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Good Intentions: Goodbye Q1, Hello Q2

Published by louise

Almost 900 group thread posts, and almost 180 projects made – What an amazing first quarter our Good Intentions Club has had. Very productive indeed!

For anyone not sure what the Good Intentions Club is, you can read this post but in a nutshell it is a club that we already have the yarn and pattern for, we just needed the boost to get on with them.

We’ve had everything from kits purchased at yarn shows, to that pattern that cried out so loudly to be knit in that special yarn, to some knitters making intentions good and just knitting from stash on designs they had in their queues. As always I am blown away by the sheer enthusiasm for group activities like this, in the KB community.

Here is your Quarter 2 klaxon! On 1st of January it is time to go back to those project bags you bundled up back in October and pick your next quarter club project. Will it be a surprise? Do you know which one you want to knit next? Will you flip a coin?

Let’s look at some of the Good Intentions made real in the first quarter!

Maylin, one of our muckers, and her Carpino sweater, pattern by Carol Feller

Catherine’s Strokkur sweater, pattern by Ysolda, is stunning and it looks so warm. It is lovely to know that knitting this has been a bit of a journey of discovery.

View this post on Instagram

I know I've already shared this finished project as part of Wovember but this was also my #goodintentionsclub project with #KnitBritish. Partly because I've had the pattern and yarn since earlier in the year but mostly because the intention of knitting myself a jumper has been a long while in the making. Overcoming my fears of wasting time, effort and money knitting something in a size that didn't "deserve" my efforts has taken a while, but I'm so pleased to have reached that place. I love the fit of my Strokkur jumper, I love its warmth, I love its colourful yoke- something I've always wanted to knit for myself- and I really love that it is sized for me and made by me. Here's to many more handmade jumpers in the future! Photo is pre-blocking as I was in such a hurry to wear it 😄

A post shared by Catherine (@bythesilverbirch) on

 

More sweater-shaped Good Intentions – Julie’s Nordeney, by Isabell Kraemer, looks dreamy in Blacker Gotland.

 

I love Anthea’s Inglis Mitts, another by Ysolda – she used her Cornish Tin II from Blacker. Don’t they look cosy?

(c) Anthea Willis

 

It wasn’t just sweaters, or clothing and accessories – there were cephalopod too! Check out Claude the Octopus, made by Kirst McCullough! He is ace!

(c) Kirstmccullough

Slitknits chose a Mahy, by Karie Westermann. I love the colours and the texture of the yarn.

You can get a little glimpse at all of the amazing work produced by looking here – Don’t you just feel angelic having made those? I know some of us struggled with the devil in some of these projects, but persevered on – for example Whitehorse gave our HeckyThump a bit of a time, but she managed to finish it AND three other sweaters…the force is strong with that one!

Others of us had Good Intentions planned out – ahem...like me and my Aiken – but then ended up sallying on with other intentions. I finished my Anora Cardi, pattern by Elizabeth Smith. I had bought the yarn from Uist Wool for this design and managed to finish it! Here’s a silly photo

Thank you for making Quarter one such fun. Here is to Quarter two! The thread is open in the Ravelry group. I won’t close the Q1 thread as I am sure people will want to get chatting. Thanks also to Jane Burns who provided a wee prize in Quarter 1 to five lucky winners.

If you didn’t take part in Quarter 1, but want to take part in our next cast on, on 1st January – do it! We’ll love to see you!

Wool Exploration: Gotland

Published by louise

Our exploration of North Ronaldsay has come to an end and I am busy compiling your amazing reviews for the next episode of the podcast, on 12th January. Thank you to everyone who explored the breed with us and huge thanks to those of you who re-visited your swatches from the Breed Swatch-along.

Our next breed, fearless Wool Explorers, is the glorious Gotland. Now, there may be some quick to jump in and tell me that Gotland is not a native British breed. While not native, the Wool Exploration is not strictly about native breeds! Gotland is a  Swedish breed developed in the 20th century, which is a development of some of the more primitive breeds, and it is a breed which has made itself very much at home in the UK.

A small group of Gotland rams. (c) JBKjeldsen shared via creative commons

This is what Deb Robson and Carol Ekarius say in The Fleece and Fiber Source Book

“Gotland wool is an unusual wool, resembling a fine mohair or an English lustre longwool more than the other Northern European Short-tailed breeds. Its also more often comfortable in next-to-skin garments than would ordinarily be expected from the characteristic fibre diameters. […] Different strains of Gotlands have different fleece characteristics, but they have in common length, lustre, and well developed wavy crimp.”
Page 162.

What larks and japes we will have in exploring this one! I know that there are a lot of you who struggle with wool next to the skin. Does that wee description make you want to take the challenge? Interested in discovering more of those unique textures and uncovering the treasures that this wool and its fabric may have to show us? I know lots of you are up for the challenge. Need a reminder of what we’re doing?

The information for the year of exploration is here. Essentially, once you have procured your Gotland wool or fibre – in any colour, dyed or natural – you can knit or crochet any design in a big old swatch. Once you’ve done that use the Wool Exploration guidelines to review your swatch. You can chat in our thread on Raverly, create a ravelry project for your review and share your swatching on social media using #woolexploration. You don’t have to take part in all of the explorations either, you can jump in and out as you like,

| Where can I get some Gotland?

I’m so glad you asked! There are lots of places you can find Gotland yarn or fibre. Firstly, Blacker Yarns have a great Gotland DK, which comes from Sue Blacker’s own flock. You can find the Blacker Gotland at BritYarn too.

The Little Grey Sheep sell different weights of their own Gotland flocks yarn. They also sell tops and fleece too.

© Little Grey Sheep Gotland

I’ve found a great looking DK Gotland from Trill Farm, in Devon.

(c) Trill Farm

If fibre is your bag, and you want to spin some Gotland (I will be trying this again) then you can find tops at Wingham Wool Works, Adelaide Walker and various different shades and preparations at World of Wool. A quick Google will yield even more results.

Some of you will remember trying out the Gotland swatches at EYF, in my Swatch sessions. This is what people thought then. How will you find Gotland to knit, block and wear?

from fleece to swatch – gorgeous gotland

Any questions? Just want to get going? Then hop on over to the Ravelry group and get exploring! The deadline for reviews this time is the 5th of February, so plenty of time to jump in!

Episode 99 – Our Great Muckers of 2017

Published by louise

This episode is all about Christine, Alison, Susan, Emma, Maylin, Barb, Mazzy, Carolyn Sue, Anthea and Lesley- Our KnitBritish Woolly Muckers!

You can also listen on iTunes, the podcast app, or search your favourite podcatcher, if you prefer!

This episode is sponsored by our final mucker for 2017  – Lesley Durrans.

TweedLD on Ravelry, Lesley lives in South Africa and while early knitting experiences put her off garter stitch (heavens forfend!) in the last few years her spirit for knitting has been renewed thanks to Ravelry and taking a class with Marie Wallin.

Hear Lesley’s answers to our questionnaire later in the show.

Thank you, Lesley, for supporting KnitBritish. 

 

The Year of the KnitBritish Woolly Mucker

Last year our show was supported mainly by our listener sponsors – The Woolly Muckers! This was the first time I had tried this and it was really wonderful. I was blown away when all ten spots were snapped up in a few minutes and it has been incredible to bring you an interview with a mucker each month. That made the whole process even more special for me – you wanted to support the show and I wanted you to pull up a chair and be a part of your own show. Each chat with a mucker (which means “pal”, btw – I was surprised when some UK folk told me they didn’t know what a mucker was. Its slang for ‘mate’, innit?!) Read More

Wool Exploration: North Ronaldsay swatching

Published by louise

With Christmas hot on our heels, I thought I would put out a wee shout-out for the deadline of the first round of Wool Exploration.

If you have been following the blog and podcast, you will know that we have kicked off a whole year of wool exploration. The first breed is North Ronaldsay – not quite the northernmost breed in the UK, but very nearly!

Wool Exploration is about really getting up close and profound with breed wool. You are requested to knit or crochet a big swatch in the chosen breed wool (any weight, any colour as long as it is 100% of the breed in the wool). You are then asked to wash, block and wear your swatch and do this at least twice.

| Why a swatch? Can’t I make something else?

Well, yes you can, if you want. However, swatches are easy to make. I bet you could knock one up whilst watching your favourite Festive movie?

In all seriousness, think of yourself as a fieldworker and you swatch is your research. There is a lot that you will be able to discern just from that swatch; feel, drape, warmth, density, halo, prickle factor (if any), to name just a few. You can also knit or crochet any design that you think would work well with this yarn, so your exploration is linked to your creativity too.

I’m happy if you want to make something bigger for wool exploration, but I would ask you to indulge me in a swatch. Swatching can actually be fun! No, really, it can!

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| Why do I need to wash it, block it and wear it?

There have been questions on this. Your exploration is not limited to just how the wool knits or hooks up. We need to think beyond the initial swatch.  I always say that we need to think beyond the squish of a ball of yarn and think about what that yarn is going to do, how it might look after being washed for the first time. How it might behave after being worn and what it might look like one year, five years, 10 years or 50 years down the line. This is your opportunity to give that a test, see into the future a little! How did it wash the first time? What did you use to wash it in? Did you try a longer soak the second time and what was the difference when you wore the dried swatch against your skin. Washing and blocking is just as important as wearing it, and noting any changes or observances about the fabric. It also matters *where* you wear it. Skin is different all over the body, try wearing it in your sleeve, or at your neck. Does this differ when you wear it pinned inside your sweater at your back, or tucked in the band of your jeans at your hip?

So many of you are deeply engaged with this exploration. It is wonderful to see. I know many of us don’t give too much thought to how we wash our wool (apart from water temperature and care of handling, I hope), or think about measuring items before and after blocking, but it is quite integral to this exploration.

| Why, Louise? Why is it integral?

Because I want our reviews to not only further illuminate our own understanding of breed wool, but I want it to help other people in their own wool exploration. Thorough testing of one swatch; of one breed, be it DK or aran, lace, 4ply or chunky, be it woolen or worsted spun, be it dyed or natural… it is going to make a wonderful reference of many dimensions of that one breed. Breed wool is not homogeneous and that is just one of the things we are all discovering with North Ronaldsay!

Please do ask questions, join the chat in the ravelry group and give it a go, if you can! There is just one more day to grab a 10% discount from BritYarn with the code KNITBRITISH96 – the discount is on anything in the BritYarn store, but you could start with North Ronaldsay! Also check out the great swatches and exploration already in progress on social media, under #woolexploration!

Thursday, 28th December is the last day to post your swatch review on Ravelry. All the details you need on Wool Exploration are in this post  and get ready for Gotland! Details on the next month of #WoolExploration are coming soon!

 

Episode 98 – Charles Dickens has a lot to answer for!

Published by louise
  1. Its the last episode before Christmas…there very well may be some ballet dancing sheep!

| Nah Humbug

Its quite documented on this podcast that I’m not overly fond of the festive season. This year we’ve cut way back on the commercial aspects of it, but there are many other reasons why I don’t find the festive much fun. I’ve had people say “oh, you’re all Bah Humbug” *sigh* Ebenezer Scrooge and Charles Dickens sure have a lot to answer for!

I know there are lots of us, for whatever reason, don’t enjoy Christmas. I just want to say, I get it. I support you. I hope it is peaceful and calm, and whatever you want it to be.

And if you hear of someone who says “oh, we’re not really doing Christmas this year!” and maybe they cast a downward eye – try to think before you call them a humbug! It may be more hurtful than you think!

| Small Gestures Read More

Donna Smith: Langsoond Shetland Wool

Published by louise

Put the kettle on and join us as Donna Smith pops over to the blog to tell us all about starting a yarn business and her yarn Langsoond.

Louise: Thanks so much for coming over to KnitBritish and congratulations on your new wool business!

Donna: Thank you and thank you for having me!

Lots of us will know you from your design work and that you have been the Shetland Wool Week Patron and may have taken one of your classes, but tell us a little more about your croft and the sheep. Read More

Episode 97 – All wool is yarn, but not all yarn is wool

Published by louise

Today I’m talking about what wool is and, in related news, how we will be exploring with in in 2o18!

↓Listen to the podcast↓

You can also listen on iTunes, the podcast app, or search your favourite podcatcher, if you prefer!

Woolly Mucker

Our mucker this episode is Anthea Willis, aka forrestflower23 on ravelry.

Anthea describes herself (on instagram) as a designer and maker yarn addict, lover of books, thrifter, mamma, drinker of tea, photographer of cats and knitting (and random pretty things). I am hugely amused and inspired that her favourite curseword is BUGGERNUTS. 

Anthea answers our woolly mucker questionnaire in today’s show – listen out for waistcoats and hammocks of britsock!

Thanks for supporting our show, Anthea.

| Knitworthy Read More

Wool Exploration: North Ronaldsay

Published by louise

Did you read my last post on our plans for Wool Exploration in 2018?

The first sheep breed wool that I want us to try out is North Ronaldsay! The famed seaweed munching, double coated sheep from the northmost island in Orkney, belongs to the Northern European short-tailed group and as well as being famous for their diet, they have a pretty awesome fleece too.  This is from The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook, by Deb Robson and Carol Ekarius.

North Ronaldsay wool is sometimes called coarse and sometimes fine. Those who call it coarse are evaluating it on the basis of the guard hair; those who call it fine are examining fleeces that consist mostly of wool, rather than hair, or looking at the undercoat portion of a mixed fleece. White and brown fleeces tend to have the least guard hair, and that includes the dark browns that are almost black. The gray or black fleece get their colour, at least in part from the guard hairs, which can be predominant.

Page 175-176

I reckon I’ve picked a real doozie to start with, one that will give us great results. There are going to be so many fantastic variations in colour and in textures throughout the colours.

You can knit or crochet any pattern in a nice big swatch (at least 7 inches) in your North Ronaldsay. You can also use any weight yarn and it can be dyed or natural, but it must be 100% North Ronaldsay.

I’m going to attempt to spin my North Ronaldsay! The postman delivered 100g of dark grey North Ronaldsay tops to me, from A Yarn From North Ronaldsay; they are a small scale mill, on the island. As well as selling roving and batts (and I’ve not found North Ronaldsay fibre in many other places) they sell the yarn in varying weights and skein sizes and in different natural shades.

Where else can I find North Ronaldsay yarn?

Want to join in?

Then get your yarn and get casting on! Make a project page on ravelry for your swatch, tag it ‘wool-exploration’ and share it with the KnitBritish group. Use our swatch road test guidelines and get reviewing. Post your review in your project notes and discuss it in the Wool Exploration KnitBritish ravelry group thread. Use #WoolExploration on social media too.

There is no cast on date (Ready? Get set. GO!) but there is a deadline. As this is going to be part of the 100th episode in January, you need to post your reviews by 28th December. I know that seems tight, but its just due to the festive and the other deadlines will be longer (besides, who can’t knock out a swatch review in almost 5 weeks? They take no time to knit!)

Anyone can take part in the KnitBritish Wool Exploration. You can explore with us all year, or you can jump in and out as you please.  I will collate our findings and report them on the podcast and make a lasting record of our explorations that will be a valuable resource.

Any questions?

Let’s get cracking!