The worst laundry related disaster happened to me this week. I got BEETROOT on a WHITE TOP! But rather than flapping around thinking that my favourite blouse was ruined forever, scrubbing it wildly with anything that I could get my hands on (my usual reaction to the frankly frequent spillages I make), I calmly reached under the sink for my trusty bottle of Soak.
Wool
A Q&A with knitwear designer Veronica Shaw of Fishtail
I’m so pleased to introduce you to an amazing knitwear designer Veronica Shaw of Fishtail. Her unique and individual patterns are instantly recognisable to me, and yet they are wonderfully straightforward knits to pick up, with quite a few of her projects being able to be completed in one quick sitting. I have had the pleasure of testing one of her knitting patterns over the Christmas break and found I’d completed my triangle shawl in just two short hours! Veronica is driven by a passion to introduce as many people as possible to the beautiful craft of knitting through her stunning knitwear designs, which in my opinion can be picked up easily by the complete beginner through to the expert crafter.
I want you to get to know this independent knitwear designer as well as I do, so Veronica very kindly agreed to take part in my latest Q&A. You can find Fishtail knitting patterns frequently featured in Let’s Knit magazine and new patterns will be launching on Ravelry very soon, so keep your eyes peeled and knitting needles at the ready…
Getting your knitting stash organised
Before Christmas my knitting stash was an unbelievable mess and my two main areas for keeping my yarn and needles were inside a footstool in our lounge, and *shock, horror* chucked behind one of our armchairs!
Something had to change.
For the last few months I’ve been ever so slowly compiling items of furniture and home decor/storage boxes to be used in my perfectly cosy little office. A slow process because I’ve not wanted to just buy things for the sake of it. Instead waiting patiently until ‘the one’ of every purchase came around. This can take time, but one by one I’ve found my perfect desk, chair, desk lamp, lampshade, shelves and storage boxes. In due course I must take some pictures and show you how it all looks, but at the moment it still needs a lick of paint and a blind (just ordered).
However, it is useable. So over the holiday I started using my office space, having a full clear out of my yarns in the process. Here’s how I tackled my dishevelled collection.
Stockard Cardi by Quince & Co.
Is it just me or was Christmas over in a flash this year? And let’s not even mention how unprepared I was for the festive season 2015!
Luckily, when it comes to my lovely Mum I had been planning her Christmas present months in advance. Together we’d selected the Stockard Cardi by Quince & Co. as my gift to her, in the soft red wine colourway, Syrah.
What I’ve been knitting lately…
It’s Christmas Eve!!!!! And after a few weeks of flying low under the radar, I’ve had some time to finish off a lot of knitting projects that were niggling at me to be completed (you know the ones, projects that keep you awake at night or torment you when you should be concentrating on life admin).
Knitted Christmas presents have been gifted, Etsy orders have been all tied up and commissions are complete. Since I started this little endeavour, I don’t think I’ve ever had a moment when I’ve not had something that I should be knitting for someone else. So now, I have all this free time over the holidays to knit for me – what a novelty! And one I’m not taking at all for granted. As much as I love knitting things for other people, I’m really looking forward to casting off on some knitwear that I’ve been working on for myself.
Pickles Feather Sweater
Remember this post?!
This gorgeous Feather Sweater by Pickles in Norway has been a long. Time. Coming.
Brooklyn Tweed Capsule collection
Can we just quickly talk about the most exciting news in my knitting calendar so far this month!
Brooklyn Tweed have just released their first ever printed knitting book – Capsule. A beautiful collection of knitted pieces designed by one of my favourite knitwear designers, Olga Buraya-Kefelian.
In what looks set to be the first of many similar projects, Brooklyn Tweed have given one knitwear designer centre stage to design a range of knitwear using their wool. Olga Buraya-Kefelian is unique in her construction and use of geometry in her patterns, a perfect way to kick off BT’s new series!
Personal favourites of this Capsule collection are the Cusp geometric cabled poncho and the stunning Tatara mitts. You can check out the entire collection here.
Which pattern will you be casting on first? Let me know by commenting below.
Knitwear designers 101
Google ‘knitwear designers’ and you get thousands of links directing you to mega fashion houses and large retailers. The large brands that pop into your head every day of the week. Not what I really wanted to see.
When I think of knitwear designers, names like Pam Allen, Jared Flood and Olga Buraya-Kefelian come to mind. Knitwear designers that inspire me to pick up my needles, purchase their wonderful patterns, or even get creating my own. Sadly, Google didn’t agree with me.
I’m not-so-secretly waiting for the day when slow fashion really takes over and these become household names not just for knitters. It’s slowly bubbling under the surface. Non-knitters are beginning to see the influence making-your-own is having over our generation, that even ready-to-wear companies are getting on board. Knowing where your fibres have come from, the farm where the sheep were reared, the dyer that dipped the skeins of wool…the list goes on. And whether I buy my yarn or patterns in the UK or across the pond, provenance is increasingly important for me.
The reward I get from taking time over my own clothing and homewares is entirely the reason I knit. And I’ve rounded up the list of knitwear designers who are (for me) synonymous with the slow-fashion movement.
Michelle Wang
My pick of the yarns
If you follow me on social media, you may or may not have heard that I am on a yarn embargo at the moment. No more ordering, until I’ve cast off a few ongoing projects, and dwindled my yarn stash down to half its current size!
That being said, we all know that as soon as we deny ourselves something, it’s all the more tempting. So I’ve been having a look at all of the lovely yarns I’ll be looking forward to buying once I have permission to do so!
Going forward, I’m definitely going to be more conscious of the types of yarns I buy, and where I buy them from. I also want to work with different fibres, weights and textures to broaden my knitting horizons! I’ve included links of where to buy all of these lovely yarns too, so please go and check them out, and the lovely companies that bring these skeins to our doorstep.
Alchemy Silk Purse
DyeForYarn Tussah Silk Lace
Shibui Knits Linen
Erika Knight Vintage Wool
Eden Cottage Theseus Lace
Stitch & Story Bounty Throw
With autumn having descended so quickly, these last couple of weeks have plunged us into cold spells. Knee high boots and wooly jumpers are the norm, and you absolutely have to carry an umbrella. At. All. Times.
So this seemed like the perfect time to indulge myself in a huge knitted throw for myself! Something that I can tuck my feet up under on these darker, colder evenings.
Stitch & Story’s Bounty Throw fit the bill perfectly. It’s a wonderfully easy pattern, but switches up the stitch patterns frequently enough to keep a seasoned knitter like myself from getting bored! I picked their lovely shade of Olive Pastel, as it’s my absolute favourite!
