Jen Arnall-Culliford Knitwear

A Shetlander's Fair Isle Graph Book

A few weeks ago, the postman delivered a book from Shetland. Jen remarked, "The Wool Week Annual is bigger this year - that's a bit of a surprise," then opened the package. It wasn't the Shetland Wool Week Annual, but something a little different (the Wool Week Annual arrived a couple of days later and more on that another time!).

A Shetlander's Fair Isle Graph Book in Colour consists of reproductions of two notebooks from the second quarter of the 20th Century. These originally belonged to Bill Henry who was in charge of the Hosiery (Knitwear) Department at Anderson & Co. of Lerwick through the middle of the last century. 

Carole Christiansen's introduction gives a great insight into the knitting industry in Shetland and really sets the scene for why what follows is a little special. Usually, if charts were drawn, their purpose was to give the knitter an idea of how the colours should change, rather than which colours to use. What sets these notebooks apart is that they have been fully coloured in, that is directing the knitter to colour choice as well as pattern.

What fascinates me about this book is the air of mystery over who actually drew the charts and what the purpose of the charts was. Is this a record of Fair Isle motifs that Bill had seen coming in from the local knitters, or were they produced by him, or someone for him, to direct knitters to a particular pattern, or a combination of both? Whatever the truth this is an important record of how external influences affected design through the period of the books, from the inclusion in the earliest pages, and thereafter absence, of swastikas to the appearance of Norwegian styles through the 1940s.

The big draw of this book is obviously the huge number of Shetland colourwork patterns to use within your own knitwear, but I think it is more than just that, so if you have an interest in the development of knitting, or are looking for a reference for colourwork, then this is a must-have book.

A Shetland's Fair Isle Graph Book was produced by the Shetland Guild of Spinners, Knitters, Weavers and Dyers and is published by The Shetland times. It is available from The Shetland Times bookshop and is priced at £20. 

Disclaimer: We received a review copy of the Shetlander's Fair Isle Graph Book free of charge from The Shetland Times. We have not received any other payment for this review, and are sharing it because we think it's a great book!

Knitlandia

If you're of the knitterly persuasion and you haven't yet read Clara Parkes' Knitlandia: A Knitter Sees the World, then you've missed something. While it lives up to its billing and follows Clara on her adventures across the globe, meeting, teaching and learning from knitters and yarn producers, this book has far more depth. 

The style of writing is warm and full of fun, even when things are far from ideal. I did wonder what I'd have to do to get Clara to paint me in a bad light, but I rather think the effort would be completely wasted. Her generosity of spirit flows throughout the book, whether dealing with people who are hard work, or comparing the shopping habits of knitters at shows in different places.

What makes Knitlandia more than a travelogue above all is that it is also a first-hand account of how the knitting world has been transformed over the last 15-20 years from someone at the centre of that world. The impact of the internet, social media and Ravelry in particular is an undercurrent through the book as changing attitudes and habits of knitters are marked. I was especially interested in the way that knitters consume has changed. When once print patterns were a means for spinners or dyers to showcase their products, the rise of independent designers and digital downloads have transformed the landscape, to the point that the jobs Jen and I do actually exist. As for how to learn a new technique, there's a fascinating insight into the working model of Craftsy. 

As someone who has in the past felt like a mere tourist in Knitlandia - the world of the knitters, this book really spoke to me as it viewed exactly the same human interactions through completely different eyes. I hope that Clara continues to travel widely, recording her observations of the world so that in the future she can publish a sequel that I will be eager to read.

Tomorrow, Jen reaches a milestone. Be sure to come back for a special treat!

Jim

Vintage Shetland Blog Tour

If you follow me on Twitter (@JenACKnitwear), the you will have perhaps seen my excited tweeting about Susan Crawford's new book, Vintage Shetland. She's running a Pubslush campaign to fund the book's production, and as of the time of writing this post (sometime on Wednesday...) the project is already 137% funded! That shouldn't stop you from heading straight over to her page and entering your card details, and here's why:

• Susan makes incredible books. Have a look at A Stitch in Time volumes 1 & 2, if you don't already own copies, you should! 
• Vintage Shetland is recreating patterns for a selection of garments from the archives of Shetland's museums. These are garments with interesting stories, not simply beautiful designs. Susan plans to tell these stories in the book.
• If you want a copy before Christmas, then the only way to be sure of having one is to donate through the pubslush campaign (open until 6th August 2015). The book will go on sale more widely after Christmas, but why wait?!

I've already seen many of the garments that Susan is working on, since I did some charting for her at the start of the project, and there are some incredible stories behind them. Today I've chosen to tell you a bit about two of the cardigans that I particularly love. These are both designs from the 1940s, and both cardigans use a background of black with an amazing colour palette.

I don't know what it is about these designs, but they really remind me of Granny Thackray, my paternal grandmother. She died when I was just 10, so although I remember her, my memories aren't very detailed. I think it must be something about the colour-schemes, with the bright pops of colour against such a dark background. Possibly they remind me of an object from her house, or perhaps a cardigan she once wore. The age of the designs would have been perfect as she would have been in her 20s in the 1940s - newly married but before the arrival of her children. Somehow I can just picture her wearing beautiful cardigans like these.

The stunning OXO and peerie design on the left was knitted as a shop sample and uses an incredible array of colours - I wonder whether it was a sort of sampler to show the patterns that could be created? I look forward to reading more about it in November when my book arrives.

You can buy a kit to knit the Roses are Red cardigan (right) as one of the rewards of the Pubslush campaign. Donations over £155 would qualify you for this (how tempting!), and the package includes 10 shades of Fenella required to recreate the cardigan along with vintage buttons, ribbon, a copy of the book, a project bag and various other bits. Other rewards include simply copies of the book, pdf and print packages, and even small tokens for non-knitters, starting at £5.

This post is part of a blog tour that is visiting Shetland and Back from now until the end of the Pubslush campaign at the start of August. Tomorrow's post is at Maja Karlson's blog in Sweden! You can see the full itinerary over on Susan's blog at JustCallMeRuby. Thanks for inviting me to be involved Susan! I can't wait to get my hands on my copy. Is November nearly here yet??

Review: Edward's Menagerie

I got my grubby paws on a copy of Edward's Menagerie by Kerry Lord and I can't get these lovely animal patterns out of my head! I have plans to try to make a small collection for Christmas presents, but I have no idea whether I will actually achieve that plan or not...

From the first moment I picked up this book I was impressed with it. Every aspect of its production has been carefully designed. The animals themselves are brilliant, but I don't think that is what caught my eye the most about the book. What made me exclaim and get excited was the way that every piece of information that I might need, in order to pick up a hook and get going, was right there at my fingertips.

The animals are carefully divided into levels, according to the skills required to complete them. I would definitely need to start with the level 1 animals, which require just one colour, chain, slip stitch and double crochet. These are well within even my basic crochet skills! But I feel confident that when I am ready to attack the level 2 and 3 patterns, all of the information and tutorials I will need are within the book. But don't worry! There aren't pages and pages of dense "How-tos", but rather 10 clearly laid out pages that will take you through everything you need for all the patterns, with excellent walkthrough photos. There's even advice on adding face details and a spread on topknots and tails, complete with fetching photos of the bottoms of all the animals!

Kerry has included 4 simple yarn weight sizing options, with a set of tables to tell you how much yarn, what hook size, finished measurements and tension information. It is touches like these that take this book from cute animals, to "where's my hook, I'm ready to get going"!

All of the designs use gorgeous Toft yarns - 100% British Alpaca yarns from Kerry's family alpaca farm. This gives the animals the feel of a proper collection, and their natural shades sit together beautifully. You could easily substitute other standard weight yarns, but I definitely believe that using the recommended yarn here is going to give you finished animals that are a cut above your average amigurumi. I certainly plan to order Toft yarns to make my own Menagerie... hopefully very soon!

Each of the patterns has a lovely large photo, and an achievably short set of instructions. Even I, who really isn't normally a fan of crochet, am itching to make these. I passed the book around at my local knitting group a few weeks ago - a crowd that are particularly hard to please - and last week someone had already borrowed Edward's Menagerie from the library and made 4 of the animals, and two more were planning to buy their own copies. I can't remember the last time that a book was sound universally liked by our knitting group!

So if you haven't already, do head out and get your grubby hands on a copy of Edward's Menagerie. If you purchase direct from Toft, you will also receive a pdf file with an additional 10 animal patterns (who could resist Frank the Armadillo?!).

Edward's Menagerie by Kerry Lord
David and Charles Publishing
RRP: £15.99 / US $22.99 / CAN $25.50

Disclaimer: I didn't pay for my copy of the book. A friend passed me hers, as she doesn't crochet. I would happily have paid for my copy as I believe it's worth every penny. I've not received any incentive for writing a review - I was just excited about the book!

Bits and Bobs

What a few weeks it has been! Thank you all in spades for reading, commenting, and sharing the message about my new designs all over the internet! :)

I'm still knitting on my Reginald Socks. I turned the heel on the second sock last night, so hopefully my sister in law won't have too long to wait now for her finished socks.

I'm still in love with the pattern, and it's going to be hard to parcel these off and send them away.

Whilst browsing on Twitter this afternoon I came across a project that I am SERIOUSLY excited about...

 © Felicity Ford

This is a book about turning everyday things into stranded knitting charts - sloes, biscuit tins and bricks. And I want to own it NOW! But it's being funded by a Kickstarter campaign, so I need all of you to join me in backing Felix's project, so that we can make this beautiful and inspiring book a reality.

Felix (aka Felicity Ford) is an active and inspiring member of the knitting community. You can read more of her doings and be inspired over at her website, Knitsonik.

© Felicity Ford

This picture in particular had me hopping with anticipation, straight over to Kickstarter to pledge my support. If you're not familiar with Kickstarter, it's a crowd-funding site where you can pledge money to help fund people's projects. The money is only taken from your account at the end of the fundraising period, and then only if enough is pledged to reach the target. Felix is aiming for £9,000 to fund the creation of this wonderful book. I know from work on self-published projects over the last few years, that this is a spot-on target, and will ensure that the book is properly funded. You can choose to fund the book with anything from £1 upwards, and depending on your level of support, you can choose from a number of different thank you packages. £5 or more gets you a thank you read out on her podcast, £20 gets you a copy of the book, £3,000 gets you a wool-themed road trip with Felix herself (You pay accommodation and travel. How I wish I had that much to spare!). For more details, head over to her Kickstarter page and read in full: The Knitsonik Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook Kickstarter.

Colourwork is a bit of a mystery to me in some ways. I can knit other people's designs with ease, but when it comes to putting together colours and shapes myself, I'm at a loss. So I'm hoping that The Knitsonik Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook will help me to grow my skills, and at the very least, will inspire me to do more colourwork knitting! What are you waiting for? Go and pledge. The knitting world needs this book.

I'm babysitting for a friend this evening, so I'm looking forward to some uninterrupted knitting time, with no little jobs around the house to distract me! Happy knitting!

Book Review: The Rhinebeck Sweater

As soon as I saw the previews of this book on Ravelry, I knew I had to have it! Ysolda has brought together a stellar cast of designers all inspired to create a sweater for the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival (aka Rhinebeck). The book is interspersed with essays, beautiful photographs taken on location at the festival, and even a recipe.

© Ysolda

I have been browsing yarn possibilities for at least three of the sweaters, and there are a few more that I fancy too! First up is Gudrun Johnston's Pippin - a snuggly warm jumper with an eye-catching cowl neckline. I love Gudrun's designs anyway, but this sweater looks particularly perfect for keeping warm in a cold house over the winter. I was thinking about some New Lanark Aran for this, as I will undoubtably wear layers underneath, making the more rustic wool very wearable. As a side note, it's just £4.00 for 100g which is a complete bargain!

© Ysolda

Ysolda's own design is Pumpkin Ale - an intriguingly constructed cardigan. It features a cable panel down the back, with sideways knitted fronts and three-quarter length sleeves with cable details. There are generous pockets in the fronts - a fantastic addition. I love a pocket! I can imagine wearing this cardigan all the time over the winter months and into spring. This too is a worsted weight project, so will knit up satifyingly quickly. I'm looking at some Cascade 220 (the antithesis of the intended small local yarn producer, but a very affordable worsted weight yarn option in the UK) from Get Knitted - at £5.50 for 100g it's hard to argue with! As this cardigan is worked in multiple directions, matching stitch and row gauge is going to be vital, so I'm matching the yarn as closely as possible. One of the lovely features of The Rhinebeck Sweater is the detailed information about the qualities of the yarn required for each design.

© Ysolda

I knew the name Amy Herzog, but it wasn't until I clicked through to view all her designs on Ravelry that I realised how much I love her aesthetic! I've been admiring her designs for years, but hadn't really put them all together in my head, if you know what I mean. I think I love Maple Cotton Candy even more for the fact that Amy just looks so happy in the photos. The sweater has a flattering scoop neckline and pretty details at the cuffs and hems. The allover texture stitch pattern adds just enough interest without being as painful to knit as moss stitch would be! I can imagine this being a go-to jumper for autumn and spring (with plenty of wear the rest of the year as well!). As this design is fitted, I'm looking at something a bit more luxurious in terms of yarn - perhaps some Tosh Vintage? I think this will be on my Christmas wishlist!

The print book costs £24 and comes with a unique download code for a digital version - perfect for printing out patterns to shove in your project bag. Altertnatively the eBook alone is £18, but I would highly recommend purchasing the print edition as it is a beautiful thing in its own right. The paper is heavy and the photography sings out in lots of detail. The colours are glowing, capturing the essence of autumn in New York State.

As a true pattern geek I've done some reading through the patterns and I'm impressed with the clarity of instructions and charts. Each design has a full schematic with a comprehensive array of measurements, without being too cluttered to read clearly. The patterns are sized generously, starting from around 30in up to 55-60in. Not all designs have the full range of sizes (probably due to the constraints of the designs themselves - not everything lends itself to be scaled up indefinitely), though all go to over 50in, so if you are at either extreme, do check the individual pattern information on Ravelry before you purchase.

© Ysolda

When I took the book to SnB on Tuesday, this design got a whole lot of love too - Artichoke French by Laura Nelkin. The flattering shaping up the shoulders, and thumb holes at the end of the sleeves were all admired. I've only held back on queuing it as I think my knitting queue for this season is full!

From the beautiful pictures of designers wearing their own sweaters, to the essays brimming with a love of wool and knitting, this book will more than earn its place on your shelves. If you haven't already don't pause, just go and get a copy!

The Rhinebeck Sweater £24 / $38 (print) or £18 (eBook) Published by Ysolda Teague

(I purchased my own copy and am reviewing this simply through enthusiasm!)

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

Books: Bowling Avenue and Red Bones

I thought I would share some of my holiday reading with you... First up is Red Bones by Ann Cleeves.

What could be more perfect for a knitter on holiday in Shetland, than a murder mystery set in Whalsay (one of the Shetland Islands)? This is the book that this autumn's BBC drama Shetland is based on. Knitters of the world - this 2-part series is one not to miss!

The book was perfect holiday reading. It's not high literature, and I was surprised at the lack of even common Shetland words until quite late in the book. I didn't find the dialogue to be that believable in places - mostly as a result of the use of "little" rather than "peerie" etc... But having said that, I enjoyed it, and have added Cleeves' other Shetland novels to my reservation list at the library.

The other book I read was Bowling Avenue by Ann Shayne.

What a pleasure this was! I have long been a fan of the Mason-Dixon Knitting blog. Kay and Ann's repartee has made me coffee-snort into my keyboard more times that I care to mention. So when Ann first mentioned that she was finishing writing a novel, my ears pricked up.

The story is set against the backdrop of Nashville, Tennessee during the floods of 2010, and centres around the house belonging to Delia's (the central character) sister Ginna (who is dead). I was really charmed by the personalities in the book, and willed them to find ways to reconnect with each other. I hope it's not taken the wrong way if I say that I bought the book out of solidarity and wanting to support someone whose work I admire. However, I'm reviewing the book here and encouraging you to buy it because I fell a bit in love with it. There is knitting content, but it forms part of the backdrop to the story rather than the contrived basis that is sometimes the case in knitting novels. Fans of the M-D blog will recognise the knitting scenario. The memory made me giggle at first, but this was soon forgotten as I got more engrossed. I was sad to reach the last page and I do hope that Ann will write another book soon. It was a pleasure to read.

That's all for now. There may be another FO (finished object) at some point this week, as I'm speeding through my Oh Deer mittens. Progress is a little slower now that I don't have the encouragement of the Olympics, but I should make it. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Red Bones by Ann Cleeves; published by Pan books; ISBN 978-0-330-44826-0; £7.99; purchased from Hunting Raven books in Frome

Bowling Avenue by Ann Shayne; published by Chenille Press; ISBN 9780985210007; I paid £10.48 at Amazon.co.uk (as my local bookshop weren't able to order it for me)

Review: Knitting Everyday Finery

I've got a real treat to share with you today. It's the latest book from the brilliant Mel Clark! 

© Mel Clark, Collins & Brown

I first worked with Mel when she designed for us on The Knitter, and I've been delighted to edit a couple of her patterns for the magazine since I went freelance. Mel mentioned in passing that she had a new book due out and I jumped at the chance to have a look at it. Mel has a style that I can only aspire to. She thinks about each and every aspect of a design to make sure that they work together in perfect balance. You can be sure that her yarn choice is going to give the best possible results for the intended finished item, and that the colour combinations have been chosen with a great deal of care and attention.

Knitting Everyday Finery is a collection of quick-to-knit designs that bring a touch of luxury to your everyday life. It's not so much luxury in the sense of really expensive yarn (although the yarn choices are what I would describe as nice yarns, rather than really budget yarns), but more luxury in the sense of time and effort taken to create an item which conveys that love to its wearer. There are designs for men, women and children so you can knit a piece of finery for everyone in your life!

© Mel Clark, Collins & Brown

I am completely in love with this gorgeous Daisy Dachshund pencil case! I'm not normally one for toys, or dogs for that matter (I'm more of a cat person), but this is too delightful to miss. You can make her as either a pencil case or just as a toy, but what child wouldn't want an excuse to take such a fantastic creation to school each day? Mel has done a short blog post on the making up process for Daisy that you might find helpful.

© Mel Clark, Collins & Brown

These July Gloves also caught my eye, as the construction is a little unusual - they are begun in the round, then the hand is worked back and forth and sewn together later between the bobbles. It gives the gloves an interesting detail and one that I'd enjoy trying.

Each project is carefully photographed from a couple of angles, so it's possible to see all the detail you might require while you are working on a pattern. The instructions are straightforward to follow, and the few charts are of a good size and not too intimidating if you are new to chart-knitting. I could easily be tempted to cast on a few of the designs for a quick and satisfying knit. In fact... I'm off to Loop on Sunday, so maybe I need to pick up yarn for one of these. Hmmmmm. It might be just what my slow-knitting mojo needs!

Mel might be known to you as Slip, Slip, Knit - the name of her lovely and inspiring blog, or perhaps as the co-author with Tracey Ullman of Knit 2 Together - a book of patterns and stories for serious knitting fun (instantly recognisable by the 2-person jumper worn by Tracey and Mel on the cover). She's also on Twitter as @SlipSlipKnit and on Ravelry as melc to do go and check out her other designs.

Knitting Everyday Finery by Mel Clark
Published in the UK by Collins & Brown (and in the US by Trafalgar Square Books)
ISBN: 978-1-84340-663-1
RRP: £14.99 

Disclaimer: I asked Mel if I could review this book, and as such was provided with a copy free of charge by the publisher, Collins & Brown.

Knitting with The Color Guys

Way back in the mists of early 2011, I worked on a book for one of the biggest names in knitting. I created the charts for Kaffe Fasett and Brandon Mably's book of accessories; Knitting with The Color Guys.

This was one of my very first jobs following my move to freelance work, and it was a brilliant opportunity for a number of reasons. Firstly, there's no way to avoid the fact that Kaffe's eye for colour combinations is extraordinary. There are so many designs that I would just love to cast on immediately. Secondly, I learnt about a million things about charting in Illustrator during the project. With so many charts to create, I turned to tutorials from Adobe a number of times, and discovered all sorts of tricks and new tools. I love to learn new things, so this was excellent. The third, really major, bonus of this job was that it involved working closely with Sarah Hatton, who was the Pattern Writer/Editor for the project. Any job that requires me to stay in touch with Sarah is a winner in my book! She's a legend.

© Sixth & Spring Books

This half-circle throw is just delicious. I want to wrap myself in its wonderful happy, smiling colours. It reminds me of late spring-early summer, when all the colours in the garden are vivid and brighter than life.

The book is divided into chapters which group the colour palettes in use; Soft Tones, Singing Colour, Moody Hues and Rich Shades. The half circle wrap (above) is from the singing colour chapter, naturally! And the following Multistripe Stole (my all-time favourite from the book), is in the soft tones collection.

© Sixth & Spring Books

This stole makes me want to run down to the yarn shop, buy everything I need and cast on instantly. Not the effect I expected this book to have on me! And if I'm being honest, there are some projects in here that just don't quite work for me - the Dotty Cushions would have been greatly improved by using a yarn with more bounce than Rowan Summer Tweed. That said, I feel that there are more than enough projects that I like to make this book well worth its place on my bookshelf.

In a bizarre twist of coincidence, Eskimimi chose Kaffe as one of her knitting heroes for her post in Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, and was kind enough to include me as an example of inspiring craft bloggers. To be included in the same post as Kaffe was more than a bit of a compliment!

Disclaimer: As I worked on this book, I was provided with a copy free of charge.