Jen Arnall-Culliford Knitwear

SnB: Julie's Balls

For the last few weeks I have been tweeting pictures of some of the lovely things that people at my Knitting Group have made, and it occurred to me last night, that it might be nice to collect some of these tweets into proper posts about the group.

I have only been knitting for 6 years (4 of those years spent working in the industry), and there were a few things that tipped me from being an occasional knitter into the Knitter you see before you today. One of those things was joining my local SnB group, and discovering the best group of friends a woman could wish for. If someone round the table at knitting doesn't know the answer to a question, you can bet your bottom dollar that they will know someone who does. They taught me much of what I know today, and without them, I certainly wouldn't be working as a tech editor or knitting up half of the projects I am!

Over the next few months I hope to share more about this group of remarkable women, as well as some pictures of their extraordinary creations. But this week tipped me over the edge about sharing their exploits, as Julie brough us her Balls...

In that box, are ALL 55 of the Arne & Carlos Christmas Balls. As Kay (head over to her blog to see the fabulous post-Sandy blanket fundraiser - it's BEAUTIFUL!) kindly pointed out on Instagram last night - this is the only correct usage of the term AMAZEBALLS! The patterns in the book are designed to be knitted using DK wool, but Julie has past form in this area (seriously - you MUST click through that link - you won't regret it!!), and decided instead to go small. She's made her set using 4ply wool, and as a result they are small but perfectly formed.

I took a couple of pictures of my favourites - this is a fantastic reindeer head!

I also really fell for the little feller on a sleigh. He or she even has a pompom on their hat!

I am particularly full of awe at Julie's amazing feat of knitting, because I knitted one of these last year, in DK weight, and swore that I would never again make someting so small in Fair Isle... I did try to snaffle a couple in my pocket, but sadly Julie knows how many there are and I wasn't successful!

While we were at knitting, a few people tried to run off with my Snawheid, which now has a pompom (thanks Kate!) - but I successfully beat them off and it came home again with me. Here's Sheila modelling it for us:

Thank you, lovely knitting group for letting me share your beautiful creations with the blog!

UPDATE: Julie's family sent me pictures of all the balls on their Christmas Tree: Julie's Balls Update

FO: Mystery Hat KAL

Hurrah! It's all finished, fully blocked and with all ends woven in!

I'm so pleased with the finished Hat. It's something of a risk to cast on for a project, not knowing what it will look like. Having said that, Woolly Wormhead is such a master of Hat design, that I wasn't worried. I knew that even if the Hat didn't look great on me, it would be perfect for someone else as a present. In the event, the Hat is great on me, but I'm still going to gift it, as I have something of a surfeit of Hats at the moment! One of my friends or family is in for a treat! The final pattern has now been released and its name is Encircle.

The yarn was lovely to knit with - UK Alpaca Luxury Alpaca DK - a blend of alpaca and BFL. Lovely! I have finished the Hat off with a pretty hand-made ceramic button by Jo Lucksted.

It's that time of year when good photos are hard to get, so apologies, but I think there will be a few Instagram pics over the next few months, while the light is in short supply.

As always you can see the technical details over on my Ravelry page: Jen's Mystery Hat

I'm already counting the months to next year's Mystery Hat KAL!

Related articles

Woolly Wormhead's Mystery Hat KAL

Chattering

Wowzers! What a busy week it has been! We got Kate's book off to press last night, so now begins the nervous wait for the finished book to come back from the printers. In the meantime there are lots of other things going on...

I've just finished off my Woolly Wormhead Mystery Hat - it's soaking at the moment, and then I'm going to block it over a balloon. I'm absolutely delighted with how it has turned out, and I can't wait to share some pictures with you!

My Snawheid has come back from Kate, so I'm happily wearing it, and planning how massive a pompom it needs...

The post today was brilliant... new issues of both Simply Knitting and The Knitter - both of which look fantastic - Susan Crawford has done a lovely round-up of Shetland Wool Week, which brought back many happy memories. I'm also very tempted by Kyoko's adorable set of knitter's gifts, including a beautiful leaf-shaped scissor case.

Jim has been very busy as well. There's a new Veuf Tricot column in the latest Simply Knitting - all about going on holiday with a knitter... And he's been training hard despite his recent fall. If you didn't already know, he has a place to run the London Marathon in aid of Refuge. You can donate here: Jim's Just Giving Page. And you can read all about his progress - with some gentle-knitter-leg-pulling over on his blog: Veuf Tricot. Or follow him on Twitter: Veuf Tricot.

I'm hoping for a fairly quiet weekend to catch up with my Christmas crafting... I have plenty still to do! I hope you all have fun weekends too.

FO: Snawheid ahoy!

I know, I know! I was meant to be finishing a certain sweater dress, or at the very least, working on Mum's Christmas Socks... But how is a girl meant to restrain herself in the face of snowy-hat perfection?

© Kate Davies

As soon as the charts for this beauty landed in the DropBox folder, I knew that it would be on my needles by the end of the day. It was clearly meant to be, as I even had the perfect yarn ready and waiting in my stash - a ball each of Persian Grey and Alabaster Excelana 4ply.

The design is Snawheid by Kate Davies, and the pattern will be available on Ravelry later today. I cast on and knitted like the wind - taking daft progress pictures for Kate as I knitted:

Look! I've done some snawflakes!

Look! I've done more flakes!! Oh, and dammit, I've missed a row out of the top snawflake. Rip, rip, rip!!

Hurrah! I've corrected my mistake and caught back up again!! (Never do a KAL with me - I get a bit over-excited about sharing my progress pictures!!!)

LooK! Scooter is sitting on my lap while I knit! This almost never happens!

Hurraaaahhhhh! I've finished! It's well after my bedtime, and it's really hard to take a photo of the top of my head!!

Ooops! That photo isn't much better... Let's try again!

SUCCESS!!!

The huge number of exclamation marks in this post convey just a small amount of my excitement about my new hat. The only fly in the ointment is that I immediately sent my hat up to Kate, so it's not sitting on my head as I type. She & Tom took some fabulous photos of my hat (the one at the top is her shot). And even better... she's going to make me a MA-HOO-SIVE pompom from the leftover yarn, to make a snawball sized pompom to top this hat. I can't wait to have it back!

You can see my notes on the project over on my Ravelry page: JenACKnitwear's Snawheid

The rest of this week will probably be quiet here on the blog, as we're doing the final proofs for Kate's book. It's going to be busy, but excellent!

 

Granny George's Welsh Cakes

I'm baking for a cake sale at church on Saturday, so I thought I would share the recipe for Welsh Cakes that I use.

As children, we used to go and stay with Granny George in South Wales, and the highlight of each visit was enjoying Welsh Cakes hot off the bakestone. Mum cooked them for us at home too, but something about being in Granny's kitchen and being on holiday has a particular resonance. On the odd occasion that Granny looked like she wasn't planning to make a batch, then a request for a trip down to High Street to buy Welsh Cakes at the bakers would always result in some being made! I can remember the look on her face at the thought of purchasing shop-made Welsh cakes - priceless!

Granny George doesn't get much opportunity to make Welsh Cakes these days, so I thought it would be nice to share the recipe so that you too can enjoy their hot-off-the-bakestone deliciousness! You don't need a bakestone (though do use one if you are lucky enough to have one!), a griddle or heavy frying pan works just as well. If you are vegetarian, the substitute the lard with a hard vegetable fat instead.

One last tip is that I often make 2 quantities of dough together. I then cook one straight away, and place the other in the freezer for a quick cake emergency. The dough can be thawed out and cooked quickly for fresh cakes another day. That said, a batch really doesn't last very long, so if you are a family of 4, then make double quantities anyway! The picture below is of a double batch being cooked.

Granny George's Welsh Cakes

8oz (225g) Self-raising Flour
2oz (55g) Butter
2oz (55g) Lard
3oz (85g) Granulated Sugar
Pinch of Salt
2oz (55g) Currants
3/4 tsp Mixed Spice and Nutmeg
1 Large Egg, beaten
Small amount of Milk (may not be needed)
Small amount of Caster Sugar for dusting the finished cakes 

Rub the butter and lard into the flour, sugar and salt, until they resemble small breadcrumbs. Stir in the spices and currants. Mix to a pastry-like dough with the egg. If the mixture doesn't form a nice ball add a very small amount of milk until it comes together nicely.

Roll out the dough on a floured board to a thickness of 0.25in (0.7cm). Stamp into rounds with a scone or biscuit cutter. Grease your bakestone (griddle or frying pan) and cook on a low to medium heat until the fruit appears to sink into the dough (this is really the dough rising around the fruit) and the bottom is a pale golden brown. Carefully turn the cakes over and cook the second side until it is the same colour - making sure that the dough is cooked through. Remove from the heat and make stacks on a plate, sprinkling each layer with caster sugar.

Enjoy them at their best, while they are still warm! Thank you Mum and Granny George for all of the hundreds of batches of Welsh Cakes you have made us over the years. I hope that our children will enjoy them just as much as we do. xxx

Jen's Green - New shade of Fyberspates Scrumptious

Ever since I started working with Jeni at Fyberspates two years ago, I've been nagging her about having a really great shade of green in her Scrumptious range. It's no secret that I love blues and greens - if you look at my stash page on Ravelry, you can see that my choices are skewed to that end of the spectrum. Jeni already had a stunning TEAL that's available across the whole Scrumptious range, so I pestered, cajoled, and downright demanded a Great Green, and I'm thrilled to be able to share with you the results of this harrassment:

This is me with some skeins of the new "Jen's Green" shade of Fyberspates Scrumptious! If you haven't worked with it before, let me introduce you to Scrumptious - it's a 45% silk, 55% merino blend (the 4ply is superwash merino, but the others are standard merino). The yarn comes in 5 different weights, and Jen's Green is available in three of them:

Scrumptious Lace (click to be taken to the purchasing page): A 2ply constructed yarn, with 1,000m to 100g. More on my plans for these skeins in a moment...

Scrumptious 4ply (click to purchase): A 2ply constructed yarn made from the superwash merino with 365m to 100g. This yarn was designed to be perfect for luxury baby knits. I might be planning to use some of this to knit a Corlyna cardigan for my niece... Probably with matching legwarmers!

And finally, the Scrumptious DK (click to purchase): This is a single ply yarn with 220m to 100g. Thanks to the construction, this is the least hard-wearing of the three yarns, BUT it is like cushions of fluffy clouds and is just dreamily soft. I'm thinking of turning these 2 skeins into a simple scarf - maybe a Clapotis or something similar.

You may have noticed that the yarn name features the possessive apostrophe, so I'm pretty sure that ALL of this delicious yarn belongs to me... It does after all say so clearly on the labels!

This also seems like a good moment to let you know that the designs I created for Fyberspates (both for the Scrumptious Collection volume 1 and for Simply Knitting), are now available to download individually. You can find these patterns in my Ravelry store here: Jen Arnall-Culliford's Ravelry Store or follow the links below.

I plan to make my very own Tirrold from my 2 skeins of Scrumptious Lace in Jen's Green. I think that it will be a really useful top to wear with a long-sleeved T-shirt in the great British summer. Here's a picture of Jeni's recently finished version (hers uses Fyberspates Elegance Lace in a hand-dyed shade):

Tirrold costs £3.95: 

Then there are a couple of possibilities for the 4ply... First up is my Arncott Hat, which uses less than 1 skein of 4ply:

Arncott £2.50:

Or my Ultra-Violet Shawl, which was designed for Simply Knitting a while back, and is now available as a download with both written and charted instructions. This uses just 2 skeins of 4ply and works brilliantly as a snuggly winter scarf as well as a dressy stole.

Ultra-Violet Shawl £3.00: 

You can find all of the designs that I sell individually, by clicking through with the Patterns tab above from any page on the blog. Happy Knitting!

I can't wait to see what people make with the new shade! I've already started to pester Jeni to extend Jen's Green into the Aran and Chunky weights - I'll keep you posted with my progress!!

WIP: A sneaky peek at something I'm working on

One of the work projects that has been keeping me very quiet over the last few months is Kate's book. I'm the Technical Editor for Colours of Shetland, and it has been such a joy to work with her and Nic (the ever wonderful Art and Production Editor and all-round fabulous pal!) on bringing these designs and essays to print.

As soon as the pattern and snapshots of this design landed in our DropBox folder, I knew that this was going to be the first design on my needles. It's a hooded cardigan with pockets, and it's in completely perfect colours for me. It is the garment design that complements the Northmavine Hap that Kate shared on her blog last week: Northmavine Hap.

As always with Kate's designs, there are some exquisite finishing touches - not only do the hem and cuffs have folded facings, but there is also an applied i-cord to complete the design perfectly. This is the sort of detail that takes a cardigan from homemade to a work of art.

I've not worked on it too much as I'm trying to get Still Light done and dusted before I get too side-tracked by this. I'm so pleased with how it is going though. I've cast on the sleeve and and am working my way up the increases. I've chosen just one shade different from those that Kate recommends - the main teal colour that is used for the i-cord and in the stripes is just slightly brighter than the one that Kate used. It wasn't a purposeful deviation - I was madly trying to match up the shades at the Trunk Show at Jamieson & Smith and it wasn't that light in the shop. In fact, at one point all the lights went out briefly! Maybe that was when I looked at the teal! I love how these colours work together - the subtlety of the two colours in each stripe is just ace. The yarn is the ever-gorgeous-to-knit-with Jamieson & Smith 2ply Jumperweight.

I have a bit of a strategy in mind for this cardigan, as I love how finishing touches add to a project, but I don't always love doing those finishing touches. So I'm going to break them down for this cardigan. I plan on adding the i-cord at the cuff of this sleeve before I've gone too much further. I will knit the pockets into the body as soon as there is enough body to do so. I so enjoy the end of a project - casting off and then putting the garment on. I know that if I leave all of the finishing to the end, I'll be too impatient to wear the hoody and I'll risk not taking my time over the details properly. If I do them as I go along I think it will really help me. Do you do anything to help to make the finishing neater, or more enjoyable to do?

To get the stripes as neat as possible, I'm splicing the shades together each time that the colour changes. At first it was a tiny bit fiddly, but I'm totally in the zone with it now, and I love that it means I will only have 1 end to weave in when I'm finished!

I can't wait to be able to share more about this book - there are quite a few more projects that I'm planning to make from it! You can keep an eye on my progress with this lovely hoody on my project page on Ravelry: Northmavine Hoody. The book will be available to purchase from Kate's website: Kate Davies Designs. And we're expecting it to be on sale from 1st December 2012. In the meantime I had better print out some proofs to check! Happy knitting!

FO: A hat for Rosa

We've been having a lovely weekend! Firstly we stopped over with Nic on Friday evening, and had lots and lots of giggles - the perfect antidote for a really rubbish drive.

Then on Saturday it was off to meet our new niece for the first time. Now, as a knitter and general craft geek, I get a strong compulsion to make things for the little-people in our lives, and this was no exception.

Jim cast on and did the first few rounds on Wednesday evening, and then I took over and cranked the rest out - casting off just as we were reaching London on Saturday morning. The pattern is the Striped Hat from Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino 2. We adjusted it slightly so that it could be knitted in the round. This meant that the last sections where you work the little pointy bit on top, could be done as an i-cord, which seemed far simpler than messing around with sewing up such a teeny tiny bit of knitting.

If you are at that point in your life, when lots of people you know are having babies, then I really can't recommend this book enough. Baby Cashmerino 2 is my favourite of Debbie Bliss's pattern books by a really long way. I've now made 4 of the designs from it, and indend on making a few more. This book is brilliant for simple pieces that you can just make without having to think too much. The designs are simple and timeless. Go get it!

I used leftover ends of Baby Cashmerino from a couple of jumpers that I'd done for my nephew James, and this is just a brilliant yarn for little ones. It's machine washable, soft and has great stitch definition. It went down a treat. More details can be found on my Ravelry page: Hat for Rosa

Isn't she eeny-weeny? :) The hat has some space for her to grow into it, which will be handy. I'm sorely tempted to cast on another one almost instantly... I'm going to be strong for now, as my "to knit" list is starting to look a bit precipitous. I do after all have plans for Rosa that include some of a very special new yarn...

Review: A Legacy of Shetland Lace

While we were up in Shetland in October, we had the great pleasure of attending the launch of the Shetland Guild of Spinners, Knitters, Weavers and Dyers's new book: A Legacy of Shetland Lace.

What a wonderful book!

There are 19 designs for neckwear (scarves, stoles & shawls) as well as two garment patterns, and if you love lace knitting, then you really, really need to get your hands on a copy of this book. The designs are by members of the Guild, and I was already familiar with some of the names, from my work with Jamieson & Smith: Mary Kay, Ina Irvine, Kathleen Anderson and Hazel Tindall all have designs in the book.

I really enjoyed reading the short biographies of the designers, which accompany each pattern - it was wonderful to gain an insight into how these inspirational women have developed their knitting skills. The tales of skills passed from generation to generation are fascinating.

Each pattern has a clear layout, with plenty of space around the instructions and a good font size too. The charts are clear and generally of a good size to work from. For a couple of the larger charts you might find it helpful to photocopy them at a larger size for your personal use (that's not a criticism - it's just sometimes necessary).

It's fantastic to have a whole book dedicated to Shetland Lace that has been written by Shetlanders themselves. I'm not sure that this has happened before (how is that even possible?!). The motifs and designs are traditional, but absolutely beautiful. I would so enjoy working any of the patterns in the book. The only reason that I'm not casting anything on today, is that I really must complete the Shetland shawl and my Golden Wheat Shawl that are already on my needles! The Shetland sampler has been on my needles for so long that I cast it on before I started at The Knitter (in May 2008!) - it's on my old Ravelry account!!

I purchased the book for £23.99 at the book launch during Wool Week. You can get hold of a copy by purchasing direct from Shetland Times, who are the book's publishers.

A Legacy of Shetland Lace by the Shetland Guild of Spinners Knitters, Weavers and Dyers. 100 pages. Softcover. ISBN: 978-1-904746-76-8

Getting ahead with present knitting... or trying to anyway!

I have a terrible attention span when it comes to knitting. You might have noticed...

I'm still working away on my Still Light Tunic - I'm reaching the point where I want to knit less on it as I don't actually want to stop knitting with this incredible cashmere/silk (Fyberspates Ethereal) yarn. It has been SO enjoyable. I passed the tunic round at knitting last week, and encouraged people to put their hands into the finished pocket - the looks on faces as they touched the fabric was hilarious! I think I'll have to beat people off from stroking me when I wear the finished dress! In order to prolong the knitting just a bit (there are about 8 inches still to do and they are counting down quickly...), I've been working on the Hats, and I've also started with my Christmas knitting.

I have in the past, sworn off gift knitting at least two or three times (maybe even more). It's a double-edged sword. I really do enjoy giving my hand-knitted projects away. I feel like it's a real expression of love and attention to give someone something that I've spent so long working on. But at the same time, I miss my hand-knits terribly once they are gone. I like to see them from time to time, and to know that they are being loved and enjoyed. There's no worse thought that that of a precious hand-knit languishing in a drawer somewhere; unloved. The other part of the equation is the deadline bit. Nothing turns a completely awesome-in-all-possible-ways project into a millstone more quickly than a deadline. I DETEST the feeling that I have to complete a project for a particular date. I HATE feeling that I can't flit around and knit whatever I fancy, because this one project must be done in time.

Really, having read all this, I bet you're wondering why I bother?! Well, when it all comes together and I knit the project in my own time, and the recipient loves it, and I spot it out and about when they're wearing it. There is NOTHING better. Add to that the creeping realisation that most of the people we give gifts to have no real need of more material goods - it's nice to give something that symbolises more than just "I spent £20 on this for you". Time is the most precious thing that I have to give. I really love to knit on a project filling it with good thoughts and prayers and hopes and desires for its recipient.

So this is the plan for Christmas knitting 2012.

I've offered hand-knits (or quilts but no-one took me up on that) to family members, with the clear understanding that they are only to accept if they really want something. We are more than happy to buy presents - there should be no obligation to accept a handmade present! To this end a few have put in their requests, and I think that I have a list which will be both enjoyable and manageable to work through between now and Christmas. Hopefully Christmas knitting stress-meltdown will be avoided! First up is some socks for Mum. She picked some Kaffe Fassett Regia sock yarn from my stash and also selected the Mermaid Sock pattern by Lucy Neatby. I love this pattern! It's one of the main reasons that I first wanted to knit socks - it's so clever the way it spirals!

This is my first time working the pattern with the wavy cuff rather than the sideways garter stitch option, and I'm really pleased with how it looks! I'm about 3/4s of the way through the first sock, and it's still early in November so this is looking good so far, don't you think?

Are you making anything as Christmas presents? Please do let me know if you have any tips for getting presents made without it sending you loopy!