Tag: patterns

Apparently, there are people out there who are already contemplating their Christmas shopping and crafting (not me — I’m in total denial about the fact that it’s already November). So, a group of independent designers decided to get together and help make Christmas knitting and crocheting a bit more fun and exciting!

The fun comes in two parts. First: a sale. Use the code “giftalong” on Ravelry between now and midnight on 15 November to get a 25% discount on a huge selection of patterns from more than 100 indie designers.

Second: a giant knit/crochet-a-long in the Indie Design Gift-a-long group on Ravelry. Cast on for any of the participating patterns between 1st November and 31st December and join in the discussion on the group forum board for chances to win some great prizes. (If you already have a copy of one of the participating patterns, you can still take part in the knit/crochet-a-long, just so long as you cast on for the project on or after 1st November.) You don’t need to finish your project before 31st December to be in with a chance of winning (says the person who frequently doesn’t finish her Christmas knitting till January) but it will increase the number of prizes that you’re eligible for.

All of my self-published patterns listed below are included in the event.

Strawberry shawl — Oren shawl — Waterlilies shawl
Southwark Spire socks — Irish Stout socks — Real Ale socks
Celandine shawl — Kentigern shawl — The Hill House scarf

If you’re interested in patterns from a particular indie designer (other than me!) check out the full list of participating designers to see if they’re taking part.

Alternatively, take a look through the Participating patterns thread to see if anything catches your eye.

The really good news is that gifts for yourself are eligible for the discount and prizes too so even if you’re not planning on giving anyone else a knitted or crocheted gift this year, why not treat yourself!

This weekend has been one of the most exciting in my short career as a knitting designer. Why? Because the latest issue of Yarnwise is out and I have a pattern in it!

Back in November, I saw a post on Ravelry by the editor of  Yarnwise looking for last minute submissions for their Winter/Spring issues. I usually ignore submission calls because the deadlines rarely work well with my day-job and studying and, well, the rest of my life. However, I realised that for this one I had a pattern already mostly designed that fitted one of the themes really well and I had a few days booked off work that I’d be able to spend tweaking the design and actually writing the pattern. So, I knitted up a swatch/sample, put a submission together, sent it in and the rest is history.

Here are the sample socks before they were posted off to have their “proper” photographs taken:

I’ll do a full “Story of a design” post at some point but for now I’m too busy grinning at seeing my pattern in print!

When we lived in London, my train journeys regularly took me past Southwark Cathedral. It’s an impressive building from all angles but I was always fascinated by two of the spires which are leaded with a beautiful geometric pattern.

A bit of trial and error got me a twisted stitch pattern:

and quite a lot more trial and error got me a sock pattern that incorporated it:

Southwark Spire Socks are now available from Yellow Ginger Designs and Ravelry.

My Oren Shawl is part of the collection of the month in this month’s Patternfish newsletter, one of sixteen lacy shawls to knit while the weather is still warm.

I’m really chuffed to be included, particularly given some of the other designers that are featured – go take a look!

Before Christmas, a company selling a certain brand of Irish stout ran an advertising campaign which implied that men would much rather receive beer as a present than hand-knits. While I know that that is probably true for a lot of men, it’s not true for the men in my family — they would rather have beer and hand-knits, and these socks were my attempt to combine the two.

The socks are knitted from the toe up with a simple cable pattern that keeps the knitting interesting and makes for a snug, stretchy fit. The pattern includes 4 sizes with adjustable foot length and sock height so should fit all but the smallest or largest feet.

Irish Stout Socks are now available from Yellow Ginger Designs and Ravelry.

Considering that this turned out to be the quickest I ever managed to get a design from initial idea to published pattern, this design came very close to not happening at all.

I grew up in Glasgow surrounded by the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and, if I’m honest, had grown a little jaded with it by the time we moved to London thanks to the proliferation of Mackintosh-inspired tea cosies, tea towels, fridge magnets and place-mats. When I saw the brief for the Glasgow School of Yarn design competition, I was sure I wouldn’t be able to come up with something that I thought was worth entering but I couldn’t stop mulling it over.

Then I thought about how much I had always loved the simple elegance of his furniture and, in particular, the chairs. A little online research led me to the tall, narrow ladderback decorative chairs that he designed for The Hill House in Helensburgh. Click here to see a picture of one of the chairs in its original location.

Initially, I was going to use the geometric pattern in a sock but, much as I loved the pattern, I just couldn’t get it to work as a sock. A scarf was the obvious alternative and the two-colour pattern immediately suggested double knitting.

I used Malabrigo Sock in Natural and Chocolate Amargo for the sample and it’s wonderfully soft and snuggly. The double layer also makes it very warm, perfect for autumn and winter in Glasgow!

The Hill House Scarf is now available from Yellow Ginger Designs and Ravelry.