As yarn shows start to come back again after their enforced closures, I have been thinking about the questions we are regularly asked at our stand. You are probably no doubt aware of our love for self-striping yarns and Schoppel Wolle Zauberball and Zauberball Crazy always seem to catch the eye of visitors to shows. After a customer has selected their perfect colourway, I’m commonly asked, “What can I make with this?” For a while I used to reply that these yarns are great for anything, but it was politely pointed out to me that I was perhaps not being at all helpful…
Read moreUse Every Scrap Knitalong: Preparation
Welcome to the Use Every Scrap Knitalong! Over the next two months we will make a pair of socks together – socks that use every scrap of yarn.
Our first task is to decide what yarn to use. Will you use a combination of scraps or a whole skein of something? Read on to learn how to choose and prepare your yarns for this super-fun knitalong…
Read moreSangallo cowl and Bramante mittens
Yesterday I talked about working shaping and charts at the same time as helical knitting, and today I’m sharing the two patterns that come with chapter 3 of Something New to Learn About Helical Knitting…
Read moreSome knitting time...
While we were away in Shetland I had some stretches of time entirely devoted to knitting. I can't tell you what a treat that was!
Before we left I was able to get the Hyacinthus armwarmers finished off, and into the grabby hands of their new owner. :D I literally wove in the ends just before we got in the car to drive to the airport!
Read moreYarn bossing
Do you happily knit from the ball, taking the yarn as it comes? Or are you more of a yarn bosser? Do you look at the colours in a ball of gradient yarn, and decide where you want to start, or move things along a bit if you're getting bored of a particular colour? Or are you one of those people who cuts out the dissonant shade in a ball of Noro?
Read moreYarn choice and helical stripes
How does yarn choice affect helical striping? Read on to find out....
Read moreHelical stripes and the Hyacinthus armwarmers
On your marks... Get set... Go!
Here is the first pattern for A Year of Techniques! We hope that you will have a ball learning how to work helical stripes, while you make these handy armwarmers. Spring is starting to be in the air here in Somerset, and around the town there are signs of bulbs poking up through the soil. Hyacinths are among my favourite spring bulbs, and the shades of this incredible Zauberball seemed to match the pot I've had on my windowsill this month. Some mornings there is still a bit of a bite in the air while I'm on the school run, or sitting working at my desk, so my Hyacinthus armwarmers are getting plenty of use. Hyacinthus is the genus name for hyacinths - when I'm not browsing Somerset villages for pattern names, my horticulture and bird books come in handy!
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