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LushPodKAL ~ day two

Published by louise

The second day and my Lush cardi has gotten…well, not much longer. I managed to cast on the left hand yoke at 7.40am this morning before I went to work and this is how big it has gotten since then. Processed with Moldiv

Bit pitiful when you see the progress in the chat thread and on twitter at #LushPodKAL.

A lot of Lush-alongers are getting to the stage where they are ready to block their lace yoke and there have been a few questions about the best way to block and how long the piece should be.

I love blocking in terms of what it does to the item and how the FO looks, but I really hate grappling with the blocking; I never seem to have space big enough and Jeremy-Jean always seems to like to get involved somehow!

When I blocked my last Lush I knew I my gauge was right and so even though the pattern doesn’t say how long your yoke should be – I reckoned that if it blocked the width to the correct dimension of 4.5 inches then hopefully the length would magically be right. And it was! But if you are like me, you are going to look at the length of the yoke and think, “that is way too long!”. Remember though that the next step involves picking up stitches and making short rows and suddenly your yoke will “become”.

yoke

If you are looking for tips on how to block your lush yoke, or how the yoke should look then check out Lush-designer Emily’s blog on her Lush in progress. and there are also wider tips from Tin Can Knits on how to block your lace garments. Knitty.com also has a good article on blocking and how different yarns will behave and the tools you will need.

If this is your first garment where you need to block anything then there is a very, very simple video from Howcast.com, which first time blockers might be helpful.

I hope my progress picks up tomorrow – I am also trying to write a podcast episode for the weekend and finish my yarn reviews for that, too!

LushPodKAL: day one

Published by louise

Here is my progress so far on day one of the #LushPodKAL

I cast on – a little later than expected – using the long tail provisional cast on method, which Jo featured a video off in her great post from last night.

The yarn I am using is Wensleydale Longwool Sheep Shop and I will post a little more on this later in the week. Needless to say I love the longwool sheepy halo – but the colour is hard to photograph!

I managed to get the right hand yoke finished and I am really pleased with how the yarn is knitting up. The pattern is, of course, fantastic. I love watching the leaves form.

It is fantastic to see all the progress so far in the chat thread – this week in my ravelry group – and on the hashtag on twitter. There are some fantastic yarns out there too and it gladdens my heart to see lots of British yarns in the mix!

My day of knitting pleasure was brought to you by orange juices and lemonades, a fan (it’s awffy close!) and the King Creosote album, From Scotland, With Love. I am a huge fan of Kenny Anderson’s music and his new album accompanies a film of the same name. The film is compiled of archival film from around Scotland – just breathtaking and his vocals are – to pinch ~@bluebluegrey’s term – melty!

I have called my project on Ravelry Bluebell, Cockleshell, 123 – a name of one of the songs on the album and a traditional children’s skipping rhyme. I thought it was apt for a KAL project. …”all in together…”

Well done on day one Lush-alongers! I am sad to be working tomorrow and missing out on extended Lush time!

LushPodKAL: Cast on day

Published by louise

It is Sunday 20th July – have you cast on??

If you read the last post and have been following on twitter and Ravelry, you will know that it is day one of the LushPodKAL!

As I mentioned before, Jo (shiny bees), Aimee (knit-spin-cake), Louise (Caithness craft collective) and I are going to be taking the Lush progress/chatter thread on safari. This week you will find the thread in the KnitBritish group – share your posts with us all there and next Sunday I lock the thread and link to Aimee’s chat thread in the Knit Spin Cake group. This is the best way for four of us can successfully host the KAL between us – It is also like a KAL treasure hunt and there will be great prizes.

Either save the safari dates or follow all the groups to keep up to date – I even created a LUSH tab on my Ravelry forum page , so I can see all the group boards in one place.

luah pod kal dates

The chatter thread for week one is open and if you haven’t cast on yet, get stash diving! You can also get a discount from Blacker Yarns when you buy their Swan Falkland Merino yarn. Just enter the code LUSHKAL5634 as you check out!

I will try and do a post each day – I say “try”, my intentions are good though!

Well, I am going to cast on now in my Wensleydale longwool Sheepshop DK – More from me and my project later!

Get chatting and happy knitting!

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Podcaster Lush-along!

Published by louise

If you have been following me, Shiny Bee’s Jo, Knit Spin Cake’s Aimee or Caithness Craft Collective’s Louise Hunt then you will be aware that we are all of buzz about organising a KAL to knit Tin Can Knit’s Lush cardigan.

Lush Cardi and I go for a swing

Listeners and readers of KnitBritish will know that it is not that long since I finished my own Lush, knit in Brigantia, and that I really wanted to knit another one. After chatter on twitter with my favourite podcasting chums we thought we could start up a little Lush-along. The chatter got around and we seem to have got a lot of people interested in joining us and so if this is a pattern you have always wanted to knit then why don’t you join up too?

: : The Pattern : :

Lush is knit in DK and is a paid for pattern, which is available as a single pattern or in the Handmade in the UK e/book (which is a fantastic collection of lace patterns all knit in British wool!). If you haven’t knit a Tin Can Knits pattern before then, doubtlessly, you will have heard me tell you that patterns are really well written, easy to understand and set out beautifully.

The sizes start from baby to Adult 4XL – which is perfect as we already have had people say that they desperately want to join in but might not have time to knit an adult size – if you don’t have a wee person in the family, you could donate one to charity!

The gauge is 20 sts/26 rows in stockinette on 4mm needles and the cardi is designed to be close fitting with -1 to -3 negative ease.

: : The KAL : :

Cast on date is Sunday 20th July – this Sunday! – and we are knitting for 8 weeks with FOs by 14th September.

You need to sign up in my thread over at the KnitBritish ravelry group – when you post there tell us which yarn you are going to use too. When you do cast on then share your project with the Shiny Bees’ group, Knit.Spin.Cake. group, Caithness Craft group and the KnitBritish group, so we can see your progress. Tag your project with Lush-Pod-KAL and if you are tweeting use #LushpodKAL.

There will be chatter threads in each group, but with a bit of a difference – Jo, Aimee, Louise H and I will be be taking the KAL on safari to our blogs, podcasts and groups and so the chatter will do that too. When the safari is with one of us, the other chatter threads will be locked. This way we all go on tour together! Jo describes it as a bit of a treasure hunt – and when you see the prizes attached to the chatter threads then you are going to want to join in, for sure!

luah pod kal dates

: : Prizes : :
We have rustled up fantastic prizes for lucky KAL winners – including British yarns, luxury yarn, project bags – and we have some amazing Blacker Elegance Falkland Corriedale/Alpaca yarn prizes too. We are working out how to split the prize pile and will announce the prizes in due course, but you must be at least 75% through your project by 14th September to qualify for the prize draw.
In addition to our prizes, Emily and Alexa from Tin Can Knits have offered EACH PODCASTER a set of prizes for 3 lucky winners in each chatter group.
The prizes for each of the four groups are one TCK ebook of the winner’s choice from their current pattern collections* and 2 prizes of a single pattern of the winner’s choice. How spectacular is that? Make sure you follow the safari and chatter in each of the groups to better you chances of winning and thank you so much to Tin Can Knits for providing a really fantastic prize.

: : Not sure which yarn to use? : :
Blacker are offering a 10% discount on their Blacker Swan Falkland Merino DK – get your orders in fast!
Anyone choosing Blacker Swan for the #LushPodKAL will receive a 10% discount for the duration of the KAL. Just enter the code LUSHKAL5634 as you check out!
And if you that doesn’t tempt you, you can head over to the signup thread to get inspiration from other knitters.

We are really delighted to be hosting this KAL and really looking forward to a fun knitalong.

: : Notes : :
either 9 Months of Knitting, Great White North, Pacific Knits or Handmade in the UK.

Review: Knit for Health and Wellness

Published by louise

Not long after writing my posts on my personal journey with knitting and mental health , the wonderful world of twitter told me about a new publication on the very topic.

Knit for Health and Wellness is by Betsan Corkhill of www.stitchlinks.com. As a physiotherapist she began to feel that what many patients needed was approach that focuses on the whole person, an approach that understands that the psychological well-being of the patient is key to healing.

It was after a career change, while working for a craft magazine, that Betsan began to realise from reader’s letters that there were therapeutic benefits to crafting; distraction from pain, changing mindsets, something to motivate and get a sense of achievement from. Betsan was sure that learning to knit and knitting therapeutically could be the activity to give people suffering from mental health disorders, chronic pain and long term medical conditions an interest to help their psychological well-being and their physical health as a result.

The book is a self-help tool to assist the reader to actively get involved with improving your own situation. There are 10 chapters which start with learning to be proactive in your health and wellbeing and on the potential of therapeutic knitting. The rest of the book focuses on how to knit therapeutically – on the importance of knitting in quiet and finding an inner peace; the benefits of knitting as a group activity; how to sit; how to select your yarn and tools and how you can use your knitting to help manage your conditions.

I love that the book has lots of quotes from real knitters – it puts the ideas behind therapeutic knitting into context and a will strike a chord with most knitters.

“I can actually feel all the tension just fade out of me. I become totally focussed on the rhythm of my hands and I can just let go of everything I’ve been carrying around all day”.

For me it is these quotes – responses from people who took part in a 2010 survey conducted by Stitchlinks and the University of Cardiff – and the helpful “points to peruse” sections at the end of each chapter that I kept finding myself thumbing through.

I think that the book will be an excellent tool for discovering how knitting can help with body and mind, but I also think it will be successful as a book to have by your WIPs and just dip into. The points section at the end of each chapter have little nuggets of mindful hints that the preceding chapter has discussed, but they can stand alone as pearls of wisdom as and when you need them.

“Use your knitting to break destructive negative thought cycles…

…use an ‘intricate’ project to distract your mind from any life problems or symptoms of illness, such as pain. It will put you in control…

…Focus on the feeling of deep relaxation and learn what this feels like. Practise recalling this feeling at times when you don’t have your knitting to hand”

You don’t need to be new to knitting to enjoy the book – it is an interesting read and there are chapters in there that I think every knitter should revisit, particularly on the importance of knitting posture and avoiding injury and also on planning your projects mindfully – not only a lesson in choosing the right pattern in terms of the time you have, the texture and feel you want or the level of skill you want to employ, but a good antidote to startitis, surely!

Knitting for Health and Wellness, by Betsan Corkhill is available on kindle now and costs £6.17.

The book will be published in paper format in September. For more details you can check out the Stitchlinks website.

reasons to be cheerful

Published by louise

This is the very last day I am going to languish with this cold (are you reading this, cold?!), so while I am sitting here with ear-ache and sinus pain – feeling like there is a steel bar through my head – I though I could cheer myself a little bit by sharing with you some exciting things I have seen that are starting this week!

The first pattern in Clare Devine’s Head to Toe collection, featuring the hand-dyed yarn from Ginger Twist Studio. The Montrose hat is lace beret, which has been knit in Splendor – a stunning, sumptuous merino-silk 4ply dyed by Jess James. There is a slouch version ans a fitted version, and there is a real vintage feel.

A contemporary slouch with a vintage feel Photo: Clare Devine (used with kind permission)

Clare will be launching a Montrose KAL in her group later today and if you are in or around Edinburgh there will be a workshop on the Montrose pattern at GTS on the 10th and 17th of August, from 11.30-1pm and there will be more details on the GTS blog later today.

KnitBritishers can get a 25% discount in the Head to Toe ebook – which normally costs £10 – until 13th July by using discount code KNITBRITISH25

: : : :

I spied on twitter this morning that Kirsty from Wharfedale Wool Works is extending her sign ups for her British sock yarn club til tomorrow. The Flora Sock Yarn Club costs £44.89 and from July to September you will receive 3 x 110g of British BFL sock yarn, dyed by Kirsty; you can also choose from variegated or semi solid. Kirsty is a big fan of using British wool and the wool for this club is sourced just a few miles from her home in Yorkshire.

If you think your stash needs some summery sock yarns then join up in her etsy shop before tomorrow!

: : : :

I was delighted to see that West Yorkshire Spinners have brought out some new colours in their Aire Valley DK. They have chosen some of the most popular colours from their spice and sweet Signature ranges and don’t they look beautiful?

The yarn is 75% British wool and 25% Nylon – there is 230m per 100g ball and at £4,75 the yarn is fantastic value. WYS also have a new pattern book called Quintessential DK, should you need inspiration. You might want to buy some for a Lush KAL that I discussed on the podcast, which casts on on the 20th July for 8 weeks. Another post and a rav group sign up thread coming very soon.

Right, I think I might do what the Blockheads say and “get back into bed” – but more soon!

episode 8.5: collaborations

Published by louise

UPDATE: Due to space I can no longer host the audio files on the blog, please use your favourite podcatcher, or right click the podgen link to open the podcast episode in a new window: Podgen

Preview on Spotify

Welcome to a special extra episode of KnitBritish

You might be surprised – as was I – given that when I went along to meet Jess James, Ginger Twist Studio owner and dyer, and designer Clare Devine I had no idea what they were going to tell me, or that it warranted a super special unscheduled episode!

Listen in for the exciting news and for a special gift for KnitBritish listeners from them to celebrate. Check out the Ravelry page for Head to Toe and you lucky KnitBritish listeners can use KnitBritish25 discount code!

Music: Fortune by Great Big Sea – via musicalley.com

: : Sneaky Peek Head to Toe Pics : :

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: : More collaborating : :

I have some news of an upcoming KAL. Shiny Bee’s Jo, Knit Spin Cake’s Aimee, Caithness Craft Collective’s Louise and I are co-hosting a Lush-along! We are currently ironing out the details, but cast on will be 20th July – So get your Tin Can Knit Lush pattern and choose your wool now – it’ll be roughly 8 weeks and there will be a wee prize. We will also hope to be going on blog and podcast safari (Jo’s fab description) during the KAL and sharing our progress. I don’t think there has been a shared podcaster knitalong before, but seeing as we are always telling our listeners to listen to each others podcasts and that some of our audiences are shared, we think it’ll be a good, fun KAL!

More details will follow, but if you are interested then drop a comment here with your rav name and I will earburn you when we have news. Definitely watch this space!

Look at this, not even a regular show notes page…not your usual podcast! I will be back with episode 9 in the regular date spot with all the things I was promising you two podcasts ago!

Glasgow: #girlsgowildforwoolontour

Published by louise

Last Saturday – while many were heading to Cockermouth for Woolfest – I was boarding a train to Glasgow with lovely lass & wonderfully talented designer, Clare Devine and the equally lovely Siobha. Not content with this happy, excited bunch we picked up Shiny Bees’ Jo Milmine at Haymarket and we knit and excitedly chattered as we choo-chooed to Glasgow. It was the first time I met Jo and she is just as warm and funny as I suspected she would be, with a healthy dose of sensible too (as would become apparent when she successful in de-enabling unnecessary yarn buying!)

After an amount of comparing kids to cats (have a cat, not a kid!) we arrived in Glasgow and met Karie Westermann, our delightful tour guide for the day and enabled our path to cake and wool!

First hit was The Queen of Purls, located in the Saltmarket. I gave QOP a wool shop shout out in episode 8 of the podcast and I am pleased to report the welcome was just as warm on the return.

The yarn fumes got a little much for Clare, she was almost overcome by a hank of Corriedale roving and a neon skein, but settled on some Eucalan (although we almost had to take it away from her later!) and some Drops cotton/linen.

When the need for cake began to overtake the fumes we repaired to Once Upon a Tart, King Street, for a sugar fix, a knit and a good old chinwag.

Apart from the knit nights our library runs during the winter months, I don’t have a regular knit with pals, so this was fantastic. There were lots of ideas, inspiration and future plans bouncing about the table.

Karie had an afternoon with spreadsheets ahead, so departed but the rest of us began to need the yarn again and hopped on the subway to go to The Yarn Cake. Clare got a little drunk on her new Eucalan during the journey!

There was a street festival on Queen Margaret Drive, so making our way past owls (yes, owls. No pics, it cost £2) and great handicraft stalls we arrived at The Yarn Cake to see a grateful audience watching a spinning demonstration! As always, there was a fantastic selection of sweet eats and, although I am not sure how we managed it, we ate again!
It never fails to surprise me how much wool can be fit into the small, but perfectly formed shop – there is Drops, New Lanark Aran, Jamieson & Smith, Malabrigo, Abstract Cat and plenty of needles and notions.

Sunglasses on, we were off again and before heading back to Edinburgh we had a cool drink and a little knit in the Hillhead Book Club, a favourite pub of mine.

There was a lot of chatter on the way back as to where the next tour could go, New Lanark, Dundee, maybe Newscastle and a trip to Seaham to Harbour Yarns? Watch this space.

Saturday was a lovely day, with really great company and I look forward to the next tour! Thank you, lovely ladies!