What am I knitting?

I always love it when I've finished an intense deadline knitting period. It means I can relax for a bit and knit what I want to. I should probably spend the time finishing that sweater I started for Simon 4 years ago but I'm bored with it.

After my last lot of 4 deadlines samples were sent off just over a week ago I decided to treat myself to a bit of relaxing knitting before I started  on the next deadline. I've spent quite a bit of time swatching. I've got 2 magazine submissions I need to finalize this week and I'm also preparing for some workshops. Before the weekend I want to get the June Lace Lovers Club design on the needles. The test yarn is dyed & ready to go. I just need to decide exactly what I'm going to do.

I did quickly finish a bright fuschia Auracania Botany Lace shawl before I pulled out another skein of Botany Lace to cast on for something else. I'm not a huge fan of yellow and I've failed to capture the exact yellow of this yarn in the photos below. It's kind of a dirty pale yellow. It really reminds me of the yellow Play-Doh the kids used to play with as kids.

This was supposed to be a shawl/scarf of two halves. And for several days now I've been thinking I ought to weigh how much yarn I've got left. Well, I finally did and I've only got 40gr left which means I've gone 10gr past the middle. So I'm thinking about doing something assymetrical instead. This pattern is quite relaxing. I do need to refer to the chart a bit but it's just a quick glance every now and then. It has big silver miracle beads. 

On Monday, Simon had a hospital appointment. I sat in the waiting room knitting on this project while he saw the doctor. The lady opposite me kept looking at me. I'm quite used to that. People usually look at me when I knit in public. Sometimes it's the shock of seeing someone knit but often they notice that i knit differently than most British knitters. Eventually she asked me if I was adding pearls to my knitting. I told her they were big beads. She came over and sat next to me and we had a short conversation about knitting and adding beads. She told me she wasn't a knitter but she looked fascinated by what I was doing. The conversation petered out and I carried on knitting while she sat next to me mesmerized by my knitting for several minutes. When I came to add the next bead she asked if I could show her how to do it so I did. 

I did suffer from a severe case of startitis last week. I was just itching to start several new projects. I tried to resist but one day I had the urge to knit with Zauerball. I remembered buying some balls recently so went stash hunting. I found 2 colours I really liked and made my choice. But it turned out these were Lace Balls and not the sock weight Zauerball. I decided to cast on anyway. I didn't have any firm ideas but kind of made something up as i went along. I've now decided I'm just not loving this project as much as i thought I would. I'm not in the mood for laceweight so earlier when I got it out to photograph it I decided I'll rip it back. I immediately pulled the needles out so I can change my mind. 

Yesterday I was teaching at Spin A Yarn and they have had a delivery of Rowan's new Fine Art Sock Yarn. I've been waiting for this for months and I was so excited they finally had it. I had a hard time deciding between the gorgeous colours but I ended up choosing a browney pink colour and a green colourway. This yarn is a blend of wool, nylon, mohair and silk. It's not as soft as I thought it would be ang the nylon makes it a great sock yarn but with the silk and mohair I kind of fancied doing a little shawl or scarf. Something lacey. The question is to I add beads or not? I've added beads to most things lately. I'm even swatching for sweaters with added beads now. I think I'm a bit obsessed. I could really do with a really easy project that requires no chart reading and no beading so I can knit on it anywhere and especially knit on it in the car to/from Oxford this weekend.

I'm teaching at Purlescence on Saturday and it's also their open day and the Skein Queen will be present. I'm really looking forward to seeing her yarns as I've never tried them before.

This morning I collected a parcel from the sorting office and it was the latest Sweet Georgia Fiber Club parcel. I love this month's colourway but I'm not so in love with the fibre. It's Marsham which I've never spun before and I'm looking forward to spinning something different but I like my yarns to be soft and this doesn't feel very soft. I'm thinking I could find something to blend it with or just spin it anyway. I've just started spinning last month's parcels so it'll be a while before I can start something new.

That's enough for now. I've got some yarn to wind. I'll be casting on with one of the Rowan skeins this afternoon or tomorrow. 

Which one will I choose?

The Knitted Home by Ruth Cross

Do you like knitting for your home? I keep seeing pretty home decor patterns but I haven't had time to make anything for my home yet. When I received a copy of  The Knitted Home I wanted to change that. This book is gorgeous and contemporary. It's full of great textures and a mixture of classic and fun and quirky pieces.

 I WANT that foot stool. The photography and styling in this book is beautiful too. This book is written/designed by Ruth Cross and whichever texture you like, there is something for you. 

This lace sampler is perfect as a curtain and could also be adapted to be worn as a shawl. In fact, it's given me an idea for an alternative to curtains in my studio. 

Most of the colours used in this book are fairly neutral but I think the designs would look fab in bright colours too.  There are lots of great textures from knit and purl combinations, big cables and lace.

The book is well laid out with clear photos showing design details and well written patterns. In the back there is a how to section and some thoughts on adapting your own designs.

This book has all the basics you'd expect for a home decor book, like cushions and throws but it also has some unusual stuff like fruit bowls and vase covers.

The photography is outstanding. I'd love to keep this on my coffee table to flick through when I need some inspiration or something pretty to look at. 

If you want to find out more about designer Ruth Cross, check out her website.

Although I'd love to cast on immediately for one of the cushions in this book, looking at my deadline list for the coming months, I know that's not going to happen but there is one idea I can implement straight away. I never know what to do with my zillions of swatches. Last year I gave a big bag to a friend who does yarn bombing but what about getting some pretty wooden frames and displaying my swatches? I think this is an idea I'll definitely be trying out. It'd look great in my office/studio. I may even persuade my family to let me display some in the lounge.

If you'd like a copy of this gorgeous book, then I've got a special offer for you - details below. 

To order The Knitted Home (9781906417727) for £16.00 including p&p*, telephone 01903 828503 and quote offer code JS189. 
Or send a cheque made payable to: Littlehampton Book Services Mail Order Department, Littlehampton Book Services, PO Box 4264, Worthing, West Sussex BN13 3TG. Please quote the offer code JS189 and include your name and address details. *UK ONLY - Please add £2.50 if ordering from overseas.

So what would you like to knit for your home? 
Tell me in the comments!

The Poppy Shawl - Knitting Magazine

It's a few years ago since my last design for Knitting Magazine. Knitting was the first magazine I started buying regularly and I've always liked this magazine. I met the editor, Emma, at the Knitting & Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace last autumn and had a lovely chat with her. She asked me to submit some lace shawl ideas and this is the first one to be published.

The beautiful Poppy shawl is in issue 115 which was published in April (but I forgot to blog about it). I think the magazine may still be in the shops.

The Poppy shawl was inspired by poppies in full bloom. In the centre of the flower shapes is a black bead. The Poppy shawl is crescent shape. The wide lace border is worked first followed by a combination of short rows and decreases in garter stitch to achieve the crescent shape. 

The Poppy Shawl uses one skein of Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace which has 1000m of gorgeous merino and silk and black seed beads. So if you haven't already picked up your copy of this issue, rush to the shops to grab it now. And look out for more of my designs in future issues of Knitting.

Breaking the 'radio silence'

Well, it got a bit busy here lately. I spent the last 2 weeks of April working flat out getting ready for Wonderwool in Wales the last weekend in April. I've got lots to share and I'm determined to get  back into regular blogging.

We had a great time in Wales. There is a very narrow bridge near our B&B and every time we've been there we've looked at it but this time we decided to drive across it. It felt like it was only just wide enough for our car and our car is quite small.

That was about the only 'touristy' thing we did in Wales. Last year we went up a day early and had a day of sightseeing. The weather was awful and we didn't have the best day. This year it was cold but sunny and I wish we'd gone a day early this year instead. The difference in the water levels in the river from last year was amazing. Last year it was almost (and actually) bursting it's banks in most places. This year the water levels looked quite low.

Wonderwool was great. I didn't think it was quite as busy as last year but we still had a great show and met lots of lovely knitters. 

Unfortunately I didn't get much chance to look around the show. I was determined not to buy much and i succeeded as I only came home with the new issue of Spin Off magazine.

In April my latest shipment in the Sweet Georgia Fibre Club arrived and I LOVE this colourway. I've been itching to start spinning it but I had deadlines. But this weekend I was determined and yesterday I pulled my wheel out. I've not spun for far too long and the wheel was playing up a bit but I got it set up right and got going eventually. I was really tired yesterday so I didn't spin long but at least I got started. I've got two 125gr braids and I'm trying to spin a heavy laceweight 2ply. I've got a bobbin that's been resting for months now which I need to navajo ply soon too. I'll try to get it done this week.

After we got back from Wonderwool I was exhausted. I normally take a few days off after a show but I knew i had 2 deadlines last week so that wasn't an option. I also knew I had 2 deadlines this week but when I actually looked at the dates, those two garments had to be posted last week. Two of the garments due I was knitting myself and with all the preparation for Wonderwool I got behind on my knitting. I did as much as i could while I was away but I don't generally get much knitting done on a show weekend. Knitting secret magazine stuff at shows is difficult. One of my garments was all in one piece and it would reveal too much if I knitted it around knitters. The other one was knitted in pieces and had a lot of stocking stitch so I did knit some on that during the show. Three of the deadlines were posted on Thursday and the last deadline garment plus an American magazine submission was collected by DHL on Friday. I'd spent two evenings working till past midnight to get it done. DHL were due to collect after 1pm and I finished at 1.05pm.

This week I'll be spending a lot of time swatching for new submission deadlines for magazines and yarn companies. I've got a bit of a swatching back log.

I was shattered after these deadlines were completed and actually, I haven't finished all the patterns yet. But I decided not to work this weekend (or at least to avoid computer work). It was a long weekend here and I wanted to relax and catch up on some sleep and family time. I was just completely shattered and my back/neck was in a bit of a state. So I've spent the weekend relaxing, sleeping, going for a couple of gentle walks, watching Badminton Horse Trials (watched most of the cross country phase on Sunday afternoon) and spent time at the lake in the sunshine. I'm still behind on work but I do feel so much better now. Things are a bit quieter this month, at least as far as deadlines are concerned but I am teaching 5 workshops in 2.5 weeks starting next week. I'll be at Spin A Yarn and Purlescence (it's a Purlescence open day on the same day and Skein Queen will be there too) teaching continental knitting with Norwegian purl, at Social Fabric teaching Easy Lace, at Coastal Yarns teaching fair isle and slip stitch colourwork and at Spin A Yarn teaching the Daisy/Mar Menor shawls.

Spring has finally arrived here in Cornwall and this week we've had some cracking weather. One day last week I decided to ditch work and take the dog for a walk on the beach at lunch time. I then had lunch at the beach cafe and sat there knitting (on one of my deadline garments) for a while. They have a big outside seating area and looking out at the calm sea while I was knitting in the sunshine was wonderful.

Today we headed up to Sibleyback Lake on Bodmin Moor. The weather was beautiful but it was quite windy which made it a bit chilly to start with although the wind died down and for the last hour it was really warm and lovely. I walked the dog part way around the lake.

The lake has a great path all the way around (which I think is about 3 miles) and it was full of families, dogs, and cyclists.

Emily, Simon and Simon's dad went sailing while Simon's mum and I watched from the shore. Emily bought a second hand topper last year and this is only the second time she's sailed it. She only managed one sail last autumn before it got too cold and the boats were put in storage for the winter.

Above is Emily in her topper with the red/white sails and grandpa sailing behind her in the mirror with the red sails. Below is Emily in her topper.

She had a great time today and capsized for the first time. She managed to turn the boat back up and got back in without any problems. I must admit I was worried when I saw her boat turn over but she's been taught what to do on a sailing course with school last summer and apparently she did exactly what she was supposed to do. She didn't actually capsize on the school sailing course. She tried but couldn't do it so this was her first capsize. Grandpa was on the water and quickly sailed to help her but she was fine on her own. 

They spent a good 2-3 hours on the water. I got a lot of knitting done. Unfortunately Vanessa had to work so she couldn't join us. 

So apart from my knitting, I think we're just about caught up now. I'll share my new knitting projects later in the week plus my new magazine designs and a review/give away of a fab new book. And I do apologise for the recent radio silence. Sometimes life just gets too busy but I love blogging and I've got some great blog posts planned for this month.

Oh, and the Lace Lovers Club July to September is now open for sign ups. About 1/3 of the memberships have sold today so if you want to join us, you'd better hurry up to make sure you get in. The current club is completely full (and I added 20 more spaces than previous club periods, it's the biggest club I've ever done). I've also listed some new yarn in the shop with more to come later this week. Keen an eye on the New Arrivals.

let's catch up

Wow, April has been a busy month here. My oldest daughter turned 18, we decorated the lounge and dining room, I've had a couple of designs published, I've had 8 design deadlines, I've attended a local wool market and done a half day workshop and next week my youngest daughter turns 15 and we're off to Wonderwool Wales. No wonder I haven't even thought about blogging. Actually, I've done plenty of thinking about it, I've just not gotten around to doing it.

I've still got tons to do before Wonderwool next week, like dyeing most of the yarn. I've got a huge box sitting in the garage. I'll be concentrating on getting as much as possible dyed this weekend. Fortunately the weather seems to be improving. Today has been a quiet warm and sunny day. I'm hoping it stays like that so I can dry yarn outside for the first time this year.

I can't share anything about my deadlines yet, apart from the fact that I've got some great designs due to be published soon. But I can show you the result of our lounge/dining room re-decoration project. When we moved in 16.5 years ago the carpets in our house were awful. Old, worn out and disgusting. We had it in our head that getting them replaced would be really expensive but we never actually got a quote plus I really wanted laminate flooring. They've been popular in Norway for a long, long time but when we bought this house they hadn't quite taken off yet in this country. Last time we decorated our lounge about 6ish years ago we didn't do anything about the carpet but by now it was so awful that whatever we did would be an improvement. Concrete floors would be a huge improvement.

So Simon decided he's have a go. Our sofas needed replacing too. They were leather ones and had severa rips in them. So we were looking at getting new sofa, new flooring and the walls and ceiling needed painting. We started with the sofa and were really lucky to find a second hand sofa in a local shop, which looks new.  it's big, it's squishy, it supports my back and head and I love it and it looks like our dog does too. She's not moved from that spot since we bought it. To protect the sofa from the dog, I got a cheap fleece blanket (a local shop sell fleece fabric by the meter) and she's only allowed to sleep on the blanket.

 Previously our walls were blue and we had a brown leather sofa. This time we turned it around and we went for blue sofa and brown walls. I was a bit worried the walls would be dark but the room is quite big and has big windows at either end and is quite light. I'm really happy with the result.

 These photos were taken before all our furniture was brought back in and before we had put pictures and paintings back on the walls. it's all done now except the curtains. Simon has promised me he'll get the curtain rails back up this weekend. I really liked my old curtains and fortunately they still suit our new colour scheme so I've just had them dry cleaned.

 But best of all, I love our new laminate flooring. Simon was nervous about doing it but he did a great job. it took him 8 days in total to do the floors and pain everything and then we spent an evening moving everything back in.

 Before I used to keep a huge amount of knitting stuff in the lounge and it did make it a bit messy. So at the moment i'm confining my knitting stuff to this small basket which lives next to my knitting chair. It contains my ChiaoGoo needles, my small notions case, my current projects, my 4mm Signature short straight needles and some yarn I'm currently using for swatching for new designs.

 Last night Spin A Yarn put on a fashion show with Louisa Harding. The event was held at the Devon Guild of Craftsmen in Bovey Tracey. We started with a lovely meal with the best pavlova I've had in a long, long time. Lots of lovely people were there. i love these events as I get to speak to so many people who've previously attended my workshops. It's great to have people come up to me and tell me they enjoyed their workshop with me. Many have attended mulitple workshops which is even better.

The fashion show started with some Noro designs, which I forgot to take photos of. Then Louisa harding started showing her new designs. Louisa talked about her designs as the models walked down the middle of the room.

 Louisa is well known for her fitted, feminie designs and her gorgeous yarns. (I used her Orielle yarn for my latest Let's Knit design - blogged about here and Ravelry link.) Below is Verity modelling one of Louisa's sweaters.

 Because we were all sitting along the 'runway' we were able to take a close look at the designs as the models walked past and even stop the models to get a feel of the garments.

 Louisa did a great job talking about her designs, telling us about the construction method, alternative ways to wear it and other insights in to her designs.

 The models did a great job and we all had a fab evening. After the fashion show we were able to take an even closer look at the garmetns and even try them on. I didn't bother as there is now way they'd fit me.

All in all it was a great evening and it was lovely meeting Louisa. I've got a busy week ahead as I get ready for Wales next weekend but I'll be back soon to post about my new design in Knitting and to share a book review with you. Have a lovely weekend x

Oh, and don't forget. Book your place now on the online Finishing Techniques for Hand-Knitters due to start on 1 May. One lovely lady last night told me how much she enjoyed my online Continental Knitting with Norwegian Purl and that it was the first online class she'd taken (I'll probably run it again in late May/early June).

Let's Knit 66 & Finishing Phobias

There's another issue of Let's Knit in the shops. I'm always surprised when another issue of Let's Knit hits my door mat. Just doesn't seem like a month since the last one came, which means time is going way too quickly for me this year.

And ofcouse, I've got a design in this issue too. This time I got to work with the gorgeous Louisa Harding Orielle which is a sparkly alpaca blend and delicious to knit with. I loved swatching with this yarn and was kind of sad when I had to hand it over to one of my fabolous knitters, Anita, to knit the actual sample for me.

Pia uses two shades of grey and a chevron stripe pattern to highlight this lovely yarn. The vest is fairly short with a deep rib. If you want it longer, just work more repeats of the chevron rib pattern before you start armhole shaping. You'll need more yarn though.

The best thing about this sweater is that it's worked in the round to the armholes, then the front and back are worked separately to the shoulders which are joined by working a three needle cast/bind off. Then the edgins around the armhole and v-neck are knitted on. This means no sewing up and minimal finishing. Just block it and weave in the ends and you're done. Perfect for knitters with 'finishing' phobia.

Do you have a finishing phobia? Although I love sweaters knitted in the round, I also love seams and I think good seams and other finishing techniques is something every knitter should learn. So I'm running my Profesisonal Finishing Techniques for Hand-Knitters online course again. Through videos and pdf photo tutorials (mostly videos though), you'll learn

• how to block your garment pieces (wet block, steam block, lace and cables)
• shaping tricks to make finishing a lot easier
• how to sew up your garment using mattress stitch on the knit and purl side of the fabric
• how to set in fitted sleeve caps
• how to pick up for collars and button bands
• how to knit one row button holes.

Leslie, who attended this workshop at Social Fabric earlier this year said: "A 'eureka' day with Anniken so simple and so obvious when you know how!!! My finishing will now be an exact science, rather than 'hit and miss'."

The course starts on 1 May and I've reduced the price to US $30 (approx UK £20 depending on exchange rate at time of booking). The spaces are limited so don't miss out and book your place now!

My baby is 18 today!

Happy Birthday, Vanessa!

 Vanessa 1-2 months old.

I can't believe my baby is 18 today!  I know it's a bit of a cliche but the last 18 years have flown by. I'm going to take the opportunity to embarrass her by sharing some pictures of her (luckily she's at work so can't 'kill' me till later). Vanessa weighed in at a very healthy and big 10.5 pounds.

Vanessa 6 months old with me (and yes I did knit that sweater).

When she was born, she looked like a spitting image of her dad when he was a baby. I remember Simon's parents showing us a picture of Simon as a baby and Vanessa and he looked identical. She had a mop of dark brown hair. 

Just before her first birthday.

As she has gotten older she looks more and more like me, apparently. Her hair has gone from dark brown to blond and she has beautiful big brown eyes (gets that from her Dad).

Got to teach them young! (Christmas before she turned 3).

Temperament wise she's definitely like me which is why we get on quite well most of the time but also clash spectacularly.

With her ballet teacher.

Vanessa started taking dance classes (ballet, modern and tap) when she was 2 1/2 years old and she only stopped a year ago. 

Asleep at a Spanish airport where we spent the day waiting for Simon and Em to arrive on an afternoon flight.

She also loves music and did take piano lessons for several years. Although she stopped lessons, she still play regularly and she taught herself to play the guitar. I'm quite impressed by that as I learned to play guitar at school and hated it.

On a very snowy and cold day in Norway on Christmas Day 2010.

Reguarly when I go to bed, i can hear her playing her guitar and singing in her room. She's got a beautiful voice too and sings in a worship band at our local church.

Vanessa at the Ice Cream Parlour in Harrods in London in September 2010. Can't believe how much she's changed in the last 2-3 years.

She definitely doesn't get her math talent from me. For GCSEs her best subject was History but when she started A levels she decided she liked maths best and she's hoping to start a maths degree at UWE in Bristol in September.

 Simon and our former pastor, John, baptising Vanessa on Looe Beach.

Today, on her birthday, she's working at a coffee shop. The Rusty Bucket, in Looe where she worked all last summer too.

My Mum, Em, Me and Vanessa (taken at Christmas in Norway)

Vanessa, how you normally see her on my blog, modeling my knitwear designs (she's modelling Montana this time):

Happy Birthday, Vanessa. 

Lots of love

Mum xxx

And to celebrate, I'm offering you all 18% off any of my patterns from my Ravelry Pattern Shop today and tomorrow (valid till midnight UK time on 6 April). Use promo code: 18th.