A colourful sweater, in the snow
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All articles filed in stranded knitting
A square for Adrienne Rich
Are you interested in designing your own blanket squares using the Square Share pattern template? If so, this post is for you! In what follows, I’ll describe my process when developing and designing a chart for a blanket square, inspired by the work of Adrienne Rich. If one has favourite poets, then Adrienne Rich is…
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Funyin!
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…
Read MoreWhigmaleeries!
Pattern release day is here again, and today Seven Skeins knitters will find some Whigmaleeries appearing in their inbox. What on earth are whigmaleeries? Well, as the Dictionary of the Scots Language puts it, a whigmaleerie is: “a decorative or fanciful object, a piece of ornamentation …a knick-knack, gew-gaw, bauble, fantastic contrivance, or contraption.” In…
Read MoreTwo new patterns for the Seven Skeins club
Today I’ve released a pair of patterns for Seven Skeins Club members – both rather different from each other. Kokkeluri is above, and Cochal is below. Cochal is a Scottish Gaelic word for hood, and this simple to knit accessory can easily be pulled up, hood-like, to keep the cold off your neck and ears…
Read Morecongrats
It’s Dollheid prize time! Congratulations to ten randomly-selected commenters: Celia, Luisa, Arndis, Lillicroche, Yulian, Maaike, Lizzi, Pat (J) and two Marias (one German, one Canadian) to whom I’ve just emailed a copy of the pattern. And thanks for all your comments, everyone, which I enjoyed reading: I was thrilled to discover that dollheid translates into…
Read Morein colour
I’ve been thinking a lot about colour of late, and about how closely one’s experience of colour is tied up with one’s experience of landscape. I had a conversation with Mel the other day — concerning the crazy hues of the lichens she’d seen in a particular West Highland location — and was reminded of…
Read Moretwee
twee, a. Now only in depreciatory use: affectedly dainty or quaint. (Oxford English Dictionary) I’ve just knitted something that is undoubtedly, incredibly twee. But I am really hoping it falls on twee’s acceptable side. Because however “affectedly quaint” it is, I love it! I have had a serious thing about patterns that feature repeating figures…
Read Morebraf
In Welsh, braf means fine or delightful. I have been knitting with tasty bowmont braf recently, and can confirm that it is indeed a fine yarn for producing delightful garments. Above, you see my swede in a bowmont braf Selbu Modern that I started knitting while in Islay. I like all of Kate Gagnon’s designs,…
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KDD & Co 