Maiden Pink

September 20, 2017 Sarah Alderson

Yesterday I released Maiden Pink, the fourth design from my Winter Blooms collection. Maiden Pink is a sweet cozy jumper knitted in chunky yarn with a simple stranded pattern.

My Nan had Maiden Pinks growing in her rockery and I have always liked their pretty pink flowers with feathered edges. There is a simple stranded pattern around the empire waist and this is echoed on the cuffs of the sleeves and hips.

The jumper starts with an i-cord neck edging and is then knit in the round top-down. The lower edge and sleeve cuffs are finished with i-cords making this completely seamless. Princess-line shaping makes this fitted jumper flattering and it can be knitted longer for extra length if required.

I used New Lanark Wool & Textiles Chunky 100% Wool for this design as it is great for warm winter clothing and they have lovely colours that work well for simple stranded knits.

Maiden Pink is a great option for a first colourwork sweater as the pattern is simple to remember, there are no long floats and the chunky yarn knits up very quickly.

I may well be wearing this soon... Winter is definitely coming and the evenings are getting quite chilly!

Happy knitting x

Frostberry Hat and Mittens

September 17, 2017 Sarah Alderson

Frostberry hat and mittens are the next two patterns to be released from my Winter Blooms collection. A matching set that are full of pretty berries and finished with a super-soft pompom, perfect to keep you warm in cold climates.

Both the hat and mittens are knitted in the round from the top down. The brim is knitted on sideways so there is no seaming and has a cable design for extra warmth.

I have knitted these in Shilasdair luxury DK with camel. I loved working with this yarn. It shows the pattern details well but is so soft to touch and does feel very luxurious. The pompom is from Toft Alpaca and is just so soft and fluffy! It makes the perfect trim to this hat.

Frostberry hat and mittens patterns can be purchased together as pattern or purchased as part of the Winter Blooms e-book or pre-order print book.

Winter really feels as though it is coming this week and I had better get knitting a hat and mitten set for myself as it is getting quite chilly here in Yorkshire.

Happy knitting x

Weirwood

September 15, 2017 Sarah Alderson

Winter is coming and I am very excited to release my Winter Blooms book today!

Weirwood just had to be the first pattern and the cover photo of the book and I have loved designing and knitting this long flowing cardigan. Weirwood trees are one of the signature images from the Game of Thrones TV series, with the beautiful white trunked trees with five-pointed crimson leaves growing during the opening credits. Within the stories they are sacred trees and many scenes take place under their bows.

This became the inspiration for the yoke leaf pattern of this cardigan, and the long length represents the tall white trunk of the tree.

The sleeves are flared and the garment just swings when you walk with such lovely drape in this yarn. I used baa ram ewe Titus yarn in White Rose for the main colour and Heathcliff, Rose Window, Bantam and Coal as the colours for the leaf stranded pattern.

The cardigan is simple to knit as it is knitted in one piece and then steeked - which is far easier than it sounds! The gentle waist and hip shaping gives an elegant look and the wider neck suits many shapes.

The buttons are ones that I sell in my shop and just fasten the yoke together, allowing the rest of the cardigan to flare and swing.

Weirwood is available now for instant download as an individual pattern or can be purchased with the e-book. The next two patterns will be released on Sunday 17th September. As I mentioned in my last post, the patterns will be updated over the next year to the book but it can be purchased now as an e-book or pre-ordered as a print copy with a free e-book.

Winter Blooms

September 13, 2017 Sarah Alderson

Winter Blooms is my new collection which is due to be released at Yarndale this year. The collection features twelve patterns inspired by the gardens of Winterfell from the Game of Thrones series by George R.R. Martin.

The idea for the book came about from the shows popular catch phrase: "Winter is coming". Every time I picked up my knitting needles with the idea to make something warm and cozy the phrase came to mind. Winter is coming.... better get knitting!

There will be seven garments and five accessory patterns in the collection and each pattern is inspired by a plant that could be grown in a northerly climate. The first pattern will be Weirwood shown on the book cover below, inspired by the important sacred trees from the stories.

This collection is a WIP (work-in-progess) of its own and I am releasing it in stages. This Friday (15th Sept) the ebook and Weirwood will be available. The next four patterns will be released and added to the ebook over the next 7 days before Yarndale. The remaining seven patterns will be released and added to the ebook over the next twelve months with a final completion in September 2018.

The patterns will be available to buy individually and you will be able to convert past purchases of the individual patterns into the ebook at any time. The price of the ebook will be £15.99 whilst the collection is not complete and will rise once all patterns are released. The print version will also be available to preorder from my website shop from Wednesday. The price is also reduced to £19.99 for pre-orders and includes a complimentary ebook on the preorder only. The book will be delivered the week of its release in September 2018. I know this is a long time to wait, but I believe it will be worth it!

Happy knitting x

The Chain

September 9, 2017 Sarah Alderson

I released The Chain socks a couple of weeks ago and would like to say thank you for all the positive comments that you have sent! Apologies for taking such a long time to update the blog with the new pattern, I have been very busy with an exciting new collection.... more of this next week.

These socks were a request from my step-mum - she wanted socks that were not too fussy, not too long and had a good gusset as her birthday present after trying on my previous sock design Florens. So I set about designing these socks for her.

The Chain name comes from the Fleetwood Mac song, Never break the chain and the pattern features mock cables in chains, some of which are linked and some a little broken.

The socks are knitted from the toe up and have long gusset increases making these great socks great for people with high arches and wider feet. The pattern is designed for those who are beginner sock knitters as the patterning and structure is simple to follow and easy to customise to fit your own feet. They also have a reinforced heel that ensures the socks will last.

I knitted these socks in Lil' Weasel Lil' Sock yarn which looks great and shows off the chain pattern well. My original pair given as a present were knitted in Rico Design Superba Klassik and i love how the different colour changes how the sock looks.

The sock pattern can be purchased as a PDF download or as a print pattern through Magcloud here.

Happy knitting!

Sarah x

Happy Starwars Day sale!

May 4, 2017 Sarah Alderson

May the fourth be with you! I love the fun and corny puns and memes this day has and since I am a big geek who loves to share my fandoms with you through knitting and crochet, I am offering 25% off all patterns, books, kits and notions in my Ravelry and online shop today only as a flash lightsaber sale. Use the code MAY4TH2017 on checkout to get the discount.

Happy lightsabering,

Sarah x

Purl When You Can Tutorial

February 5, 2017 Sarah Alderson

This tutorial explains the technique of Purl When You Can technique and the accompanying pattern gives the opportunity to practice and perfect it.

Purl When You Can (PWYC) is a technique to work stranded colourwork from the cast on edge without having to make a cuff. When working in stocking stitch, a cuff is normally added to the top and bottom edges to ensure the edges do not curl when finished.

Meg Swansen introduced this technique and it is very useful for when you want the colourwork pattern to reach the edges of the knitting. I have used it in my Caffeic pattern and in the Neck and Neck! MKAL pattern.

The basic technique involves when working into as stitch of the same colour, purl it instead of knitting. If working into a contrasting colour stitch then knit it as usual. This only needs to be done in the first (or last) four or five rounds. The purl stitches act like ribbing does to prevent curling, but in a much less regular pattern than ribbing.

Caffeic is a free coffee cup cozy pattern that uses this technique. It can be downloaded here.

I recommend if using PWYC to use the German Twisted Cast-on technique. I would also work a purl row before starting the colourwork pattern to reduce curling.

The normal colourwork chart for Caffeic (without using PWYC) looks like this:

All stitches are worked in knit. If this was worked as it is, the top and bottom of the cozy would curl up because stocking stitch is slightly longer on the wrong (purl) side than it is on the right (knit) side.

The next chart shows how it would look with 4 rows top and bottom using PWYC.

As you can see, the purl stitches are in the main colour only, and only when the stitch below is also a main colour. I could purl all the contrasting colour stitches when they above another contrasting colour stitch, however only a few purl stitches are needed to stop the curling and so the contrasting colour is all worked in knit.

When working towards a cast off edge without a cuff, I normally work one purl row before casting off. If any of the stitches in the row below are a contrasting colour then I do not purl these but knit them. This stops the purl bump being in the wrong colour. Finally I cast off in knit, except the stitches that are knitted in the row below which are cast off in purl.

I hope you enjoyed learning about Purl When You Can and my free Caffeic pattern.

Happy knitting,

Sarah x

Chinese Waitress Cast-on Tutorial

February 4, 2017 Sarah Alderson

One of the two cast-ons used in part 1 of the Neck & Neck! MKAL is the Chinese Waitress Cast-on. This is a lovely technique that produces a reversible edge that looks almost like a 2 stitch i-cord.

In the video below I show how to do this cast on and it has been added to my tutorial webpage.

This is how the finished cast-on looks from the front:

Front view (right side) of Chinese Waitress Cast-on — Front view (right side) of Chinese Waitress Cast-on

And the back:

Back view (wrong side) of Chinese Waitress Cast-on

Happy knitting,

Sarah x

Neck & Neck! MKAL - choosing yarn

January 28, 2017 Sarah Alderson

Neck & Neck! MKAL logo

This week has been very exciting as I have finally been able to share a project that I am working on with my good friend and fellow designer Ann Kingstone - our 2017 MKAL! Neck and Neck! is a cowl pattern that will be sent to you weekly in three sections. The unique thing about this MKAL though is that each week you will get a choice of patterns - one designed by myself and the other by Ann. This gives 8 different beautiful and coordinated options to what the final pattern might look like! Last year we did the same format with the On The Other Hand fingerless mittens and it was so much fun, and the combinations looked so good, we thought we would do it again.

The MKAL will start with part one of the designs on the 3rd of February. Part two will be released on the 10th of February and part three on the 17th of February 2016. The final full pattern will be revealed on the 24th of February with winners chosen and prizes(!) announced for those who have posted pictures of their completed cowl in our Ravelry group forum page. You will automatically receive an email with the pattern update on these dates to download the next section.

We will be supporting you throughout the MKAL with online video tutorials and advice on our blogs, Periscope, Twitter, Intstagram and Facebook groups. We would also love you to join us in our Ravelry group where we will have forum threads for each update, spoiler threads and a finished cowl thread as well as chat and prize giveaways. We love seeing your colour and yarn choices and sharing with you the fun of a MKAL.

The pattern can be purchased here:

For this MKAL you will need DK weight yarn. Yarn amounts will vary depending on which options you take but two coordinating but contrasting colours of 100g each will make sure you have enough no matter which options you make.

Baa Ram Ewe Dovestone DK in shades Goathland (purple) and Bramley Baths (green)

For my sample I have used one of my favourite yarns that was kindly donated by Baa Ram Ewe - Dovestone DK in shades Bramley Baths and Goathland. These yarns look beautiful together and the purple is darker than the green so work well for colourwork.... that may have been a hint! Dovestone DK has a gorgeous range of shades and it is lovely to work with too.

During the MKAL I will be joining in by knitting Ann's version of the pattern so I have been stash raiding this morning and coming up with options so I could show yarns and fibre content that would work. Firstly I would recommend using wool, alpaca, wool-blends or acrylic rather than cotton based yarns as this will work better in the colourwork section. The two colours also need to be different tonal shades. When working with white and black yarn, it is easy to see the different tone - black being much darker than white. For colours it can be difficult with the naked eye so I use the filter function on my phone camera and in my photo software to convert a picture of the yarns together and converting to a black and white photo. This shows that Goathland is darker than Bramley Baths so will work together well. If the shades are too similar tonally then colourwork may not show up well.

Dovestone DK Goathland and Bramley Baths as a black and white image

So what yarns will I knit my second sample in? Well I have a fair amount of DK stash so I have been having a sort through and have come up with these options:

1) Sublime extra fine merino wool dk

Any two of these shades would work well and I have used Sublime merino before for colourwork and the smoothly spun yarn shows patterns well.

2) A combination of Sublime extra fine merino wool dk with either madelinetosh tosh sport or Alpaca fibre studio baby alpaca yarn with 20% bamboo

I love the dark pink or dark blue against the white for a really clear contrast. The Alpaca yarn was given to me as a gift and I have not been sure what to knit with it as it is so lovely, but there is only 150 yards. It would be lovely and soft in this pattern. The sport weight Madelinetosh is very lovely and has clear stitch definition and would work fine if I can get gauge (as would worsted weight yarn). The cowl gauge and finished dimensions are given in the preliminary into that you get on purchasing the pattern so you can try out yarns before you commit to the knitting.

3) Woolyknits DK classics with colour splash

I have had a few people as about using variegated yarns for this project. Whilst I think it would work best with two solid (or handdyed) yarns, it would look ok to combine a variegated with a solid as shown above. The important thing would be to make sure none of the colours in the variegated yarn are similar or have the same tone to the solid yarn so a clear contrast is seen between them. I'm quite liking the above combination.

4) Finally Longridge farm DK yarn

I love these two colours together but again not found the right project for them. This could be it! The fibre is 70% CVM/Romeldale, 20% alpaca and 10% Bombyx silk so very soft.

So lots of choices. Now I am just waiting rather impatiently for the release of the first clue so I can cast on something new and fun. Will you join us?

Happy knitting,

Sarah x

How I was nearly good at the Harrogate Knitting & Stitching show

December 4, 2016 Sarah Alderson

Last weekend I ended up on a surprise road trip to the Harrogate Knitting and Stitching show.

I packed my yarn show survival kit and we headed off. Now I have to confess I was an annoying customer. I am one of those people who spend the majority of the day just looking and planning. I did not go with any type of list of things I wanted and I had not looked at the list of exhibitors as I did not know I was going until the last minute. No plan meant everything was going to be an impulse buy... and I was trying to be good...

Obviously I failed at the being good part. An hour before the show shut (yes it was last minute) I suddenly decided I wanted to buy everything I had seen and had to rush around to get it before everyone packed up. (Note to vendors: Please don't pack up 15 mins before the show shuts, it may be quietening down but those last minute customers can spend a lot - and to be honest, I think it is a bit rude when the show is still open. I know shows are tiring, I have worked at a lot of shows and do empathise, but it just does not look good.)

Despite being called the Knitting and Stitching show there is not a lot of yarn around. The show is geared far more to sewers than knitters but there is lots to see and get inspiration from. I love the Jamieson's wall of Shetland colour that is present, it has given me inspiration for a hat for my sister (she is complaining that I don't knit enough for her).

In the end I treated myself to some gorgeous rainbow yarn from The Knitting Goddess. I think with everything that is going on (see this post) I need a bit of bright cheery rainbows right now. I also bought a book I have been after for a while by Liz Lovick on Shetland Lace. Everything else was sewing related. There were lots of cute fat quarters around and in the end I went for ones with polar bears in hats, owls, rockets, bunnies and fairy toadstools. I also got a pattern for some pyjama trousers as I have been wanting to make myself more lounge pants and some jersey fabric that has a girl hugging a sloth. This came from a stall selling cute fabric and children's patterns but why should kids get all the cute stuff? My new year's resolution is to definitely get the sewing machine out and start using this mountain of fabric I am collecting.

The best bit of the show was the giant Game of Thrones White Walker that was embroidered by the Embroiderer's Guild. It was commissioned for promoting the show and it was just amazing. The detail was just fantastic, I was in awe. Even the background walkers had beaded eyes which made them rather scary.