Boxy Beanie

I wanted to finish another project within February for the February Fair isle knit along so came up with this really simple boxy retro pattern. Ideal for beginners. I think I might make a pair of mittens to match and give the pattern away to people who want to have a go at their first colour work project.

Spot the not so deliberate mistake! I merrily fitted in my paired decreases this morning whilst eating a bowl of muesli/yoghurt and drinking a cup of coffee. Oops my boxy top developed half a round that shouldn't be there. I will try to pull it out and correct it before the end of Feb. I just don't want another colourful hat that has a plain top though so determined to feed the pattern out of the 'triangles' to show beginners how to work colour and shaping at the same time.

Mmm I wonder how I will do my thumb on the mitten though? I like to insert a gusset to ease my thumb in rather than just leave it as an after thought but that might involve complications if I want a plain thumb and a patterned mitten in the round. What are your favourite/most comfortable thumb constructions? What would be easy for a beginner?

New Zealand Adventures

I promise I have been doing some serious knitting. First of all I managed to sneak my circulars on to the plane but felt so naughty that every time a steward went by was flustered into making silly mistakes! After two attempts I made a standard K3 P2 ribbed hat for the little nephew which I won't show here. Here is me in our private spa bath in Kaikoura (NZ on the South Island), renamed The Spa of Doooooom! We seemed to pick up some unmentionable bugs in this lovely luxury hotel spa which has meant a lot of sleepless nights in separate beds. how romantic!

We spent our first week here in Wellie with my brother and his wife and kiddies. However, we headed off to the South Island mainly to experience the above creatures which Stevie snapped this morning on our amazing Dolphin Encounter trip in Kaikoura. With full wetsuit and hood and mask and snorkel we got into the sea on a beautifully calm day (freezing water though) and swam with a pod of about 500 dolphins. I cannot explain how wonderful this made me feel. They were not tamed in any way, totally wild and yet seemed to enjoy teasing and inviting us to play. You circle, they circle, you chase then turn and they chase you, occasionally bumping and brushing against you so gently at such a speed. Then they entertain you with the acrobatics you can see above. On a previous trip we saw the above Sperm whale and this morning as well as dolphins we came across seals lazing around on the rocks. There are strict rules here about observing marine mammals and not interfering etc so we were so lucky to be allowed into their world. I want to do it all over again! However, was a bit embarrassed about being rolled onto the boat afterwards like a big fat seal as I can't use my arms to grip to climb onto the boat.

Sorry for those of you wanting to read a knitting blog and finding cutesy animal travelling stories! Back to knitting, I have found it difficult to get normal decent stuff over here despite it being a sheepy place. I did manage to buy some cheap Merino, slightly felted and soft and cream but great for dyeing.

One other little bit of news, the Anticraft have a book coming out whoopee. I've had a few projects accepted for the book, double whoopee. however, can't really get the yarn I need to work on that here so no option but to wait until I return to London after my Big Adventure on The Land of The Long White Cloud.

So many projects I hadn't planned for!
and still looking for good knitters to help me out................

I had been planning to have a bit of a rest from knitting so that I will be fresh and perky on my trip to New Zealand. It hasn't worked out that way and at the moment I have been knitting from dawn to dusk to get projects finished in time. Luckily all of these projects have involved a designing element and a couple of them have been proper print magazines so by Christmas I will be well and truly published.

As I keep saying, I am looking for knitters who can work to a specific gauge, it hasn't been easy. A lot of people have beautiful neat knitting but it just doesn't work for me if I have designed something for a specific size and the knitter doesn;t sue the same gauge. I've got a bag project that requires an experienced Fairisle knitter and I'm willing to pay £40 plus for a knitter to knit it up to go into the Anticraft (www.theanticraft.com) magazine on line. It involves working to a detailed chart although there are only 2 colours and there is stranding not intarsia.

All my knitters have to take a little test, it involves swatching and filling out a short questionnaire. If you;d like to see it just for your own amusement then drop me a line in an email and I will forward it to you. I've also got info sheets on how to work to gauge and instructions on increasing and decreasing. I am planning to put together sheets like this for an Erssie stitch library involving photographs or video clips. It will go on my new website which is still under development.

Several knitting adventures are going on at the moment. I have started doing a little bit of teaching, mainly one to one sessions with students in my own home.

OTN at the mo, I am swatching for accurate gauges for a project for the new mag Yarn Forward, can't say what but it is an EK classic. I have also just finished completing some seasonal things to be included in Simply Knitting which I'm very pleased about. I've got a demonic design brewing which should be in the next issue of the Anticraft, Coldharbour Working Wool Museum is donating the yarn for this project, you should go there if you like pure new wool of British origin from a mill that has been in operation for hundreds of years. they need support as well because they are unable to afford keeping the mill open to the public, see more about them on www.coldharbourmill.org.uk . Above is a photo of one of their chimneys and their shop:

One of my knitters is currently knitting up a new Erssie Knits design in sockwool and she will be helping with my demonic bag and knitting up one of my Pirate designs for a customer on etsy. I am still getting regular orders through etsy and even better, people are asking for comissions through this site without my having to advertise. In the pipeline, I am also trying to type up all the designs from my journal of last year into standard patterns available for download as I currently have about 35 orders plus for those backing up. Sorry to all those people waiting for patterns, you have been very patient and understanding of my unmentionable health problems. On average, an Erssie Knits pattern will be £2 per download which includes tips and full colour photos. It is about time that I tried to put together a collection for an Erssie Knits book, but I am having too much fun project hopping though!

There is also news that Hookorama (crochet sequel to Knitorama/Rachael Matthews) is out later this month. There are some Erssie Knits designs amongst the collection in this crochet book. At some point I think Complete Crochet should be out this Autumn so I will be well published this winter. all the more reason to get my own book together!

And back to work..............

I can't tell you what I am working on at the moment with regard to knitting. All I can say is that it has a Christmas theme and so will be published before December.

My most exciting news is that despite not being fit to travel (won't spoil anyone's dinner by saying why) I have booked my tickets to New Zealand. I will be seeing my niece for the first time since she was 16mths old and my nephew for the very first time. I shall be in NZ for about a month, travelling back on 1st Jan (it's cheaper to fly on an important holiday rather than before or after) and have every intention of continuing with my Erssie Knits projects whilst there. I always carry my design journal so that I can sketch and plan, NZ has to be the best place to get stuff for swatching and I now have a couple of knitters working with me who can handle any immediate UK projects.


Erssie Knits is ticking over just as I would like it to, my projects are for fun and any money earned (not a lot normally) I just use to spend on materials either for charity or for more knitting adventures. Recently, there has been a bit of pocket money that has tempted me into commissioning a hat from www.woollywormhead.com
I have been trying to support my fellow crafters by ordering the odd thing here and there. I have also asked www.pixeldiva.co.uk to knit a shrug for me, I have the yarn honestly but haven't been to my knitting group AngelknitsLondon since June! I have also purchased stitchmarkers from www.annarella.co.uk
and a pair of alpaca socks from Noblin Knits in the past. I think that quite often crafters love to view other people's wares but in the back of their mind they feel that if they had the time they could make the item themselves so end up not buying it. I'm trying to be realistic, I love Ruth Paisley's textiles, I'm never going to be able to spin like her and despite being able to knit and crochet accessories myself, I want to wear something different. I love some of the loose gauge knits Ann did this year, if I made her shrug for myself it woudn't be like that so where's the variety? As for knitting socks, I don't have the drive or dexterity to knit myself something in such a small gauge. Yes, variety is the spice of crafts.

Just seen Anna of Annarella's designs in Heather's new book, and I am envious. The book Not Your Mam's Knitting looks great and I will be ordering a copy. I do hope I can get to Angelknits Tues to see a copy!

I worked on a book which is out about now but sadly I haven't seen a copy. Neither have I been paid for a single penny for the work I did on that. Annoying because I sacrificed a lot of my own projects and donated my own designs to this book. There is always a chance the situation will be resolved but it has left a bad taste in my mouth, and it has put me off publishing. A shame as I had hoped to put together a book of my own and thought that working on someone else's book would give me a feel for what it was like. There is another book I worked on too and I haven't been paid for that either. My projects I am working on at the moment will be publisheed at Christmas but as it is for charity, I won't be paid for that. Looks like I'll have to stick to the ethos of knitting and crocheting for fun only. I hope that I won't be using this blog to whine but thought I'd just mention the publishing problems as a kind of warning to other crafters. Get a contract or written agreement first!