This is a very busy time of year for me. But however busy I am, somehow the knitting never stops. So in the interstices of putting together the West Highland Way book, I’ve also been whipping up a Carbeth cardigan. I created the cardigan along the same general principles as the jumper: two strands of…
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For the past six months I’ve been designing a collection. I have developed the ideas for six garments and six accessories, made swatches, knit prototypes, re-knit prototypes, re-knit again; drawn charts, produced grading spreadsheets, written patterns, re-written patterns, written patterns once again; edited the patterns, styled the designs, and, finally, modelled them myself. I’ve by…
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I’m particularly excited about this year’s club and design collection. This is because it takes its inspiration from my home landscape and daily stomping ground: the West Highland Way. The West Highland Way is a long distance walking route of just under a hundred miles that travels from Milngavie in the south to Fort William…
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Hiya! It is I, Bruce. Today I am here to tell you about the phenomenon known as DOG DAYS. Now, I was frankly very excited when I heard there were some DAYS named after DOG. If it was up to me, such days would involve many favourite DOG things: things such as SWIM, STICK, SNOOZE,…
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Last March, at Edinburgh Yarn Fest, I spotted Anna Elliott wearing a great hat (Anna has many great hat designs). She’d knitted this particular hat in Buachaille shades squall and furze and it was really striking. In its bold, graphic simplicity it immediately reminded me of the mid-century ceramics that had inspired Anna to create…
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Last year, energetic and inspiring Dorothy Widmann kindly invited me to attend a wonderful event she’d organised in her home town of Cordova, Alaska. Like Scotland, Alaska is one of those places where the activities of fishing and knitting are interestingly intertwined, and Dotty’s Cordova Gansey Project provided occasion for exploring those important connections. The…
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A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I was designing something inspired by my collection of John Clappison Hornsea pottery designs. This is the final pattern that I’ve prepared to launch at Edinburgh Yarn Fest. This is my favourite Hornsea piece. It is a cruet called “blue onion.” Clappison created it in 1963, and like…
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Another new garment! Braid Hills is one of my favourite designs, and one I really wanted to return to. Some folk found the original pattern a bit tricky for a couple of reasons: I love the design, and really wanted to iron out these issues so that everyone could enjoy knitting and wearing this cardigan!…
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As discussed in the previous post, this design is inspired by an early nineteenth-century shawl, collected by Rachel Kay Shuttleworth, and now part of Gawthorpe Textile Collection. The colourful, ribbon-like bands of the shawl immediately reminded me of one of my favourite colourwork motifs, a small, simple pattern which resembles an interlocking vine. The pattern…
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We have at last seen something like wintry weather in Scotland over the past few days. I much prefer a crisp, cold winter day to a muggy, grey wet one (who doesn’t?) so the snow and sunshine have really felt something like a treat. And not least because we have been waiting for exactly the…
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Here’s a first look at the new shades of Buachaille. Furze: a rich, deep, saturated yellow. furze is an old name for the fragrant, prickly gorse bushes that turn Scotland’s hills to gold in Spring. Hedder: mid-pink with purple undertones. Hedder is a Scots name for heather (calluna). For me, this shade of purple-y pink…
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yes, that just about captures it. Can you guess what they are?
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Wow! Thanks so much everyone for all your input! I promise I’ve read every comment, tweet and email and certainly have much food for thought. I’ve been musing on, and acting on many of your suggestions, however incidental (for example, remarks Kristine and Lou made about the typeface on this blog have now caused me…
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It has been a pretty big year for us all here at KDD. Here’s a selection of the new designs I published in 2015. Fantoosh Owligan Wowligan Jazz hands Wee Bluebells Murmuration Kokkeluri mittens The Goats of Inversnaid Much of my creative energy over the year was focused on the development and launch of my…
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Yes, that just about sums it up! The books have finally arrived from the printer, and we are very happy! There is so much to consider when creating a book, and this one involved many new decisions. We took some different choices with our paper and cover stock, and settled on some different layouts (as…
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As promised, here are Mel’s goats. She selected Buachaille shades Squall, Islay and Haar for her set, and the effect is quite different to the colours I chose for mine. Here’s a good shot of the top of her heid, where you can see the amorous goats, and the hearts at the centre of the…
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