are the Chevron de Paix socks that I designed for the p/hop project for Medecins sans Frontieres. The sock pattern is available for download from the Medecins sans Frontieres website with all donations going to support their excellent work.

(All the other patterns in the article are available for £2.50 each (free postage) but they're not on the website yet so if you'd like one, drop me an email and I'll send one out).

New test-knit ready!

Julia has test-knitted my little hearts top and it looked so cute! She's dyed the yummy lambswool/cashmere/angora yarn in gorgeous greeny-blues and it is really pretty.

This morning I finished sizing the matching jacket so it's back over to Julia for more knitting! She is such a superstar : ))

No pics unfortunately as this design is promised elsewhere, but I might manage a little hint so you can see the colours at least.

Knitting at the pub

Last night was knitting group at the pub. A good time was had by all and the very tasty new guest beer (Morris Mayhem for you Camra buffs) got the thumbs up from the beer quaffers (that'll be me and Julia).

Jane was sporting her gorgeous new crocheted top and Julie brought a very nice silk/cotton crocheted evening bag. As usual I hadn't finished anything so was just admiring everyone else's completed projects.

Ooh, and Julia has finished her handspun, hand-knitted blanket and it looks fab. Must see if I can get a pic for you to see.

Needing a yarn pick-me-up

... so tomorrow, all being well, I'm going to have some new yarns to look at. There are a couple of yarns which I'm pretty sure I'll be stocking, but who knows what surprises there might be, so I'm keeping an open mind. And I've had a horrid day today, so I need some yarn therapy.

New sock pattern

Or at least it will be, as soon as I wrestle the heel into submission. I'm not a fan of short row heels (they never seem long enough even tho' I only have size three hobbit feet!) but the toe-up heel flap method is also not proving ideal as I'm using a cotton yarn and it leaves the heel with a bit of a ridge right at the cup of the heel. The lack of stretch in the cotton also means that the cast-off at the cuff is either waaay too tight or much too loose. I've tried all manner of cast offs, none of which seem to fit the bill (yet).

On the plus side, I do love the pattern stitch. It's a cocktail of different stitches that I've combined together and I really like the way they work. Just need to crack the dratted heel and sort the cuff.....and keep reminding myself that it will be worth it as the yarn is soooo soft. Right, deep breath - just time to frog that heel before tea....