New Pattern: Roots

I am proud to announce today that new pattern Roots has finally been published!

 

Roots is a top down hat featuring an unusual branching rib structure. It is knit using 100-150 yards of Malabrigo Twist (colour Zinc) and 4mm circular needles or DPNs.

This is a great gift knit pattern (indeed, even the sample has already been gifted to my well deserving little brother), and takes about 6 hours to make. With the holiday season approaching, this simple, unisex pattern with it's customisable length and subtle but unusal patterning will impress many different people.

Roots was inspired by the branching fractal nature of tree roots, working their way down into the soil. As you knit from top to brim you mimic this process, starting from a centre circle.

The use of worsted weight yarn knit at a slightly tighter gauge results in a warm, water resistant fabric, perfect for winter wear, and increases the elasticity of the rib for a snug, warm fit. This hat makes a fantastic gift knit as it can be readily knit over a couple of days, and the soft and luxurious yarn makes for a truly special treat. This hat is a great knit for men, being both well fitting, simple and traditional in style, but the branching rib provides an element of individuality and makes for a fun and interesting knit.

If you would like to knit Roots you can buy now via Ravelry for £2.50.

Birthdays!

Yesterday was my birthday! Hooray!

I woke up to tea and birthday cake (made by Andrew) and received some lovely presents. Andrew was wonderfully thoughtful and had responded to my request for "a nice spiral bound notebook" by getting me these wonderful goodies:

On the left is a notebook featuring Elmo, in the middle a 2012 diary with Joey, and on the right a tote bag with one of my favourite MichaelaKnits photos! I was umming and ahhing writing up this pattern, but I guess I'll have to now!

My Mam and Dad had given me a bag of goodies to bring home last weekend, which had some lovely bits in including some animal bookmarks and a book of knitted monster patterns, and had had this posted to me:

Andrew and I had really wanted to go to Antwerp this summer for a whole range of reasons, but didn't end up having the chance. As such, I missed out on this exhibit, but am pleased as punch to have the book. From what I can gather, it goes through each item through history, looking at both the design and construction ideas. I'm so excited to read it!

We were out of the house all day, I'd been planning for weeks to spend the day at Richmond Park. We'd paid a visit last year at the end of October, but really missed the bulk of the mating behaviour (my now abandoned PhD was in sexual selection, mating behaviour is kind of my thing!) This year, we went at peak time, and got to see some real treats.

Richmond Park is one of London's Royal Parks, alongside Regents Park, St. James' Park, Hyde Park, etc. but is further out of town in West London. It's the largest of London's parks, and was secured by King Charles the First in 1637, although it's history as a Royal deer hunting ground dates back at least to Henry VII (thank you wikipedia!) Due to it's age, and in part due to it's size, the woodland is extremely well established, and relatively undisturbed. There are some gravel paths and bridleways, but mostly you are unsure if you're walking a people path or a deer track. The park is full of  lovely fairytale trees:

But mostly we wanted to see the deer. We first spotted a medium sized stag limping heavily through the trees (inevitably he'd been fighting), and later spotted this fellow having a rest.

He's a fairly big stag, but didn't have a single female with him. I can only assume he'd challenged or been challenged by another male soon before, and had come off the loser. He was great though. One of the advantages of seeing the deer in Richmond Park is that they are used to people being around them, and as long as you stay quite far away (photos are zoomed in) and make sure they can hear you coming, they are unlikely to spook and run off, or worse, turn and attack. We came back later and found he'd dug this little hole for his nap!

Later, Andrew managed to spot a group of 6 female Fallow deer hiding in some long grass close to the deer track we were following. These are smaller than the Red deer, and much more skittish, so we felt very lucky to have seen them. Shortly after though we found what we were really looking for:

A huge group of females (probably close to 40) guarded by one large male. This won't be the largest harem in Richmond Park, the male doesn't look nearly as big as he could be, and a lot of the females are probably too young to mate. He spent much of the time we were watching chasing off a relentless invasion of 4 very young males, keen to cash in on his hard work! I read once that a stag can lose up to 20% of his body weight during a busy rut, he is kept so active chasing away and fighting with other males. This seems like a massive amount to lose during the autumn, so I'm not sure it's true, but I can certainly believe it's possible!

After the park we ventured off for dinner and cocktails to celebrate. We enjoyed a lovely Mexican meal and some yummy cocktails (I followed that up with some "Aztec Chocolate Cake" - which was as amazing as it sounds!) and then collapsed into bed, very tired by all the festivities!

Great North Run!

This Saturday, following a busy week and some Friday Fashion Week excitement (more on that tomorrow), I took the long journey to Newcastle to watch my Dad and brother Dominic compete in the Bupa Great North Run.

This is Britain's biggest half marathon, run this year by 54,000 runners and headed up by some of the biggest names in distance running. My Dad first ran this, alongside my Grandad, in 1982, the second year of the race, at the age of 29. Now, 29 years later (at the age of 58), he ran with my brother (who, for completeness sake, is 21). Dad and Grandad ran the half marathon in 2 hours 20 minutes, and this time round the target, taking into consideration the much larger crowd (54,000 vs. 14,000), my Dad being a bit older than my Grandad was, and my brother's rather unconventional training schedule, the target was around the 2 hours 45 mark.

Mam and Dad now live in Newcastle, so we were fortunate enough to be able to walk to the start line, after some essential stretching of course!

 Making sure we had cameras...

 And the obligatory plastic clothing.

Dad and Dom went off to get ready to start whilst Mam and I waited at the start line;

The start gun went....

Look at the crowd!

We caught up with Dad and Dom at the 4 and 8 mile marks,

And again at the end! We saw them finish, triumphantly crossing the line together, but I was too excited to take a photo, hopefully this one from 30 seconds later will suffice.

Don't they look exhausted!


Dad and Dom finished in 2 hours 48 minutes - almost exactly on schedule when you consider they had to stop and chat to family 3 times!!

Today they're very stiff and very tired, but very very proud. They've got medals and t-shirts and support coming from all over (thanks so much to those who tweeted their support!) Dom has been told that he has to run it again with his son in another 29 years!

Funtime socks!

I have finished my new socks! Hooray!

Having been so busy knitting lately knitting garments I needed a little light relief. These socks were knit as part of the Easyknits.co.uk X-Factor 2011 Mystery KAL Part One (try saying that with a mouthful of mushrooms!) This has been my first mystery KAL and my first KAL that I have completed on time!

Designed by Jon Dunn-Ballam to commemorate the first 4 weeks of this year's X-Factor (a programme I don't normally watch, but have been since knitting these socks!), these socks are composed of some fab lace ribbing, a fun "X" motif, chevrons, zig-zags and arrowheads, a "Frankensock" if you like (Jon's word, not mine!)

Knit using 2.25mm needles for a 66st CO using Easyknits.co.uk Twinkle yarn in Lemon Ice. The only mod I made was to switch in a short row toe (I don't mind the grafting). This, being slightly shorter, gave me more length to play with the zig-zag and arrowhead patterns.

Jon is doing two further X-Factor KALs, the next one begins of Friday and uses 2x100g skeins of sock in 2 colours, and the third begins when the X-Factor live shows begin (not sure when) and uses 1200m of lace - but don't worry, that one's over 11 weeks! You can check out the thread over at Ravelry.com.

The pattern will be available to purchase from Jon's Ravelry Shop and via the Easyknits website shortly.

A lovely surprise!

Yesterday I received this in the post:

Some of you will recognise this as the Knit Nation logo and know that this was a lovely (and beautifully presented) biscuit based gift from Alice as a thank you for helping out at Knit Nation. She even wrote this lovely blog post about me the other day.

All of this does of course prove, that she is a very kind and generous silly billy. Because I am incredibly lazy, and wouldn't have helped at all (well, maybe a little bit) had it not been some of the most fun, happy and rewarding days I've had. I met some amazing people, laughed as hard as I have in months, and did more to boost my fledgeling design career than in the previous 4 months put together.

So thank you very much, I love it, and thanks for the opportunity. :)

I have been knitting!

Just in case you thought I'd given up on knitting altogether, I can confirm that I have been working very hard! There have been a few secret projects, and a couple of new garment designs in the works, the first of which is the now completed Ropery Pullover. I blogged about this back in August when I was 2/3 of the way through, but was held up knitting the front - it's construction is highly unusual and required some lateral thinking!

The second garment is a new, flared, almost vintage inspired blazer design featuring lots of horseshoe cables and knit using Blacker Yarns Pure Galway Aran. I haven't knit with Blacker yarns before, their reputation for rustic, earthy yarns is deserved. I almost certainly wouldn't have picked it up in store, in the skein it is stiff and scratchy, but I would have absolutely missed out. The yarn softens immeasurably as it's knit, and still further when blocked. At Knit Nation Judith McKenzie told me that any good pure wool needs a bit of wear and tear to reach it's potential, and I'm certain that this yarn is going to just improve and improve. I was fortunate to get a great deal on this yarn due to a voucher in Knitting magazine this month, so check that out!

The cardigan is knit bottom up in one piece to the armholes, and then split front(s) and back. Sleeves are worked flat (I think). The garment is finished with a large lapel collar and shoulder pads will be recommended - I loves me a huge shoulder!

Thirdly I've been knitting away at the Easyknits.co.uk Mystery X-Factor KAL. I needed a small, non-secret project for Knit Night and the tube, and this seemed like a lot of fun! The socks KAL is nearly finished now, but Jon is planning 2 more mystery KALs for between now and Christmas. If you're interested, check out the Easyknits group on Rabelry for more. This photo is from the end of Clue 2 (of 4) - unsurprisingly yellow - using Easyknits.co.uk Twinkle yarn.

 As a quick addition, I've written the bulk of this post on my phone, using the new Blogger iPhone app. I can see this being very useful, however there's currently no photo placing option, so I've had to come on the PC to move the photos into the right order/place. If in future you see posts with all the photos at the end, you'll know that's how I've written the post!

And finally, yes, I haven't forgotten it's fashion week, I'll do a New York summary in good time :)

Wool Modern at La Galleria, Pall Mall

Long time blog readers will remember that last year, in commemoration of British Wool Week, Saville Row was transformed into a mini-petting zoo and I was treated to a wonderful behind the scenes tour of Huntsman, one of the "old guard" of Saville Row tailors. It was truly awesome, if you didn't read it then, you can check it out here.

This year, a special exhibit of wool usage throughout fashion has been set up in Pall Mall. Entitled Wool Modern, this free exhibit features some fantastic examples of wool use in fashion, art and home furnishings. The website is http://www.campaignforwool.org/woolmodern/ , in fact, the whole Campaign for Wool website is worth checking out.

The exhibit is slightly smaller than I had imagined, however this may be due to it being split across two shop spaces and a small upstairs room. There are a large number of pieces on display, probably about the same number as were at the V&A Yohji Yamamoto exhibit I went to earlier in the year. To be honest, the exhibit is worth the trip for the fantastic free guidebook alone (I do always appreciate free stuff, must be that student attitude still clinging on!). This features photos and descriptions of each of the items on display, and will be a useful reminder for the future.

Think of a well known British designer and chances are they had something at this exhibit, from McQueen, to Westwood to Pringle. Smaller labels such as David Koma were featured too, as well as well known individual items such as Sibling's Knit Monster. Many European labels were represented too, such as this gorgeous wool dress from Lanvin AW10/11.

I love this so much I've already convinced Andrew he needs to make me one!

Other highlights included this gorgeous dress from Galliano AW10/11, sadly obscured in the exhibition by a jacket, but you have to love that skirt shape! To the right is a Sonia Rykiel AW05/06 look in the most fantastic tweedy yarn.

 

 I also love this fitted knit top from Sandra Backlund 2009. I'm always a fan of big shoulders, and these really take that look to an extreme. The stitch pattern is lovely and simple. I wonder if I could try and make my own.....

 Another close up now of some graphic colourwork on this Mughler AW 93/94 catsuit that I think is just great. I don't think even the most patient of knitters would want to knit at this gauge, but I can't help but be inspired.

As a special treat, the exhibition houses this 1965 YSL couture gown (if you can call it that). The blurb states that it uses 150 balls of wool, whatever that may mean. Highly impractical to wear, I may just like to have it as my coffin.

 Last but not least, this dress by Mark Fast AW11/12 (so not yet in stores!) I've been playing with pleats a lot lately, and it's nice to see them taken to the extreme in this way. In the past I've been rather vocal in my opinions on Mark Fast's brand of knitwear, but I have to concede that he does seem to be growing as a designer. This dress features only a small section (ableit on the crotch) of his trademark openwork nonsense.

I was fortunate to be able to visit with both Andrew and my friend Ali, who has a very well written craft blog over at In The Making that I highly recommend. It's always nice to get other's opinions on these things, and generally we didn't agree on our highlights! Ali loved the McQueen and the Alice Palmer, while Andrew was more taken with the Rick Owens (no surprise there) and the men's Lanvin.

In short, if your in London between now and the 28th of September, go and see this exhibit!

Hampstead Cardicape

Today, after months of pattern tweaking, editing and testing I am happy to release the Hampstead Cardicape pattern.

You may remember this pattern from my show back in February, it formed the basis of my third look - Autumn Oak:

After the show, myself, my fantastic model Urvi, and our wonderful photographers Rajee and Danmi ventured off into the depths of Hampstead Heath for our very organic photoshoot. Thanks to their wonderful skill and some great luck with the weather we were able to achieve some wonderful shots!

The Hampstead Cardicape is made in 4 pieces, and features a simple yet effective slip stitch pattern to add subtle texture to this unusual silhouette.

The cardicape is fitted closely across the shoulders, and has an oversized shape across the rest of the body. This allows it to flatter both smaller and larger figures.

Originally knit using the sadly now discontinued Patons Shadow Tweed this knit would be suitable for a wide range of heavy aran/light bulky weight yarns, being knit at a gauge of 13sts and 21 rows to 4". During the testing process we used a range of alternative yarns, and results from solid, tweed and varigated yarns were all of interest, in addition to the long stripes of the sample.

This knit is certainly a striking addition to your daily wardrobe, and would make a lovely accessory for special occaisions, and also as a great cover-up during chilly autumn evenings.

This pattern is available for £4.00 and can be found at Ravelry.com. Alternatively, you can buy now.

As always, any queries can be sent to me michaela AT michaelaknits DOT com - happy knitting!

Couture Round Up

I'm a little late to the excitement of the Autumn/Winter 2011 couture shows that were held at the beginning of July, but I thought I'd share some of my opinions with you anyway.

Couture is a special kind of fashion week. It is, in essence, a big publicity drive for fashion brands. The market for couture is incredibly small, many of the labels showing will be happy to sell one or two pieces from these collections. When you consider the price points for these garments (generally over £5000), this is hardly surprising! What a good couture show does do, however, is tell us more about a designer, his skill, propensity for innovation, and his appreciation and understanding of quality.

There were a couple of labels this season that really played to the "big publicity stunt" idea, and gave us some looks that were perhaps a bit wild for most tastes. Most notably, On Aura Tout Vu, with their bizarre legs and arms sprouting from weird places, and Iris Van Herpen, who put out a lovely collection that appears to be inspired by sound waves, using curves, ripples and spikes. I rather like this dress, soundproof rooms are surrounded in this kind of triangular surface. (You can zoom into any of the photos by clicking on them)

 

The week as a whole has left me a little flat to be honest. McQueen is notable by their absence, the injection of sheer decadance is slightly lacking this season, and overall I wasn't as impressed as I have been previously. But their were a few lovely moments. The big winners were those who took couture ideas and made them into something both wearable and beautiful. For me, this was Armani Privé, Stephane Rolland, and by far and away the king was Gaultier.

Armani Privé had a lovely concept (and I love a good concept), mixing traditional Japanese shapes and fabrics with modern formal tailoring. There are some lovely, very wearable pieces at the start of the collection before the arrival of some stunning evening wear. This is a label that will sell couture, so the mixture of wearability and beauty is key. My favourite is this fitted look:

Gaultier also had a very clear concept. Oh, how I would have loved to be in their studio when this was going on. Looking through this collection you step back into the time of Al Capone, and, a few dodgy male model choices aside, the gangster and his moll are very clearly represented. If you check out one collection, it should be this one, go on, look here! There are a couple of knits here (they are almost entirely absent from couture), and as expected, they are very exciting.

Without doubt I would just live in that second one.

Third of my favourite collections was Stephane Holland. A much smaller label, this collection, like Armani's, mixed in a lot of formal tailoring into what was overall just a beautiful, feminine and interesting collection. I absolutely love this oversized jacket:

So film noir!


Lastly I couldn't not show you this knit, as you're bound to see it at some point. Harking back to "couture for publicity" this gown of cables surely fulfils that brief!

All photos from catwalking.com

Post Knit Nation doings

 Since the chaos that was Knit Nation I've been taking a bit of time to catch up on all of the things that were postponed during all that crazy (and what wonderful crazy it was!) It was only this morning I was reminded that I have yet to give you an update on what I bought and what I've since been up to.

I did get a couple of bits...

 Such as this lovely skein from Habu! When Habu were announced as once of the vendors for Knit Nation I danced around the room, very excited to get to see more of their yarns in person. As the time grew closer and circumstances changed I knew I wasn't going to be able to indulge myself as much as I may have liked. As such, I carefully searched through their beautiful stand before coming across this fantastic skein of 100% cotton bouclé laceweight. This really was my only real treat to myself at Knit Nation (frozen yoghurt aside), and I have no idea what will become of it as yet!

 The next skein was bought with the complete opposite of intentions. This gorgeous skein of Old Maiden Aunt 80% Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon sport weight is destined for a special design coming up soon. The colourway, Baobhan Sith, is a really deep wine, with a lot of subtle semi-solid texture.

 I was very lucky to receive 4 skeins from Tash, one of our fantastic crew members at Knit Nation (you may have seen her calling the bingo!). Tash runs yarn store Holland Road Yarn Company in Wellington, New Zealand, well worth the trip if you're in the area. She was handing out samples to all sorts of important people and somehow I managed to persuade her to let me try some yarn too.

The top photo is of some Zealana yarn, which is made with possum fur and merino. I'd heard alot about the use of Possum in yarn production, and the debate around it's usage (Possum fibre is reclaimed from the pelts of culled possum in New Zealand). Many of you know that I am and have been a vegetarian for many many years, and as such I did read around this issue carefully. Ultimately I cannot object to the use of what would genuinely be an otherwise wasted product, and, unlike the leather industry, the possum fibre industry is not impacting the decision to kill these animals.

The yarn itself is far more unusual to the touch than I expected. The closest analogy I can make is that stroking it feels like stroking my cats. Which I guess makes sense when you consider that the possum fibre is hair and not wool. I can't wait for a spare minute to start swatching with this, it's going to be so much fun!

Tash also has her own range of hand dyed yarns under her label Knitsch. I highly highly highly recommend you check these out, her colours are amazing. I don't have any photos of them in the skein because the first thing I did upon returning from Knit Nation on Sunday night was wind them. I just needed to feel them properly, and they feel amazing! The ball on the left is Auburn, and by the end of the weekend I was boring all of the crew by continuously showing them how great it is. This is going to become a bright winter cowl (I think). The ball on the left is Heart of Glass and will be perfect for socks. You can buy yarn from her website, and she does ship internationally!

Tash also wrote a very lovely post about me and my designs (and my incontinent cat) that you can check out here, she mentioned the schematic for Koho being what attracted her to the design, so I have now added that to the Ravelry pattern page here.

The final 3 skeins of yarn that I bought at Knit Nation (of the 5 total) are already well on their way into my new design, the Ropery Pullover. As you can see, progress has been speedy, I've already finished the back and sleeves, although the front is where the fun really is. I'm using Easyknits.co.uk Merino/Cashmere/Nylon (which I suspect may be the same base yarn as the OMA I bought, but don't quote me) in colourway Gun Metal.

Please don't mock the sketch. The only A I ever got in art was for drawing a shoe. :)

I'm hoping to publish this pattern by the end of August, leaving the perfect amount of knitting time before the cold weather really starts. The pullover is unique in it's deep and flowing cowl front, making it a perfect second layer in the autumn, or a great shape for accessorising with handknit scarves and shawls. It is an exercise in short rows, and uses the Socktopus Shadow Wrap technique extensively, so makes a great tutorial piece too, although any short row technique can be used.