Blue Winter Rose

September 27, 2018 Sarah Alderson

I am very excited to introduce the final pattern from my Winter Blooms collection, Blue Winter Rose.

Blue Winter Rose is a lacy poncho that features a rose pattern that climbs up the poncho. The pattern is a traditional Shetland lace pattern that I have used in different ways as it climbs from a trellis effect to clusters of roses to individual flowers. It reminds me of climbing roses in my Nan’s garden.

The inspiration for Blue Winter Rose has come from the Game of Thrones stories. The winter rose is a pale blue flower the colour of frost, loved by the characters Lyanna Stark.

I used The Border T art Blue Moon Luna Laceweight yarn which is a really lovely soft yarn made from baby alpaca, silk and cashmere. The small and medium sizes need just one skein as it has great yardage and it shows off the lace pattern beautifully.

Blue Winter Rose is available to purchase here. I will be sending a newsletter out today with details of the newsletter subscribers exclusive discount for both Linden Tree and Blue Winter Rose so sign up today if you have not already done so.

I am off to continue packing for Yarndale which is this weekend in Skipton. I hope to see you there as it is a great yarn show with lots to see and do.

Happy knitting,

Sarah x

Linden Tree

September 23, 2018 Sarah Alderson

I am very pleased to be able to introduce the ninth pattern from Winter Blooms: Linden Tree.

Linden Tree is a flattering jumper knitted from the bottom-up. It is perfect for this autumnal weather where the weather can be hot one minute and cool the next.

Leaf lace and cable panel with integral pocket

It has a simple leaf lace and cable pattern that runs up the front of the jumper and incorporates an integral front pocket to keep hands warm.

The leaf lace and cable pattern is also repeated on the sleeves.

It has a wide square neck and subtle waist shaping to flatter, with long sleeves. I have knitted this sample in Quince & Co. Lark yarn in colourway Petal which is a beautiful pale peachy pink. This is lovely 100% wool yarn that is soft but warm in Worsted weight.

This beautiful yarn was the inspiration for the design. Linden Trees are important honey plants as their pretty flowers give a pale but richly-flavoured honey. We shot these photos earlier in the year in winter. The light was just beautiful with the sun shining through the leaves. It was very cold but the sweater warm.

Linden Tree can be purchased as a download here and the Winter Blooms book here. Newsletter subscribers will be given a discount - look out for my newsletter coming later this week with the release of the final pattern from Winter Blooms.

The Winter Blooms books have now arrived from the printer and I am so happy with how they have turned out. Pre-orders will be sent this week and the book will be released at Yarndale in Skipton next Saturday. Hope to see you there!

Happy Knitting,

Sarah x

Frostfires

September 12, 2018 Sarah Alderson

Frostfires is the eighth pattern from Winter Blooms and is now available to download. I have been very excited waiting to release this pattern as I am so happy with how these have turned out.

These socks are knitted from the toes up and have a cute stranded pattern on the foot, a twisted stitch pattern for the arch and heel and then a stunning flower stranded pattern on the leg, finishing with a i-cord cuff.

Whilst these socks may look quite difficult, the design is fully charted and there are no long stranded floats to deal with. The pattern just makes me want to knit another round so I can keep finishing another flower!

The stranded colour pattern means these socks are also very warm to wear, perfect as the weather starts to cool down.

I knitted this sample in CoopKnits Socks Yeah! which is a fantastic sock yarn in a beautiful range of colours. The merino wool and nylon combination means the socks turn out soft but also hardwearing. I used the colourways Axinite, Sugilite, Peridot and Jadeite - I love the names!

All I need now are some of those clear wellies to wear with my Frostfire socks - they are just too lovely to be covered by shoes!

Frostfires can be purchased here and as always don’t forget to sign up to my newsletter for your exclusive discount code.

Happy knitting,

Sarah x

Dragon's Breath

September 7, 2018 Sarah Alderson

Dragon's Breath is the seventh pattern to be released from my Winter Blooms collection: a headband to keep wild winter hair under control and the ears toasty warm.

The inspiration for this pattern came from a mini-obsession with mosaic knitting and loving the thick fabric produced by the slip-stitch patterns that it creates - both elastic and warm.

The Dragon's eye mosaic pattern reflects my love of the dragons in Game of Thrones, Drogon, Rhaegar And Viserion. I have always wanted to own a dragon! It is edged by integrated i-cord and is a very stretchy fabric to fit multiple head sizes.

The headband is easy to knit and uses two contrasting colours of yarn. I used Collinette Jitterbug which is a great sock yarn in fantastic bright colours that is sadly no longer available. Other suitable and similar yarns include Fyberspates Scrumptious 4ply in Cherry and Cornflower or madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Tart and Celadon.

The weather has really turned autumnal here in Yorkshire with the temperature dropping and that nip in the air. Dragon's Breath is a great quick and interesting knit for this weekend that will keep ears warm as the weather changes and winter draws closer. You can find the pattern here now.

Winter Blooms is now at the printers and should be arriving in the next week. This is your last chance to pre-order!

Happy knitting,

Sarah x

German Short Rows

March 25, 2018 Sarah Alderson

The On The Other Foot MKAL is now in full swing and it has been great fun watching all the combinations of patterns and colours for the toes and feet appearing in the Ravelry group. We are now into week 3 and this week it is the gusset increases and heels. Both Ann Kingstone and I have used German Short Rows for our heel shaping, but in very different ways. One pattern uses it in a stocking stitch heel and the other in a garter stitch heel.

I like German Short Rows as a short row technique because it is very easy way to create short rows with no gaps at the turning points, it is easy to spot the previous turn compared to many wrap and turn methods and it is almost invisible in the knitting.

I have created the video tutorial below to show this technique both in stocking stitch and garter stitch.

Happy knitting,

Sarah x

On The Other Foot MKAL 2018

March 3, 2018 Sarah Alderson

Can you believe it has been over a year since Ann Kingstone and I ran our last joint MKAL? We have been busy designing and coordinating an new pattern for this year... On The Other Foot!

Join us for our third annual mystery knit-along (MKAL), leading you in an intrepid knitting adventure with juicy new techniques to learn, and lots of fun to be had whilst knitting a unique pair of socks.

The MKAL is designed to stretch your creativity by giving you not one, but two options for each section of the socks. We will send out a section of two great linked designs each week and the choice becomes yours. You may decide to make both socks the same, or On The Other Foot (see what we did there?), you may decide to do things differently.

This innovative MKAL will start with part one of the designs on the 9th of March, followed by Part Two on the 16th, Part Three on the 23rd, Part Four on the 30th, and Part Five on the 6th of April. The final full pattern will be revealed on the 13th of April with winners chosen and prizes announced for those who have posted pictures of their completed socks in our Ravelry group forum page. You will automatically receive an email with the pattern update on these dates to download the next section. Each part will have one option designed by myself and one option designed by Ann Kingstone. They can be mixed and matched giving you many different sock pattern options!

We will be supporting you throughout the MKAL with online video tutorials and advice on our blogs, and an online live chat each week. In our Ravelry group we will have forum threads for each update, spoiler threads and a finished sock 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 last two MKAL - Neck and Neck and On The Other Hand - were great fun and we think this one will be even better!

For this MKAL you will need:

SIZE

To fit foot circumferences of up to 20½(23:25½)cm/8(9:10)“, measured around the mid-foot. After blocking the finished socks measure 17½(20:22½)cm/7(8:9)” around at the mid-foot. Foot and leg length are customisable.

MATERIALS

4ply/fingering weight yarn with approximately 400 metres/437 yards per 100g. You will need 100g of your main colour. You can work the socks entirely in one colour, however two of the ten pattern options involve one or two contrast colours. For each of these pattern options a 20g mini-skein of contrast colour will suffice.

For the prototype socks Sarah used Undercover Otter ‘Singularity’ (100% merino wool), and Ann used Eden Cottage ‘Bowland 4ply’ (100% wool).

NEEDLES AND NOTIONS

Swatch to determine what needle size you need to use to achieve the tension/gauge given below. I used 2.25mm needles (I am a loose knitter!) and Ann used 2.5mm needles. Choose the needle type and length you prefer for small diameter circular knitting.

A stitchmarker.

A cable needle. (Optional)

TENSION/GAUGE

32 stitches and 44 rounds per 10cm/4” in plain stocking stitch/stockinette, measured after blocking.

Click here to go to the Ravelry pattern page: On The Other Foot

Happy knitting! xxx

Winter Thyme

January 17, 2018 Sarah Alderson

Winter Thyme is a curved garter stitch shawl with a simple rippled lacy edge that drapes beautifully around the shoulders. It was on show and admired greatly at Yarndale and I have been looking forward to releasing it as a pattern since. It is the sixth pattern from my Winter Blooms book.

I created Winter Thyme to satisfy my love of knitting shawls, but I find traditional triangle shawls difficult to wear, so I designed Winter Thyme to have an asymetrical crescent shape that drapes easily around the shoulders and can be worn as a shawl, wrap or scarf. It has a simple repeating ripple lace pattern and uses four colours of TJFrog 's Shorelines & Strata 4ply yarn.

I first met Tania of TJFrog at the British Wool Show in Thirsk last summer and fell in love with her beautiful yarn. I loved the natural grey against the three specially dyed mini-skein pack and just knew I had to knit this into a striped shawl for Winter Blooms.

Winter Thyme is quickly knitted up in an easy garter stitch pattern with short row shaping to create the crescent shape. The lace pattern is based on a very simple traditional feather and fan pattern, suitable for adventurous beginners.

Winter Thyme can be purchased here and the Winter Blooms ebook can be purchased here and the print copy (includes the ebook) can be preordered here.

Happy knitting and keep warm, winter has definitely arrived,

Sarah x

Elysium - a textured ripple crochet throw pattern release

November 11, 2017 Sarah Alderson

Elysium is a pretty striped blanket with a simple but interesting ripple pattern that crochets up quickly. It is a very special blanket pattern to me and I am so glad that it had such a positive response at Yarndale - my copies sold out and I ended up taking orders for more!

I designed Elysium to be a warm and cozy throw, or a thoughtful gift for a new baby. It has a simple repeating ripple pattern and uses eight colours of DK weight yarn. I used Woolyknit Blue Faced Leicester DK for my blanket in colourways Iron, Gold, Mist, Silver, Peridot, Cream, Mint and Mauve.

Elysium has a lot of texture not normally found in ripple patterns with stitches crocheted together and the use of front and back loops between rows. Fear not though, Elysium is a beginners pattern with just a two row repeat that is easy to learn.

The pattern comes in three sizes: small, medium and large. The small is perfect for a baby blanket and the large makes a cozy throw for a sofa or bed.

The name Elysium means 'the place at the ends of the earth to which certain favoured heroes were conveyed by the gods after death' or 'a state or place of perfect happiness'. It was a word that meant a lot to my Dad and I named this pattern for him. It was designed and begun whilst caring for him during his last weeks and provided a lot of comfort to me as we said goodbye. It is now a warm hug in my living room whenever I need it.

Elysium can be purchased here, I hope you enjoy making it as much as I did.

Happy crocheting,

Sarah x

Yarndale 2017

September 30, 2017 Sarah Alderson

Can you believe it has already been a week since Yarndale? I enjoyed this year so much, this week has felt very sad knowing that there are 363 days until the next one.

Thank you to everyone who came to my stall, it was lovely to meet you all. I do have the most lovely customers! I am sure you have no idea how much it means to me to get such lovely feedback on my designs but I am still on a post-Yarndale high. It was great to hear that things were travelling home to all over the country, and abroad - South Africa, Australia, USA, Netherlands... it is great that people are travelling so far to visit.

It was also great to know that you like the designs in my new book. The next Winter Blooms design (there is a sneaky pic of it above if you can spot it) went down very well and I hope to release this in a few weeks time. My Elysium crochet blanket pattern sold out, I am sorry if you missed out on getting a copy. I will be uploading the pattern to Ravelry next week - newsletter subscribers will get a discount so sign up now if you have not already!

I did not get much chance to look around but I managed to get a few photos of the fantastic yarn bombing outside. The Shaun the Sheep was my favourite. The knitted and crocheted heart display was amazing to see. I am so glad it raised so much money for charity. Well done to all those who made hearts and bought them.

As usual the Yarndale team, volunteers and security staff all deserve a huge thanks for putting on a fantastic festival. I am sure it gets better each year and I am really grateful for being an exhibitor at this wonderful event.

There is a little bit of gorgeous Lichen and Lace sock yarn still available and I will be updating the website later this week so keep an eye out if you missed out. The colourways are gorgeous and it goes well with both my The Chain and Florens sock patterns and the Faradrim fingerless mittens patterns.

Packing up is always hard to do, I always feel so sad that it is over. This time my friends had a great surprise for me as I brought out the last bags to pack in the car - two cheeky bottoms to moon the cars behind on the way home! It made me giggle and I hope it gave others a laugh too. :)

If you did not make it to Yarndale this year, Cathrinksey made a lovely video showing just what a riot of colour and yarn this festival is. She very kindly shows my stand at 2.57 - thanks!

Happy knitting,

Sarah x

Gillyflower

September 21, 2017 Sarah Alderson

Gillyflower is the fifth pattern to be released from Winter Blooms, and the last pattern before Yarndale this weekend.

I used the gorgeously soft Lichen and Lace 80/20 bulky in Linen and Wildflowers to knit this very cozy cowl. Just one skein of each colour is needed and it knits up a dream.

Garter stitch rib borders a simple slip stitch pattern that shows off the yarn colours perfectly. This cowl is great for beginner knitters as only one colour is worked in a row and it can be made in an evening.