Socktopus!

Saturday (I know, ages ago, I've had computer problems this week!) saw the launch of Alice Yu's new book of sock patterns, Socktopus! The launch was held at London knitting shop Loop and featured the lady herself signing books amongst a crowd of knitters and an amazing array of cakes from Bittersweet Bakers (seriously, amongst the best banana bread I have EVER had).

Socktopus is Alice's first book, and features an array of her favourite patterns released through her many popular sock clubs over the last 3 years, reworked and wonderfully reshot to utilise the fabulous Sokkusu yarn she has developed.

As Alice is a good friend of mine, which you've no doubt noticed as she seems to crop up in most of these blog posts, when she asked me to knit a couple of pairs of socks as the samples for the book, I was happy to accept the challenge! For two weeks after the show (way back in March!) I furiously knit two pairs of socks in time for a fast approaching photoshoot.

The first pair were Mince Pie Mayhem, previously a pattern released at Christmas time and featuring literal thousands of 1x1 cables. While I can cable without a cable needle, I find I get much better tension if I use one, and for the book I wanted my knitting to look it's best, so over 1000 fully worked cables it was! As I knit rather loosely, and Alice rather tightly, I ended up working these socks on 2mm DPNs, which is very small for me! All in all these socks should have been a nightmare for my left handed, funny tensioned brain, especially once the 3 day deadline was included, but they weren't. Getting to know this fantastic yarn and the unusual heel and toe construction kept these socks interesting, and trying them on once complete showed me a surprisingly stretchy and wonderfully comfortable pair of socks. The colourway is Tree Frog - how could I not love them!

The second pair was Crowley. These were knit it Sokkusu-X, which meant a comfortable 2.5mm needle and magic loop, plus another new yarn to handle. Lately I've come to realise that I'm not the fibre snob I thought I was, and like a nice pure wool as much as anything. Sokkusu-X has a cashmere content, but rather than screaming about it, this yarn seems to quietly and subtly enjoy it's luxury status, being soft on the hands but not threatening to disintegrate upon contact with the floor/shoes/water due to it's high twist.

The pattern is quick and easy in comparison, featuring a neat undulating cable and rib design. The heel and toe are more traditional also, meaning these were a gentle rest after the Mince Pies. The fit was great, the knit rewarding because of it's speed and the great yarn, and I'm finally knitting a pair for myself!

Because I knit the samples, Alice and the publishers GMC were kind enough to give me a credit in the back of the book too!

If you'd like to purchase Socktopus it is available in a wide range of LYS's and will shortly be published in the United States. Alternatively you can order from Amazon in the UK (here) or US (here).

Happy Knitting!

Roots: The Process

In this post I'll try and explain the process behind the Roots hat design - which was far more extensive than you may expect!

The original inspiration was to create a ribbed hat with a fractal branching structure, reminiscient of tree root structures. This meant that the shaping had to be placed amongst unusual lines. I toyed with the idea of working bottom up, using left and right leaning decreases to shape the crown, but quickly realised that a top down construction would give me greater control over size and length, and also provide something a bit different to knitters than the literal hundreds of ribbed hat designs already available!

This pattern has been a long time in the making, being prototyped and tweaked to get it just right for knitters. In fact, the first version was knit way back in December, as a Christmas gift for my Uncle Stu!

I then made a second prototype for the Leaf Litter show back in March;

Both of these hats taught me a few important lessons about this design. I was able to modify the pattern to remove the pixie like point you see in the first version, and with the second, which was knit in Debbie Bliss Glen, reaffirm how fantastic a yarn Malabrigo Twist is for working rib in (actually, any multi-plied worsted weight yarn should be a good fit, most of the problems I had with this version were with the single ply of Glen). The first hat is more complex in it's shaping than the final knit, and I was able to see that in fact this was unnecessary, and simple is best for both fit and ease of knitting.

The third and final version (so far, I really want one for myself!) is the sample knit. This version of the pattern contains all of the features I wanted in this pattern from the start - a smooth, round crown, a soft slouchy drape, a firm rib contraction for a secure fit, and a striking branching rib pattern that is unusual but subtle enough for even the most fussy of our male gift recipients!

We had a lot of fun doing the photoshoot in my Mam and Dad's yard. The model is my little brother Dominic, who was perhaps not quite in the mood for having his photo taken less than 24 hours after running the Great North Run!

 

But he consented eventually, even posing with a book (can you tell Sherlock Holmes isn't exactly his favourite!) I love this version of the hat, it fits great, the colour (Zinc) really shows off the texture pattern, and it suits my brother so well!

The first hat was knit to a length of around 10"/25cm, and the second to 8"/20cm. This is quite a bit shorter than the 13" used for the sample, and this is what really proves to me the benefit of knitting hats from the top down, there's no way my uncle would want a slouchy modern beanie, and similarly Dominic, who was given the sample as a graduation present, would have no use for such a utility garment as the first prototype!

If you would like to knit Roots the pattern is available to purchase through Ravelry.com, or you can buy now

Happy Knitting! 

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!