Wistman's Wood Cardigan

My Wistman's Wood cardigan in is this month's Knitter Magazine! I am delighted that my pattern is included alongside so many beautiful designs in Issue 160.

The cardigan design is inspired by crisscrossing tree branches. The stitch pattern is full of zigzgging lines of eyelets combined with reverse stocking stitch texture. The branching eyelet pattern is worked on the cardigan back and the front bands, which are knitted at the same time as the fronts. The pattern gradually widens towards the upper body and shoulders. It was such a pleasure to design and knit with this wonderful warm bright yellow shade of Novita Nalle yarn!

Here are some images of the lovely Novita yarn with the ball band information.

I'm really delighted to tell you that my Cholla Shawl knitting pattern is now available to purchase from Walcot Yarns. This means that my design is on sale alongside the gorgeous Opus yarn in which I designed the pattern! There are many beautiful shades available, including Goldenrod. I love this shade and the shawl that I am wearing in the photo is knitted in this colourway.

During #iknit7 last year, I was really excited to purchase 2 skeins of a limited edition Opus yarn created by Townhouse Yarns. As soon as I saw this colourway I knew it would be perfect for a new Cholla shawl! I am making great progress with this new version - only a few more repeats to go! Thanks to my daughter Maxine for taking these great work-in-progress pictures.

The Cholla Shawl is inspired by the desert landscape and cholla cacti in the state of Arizona, USA. It is constructed using two-stitch cables and a combination of single and double yarn-overs worked on stocking stitch and reverse stocking stitch backgrounds. At the same time, the shawl gradually widens with increases worked on every right-side row, creating a right-angled triangle shape. The pattern was originally published in Knitting magazine issue 196.

You can currently buy the lovely Walcott Yarns Opus yarn direct from Walcott Yarns, along with a hard copy of the pattern. The Cholla Shawl requires 2 skeins of Opus. I’ll also be adding a digital version of the pattern to Ravelry and Payhip in the next few days.

A lovely package and a pattern release!

My Mum has rediscovered her knitting mojo and has been creating beautiful gifts for family and friends. I am over the moon that she has been enjoying knitting one of my patterns. My Shoreline Scarf was first published in Knitting Magazine Issue 195. The original design is knitted in gorgeous Uist Wool Cannach 4ply yarn. I love how the Cannach yarn textures and shades work so well together in bias-knitted stripes.

Mum wanted to knit a slightly larger version of the scarf so she chose a DK yarn, Rowan Yarns Alpaca Soft. Working the pattern in a heavier weight of yarn means that Mum's scarf is a little bit wider than the original. Now that all the presents have been received by the lucky friends and family, I can share a few photos of Mum’s knitting. This is also a great opportunity to release the pattern as a download from Payhip and Ravelry. 

So, what was in the lovely package? Well, Mum has knitted a scarf for me! This version is knitted in two shades of UK Alpaca Super Fine Alpaca DK and I love it! 

Mum is now working on a short version of the scarf, so that she can sew the ends together and create a cowl version! Such a clever way to use up the remaining yarn. 

Happy knitting and I hope you enjoy this pattern!

Emma x

Barberry Crescent Shawl

My Barberry Shawl pattern is now available on Ravelry, LoveCrafts and Payhip! This shawl is a lovely accessory project, inspired by autumnal leaves and berries. Knitted in Carol Feller's beautiful Stolen Stitches Nua Worsted, you will need three skeins of the main shade and one skein of the contrast shade. There are so many gorgeous shades to choose from! Why not take a look at the full range of colours over on Carol's website.

The Barberry Shawl begins at the back of the neck and is knitted top-down to create a crescent shape. The centre panel features a cable and bobble pattern that is inspired by little clusters of berries and leaves. The cables form leaves by combining two- and three-stitch cable twists. The bobble berries are made over two rows, with stitches increased on the first row and decreased on the next row. The panel is bordered by two long lines of twisted-stitch ropes, and the curved shawl wings are knitted in stocking stitch with an eyelet pattern. The crescent wings of the shawl are formed by increasing six stitches on every right-side row: two stitches at each end of the row and one stitch on each side of the centre panel.

Museum Quarter Wrap

My Museum Quarter Wrap design is in this month's Knitting magazine!

My wrap design combines bold colour, short row shaping and intarsia to create a dramatic optical effect. The wrap is inspired by a stunning installation by Venezuelan artist Carlos Cruz Diez (1923-2019) on the steps next to MUMOK, the Museum of Modern Art in Vienna’s Museum Quarter (shown in my photo below). Carlos Cruz Diez is well known for his amazing colour work and large scale public installations all over the world. Bright colours were applied to each step, giving the impression of depth and width and inspiring both the shape and pattern of my wrap design. 

This trapezium-shaped wrap begins with the lower border, which is worked in garter stitch. The pattern then changes to stocking stitch with a pink garter stitch ridge for the main sections. The wrap gradually grows in width as stitches are increased. Once the full width is reached, the pattern continues without increases. 

In my knitted wrap, short row shaping allows the sections of vibrant colours to be placed next to each other. By also using intarsia technique, two shades can meet in the centre of the shawl, adding a distinctive colour dimension to the wrap. Once the rhythm of the pattern is established, the short rows become intuitive as they flow over groups of 5 stitches each time.

Southbank Sweater in The Knitter Magazine

My Southbank sweater is in this month's The Knitter Magazine, Issue 155! Designed specially for West Yorkshire Spinners new Wild Shetland yarn, this sweater is full of cables and texture. I love the long colour change gradients of this extremely soft yarn. The pattern is part of an eight-page Spotlight all about Wild Shetland, that also includes a lovely article by Helen Spedding describing the story behind this beautiful new yarn.

Juliet Bernard has written a great article for this issue all about the beauty of cables.  The title page of the article is illustrated by my Linwood Sweater from The Knitter Issue 134. When I was asked to contribute, I had no idea that my interview would featured be alongside talented designers such as Lucy Hague, Martin Storey and Norah Gaughan! I am really honoured by this, especially as I am a huge fan of all their amazing design work.

The Gladys Jeskins Sampler

One of the most inspiring projects I have recently been involved with is an exploration of an incredible stitch knitted sampler. This sampler contains 899 stitch patterns and is part of the Knitting & Crochet Guild's Collection. As part of Unconvention 2020, the current Sampler Project Team got together on zoom to talk about the sampler and why we find it so inspiring. You can view our discussion here and watch the original pink sampler being unrolled! 

The sampler was knitted by one amazing knitter, Gladys Jeskins, over a period of many years. It all began when Gladys decided that she could design more interesting stitch patterns than were available at that time. From there the sampler grew and grew into one very long piece of knitting. After Gladys passed away, her family kindly donated the sampler to the Guild. 

Individual stitch patterns from the sampler will be released over the coming weeks so that everyone can enjoy Gladys's wonderful knitting. The image at the top of this post shows a selection of re-knitted stitch patterns from the sampler on display at last year's Convention.