St Andrews Visit

Just spent a lovely weekend in St Andrews for my Mum's 60th (Happy Birthday, Mum!)

Lots of scenic forest walks, good food and of course a bit of knitting!

Here's a few pictures from Kemback wood and Dunino Den. Both absolutely carpeted with bluebells and anemones, something a bit magical about the woods in Scotland at this time of year. Lots of wild garlic about too, had a delicious late dinner of wild garlic hummus and homemade pitta bread after the drive back to Glasgow last night.

And we stumbled on Scotland's best kept secret...

Clearly the Sheep Olympics training grounds!

The secret's out!

And of course, my Mum's birthday present was handknitted. Here's a few pictures of what will be the Castle Sands Shawl (hope to have the pattern released in the next month or so)

And if you can't wait that long, I should hopefully be releasing the pattern for Loch Katrine Shawl on Wednesday!

Back on Folksy

Last week I published my New Year's Resolution - to give my knitting design all I've got this year, hopefully so I can go part time at my "real" job. So I've re-opened my Folksy shop, for non-brits, Folksy is the UK's version of Etsy. I stopped posting in my Folksy shop a few years ago since it wasn't really bringing in that many sales, but this year I'm going to try to turn that around. Here's how it's looking now:

I've got 15 patterns and an ebook listed so far, which is about half my "pay-for" patterns. I should hopefully get all the rest uploaded this week. Here's a link to the shop if you want to have a wee peek, I would absolutely appreciate any "likes" until it all gets up and running properly! 

I've also resolved to start submitting patterns to magazines, rather than just publishing everything myself. I can be a bit of a hermit, and I reckon this is a good way to get the word out about my work. Here's a few pictures of swatches for the patterns I've been submitting:

It's a cabled hat pattern with short row shaping the make the brim cover your ears properly. I've been out mountain biking lately and while the cold wind was whipping about my ears this seemed like a particularly good idea!

Cabled Pattern Sale and Indie Design Gift-Along

It's the busiest time of year for knitters, when we're all trying to make the perfect handmade gift. This year we're trying to make things a little easier by running  four different sales. Two weeks ago it was lace, now it's cables! (basic patterns and quick knits are the next two themes!) All our cabled patterns in our Ravelry Store will be 30% off with the coupon code "XmasCables". 

It's also the time of year for the Indie Design Gift Along on Ravelry. This is a great knitting event where hundreds of independent pattern designers offer a discount on their patterns, and more importantly we all get together to knit, chat, and inspire one another. This year I'll be looking for a chunky sock pattern to knit for one of my brothers and a couple of hat patterns to knit as gifts for my boyfriend's sisters. And of course I'm always on the lookout for a stunning lace design. This is a really lovely thing for knitters of all abilities from across the globe to take part in, with a real sense of community.

Updates

Just a quick post to keep everyone up to date with the latest news. First, I've just made a Facebook page, which you can find here. Keep an eye on it for latest pattern and yarn news and hopefully a few giveaways will be coming up in the near future.

I've got a new shawl pattern just out: Buddleia is based on a traditional Estonian leaf lace pattern witht the addition of a floral motif. You can buy the pattern on Ravelry and in my Etsy shop.

  Next, I've got a jumper pattern in the pipeline, Lochan is a beautiful lacy sweater with a really simple construction. All the shaping's done by changing needles and the lace pattern's easy to remember. It's still being tested at the moment, in fact, if you're interested in testing the sweater in a 32, 48 or 56" bust then you should head to the Ravelry free pattern testers group and volunteer! The pattern should hopefully be available to purchase at the end of November.

And finally, fresh off the blocking board is my Eilean shawl. I'm hopefully going to get the pattern written up this week and should be looking for test knitters soon. Keep an eye on the Ravelry free pattern testers group if you're interested!

Here's a wee picture!

Winter Warmers

Two new patterns out at the moment:

Snowcloud Cardigan

A soft, warm cardigan to keep you toasty when the snow starts falling. Featuring chunky cuffs and wraparound front in double moss stitch for extra cosiness. Seamless construction and aran yarn make this a quick and satisfying knit. Available to purchase from Ravelry and Etsy.

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran 8 (10, 11, 13, 15, 16) skeins at 91m / 100 yds per skein
Needles: One 5mm/US8 100cm circular needle, four 5mm/US 8 dpns or one 16” 5mm/US 8 circular needle. 
Gauge: 18 stitches and 24 rows = 4” in stocking stitch

Dimensions: 
To fit bust 32” (34”, 36”, 38”, 40”, 42”)
Sleeve length: 14” (14½”, 15”, 16”, 16½”, 17”)
Cuff Circumference: 10” (11”, 12”, 13”, 14”, 15”)
Upper Arm Circumference: 11½” (13”, 14”, 15”, 16½”, 17½”)
Back Width: 16” (17”, 18”, 19”, 20”, 21”)
Length Armpit to Hem: 14½” (15½”, 16½”, 17½”, 18½”, 19½”)

Buachaille Scarf

A cosy winter classic. Knitted up in chunky Bluefaced Leicester yarn for the ultimate in warmth and comfort. This is an easy knit, but lace stitches and cables keep it interesting. This design uses “fake cable” stitches – they’re much easier than using a cable needle but practically indistinguishable! Full instructions for all stitches are included in the pattern. Pattern available on Ravelry and Etsy. 

Yarn: Rowan Purelife British Sheep Breeds Chunky (Bluefaced Leicester) 3 skeins = 330m in total.
Needles: 6.5 mm / US 10 ½ 
Gauge: 12 stitches = 4” in stocking stitch
Dimensions: 8” x 70”

Rainclouds and Forest Walks

Here in Scotland, Summer has been over for a while now (since June if you're interested), so I'm thinking it's high time to break out the autumnal knitting patterns. And here they are! Both are knitted up in Shilasdair Luxury DK, which is an absolutely gorgeous yarn naturally dyed on the Isle of Skye. It's fantastic value too, the skeins are giant!

First up is the Raincloud Cardigan. I really love this one, it has become my number one wardrobe staple. I am glued to it. It's cosy, but the single fastening and three-quarter length sleeves mean you don't overheat. It's available to purchase for $3 from Ravelry and my Etsy shop. Sizing details can be found there too.

Next there's my Forest Walk scarf. I knitted this one up as a birthday present for a friend. It's a quick knit but looks very impressive. It uses just over one skein of the Shilasdair luxury DK, but you could squeeze one out of a single skein. My version is around 6 feet long so it'd be fine to make it a bit shorter. I made both the cardigan (smallest size) and the scarf from 3 skeins. Again, it's available to purchase from Ravelry and my Etsy shop.

Green Lace

Here's a wee pattern update: two new "for sale" patterns up on Etsy and Ravelry. First up is my Garden Party Cardigan. It's a light and floaty laceweight cardigan with a floral edging.

I made this to wear for a friend's wedding, it knits up surprisingly quickly given that it's laceweight. The yarn is Dyeforyarn's Lace / Tussah Silk, available on Etsy. This is a really special laceweight yarn available in a huge range of colours. You can buy this pattern on Ravelry or on Etsy.

The second pattern is a lacy hat pattern, perfect for Autumn.

The hat pictured is made with my own handspun, handdyed Bluefaced Leicester yarn, but I’ve suggested two commercially available yarns that would be fine too: Knit Picks Palette and Rowan Pure Wool 4-ply. If you want me to spin you up some yarn for this pattern though, just let me know! Again you can buy this pattern on Ravelry and Etsy. Thanks for looking!