Knitting

Mum’s knitted hat and mittens

| beth

I know I’m biased, but my Mum’s awesome. So when it comes to treating her and buying her gifts, I like to put real effort in. This Christmas I took a break from making my own designs and I made presents of her choosing – a knitted hat and mittens set.

Mum chose the Quincy Moebius Hat by Jared Flood for Brooklyn Tweed and the Sherwood Mitts by Pam Allen for Quince & Co. (She’s got awesome taste in knitting patterns too!) I found both of these patterns lovely to work with and learned a good few things to add to my knitting arsenal!

Quincy Moebius Hat – Jared Flood

Firstly, this hat is downright beautiful. The moebius construction seems like it would be difficult at first glance, but it’s actually really easy to make and I love the way the twist sits when you wear it. Here’s a picture from Brooklyn Tweed’s website to show you what I mean.

Brooklyn tweed, hat, knit, knitted, knitting blog uk, knitwear, knitted accessories, Quincy hat, Jared Flood, yarn, wool, moebius twist Continue reading →

Debbie Bliss Paloma – Chestnut winter kit

| beth

I’m a big fan of Debbie Bliss yarn, I’ve knitted with all kinds of weights, wools, cashmere blends, tweed, merino – all of them! The Debbie Bliss website is also a thing of great inspiration to me. A soft colour palette, clean and uncluttered, making for the perfect jumping off point when looking to start a project or just browse for new yarns. I cannot wait to start a project with their recently launched Roma yarn – squishy, soft and lovely colours to choose from!

Debbie bliss paloma kit free knitting pattern - Shortrounds Knitwear Continue reading →

Seed stitch cowl and mittens

| beth

I have far too much wool!….Hi my name’s Beth and I’m a ‘woolaholic’.

I buy skeins and skeins of the stuff, in all different thicknesses, textures and colours without much regard for what I’ll use it for! It’s these balls of wool that normally get left to the bottom of the pile, gathering dust until one day I’m struck with a little inspiration.

I’ve had this green speckled wool in my possession since I began knitting almost three years ago. It began its life as a massively oversized and badly ‘gauged’ infinity scarf in seed stitch, which I promptly unravelled. I then remade it into a slightly better gauged stockinette infinity scarf, but it still wasn’t the right size! It was like something out of ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’….

Then, two months ago I picked up my nemesis green wool and some 12mm needles and just started knitting! You know what they say – third time lucky.

Seed stitch infinity cowl - Shortrounds Knitwear Continue reading →

Knitting Nottingham exhibition

| beth

This month, Nottingham’s Bonington Gallery (part of the Nottingham Trent University School of Art and Design campus in the centre of our beautiful city) played host to a celebration of textile technology and history. Nottingham was built on textile design and production (predominantly lace) and although our once thriving textile sector fell into decline following World War II, you don’t have to  go very far to see the influence this foundation of industry and design has had on our little city.

Nottingham Bonington gallery knitting exhibition - Shortrounds Knitwear Continue reading →

Brooklyn Tweed Anais sweater

| beth

This was a labour of love, but boy was it worth it! The Anais sweater by Brooklyn Tweed was actually the first full garment I ever knitted and I have to say I didn’t make it easy for myself! Although it’s knitted mainly in stockinette, there are beautiful little details in the waist shaping, and the fashioned decreases grafting the sleeves to the neck. Then there’s the stunning lacework for the cowl neck. A very intricate knitting pattern for a novice!

Brooklyn Tweed Anais jumper sweater - Shortrounds Knitwear Continue reading →

A baby blanket for Toby…

| beth

I’ve made quite a few baby knits over the past couple of years, with several of my friends having newborns! In between the 80-hour-plus jumpers and cardigans these mini versions of hats, mittens, blankets and jumpers can be a welcome break – knitting up quickly with almost instant reward! One of my favourite knits I did recently was the Candy baby blanket by Pickles for my dear friend and fellow blogger Hannah (check out her lovely blog on motherhood at Budding Smiles). Destined for her adorable son Toby, little did I know it would become his favourite blanket! Here’s the cuddle monster all snuggled up in his first few weeks…

Toby's Pickles baby blanket - Shortrounds Knitwear Continue reading →

Knitwear faves – AW14 part 2

| beth

One blog post just wasn’t enough to cover all of my favourite autumn/winter jumper knitting patterns that I’m desperately in need of! (If you missed my last post click here!) And as I’m ‘knitting for me’ this autumn, my list keeps getting ever longer. So stick the kettle on, grab a blanket and put your feet up while you check out the rest of my must-haves for this year.

Chloe – Jo Storie

Jo Storie Chloe cardigan knitting pattern - Shortrounds Knitwear Continue reading →

Bluebird tea co.

| beth

To save us from knitting overload, how about a quick tea break? My knitting sessions are admittedly 30% knitting, 70% tea consumption (I’m an awesome procrastinator). And boy do I like my tea! You know you’ve got a problem, when you have a “Top three favourite tea companies” list…

My favourite by far is Bluebird Tea Co. of Brighton. Award-winning tea mixologists, they concoct the most incredible selection of teas, from the everyday to the extraordinary. And I really admire their ethos as a company – ethically sound and constantly thinking sustainably! I’ve yet to visit their shop in Brighton, but you can bet it’ll be my first stop when I’m next there. You can check out their full collection here but here are a few of my personal favourites!

Earl Grey Creme

Bluebird Tea Co. Earl Grey Creme tea - Shortrounds Knitwear

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