For someone who is currently taking a hiatus from designing
knitted items, this is a pretty busy blog post. But as anyone who has ever had
anything to do with publishing knows, these designs were finished months ago,
and I’ve had to keep them a secret.
First up we have two designs in a new-to-me magazine: I Like
Knitting, an e-zine based in the States. It’s a subscription model, so if you
want to knit up these patterns you’ll have to head to their website, http://www.ilikeknitting.com/
 |
| Bobbled Chevron Cowl, image copyright ILikeKnitting.com |
Bobbled
Chevron Cowl is designed as a quick knit – it’s knitted in Rico
Essentials Big, which is a lovely round yarn with excellent stitch definition
– and can be knitted in a couple of hours. It features a pattern entirely made
up of simple knits and purls, and is inspired by the Gansey jerseys worn by fisherman,
which have the associated myth that each fishing village along the coast had its
own design, so that sailors lost at sea could be identified easily and returned
to their home port.
 |
| Scalloped edge cowl, image copyright ILikeKnitting.com |
Scalloped
edge cowl is wonderfully luxurious. It’s made from two skeins of Fyberspates
Scrumptious DK, which is made up of 55% soft merino and 45% silk. The yarn
has a beautiful sheen, and feels really decadent to work with – big thanks to
my sister in law for buying if for me a couple of years ago as a Christmas gift!
I’ve tried my hardest to make the scalloped cast on and cast off edges look the
same, this required inventing a whole new stitch pattern, and I’m really
pleased with how it turned out.
 |
| Painting the Roses Red, image copyright Practical Publishing |
And for seconds (or thirds), Knit Now magazine have published my first
ever shawl design, Painting
the Roses Red.* Knitting a lace shawl was on my 32 things list, and I
thought I’d go the whole hog and design my own! The shawl is a deep crescent
shape, with a plain stocking stitch body and a simple lace border featuring
delicate heart details. It was my first lace shawl, and would be a good choice
for anyone else wishing to knit their first ever lace shawl. The sample is
knitted in Artesano
Alpaca 4 Ply, which is as soft as a kitten, and a bargain at only £5.25 a
skein** [you’ll need two for the small size of this shawl (shown) and four for
the larger size] when bought direct from Artesano. And if you want to know
where the name came from, it’s inspired by the Queen of Hearts in Alice in
Wonderland, as the heart motif reminded me of a fancy dress costume I wore when
I was about 7!
*This pattern is in Issue 56 of Knit Now magazine, which
comes off sale on Wednesday 3rd February 2016, so if you want this
pattern you’ll have to be quick, or order a back issue or digital copy direct
from Knit Now.
**Price correct at time of publication.
