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Annie Rowden’s Winter Hoodie is one of my favourite children’s knits. My mum has knit 5 or 6 of these over the years, all sized a little big so that they can be worn for several years. She recently knit one for her youngest grandchild (and my littlest nephew) in BIY Shetland DK. And I’m […]
I was delighted in autumn 2019 to receive back a big batch of Shetland yarn from the mill. To-date I have had my Shetland fleeces spun by The Border Mill, and they have done a lovely job (you can read more here) but in order to have more spun this latest batch was sent to […]
Another of my mum’s very kind sample knits for me. And another that I wear regularly and completely fail to keep as a pristine sample! The pattern is the Lanes Cardigan by Joji Locatelli, originally published in Laine Magazine Issue 1, but now also available as a separate pattern. The cardigan is knit in Coulmore […]
Probably the cutest ever knit in BIY – I love the Cockle Socks by Katie Green! Lovely Katie is a talented illustrator and comic drawer but also designs knitting patterns, and luckily for me she designed these socks in my Killen Sock yarn. There’s more information about Killen Sock here. Katie’s fabulous design uses just […]
My talented friend Emily Williams has worked her magic again, this time with my Bluefaced Leicester 4ply (one of my small batch yarns spun by The Border Mill). As Emily says: ‘Fyrishâs rippling waves of colour flow as far as you let them. This unusual narrow shawl (or is it a wide scarf?) tucks neatly […]
Once again my lovely mum has been helping me out with some sample knitting – and once again, I’m wearing the so-called sample all the time! St Catherines is a superb design by Kate Davies, who says that it is a ‘shrug-style garter stitch cardigan, with dolman sleeves and short-row shaping‘. Mum knit my version […]
I’ve had the Puzzlewood Mittens pattern on my to-make list since it was first published a couple of years ago. The original design, by Ruth Werwai, was published in the lovely book WOODS, by the Making Stories team. I love that they feature local sustainable yarns – and, in fact, Black Isle Yarns are the […]
Earlier this year Clare Devine released this lovely shawl pattern in Black Isle Yarns Bluefaced Leicester Suri 4ply. BFL Suri is an 80:20% blend and is soft with lots of drape. Avoch is a striking shallow and long triangle shape. Clare’s sample used 150g, but it could be adapted for any amount of yarn – […]
I thought that I’d talk a bit about how I work and the steps involved in BIY from field to skein – so that if you ever pick up a skein you know just what has gone into it. The first stage is to make contact and build a relationship with a farm or smallholding […]
I was introduced to Hannah Longmuir’s beautiful designs at Perth Festival of Yarn when lovely Kuku of Kukufrakak showed me a card she’d bought in Edinburgh…….. it was the foxglove illustration shown here (one of my favourite plants and hers too – kukufrakak is basque for foxglove). I remember being so eager to find out […]
