I decided it was about time I made some things for myself. Any followers of my Instagram will have seen these in parts, as it seems easier to post pictures regularly than write blog posts.

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Wonderwool purchases!

To cut a long story short I’ve rediscovered knitting for a hobby. Having a full time job, coming home, putting your feet up and following someone else’s pattern is something to be said for. No working things out!

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Fivemoons Luna Twist 4ply

Last year I was writing patterns full time, and any knitting time was spent making the designs I was working on. Once finished, I started something new – anything else felt like I was wasting time when I could be making money. Doing bar work in the evenings just made me feel there was something better to be doing – I was just killing time until I could get home and put my head into designing.  And drinking more than I wanted to be. (Sorry Windmill, I love you really!)

Certainly not the worse pub to have been working in!

At the moment, I’m loving not designing in my free time. I’m still taking on commissions from work, and I still have ideas, which are growing by the bucketload due to the line of work that I’m in. So many beautiful patterns pass through my hands on a daily basis I’d be crazy not to be influenced or want to make any of them for myself.

So I made these:

Circle Socks by Fnugg

The circle socks were a direct result of sock jealously after I finished the Strings socks for Chris.  It simply wasn’t fair that he could slouch around in a pair of hand knit socks and I couldn’t.  (Although the cable socks he bought me from Fatface were definately helping.)

I really enjoyed the colourwork and found this pattern on Ravelry by Fnugg.  It’s free too – not something that was in my search criteria, but how could I resist! I changed it slightly so the circles go all around the sock and I wanted to make it toe-up – but I think my afterthought heel could be a bit neater.  I just haven’t quite grasped colourwork in the round neatly enough yet.

And then I made these:

Saltburn by Rachel Coopey

After visiting Wonderwool and seeing the lovely Rachel Coopey’s designs in the flesh, I couldn’t walk by and not take her book with me.  I’d already picked up this yarn and wanted to go home and make something with it straight away! I picked Saltburn as I loved the cables, but wanted to make them all one colour.  It’s a really fun pattern to knit and I finished them in a week.

To say I’m enjoying myself is an understatement.  I forgot that this whole love of knitting stemmed from a hobby in the first place, and trying to turn it into a design career suffocated that a bit.  There needs to be an even balance. Quite possibly, I might have found it.

For now, however, I shall mostly be indulging in making things just for me

It’s a simple pattern that can be created in an evening or two, and is great for those of you new to knitting in the round. It begins with an icord cast on, so you don’t need to worry about joining in the round or twisting stitches. The mag is available worldwide through the Simply Knitting website in both print and digital versions.

In other news this week I have been mostly knitting Fair Isle socks! They should be finished by the weekend so I will post photos soon. For “in-progress” shots join me on Instagram!

Photo by Jesse Wild

A few of you have asked if the pattern is available, and I am happy to say that yes, it is! You can now download the pattern for free from the Simply Knitting website.

I went along to the show on Thursday and was on hand to help anyone who felt like joining in.  We provided a nice space for new and experienced knitters to put their feet up and click their needles for a bit, and in the process met some lovely people.  The free workshops ran from 11-3.15, Thursday to Sunday, and each of us on the team took part in a day at the show, showing newbies the ropes and chatting with some of the more speedy folk.

Photos by Jesse Wild

I’d have loved to have stayed longer to have a look around, and even check out Somerset House’s “Wool House” if I hadn’t been booked in a taxi home, but alas that shall have to wait! There are so many things to see and do in London..

All in all it was a successful weekend and we all had a great time – hopefully those of you that joined in enjoyed it too!

Last week I went on my first location shoot for The Knitter.  Exciting!

It was set in an amazing place in Bristol that gave me quite severe house envy.  Although if I’m honest, I’d mess this place up quite quickly and it wouldn’t look quite the same.  It would have yarn coming out of every crevice for starters.

As this was my first shoot, most of the day was spent watching how things were done and helping to get garments ready to be photographed, although in future I will have some direction in the way things are presented.  So I sewed some buttons onto a cardigan and did some little knit touch-up jobs.  The best thing was, it was actually warm enough to sit and do this outside! Someone even offered suncream.

I began taking lots of photos of what was going on, thinking it would make a great blog post, but then it dawned on me that I can’t really share them as the patterns are obviously secret. So I am posting these behind the scenes shots instead to give an idea of the feel of the day.

This photo isn’t all that exciting, however the sofa was the most gorgeous thing ever,  beautifully covered in wool and made me wish I could do upholstery, or just pay someone something to own such a thing.  Maybe I’ll add it to my Pinterest wishlist – I’m trying to make it like a vision board to try and attract those things into my life – you never know!

Being a bit of a photography geek anyway, this day was right up my street.  In the past I have worked with photographers as a studio assistant and photo editor, so I like to think I’ve got an eye for it. Note these photos aren’t the best example of that!

It was a little odd to be there and not be the one holding the reflectors and setting up lights, but it was nice to understand that side of things and see it all happening from a different perspective.

Our model Caitlin was beautiful and completely lovely, and the whole team were really great to spend the day with.

This is my finished bunting all set up ready for our photographer Jesse to get a professional shot of it. I’m really pleased I get to keep it! So it will be hanging around my desk as of next week

We will be doing workshops at the Spring Knitting and Stitching show at London Olympia on on the 14-17th March teaching people how to make this and some crochet flowers.  I will be there on Thursday, so if you’re there come and say hello!

In other news I am now a bit more active on Instagram, and Flickr, having finally got myself a phone with a decent camera.  So if I’m not here, follow me there for a quick visual knitty/crafty diary.

For those of you that don’t know, I have started a new job working as a Tech Editor for The Knitter, Simply Knitting and Simply Crochet magazines. (No this doesn’t mean you can email me here when you’re stuck!) So far the job is awesome and I can’t really believe my luck

The job involves looking through patterns to go in upcoming issues of the magazine and checking through them to make sure they are going to work, and that they are consistent to house style. Being a geek for all things knitty, but also having a thing for working with layouts in InDesign and correcting things for spelling errors, this is quite obviously the job for me!

So recently I’ve been concentrating on getting into the job, knitting little things for myself in my spare time and taking a bit of time out from designing. I’m sure that will return sooner or later – looking at other designer’s patterns all day every day is already filling my head with ideas and inspiration!

I thought today I might share with you a few photos I have taken over the last month.

This is a typical desk shot.  As I am still taking part in the 365 project this year be sure to see a few more of these!  The hat was something I was making up for my boyfriend before he went off on tour with his theatre company, The Paper Cinema, to Yorkshire and Scotland in January.  The yarn was all Erika Knight’s Vintage Wool and I received not one but three text messages letting me know how warm it was, so I think I did good there

This is Great British Yarns in Bath – We went to the showroom here on a field trip from work last week to talk about new yarns and have a fondle. GBY is the only supplier of Knit Picks yarn to the UK which is very exciting! They also hold workshops on lace, steeking, colourwork and finishing techniques and host a knitting group.

Above is a second version I knitted recently of my Edith Mittens.  I wanted a pair for myself, it was freezing back in January and I wanted to be able to wear them every day without worrying about ruining the samples I knitted with A Stash Addict’s BFL aran.  This pair were made with Cascade 220 worsted, which is available in just about any colour you can think of.  The yarn knits up really neatly without much pilling, which is nice.  I love the stitch definition, even after wearing these and having them shoved in my pockets for weeks.  The yarn is also really affordable, at just £5.50 per 100g skein, which makes it a great option for those of you on a budget.

I also knitted myself another version of my Constantine hat, for the same reasons above.  Please excuse the rubbish kitchen photo, I have been meaning to go and take nice ones for a while but it’s just delaying me from making blog posts.  My mum bought me some Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride worsted for Christmas (see previous post) and this was the perfect thing to make with it.  I also wanted to be able to suggest a nice yarn to use for those of you in the States, given that the pattern was written with Erika Knight’s Vintage Wool – a 100% British yarn.  Although this is now distributed in the US, a lot of folk on Ravelry seem to like the Lamb’s Pride and I know it is more readily available.

I actually found the yarn a lot like Rowan Cocoon; it’s really soft and knits up nicely – maybe slightly splitty – but the over all result is similar and it makes a great hat yarn.  I also used bigger needles this time as I wanted a really slouchy hat, but in hindsight I should have compensated for the ribbing as it’s now a little too loose.

I’ve also started making myself a pair of socks! I enjoyed the Strings socks I posted about last month so much that I just had to cast on another pair.  The pattern is Circle Socks by Fnugg and I’m using King Cole Merino blend 4py.

My new yarn bowl, below, was a birthday present from my boyfriend from Red Hot Pottery. I had put this on my Pinterest Vision board in the hope that somehow it would find it’s way into my life, and low and behold it did! Handmade in Arizona this was packaged beyond packaging and is now very loved in it’s new home.

And this is Cleo! We are looking after her for the next couple of days and she is very lovely indeed

I thought for now I’d share what I’ve been up to so far this year, I have decided to do the 365 project again in 2013 which you can follow here, if you are interested.  I won’t be making a habit of posting photos to the blog as I’d like to try and stick to the knitting and making theme, but as a lot of my pictures seem to feature this I’m sure they will creep in now and again!

Day One – A walk around Blaise Castle was a lovely way to welcome the first day of the year.

Day Two – Putting away the Christmas decorations.

Day Three – Doing the dreaded tax return

Day Four – Just some yarnporn!

Day Five – Giving in to procrastination and starting my Christmas jigsaw.

Day Six – A cheeky game of backgammon with my buddy Steph.

Day Seven – Knit Night

Day Eight – Shopping

Day Nine – My Bookshelf. I was sock knitting today but I liked these colours calling from the other side of the room!

What have you been up to this week? Do you have any exciting plans for January or resolutions for the year ahead?

Sadly the socks didn’t get finished in time for Christmas but I thought I would put up a couple of photos of my progress.  I’ll point out that these are a gift for my other half, hence the reason they look a bit on the large side on my little feet!

The pattern is Strings Colourwork Socks by Tanja Fleischer. They are knit from the toe up – using the Fair Isle technique to knit the guitar pattern on the top of the foot and the fretboard (so cool!) underneath. Then after the heel the pattern is set so they guitars flow neatly around the whole sock to the cuff. All in all it was a really fun pattern to knit!

Here is the silly beard hat I made for my brother (he’s going to kill me for posting this!) I had some fun fur yarn leftover from years ago and after looking at beards for half a day, had a go at crocheting something that fitted nicely around the neck. It’s actually really practical, but the beard unclips as I imagine he’ll probably wear the hat more without it.

And here’s something I wanted to share with you before Christmas, but just didn’t get the time! When I was out doing my gift shopping, I popped into the “Knitted Supermarket” for a nose around.

The supermarket was in Bristol for a few days around Christmas, and everything inside was for sale. The proceeds went to Knitiffi – the Bristol based folk responsible for the project. Their aim is to make the world a “brighter, happier place” through exhibitions, projects and installations created with yarn.

It was so cute I couldn’t resist these snaps!

And finally…

Throughout 2012 I took part in the 366 photography project – one photo per day for a year. To start with it was hard, remembering everyday to take a picture of something, but after a few months it became a habit. I missed a few (8 to be exact) but I’m really pleased now to have a collection of photos looking back over the whole year. So much so, that I’ve started the project again for 2013!

You can view the photo collection here, or click the play button below to watch a slideshow of the year in pictures.

This however, is pretty exciting:

My ZigZag Snood and Mittens Patterns are now available through Erika Knight!

Some of you may have already knitted the ZigZag Hat, which I released online back in February.

Erika liked my hat pattern and asked if I would fancy knitting a snood and mittens to help promote the new Erika Knight Yarn Collection. It was first released in print in the US, UK and Europe, and now it is available to download through Erika’s website.

The snood and mittens are part of a collection of 20 patterns which were designed in Erika’s new yarns; Vintage Wool, Maxi Wool and Fur Wool.  These patterns are all now available to download online, where you can also purchase the yarns.

Both are knitted in the Vintage Wool, which is 100% British Wool that Erika sourced herself from Yorkshire.  The yarn is gorgeous to work with, it knits up quickly and blocks really well.

The snood takes approx 5 x 100g balls of Vintage Yarn and it’s really snug and cosy.  I haven’t got a photo of it laid out, but it measures 36cm (14.5in) by 43cm (17in) when laid flat, and it’s really stretchy.

The stitch is a variation on rib, so although the mittens are one size, they will fit anyone.  You will need approximately 2 x 100g balls of Vintage Yarn and these can be knitted up in just a few days.  If you’re quick you could make some for Christmas!

If you fancy making the matching hat too, you can buy it here

]]> http://buttonsandbeeswax.com/zigzag-snood-and-mittens/feed/ 3 http://buttonsandbeeswax.com/new-pattern-release-edith-mitts-and-mittens/ http://buttonsandbeeswax.com/new-pattern-release-edith-mitts-and-mittens/#comments Fri, 07 Dec 2012 19:03:20 +0000 buttons and beeswax http://buttonsandbeeswax.com/?p=3196 Continue reading →]]> I’m been beavering away these last few weeks to get this mitten pattern knitted up and photographed to release in time for Christmas. It’s such a quick and simple pattern that it will make a great last minute gift – in just a day or two these can be ready to go!

Knitted in A Stash Addict’s Solid Aran BFL, I used a slightly tighter gauge than normal to keep the warmth inside. The yarn is gorgeous to work with and blocks beautifully.

The pattern includes instructions for both the fingerless mitts and the full mittens, I couldn’t decide which I preferred so I thought I would leave it up to you. The mittens are grafted closed at the top, which is a really neat finish and helps them to keep their shape.

The pattern is available in three sizes, S,M and L. All can be made with under 100g / 3.5oz of yarn per pair.

Materials

• Approx 100g / 3.5oz / 166m / 181.5yds of A Stash Addict Solid BFL Aran
• 5 x 3.5mm (US4) double pointed
needles
• 5 x 4mm (US6) double pointed needles
• 3 stitch markers
• 1 sewing needle

Size

Small (hand measures approx 19cm / 7.5” around palm).
Medium (hand measures approx 22cm / 8.5” around palm).
Large (hand measures approx 24cm / 9.5” around palm).

Gauge

22 sts and 30 rows per 10cm/4” in stocking stitch, knitted flat on 4mm (US 6) needles.

To recap:

The idea of the gloves was to provide something for my Dad that started out as one of his jokes. He is a photographer and often found himself out in cold places having to take his gloves on and off to get the perfect shot.

So I created this pattern, eliminating along the way the need to sew up holes around the fingers and thumbs afterwards – a problem I have found with a lot of gloves I have knitted in the past. I hate having to do this and thought there must be a way to do it as you go along. This is now explained in the updated pattern much more clearly.

The pattern is designed so it is simple enough for those of you that have never attempted gloves before. Step by step it talks you through the process to make a very well fitted pair of gloves! With the option of leaving any fingertips free these are suitable for gamers, photographers, or anyone that likes to be able to use their phone easily in the winter.

Now available in the following sizes:

X Small   18-20cm/7-8”
Small       20-23cm/8-9”
Medium  23-25.5cm/9-10”
Large       25.5-28cm/10-11”

For more information please see here

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