Although I occasionally get side tracked by other things, gardening/sewing/walking/art, this is essentially meant to be a knitting blog. I don't seem to have posted much at all this year, on knitting or the other things. I am working on a new pattern, but it is slow going. Here is a little peek at what I have been knitting, just to remind you that this is still a knitting blog!
I have designed a new knitting pattern, which I am calling Fox Jumper. My Child's Fox Jumper Pattern is selling well, and as I had some of the same wool left over, I thought I would knit a similar garment for myself. This fox jumper is loose fit. I guess you might call if a boyfriend jumper or a sloppy joe. I love this style of garment and designed it using one of my favourite shop-bought jumpers as a guide. The sleeves are quite loose, but then gather in to a neat fitted cuff. The neck is a boat edge, which I thought fitted with the stripes on the sleeves to give a bit of a retro feel.
I have thought a lot about the foxes while knitting it, and toyed with the idea of having more of them maybe higher up or on the sleeves, but in the end settled for a single row about the base, like the child's version. I have added the fox coloured stripes on the arms and cuffs, as I wanted to highlight the cut of the sleeves. These sections could be knitted in the main shade. Or indeed the row of foxes could be left off, if they are not your thing.
The Fox Jumper Pattern is for sale on Ravelry and Etsy, and will be in the other places soon.
But enough about the fox jumper, and on to foxes. I do think they are lovely creatures: the long noses, pointy ears, beautiful colour, their family groups and cunning, or what I would call intelligence. When I lived on the edge of London foxes were a regular sight. If you were out walking at night it would not be unusual to have several cross your path. When our neighbours house was empty for a while we had the pleasure of seeing a fox family being brought up in their garden, much to the annoyance of some of the other neighbours.
Now I live in the county it seems much harder to see foxes. Below is one that I unexpectedly saw when I was trying to photograph rabbits. I was sitting in a bush, and he was also very interested in the rabbits, so did not notice me.
On Boxing Day a local hunt sets off from the town square. I was on my way to work (I know, work on Boxing Day!), and have to say I was much more on the side of the small group of anti-hunt protestors. This is a scent hunt, as fox hunting is not legal, but I am not sure if a pack of dogs caught the scent of a real fox it would be possible to call them off.
So I am a fox fan, but I am also a chicken owner, which does put me in a bit of a dilemma. We lost one of our chickens, but I am not convinced that it was a fox who took her. Below is my favourite photo of the three girls. I would occasionally let them out of their coop to have a peck around the garden, which was possibly rather foolish. It is a balance between keeping them safe, and letting them have some quality of life. Called out by some sqwaking - Nugget, the chicken in the middle was just gone, and the other two had flapped up onto a fence and were very upset. Despite searching the whole area, we never found any sign of what had happened to Nugget. Not a single feather or trail in the undergrowth. So I am not sure that I can blame a fox, and have my suspicion it might have been a stoat. I saw one kill a rabbit in the garden once, and despite its small size, drag it off. Either that or it was alien abduction!
The other two chickens are still with us, and although we did think about getting a replacement for Nugget, they seem happy as a pair. I still let them out to the garden from time to time, but only when I am out gardening to keep an eye on them. And I guess foxes are just doing what they have to do to survive.
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For some time I have had buyers of my Tortoise Knitting Pattern contact me, as the wool that I originally knitted the sample tortoises with is no longer available. This was upsetting, particularly as the wool used for the shell was particularly tortoisey.
I hunted around for some more tortoisey wool, and recommended Rico Creative Melange, 50g Beige/Brown 007, and for tan sections one ball of Rico Essentials Merino, 50g, Ivory 22. But it was concerning me that I should not really recommend a wool unless I had used it to make the pattern.
So here is Tortoise II, made with the wools above. It does work, although I am altering my pattern to increase the needle size by a half. I use small needles, as it needs to be a fairly tight knit, but I thought I could go up a little. It is odd knitting my own pattern so long after I wrote it. Particularly liked how I shaped the head!
I am happy with Tortoise II, although feel the colours of the first Tortoise were slightly more realistic. So I am still on the look out for other tortoisey wool. But perhaps other knitters are not as obsessed with realism as I am, and a tortoise could look great in all sorts of colours. But if you purchase the pattern from now onwards, these will be the recommended wool, needles, and photos used.
... And someone got a little bit too involved in my photoshoot!
For a while now, I’ve had the idea in my head to knit a Nordic yoke-style jumper inspired by one of my favourite flowers: the snowdrop. There’s something magical about them—the way they bloom so early in the year, delicate and determined, quietly pushing up through the frost and leaf litter to announce that spring is on its way.
Where I live, wild snowdrops are everywhere in late winter. They gather in great drifts along the roadside, scatter themselves like confetti across woodland floors, and pop up in garden corners where you least expect them. I find them absolutely beautiful—they are understated, and full of quiet hope.
Despite searching, I couldn’t find a jumper pattern that featured snowdrops in the way I imagined them. So I decided to design my own.
This jumper is knitted with double-knit wool. The body and sleeves are worked flat, then joined together at the yoke, which is knit in the round on circular or double-pointed needles. I wanted to capture the graceful shape of snowdrop petals and the soft contrast between the greens and whites that mark their arrival in the natural world.
I have to confess—while knitting the body, I kept glancing ahead to the yoke chart, itching to start working with the colours and motifs. That’s where the design really comes to life.
The pattern contains instructions for three sizes. I'm wearing the smallest size in the photos. I wanted a cosy, slightly oversized fit—something I could wear over another layer during the chilly months. The finished chest circumference is either 42/46/50 inches, which gives a relaxed fit.
My husband asks me why I am publishing the pattern now in the middle of summer. But I think knitters know to think ahead, and may well be planning a cosy garment for next winter.
It’s been such a joy to knit a piece so personal and seasonal. Snowdrops remind me to find beauty in the quiet, early moments of change—and now I have a jumper that carries that feeling with me wherever I go. The pattern is available on ravelry, Etsy and LoveKnitting.
I have been hard at work on this new knitting pattern, which I am calling Baby Tulip Cardigan. It has taken a lot of thought, and knitting. Cardigans just seem the best sort of garment for a baby, with none of that squeezing over the head of a jumper. The tulips are smaller than those on my Tulip Hat, but knitted in a very similar way. Each flower uses two separate lengths of yarn - one for the leaves and one for the flower, which are not carried between the flowers on the reverse of the work. I love the look of the raised flowers, but put them only on the front of the cardigan, as I felt they might be a bit bumpy on the back for a lying or sitting baby.
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The pattern comes with instructions for four sizes (0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months and 9-12 months). I have written sized patterns before, but this one was slightly more complicated, as the flowers had to be placed on each version. (The pattern contains a lot of brackets, and I hope will be fairly straightforward to follow.)
The pattern is available on Ravelry, Etsy and LoveKnitting.
My resolve was to design more knitting this year, although I have been a little distracted by printing, walking, and now the gardening year is beginning! I have quite a few more ideas brewing, so time to start my next design.
I wrote quite a long while ago about a pattern I was working on for a little mouse. There was something not quite right about the first mouse (although he was cute) so I have revisited this. The new mice are knitted in 4-ply, and I have just used some odds and ends from my stash of wool. I have altered the legs and toes, which I think are now a bit more realistic. I have gone for wool that is a bit fluffy, but I think any 4-ply yarn would work. A mouse only takes 15g of wool, and a tiny bit of pink for the ears, nose and toes.
A few years ago I knitted my husband an Icelandic sweater. Not from my own pattern, but a fairly vintage one from ravelry, and genuine Icelandic wool. Since then he has been asking me to make a Norweigan style fisherman's sweater. I tried to tempt his with other Norweigan sweaters, but he was very specific in what he would like. Fairly simple pattern over the whole garment, stripes on the rib sections, and reserved colours. I can see this style of sweater for sale, but could not find quite the right pattern.
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I have been making a cardigan and hat for one of my workmates, who is expecting a baby with his partner in October. He loves cars, so I decided to add a bit to this cardigan and hat set. The pattern I used is on Ravely as Cardigan and Pompom Hat by Sirdar.
I did find the pattern a little confusing, as the front sections are cast off, and then stitches are picked up, and a yoke is knitted. It does seem it would have been better to have put the stitches on holders, as done for the back and arms. If I knit again this is what I would do.
I enjoyed adding the car, which my daughter helped me design with a grid. We have gone for sporty (with a fin), but not racing car. The wheels are embroidered on afterwards with two rings of chain stitch, as I thought it would be easier to make good circles this way. Wish the car on the back was a bit higher up. I also added a checkered flag to the rib on the hat, and sort of wish I had done this to the cardigan as well. Too late now. The wool I used is some lovely soft merino in DK from Blacker Yarns, and oddments for the cars. I had fun looking for car buttons, which I found on Etsy.
Although the baby is not due for a week or two I think I am pretty safe posting these pictures, as I am sure he does not spend the weekends looking a craft blogs.
Getting close to Halloween, so I have decided to do a special offer. I have two spooky patterns, my knitted Bat and Little Pumpkins. My Bat pattern is one of my best sellers, throughout the whole year, and I love how on Ravelry so many knitters have linked their own projects.
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So until October 31st I am running a special offer. If you buy both patterns which are normally £3 each on Ravelry, you will get a £2 discount if you use the code SPOOKY. This is the only platform that has the ability of set up discount codes, so go here rather than Etsy or LoveKnitting, where these pattern are also for sale.
I would love to see somebody make a Halloween garland with pumpkins and bats. Perhaps that's what I should do!
I realise I posted this picture on Instagram, but didn't write about it on my blog. I have been working on this Wee Mousie. I thought as the wool is a mixture of Scottish breeds (Boreray, Shetland and Soay) it would be a good idea to link it to Robert Burns poem To a Mouse or perhaps I should say Tae a Mouse. Rereading the poem it really is a bit sad, written after Burns who farmed had ploughed through a mouse nest in his field.
The wool is really suitable to knit a little mouse. It has the perfect texture, and is laceweight, so took a bit more knitting than you would imagine. The wool was from Blacker Yarns Bristish Breeds Scottish Lace. I had the idea it might make a good project kit, but as little mouse only took 5g, either the skeins will need to be split, or a kit would contain enough to make a whole infestation.
But at the moment I am still not happy with the pattern anyway. He looks cute in the photo, but something is a bit wrong with his legs, which I have managed to hide in this photo. My husband also says he is a bit fat, but I am fine with that. So at the moment he is sitting in a coffee cup in my kitchen, and I am gearing myself up to have another attempt.
I was rather pleased with the photos that I took to advertised the wool. Have to own up that this was not a Scottish thistle, but totally Cornish.
I am trying something new in the garden this year, which is to use some of the waste fleece from the mill where I work in different ways. It has been wetter than usual this year, and we seem to have more slugs and snails than ever. I don't use slug pellets, as I enjoy watching the birds here so much, and it just seems obvious that poisoning one of the things that they are going to eat is going to affect them. I want my veg, but not that much.
Over the years I have tried other ways to combat the snails and slugs - beer traps and coffee grinds, which both had some success. The fleece I am using is called greasy waste, wool that has not been scoured and contains lanolin. It may have a bit of sheep marker spray in it. Or even, heaven forbid some sheep poo, but this is all to the good. I have been putting it around the plants that get attacked most - the strawberries in the polytunnel, the courgettes, pumpkins, and squash. It seems to be working well, not blowing away which was a bit of a concern.
I have read online that fleece has other properties that are good. Not only does it help retain heat around the plants, it also can hold 30% of its weight in water, which if the soil is dry it will release if needed, but also soak up water if the weather is wet. So it should mean less watering. If used in larger quantities than I have it will stop weeds growing. It seems like a winner all round.
Another good thing about using fleece is that it adds nutrients (nitrogen and other trace elements) to the soil, particularly when you are planting. Some fleece added to the planting hole will help retain moisture around the roots. I decided to be scientific, and planted half my sunflowers this way, and the other half without, as a control. The experiment failed, as a few days later I think a rabbit got in and ate the lot. I almost had a second take, as every part of every plant was gone. He did not seem to differentiate between those with the fleece and those without, all equally yummy. I may have another try at this with other planting.
My other use for fleece in the garden this year was stuffing Fergus the scarecrow. I know you may say, but you like the birds, so why make a scarecrow. Fergus is totally ineffective as a scarecrow, and I have seen the odd bird sitting on him, but I do think he may put off the deer that have occasionally invaded the garden. Other years we have stuffed him with anything we could find, but I feel better about using the fleece, knowing that if the odd bit escapes it will probably be put to use by a bird, or perhaps even the thieving rabbit could have a fleece lined burrow.
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| I deliberately left the brocoli flowers as the bees were enjoying them so much. |
There are other uses for sheep wool in the garden -
I was lucky this year to have a source of wool, but I know there are a lot of farmers for whom the wool sheared from their sheep is a waste product. I met a farmer last year whose wool was not good enough to process into knitting wool, who was burning it. I do wish there was a way to get farmers in this situation and gardeners together, as it really is good to garden in a green woolly way.
Looking at other photos on Ravelry of hot water bottle covers, I decided my favourites were of people heading of to bed, so I also feature myself in the one below.
This crochet pattern was designed by Rebecca Anaspure, and is available as a project kit on Blacker Yarns website - Mosaic Crochet Hot Water Bottle Cover. It is a really clever design, with a handy split at the back to insert the hot water bottle through. Made from Samite silk-blend in DK, it is not only really soft and snuggly, it will keep your bottle’s warmth until you are fast asleep.
Now can I work out a way to get my dog into a photograph for Blacker Yarns.
Last time my daughter was home I managed to persuade her to do some modelling for two new patterns and project kits, which are now available from my work at Blacker Yarns. She really liked both garments, and I had to explain to her that they had to go back to work. Both are designed by Rita Taylor, and you can find other designs by her on Ravelry and Lovecrafts. You can follow links to The Ridgeway Gansey Cardigan, and the Hoveton Sweater to find the project kits at Blacker Yarns. What I think appeals about both patterns is that there is some fancy work, but also a bit of straight stocking stitch. Best of both worlds!
